On DVD	by M. Faust & George Sax

DOMINO—The most overwrought (in the accurate sense of the word) American film since Natural Born Killers, Tony Scott’s very loosely adapted film of the life of bounty hunter Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley in a role that couldn’t possibly be more different than her part in the current Pride and Prejudice) replays a lot from his True Romance, amped up by editing techniques that make watching it the equivalent of staring at malfunctioning strobe lights. But it has a lunatic sense of invention—the script was written by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) and Steve Barancik (The Last Seduction). And you can’t entirely dislike a film (well, I can’t, anyway) that features Tom Waits as a mescaline hallucination and Christopher Walken as a TV producer described as having the attention span of a ferret on crystal meth (which makes him the perfect audience for this). Waits also provides one of the DVD’s audio commentaries, which in and of itself should be worth the rental.

—m. faust

RENT—Stephen Sondheim protégé Jonathan Larson, who died shortly before his updated musical adaptation of La Boheme debuted on Broadway, was a talented composer but hardly the theatrical insurgent his fans proclaimed, as this film of his show demonstrates. Its heartfelt enthusiasms can be a little hard to fight, particularly during some of its abundant musical performances. Most of the leading players are from the original cast and it’s difficult to imagine a more vivacious and gifted crew. Larson’s large-spirited, generous sensibility renders the story both questionably sentimental and engaging. Director Chris Columbus (Home Alone), a man who has never exhibited a real dark side on screen, hasn’t modulated Larson’s more light-headed tendencies. Rent is often vibrant and winning, but it’s also kind of bubble-headed. The two-disc DVD package features three hours worth of extra features.

—george sax

THE ICE HARVEST—This year’s entry in what now appears to be Hollywood’s annual trek to repeat the success of Bad Santa stars John Cusack as a Witchita, Kansas mob lawyer who embezzles a fortune from his employer only to find his Christmas Eve getaway postponed by bad weather. As everyone in his life, in classic noir fashion, proves to be untrustworthy, the film initially mines a vein of black comedy. But it’s only frosting, and when director Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters) gets down to business it’s clear he has no grip on the material once the laughs run out. It’s about half of a good movie, if that’s enough for you. Scripted by Robert Benton and Richard Russo. Co-starring Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen, Randy Quaid and Oliver Platt. DVD extras include alternate endings, an outtake with Thornton doing his Sling Blade character, and commentary by Ramis.

—m.f.

THE DICK CAVETT SHOW: COMIC LEGENDS—So much old television is being unloaded onto the DVD market that some good stuff is bound to surface, like last year’s SCTV box sets and now a new series of the early-1970s talk show that pitted an Ivy League intellectual with a wry sense of humor against some of the most interesting figures of the day. Best of all, the Cavett sets include entire episodes of the 90-minute shows, not just edited segments featuring the marketable stars. This set includes episodes in which Cavett interviewed some of his comic heroes, including Groucho Marx (in his 80s and more than ever living up to his stage name), Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Bob Hope, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, the Smothers Brothers, Jack Benny, and George Burns. The four-disc set includes outtakes and new introductions by Cavett. Can someone tell me why, with the hundreds of channels of crap comprising cable viewing, this guy doesn’t have a current show somewhere?

—m.f.

NAKED WORLD (2003)—Documentary on artist Spencer Tunick, who makes a living getting mobs of people to pose naked. You may recall his project at Buffalo’s Central Terminal. You will be disappointed to learn that none of that footage is on this DVD.

WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS (1971)—Suffice to say that this saga of bikers and Satanists isn’t as good as its title, not even with the presence of Barry (“Eve of Destruction”) McGuire as a co-star.

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