“The Bourne Identity: Explosive Extended Edition”If you’re worried about anti-American sentiment overseas, just consider what Jason Bourne has to go through. Wherever he turns, antagonists are ready to assassinate him. And he really isn’t sure what he did to tick everybody off, or what to do about it.
“The Bourne Identity” is chock full of international intrigue and spectacular action, like author Robert Ludlum intended it to be when he penned the original novel. Matt Damon takes on the role of Bourne, a government hit man who washes up on a boat one evening with no recollection of how he got there or why he was left for dead. From there, he sets out to make sense of his current situation, but he runs into quite a bit of resistance from folks who would rather see him disappear.
As espionage thrillers go, “The Bourne Identity” is top notch. Damon, with his mixture of boyish vulnerability and steely determination, is ideal for the lead in this franchise. The picture captures the scope, texture and tone of a grand-scale action thriller.
One drawback in the storytelling is that annoying producers’ habit of cramming as much exposition as possible into early scenes so the audience doesn’t get confused. A better way to go would have been to let the audience find out information as Bourne discovers it, but that would have meant treating movie-goers like adults. But this is an action ride first and foremost, so naturally narrative concerns took a back seat.
“The Bourne Identity” is out in an “Explosive Extended Edition” to coincide with the release of the series’ second installment, “The Bourne Supremacy, “ which opens Friday. The “Identity” DVD is stuffed with extras. There are interviews with Damon and co-star Franka Potente; deleted scenes; an alternate opening and ending that would have bookended the story with a different twist; a segment called “Inside a Fight Scene” in which Damon learns martial arts, Hollywood style; and another piece called “Cloak and Dagger: Covert Ops,” in which CIA liaison Chase Brandon explains the training and duties of a spy.
In all, “The Bourne Identity” DVD is a successful combination of satisfying feature film mixed with special goodies that inform and entertain but don’t overwhelm with needless drivel.
Check out this special feature: There is a mini-doc called “The Bourne Mastermind,” which tells the story of Ludlum through interviews with friends and associates as well as some old clips of the author himself. He began as an actor, couldn’t make a living at that, tried his hand at writing and became an instant success. Rarely do DVDs give enough credit to the creator of the source material, and obviously in this case Ludlum was too much of a world heavyweight to ignore. Good decision.
Universal Home Video, $29.98
“The Human Stain”
There have been countless stories involving college professors having affairs with younger women, but in “The Human Stain,” Coleman Silk is anything but run-of-the-mill. His past contains a secret, and it lies at the center of Philip Roth’s novel of passion and tragedy.
Robert Benton, who won two Oscars for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and another for “Places in the Heart,” directs the screen adaptation of this sad but somewhat farfetched tale. Anthony Hopkins is excellent as Coleman, who stalks out of a disciplinary hearing at his college after a charge of bias comes out of left field and threatens his career. Nicole Kidman is also convincing as the tormented and down-on-her-luck Faunia, with whom Coleman finds what he believes is the last love of his life. And Ed Harris shines as Lester, Faunia’s off-kilter ex-husband.
But the entire production revolves around the secret, and therein lies the problem. It is a difficult morsel of information to digest, despite the fact that it may have been loosely based on an actual case. The casting of Hopkins only adds to the head-scratching. The film alternates between the present and past, but the flashback sequences — while done skillfully and intelligently — are clichéd and much less captivating than the present-day action.
The DVD is a simple package of movie plus two extras. The first is a brief behind-the-scenes special, including interviews with Benton, Hopkins, Kidman and an actor named Wentworth Miller, who only has a handful of credits but figures to be a recognizable name in a few years. The featurette concentrates more on the participants’ feelings about the material and not enough on the nuts and bolts of the production.
There is also a short tribute to the cinematographer, Jean Yves Escoffier, who died of heart failure last year. Escoffier, who shot “Good Will Hunting” and “Nurse Betty” among others, was obviously loved by the filmmakers here, but the tribute consists solely of visuals and no spoken testimonials, which would have illuminated his life for those unfamiliar with his work.
“The Human Stain” is a valiant attempt at creating a noble work and is worth viewing for that alone.
Miramax Home Video, $29.99
“Port of Shadows”
A mysterious soldier walking down a country lane late at night flags down a truck and hitches a ride. He is aimless, adrift and carrying the weight of the world, or at least his little share of it. The ride ends up in the French port of Le Havre, where he finds fleeting love and his ultimate destiny.
“Port of Shadows” was written by Jacques Prevert and directed by Marcel Carne. When it was released in 1938, it caused an uproar, not so much because the storyline mirrored actual events but rather for the dark and fatalistic tone. At a time when the Nazis were revving up their war machine in Europe, “Port of Shadows” was viewed by many as a depressing portent of France’s fate.
Jean Gabin plays Jean, the cynical soldier who deserts rather than participate in a lost cause. Michele Morgan is Nelly, a young woman mixed up with local hoods and menaced by a nefarious guardian who falls for Jean. And then there is Kiki, a mongrel fox terrier who attaches himself to Jean until events conspire to separate them.
“Port of Shadows” is another classic release cleaned up and packaged by Criterion Collection. Ordinarily, their DVDs contain enough extras to fill a semester at your local film school. Although the feature itself is poetically written, beautifully directed and one of the landmark works of French cinema in and around World War II, there is nothing in the way of special features save for a gallery of stills and posters and a 32-page booklet about the movie itself with excerpts from Carne’s autobiography.
While the disk won’t go down as a memorable work, the film certainly will.
Criterion Collection, $29.95
