Reviews: DVD

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Directed by Chris Columbus, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman

Drawing an audience to this adaptation of a mega-book was never a worry; the concern was how Harry-heads would react to what director Chris Columbus did with J.K. Rowling's bestseller. After all, Columbus is the guy who wrote Gremlins, a nasty little kiddies' flick enjoyed by adults. On the other hand he directed Mrs Doubtfire, a more adult film so saccharine that perhaps only a child could stomach it.

And here we get glimpses of both: a few touches of darkness in an otherwise overwhelmingly bright jaunt into the magical world of Hogwarts. Before we reach the wizards' boarding school we are introduced to the most entertaining characters of the series Harry's awful adopted muggle family. In fact, the bad guys are the most fun to watch throughout, whether they are the young Drako Malfoy (Tom Felton) or the sneering Professor Snape (Alan Rickman).

The heroic trio: Harry, Hermione and Ron are less engaging, simply because they spend much of the time reacting to others' revelations. They will become far more interesting as the series develops and hormones set in.

The special effects in sequences such as the Qudditch match are far from convincing and as for the ending, it's anti-climactic due to a second rate stand-off with a poorly sketched-out villain. He's what Austin Powers's Dr. Evil would refer to "evil-lite".

Ben Davey

Pride

Directed by John Downer, voices by Kate Winslet, Sean Bean, Helen Mirren

This unique doco-drama reveals the daily lives of a pride of lions in a very human way, by adding voiceovers by well-known Hollywood actors. Although the story is targeted at children, adults will find value in the wonderful footage of lions roaming in their African habitat. Director John Downer, one of the world's leading nature film makers, is right in saying the film is more biologically accurate than Disney's The Lion King.

Suki (voiced by Kate Winslet) decides to become a vegetarian against the wishes of her mother Macheeba (Helen Mirren). The young lioness then runs away with a majestic wanderer named Dark (Sean Bean), who wants to capture the fertile lands controlled by Suki's own pride.

The documentary feel is provided by the Boulder-Cam, which allows the viewer to get up close and personal to the lions. The film is rather sophisticated for young viewers, who may not be able to distinguish between the cutesy dialogue and the shots of lions chomping on animal carcasses.

Liu Jun

The Night Porter

Directed by Liliana Cavani, starring Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling

A Nazi concentration camp survivor re-encounters her former tormentor, who is now a night porter in a Vienna hotel. In a bizarre twist, the two still hold affection for each other. The flashbacks of their common memories of beatings, rape and humiliation all now seem sweet.

For me, this 118-minute movie turns out to be a piece of junk packaged in classy visual styles.

It does present some gruesome but novel scenes of the concentration camp life, such as when the girl dresses only in Nazi uniform trousers and a hat, and sings in her sweetly harsh voice for the officers. However there is no insight into the history of their relationship, nor a convincing explanation for the characters' sadistic and masochistic complexes.

It may satisfy one's curiosity about what may have happened between a young woman and a Nazi officer in a concentration camp, but it fails to show deeper insight into this complex and tangled relationship.

Liu Wei

(China Daily 04/18/2007 page20)