DVD Picks & Pans for April Fools

Military.com - Tom Miller

Don't worry.  This is no trick.  In fact, the joke will be on those who overlook this week's selections: a classic sitcom from the early years of television and a brilliant adaptation of an international bestseller.  Enjoy.  No fooling.

"Father Knows Best: Season One," DVD-2008 ($34.99, Paramount Home Entertainment/ Shout Factory)

One of television's classic family comedies comes to DVD with this long overdue release.  The iconic series premiered in 1954 and ended 203 episodes later in 1960.  Primetime reruns continued until 1963.  ABC, TBS, and CBN syndicated the show for decades, and more recently, it has shown up on TV Land.  Popular with viewers and critics, the series was consistently rated among the top-ten programs and won six Emmy awards including Best Actor (Robert Young) and Best Actress (Jane Wyatt).

A baby-boomer staple and a reflection of its setting in the more conservative 1950s, the series takes a light-hearted look at the foibles of Midwestern, middle-class family life.   Jim Anderson (Robert Young), a successful insurance agent, is the father, and Margaret (Jane Wyatt), is his perfectly-coiffed stay-at-home wife and Mom that was the post-war ideal.  The statistically-correct three children include 17-year-old Betty, a.k.a. Princess (Elinor Donahue); 14-year-old Bud; and 9-year-old Kathy, a.k.a. Kitten (Lauren Chapin). 

The relatively uncomplicated plots—usually involving the children—always ended happily and with the appropriate lessons learned.  The series certainly works as nostalgia, but surprisingly, it's not as quaint as one might expect and still has the capacity to entertain and even instruct.  

This set includes all twenty-six episodes from the first season on four discs. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include cast interviews; Robert Young's home movies; "Behind the Scenes" footage; "24 Hours in Tyrantland," a special episode created for the U.S. government; and "Window on Main Street," the pilot episode of Robert Young's next series.)
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"The Kite Runner," DVD-2008 ($29.99, Paramount Home Entertainment/Dreamworks)

Director Marc Forster ("Monster's Ball,") succeeds brilliantly in adapting novelist Khaled Hosseini's critically-acclaimed eponymous epic to the big screen.

The film tracks the life of a privileged Afghan boy, Amir (played by Khalid Abdalla as an adult) from his youth in Kabul and his desperate escape following the Soviet invasion in 1979 to his return in 2000 during the Taliban's brutal reign of terror. 

The movie is divided into three parts.  The first and longest, set in 1978, introduces twelve-year-old Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and his faithful companion/servant Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada).  Amir's prosperous family is from the dominant Pashtun tribe while Hassan is from the minority Hazara tribe.  Despite all his advantages, Amir is desperate for his father's approval and resents Hassan's athleticism and courage.

When Hassan is sodomized by a gang of older boys, Amir watches from hiding but does nothing to help his friend.  Amir later compounds his shame by falsely accusing Hassan of theft and driving away his family.

The second, shorter, section of the film traces Amir and his father's immigrant life in San Francisco following their flight from Afghanistan.  His once-affluent, but still proud, father works in a gas station while Amir works at becoming a writer. 

The final, climactic part of the film follows Amir as he returns to Afghanistan to seek atonement. 

Forster and screenwriter David Benioff ("Troy") are largely faithful to Hosseini's novel, and the film eloquently captures its poignancy.  The mostly unknown cast is excellent—especially Ebrahimi and Hahmoodzada. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include commentary with Marc Forster, Khaled Hosseini, and David Benioff; the theatrical trailer; and two featurettes: "Words from The Kite Runner," and "Images from The Kite Runner.)
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PAPERBACK TIP:  Once you've seen "The Kite Runner" movie, you might check out Hosseini's best-selling novel.  A paperback edition is available from Riverhead Books for $15.  (ISBN: 978-1-5944-8000-3)                         

Like his main character, Hosseini grew up in Kabul and fled to America in the wake of the Russian invasion.  The Kite Runner was his first novel.  While the movie is mostly faithful to the book—and its story of betrayal and redemption—the novel, as is usually the case, is much richer and more complex.  With 4 million copies in print worldwide and a critically-acclaimed film, The Kite Runner is a modern classic.
 
Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was published in 2007.  Like The Kite Runner, it is set in Afghanistan and examines the often-cruel fate of Afghan women in a male-dominated culture.
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Military.com Picks & Pans Rating Scale

* Pan—Save your money & time
** Borderline Pick—Okay but only as a last resort
*** Pick—Worthwhile & enjoyable
****Enthusiastic Pick—Excellent

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller