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The DVD: I've said it before and I'll say it again. I genuinely like whenever a company strays from the norm and takes the format in a new direction. Recently, DVD magazines have begun to take off, and Film Fest is the latest entry that I've had the pleasure to look at. I say "pleasure", because I really found this to be a pleasure to watch. The disc even opens with fun, energetic menus that brought me in - I instantly wanted to venture further. When I ventured further, I found a lot to like. The first section I started in was the last section, "coming soon". I jumped to a movie that I've been interested in seeing, director James Tobiack's controversial "Black and White". The menu opens up with a "film-frame". At four corners of the frame are A,B,C and D - all of these are clips from the movie, running 30 seconds - 2 minutes in length, and letterboxed. Also included in this section is "Ghost Dog", which includes the trailer for the film - and "Onegin" and "East Is East", which both are set up similar to "Black And White"'s section. So far, so good. Next up was the second to last section, "Interviews". This section starts off with Jim Jarmusch, who is very funny in his interview, talking about working with Spike Lee. He talks about his thoughts on film festivals in general, and his viewpoint on things like competition and financing is very interesting to listen to. Director Errol Morris is next, sharing his thoughts on new media and technology and how that plays a role in a new style and fashion of filmmaking. The final interview is with Randal Harris and actor Harry Connick, Jr., who talk about their film "Wayward Son", and how the project came to being. Next up was "festival shorts", and it was here where I became even more impressed with what this disc had to offer. First, I took a look at the 40 minute short, "Dolphins". Although it took me a little while to get into the short, the story revolves around a young woman who spends her days in a hospital using her imagination to free herself, if only for a moment. Well acted and gorgeously photographed, the cast and crew involved hae a very bright future. Also included in this section are "Desserts", a small short with "Trainspotting"'s Ewan McGregor, as well as "When The Day Breaks" and "The Robber". The first section in the menu is the last section I'm going to take a look at - "Features" is a couple of featurettes on film festivals. First up is "Toronto", where we get very short clips from many of the actors and directors involved who get a chance to introduce their picture. The other "festival entry" is for Chile's fest, and the final short documentary is on new director Kevin Jordan. Video and audio are absolutely fine - some of the clips are letterboxed, and some of the documentaries are film frame. All of them are consistently very good in quality; clean, crisp images that are problem free. Audio is pretty basic, but I wasn't expecting anything intense from these featurettes. After finishing up looking through all of the material (there's 130 minutes of stuff!), I was curious as to the price of this disc. I was really suprised that it was $14.95 - you definitely get your money's worth here. Cool features, very nice menus and solid programs. I'm very pleased with the first edition of the series that I've reviewed and I'm looking forward to seeing more in the future. Grade:A- BACK TO THE SITE: Listing Of DVD Special Sales Back To A Guide To Current Film A List Of Current/Upcoming DVD For Sale Soundtracks For Current Films |