"Actor: Willard Cox"

• Robocop Trilogy | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-7.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £32.99

  Paul Verhoeven was almost unknown in Hollywood prior to the release of RoboCop in 1987. But after this ultra-violent yet strangely subversive and satirical sci-fi picture became a huge hit his reputation for extravagant and excessive, yet superbly well-crafted filmmaking was assured. Controversial as ever, Verhoeven saw the blue-collar cop (Peter Weller) who is transformed into an invincible cyborg as "an American Jesus with a gun", and so the film dabbles with death and resurrection imagery as well as mercilessly satirising Reagan-era America. No targets escape Verhoeven's unflinching camera eye, from yuppie excess and corporate backstabbing to rampant consumerism and vacuous media personalities. As with his later sci-fi satire Starship Troopers the extremely bloody violence resolutely remains on the same level as a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The inevitable sequel, competently directed by Irvin Kershner, thankfully continues to mine the dark vein of anti-consumerist satire while being reflexively aware that it is itself a shining example of that which it is lampooning. Sadly the third instalment in the series, now without Peter Weller in the title role, is exactly the kind of dumbed-down production-line flick that the corporate suits of OCP might have dreamed up at a marketing meeting. Its only virtue is a decent music score from regular Verhoeven collaborator Basil Poledouris, whose splendid march theme returned from the original score. On the DVD: Packaged in a fold-out slipcase these three discs make a very collectable set. All are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic prints, although only the first movie has any extra material worth mentioning. Here the Director's Cut option allows the viewer to see Paul Verhoeven's more explicitly violent versions of Murphy's "assassination", ED-209's bloody malfunction and the shootout finale. These extended sequences are handily signposted in the scene selection menu, and the filming of them can be seen in a sequence of Director's Cut footage. Deleted scenes include "Topless Pizza" ("I'll buy that for a dollar!") and there are two contemporary "making of" featurettes plus a good, new half-hour retrospective. Both the latter and the director's commentary make abundantly clear the Reagan-era satire and are chock full of quotable lines from Verhoeven--"I wanted to show Satan killing Jesus"--and his producer--"Fascism for liberals". Stop-motion animator Phil Tippett gives a commentary on the storyboard-to-film comparisons, and there are the usual trailers and photos. Showing just how much the sequels are rated in comparison, the second and third discs have nothing but theatrical trailers and their sound is just Dolby 2.0 whereas the original movie has been remastered into Dolby 5.1.--Mark Walker

• Down From The Mountain | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £14.54   |  Saving you £5.45 (37.48%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Down from the Mountain is a treasurable record of a unique event: a live concert from Nashville featuring the artists and songs from the Coen Brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Anyone who was delighted by that enchanting film and its traditional Americana soundtrack will find this concert an irresistible delight. It's not just a rehashing of the songs from the film, however, but an opportunity for some of the finest names in Bluegrass to perform a variety of traditional songs. Here we have Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris playing separately before coming together for an a cappella rendition of "(Didn't Leave) Nobody but the Baby". Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley chills the spine with his lonesome "O Death", while bluesman Chris Thomas King wails "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'". There are other marvellous performances from old-timey stalwarts The Cox Family and The Whites, more Gospel-infused singing from the Fairfield Four, and impressively authentic fiddling from John Hartford. Oddly, the only song not to be heard is the original film's standout item, "Man of Constant Sorrow". The concert is also available on CD. On the DVD: The disc's packaging is misleading, as it only lists 12 songs when there are several more in the concert, all of which are listed and can be accessed from the menu. There's a good 25-minute backstage documentary also included, plus some liner notes from the Coens. --Mark Walker