DVD Reviews - D-G

Directed by Doug Liman, Fair Game is part political thriller, part marital drama.

A review of 'Howl' on DVD.

In 1984 the BBC aired for the first time an engrossing and enlightening six-hour miniseries titled Freud that chronicled the life of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Now that miniseries comes to Region 1 DVD, which means the discs can be played in the United States and Canada using standard equipment.

Nominated for three Academy Awards — Best Picture, Best Actress (Carey Mulligan) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Nick Hornby) — An Education (2009) is a charming British independent film. Carey Mulligan is brilliant in the role of the teenage protagonist, and she is supported by a fine cast that includes Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike and Emma Thompson.

A review of the movie on DVD.

A review of the movie on DVD.

What might happen if a pair of professional spies fell in love with each other? Writer-director Tony Gilroy offers a possible answer to that question in Duplicity, a sophisticated, droll combination of offbeat love story and caper film.

The year 1989 saw the theatrical release of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, arguably the best film ever made about race relations in America. In 2001 Criterion Collection put out an excellent two-disc DVD set containing the movie and a generous selection of bonus materials.

"Get off my lawn," snarls Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) in the highly entertaining Gran Torino (2008). Walt is a lonely, alienated, cantankerous retired autoworker whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino.

The 1992 movie Enchanted April is being released on DVD for the first time. Read a review of the movie on DVD.

This moviewas nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Ron Howard), Best Actor (Frank Langella) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Morgan).

Four actors in Doubt (received Academy Award nominations for their performances: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis.

Although Frozen River isn't downbeat, it is almost unrelentingly gritty.

In Encounters at the End of the World, Werner Herzog adds yet another splendid film to his impressive body of work.

Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale in the dual roles of Batman and Bruce Wayne, The Dark Knight (2008) is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005).

From the Judd Apatow laugh factory, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) is a funny, heartfelt comedy that I enjoyed even more than The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

'The Godfather — The Coppola Restoration' is a five-disc DVD set containing all three Godfather movies.

An inventive, one-of-a-kind film featuring architectural wonders, marvelous landscapes and exotic visual images, The Fall (2006) was created by Tarsem, a longtime director of commercials and music videos.

In Brand Upon the Brain! (2006), filmmaker Guy Maddin takes a mesmerizing autobiographical look at himself at age 12.

A visual delight, Diva was innovative when it was released in 1981 and is still fun to watch today. This is a movie that has panache.

An emotionally engaging and often cinematically dazzling adaptation of Jean-Dominique Bauby's 1997 memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was nominated for four Academy Awards: directing, cinematography, editing and screenplay.

Directed by David Cronenberg, this thriller stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts.

An unusual World War II movie, Days of Glory was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Read a review of Days of Glory on DVD.

Read a review of this movie on DVD.

A review of this movie on DVD.

A review of the movie on DVD.

A franchise reboot with a new incarnation of James Bond, Casino Royale offers top-notch entertainment with something for everyone.

Downfall was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Read a full-length review of this movie on DVD.

Read a DVD review of a great classic Hollywood movie and a seminal film noir.

Ivana Redwine reviews the 75th Anniversary Edition DVD.

A DVD review of this classic movie.

In Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, writer-director Alex Gibney gives his version of the story, and I would describe his film as an op-ed piece. I found it to be one of the most informative, thought-provoking and entertaining documentaries I have ever seen.

A review of this movie on DVD.

One of the most unusual English-language movies of recent years, Factotum (2005) avoids Hollywood and Sundance clichés. This low-keyed, wry character study not only made me laugh out loud, it moved me.

This is a feature-length film that expresses Michael Moore's highly opinionated view of the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War.

I've heard Bergman films compared to musical compositions, and many of his movies are small and somewhat similar to chamber pieces. But Fanny & Alexander is a big film that is more like a symphony for a large orchestra and chorus.

The year 2006 saw the release of a pair of complementary films directed by Clint Eastwood: Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. Both center around the bloody and pivotal Battle of Iwo Jima that was fought over a period of 40 days in February and March of 1945.

A review of the Criterion Collection two-disc DVD set containing two movies by legendary Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu.

The iconic horror classic features an unforgettable performance by Boris Karloff and was given a memorable visual style by director James Whale. Read a DVD review of the 75th Anniversary Edition of Frankenstein.

A prairie town whose main cultural feature is a big football stadium. That's the image given in the movie Friday Night Lights of its principal setting: Odessa, Texas. Read more...

A review of this movie on DVD.

Read a review of Ghost World and find out more about this fascinating film on DVD.

I love sparkling dialogue delivered by top-notch actors, and that's what you get when you watch Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). Read a review of this movie on DVD.

A review of this movie on DVD.

This taut drama was nominated for six Academy Awards, and it's my idea of a nearly perfect little movie. Read a review of the movie Good Night, and Good Luck on DVD.

Read a review of this movie on DVD.

Read a review of "Gunner Palace" on DVD.

The Departed is a dazzling crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese that is one of his best films in years.

Based on the best-selling novel by Laura Weisenberg, The Devil Wears Prada (2006) is a cheerful, upbeat film that mostly provides pleasant diversion. The best thing about it is that, in a supporting role, Meryl Streep creates an unforgettable character as the boss from hell.

Home Video / DVD Guide Ivana Redwine reviews The Double Life of Véronique on DVD.

Directed by Robert De Niro, The Good Shepherd is an intricate, noirish character study about the origins and early years of the CIA. This is a lengthy, deliberately paced film that appeals more to the intellect than to the emotions.

Director Paul Greengrass and actor Matt Damon previously teamed up to make The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, and they are reunited in Green Zone (2010), a thriller set in 2003 Baghdad. This is a big-budget movie that does a terrific job of looking realistic. The film embeds lots of action in a fictional story set against a factual backdrop.

The late Swedish author Stieg Larsson wrote a series of three novels collectively known as the Millennium Trilogy. The books have been made into three Swedish-language films that have already been released in many countries, and the movie under discussion here — the first in that series — is known in English as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009). An American version of this movie, which w…

If you sometimes like to read literary fiction, you'll probably want to see Greenberg (2010), an indie comedy-drama co-written and directed by Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding). The title character and not-particularly-likable protagonist of Greenberg is played by Ben Stiller in an outstanding performance, although fans of this actor who think of him in terms of mains…

The Ghost Writer DVD review, including a review of The Ghost Writer the movie, DVD details and bonus materials. Read Ivana Redwines review of the The Ghost Writer DVD.

DVD Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire

'Exit Through the Gift Shop' has an engaging and satisfying narrative which is certainly partly true, but probably partly invented. Read a review of 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' on DVD.

A review of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest on DVD.

Nominated for Best Picture and six other Academy Awards, The Fighter (2010) is a well-acted, well-crafted, old-fashioned, feel-good entertainment that has humor and heart.