Shirley Valentine goes to Venice in this sparkling, madcap Italian farce. While fishing around for some lost jewelry in a rest stop toilet while on holiday with her family, Pescara housewife Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) is left behind by the tour bus. This prompts a hitchhiking trip to Venice -- which she’s never seen -- and an extended break from her comically distressed husband and two sons that becomes a warm and funny search for self. Her new acquaintances include a mysterious Icelandic waiter who speaks flowery Italian, an overweight plumber-turned-private detective, a holistic beautician -- and a series of realistic dreams that may or may not point her in the right direction. Working from a nuanced and calibrated script, director Silvio Soldani has created a benevolently wacky world of self-discovery and circumstance, and drawn from former art-film mainstay Bruno Ganz one of his most whimsically appealing performances in years. "Guess where I am?" Rosalba says breathlessly at one point, and the obvious answer is on her way to a better and more peaceful place.

One way to look at the bounty of movies released in 2001 is that it was such a good year for adventurous, risk-taking independents that among the very best of them got lost in the shuffle. Certainly that’s the case with the spooky and intermittently terrifying Donnie Darko, the noteworthy debut of talented writer-director Richard Kelly. In 1988 Virginia, the title character (played to creepy perfection by Jake Gyllenhaal) is haunted by bizarre hallucinations while dealing with his semi-functional family and the usual complement of flaky friends and nemeses. The special effects are unexpectedly elaborate for such a fiercely independent work, and feature such startling images as the engine of a jetliner crashing through the roof of a suburban house and a six-foot rabbit with what looks like a bug’s mask that only our hero can see (it’s Harvey gone amuck). It’s oddball worldview massaged by a superb pop-Goth score and just-right stunt casting (co-producer Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle pop up in supporting roles), Donnie Darko is among the year’s most audacious, confident movies. The Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD is a bounty for the fan, supplementing the feature with numerous extended and/or deleted scenes, commentary tracks from Kelly and a gaggle of giggly actors, some of Swayze’s infomercials and that terrific music video for the acoustic version of "Mad World."

In rural North Carolina, five black and white kids in their early teens interact with each other over the course of a summer, learning the necessary adolescent lessons of life, love, poverty and death. As beautiful, perceptive and confounding as the best arthouse movie can -- and should -- be, 25-year-old David Gordon Green’s poetic, widescreen, visually lush American independent film George Washington is a thrilling directorial debut and one of the few contemporary titles to be given the Criterion Collection treatment of late (see In the Mood for Love, below). The set includes a six-page fold-out booklet with an insightful essay from critic Armond White and a director’s statement from Green; a commentary track featuring the director, cinematographer Tim Orr and actor Paul Schneider; a deleted scene; a pair of Green’s early student short films and actor Clu Gulager’s 1969 short A Day with the Boys (which heavily influenced George Washington); Charlie Rose’s TV interview with Green; and a September 15, 2001 cast reunion in North Carolina during which Green interviews his young stars about the experience of making the movie.

"Everyone needs money. That’s why they call it money." From the daring daylight jewel robbery that opens writer-director David Mamet’s Heist to the multilayered double-crosses that conclude it, this is one tough, terse, satisfying caper movie. "Burnt" by inadvertently showing up on a surveillance camera during a job, Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) decides to get out of the thieving business with wife Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon) and sail south from Boston to warmer climes. Described admiringly by confederate Pincus (Mamet regular Ricky Jay) as "so cool that when he goes to sleep sheep count him," Joe nevertheless becomes involved in a battle of wills and wits with local boss Bergman (Danny DeVito), and can only extricate himself with the help of trusted cohort Bobby Blane (Delroy Lindo). With Montreal standing in nicely for Boston and everybody into the spirit of the con (though Hackman’s delivery seems hesitant, a testament to Mamet’s precise phrasing), Heist is smart and satisfying. Though the Warner Home Video DVD has no extras save a trailer and biographies of the cast and crew, the letterboxed image is sharp and Theodore Shapiro’s appropriately muscular score is one of the year’s best.

In 1962 Hong Kong, Mr. Chow (Leung Chiu-Wai, aka Tony Leung) and Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung), upon discovering their respective spouses are having an affair with each other, drift together but largely ignore their growing love. A vague sequel to Days of the Being Wild, director Wong Kar-Wai’s 1990 sophomore effort and the movie that put him on the international map (he also directed the better-known Chungking Express), In the Mood for Love is a masterpiece of romantic longing and hallucinatory repression. Release number 147 in the distinguished Criterion Collection is special for a number of reasons. First, the imprint hardly ever handles contemporary films (see George Washington, above). Second, the extras on this two-disc set give new meaning to the word "lavish": in addition to a 48-page booklet (!!!) featuring the short story that inspired the film, the package features four deleted scenes (three with director commentary), a Wong Kar-Wai short film about past Chinese film stars and his documentary on this production, the Toronto festival press conference featuring all the principals, and much more. A new benchmark for foreign film presentation on DVD, In the Mood for Love is an essential addition to the serious DVD collection.

A man calling himself Prot (Kevin Spacey) announces that he’s from the title planet ("but don’t worry, I’m not going to leap out of your chest"), much to the consternation of psychiatrist Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges). While the ambiguous nature of the proceedings give K-PAX a feel of mischievous mystery, this gambit’s been done before: it’s out of print and hard to find, but grabbing a used copy of Eliseo Subiela’s 1986 Argentine film Man Facing Southeast will be a real eye-opener. Neither K-PAX screenwriter Charles Leavitt nor source novelist Gene Brewer admits to being inspired (or even influenced) by the earlier work, though it strains credibility to imagine the entire thing’s a coincidence. Universal’s DVD edition includes a commentary track from director Iain Softley, a production featurette laced with interviews, an alternate ending and deleted scenes.

Essaying no less than three roles in this SFX-filled futuristic actioner, Jet Li stars primarily as nice-guy Los Angeles sheriff Gabe, who is hunted by the superhumanly strong and murderous Yulaw (also played by Jet Li). See, as the prologue intones, there are 124 separate universes (Bush is president in one, Gore in another), and Yulaw, in a quest to become God-like, is killing off his parallel selves one by one. Got that? In truth, The One is a terrific rental for those times when you’re looking for just the right cross between The Terminator and The Matrix. The One was cooked up by former "X-Files" and "Millennium" writer-producer-directors James Wong (the helmer of record here) and Glen Morgan, who have co-written a script peppered with intriguing made-up buzzwords and phrases like "multiverse" and "illegal quantum tunneling" yet cumulatively nonsensical enough to provide the succession of clichéd but peppy fight scenes necessary for that couch potato action fix. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment’s classy DVD package includes an informative four-page brochure, the option of fullframe or widescreen versions, production featurettes and commentary from Wong and select crew members.

While in a lazy, pampered Spanish retirement, former gangster Gary "Gal" Dove (Ray Winstone) is rudely pulled back to England for one last job by vicious, raging psychopath Don Logan (Ben Kingsley, Oscar nominated). Director Jonathan Glazer has called his approach to this provocative material "neon noir," and his spacy, non-linear approach to pace and rhythm (note the opening sequence, cut and scored to The Stranglers’ 1977 ode to suntanning, "Peaches") creates a palpable sense of unpredictability that meshes nicely with the erratic tempers of the ruthless characters on display. Kingsley affects what might be called a Shakespearean Cockney accent in his completely mad reading of the demonic, hair-trigger Logan, giving one of the year’s most memorable and fearful performances. The CBS/Fox Home Video DVD edition includes commentary from Kingsley and veteran producer Jeremy Thomas, as well as a production featurette and the usual scattering of trailers and TV spots.

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Training Day USA, 2001, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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Should Denzel Washington actually wrest the Best Actor Oscar from favorite Russell Crowe, it won’t be for the overall quality of director Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day. Rather, Academy voters have always had a soft spot for actors and actresses who play physically afflicted and/or against type, and you can’t get much further against type in the canon of nice-guy Washington than overtly corrupt Los Angeles police detective Alonzo Harris. See, it’s the first day on the job for idealistic new rookie partner Jake (Ethan Hawke), so Harris shows him the ropes… While there’s an undeniable thrill to watching Washington play a remorseless bad-ass, the movie around him isn’t much to, uh, crow about, a pedestrian genre piece elevated by its central performance. The Warner DVD includes Fuqua’s commentary track, an alternate ending, bonus footage, a behind-the-scenes documentary and two soundtrack music videos.

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Beyond the A List

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Boxcar Bertha USA, 1972, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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In Depression-era America, the title character (Barbara Hershey) rides the rails with a motley collection of fellow travelers, including Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine), hustler Barry Primus and hobo Bernie Casey (who later played the patient teacher in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure). Martin Scorsese’s first mainstream feature was made for the late Samuel Z. Arkoff’s American International Pictures, which also gave early breaks to the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich and a raft of other talents now firmly ensconced in the movie business. And while the budget is painfully low and much of it is remarkably naïve, there is in Boxcar Bertha a nascient auteurism apparent, a promise just out of reach that would later explode on the scene with the vivid Mean Streets. The MGM Home Entertainment DVD edition of the film (amusingly presented under the banner "AVANT-GARDE CINEMA") has no extras save a vintage theatrical trailer, although the print quality is surprisingly good.

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Mr. Sardonicus USA, 1961, Released 3.12.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
Homicidal USA, 1961, Released 3.12.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
Strait-Jacket USA, 1963, Released 3.12.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO

One of the great showmen in the history of horror films, cigar-chomping producer-director William Castle surfed the available zeitgeist of the day (that’s why they were called exploitation films) and was known for such legendary theatrical gimmicks as wiring selected cinema seats for mild jolts of electricity during the immortal Vincent Price vehicle The Tingler. This trio of cheerfully cheesy releases from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, available separately, display the method to his madness. Castle offered audiences a chance to vote on the fate of the reclusive title character in Mr. Sardonicus via a "punishment poll"; according to legend, however, only one ending was filmed. A cheerful ripoff of Hitchcock’s then-new Psycho, Homicidal is introduced by Castle himself and offers patrons a "fright break" during which they could leave if the so-so story freaked them out. Generally considered to be the best of the so-called "Baby Jane" cycle of mid-1960s gothic horror vehicles for aging distaff Hollywood stars, Strait-Jacket (with a script by Psycho scribe Robert Bloch) stars Joan Crawford as an ax murderer whose release from the rubber room after two decades begins another round of mysterious deaths. Each disc is accompanied by newly-produced production featurettes (the one on Homicidal is called "Psychette"), and fans of Crawford will jump at the chance to see her costume and make-up tests. The remastering jobs on each film are gratifyingly good, with Mr. Sardonicus and Strait-Jacket offered in their original widescreen presentations (for some reason, Homicidal has been modified to fullframe).

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New Fist of Fury Xin-ching-wu men USA, 1976, Released 9.25.01 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
To Kill with Intrigue Jian hua yan yu jiang nan USA, 1977, Released 9.25.01 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin She hao ba bu USA, 1978, Released 9.25.01 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO

Now that he’s a commercially viable force in American entertainment, the extensive filmography of the one and only Jackie Chan is being cleaned up and trotted out for discovery by a new generation of moviegoers. Most of his recent titles get the dubbed theatrical treatment, while others, like this trio of early successes for the martial arts star, are going straight to home video in new editions that preserve their original aspect ratios. In New Fist of Fury (a loose sequel to the 1972 Bruce Lee film Fist of Fury), Chan’s Ching Wu kung fu school is taken over during Japan’s occupation of Taiwan, and a festy young woman helps him win it back. Wearing a more elaborate wig and makeup than his usual thick bowl cut, Chan plays young master Cao Le in the costumer To Kill with Intrigue, and he spends most of the movie trying to reclaim the pregnant girlfriend he’s chased away to spare her life. Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin features credited "Jacky" Chan in the more sinister role of suspected murderer Hsu Yiu Fong, and is prized by some fans for being a far cry from the star’s affable persona. Long-time Chan collaborator Lo Wei directed New Fist of Fury and To Kill with Intrigue, while Chi-Hwa Chen directed Snake & Crane. All three films have been cleaned up admirably by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, and are presented in widescreen transfers with tinted electronic English subtitles. Extras are limited to language selection and trailers. These are very different than Chan’s newer and more sleekly tooled efforts, but offer a fascinating look at an immensely talented performer feeling his way towards an onscreen persona. Coming April 2 from CTSHE is the great Jackie vehicle Drunken Master.

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Conspiracy USA, 2001, Released 3.12.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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On January 20, 1942, fifteen midlevel managers of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi war machine met for a conference in a Berlin suburb called Wannsee. Lasting less than ninety minutes, organized by SS Major Adolf Eichmann and presided over by security chief Reinhard Heydrich, the meeting had as its only subject the organization of the Nazi death camps that would eventually murder over six million Jews. Subject matter aside, veteran director Frank Pierson’s glossy HBO production of Conspiracy is a sharp and capable affair, with performances of ruthless efficiency from Kenneth Branagh as Heydrich and Stanley Tucci as Eichmann. Two very brief featurettes with interviews and set footage round out the DVD. Those interested in this ghastly subject may also want to track down director Heinz Schirk’s crisp 1984 German drama The Wannsee Conference (Wannseekonferenz); currently available on VHS only (there may also be some laserdisc copies floating around), it’s a realtime "performance" of the actual meeting itself--sans the background material employed in Conspiracy--that nevertheless also packs quite a punch.

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Adelheid Czechoslovakia, 1964, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
Lemonade Joe Limonadovy Joe aneb konska opera Czechoslovakia, 1964, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
Daises Sedmikrasky Czechoslovakia, 1966, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
Capricious Summer Capricious Summer Czechoslovakia, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO
The Joke Zert Czechoslovakia, 1968, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell	FULL REVIEW BUY VIDEO

This new sampling of films from the 1960s golden age of the Czechoslovak film industry offered by Facets Video is a gold mine of diverse productions that further enrich the luster of that magic period (often called the Czech Film Miracle or the Czech New Wave). The earliest example, director Frantisek Vlacil’s Adelheid (VHS only), is a rarely seen dramatic gem about a soldier returning from World War II and his struggle to adjust to life and love. The Czechoslovak film industry turned out numerous genre spoofs during this period, one of the best of which is the bouncy and surreal Lemonade Joe (VHS only); opening in the midst of a massive bar brawl, this action-packed, bizarrely-tinted comedy never lets up and is recommended to the uninitiated. Daisies (DVD and VHS) is an early stylistic workout and feminist farce from legendary director Vera Chytilova that puts to rest any notion of the industry at that time as repressive (that would come two or three years later). Among the handful of landmark films of the period, Jiri Menzel’s Capricious Summer (VHS only)--his follow-up to the Oscar-winning Closely Watched Trains--stars the director as a circus performer whose arrival with a beautiful assistant disrupts the resort vacation of three friends. Based on a novel by the great Milan Kundera ("The Unbearable Lightness of Being"), The Joke (DVD and VHS) was directed by Jaromil Jires and tells of a wry academic during the Stalinist 1950s who’s sentenced to six years in prison for writing a politically indiscreet postcard. All transfers are decent, and each title is available individually by visiting facets.org, which promises additional Czechoslovak films over the next year or two.

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The Evil Dead The Book of the Dead USA, 1982, Released 3.5.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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When a clean-cut group of young people disturb a dark and mysterious force while vacationing in the Tennessee backwoods (!!!), all hell breaks loose. Raw yet pivotal, Sam (Spider-Man) Raimi’s directorial debut retains much of its visceral punch today, due in large part to the particularly imaginative gore effects. While there have been many different incarnations of the film on various home media formats over the years, hard-core fans of the movie (as well as collectors of H.P. Lovecraft material and unique memorabilia in general) will want to add Anchor Bay’s latest pressing to their collection. The cover itself is a molded latex approximation of the evil book from the film (complete with an ear floating on the back), and it does feel remarkably like dry human skin. Inside, there’s a booklet with many of the same drawings from the Necronomicon featured in what passes for the plot. Oh yes, there’s a DVD too, featuring a cleaned up and letterboxed version of the film; separate commentary tracks from witty star Bruce Campbell and the pairing of Raimi and producer Robert Tappert; behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes; Campbell’s new 26-minute documentary Fanalysis; a featurette on the Evil Dead phenomenon and a smattering of trailers, promos, talent bios and a stills gallery.

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Himalaya France/Switzerland/UK, 1999, Released 3.5.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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In a remote Himalayan village, the death of the chief has a ripple effect that spreads to their very livelihood. Under the title Caravan, Himalaya was filmed over seven months in the spectacular Dolpo region of Nepal and surfaced as one of the final five in the 2000 Foreign Film Oscar sweepstakes. Kino on Video’s DVD edition of the film features a commentary track from director Eric Valli, a 26-minute production featurette, an electronic presskit, and a trailer. The film is presented in Tibetan with clear English subtitles.

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Juliet of the Spirits Giulietta degli spiriti Italy/France, 1965, Released 3.12.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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Neglected by her husband, Juliet (Giullietta Masina) flirts with temptation via a series of spectacular encounters with mediums, gurus and all manner of pretty people. Federico Fellini’s first color feature remains among his most vibrant, catching the eccentric Italian master during the pivotal years between his more fantasy-tinged social commentaries and the outright surrealistic carnival sideshows that marked his later years. Made at about the time he was receiving the Best Foreign Film Academy Award for 8 ½, Juliet of the Spirits has large dollops of thinly-veiled autobiography for those in the know; for those who aren’t, a sure signpost is that Masina was Fellini’s wife, and this was the first film they’d made together in seven years. The Criterion Collection’s stunning transfer is supplemented by Paris-based critic John Baxter’s perceptive essay on an eight-page fold-out brochure, a 19-minute interview clip with Fellini and questioner Ian Dallas and a theatrical trailer.

 

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Conspiracy USA, 2001, Released 3.12.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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On January 20, 1942, 15 midlevel managers of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi war machine met for a conference in a Berlin suburb called Wannsee. Lasting less than 90 minutes, organized by SS Major Adolf Eichmann and presided over by security chief Reinhard Heydrich, the meeting had as its only subject the organization of the Nazi death camps that would eventually murder over six million Jews. Subject matter aside, veteran director Frank Pierson’s glossy HBO production of Conspiracy is a sharp and capable affair, with performances of ruthless efficiency from Kenneth Branagh as Heydrich and Stanley Tucci as Eichmann. Two very brief featurettes with interviews and set footage round out the DVD. Those interested in this ghastly subject may also want to track down director Heinz Schirk’s crisp 1984 German drama The Wannsee Conference (Wannseekonferenz); currently available on VHS only (there may also be some laserdisc copies floating around), it’s a realtime "performance" of the actual meeting itself--sans the background material employed in Conspiracy--that nevertheless also packs quite a punch.

 

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Samurai Jack The Premiere Movie USA, 2001, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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In a series of bizarre yet unknown times and places, a trained warrior dubbed "Jack" by the locals does battle with the shape-shifting Aku--his nemesis from the distant past… "I’ve never seen a cartoon that has enough action to satisfy me," says thirty-one-year-old creator Genndy Tartakovsky in the 10-minute production featurette "Behind the Sword," just one of the bonus features on the Warners DVD showcasing this Cartoon Network hit’s 90-minute debut episode (an unseen 22-minute episode and evolutionary production sketches are the other major extras). Having cut his teeth by creating the show "Dexter’s Laboratory" and working for a time on "Powerpuff Girls," Tartakovsky decided to leave comedy behind in favor of the nearly silent action landscapes of "Jack," from which he drew heavily on Akira Kurosawa’s movies for inspiration (The Criterion Collection’s new DVD pressing of Rashomon will be reviewed in next month’s column). Jack is voiced by comedian/actor Phil LaMarr, with character vet Mako handling Aku (which means "evil" in Japanese). The show takes a minimalist approach to its animation, with bright colors vying for attention with the almost constant motion (mission accomplished for Tartakovsky). With its stoic hero and extraordinarily imaginative backgrounds, Samurai Jack is easily as engaging for adults as it is for kids.

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Say Anything ... USA, 1989, Released 3.5.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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In late 1980s Seattle, sweet slacker Lloyd (John Cusack) falls hard for high school beauty Diane (Ione Skye) but must also deal with her possessive single father (John Mahoney) and his shady business dealings. Incredibly, Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut looks and feels just as authentic as it did 13 years ago, if not more so. The secret seems to lie in what appears to be the essentially sweet nature of the director; even his most conflicted characters have only moments of weakness or anger, imbuing this parallel universe with something like a serene grace. The terrific Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment special edition DVD includes a laid-back and informative commentary track featuring Crowe, Cusack and Skye, as well as a valuable production featurette. Alone among contemporary directors in his ability to shape cohesive narratives from miles of shot footage (a talent of which he was leached in the truncated theatrical version of Almost Famous), Crowe’s approach to the filmmaking process is explored via a generous helping of extended and cut scenes, which offer a tantalizing glimpse of the way in which his movies are constructed. Recommended.

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Strictly Ballroom Australia, 1992, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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Against the backdrop of the insular, cutthroat world of Australian competitive ballroom dancing, the rebellious and determined Scott (Paul Mercurio), along with about-to-bloom wallflower Fran (Tara Morice) take the entrenched establishment by storm at the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Amateur Championships. This directorial debut by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) was a festival and art-house hit when it first came out a decade ago; time and the perspective of his two subsequent films (William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet was the other) have been good to its supercharged yet mannered style. The Miramax DVD, which is of course designed to look like the Moulin Rouge DVD package, features an audio commentary track with Luhrmann and to of his crew as well as producer-director Maria Stratford’s deadpan, 30-minute 1986 Samba to Slow Fox, the documentary that inspired the director’s Spinal Tap-ish, is-it-or-isn’t-it-real? approach.

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Box Set Corner:

An occasional exploration of video and DVD’s higher end

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Oz The Complete First Season USA, 1997, Released 3.19.02 review by Eddie Cockrell

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In the bowels of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison--"Oz," to the regulars--an experimental unit dubbed "Em," for "Emerald City," houses a motley and disparate collection of prisoners. Though it lives in the shadow of the more high-profile Home Box Office series "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under," "Oz" can be just as addictive, a satisfyingly complex and startlingly raw, mostly-male soap opera about depravity, deceit and survival. Since its debut in 1997 "Oz" has also been something of a proving ground for many of the best and brightest actors on TV: past and/or current cast members include such fine and immediately recognizable talent (many of whom went on to star in various "Law and Order" spinoffs) as Ernie Hudson, Christopher Meloni, Edie Falco, Terry Kinney, Rita Moreno, Luis Guzman, Harold Perrineau, Kathryn Erbe, Tony Musante, Dean Winters, Lee Tergesen, J.K. Simmons, George Morfogen, Eamonn Walker, Jon Seda and B.D. Wong. These season-by-season DVD boxed sets are a godsend for those without enough hours in the day to watch series realtime, and as they’ve done with the two "Sopranos" sets HBO has focused on sturdy packaging and stylish design. There’s no separate booklet with the 3-disc box, but the series titles and key crew are listed on an inside flap, and extras beyond the eight episodes that comprise season one include a pair of audio commentaries by vet series creator Tom Fontana ("St. Elsewhere," "Homicide: Life on the Street") and Tergesen; deleted scenes with Fontana’s remarks; a featurette, and the "Behind the Walls" music video. Each episode is fullframe.

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