HT Staff

DVD: Dark Blue—MGM/UA
Video: 3
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Director Ron Shelton knows sports movies; so, when corrupt cops gather in the inner sanctum of the Los Angeles Police Department, the scene resembles a Major League clubhouse—or at least a Hollywoodized version of it. The director, known for Bull Durham, Tin Cup and other athletic fare, talks about the similarity between the two cultures in his running commentary that also deals with the Rodney King trial and resulting riots against which Dark Blue's morality tale unfolds.

DVD: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral—Paramount
Video: 2
Audio: 2
Extras: 1
This 1957 version of the famous gunfight that pitted Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday against the Clanton gang rides on the performances of its stars, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. The pair's grudging respect for each other, their relationships with women, and the events that lead to the conflagration at Tombstone (which occupies about six minutes of the 122-minute running time) is at the core of this film, which meanders like a lazy creek in a dusty town. The film doesn't age well, primarily because it seems so cliche-ridden today. Viewers should remind themselves that this movie actually invented many of the Old West cliches we take for granted now, such as the outlaw firing shots at the saloon piano player to inspire him to play.

Pink Floyd—The Dark Side of the Moon (SACD, EMI Records)
I can't think of many rock bands that are a better fit for the multichannel treatment than Pink Floyd. In addition to their music's many other pioneering aspects, toying with dimensions and perspective has never been something that the band was afraid to do. While it must've been a great temptation to incorporate sonic gymnastics of every kind into this material, the SACD's 5.1 mix has enough presence to make it interesting but enough subtlety to keep it legitimate. You get your experimentation, but it's rarely distracting or overpowering.

A buck per watt is a bargain in anybody's book today. It's an especially good value when those watts feature audiophile specifications, and plenty of dynamic headroom.