HT Staff

DVD: Tanner '88—Criterion and Tanner on Tanner—Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
Audio: 3
Video: 2
Extras: 4
If last year's contentious presidential race wasn't enough to demonstrate how ridiculous politics can be, Tanner 88 and Tanner on Tanner should drive the point home.

DVD: This So-Called Disaster—MGM/UA
Video: 2
Audio: 2
Extras: 0
This avant-garde documentary traces the weeks of rehearsal leading up to a 2000 play by playwright and director Sam Shepard, based on his relationship with his own alcoholic father. Shepard assembled a cast that included Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, and Woody Harrelson, and while it's interesting to watch these pros prepare for their curtain call, they all seem to get along too well to make this more than an occasionally interesting behind-the-scenes look at live theater. The best drama—whether fiction or reality television—comes from conflict, but there's none to be found here, despite the disc jacket's claim that the play's characters "set off a powder keg of emotions so explosive that the actors themselves are drawn into the fray." This is just dull, and even Shepard appears to be dozing off during some of the script-reading sessions. The best moment comes when Harrelson and Penn, apparently competing with Nolte for the title Most Scruffy Looking Actor, bust each other's chops on some of their past film choices (yes, Shanghai Surprise comes into the conversation).

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DVD: The Alamo—Buena Vista
Audio: 3
Video: 4
Features: 4
I'm not a huge history buff myself, but this version of the story of the men who held the Alamo against Mexican General Santa Ana is compelling and beautifully told, though some may argue that the story isn't historically accurate. As usual, Billy Bob Thornton (as Davy Crockett) steals the show, but the rest of the cast (Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, and Patrick Wilson) hold their own as well.