0 The David Grisman Quintet will jam The Ark tonight. The esteemed ensemble will present an ecclectic mix of jazz, Latin, typsy and bluegrass. 8 p.m. $25. Thursday ""I2A March 18, 1999 Ufie£klim lau 0 Return to Daily Arts tomorrow to learn more abiut Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, which begins its 4-day run tonight at the Power Center. a' nr + w± 4i HE' S OUTTA MIND, SHE'S OUTTA SIGHT Out of Sight Universal DVD The greatest benefit of the Collectors Edition DVD of "Out of Sight," which boasts an impressive inventory of extra goodies including hugely enter- taining deleted scenes and an hilariously informa- tive commentary track from director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Frank, lies not in the extras but in the film itself. The DVD format allows, with its crisp purity of picture and sound, for the repeated discovery and rediscovery of this sleeper's many charms, which are not limited tQ indelible imagery (the already classic trunk scene), a kicky script (spawning catch- phrases like "You a good bitch, Tuffy") and those oh-so-cool freeze frames. "Out of Sight," based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name, can be defined as a sleeper in the sense that most audiences chose to sleep instead of attending this mismarketed and underappreciated summer love-and-crime flick, which brought in a paltry $38 million at the box office. But box-office receipts mean very little when a film is this great; it'll earn its classic, genre-tran- scending love-and-crime story status in time in home theaters everywhere. Here, however, love means never having to say you're sorry for kidnapping your object of affection and seducing her with your knowledge of Faye Dunaway movies while locked in a trunk or forcing her to shoot you in the leg. The red hot lovers of "Out of Sight" are a per- fectly cast and even more perfectly matched George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez as a suave bankrobber and the federal marshal on his trail. It's like "The Fugitive," only with sexual tension between its principles that's actually acted upon. And the act is one of the most beautiful, under- stated, intoxicating love scenes ever filmed, egpert- ly employing the film's signature freeze-frames and its time-bending structure. But "Out of Sight" is much more than a techni- cally tricky novelty in the sub-genre of neo-noir kiss-me-or-kill-me tales. It's a rich tapestry of fascinating supporting play- ers and arousing scenery, made all the more appeal- ing with its extensive DVD trappings, which are presented on menus with brilliant stop-motion footage from the film set to David Holmes funky score. The hand of director Soderbergh presides over these extras, most notably "Inside 'Out of Sight,"' a half-hour making-of documentary and the afore- mentioned commentary track. On this second audio channel, Soderbergh dis- cusses with Frank how he made the best of his con- siderable ensemble, an impeccable roster that includes Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Steve Zahn, Isaiah Washington, Catherine Keener, Albert Brooks and Michael Keaton. Keaton, reprising his jumpy federal agent charac- ter Ray Nicolet from Quentin Tarantino's 1997 "Jackie Brown' is revealed by Soderbergh to be the ' first actor to play the same role in two non-seriet, films by different directors in the history of film. Other revelations in the track include Soderbergh's planned alternate ending to the film, which he jokes would depict Rhames' character at Metro Airport handing over the stolen loot to Jack Lemmon. Soderbergh also discusses what may be the film's greatest asset: its striking use of color, using a palette of deliciously evocative scenes that vary with the film's locations. Master chef Soderbergh cooks up images thatW' makes the pinks, oranges and yellows in the film's ' bright, Miami-set opening and the muted blues and gun-metal grays of Downtown Detrcit look equally edible. The tasty, stylized "Out of Sight" surely. goes down easy, if just as the ultimate tribute to Elmore Leonard's terrain: the retirement communities and prisons of southern Florida to the mansions of Bloomfield Hills and Detroit landmarks such as the State Theater, Kronk Gym and Dot and Etta's Shrimp Hut on McNichols. Whether touring our fair metropolis, The conflict- ed psyche of a bankrobber trying to go straight, the endless beauty of Jennifer Lopez's molt-discussed asset or the creative genius of a brilliant filmmaker, the "Out of Sight: Collector's Edition" on DVD is a collector's edition truly worth collecting. - Bryan Lark Courtesy of Paramount Jef Daniels convinces Jim Carey that he's living a real life In "The Truman Show." Weir presents Carey dirough televised life The Truman Show Paramount DVD IVe're a media culture, there's no docbt about it. We watch "The Real V1rld," "COPS," "American's Funniest Home Videos," but what's gmng too far? Would it be wrong to tae a child and raise him, unbe- knownst to him, on television? Mtuld it be wrong to give him a hime and a family and a life if it was alta lie, if they were paid by a cor- p'ation? -'That's just a small part of the niDal questioning at the center of "VW Truman Show," the 1998 film that showed how Jim Carrey was more than just a guy who could talk oatc.of his ass. Truman Burbank is a l1ro for the masses, a man who has been on television every second of his life without ever knowing it. But vhen he starts to suspect, things start getting out of hand, and Truman is determined to discover the truth not only about his world but about him- self 64- Paramount DVD released "The Truman Show" to little fanfare, and with good reason: there's zilch on this disc besides the movie itself and two trailers. It's a shame that Paramount didn't put more effort into putting out a stellar disc, which is something they could have done; anybody who heard director Peter Weir speak on campus last spring knows how gung-ho he is about his film. It would have been wonderful to hear him do a commentary track if only to know why he excised a split- second shot at the beginning of the film that reveals a crack in the "sky" when the light falls from it in favor of having Truman see only a smooth expanse of blue. Instead, we'll have to be content with having one of the most thought- provoking, smart, witty films of the past year as part of the DVD library. "Truman" might go home (wrongly so) from the Oscars empty-handed, but it will remain at the top of the great movies released on DVD. - Erin Podolskv Aces are hgh on neW Rounders M iramax DVD A simple pair makes this hand a winner. Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the two most talented actors of their generation, strut their stuff in the gambling drama "Rounders." The film, which was, for the most part, passed over by audiences in theaters, paints an unrelenting picture of the underground world of gambling and is worthy of another look. Damon plays Mike, a law school student who lost his fortune on one bad hand and who works the night shift while attending school to make ends meet. Mike has sworn off gam- bling, much to the pleasure of his nag girlfriend (an unbearably wretching Gretchen Mol). Things get complicat- ed when his old buddy Worm (Norton) is released from prison and starts leaning on Mike to gamble with him. Once he's back on the streets, it becomes apparent that Worm owes the wrong people some serious dough and Mike must decide whether to help his friend or steer clear of the game that robbed him of everything. John Malkovich With the glaring exception of Mol, the cast here is uniformly excellent with standout performances from John Turturro, Martin Landau, John Malkovich and a sumptuous Famke Janssen. In the end, Norton rises above all (does he never?) and steals the show as the shady friend from the wrong side of the tracks. The only downside to the DVD ver- sion of "Rounders" is its lack of extra materials. A documentary on card playing, a featurette on the making of the movie or a commentary track with Damon and Norton all could have raised the stakes on this DVD. Despite this, the film's quality and top-of-the-line cast make "Rounders" worth cashing a few of your chips in for. - Matthew Barrett Willis tnology lives .1 'Die Hard Trlogy Fox DVD Bruce! Bruce! Brre! Three Bruces for three "Die Hard" movies (perhaps you haven't heard of them - after all, they're only the films that rocketed Bruce Wllis to action star- dom and saved him fron career disaster after "The Bonfire of th(Vanities") aren't nearly enough to tell whit a lean, mean terrorist-fighting machineJohn McClane (Bruce Willis) is in the "Dte Hard" boxed set recently released by Fix DVD. Let's run down the "Die Hard' plots one by one, shall we? I. John McClane goes tohis estranged wife's office for a Christmasnarty only to discover that she and her felow revelers are being held hostage by motey-hungry European terrorist Hans Gnrer (Alan Rickman). McClane must save them all with the help of a donut-loing cop. McClane walks on glass. Ouch. i4oral of the story: Women are nothing but rouble. 2. In "Die Harder" McClane pes to Dulles Airport on Christmas to wit for his wife's flight, which is unable teland because terrorists, led by Colonel StWart (William Sadler) have sabotaged theair- port's landing system. They demandthe freedom of a drug lord being born over'r trial. McClane kicks complete ass in this ; sequel, which is just as good as the origi- nal. Moral of the stroy: Women are noth- ing but trouble. 3. "Die Hard With a Vengeance",has _ McClane, suspended from the pojice force, pound the streets ofNewYork while i his marriage dissolves until he gets The a Call. Simon Gruber (Jeremy Irons),'9 bomber extraordinaire and brother to:the now-dead Hans, is holding a school hostage. McClane gets an assist from master electrician Zeus (Samuel ¢ L. Jackson) in-a "Pulp Fiction" reteaming. Moral of the story: Women are nothing but trouble. Willis is a strong enough actor to carry these films on his own, but the supporting villains and good guys are what really make the "Die Hard" series special. Unfortunately, Fox did not think it was special enough to warrant special edition treatment, a policy that sadly plagues its entire slate of DVD releases. Here's hop- ing that Fox starts putting out some discs with special edition content (hint: "There's Something About Mary" commentary tracks and deleted scenes, maybe?) so that they can catch up with front-running stu- dios Warner Bros. and Columbia Tri-Star. - Erin Podoisky a Wouldn't Staying Home Again This Summer Stink? Deelin it blue dress (Nang Kong Style) cafeteria 510 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, M I 48104 U Contact Us Check Us Out on theWe@ IJWW.CG UPtlC.C0a U I I I Devil in a Blue Dress Columbia The new DVD treatment of Carl Franklin's 1995 "Devil in a Blue Dress" is a one-stop argument for making Denzel Washington's private investigator Easy Rawlins and Don. Cheadle's trigger-happy Mouse the heroes of a cinematic franchise, which they were intended to be until "Devil" stiffed at the box-office. Already the stars of Walter Mosley's crackerjack detective novels, of which "Devil" was the first,.Rawlins and Mouse are based on the considerable strengths of Franklin's intriguing '50s L.A. period piece that's less a mystery yam than it is a fascinating examina- tion of an African-American man's post-war state-of-mind. That social commentary is the pre- vailing topic on director Franklin's commentary track, which also high- lights the film's award-worthy art diection and the top-notch ensemble- ind ding Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Be4 and "Ally McBeal"'s Lisa Nicole a Caron in'a brief but pivotal role. Bu the real treat of this DVD treat- } ment 'i Cheadle's original screen test a mustee for any fan of rising big, bright srping star Cheadle. The rw power and charisma of Cheadle it this screen test is proof of the actor'sfuture superstardom and, more than e ough reason that the cases. of Easy ai Mouse should be re- opened on-sceen. - Bryan Lark BUSINESS HOURS Mon. - Sat. 11a.m. - 10p.m. Sunday 12 Noon - 9p.m. Tel: 747-6662 Fax: 747-6620 I i This ain't your parents' travel agency. With our staff of experienced travelers, a global network of offices, great prices, ticket flexibility and a ton of travel services, we know firsthand what ittakesnioout ionether a mindehlowinn trio... GREEK WEEK 99 AME AN RED CROSS Freshman in College Start at $1,600 wP,,,. ,., I I'