8 -- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 23, 2000 ARTS 'Social Club' makes for 'Buena' DVD By Aaron Rich Daily Arts Writer The title, "Buena Vista Social Club," refers to an old dance and music hall in Havana that has been shut down for several decades. American Grade Buena Vista Social Club Artisan Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Aaron Rich guitarist Ry Cooder recently put together a band consist- Ig of the greatest names -i d k n!o Cuban Son m uihough none of ihese men necessarily played any gigs at the Social Club. As the band begins play- ing, German director Wim Wenders films their rehearsals and small bios of all the band members. We cigars (because it's Cuba, after all, and they're legal) and talks frankly about his past female conquests. We also meet Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuba's answer to Frank Sinatra (in voice). As the story goes, he was once a well-known singer, but then fell on hard times and began shining shoes. By a pure stroke of luck, Cooder found out about his tal- ents and brought him into the fold. We must never forget when.watching this that these musicians would never have come together if it were not for the exhaustive efforts of Cood- er, who found many of these band members after some thought they were dead. Ruben Gonzalez is another great example of such a man. Gonzalez, a master pianist, had stopped playing due to his severe arthritis and the fact that he had no access to a piano. When Cooder found him and gave him the chance to play in the recording studio while the group cut its first album, we are told that he always arrived early to practice and was always loath to step away from the keyboard. Throughout the film we see a few striking details of Cuban life - at least life for these Havana-based musicians. First is the poverty in which these men and their families live (we are told at one point that the roof of the recording studio had recently fell apart during a storm). Second is joy and tradition with which these men live every day of their lives. The DVD includes a commentary by Wenders. Despite being the only major bonus material, this track gives lots of interesting, fun details about the production and about the men. Also on the disc are extensive written biographies of all the members of the band. "Buena Vista Social Club" is one of the nomi- nees for this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Though it might not win, it is definitely worth a viewing before Oscar night. seeCompay Segundo, the Cuban answer to the Rat pack - yes, all five of 'em in one - a gui- ttist who is easily pushing 85, smokes fresh 1 5 4 0 4 front beach rd panama city. fI 32413 .850 .234.6644 www .hoiIowayhouse.com 1 .800.346.4709 RUSHMORE Continued from Page 5 Miss Cross. "She was mine, too," I I1 La IATi : Planning Trips for Generations X, Y, and Z. London ........... $341 Paris$............$416 Tokyo.............$855 New York.......$237 All fares aremround-tnp from Detmo Tax not included Some restnrctons apply 769-2555 Michigan Union Ground Floor 6 5O 1103 South University, Suite 1 EETRAVEL V1 EVE BEEN THERE. Max replies. Well, "Rushmore" is my Rushmore. It has that quality, a quali- ty that comes through loud in clear in the care that has been taken with this new and improved DVD release. The new "Rushmore" DVD is stocked with extra features. Even before you pop the disc in your DVD player or DVD-- ROM drive, it's a joy to behold with a chapter and feature list- ing incorporat- ed into a hand-drawny map of the "Rushmore" settings. Most DVD releases don't take the time with their physical inserts, but the map is very much in the spirit of the Phu film itself and is Big, badBill Murray star well worth tak- ing a few minutes to explore. The map's motif continues with the DVD menu system. Again, Criterion and Buena Vista put a lot of effort into even this small part of the DVD experience, making each menu innov- ative and different. The designs and multimedia aspects of the menu aren't nearly as cumbersome or annoying as they could have been (anybody who's played with the "American Pie" DVD is well aware of that little pitfall). The disc's content proper includes screen tests for some of the actors, a commentary with star Jason Schwartzman and writers Owen Wil- son and Wes Anderson (Anderson also directed the film), and a lengthy documentary shot by Anderson's brother, Eric, during the film's pro- duction. Also included on the disc are storyboards, trailers and Anderson and Murray's appearance on "The Charlie Rose Show." The documen- tary is the best of these while the commentary leaves something to be desired -- I guess I just expected a little more insight and entertain- ment from the guys who came up with one of the best movies of the last few years. It doesn't help that Schwartzman's contribution to the commen- tary was clearly recorded at a courtesy of Touchstone Pictures separate time in "Rushmore." from Wilson and Anderson's, making things a bit choppy when he pipes in with a remark or an anec- dote. Perhaps the biggest treat on the disc is a group of parodies of other films done by the Max Fischer Play- ers, Fischer's school theatre troop. These shorts were made for last year's MTV Movie Awards and send up "Armageddon," "Out of Sight" and "The Truman Show" in high comedic style. They're special in the same way that this is a special movie, and make this a truly special edition DVD. By Matthew Barrett Daily Film Editor Line" Whether or Grade: B Shakespeare in Love Miramax Collector's Series DVD Reviewed by Daily Film Editor Matthew Barrett Courtesy of Miramax Widows peak and all, Ben Affleck stars in the Oscar winning "Shakespeare in Love." MiramaX makes not it was worthy of Oscar gold remains debat- able, but that doesn't take away from the fact that "Shakespeare in Love" is an enjoyable and w o r t h w h i I e film. The story With the recent announcement of the Academy Award nominations, it's only logical to take a look back at the film which won Best Picture at last year's awards - "Shake- speare in Love." Since winning, the film has taken a number of shots from those who feel it was unde- serving to triumph over "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Thin Red contains two separate commentary tracks - one with director John Madden and the other with a large assortment of the cast and crew. During his track, Madden doesn't shed much light on the process of directing, and seems content to just point out the various allusions to the works of Shakespeare that he put into the film. The cast and crew commentary track is also a huge disappointment as it's really just general interview snippets of various stars played over the movie. Why they didn't just throw everyone in a banquet hall with a few pitchers of their favorite mead to tape a real commentary track is beyond me. As it is, the cast track contains a few interesting bits including Paltrow saying "I thought it was basically the best script I ever read," and Ben Affleck adding that "Shakespe are" was "my favorite thing she's (Paltrow) ever done." Surprised? The disc also features a docu- mentary, "Shakespeare In Love And On Film," which contains interviews with the main cast members and is fairly interesting to watch. A deleted ending is also included on the disc, but after watching it you'll see why it was left on the cutting room floor. All things told, the disc is a worthwhile pickup for diehards of the film and another fine effort from the Mira- max Collector's Series. ito irs i centers on a young William Shake- speare (Joseph Fiennes) in need of a hit play and yet crippled with a hor- rible case of-writer's-block. Shake- speare draws inspiration from his forbidden romance with Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) and is spurred on to write "Romeo and Juliet." A second, collector's series DVD version of the film was recently released and it contains a variety of special features that should be of interest to fans of the film. The disc 1 A J Touchstone Pictures tia addOtc tai 0dh *$ OTEIG mybytes come It's my Web, COMPLIMENTARY ADVANCE SCREEN ING ;~. March 7 42A S' i .4""'no Th 4rds.agstcmpso'fi ' H'" 4 44' ,:E ., Y 'o4 0 df5 r < rM . s4xegres ww7sxdgresco *1 9 S