VideoView - UPI Arts & Entertainment

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Movies

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" -- The picturesque Greek island of Cephalonia is so peaceful it's hard to believe the world is engulfed in war. It's the early 1940s and Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage), opera lover and mandolin virtuoso, arrives with a small group of Italian soldiers to occupy the island. He almost immediately spots Pelagia (Penelope Cruz), daughter of the local doctor (John Hurt) and herself preparing for a medical career, and, over time, after much restraint, they fall in love even though she is recently engaged to a local fisherman, Mandras (Christian Bale), who's away fighting these very Italians. All is serene for a time, even after Mandras comes back, but the war catches up with them. Based on the novel by Louis de Bernieres, in a rather condensed form, director John Madden's film is mostly an inviting, entertaining love story with an interesting cast (though some of the actors have problems with their accents). 2001. Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Rated R (some violence, sexuality and language).

"Hearts in Atlantis" -- In another masterful performance, Anthony Hopkins plays a mysterious stranger who has far-reaching effect on a widow and her young son in this drama about the dreams and frustrations of childhood, based on two Stephen King short stories. Told largely in flashback, the story centers on what happened in 1960 to 11-year-old Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin). Bobby has a couple of close friends but mostly his is a lonely life. His father died when he was 5 and his distant, working mother (Hope Davis) has little time or money for him. Enter Ted Brautigan (Hopkins), a nondescript middle-age man who arrives with his possessions in paper bags to rent an upstairs room. He and Bobby become friends, offering the boy much-needed adult interaction, but it soon becomes apparent that Ted is far more than he seems, is not so ordinary after all. The work of Hopkins and the young, likable Yelchin make this well worth seeing. 2001. 101 minutes. Warner Home Entertainment. Rated PG-13 (violence, thematic elements).

"Pandaemonium" -- A vivid view of the most creative period in the tempestuous life of pioneer Romantic poet Samuel Thomas Coleridge, his collaboration and clashes with fellow poet William Wordsworth and an opium addiction that spurred him on to great works such as "The Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan." It is the turn of the 19th century, in the wake of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon and the politically outspoken Coleridge (Linus Roache) decides it would be wise for him and his future wife Sara (Samantha Morton) to head for the isolated safety of the countryside. He invites Wordsworth (John Hannah), whom he has just met, to join them at his planned rural Utopian community, and Wordsworth accepts, bringing along his sister Dorothy (Emily Woof). The result is a volatile relationship, a creative coalition on a collision course. Quite interesting and enlightening. 2000. 124 minutes. USA Home Entertainment. Rated PG-13 (drug content).

"Legend of the Red Dragon" -- Hong Kong action star Jet Li plays a master warrior out for vengeance against an evil army after soldiers kill his wife and massacre most of the people in his village. Together with his son, the only survivor of the attack, he undertakes a grueling seven-year journey across ancient China on a quest for revenge, staying one step ahead of his pursuers until the final duel-to-the-death battle. For martial arts fans. 2001. 83 minutes. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. Rated R (violence).

VIDBITS

Warner Home Entertainment is betting heavily that America can get wild about Harry all over again. Harry Potter will be coming to a DVD or VHS near you this spring. With great fanfare, Warner announced this week that "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the No. 1 box office hit of 2001 ($320 million), will debut in video stores May 28. The two-disc DVD will offer hours of extra material including previously unseen footage, interviews, games and a tour of Harry's wizard world...

Rumor has it that "Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring" will reach video in August...

Coming up next: the Michael Douglas thriller "Don't Say A Word," "Hardball" and "O"... Two very different films, the raunchy teen comedy "American Pie 2" and the Jet Li actioner "Kiss Of The Dragon" are tops among the nation's video rentals this week...

New on DVD: "Klute," the Alan Pakula cult favorite starring Jane Fonda in an Oscar-winning turn as Bree, a high-class, tough-talking but vulnerable call girl being stalked by a shadowy figure who wants to kill her. Donald Sutherland is John Klute, a quiet, thoughtful small-town private detective roaming the big city streets looking for a missing person. The trail leads to Bree and her stalker. Sharp, smart, tense, they don't make many thrillers like this any more. (Warner, 1971, 114 minutes, rated R.)

For kids, Disney's "Peter Pan Special Edition," the classic fantasy about the forever young lad from Never Never Land, his feisty sidekick Tinker Bell, the dastardly Captain Hook and the whole gang, returning in restored form with bonus features on DVD and VHS. Like its main character, the story never grows old...

For foreign fans, two delightful French films debut on DVD: The haunting, poetic, romantic "Children Of Paradise" (1945) in a beautiful digital transfer and the Oscar-winning sex comedy "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" (1978) starring Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere...

And, for all you Deadheads, the documentary "Grateful Dawg,"

focusing on Grateful Dead guru Jerry Garcia and his friendship and partnership with mandolinist David Grisman, with musical clips from several concerts...