Hitch [WS] [DVD] [2005]

The cure for the common man. Direction: Andy Tennant Actors: Adam Arkin, Amber Valletta, Eva Mendes, Julie Ann Emery, Kevin James, Michael Rapaport, Will Smith Special Features: Dance Steps Made Easy featurette; Hitch Style featurette; the Dating Experts featurette; Love in New York featurette; Will Smith's Red Carpet Ride featurette Widescreen format. Language: English / Add. French / Sub. English, French Year: 2005 Runtime: 120 minutes.

Bride of the Monster is one of two feature films upon which, for many years, rested the reputation (such as it was) of director Edward D. Wood Jr. Along with Plan 9 From Outer Space, it was one of two Wood sci-fi films to come to television very early, around 1961, and thanks to the presence of Bela Lugosi, Bride of the Monster actually was seen and discussed by horror buffs. Indeed, along with Plan 9 From Outer Space and Night of the Ghouls, Bride of the Monster formed the first part of a trilogy that has delighted bad movie buffs for decades. Bride of the Monster was the most accessible and conventional of Wood's three horror films. One of the very few of his productions that was financed at the level of a conventional B-picture, it looks "normal" in a way that Plan 9 and Night of the Ghouls do not. Or, at least, more normal than the others -- there are extras and bit players where there should be extras and bit players, and actual exteriors rather than threadbare studio sets darkened to imitate night scenes. What's more, with a script co-authored by Alex Gordon, the movie followed the conventions of mad scientist and old-style mystery pictures in ways that Wood's solo-scripted efforts didn't. Mixed within that framework, however, are also elements of the bizarre dialogue patterns and word usages, mismatched film footage, and continuity mistakes that make Wood's movies so engaging. Police Lieutenant Craig (Tony McCoy) catches the case of the Lake Marsh murders and, with help from his reporter girlfriend (Loretta King), finds that exiled Eastern European scientist Eric Vornoff (Bela Lugosi) and his experiments with radiation are responsible. With a hulking monster of a servant (Tor Johnson) and a Soviet spy (George Becwar) working around the edges of the plot, Bride of the Monster has all of the necessary ingredients for the kind of unintended laughfest that one associates with Wood's movies. This was also Lugosi's final finished screen performance, however, and he does imbue his work, even at this late date, with a surprising degree of dignity. The DVD is looks better than the earlier Lumivision laserdisc edition or any other presentation of the movie in the last 40 years. Not only is it a very clean transfer, with great care given to the contrast and depth in every shot, but the source has to be the cleanest print in existence. The audio is also extremely sharp, so much so that one can readily discern that, contrary to the misinformation put forth in various books, Lugosi's character never says of the huge, hulking Lobo, "He is as gentle as a kitchen." The result is the best edition of Bride of the Monster in living memory for most of us. Of course, that only enhances the deficiencies in the filmmaking, but in the context of enjoying Wood's movies, that's a virtue. The DVD is divided into a dozen chapters with no special annotation, which is a shame. The menu opens automatically on start-up and is very easy to navigate, and the only bonus material is a very entertaining trailer.