Zidane
2006, PG, Artificial Eye £18.99
'We knew that we could take people from the black box into the white cube ... or from the white cube into the black box.' Hmm. Art-
waffle aside, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's '21st Century Portrait' makes more sense on DVD, allowing the viewer to dip in
and out of the drama in the manner of a gallery patron. The result, while still a patience-testing indulgence, better showcases the ambient drift of Mogwai's music, pitched battle sound effects and 17-camera visuals. Extras include a solid interview conducted by
The Observer's Jason Solomons, whose intelligent enthusiasm gets the best out of the film-makers.
MK
World Trade Center
2006, 12, Paramount £19.99
Artistically overshadowed by Paul Greengrass's United 93, this old-fashioned disaster movie about 9/11 won few friends among UK critics. A shame, since cynical accusations of schmaltz undervalue the degree to which director Oliver Stone remains faithful to the testimonies of Twin Towers survivors Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin. Non-ironic visions of Jesus bearing bottles of mineral water echo Bunuel, while Stone keeps his familiar box of visual tricks out of the frame. Also available as dual-disc 'Commemorative Special Collectors' Edition', with interviews, commentaries and featurettes. <brMK
The Cranes Are Flying/Ballad of a Soldier
1957/59, PG, Nouveaux £18.99 each
The two most widely admired Soviet movies from the cultural thaw that followed Khrushchev's speech denouncing Stalin in 1956, these highly romantic films were the work of Second World War veterans and showed that when it came to high-class corn, the
Russians weren't many steppes behind Hollywood. Mikhail Kalatozov's The Cranes Are Flying has superb lyrical photography and a heartbreaking performance by Tatyana Samojlova as a hospital worker who makes a bad marriage after hearing that her fiance has been killed in action. Ukrainian Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad of a Soldier is a well-observed, deeply moving tale of everyday life in wartime USSR, as
experienced by a battle-scarred hero returning from the front on leave.
Philip French
