One of the all-time funniest and one of biggest recent comedies top the list of new Blu-ray releases this week, along with two other notable movies:
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1.) “Time Bandits” (Image, 17.98) is one of Terry Gilliam’s best films alongside “Brazil,” and his most successful since it appealed to all ages, yet carried his trademark bizarre inventiveness in a typically Gilliam original concept of a group of disgruntled assistants to the Supreme Being who travel around through time stealing things. They wind up collecting a young boy who is unhappy at home and dreams of adventure.
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— The 1981 film looks better than ever in this HiDef transher.
— Sean Connery was a terrific bit of casting, as he brings charm and warmth to the film.
— Gilliam’s video Q&A offers fun anecdotes: this film only got made as a last-minute idea when Gilliam’s “Brazil” was languishing, but then “Time Bandits” provided the clout he needed to make “Brazil.” Connery’s final scene as a present-day fireman was shot during a 90-minute window Connery had during a brief stop in England when Gilliam stalked him at the airport and asked him to oblige.
— A terrific cameo by fellow Python member John Cleese as Robin Hood, and a couple of silly bits by Python troupe member Michael Palin.
2.) “The Back-Up Plan” (Sony, $34.95) is a sometimes cute romantic comedy about a young lady (Jennifer Lopez) who no sooner gives up on finding a boyfriend and decides to get artifically inseminated than she meets the man of her dreams. So, what to do with her baby?
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— Comedian Robert Klein in a small supporting role as the doctor is the best part about the movie and gets the most laughs; Lopez is fair and co-star Alex O’Loughlin is less so, saddled with unconvincing dialogue that he doesn’t improve, and looking far too handsome and ripped for his character’s credibility.
— Several amusing and interesting deleted scenes that reveal a little more about the supporting characters and too more of an already uncomfortable scene of a friend giving loud and visually disturbing birth while on her knees in a plastic kiddie pool in her living room.
— By Scott Hettrick