DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
Miramax Home Entertainment

- A raw, intense look at immigrant life wrapped in a nail-biting thriller, "Dirty Pretty Things" was one of the best films of 2003! When Nigerian exile, Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) makes an unbelievable discovery at work, he's unable to report it to the police. You see Okwe and a Turkish chambermaid Senay (Audrey Tautou "Amelie") toil in a West London hotel that is teaming with illegal activity and because they don't possess the proper documents, they are easy targets for exploitation. Okwe's boss, the evil greedy Sneaky Juan played with delicious delight by Sergi Lopez knows that the polite night clerk is hiding something and he quickly draws the reluctant hard-working man into his scheme. While Senay dreams of going to America, Okwe knows that he must deal with his past before making any plans concerning his future.

The two co-workers slowly fall in love as they struggle to outwit the police, nosey landlords and exploitive employers. Stephen Frears creates wonderful characters that you care about and route for their success. Furthermore, if you're not an immigrant in your homeland, you certainly sympathize with people who fearlessly try to change their destiny by working and living in a foreign land. Okwe sheds his passiveness and suddenly makes some very decisive decisions. He teams with a few friends -- a local prostitute, Juliette (Sophie Okonedo), Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a Chinese hospital worker and Ivan, the hotel doorman (Zlatko Buric) -- that he's made in the under belly of London to save himself and the innocent Senay.

Stephen Frears dazzling film about the people that often go unnoticed is an astonishing dramatic work. Frears has always had the ability and the inclination to look at the texture of urban life and find intriguing stories and characters that other filmmakers ignore. The director of such films as "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" and "My Beautiful Laundrette" among others, Frears explores the lives of working class whites, Africans and Asians. Unlike many American films, he investigates who the poor deal with impossible dilemmas. This is a superb film!

The wide screen (1.85:1) is enhanced for 16x9 televisions and the picture is crisp and sharp! There is also Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and this completes the package of a perfect rendering of the big screen feature to DVD. There is a wonderful feature commentary by Frears and an interesting Behind the Scenes Special featurette.

IN LIVING COLOR: SEASON ONE
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

- In 1990, Keenen Ivoy Wayans launched his weekly comedy show and changed the face of American television comedy. Influenced by shows like "Saturday Night Live" and "SCTV," it was the first show that included a black cultural element in comic sketches and thus full recognized the enormous influence that African Americans had on mainstream culture.

Wayans focused on a host of familiar characters and contemporary celebrities to poke fun at American foibles. His favorite targets were Michael Jackson, Arsenio Hall -- the hottest night time TV host in the early 1990s --, Jesse Jackson, gays, clowns, etc. and Wayans often poked fun at the odd looking and physically challenged. The humor was shocking for its day and laced with cruelty and insults, nevertheless audiences loved the show! The reckless, verbal assaults reminiscent of school yard bullying unfolded every Sunday night and was the talk around the water cooler in the office the next day. Keenen Wayans' show struck a nerve and he and the ensemble cast of young comics -- Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Damon and Marlon Wayans, and Jim Carrey -- went on to have stellar careers after the show's demise.

New audiences have the opportunity to discover what the fuss was about and fans of the show will delight at the outrageous antics of the Wayans creative clan. The extra features on the 3-disc set of Season One include the commentary of certain episodes by Tommy Davidson, a Look back at Living Color and a featurette about the dancers called the Fly Girls. Fans of standup and TV comedy will adore this disc.

Edited by Veronica Mixon
images courtesy of Miramax and Twentieth Century Fox.

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