‘Bob Le Flambeur’: Illuminating Noir

Several new DVDs and videos have a distinct international flavor, showcasing films from France, Russia and even Iceland.

New on DVD from Criterion is French director Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1956 masterpiece “Bob Le Flambeur” ($30). This influential black-and-white film noir revolves around an aging gangster who spends most of his life in Paris gambling houses. Though he’s been on the straight and narrow for several years, Bob plots one last caper: to rob the casino at Deauville.

Melville brilliantly captures the nightlife and seedy world of the Parisian underworld. And his film is a precursor to the French New Wave films of the late 1950s and early ‘60s in terms of its innovative story structure, bold camera work and quick cutting. No wonder Melville was a hero to such New Wavers as Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut.

The digital edition features a gorgeous new digital transfer of the restored film with a new English subtitle translation. There is also a trailer, a stills gallery, a radio interview with Melville from the early ‘60s--he died at age 56 in 1973--and an engaging video interview with Daniel Cauchy, who played the role of Paulo in the film.

Cauchy discusses the fact that Melville had little money to make “Bob,” so filming stretched over 18 months. Whenever he got enough money to film for a day or two, he’d call his cast together until the money ran out. Cauchy made three other films during the production of “Bob.”

Also new from France is the fluffy comedy “Happenstance” (New Yorker, $70 for VHS; $30 for DVD). Directed by Laurent Firode, the film follows six strangers whose lives change because of chance encounters with each other during one magical day. Audrey Tautou, the charming, gamine star of “Amelie,” heads the strong ensemble.

From Russia comes the lovely 1992 drama “We Are Going to America” (Facts, $30 for VHS). Directed by Efrim Gribov, the movie is adapted from a Sholom Aleichem story and inspired visually by the paintings of Marc Chagall. It focuses on one Russian Jewish family’s search for the American dream, as seen through the wide eyes of an 11-year-old boy.

Iceland is the setting for “The Juniper Tree” (Rhino, $20 for DVD), a rather grim tale based on a Grimm fairy tale. Written and directed by Nietzchka Keene, the 1990 drama stars the popular Icelandic pop singer Bjork in her first film. Then 19, she plays a young girl who, with her older sister, flees across Iceland after their mother is burned at the stake for being a witch. Her sister casts a spell upon a widowed farmer so that he will fall in love with her and marry her. But his young son sees what his stepmother is up to and begs his father to stop the relationship.

The black-and-white film is visually stunning and Bjork is quite good, but it’s pretty tough going. The digital edition includes an interview with Keene, deleted scenes with commentary and a stills gallery.

One of TV’s groundbreaking comedy series, “All in the Family,” is based on an equally popular British sitcom, “Till Death Do Us Part.” BFS has released several episodes of the Britcom on VHS ($35 for a three-video set; $10 for a single video) and DVD ($40 for the set; $18 each). The series, which began in 1966 and continued through the mid-’70s, stars Warren Mitchell as the outspoken, bigoted, working-class Alf Garrett; Dandy Nichols is his long-suffering wife, Else; Una Stubbs plays his daughter, Rita, and Anthony Booth is his lazy, unemployed son-in-law, Mike. The cast is great and there are laughs, but “Till Death Do Us Part” is far meaner in spirit than “All in the Family” ever was.

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Shot primarily in Slovakia and Bratislava, “Behind Enemy Lines” (Fox, $28) is an old-fashioned but entertaining war adventure set in Bosnia in 1993, starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson. The serviceable digital edition includes a nice wide-screen version of the film, an average behind-the-scenes featurette, three extended scenes--including the original main title and end-credit sequences--and informative commentary from John Moore, a commercial director making his feature debut, and editor Martin Smith. Another commentary track features producers John Davis and Wick Godfrey.

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The “Official NBC 2002 Olympic Games Highlight Video/DVD” (NBC, $15 for VHS; $20 for DVD) offers the opportunity to relieve the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Culled from 375 hours of NBC, MSNBC and CNBC coverage and narrated by Bob Costas, the compilation program revisits such magical moments from the 35th annual Winter Olympic games as Sarah Hughes’ gold-medal performance in figure skating and Jim Shea capturing the gold in his skeleton run.

The downside is that these are highlights of the various events. Those looking for more complete coverage will be disappointed. At least the DVD includes 45 minutes of additional footage, including Bode Miller’s downhill runs and Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers’ run for the gold in the bobsled.

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The world’s greatest superheroes--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, the Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter--team up to fight the bad guys in “Justice League,” a vastly enjoyable animated adventure (Warner, $15 for VHS; $20 for DVD). “Justice League” is one of the most popular series on the Cartoon Network and for good reason--it’s fun, funny and handsomely animated. The DVD includes character and talent bios.

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Even Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern can’t breathe life into the labored dark comedy “Novocaine” (Artisan, $25), about a dentist and the two very weird women in his life.

The digital edition includes a ho-hum documentary on the making of the film. Much more entertaining is the mini-doc called “Bitten,” about forensic dentists.

Writer-director David Atkins supplies the commentary. Atkins, whose father and two brothers are dentists, actually worked undercover in a dentist’s office to research the film.

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“All in the Family” was based on the British series, “Till Death Us Do Part,” (the correct name) not on a series called “Till Death Do Us Part.”

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