New DVDs: Monday 24 March 2008

Made by WWE films and starring ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones, The Condemned is a pretty repulsive affair.

The story is a rip-off of Battle Royale and The Running Man (both of which can be traced back to The Most Dangerous Game) that follows a group of dangerous convicts who are purchased from various corrupt jails and forced to fight to the death on a small island for the pleasure of an internet audience.

It is hard to decide what is least likeable; the rampant misogyny, the crude stereotypes and jingoism, the unpleasant violence or even the basic assumption that the viewers are as thick as Austin’s neck… but what really takes the proverbial is that the film wants us to enjoy the slick violence that it portrays and condemn the evil TV producer who is broadcasting it without the slightest notion that these are conflicting ideas. Either the filmmakers are dumb or they think we are - and seen as this cretinous piece of ‘entertainment’ has got an average of 6/10 on IMDB I am afraid it might be the later.

If you do enjoy this film you might want (or even need) to check out Michael Haneke’s Funny Games - I know it’s in foreign but don’t worry because an English language version will be in cinemas soon.

In case you feel dumber for even knowing that The Condemned exists you might want to check out some of the following new releases…

Rendition is one of the better ‘Iraq’ films to come out of Hollywood in the past couple of years. It might not really address any actual issues in a satisfactory way for those wanting a thick slice of politics but, as a piece of drama, it ticks the requisite boxes. The acting is solid and the story pulls you along to a sound finale.

Keeping things on a war footing is the excellent documentary Why We Fight. Starting with President Eisenhower’s warning about the dangers of living within an industrial military complex the film looks at how the good old U.S. of A. promptly ignored him and the effect that has had on the state of the nation. This might sound rather dry and depressing but it is utterly compelling and contains numerous interviews with the likes of John McCain and Gore Vidal. This edition also contains plenty of extra features including extended interviews and a Q&A session with the director.

This week’s ‘ain’t seen it but boy am I interested’ release is another documentary. Back To Normandy is the latest film by Nicolas Philibert, director of the wonderful Etre et Avoir (a portrait of a small French primary school). In 1975 Philibert was involved with the production of a film called I, Pierre Rivière which told the true story of a man who murdered his family. The film was made with non-actors and Back To Normandy delves into the lives of those that took part. I, Pierre Rivière is also released on DVD.

Finally this week, special mention has to go to I Am Omega which is a zero budget movie about the lone survivor of a plague who has to battle zombies and his own isolation which the more cynical among us might assume is a rip-off of I Am Legend or The Omega Man.

The production company behind I Am Omega (The Asylum) is also responsible for Transmorphers, The Da Vinci Treasure, AVH: Aliens Vs Hunter and the unapologetically titled Snakes On A Train - all of which, I am sure, have much more integrity than The Condemned.

(Hmm - there appears to be some confusion as to the DVD release date of I Am Omega. Some sources say 24th March others say 14th April. Either way the point remains that even a cheap knock-off of a blockbuster has more to offer the world than The Condemned.)