Video Picks Archive

September 13, 2000
This Week's Video Picks
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Reviews by Matt Heffernan <matt@filmhead.com>

This week my picks are East Is East (1999 - ) and North by Northwest (1959 - ).

The first film this week was a major success in England, winning the British Academy Award for Best British Film. It had a short run in the States, and now comes to video. Om Puri stars as a Pakistani immigrant who raised a family in Manchester with his English wife (Linda Bassett). Their children, who are coming of age in the 1970s, are torn between the culture they have grown up in and the traditions tyrannically imposed by their father. East Is East manages to address these issues seriously while still being a wonderful comedy. Whether this duality makes a good film is up to the viewer, but it does get my strong recommendation.
Full review from May 3, 2000

So, what does that film have to do with Hitchcock's great American adventure? Nothing, outside of a vaguely similar title. Cary Grant stars as an advertising executive who is mistaken for a spy, and ends up getting chased across the country by James Mason and Martin Landau (in once of his first screen roles). At his side is Eva Marie Saint, as the requisite blonde double agent. Probably Hitch's most entertaining film, North by Northwest is pure cinematic joy. The pace never slows, and Ernest Lehman's witty dialogue is a perfect complement to the exciting action. It is finally available on DVD, complete with a documentary hosted by Saint and an audio commentary from Lehman.

Here's some merchandise for sale at

East is East (1999)	-- VHS
East is East (1999)	-- DVD
East is East, a play by Ayub Khan-Din	-- Paperback
North by Northwest (1959)	-- VHS
North by Northwest (1959)	-- VHS Widescreen
North by Northwest (1959)	-- DVD
North by Northwest, a screenplay by Ernest Lehman	-- Paperback
North By Northwest: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	-- Compact Disc

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