Trust me: an assortment of DVDs, ranging from the latest Academy Award winners to a half-century-old western classic, have one thing in common—they're well worth going out of your way to see. . - Entertainment - movie review

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2002 by Robert S. Rothenberg

Sands of Iwo Jima (Artisan Home Entertainment, 109 minutes, $14.98). This 1949 film had the distinction of featuring John Wayne's sole best acting Oscar nomination until he finally won the award as one-eyed sheriff Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit" 20 years later. In "Sands," Wayne is a hard-as-nails Marine sergeant (with, naturally, a soft spot underneath the snarls and bluster) who has to train a group of raw recruits during World War II and then lead them into battle against Japanese forces during the invasion of Iwo Jima. The picture is loaded with what have become military cliches over the years, many of which originated with this picture, but once the action gets cranked up, it is a true audience-pleaser. John Agar, the former Mr. Shirley Temple, somehow only seemed to get good roles in Wayne movies, and turns in his finest performance here as a rebellious Marine who starts out hating his noncom leader, then winds up realizing how the sergeant made a man out of him. Still, it is Wayne's Sgt. Stryker who dominates the movie and well-merited the Oscar nomination. A "Making of ..." documentary hosted by Leonard Maltin does an excellent job in putting the film in historical perspective and saluting Wayne's performance.

Oscars and Future "Trust Me"s

Obviously, it's redundant to say "Trust Me" when recommending some of this year's Academy Award winners. Still, a couple of decades from now, I'm sure they'll be on my list as I try to lure my grandkids away from "Men in Black IX" or "Spider-Man VI"! In addition to a trio of 2002 Oscar winners, there are four other films that will be on my list as I seek converts.

A Beautiful Mind (Universal Studios Home Videos, 136 minutes, $22.95) captured four Academy Awards--best picture, director (Ron Howard), supporting actress (Jennifer Connelly), and adapted screenplay (Akiva Goldsman). Although Hollywood's resentment of star Russell Crowe's off-screen antics and voters' queasiness concerning a whispering campaign that the character he played--schizophrenic Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash--had been thoroughly laundered for the film, omitting rumors of homosexuality and anti-Semitism, undoubtedly cost Crowe a shot at back-to-back Oscars (after "Gladiator"), there's no denying the power of his performance. It's mesmerizing to watch him portray a great mind's descent into the hell of insanity so subtly that viewers are hard-pressed to pinpoint the exact moment that Nash's inner demons take over his mind. Connelly, her talents previously operating largely below audiences' radar in a number of little-known "artistic" films, does a beautiful job in playing counterpoint to Crowe's thundering presence, and the Academy rewarded favorite son Howard for his years of competency, passing over the controversial veteran Robert Altman (for "Gosford Park"). The Two-Disc Awards Edition DVD is loaded with special features, including audio commentaries by Howard and Goldsman; deleted scenes with the director's narration; a "Making of ..." feature; a documentary on the long-standing working relationship between Howard and producer Brian Glazer; a look at the real-life Nash; explorations of the casting, scoring, special effects, and storyboarding of the film; and Academy Award reactions of the four winners.