ENTERTAINMENT

Home Video: Animals take center stage

Todd Hill
Gannett Ohio

As the summer doldrums continue in the home video market, the home video columnist looks for trends in the week's releases — and finds one! As luck would have it, two movies out this week — one new, one old — have animals at their center. And they're exceptional motion pictures, for very different reasons.

New movies

"The Water Diviner." Russell Crowe, onetime member of Hollywood's A list, has since dropped several letters down the showbiz alphabet. Whether this was his choice or not, I don't know. But he's turned to directing with this post-World War I drama about the Battle of Gallipoli, and while the mistakes of a first-time filmmaker are evident, this is a solid, old-fashioned movie rich in emotion and period authenticity. It's a dogged and worthy effort, and should appeal to fans of many of Crowe's past films. Rated R for war violence including some disturbing images. In English, Russian, Greek and Turkish with English subtitles. 111 min.

Russell Crowe stars and makes his directorial debut in the period war drama “The Water Diviner.”

"White God." This Hungarian film promises to be one of the most unusual, and powerful, movies you see this year. It utilizes mixed-breed dogs relegated to the pound to tell an allegorical story about human oppression, and tells it with the help of 280 of the animals. There's no CGI here, this is real, and the climactic moment when the mutinous mutts revolt and take to the streets has to be seen to be believed. Stunning stuff. Not for nothing, but the dogs are pretty accomplished actors, too. Who needs purebreds? Not rated, but images of animal abuse are not what American audiences are used to, and horrific. In English and Hungarian with English subtitles. 121 min.

Lili Horvath and 280 dogs star in the Hungarian film “White God.”

"Jauja." It's an Argentinean art film, so be warned. But it's also a western, of sorts, starring Viggo Mortensen, so it's not as inaccessible as it could be, although it certainly tries hard to confound. Mortensen plays an army engineer sent wandering in an effort to locate his sexually precocious teenage daughter. The landscapes, as one might expect, are beautiful, and the story takes its time. The film's square frame, like something out of 1928 – with rounded edges, no less – is a bit much, and the picture's ending can only be described as bizarre. But give it a try. Not rated, but contains some scenes of sexuality and mild torture. In Spanish and Danish with English subtitles. 109 min.

Old movies

"The Black Stallion." If you're a horse lover and have never seen this 1979 classic, well, where have you been? I caught it on DVD a few years back, and am glad to see it rescued with this Criterion Collection Blu-ray debut. It's what this picture needed. The film tells the story of a shipwrecked boy whose life is saved, for all intents and purposes, by a horse. Their bonding is the essence of the movie, and it's a wonderment. The direction, by Carol Ballard, and photography (Caleb Deschanel) are something to get lost in. And Mickey Rooney stars as a cranky, old horse trainer, for which he received an Oscar nomination.

The 1979 film “Black Stallion” is about a boy and his horse. It debuts on Blu-ray this month.

"Hiroshima mon amour." Also making its Blu-ray debut this month is this 1959 benchmark of French New Wave cinema. That should tell you a lot. If you've an interest in this movement, then Alain Renais' first feature film belongs in your collection. If you've always found New Wave pictures to be a bit obtuse, expect the same here. It's a story about a French actress and a Japanese architect falling in love in postwar Hiroshima, but more about the plot need not be detailed her, for ultimately this is a movie about moodiness and angst. This is another Criterion release, and the scores of extras truly do justice to the significance of the title.

Top 10

Here are this week's most popular DVD/Blu-ray rentals as compiled by Rotten Tomatoes – "Jupiter Ascending," "Kingsman: The Secret Service," "Seventh Son," "Get Hard," "Home," "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," "Ex Machina," "Chappie," "Focus" and "The Duff."

thill3@nncogannett.com

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Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ