“Austin City Limits Country” (TimeLife DVD)
“Austin City Limits” is among the longest running televised music programs anywhere in the world. Nowadays, the PBS production showcases live performances from Austin by anyone acknowledged in any genre. But when it began in 1974, “Austin City Limits” was focused on the “outlaw country” that defined the city’s sound—an alternative to stuffy Nashville conventions that melded country with the Counterculture. “Austin City Limits” also embraced what was later called Americana. This 10-disc DVD set includes all of Willie Nelson’s 1974 pilot episode and generous samplings from country acts who appeared on the show over the following 47 years, including Rodney Crowell, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn. “Austin City Limits” provided many opportunities for memorable duets with episodes featuring Buck Owens with Dwight Yoakum and Sheryl Crow with Kris Kristofferson. (David Luhrssen)
Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition (Streaming April 2 on AppleTV & FandangoNow)
Those people driven to accomplish the seemingly impossible are nearly always difficult to understand. This film attempts to decipher Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to reach the South Pole in 1911. In order to raise money for his expedition, the Norwegian pretends his mission is to measure northerly currents. Much of the story unfolds in flashback, where, like most of the film, it’s challenging to keep up with subtitles while absorbing a host of nuances. At least we can rewind if it’s too much. (Lisa Miller)
Concrete Cowboy (Streaming April 2 on Netflix)
This film sheds light on the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, located in a black area of Philadelphia. To save her Detroit-dwelling son Cole (Caleb McLaughlin) from street influences, his mother takes the lad to stay with his Philadelphia dad, Harp (Idris Elba). Dad runs the neighborhood riding club, and his exacting rules ignite Cole's rebellious streak. Neighbors like Nessie (Lorraine Toussaint) soften the blow as mentors to the boy. Interesting subject matter and strong performances bring out the cast’s best despite the overly-predictable script. (Lisa Miller)
Corleone: Mafia and Blood (Kino Lorber DVD)
Even the fiercest opponents of the Mafia interviewed for this documentary concede that La Cosa Nostra had understandable origins. In Sicily, an impoverished corner of Europe that was always ruled and exploited by absentee masters, the Mafia provided social organization and welfare, settled disputes and meted out a kind of justice. But in the 1970s one ambitious don, Toto Riina, broke the Mafia’s old code—such as it was—and began a merciless slaughter of rivals, their relatives and government officials and launched a killing spree increasingly manic and indiscriminate. Many of the interviewees in Corleone (the town where Riina grew up) are hidden by masks or shadows. The film is illustrated by graphic stills of Riina’s mayhem. The sociopathic mob boss was finally caught, convicted and died in prison. (David Luhrssen)
Little England (Corinth Films DVD)
The women of the Greek island of Andros wave earnestly at the departing ship in an early scene. Their men are permanently at sea, working for shipping lines, leaving the women to form their own society. As Mina says, “He commands the ship, I command the household.” Greek director Pantelis Voulgaris sets his 2013 adaptation of Ioanna Karystianni’s novel in the 1930s and ‘40s as the world slips toward war. Mina has definite ideas for her daughters and love has nothing to do with it. It’s about money and emotional security. “It’s much better for women not to marry the men they love because when they start to stray, it won’t be as painful,” she says. Rich as a novel in details and characters, Little England is a tapestry of social mores, thwarted romance and lives under duress. Voulgaris’ film took many awards on the international festivals circuit. (David Luhrssen)
