Everest
Since the ’90s, climbing Mount Everest has become a commercial enterprise. In Everest, several party-hearty adventure tour groups are practically stepping on each other’s ropes as they scale the highest peak. Based on a true story, Everest sketches out the dangers, which include cerebral inflammation and lungs filling with fluid as well as the expected frozen toes and death under the weight of an avalanche. Everest stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Josh Brolin.
Hawaiian Rainbow & Kumu Hula: Keepers of a Culture
Robert Mugge is best known for documentaries on the blues, but also directed films on Hawaiian music. Reissued together on DVD, Hawaiian Rainbow (1987) and Kumu Hula: Keepers of a Culture (1989) are close, almost intimate examinations of the islands’ traditional music and dance. One gets the sense that Mugge immersed himself for many months in the project and traveled widely, gaining a firm grip on how landscape, folklore and history shaped the music.
The Image Revolution
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sold the rights to Superman for $130; Marvel’s Jack Kirby received no royalties for Captain America or X-Men. In 1992, a gang of young comic book artists decided to seize their own financial destiny (and help other aspiring artists) by founding Image Comics. As director Patrick Meaney shows in his documentary, Image’s eye-popping books quickly rivaled DC and Marvel. Soon enough, the founders had to contend with the challenges of success.
“The Saint Seasons 3 & 4”
Before playing James Bond in seven films, Roger Moore apprenticed on a British television series aired in the U.S. “The Saint” (1962-1969) starred Moore as Simon Templar, a roguishly charming, well-dressed outlaw who often found himself working alongside British intelligence to foil one nefarious plot after another. With eyebrows slightly arched, Moore had a way with women and martinis, and was fast with his fists. The “Seasons 3 & 4” DVD set includes all 32 episodes.
