■ Peter Gabriel Live in Athens 1987
Theater was born in ancient Athens in amphitheaters much like the one overlooking the city where this hit-filled concert was recorded. Peter Gabriel brought rock theater to an exceptional level in staging, lighting, choreography and gesture, coupled with music that had absorbed a world of influences. Disc two of this set collects Gabriel’s ’80s-era music videos, including “Sledgehammer,” “Red Rain,” “Games Without Frontiers,” “Blood of Eden” and a dozen others.
■ “Fear Files”
As with most History Channel shows, “Fear Files” has its historical reenactments—of vampire legends and even recent hauntings in the nondescript homes of drab suburban subdivisions. We hear from the skeptical private investigator-turned-believing paranormal investigator, a historian on Vlad the Impaler (a national hero in Romania) and even a psychologist who insists that ghosts live only in the human mind. “Fear Files” is out in a three-disc set.
■ Voyage of the Damned
Based on actual events, this 1976 movie (out on DVD/Blu-ray) is a character study of people under duress on an ocean liner whose Jewish passengers were permitted to leave Nazi Germany, but allowed to land nowhere. The screenplay encapsulates horror and irony in vivid snippets—kaddish said under a swastika flag at a shipboard funeral. Orson Welles and James Mason offer great cameos amid an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Malcolm McDowell and Max von Sydow.
