Winter Kills [DVD]

Amazon.com This exhilarating kaleidoscope of a movie, from a surreally layered novel by Richard Condon (The Manchurian Candidate), combines post-Watergate paranoia, gallows humor, political sci-fi, dazzling suspense set pieces, something we might call postmodern historical burlesque, and gonzo performances by a truly all-star cast. It's held together by Jeff Bridges as the surviving scion of a Kennedy-like dynasty who reluctantly sets out to solve his brother's assassination. John Huston's own dynastic credentials and rough-hewn aristocracy make him perfect casting as the family patriarch, a simultaneously genial and appalling American monster. Writer-director William Richert, a virtual unknown, somehow corraled an amazing ensemble, including an unbilled Liz Taylor, North by Northwest production designer Robert Boyle (who also contributes a delicious cameo), composer Maurice Jarre, and the great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. The widescreen camerawork and zesty primary-color palette demand DVD, which may finally do right by this quintessential '70s film that the '70s just weren't ready for. --Richard T. Jameson Set Contains: No matter if you see this film as a forgotten masterpiece or cinematic curio, one cannot debate the excellent print, finally shown in widescreen splendor. Anchor Bay has developed a keen program in working with maverick directors. Like their previous efforts with Werner Herzog and Richard Rush, they let William Richert have carte blanche in presenting his film on DVD. Luckily the director is a character, a gleeful showman whether commenting on the film, reminiscing about his high-wattage cast, or reminiscing with actor Jeff Bridges. A new 35-minute documentary pulls most of the pieces together on how the controversial film was created. We see tantalizing snapshots of deleted scenes and hear about "original" scenes, but there is no film, just the original screenplay on DVD-ROM. It would have been nice to hear from some of the film's biggest advocates to help explain the struggle the film had after the release. The effort to make the film is clearly and entertainingly explained--the crooked producers simply ran out of money. --Doug Thomas