This week we’re starting to see some of 2012′s movies hit DVD and Blu-ray, and still some of 2011′s best (and want-to-be bests). The best of the lot is the original TV miniseries version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with Alec Guiness playing the role that gave Gary Oldman an Oscar nomination. It’s not a great week for Blu-ray, but as always, there’s at least some stuff to grab.
Not only has this been a year of amazing premieres at Sundance 2011, but it’s also been a year for sales. Almost every film that was in the “In Competition” section has been sold — and that’s not to even get started with all the rest. While I was crying my eyes out in Pariah (read Brendan Walsh’s review) and watching the director Dee Rees get yet another standing ovation for her final showing of the film, Focus Features was busy shaking hands with someone because by the time I exited the theater, there was big news…
If the rest of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival is as promising as its opening night offering Pariah, then this is going to be an exceptional year for new directing talent. The film, developed from Dee Rees’ short film accepted to 2007′s festival, is an African-American-lesbian-coming-of-age story. On paper, that may look like the kind of film which is an amalgamation of clichés among marginal independent film communities, but it is not. Pariah is a work of great sensitivity, featuring an ensemble of relatively unknown actors whose nuanced performances hit home in a way that will affect anyone who’s ever been a teenager or a part of a family. Although it is comparable to Precious, but with any luck, it will overshadow it–even without the help of Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. To learn why, continue after the jump…
