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"Although few would deny the astonishing technique on display in 1991's conspiracy stew "JFK" (ONE STAR OUT OF FOUR), it remains a deplorable film in its willful distortion of history and character. With 1997's "U-Turn" (TWO STARS OUT OF FOUR), we learn that when Stone has no ax to grind, he has precious little to say."
www.freep.com/entertainment/movies/dvd19e_20041019.htm
NEW DVD RELEASES: Boxhttp://reveals flawed genius of Oliver Stone
October 19, 2004
BY TERRY LAWSON FREE PRESS MOVIE WRITER
Just as writer-director Oliver Stone seems to have a love-hate relationship with these United States, I have a love-hate relationship with Oliver Stone. As much as I admire his courage (reckless though it often is) and skills as a filmmaker, his judgment is forever in question, not just in the conclusions he reaches, but in the choice he makes reaching them.
I couldn't make my point any better than it's made in "The Ultimate Oliver Stone Collection" (Warner, $129.92; discounted it will be less than $100), a box collecting 12 of Stone's feature films made for various studios. Missing are two early horror films, 1974's "Seizure" and 1981's "The Hand," as well as his 2003 Fidel Castro documentary "Comandante."
There is real brilliance here, most notably in his Vietnam trilogy -- 1986's "Platoon" (FOUR STARS OUT OF FOUR), 1989's "Born on the Fourth of July" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR) and 1993's "Heaven and Earth" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR).
There is also much good to be said about Stone's examinations of foreign policy in 1986's "Salvador" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR), capitalism run amok in 1987's "Wall Street" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR), free speech run amok in 1988's "Talk Radio" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR), the complex crook who was president in 1995's "Nixon" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR) and professional football in 1999's "Any Given Sunday" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR). All of these, however, contain prime examples of Stone's worst tendency as a filmmaker -- which is overheated bombast. "The Doors" (TWO STARS OUT OF FOUR), from 1991, may be the worst example if you don't count 1994's uber-violent satire "Natural Born Killers" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR).
Although few would deny the astonishing technique on display in 1991's conspiracy stew "JFK" (ONE STAR OUT OF FOUR), it remains a deplorable film in its willful distortion of history and character. With 1997's "U-Turn" (TWO STARS OUT OF FOUR), we learn that when Stone has no ax to grind, he has precious little to say.
The final two discs in the box may make it desirable even for those who already have the other movies. (All the films are the same as the previously issued versions, with all extras extant, although "JFK" and "Any Given Sunday" are presented in their reworked director's cuts.) One of the final discs contains the Castro film Stone made after "Comandante" was rejected by the pay-cable channel for which it was made on grounds it was too fawning. The follow-up is the far more even-handed "Looking For Fidel" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR), which acknowledges Castro's crackdown on dissidents. The disc also contains "Persona Non Grata" (THREE STARS OUT OF FOUR), an account of Stone's 2002 trip to the Middle East, during which he interviewed Shimon Peres and other leaders as well as residents on both sides of the conflict. (This disc also contains an extended commercial for Stone's "Alexander," which will be released next month.)
The other disc contains a fascinating, extended interview with Stone conducted by director Charles Kiselyak, whose rabid admiration for Stone does not prevent the director from being insightful, entertaining and self-critical, as well as occasionally self-aggrandizing. Stone may not be the best director in America, but he remains one of the most intriguing. Also included here is "Last Year in Viet Nam," the student film Stone made at New York University after he returned from the war in 1971