DVD Review: HBO Brings Home Emmy Contenders ‘Flight of the Conchords,’ ‘Grey Gardens’

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CHICAGO – Two of HBO’s most acclaimed and beloved programs of the last year just hit DVD and both packages are worth the pick-up for anyone who considers themselves a serious collector of TV on DVD - “Flight of the Conchords: Season Two” and “Grey Gardens”. Both were nominated for multiple Emmys, standing among the best television of 2008 and 2009.

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

Let’s start with the comedy. The second-and-superior season of “Flight of the Conchords” continues the adventures of Emmy-nominated Jemaine Clement and his partner Bret McKenzie as the New Zealand’s “4th Most Popular Folk Parody Duo” trying to make it big in the States.

Flight of the Conchords: Season Two was released on DVD on August 4th, 2009.
Photo credit: HBO Home Video

With its sublimely twisted sense of humor and catchy-as-hell soundtrack “Flight of the Conchords” gets under your skin. The season premiere, in which the boys fire their manager, is good, but the follow-up episode, about Jemaine becoming a male prostitute to make ends meet, is uniquely hilarious. The show’s addictive nature is perfect for DVD. Expect to watch one episode the first time, two the second, and not be able to hold back from burning through the rest of the season the third.

The 12 episodes of season two of “Flight of the Conchords” are presented in 16:9 widescreen and they look pretty good for standard definition. It’s shameful that HBO isn’t releasing one of their hippest programs on Blu-Ray, but this standard transfer is better than average (even better than season one, actually). Same goes for the audio mix in English 5.1 and Spanish 2.0

Special features on “Flight of the Conchords: Season Two” include “Flight of the Conchords: On Air Documentary Feature,” “Dave’s Pawn Shop Commercials,” “New Zealand Consulate Meetings With Murray & Greg,” Deleted Scenes, and Outtakes.

“Flight of the Conchords” is one of the funnier shows on television and the season two DVD release from HBO is one of the better comedy DVDs of the month.

One of the best drama DVDs of the last several months is the multiple Emmy-nominated “Grey Gardens,” an amazing TV movie that aired on HBO earlier this year and still stands as one of the best films of 2009, theatrical or televised.

Grey Gardens was released on DVD on July 14th, 2009.
Photo credit: HBO Home Video

Drew Barrymore gives the performance of her career as “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, daughter of “Big Edie” (Jessica Lange). In 1973, Albert and David Maysles entered the reclusive world of the Bouvier Beales to film a documentary about these two eccentric relatives of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Living in a run-down house, giving shows for each other, and basically living on the edge of sanity, the documentary “Grey Gardens” was a riveting portrait of these two unforgettable women.

The Maysles captured day-to-day life in almost total isolation in every way. Little Edie and Big Edie had absolutely no grip on reality, living in squalor but acting like social darlings. How did they get there? The narrative HBO film inspired by the documentary attempts to answer that question (but only barely does) by flashbacking to key moments in their lives.

“Little Edie” Bouvier Beale and “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale would probably be simply over-the-moon to know that an HBO movie had been made about their lives. It may not be the most flattering or illuminating work about these two women, but it’s amazing how much they can continue to fascinate, nearly four decades after the Maysles brought them into the spotlight that they always thought they deserved in the first place.

“Grey Gardens” was nominated for Best TV Movie or Mini-Series, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, but the real competition will be between Lange & Barrymore in Best Actress. Rent or buy the DVD and see who you think should win. (If I had a ballot, Drew would get my vote, for sure, and I expect her to win the prize. She’s simply incredible.)

“Grey Gardens” is another HBO title being released only on DVD and not on Blu-Ray. Why the network isn’t releasing their most acclaimed programming in HD is a mystery to me. HBO has always been a trend setter and it feels like they’re getting left behind by their peers when it comes to Blu-Ray TV. The film is presented with a 16:9 ratio and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish 2.0 track.

Special features include an informative audio commentary with executive producers Michael Sucsy, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Rachael Horovitz, and “Grey Gardens, Then & Now,” a documentary that compares and contracts the feature-length film and the original 1975 documentary that includes interviews with Albert Maysles, Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, filmmaker Michael Sucsy and others.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com