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By KAREN MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LITTLE ROCK — Recent DVD releases:

The Craft (R, 101 minutes) Get primed for Halloween with The Craft on Blu-ray. This smart, satisfying horror favorite from 1996 stars Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True and Robin Tunney as nonconformist teenagers who form a witch’s coven to deal with their bullying classmates. The Bluray disc includes commentary by director Andrew Fleming, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and an isolated score by Graeme Revell.

Grade: 89

Easy Rider (R, 95 minutes) The 40th anniversary of this anti-establishment classic is being celebrated with its release on Blu-ray. Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson star as two drug-dealing motorcyclists and an alcoholic lawyer, respectively, who hit the road on their choppers in search of their unique American dream.Bonuses include commentary by Hopper and an interactive feature that allows viewers to access continuously updated information on cast and crew and explore production facts, music and soundtrack information tied to scenes within the movie. A 32-page graphic booklet with information on the soundtrack, actors and historical significance of the film is included with the Bluray package.

Grade: 90

Fighter (unrated, 90 minutes) This drama about a Turkish girl (played by kung fu champion Semra Turan) whose preference for martial arts over academics upsets her traditional community and working-class family eventually abandons its early predictability and displays some creativity and passion. In Danish and Turkish with English subtitles.

Grade: 80

Gnaw (not rated, 90 minutes) British cannibalistic psychopaths (we call ’em zombies here) anticipate a fine feast when six twenty somethings arrive at an English country house for what they hope will be a relaxing weekend. Although you’ve probably seenit all before, the film was a fan favorite at London’s 2008 Frightfest, Dublin’s 2008 Horrorthon and Portugal’s 2009 Fantasporto festival.

Grade: 80

Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry (not rated, 77 minutes) This stalwart documentary explores the roots of American tattooing through the decidedly salty viewpoint of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, considered by many to be America’s most important tattoo artist. The DVD includes deleted scenes, outtakes, and commentary by director Erich Weiss.

Grade: 83

Left Bank (not rated, 102 minutes) Despite a lame script and slow pace, this Belgian production manages to produce a fair quantity of thrills in the disturbing story of a female track star who slows down long enough to start a romance with a fellow athlete, only to learn that he - and his stylish high-rise condominium - have a definite dark side. In Dutch with English subtitles.Grade: 80

Oral Fixation (not rated, 82 minutes) Jack Cashill’s twitchy thriller, which won Francis Ford Coppola’s Inaugural Screenplay Competition, stars Emily Parker as Rachel Marks, whose sexual obsession with her dentist turns into a dark, mad and murderous affair.

Grade: 84

Stop Making Sense (not rated, 88 minutes) Everyone who has ever seen Stop Making Sense remembers David Byrne doing a nerdy dance wearing a ridiculously large broad shouldered white suit. It’s one of the most iconic images of the 1980s. Jonathan Demme’s unparalleled 1984 concert film featuring the Talking Heads performing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, which contains that scene of Byrne, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a Blu-ray release. It’s allplatter (all music), no chatter (zero backstage prattle). The disc includes previously unreleased footage of a 1999 news conference with the members of the band, two songs not included in the film, and a David Byrne interview.

Grade: 90

MovieStyle, Pages 37 on 10/16/2009

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