Rack Focus

Comments (0) By Joshua Land Tuesday, Sep 13 2005

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
(Paramount)

This bold wartime comedy from the redoubtable Preston Sturges stars Betty Hutton as a woman who wakes up pregnant and possibly married after a dimly recollected night of partying with a group of G.I.'s and sets her sights on a childhood friend (Eddie Bracken) as a possible surrogate husband. Bonus material includes a piece on the film's struggles with the Production Code.

New Jack City
(Warner Bros.)

The new two-disc "special edition" of Mario Van Peebles's hip-hop Scarface comes loaded with extras, including a commentary track by the director; a making-of piece featuring stars Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, and Allen Payne; a walking tour of Harlem with Van Peebles; a tribute to the movie from various artists and radio personalities; and a trio of music videos, one of which is—yes indeed—Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up."

Paris Is Burning
(Buena Vista)

Cinema studies professors across the land, rejoice! A staple of film school syllabi, Jennie Livingston's alternately ebullient and poignant 1991 documentary looks at the world of Harlem drag queens. The movie scans now as a time capsule of a bygone New York, but its central concerns of race, class, and sexuality remain as timely as ever. A commentary track with the director, editor Jonathan Oppenheim, and stars Willi Ninja and Freddie Pendavis promises its share of "where are they now" moments.