TV
"Father Knows Best: Season One" (Shout! Factory, $35)
This classic family comedy had more depth than is sometimes acknowledged in dismissals of '50s television. I hoped that the four-disc set would restore the comedy about the Anderson family to its original length, instead of including the syndicated episodes that were edited to make room for more commercials.
Unfortunately, many of the 26 episodes from the 1954-55 season are the syndicated cuts; a Shout! Factory rep said these were the best versions available. Still, some are in the original form and one episode -- "The Promised Playhouse" -- is presented as it first aired and in a significantly re-edited version from syndication.
The set does have some interesting extras, including home movies of star Robert Young, narrated by grandson Bill Proffitt. There are also recent interviews with Elinor Donahue (who played Betty) and Lauren Chapin (Kathy); the pilot for "Window on Main Street," a later series starring Young; and "24 Hours in Tyrantland," a 1959 promotional piece that the cast did for U.S. savings bonds.
R.D. HELDENFELS, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL
Foreign
"The Night of the Shooting Stars," "Kaos," "Fiorile" (Koch Lorber, $27 each)
Three foreign-language favorites from Italian siblings Paolo and Vittorio Taviani come to DVD, led by a new edition of "Night of the Shooting Stars," with "Kaos" and "Fiorile" making their U.S. debuts on disc. From 1982, "Night of the Shooting Stars" is a loving portrait of a small Italian town whose residents are in limbo between Nazi occupiers and their American liberators as World War II nears an end. The 1984 drama "Kaos" is an anthology of tales based on stories by Luigi Pirandello, dealing with family, separation, passion, mourning, mortality and the art of storytelling. "Fiorile," from 1993, chronicles the consequences of a curse that has beset a family for 200 years. "Night of the Shooting Stars" is accompanied by an interview with the Tavianis, while the "Fiorile" DVD includes a documentary about the brothers. Each DVD also comes with an essay booklet.
DAVID GERMAIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
