New on DVD: Oscar-winner Helen Mirren on view in British miniseries

Hollywood,CA (Hollywood Today) 1/26/2010–With Oscar season heating up, it’s a treat to watch SAG Best Actress nominee Helen Mirren (“The Last Station”) deliver a tour-de-force performance in “Painted Lady.” The Academy Award-winning thesp, who stripped to the buff for her 1969 film debut opposite James Mason in “Age of Consent,” snatched an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a SAG Award and a Venice Film Festival trophy for her performance in “The Queen” three seasons back.

Mirren is a retired rock singer-turned-sleuth in “Painted Lady,” a British miniseries seen here on PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre.” When a friend is killed and one of his priceless paintings stolen, Mirren finds herself in the murky underworld of the art trade attempting to recover the canvas and solve the murder. (Available from Acorn Media).

Ever wonder where Mel Brooks got the idea for “The Producers” ? One possible source has been rediscovered for “Avant-Garde 3: Experimental Cinema 1922-1954,” a volume of short films from the collections of Raymond Rohauer—who did much to revive Buster Keaton’s legacy during his lifetime—and the George Eastman House. “Schichlegruber Doing The Lambeth Walk,” a brief re-edit of documentary footage that anticipates “The Producers” in its musical mockery of Hitler, is among the highlights.

Also included are a 1928 adaptation of “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe; a surreal color short featuring Los Angeles painter Llyn Foulkes in his studio; and playful bits of animation by Mary Ellen Bute (“Tarantella”) and John Whitney (“Celery Stalks at Midnight,” with a jazz score by Will Bradley). (Available from Kino International).

“On the Road with Charles Kuralt” reprises an Emmy-winning CBS series hosted by the celebrated journalist who was a master in the art of travel. Kuralt had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out a good story; he seeks out the odd and obscure in these episodes, foreshadowing both the current trend in reality shows and the increasing popularity of travel off the beaten path.

Among the 77 segments Kuralt serves up in this set are ones featuring railroad enthusiasts, a retired circus bandleader, a man who patented a thumb-twiddling device, and a group of seniors with the proud distinction of having built the Golden Gate Bridge. (Available from Acorn Media).

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