The Commitments

As timeless as the American soul music it celebrates, Alan Parker's BAFTA award-sweeping 1991 sleeper hit was one of those rare, shiver-with-pleasure kind of films that comes out of nowhere and blindsides an audience with its exuberance and appealing characters. The first, and best, of the films based on Roddy Doyle's “Barrytown” trilogy (which also includes The Snapper and The Van), The Commitments charts the rise and fall of an aspiring Dublin soul band--white, working class heroes who use the music to escape their hardscrabble lives, but can't evade the petty jealousies and bickering that will test their, well, commitment to the group. Indeed, this film is just as right-on about fractious group dynamics as This is Spinal Tap, but with a lot more heart and a lot more soul. Presented in a beautiful anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a new Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, this double-disc set includes Parker's commentary track, three somewhat redundant segments about the making of the film, a featurette on Dublin, and two new songs by the band. Highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)