Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • February 10, 2010 ‘Edge of Darkness’ (continued from Entertainment page) anger just below the surface. By controlling his emotions, he is more effective at getting answers. Gibson’s character is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, who faced down thugs with enviable coolness rather than histrionics. The difference between believable movie cop and cartoon is measured in degrees. Though the viewers may be skeptical of Craven’s methods, we admire his style and rightful indignation. Ray Winstone is a character actor who has the ability to command the screen. His Jedburgh is an expert in doing damage control on secret government operations that threaten to become public. He is soft spoken, but viewers never doubt that he can have people killed to prevent revelations that might embarrass or incriminate his clients. But who is his boss? Does he have his own built-in moral sensor? His presence in “Edge of Darkness” adds to the film’s suspense. Danny Huston has the kind of face and bearing that immediately characterize him as a villain. In a scene in which his Jack Bennett agrees to answer some of Craven’s questions, he maintains a cordial demeanor, though his manner is officious, even condescending. In the old days, he would have been the guy twirling his mustache as the impoverished widow was thrown out of her home. Bennett is corrupt through and through and has been allowed to profit with no restrictions. He is an oily, profits-at-any-cost commander of a personal fiefdom. Rated R for violence and strong language, “Edge of Darkness” is a fast-moving movie about political corruption, treason, and murder. Though its agenda is ambitious, the movie manages to combine these elements nicely into an intriguing look at the dangers of corporate law-breaking and political collusion. wolf is none other than Bela Lugosi, trading in his Dracula cape for a gypsy get-up. The gypsy’s mother, Maleva, is played by Maria Ouspenskaya, a small, elderly woman who was an acting teacher when she wasn’t moonlighting in character movie roles. The photography in “The Wolf Man” is especially notable. With loads of smoke to simulate mist, the limitations of the soundstage were masked and the forests seemed endless, though the actors had only a few yards to run in one direction or another. Tight editing makes the forest look deep. “The Wolf Man” rightfully became an iconic creature. The monster is an unwilling one, infected by a werewolf’s bite and thus doomed to seek human prey. Chaney, though not one of Hollywood’s brighter lights, is very good as Larry, who knows he kills while in werewolf form and is tormented by the knowledge. The viewer sympathizes with his plight. At a mere 70 minutes, this is Chaney’s best -- and best-remembered -- film. It co-stars Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, and Universal’s scream queen, Evelyn Ankers. DVD extras are abundant on this two-disc set. There is a making-of featurette, a gallery of original publicity materials, feature commentary with film historian Tom Weaver, a look at werewolf mythology, a retrospective of the film career of Chaney Jr., a deserved tribute to Jack Pierce, who created the makeup for Chaney’s werewolf and for the other three Universal monsters; and “Universal Horror,” a splendid documentary about the making of some of Hollywood’s most memorable horror flicks. (continued from Restaurant page) Confession” (1953), with Cleo Moore as a thief who did jail time and now wants to retrieve the cash she stole; “Women’s Prison” (1955), with Ida Lupino as a sadistic warden; and “Over-Exposed” (1956), with Cleo Moore as a photographer who uses her pictures for blackmail. In a few days, the big-budget remake of “The Wolf Man” will open in theaters nationwide. “The Wolf Man: Special Edition” (Universal Home Entertainment), released to coincide with this event, contains the original 1941 movie that added a fourth monster to Universal’s star horror trio of Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, and the Mummy. This movie is the source of much of the “legendary” information about the werewolf, especially that a werewolf can be killed only by a silver bullet or a silver club. That mythic idea is the product of imaginative screenwriter Curt Siodmak, not ancient lore. The story, a variation of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” is simple and works because it assumes the existence of werewolves without unnecessary explanations. There is a scene in which Claude Rains, playing the father of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), recites some mumbo jumbo about lycanthropy, the technical term for people who believe they can turn into wolves. But the film takes off almost at once as Larry is bitten by a wolf when he tries to defend a woman who is being attacked by the animal. It turns out the were- DVDs