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DVD review: Cinema 16: World Short Films

Brevity and quality are the only things the 16 films in this collection have in common. Some are first efforts or early attempts, others are experiments, others still are simply stories too short to demand feature length. There are no set rules here, but it's a useful primer on world cinema. While you might be familiar with plenty of the names involved - Guillermo Del Toro, Park Chan-Wook, Andrea Arnold, Alfonso Cuarón, Alexander Sokurov - chances are, even completists and fans haven't seen all of these. Some directors show their style developing early - such as Jane Campion's A Girl's Own Story and Sylvain "Belleville Rendez-Vous" Chomet's The Old Lady And The Pigeons - others are seen tackling subjects outside of what they're known for - Del Toro's awesome Dona Lupe has little supernatural about it. Some are award-winners, others are hilarious jokes - such as mock safety film Forklift Driver Klaus, - or delightful one-offs, such as Guy Maddin's My Dad Is 100 Years Old, in which Isabella Rossellini portrays a variety of famous male directors in front of her father's fat belly. Most come with director commentaries, full of tales as wild and varied as the shorts themselves. Also out Wall-E Pixar's dystopian but cute animated robot adventure, executed with their usual finesse. £22.99, Disney Mamma Mia! The smash hit, star-studded Abba-scored musical, with singalong option. £21.99, Universal The Mighty Boosh Seasons 1-3 Barratt and Fielding's lovable TV series, all in one place. £34.50, BBC The X Files: I Want To Believe An older Mulder and Scully back on the paranormal trail, with middling results. £19.99, Fox Summer Hours Solid French family drama, with Juliette Binoche and Charles Berling. £19.99, Artificial Eye World cinema DVD and video reviews (read more)