Motion Picture Poppas

This week's new releases on DVD, led by the fitfully amusing Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail" and the totally unnecessary remake of "Friday the 13th," have little to offer. Since today is Father's Day, I thought it would be a good time to offer some ideas on cinematic portraits of fathers worth watching on DVD.

» Martin Ritt's 1972 family drama "Sounder," based on William Armstrong's novel, centers on a family of sharecroppers in the South during the Great Depression.

When father Paul Winfield is arrested and jailed for stealing food for his starving brood, the weight of leading the family falls on his oldest son, played by Kevin Hooks, and on his wife, played by Cicely Tyson.

This tender and uplifting tale of family love and sacrifice was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Screenplay. Winfield and Tyson became only the third black man and second black woman leads to get Best Actor and Actress Oscar nominations. The film is rated G.

» Ritt's "Hud," released nine years earlier, presented a combative portrait of father-and-son relationships.

Paul Newman portrayed Hud, the bitter, greedy son of a wealthy rancher (Melvyn Douglass) whose spread has seen better days. Hud's been waiting and watching his father's declining fortunes and health and has his own plans for the ranch.

Standing in his way are his younger stepbrother (Brandon DeWilde) and the ranch's world-weary, cynical housekeeper (Patricia Neal, in an Oscar-winning supporting role.)

Based on Larry McMurtry's novel, "Horseman, Pass By," the movie gave Newman a chance to spread his wings as an actor and play an almost totally unlikeable character, who still gets under your skin. In many ways, he's the ultimate "bad boy." Douglass, by the way, also won an Oscar for his supporting performance.

Newman lost the Best Actor award -- Justice for Dad, after all. Though unrated, Hud contains adult themes, including rape and violence.

» Robert Duvall's "Bull" Meacham is the kind of father you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. He's also the main reason to see "The Great Santini."

Adapted from Pat Conroy's semi-autobiographical novel of the same title, the story centers on Air Force Col. Meacham and his family as they arrive at new posting in the South during the Civil Rights era.

A demanding father with strict -- some would say far too strict -- standards, Meacham challenges everything and everyone, including his family.

Director John Lewis Carlino, who also wrote the screenplay, never softens "Bull" and, to his credit, neither does Duvall. His portrait of this difficult, yet decent, man stands as one the finest performances of his long and acclaimed career.

Blythe Danner, as his remarkably patient wife and Michael O'Keefe, as his oldest and most put-upon child, are superb here. Both Duvall and O'Keefe were nominated for Oscars. You may not warm to the "Bull" by the time the credits roll, but I'm certain you'll find it impossible to forget him.

"The Great Santini" is rated PG for profanity and violence.

» Late in a remarkable career, Jackie Gleason delivered a rich and compelling performance in "Nothing In Common." Tom Hanks co-starred with "The Great One" in this Gary Marshall-directed comedy/drama.

Hanks is a rising star in the advertising industry, living a freewheeling bachelor life in his hometown of Chicago. Just as he's about to land a major airline account -- and a possible partnership -- he gets word his long-suffering mother (Eva Marie Saint) left his salesman father (Gleason).

Struggling to keep his job while trying to adjust to a rapidly changing business, Gleason's character is at total loose ends without his wife. Only when he truly needs his son does Gleason realize he hardly knows him. Worse, Hanks' ad man isn't sure he wants to know his father, who largely ignored him throughout his childhood.

Marshall gets strong work from the cast, particularly Gleason, who moves with the grace of a cat burglar between laughter and pathos.

Sadly, Oscar voters missed their opportunity to do right by him with a well-deserved nomination. Still, thanks to home video, you can enjoy the man at his best. "Nothing In Common" is rated PG for sexual content and profanity.

» "On Golden Pond" still stands, nearly three decades after its release, as a fascinating and colorful look at parent and child dynamics. Real life father and daughter Henry and Jane Fonda team with Katherine Hepburn for this big screen version of Ernst Thompson's play.

A long-married couple (Henry Fonda and Hepburn) return to their beloved cottage for the summer. Age and health issues cast a bit of a shadow on the celebration of Fonda's 80th birthday. Meanwhile, the arrival of their daughter (Jane Fonda) with her new boyfriend (Dabney Coleman) and his 13-year-old son creates a few more ripples.

Left with the boy for the summer, Fonda's Norman finds his heart opening to the youngster, which offers the possibility of a warmer relationship with his daughter.

Mark Rydell's direction is subtle to the point of being nearly invisible. That's no flaw, as it's a pleasure to watch these three remarkable talents go through their paces with utter precision.

Winner of three Oscars for Best Picture, Actor (H. Fonda's first competitive award) and Actress (Hepburn's fourth and last), the elegant and genial film really is "golden." It's rated PG for mild profanity and sexual content.

» Other father-related films worth watching on Dad's big weekend include:

"Nobody's Fool," starring Paul Newman as a man who finally recognizes just what fatherhood means -- and how much it means to him.

Gary Marshall's "The Flamingo Kid" finds Matt Dillion's character caught in a tug-of-war between his real, uncompromising father (Hector Elizando) and a smooth talking, high-living mentor (the late Richard Crenna.)

A similar situation faces the hero of "A Bronx Tale," based on Chazz Palmenteri's one-man play about his own childhood. Robert De Niro played the young Chazz's bus driver father, while Palmenteri portrayed local gangster and tough guy Sonny. De Niro made his directorial debut with this "Tale."

Whether real or metaphorical, fathers and sons have often been a focus of Steven Speilberg's movies. One of his more intriguing sets of fathers are Christopher Walken and Tom Hanks in "Catch Me if You Can." Based on the true story of a teenager (Leonardo DiCaprio, in one of his best performances) who wrote millions in bad checks and assumed numerous false identities in the 1960s, the movie offers a fascinating contrast between Walken's slick, make-your-own rules businessman and Hanks' straight arrow, but compassionate FBI agent.

Finally, consider giving "To Kill a Mockingbird" another look. Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch has often been voted fiction's Best Father in numerous polls.

Happy day, Dad!