The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
With not the least bit of hyperbole, Criterion’s new high definition remaster of the Beatles’ legendary feature debut, A Hard Day’s Night (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), is absolutely stunning. Crystal clear with nary a blemish to be found, it looks as pristine as one could possible hope for. Add a brilliant new sound mix that is equally as sharp, and you’ve got the ultimate presentation of the still-enjoyable lark. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette incorporating vintage interviews with the Fab Four, a pair of making-of documentaries, a featurette on director Richard Lester’s work, Lester’s Oscar-nominated The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film, a featurette on Lester’s style, and more. Get this.
Hey, webheads! Based on the artwork of J. Scott Campbell, the fine folks at Sideshow have followed up their gorgeous Mary Jane Watson maquette by crafting an equally beautiful – in more ways than one – polystone maquette of Peter Parker’s original crush, Gwen Stacy ($269.99). The attention to detail in capturing Campbell’s style extends to the unique shading of the paintjob, meant to evoke the same feeling of the original art – And it most certainly does. With an edition size limited to only 4000 pieces, you’ll want to get yours as soon as possible, true believers.
A few years back, it seemed a pretty unlikely notion that Paramount would invest the money necessary to completely remaster Star Trek: The Next Generation (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP) in high definition. Now, we’ve got 6 of the show’s 7 seasons fully remastered from the original 35mm elements, and even when the stories are lackluster, the show looks and sounds spectacular. Bonus features include everything available with the previous DVD edition, plus newly-produced documentaries, commentaries, and a gag reel. As they have with previous seasons, they’ve also carved out a two-parter – this time, it’s the Cardassian torture episodes Chain Of Command (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) – and edited them into a feature-length presentation, with a new audio commentary and documentary.
They were the first to commit to the idea, and Warner Bros. remains at the forefront of getting their deep catalogue titles out to the diehard fans of various properties via their Warner Archive, which has just dropped a slew of brand new discs. First and foremost, their Blu-Ray program has released the long-awaited John Milius masterpiece The Wind And The Lion (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), sporting an audio commentary from Milius and a behind-the-scenes featurette. They’ve also given a high-def release to the first season of The Mentalist (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$40.99 SRP), with featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. On the standard-def MOD deep catalogue side, they’ve released 1979’s Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (Warner Bros., Rated PG, MOD DVD-$17.99 SRP), Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes (Warner Bros., Rated R, MOD DVD-$17.99 SRP), and Paul Greengrass’s Bloody Sunday (Warner Bros., Rated R, MOD DVD-$17.99 SRP).
But it’s not just feature films in the offing, as the Warner Archive wraps up a classic series with the release of Maverick: The Complete Fifth Season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$40.99 SRP) and its short-lived 80’s follow-up Bret Maverick (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$47.99 SRP), which returned James Garner to his iconic role. On the animated front, Warners delivers both Challenge Of The Gobots: The Original Miniseries (Warner Bros., Not Rated, MOD DVD-$17.99 SRP) and Challenge Of The Gobots: The Series – Volume One (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$35.99 SRP), Jonny Quest: The Complete Eighties Adventures (Warner Bros., Not Rated, MOD DVD-$29.99 SRP), and The Jetsons: Season 3 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, MOD DVD-$21.99 SRP).
I’m still not entirely sure if I like Comedy Bang Bang (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). I mean, I think I do… And then it just gets slightly more bizarre than actually funny bizarre, and I have to reconsider my position. Your mileage may vary. I *think* I like it. Yeah. The complete second season set contains audio commentaries, VFX tests, supercuts, test shoots, and more.
Few series stand up terribly well decades after they first aired, but one that most certainly does is I Spy (Timeless Media Group, Not Rated, DVD-$129.99 SRP), which is available for the first time as a complete series box set collecting all 3 seasons. And the reason it holds up so well? The timeless affability and charm of its secret agent double act, Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. Give it a spin and you’ll see for yourself.
It doesn’t quite succeed in what it’s trying to do, but Winter’s Tale (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) still manages to be a perfectly enjoyable little fable about the struggle of good versus evil with the love of a woman at its core. And who doesn’t want to see Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell as the adversaries in that struggle? Bonus materials include a clutch of featurettes.
Shout Factory has become the last great hope for many TV series whose DVD releases were cut off short of completion, as they turn their benevolence towards Sipowicz and his new partner Danny Sorenson (Ricky Schroder) for the complete sixth season of NYPD Blue (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP). The 6-disc set contains all 22 episodes, but sadly no bonus features.
When you watch 300: Rise Of An Empire (Warner Bros., Rated R, 3D Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP), expectations are quite simple – essentially, a rudimentary plot that exists solely as a lattice upon which to hang nudity, blood, guts, and incredibly displays of deep male bonding. And guess what? That’s exactly what you get! Plus sea battles! Bare-chested sea battles! It’s so much easier when a film just gets to its point. Bonus materials include a grab bag of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Fans of Dora and her monkey sidekick will want to explore her latest DVD release, Dora The Explorer: Dora’s Magical Sleepover (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which includes her titular museum sleepover adventure, plus two more bonus episodes.
So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…
-Ken Plume
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Fans knew it was only a matter of time before we could finally buy our own toy version of The Other Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver (Underground Toys/Thinkgeek, $23.99) from the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special “The Day Of The Doctor”, as wielded by John Hurt. It features a light-up tip and four individual sound effects.
