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 Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
Long before Comedy Central’s The Daily Show was a glimmer in creator Lizz Winstead’s eye, there was another program that brilliantly satirized programs like 60 Minutes and 20/20 – it was Michael Moore’s TV Nation. One of the TV Nation correspondents that caught my eye was a Brit by the name of Louis Theroux, whose segments included memorable visits with the “new” Klu Klux Klan and NRA rocker Ted Nugent. In fact, it was exactly those profiles of subculture and celebrity that Theroux would explore with his post-TV Nation series Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends, which originally aired on Bravo in the US and the BBC in the UK. In it, Louis traveled around America, seeking out and trying to make sense of fascinatingly oddball American subcultures such as professional wrestling, rappers, swingers, UFO enthusiasts, etc. In addition, he’s spent face-to-face time with various unique, somewhat eccentric celebrities in his series When Louis Met…. Sadly, the Best of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends volumes available in the UK have not made their way to the US yet, but his recent companion book thankfully has. The Call of the Weird: Travels In American Subcultures (Da Capo Press, $24.00 SRP) finds Theroux following up on some of the subjects of those Weird Weekends, and it’s a positively wonderful read. I just hope that a network in the US sees fit to begin airing his work Stateside – particularly as he’s just begun a brand new series of specials for the BBC, the first of which took him to Las Vegas in an effort to understand the siren call of gambling.
After a long and storied career, Martin Scorsese proves that he’s still got what it takes with his adaptation of the Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs, The Departed (Rated R, DVD-$34.99 SRP). Not since Goodfellas has Scorsese made a film that positively crackles – from the script to the cast and Scorsese’s direction itself, which holds it all together. Here’s your quick plot primer – the state of Massachusetts is keen to finally take down crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), and they plant a rookie cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) into Costello’s organization to feed them info to bring it down. What they don’t know, however, is that a rising rookie in their own department (Matt Damon) is a mole for Costello – and what follows is a marvelous series of double-crosses, feints, bluffs, and pure cinematic joy. It’s great to see a filmmaker reclaim their crown, and with this flick, Scorsese most certainly has. The 2-disc special edition features 9 additional scenes (with intros from Scorsese), TCM’s career profile of the director, a featurette on the real-life mobster that inspired Nicholson’s character, a look at the early neighborhood influences of Scorsese’s work, and the theatrical trailer.
Of course, now that you’ve viewed Scorsese’s take, I’d recommend you grab yourself a copy of the original via the handy all-in-one Infernal Affairs Trilogy box set (Genius, Rated R/Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP). All three films in the trilogy are loaded with bonus features, including behind-the-scenes featurettes, trailers, deleted scenes, and even a commentary (on Infernal Affairs 2).
Oh, and while you’re at it, pick up the new special edition of Jackie Chan’s incredible Police Story 2 (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), featuring an audio commentary, interviews, behind-the-scenes featurettes, outtakes, trailers, and more.
It’s an oft-told tale, but documentarians David Leaf & John Scheinfeld (who also produced the criminally unseen doc Who Is Harry Nilsson & Why Is Everybody Talking About Him? – look it up) have managed to create an illuminating, engaging, altogether fresh take on the legendary case of The US Vs. John Lennon (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP). If you’re unaware of this slice of Lennon history, it was the multi-year struggle against the U.S. government to stay in his beloved New York and avoid deportation – a politically motivated action due to Lennon’s fiercely public antiwar stance. The DVD features additional cut footage and interviews.
While many have compared Clint Eastwood’s American side of his Iwo Jima chronicle unfavorably to the Japanese-centered Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is just as assured a film, and in may ways is more honest in its portrayal of war and the sacrifice and the accomplishment of the soldiers on the ground than Spielberg’s far bigger and more expensive Saving Private Ryan. That unadorned, matter-of-fact portrayal is an Eastwood hallmark, and a much welcome one in a flick that portrays an iconic battle in military history. Here’s hoping a future edition makes up for this bare bones release – it deserves a bevy of supplemental material, particularly of a historic nature.
As much as I enjoyed the deluxe, lavishly-illustrated behind-the-scenes chronicle of costuming in the Star Wars franchise courtesy of last year’s must-have tome Dressing a Galaxy, there’s no denying that I was even more geekily jazzed by this year’s companion volume, Sculpting A Galaxy (Insight Editions, $50.00 SRP). The title is rather self-explanatory, but if you’re having trouble figuring it out, this equally massive tome spotlights all of the intricate, maddeningly meticulous model and creature work featured in the dual trilogies.
And on the subject of that meticulous work, Sideshow – as part of their distribution agreement with Japan collectible manufacturer Medicom – has been importing select items from their line of “VCDs” (Vinyl Collectible Dolls). The latest of which is a tribute to those amazing special effects mavens – Stuart Freeborn, in this case – who brought Yoda to life. The Medicom VCD Yoda ($59.99) stands approx. 4″ tall, and is in scale with Sideshow’s 12″ Star Wars line. And, as you can see from the pictures below, the sculpt, clothing, and paint job are amazing.
Warners has more themed releases than you can shake a stick with, including their banner “Signature” collections, and to that impressive pedigree you can add their new “Director’s” series. The inaugural quartet consists of some quality titles – Nicolas Roeg’s Performance, Fellini’s Ginger & Fred, Neil Jordan’s The Butcher Boy, and Tony Richardson’s The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13/R, DVD-$19.98 SRP each). Bonus features on Loneliness and Ginger & Fred are limited to the original theatrical trailers, while Performance sports both brand new and vintage behind-the-scenes featurettes, and Butcher Boy has an audio commentary from Roeg and additional scenes.
A perfect companion piece to This Film Is Not Yet Rated, producer/director Steve Anderson has produced a beautiful portrait of a word that can cause the faint of heart to flutter and the closed of mind to blow their tops – FUCK (Thinkfilm, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). With animation from Bill Plympton and an amazing list of commentators – including Billy Connolly, Drew Carey, Janeane Garofalo, Bill Maher, Hunter S. Thompson, Kevin Smith, and more – it’s worthy subject and worth a spin. Bonus features include an audio commentary, extended interviews, deleted scenes, and more.
While Philip Seymour Hoffman’s turn as Truman Capote got most of the buzz, I think the largely overlooked (by nature of losing the race to the screen) Infamous (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) features a much more nuanced performance from Toby Jones as the larger-than-life author whose journey to write In Cold Blood forms the crux of this outing as well. Bonus features include an audio commentary and the theatrical trailer.
Better than both Ocean’s 11 & 12 combined, the second series of the UK’s con drama Hustle (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) is just as engagingly high energy and intelligent as its inaugural run. Heck, any series smart enough to cast Robert Vaughn as an aging pro is aces in my book. The 2-disc set features all 6 episodes, plus an in-depth documentary on the smashing final episode.
The 6th season of All In The Family (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) was to prove to be a transitional one for the show, setting the stage for a major shake-up to come. That major event was Gloria’s pregnancy, coupled with Mike and Gloria moving out of the Bunker household and into the house next door (which would eventually lead to the Stivics departing the show altogether). Regardless of what was to come, this was still a banner year for the show, and still consistent with the incredible level of quality they were able to maintain for the bulk of the show’s legendary run. In particular, the episode “Joey’s Baptism” is a true classic, and one of the series’ most powerful. The 3-disc set features all 24 episodes, but no bonus features. Is it that hard to get Sally Struthers on the line?
Few thought that something as off-the-beaten track as a prime time soap about, well, about the surprisingly romantic adventures of Beauty and the Beast (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$50.99 SRP) would ever fly on network TV, but fly it did, as millions of viewers tuned in to see the blossoming romance between the noble man-beast Vincent (Ron Perlman, in his breakthrough role) and assistant New York D.A. Catherine (Linda Hamilton). Long after Dark Shadows left the airwaves and before The X-Files made odd chic, there was the star-crossed adventures of Vincent and Catherine – the complete first season of which is now available on DVD, sans any bonus features whatsoever. Not even a make-up featurette! I do want to point out, though, how much I love the case the set comes in – it features all 6 discs, safe and secure, in a regular single-disc size case. Brilliant!
Though it sank from sight rather quickly, there’s an endearing, oddball charm to School For Scoundrels (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), starring Jon Heder as a unconfident schlub who enrolls in the confidence-building seminar of a decidedly extreme Billy Bob Thornton – only to have the lessons turn into a quickly escalating all-out war between the two of them to prove who’s the manliest. The unrated special edition features additional footage, an alternate ending, audio commentary, a making-of featurette, gag reel, and the theatrical trailer.
Long before ER brought viewers into the high stakes, adrenaline-loaded atmosphere of emergency rescue and the emergency room itself, there was a little show in the 70’s called Emergency! (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which followed paramedics Ray DeSoto (Kevin Tighe) and John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) as they arrive at scenes of near-death and often violent destruction, and must get their patients to the doors of Rampart Hospital alive. Great stuff. So pick up the complete third season, now available.
If you’d like your weekend to lean a little bit more high-brow, partake of a pair of BBC miniseries making their way to DVD, the first of which is World War II: When Lions Roared (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), whose biggest selling point is its cast – Michael Caine as Stalin, John Lithgow as Roosevelt, and Bob Hoskins as Churchill. Also available is the Beeb’s epic adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Both are worth a spin (although my preference will always lie with the powerhouse trio of Roared).
Are we already at the end of The Golden Girls on DVD? Well, with the release of the seventh and final season (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), it certainly seems we are. In addition to all 26 episodes, the 3-disc set also contains the retrospective documentary Thank You For Being a Friend: A Look Back With The Golden Girls.
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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While I thought the big-screen adaptation of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy was a bit hit or miss (though more hit than miss), it’s not often that the entire live action cast and director take their act to the small screen – and succeed. Both Mignola and director Guillermo del Toro have returned as creative producers for the first in a series of Hellboy: Animated films, Sword of Storms (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Even better than the tight, Asian-influenced story (our hero must tackle a pair of ancient Japanese demons) is the streamlined, evocative adaptation of Mignola’s art style for animation. Combined, they make the kind of fun yet adult action-adventure series that Spawn only wished it could have been. Bonus features include an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and much more.
Dark Horse has also jumped on the Hellboy: Animated bandwagon with a whole slew of merchandise, including collectible character magnets ($7.99 SRP each), stationary ($4.99 SRP), and journals ($9.99 SRP).
It’s not very often that you get a DVD release that contains just a single episode of a show – the pilot, in fact, but that is exactly what you get with the DVD release of the pilot for the animated adaptation of Mike Mignola’s steampunk adventure The Amazing Screw-On Head (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), about an articulate, seemingly immortal head (voiced by Paul Giamatti) that uses a series of robotic bodies to defend the country against supernatural threats – such as his maniacal former manservant, Emperor Zombie (David Hyde-Pierce) – at the behest of President Abraham Lincoln, with only his current manservant, Mr. Groin, and his dog, Mr. Dog, at his side. It’s offbeat and fun, and with a little more development it probably would have been an adventure in the vein of The Venture Bros., but sadly this seems like all we’ll get. The DVD features an audio commentary, a featurette on the adaptation process, storyboard comparisons, and trailers.
TwoMorrows, I love ya. Not only have you given me entries in your Modern Masters artist spotlight series featuring John Byrne, Walt Simonson, George Perez, and Alan Davis, but you’ve added Kevin Maguire to the list (TwoMorrows, $14.95 SRP), and for that I thank them. In fact, flipping through the selection of artwork contained in the volume, it reminded just how much I adored his run on the Justice League, bringing to brilliant life the scripts of Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis – a run, sadly, that has been completely destroyed by the incompetent mooks at DC (I’m looking at you Dan Didio… ya schmuck). Until Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Max Lord, and the Dibneys find a way back from DC’s idiocy, at least we can remember the good times.
It’s a shame that Hollywoodland (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) largely came and went from cinemas, because Ben Affleck turned in quite a memorable performance as the late George Reeves – an actor whose most memorable role, much to his chagrin, was that of TV’s Superman, and whose life ended either in suicide or murder at the height of his TV fame. The film itself is largely the story of a P.I. (Adrien Brody) who tries to piece together the pieces of the puzzle, even though the LAPD has already ruled it a suicide. Was it a scheming fiancée that killed Reeves? A jealous husband (Bob Hoskins)? Or perhaps the police were right after all, and a despondent Reeves – a serious actor who lamented the typecasting his superheroic role brought him – did take his own life. Bonus features include an audio commentary with director Allen Coulter, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
It’s aged rather awkwardly in some sections, but by and large, Eddie Murphy’s Delirious (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) remains a legendary bit of stand-up, and is a wonderful document of a performer at the height of his powers. Not only does the DVD feature additional bonus footage, but a brand new interview with Murphy as well.
It’s been almost 3 years since the last full season release of Mad About You, and when the “Best Of” collection was released a few years back instead of another season, I despaired of seeing things back on track anytime soon. Thankfully, things are back on track with the arrival of the complete third season (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), featuring all 24 episodes. For the recurring appearances from Cyndi Lauper alone, this is a great season – and it’s the era just before things went downhill when the once brilliant sitcom decided to do “very special” episodes.
If you’re under that yellow journalism and political mudslinging in the American press is an invention of the 20th century, let Eric Burns’s Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism (Public Affairs, $15.95 SRP) set you straight. The title itself comes from a George Washington quote describing the journalists of his day, and the portrait of the Fourth Estate painted by this tome – and the politicians that both manipulated and were mauled by it – is far livelier and altogether surprising that one would expect.
You know, you think there’d more themed releases like Van Morrison: At The Movies (EMI, $18.98 SRP). The disc collects 19 Van Morrison tracks featured in movies ranging from An Officer and a Gentleman to The Departed. It’s a great idea, and hopefully it inspires other artists to follow suit… If only to get that McCartney release containing both “Band on the Run” and “Spies Like Us.”
In the early 90’s, an odd thing happened – Richard Lewis and Jamie Lee Curtis co-starred in a network sitcom called Anything But Love (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) as a pair of best friends and co-workers who set aside their long-standing refusal to give in to their attraction for each other for fear of ruining their friendship, only to discover it’s every bit as tricky as they’d feared. Thankfully, it was actually quite a funny sitcom, as you’ll discover with the 28 episodes contained in this first 3-disc volume, that also features commentary from the stars on select episodes, plus brand-new featurettes. I do, however, want to also mention that Fox has become maddeningly cheap with their packaging choices, and it’s leading to damaged discs. It’s bad enough that they insist on continuing their use of double-sided discs, but when you combine that with lousy DVD cases, you get loose, scratched discs. Please, Fox, stop doing this crap to good releases.
Love is in the air and a brand new batch of themed catalogue releases are out just in time for Valentine’s Day, as Warners rounds up a batch of oft-requested titles from the vaults. The 5 tittles include Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue in A Summer Place (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), George Segal as an ex-wife obsessed lawyer keen on rekindling romance in Blume In Love (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP), Judy Garland and Robert Walker as wartime paramours in The Clock (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), Amy Irving as the object of her matchmaker grandmother’s attentions in Crossing Delancey (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP), and Jane Wyman and Van Johnson as two lovestruck strangers in Miracle In The Rain (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). All 5 discs features the original theatrical materials, while The Clock gets vintage shorts and the radio adaptation, and Miracle contains a pair of vintage behind-the-scenes segments.
I’ve watched it twice – just because I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind so much – but Michel Gondry’s solo writer/director effort The Science Of Sleep (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) is a largely incomprehensible visual exercise about a dedicated young dreamer (think a French version of Brazil) that is quite nice to look at, but very hard to care about. It’s a shame, because there’s obviously a lot of brilliant ideas in Gondry’s head – I just think he needs a collaborator to bring them out in a form an audience can connect with. Bonus features include an audio commentary with Gondry, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a music video, and more.
Based on numerous recommendations from friends (and a healthy plug from the likes of Derren Brown and Penn & Teller), I finally sat down and read Richard Dawkins’s treatise on religion, The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, $27.00 SRP). Regardless of which side of the religion debate you fall on, I can’t recommend this highly enough to those with an open mind.
Of all the kids TV out there, very little of it is suitable for adult consumption. On that very short list, I can add the adventures of 10-year-old Ben Tennyson, whose discovery, while on holiday, of a mysterious wristwatch buried in a meteorite gives him the ability to transform into any of 10 alien heroes – a handy thing now that he has to fight the villainous Vilgax and his alien hordes. The 2-disc set features all 13 first season episodes of Ben 10 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), plus commentary, drawing lessons, and a sneak peek into the future.
Speaking of palatable kid’s shows, another that fits the bill is Teen Titans, and you can now pick up their feature-length adventure Trouble In Tokyo (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), as our heroes take on the seedy underworld of Japan’s big city and the villain Brushogun. The disc features an additional “lost episode,” “Robin’s Underworld Race Challenge.”
While watching The Grudge 2 (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$28.95 SRP), I couldn’t help but be nagged by the feeling that I had already seen the movie. I had, of course, and it was called The Grudge. Just swap out the quickly dispensed with Sarah Michelle Gellar for Amber Tamblyn, and hit “repeat” – there you go, instant sequel. It’s certainly an acceptable diversion, but nothing to remember 5 minutes after the credits roll. The unrated edition features the obligatory extra gore, plus an intro from Sam Raimi, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
It’s no When Harry Met Sally, but as romantic comedies go, Trust The Man (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) is likeable enough. Most of that is due to the cast, which includes Julianne Moore and David Duchovny as a New York City married couple whose marriage is in serious trouble – but so is the relationship of Moore’s brother-in-law, played by Billy Crudup, who’s having trouble committing to his novelist girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Bonus features include an audio commentary, a making-of featurette, and deleted scenes.
Those wanting to complete their Hitchcock collections will probably want to snag a copy of the 3-disc Alfred Hitchcock: Collector’s Edition (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring 5 of the master’s earliest films – The Ring, The Manxman, Murder!, The Skin Game, and Rich and Strange. The set also features the documentary Pure Cinema: The Birth of the Hitchcock Style.
If you’re addicted to sites like “The Smoking Gun” and “Defamer,” then odds are that you’ll get a kick out of Celebrity Secrets: Government Files on the Rich and Famous (Paraview Pocket Books, $14.00 SRP). The title is pretty self-explanatory, as author Nick Redfern dives into the files of celebs like Lennon, Hemingway, Costello, Presley, Monroe, Princess Di, and many more. Prurient, but engaging, reading to be sure.
Shopping for a toddler in the family (as I constantly am for my nephew Cameron)? You can’t go wrong with a pair of new collections from two of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows – The Backyardigans: The Legend of the Volcano Sisters and Dora the Explorer: Musical School Days (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP each). Both discs feature 4 episodes, plus additional songs, games, and sneak peeks.
And speaking of DVDs for toddlers, the BBC has put out the third volume of Charlie and Lola (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which features outtakes, games, and hidden surprises.
Proof that not everything he touched turned to gold, Darren Star’s stab at soapy sitcom – about a group of 6 young actors forced to cope with instant stardom when their show becomes an unexpected success – met with much indifference after only 17 episodes, but the great age of DVD means you can get that complete run of Grosse Pointe (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) for your very own library. Bonus features include audio commentaries on select episodes and an interview with Star.
I know somewhere there’s an audience of a touchy-feely tale of a rebellious 16-year-old and her horse, but I know I’m not it. Still, for those of you who fit that category, there’s Flicka (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP), starring Tim McGraw, Maria Bello, and Alison Lohman. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, bloopers, and a music video.
The advent and ubiquity of DVD has created many surreal moments of the past few years, one o which most certainly has to be that, with the release of its sixth set, the entire Thames run of Benny Hill (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) has now been released on DVD, uncut and in its original form. Never could I possibly fathom that such a day would come that I would own the whole bawdy comedic enchilada, but here it is. The 3-disc box-set features an exclusive interview with a trio of “Hill’s Angels.”
Considering what a comedic genius I consider Louis CK to be, I admit to being disappointed when I saw the first few episodes of his HBO sitcom Lucky Louie (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). At first, I thought it to be nothing but a crass, largely unfunny exploitation of HBO’s “anything goes” standards – just an expletive & nudity filled sitcom version of kids seeing what they could get away with in the schoolyard. As the series built, however, I came around to what Louis was building with his dysfunctional extended family unit – a little post-modern sitcom that actually tried to present a truer-to-life version of what having a family is like, with its money troubles and frustrations with spouses, kids, families, friends, and work. It took me awhile to see the light, Louis, and I’m glad I did. I’m just sorry that HBO chose not to renew it, depriving me of the ability to see how he’d develop these characters further. The 2-disc set features all 13 episodes (one of which never aired), plus audio commentaries on 4 episodes, and a behind-the-scenes look at the taping of the show.
In what is fast becoming a welcome annual tradition, Warner Bros. has been partnering up for an online poll to determine which catalogue titles will get released on DVD. This year, they partnered with Amazon, and the winners were Clark Gable & Yvonne DeCarlo in Band of Angels, Michael Crichton’s Looker, Greer Garson as Madam Curie, The Arrangement, and Gymkata (Warner Bros., Not Rated/Rated PG, DVD-$19.97 SRP each). Bonus features include audio commentaries, featurettes, and the original theatrical trailers.
Re-watching the episodes (thoroughly burned into my mind courtesy of endless Nick at Night repeats ages ago) the comprise the third season of I Dream of Jeannie (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), I’m reminded just how much the show remains a nice slice of comfort food. It’s no intellectual or artistic triumph, but it’s an affable and enjoyable way to pass the time, and both Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden remain a timeless comedic pairing surpassed only by the duos of Dick Van Dyke/Mary Tyler Moore and Dick York/Elizabeth Montgomery. This season found Jeannie saddled with a trainee, transferring her powers to Tony for a day, is trapped in a safe bound for the moon, and must tussle with her jealous sister, Jeannie 2. Sadly, there are no bonus features – just 26 light but fun episodes.
In the mood for some Pillow Talk-esque 60’s comedy? Fox has dusted off a trio of entries that fit the bill, just for you – Move Over, Darling, Caprice, and Do Not Disturb (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each). All three star Doris Day, alongside costars like James Garner, Richard Harris, Rod Taylor, and even Ray Walston. All three flicks feature brand new featurettes and interviews (Caprice also gets an audio commentary), as well as a look at the restoration process.
If you think that his performance in The Aristocrats was the outermost limits of Bob Saget’s sexual scatological comedy, than his March of the Penguins spoof Farce of the Penguins (ThinkFilm, Rated R, DVD-$19.99 SRP) should quickly dispel that assumption – with a vengeance. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, it features a pair of penguins (Saget & Lewis Black) who are just out to get some penguin lovin’ – a buddy road trip quest that takes them on a cross-continent trek across Antarctica. Bonus features include a commentary with Saget, bonus footage, behind-the-scenes featurettes, trailers, and more.
J.R. loses his presidency of Ewing Oil as the contentious, back-biting sixth season of Dallas (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) gets underway. As if that weren’t enough, J.R. and Bobby go head-to-head for control of the company, J.R. and Sue Ellen reconcile, Pam & Bobby are splitsville, and there’s even a stop off in Cuba along the way. Bonus materials include a featurette focusing on the show’s pop culture legacy.
Author, sleuth, and closet grim reaper Jessica Fletcher returns in the complete fifth season of Murder, She Wrote (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus a newly-produced featurette, “Origin of a Series,” with a brand new interview with Angela Lansbury.
Newly-expanded to a 2-disc collector’s edition, Brokeback Mountain (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) packs on extra bonus features, including 7 featurettes, detailing everything from the score to the actual construction of the script, plus the process of teaching actors Gyllenhaal and Ledger how to be cowboys.
After seeing producer Dean Devlin’s high-flying WWI movie based on the true-life exploits of dogfighting pilot Lafayette Escadrille (James Franco), I can only assume that most of the story, heart (such as it were) and enjoyability of flicks like Independence Day and Stargate must have come from Devlin’s former collaborator, director Roland Emmerich. Sadly, Flyboys (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$39.98 SRP) never really seems to take flight, even though it’s got some impressive visuals to give it some teeth. The 2-disc set features an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Every now and then – with maddening infrequency, actually – a book will come down the pike that bludgeons you over the head, forcing you to concoct elaborate schemes to introduce its brilliance to friends, family members, acquaintances, and even complete strangers. 
And while I’m at it, let me go ahead and recommend you pick up both the first and second series of Derren’s Channel 4 series, Trick of the Mind (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99 each). In addition to the 6 episodes comprising each season, both discs feature behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews with Derren, unused material, and audio commentaries. I can only hope Series 3 and his specials are on their way to DVD in the near future.
Knowing that they’ll eventually be collected in a full season set, I’m not a big fan of Paramount releasing individual volumes of Nickelodeon’s animated hit Avatar with the first volume of Book 2: Earth (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP), but I’m sure impatient fans will snap it up regardless, as our mutual love for this gorgeous series clouds all reason. The disc sports an uncut animatic, but that’s it.
One of the original Hollywood tough guys finally gets a spotlight of his own, courtesy of Warner’s wonderful “Signature” series. Robert Mitchum: The Signature Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated/Rated PG/Rated R, DVD-$59.98 SRP) features six of Mitchum’s flicks, including Angel Face, Macao, Home From The Hill, The Sundowners, The Good Guys and The Bad Guys, and The Yakuza. In addition to being fully restored and remastered, bonus features include commentaries (on Yakuza, Macao, and Angel Face, vintage featurettes, and the original theatrical trailers.
On the subject of beautiful presentations of directors’ masterworks, special note must be made of Criterion’s completely remastered editions of Kurosawa’s catalogue. The 3-disc remastered The Seven Samurai came out last year, and it’s joined by a box-set featuring equally stunning presentations of Yojimbo & Sanjuro (Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$69.95 SRP). Both discs feature in-depth documentaries on their respective films, audio commentaries by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince, galleries, theatrical trailers and teasers, and the usual in-depth Criterion essays in the accompanying booklets. All-in-all, it’s a magnificent, must-have set.
It had to happen eventually – after years of mystery, arbitrary decisions, and deafening silence when asked to defend those decisions, finally a filmmaker has taken on the big bad arbiter of taste for an entire nation – the Motion Picture Association of America. Not only does Kirby Dick’s documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated (IFC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) seek to illuminate that arcane decision-making process, but he uncovers the secret identities of the censors themselves – the members of the ratings board. With interviews from filmmakers including Matt Stone, John Waters, Kimberly Peirce, and Kevin Smith, it’s a fascinating look behind a puritanical curtain.
Of the two turn-of-century magician flicks released last year, I believed I’d get more of a kick out of The Prestige. To my surprise, I found The Illusionist (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP) to be the more enjoyable and better executed. Edward Norton stars as the conjurer Eisenheim, whose rekindled friendship with the crown prince’s fiancée (Jessica Biel) leads down some very dark paths, and to a shocking crime that has the chief inspector (Paul Giamatti) on the trail of a nicely surprising series of twists and turns. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Longtime readers of this column know that I will periodically engage in marathon documentary-viewing sessions, satiating some perverse need to learn obscure facts about forgotten wars, social events, historical personages, complete strangers, mechanical marvels, and more. I just do. Recently, it was a long engagement with a bevy of titles from the PBS library, whose rather impressive offerings are overshadowed by flashy show-offs from the likes of A&E, Docurama, and The History Channel. It’s a shame, really, because it means you’re missing out on harrowing portrait of stormchasers Joel Taylor and Reed Timmer in Tornado Glory, or time with the government workers who fight to keep democracy working in Indianapolis during the 2004 election in By The People, Richard Karn hosting the history of a beloved holiday tradition with O Christmas Tree, the true lost tale of an epic WWII Dogfight Over Guadalcanal, get a peek behind the thought processes that led two multibillionaires to become incredible philanthropists in during a fast-paced and witty Q&A with University of Nebraska business students in Buffett & Gates Go Back To School, the American Experience history of The Gold Rush, the back porch Appalachian mountain music of The Queen Family, American Experience profiles of both Annie Oakley & Jesse James, and – last but not least – a wonderful look at the infamous Cold War Umbrella Assassin (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99-$29.99 SRP each). Whew!
Now that their treadmill video has made them the darlings of the viral video scene, it’s only natural that their record company would attempt to capitalize on all the exposure with a deluxe re-release of OK Go’s Oh No album (Capitol, $21.98 SRP), which featured the treadmill track (“Here It Goes Again”). In addition to the album itself, you now get a bonus DVD featuring all of their videos – from “Here It Goes again” to the video for “A Million Ways” (The Dance Video), plus a ton of other previously unreleased goodies. It’s a nice little re-promotion, and a great way to get hip to a great band.
I am in no way, shape, fashion, or form a fan of gore, so the Saw flicks have left me colder than a corpse. They’ve got legions of fans, though, which is why we’re already up to Saw III (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), featuring the return of Jerry Mahoney’s disturbed cousin. The plot is largely the same, and the unrated version just shovels in more blood and guts for all of you aficionados out there. Bonus features include audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
It was like an instant timewarp as soon as I popped in the first of the 7 discs comprising the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Definitive Collection (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). Featuring 50 episodes of Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler globe-spanning goodness, it was like I was 5 again, watching the animal adventures for the first time.
Conan O’Brien’s favorite Texas ranger returns in the second season of Walker, Texas Ranger (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). And yes, the adventures of Cordell Walker (the always-engaging Chuck Norris are just as ludicrous as you remember them to be – in fact, maybe even more so, now that they have an odd, postmodern pop culture patina thanks to O’Brien’s treatment of them.
After the genius of Office Space, one couldn’t help but have high expectations for Mike Judge’s follow-up, Idiocracy (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP). When Fox decided to give it a brief, unceremonious run at the box office last year, many cried foul and wondered what they could possibly be thinking. Well, after seeing the film, I have to agree with their assessment of the film’s box office potential – sadly, this flick is DOA The concept alone – an average guy take part in a government hibernation experiment that goes awry, landing him in a distant future whose civilization is so dumbed down that he’s now considered a genius – should have yielded plenty of laughs… “should have” being the operative phrase. Bonus materials are limited to 5 deleted scenes.
I’m sure, on some level, someone thought they had a good idea with The Guardian (Touchstone, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP). Take a grieving veteran of the elite Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers still reeling after a tragic accident (Kevin Costner) and assign him to teach new recruits, one of which is a brash, cocky young turk (Ashton Kutcher) – I mean, the clichés are like neon signs in the wilderness. What you get is a high energy muddle that never seems to figure out which cliché to latch on to – tearjerker, actioner, buddy flick… They’re all in there. Bonus features include an alternate ending, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, an audio commentary, and a look at the real Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers.
The movie is right around the corner, and the soundtrack for Catch and Release (Sony Legacy, $13.98 SRP) features tracks from The Foo Fighters (“Razor”), Gary Jules, Death Cab For Cutie, Paul Westerberg, Audible, Joshua Radin, and more.
Before 7th Heaven, TV’s touchy-feeliest family was The Waltons, whose 4th season has just hit shiny disc (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Sadly, this 5-disc box set features not one single John-Boy commentary, but does sport all 24 episodes in 1936, Walton-time.
It’s stated numerous times throughout both the documentary and critical review that comprise 2/3 of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band: The Complete Nutter History of The Bonzos (Classic Rock Legends, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99), but there really has not been so engagingly witty a band both before or, sadly, since the Bonzos far too brief reign of lunacy in the late 60’s. From covering classic 78s of the 20’s & 30’s like “My Brother Makes The Noises For The Talkies” and “Jollity Farm” to crafting their own pop classics like “I’m the Urban Spaceman,” the Bonzos could do it all – and they did, under the musical aegis of the late Vivian Stanshall and the very much still with us Neil Innes. This 3-disc set features the aforementioned in-depth documentary and critical review of the Bonzos output, as well as the BBC edit of their recent 40th anniversary reunion concert featuring guests like Stephen Fry, Phill Jupitus, Paul Merton, and Adrian Edmondson (you can also purchase the complete, unedited version separately). There’s also loads of bonus material and rare television appearances that provide a perfect primer for the uninitiated, or a wonderful keepsake for the Bonzo fan. And while we’re on the subject of that 40th anniversary concert, you absolutely must pick up the 2-disc companion CD of the event, Wrestle Poodles… And Win! (Classic Rock Legends, £9.99).
Meanwhile, Viv Stanshall fans will be elated to know that the long-awaited DVD release of his brilliant Sir Henry At Rawlinson End (Digital Classics, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP) has finally (finally!) happened. And not only does the print look better than all of those shoddy bootleg VHS tapes we’ve all subsisted on for years, but there’s also an audio commentary, trailer, and photo gallery. If you’ve yet to see Stanshall’s portrait of the decidedly daft fading uppercrust Rawlinson clan, then now if the time to rectify that oversight in your comedic knowledge.
Much like the MGM films which saddled the brilliant anarchy of the Marx Brothers with a rather mundane romance plot involving often star-crossed lovers and the comedians as virtual supporting players, so it is in the rarely seen Three Stooges outing Swing Parade. In it, the original Stooges play a trio of waiters in support of a mediocre romantic A-plot – in fact, the Stooges are the only thing saving this from the dustbin. A fully restored black & white print of this flick (also containing a colorized version) is the first outing for Legend Films’ Rifftrax Complete edition (Legend, Not Rated, DVD-$12.99 SRP), featuring a Rifftrax audio commentary from Mike Nelson (with a “super exclusive” edition signed by Mike 
Americans may know him from his infrequent appearances as The Daily Show‘s resident statistician, but UK audiences (and Anglophiles) know Dave Gorman as a brilliantly sharp comedian . For proof, fire up your region free DVD player and snag a copy of Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99), Gorman’s stage show detailing the internet and serendipity’s hand in scuttling his attempts to write a novel. Bonus features include a live audience Q&A, outtakes, additional inserts, and more.
Another year, another season of the rejuvenated Doctor Who, as the complete second series (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) picks up – literally – just where series one left off, as the good Doctor has regenerated from the gruff, leather-jacketed Christopher Eccleston into the much more dandyish David Tennant. Still on board the Tardis is faithful companion Rose (Billie Piper), and the 14 episodes comprising the season are quite the rollercoaster ride, particularly the re-introduction of the Cybermen. The 6-disc box set features the behind-the-scenes “Doctor Who Confidential” episodes, audio commentaries, video diaries from Tennant & Piper, deleted scenes, in-vision commentary, the “Children in Need” special, and outtakes.
Terry Gilliam just can’t seem to catch a break. Still one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, he’s been dogged by misconceptions, rumors, and a reputation as a fiscally irresponsible, uncontrollable madman. Similar to his decision to follow up the perceived disaster of Baron Munchausen with the Hollywood for-hire gig The Fisher King, Gilliam signed on to do The Brothers Grimm for Miramax after his own The Man Who Killed Don Quixote fell apart. What followed was a production that found Gilliam butting heads with Harvey & Bob Weinstein, as they systematically went about dismantling the team Gilliam had put together to make the film, and questioning his every move. I’m not criticizing the Weinsteins – after all, that’s how they work, and it’s proven incredibly lucrative for them in the past – but Grimm was another story, and it proved to be a difficult, troubled production from start to finish. Thankfully, the story is recounted via candid recollections and diaries in Bob McCabe’s Dreams and Nightmares: Terry Gilliam, The Brothers Grimm & Other Cautionary Tales of Hollywood (HarperCollins, £17.99). Available only in the UK for some reason, it’s a wonderful account of a filmmaker’s descent into the machine.
While not as beloved as Everybody Loves Raymond, I still have a great deal of affection for that loveable lunkhead of a show, King of Queens (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). Like Raymond before it, the episodes are virtually interchangeable (although the guest star turn from Burt Reynolds as Doug’s old football coach is a real highlight), as this is the very definition of sitcom comfort food. Sadly, the 3-disc set is limited to all 23 seventh season episodes, but nary a bonus feature in sight.
One afternoon – December 4, 1956, to be exact – a rather historic, impromptu recording session took place. It was a recording session that gathered together four legends on the rise – Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. This historic session has now been released in its entirety as The Complete Million Dollar Quartet (Sony BMG, $13.98 SRP). It’s rough around the edges – they were clearly jamming – but it’s a must-have artifact of a bygone age of myth and legend.
Although largely unknown to the American audience, The Royle Family (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) has been hailed as a modern classic – and rightly so. Not quite sitcom and not quite drama, it’s the rather intimate, everyday life of the lower middle class Royles – and it’s told entirely within their living room. It’s brilliantly written and executed, and I’m thrilled that the first season is finally available in the US for Americans to discover.
Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt have brought their traveling animation show – comprised of dozens of hand-picked animated shorts from around the world – to DVD. The 2-disc collection of The Animation Show (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) contains 31 shorts, plus audio commentaries, galleries, featurettes, additional shorts, and more. Also included is an in-depth booklet profiling many of the creators involved.
Another of the short-lived, incredibly kitchy Filmation live action “classics” of the 70’s has come to DVD with the release of Space Academy: The Complete Series (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). It’s basically high school in space, with Lost In Space vet Jonathan Harris as instructor Isaac Gampu. The effects featured in the show are surprisingly good considering the budget, due largely to their pedigree – many of the guys were Star Wars veterans. The 4-disc set features all 15 episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries, a newly-produced documentary, commercial bumpers, galleries, easter eggs, and more.
24 has returned with a brand new, rather explosive season, and true fans should definitely grab themselves a copy of the deluxe making-of tome 24: Behind The Scenes (Insight Editions, $29.95 SRP). Packed with production details and copious photos, it’s a must have – as is the bonus DVD featuring exclusive interviews
In My Hero (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), Ardal O’Hanlon (late of the magnificent Father Ted) stars as Earth’s greatest, but befuddled, superhero Thermoman, who lives a quiet suburban life as health store owner – and family man – George Sunday. It’s not laugh-a-minute, but it’s certainly a pleasantly quirky series worth checking out. The disc features all 6 first season episodes, plus an interview with O’Hanlon and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
When the creator of Cracker launches a new series, you’d better believe it’s at least worth a look. With The Street (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), Jimmy McGovern delivers a beautifully-acted, engrossing drama about six neighboring houses in Northern England, and the stories behind each of those seemingly ordinary doors. With a cast that includes Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Jane Horrocks, and Sue Johnston, it’s a must-see. The 2-disc first season features all 6 episodes.
Following the desperate attempts to move into the “star” category of the acting hierarchy by jobbing actor Andy Melman (Ricky Gervais), Extras (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is a worthy follow-up to Gervais and co-writer Stephen Merchant’s brilliant The Office. Broader in its comedy than The Office, Extras still features the same kind of post-modern comedy of manners – and its often cringe-inducing fallout – that made their first series such an instant delight. This 2-disc set features the complete 6-episode first season, plus deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, outtakes, and a featurette detailing Gervais & Merchant’s increasingly desperate attempts to secure a cameo from Leo DiCaprio.
Try as a might to resist its crass charms, I admit that I was swept up in the trashy fun of Jackass Number Two (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP). The formula is exactly the same as the show we all came to know and secretly, ashamedly love, so there’s no real reason to go into any further depth as to what to expect, except to say “more of the same.” And I’m fine with that. I will say, tho, that the Jackass crew are beginning to show their age – particularly Bam – and I can imagine that the pain of the stunts is beginning to linger a lot longer than it used to. While the theatrical cut is available, honestly, if you’re watching it at all, the unrated cut is the only way to go. Bonus features include an audio commentary, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, outtakes, TV spots, and more.
Just in time to keep my little nephew occupied, the second volume of SpongeBob Sqaurepants‘s 4th season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.99 SRP) has arrived, featuring another 20 episodes across 2 discs, plus the “Best Day Ever” shorts, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a karaoke video for “Best Day Ever.” As my nephew quickly burns through this set, one can only hope that more are on the way, post haste.
Warners continues their annual “Power to the People” release of fan-decided DVD releases with a pair of genre classics – Rod Steiger in the 1969 adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man, and James Garner as Navy Frogman Ken Braden, whose perilous sub journey to the Pacific theater is the subject of Up Periscope (Warner Bros., Rated PG/Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP each). Both discs feature the theatrical trailers, while Illustrated Man also contains a vintage featurette.
One of the films I least looked forward to last year turned into one of the most pleasant, visceral surprises of all the flicks I took in over the past 12 months – Crank (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Its concept is wonderfully straightforward – a hit man (Jason Statham) is poisoned by a mob boss with a chemical that will kill him if his heart rate drops below a certain level, leading to an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster ride as our man tries to settle debts both business and in love before his time is up. The DVD features an audio commentary, featurettes, interviews, and a “family friendly,” expletive-free audio track.
For someone who grew up on Marvel comics, it’s odd to see Stan Lee flourishing as his own producer, creating properties outside the House of Ideas. At least he seems to be successful doing it, with two of his latest efforts – the live action Lightspeed (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) and the animated Mosaic (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – have hit DVD, and both are superhero tales (as one would expect) While Lightspeed is entirely featureless, Mosaic sports an intro from Stan, interviews with Stan and director Roy Smith, and a still gallery.
Like a Brit 24, the 4th season of MI-5 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP) is an explosively engrossing action drama that gives it’s American counterpart a run for its money, particularly with this season’s dramatic opener. The 5-disc set features audio commentaries for each episode, cast & crew interviews, and a making-of documentary.
Releases like Dark Shadows: Bloopers & Treasures (MPI, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) are why I love DVD. Loaded to the rafters with outtakes, music videos, bloopers, and more, this is a real treat for fans.
While I hesitate to praise it too much, The Night Listener (Miramax, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is a perfectly good little thriller to pass a winter evening with. Robin Williams is particularly enjoyable as a low-key writer and late-night talk show host who gets swept up in the mystery surrounding a young caller on his show. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a deleted scene.
Mr. French and the family Davis return in the second season of Family Affair (MPI, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring the further adventures of bachelor Bill Davis (Brian Keith) as he and Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) raise his brother’s three children when they are unexpectedly orphaned after a plane accident. In addition to all 30 episodes, the 5-disc set features an interview with Kathy Garver (Cissy) and a retrospective featurette.
I have little to know memory of Martin Lawrence’s eponymous sitcom Martin (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) save for its some how infectiously repetitive theme song. The 4-disc box set features all 27 first season episodes, plus a blooper reel and a “favorite moments” compilation with commentary from Lawrence.
While Dreamgirls is holding its own at the box office, it’s worth checking out a little known curiosity from the mid 70’s called Sparkle (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP) – featuring a screenplay by one Joel Schumacher – which also tells the tale of the tumultuous rise of a 3-piece girl group that doesn’t exactly have a happy ending. It also features songs by Curtis Mayfield. While the only bonus feature is the theatrical trailer, the release does feature a bonus CD of the songs from the film, featuring Aretha Franklin.
After 8 seasons of sexual innuendo, slapstick, and 70’s sensibilities awkwardly running into the more strait-laced 80’s, Three’s Company (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) came to a close with a final 21 episodes which end – naturally – with Jack Tripper proposing marriage and eyeing a (short-lived) spin-off series. The 4-disc set features the recent reunion special, bloopers, and another tribute to the late John Ritter.
Matt Dillon turns in a captivating performance as Henry, a writer whose stabs at literary greatness are undermined by his powerful alcohol addiction, in the adaptation of Charles Bukowski’s Factotum (IFC, Rated R, DVD-$24.95 SRP). When liquor leads to the potential of love, can even that be strong enough to pull him out of his spiral? Check it out and see. The DVD features a making-of documentary and the theatrical trailer.
The end is nigh, as the ninth season of The Simpsons (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) begins to show the creative fraying around the edges that would completely undermine the show over the next few years. Still, there’s a few great episodes to be found, including the family’s journey to New York, the arrival of Apu’s first wife, Homer’s tenure as the waste commissioner, and the tale of the trillion dollar bill. As with previous seasons, every episode features an audio commentary, plus deleted scenes, illustrated commentaries, commercials, sketches, and a U2 featurette.
While this year’s wave of Walt Disney Treasures collector’s sets (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$32.99 SRP each) doesn’t feature the 3rd volume of Donald Duck cartoons I’d been hoping for, it’s still a nice clutch of must-have releases for any Disney fan. In addition to the second volumes of both Pluto and Silly Symphonies, there’s also the complete Hardy Boys, from The Mickey Mouse Club, and Your Host Walt Disney, which features memorable episodes from Walt’s 10 years on television. Your guide through all of these discs, as always, is Leonard Maltin, and there are plenty of bonus materials to be had, including audio commentaries, featurettes, art galleries, and more. Now, that 3rd Donald volume had better be on next year’s slate…
Unfortunately, due to spiraling paper costs, Gemstone Publishing is suspending publication of the regular comic-sized Donald Duck and Friends & Mickey Mouse and Friends (Gemstone, $2.95 each), with issues #346 & #295, respectively. It’s not all doom and gloom this holiday season, though, as they’ll still be publishing their deluxe-sized Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories ($6.95), both of which will have only a modest price increase in the new year. Be sure to pick up all the wonderful holiday-themed issues, though, as there are some classic stories from the likes of Barks and Gottfredson inside.
If Bacchus were to ever step off Olympus and become a British comedian, his name would be Johnny Vegas. More a force of nature than a man, he’s an incredibly funny, shambolic, bombastic onscreen presence whose seemingly inebriated manner hide a sharp mind and a quick wit. Many critics dismissed his Channel 4 show, 18 Stone of Idiot (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99), as a raucous, lowbrow mess. Personally, I think it’s a very funny show that has a rhythm and vibrancy outside the norm, and its seeming maelstrom is an elaborate construct. The DVD condenses the short-lived series into 90 minutes of highlights, with bonus features including an audio commentary and outtakes. Any show that has the moxy to ask Elvis Costello if he felt like an idiot for refusing to sell one of his songs for millions of dollars to be used in an advert when he had just performed it live on the show for free is a how that needs to be rediscovered on DVD.
Anyone that can view Spike Lee’s powerful documentary about the devastation wrought on New Orleans – and its shameful aftermath – without feeling a mixture of sorrow and anger well up within them must have something beside a human heart beating in their chest. When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is an incredible document of an outrageous tragedy not only for the region, but for America as a whole and the government that is expected to be there in the aftermath of such tragedies. This 3-disc set also includes a 105-minute follow-up film, as well as audio commentaries from Lee and a photo gallery.
Abby has arrived, Green is on the rise, Carter faces tragedy, and Alan Alda makes a memorable guest appearance in the 5th season of ER (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). This season marked the increasingly soap operaish trend that would threaten to derail the show just a few short seasons hence, but for now, it balances the personal and professional lives of County General quite nicely. The 6-disc set features outtakes and the by now must-see gag reel.
While all eyes are turned towards his seasonal classic It’s a Wonderful Life, be sure not to pass up the new Premiere Frank Capra Collection box set (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP), featuring 5 newly remastered classics from the director’s storied career, with brand new audio commentaries to boot. Those films are American Madness, It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, You Can’t Take It With You, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. If that weren’t enough, the set also contains the Ron Howard-hosted documentary Frank Capra’s American Dream.
After 8 seasons, many of which are rightly remembered amongst the most classic ever to air on television, The Andy Griffith Show (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) came to a close a few seasons past its prime. In the 30 episodes contained in this 5-disc set, Aunt Bee gets married, Opie goes rock n’ roll, Goober becomes his own man, and there’s even a surprise return of one Barney Fife.
There’s an undeniable down-home charm to Jim Nabors as prototypical Gump Gomer Pyle, and they managed to export it nicely from The Andy Griffith Show and into his own starring vehicle, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). Unwitting torturer of the short-fused Sergeant Carter, Gomer is stationed at California’s Camp Henderson, where is small-town naiveté drives everyone nuts, but gawl darn it, it sure is funny. The 5-disc box set features all 30 first season episodes, plus audio intros from Nabors, audio commentaries from Nabors and Ronnie Schell on select episodes, the episode of The Andy Griffith Show which served as the series’ pilot, Nabors on The David Frost Show, a Jim Nabors Hour clip, and a Lucy Show clip. Bring on the second season!
Of course, that’s not the only military comedy you can partake of this holiday season. If comedic follies in World War II prisoner of war camps is more your cup of tea, then the penultimate 5th season of Hogan’s Heroes (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) is just the ticket. I’m sorry, but even after all these year, I still find “I know nussing!!” profoundly funny. The 4-disc box set features all 26 remastered and uncut episodes.
More than living up to its title, Roy Thomas’s Conan: The Ultimate Guide To The World’s Most Savage Barbarian (DK, $24.99) is an essential overview of the creation, history, and mythos of that famous Cimmerian warrior, lavishly illustrated and packed with information.
Before Ugly Betty took over the airwaves this fall, Americans were enamored with the awkward position young Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) found herself in as the assistant to incredibly demanding New York fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). I could care less about the fashion industry, but The Devil Wears Prada (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is a spot-on character piece that’s full of plenty of laughs and a makes for a solid night of entertainment. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a gag reel.
Rocky Balboa is back in theaters and angling to get into your MP3 player of choice with a pair of new releases – a 30th anniversary remastered edition of the original Rocky soundtracks, as well as Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky (EMI, $18.98 SRP each), which contains tunes from all the flicks (including Survivor’s immortal “Eye of the Tiger”).
If you want a pretty clear case of how not to handle a remake of a cult classic horror flick, be sure to give a spin to the recent retake on The Wicker Man (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.98 SRP). Gone is the creepy British provincialism of the original, replaced with a bland American enclave of women situated on a private isle, and Nicolas Cage as the cop who picks the wrong day to go investigating on said creepy island. Do yourself a favor and stick with the Brit original. Bonus features include both the theatrical and an unrated version of the film (with a different, still ho-hum ending), an audio commentary, and the theatrical trailer.
Where films like The Blair Witch Project tried to revive the creep factor of the unknown darkness existing just outside the light, The Descent (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$28.98 SRP) achieves that in spades through the tale of a group of female spelunkers are stranded deep in the bowels of the Appalachians and find they’re not alone.. and it’s not human. The unrated cut features a pair of audio commentaries, deleted/extended scenes, storyboard to screen comparisons, a behind-the-scenes featurette, an interview with director Neil Marshall, a stills gallery, and outtakes.
While there was still humor to be found, audiences went largely lukewarm to what they viewed as a “message” show after Ellen’s big announcement during the fourth season, making the fifth season of Ellen (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) its last. With time and distance, it’s worth giving these episodes a second chance. The 3-disc set features outtakes and cast bios.
While a fascinating visual trip, A Scanner Darkly (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) is another one of those not quite there attempts to make a cinematic translation of a Philip K. Dick story. As adapted and directed by Richard Linklater as a rotoscoped fantasia, it can’t seem to find a footing in the tale of a suburban society hooked on Substance D, with a government doing more harm than good in order to “save them.” Still, it’s a worthwhile try, and at least interesting enough to maintain your attention. Bonus features include an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the theatrical trailer.
Fill your winter with wit via the second volume of the Will Rogers Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), featuring the film’s Ambassador Bill, David Harum, Mr. Skitch, and Too Busy To Work. Each film is fully remastered, with restoration comparison featurettes on every disc.
It’s natural to want to compare Gene Simmons’ family reality series to the hell-brood featured on Ozzy Osbourne’s show, but the surprising discovery of Family Jewels (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) is just how normal Simmons, his partner Shannon Tweed, and their two teenage kids are. In fact, compared to the Osbournes, Gene’s raised a pair of angels. Those expecting the kind of train wreck normally found in these types of shows will be largely disappointed, but it’s a fascinating peek behind closed doors nonetheless. The 2-disc set features the complete first season, plus unseen interviews, a rough cut of the pilot, bloopers, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
Featuring seven centuries of art, Masterpieces Up Close: Western Painting from the 14th to the 20th Centuries (Chronicle Books, $22.95) is a fun, informative oversize coffee table book that spotlights the hidden in plain view secrets of many classic works of art, from Michaelangelo to Dali, with a fun and breezy presentation that makes discovery a real joy.
There’s always a very noticeable tipping point where megalomaniacal directors suddenly go off the deep end of their own outsize egos, and M. Night Shyamalan has reached his with the overblown, pretentious, and altogether uninvolving Lady In The Water (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.98 SRP). Like some kind of ersatz cross between 12 Monkeys and Splash, a schlubby apartment manager (Paul Giamatti) is caught up in a tale of something or another when he rescues a mysterious water nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) from the communal swimming pool. Then stuff happens, much of which revolves around the fate of an artiste played by… M. Night Shyamalan. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes documentaries, additional scenes, auditions, a gag reel, and theatrical trailers.
It’s been said before, but watching Zach Braff in The Last Kiss (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is like watching a weird, bizarro remake of his writing & directorial debut, Garden State. Sadly, Braff’s lost, maturity-delayed character in Kiss is simply annoying, and the film itself is frustratingly flat and off-putting – whereas Garden State was anything but. Bonus features include director and cast audio commentaries, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a gag reel, and the Braff-directed video for Cary Brothers’ “Ride.”
After so many years, all of the various locales of Survivor begin to blend together in a miasma of challenges and bickering, and such is the case with Survivor: Vanuatu (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). This 4-disc set features not only all the episodes, but also additional footage, featurettes, audio commentaries, and the reunion episode.
While not exactly holiday fare, you can now own a trio of Henry Jaglom’s films, new to DVD – New Year’s Day, Someone to Love, and Tracks (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$14.99 SRP each). All three discs feature audio commentary from Jaglom, who is joined by Dennis Hopper on Tracks, Andrea Marcovicci on Someone To Love, and David Duchovny on New Year’s Day.
Return to the estrogen-thick walls of Wentworth Detention Center via the second collection of the Australian cult classic Prisoner Cell Block H (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP). Think of its sometimes outlandish soapy-ness as a female prison version of Oz.
Only completists will want to pick up the first volume of The New Adventures Of He-Man (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), the 90’s follow-up to the 80’s “classic” that managed to strip away any charm or iconic design found in the original. The 6-disc set features the first 33 episodes, plus 2 new documentaries, commercials, trivia, character profiles, and more.
I’m usually quite wary of largely improvised comedies that “find their way” during the shooting process – I was disappointed in the meandering Anchorman, but enjoyed the vibrant 40-Year-Old Virgin – so it was with some apprehension that I watched Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$28.96 SRP), starring Will Ferrell as the titular star of the NASCAR circuit. Thankfully, the skewering of the professional racer cliché – the omnipresent product placement, the southern fried mentality, the trophy wives, the equally dim teammate (John C. Reilly), etc. – is spot-on, and the story of Ricky Bobby’s fall from grace after a Frenchman invades and dominates both Bobby and the traditionally American motorsport (played by Borat and Ali G himself, Sacha Baron Cohen) is hilarious. The unrated version features a small amount of footage added back to the main film, with bonus features including an audio commentary, deleted/alternate scenes, character interviews, outtakes, Ricky & Cal’s PSAs and commercials, and more.
When I first saw the big screen Strangers With Candy (ThinkFilm, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP), I found the experience a bit off-putting, as it didn’t seem to quite capture the vibe that had made the television series such a funny slice of surreality. Upon a second viewing on DVD, I found much of that initial format shock had alleviated and I was able to view the flick on its own merits, and I found that I wound up enjoying it almost as much as the source material. It’s essentially a bit of a prequel/re-telling of Jeri Blank’s arrival at Flatpoint High, and from that point on… well, just pick it up and see for yourself. Bonus materials include an audio commentary (with Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello), deleted scenes, and a music video.
Against all odds – and my own doubts – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Walt Disney, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.99 SRP) works as a great popcorn flick that propels itself along at a healthy clip, populated by engaging characters and enough plot to keep my attention. Granted, like its predecessor, it can feel a bit long in parts, but overall it’s a fun ride, and a sorely needed “night at the movies” to help pass the time. The 2-disc special edition features audio commentary, bloopers, an extensive series of behind-the-scenes production documentaries (detailing the movie’s battle against the fierce hurricane season and a script still in progress as the cameras rolled), a spotlight on the revised Pirates ride at Disneyland, and more.
Viewers going in to Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.99 SRP) expecting a polemic will undoubtedly be surprised by just how straightforward a human story about the tragedy the film really is, focusing on the real-life story of a pair of firemen trapped in the wreckage after the Towers come down, leaving their wives worrying over their survival as they fight for their lives beneath tons of rubble. As always, the way to go is with the 2-disc special edition, featuring an audio commentary and Q&A with Stone, a second audio commentary with survivor Will Jimeno and rescuers, deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary, a behind-the-scenes documentary, a documentary on survivors Jimeno and John McLoughlin, a featurette on the set design, and a conversation with Stone about his ties to New York.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – for the finest publications on comics history and appreciation, look no further than, really, the entire line-up from Twomorrows publishing. These include the latest volume of their artist-specific Modern Masters series, on Mike Wieringo (Twomorrows, $14.95 SRP), and the second volume of Roy Thomas’s in-depth All-Star Companion (Twomorrows, $24.95 SRP). Hell, there’s also the Jack Kirby Collector, Back Issue, Alter Ego – the list goes on and on. Go 
As much as people tout Shrek as the high water mark for CG comedies, I think that, in many ways, the crown belongs to the Ice Age films, in particular the sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The humor is not a scattershot riff on pop culture, but is instead character and situation-based – in years to come, as the Shrek flicks age poorly, Ice Age will still be funny. And who doesn’t love Scrat? Bonus features include audio commentaries, a brand-new animated short (No Time For Nuts), behind-the-scenes featurettes, student films, and more.
Every once in awhile, as more and more bands attempt to cover Queen tunes, it’s nice to go listen to Freddie Mercury’s voice and remember that no one has yet been able to approach his incredible voice. Even if you have all of the Queen albums, make sure you pick up his solo work via the 2-disc Lover of Life – Singer of Songs (Hollywood Records, $18.98 SRP). His cover of “The Great Pretender” is incredible, and the operatic “Barcelona” will blow you away.
Try as they might, the seemingly dormant Chronicles of Narnia franchise is not The Lord of the Rings. The first outing, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe simply didn’t excite audiences like Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations, so it’s a little off-putting that we’ve now got a 4-disc extended edition of Wardrobe (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$42.99 SRP), clearly aping Jackson’s extended cuts. While the expanded film is merely bunches and bunches of padding added into an already overlong flick, the only feature worth checking out are the additional behind-the-scenes documentaries and featurettes included in the set, particularly a feature-length documentary on author C.S. Lewis.
While sadly lacking in any bonus material whatsoever, having the first season of Mission: Impossible (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) on DVD means we can all collectively tick off another entry on our “when will this be on DVD?” list, which leaves very few iconic TV series still untouched by the digital age. This 7-disc set features all 28 first season episodes, completely uncut and remastered, full of all the disguises, action, and fun that make the Cruise films look like overblown, pretentious exercises in ego.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dips into the rich history of stock car racing with his series Back in the Day (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP), a reverent trip blazing down memory lane via interviews and archival footage spotlighting names like Petty, Allison, Yarborough, and Pearson. From moonshine to the Winston Cup, you’ll see how a motorsport developed, and the personalities that drive it. The complete first season set features an interview with Earnhardt, Jr. and a music video.
After seven seasons, the adventures of the Duke boys came to a close in The Dukes of Hazzard (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), with some truly bizarre adventures… Would you believe a Rosco robot? Or time travel? Or the absurdity of Enos and Daisy getting hitched? You’ll get all that, plus a tribute to Waylon Jennings, a new music video (featuring Tom Wopat, John Schneider, and Catherine Bach),and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the video.
It’s almost reassuring to know that, even after 5 seasons, the comedy of Full House (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) had not changed one iota. Danny was still flustered, Michelle was still cute, Joey would still do a Popeye voice at the drop of a hat, and Uncle Jessie’s hair was still big. Calm, glacial comedy.
And in soundtrack news, there’s Danny Elfman’s score for Charlotte’s Web (Sony Classical, $18.98 SRP), and James Horner’s powerful score for Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto (Hollywood Records, $18.98 SRP).
You know, there are bad ideas, and there are really, really bad ideas – the live action Year Without A Santa Claus (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is one of those. Awkward and lacking in any of the charm in the Rankin-Bass classic, it’s just an embarrassment best forgotten.
Before we move on, I’d also recommend you pick up a pair of Region 2 releases featuring Mr. Carr, beginning with a 2-disc collection of his stand-up DVDs, Jimmy Car: Live (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£22.99) and the first uncensored highlights collection of the panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats appropriately subtitled Claws Out (Channel 4, Not Rated, £19.99). It’s a shame that the extent of Carr’s penetration into the US market is Comedy Central’s import of the Carr’s UK gameshow Distraction, because the man is freakin’ hilarious.
Erik the Viking (Arrow Films, Not Rated, DVD-£15.99 SRP) is one of the “lost” post-Python films, overlooked by many in favor of more well known efforts from the likes of Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda) and Gilliam (Brazil). Still, I find writer/director Terry Jones’s tale of a Viking with a conscience (Tim Robbins) to be an enjoyably fun flick, with many of the whimsical and visual qualities that have marked much of Jones’s style. Unfortunately, the original cut of the film was somewhat rushed, and Jones has never been happy with the theatrical version – which means, in this modern DVD age, he’s been given the chance to go back and tweak it for a new 2-disc special edition… well, actually, his son Bill Jones has done the tweaking, producing the “Director’s Son’s Cut” of Erik the Viking. While the US edition is MIA with no release in sight, Arrow Films in the UK has put together a beautiful special edition featuring both cuts of the film, audio commentary with Terry Jones, and interview with Terry and his son Bill, a making-of featurette, extended cast interviews, and a photo gallery.
Mezco has taken the South Park toy license – one which was has been horribly misused by other companies in the past – and have been putting out a consistently great line-up of figures over the past year, featuring some very nice sculpts and welcome characters. While all are worth picking up (although you’ll probably have to resort to eBay for older waves, due to the popularity of the figures), you’ll find a pic of one of the most recent waves below – featuring Jesus, Butters, Mr. Mackey, Timmy, Frozen Kenny, and Policeman Cartman (Mezco, approx. $12.99 each, depending on the retailer). Notice how accessory-heavy they are, and rejoice that not only does Timmy come with the time-travel machinery for the back of his wheelchair, but Jesus has pitchers of both water and wine.
I have a theory that every property eventually gets a decent action figure line, even if they’ve had numerous dud licensees in the past. Case in point are the wonderful Looney Tunes figures coming out of DC Direct (approx. $12.99), which finally give these characters the respect and attention they deserve. They’re being released as 2 pairs of complimentary figures from a specific film – for example, Series 1 featured Bugs and Elmer in full regalia from Chuck Jones’ “What’s Opera, Doc?” and Sylvester and Daffy in the swordfighting scene from Jones’ “The Scarlet Pumpernickel.” Pictured below is Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner from “Scrambled Aches.” Hopefully, a future wave will give us Robin Hood Daffy and that laughing porcine Friar Tuck.
Those of you in a charitable mood – who share that attitude with a love of British comedy – should pick up the Region 0 PAL release of The Secret Policeman’s Ball: The Complete Edition (ILC, Not Rated, £24.99). For those of you unfamiliar with the series of concerts over about a 10-year span, they were a collection of comedy and pop acts – including the likes of the Pythons, Neil Innes, Peter Cook, Eric Clapton, Rowan Atkinson, Sting, and dozens more – that banded together to raise money for Amnesty International. This 5-disc box-set collects the lot of them, along with the retrospective documentary “Remember The Secret Policeman’s Ball.” Not only is this a collection of legendary British comedy, but 10% of each sale goes to Amnesty International.
While sadly lacking in bonus materials this go round, the sixth season of Roseanne (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is certainly one of its most dense, with Becky’s return (now played by Sarah Chalke), Jackie’s pregnancy, Dan’s reignition of an old flame, the discovery of Roseanne & Dan’s stash, the lesbian kiss, a “White Trash Christmas,” and DJ’s surreptitious churchgoing.
While not entirely accurate (in fact, some of the “natural” action was staged), there’s no denying that networks like Discovery and Animal Planet owe a huge debt to the nature films produced by the Walt Disney Company under the banner True Life Adventures in the 1950’s. The series has been fully restored for the 4-volume “Legacy Collection” editions of True Life – Wonders of the World, Lands of Exploration, Creatures of the Wild, and Nature’s Mysteries (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$32.99 SRP each). Each 2-disc set features an introduction from Roy Disney (who worked on the series as one of his first assignments at his uncle’s studio), as well as additional featurettes, tributes, and trailers.
Nudity. Prostitution. Adultery. Would you believe that all of this – and more – could be found in Hollywood films of the early 1930’s? Our modern view of early Tinsletown cinema as staid and buttoned-up is the result of the film industry’s adoption of a self-imposed Production Code, which was enacted out of fear that the government would soon begin dictating what was “decent” – a move that crippled American cinema for decades, forcing it to present a largely whitewashed view of how real people lived and interacted. The Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume One (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) collects a trio of pre-code films – all beautifully restored – that present a fascinating portrait of how daring early cinema actually was. The three films featured in this inaugural set are Baby Face, Red Headed Woman, and Waterloo Bridge, and the 2-disc set also features an intro from TCM’s Robert Osbourne and the theatrical trailer for Baby Face.
While my assertion that it’s not the holiday season without a pair of very nice Bernardo Bertolucci special editions may seem a bit of a stretch, it is a nice surprise to get feature-laden editions of Bertolucci’s The Conformist (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP) and 1900 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). While The Conformist features a trio of brand-new behind-the-scenes and retrospective featurettes, it’s the 2-disc edition of 1900 – featuring the full 5 hour original cut – that really shines, with documentaries covering the story and cast, as well as the creation of the film.
For someone who regained so much of his seemingly long-lost mojo with Match Point – which paired him with new muse Scarlett Johansson – Woody Allen seems to have lost most of his gains with the rather turgid murder mystery Scoop (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Johannson stars as a college journalist who winds up following clues relating to a spate of murders – all of which lead her to a romantic entanglement with a dashing young gentleman (Hugh Jackman) that may pose a hazard to her health.
There’s something so 70’s-era greasy and grimy about the Me Decade remake of A Star Is Born (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP), starring Barbra Streisand as the titular rock n’ roll star and Kris Kristofferson as the Grizzly Adams-esque object of her affections. This newly remastered special edition features an audio commentary from Streisand, additional scenes, wardrobe tests, and a trailer gallery.
Anyone going in to Michael Mann’s big screen take on his own 80’s icon Miami Vice (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) expecting the sun-drenched pastels and larger-than-life villainy of yore will be in for quite a shock, as he’s reimagined it as a grim, gritty, overly-realistic slice of urban drama, and Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as Crockett & Tubbs are nowhere near their almost-playful 80’s counterparts. If you go into it with no expectations or comparisons, you’ll probably enjoy it for what it is. The unrated director’s cut features additional footage, plus an audio commentary with Mann and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
An incredibly memorable online success story, Happy Tree Friends eventually found a home on G4. You can now snag the 9 episodes that comprise the complete first season of the twisted little cartoon (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), plus audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, storyboards, and more.
While some titles have been available separately, it’s wonderful that you can now get 7 great flicks from a great director via Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). Those films include The Great McGinty, Christmas In July, The Lady Eye, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Moment, Hail The Conquering Hero, and my personal favorite, Sullivan’s Travels.
You know, I dug Super Troopers. I even found a good deal of humor in Club Dread. But Broken Lizard’s latest, Beerfest (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$28.98 SRP), left me cold. The concept – about a group of Americans banding together to compete in Germany’s secret underground “Beerfest” competition (and for two of the team members to avenge their grandfather and reclaim their brewing heritage) – does have plenty of comic potential, but in execution it’s just… too much. The unrated version, in particular, is a bloated mess. Come on, guys – I know you’re capable of better (and smarter). Bonus materials include audio commentaries, delete scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
With everyone else getting their moment in the spotlight, it was only a matter of time before we got an Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton: The Film Collection set (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), sporting a quartet of the flicks the tumultuous couple made for Warners. The four fully remastered films in question are Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, The Comedians, The V.I.P.s, and The Sandpiper. While all the flicks get vintage featurettes, the real bonus feature bonanza is on the 2-disc Woolf, which contains commentaries, brand new featurettes, interviews, screen tests, and more.
Just when the series began to flag – and Jack Bauer’s adventures in antiterrorism seemed to be sinking into cliché – along came season 5 of 24 (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which finds a resurrected Bauer (after faking his own death at the end of season 4) trying to figure out who is systematically eliminating the tiny group of people who know he’s still alive. Is it the Russians? Is it an American? Is it even more impressive a reveal? The bottom line is the show felt fresh and energized, and actually ended on a note that had me eager for season 6. The 7-disc set features audio commentaries on select episodes, deleted/extended scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a season 6 “prequel” featurette.
Though its appeal is completely lost on me, tweeny-boppers have embraced with a fierce, frightening passion The Disney Channel’s original movie High School Musical, so much so that it’s prompted the release of a brand new “Remix” special edition (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP). The 2-disc set features a new complement of bonus materials, including behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, music videos, and more.
I’ve waited years for Fox to begin releasing St. Elsewhere (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) on DVD, and the first season is finally here. In addition to all 22 episodes of the groundbreaking dramedy’s inaugural season, the 4-disc set features an audio commentary on the episode “Cora and Arnie” and a clutch of retrospective featurettes. My only beef? I wish Fox would stop releasing their TV shows on the damned double-sided discs that every other studio has abandoned.
No one will say that this was the Man of Steel’s finest hour, – and after an hour, things tend to get a bit repetitive – but there’s an undeniable camp charm and enthusiasm in the fully restored Superman: The Theatrical Serials Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which features the original 15-part 1948 Superman, as well as 1950’s 15-part Atom Man Vs. Superman – both of which star Kirk Alyn as the last son of Krypton. Bonus materials include the retrospective featurette “Saturdays With Superman” (featuring historians and the original Lois Lane herself, Noel Neill), as well as an excerpt from the documentary Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman (the full version of which is available via its own DVD).
Maligned as an inferior post-Walt offering, I’ve always loved Disney’s Robin Hood (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP), and am thrilled that it’s finally gotten a much-needed remastering for DVD, featuring a brand-new 5.1 mix (the better to hear narrator Roger Miller’s tunes). It also contains an alternate ending, and the black & white Mickey Mouse short Ye Olden Days.
I hold out hope that the actual film is as fun and funny as the tie in book Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (Titan Books, $14.95 SRP). From the history of the “D” to excerpts from the script for the film, this is your guide to Jack Black and Kyle Gass’s acoustic metal phenom.
To some, the “singer/songwriter” appellation is a stigma (after John Mayer, I can sympathize), but Cat Stevens was a standout even at a time when his peers included Paul Simon, Harry Nilsson, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell (just to name a very limited few). Introspective, questioning, but mostly upbeat (a rare commodity in the s/s set), Stevens’ music is there to be rediscovered, especially as Yusuf Islam (the name he took after converting to Islam) has just released a brand new pop album years after abandoning the music industry that had thoroughly burnt him out. Listen to the tunes that made him a star with the excellent 4-disc Cat Stevens box set (A&M, $59.98 SRP). If you don’t have the funds to pick up his complete catalogue (which has recently been fully remastered, with particular recommendation going to the Tea for the Tillerman album), this set provides a nice overview of his career.
Kenny Vs. Spenny (VSC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is a truly guilty pleasure, in that it unfortunately reveals – in stark reality – the sad, pathetic competitive nature that makes idiots of even the brightest men. In this series, best friends Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice engage in the most inane of head-to-head competitions – from who can stay naked the longest to who can drink more beer. It’s madness, but so very accurate. The 2-disc set features all 15 second season episodes, plus audio commentary on a pair of episodes, deleted scenes, a season two promo, and a season three preview.
Ever since its premature cancellation and the release of first season set a few years back, fans have been wondering wen the second (and final) season of Joan of Arcadia (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) would gets its release. Well, the wait is over, and the 6-disc set contains all 22 remaining episodes, plus audio commentaries on 4 episodes, a making-of, table read footage, a season 2 overview, and a tour of Joan’s high school.
With digital downloads and piracy nipping at their heels, record companies are really beginning to go all out in making CD releases a real event, particularly with catalogue releases. Not only do the first two Pretenders albums – Pretenders & Pretenders II (Rhino, $24.98 SRP each) – get fully remastered, but they both feature a second disc loaded with demos, rarities, b-sides, and more… and by loaded, I mean the discs are packed to the gills.
Kudos to David Boreanaz for finding another vehicle that has achieved the mainstream success that sadly eluded Angel during its entire 5-season run. In Bones (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), Boreanaz is FBI agent Seeley Booth, who’s partnered with forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) to solve crimes that are the oddest of the odd. Think of it as a cross between CSI and The X-Files, with all of the charm and chemistry of the latter and the procedural of the former. The 4-disc set features all 22 first season episodes, plus audio commentary on the pilot, character profiles, interviews with the cast, a look at the real inspiration for “Bones,” and a guide to forensic terminology.
Thundercats: Season Two Volume Two (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$64.98 SRP) brings the original adventures of Lion-O and the Thundercats to a close, as they finally vanquish Mumm-Ra and establish New Thundera. However, just when all seems won, Mumm-Ra returns for the expected final battle, with the fate of New Thundera and the Thundercats themselves in the balance. I admit… I cried a little to see it end.
I’ve heard some incredible things about the film (and the play that spawned it), and if the movie itself is halfway as enjoyable as the soundtrack disc, I think the praise for The History Boys (Rhino, $18.98 SRP) is well-earned. Featuring tracks from Echo & The Bunnymen, The Clash, Rufus Wainwright, the Pretenders, and The Smiths, it’s like an alt-punk parade.
Setting aside the soap opera his life has become, listening to the career-spanning 3-disc set David Crosby: Voyage (Rhino, $49.98 SRP) – from his time with The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to his recent solo and group work with CPR – is to marvel and just what an incredible voice Crosby had, whether in group harmony or just his pipes alone. The set includes rarities and demos in addition to the remastered tracks themselves.
I’m still not entirely sure why Van Wilder (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) has achieved such cult status by being Animal House-lite, but there you go – it is, and it’s now got a 2-disc unrated special edition, which just amounts to more boobies.
I’m still trying to figure out who exactly thought Ant Bully (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$28.98 SRP) was a good idea. While the premise is interesting – a kid who tortures ants is shrunk down via a magic ant serum and learns empathy for the tiny natural world – the design and execution of the film is just atrocious. Besides ripping of the ant designs from Dreamworks’ Antz, it’s just a lackluster affair that proves the CG fad has become a glut. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette, 7 animated shorts, and additional scenes.
While the seventh season of Seinfeld (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) marked the departure of Larry David, it was also an incredibly jam-packed outing, loaded with the episodes the shine even within the already-stunning firmament of the show – episodes like “The Soup Nazi,” “The Rye,” “The Maestro,” “The Sponge,” and the darkest way to end a marriage storyline, “The Invitations.” After David’s departure, the show lost a bit of its more gothic touches, to be sure, but not until the final season would there be anything even approaching a clunker. As with previous sets, Volume 6 (remember, the first volume featured seasons 1 & 2) is loaded with bonus features – including commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, TV spots, exclusive Stand-Up footage, and cast & crew interviews. In addition, there’s a spotlight on Elaine Benes and Julie Louis-Dreyfus, reflections on Larry David’s final season, and more “Sein-Imations” (classic scenes reinterpreted through animation).
I love Boston Legal (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). I think David E. Kelley has finally found a way to meld the sensibility of his past shows – like Picket Fences, The Practice, and Ally McBeal – without falling into the sometimes overbearing, overblown, schizophrenic pitfalls of the previous series. Oh, and it’s got William Shatner, James Spader, Rene Auberjunois, and Candice Bergen. The 7-disc complete second season set features all 27 episodes, plus a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Its release was delayed due to MGM’s transfer of its home video distribution from Sony to Fox, but the long-awaited special edition of A Fish Called Wanda (MGM/UA, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) is finally hitting stores, packed with 2-discs of bonus materials in addition to newly-remastered picture and sound. Those bonus materials include an audio commentary with John Cleese, deleted/alternate scenes, a retrospective documentary, a message from John Cleese, and more.
While not the films that many remember as his classics, the 7-film Paul Newman Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated/Rated PG, DVD-$59.98 SRP) is a must-have set for the bonus features alone. In addition to the films themselves – Somebody Up There Likes Me, The Left Handed Gun, The Young Philadelphians, Harper, Pocket Money, The Mackintosh Man, & The Drowning Pool – the set features commentaries (from Newman, the late Robert Wise, Martin Scorsese, Robert Loggia, Richard Schickel, William Goldman, Arthur Penn, and Vincent Sherman), vintage featurettes, and trailers. Can you guess what set I’ll be digging my way through over the holidays?
Try as I might, I can’t understand what people love about How I Met Your Mother (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). I’ve watched every episode, and I love the actors involved, but the writing seems flat and clichéd – I honestly wish it was better, because I want to like it. Is this what it was like for all those people who didn’t “get” Friends, or am I living some kind of sitcom version of They Live, where only I can see the non-funny? The 3-disc set features all 22 first season episodes, plus audio commentaries on select episodes, a blooper reel, and a “Video Yearbook” featurette.
You’d think it wouldn’t have taken so long for one of the highest grossing comedies of all time to get a decent special edition, but it’s taken forever to get one for John Hughes & Chris Columbus’s timeless holiday tale of unintentional child abandonment, Home Alone (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The new edition features a gag reel, over a half-dozen featurettes, deleted scenes, and – best of all – an audio commentary with Columbus and Macaulay Culkin.
With the 3-disc set collecting season 6 & 7, the end of the original run of Columbo (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) on DVD comes to a conclusion with the final 8 tele-movies starring Peter Falk as the memorably rumpled detective famous for his case-solving refrain of “Oh, there’s just one more thing…”.
The fifth and final season of Alias (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) was a bit of a jumbled affair, with the increasingly onerous Rambaldi mythology sort of reaching some kind of resolution, but I wouldn’t exactly call the last adventures of Sydney Bristow a high water mark in the show’s history. Much like The X-Files before it, they were never able to sustain the passion, energy, and mystery that had propelled better times. The 4-disc set features behind-the-scenes featurettes and a blooper reel.
My little nephew has recently been getting into Blue’s Clues, so I sat him down with the new volume of Blue’s Room – Meet Blue’s Baby Brother (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP). As the title suggests, this introduces Blue’s new baby brother… and my nephew approves.
It’s been a long wait, but I’m thrilled that the second season of Black Books (BBC, Not Rated, $24.98 SRP) is finally hitting the US. Giddy, in fact, since it’s one of the finest comedies – British or American – ever produced. Created, co-written by, and starring Shaun of the Dead co-star Dylan Moran, it centers around the twisted world of customer-hating bookshop owner Bernard Black, a man fond of drink, swearing, antipathy, anger, but definitely not customers… Imagine if Basil Fawlty’s antisocial tendencies were given full reign and a bottle of vodka. Paired with Black is new-hire Manny (Bill Bailey), a good-natured man clearly out of his element and an easy target for Bernard’s ire and ridicule – which is only mitigated somewhat by the presence of daffy friend Fran (Tamsin Greig). Crikey, how I love this series. The complete second series features all 6 episodes, plus commentaries and outtakes. Here’s hoping they hurry up and release the already-available-in-the-UK third series post-haste.
3rd Rock From The Sun was one of those shows that, despite a decent run, was cancelled before the steam had run out of the series. In some ways, I suppose I should be thankful that I was spared the often sad decline of many a once funny sitcom, but after watching the 20 episodes comprising the 6th and final season (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), I found myself wanting more of the Solomon family’s tenure on Earth. The final 4-disc set features the alternate ending to the finale (the one that was shot in case the show somehow got a seventh season), introductions to the alternate ending, and a retrospective featurette.
It’s one thing to lovingly restore “classics” like Citizen Kane or Casablanca, but I really get excited when a seminal piece of science fiction cinema gets treated with equal respect, as Warners has done with Forbidden Planet (Warner Bros., Rated G, DVD-$26.98 SRP). The print is positively pristine, for one thing – it probably didn’t even look this speaking in theaters, and it certainly didn’t feature the 5.1 mix found here. A beautiful presentation of the film would be enough, but the 2-disc special edition also features deleted scenes, a complete follow-up vehicles starring the iconic Robby the Robot (The Invisible Boy & an episode of The Thin Man TV series), a trio of documentaries, an excerpt from the MGM Parade TV series, and trailers. If only Universal had given half this level of attention to This Island Earth, I’d be a happy man.
The real highlight of the second volumes of both DuckTales and Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP) – besides the fact that they’ve come out at all – is that Disney managed to listen to the fan outcry over their lunk-headed negligence in including both series’ 5-part pilot storylines in their respective Volume 1 sets. Unlike the excellent TV animation sets coming out of BCI, Disney still doesn’t even take the time to put a single bonus feature on these discs, which is a damn shame considering what seminal shows these were.
“Gummi Bears – Bouncing here and there and everywhere…” If you’re of a certain ages, chances are you know every one of the lines that follow… and are probably singing them right now. There once was a time when Disney crafted some remarkable TV animation that could be enjoyed by all ages, and it all started with Gummi Bears (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP). You can now own the first three seasons, but as with all Disney TV animation releases, there are absolutely zero bonus features. Disney – ring up BCI. They know how to do it right.
In what has turned into an incredibly supermonth, not only do we get the fifth and sixth seasons set of George Reeves’s Adventures of Superman (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) – wrapping up the show’s run – but we also get the fourth and final season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The Reeves set features a featurette on Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen), while Lois & Clark features an interactive Superman timeline hosted by Dean Cain.
Although initially put off by The Fellowship of the Ring, I was eventually won over by Peter Jackson’s epic, almost-Wagnerianly operatic filmmaking, with its immense running time and larger-than-life cinematic bombast. I had high hopes for Peter Jackson’s King Kong, hoping that its over 3-hour running time would fly by with the energy, exuberance, and obvious love for the original that Jackson has professed over the years. Unfortunately, that was not the case – instead, I found Jackson’s Kong to be overly long and self-indulgent, plodding along from effect to effect, with leaden drama (and the worst case of Stockholm Syndrome ever). It was surprising, then, to learn that an even longer extended cut would be coming down the pike (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), adding 13 minutes of what mainly amounts to even more time on Skull Island. Despite my disappointment with the film, I will say that no one puts together bonus features as well as Jackson & company, and this 3-disc set is no exception. In addition to a wonderful commentary with Jackson and co-writer/producer Philippa Boyens (it’s more enjoyable than the film, for me), an additional 38 minutes of deleted scenes, a short film made by the cast, outtakes, brand-new making-of featurettes, a spotlight on the creation of Skull Island, video conceptual art galleries, both the 1996 and 2005 scripts (Jackson had been wanting to make Kong for years), and more. Even if you’re no fan of PJ’s giant ape, this is a nice set with some very spiffy behind-the-scenes materials.
Johnny Cash’s concert behind the prison walls of San Quentin on February 24th, 1969 is the stuff of legend second only to his gig at Folsom, and for the first time since that performance, the 3-disc special edition of Johnny Cash At San Quentin (Sony Legacy, $39.98 SRP) features 31 tracks, most of which were previously unreleased, in addition to a DVD featuring the original Granada TV documentary of the concert.
Peter Bracke’s Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP) is a comprehensive volume chronicling the history of the seminal slasher franchise, from Jason’s very first musical sting stalking of horny teenagers in an isolated summer camp to the latest efforts to revive the hockey-masked terror. For any fan of the series, it’s a must-have tome.
As environmental consciousness has been moving increasingly towards the mainstream in recent months, we’ll probably be seeing more films like Chris Paine’s Who Killed The Electric Car? (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$26.96 SRP), which tries to uncover what exactly happened to GM’s once-promising line of electric vehicles that made a splashy debut in the mid-90’s only to me mysteriously recalled a short time later. Was it business? Was it politics? Was it something far more insidious? Bonus features include deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a music video.
There’s been quite a few concert DVDs from Paul McCartney in recent years, but I think my favorite is the just-released Paul McCartney: The Space Within (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP). Maybe that’s because it’s in support of an album I really dug (Chaos & Creation In The Backyard), and it’s always a thrill to hear what good voice the 64-year-old former Beatle is in. The disc features interviews with Macca and the band, plus sound checks, the US Tour pre-show film, and a behind-the-scenes tour featurette.
Marlo Thomas is back in the complete second season of That Girl (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), as Ann Marie’s career begins to take off (with commercials, magazine covers, and a Broadway show opposite Ethel Merman) and her relationship with Donald (Ted Bessell) becomes strong… But not so strong that the fiercely independent Ann Marie is ready to sideline her burgeoning career for marriage. The 4-disc set features all 30 episodes, plus audio commentaries, a featurette, and a never-before seen 1965 pilot for “Two’s Company” (starring Thomas).
Crikey, has it really been almost a decade since The Green Mile (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$20.98 SRP) was released? Due to its massive length, the original DVD release was practically featureless – which is a shame, because it was one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work, and featured a clutch of amazing performances. Well, all is rectified with a new 2-disc special edition, featuring an audio commentary with writer/director Frank Darabont, a making-of documentary, Tom Hanks makeup texts, Michael Clarke Duncan’s screen test, a 6-part documentary gallery, a spotlight on the teaser trailer, and the theatrical trailers.
Alex Borstein is best known for her characters MADtv‘s “Ms. Swan” and Family Guy‘s “Lois Griffin”, but in Alex Borstein Is Drop Dead Gorgeous In a Down-to-Earth Bombshell Sort of Way (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), she sets out to answer the question “What the hell happened to all the cool chicks on TV and in the movies?” in a live stage show that explores why the Mary Tyler Moore’s of the TV world have been replaced with the likes of Paris Hilton (What the f*** happened?) . In this hilarious show, Alex moves seamlessly and conversationally through stories, characterizations, impressions and yes, even a bit of song. From Scooby Doo’s Velma to Renee Zelwegger to Tina Turner, no one is safe from her keen eye and often bizarre take on the world. The disc also features a trip behind-the-scenes of Family Guy.
When it first premiered, I was immediately hooked on Little Britain, which played like the bastard child of The League of Gentlemen and Benny Hill. Unfortunately, by the time the third series rolled around (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams had become over-reliant on recurring one-note characters, cheap laughs, and catch phrases. Unlike The League of Gentlemen, which radically rejiggered its formula for each consecutive season while still retaining the comedic essence, Little Britain wound down with a tired thud – which is unfortunate, because Lucas & Walliams are appealing performers. I hope they can reinvent and reinvigorate themselves in the near future. The 2-disc set features highlights from the BBC’s Little Britain night, audio commentaries on all the episodes, deleted scenes, a Richard & Judy interview with Matt & David, a Heresy radio episode, and David on Top Gear.
While not the seasonal sets most fans were hoping for, there’s no mistaking that – much like their Sgt. Bilko set earlier this year – Paramount has attempted to put together a rather nice package for their 3-disc Gunsmoke: The Directors Collection (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.99 SRP). In addition to the 15 remastered episodes (directed by the likes of Arthur Hiller, Robert Stevenson, Dennis Weaver, Peter Graves, William Conrad, and Victor French), there’s also audio commentaries from a selection of the directors in question, an Amanda Blake interview from The Mike Douglas Show, CBS radio broadcasts, a soundtrack scoring session, and more.
Babylon By Bus (Penguin Press, $24.95 SRP) is one of those stories that is just unbelievable enough to be absolutely – and amazingly – true. Bus‘s true story focuses on a pair of Boston schlubs named Jeff Neumann & Ray Lemoine who, on the spur of the moment, decide that high adventure is the order of the day, and its to be found in post-liberation Iraq. Arriving shortly after the fall of Baghdad when reconstruction was still a seemingly workable thing, they found an often lawless, surreal ball of confusion torn between the American military presence, the citizens of Iraq, the insurgents, and the increasingly unstable relationship amongst them all. Their memoir (written with Donovan Webster) is at times funny, at times disturbing portrait of the region from a pair of modern, everyday observers who find themselves caught in the mess.
After five years and dozens of leaps, Dr. Sam Beckett faced hi final batch of televised adventures in the final season of Quantum Leap (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). The show had its ups and downs, but the ending is a sucker punch that I still feel, all these years later, that ranks right up there with the brutal slap across the face that wrapped up The Wonder Years. Sadly, there’s not a single bonus feature in sight, but at least another TV series has managed to eke out its full run on DVD.
As I eagerly await this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, I can bide my time with another pair of classic adventures on DVD – The Mark of Rani (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) from the Colin Baker years, and Tom Baker’s Doctor in The Hand of Fear (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). Bonus features include audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, continuity announcements, vintage featurettes & interviews, and more.
Jumping on the bandwagon begun by companies like Warner and Fox, Universal has begun to mine their incredible film archives and issue some very nice collections of more obscure catalogue titles grouped under a given film icon. Their latest in what they’ve labeled the Screen Legend Collection (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP each) spotlight 5 films apiece from Bing Crosby (Waikiki Wedding, Double or Nothing, East Side of Heaven, If I Had My Way, Here Comes The Waves, Cary Grant (Thirty Day Princess, Kiss and Make Up, Wings In The Dark, Big Brown Eyes, Wedding Present), and Rock Hudson (Has Anybody Seen My Gal, A Very Special Favor, The Golden Blade, The Last Sunset, The Spiral Road) in 3-disc sets.
I think I’m falling out of love with Family Guy. I used to be a big fan, and would laugh at its often absurd left-field stream-of-consciousness writing style, but with the episodes featured in the fourth volume (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), I’ve become weary of the often senseless storytelling and paper-thin characters. It reminds me of a bad season of SNL, when the writers throw anything at the screen – overused catchphrases, included – and hope that something sticks. It’s just lazy, and it’s unfortunate – because I did like the show. A lot. Come back to me, Family Guy. The 3-disc set features audio commentaries on all 14 episodes, deleted scenes, featurettes, an optional censored audio track on 5 episodes, and multi-angle scene studies.
I still, for the life of me, can’t understand the appeal of The Da Vinci Code (Sony, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.96 SRP). It’s a turgid, uninvolving, hack-pulp novel that seemed to have latched onto airport-zeitgeist and made a multi-millionaire out of its author, Dan Brown, and stirred biblical controversies that leave me completely uninterested. The same can be said of Ron Howard’s equally turgid adaptation, starring a shaggy Tom Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon, hot on the trail of something or another having to do with a church conspiracy to cover up the concept that Jesus knocked up Mary Magdalane. Okey dokey. The 2-disc special edition features behind-the scenes featurettes, a first-day diary with Ron Howard, and conversations with Hanks and Brown, and more.
Like most shows that take the awkward plunge into the abyss of romantic tension dispersment by hooking up their opposites attract couple, by the 5th season of Northern Exposure (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) and Maggie (Janine Turner) were a seemingly permanent fixture around Cicely, Alaska – with all of the dramatic confusion that usually entails. Of course, this also turned out to be the penultimate season, and by the following year, Morrow (and Fleischman) would leave the show mid-season, and things would limp to an awkward close for the eccentrics of Cicely. The 5-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus almost 40 minutes of deleted scenes.
Dig into the sitcom stacks this weekend with the complete sixth season of The Golden Girls and the fifth season of Home Improvement (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP each). Golden Girls features conversations with the cast from the Museum of Television & Radio, while Home Improvement sports a blooper reel.
While not up to the level of a college classic like Animal House, Accepted (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is an affable comedy that – while no work of genius – is genuinely enjoyable if taken as a throw-away laugher. When a schlubby high school student gets turned down by every college on his list, he decides to do what any aspiring academic would – start his own school. The South Harmon Institute of Technology is a bizarro reflection of college life, with the students in charge. Bonus features include a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Yeah, yeah, yeah – the second season of NCIS (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP) still features the same kind of pulse-pounding anti-espionage, anti-terrorism stories, but the real reason for watching the show is to support the continued career of Mark Harmon. I do it for the man who gave us Summer School. The 6-disc set features a quartet of featurettes (“Investigating Season 2,” “What’s New In Season 2,” “The Real NCIS,” and “Lab Tour with Pauley Perrette”).
Anyone expecting a frothy romantic comedy out of The Break-Up (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) will be in for quite a shock, as the bubbly laugh-fest of the trailers is actually a rather dramatic tale of a disintegrating relationship – that of Gary & Brooke (Vince Vaughn & Jennifer Aniston) whose break-up eventually manifests itself as a bitter struggle for their shared apartment. Think of it as a take off on The War of the Roses, but without the humor. Bonus materials include an alternate ending, deleted scenes, audio commentaries, and more.
As train wreck television goes, the second seasons of Flavor Flav’s search for a mate, Flavor of Love (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) has got to be near the top of the list. When one of your prospective paramours has to be excused to use the bathroom, you know you’re on a roll. The 3-disc set features all 11 uncensored episodes, plus bonus scenes and interviews, plus a bevy of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
After Shout! Factory’s wonderful treatment of the complete NBC Network 90 run of SCTV, I was disappointed to learn that what was originally intended as a complete release of the first season of the original syndicated run had instead morphed into a Best of the Early Years (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) set featuring 15 episodes from the second and third seasons. I hope that whatever issues prevented complete season releases eventually gets worked out, but until then, it’s nice to have anything from these seasons. The 3-disc set features 4 audio commentaries, a brand new interview with Andrea Martin, a featurette spotlighting the Old Firehall home of Toronto’s Second City, and a vintage news report on the explosive popularity of Bob & Doug McKenzie.
As with any outsize personality whose very name has become a corporate identity, Walt Disney has become more myth than man. Lionized on one hand and demonized on the other, Neal Gabler’s massive Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (Knopf, $35.00 SRP) is the even-handed, heavily researched biography that’s sorely been needed. If you want to know about the man and where the myth originated – plus get some long-standing myths refuted – this is the definitive story of the man behind the mouse.
In the lead up to the 2000 election, South Park maestros Trey Parker & Matt Stone announced that they would be doing a Comedy Central sitcom based on whoever wound up winning in November. They developed shows based on both a Gore and a Bush outcome, but when the dust settled, the show we got was That’s My Bush (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP). It’s depiction of a bumbling rube at the mercy of his advisors would eventually prove to be completely accurate, but the show itself – despite being a hilarious satire of both the administration and old school sitcoms – lasted just 8 episodes. The 2-disc set features the entire run, plus audio commentaries with the cast, Parker, and Stone.
While the magician out front may be performing the tricks, it’s Jonathan Creek (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) who actually designs the tricks. As portrayed by comedian Alan Davies, he’s a shaggy, unassuming guy who toils in the background, a genius unknown by the public… At least until his identity is uncovered by a nosy investigative journalist (Caroline Quentin) who needs his help in solving a murder… And once you have one sleuthing adventure under your belt, why stop there? What follows is one of Britain’s most enjoyable mystery series, with equal parts drama and humor. The complete first series of Jonathan Creek features all 5 adventures, plus exclusive interviews, screen tests, and an audio commentary.
Always on the lookout for a genuinely funny sitcom (which has increasingly become a rarity), I’m understandably a bit wary of any new show that comes down the pike – I’ve been burned far too many times. Everybody Loves Chris (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$50.99 SRP), though, was a pleasant surprise – well-written and an amazing cast, led by young Tyler James Williams as Chris. The series is loosely based on the Bed-Stuy childhood of Chris Rock, when his parents sent him to a largely white school outside of his neighborhood. What sets the series apart from most sitcoms – and in the same class as shows that have come to be called classics – is that its comedy is rooted in reality, and completely identifiable. I just hope it doesn’t rapidly deteriorate into the cartoonish buffoonery that scuttled the once-promising Malcolm in the Middle. For now, the first season of Chris is a gem, and a set well worth checking out. The 4-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, audition tapes, bloopers, and more.
Like the titular flying mammal, Meat Loaf has returned to the depths to set the monster loose in the third Bat Out Of Hell (Virgin, $18.98 SRP), which features a clutch of new Jim Steinman tunes, along with tracks from Diane Warren, Nikki Six, James Michael, Marti Frederiksen, and Desmond Child. While the tracks are full of the operatic bombast we’ve come to expect from Meat, the songs themselves don’t approach the modern classics found on the original Bat – which is not to denigrate what’s to be found here, but they certainly have quite a legacy to live up to. What is a revelation, though, is Meat’s vocals – in recent years, he’s allowed the theatrics of his singing to get too out of hand, to the point where he’d often sound like a parody of himself. In the new album, however, he’s pulled it back and is singing better than ever. Though he claims he’ll never do another album, I hope this reinvigorated Loaf will reconsider heading back into hell in the near future.
The 6-disc BBC Atlas of the Natural World (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) is an amazing collection of nature documentaries exploring habitats from North America to the Antarctic. The documentaries featured include Land of the Eagle, Spirits of the Jaguar, Wild South America, and Life in the Freezer. All in all, it’s a spectacular journey around the globe – and it’s got plenty of penguins. Penguins rock.
How do you possibly tackle a documentary about the legendary car customizer and 60’s icon Ed “Big Daddy” Roth? Well, you probably do it as a series of animated tales featuring the voices of people like John Goodman, Brain Wilson, The Smothers Brothers, Matt Groening, Tom Wolfe, and many more. That’s how. Tales of the Rat Fink (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is that film, and it’s packed with bonus features, including a rare interview with Roth, interviews, a deleted scene, and more.
There’s nothing particularly artistic about the episodes featured in the second volume of the late 80’s Super Mario Bros. Super Show (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), but so help me, I can’t help but like the animated Koopa-bashing adventures of those daring plumber-brothers Mario and Luigi (or their live action equivalents, particularly Captain Lou Albano as Mario). This 4-disc set features an additional 24 episodes, plus a fan featurette, a costume gallery, concept art galleries, and four bonus episodes.
While it never achieved the critical acclaim of its siblings Cheers or Frasier, there’s a reason why Wings (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) ran as long as it did – it was a solid, enjoyable sitcom with a wonderful cast of characters and great actors to realize them. The 4-disc complete third season features all 22 episodes, but not a single bonus feature. Whither Tim Daly?
It has been a long, slow slog to get the complete run released, but the fifth and final volume of Speed Racer (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is finally available, featuring the last 8 episodes of the show. Who wants to bet the complete series set we should have gotten in the first place is just around the corner?
It becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate the various seasons of the various incarnations of procedurals like CSI, but suffice it to say that the fourth season of CSI: Miami (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP) features the continuing crime-solving adventures of David Caruso’s Horatio Caine and his crackerjack forensics team. The 7-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus audio commentaries on 6 episodes (“From the Grave,” “Prey,” “Felony Flight,” “Urban Hellraisers,” “Shattered,” and “Payback”) and a quartet of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Although he arguably made funnier films as a solo artist, the films that Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin made together during their white hot rise to superstardom are pleasant enough, as you’ll find if you partake of the 8 flicks collected in the Martin & Lewis Collection: Volume One (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). Those films include My Friend Irma, My Friend Irma Goes West, That’s My Boy, Sailor Beware, Jumping Jacks, The Stooge, Scared Stiff, and The Caddy. They’re largely excuses for Jerry to pratfall around and Dean to launch into song, but what more did you expect?
The fromage runs as deep as the offshore death trap protected by the lifeguards under the aegis of Lt. Mitch Buchannon (David Hasslehoff), but there’s no doubt that there’s much to guiltily love about the loathsome stories abounding in the first two seasons of Baywatch (First Look, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP each). These are strictly bare-bones releases – with poor music clearances (not even the theme song!) and some missing episodes due to rights issues – but for so cheap a price, I’m sure many of the show’s fans will still snap them up.
It certainly wasn’t highbrow theological fare, but compared to the new version, the original Omen was a classic. Maybe it’s because this slightly rejiggered Omen (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) feels far too slick when compared to the atmospheric 70’s take on the little boy antichrist. And I don’t buy Julia Stiles as a mother, either – even if it is the mother of evil incarnate. Bonus features include an audio commentary, extended scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
If you need a Spongebob fix until the next season set comes out (and you can’t get “Best Day Ever” out of your head), pick up the latest 7-episode collection – Spongebob Squarepants: Whale of a Birthday (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP). There. Now stop jonesin’ already.
It’s not until you see a documentary like The Making Of Miss Saigon (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) that you realize just how delicate – and fragile – putting together a successful Broadway show can be. Is the book good? How about the songs? And can you find a lead actress able to pull them off? That was the challenge faced by producer Cameron Mackintosh here, and it took auditions around the world before they finally found star Lea Salonga.
It’s been unavailable for a few years, but the 2-disc special edition of Die Hard (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) is back on shelves and a must-have presentation of a great action flick. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted & extended scenes, newscasts, and more.
If it weren’t for the presence of Jennifer Love Hewitt, I probably wouldn’t have given Ghost Whisperer (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$72.99 SRP) another glance, seeing as how bored I am with the entire touchy feely “touched by the paranormal” genre that seems so prevalent these days. But then there’s Love Hewitt, whose enthusiasm for even the thinnest of concepts tends to be infectious, so you could care less about how fuzzy-feeling her whole “I communicate with dead people and convey their messages to the living” schtick is. The 6-disc complete first season features all 22 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a blooper reel.
The Hitchhiker: Volume 3 (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) features another 10 dark, terror-filled tales of the decidedly unhappy wanderer whose path you most certainly do not want to cross. Guest stars include Bill Paxton, Kelly Lynch, Michael Madsen, and Lauren Hutton.
After his talk show went down in flames and was cancelled by the BBC, beleaguered king of the faux pas Alan Partridge finds himself with the last presenting job he can get – early morning DJ in rural Norwich. Separated from his wife, living in a travel lodge, and quickly running out of money, Partridge is desperate to get back on TV – even if it kills him (or anyone around him, including his even-more beleaguered personal assistant, Lynn). In the first series of I’m Alan Partridge (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), Steve Coogan injects even more uncomfortable pathos into his brilliant comic creation. The 2-disc set features all 6 episodes, plus in-character audio commentaries with Partridge & Lynn, audio commentaries with Coogan, writer Peter Baynham & writer/producer Armando Iannucci, deleted scenes, and a still gallery.
While Pixar’s Cars didn’t exactly float my boat, I really and truly dug Over The Hedge (Dreamworks, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP), about a group of animals who invade the suburbia that’s long been encroaching on their rapidly-diminishing woodland home, in search of food, glorious food.. Maybe that’s because – like Shrek before it – it wasn’t afraid to be out and out funny, which Pixar’s projects never seem to be able to sustain (or, granted, even try). Unlike Shrek, though, Hedge is a very nicely designed and animated flick – of course, it’s based on a comic strip whose art style I like a great deal, so it’s nice that they didn’t drop the ball in adapting it for CG. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, Dwayne’s “Verm Tech” infomercial, and more.
On the master list of shows that simply must come out on DVD, the 1960’s iteration of The Addams Family (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) was near the top. Well, the wait is over, as get a 3-disc first volume of the disturbingly funny family, featuring 22 episodes, audio commentaries, featurette, original drawings, and photos. My one disappointment? That Fox – MGM’s new distributor – is the last company still using double-sided discs for their TV releases. Please stop.
You would think the comedic novelty of using off-the-cuff interviews with the British public (about a variety of topics) delivered by animated members of the animal kingdom would wear off, but the geniuses of both Aardman’s claymation and the (unknowing) interviewees themselves is still powerfully funny. If you don’t believe me, check out the complete second season of Creature Comforts (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$24.96 SRP) – featuring over 2 hours of episodes – and see if I’m wrong. The 2-disc set also features a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes, an extended making-of, and the Christmas special.
While the second season the animated Justice League was a marked improvement from the rather stale premiere season, it wasn’t until the show morphed into Justice League Unlimited (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) that everything finally gelled, and the quality of writing began to equal the heyday of the Batman and Superman animated series. Technically, the 4-disc “Season One” set features the 26 episodes that were aired as two independent seasons, but comprise an incredibly intricate and well-realized story arc rarely seen on what is ostensibly kid’s programming, with themes ranging from the overreach of government authority to homeland security. It’s an amazing storyline, and worth viewing in its unbroken entirety. Bonus features include a pair of audio commentaries (on “This Little Piggy” and “The Return”), a featurette on revamping the show in the transition to Unlimited, and audio tracks.
And while we’re on the subject of the animated DC universe, also available is the often underappreciated Batman Beyond‘s second season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). What could easily have evolved into a gimmick – future Batman with a teenager behind the mask – instead became deeply woven within the already establish Batman: Animated mythos, and Terry McGinnis’ Batman never fell into the trap of becoming a teenage cliché. The 4-disc set features all 26 episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries (on “Splicers” & “The Eggbaby”) and an in-depth panel discussion with the show’s creators (Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, and Alan Burnett).
Just in time for the release of Tim Burton’s stop-motion masterpiece in 3-D form to theaters all over the country, Danny Elfman’s soundtrack Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack (Walt Disney Records, $18.98 SRP) gets a 2-disc deluxe treatment, the centerpiece of which is the remastered original tracks themselves. The second disc features a clutch of largely negligible cover versions by Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, and Fall Out Boy, but is saved by a quartet of Elfman’s original demos.
They’re cotton candy confections, to be sure, but there’s an endearing joi de vivre to the 10 films that comprise the 12-disc Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) – Flying Down To Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Top Hat, Follow The Fleet, Swing Time, Shall We Dance, The Barkleys of Broadway, Carefree, and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. Fully remastered and as sparkling as Fred & Ginger themselves, the discs are packed with vintage featurettes, shorts, cartoons, commentaries, and more. If that weren’t enough, there’s the feature-length documentary Astaire and Rogers: Partners In Rhythm, and a bonus CD of the sings from the films – Oh, and deluxe reproductions of photos and promotional materials from the Warner archives.
I promise not to turn this into a political statement, but with recent developments in Congress, I can only hope that people take a moment to watch a film like The Road To Guantanamo (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$24.96 SRP). Based on a true story, it finds a trio of British flying to Pakistan for a wedding shortly after the 9/11 attacks. A spur-of-the-moment trip into Afghanistan is unfortunately timed with the US attack on al Qaeda, and the three men are captured and sent to the US military detention center at Guantanamo Bay. What happens to them there, and their eventual fate, I leave to the viewer.
Until I saw the breadth of Pete Townshend’s solo work via his newly-remastered sans-Who albums, I never realized how prolific he’s been. Those albums – which include an impressive selection of bonus tracks – include All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, Deep End Live!, Scoop, Another Scoop, Scoop 3, White City, Empty Glass, Rough Mix, Who Came First, and Psychoderelict (Hip-O, $13.98-$22.98 SRP each). Also available is the DVD of Townshend’s Psychoderelict: Live In New York (Hip-O, $14.98 SRP).
I never really got into the Fox sitcom Greg the Bunny, but do think the indie film parodies that the puppet “cast” have been doing on the IFC Channel (along with meat puppet Seth Green) have been incredibly funny. Fourteen of those parodies are included in the 2-disc Greg The Bunny: Best Of The Film Parodies (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), along with audio commentaries, deleted scenes, a pair of featurettes, a gag reel, and photo galleries.
Join the crew of the deep sea submersible SSRN Seaview for more fantastical Irwin Allen adventure in the first volume of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea‘s second season (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The 3-disc set features the first 13 episodes of the show’s sophomore outing, plus special effects footage and still galleries. My one complaint is that Fox insists on using the dual-sided discs that every other studio has abandoned. Come on, guys!
Without the work of Harry Smith, scores of folk tunes – many passed down from generation to generation – would most likely have disappeared from our collective cultural memory. A lifelong collector of the folk music of “old, weird America”, Smith’s work is a boon to us all – and is thoroughly celebrated by the 4-disc Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The first two audio discs feature the amazing concert that brought together the likes of Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, and Garth Hudson to perform those old standards live, with disc 3 being a DVD of the concert in full visual splendor. The final disc features the documentary The Old, Weird America, which celebrates Smith’s project, plus bonus music selections.
Although they tend to be wildly uneven, I tend to enjoy the projects that present a series of Stephen King’s short stories in their original form (such as Cat’s Eye), as opposed to some of the failed attempts to expand a short story into a long film (granted, there are exceptions – such as Stand By Me). Having said that, it should come as no surprise that I mostly enjoyed TNT’s multi-part Nightmares & Dreamscapes (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which adapted 8 short stories for the small screen (“Battleground,” “Crouch End,” “Umney’s Last Case,” “The End Of The Whole Mess,” “The Road Virus Heads North,” “The Fifth Quarter,” “Autopsy Room Four,” and “You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band”). The 3-disc set also sports behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and more.
By golly, how I love the Dick York episodes of Bewitched (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). By comparison, the Dick Sergeant episodes are like watching a Bizarro version of the show – the magic (yes, pun) just isn’t there. Luckily, York was still around in the show’s fourth season, which also featured the regular line-up of favorites (even Uncle Arthur). The 4-disc set features all 33 episodes, but not a single bonus feature. Where’s the magic in that?
Pete Townshend isn’t the only Who alum getting the remastered treatment, with Roger Daltrey’s solo albums Ride A Rock Horse, One Of The Boys, and Daltrey (Hip-O, $13.98 SRP each) also available, each containing the requisite complement of bonus tracks to round things out.
It tries desperately hard to acquire the same kind of endearingly b-movie schlock, but Slither (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) can’t help but feel like – believe it or not – a poor man’s Tremors. Maybe that’s because it’s so self-aware of its low-rent cult aspirations, coming off as nowhere near as earnest as Tremors. Still, there’s something to be said for a flick about slithery unknown creatures besieging and devouring the populace of the stereotypical small town. Bonus features include deleted/extended scenes, an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and more.
I know I’m in the minority, but really and truly do not know what all the fuss was about Napoleon Dynamite. I thought it was a poor red-headed stepchild of a riff off much better, much smarter, and much better realized material like Rushmore and Freaks and Geeks. It just left me cold. Regardless of my feelings towards it, though, I was at least intrigued by writer/director Jared Hess’s follow-up, Nacho Libre (Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP). Once I found out that Jack Black would be starring as a Mexican wrestler, my interest was naturally piqued. Unfortunately, what I found was more of the same aimless, lethargic filmmaking that brought Napoleon Dynamite down for me. Still, it does have Jack Black as a Mexican wrestler, so there’s that. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes, “Jack Black Sings!,” and more.
There’ve been a few odd episodic releases, but fans can finally lay their hands on the complete first season of Cartoon Network’s Ed, Edd n Eddy (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The 2-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus an interview with the creator, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a look at how to draw Eddy, and promos.
While some despise their overblown bombast, I’ve always loved that over-the-top orchestral pretension that could only come from The Moody Blues. Two of their landmark albums – Days of Future Passed & In Search of the Lost Chord (Deram, $26.98 SRP each) – have been fully remastered , each containing a bonus disc packed with alternate mixes, demos, and B-sides. Nights in white satin, riding see-saws on a Tuesday afternoon – that’s some good listening.
You know, with a special appearance by Jermaine Jackson, it’s almost an embarrassment of riches in the third season of The Facts Of Life (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), but at least this is still the era of Charlotte Rae’s Mrs. Garrett. No offense to Cloris Leachman, but she doesn’t hold a candle to Rae.
The man who gave Q-Tips, rubber bands, and aspirin dozens of new uses wraps up his DVD run with the release of the seventh and final season of MacGyver (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). Of course, as with any long-running adventure series, things went decidedly bizarre as it wound to a close, with not only a voodoo priest, but also a bit of time travel.
In the early 80’s, Nickelodeon’s programming day was stocked largely with shows acquired from abroad, such as You Can’t Do That On Television and Danger Mouse. One of the shows I used to watch was The Adventures of The Little Prince (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), the lone inhabitant of asteroid B-612 who learns how to hitch rides on passing comets and explore the far ends of the galaxy. The 4-disc set features 26 episodes from the series, and I can’t wait to show them to my little nephew.
I’ve never been a fan of the Mission: Impossible film franchise. It always struck me as far too gimmicky – like a poor man’s Bond – and the third installment in the series (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP) dips even further into the recent Bond playbook, giving our hero Ethan Hunt an exploitable weakness in a wife (Michelle Monaghan) at the mercy of a sadistic arms dealer (a schizophrenic Philip Seymour Hoffman). And, I admit, Tom Cruise’s recent public lunacy played a pretty large part in turning me off to the flick – I just couldn’t take him seriously with visions of him couch-jumping like a madman dancing in my head. The 2-disc special edition features an audio commentary with Cruise and director J.J. Abrams, 9 behind-the-scenes featurettes (focusing on everything from special effects to the story development), deleted scenes, an interview with Cruise & Abrams, and more.
You can take your fancy-pants (and increasingly monotonous) C.S.I.s in all its procedural permutations – give me the BBC’s Waking the Dead (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which focuses on the sleuthing abilities of the “Cold Case” Unit. Check out the complete first season set and see what I’m on about.
Okay, as a music fan, I definitely was swept up in Beat The Intro (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) – an interactive game containing over 3,000 questions based on song intros, lyrics, pics, and history. Yes, an hour had gone by, and I didn’t even know it. I did, however, kick ass.
Listening to Waylon Sings Hank Williams (YMC Records, $13.98 SRP), it reminds me just how much I miss Waylon Jennings as a performer and as a voice. Covering iconic Williams tunes like “Hey Good Lookin’” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” the songs are unmistakably Jennings, elevating the already classics songs.
It was during the third season that already suspicious fans of The OC (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$69.98 SRP) – following the declining quality of season 2 – had their worst fears borne out as the once-clever show seemed to be imploding into a mess of overwrought stories and annoying characters. Which is a shame, because it burned quite brightly in its first season. The 7-disc set features all 25 episodes plus selected-scene commentary, a featurette on “The Party Favor,” behind-the-scenes of the Subways video, “What’s In A Name?” featurette, and bloopers.
How about a bit of a Brit-TV round-up? Now available are the complete seventh series of the Britcom classic Only Fools and Horses (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), Monarch of the Glen: Series 5 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), and the second series of Hamish MacBeth (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), starring Robert Carlyle as the no-nonsense sheriff of small-town Lochdubh.
I’m no fan of the bloody horror pics, and even less of a fan of the goretastic sado-masochism found in the Saw franchise. But far be it from me to not at least acknowledge that there is a healthy (if somewhat unfortunate) fanbase for the twisted morality exercises of Jigsaw and his special puppet friend. Saw II: Special Edition (Lionsgate, Unrated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) is pretty much a rehash of the first Saw, with the obligatory increase in the blood and gore. The new 2-disc special edition features audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, director Darren Lynn Bousman’s short film Zombie, a tribute to producer Gregg Hoffman, and the theatrical trailer.
While most know her from her role as Jerri Blank on Comedy Central’s cult hit Strangers With Candy – or her numerous guest appearances on David Letterman and Sex and the City – friends and family know Amy Sedaris as a hostess par excellence, famed for her parties and dinners, and her fantastic home-cooked cuisine. Seeing the simple act of entertaining guests as an art quickly atrophying in this fast-paced digital age, she’s crafted the ultimate guide to throwing your own shindigs – I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence (Hachette Book Group, $27.99 SRP). Although written with the same wit and delightfully bent perspective that informs her comedy, the book should in no way be taken as a “joke cookbook” – it’s a legitimate presentation of party suggestions (leave marbles in your medicine chest to signal the telltale sound of a nosy guest), hints (like the fact that doing dishes after a party can be a cathartic exercise), recipes (I can’t wait to try her “Crosscut Stump Stew”), and crafts (plastic googly eyes make anything fun) sure to inspire even the most slothlike of hosts and hostesses to send off some invites, fill up the ice tub, fire up the oven, and lay out the welcome mat. An audiobook version read by Sedaris and featuring additional recipes is also available (Hachette, $29.99 SRP).
After seeing the ads for Big Love (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) in the build-up to its premiere, I was completely nonplussed. Why would I want to watch a drama about an unconventional American family – members of a religious cult who believe in polygamy. Well, I tried to resist watching it, but it stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of the Henrickson clan – which includes 3 wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, & Ginnifer Goodwin) and a passel of kids – who owns a thriving home improvement center in suburban Salt Lake City. I did wind up watching the premiere, and like The Sopranos before it, found that instead of clichés, what I got instead was a nuanced drama filled with the kind of realistic human comedy that shows like Desperate Housewives try desperately to manufacture. And it’s got Bill Paxton. The 5-disc box set contains all 12 first season episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes look at the credit sequence.
Of all the regional children’s presenters who rose to national prominence in the 50’s & 60’s, once of the most beloved – and delightfully anarchic – was Soupy Sales. From the originator of the infamous “take a dollar out of your parents wallet and send it in” gag to the endless pie fights, Soupy was a true TV legend. Thankfully, his hijinks have wound their way to DVD via a pair of releases – the 3-disc The Soupy Sales Collection: The Whole Gang Is Here (Morada Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) and Soupy Sales: In Living Black & White (Morada Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). The former contains Sales’ later color work, which was aimed towards adults, while the Black & White disc features the classic kiddie shows that marked a generation of kids.
As Kevin Costner has his Dances With Wolves, Warren Beatty also has a masterpiece of a film on his résumé – and that film is Reds (Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Based on a true story, Beatty stars as the American communist, journalist, and activist John Reed, whose love affair with writer/feminist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) plays out as the titanic events of the Russian Revolution unfold around them. It’s an incredibly epic tale, and much-deserving of this 2-disc 25th anniversary edition, featuring 7 in-depth featurettes charting the making-of the film, as well as the events that inspired it.
If the first season of Wonder Showzen was a surreal experiment that somehow worked comedically, the second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) was a confident, brutal, hilarious parody of those classic PBS kiddie shows that filled the youthful minds of the children of the 70’s and 80’s (I weep for the pop culture deficit of modern kids). The 2-disc set features all 8 episodes, plus a pair of commentaries, outtakes, and exclusive Beat Kids featurette, games & time wasters, and outtakes.
Even though Eric has presented Donna with a ring, does that mean she’ll actually say yes? And will Jackie’s secret relationship with Hyde escape Kelso’s notice? Or is he too preoccupied with the idea of becoming a cop after the high school job fair? And can Fez find love at the DMV? Granted, if you watched the fifth season of That 70’s Show (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) when it aired, you know the answers to all these questions. The 4-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus promo spots, a 70’s flashback with Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson, and a 5-minute retrospective of the season.
The Master of Suspense returns with 39 more classic episodes in the 2nd season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 5-discs are packed chock full of guest stars, including Vic Morrow, Rip Torn, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and many more. Have a “Good evening…” indeed.
If you want to support a pair of fantastic New Orleans charities – the Louisiana Children’s Museum & Habitat For Humanity’s Musician’s Village Project in New Orleans- and add some wonderful music to your collection, pick up New Orleans Playground & New Orleans Christmas (Putumayo World Music, $15.98 SRP each), a pair of discs featuring some legendary luminaries from the Crescent City, including Dr. John (whose take on “Row Row Your Boat” is memorable, to say the least), The Meters, Buckwheat Zydeco, Fats Domino, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, and many more.
When the somewhat dim, disconnected president of the United States (Dennis Quaid) decides to reconnect with the public by getting involved in the live finale of the hugely popular network reality show American Dreamz (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Imagine an even more tacky and wildly popular version of American Idol, where the finalists are an opportunistic middle American sweetheart (Mandy Moore) and a naïve, showtunes-loving young Arab boy – who just may inadvertently cause the night to completely derail in the most unwanted kind of fireworks you can imagine. The flick is actually a very sly satire (I’ll leave the interpretations up to you) and an enjoyable night in front of the TV. The DVD features an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Take an obscure Japanese game show from the early 90’s that placed teams of contestants in unbelievably awkward and dangerous stunts, dub over it with an incredibly funny commentary from your “hosts” Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship (not to mention field marshal Captain Tanneal and sideline reporter Guy LaDouche) and you have the sublimely brilliant MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (Magnolia, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). This 2-disc set features all 13 first season episodes, plus select episode commentary, the original sales presentation for the show, a reel of the most painful eliminations, and even an episode of the show in its original Japanese form (known as Takeshi’s Castle).
In terms of British sitcoms, the long-running My Family is an anomaly. Unlike most Britcoms, which are usually written by a single writer or a writing duo, My Family had an American-style writing staff headed up by former Larry Sanders and Seinfeld exec producer Fred Barron. It certainly brings a slightly different flavor to this family comedy about a pair of hapless but loving parents (Robert Lindsay & Zoe Wannamaker) at the mercy of their children. Check out the complete first and second seasons (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each) and see if you notice the difference a Yank makes.
Her Fox sitcom never really knew how to properly utilize Wanda Sykes. When you check out her caustically hilarious stand-up special, Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), you’ll understand why no mainstream network could be capable of using her correctly, and why she’s the perfect fit for things like her frequent guest appearances on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The DVD features 15 minutes of additional footage, plus an audience Q&A and a radio interview.
A series of unfortunate events needs an equally gothic soundtrack, and Stephen Merritt’s The Tragic Treasury: Songs From A Series Of Unfortunate Events (Nonesuch, $18.98 SRP) is exactly that, with songs from each of the 13 books comprising Lemony Snicket’s chronicle of the trials and tribulations of the Baudelaire orphans.
Never really a fan of the CSI franchise, I have found that whenever I run across an episode of CSI: New York, I’ll find myself drawn in – not by the increasingly overplayed procedural aspects, but by star Gary Sinise as Detective Mac Taylor, whose forensics team faces a bit of a shake-up in the show’s sophomore season, plus a crossover with David Caruso’s Miami contingent. The 6-disc complete second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP) features audio commentaries on 5 episodes, and 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Loaded with gore and a low-budget energy, Feast (Dimension, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is the winner of the last Project Greenlight, which found John Gulager at the helm of a horror film. The final product should make many Fango fans happy, as it has many of the elements of the genre’s heyday. The unrated DVD features deleted scenes, outtakes, commentary, a making-of featurette, and a look at the practical effects.
Peta Wilson’s turn as the sexy secret agent codenamed Josephine wraps up in the fifth and final season of La Femme Nikita (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring the resolution of her long-standing quest to find out exactly why she was chosen for her most dangerous position within the spy network Section. The 3-disc set features all 8 episodes, plus deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and an internet teaser by director Jon Cassar.
Like death with a typewriter, Angela Lansbury’s crime-solving novelist Jessica Fletcher returns in the complete fourth season of Murder, She Wrote (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Joining her these season (and nimbly avoiding the scythe) is Tom Bosley – gotta love Tom Bosley. These season also features one of my favorite Fletcher death run, with guest star Frank Gorshin. The 5-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus a bonus episode from season 5 (“Snow White, Blood Red”).
Comfortable that they’ve become a long-running supernatural soap that has made it past cast changes and behind-the-scenes dust-ups, the sixth season of Charmed (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) was one of wild abandon. Our witchy trio become Valkyries to take on an island full of Amazons, travel through time (via go-go power), fight a spider-demon, and even handily handle Phoebe becoming a genie. As with previous sets, there are still no bonus features – unless they require a magic key to find them which, sadly, I do not possess.
In the mood for a trashy horror flick to pass a chilly October evening? Why not try Rest Stop (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), a gorefest about pretty people making an ill-fated stop along the road. Bonus features include alternate endings, galleries, and a trailer.
It’s rather appropriate (and crafted as such) that the tragic tale of the Baudelaire orphans comes to a close on Friday the 13th of October. A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 13: The End (HarperCollins, $12.99 SRP) certainly lives up to its title, as Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have their final confrontation with the evil Count Olaf, but there are plenty of unexpected surprises in store. Will it all have a happy ending? Is there such a thing?
I respected them as performers and magicians, but with their Showtime series Bullshit (Showtime/CBS, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), Penn & Teller have performed – in my opinion – a public service. With their engaging style of presentation and a keen sense of puncturing modern myths and hypocrisy, they’ve tackled some dangerous topics in the course of their three seasons on the air, exposing the truth behind incredibly foolish – to incredibly dangerous – social dogma. Over the course of the 13 episodes collected in the 3-disc set of the third season, those topics include endangered species, circumcision, conspiracy theories, gun control, ghostbusting, life coaching, college, and more. Unfortunately, there’s no bonus features this go round (past seasons have at least contained deleted footage), but it’s great that – at the very least – the show is still getting released on DVD.
Never having read Vice before, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the first in their series of DVDs collecting a clutch of short films based around a particular topic, The Vice Guide To Travel (Vice, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Instead of some slapdash road punk version of Girls Gone Wild (which was my chief fear, admittedly), I found it to be a remarkable travelogue of sometimes forgotten, sometimes dangerous, but altogether fascinating locales that are the very epitome of the phrase “off the beaten track.” From hunting mutant game in the ruins of Chernobyl to the deadly black markets of Bulgaria and Pakistan, there wasn’t a slack moment. The disc comes packaged in a hardcover book offering additional insights and interviews on each piece. All in all, it’s an incredible visual document, and the first in what I hope is a long series of releases.
It’s fun to observe the evolution and maturation of Adam Sandler as the years go by. Watching Click (Sony, Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.95 SRP), we get to see Sandler as fully-evolved a family man named Michael Newman, with a wife and two kids and a house and a dog and a job – and all the stress that goes with them. It’s a far cry from Happy Gilmore, to be sure. So frazzled is his life as an underappreciated architect (with a boss played by David Hasslehoff, it’s to be expected), that he seeks some measure of respite by seeking out a common convenience for his busy life – a universal remote. Finding most stores closed during his impulse search, he finds store open – Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Not finding the remote anywhere in the store, he stumbles upon the hereto unknown “Beyond” section, where he finds an eccentric employee (played, of course, by Christopher Walken) who gives him a truly universal remote – one which he soon finds allows him to control all aspects in his life, from muting the dog to fast-forwarding through awkward moments. As you can expect from mature, latter-day Sandler, lessons about cherishing the small moments in life is the central theme. And you know what? I think I like the mature Sandler. Bonus features include deleted scenes, featurettes on the make-up effects (let’s just say his character’s love of Twinkies is not a good thing), special effects featurettes, and more.
The fourth season of Scrubs (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) is when the show began to veer more towards the wacky side, losing some of the delicate balance between comedy and drama that it was brilliantly able to capture in previous years. Still, even off-kilter Scrubs is better than the bulk of TV today. Bonus features include deleted scenes, alternate lines, an interview with Donald Faison, and 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes. The biggest disappointment is a measly pair of commentaries, marking a disturbing decline in the number we’ve been getting with each successive set.
One would think it impossible, but the 13 episodes featured on the second volume of Harvey Birdman (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) manage to be even more surreal – and funny – than the adult swim original’s first 13. No small feat, to be sure. The 2-disc set features audio commentaries (including series regular Stephen Colbert, which makes me hope he’ll take the time to do something for The Venture Bros.‘ second season set on his Professor Impossible episode), deleted scenes, a completely clothes-less “naked scene,” behind-the-scenes video of the voice actors, promos, and more.
Cover versions of classic hits – particularly when they focus on a single, legendary band – can sometime be a spotty, even embarrassing affair. There are very few clunkers amongst the 18 tracks featured on Paint It Black (Virgin EMI, $15.99 SRP), which – as you might have guessed – contains a compilation of Rolling Stones cover tunes. From David Bowie’s “Let’s Spend The Night Together” to Aretha Franklin’s take on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” I can honestly say there wasn’t a single embarrassing moment amongst the cuts.
To those unfamiliar with radio as an art form, the idea of a film based upon a live broadcast of a radio show might seem like an evening spent at the proverbial opera. In Robert Altman’s presentation of the fictional final recording of Garrison Keillor’s long-running A Prairie Home Companion (New Line, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP) – as the theater’s new owner (Tommy Lee Jones) evicts the show in order to tear the place down – what comes to the fore is just what makes radio so special – ironically enough, presented with visuals. As you watch the melancholy of the surreal family that makes up the cast – including singing cowboys (Woody Harrelson & John C. Reilly), sisters (Lily Tomlin & Meryl Streep), a hard-boiled security man (Kevin Kline), and GK himself – you realize that radio is all about these types of extreme, easily relatable archetypes, be it radio drama, comedy, or talk radio. As for the film, it’s a beautiful confection – and I didn’t even mention the literal angel of death stalking the theater, or a sober Lindsey Lohan’s memorable turn as Streep’s suicide-obsessed daughter. And Altman, as he gets older, makes tighter and tighter pieces that seem to fly by –I don’t know what happened, but he seems to have snatched the mojo Woody Allen has lost. Bonus features include an audio commentary with Altman and Kevin Kline, a making-of documentary, and additional scenes.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone was a bit surprised that the 13-episode 5th season of The A-Team (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) turned out to be the end of the line for our heroes. This is even after they brought in Robert Vaughn to fill the shoes of the oft-mentioned General Stockwell. The 3-disc set features a brand new interview with series creator Stephen J. Cannell – but still no Mr. T commentary.
For the “Everything’s Duckie Edition” of Pretty In Pink (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.99 SRP), the powers-that-be have added 5 new featurettes to the complement of extras featured on the original DVD release, which included an audio commentary from director Howard Deutch, the original ending, and a retrospective featurette. Those 5 new featurettes include a making-of, a spotlight on the “Zoids and Richies,” prom stories from the cast & crew, a featurette about the film’s fashions, and a spotlight on Molly Ringwald entitled – appropriately enough – “Prom Queen: All About Molly.” But where, oh where, is writer/producer/teen auteur John Hughes? He’s become the 80’s comedy version of Stanley Kubrick.
As time passes, its regrettable that the current generation never got a chance to experience firsthand one of the true dynamos of modern comedy, the late Sam Kinison. For a taste of what made the man such a force to be reckoned with – and an influence on scores of comedians – look no further than the documentary Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh? (S’More/Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), which tries to come to some conclusion, via interviews with his friends, family, & colleagues, what made the man tick. Also included is a CD of Kinison preaching his last sermon in the ministry after his success in comedy.
One of the biggest double-dipping trends has become the unrated “Director’s Cut,” and you can add Terry Zwigoff’s caustically funny Bad Santa (Dimension, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) to the list. If you don’t recall the flick, it’s the one with Billy Bob Thornton as a boozing, lecherous, thoroughly and hilariously reprehensible mall Santa. Yeah. Now you remember. The DVD features a new audio commentary with Zwigoff and editor Robert Hoffman, deleted/alternate scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and outtakes.
Speaking of Zwigoff, Art School Confidential (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$26.96 SRP) that you desperately want to be better than it is, but it sadly never quite accomplishes that desire. As a viewer, I wanted it to be a fantastic satire on the pretension, selfishness, delusion, and high comedy of the art school mentality. Instead, it’s a genial, sometimes semi-fiery look at that world, focusing on a talented young artist named Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) and his journey from a large high school to an exclusive East Coast art school filled with too-stereotypical arty types. Ah well, I guess my wait for the perfect satire goes on. Bonus features include deleted scenes, making-of & Sundance featurettes, and a blooper reel.
You’d think that Numb3rs‘ premise would eventually wear thin, but golly help me, I can’t get enough of the improbable duo of FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his mathematician little brother Charlie (David Krumholtz), solving crimes with math. Yes. Match. But Krumholtz is a fascinatingly engaging actor (as is Morrow, who was vital to the appeal of Northern Exposure), and kudos to the producers and writers for realizing that keeping Peter MacNicol as Dr. Larry Fleinhardt would be a very fun thing, indeed. The 6-disc second season set (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP) features all 24 episodes, plus audio commentaries on select episodes, interview with David Krumholtz & creator Nicolas Falacci, and a season 2 retrospective featurette.
While a good friend of mine was working on a screenplay about a famous ballerina whose life and career was marked by tragedy, he would tell me tales of the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. It was with those stories in mind that I dove into the PBS documentary on the man, simply titled Balanchine (Digital Classics DVD, Not Rated, DVD-£9.99 SRP). The documentary features interviews, archival audio and video, and footage from the ballets themselves.
With a little nephew to entertain, I’m always on the lookout for DVDs that will capture his attention for a long enough time that I can rest a bit (you can only push a hot wheel down a ramp so many times), and the latest discs to pass the “he likes it” test are the double-length Dora The Explorer: World Adventure! (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) and The Backyardigans: Mission To Mars (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP each). Even better, both titles also contain a pair of bonus adventures. Huzzah!
As Halloween bears down on us, those more ghoulishly-minded amongst you are already planning your evening’s festivities – which I’m sure include a scary flick or two. If you haven’t gotten the films previously, no might be the best time to get the 6-disc The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$42.98 SRP) – which features the 2-disc original (both the theatrical and director’s cuts), Exorcist 2: The Heretic, Exorcist III, Exorcist: Dominion, and Exorcist: The Beginning. All of the discs feature the same bonus features as their previous individual releases.
As far as female comedy duos, if the UK has French & Saunders, then the closest the US has is Kathy & Mo. The Complete Kathy & Mo Show: Parallel Lives /The Dark Side (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) collects both of Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney’s critically-acclaimed specials. The 2-disc set also features audio commentary from the duo, plus rare film clips of early performances.
Black Rain (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$14.99 SRP) is one of those “lost flicks” that are often made when a gifted filmmaker is going through the doldrums before rediscovering their muse. Here, the filmmaker in question is Ridley Scott, and while there’s anything particularly wrong about this flick – that finds a New York cop (Michael Douglas) and his partner (Andy Garcia) escorting a killer back to his native Japan and accidentally delivering him into the hands of his own gang – it just lacks the spark that ignites Scott’s more memorable films. It’s interesting that they’ve gone-all out to give it a special edition, featuring an audio commentary from Scott, and a 4-part series of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
I mentioned it a few weeks back, but Docurama has been releasing a new batch of amazing documentaries to DVD that had previously only been seen at select festivals around the country. Their DVD-based “Docurama Film Festival” (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP each) has been giving many of these films a shot at the spotlight and audiences. New entries in the “Fest” that are worth your time and effort to pick up include Waging a Living (which follows four of America’s “working poor” as they try and navigate the increasingly difficult American dream), Passin’ It On (about Bronx-born Dhoruba Bin Wahad and his involvement in the Black Power movement of the 60’s and 70’s before being sent to prison – and acquitted 19 years later – for the wounding and disfigurement of two police officers), Farmingville (a shocking portrait of a small suburban town that explodes under the pressures of its burgeoning illegal immigrant population and an act of violence that sets the powder keg off), Con Man (the story of James Arthur Hogue, who conned his way into a scholarship at Princeton and lived a life as a master imposter until the law caught up with him), The Lady In Question Is Charles Busch (about the actor, writer, drag artist, and leading lady and star of the cult hit Die Mommy Die!), and The Shvitz (a look behind the doors at the last remaining American bathhouses and the unique communal clubhouse culture they exemplified). All in all, it’s a great, diverse selection of flicks.
Slamming together a clutch of pulp heroes – Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician (along with bodyguard Lothar) – and pitting them against the galaxy-conquering threat of Ming the Merciless, Defenders of the Earth (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is one of those odd early 90’s animated series that seemed to throw a bunch of properties against the wall and hope that something stuck. For as marginal a show as this, kudos once again to BCI for pulling out all the stops in regards to bonus materials, which include a commentary, interview with the creators, storyboards, and the original pilot.
I’m not sure how I missed the release of the sixth season of Everybody Loves Raymond (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), but I did. The 5-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus six audio commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, and a retrospective look back on the show’s first 6 seasons.
For the longest time growing up, I would always confuse sleuthing siblings Simon & Simon (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) with Simon & Garfunkel. Yeah, sometimes I wasn’t the sharpest tool – and I can’t think of a single crime ever solved while the duo was singing “I Am A Rock.” As for Simon & Simon, you can now snap up the complete first season of brotherly action.
Try as I might – and despite the presence of Patricia Arquette – I’ve never gotten into Medium (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP). It combines aspects of some of my least favorite show – CSI and Touched By An Angel – along with a healthy dose of The Dead Zone. So not only does it seem like I’ve seen the show before, but it’s tainted by the feel of those crap influences as well. Still, I know there are plenty of fans out there that will be picking up the 6-disc complete second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP) featuring all 22 episodes,. Plus audio commentaries on 4 episodes, featurettes (“The Story of Medium,” “A Day In The Life of The Dubois Daughters,” & “Medium In Another Dimension” – focusing on the 3-D episode), the Museum of Television & Radio Q&A, and a gag reel. The set also contains a pair of 3-D glasses.
All you fans of ABC’s medical soap-on-a-rope can program your listening day to the second McDreamy Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack (Hollywood Records, $18.98 SRP), featuring 15 tracks from the show from the likes of Moonbabies, Snow Patrol, Foy Vance, Metric, and Jim Noir.
No one can not look at the existence of the Garfield sequel Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP) and not think that it must be some elaborate fulfillment of a contractual obligation. Who could possibly have walked out of the first film thinking, “You know, that was such an incredibly good flick that I can’t wait for the follow-up.” If you’re one of those people, please let me know. I’d like to hit you. Bonus features include a music video, a drawing featurette with Jim Davis (in which he actually draws his own characters), an exclusive Garfield comic strip, and a photo gallery.
For all intents and purposes, by the fifth season of Magnum P.I. (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), everything was on autopilot. Cruising the Hawaiian isles, solving crimes, being all Tom Selleck-y – it’s pretty much all there. Oh, Higgins grows a beard. There’s that. The sole bonus features of the 5-disc set is an episode from season 6, “The Treasure of Kalaniopu’u.”
Watching the sketches featured in the 8 episodes comprising the second season of The Andy Milonakis Show (Paramount, Not rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP), I’m struck by the feeling that it’s like watching both the best and worst of a single man-child’s YouTube output. Occasionally you laugh, occasionally you think it’s genius, and sometimes you wonder who thought this crap should ever see the light of day. But no matter what, Milonakis kinda weirds me out. He just does. The 2-disc set features audio commentaries, un-aired skits, outtakes, and a music video.
No one can call The Fox and the Hound (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP) a Disney animated classic, but it does have the distinction of being the final film to have involved the “old guard” of animators from Disney’s heyday, who worked alongside (and effectively passed the baton) to the young turks (who were about to fall on their face with The Black Cauldron before dusting themselves off and launching Disney’s second golden age). So for those reasons, Fox and the Hound is a historical curiosity – sadly, as a film, it’s a disjointed, boring mess. Not counting all the garbage Disney tends to throw on their DVDs now, the newly remastered film also features a “Passing the Baton” featurette, a gallery, and the short “Lambert The Sheepish Lion.”
While I was initially a fan of Carlos Mencia’s Mind of Mencia, I’ve found that his act has devolved into almost braying schtick that relies almost entirely on “dangerous” racial and stereotype humor that often falls flat, and never hits the insights of more insightful comedians like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, or the late, great Richard Pryor. Nowhere is his unfortunately laugh-deprived more evident than in his stand-up special, Carlos Mencia: No Strings Attached (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Judge for yourself, as the DVD contains an extended edition of the special, plus his original Comedy Central Presents spotlight.
If you’ve got a daughter, niece, or just any ol’ young girl on your holiday shopping list, you might want to snag a pair of new releases featuring Kay Thompson’s Eloise – Me, Eloise and Little Miss Christmas (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).
Thank You For Smoking (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is one of those flicks you walk away from thanking jebus that the filmmakers pulled no punches in their satire. What could have been a watered-down ersatz treatment of the tobacco lobby instead unspools as a hilarious indictment of our modern consumer culture. Aaron Eckhart’s performance as Nick Taylor – brilliant spin-meister for big tobacco – is a brilliant portrait of the devil with a wink and a smile, out to further his client’s cause in society and culture. This is definitely a must-see flick. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, a Charlie Rose interview with the director and cast, and more. Smoke if you got ’em.
It’s encouraging and heartening to me that, even almost 60 years after he was created by Carl Barks, Scrooge McDuck has a rich enough mythology that amazing stories can still be spun by what Barks wrote all those years ago. The average person would think that modern Duck artist Don Rosa had mined all there was to be had in his 12-part epic masterpiece The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, but they’d be wrong. There’s are plenty of areas to be explored in Scrooge’s storied past, and Rosa has done that with the stories featured in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion (Gemstone, $16.99 SRP), which features seven tales reaching back into McDuck’s adventures in Panama, Java, the Old West, and the Yukon. There’s even commentary on each by Rosa. Here’s hoping for another volume in the near future… So get crackin’, Don!
While fans who have been snapping up the seasonal sets will have virtually every episode on the new 2-disc South Park: The Hits Volume 1 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) – save for the still-scathing Cruise indictment “Trapped in a Closet” – there is one overriding reason why fans of Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s cutout world will want to grab this as fast as they can. That reason? The first official release of the legendary short that started it all, “The Spirit of Christmas.” I honestly never thought I’d see the day. The other 14 episodes are just icing on the cake.
Conspicuously missing from the recent remastered re-releases of George Harrison’s catalogue was 1973’s Living In The Material World (Capitol/Apple, $29.98 SRP). That’s now been rectified via a special edition featuring a pair of bonus tracks (“Deep Blue” & “Miss O’Dell”), and a limited edition bonus DVD featuring a 5.1 remastered performance of “Give Me Love” from his 1990 concert in Tokyo, a video for “Living In The Material World,” and alternate/demo versions of “Miss O’Dell” and “Sue Me, Sue You Blues.” Here’s hoping that even more releases like this are in the offing, since there’s still plenty of unreleased material in the vaults.
Having a friend who was a big fan of The Greatest American Hero (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$99.99), I can think of no better Christmas gift for him than the tin-encased collection of the complete 43-episode series, which is limited to an edition size of only 20,000. Why so limited? Well, in addition to the 80’s classic, the set also features a reproduction not only of Ralph Hinkley’s cape, but also an iron-on transfer and a copy of the famous alien instruction manual (which is a battery-powered delight). Believe it or not!
The end of the Baudelaire orphans’ tragic journey is nigh, but there’s one last piece of Lemony Snicket’s puzzle to piece together before resolving the series of unfortunate events, and the clues are to be found in The Beatrice Letters (HarperCollins, $19.99 SRP). The beautifully bound volume (the material itself is actually contained within a hardbound file folder) contains correspondence between Snicket and the doomed Beatrice. There’s just as many questions as there are answers (well, actually, there are more questions than answers), but there are plenty of clues for fans to chew on until volume 13 is released.
It’s been double-dipped already, but the Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Extraordinarily Deluxe Edition (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$29.95 SRP) justifies its purchase price – and its very existence – with a brand new high definition transfer of the film that is truly spiffy. In addition to the bonus materials available on the previous special edition (including commentaries from the Pythons, sing-alongs, “How To Use Your Coconuts” educational film, “The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations,” 1874 BBC Film Night, unused ideas, trailers, and more), the new set features an animated medley of songs from Spamalot, Secrets of the Holy grail featurette, and a bonus 3rd disc with the film’s soundtrack album. Ni!
I still cannot comprehend why ABC cancelled Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). It was an improv show with a single set – dirt cheap – but it was one of the most gut-bustingly funny shows to spend a half-hour with. With regulars Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady, Brad Sherwood and host Drew Carey, it was must-see TV. I’m quite happy that we’re finally getting season sets (sort-of) with the release of Whose Line: Season One Volume One, containing the first 10 episodes. What’s even more brilliant, though, is that the outtakes and gag reels featured on the set are completely uncensored – and believe me, these guys knew how to go spectacularly off-color. More sets in a hurry, please.
Compared with Sinatra’s almost sterile duets package – during which Frank never met a single one of his singing partners – Tony Bennett’s star-studded Duets: An American Classic (RPM Records, $18.98 SRP) is positively energized by the fact that Tony actually recorded every track with his guests. The guest list is a thing to marvel at – including Paul Simon, Elton John, Billy Joel, Bono, Elvis Costello, The Dixie Chicks, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and more – and the tracks themselves are fantastic. Give it a spin.
Before his regular spotlight on The Daily Show, I had no idea who Lewis Black was. Who would have thought that he’d be one of the most caustic, insightful, and hilarious political comedians of our generation. In an age where we our lives as Americans seem to be lived in a perpetual state of irony, Black is a welcome slap across the collective face. Which is all to say that you should definitely allow yourself to be pleasantly slapped by his latest stand-up special, Lewis Black: Red, White & Screwed (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The DVD features 15 additional minutes of footage, plus 5 additional pieces.
It’s been a few months since Warner Bros. unveiled one of their fantastic “Signature Collection” box sets, but they’ve certainly returned with a pair of must-haves for any film fan. Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection Volume I & Volume II (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP each) have, as their centerpieces, the newly remastered 3-disc special edition of The Maltese Falcon – which features both the 1931 & 1936 versions of the film, as well as an audio commentary, Warners’ 1941 “Night At The Movies” (with a vintage newsreel, musical short, and cartoons), trailers, makeup tests, 3 radio show adaptations, and a newly-produced documentary (“The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird”) – and the 2-disc special editions of Casablanca and The Treasure of The Sierra Madre, which feature audio commentaries, featurettes, documentaries, Warners’ “Night At the Movies,” radio shows, trailers, and more.. That alone should be reason enough to pick up the sets, but if you need more proof, they also feature Bogie in Across The Pacific, High Sierra, They Drive By Night, Action In The North Atlantic, All Through The Night, and Passage To Marseille. Each film features its own complement of “Night At The Movies”, with additional featurettes, radio shows, commentary, and even blooper reels.
As the new 2-disc special edition proves unequivocally, even four decades on, Brian Wilson was a certified genius. The newly remastered 40th anniversary edition of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds (Capitol, $29.98 SRP) features both the mono and stereo versions of the album, plus a DVD with 5.1 mixes. The DVD also features a new edit of the 1997 “Making of Pet Sounds” documentary, Brian Wilson interview material from 2003’s “Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live In London,” a previously unreleased discussion between Wilson and Sir George Martin, a trio of 1966 promotional films, and a photo gallery.
Amid Amidi has provided a much-needed fill for a gap in animation history with his comprehensive look at the UPA-style of design that came to prominence in the 1950’s. The book is Cartoon Modern (Chronicle, $40.00 SRP), and it’s packed with not only a ton of information on the period and the artists behind it, but also loaded with artwork, which makes it a tome to sit with on a cold winter day and fully take in at your leisure. One disappointment, though, is that I always get a certain sense of elitism from Amidi’s discussion of design, dismissing the contribution of story to great animation and over-elevating the art itself. In animation, I believe the two go hand-in-hand in creating the pieces that truly strike a chord in a viewer. Still, a minor quibble for an overall great book.
Slowly but surely, the Disney animated feature library is getting the 2-disc “Platinum Edition” treatment, although I think that the quality level – and intelligence – is not quite as good as the original 2-disc special editions of flicks like Emperor’s New Groove, Tarzan, and Atlantis. The new edition of The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP) does sport a very stunning remastered picture and soundtrack (even if Disney has done their PC revision to a few scenes), and bonus features (I don’t consider a crappy music video with a Disney Channel “star” a bonus feature, mind you) including an audio commentary, deleted scenes, The Little Match Girl animated short, a making-of featurette, a Hans Christian Andersen featurette, and a virtual tour of the aborted EuroDisney Little Mermaid ride.
And speaking of The Little Mermaid, while the remastered soundtrack is very much appreciated on the new 2-disc special edition of the soundtrack (Walt Disney Records, $15.55 SRP), the 2nd disc full of those aforementioned Disney “stars” butchering the tunes is definitely a waste of plastic. The only halfway decent track is Raven-Symone’s “Under the Sea,” but even that is an overproduced piece of pop trash that completely drowns a great song.
I admit that, as the death and depowerment count of some major characters in the third X-Men installment began to rack up, I found that I couldn’t care less. In fact, I’ve been so disappointed by Marvel’s mutant movie franchise as a whole, that I hoped the title The Last Stand (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) was a literal acknowledgment to all those who’ve detested the pathetic scripts and ham-fisted adaptations of favorite stories and characters found in all 3 films – people like me – that it was all coming to a merciful end. If only. The story this go round has to do with Frasier and some cure for mutants with wings and blue skin, and Juggernaut running around, and… Oh, who cares. The DVD features a pair of audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and 3 alternate endings – none of which are any better than the one they wound up with.
He seems incapable of cranking out anything worthwhile now, but all it takes is a spin of the new unrated director’s cut of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) to remember why we once gave a damn about Guy Ritchie. Watching the energy, intelligence, skill, and verve he displayed then makes me wonder what in the hell has happened to him since. Besides Madonna. The bonus features are limited to featurette on the film’s cinematography, and a rather ho-hum compilation reel of the flick’s expletives.
Modeled after the Disney Treasures DVD releases of rarities, Disney Comics: 75 Years of Innovation (Gemstone, $12.99 SRP) features two dozen rare Disney comic stories from across the breadth of those aforementioned 75 years, starring Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Scrooge, Br’er Rabbit, Jose Carioca, Li’l Bad Wolf, and more. Some of these stories have never been reprinted before, and it’s well worth picking this up just for them.
Currently available as a Target exclusive, the 2-disc DVD-licious! collection of some of the best highlights and interviews from The Ellen Degeneres Show (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) is a breezy, fun watch. Ellen is a natural talk show host, never upstaging the guest, but completely unafraid to make things fun and interesting. What I can’t believe is that the show has been on for over three years. Time certainly does fly.
The fourth season of Ellen (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) is the one that featured the PA announcement heard ’round the world, as not only the character, but also Ellen herself loudly and proudly came out of the closet. It’s a shame that her sitcom went downhill creatively after this landmark season, since it would have been even more powerful a statement if she’d been able to keep the show going for years after. The 3-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus an audio commentary with the writers of “The Puppy Episode.”
Even though this seems to be the 47th release of the film on DVD, those bastards have probably added just enough new bonus material – including newly-remastered picture and sound – to make picking up the Scarface: Platinum Edition (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The 2-disc set features deleted scenes, documentaries, and clips comparing the theatrical and TV versions of the film.
It was only a matter of time before someone decided that a series following the real-life adventures of an Indiana Jones-type would make for interesting TV, and that show is Digging For The Truth (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP). Following explorer/survival expert Josh Bernstein into the heart of the Andes in search of El Dorado or Ethiopia on the trail of the Ark of the Covenant, it’s an engaging archeological journey through history. Heck, he’s even got the hat for it. The 4-disc set features all 13 first season episodes, plus a “History in the Making” featurette.
By my calculations, the fifth set of Benny Hill (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) should be the penultimate collection of hill’s bawdy, gut-funny long-running Thames show, covering the years 1982-1985. This was the era of the leggy “Hill’s Angels,” who are interviewed in a newly-produced featurette.
Watching the first season of Thriller (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$79.95 SRP), it’s as if some of the best (and worst) of Hammer horror style had made it to the small screen. The stories definitely are of the old school horror bent, full of ghosts, psychosis, and oodles of Satanists. Even better for the viewer discovering this series, its also jam-packed with the kind of stars only a British series of the 70’s could deliver, including Bob Hoskins, Stephen Rea, Patrick Macgee, and even Hayley Mills. Bonus features include interviews with creator Brian Clemens and the directors, plus episode introductions.
It seems the stuff of TV movies, but Unknown White Male (Genius Products, Rated PG-13, DVD-$24.95 SRP) is a documentary which follows the true story of Doug Bruce, who woke up on Coney Island with total amnesia. Chronicling his struggle to put his life back together – from family, friends, and career to just his own sense of self – it’s a sometimes poignant, sometimes joyous, sometimes sad study of what defines a person’s life. Bonus features include featurettes, deleted scenes, interviews, and more.
Sci-Fi’s decision to cancel what was still an enjoyable series continues to be puzzling, but fans in mourning can assuage some of their pain by picking up the complete ninth season of Stargate SG-1 (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). In addition to all 20 episodes, the 5-disc set features behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentaries on all episodes, and a continuation of the SG-1 Directors Series.
There’s just something about seeing The Munsters in color that’s slightly… wrong. See if you agree with me by picking up The Munsters: Two Movie Fright-Fest (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), which contains both Munster, Go Home! and The Munsters’ Revenge.
No one is going to call 1961’s animated Dick Tracy Show (Classic Media, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) a great show, but it was reasonably faithful to Chester Gould’s classic strip. This 4-disc set features the entire 130-episode run.
It’s been an incredibly long wait, but the second volume of Transformers: Armada‘s first season (Rhino, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) – ending the series, in fact – has finally touched down, featuring the final 26 episodes of the ultimate battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons.
I’m still not entirely sure to make of Danny Elfman’s Serenada Schizophrana (Sony Classical, $18.98 SRP), his foray into orchestral composition as opposed to film composing. I think I like it. It’s definitely a unique experience.
I’m still not sure what the purpose is behind Disney Dossiers: Files of Characters From The Walt Disney Studio (Disney Press, $24.95 SRP). Supposedly, it’s meant to be evocative of files kept by casting agents with information about a certain actor and their “type,” strengths, and background. Unfortunately, this results in a rather awkward collection of characters with uninteresting “Yeah, I know that” text and a poor selection of artwork accompanying it. Why can’t we get the incredibly informative Disney Encyclopedia of Animated Characters back in print? Or a deluxe collection of classic model sheets for the company’s heavy hitters? Please? No more of these cutesy, unsatisfying gimmick releases, thank you.
Often overlooked, some of the most uniquely quirky TV programs being produced today are coming out of Canada, and the series Corner Gas (VSC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) certainly fits the bill. It’s an oddball premises, to be sure, but the show focuses on the life of gas station proprietor Brent LeRoy, whose station is located in the sleepy town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, which is full of the usual complement of off-kilter characters. The complete third season has just come out, featuring all 19 episodes plus an hour-long documentary.
It’s hard to imagine a time when someone pitching the idea of doing an undercover agent infiltrating a gang of bank-robbing surfers would be a green-lightable affair… And then to stack the deck by casting Keanu Reeves as the agent and Patrick Swayze as the gangleader… I mean, it’s just mind-blowing. You can relive those heady times with the new special edition of Point Break (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP), featuring deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a retrospective documentary.
Fall has come, and that means another volume of The Complete Peanuts (Fantagraphics, $28.95 SRP). The sixth collection contains strips from the years 1961 to 1962, and is the first volume that I can fully state that Charles Schulz’s comic universe had fully matured into a form – both in writing and art – easily recognizable as modern Peanuts. This was a span that found Lucy entrenched in her psychiatrist booth, Charlie Brown as the world’s most maligned baseball manager, Sally finally coming of age, Charlie making a habit of writing to his pen pal, Snoopy at home on top of his doghouse, and the return of the Great Pumpkin. If you haven’t been picking up these collections, catch up while it’s still manageable – there’s a reason why Peanuts became a classic so quickly.
I’ve been a fan of Scrooge McDuck’s adventures ever since I began reading comic books as a kid, many of whose stories were crafted by the legendary Carl Barks (who created Scrooge in 1947). It was natural that, as soon as it premiered, I became an instant fan of Disney’s animated DuckTales, which adapted many of Barks’ stories. With that in mind, I recommended to the good folks at Gemstone that they collected those Barks tales that were adapted and release them as such. Well, they took my idea, giving us two volumes of Carl Barks’ Greatest DuckTales Stories (Gemstone, $10.95 SRP), featuring a dozen classics from The Duck Man.
Without The Chris Rock Show (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) to pave the way, I doubt we would have seen Chappelle’s Show. Rock took edgy, matter-of-fact – and deeply funny – social observations about culture and race and built a show around talking frankly. Through sketches, guests, and musical performances, Rock was able to present a show were anything went, opening the door for Dave Chappelle to truly blow the rest of the walls down on basic cable. When watching the episodes found in this 3-disc set collecting seasons 1 & 2, it’s interesting to see just how much slower the pace was compared to what Chappelle would later do, but there’s no denying that the material is still strong and quite funny. The set also features commentaries from Rock.
During the 80’s, running across and watching an episode of Mama’s Family (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) was like comfort food – no matter when I switched it on or ho much of the episode had already gone by, I couldn’t help but watch it. Spun off from The Carol Burnett Show and featuring Vicki Lawrence’s caustic-but-loving Mama character, the show always featured that old-school sitcom writing – always dependable for a solid belly-laugh. The 2-disc first season features all 13 episodes, but sadly no bonus features. Where’s our Mama commentary?
The more I watched of Comedy Central’s Stella (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) – starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain – it gradually dawned on me exactly what the show was… it’s a postmodern version of the Monkees TV show. The trio room together in a Manhattan apartment and engages in various absurd, often wacky, adventures in the face heavily-caricatured authority figures. They are the Monkees, and I love it. The 2-disc set features all 10 first season episodes, plus audio commentaries, Comedy Central Presents: Stella, deleted scenes, a history of Stella, and a blooper reel.
If Rushmore‘s Max Fischer had been more inclined towards becoming a stand-up rather than a filmmaker, then he probably would have an act and delivery like Demetri Martin’s. As dry as Steven Wright and as skewed as Mitch Hedberg, his comedy is definitely a grower, but once you get swept up in the absurd observations and view of reality, it’s definitely worth the ride. See if you agree by picking up Demetri Martin: These Are Jokes (Comedy Central Records, $15.98 SRP), containing not only his CD, but also a DVD of his Comedy Central stand-up special and various bonus features including animations and rare footage.
If you think the muck-racking, sensationalistic, celeb-fueled, vindictive journalism of people like Drudge is a recent invention, then you’ve never heard of the titular subject of Winchell (HBO, Rated R, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Stanley Tucci plays Walter Winchell with the verve and vigor of a man possessed by a desperate need for the attention his control of the airwaves in the 1930’s gave him – and the power it brought over both his friends and enemies, including stars and politicians. If history is cyclical, than Winchell’s legacy is still very much with us today.
One of the BBC’s best literary adaptations – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – gets a deluxe 10th anniversary box set (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP), featuring not only the full 5-hour miniseries, but also a newly produced retrospective documentary with the cast and crew, and the new Jane Austen episode of Biography. If that weren’t enough, the gold-embossed cloth slipcase also includes a 120-page companion book packed with photos and behind-the-scenes information.
Dave Smith’s The Official Encyclopedia of Disney (Disney Editions, $40.00 SRP) is one of those tomes that find a welcome slot in the library of any nerdy fan, packed with trivia and information about every scrap of minutiae you can imagine ever wanting to know about all things Disney – from the films to the theme parks. Heck, it even has an entry for Honker Muddlefoot. That, my friends, is one comprehensive book.
First off, let me say that the soundtrack album for Running With Scissors (EMI, $18.98 SRP) is one of those wonderful mix tapes we’ve come to expect from an indie flick – including tracks like Manfred Mann’s “Blinded By The Light,” Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets,” Phoebe Snow’s “Poetry Man,” the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s version of “O Tannenbaum,” Crosby Stills Nash’s “Teach Your Children,” and more. That being said, the film’s poster image (found on the cover) is the most disturbing use of an anthropomorphized hand since the poster for M*A*S*H.
You want a new way to plan a weekend’s cinema experience? This past June, Docurama released a batch of amazing documentaries to DVD that had only been seen at select festivals around the country, inaugurating a DVD-based “Docurama Film Festival”, giving many of these films a shot at the spotlight and audiences. Encouraged by the success of the first go-round, they’re doing it again, and I’m going to take a moment to recommend the first trio of flicks I’ve seen from this go round, starting with Paul Devlin’s Power Trip (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP), which chronicles American power company AES’s attempts to transform the dilapidated electrical infrastructure of Tbilisi (the capitol of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia), in the face of a political, economic, and social instability. It’s a quite touching portrait of the formerly Communist populace – who never had to pay for power under the old system – and the company’s attempts to get the people back on their feet in the face of open mutiny at the concept of paying for power. The disc features deleted scenes, Georgian PSAs, and more.
The Education of Shelby Knox (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP) focuses on one young girl’s attempt to bring sex education courses to her oppressively conservative Texas town, which is filled with religious fervor and raging hormones, plus the usual social ills and stigmas facing kids in any town, but which are amplified by the fanatical blindness of community leaders, parents, and even some of Shelby’s fellow teenagers.
Finally, there’s Parallel Lines (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP). On September 11, 2001, filmmaker Nina Davenport was in California. Her apartment was thousands of miles away in New York, overlooking the World Trade Center. Unable to book a flight back home, she was forced to rent a car and drive cross country – during which she decided to get out her camera and document her trip across America, and the people and opinions and hopes and dreams she encountered along the way. As the media went maudlin with their 9/11 anniversary coverage and Washington tried to use it as a political tool, Davenport’s film is a much-needed reminder that America isn’t about symbols – it’s about people. The disc also features an interview with Davenport.
While most people might only know of The Byrds for “Mr. Tambourine Man” or “Turn Turn Turn,” listening to the 4-disc The Byrds: There Is A Season box set (Sony Legacy, $54.98 SRP) firmly establishes their place in music history, including soaring harmonies, folk transitioning to country-rock sound, and members who went on to seed other 60’s super-groups (including David Crosby). In addition to all of their album tracks, the set also features rarities, demos, and live cuts, plus a bonus DVD of rare TV appearances. Oh, and let’s not forget the nearly 100-page photo-filled booklet. Great, great stuff.
I love peeks behind-the-scenes of the often absurd, unexpected realities behind-the-scenes of the entertainment industry, which is probably why I got a kick out of I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America’s Top Comics (Crown, $23.95 SRP). As you can guess from the title, it’s a collection of anecdotes and experiences culled from stand-ups including Chris Rock, Brett Butler, Larry David, Drew Carey, Tom Arnold, Ron White, Jay Leno, Mike Myers, and more, all about their time criss-crossing the country from club to club.
I will say this – regardless of how kiddie-friendly the story itself may be, I found the character design and animation in Curious George (Universal, Rated G, DVD-$29.98 SRP) to be absolutely stunning. I mean, this is some of the most appealing design work I’ve seen from any studio in years, and that includes the biggies at Disney and even Pixar. Like I said, the story is slight and mainly for the youngsters, but adults can get quite a few visual oohs and ahs of their own. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a sing-along Jack Johnson music video.
I’ve always been interested in the story of Bettie Page – the legendary 1950’s pin-up model whose erotic photos in that straightlaced era led to a Senate investigation. In particular, what motivated her to become an icon of sensuality in an age of repressed sexuality, and even more than that, what happened to her? The Notorious Bettie Page (HBO, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) attempts to answer many of those questions, and features an amazing performance by Gretchen Mol as Page. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette on the “Pin-Up Queen Universe,” “Presenting Bettie Page,” and the theatrical trailer.
The Art of Winnie The Pooh (Disney Editions, $35.00 SRP) is a collection of dozens of pieces featuring the denizens of the Hundred-Acre Wood done by Disney artists. While that may seem pretty straightforward, what’s surprising about the artwork is just how diverse the styles are – no one was restricted to a house style or thematic, but were instead allowed to interpret Pooh and friends in their own style, making for a page-turning range with plenty of surprises.
To his day, I can think of no crueler – and honestly, no sadistically funnier – joke than to make an aspiring actor of 20 years believe that he has finally landed the lead in an epic movie. That the victim is a completely clueless, incredibly deluded man who could never land such a role – with good reason – is only half the joke, with the remainder made up by his unbelievable faith that the elaborate fantasy around him is actually deserved. Windy City Heat (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) deserves its place as a cult classic, and watching Perry – the victim – actually develop a star complex over the course of “filming” is truly priceless. The DVD features an extended cut of the film, footage from when Perry found out about the joke, audio/video commentary from Perry, deleted scenes, and more.
I’ve said it before, but it’s absolutely true that practically every season of Everybody Loves Raymond (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) is virtually interchangeable, and that goes for the show’s 7th season, as well. The antics of the Barone family were pretty consistent across its run, making for the perfect escapist sitcom – like a latter day Honeymooners, with clearly defined characters and conflicts. And I mean that in the best possible way. It’s like the Law & Order of sitcoms. The 5-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus a quartet of audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel.
A Slight Case of Murder (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is wonderfully comic noir-throwback, starring William H. Macy as on-air film critic Terry Thorpe, a man in the wrong place at the wrong time who’s seen one-too-many crime movies. With a supporting cast that includes Adam Arkin, James Cromwell, and Felicity Huffman, you know it’s got to be at least worth checking out.
I always sit down with one of the University of Mississippi Press’s “Conversations With Filmmakers” books with the intention of reading just an interview or two before going off to do something else, but I always find myself engrossed by the in-depth discussions – and before I know it, I’m done. The latest volumes are Woody Allen: Interviews and Howard Hawks: Interviews (University of Mississippi Press, $20.00 SRP each).
If you were to cross The A-Team with Magnum PI, their bastard child would have been the 80’s series Riptide (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). It was everything an 80’s action-medy should, featuring two pals, a detective agency in LA, and a nebbish 3rd wheel solving mysterious cases. The 30-disc set features all 13 first season episodes, but not a single bonus feature.
In what can only be described as a Stephen King fest, you can blow some of your hard-earned cash picking up special editions of both The Dead Zone and Pet Sematary (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$14.99 SRP each) – both featuring audio commentaries and newly-produced featurettes – as well as King and director Mick Garris’s adaptation of Desperation (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP), featuring commentary and King’s “Postcards from Bangor, ME.”
On the bubble after it was announced that UPN and The WB would be merging to form The CW, fans of One Tree Hill can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their show will be back, and can relive senior year via the new 3rd season box-set (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The 6-disc set features unaired scenes, a gag reel, and both commentary and a behind-the-scenes featurette for the episode “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept.”
If you’ve been collecting the DVDs of Cosgrove Hall’s beautiful stop-motion Wind in the Willows series, you’ll want to make sure you add the 2-disc Wind in the Willows: Feature Film Collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), containing the original features that started it all, including the adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s original tales, plus A Tale of Two Toads. Bonus features include an interview with Brian Cosgrove, an episode from season 3, and a photo gallery.
If the full season box sets are a little too financially intimidating – or you’re completely unfamiliar with their work – than The Best of The Kids In The Hall: Volume 1 (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP) is probably your best bet. The first volume contains the 4 best-of shows created for the first two seasons, and also features the audio commentaries with the Kids from the full box sets.
While the movie is pretty run-of-the-mill, I found myself being carried forward by Down In The Valley (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) almost entirely by its cast – Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, and David Morse. Faced with troubled teen (Wood), a suburban cowboy (Norton) falls head over boots in love despite a dark secret and a father (Morse) intent on keeping the two apart. Bonus features include a filmmaker Q&A and deleted scenes.
Knowing there were some structural pitfalls, I paid extra-close attention during The Lake House (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$28.98 SRP) – which finds Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as two would-be lovers who trade letters while living in the same house by the lake… The catch being they’re two years apart and the mailbox is magic. Or something. I don’t know. No matter how hard I paid attention, I never really understood the whole concept of the thing. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not a bad film at all, it’s just… Well, come on… Magic Mailbox. Bonus features include additional scenes, outtakes, and the theatrical trailer.
Relatively brief, the latest Danger Mouse collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) sports the show’s final 4 seasons – 21 episodes in total – across its 3 discs. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also a bonus episode of Count Duckula (“Town Hall Terrors”), alternative theme song options, and a theme song karaoke.
If you want proof of close-mindedness, look no further than the case of NBC’s *extremely* short-lived The Book Of Daniel (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Once religious extremists in this country heard that the show featured a priest (Aidan Quinn) who actually had the temerity to question the church hierarchy and – you know – actually live in the world with his family, the sirens went a-wailing (sight unseen, mind you) and NBC buckled by canceling the show almost immediately. Some people might want to look up the word “tolerance,” while those looking for a thought-provoking show yanked before its time should check out this DVD set, featuring all 5 episodes, plus deleted scenes.
Okay, who can possibly resist a Thunder In Paradise Collection (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP)? I mean, it’s 3-discs full of Hulk Hogan and speedboats. Hulk Hogan and speedboats!!! I am so there.
For the life of me, I can’t understand what anyone sees in the Fast and the Furious franchise. To me, it’s hyperactive crap in fast cars – which I guess, when I think about it, must be the appeal. For those who get off on it, there’s the third installment – Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Bonus features include deleted scenes, commentary, a location featurette, and a look at the car customization.
I admit that the pre-launch marketing blitz that preceded the premiere of My Name Is Earl turned me off to the show, so much so that I actually let my screener of the pilot sit on my desk, unwatched, for over two months. When I finally did get around to watching it, I realized that I had made a mistake in believing that something must be rotten in Denmark, and Earl was, in fact, a quirky little comedy worth watching – much to my surprise, considering NBC’s recent track record of ignoring its own comedy gems in favor of some real stinkers. If you want to see what I was so impressed by, pick up a copy of the first season set (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Bonus features include commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes with optional commentary, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a blooper reel, and a bizarro “what if” feature that presents an alternate universe version of the show called “Bad Karma.”
One of the more appealing aspects of My Name Is Earl is its use of music – a trait found amongst many of the more memorable shows of years past. Even better, it’s an eclectic mix of everything from Harry Nilsson’s “Joy” to Uncle Kracker covering The Band’s “The Weight” – with stops featuring Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Reed, and Matthew Sweet along the way. All of those tunes and more are features on My Name Is Earl: The Album (Shout! Factory, $18.98 SRP). A volume 2 would be nice, too.
Formerly bare-bones, the complete fourth season of The Bob Newhart Show (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) actually manages some decent bonus features in addition to the season’s 24 episodes. Those bonus materials include commentaries on 4 episodes, “A Second family” featurette, and a gag reel.
If that’s not enough Newhart for you, then you’ll also want to pick up his return to the stand-up stage he left in the 60’s in Bob Newhart: Button-Down Concert (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). What’s great is that even after all these years, he’s still great on stage, and the delivery is every bit as sharp as the material.
It’s always a dicey proposition when an artist returns to a past success and decides to sequalize it. Sometimes it’s a success, and sometimes it’s an abysmal failure – it seems there’s very little in-between to be had. Luckily for fans of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s legendary Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, their thirty-years-on sequel The Captain and The Kid (Interscope, $13.98 SRP) is a successful return to a once-powerful well, exploring the lives of its creators in the period since their autobiographical epic. What’s more, Elton has retained the less-schmaltzy tunes and production methods of his last few albums, returning to the edgy, memorable sound of his hit-making past – which is perfectly complemented by some of Taupin’s strongest lyrics in years. Together, they produce a worthy successor and a solid listen.
Everyone knows of the various attempts that Salvador Dali and Walt Disney made over the years to work on a project, but did you know that there was also a shelved collaboration between Disney and Roald Dahl? Written by Dahl long before his classics, the wartime story The Gremlins (Dark Horse, $12.95 SRP) was optioned by Disney with the intention to turn it into a full-length feature. That film never came to be, but the Disney artists did wind up lavishly illustrating a hardcover edition of the story in 1943 – an edition that has been unavailable for the past 60 years. Dark Horse has lovingly restored every piece of artwork and is re-releasing that original hardcover (with a brand-new introduction from Leonard Maltin), and any fan of Dahl or Disney absolutely will kick themselves if they don’t snap up a copy of their own.
The sixth and final season of The Flintstones (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) may be best remembered for giving pop culture the gift of that interstellar imp, The Great Gazoo. This season also featured a take-off on Bewitched (with guest stars Elizabeth Montgomery & Dick York), movie spoofs, and the return of “Stoney Curtis.” The bonus materials this go wrong are awfully mediocre – do we really need a featurette with Stephen Baldwin? Still, at least we’ve now got the entire run of this classic primetime cartoon.
It can be quite embarrassing to admit a deep, dark secret. Especially one that is so incredibly embarrassing as to make you an instant object of ridicule as soon as the hidden shame is uttered aloud – but to hell with it, I’ll admit it… I actually enjoy watching America’s Funniest Home Videos. Like cocoa on a cold winter night or lemonade in summer, it’s a reliable, comfortable thing to spend an evening with. That, and I still find balls to the crotch, wedding guests tumbling on a dance floor, mugging babies, and piano playing cats quite funny. For those who share my guilty pleasure, there are 6 brand-new themed AFV releases to keep you company as the days grow shorter this Fall – AFV: Sports Spectacular, AFV: Nincompoops & Boneheads, AFV: Love & Marriage, AFV: Battle of the Best, AFV: Looks At Kids & Animals, and AFV: Home For The Holidays (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP each).
While the quality of the work itself varies – and much of the enjoyment stems largely from how you feel about a given artist – there’s no denying that Palm’s series collecting the work of various directors is a must-have investment for any aspiring filmmaker. Collecting their music videos, short films, animations, promos, TV spots, and much more – along with interviews, commentaries, and a deluxe illustrated book – the latest batch of discs to pick up are The Work Of Director Stephane Sednaoui, The Work Of Director Anton Corbijn, The Work Of Director Jonathan Glazer, and The Work Of Director Mark Romanek (Palm, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each). Trust me – you want these discs.
I admit to really loving the deluxe, hardcover, archival editions that Dark Horse has been releasing of titles I never thought would get that kind of treatment. In the past, it was Doctor Solar and Magnus: Robot Fighter. Now, it’s the entire run – spanning four volumes – of Mike Baron & Steve Rude’s Nexus (Dark Horse, $49.95 SRP), all lovingly restored and presented, and ready for a place of honor on your shelf.
The more I watch of Avatar (Paramount, Not Rated DVD-$64.99 SRP) – whose entire 20-episode first season (“Book 1: Water”) has been released via a 6-disc, feature-laden box set – I can’t help but think that it feels more like a Cartoon Network series than its actual home network, Nickelodeon. Maybe that’s because it’s layered, action-adventure-mysticism-based mythology seems more like the pre-teen boy fare you’d find on CN. Regardless of where it’s berthed, it’s a beautifully designed, engaging show worth checking out, regardless of your age. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast & crew, commentary on the pilot, and two making-of featurettes focusing on the sound and the Korean animation studios.
It will probably come as a surprise to many children of the 80’s that Bill Cosby had a sitcom long before he played the head of the Huxtable clan. In 1969’s The Bill Cosby Show (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), Cosby played gym teacher Chet Kincaid. It features many of Cosby’s indelible idiosyncrasies and comedic nuances, but is a wholly different experience from his later hit series. This first season set features all 26 episodes, plus a new interview with Cosby.
Battlestar Galactica fans salivating over the impending third season can catch up with the 11 episodes of what is being billed as Season 2.5 (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). The 3-disc set features an extended version of the “Pegasus” cliffhanger, as well as deleted scenes, podcasts, and producer David Eick’s video logs.
Every time I dig into another set of Dick Cavett Show episodes, I’m left wanting more of his in-depth interviews with the icons of years past. The latest set is The Dick Cavett Show: Hollywood Greats (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring 12 uncut episodes from Cavett’s show, with guests including Orson Welles, Mel Brooks, Kirk Douglas, Groucho Marx, John Huston, Marlon Brando, Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Peter Bogdanovich, Bette Davis, Robert Mitchum, Debbie Reynolds, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, and Robert Altman. Quite a list, no? The 4-disc set also features brand new introductions and an interview with Cavett.
The 70’s was an era of profoundly unhip people hosting talk shows that booked some incredibly hip guests, often providing a forum that many mainstream shows wouldn’t allow decidedly “unique” personalities. These “unhipsters” included Cavett, Mike Douglas, and Tom Snyder. It’s Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow program that has gotten the latest themed release with The Tomorrow Show: Tom Snyder’s Electric Kool-Aid Talk Show (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which collects interviews with Dr. Timothy Leary, The Grateful Dead, Ken Kesey, and Tom Wolfe. Pick up the disc and pay careful attention to Snyder’s often bewildered – yet somehow delighted – face.
Though often dismissed as a lesser follow-up to Rocky Horror Picture Show, it’s a little bit disconcerting just how prescient Richard O’Brien’s Shock Treatment (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP) has turned out to be, with its meta-concept of a small Texas town as reality show… Imagine The Truman Show with Rocky Horror‘s brad & Janet all set to music. The new 25th anniversary edition includes a pair of retrospective featurettes, as well as the film’s theatrical trailers.
Before Oscars and the mountain life found him, Heath Ledger starred in the short-lived sword & sorcery series Roar (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), all 13 episodes of which have made their inevitable way to DVD. Surprisingly enough, it’s actually an enjoyable show that might have grown into another Hercules or Xena if given the chance.
If it wasn’t for the presence of Dennis Haysbert, I probably wouldn’t watch The Unit (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), about an autonomous special forces unit of the U.S. military operating both Stateside an abroad. I could watch Haysbert read the phone book… And the fact that Robert Patrick is there to read it with him in this series – well, I’m sold. The complete first season set features all 13 episodes, plus commentary on the episode “SERE” and an “Inside Delta Force” featurette.
It’s hard to remember a time when the brand of “National Lampoon” upon a film actually meant a mark of quality (as opposed to a direct-to-video, groan-worthy cheapie), but during the 70’s, Lampoon was a synonym for the highest, and most subversive, comedy to be found. One of the key architects of the Lampoon style was Doug Kenney, a brilliant comic writer and thinker whose far-too-brief life is chronicled in A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever (Chicago Review Press, $24.95 SRP).
In an age of the US “spreading democracy,” then Our Brand Is Crisis (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) should be required viewing. The documentary follows a team of political consultants – including James Carville – as they head to Bolivia to manage the campaign for Bolivian presidential candidate Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, including everything from ads to speeches to smear campaigns. It’s a sobering view of just what kind of influence we’re bringing to the world stage.
If I’m going to be completely honest with you, I never watched Hart to Hart (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) for the jet-setting adventures of Jonathan & Jennifer Hart (Robert Wagner & Stafanie Powers). No, I used to watch the show strictly for the lovably gravely-voiced retainer of the Harts, Max (played by the great Lionel Stander). Crikey, I miss him. Every show needs a Max. The 5-disc seasoned season set features all 20 episodes, but bonus features are nowhere to be found.
Honestly, any flick that stars Robert Culp has got a leg up in my book. That Eric Fleming’s 
Known largely for his hit “Secret Agent Man,” is takes the 2-disc Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology (Shout! Factory, $24.98 SRP) to fully present just how many memorable tunes we owe to Rivers rocking delivery, including “Midnight Special,” “Poor Side of Town,” and more. Give it a spin and find out for yourself…
They’d done the deed, and the fourth season of Moonlighting (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is when you could feel the cracks beginning to form, as Bruce Willis’s film career heated up and Cybil Shepherd’s ego began to expand exponentially. At least we got more Curtis Armstrong. The 3-disc set features all 14 episodes, plus commentaries select episodes.
Before he was a superstar with the power to bankrupt studios with his asking fee, Jim Carrey was the star of high-concept, low-budget comedies that struck a chord with audiences, propelling him to the fiscal superstardom he enjoys today. A pair of those early flicks comprise the Ace Ventura box set (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP), featuring newly remastered (and widescreen) versions of Pet Detective and When Nature Calls. Pet Detective contains an audio commentary with director Tom Shadyac, TV spots, and the trailer, while When Nature Calls is limited to that flicks’ trailer. The set does, however, contains a 3rd disc with 3 episodes from the Ace Ventura animated series. Aaaaaaallllrighty then.
Packed with trivia, artwork, rarities, and more information about the man of Steel than you can shake a forest full of sticks at, The Krypton Companion (Twomorrows, $24.95 SRP) more than lives up to its name as a veritable cornucopia of Superman trivia and minutiae. As always, Twomorrows has released a tome that will excite and interest fans both hardcore and casual, celebrating comics as entertainment first and foremost.
If you’ve been fretting over exactly how you can pull off the perfect schlock horror filmfest this Halloween, rest your weary brow and snag the first three volumes of Elvira’s Movie Macabre double features (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each). Hosted by the Mistress of the Dark, this 1981 series featured our ghoulishly beautiful host introducing the worst of the worst – films like Count Dracula’s Great Love, The Werewolf Of Washington, The Devil’s Wedding Night, The Doomsday Machine, Legacy of Blood, and Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks.
Although I’m sure the added bonus features – including a sing-along, deleted scenes, interviews with Travolta & Newton-John, footage from the DVD launch party, and more – the real stand-out of the “Rockin’ Rydell Edition” of Grease (Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$19.99 SRP) is the miniature leather jacket that adorns the DVD case. It’s a truly nifty, very frightening collectible.
The Live at Montreux series of concert releases rolls along with a 1986 Eric Clapton performance and a 1973 set from Canned Heat (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).
It was only a matter of time before a book was written that catalogues and celebrated that most popcorn of movie genres – the disaster flick. Disaster Movies (Chicago Review Press, $18.95 SRP) contains write-ups on everything from The Poseidon Adventure to The Hindenburg – no cinematic disaster is too obscure.
I wouldn’t call them classics, but no self-respecting horror fan will want to pass up the five films featured in the 3-disc Boris Karloff Collection (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) – Night Key, Tower of London, The Climax, The Strange Door, and The Black Castle. And with Halloween coming up, it’s time to start lining up flicks for those ghoulish fests.
I have never been a fan or Ron Howard as a director – as a Taylor and a Cunningham, sure, but as a director, not so much. One of his more palatable flicks, for me, was Backdraft (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Honestly, I’m not sure why. Maybe it was Kurt Russell. Either way, it’s now got a 2-disc anniversary edition, with an intro from Howard, documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Like an old workhorse, the 6th season of King of Queens (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) is simply a sitcom that knows its characters and its parameters, and is dependable week-in and week-out. No big surprises, just a reliable chuckle-fest that doesn’t feel the need to aim any higher than what’s proven successful.
Adhering closer to the source material than the feature films it spun out of, the animated Return To The Planet Of The Apes (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) had a trio of astronauts arriving on the simian planet, which now featured a civilization of cars and planes, in addition to Cornelius, Zira, and General Urko. Lasting only 13 episodes, the complete run is now available separate from last year’s mega-box set.
There’s nothing like viewing a low-rent 80’s cheesefest like Hunk (BCI, Rated PG, DVD-$9.98 SRP) to bring back find memories of a simpler time in American cinema, where a pitch like “Faust reimagined as the Devil offering a dweeb the ability to become a hunk in exchange for his soul” gets – not only made, but made with James Coco as the Devil. Oh, the 80’s…
With the 2nd volume of its second season, the complete run of He-Man and The Masters of the Universe (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) has now been immortalized on those shiny, data-packed discs for fanboys the world over to place upon their shelves. The 6-disc set features those final 32 episodes – but like previous sets, it’s positively packed to the rafters with bonus materials, including a trio of episode commentaries, a pair of episode storyboards, and 2 brand-new behind-the-scenes documentaries (as well as the two artist postcards). Never in a million years did I think that He-Man – He-Man! – would get this kind of deluxe treatment, but it just goes to show what an amazing company BCI is when it comes to their releases (Disney could learn a thing or three from them).
And speaking of series I never thought I’d see on DVD, add BCI’s complete series release of both Blackstar and Space Sentinels/Freedom Force (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each). Not only do we get all 3 series, but both sets also contain commentaries, documentaries, interviews, galleries, and more. Do you hear that, Disney? That’s the sound of another company doing animated series releases *right*. My one gripe, though, was BCI’s use of double-sided discs, which I detest… So kudos on the bonus materials and releasing the series, but nega-kudos for the choice of medium.
Final Resting places of horror luminaries, haunted houses, eerie locales, and more are detailed in Creepy Crawls (Santa Monica Press, $16.95 SRP), author Leon Marcelo’s handy guide to taking a fiendish road trip of your own, following in the footsteps of all things macabre.
When every franchise under the sun is getting its own box set (hello, Leprechaun!), you knew that the killer doll with the overalls wasn’t far behind – which is to say yes, there is a Child’s Play collection featuring all 4 sequels (the first flick is not included), titled Chucky: The Killer DVD Collection (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Containing Child’s Play 2, Child’s Play 3, Bride of Chucky, and Seed of Chucky, the set also features audio commentaries on Bride and Seed, plus featurettes.
Jonathan Coulton is an evil, evil man who must be destroyed. That’s because he’s immensely talented, an amazingly gifted songwriter, and his incredible creativity both intimidates a normal, ungifted person like myself and drives me to distraction with catchy tunes and wordplay. Damn him to hell, I can’t stop listening to his CDs. Those include his first album Smoke Monkey ($10.00), his first EP, Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow ($7.00), and the first collection of his online songwriting experiment, Thing-a-Week ($10.00). You can purchase all of these discs, plus other merch, as well as partake of more sonic goodness at www.JonathanCoulton.com. That talented bastard. Dammit.
After a shaky first season finding their own voice, the second season of the US version of The Office (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) came fully into its own, becoming a unique entity unto itself and a damn funny comedy to boot. What’s even better is that they did it without betraying the formula that made the original version of the show so successful – they just began writing for their own versions of the characters and have taken the arc into new territory. The 3-disc box set features all 22 episodes, plus deleted scenes, commentaries, NBC.com webisodes, fake PSAs, Olympic promos, a blooper reel, and more.
If you’re going to write a sequel to a classic comic book story, you damn well better make sure that you don’t drop the ball. Luckily, Don Rosa’s return to Carl Barks’s land of Tralla La – “Return to Xanadu” – is a worthy successor to The Master’s original tale (which featured Scrooge’s complete derailment of the idyllic – and moneyless – Tralla La-ian society via the introduction of a single bottle cap from a bottle of his nerve tonic). After being run off by the none-too-happy populace of the isolated Himalayan valley, Scrooge, Donald, and Huey, Dewey, & Louie find themselves returning to paradise by sheer accident – and their return is no less traumatic than the first time. You can find Don Rosa’s giant-sized epic in this month’s Uncle Scrooge #357 (Gemstone, $6.95).
Before it his a brick wall in its final season, Roseanne (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) was must-see TV in my house, which was still going strong in its fifth season. Roseanne and Dan celebrate their 20th, Roseanne opens the Lunch Box (gotta love those loose meat sandwiches), Jackie & Roseanne’s dad dies, David movies in, Darlene turns 16… Oh, and even Tim Curry shows up. What’s not to love? All 25 episodes are uncut (please tell me we’ll eventually get a reissued, corrected season 1 set), and there’s both video commentaries with Roseanne and a Q&A featurette.
Like The Simpsons, Roseanne Barr’s eponymous sitcom made a beloved annual tradition of its Halloween episodes, all of which are collected on Roseanne: Halloween Edition (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). That’s 7 episodes of spooky goodness, and you even get commentary from Roseanne.
Opting for a more manageable handling of the latest seasonal set, the fourth season of Spongebob Squarepants (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.99 SRP) gets a 2-disc Volume 1, featuring 20 episodes plus animatics for 2 episodes and a behind-the-scenes look at the denizens of Bikini Bottom.
And speaking of Spongebob, the voice behind the square-pantsed one – Tom Kenny – has co-written and co-produced a positively infectious album starring the denizens of Bikini Bottom, recast as the pop group “Spongebob & The Hi-Seas” who are appearing in concert on WH20 Radio. Before you go thinking The Best Day Ever (Nick Records, $13.98 SRP) is just some lame vanity project, let me tell you that the songwriting is positively infectious – Kenny is a huge fan of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, and the melodies and arrangement is in that vein… In fact, Wilson even provides backing vocals. Kenny’s love of the sound radiates in each track. Crikey, I think I love this album… And want a follow-up ASAP.
Never a fan of the series, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Like South Park to come, it’s a sly little satire, all through the lens of its naïve leads. It’s been a long wait for this to finally hit DVD in a decent edition, but they pulled out all the stops, with an audio commentary, TV spots, shorts, a fight montage, trailers, and a look at the film’s score.
Titan Books has practically cornered the market on comprehensive, behind-the-scenes episode guide and companion tomes for science fiction shows, and they continue that with the release of the first volume for Joss Whedon’s Firefly (Titan Books, $19.95) – which features the uncut scripts for the first 6 episodes – and the official companion for the second season of Stargate Atlantic (Titan Books, $14.95 SRP). If that weren’t enough, they’ve also released the official companion for the first two seasons of 24 (Titan Books, $16.95 SRP).
Forming a triumvirate with Matlock and Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) was must-see TV for the geriatric set, featuring Dick Van Dyke as the rascally doc that became involved with a disquieting amount of murders, proving that you should never be friends with Jessica Fletcher or come anywhere near Dyke’s Dr. Mark Sloan – at least if you want to make it out alive. The 5-disc set features all 19 first season episodes, plus the Jake and the Fatman episode that introduced Sloan.
It’s complete popcorn, but that’s the appeal of Lucky Number Slevin (Weinstein Company, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP) – a bang-up dust-up that finds a young man named Slevin (Josh Hartnett) caught between two rival crime bosses (Morgan Freeman & Ben Kingsley), on the run from an assassin (Bruce Willis) and fending off the advances of his neighbor (Lucy Liu). It’s a pulpy romp perfect for a Fall viewing on a cold Saturday night. Bonus features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes (with an alternate ending), a making-of featurette, and the theatrical trailer.
As Mark Evanier is fond of saying, even sub-par Laurel and Hardy is better than no Laurel and Hardy. The three films found in the second Laurel and Hardy Collections (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) are certainly not the boys’ best work. The three flicks featured are The Dancing Masters, The Bullfighters, and A-Haunting We Will Go, and all 3 feature commentaries with L&H scholars, featurettes, trailers, and Fox Movietone News footage.
Despite the inordinate amount of buzz it’s generated and the dedicated fanbase it’s engendered, I still can’t get into Grey’s Anatomy (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP). Every time I’ve tried to sit down and watch an episode, I’ve come out the other side feeling like I’ve just viewed an overindulgent soap opera that consistently “borrows” plots and jokes from Scrubs. Still, there are legions of fans out there, and I’m sure they’ll devour the new 6-disc set featuring all 27 episodes from Grey‘s sophomore season, including four extended episodes, a cast Q&A, interviews, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
Some dismiss it as prog-rock pap, but I can’t help but get a warm and fuzzy feeling from Jeff Lynne’s completely bombastic orchestral tour de forces contained in every Electric Light Orchestra album. They’re just so unashamedly over-the-top that it’s hard to resist their goofy, catchy charm. Another trio of ELO albums have gotten the remastered treatment – Face The Music, A New World Record and On The Third Day (Sony Legacy, $11.98 SRP each) – with each disc containing a clutch of bonus tracks.
Any all-ages book of general knowledge and trivia that promises that the meaning of life can be found on page 42 automatically gets kudos from me, and the fact that the rest of Pick Me Up (DK, $29.99 SRP) is just as fun and informative – even for an adult. From a series of “what ifs” that explore the first two World Wars to naked mole rats to the reason no one can live forever (simple statistics), it’s chock full of so much fascinating goodness that once you pick it up, it’s hard to put down. I’ve always wanted to know what a Viking girl might post in her blog…
Akeelah And The Bee (Lionsgate, Rated PG, DVD-$28.98 SRP) reminded me of a sweet mash-up of Finding Forrester, Searching For Bobby Fisher, and an After-School Special. Young Akeelah Anderson has one dream – to make it to the National Spelling Bee, and like Pollyanna before her, she united all around her in her quest. Bonus features include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a music video, and a gag reel.
While lesser lights of the DC animated universe (granted, I still can’t stand the latter), fans can pick up the complete second seasons of Teen Titans and The Batman (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each). Both 2-disc sets feature all 13 episodes, but the sole bonus features are season one recap featurettes.
With his recent expulsion from Paramount – and the fact that he’s nuttier than a Xenu fruitcake – Fox might be reconsidering their idea of placing a sticker touting the fact that Taps (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP) was his second film role. The film is still a nice little character piece, benefiting from a new special edition featuring a commentary from director Harold Becker, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a look at the origins of playing “Taps,” and TV spots. Time to start scraping those stickers off, tho.
With the merger of Disney and Pixar, I sincerely hope that we won’t see the awkward, cheapie likes of The Wild (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP) again, with its poor animation and lame script. Bonus features on the disc include deleted scenes with optional commentary, and a blooper reel.
In it’s soap-filled three seasons, Las Vegas (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) has truly become a latter-day Love Boat, packed to the rafters with B- and C-list guest stars (the third season alone features Ron Jeremy, Rachel Leigh Cook, Dennis Rodman, Dean Cain, and more), all under the watchful eye of Captain Steubing, played here by James Caan. The 3rd season set features all 23 episodes, plus a time-lapse featurette on the building of the new hotel and a gag reel.
For years, Criterion’s 3-disc Brazil box set was the epitome of what the format had to offer, in terms of presentation and bonus materials (not one, but 2 cuts of the film, plus documentaries and deleted scenes, and more). As I became more aware of the technology, I realized that this amazing set had a single Achilles’ heel – the film itself was presented in the (then standard) non-anamorphic letterbox format. Seeking to rectify that one drawback, Criterion has released a new 16×9 anamorphic HD transfer of the film (Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), while retaining that particular disc’s audio commentary with Gilliam and Jack Matthews essay – in other words, it completely replaces the now-outdated disc in that great box set. The transfer itself is absolutely stunning – in fact, when I spoke with Gilliam about it, he remarked it was so good that he was horrified to find that it revealed the wires during the dream sequences (don’t worry – they’ve been erased). Pick this disc up. Now.
The much-anticipated release of the second season of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock (HIT, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) is a bittersweet affair, coming almost a year after the untimely passing of Muppet writer Jerry Juhl, an amazingly gifted scribe who gave voice, heart, and humor to Henson’s creations for over 30 years, which included guiding Fraggle Rock as its head writer. Thankfully, the producers of these DVD sets were able to conduct interviews with Juhl before he passed – and I’m thankful that we still have his remembrances. In addition to the 24 episodes comprising season 2, the 5-disc set also contains additional interviews, as well as a tribute to the late, great, very much missed Jerry Juhl.
Jerry Seinfeld cites it as the primary influence for his own show, and anyone who views the episodes featured in the inaugural season of The Abbott and Costello Show (Passport Video, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) will clearly see the precedent it set for a comedy set in New York City and almost entirely about characters and everyday events, rather than your typical sitcom fare. It was also anchored by an amazing comedy duo who managed to reinvent themselves for the small screen without falling into the trap of other comedians making the transition, who seemed to believe they were back on a vaudeville stage rather than pioneers on a brand new medium. I can’t recommend this 5-disc set highly enough, which also features Lou Costello’s rare home movies, interviews with the duo’s children, and the DVD premiere of the Abbott & Costello short film 10,000 Kids and a Cop.
There’s something quite sad about the fact that Rhino has begun releasing the entire Monkees catalog as newly-remastered 2-disc deluxe editions, complete with both the mono and stereo versions plus bonus tracks, while the remastered Beatles catalog remains MIA. However, back to the subject at hand. Despite all the criticism they’ve taken over the years, I still think that the Monkees are a completely underappreciated act that have been unduly maligned – I mean, did Elvis write his songs or play any instruments? The Monkees did both (Michael Nesmith’s tunes being some of the standouts), in addition to recording tunes from songwriters like Boyce & Hart, Harry Nilsson, Neil Diamond, and more. The first two deluxe editions are their debut album, The Monkees, and its follow-up, More of the Monkees (Rhino, $24.98 SRP each).
Celebrating 75 years of Disney comic books, Disney Comics: The Classics Collection (Disney Editions, $49.95 SRP) features the original comics adaptations of Snow White, Bambi, Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland, Dumbo, and a very odd adventure with Dumbo and the Seven Dwarfs. It’s a beautifully presented volume and a nice bit of nostalgia.
There was a time when I feared that the cancellation of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the steady loss of rights to the various films featured in past episodes would mean I’d never get an official release of a series I loved so much. But with the release of the 10th MST3K Collection volume (Rhino, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP), it seems my fears were unfounded. The latest set features Teen-Age Strangler, The Giant Spider Invasion, Swamp Diamonds, and even Godzilla Vs. Megalon. We’ve also got outtakes and a video jukebox, but the real plus is that Godzilla flick – whod’ve thought they’d ever get the rights back to one of those? Where’s my Gamera?
In what seems like a bit of a drawn-out sentence, the 6th and final season of Oz (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$64.98 SRP) makes its way to disc, with plenty of surprises awaiting the prisoners and keepers of Oswald State Penitentiary in the final 8 episodes. The 3-disc set features a trio of audio commentaries, deleted scenes, original cast audition tapes, and an extended cut of the finale.
Like Ocean’s 11 with a multigenerational group of cons substituting for the fabled thieves, Hustle (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) is one of those confection dramas that you devour greedily, enjoying the dramatic cake and the sweet character icing all in one go, unable to stop with just one episode. So maybe the cake metaphor was a bit much, but this is still an amazing show worth a spin, if only for Robert Vaughn’s performance as an aging con with much wisdom to impart to the young, sometimes foolishly cocksure, turks. Bonus features include cast bios and a making-of featurette.
Despite their claims, it was disappointingly obvious as the second season progressed that there was no master plan in place for Lost, and that padding of what was most likely intended as a 3 season arc was creeping in. You can watch the faltering of a once-brilliant series via the 7-disc season 2 set (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), featuring extended episodes, all-new flashback sequences, examinations of some of the show’s mysteries and revelations, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, bloopers, and more.
Fully remastered and available on DVD for the first time in the US, monster movie fans (and aficionados of a certain big lizard) can finally lay their hands on a near-pristine print of the original Japanese version of Gojira (Classic Media/Toho, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). The 2-disc special edition also features a restored edition of the American version of the film, which introduced the English-speaking world to Godzilla, King of the Monsters and his archenemy, Raymond Burr. The set also features a look at the construction of the Godzilla suit, audio commentaries by Godzilla historians Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski, a featurette on the story development, and the original theatrical trailers.
I love books that you can pick up, flip upon to a random page, and be instantly entranced by whatever you discover there. A recent tome fitting that particular bill is Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through The Films Of Charlie Chaplin (Santa Monica Press, $24.95 SRP). As the title suggests, it’s packed with photos and film frames detailing the locations both then and now of those Chaplin flicks. It’s a wonderful journey back in time, and it makes me feel good to know that some of these locations are still around.
I admit that I’m one of those people who is profoundly disinterested in viewing dramatizations of any of the events surrounding the events of 9/11, and that includes the doomed passengers and heroic actions depicted in United 93 (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$30.98 SRP). Writer/director Paul Greengrass has crafted a dignified, almost sterile, dramatization of that fateful flight that ended in a Pennsylvania field. As usual, make sure you seek out the 2-disc limited edition, which features additional behind-the-scenes features and interviews (mainly a feature on the military and civilian response teams) in addition to a commentary with Greengrass.
I’m sure there was a story in there somewhere, and a pretty good one, but I spent the entirely of District B13 (Magnolia, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) marveling at the art of Parkour, wherein amazing physical specimens navigate urban landscapes through constant motion – including scaling buildings. The film itself has something to do with a lawless section of Paris in the near-future, and an undercover policeman sent in to the walled area. Bonus features include outtakes, a making-of featurette, and extended fight scenes.
Although presented in paperback form, Viking Studio’s new series of illustrated novels pairs classic literature with modern comic artists for a refreshing spin on material that should be a cornerstone of any self-respecting home library. The novels are presented in their entirety, with periodic illos from the artists. The first two releases are Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with illustrations by Jae Lee, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, with illustrations by Dame Darcy (Viking Studios, $21.95 SRP each).
Do I still have to be embarrassed for actually laughing at – and liking – Jackass: The Movie (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP)? Does that make me some kind of sad, pathetic person that I got a kick out of watching idiots do moronic things to both themselves and others? If you prick me, do I not bleed? Well, you can now peep an extended unrated cut of the flick just in time for the sequel’s release, which also contains much of the bonus features from the original release, including commentaries, deleted scenes, a making-of special, and additional footage.
How sad is it that the arrival of another 12 episodes of the original heroes on the halfshell gets me so geeky giddy? That embarrassing reaction greeted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume Five (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Sad. So very sad. I feel like getting a pizza.
Okay… With Scary Movie 4 (Weinstein Company, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), we have finally reached the limits of the Scary Movie franchise. No matter how much love I have for the still comedically brilliant Anna Faris, I simply can not see myself wringing any more enjoyment out of this franchise after this tired, strained affair. Maybe I’m wrong about the series’ future, but rest-assured, it needs a radical rethink (or at least a better script). The unrated special edition features an audio commentary, interviews, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary, and a blooper reel.
This week’s soundtrack is the album for Hollywoodland (Decca, $18.98 SRP), which features 14 standards from the 50’s – including tunes like “At Last,” “Elephant Walk,” “The Girl Can’t help It,” “The Great Pretender,” and more. I’m still on the fence about Ben Affleck as George Reeves, but the soundtrack disc is worth a spin.
Make Buffy a guy, and you’ve essentially got the premise of The WB’s… sorry, The CW’s… Supernatural (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), as a pair of supernatural-fighting brothers – one of which wants nothing more than a normal life – are pulled together on a quest to find their missing father. Like most W… CW shows, it’s a light confection sans particularly sharp writing. You can catch up on all 24 episodes via this 6-disc set, which also contains a pair of commentaries, extended scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a still gallery, and a gag reel.
After four seasons and an indelible mark upon the culture psyche, ALF (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) wraps up its run with a memorable finale, as well as another 23 episodes across this 4-disc set. Is this the end of ALF? I hope not…
Not nearly as blasphemous as I was dreading, the preschool modernization of Gerald McBoing Boing for new sound-filled adventures is actually quite fun and clever, and has become required viewing for my young nephew. Now that there are 2 DVD volumes of his adventures available (Classic Media, Not Rated, DVD-$12.98 SRP each), I’m sure they’ll be in the Bob the Builder rotation.
He’s been incommunicado for a bit, but Norm MacDonald returns in fine form with a new stand-up CD, Ridiculous (Comedy Central Records, $12.98 SRP). It’d be nice if the wait for a follow-up wasn’t nearly as long an absence.
Lately, I’ve been plowing my through the “Smart Pop” series of completely unauthorized – but utterly engaging – series of pop culture analyses put out by Benbella Press ($17.95 SRP each). Basically, they’re collections of essays on a given pop culture subject, analyzing the given subject in some interesting ways – social, cultural, economic… All across the board. So far, they’ve released Getting Lost (edited by Orson Scott Card), The Man From Krypton (edited by Glenn Yeffeth), The Unauthorized X-Men (edited by Len Wein), Star Wars On Trial (Edited by David Brin & Matthew Woodring Stover), and Boarding the Enterprise (edited by David Gerrold & Robert Sawyer).
Even after months of tinkering and rejiggering, Geena Davis returned to finish out what would be the final episodes of her tenure as President of the United States in ABC’s Commander-in-Chief (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), the final 8 episodes of which are collected in this second 2-disc volume (leaving many to still wonder why they weren’t all collected in a single 4-disc set). Bonus features include an interview with Davis, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
It takes a lot for a book to make it onto my “By crikey, this is brilliant!!!” list. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy… Terry Jones’s Chaucer’s Knight… Huckleberry Finn… Green Eggs and Ham… and The Prydain Chronicles are just a few past honorees. Anyhoo, I come to celebrate (again) just such a work of literary brilliance – its name is 
A part of me is still pissed that Arrested Development – one of the most brilliant shows to ever grace the tube – was cancelled. There’s another part of me, though, that acknowledges that Fox did allow it to eke out three low-rated seasons, and that so finely-tuned a sitcom forever risks slipping off the knife-edge and falling into the abyss of mediocrity or – worst of all – self-parody. So let’s celebrate its all-too-brief life with the release of that third and final season (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), featuring all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted/extended scenes, a blooper reel, and a featurette on the last day on location.
While some shows start out brilliant than fade over the years, South Park has had the opposite trajectory, honing its satire and enriching the characters who inhabit the quirky mountain town, including our four leads – Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman. By the eighth season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), the gloves were off and the targets were bigger, from Michael Jackson and illegal immigration to Wal-Mart and Mel Gibson (in a still relevant look at the sentiments of The Passion of the Christ). This was also the season of the anime role-playing that resulted in an ocularly injured Butters (and some memorable fantasy sequences). The 3-disc set has the usual run of mini-commentaries from Matt & Trey.
Growing up with the likes of Gummi Bears and DuckTales, the announcement that there would soon be an entire afterschool block full of these Disney cartoons – plus some new series – was met with an excitement that carried me right through to the premiere of “The Disney Afternoon” and its first original show, TaleSpin (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP), starring Jungle Book veteran Baloo s a 1930’s era cargo pilot in a world full of air pirates (led by the delightfully deranged Don Karnage. The following year, we got another great addition with the superhero pastiche Darkwing Duck (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP) – in fact, I still have an action figure of the villain Megavolt on my desk. While it’s great that the complete first seasons of both shows are now in DVD (with their pilot episodes – at least Disney occasionally listens to fans), they lack even a single special feature. Pathetic treatment for such great shows.
Speaking of memorable Saturday morning cartoons, the first season (sans one rights-issue episode) of Ben Edlund’s lovable superheroic oaf The Tick (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP) has also hit DVD, but like the two Disney animated sets is completely featureless. Why is Disney so incredibly pathetic about this? No Edlund commentaries, no featurettes… no nothing. For criminy’s sake, come on!
Far more politically strident than the much-beloved (and missed) TV Nation, The Awful Truth found Michael Moore pulling no punches, from conducting a mock-funeral at the offices of an HMO to getting Crackers the Crime-Fighting Chicken locked in the Disneyland jail, including running a ficus plant for Congress. If the complete season sets frighten you, you can get 6 episodes selected from seasons 1 & 2 on The Best of The Awful Truth (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), featuring a pair of commentaries from Moore.
Released independently but now contained in one handy-dandy set, The Personal Best of Monty Python’s Flying Circus (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$44.95 SRP) features 6 discs – one for each member of the troupe, who fills it with their personal selection of favorite sketches, plus some new material (making it a must-have for Python fans). Of the new material, my favorite is probably John Cleese’s crass look behind-the-scenes of his selections, filmed at his palatial California estate.
Finally remastered and presented with a decent, if slight, complement of bonus materials, Miyazaki fans will feel the irresistible compulsion to add the classic Lupin adventure The Castle of Cagliostro (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) to their collections – probably after re-watching it a half dozen times. Those bonus materials include an interview with animation director Yasuo Ohtsuka, a photo gallery, and the complete animatic with the film’s soundtrack.
Looking to find common ground in a post-9/11 word, the USA secretly sends Albert Brooks to India and Pakistan to see if that common ground could be comedy in the aptly titled Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP), which mixes just enough reality into the absurdity to be believable, much like Brooks’ brilliant (and so ahead of its time) Real Life. Unfortunately, Brooks doesn’t have quite the same precision he once did, which is shame, because the concept is a valid one, and a source rife with potential that goes largely untapped in the film. Bonus materials are limited to additional scenes and the theatrical trailer.
The penultimate seventh season of The Andy Griffith Show (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) found the classic series mired in its color demise, with only occasional appearances by Don Knotts to relives the tedium of Andy’s courting phase. There’s still plenty of solid moments to make dismissing the show impossible, but it’s definitely not their high water period.
By the time its 5th season rolled around, Will & Grace (Lionsgate, Not Rated DVD-$44.98 SRP) had settled comfortably into the stunt-casting, easy-joke ensemble piece it had been longing to express itself as – which isn’t strictly a bad thing, but I wish they had tried a little bit hard to keep some of the freshness of the show’s early seasons. The 4-disc set features an outtake reel and a collection of those always pointless themed clip featurettes.
Though he’s looking like death warmed over and she was sadly believable playing Chandler Bing’s transgendered father, both Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner made a string of memorable flicks in the 80’s, which all began with a good ol’ fashioned popcorn adventure, Romancing The Stone (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP), directed by Robert Zemeckis and featuring a then-modern day Indiana Jones pulp spectacular (with more of a romance flair, and heavy sax work from Alan Silvestri’s score). It was followed up by the not-nearly as original but still somewhat fun Jewel of the Nile (Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP), which re-teamed the pair and had the good sense to bring back Danny DeVito (before all 3 would go on to finish out the decade with the wonderfully caustic War of the Roses). Both Stone and Jewel have gotten remastered special edition treatment, with both releases containing retrospective featurettes (with new cast and crew interviews), deleted scenes, and a commentary on Jewell from director Lewis Teague.
Not only does The Best of Mr. Bean (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP) feature over 2 hours of the best bits of Rowan Atkinson’s classic creation, but also the 40-minute documentary The Story of Bean. It’s a nice companion to that Mr. Bean box set that should already be sitting on your shelf.
Unlike the pre-packaged, lip-synced pap often found over its mainstream sister show Top of the Pops, the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) featured (from 1971-1987) artists that today would be considered indie (from Jackson Browne to Janis Ian) alongside more well-known artists and groups (including The Bangles and Roger Daltry). The key, though, was that the artists performed live – which is what makes the DVD releases, the latest being Volume 3, such a fun time warp. The new disc features over 2 dozen performances, plus audio commentary from the presenters and reminiscences about their appearances from the artists themselves.
It’s a sad, but all-too-common, story wherein a popular TV series that can do no wrong in its blockbuster first season suddenly stumbles and plants their face in the mud come their sophomore outing, and there are few who will argue that Desperate Housewives (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) didn’t lose its soapy way during it’s second season. Remind yourself of the mis-steps and hope for a 3rd season recovery this fall with all 24 2nd season eps, plus interviews, deleted scenes, and more.
It was only a matter of time before we got the first behind-the-scenes reality series about NASCAR, but thankfully we avoid Real World territory in the Biography Channel’s NASCAR: Driven to Win (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP), which focuses on the lives – both on and off the track – of a handful of up-and-coming drivers. All in all, it’s an interesting look at the determination needed to participate in a sport I care very little about. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a driver Q&A.
If purple’s your aural paradise and paisley’s your passion, then be sure to snag a copy of Prince and the New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection (Rhino, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). I think the title is pretty self-explanatory. It also features some bonus live performances.
Okay, the only thing – and I mean the ONLY thing – tolerable and even approaching enjoyable about the completely unwanted, unnecessary Brother Bear 2 (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is the presence – and enlarge roles – for the pair of Moose voiced by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. Everything else about this steaming waste is just a seemingly never-ending abyss of crap. The DVD features a behind-the-scenes look at the music, and the ever-useless games.
While not directed by Hughes, Some Kind of Wonderful (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP) is definitely a Hughes film, with a script provided by the 80’s auteur , who also produced. And now we’ve got a special edition of the rom-com, featuring an audio commentary with director Howard Deutch and Lea Thompson, a making-of doc, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
As the title implies, Washington The Warrior (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) is an examination of the young military officer from Virginia who fought in the French and Indian Wars and eventually rose to the rank of commander of the revolutionary army and our nation’s first president. Did you know that that path included a 17-year retirement? No? Then watch this doc.
Just when you thought they couldn’t find a new, trashier way to disgust audiences, the 3rd season of Nip/Tuck (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) carts out the 600-lb. woman fused to her sofa. Seriously. But that’s par for the course, and all in the spirit of the show – where the season really stumbled is the sadly ho-hum quality of the mysterious Carver, the knife-wielding worst nightmare of plastic surgeons Sean and Christian, It’s what happens when guilty pleasures get too daytime soap-y. The 6-disc set features unaired scenes, a Carver featurette, and a spotlight on the set design.
What could have been a great ensemble drama about a group of married women and their single friend instead plays like a half-hearted dramatic play on Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City. It’s unfortunate, because Friends With Money (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$28.95 SRP) has a fantastic cast (Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand) just itching to go, but they’re left with melodrama. Bonus features include an audio commentary, a premiere featurette, behind-the-scenes featurette, and a Sundance featurette.
As a TV junkie since childhood, I can’t help but compare the horrors of war and skill and sacrifice of the military medical personnel and soldiers in the documentary Baghdad ER (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) with years of watching episodes of M*A*S*H. The humanity and grace under pressure are the same, even if the modern facilities and procedures provide for a much higher survival rate than the Korean War crises fictionalized in Hollywood’s take. Still, Baghdad ER is a sobering look at the cost of the war, and worth experiencing no matter which side of the political fence you fall on.
I can’t be the only one who, while finding his stunts mostly enjoyable, is still mildly disturbed by (magician? performer? devilspawn?) Criss Angel. Surely others must find him somewhat off-putting. Either way, he’s got a holiday DVD release with Criss Angel, Mindfreak: Halloween (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), which contains not only the special, but also a pair of new-to-DVD episodes from the show’s first season (“Uncut” and “Up Close”).
If a star-studded jaunt with the Bard fits your agenda for the weekend, you’ll want to give spin to the Thames Shakespeare Collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP), featuring a quartet of classic plays (MacBeth, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, and Twelfth Night) performed by the likes of Kenneth Branagh, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Patrick Magee, and more. Bonus features include interviews and a featurette on Romeo & Juliet.
Sometimes, you run across someone that is so incredibly talented that you envy and admire their skills, to the point of wondering why they were so greedy at the talent pool, taking what surely must have been other’s shares of genius (like mine – I’m sure this bastard took what should have been my piano playing ability… ). But the ultimate insult is when they’re so damn good that you actually really and truly dig what they do… It’s hard to hate someone whose work has been on repeat since it arrived in the mail. Such is the case with Neil Cicierega (
After wrapping up her inaugural season’s big mystery and clearing her father’s reputation, Veronica Mars starts her second season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) with a brand new case to solve, starting with a missed ride on the school bus (a bus which plummets off the side of a cliff minutes later). With the circumstances in doubt, you can bet Veronica’s hitting the bricks, and it proves to be a great sophomore effort that keeps the momentum from a wonderful first season. The 6-disc set features a pair of featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel (sadly, still no commentaries – here’s hoping another one will pop up on the net).
Presenting dozens of rarely to never-before-seen pieces of conceptual artwork, The Art of Disneyland (Disney Press, $49.95 SRP) is a stunning volume celebrating the 50th anniversary of Walt’s wonderland. Of all the amazing pieces presented – showing the development of the various lands and attractions – my favorite remains the work of animator Marc Davis, whose design sensibilities made rides like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion” the beloved character pieces they are to this day.
Who doesn’t love a Tommy pastiche that substitutes Nintendo for pinball and has Fred Savage as the svengali-like brother (a la Tom Cruise in Rain Man) of the titular character’s video game prodigy? Yes, I went to go see The Wizard (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$14.98 SRP) on the big screen in 1989, mainly to get a first glimpse at the then-hotly anticipated Super Mario Brothers 3 (remember those good ol’ days?). Did I think it was cheese, even as a kid? Sure. Did I still go giddy seeing a leaf-powered Mario take flight? You’re damn right I did.
Long before he conquered America as Dr. House, Hugh Laurie had earned his place amongst Britain’s comedic firmament alongside the brilliant Stephen Fry as the dynamic duo Fry & Laurie. After long years of waiting and hoping, the first two seasons of their sketch series A Bit of Fry & Laurie (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each) has made its way to DVD. While the bonus materials on the first season is technically limited to the rarely-seen pilot, the second season features the documentary Footlights: 100 Years of Comedy, featuring early Fry & Laurie material. If you’ve never seen the show, rectify that glaring oversight immediately.
There have been a surprising spate of Elizabeth I dramas to come down the pike the last few years (as well as a couple of documentaries), but none of them sucked me into to the drama of her reign quite like HBO’s Elizabeth I miniseries (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), starring Helen Mirren as the titular monarch and concentrating on not only her tempestuous time on the throne, but also her early love affair with the earl of Leicester (Jeremy Irons) but also his stepson the Earl of Essex (Hugh Dancy). Bonus materials include a making-of featurette and a look at the real Elizabeth.
It’s not the best of Britcoms (which is a pretty high standard, actually), but the complete first season of The Worst Week Of My Life (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) is still a goofily fun romp, chronicling the week before the wedding of Howard (Ben Miller) and Mel (Sarah Alexander). If things can wrong, they do. If misunderstanding can happen, they do. If family relations can prove odd and disruptive… well, you get the picture. Bonus materials include interviews with the cast & writers, and outtakes.
Hot on the heels of the disastrous Howard the Duck, the critical knives were sharpened for the George Lucas-produced Radioland Murders (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – which is a shame, because its all-star whodunit during the 1930’s-era of live radio is actually a fun, if slight, romp. It also stars the criminally underappreciated (and under-used) Brian Benben, who deserves boatloads of Emmy’s for his work as Martin Tupper in Dream On. Go on and give this flick another chance.
Martin Freeman follows up his turn on The Office with The Robinsons (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) where he play Ed – the recently-divorced black sheep of a family that plays like a middle class version of Arrested Development‘s Bluths. Add to that profound dissatisfaction with his job and a mid-life crisis at 32, the first season is a wonderfully dry slice of aging Gen-X comedy. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, outtakes, and commentary on all 6 episodes.
Celebrating his 80th birthday, Sony Legacy has released a clutch of pretty damn good Tony Bennett discs, spanning his entire career. The discs included – fully remastered, mind you – are I Left My Heart In San Francisco, Perfectly Frank, MTV Unplugged, Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits of the 50’s, and Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits of the 60’s (Sony Legacy, $11.98 SRP each).
Dismissed at the time as a lackluster return to TV, opinion has been turning the other way in regards to The Comeback (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), Lisa Kudrow’s single season spoof on a down-and-out actress’s return to the spotlight via a reality TV show. As the formerly A-list, now C-list, Valerie Cherish, Kudrow is a bag of neediness, ego, and eccentricities, and the 13 episode run is just as awkwardly funny and bitingly satirical as that other HBO show starring Larry David. The 2-disc set features an exclusive interview with Valerie, backstage at her appearance on Dancing With the Stars, and even audio commentaries.
From the first helicopter glory hot shot of the mammoth ocean liner representing the new, bigger Poseidon (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP), my spider-sense began to tingle. Surely, Wolfgang Peterson couldn’t find a way to make the already soap opera-ish disaster classic The Poseidon Adventure tackier, could he? Well, of course he can! Just about every cliché and archetype is dusted off and made even more extreme (can you imagine characters more cliché than the original?), and the increase in scale of the vessel itself does little to ratchet up the palpable tension the much smaller ship in the original accomplished so well… In fact, the gargantuan modern S.S. Poseidon actually makes things slightly more comical, if anything. Anyway, you know the only reason to watch it is for the boat flipping. The 2-disc set features a making-of documentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes (including an intern’s video diary), the theatrical trailer, and a History Channel documentary on rogue waves.
With Spike Lee’s devastating documentary about the national tragedy of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, now may be a good time to give a spin to The Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s elegiac and powerful remake of Marvin Gay’s What’s Going On (Shout! Factory, $18.98 SRP). I really can’t say much more than to go listen, and don’t forget.
Those who know Fred MacMurray solely from My Three Sons and The Absent-Minded Professor must drop everything and experience his turn in Billy Wilder’s Academy Award-winning Double Indemnity (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), playing the murderous lover of Barbara Stanwyck and co-conspirator in a plot to off her wealthy husband after he signs a lucrative double indemnity insurance policy. Will they get away with the crime, or will a suspicious claims manager (Edward G. Robinson) catch the nefarious couple? It’s noir at its best, and now-available as a 2-disc special edition featuring a brand-new documentary, commentary with Richard Schickel, commentary with film historian/screenwriter Lem Dobbs and film historian Nick Redman, and the 1973 made-for-TV remake starring Richard Crenna.
I’ve stated in the past what a fan I am of the Critical Review documentaries, which take an in-depth look at various bands with critical analysis, plus rare interviews and footage. The latest is the second volume on Queen, covering the period from 1980-1991 (Chrome Dreams, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP).
One of those certifiable sci-fi classics (so classic it even co-stars The Professor himself, Russell Johnson), This Island Earth (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) gets a newly-remastered release – but criminally, zero bonus features. What’s up with that? I want to know how those Metaluna Mutants were made! And what’s the deal with releasing this widescreen flick full frame? At the very least, can you finally re-release a special edition of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, which took aim at the flick?
Even though Just My Luck (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is a harmless, generally amusing fluff of a film, every time I saw star Lindsey Lohan onscreen, I couldn’t help but thinking of the hard-partying chronic fatigue sufferer we’ve all come to know and love. All in all, it makes her perpetually lucky character’s role reversal with a perpetually unlucky young man an unintentional cautionary tale, as seeing Lohan dirty in the gutter doesn’t seem so far a stretch anymore. Bonus features include deleted scenes and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The release of historical Montreux Jazz Festival concerts continues with James Brown: Live At Montreux 1981 (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), featuring not only the 14-song concert, but also a 10-track bonus CD of the performance.
After discovering a downed alien aircraft in the Atlantic, the government hastily assembles a team of experts in order to prepare for the possibility of alien invasion – a team christened Threshold (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP). It’s a relatively straightforward concept and featured a great cast – including Charles S. Dutton, Carla Gugino, and Brent Spiner – but the series never seemed to gel into anything close to its potential. Not surprisingly, the only threshold it crossed was cancellation. The 4-disc set features behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and an audio commentary on the pilot.
As much as I enjoyed the adaptations featured in the BBC’s original collection, I think my favorites are amongst those in the Charles Dickens Collection 2 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Loaded to the hilt with spectacular casts and spry staging, this 4-disc set features The Pickwick Papers, Dombey And Son, The Old Curiosity Shop, and Daniel Radcliffe’s first big break as David Copperfield (alongside Bob Hoskins, Dawn French, Ian McKellan, Maggie Smith, and Imelda Staunton). The set also contains a behind-the-scenes doc on Copperfield and Simon Callow reading from Pickwick.
Most surprise hit shows stumble in their sophomore seasons (see Desperate Housewives), but House (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) avoided that most destructive of pitfalls by remaining true to its core asset – Hugh Laurie’s Dr. Gregory House, a man whose bedside manner is virtually nonexistent, whose ego is massive, and whose sometimes unorthodox diagnoses and treatments are usually correct. The 6-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus alternate takes (you simply have to see), commentaries, “An Evening with House & It Could Be Lupus.. featurettes, and a blooper reel.
Another victim of the great network sci-fi slaughter of 2006, Invasion (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) focuses on the town of Homestead, Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Eve – which left not destroyed homes, but also a profoundly altered clutch of townspeople. Is it a natural occurrence? Is it a conspiracy? Is it aliens? The only thing for sure is it was cancelled, so this 6-disc set contains all 22 episodes, plus deleted scenes, a featurette on creator Shaun Cassidy, and a gag reel.
As Vicki Dubcek gives birth to the Big Giant Head’s big alien baby, the absentee father (William Shatner) makes a return visit as the Solomons try and sort out exactly how to deal with their leader, the deadbeat dad. The 5th season of 3rd Rock From The Sun (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is a comedic cornucopia, and is one of those rare comedies that holds up tremendously well as the years go by, never betraying its age. I can watch John Lithgow mug all day long… And considering I had a marathon viewing of this box set in one sitting, I did. Sadly, all we get this go round is bloopers – hopefully the next set, the show’s final season, will pull out all the stops.
Amazing to think, but it’s been nearly 5 years since The Kids in the Hall began coming out on DVD, but with the release of the show’s 5th season (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP), it all comes to an end. Even though the Kids were beginning to drift apart, you can see very little of the stress in the episodes themselves. The 4-disc set contains the final 21 episodes, and a best-of compilation featuring an audio commentary from the Kids. You can purchase the set directly from 
As much as I love most of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 60’s and their classic theme songs, my absolute favorite is Hong Kong Phooey (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), the number one super guy who” getting his complete 31-episode on DVD, complete with a retrospective documentary, commentary on a trio of episodes, and a complete storyboard from the episode “The Batty Bank Gang.” Also getting the complete series treatment is Magilla Gorilla (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), which is packed with bonus material including rare footage of Hoyt Curtain and Bill Hanna performing the theme song, an interactive interview gallery, and the archival behind-the-scenes special Here Comes a Star. Sadly, though, no one in quality control thought to actually present the episodes uncut (they’re missing the classic opening and closing sequences) and the print quality is atrocious. Here’s hoping for a disc exchange in the very near future.
For me, the eighth season of The Simpsons (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) marks the end of the show’s golden period and the onset of its decline. It was the last season to feature truly classic episodes (in particular, the introduction of Homer’s archenemy, Frank Grimes). In the seasons after this, the writing staff would dip into the derivative well, and our favorite family would become merely walking jokes – as opposed to the surprisingly deep characters that had been developed in the early years. As usual, this latest set is packed with commentaries for every episode, deleted scenes, illustrated commentaries, promos, a featurette on the Simpsons house, an introduction from Matt Groening, and more.
Every generation has its own delightfully oddball kiddie show that appeals to both tykes and adults – the 50’s had Beany & Cecil, the 60’s has Soupy Sales, the 70’s had the Krofft’s, the 80’s had Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and the 90’s had The Weird Al Show (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). Hosted by Weird Al Yankovic, it definitely owes much of its whacked-out sensibility to its predecessors, but sadly lasted on 13 episodes –all of which are collected in this 3-disc et, featuring commentary from Weird Al, animated storyboards, galleries, a look at the development of the “Fatman” cartoon, and more guest stars (including Barenaked Ladies, Dick Clark, Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean, Fred Willard, just to name a few) than you can shake a stick at.
Much in the same historical vein as Deadwood, HBO’s Rome (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) dramatizes the rise of Caesar in pre-Empire Rome through the eyes of soldiers Lucious Vorenus and Titus Pullo, beginning with a victorious Rome post-the conquering of Gaul that is already beginning to show cracks in the firmament of the once-great Republic. A riveting story, I can only hope we get a second season. In addition to all 12 episodes, the 6-disc set features 8 audio commentaries, an interactive onscreen historical guide, a featurette on episode 11’s gladiator sequence, a featurette on episode 10’s triumphant arrival of Caesar, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a look at the culture of ancient Rome, a character guide, and more.
First off, let me say that I am very, very happy with the fact that we have finally gotten a comprehensive edition of Apocalypse Now, containing both the original cut as well as 2001’s Redux version. The 2-disc Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) also features an audio commentary on both cuts from Francis Coppola, the lost “Monkey Sampon” scene, deleted scenes, an outtake of Brando reading the entirety of T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men”, featurettes on the sound design and filmmaking, a cast member reunion, and more. What disappoints me, though, is we still do not get the wonderful documentary Heart of Darkness, shot during production by Coppola’s wife. A terrible loss to an otherwise great release.
You know, even the lackluster episodes of The Jeffersons still make me laugh heartily, which I think owes more to growing up with reruns of the show on my local DC station than the quality of some of the scripts in later seasons, particularly the show’s fifth (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). With The Jeffersons, though, you had a cast that could spin comedy gold out of any line, and that went for everyone from Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford to Marla Gibbs and Roxie Roker… and Franklin Cover and Paul Benedict, too). The 3-disc set features all 24 episodes, but still no bonus features to be had.
Warner’s fast and furious catalogue releases are getting to the point of being overwhelming, but there’s no denying that their level of quality has remained consistently good, featuring nice transfers and an unbelievable amount of bonus materials, including commentaries, vintage shorts, classic Warner cartoons, and more. The two latest screen icons to get their own “Signature Collection” are James Stewart and Ronald Reagan (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP each). The Reagan collection features Kings Row, The Hasty Heart, Storm warning, The Winning Team, and Knute Rockne All American (which gave America Reagan’s nickname, “The Gipper”). The Stewart set packs six flicks in, including The Spirit of St. Louis, The FBI Story, The Naked Spur, The Stratton Story, The Cheyenne Social Club, and Firecreek.
I’m a sucker for documentaries about obscure events in American history, and I definitely think the subject of The March of The Bonus Army (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP) qualifies as such, as it focuses on the march of over 45,000 World War I veterans on Washington in 1932, who sought the “bonus” promised them for their military service, and set up a shanty-town near the Capitol. Eventually refusing their demand, they were driven out of Washington at sword point by General Douglas MacArthur and his officers Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton, and their camp was literally burned to the ground. In 1936, Congress finally paid the bonus – but not after a sad chapter in U.S. history worth knowing about.
Is it PC? Not in the least, but I still love Hogan’s Heroes, the fourth season of which has hit those little shiny spinny things (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). Colonel Hogan and his ragtag band of POWs continue to fight the good fight behind enemy lines and under the monocled eye of Colonel Klink (the always wonderful Werner Klemperer). The 4-disc set features all 26 episodes.
Featuring amazing archival performances, rare interviews, obscure footage, and critical analysis of their early years, Origin of the Species: Led Zeppelin – A Critical Review (Sexy Intellectual, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) is a must have for Zep fans.
Although never a huge hit, Grounded For Life (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) was a quirky, dependable sitcom that deserved more attention and a longer run, as it managed to meld the sensibilities of both Roseanne and 3rd Rock From The Sun into a beautiful amalgam that rarely disappointed (and Donal Logue was a great lead as the patriarch of the family Finnerty). The 2-disc 3rd season set features all 13 episodes (including 2 that never aired on The WB), plus audio commentaries on 6 episodes.
Okay, is it odd that, while checking out the complete fourth season of Full House (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), I couldn’t take my eyes off Dave Coulier’s mullet? It’s almost like it had a life of its own. Didn’t anyone ever tell him that he wasn’t a man who could pull off a mullet (few can, save for Swayze in Road House. Creepy… And I feel dirty for being mesmerized by its tacky power.
One by one, all of the shows attempting to capitalize on Lost‘s sci-fi mystery niche met a similar fate last season, including Surface (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Lake Bell stars as oceanographer Laura Daugherty, whose discovery of a massive creature lurking in the ocean depths leads her on a worldwide chase that may have deeper ramifications than just uncovering a new species… Or it would have, if the show had lasted longer than 15 episodes – all of which are featured on this 4-disc set, which includes deleted scene and a look at the special effects.
Remington Steele‘s adventures come to a close with the release of the complete 4th and 5th seasons (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), featuring all 27 episodes plus select episode commentaries and four featurettes. Even though it began to wane towards the end, I still loved the show.