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I am the Warrior Add four new anticipated titles to Paramount's January slate, as well as some pricing and street date updates. First is the 1/16 arrival of the Walter Hill cult classic The Warriors. Though low on features, it does include what I believe may be the first-ever widescreen transfer available on home video (though I could be wrong), and it is in anamorphic no less. The disc also includes English and French 1.0 mono tracks only, and the trailer. Also on 1/16, after the already-announced The Untouchables, comes Juice and the Charles Bronson 70's hit Death Wish. Both are in anamorphic widescreen and include the trailers, and Juice is in 5.1 surround while Death Wish is mono only. All of the above are $29.95. Two days ago, we made a mistake and listed Necessary Roughness and North Dallas Forty as being 1/16 titles. In actuality, they will arrive on 1/30, along with another football drama The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds, also in anamorphic widescreen and English and French 1.0 mono (no extras included, not even a trailer.) But what is most interesting, unless it is a misprint or I'm going blind (which just may be the case!), is the $24.95 tag for each of these titles. Paramount has never priced a movie title under $29.95 (aside from shorter subjects like the recent Peanuts discs), so this might be a sign of some lowering of prices by Paramount. But, we'll check out if it is a mistake and post a follow up if this information changes...
November 9 : 'Clerks' and more 'Dogma' details; MGM's February titles; New Spike Lee titles from Columbia; 'Chainsaw' family portrait 'Clerks' DVD due, and a few more 'Dogma' specs Though it didn't last long on the air, now fans will get to see the entire 6-episode "season" of Clerks: The Animated Series. Buena Vista will be releasing the DVD on 2/20, which features all six episodes in full frame and 2.0 stereo, along with an audio commentary by "the stars, producers and animation designer." Retail is $29.95, and expect more details to follow... Speaking of Kevin Smith, the final press release came in today for the upcoming two-disc Dogma set from Columbia on 1/23, and there are a couple of more extra-special goodies on there. In addition to the commentary with director Kevin Smith and cast, there is also a technical commentary with Smith, Vincent Pereira and Scott Mosier, along with a complete set of storyboards from three major scenes and an outtake reel. All that in addition to the 100 minutes of deleted scenes, "Judge Not, In Defense of Dogma" documentary and "secret" bonus extras. Again, sounds like a great two-disc set. Retail again is $29.95. MGM's February slate With 40-plus titles already due in January, MGM is continuing to pump 'em out in February as well, though the total title count isn't quite as high. But, there are quite a few oft-requested catalog titles in here, so there should be something for everyone. On 2/6 comes Blue Sky, The Emerald Forest, Mermaids, Cherry 2000, Double Impact, Death Warrant and Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man. All are anamorphic widescreen and in English and French 2.0, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles, and the theatrical trailers. Also on 2/6 comes Moonlight And Valentino, the 1987 version of Baby Boom, City Of Industry, The End, Fatal Beauty, Fuzz, Navy Seals and The Mighty Quinn. All are non-anamorphic widescreen and in English and French 2.0, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles, and the theatrical trailers. Finally, the last 2/6 title is the early Tom Cruise teenage comedy Losin' It, which is in full frame only and English mono, with the trailer. Retail is $14.95 for all of the above, except for Blue Sky, Emerald Forest, Mermaids and Moonlight And Valentino, which are $19.95 each. Then on 2/20 comes the first in MGM's Moonlight Movies collection, featuring six cult classics. The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Die Monster Die and The Wild Angels are all anamorphic widescreen, in English and French mono and feature the trailers. Attack Of The Puppet People and The Man From Planet X are in their original 1.37:1 aspect ratios, in mono and also feature the trailers. Retail is only $14.95. each. A Spike Lee double feature Columbia has set a couple more new Spike Lee titles for January, due on 1/30. Both Get On The Bus and School Daze feature 1.85:1 anamorphic and full frame transfers, along with new 5.1 surround mixes, and the original 2.0 tracks. Additional features include talent files, production notes and the trailer, and retail is $24.95 each. Scary Movie, Part II? While Scary Movie scared up millions at the box office this past summer, there was another teen horror spoof that never quite got off the ground. But on 2/27 from Trimark is Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th, starring no less than Tom Arnold, Tiffani Theissen and Coolio! The disc is presented in widescreen, and retail is $24.95. A demented family portrait Speaking of scary movies, MTI Home Video will release the only in-depth documentary on the making of the cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, called Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait. Actually, given the tumultuous production, this is a rather fascinating documentary even if you didn't like the film. The disc is full frame, 1.0 mono and will retail for $19.95. Street date is 12/19.
Paramount January titles Just in time for the Superbowl, Paramount has announced their 1/16 lineup today, and it seems to be high on testosterone. Perhaps the biggest title of the bunch is Brian De Palma's remake of The Untouchables, along with North Dallas Forty and Necessary Roughness. All are anamorphic widescreen along with English 5.1 and French 2.0 surround tracks and English and Spanish subtitles. Only The Untouchables has a trailer, still it will be cool to finally have this one on DVD. Hey De Palma, how about a commentary next time? Anyway, retail is $29.95 each... (Note: A mistake was made on these street dates, please see the 11/10 post for an update.) Me, Myself and Jim Carrey While not perhaps the big blockbuster on the scale of There's Something About Mary, the reteaming of the Farrelley Brothers and Jim Carrey in Me, Myself & Irene still scored respectable numbers at the box office this past summer. Though some expected it for Christmas, watch for the DVD on 1/23, complete with plenty of extra features. The $26.95 disc debuts two weeks after the VHS tape (see tomorrow's editorial for more on that), and features an anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and English and French 2.0 surround mixes, and English and Spanish subtitles. The disc also includes an audio commentary with Bobby and Peter Farrelly, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes with optional commentary, the Foo Fighters "Breakout" Music Video, cast bios and trailers. Also due in January are more Fox catalog titles. On 1/9 comes A Walk In The Clouds and Prelude To A Kiss, both in anamorphic widescreen, with the former also in 5.1 while the latter is 2.0 surround only. Each features the trailers, and retail is $29.95. Finally on 1/23 comes the horror film Python, starring Casper Van Dien, Wil Wheaton and Robert Englund! The disc features a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround mixes, an audio commentary by director Richard Claburgh, a making-of featurette on the visual effects, and the trailer. Retail is a bit high at $34.95... From the mind of John Waters... Artisan has announced a 1/23 street date for John Waters latest, Cecil B. Demented. I thought this was one of his better recent films (any Waters film with Melanie Griffith in it has to worth something) but now you can decide for yourself. The disc features an anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 surround mix, audio commentary, trailer and cast bios. Retail is $24.95. '60 Seconds' restored Coming from relative DVD newcomer Navarre on 11/28 is the original 1974 version of Gone In 60 Seconds, recently remade by Buena Vista. The DVD features a fully restored version of the film never seen before, along with with interviews with car racing legends, behind-the-scenes footage, a still gallery and the original theatrical trailer. Retail is $24.95. Another Disney animated gem announced Finally today, Buena Vista has added another of its animated catalog titles to its March slate, The Sword In The Stone. Set for 3/30, the disc features a 1.77:1 widescreen transfer (no word on its anamorphic status), 2.0 surround mix, an interactive game and trailers. Retail is $29.95, but watch for more details to come...
Fox DTS title news After quite a while of waiting, the specs on Fox's December and January titles have arrived, and there aren't too many surprises here in terms of features. On 12/26, look for the reissues of The Siege and Predator (the previous versions will be discontinued), as well as a first-ever DVD release for Courage Under Fire. Each disc is in anamorphic widescreen and features both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, and Courage Under Fire also includes an audio commentary with Director Ed Zwick, along with a making-of featurette. Then on 1/23 comes reissues of The X-Files: Fight The Future, The Thin Red Line and the Michael Mann version of The Last Of The Mohicans. Each of these three will also feature anamorphic transfers and DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes, as well as all the same supplements as the existing versions and nothing new. X-Files includes the same commentary, longer cut and making-of feature, while Last Of The Mohicans is the "expanded cut" and featureless. Retail for each of these discs is $29.95. (For box art of these discs, see our 10/26 post.) Double dose of 'Dogma' Well, for all you Kevin Smith fans that have been patiently waiting (and waiting) for that 2-disc Dogma special edition announced earlier this year (when the original movie-only version was announced), it seems your wait may almost be over. On 1/23, Columbia is planning to release this new version, with heavy involvement by Smith and cast, as well as producer JM Kenny, who produced the excellent Mallrats DVD. This new Dogma set includes a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film and a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack on disc one, along with a new audio commentary with Smith, Scott Mosier, Ben Affleck and "the two Jasons," Mewes and Lee. Disc two features no less than 50 minutes of deleted scenes, an all-new documentary by Kenny on the film (also running nearly an hour), production notes, talent files and the trailer, along with "some other surprises." Hmmm, I sense...Easter Eggs! With the same creative team behind Mallrats at the helm, this certainly sounds like a good set to be sure. (Controversy + Special Edition = Cool DVD!) Retail is $29.95. Anchor Bay launches new website One of the better studio/independent web sites out there, the existing Anchor Bay website has always delivered great rundowns of all their titles and plenty of "coming soon" announcements. But now, they have launched a revamped version of the site, and much spiffier it is! Hats off to Anchor Bay for making an already fine site even better. Check it out.
This week's Top Pick contest This week's TOP PICK is probably not much of a surprise: Paramount's new special edition of the summer box office blockbuster Mission Impossible 2. It features a strong transfer and a great sound mix, along with extensive behind-the-scenes material on the making of the film's stunt and action sequences, and a full audio commentary with director John Woo. Check it out and how to win in the box to your right, and good luck! And a nice job goes out to last week's winner Randy Severling of Providence, Rhode Island,, who picked up a copy of New Line's Frequency DVD. We also have our five winners of the special American Pimp giveway: Slade Watts of Beaverton, Oregon, Raul Aguilar of Terra Linda, California, Nick Bridges of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Scott Sellers of Grand Junction, Colorado and Matthew Folker of Buffalo, New York. Congrats to all! All that jazz Perhaps in honor of the pending box set release of Ken Burns' epic documentary on Jazz on 1/2, Warner is releasing two other acclaimed films on the lives of two jazz legends. On 1/30 comes Round Midnight, in widescreen and English 5.1, along with an audio commentary by Director Bertrand Tavernier, cast and crew biographies and the trailer. Also due is the Clint Eastwood biopic Bird, also in widescreen and 5.1 surround, and including a isolated music-only track and the trailer. Both discs are only $19.95 each. Buena Vista winter news Buena Vista has announced a few more of their winter DVD plans, though admittedly I haven't even heard of most of these titles. On 1/23 comes the Alyssa Milano comedy Confessions Of Sorority Girls in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen and English 5.1 surround, followed on 2/13 by Backstage, Butterfly and Sweet Revenge and then on 2/20 latest in the Highlander series, Highlander: Endgame. No specs yet available for these, but stay tuned... More MGM specs If there 40-plus January catalog titles weren't enough, MGM has announced yet another new release, the Yahoo Serious "comedy" Mr. Accident on 1/23, in which Mr. Serious stars as an egg factory worker (no, I'm not kidding.) The disc is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and English 5.1, and retail is $24.95. Also, the 1/23 release of Crime & Punishment In Suburbia will feature an audio commentary with director Rob Schmidt in addition to the trailer. |
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