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More MGM March announcements MGM has just added more titles to their March slate (on top of the ton they've already announced) , and as usual it is a varied mix of library titles, with rather inconsistent presentation. A;ll of the following are due on 3/20, and feature English, French and Spanish mono tracks and the trailer unless otherwise noted. In anamorphic widescreen are Vera Cruz, The Big Country, Wild Bill (with stereo tracks,) The Long Riders and Support Your Local Gunfighter. In non-anamorphic widescreen are The Hallelujah Trail (stereo tracks) and Support Your Local Sheriff. All of the above are $19.95 each.
December 7 : New Paramount February comedies; more Columbia and Anchor Bay announcements Three new Paramount February titles Paramount has a trio of new day & date titles on the way this February. First is the acclaimed live concert documentary The Original Kings Of Comedy on 2/20, along with The Queens Of Comedy on the same date as well. Both are 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, and the former includes the Big Tymers "#1 Stunna" music video and "Kings On The Town" featurette, while the latter includes the "Queens On The Town" featurette. Neither include trailers, and retail is $29.95 and $24.95, respectively, and there will be a box set of both for $49.95. Finally on 2/27 comes the thriller In Pursuit with Daniel Baldwin, in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and English 5.1 and 2.0 surround, along with an audio commentary with Director Peter Pistor and Writer/Co-Producer John Penney, a still gallery, cast & crew interviews and the trailer. Retail is $29.95. Five new Columbia announcements Columbia has just announced five more new titles coming in February. First up on 2/6 is the thriller A Better Way To Die, featuring an anamorphic widescreen and full frame transfers, a 5.1 surround mix, audio commentary with director Scott Wiper, talent files, production notes and trailers. Retail is $24.95. Then two weeks later comes Sally Field's directorial debut Beautiful arrives on 2/20, and features anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround mixes, talent files and the trailer. Also due is 32 Short Films About Glen Gould, also in anamorphic widescreen and full frame, with an English 2.0 surround track, talent files and the trailer as well. Retail is $24.95 for the former, and $29.95 for the latter. A couple of pretty exciting titles are then due on 2/27. Columbia is reissuing the first of the upcoming Kubrick remasters, Dr. Strangelove, featuring a new transfer (no info yet on aspect ratio or anamorphic status), a brand-new documentary, talent files, production notes and trailers. Also coming that day is a reissue of In The Line Of Fire, featuring a 2.35;1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround mixes, an audio commentary with Wolfgang Petersen, a new behind-the-scenes documentary featuring interviews with Petersen, Clint Eastwood and other members of the cast & crew, deleted scenes, talent files, production notes and trailers. Retail is $29.95 each. Anchor Bay February additions Anchor Bay has announced some additional titles for February, and again they have a great knack for finding the best cult favorites and library titles. Coming on 2/13 are Evil Under The Sun, Death On The Nile, The Mirror Crack'd, Endless Night and Madman, followed on 2/27 by the imports Nightwatch (the original Danish version) and The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover. All are anamorphic widescreen and feature trailers, talent files, original poster art reproductions and retail for $24.95 each, except Nightwatch and Cook, which are $29.95.
December 6 : Columbia's 'Final Cut'; Image's February titles; No more 'Reindeer' games The final cut? Coming rather late in the spate of post-Scream teen horror thrillers, Urban Legends: Final Cut at least allows one to reason "Well, at least it wasn't as bad as I Still Know What You Did Last Summer!" Well, actually, maybe not. Anyway, the DVD is due from Columbia on 2/6 (along with a Urban Legend / Urban Legends: Final Cut 2-pack) and features 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and full frame versions, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround mixes, an audio commentary with director John Ottman, deleted footage, a featurette, production notes, talent bios and the trailer. Retail is $24.95 for the single disc and $44.95 for the 2-pack. Image's February slate Image has announced their upcoming February titles, and as usual it is quite a diverse lot. Highlights include the cult favorite Frightmare, the even more frightening Lilith Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music, two new volumes of I Spy and four of The Howdy Doody Show, The Brain From Planet Arous and Chushingura. For the full list of titles and specs, check out the Image site for the details. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names... Finally, just a quickie update on what's up with the Reindeer Games Director's Cut hitting VHS this 12/12. In their infinite wisdom, Buena Vista has decided not to release this longer version on DVD, as according them "there is already a special edition" on the market. Of course, while the current DVD features an audio commentary and featurette, the only place for the foreseeable future to get the director's cut is on full frame and widescreen VHS versions. Don't ask me to explain it...
MGM's March titles Another big wave of MGM titles is on the way for early March, leading off with their premiere title for the month, The Greatest Story Ever Told on 3/6. The film has received a "$400,000 restoration" according to the press release, with a newly created hi-def master and 5.1 sound mix. The DVD features a 2.75:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English and French 5.1 surround tracks and English, French and Spanish subtitles (and MGM made special note in their press release that all MGM titles now feature English Closed Captions as well.) Supplements include two new documentaries, one deleted scene, a still gallery with publicity photos and advertising materials, a collectible booklet and the original theatrical trailer. Retail is $26.95. Also on March 6 are two new collections. Vintage Classics includes The Lion In Winter and The Fortune Cookie, both in anamorphic widescreen, The Miracle Worker with Anne Bancroft, Birdman Of Alcatraz, Elmer Gantry, Lilies Of the Field and 12 Angry Men with henry Fonda all in non-anamorphic widescreen, and The Bishop's Wife and The Jackie Robinson Story in full frame. All are $19.95 a piece, though none are listed as having trailers or any other extra features. Finally on 3/6 comes the Movie Time collection, featuring All Dogs Go To Heaven, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Fluke, Getting Even With Dad, Hans Christian Anderson, Napoleon, The Secret Of NIMH, The Secret Of NIMH 2, Warriors Of Virtue and Yours, Mine & Ours. All are full frame only, and retail is $14.95. New Columbia February titles A couple of new announcements for upcoming Columbia titles have come in today. Due on 2/7 is The Second Jungle Book features anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, English 2.0 surround track, talent files and trailers. Then on 2/17 comes the comedy Whipped, in anamorphic widescreen and full frame, with audio commentary by Director Peter M. Cohen, talent files and the trailer. Each disc retails for $24.95. Yet more on Hitchcock Just one more note on those upcoming Hitchcock titles due on March 6. Some have been confused if the already-released Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds or Marnie will feature any additional features, or in the case of Psycho or Vertigo, new transfers. We confirmed with Universal yesterday that they will not, and the upcoming box sets will feature the same discs as already available (though Psycho and Vertigo have new packaging different from the original versions released in 1998.) Sorry for any confusion.
This week's Top Pick contest Last week it was Big Momma, this time it's Big Eddie. One lucky winner this week will pick up a copy of Universal's new Nutty Professor II: The Klumps special edition, complete with commentary, making-of featurettes and more goodies. Check out the box to your right, and good luck! And a nice job goes out to last week's winner, Dennis Firenze of Silverdale, Washington, who picked up a copy of Fox's Big Momma's House special edition. Congrats! Russell Crowe talks DVD Proving that you just never know which way an interview is going to go, our own "video guru" Michael Cidoni recently sat down for a chat with Russell Crowe to talk about his new film Proof Of Life as well as DVD, and the film Mr. Crowe chose to talk abut most was his breakout role in Romper Stomper. What is interesting about this Clip Of The Week is what Crowe wanted to do for the DVD, but couldn't, so check out the clip to your right to find out what it was. Actually, it is going to be a bit of a Russell Crowe week here, so watch for our upcoming Gladiator story, and Michael just finished interviews with Proof Of Life director Taylor Hackford and Traffic's Steven Soderbergh, so watch for more new clips in the weeks ahead... Anchor Bay February titles Anchor Bay has announced their 2/13 arrivals. Perhaps most exciting are two editions of Michael Mann's Manhunter, which features the first onscreen appearance our good friend Hannibal Lechter. The single-disc theatrical cut includes "The Manhunter Look: A Conversation with Cinematographer Dante Spinotti" and "Inside Manhunter" featurettes, talent bios and the trailer, while the limited edition 2-disc set features the extended Director's Cut never before seen and a 24-page collectible booklet. Both editions are THX certified and are in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, while the theatrical cut is 5.1 surround and the director's cut 2.0 surround. Retail is $24.95 and $39.95, respectively. Also on 2/13 comes The Lemon Sisters, Dakota and Billie's Holiday, all in anamorphic widescreen and including talent bios and the trailer. Retail is $24.95 each. Also, by the way for those who asked, the Children Of The Corn disc originally scheduled for December is now pushed back until March... Mystery Science Theater 3000 returns Rhino has just announced two new volumes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, both due on 1/23. The Beginning Of The End and The Wild World Of Batwoman are the featured targets, and both discs are full frame and 2.0 mono. Retail is $19.95, Rhino expects to continue to release more volumes in the future. Hitchcock details Finally today, the specs have come in for all the Alfred Hitchcock titles due on on 3/6. All the discs are presented in their original theatrical aspect ratios and anamorphic (when widescreen), and feature the usual Universal production notes, cast and filmmaker biographies, the trailers and weblinks. Each disc also features English and French mono tracks, English Closed Captions and English and Spanish subtitles, and in addition: Family Plot features the "Plotting Family Plot" documentary, a still gallery with production photos and storyboards for "The Chase Scene"; Frenzy includes "The Story of Frenzy" documentary and a still gallery with production photos; The Man Who Knew Too Much features a making-of documentary, rerelease trailer and a still gallery with production photos; Rear Window includes a making-of documentary, "A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes" featurette, the complete script accessible via DVD-ROM and the rerelease trailer narrated by James Stewart; Rope features the "Rope Unleashed" documentary and a still gallery with production photos; Saboteur includes "A Closer Look" documentary, rare Hitchcock sketches, storyboards and a still gallery with production photos; Shadow Of A Doubt features "Making Hitchcock's Favorite Film" documentary, production drawings by art director Robert Boyle and a still gallery with production photos; Topaz features a making-of and a still gallery with production photos; Torn Curtain includes a documentary, the complete script accessible via DVD-ROM and a still gallery with production photos; and finally The Trouble With Harry features "The Trouble With Harry Isn't Over" documentary and a still gallery with production photos. Each disc retails for $29.95.
Okay, got that? Now, I'll be honest. The fact that the only way to get all the Alfred Hitchcock Presents Volumes (1 through 4) is by buying many of the same titles twice. That's right, you'd have to buy The Best of Hitchcock $174.95 sets and The Hitchcock Collection sets for $64.95 each. I don't know who thought this one up, but I really don't think it is fair at all. I sure hope I'm reading this wrong, and in any case we'll post a follow up with a confirmation from Universal that this is right. (If this release plan is right, expect an editorial real soon!)
Warner launches Ben Hur Alright, I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one, and finally you're going to get it. On 3/13 from Warner comes the epic Ben Hur (Gladiator, what's that?) This DVD-18 features an anamorphic 2.76:1 transfer, English 5.1 surround mix, a new audio commentary with Charleton Heston, "Ben-Hur: The Making Of An Epic" documentary, screen tests, cast highlights and the trailer. Retail is $24.95. Also on 3/13 are a couple of other goodies. Look for Reversal Of Fortune, in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and English and French 2.0 surround, along with an audio commentary with Director Barbet Schroeder And Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, cast & crew highlights and the trailer. Finally, after many delays comes The Old Man And The Sea, in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and English and French 2.0 surround, with the "Hemingway: The Legend And The Sea" documentary, cast highlights and the trailer. Retail for both of the above is $19.95 each. Fox February titles Some more announcements have come in from Fox for February. First up on 2/6 is Digimon The Movie, in full frame with English and French 5.1 surround tracks, the trailer, interactive games and Digimon facts. Retail is $24.95. Next are two new double feature discs, Porky's and Porky's II: The Next Day (what, no Porky's Revenge!?) and Revenge Of The Nerds and Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise. Each disc is only $24.95, and feature anamorphic widescreen transfers of each film, English 2.0 surround and French mono tracks on the Nerds disc, and English and French mono on the Porky's disc, and all have trailers. Then on 2/27 comes Michael Jordan To The Max, which despite being an IMAX film is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen (I thought IMAX films were 1.37:1?) along with English and French 5.1 tracks, an audio commentary with the director and producer, Michael Jordan NBA making-of featurette and Jordan's career highlights. Retail is only $19.95. Finally on 2/27 comes Woman On Top, in anamorphic widescreen and with English and French 5.1 surround tracks and English and Spanish subtitles. Also included are a collection of recipes and the trailer. Retail is another higher-priced Fox pseudo-rental priced $34.95. |
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The
Best of Hitchcock Volume 1 and Volume 2 each feature seven
discs, along with one new Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Collection, for eight DVDs total. Volume 1 features
Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too
Much, Psycho, Topaz and Family Plot , while the Alfred
Hitchcock Presents Volume 2 disc includes the Hitchcock-directed
episodes "Revenge," "Breakdown," "Wet Saturday" and "Mr. Blanchard's
Secret." Volume 2 features Saboteur, The Trouble with
Harry, Vertigo, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain and Frenzy,
while the Alfred Hitchcock Presents Volume 3 disc includes
the Hitchcock-directed episodes "Poison," "The Perfect Crime,"
"A Dip in the Pool" and "One More Mile to Go." Retail is $174.95
for each box set. Finally, you can get The Hitchcock Collection
Volume 2 set which contains Rear Window, The Man Who Knew
Too Much and Alfred Hitchcock Presents Volume 4 including
the Hitchcock-directed episodes "Arthur," "The Crystal Trench,"
"The Horseplayer," "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" and
"Bang! You're Dead" for $64.95. (The Hitchcock Collection
Volume 1 is already available and contains Vertigo, Psycho
and the Alfred Hitchcock Presents Volume 1.)