Chan-tastic- 1:23pm

Kicking off this week's news is the latest batch of new announcements from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. Due on December 23rd is the Jackie Chan box office bummer The Medallion, which will come with anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, audio commentary with the director and editor, 15 deleted scenes and trailers. Retail is $28.95. Also debuting day & date is I Capture the Castle, which is presented in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 and includes a director commentary and the trailer. Retail is $24.95.

New catalog releases making their debut on the 23rd include Gary Oldman's directorial debut, the dark drama Nil by Mouth. Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 2.0 surround, retail is $29.95 despite the lack of any extras. Rounding out Columbia's December 23rd lineup is another Chan opus, Black Dragon, which features the international and domestic cuts of the film, both in anamorphic widescreen, with Cantonese, Mandarin and English Dolby 2.0 surround tracks. Retail is $19.95.

Blaxploitation History Month - 1:23pm

Just in from Warner Home Video are two new waves of January catalog titles. Due on the 13th are three titles to celebrate National Black History Month: Piece of the Action, the immortal Superfly and Uptown Saturday Night. New Line also joins the lineup with five titles of their own: B.A.P.S., Hangin' with the Home Boys, Overnight Delivery, Who's the Man? and Woo. Each is presented in anamorphic widescreen and mono (except the New Line titles, which are in Dolby surround) plus trailers. Retail is $19.95 a pop.

Due a week later on the 20th are four titles that have been much-requested for years: Best Friends, Everybody's All-American, Swing Shift and The Accidental Tourist, which features an Academy Award-winning performance by Geena Davis. All include anamorphic widescreen transfers, Dolby 2.0 surround tracks and trailers. Retail is also $19.95 a pop.

Street Date Alert - 1:23pm

Rounding out today's news, Universal Studios Home Video has announced a postponement for Dragnet: Season One, which was originally set for release on November 11th. No reason for the postponement was given, but stay tuned. And those twin titans of terror, Freddy Vs. Jason, will beat the crap out of each other on January 13th. Watch this space for more...