5/4/04
Weekly Release Roundup
Greetings all. It's not a huge week for new releases, but let's
just jump right in and see what we've got, shall we? Note that all
the titles can be ordered from Amazon by clicking on the cover art
(and you're supporting The Bits
by doing so - we certainly appreciate it).
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The
Animation Show: Volume One
I have two picks of the week. The first is The
Animation Show: Volume One. Based on the successful
theater revue created by animation greats Mike Judge and Don
Hertzfeld, this DVD collects a vast majority of the shorts
featured in the theater presentation (save for the ones that may
already be on DVD in other forms, like Hertzfeld's Rejected
and Tim Burton's Vincent).
The DVD is huge as far as I'm concerned, and does a great
service for both filmmakers and fans of cartoon shorts. This
first volume gives us some really wonderful animation along with
nice extras including audio commentaries from some of the
filmmakers, deleted material, pencil tests, art galleries,
storyboards and making-of explanations. But it's all about the
toons with this set, and considering this release is coming from
animators, there's a lot of love packed on this disc. Get
yourself a copy today. |
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Tomorrow
The other co-pick of the week is Tomorrow.
Anyone who ever wondered how great an actor Robert Duvall is and
how great a writer William Faulkner and Horton Foote are, needs
to check out this wonderful treasure of a film. Home Vision
releases this 1971 work, which follows Jackson Hentry (Duvall),
a quiet solitary man who helps a woman in need, raises her son
and protects him from corruption the only way he knows how.
You'll fall in love with this film, and I hope everyone goes out
and at the very least rents it. The transfer is a black and
white full frame presentation and serves the film fine. Sound is
a mono track and the extras include the original story by
Faulkner in booklet form, the trailer and an interview with
Foote and Duvall discussing the film. Give Tomorrow
a chance today. |
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The
Marx Brothers Collection
This five-disc set features the Marx Brothers films A
Night at the Opera, A
Night in Casablanca, A Day
at the Races, Room Service,
At the Circus, Go
West and The Big Store,
but it's really for Marx fans only. I, for one, am a Marx
Brothers fan and I'm glad this set is on DVD, but I wish it was
a bit better. The transfers for these films are pretty good, but
the source material is lacking in spots - especially the crown
jewel Night at the Opera.
the sound is a standard mono. The extras are where this set
should have shined, but there really isn't anything truly
illuminating. There is commentary on A
Night at the Opera (by Leonard Maltin) and Day
at the Races (by Marx historian Glenn Mitchell), and
both serve the films fine. But the tracks aren't going to be the
reason you buy this set, as both can be lukewarm at times.
There's also two short fluffy documentaries about the Brothers
on Night and Day
(that don't really inform you much), as well as a collection of
shorts, classic cartoons, trailers and extended songs littered
throughout the set (a la the classic, 2-disc special edition
releases from Warner). All in all, this box won't win any
awards, but you have to admit getting more Marx Brothers on DVD
is cool. |
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The
Last Samurai
Tom Cruise is Nathan Algren, a former American military officer
turned rifle spokesman who is living life on the back of a
liquor bottle. That is, until he takes an offer to train
Japanese soldiers in Western weaponry to help curb rebellion
from the samurai warriors who were forced to disband in the late
1800s. When an attack goes bad, Algren is taken prisoner by the
samurai and lives among them, soon gaining their respect and
respecting them as well. He eventually joins them and fights on
their side against the very people who brought him to this far
off land. High concept: Dances with
Samurai. Bottom Line: the film is okay, but the
performances are better. This isn't a great flick, but it will
entertain you for a few hours. Warner's DVD is wonderful with a
bold anamorphic presentation and dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1
sound. Extras include a very well thought out commentary by
director Ed Zwick, a talking head documentary with Tom Cruise
discussing the film and his character, Zwick's director's video
journal, a back and forth featurette with Zwick and Cruise
discussing the film (I think originally seen on Turner Classic
Movies during their Samurai Weekend promoting the theatrical
release of the film), featurettes about the making of the film,
a History Channel documentary about samurai films, a pair of
deleted scenes, a text-based feature on the way of the samurai
and the film's trailer. There's a lot of good stuff on this
disc. And maybe you'll like The Last
Samurai enough to check out some REAL samurai films. |
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The
Triplets of Belleville
I don't really know what to think about Triplets.
It's a cartoon and it's cool, but it's rather freaky too. I
enjoyed it, but I really don't know how to describe what it was
I watched. It combines traditional animation with CGI, and it
works. But man, is it a quirky flick. This DVD looks wonderful
and sounds just as good. Extras include short bits of commentary
for select scenes, a weird-ass music video, trailers and a
featurette on the director's vision of the animation for the
film. It's at least worth looking at. Maybe you'll appreciate it
more than I did. |
In
addition to the above titles, there's lots of your favorite TV shows
on DVD this week as well, including:
The
Bernie Mac Show: The Complete First Season,
Gilmore
Girls: The Complete First Season,
Law
& Order: The Second Year,
The
Osbournes: 2½ and
Party
of Five: The Complete First Season.
Two of the bigger TV releases are:
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Samurai
Jack: Season 1
Along with giving us the first 13 episodes of this incredible
and gorgeous cartoon, this DVD set gives us creator commentary
(which is fun), a making-of featurette and a gallery of artwork
that's so gorgeous you could print it out and pin to your wall. |
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Three's
Company: Season Two
Season Two of this series gives us the show, which was always
fun, but it features the original pilot too, and it will boggle
your mind. I swear. Three's Company
is worth picking up just for that extra alone. |
Also
available this week:
Calendar
Girls,
Chasing
Liberty,
Desk
Set,
Elephant,
Girl
with a Pearl Earring and
Peter
Pan. Plus, you'll have a gay ol' time on DVD, thanks to
New Line with their new releases of
Incredibly
True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love,
Love!
Valour! Compassion!,
Three
of Hearts and
Torch
Song Trilogy.
Have a good one! I'll see you back here next Tuesday...
Todd Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com |
