5/25/04
Weekly Release Roundup
We're gearing up for a long Memorial Week off, so we're going to
give you a look at the next two weeks of DVD releases here instead
of just one. This'll be more overview than review, but you'll
definitely get an idea of what's coming out. There's a lot of good
stuff.
Let's start with today's (May 25th) DVD releases...
  |
The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The big one for the week is, of course, 2003's Best Picture
winner. Take a look at what Bill thought of the two-disc
theatrical release
here. |
 |
The
Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
In case you were waiting for all three to come out on disc to
pick 'em up, New Line gives you a nice box set of all the Rings
films in their theatrical releases. Nothing new on board, but
you'll get a shiny cardboard box for handy dandy carrying. And
isn't that worth waiting for? |
 |
Stray
Dog
Akira Kurosawa's long awaited film masterpiece is finally on
DVD and we Bits-ers
couldn't be happier. We're going to have to get on the ball and
do our Kurosawa overview sooner than later. In the meantime,
Stray Dog follows a young
detective whose police gun is stolen from him by a criminal, who
then takes it on a killing spree. The detective has to go deep
into the darkest parts of Tokyo to get it back and redeem his
name, and he slowly learns that there're not too many
differences between himself and the criminal; except maybe
honor. Toshiro Mifune stars and, of course, rocks the house as
the young detective. This DVD, coming from Criterion, looks and
sounds incredible (full frame and mono). Extras include
commentary by Stephen Prince (gotta have that guy over to my
house someday), a short documentary about the film (pulled from
the Akira Kurosawa: It's Wonderful to
Create series) and a booklet with liner notes by
Kurosawa and critic Terrence Rafferty. Not a bad disc to add to
your library. Not bad by a long shot. |
 |
Smiles
of a Summer Night
Also out from Criterion is Ingmar Bergman's look at love in
Sweden's bourgeois society, Smiles of
a Summer Night. It's another great entry to their
Bergman collection, featuring an incredible full frame transfer
with solid mono sound. Extras include an introduction by
Bergman, a video conversation between critic Peter Cowie and
writer Jorn Donnert, a trailer and a nice liner notes booklet
with essays by John Simon and Pauline Kael. |
 |
Full
Metal Yakuza
Takashi Miike seems to gravitate towards reinterpreting
Hollywood cult films. Full Metal
Yakuza definitely harkens back to Robocop,
with a little bit of Inspector Gadget
thrown in (believe me, it works). Made as a direct to video
feature, Full Metal Yakuza
follows the exploits of Kensuke, a lowly yakuza gang member who
tries hard to please his boss but fails at everything he does.
His boss is eventually sent to prison. Seven years later, on his
day of release, a rival kills him and Kensuke is sent with him
for good measure. The two men are then cut up and the parts are
sold on the black market, only to be rebuilt as one bad-ass
cyborg by a mad scientist. Of course, the cyborg wants revenge
and goes to get it quite successfully. Showing its lower budget,
shot on video roots, Yakuza
has an overly soft picture quality. It's not horrible, but it's
not perfect either. Still, it looks pretty good for an
anamorphic transfer. Sound is a standard Dolby Digital 2.0
track. Extras include an informative commentary by Tom Mes
(author of the Miike book Agitator),
video interviews with Takashi Miike and editor Yasushi Shimamura
(with subtitles), bio/filmographies for Miike, Tsuyoshi Ujiki,
Tomorowo Taguchi, Shoko Nakahara and Ren Osugi and trailers for
Malice@Doll and A.LI.CE.. |
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Underworld:
Unrated Director's Cut
That huuuuge cult film that everyone wanted more of is finally
released to DVD as an Unrated Director's Cut. Yes, Underworld
that hit film about the ancient war between vampires and
werewolves makes another appearance on disc, and I have to
say... I couldn't care less. I didn't see the point of the film
in its theatrical cut and I still don't. Underworld
is an empty experience and wholly derivative. Anyone who cares
about the vampire mythos has read about, watched or even played
(in role-play form) these characters. This Director's Cut does
nothing to add anything to the film (I didn't notice much
difference actually, aside from a sex scene between two scheming
vampires). Maybe fans of the film will be interested, but I'm
not one of them. The DVD is presented in the same outstanding
quality the original disc is: anamorphic widescreen and Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound. Extras are spread over two discs in a very
nice packaging. Along with a comic book (inside the case) is a
commentary track with director Len Wiseman and stars Kate
Beckinsale and Scott Speedman. It's a fun track with lots of
technical talk, character motivations and added scene notations.
You will learn (to your hope and/or horror) that a sequel is in
the works. There are also some outtakes (Beckinsale's hypnotic
ass is a high point), trailers (including this film, Spider-Man
2 and Hellboy),
storyboard comparisons, a very lame AMC documentary entitled
Fangs vs. Fiction (that
holds its tongue outside the cheek), and a whole bunch of
featurettes on make-up, special effects, art design and
cinematography. Oh... and there's a music video. If you're a fan
of the film, here ya go. |
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The
Weather Underground
This Academy Award nominated documentary is released on disc
and it's as disturbing as you'd expect. The idea of
American-based terrorists has always been a "worst fear,"
and even though these people had a distorted greater good
mentality, they still killed innocent people in the name of
selfishness. This documentary paints a picture than many of us
haven't really seen before, but may be seeing more of in the
years to come. This film is presented in a competent full frame
transfer, which serves the film fine. Extras include a
commentary track from former Weathermen Bernadine Dohrn and Bill
Ayres, a filmmaker commentary by co-director Sam Green, original
Weathermen audio communiqués, a short film on former
Weatherman, David Gilbert: A Lifetime
of Struggle (who is currently serving a life sentence
for non-Weatherman related crimes), an excerpt from Emilie de
Antonio's film Underground
and a filmmaker's statement in text form. The
Weather Underground is a documentary worth checking
out. |
There's
some TV titles worth checking out on DVD this week too...
  
These include
Buffy
the Vampire Slayer: Complete Sixth Season,
Cheers:
The Complete Third Season,
Northern
Exposure: The Complete First Season and
The
Winds of War.
Also available this week...
  
Bruce Campbell stars as Elvis in Don Coscarelli's
Bubba
Ho-Tep. Steven Spielberg's
Saving
Private Ryan gets a more deluxe re-release. All of these
fine MGM Western Classics are now available:
Shalako,
The
Magnificent Seven Ride,
Guns
of the Magnificent Seven,
Junior
Bonner,
Duel
in the Sun,
Custer
of the West and
A
Minute to Pray, a Second to Die. A buncha buncha Fox War
Classics are available too:
Crash
Dive,
The
Hunters,
Mortituri
and
What
Price Glory. We get Universal's
Hell
in the Pacific re-release. Finally, Fox brings us
Welcome
to Mooseport and Ralph Bakshi's animation classic
Wizards.
That's this week in a nutshell. Now here's an early preview of next
week's releases. Weeeeeeeeeeee!
6/1/04 Weekly Release Roundup
(Preview)
The big deal this week is that there's a huge selection of quality
re-release special editions coming out. There's lots and lots of
great stuff for you to squander your hard earned cash on. Too much,
in fact, to take more than a cursory look them all.
 |
Ali:
The Director's Cut
This is Michael Mann's cut of the film (six or so minutes
longer), with rare commentary (Hey Mike? How about a Heat
revisit?) and a short making of documentary. Looks and sounds
damn good on DVD. But then again, so did the original theatrical
cut. |
 |
Das
Boot: The Original Uncut Version
Finally, the original German mini-series version of Das
Boot is on DVD. Bill reviews all three DVD versions
of this classic WWII film
here. |
Other
re-releases (of titles previously available on DVD) coming on 6/1
include...
  
Cop
Land: Special Edition,
Flirting
with Disaster Collector's Edition,
The
Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black,
Spider-Man:
Widescreen Deluxe Edition and the long-awaited
Trainspotting
Collector's Edition.
Now let's look at some first-time DVD releases...
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Monster
Take a first time filmmaker (Patty Jenkins) and a beautiful,
fluffy actress (Charlize Theron), and throw them together in the
story of Aileen Wuornos - one of America's only female serial
killers (I refuse to acknowledge her as the first, because I
think that honor goes to Belle Gunness. Look her up.) - and
you're bound to get something worth watching. Monster
is not a super great film. And I still don't know if I agree
that Theron's portrayal was Oscar worthy. But she certainly does
play the part well (there's no sign of Theron in this role).
Monster flips and flops,
it makes us sympathize with Wuornos and then makes us feel bad
for doing so when see the monster inside of her. She's a broken
woman and she makes people pay for her pain. Christina Ricci
also turns in another great performance and deserved more
notice. This DVD presents the film in a very nice anamorphic
widescreen transfer. Audio is in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS
5.1 and sounds great. Short featurettes showing the emotional
toll the film took on the director and star, a conversation with
Jenkins and her composer and a DTS mixing suite are also
included. Check the film out - it's not super cool, but it's
certainly interesting. |
 |
Aileen:
The Life & Death of a Serial Killer
To go along with Monster,
you'll also find this documentary in stores today as well.
Directed by provocative documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield,
it takes you inside the killer's mind - at least as far inside
as she wants us in - as well as looking at the situation she was
in while in prison. It's a little more sensationalistic than
you'd like, with a little bit too much focus on Broomfield
himself, but I already said it was a Broomfield documentary,
didn't I? The transfer is a nice clear full frame (ignore the
1.85:1 on the back of the box) and the sound is mono. There are
no extras aside from trailers for Monster,
Trapped, In
the Cut and The Secret
Window that play automatically. |
 |
The
Company
Robert Altman and Neve Campbell's insider look into the world
of ballet - the dedication, loss of social interaction and
beautiful dance - falls a bit flat, even if it looks good while
doing it. This was a passion for Campbell, a former ballet
dancer from Canada who made it big here in the States as an
actress. There's bot a whole lot going on with the film, but it
tries and it IS an Altman film, so fans of his will want to
check it out. The DVD is pretty good video and sound wise. No
complaints there. Extras include a fun commentary with Altman
and Campbell discussing the film and how it came to be, two
short featurettes, an extended dance sequence and a gaggle of
trailers. It's worth taking a look at as a rental at least. |
|
Eurotrip:
Unrated
First you take an American kid named Scotty, who has been
e-mailing another kid in Germany named "Mike." Then
you take Scotty and show him getting broken up by his girlfriend
because he's so predictable and she likes to sleep with exciting
guys (like a punk rock Matt Damon making a fun cameo). Then you
show Scotty thinking that his pen pal from Germany is a guy,
because he's been misreading the name Mieke as Mike, only to
find out he's a she and she's a babe. What does all that give
you - a Eurotrip of
course. It's on the road time, so that Scotty and three of his
friends can find Mieke and fall in love. The film is slightly
lame, slightly entertaining. There are some funny moments and
some really awful moments. This unrated version gives more titty
and penis shots than the theatrical version, and therefore is
much better. |
The
video and sound quality are all top-notch. The extras include two
commentaries, both with the co-writers/directors. The first is a "technical"
commentary and the other is where they drink every time someone in
the film drinks or gets naked. If the film were better, these
commentaries would be more fun. As it stands, they're just cute -
much like the film. You'll also find deleted scenes with optional
commentary, a gag reel (most of these play out during the end
credits), an alternate ending with optional commentary, a featurette
about the nude beach sequence, special access to both the unrated
footage and shots with nudity, the filmmakers reviewing a bootleg
DVD (this is funny actually), a bit on how the writer's chose who
would get the director's credit (they all three directed the film,
but DGA rules forbid them all getting credit), access to the script
itself, a video and sing-a-long for Scotty
Doesn't Know, production notes and bios of cast and crew.
It's a lot of stuff, but it's only interesting if you liked the
film.
Of course, we have more TV on DVD as well...
|
Punky
Brewster: The Complete First Season
I remember watching Punky Brewster
as a kid. Didn't like it much. Still don't. But there are SO
many of you who have asked for it, so Shout! Factory heard your
whining and caved in. The first season arrives with nice full
frame transfers and a cursory selection of interviews, including
two cast members, a writer and the show's creator/producer. No
Soleil Moon Frye though. I have no idea why, but her lack of
participation is noticeable. There's also a nice selection of
episodes from the animated cartoon show It's
Punky Brewster. It's not a very huge set, but it
works for me considering I didn't want it in the first place. As
I said, you that asked for it, so here ya go. |
 |
Spider-Man:
The New Animated Series, Vol. 1-3
MTV's version of Spider-Man
is pretty cool, I have to admit. I wasn't looking forward to
watching it, but now I regret not picking up the complete season
one set that came out a few months back. Columbia TriStar gives
us three volumes: Face-Off,
High Voltage and The
Mutant Menace with three episodes each. The three
volumes collectively only have nine episodes on them, so they're
four episodes short. These discs don't have the extras on them
that the complete set DVD has, so I don't really see the point
in having these three discs. If you just wanted a few episodes,
these volumes are neat enough. But fans or people interested in
the fact that I think it's a neat show will definitely want to
get
the
complete season one DVD. |
You'll
also find the funny British comedy
Coupling:
The Complete Third Season on DVD, and
The
Dukes of Hazzard: The Complete First Season too... now
that we know that Jessica Simpson is going to be Daisy in the movie.
  
Also available: A favorite cult classic
Back
to the Beach. More Cary Grant than you can shake a stick
at with the
The
Signature Collection. Spy Kids
4? No, it's
Catch
That Kid.
Cocoon
and
Cocoon:
The Return come to DVD. Hey! I'm not a liar... oh, wait,
that's a 'C', never mind. Look for
Coogan's
Bluff. Chucking Coke bottles at you, it's
The
Gods Must Be Crazy and
The
Gods Must Be Crazy II. The Disney cult flick
Flight
of the Navigator zooms to DVD. The original
Freaky
Friday and the
Herbie
the Love Bug Boxed Set spring to DVD as well. A great film
about mental illness finally gets released as a Studio Classic from
Fox:
The
Snake Pit.
Starship
Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is here. Why? "Tension
breaker. Had to be done." -
Summer
School. And of course, there's a must own animation treat
in the
Winsor
McCay: Master Edition.
Well, there you go. Two weeks' worth of releases in one column.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend and we'll see you back here on
June 8th with our next Roundup!
Todd Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com |
