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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for November 21, 2004.
Click Here To Subscribe To The DVD Dossier Newsletter
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Published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less, the online source for DVD Discounts & Deals
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In This Issue
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November 21, 2004
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The Ultimate Matrix Collection, Yours To Own December 7th...
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It's another big week in the world of DVD, so once again we'll get right to the good stuff...
Muggles rejoice! Those magical kids are back with another tale in the Harry Potter series. In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts, where they are forced to face escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who poses a great threat to Harry.
Harry and his friends spend their third year at school learning how to handle a half-horse half-eagle Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts and master the art of Divination. They also visit the wizarding village of Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack, which is considered the most haunted building in Britain.
In addition to these new experiences, Harry must overcome the threats of the soul-sucking Dementors, outsmart a dangerous werewolf and finally deal with the truth about Sirius Black and his relationship to Harry and his parents.
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron and based on J.K. Rowling 's book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" comes to DVD in both full screen and widescreen editions, plus a 3-Pack called The Harry Potter Collection that includes all three Harry Potter movies to date.
Another 3-Pack to be released this Tuesday offers up the collected cinematic adventures of Rambo, a monosyllabic ex-Green Beret killing machine in the personage of Sylvester Stallone. This "Ultimate 3-Disc Collection" comes with lots of special features, including deleted scenes and audio commentary from Sly himself.
(You know, the special effects in these movies - while somewhat primitive - are quite good... in fact, in one scene they actually make it look like Stallone is acting!)
In "Unstoppable," Wesley Snipes stars as a former Special Ops agent who becomes a victim of mistaken identity and a marked man. Injected with a powerful hallucinogenic drug, he races against time to clear his name and find an antidote in this movie that was not released theatrically.
Tom Hanks gets stuck at the airport in Steven Spielberg's efficient but stilted modern fable, "The Terminal." The film is available in widescreen and full screen versions and also in an unnecessary 2-Disc Collector's Set.
"Stealing Sinatra," a Showtime film, stars William H. Macy, David Arquette, Thomas Ian Nicholas and Ryan Browning and is based on a true story. The year is 1963 and a young man convinces his friends to help him kidnap Frank Sinatra, Jr.
If you like baseball, then you know "the curse" has been reversed. Now we have the DVD that proves it... The Official 2004 World Series DVD is out this week, capturing the thrill of victory (Go, Sox!) and the agony of defeat (our sympathies to Cardinals fans).
From TV this week, we have the First Seasons of "Home Improvement" and "The Golden Girls," the first volume of the "Lizzie McGuire" series, the Second Season of "Boy Meets World" and the recent "Tanner '88" sequel "Tanner on Tanner."
But - maybe you've heard? - these are not the only TV shows being released on DVD this week. There's also much ado about nothing (or at least a lot of fuss over a little show about nothing).
The show, a sitcom called "Seinfeld," ran on NBC for nearly ten years during the 90's and was a staple of their "Must See TV" Thursday night lineup for much of that time. We wrote extensively in the Dossier about these new Seinfeld boxed sets when they were first announced back in August (you can read the details here).
And we're putting "Seinfeld" at the bottom of the Dossier's "new and notable" items this week because we're guessing that you are just as tired reading about it as we are talking about it, yada, yada, yada.
Nevertheless, it is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated DVD release ever (with the possible exception of this year's Star Wars Trilogy). We pre-ordered our own copies months ago, but because we're duty bound to report all the DVD news of the week, here's a quick recap of the "Seinfeld' boxed sets now on sale.
Volume One includes all 18 episodes from Seinfeld: Seasons One and Two.
Volume Two includes all 22 episodes from Seinfeld: Season Three.
A special Re-Gift Set includes all three seasons, along with a limited edition original script with handwritten notes from "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David and exclusive "Monk's Diner" salt and pepper shakers, plus collectible "Seinfeld" playing cards.
(Why they didn't shove a pack of commemorative Junior Mints in there, too, we'll never know. And, yes, if you're keeping score, this is indeed the first time a photo of a deck of playing cards has ever appeared in The DVD Dossier.)
All the original unedited "Seinfeld" episodes have been remastered in high definition for the best possible picture and sound quality and each runs a minute or so longer than the ones you've been watching in syndication.
In honor of this new DVD release, we thought we might close the newsletter this week with a few bits of "Seinfeld" trivia.
It's widely known that the exterior for "Monk's," the diner seen in the show, is actually "Tom's Restaurant" on upper Broadway in Manhattan, near the Columbia University campus.
But the real coffee shop hangout where the idea for "Seinfeld' was born is actually the "Westway Diner," located on Ninth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, just around the corner from where the original Improv comedy club used to be.
Jerry Seinfeld would often go there after dropping into the Improv and one night he and Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") came up with the concept for what eventually became the hit sitcom. David used to live a block away at the Manhattan Plaza complex, where, as it happens, he had a nutty neighbor named Kramer.
The "real" Kenny Kramer now charges tourists $38 to go on something he calls "Kramer's Reality Tour," which takes you on a three hour bus trip throughout the city to visit Seinfeld-related locations (the tour is now available on DVD direct from Kramer himself and an interview with him is included in the new Seinfeld boxed set).
Across the street from the Westway is "Kam Wei Kitchen," a Chinese takeout place and the inspiration for the famous "Seinfeld" episode in which George has difficulty ordering a hair growth product from China because he can't speak Chinese.
He's saved when the Chinese delivery boy arrives and agrees to get on the phone to order up the baldness cure in his native language. Which is exactly what happened in real life, except that "George" was actually Larry David and the food - and delivery - was provided by Kam Wei.
How do we know all this?
Well, the DVD Direct 4 Less office is on 44th Street, right around the corner from the Westway Diner and Kam Wei Kitchen. And these are all legendary tales in our 'hood.
Westway, by the way, makes very good burgers and they're open 24 hours, while Kam Wei does a really nice General Tso's Chicken, served with white or brown rice. Both offer free delivery, although probably not to your town.
We'll see you next week.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: November 23, 2004 |
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Visit us online to see a comprehensive list of new DVD releases for the next six weeks.
Links above are for Region 1 (USA) Editions. Availability and release dates elsewhere may vary.
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| Every Underdog Has His Day |
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Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller settle their differences in a winner-take-all competition in "DodgeBall," a formulaic but funny film from writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber.
This is an over-the-top underdog tale filled with lots of sight gags, a great cast and fun cameos by Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Hank Azaria, Chuck Norris and William Shatner.
The consistently entertaining "DodgeBall" arrives on DVD on December 7th in widescreen and full screen editions.
Pre-order now and save 30%.
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| My Kingdom For A Trojan Horse |
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Brad Pitt picks up a sword and brings a muscular, brooding presence to the role of Greek warrior Achilles in "Troy," a retelling of Homer's "The Iliad" for people who have never read Homer's "The Iliad."
Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger play the legendary lovers who plunge the world into war, Eric Bana portrays the prince who dares to confront Achilles, and the late Peter O'Toole rules Troy as King Priam.
The film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen with the same considerable skill he lavished on "The Perfect Storm" and it's a lot of fun, once you realize that this is a highly stylized Hollywood version of the epic poem, with no Greek gods allowed.
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"Troy" will be released on DVD January 4th in both widescreen and full screen editions.
Pre-order "Troy" now and save 35%. |
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One of the best romantic comedies of the year comes to DVD February 1st.
"Shall We Dance?" stars Golden Globe winner Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Academy Award® Winner Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci in a sexy blend of romance, music and dance.
For longer than he can remember, a middle-aged workaholic (Gere) has led an incredibly dull existence - the mundane accounting job, the mind-numbing commute, the family he rarely sees. But one night he catches a glimpse of a beautiful dance instructor (Lopez) in the window of a shabby ball room dancing school.
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When finally the painfully shy and awkward man muscles up the nerve to sign up for dance lessons, he is assigned to an eccentric group class taught by an older woman. Nevertheless, the seemingly predictable man sticks with his new hobby hoping to catch the attention of the young beauty, while avoiding the ridicule of his co-workers and family.
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The DVD release comes in widescreen and full screen versions with all-new bonus material including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes and film music featurettes, audio commentary from director Peter Chelsom and more.
Also out on the same day - and available on DVD for the first time - is the original Japanese version of "Shall We Dance?," the international hit that inspired the new film.
The Japanese "Shall We Dance?" tells a similar story about a bored businessman and the dance teacher who changes his life. It became a fan favorite upon its theatrical release in 1996.
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The film, written and directed by Masayuki Suo, will be released with the original soundtrack and English subtitles.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: November 30, 2004 |
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