Welcome to another edition of The DVD Dossier, our last for 2004. We've sorted out all the nasty computer problems we've had the past few weeks and are back with our usual mix of DVD news, commentary and a look at upcoming releases.
This week's top pick is "Sex and the City: Season Six, Part 2," the final installment in the saga of four gals (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis) looking for love in New York City.
All eight episodes from the second half of the 2003 series are included here on two discs, along with three never-before-seen alternate endings to the series finale. (These were made to throw off the press so they would be unable to report plot details until after the last episode aired.)
Special features include commentary by executive producer Michael Patrick King on four episodes, two farewell tributes (30 minutes each), a 2004 US Comedy Arts Festival seminar and deleted scenes from Seasons One - Six. Collectors take note: in addition to Season Six, Part 2, HBO Home Video will release this week a 20-Disc mega set with all six seasons of "Sex and the City."
Also out this week is "Garden State," featuring Zach Braff (from TV's "Scrubs") who - in addition to starring in the film - makes an impressive big screen writing/directing debut. Surprisingly accomplished, fresh and funny, "Garden State" is a quirky coming of age film you'll want to see.
"Wimbledon" is a charming romantic comedy following the fortunes of two professional tennis players, a rising star (Kirsten Dunst) and a fading one (Paul Bettany). Both give performances that are far more engaging than the screenplay, but their whirlwind romance is ultimately worth watching.
Josh Hartnett is entirely miscast in "Wicker Park," a rather pensive reflection on the nature of love, with more unnecessary flashbacks than Timothy Leary experienced in his entire lifetime.
And "Open Water" is a genuinely frightening little movie (based on a true story) that will scare the bejesus out of you... especially if your bejesus doesn't like the idea of being left behind in shark-infested waters.
Will Ferrell is back, this time as a sexist and narcissistic 1970's "Anchorman" named Ron Burgundy. Ron's rule over his newsroom is called into question when a hardworking feminist reporter (Christina Applegate) arrives, eager to try out a few new ideas.
The hit comedy is available in four different editions: Unrated Extended Widescreen, Unrated Extended Full Screen, PG-13 Full Screen and a Gift Set that includes the Widescreen Unrated Edition along with an all-new film that continues the adventures of Ron Burgundy.
Shot at the same time "Anchorman" was filmed, the second flick, "Wake Up, Ron Burgundy," was never shown in theaters and is only available on the 2-Disc Gift Set.
The action-packed zombie thriller, "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," arrives on Tuesday in a 2-Disc Special Edition with both full screen and wide screen versions of the film in the one set. Extras include three commentaries, 20 deleted scenes, outtakes, a six-part behind-the-scenes featurette and more.
"Resident Evil: Apocalypse" is also being released in a Collector's Edition, which includes both "Resident Evil," the first film in the series, as well as the new sequel.
From TV comes "A Murder of Quality," for which famed British spy novelist John Le Carré wrote the screenplay, adapted from his novel of the same name. In this telefilm (starring Denholm Elliot, Glenda Jackson and a young Christian Bale), former intelligence agent George Smiley investigates a murder within an elite school.
Today's legal minds could certainly take a lesson or two from another British TV series, "Rumpole of the Bailey." Horace Rumpole, one of the most colorful characters ever to approach the bench, maneuvers behind the scenes, using his brilliant mind and sly sense of humor to make his case.
Stylishly played by Leo McKern, he throws the courtroom into an uproar in every episode of this series, which seamlessly blends comedy, mystery and drama.
Two new 4-Disc boxed sets of "Rumpole" are out this week. Set 1 features twelve episodes from Seasons 1 and 2. And Set 2 features the twelve episodes that make up Seasons 3 and 4.
Also submitted for your approval this week are two "Twilight Zone" 6-Disc boxed sets.
There's the Season One "Definitive Edition" of Rod Serling's classic, groundbreaking series exploring the fantastic and the frightening. Included are all 36 episodes of the inaugural season (1959), complete with Serling's original promos for the following week's episode, not seen since their original broadcast.
All episodes have all been remastered from new high-definition film transfers using the original camera negatives and magnetic soundtracks. Extras on "Twilight Zone: Season 1 (The Definitive Edition)" include commentaries by Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Post and William Self and vintage audio recollections from Burgess Meredith, Douglas Heyes, Richard L. Bare, Buck Houghton, Anne Francis and Richard Matheson.
You'll also get Rod Serling's audio lectures from Sherwood Oaks College, a rare Serling blooper and the original unaired pilot version of "Where Is Everybody?" with Serling's pitch to the network intact.
And then there's the First Season of the 1985 version of the "Twilight Zone," also out this week. Guest stars include Bruce Willis, Robert Klein, Adrienne Barbeau, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Martin Landau, John Carradine, Elliott Gould, Peter Coyote, William Petersen and Victor Garber.
Rounding out this week's list of new TV releases are Season Three of "King of the Hill" and the 2003 miniseries of "Battlestar Galactica."
We'll be back again next week with a whole bunch of new DVDs to talk about; we'll see you then.
Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: December 28, 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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Shipping is now FREE (with minimum purchase) at many of these online merchants:
Amazon l Barnes & Noble l DVD Empire l  DVDPlanet l ebay  l Half.com l Target l Wal-Mart
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| Hearty Existential Comedy |
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Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin lead an all-star ensemble cast including Jude Law, Naomi Watts and Mark Walhberg in "I Heart Huckabees," an outrageous comedy from director/co-writer David O. Russell.
A kindhearted but confused activist hires a pair of screwball "existential detectives" (Hoffman and Tomlin) to help him find the meaning of life. All the while, a sexy, French author (Isabelle Huppert) is trying to throw a wrench in their plan by seducing Andrew's mind and body.
"I Heart Huckabees" will be released February 22nd in a Single Disc Edition and also in a 2-Disc Special Edition.
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The Special Edition features four hours of bonus materials, including director and cast commentary, extended and deleted scenes, a gag reel, production featurette, outtakes and more.
Preorder "I Heart Huckabees" now and save 30% |
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Larry David has a charmed life... success, famous friends, a patient wife, a dedicated manager and a trendy new restaurant.
So what is his problem?
Find out in the Third Season of the hit HBO Comedy series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as Larry spikes some brownies, recommends a deranged nanny, thwarts an Alanis Morissette concert, robs a grave and gets a kid drunk.
Along the way, he encounters Martin Scorsese, Cheri Oteri, Richard Lewis, Krazee-Eyez Killa, and the Holy Family... and manages to tick them all off.
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Season Three of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" makes its DVD debut January 18th and will also be available in a Gift Set which includes all three seasons. The Golden Globe Award-winning series stars Larry David (as himself), with Cheryl Hines as his wife and Jeff Garlin as his manager.
Preorder the Third Season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" now and save 30%. |
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Blockbuster, the DVD rental giant, made two shocking announcements in the past two weeks.
On December 14, they announced they were eliminating late fees at their company owned retail stores (some franchisees are refusing to participate). Starting January 1st, whether you rent online or in-store, you'll incur no late fees!
Blockbuster will still have due dates for in-store rentals: one week for games and two days or one week for movies. But under the new plan, they will now give customers a one-week grace period at no additional charge.
At that point, if customers want to keep the movie or game longer, they can. Blockbuster will automatically sell them the product, less the rental fee. If customers decide they don't want to own the movie or game, they can return the product within 30 days for a full credit to their account, less a restocking fee.
This announcement rocked the DVD rental world, if only because late fees have always provided a substantial portion of Blockbuster's revenue. But a week later, they made another surprising announcement...
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Effective immediately, they lowered their online DVD rental price to just $14.99, three dollars less than industry leader Netflix. This new lower price is guaranteed through January 2006 and existing Blockbuster Online subscribers will get the same low price.
For $14.99 monthly, you can have 3 DVDs out at a time (with no due dates, no late fees and free shipping both ways). As before, Blockbuster sweetens the deal by throwing in coupons for 2 free in-store DVD or video game rentals per month, something their online competitors can't match.
Blockbuster also said they were expanding their distribution network and as of mid-January will have 23 distribution centers, more than double the service's distribution capacity when the service launched last August.
At the same time, they have increased the copy-depth of new release movies and expanded their inventory to include 30,000 titles, making significant additions in TV shows, anime, Bollywood classics, Asian cinema, music performance, documentaries, fitness and how-to categories.
Netflix (which charges $17.99 per month) announced that they will not be lowering their price to match Blockbuster's move. No word yet from Wal-Mart, which charges $17.36 a month for their 3-at-a-time plan and prides itself on being the low cost leader, or from Amazon, which recently launched a similar online DVD rental service in the United Kingdom and is expected to bring it to the USA sometime in 2005.
Rest assured, we'll let you know the latest DVD rental news as it develops. Until then, if you've been thinking about trying online DVD rental, now is a good time to sign-up and get a free trial! |
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| Great Communicator Gets DVD Tribute |
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Officially authorized and co-produced by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, "Ronald Reagan: The People’s President" is a fitting tribute to the life and legacy of the "Great Communicator" and features exclusive footage and never-before-seen photos.
The 2-Disc set includes unprecedented coverage of Reagan’s history-making memorial and funeral services as well as an exclusive tribute called "The Final Journey," the official presidential documentary, "The Reagan Years," an official funeral montage by Pete Souza, the Reagan Library film, "An American Journey," a private family photo collection, an exclusive campaign photo gallery by Michael Evans and more.
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"Ronald Reagan: The People’s President" will be available January 25th; all proceeds from the sale of this DVD will benefit the Reagan Library.
Pre-order now and save 10%. |
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Major Hollywood studios in the ‘30s and ‘40s were each known for their distinctive styles. For example, MGM had its musicals; while Universal was widely recognized for horror films.
Warner Brothers was best known for firmly establishing the genre of gangster films, which were also notable for their socially conscious themes as well as their simple visual look (low key lighting and sparse sets). Nowhere were these elements more prominent than in the films of the "Warner Bros. Pictures Gangsters Collection."
All six have now been fully restored and digitally remastered, and are loaded with special features including historian commentaries and new making-of featurettes. Each disc also contains an exclusive “Warner Night at the Movies” segment.
Hosted by Leonard Maltin, these segments recreate moviegoer attractions such as newsreels, comedy shorts, cartoons and trailers from the years each film was released.
In addition, The "Public Enemy" DVD contains several minutes of recovered footage not seen in more than seventy years!
Preorder the "Warner Bros. Pictures Gangsters Collection" now and save 30% |
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: January 4, 2005 |
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