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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 13, 2005.
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 13, 2005
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| Join the Columbia House DVD Club and Save... |
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Choose from big hit films like "Shark Tale," "The Aviator," "Million Dollar Baby," and more.
For a limited time, get FREE SHIPPING when you sign-up here.
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Out this week from Dreamworks is the family-friendly animated hit, "Madagascar."
At New York's Central Park Zoo, a lion (Ben Stiller), a zebra (Chris Rock), a giraffe (David Schwimmer), and a hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) are best friends and stars of the show.
But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage, the other three break free to look for him, only to find themselves reunited ... on a ship en route to Africa. When their vessel is hijacked, however, the friends, who have all been raised in captivity, learn firsthand what life can be like in the wild.
The DVD release of "Madagascar" includes a "penguin commentary" track, games and activities and several behind-the-scenes featurettes. The movie is available in widescreen and full screen versions.
Kate Hudson stars in the new thriller, "The Skeleton Key," a tale about the authentic world of magic, conjure and sacrifice – rituals rooted in ancient tradition, but still practiced today. The DVD comes with over 20 minutes of never-before-released scenes and other bonus features. "The Skeleton Key" is available in widescreen and full screen versions.
Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Fox star in "Stealth," a simplistic action thriller with great special effects. The world's three best pilots are partnered with a state-of-the-art, fully automated, pilotless, super stealth warplane - inhuman and invincible.
But once in the air, it goes haywire, leaving them with one final mission - bring it down. "Stealth" is available in the ever popular widescreen and full screen versions (surprise, surprise).
In "Easy Sex," Packard Schmidt (Julian Sands) is a burnt-out, middle-aged college English professor. In a desperate attempt to restore some sense of vitality to his lonely existence he embarks on a series of impulsive romantic exploits resulting in a cavalcade of disaster both personally and professionally.
And "Happy Endings" is a modern comedy about love and life and family. The film., starring Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Ritter, Tom Arnold and Laura Dern, tells 10 stories with intertwining characters.
The hills are alive this week with "The Sound of Music." Winner of 5 Academy Awards®, "The Sound of Music" chronicles the real-life story of the seven von Trapp children, their widowed father (Christopher Plummer) and the free-spirited governess (Julie Andrews) who brings music and joy back into their lives.
Andrews serves as host of this new 2-Disc 40th Anniversary DVD, which features several hours of documentary material created especially for this edition. (Two other Rodgers & Hammerstein classic movie musicals arrive on DVD this week, too: "Oklahoma!" and "State Fair.")
That sound you hear isn't music coming from the corporate offices of Wal-Mart. It's strong and vocal dissent.
The retail giant is none too happy with a new film from director Robert Greenwald, "Wal-mart: The High Cost of Low Price." The film, in limited release in theatres at the same time it debuts on DVD, takes a look at the impact of Wal-Mar on local communities through intensely personal stories that attempt to show an assault on families and American values.
Wal-Mart was so unhappy about the film that they more or less commissioned their own documentary to combat what they say are gross misrepresentations about their stores and their contributions to the community.
In the Galloway Brothers' "Why Wal-mart Works and Why That Makes Some People C-R-A-Z-Y!," we're told that Wal-Mart pays a heck of a lot of taxes, that their wages actually outpace most retail competitors and their benefits package is top drawer. So there!
More entertaining than either film, by the way, is the flame war that's broken out among the "reviewers" of both films at amazon.com. Now, that's entertainment.
You won't hear any sound at all in the new "Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection" (except for the musical scores which accompany these silent classics).
Having appeared in more than 200 films and widely considered to be one of cinema's most respected comic geniuses, Harold Lloyd was one of Hollywood's first true movie stars.
With a career that spanned more than 34 years, Harold Lloyd essentially created the feature-length film. Now you can enjoy the work of the man who inspired generations of acting greats with this new DVD collection.
Best known for his comedy movies including "The Freshman," "Speedy" and "Safety Last!" – which features one of Hollywood’s most iconic images of Lloyd hanging from the hands of a giant clock – the influence of his physical comedy is evident in the performances of many of today’s leading actors.
His trademark combination of physical skill, well-developed characters and keen comic timing have influenced such acclaimed talents as Lucille Ball, Jim Carrey, Dustin Hoffman and Johnny Depp.
Digitally remastered, restored and rescored, the new 3-Volume, 7-Disc "Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection" includes 15 feature films, 10 shorts and a bonus disc containing lots of extras including Harold Lloyd’s home movies, star tributes, photo galleries, all-new interviews and featurettes and a 3-D bonus photo disc with a pair of 3-D photo glasses.
TV brings forth an embarrassment of riches this week; we'll highlight just a few.
The long-awaited Tenth (and Final) Season of "Friends" arrives on DVD in a 4-Disc Deluxe Collector's Edition and as part of a special boxed set - "Friends: The One With All Ten Seasons" - a Limited Edition Collector’s Set that includes all ten seasons in an exclusive collectible case.
Bonus features include an extra-long gag reel (with botched scenes from Seasons One through Five and Season Ten); "Friends Final Thoughts," in which the cast - Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox-Arquette, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc - reminisce about their ten years together on the series; "Friends of Friends, Part IV" (interviews with Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd and Aisha Tyler); the "Joey Joey" Music Video (an all-new music video featuring Matt LeBlanc); episode previews and commentary on three episodes by the executive producers.
This week also sees the debut of "Fantasy Island" on DVD, as well as the Fourth season of "The Flintstones" and the Fifth Season of "Three's Company."
And Oprah expands her empire to DVD with the release of "The Oprah Winfrey Show: 20th Anniversary DVD Collection." For the first time, Oprah reveals her candid thoughts and feelings about the biggest moments and interviews in 20 years of history-making television.
All of Winfrey's profits from the 6-Disc set will be donated to Oprah's Angel Network®, a charitable foundation dedicated to helping educate and advance women and children around the world.
That's all for this week, folks; please join us next week when we do it all over again.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: November 15, 2005 |
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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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"War of the Worlds," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, is a contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells' sci-fi classic.
The film arrives on DVD next week, November 22nd and also stars Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin and Tim Robbins.
Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a working class man living in New Jersey. He's estranged from his family, his life isn't in order, and he's too caught up with himself.
But the unthinkable and, ultimately, the unexpected happens to him in an extraordinary sense.
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His small town life is shaken violently by the arrival of destructive intruders: Aliens who have come en masse to destroy Earth. As they plow through the country in a wave of mass destruction and violence, Ray must come to the defense of his children.
As the world must fend for itself by a new and very advanced enemy not of this world, it's inhabitants must save humanity from a far greater force that threatens to destroy it.
"War of the Worlds," will be released in a Single Disc Edition in both widescreen and full screen versions, as well as in a 2-Disc Limited Edition, with extensive special features.
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| Pre-order either edition of "War of the Worlds" now and save 35 - 47%. |
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"The Dukes of Hazzard," the big screen action comedy based on the hit 80's television series, comes to DVD December 6th with extras that include additional scenes, a gag reel, a music video and several behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The movie follows the adventures of "good old boy" cousins Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke (Johnny Knoxville) Duke, who with the help of their eye-catching cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) and moonshine-running Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), try and save the family farm from being destroyed by Hazzard County's corrupt commissioner Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds).
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Their efforts constantly find the "Duke Boys" eluding authorities in "The General Lee," their 1969 orange Dodge Charger that keeps them one step ahead of the dimwitted antics of the small southern town's Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (M.C. Gainey).
By updating the movie's setting to the present, the film tries to have its Krispy Kreme donut and eat it, too. But it fails miserably. This is neither a good old fashioned nudge, nudge, wink, wink parody nor an affectionate homage to what was - let's face it - a mediocre TV show.
The critics lambasted "The Dukes of Hazzard," but you'll like it if you're a very big fan of Jessica Simpson, have never seen the original source material and/or are nuts about endless car chases.
"Dukes" will be available in an unrated version - in widescreen and full screen editions - that contains footage never shown in theatres, as well as in a full screen R-Rated Theatrical Edition.
Pre-order "The Dukes of Hazzard" now and save 41%.
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"Saint Ralph" is the unlikely story of Ralph Walker, a ninth grader who outran everyone's expectations - except his own - in his bold quest to try to win the 1954 Boston Marathon. It arrives on DVD December 13th.
Ralph is a fatherless 14-year-old with a seriously ill mother, who knows he's a time bomb waiting to explode into greatness, except that he has no idea where that greatness will manifest itself.
An unfortunate incident of self-abuse in the community pool inadvertently sets him on this road when, as penance, Ralph is conscripted to the cross-country team.
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Desperate to believe a miracle will bring his mother out of a coma, Ralph becomes a convert to the church of running, and determines to win the Boston Marathon.
"Saint Ralph" stars Campbell Scott, Adam Butcher, Jennifer Tilly and Gordon Pinsent and was written and directed by Michael McGowan.
Pre-order "Saint Ralph" now and save 30%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: November 22, 2005 |
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| Mr & Mrs. Smith Arrives on DVD in Two Weeks... |
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The DVD Dossier is a free weekly newsletter that contains objective information about new DVD releases that has been researched and written by the editors at DVD Direct 4 Less, as well as advertisements and promotional information provided by movie studios.
We send this newsletter only to those who request it. Each newsletter we send directly to you includes an "unsubscribe" link. (This is an online archived issue of The DVD Dossier which does not contain that link.)
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Academy Award(s)® and Oscar(s)® are the registered service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Golden Globe(s)® is the registered service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Emmy is the trademark property of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
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Savings percentages quoted apply to preorder purchases from amazon.com and were in effect at the time of publication; preorder savings may vary at other online merchants.
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Please note: all DVDs were available for sale as of the original publication date of this newsletter. Some may no longer be in inventory at the present time and preorder savings may not be in effect. If you're having difficulty finding a particular title, you can search current availability for any DVD here.
No DVDs were harmed in the making of this newsletter.
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