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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for January 30, 2005.
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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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January 30, 2005
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The Ray Charles biopic, "Ray," starring Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Jamie Foxx debuts on DVD this Tuesday. It will be available in a single disc edition, as well as a 2-Disc Limited Edition Gift Set.
"Ray" is - hands down - the hottest title of the week and, incidentally, the only "Best Picture" nominated film to make it to DVD before the Awards.
Back in 1996, an irresistible Japanese movie about a bored businessman and the dance teacher who changes his life came upon the scene. This week, the original "Shall We Dance?" makes its way to DVD, along with last year's American remake starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci .
The American version of "Shall We Dance?" comes in both widescreen and full screen editions with all-new bonus material including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes and film music featurettes, audio commentary from director Peter Chelsom and more.
The Japanese "Shall We Dance?," written and directed by Masayuki Suo, has the original soundtrack and English subtitles. The two films are each charming in their own ways, but different enough that you may well want to buy or rent both.
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in a remake of another popular Japanese film, this one a horror flick called "The Grudge," about a haunted house.
Also coming to DVD this week, Reese Witherspoon as one of the greatest female characters ever created, Becky Sharp, in "Vanity Fair." The DVD release comes with few special features, but commentary by director Mira Nair and deleted scenes are included.
Bernie Mac stars in "Mr. 3000" as a retired baseball player who suddenly realizes he's actually three hits short of the 3,000 hit career record he claims. He attempts a comeback, which forces him to deal with his somewhat checkered past.
"Mr. 3000" is an entertaining, though highly predictable, movie and Mac is a lot of fun. (The talented Angela Bassett is not given much to do, however, in the role of an old girlfriend reporting on his return to baseball.)
"Mulan II," the Disney animated sequel about the young Chinese heroine, Fa Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen and sung by Lea Salonga) comes to DVD on Tuesday. It offers good family entertainment and a number of positive female role models.
Extras on "Mulan II" include deleted scenes, "The World of Mulan" (a tour of Chinese history and culture), "Voices of Mulan" (a star-studded feature highlighting the voice cast) and the "(I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls" animated music video, performed by Atomic Kitten.
"Look Who's Taking" was the surprise hit of the summer of 1989. The comedy, which took a “baby’s-eye view” of the world, grossed over $140 million in the U.S. and inspired two sequels.
Along the way, the films utilized the acting and voice talents of a number of stars, including John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Bruce Willis, Diane Keaton, Roseanne Barr, George Segal, Olympic Dukakis, Damon Wayans, Gilbert Gottfried and Danny DeVito.
On Tuesday, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release all three films ("Look Who's Taking," "Look Who's Taking Too" and "Look Who's Taking Now") in a 3-Disc boxed set.
Also out that day is a new Special Edition of "The Bodyguard," the 1992 hit starring Whitney Houston as a pop music diva and Kevin Costner as the man who guards her and then, well, you know.
Here's a fascinating bit of trivia about "The Bodyguard" ...there were plans brewing to make a "Bodyguard 2" starring Costner and Princess Diana. He had pitched her several times on the idea and she was - by all accounts - intrigued, although she never actually agreed to appear in it.
After her tragic death, the proposed sequel was canceled. Rumor has it, however, that the DVD release has stirred interest in the sequel once again and - depending on sales of the Special Edition - it may get made after all.
From television comes Volume One of "The Brak Show" and the Second Season of "Sealab 2021," two of the most popular series in Cartoon Network's "adult swim" programming block.
Also, "Wonderfalls: The Complete Viewer Collection" debuts on DVD this week, as does the eagerly anticipated First Season of "Charmed," the sexy supernatural dramedy from the WB and Season One of "Degrassi Junior High."
"I Love Lucy" fans can now get the complete Third Season and "Frasier" and "Cheers" fans can also rejoice, as the Fourth Seasons of those shows are made available on DVD (separately).
The biggest TV show on DVD this week, however, is "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson.
It's not a new release, but after the legendary latenight entertainer's death was announced last week, it quickly climbed the charts to become amazon.com's bestselling DVD.
There are actually 2 different collector's sets being offered: the 3-Disc "Ultimate Johnny Carson DVD Collection," which in the end turns out not to be the "ultimate" collection at all, as there is also a 10-Disc Special Collector's Edition Tonight Show Boxed Set called "Heeere's Johnny!"
The Johnny Carson discs are available exclusively though R2 Entertainment (Carson's company) and amazon, both of which are having difficulty keeping up with demand.
R2 shipped 100,000 copies of the "Ultimate Johnny Carson DVD Collection" last week alone. (Prior to his death, only about 300,000 copies had been sold in total. They now expect that number to easily double.)
And that wraps up another week of the latest DVD news. Be sure to read the rest of the newsletter for announcements of upcoming DVD releases. And please join us next week, when we'll be back to do this all over again.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: February 1, 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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You don't need The DVD Dossier to tell you that "The Incredibles" is coming to home video (although we did exactly that last week).
No, the real strength of this newsletter is in telling you about small offbeat films you may never hear of otherwise. "p.s." is one such film.
From the producers of "You Can Count On Me" and award-winning director Dylan Kidd ("Roger Dodger") comes this intriguing, inspiring and critically-acclaimed film, based on the novel by Helen Schulman (who wrote the screenplay with Kidd),
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"p.s." stars Laura Linney, Paul Rudd, Topher Grace, Gabriel Byrne and Marcia Gay Harden in a story about lost love reincarnated. The film arrives on DVD next week, February 8th.
Louise Harrington (Linney), a divorced, thirty-something admissions officer at Columbia University’s School of Fine Arts is intelligent, pretty, successful, and... unfulfilled. That is, until a graduate school application crosses her desk and she arranges to interview a young painter.
When Scott Feinstadt (Grace) appears, he bears an uncanny resemblance to Louise’s high school boyfriend and one true love, an artist who died in a car accident twenty years earlier. Within hours of the interview, Louise and Scott embark on a passionately uninhibited older woman/younger man affair.
The movie is at its best when it sticks to this May-December romance; the reincarnation metaphysical mumbo jumbo is far less successful. Still, "p.s." is a thoroughly engaging bittersweet tale of losing love and finding it again.
Preorder "p.s." today and save 25%.
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In February of 2003, renowned artists representing several different music genres and generations commandeered the stage at New York City's Radio City Music Hall to pay tribute to their common heritage and passion: the blues.
Shared with thousands of fans in attendance, legendary performers from the roots of rock, jazz, and rap joined forces for a once-in-a-lifetime salute to the blues benefit concert, the proceeds of which went to musical education.
And now, a new DVD documents that very special evening.
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Executive produced by Martin Scorcese, "Lightning in a Bottle" captures the night's magic and weaves a history of blues through the juxtaposition of performers, backstage interviews, rehearsals, and archival clips of some of the greatest names in American music, from blues royalty like Buddy Guy and B. B. King to their musical heirs ranging from John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt to Mos Def, Macy Gray, the Neville Brothers, Robert Cray, India.Arie and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.
"Lightning in a Bottle" will be available on DVD (with 5 deleted scenes/performances) March 8th.
Preorder now and save 25%. |
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"Shark Tale," the animated hit from Dreamworks, the studio that brought you "Shrek," comes to DVD next week, February 8th.
Oscar (Will Smith), a lowly tongue-scrubber at the local Whale Wash, becomes an improbable hero when he tells a great white lie. To keep his secret, Oscar teams up with an outcast vegetarian shark, Lenny (Jack Black), and the two become the most unlikely of friends.
When his lie begins to unravel, it's up to Oscar’s loyal friend Angie (Renée Zellweger) and Lenny to help him stand up to the most feared shark in the water (Robert De Niro) and find his true place in the reef.
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"Shark Tale" also features the voices of Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese, Peter Falk, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Doug E. Doug and Ziggy Marley and will be available in widescreen and full screen versions.
Preorder "Shark Tale" now and save 35%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: February 8, 2005 |
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In addition to "p.s." and "Shark Tale," next week brings Daryl Hannah and Denise Richards in "The Life," which takes a look at the world's oldest profession, Robert DeNiro in a 2-Disc Special Edition of Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull," DeNiro and Liza Minelli in another Scorsese film, "New York, New York," (part of "The Martin Scorsese Film Collection") and Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in "The Notebook," an old-fashioned tearjerker.
From TV we'll see a large number of shows available on DVD for the very first time: "Full House," "Miami Vice," "The Jamie Foxx Show," "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Murphy Brown," "Night Court," "Murder One" and "Deadwood."
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