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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for February 6, 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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February 6, 2005
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This week brings the Dreamworks animated undersea adventure "Shark Tale" to DVD, featuring an all-star voice cast. It's available in widescreen and full screen versions. But it's not the only cartoon catch to be released this week.
As you do your online shopping or head to the video store for "Shark Tale," you may also want to take a look at "The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear." This film, from Danish director Jannik Hastrup, is about a mother bear whose cub dies in the Arctic wild.
Her mate steals a human boy to be their son and he grows as wild and free as the strongest bear, while the mother bear loves the child more with each passing day. When the boy's human father arrives to take him back, the child must choose his own destiny.
"The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear" is from the same production studio that created the Academy Award nominated film "The Triplets of Belleville" and the animation here is equally appealing, with the look and feel of a watercolor painting, rather than a "cartoon." We highly recommended this film (for ages 10 and up).
Also out this week is the three handkerchief tearjerker, "The Notebook," adapted from the popular Nicholas Sparks novel and directed by Nick Cassavetes (yes, that's John's son).
It features appealing young actors (Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling) and topnotch supporting performances by James Garner and the director's mom (Gena Rowlands) in a story of enduring love that spans decades.
"The Notebook" also has a cliche-ridden, sugary sweet and overly predictable plot. I fell asleep halfway through, woke up near the end and didn't need to rewind at all to figure out what was going on. (Nor did I want to.)
We told you about "p.s." last week.
It's a small critically acclaimed film about a May-December romance and we liked it a lot. The film stars Laura Linney, Paul Rudd, Topher Grace, Gabriel Byrne and Marcia Gay Harden and it's adapted from a novel by Helen Schulman.
In recognition of Black History Month, Warner Home Video is releasing what they're calling the "40th Anniversary Edition" of Spike Lee's "Malcolm X." (They're commemorating the 40th anniversary of the civil rights leader's death, of course, not the "anniversary" of the film, first released in 1992.)
Denzel Washington stars in an Oscar-nominated performance, along with Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo and Spike Lee himself as "Shorty."
This is a definitive 2-Disc Special Edition of "Malcolm X" with two and a half hours of extra features including commentary from Spike Lee, additional scenes, two all-new documentaries and the 1972 Academy Award nominated feature length documentary "Malcolm X."
Two more Special Editions of note this week: Robert DeNiro in "Raging Bull" and DeNiro and Liza Minelli in "New York, New York." The former is the stark black and white study of boxer Jake LaMotta self destructing, which won an Oscar for DeNiro. The latter is director Martin Scorsese's loving homage to the big band era and introduced the title tune, which became a standard for Liza and Frank Sinatra.
Both titles come with lots of special features, including introductions by Scorsese, 25 minutes of alternate takes and deleted scenes on "New York, New York," commentary by Scorsese and others on both films and newsreel footage of the real LaMotta on "Raging Bull."
Both of these flicks are also available in the new "Martin Scorsese Film Collection" from MGM, which also includes "The Last Waltz" and "Boxcar Bertha."
In case you're wondering how they could make a collection of Scorsese's films that doesn't include "Goodfellas" or "Mean Streets," well that's because those films are distributed through Warner and have previously been released together in a boxed set known simply as the "Martin Scorsese Collection" (along with several other films including "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore").
And while we're talking about new boxed set collections, we should probably mention the new 3-Disc "Barbra Streisand Collection."
It's out this week and includes "The Mirror Has Two Faces," "The Prince of Tides" and "The Way We Were." (Funny Girl" and "Funny Lady" will be available in a new boxed set on February 22nd.)
From TV comes the First Season of the popular HBO western, "Deadwood," which earned a "Best Actor" Golden Globe for Ian McShane last month for his performance as saloon owner Al Swearengen. The name is apt, as there's a heck of a lot of swearing on this show, set in South Dakota in the late 1870's.
Series creator David Milch ("NYPD Blue") insists that all that cussing is historically accurate (although several historians disagree), but we don't like it because it takes you away from the story.
Regardless of whether or not it's "accurate," you just don't expect to hear those words in your typical western. It's just the way we've been conditioned.
So when you hear "@#%&!*#," you have to stop for a moment and ask yourself "did he just say @#%&!*#?" I can't believe he just said "@#%&!*#." This happens thirty or forty times in each episode, so you tend to lose the throughline of the narrative.
Or at least I do.
That being said, "Deadwood" - one of the most expensive shows ever produced by HBO - looks great and has a terrific cast (Timothy Olyphant, Keith Carradine, John Hawkes, Robin Weigert, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson, Brad Dourif, Leon Rippy, Powers Boothe Kim Dickens and the aforementioned McShane).
I no longer watch "Deadwood" regularly, but it does have a lot of dedicated fans, including Mrs. DVD Direct 4 Less. The release of the First Season on Tuesday gives everyone a chance to relive their favorite moments from the first 12 episodes before the new season begins March 6th.
Go ahead, knock yourself out.
Also from TV this week: a bunch of older shows being released by Warner in value-priced boxed sets as part of a year-long promotion celebrating 50 years of great television.
Titles include "Murphy Brown," "The Jamie Foxx Show," "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "The Wayans Brothers," "Full House" and "Night Court." Watch for more Warner titles to be released in June, September and November.
Other notable shows out on DVD this week include the First Season of "Miami Vice," the Second Season of "7th Heaven," the Sixth Season of "Highlander" and the Second Season of "Punky Brewster."
And now a couple of news updates for you...
Amazon this week announced the launch of "Amazon Prime," their first ever membership program (for their USA site only). The deal here is that you can now get "all you can eat" express 2-day shipping for an annual fee of $79.
This is a very good deal if you're a frequent amazon.com shopper; you no longer have to worry about the $25 minimum purchase for "free shipping" and the benefit applies to up to four members of your household.
On the other hand, if you order only a few times a year and you don't mind waiting a few extra days, you should stick with their standard per order shipping fees or take advantage of their generous free shipping offer.
Also this week, Paramount announced a new street date for Season Two of "Chappelle's Show."
The new boxed set of the Comedy Central series starring Dave Chappelle was delayed when they postponed the TV premiere of Season Three. That's all been sorted out and the DVD of Season Two will now be released May 24th. Preorder now and save 30%.
And here at DVD Direct 4 Less, we've recently finished updating our Online DVD Rental Guide.
The guide now includes comprehensive information about renting from Blockbuster, Netflix and Wal-Mart, as well as a DVD rental comparison chart that takes a look at the Big 3, plus a few other companies that rent DVDs and video games online.
Included in these reports is the location of each of the distribution centers for these firms, which can greatly affect the turnaround time and the value of your DVD rental membership.
That's it for this week... we hope to see you back here next week when we do this all over again.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: February 8, 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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"Closer" is director Mike Nichols' critically acclaimed look at four strangers - Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen - with one thing in common: each other.
"Closer" questions the nature of relationships and fidelity and is a funny, romantic and very dangerous love story about chance meetings, instant attractions, and casual betrayals.
Adapted by Patrick Marber from his award-winning West End and Broadway stage play, "Closer" has no characters that are terribly likable, yet the film is utterly engrossing.
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"Closer" comes to DVD March 29th in a widescreen Superbit edition which includes a Damien Rice music video of "The Blower's Daughter" (a song heard in the movie).
Preorder "Closer" now and save 30%. |
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"Being Julia" arrives on DVD March 22nd.
This witty, intelligent and sophisticated romantic comedy stars Annette Bening in a role that brought her critical acclaim and the National Board of Review's Best Actress Award.
Bening plays a beautiful and beguiling actress who finds herself bored with her role as the toast of the town.
Though she has it all - including a devoted husband (Jeremy Irons) who has masterminded her career - after years of shining in the spotlight, she longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye.
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Julia finds exactly what she's looking for in a handsome young fan, but it isn't long before the novelty fling adds a few more sparks than she was hoping for. Fortunately for her, this surprise twist in the plot will thrust her back into the greatest role of her life, that of simply "Being Julia."
Based on a W. Somerset Maugham novel, the film has a screenplay by Ronald Harwood and has been directed by István Szabó. The excellent supporting cast in "Being Julia" includes Bruce Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson, Shaun Evans, Lucy Punch, Maury Chaykin, Sheila McCarthy and Michael Gambon.
Extras on the DVD include commentary from Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons and István Szabó, deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Preorder "Being Julia" today and save 30%. |
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"Alfie" is a remake of a far more interesting 1966 film of the same name staring Michael Caine.
This time out, the action takes place in and around New York City and Jude Law is the carefree playboy who thinks he has it all … until he realizes he doesn’t know what life is all about.
Law is incredibly charming and sexy and the film is incredibly stylish, but it doesn't really have anything to say.
Yet it takes about an hour and forty-five minutes to say it.
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"Alfie" will be available on March 15th in both widescreen and full screen Special Editions and with bonus features including deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Also available will be a 2-Disc Gift Set that packages the new "Alfie" together with the original 1966 counterculture classic.
Preorder "Alfie" now and save 30%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: February 15, 2005 |
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