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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for March 13, 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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March 13, 2005
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| "The Incredibles" Arrives on DVD This Week |
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You probably don't need us to tell you, but the world's greatest superhero family comes to DVD this week in a little film called "The Incredibles." This is the big boffo box office smash from the creators of "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc." and "Finding Nemo." The film had already taken in more than 260 million dollars by the time it won the Oscar two weeks ago for Best Animated Feature.
It arrives this week in a 2-Disc Collector's Edition loaded with bonus material, including a never-before-seen short film (Jack-Jack Attack”) starring the youngest member of the Incredibles' family.
Also included are deleted scenes, an alternate opening, behind-the-scenes features on the film, bonus programs on the art and technology of the "The Incredibles," character interviews, feature commentary with Pixar director Brad Bird and his fellow filmmakers... and much more.
Order now - choose either the widescreen or full screen edition - and save 40%.
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Welcome to another edition of The DVD Dossier.
There's a lot to tell you about today, so let's get right to the good stuff...
This week marks the home video release of "What the Bleep Do We Know?" This is a small independent film that gathered quite a lot of buzz last year as it spread from college campus to art house cinema, running as long as 7 months in some theatres.
The film is equal parts documentary and drama, mixed with elaborate visual effects and animation. The complex and thought provoking subject is quantum physics.
Now before you go running for the door, we're here to tell you that this movie - which we thought we would watch for ten minutes at most, before yanking it out of the DVD player, feeling bored and stupid - is strangely compelling and surprisingly accessible.
In "What the Bleep Do We Know?," a parade of experts - scientists, physicists, neurobiologists and other assorted New Age geeks - are assembled to share their insights on parallel (alternate) universes, probability and perception, and the fusion of science and religion.
Illustrating these concepts - and interspersed with the geek interviews - is a story involving a photographer named Amanda (played by Oscar® winner Marlee Matlin). Her ordinary uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing an uncertain world behind what we consider to be our normal waking reality.
Like every hero, Amanda is thrown into crisis, questioning the fundamental premises of her life - the reality she has believed about men, how relationships with others should be, and how her emotions effect her work - discovering along the way that her "reality" isn't reality at all.
If all this sounds way too spiritual for you, rest assured that the film is highly entertaining and totally accessible. And you don't have to agree with everything in it... the point is not to tell you what to think, but to open you up to alternate possibilities.
And on that basis, we highly recommend "What the Bleep Do We Know?."
At the very least, it should serve as a springboard for discussion within your circle of friends. Then again, what the bleep do we know?
Also out this week is the "Broadway to Hollywood - Classic Musicals Collection" we told you about last week. The new boxed set brings "Easter Parade" and "The Band Wagon" to DVD for the first time and also includes "Bells Are Ringing," "Finian's Rainbow" and "Brigadoon."
"Star Trek - First Contact," the second big screen adventure for the crew of the Enterprise-E, gets the 2-Disc Special Collector's Edition treatment this week and "Miss Congeniality" returns as well. Timed to coincide with the sequel hitting theatres, this Deluxe Edition of the Sandra Bullock comedy includes a ticket to see "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Dangerous," which makes it a pretty darn good value.
In "Dead Birds," a group of criminals take refuge in an abandoned house only to find it inhabited by the walking dead. They must decide if their fate inside its walls is worse than the one that awaits them on the outside. The novelty here is that this horror flick is set during the Civil War period.
And in "Alfie," set in today's New York City, Jude Law takes refuge in the company of Marisa Tomei, Nia Long, and Susan Sarandon, all of whom try to help him figure out what life is all about.
Law is charming and the women are all fine, but the movie can't really decide what it's all about.
"Alfie" comes to DVD in both widescreen and full screen versions and also in a 2-Disc Gift Set that brings together the new "Alfie" and the previously released original 1966 counterculture classic starring Michael Caine.
The late John Ritter stars in "Man of the Year," a film shot entirely in digital video and which relies in large part on the improvisational skills of its cast, much like "The Anniversary Party" of a few years back, with which it also shares a plot detail or two.
Bill (Ritter) is a businessman and the guest of honor for a dinner given to the "Man of the Year." During the course of a long and reckless evening, longstanding trusts are broken and relationships change forever as Bill's secret life is exposed.
Shot in one night in one location using twenty cameras, "Man of the Year" was filmed with twenty-five actors working from a character outline only, with no script. The film is worth watching to see that technical and artistic achievement alone... and this is a good thing, since there's not much else there.
The cast (which for some strange reason includes Leeza Gibbons) is not very good and Ritter himself - playing it straight - is only serviceable. John Ritter was a very good actor and while it's great to see him one last time, this is not the performance by which you'll want to remember him.
From TV this week, we get the Second Season of "La Femme Nikita" starring Peta Wilson in the title role, Series Five and Six of "Red Dwarf," the BBC's sci-fi/comedy show, Season Three of "Starsky and Hutch" and the HBO family treat "Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales" (featuring performances by Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Billy Crystal, Lauryn Hill, Patti LaBelle, Aaron Neville and Susan Sarandon).
Also out this week is Playboy's "Woman of Fear Factor,"
Leave it to the folks at Playboy to find the sex appeal hidden amidst all that stomach-churning slime and rodent poop. But like we always say, we don't make the DVDs, we just announce their availability.
And those are some of the more interesting titles available this week; we'll be back next week to tell you about more.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: March 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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| A Series of Repetitive Events |
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Based on the popular children's books by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. "Lemony Snicket"), "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" tells the story of the three young Baudelaire children who receive terrible news: their parents have died in a fire. But the folks have left them an enormous fortune with the restriction that it not be used until the eldest child is of age.
The plot (taken from the first three books in Handler's series) finds the kids fobbed off on a series of odd people, including the narrator Lemony Snicket (Jude Law, seen here only in silhouette), their reptile loving uncle (Billy Connolly) and their overly anxious aunt (Meryl Streep). Even Dustin Hoffman shows up (ever so briefly) as a colorful theatre critic.
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The recurring bad guy is a distant family relative named Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who initially takes in the orphans and who obviously wants to separate them from their inheritance.
The film looks great, all dark and gloomy in keeping with the spirit of the books. Kudos to production designer Rick Heinrichs (and a big shout out to Edward Gorey and Charles Addams, who clearly inspired him).
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Unfortunately, under Brad Silberling's direction this movie is dull and tedious and never quite finds its way. It's just a good looking, sporadically funny series of repetitive events.
Perhaps Tim Burton was otherwise engaged or not interested in directing "Lemony Snicket," That's a shame, since he would have provided exactly the energy and sensibility the film requires.
The DVD will be available on April 26th in Single Disc Editions in both widescreen and full screen aspect ratios, as well as in a 2-Disc Special Collector's Edition with extra (but not yet revealed) special features.
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Preorder "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" now and save 35%.
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On May 31st, Warner Home Video will celebrate James Dean with the release for the first time of the iconic film star's complete motion picture legacy.
"The Complete James Dean Collection" will include "East of Eden" (available for the first time ever on DVD in a new 2-Disc Special Edition), "Rebel Without a Cause" (also in a new 2-Disc Special Edition) and "Giant" (also a 2-Disc Special Edition).
The set is filled with special features including new documentaries, deleted scenes, commentaries, behind-the-scenes segments and screen tests.
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When James Dean died in a car crash in 1955, he was mourned throughout the world with mass hysteria that had never before been experienced. One of Hollywood’s most interesting stars, with the briefest of careers, 50 years later he remains an internationally compelling force, an iconic image, and a cult favorite of timeless fascination.
In 1956, Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award® nomination when he was nominated for his work in "East of Eden." He then received a second Best Actor nomination the following year for "Giant."
Preorder "The Complete James Dean Collection" today and save 30%. |
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A sleeper hit when first seen in 1986, "Stand By Me" comes to DVD next week - March 22nd - in two new editions.
There's a Special Edition that includes a widescreen presentation of the film, plus insightful commentary from director Rob Reiner, an MTV music video, trailers, production notes and an exclusive featurette, "Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me," which includes interviews with Reiner and Stephen King (the film is based on his novella).
And there's also a Deluxe Edition, which adds a CD soundtrack and a collectible booklet.
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In a small woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends - a sensitive guy (Wil Wheaton), a tough guy (River Phoenix), a flamboyant guy (Corey Feldman) and a scaredy-cat (Jerry O'Connell) - go in search of a missing teen's body.
Wanting to be heroes in each other's and their hometown's eyes, they set out on an unforgettable two-day trek that turns into an odyssey of self-discovery.
They swear and smoke, tell tall tales and band together when the going gets tough. When they encounter the town's knife-wielding hoods who are also after the body, the boys discover a strength they never knew they had.
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In addition to the superb acting ensemble of the four young friends, watch for the performance of a young Kiefer Sutherland as a teenage villain and John Cusack in a brief flashback scene. The unseen "Writer" providing the film's narration is Richard Dreyfuss, a childhood friend of Rob Reiner.
As directed by Reiner from a screenplay by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans, "Stand By Me" is both funny and suspenseful. It's a real American Classic about friendship and the indelible experiences of growing up.
You can preorder "Stand By Me" now and save 30%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: March 22, 2005 |
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Hey, hey, hey... "Fat Albert" is back, this time in a live-action comedy starring SNL's Kenan Thompson. It was a monumental flop in theatres, but may find its place on DVD, where expectations are generally much lower.
Also making DVD debuts next week: Johnny Depp in "Finding Neverland," Annette Bening in "Being Julia," Robin Williams in "The Final Cut" and Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."
From TV comes the First Seasons of "The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries," "The Pretender" and "Doogie Howser, M.D." (each available separately).
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Support The DVD Dossier by buying your DVDs online from these respected merchants...
Amazon l Barnes & Noble l DVD Empire l  DVDPlanet l ebay  l Half.com l Target l Wal-Mart
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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.
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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.
No DVDs were harmed in the making of this newsletter.
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