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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for May 22, 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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May 22, 2005
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| Join the Columbia House DVD Club and Save... |
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Choose from big hit films like "Ray," "Troy," "Spider-Man 2," "Shrek 2" and many more.
For a limited time, get FREE SHIPPING when you sign-up here.
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Without a doubt, the BIG title on DVD this week is "The Aviator," being released in both widescreen and full screen editions.
The $105 million dollar box office epic directed by five-time Academy Award® nominee Martin Scorsese features an all-star cast including Leonardo Dicaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin.
The film was honored with three Golden Globe® Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Score and is one of the American Film Institute's and National Board of Review’s Top Ten Movies of the Year.
It's the true story of Howard Hughes, who was a wily industrialist, a glamorous movie producer and an unstoppable American innovator who thought of himself first and foremost as... an aviator.
Our favorite film of the week, however, is a much smaller film called "Dirty Filthy Love" that is being released by the Sundance Channel. This one tells the story of a man with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Tourette's Syndrome negotiating his way through divorce, his best friend's matchmaking efforts and a woman who introduces him to therapy, filth and unconditional love.
Darkly funny, quirky and poignant, "Dirty Filthy Love" features a standout performance by Welsh-born actor Michael Sheen.
Also of note this week: "Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile." This 2-Disc set features nearly four hours of material, including the Showtime documentary of the same name as well as an exclusive performance of "Smile" in its entirety.
The collection also includes almost two hours of bonus footage including never-before-seen interviews, performances, and recording session footage. "Smile" was to have been a 1967 solo album from the one time Beach Boy, but it was postponed for nearly 37 years. This documentary tells why.
"The Godfather, Part II" and "The Godfather, Part III," the second and third films in Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola's Corleone Trilogy are being re-released this week, just as three films of Frank Sinatra come to DVD for the first time.
Part of Fox Home Entertainment's "Sinatra Celebration," the films include "Tony Rome," the story of a hard-as-nails Miami detective on the trail of stolen jewelry, "The Lady in Cement," the further adventures of ladies man Rome, who must find a young woman's murderer, and "The Detective," a dark and compelling crime drama based on a novel by Roderick Thorpe.
Also coming to DVD this Tuesday is "Are We There Yet?" featuring Ice Cube as a beleaguered bachelor trying to woo a single mom and "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" featuring everybody's favorite bear trying to woo a Heffalump...
A quiet day in the Hundred Acre Wood quickly grows mysterious as a strange sound echoes through the trees, a sound that can only be, well, a Heffalump.
While the other Hundred Acre Woods friends devise traps, Roo sets off into the Wood and meets a sweet, young Heffalump named Lumpy. To Roo’s great surprise, Lumpy is quite friendly and playful. Roo wonders why the others are so frightened – and why Lumpy is so afraid of Roo’s friends.
Upon discovering their unconditional friendship, Roo and Lumpy’s loved ones realize how unfounded their fears were. Filled with humor, heart and Heffalumps, "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" is great family fun.
The big TV disc this week is Season Two of "Chappelle's Show."
Season Two may be the last for this popular Comedy Central series, as the show is currently in limbo because its star, Dave Chappelle, didn't show up for work April 29th and apparently checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa.
Season Three, twice delayed, was to have premiered on the cable network next week and this DVD release was to have been a major promotional vehicle for it. The First Season of "Chappelle's Show" has become the best-selling TV series DVD of all time, with almost 3 million copies sold.
Other TV shows making their way to DVD this week include last week's Finale of "Everybody Loves Raymond," the First Season of "Remington Steele," the First and Second Seasons of "News Radio," the Showtime series "Fat Actress" and - now in one DVD boxed set for the first time ever - "The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series" (5 seasons on 25 Discs).
In closing, a brief word about ensuring regular delivery of this newsletter.
We've said this many times, but the best way to make sure that your copy of The DVD Dossier winds up in your in-box each week is to confirm your subscription. (Otherwise, this free weekly newsletter that you have requested may get filtered out by your Internet Service Provider and wind up in your "Trash" or "SPAM" folder.)
We've been getting a lot of mail from people lately asking why we've dropped them from our subscription list. Our reply, of course, is that we haven't dropped them at all.
The fact is that in an age when most folks get more SPAM than legitimate e-mail, some ISPs are over zealous in their attempt to shield their customers from what they believe is unwanted e-mail.
The DVD Dossier may be blocked for a number of reasons, chief among them that we sometimes use what may be considered "naughty" words (out of context) to describe certain DVDs.
E-mail filters "see" those words (like the name of one of this week's featured DVDs) and automatically assume that the newsletter is unsolicited commercial e-mail.
But if you confirm your subscription (a process known as "double opt-in," because you signed-up once and then confirmed a second time), we're able to indicate that you're a confirmed subscriber in the invisible header of each edition of the newsletter when we send it out.
Seeing that, most ISPs will then grant VIP status to all subsequent e-mail communications, virtually guaranteeing that you'll never miss another issue again.
Each copy of The DVD Dossier contains a "confirmation" link at the very bottom of the e-mail. If you've never confirmed your subscription - or if you're not sure if you have - please scroll down and click to confirm right now.
Also, remember to put us in your address book or "white list," so we don't get blocked by your e-mail software. And if for some reason you miss an issue, please remember that you can always read us online at The DVD Dossier Archive.
Thanks for your cooperation and special thanks to those of you who wrote to tell us of this problem.
We always enjoy getting feedback, regardless of whether you agree with us or not. So keep those cards and letters coming!
And do please join us next week when we'll be back to tell you about a whole new bunch of DVDs heading your way.
All the best,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: May 24, 2005 |
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The Aviator: Widescreen Edition
The Aviator: Full Screen Edition
Sleepwalker Killing
Are We There Yet?
Dirty Filthy Love
Back in the Day
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
I, Robot:
2-Disc Collector's Edition
Man on Fire:
2-Disc Collector's Edition
The Day After Tomorrow:
2-Disc Collector's Edition
The Godfather, Part II
The Godfather, Part III
Last Letters Home:
Voices of American Troops
Fancy Dancing
Forgotten Films:
Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle
Spongebob Squarepants:
Fear of Krabby Patty
The Dick Van Dyke Show:
The Complete Series
Everybody Loves Raymond:
The Series Finale
Law and Order:
The Third Year
Chappelle's Show: Season 2
Eddie Griffin: Voodoo Child
Airwolf: Season 1
Batman: The Animated Series, Volume 3
SuperFriends: Volume Two
Behind the Camera:
Charlie's Angels
Samurai Jack: Season 2
Garfield the Cat: Fantasies
Icemaker
Spin
The Trail to Hope Rose
Richard Pryor Stand Up:
Double Feature
News Radio:
The Complete First and Second Seasons
Fat Actress:
The Complete First Season
16 Years of Alcohol
In Old Arizona
Anna and the King of Siam
Aria's Secret Desires
Dangerous Living
The Dancer
Just a Question of Love
Straight Men and the Men Who Love Them
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Penthouse: Bedroom Fantasies
Remington Steele: Season One
Earthquake: About Got Damn Time
(Platinum Comedy Series)
Baa Baa Black Sheep: Volume 1
Airwolf: Season One
Dragnet 67: Season One
Quincy, M.E. - Seasons 1 & 2
Combat: Season 4 - Conflict 1
Combat: Season 4 - Conflict 2
The Brooke Ellison Story
Howard Zinn:
You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train
Quigley
Big Black Comedy: Volume 2
M*A*S*H - Season Eight:
Collector's Edition
The Batman: Season 1, Volume 1
The Andy Griffith Show:
The Complete Second Season
Samurai Jack: Season 2
After School Specials '81 - '82, Volume 5
After School Specials '82 - '86, Volume 6
Above & Beyond:
The Complete Series
Queen for a Day
Speed Racer, Volume 3:
Limited Collector's Edition
Voyage to the Planets and Beyond
S21: Khmer Rouge Killing Machine
The Big Town After Dark
The Bravados
Broken Lance
Buffalo Bill
Physical Evidence
The Razor's Edge
Sorted
Cowboys Run
Nick Jr. Favorites, Volume 1
Fairies: The Seventh Unicorn
Drums Along the Mohawk
2B Perfectly Honest
A Farewell to Arms
Forty Guns
The Frogmen
Warlock
The Detective
The Lady in Cement
Tony Rome
Beautiful Dreamer:
Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile
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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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Experience the beginnings of the legend in the all-new movie "Tarzan II," the direct-to-home-video sequel to Disney’s animated film “Tarzan.” The film debuts on DVD June 14th.
This exciting adventure, from the creators of Disney’s “Tarzan” and approved by creator Edgar Rice Burroughs’s estate, takes place when Tarzan is just a kid alongside his good buddies Terk the ape and Tantor the elephant.
Phil Collins won an Academy Award® for “Tarzan” (Best Original Song, 1999: "You’ll Be In My Heart”) and he delivers two powerful, original songs in this new sequel.
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Comedian George Carlin joins a talented vocal cast that includes Glenn Close and Lance Henricksen, who both return from the original film, alongside new voices Brad Garrett, Ron Perlman and Estelle Harris.
"Tarzan II" is the “untold chapter” of Tarzan’s youth.
As a child, Tarzan (Harrison Chad) feels like the worst ape ever. Kala (Close) reassures him that his differences will one day be his strengths, but these very differences cause an accident that leaves Kala injured, and Tarzan missing and presumed dead by the rest of the tribe.
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Convinced that everyone would be better off without him, Tarzan sets off to find his place in the world. A dramatic encounter with an outcast family of gorillas - Mama Gunda (Harris) and her brutish sons Kago (Perlman) and Uto (Brad Garrett) - sends Tarzan up to Dark Mountain.
There, he uncovers the myth of the dreaded Zugor, a legendary monster who turns out to be nothing more than a cranky old hermit ape (Carlin). Zugor starts out as Tarzan’s reluctant mentor but soon becomes his great friend.
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TARZAN® Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. © Burroughs and Disney.
All Rights Reserved.
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With Zugor’s help, Tarzan is able to find his own set of remarkable jungle skills and learns that even though he’s not an ape, he’s something much more amazing and wonderful – he’s a Tarzan!
You can pre-order "Tarzan II" now and save 30%.
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A new extended cut of Bill Murray's 1981 hit, "Stripes" arrives June 7th and the Army will never be the same.
When John Winger (Murray) loses his job, his car, his apartment and his girlfriend, all in one day, he decides he only has one option: volunteer for Uncle Sam. He talks his friend Russell (Harold Ramis) into enlisting with him.
Where else, they figure, can they help save the world for democracy and meet girls!
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John and Russell find basic training a snap: they are arrested twice, have endless run-ins with their drill sergeant (Warren Oates) and get into a big mess at a female mud-wrestling match. They even steal a top secret government vehicle to take some gorgeous female MPs on a date, and wind up behind the Iron Curtain.
This new edition of "Stripes" includes six deleted scenes featuring almost 20 minutes of additional footage added back into the film by director Ivan Reitman, commentary from Reitman and writer/producer Dan Goldberg, the theatrical trailer and a "Stars and Stripes" documentary.
Pre-order "Stripes" now and save 30%. |
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It has been a busy week in the online DVD rental wars.
Only a day after Blockbuster announced they were "testing" a new higher price point, Wal-Mart gave up the ghost Wednesday and handed over their DVD rental customers to Netflix in a unique promotional arrangement.
Wal-Mart, whose brick and mortar stores sell more DVDs than any other USA retailer (about one third of all DVDs sold in the country), is now officially out of the online DVD rental business. Their online store (at walmart.com) will instead devote its considerable virtual shelf space to selling DVDs online at low prices.
All Wal-Mart DVD rental customers will have the option of moving over to Netflix and the retail giant will recommend Netflix to its online customers interested in renting DVDs.
Netflix, in turn, has agreed to continue to provide service to Wal-Mart's current customers at their current rates (as low as $12.97 per month for 2 DVDs out at a time), provided they sign-up with Netflix before June 16th.
In addition, Netflix has started promoting walmart.com to its 3 million subscribers (both online and through ads on its signature red mailing envelopes) for those times when customers would rather buy than rent.
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Wal-Mart is estimated to have under 100,000 subscribers for their service (started with much fanfare in June 2003), while Netflix now has more than 3 million and is well on its way to meeting its goal of achieving 4 million subscribers by year's end.
Netflix said in a statement Thursday that while the promotional arrangement strengthens the company's competitive position and offers an opportunity for increased awareness and referrals, they do not believe the agreement would materially impact the company's current subscriber growth or financial performance.
Blockbuster, which started their online DVD rental service last August and now has about 800,000 subscribers, scrambled to respond to this big Netflix victory by offering former Wal-Mart customers two months free and a free DVD when they sign up.
As for that new price test for Blockbuster... they're currently running ads featuring a monthly price of $17.99, which is three dollars more than their current price and - as it happens - the very same price Netflix now charges for their 3 at a time plan.
When prospective customers click on the ad, they are told that it's only a test and are offered the lower price. If, however, Blockbuster adopts this new higher price, it would effectively bring the year-long online DVD rental price war to an end.
(For more on this topic, read the October 17th, December 26th (2004) and January 16th (2005) issues of The DVD Dossier.)
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: May 31, 2005 |
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There are no major theatrical titles coming to DVD next week, but there will be four interesting collections, each saluting the films of a different Hollywood icon: Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, James Dean and Steve McQueen.
Also coming to DVD on May 31st are the Third Season of "The Dukes of Hazzard," the Second Season of both "Hunter" and "Home Movies" Cartoon Network's irreverent animated series (available separately) and the First and Second Seasons of "Danger Mouse, the animated series about a rodent secret agent that aired on Nickelodeon.
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Next week also marks the DVD debut of the sci-fi series "The Tomorrow People" (Set 1 features 26 episodes from the series' first two seasons), the biography series "This Is Your Life," with a compilation of episodes originally shown from 1953 to 1987 and "Moonlighting," the 1980's dramedy about a detective agency starring Cybil Shepard and Bruce Willis.
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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.
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.)
At DVD Direct 4 Less, your privacy is always guaranteed. We promise that we will never sell, rent or trade our subscriber lists. You can view our complete privacy policy here.
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.
Republishing the content of this newsletter - online or off-line - or posting the content contained herein on other websites without written permission is expressly forbidden.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please let us know.
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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