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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for April 25, 2004.
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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April 25, 2004
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Some terrific films are fighting for your attention this week; we're confident that you'll make time to buy or rent at least one.
Our favorite is "Love Actually," the ultimate romantic comedy from the people who brought you "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," and "Bridget Jones's Diary." The cast is pitch perfect and includes some Very Big Stars battling for screen time - Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson - as well as a few moderately-sized stars (Keira Knightley and Bill Nighy) and a few people you've probably never seen before. It's a lot of fun to watch them and their story lines intersect and collide on the way to their inevitable happy ending(s).
There's the writer who falls for his housekeeper, the wife who suspects her husband's infidelity, a widower whose son pines for a classmate at school and even the Prime Minister of England, who covets his caterer. In fact, first-time director Richard Curtis, working from his own screenplay, weaves together no less than eight separate tales of friendship, love and passion in this funny and charming film. We highly recommended "Love Actually."
Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear are conjoined twins in "Stuck On You," the new light-hearted comedy from the Farrelly Brothers... and William Macy plays the title character in "The Cooler." (A "cooler" is apparently the name given to the guy hired by a casino to suck the luck out of a succesful gambler and give the edge back to the house.) Alec Baldwin is the violent old-school manager who employs him and Maria Bello the waitress who may turn his life around.
The documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss" takes you on a tour of history's most infamous shipwreck, The Titanic. Director James Cameron returned to the site of the wreckage, where he had shot footage for his 1997 blockbuster, along with a team of historians and scientists and the actor Bill Paxton. The film was originally shown only in IMAX theatres and you'll get that 61-minute version, plus a new expanded 92-minute version on this 2-disc set.
"Big Fish" is a Southern blend of fantasy and reality from director Tim Burton. An estranged son (Billy Crudup) returns home to be with his dying father (Albert Finney and also Ewan McGregor, as a young man). The father has always been a teller of tall tales, and on his deathbed, his son tries to learn more about him by reliving a lifetime of stories and myths.
As we mentioned last week, Universal Home Video is releasing the "Monster Legacy Collection Gift Set," an elaborately packaged six disc set, which includes hand-cast collectible busts of your favorite monsters. What we didn't mention is that you can also buy the "Frankenstein," "Dracula" and "Wolf Man" sets individually (without the collectibles). But, frankly, if you're going to buy more than one, it's a much better deal to buy the complete set.
Also out this week, "The Hammer Horror Collection," a rival six disc collection of classics starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. The boxed set includes "Curse of Frankenstein," "Horror of Dracula," "The Mummy," "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave," "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" and "Taste the Blood of Dracula." The latter three are also available individually.
Season Four of "The Dick Van Dyke Show:" comes to DVD this week. You get 32 episodes on 5 discs, along with a generous helping of special features: commentaries on selected episodes by Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, and Garry Marshall, a clip from the TV Land animated series, "The Alan Brady Show," the full-length CBS special "The Dick Van Dyke Show Remembered," rehearsal photos taken by Roddy McDowall, interviews with the cast and producers, Emmy Award telecast clips featuring the cast, original network promo spots and Van Dyke singing the theme song at the Hollywood Bowl.
The second season of "ER" hits store shelves and online merchants on Tuesday. The collection includes 22 episodes, presented in all-new widescreen transfers on 4 double-sided discs. Special features include commentary on two episodes by director Mimi Leder, editor Randy Jon Morgan, and actress Laura Innes, "CUTups" gag reel, "Outpatient Outtakes" with never-before-seen footage and two featurettes. "ER" is also available in a two-pack that contains Seasons One and Two.
"Yankeeography, Volume One" is the first in a series of signature biographies from MLB Productions that bring the greatest names in New York Yankees history to life. Volume One highlights six Yankee legends; Thurman Munson, Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly and Joe Torre.
And the first season of "The Kids in the Hall," the brilliant sketch comedy series, finally makes its way to DVD this week. This eagerly anticipated collection includes all 20 episodes (on 4 discs), commentary by the "Kids," 45 minutes of new interviews, two best-of compilations featuring fan-favorite sketches from the rare pilot episode and 30 minutes of unseen footage from the Rivoli Theater.
That's it for this week... as always, a full list of new releases, plus new disc announcements and a preview of next week's new DVDs is below. Thanks for reading!
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases |
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Street Date: April 27, 2004
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Shipping is FREE when your order totals $25 or more.
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Visit us online to see a comprehensive list of new DVD releases for the next six weeks.
The links above are for Region 1 (USA) Editions. Availability and release dates elsewhere may vary.
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DreamWorks Home Entertainment will be re-releasing "Shrek" on May 11th in a value-priced edition timed to promote the debut of "Shrek 2" in theatres ten days later.
Packaged along with the original "Shrek" will be something they're calling "Shrek 3-D," which picks up the story immediately after the ogre gets married, right where the first movie ended. "Shrek 3-D" is a fifteen minute film previously seen only as an attraction at Universal Studios theme park.
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Four pairs of special 3-D glasses are included and you'll get both 3-D and "regular" 2-D versions of the film itself, just in case you can't find the glasses or the kids spread peanut butter all over them.
Pre-order "Shrek" and "Shrek 3-D" and save 30%
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| Star Wars Trilogy Coming to DVD |
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Fox and Lucasfilm have announced details of the special features included in the 4-disc "Star Wars Trilogy" boxed set, due on DVD for the first time on September 21. In addition to the films (Special Editions of "Episode IV, A New Hope," "Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back," and "Episode VI, Return of the Jedi"), you'll also get commentary tracks with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Lawrence Kasdan, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren.
The fourth disc will deliver all-new bonus features, including original trailers and TV spots, never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films, plus the most comprehensive feature-length documentary ever produced on the Star Wars saga: "Empire of Dreams."
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Also included: a ten minute behind-the-scenes piece on next year's Episode III, a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of LucasArts' Episode III videogame (which won't be out - like the movie itself - until Spring '05) and a fully functional preview of the first level of LucasArts' "Star Wars: Battlefront" videogame, which will be released the same day as the DVD Trilogy for the Windows, Xbox, and PS2 platforms.
The "Star Wars Trilogy" will be available in both widescreen and full screen editions and can now be pre-ordered at a savings of 40% off the retail price of $69.98.
Even though more than 120 million copies of these films have already been sold on VHS and laser disc, sales are expected to be brisk for this new boxed set, as fans rush to update their collections with the medium of the moment.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases |
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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 you're having difficulty finding a particular title, you can search current availability for any DVD here.
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