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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for June 6, 2004.
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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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June 6, 2004
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One of the best films of last year makes its debut on DVD this week.
"Mystic River," a mystery adapted from the best-selling novel by Dennis Lehane, tells the story of three best friends who grew up in working-class Boston, drifted apart after a terrible tragedy and who only reconnect following a brutal murder. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film features a flawless cast (including Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden and Laurence Fishburne) and two Academy-Award winning performances from Sean Penn and Tim Robbins.
The film is available in a "bare bones" edition and in a 3-disc Special Edition, loaded with extras: commentary by Robbins and Bacon, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, full-length interviews with Eastwood, Robbins and Bacon from "The Charlie Rose Show," two trailers and the complete CD soundtrack.
Considerably lighter in tone is "Along Came Polly" starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. This one is from the "opposites attract" school of romantic comedy - she's a free spirit, he's an uptight insurance risk-assessment analyst - but most of the jokes fall flat. Still, it's a worthy diversion for fans of these two and the film does offer some good supporting performances (and a few laughs) from Bryan Brown, Alec Baldwin and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The seedy underlife of one of Brazil's biggest slums is profiled in "City of God" (Cidade de Deus), the highly regarded feature that takes us inside the Rio de Janeiro housing project of the same name. The film follows two boys down distinctly different paths; one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer. At 130 minutes, "City of God" seems a little long, but it is nevertheless a striking portrait of this violent and squalid ghetto, with surprisingly effective performances from amateur actors.
"Carolina" also comes to DVD this week. The film stars Julia Stiles as a young woman who leaves her kooky family behind in search of a normal life. Shirley MacLaine appears as her eccentric Grandmother. And a special boxed set of all three "Robocop" movies finally makes its way to DVD; it's a must-have for any dedicated sci-fi enthusiast.
If you release it on DVD, they will buy...
Several older films are being re-released in special or commemorative editions this week. First up is the 2-disc 15th Anniversary Edition of "Field of Dreams" that comes with remastered picture and sound and a bunch of behind-the-scenes and baseball-themed extras. These include a roundtable discussion about the film with Kevin Costner and former baseball players and newly discovered deleted scenes not available on previous releases.
There's also "The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller," featuring six Tarzan adventures on three discs, plus an extra disc with a host of special features, including vintage shorts (our favorite is "Scharzan the Conqueror," starring Jimmy Durante). These original Tarzan films were made in the ten year period between 1932 and 1942.
An all-new 20th anniversary Edition of 1984's "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes" is also out this week. This film entirely rethought the Tarzan legend and miscast Christopher Lambert in the title role. The film also stars Andie MacDowell, Ian Holm and - amazingly - Sir Ralph Richardson as Tarzan's grandfather.
It's been ten years since "Reality Bites" burst onto the scene with an appealing cast (Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder, Janeane Garofalo, Ethan Hawke, David Spade, Renee Zellweger, Kevin Pollak and Jeanne Triplehorn), each of whom would go on to bigger (and better) roles in bigger (and better) movies. This week, the 10th Anniversary DVD Edition of "Reality Bites" is being released. The disc includes a remastered print with commentary from Stiller (who marked his directorial debut with the film) and writer Helen Childress.
Rejoice, possums! Dame Edna Everage, the superstar housewife and dynamic diva, will bring her acclaimed 1980's TV show to DVD when "The Dame Edna Experience" is released on Tuesday. Dame Edna is actually the creation and alter-ego of Australian comic Barry Humphries, who has made Dame Edna into simply the most entertaining human alive and a wickedly funny interrogator of Big Name celebrities.
This series of six variety/chat shows (or, as Dame Edna calls them, "monologues interrupted by total strangers") provides a perfect showcase for Dame Edna's egomania and Humphries' rapier wit. Guest stars include Sean Connery, Charlton Heston, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jane Seymour, Larry Hagman, Rudolf Nureyev and Joan Rivers. Also included is a mind-bending interview of Humphries conducted by Dame Edna herself.
Eighteen years after it ended its run, the two-time Emmy-winner "SCTV Network/90" is being released in a 5-disc DVD boxed set. SCTV ran for two years on NBC and featured some of comedy’s brightest stars: Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Rick Moranis, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Dave Thomas and the late John Candy.
"SCTV Network/90, Volume 1" includes nine 90-minute episodes from the first season of this sketch comedy show. Memorable segments like "Moral Majority," "Pledge Week," and "Bouncin' Back to You" are featured, as are appearances by characters Johnny LaRue, Yellowbelly, Edith Prickley, Bob and Doug McKenzie, and Lola Heatherton. Extras include commentaries by Flaherty and Levy, the SCTV reunion from the 1999 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, and four new documentaries.
Other TV shows coming to DVD this week: Season Six of "M*A*S*H," the Second Season of "The Dead Zone," the first two seasons of "Just Shoot Me," "Big Brother 4" and the First Seasons of "Quantum Leap," "Tour of Duty," "The A-Team," "PlayMakers" and "Who's The Boss."
And that about wraps it up for yet another week of new DVD releases. We'll be back next Sunday.
See you then!
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases |
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Street Date: June 8, 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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| Preview of Next Week's Releases |
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Up next week: Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore go on "50 First Dates," a strong ensemble cast is featured in the film festival favorite "The Station Agent," and Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Jerry Stiller, Paul Reubens, Megan Mullaly, David Ogden Stiers, and Wallace Shawn provide the voices in the animated feature "Disney's Teacher's Pet,"
Larry David stars as himself in the Second Season of the HBO hit "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Mandy Patinkin stars in the First Season of the Showtime hit "Dead Like Me" and Homer and Bart Simpson star in the Fourth Season of "The Simpsons."
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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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