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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for July 18, 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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July 18, 2004
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Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Snoop Dogg star this week in "Starsky & Hutch," a comedy loosely based on the 70's TV show of the same name. The plot - something about a drug dealer (Vaughn) who invents a new form of cocaine - is fairly idiotic. But the real fun here is the way they parody the fashions, music and hair styles of the period. Watch for cameos by the "real" Starsky and Hutch (Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul) toward the end of the film.
Owen Wilson also stars in "The Big Bounce," along with Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Bebe Neuwirth and Willie Nelson. It's a pleasant enough remake of a 1969 film adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel. Wilson is a smalltime crook trying to lead a more honest life... until a beautiful woman lures him back for a big payday. You can buy this new version of "The Big Bounce" alone or in a 2-pack, which also includes the original flick.
"Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights," inspired by the original "Dirty Dancing," is set in Cuba in the 1950's rather than a Catskill Mountains resort in the 1960's. But the two movies share virtually the same plot: a young woman meets a young man with whom she instantly begins a hot and sweaty courtship on the dance floor. Her mother protests, but the forbidden romance continues. It's not a very well written film. It's not a very well acted film. But the dancing is quite good and Patrick Swayze (star of the first film) appears briefly.
Fans of Philip Roth's novel may find fault with the screen adaptation of "The Human Stain," as adapted by Nicholas Meyer and directed by Robert Benton. But this story of class, sex and race relations succeeds on its own terms. Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman and Gary Sinise star in this odd drama and at least one of them is woefully miscast. We're just not sure which one.
Lindsay Lohan plays (what else?) a teenage girl with a problem in "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." She's quite charming and charismatic and actually manages to make this predictable comedy bearable. But this movie is strictly for its target audience, preteen girls.
Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl" is yet another remake, this one done for cable television. The film stars Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton in the roles originally played by Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason in 1977. This is a slightly updated story of a downtrodden divorcee and an aspiring actor who become unwilling roommates in a New York City apartment.
The rest of this week's notable DVDs also come from TV. For starters, there's Season One of "Boomtown," the highly acclaimed (but canceled) NBC series.
Also out this week is the Complete Third Season of "All in the Family." It's a 3-disc set featuring all 24 episodes from the '72 - '73 season (but absolutely no special features).
And the Second Season of "Soap" will be released on Tuesday in a 3-disc set featuring all 22 episodes from the '78 - '79 season. Also included is the Season One pilot episode and a "Creators Come Clean" featurette.
Two popular animated shows - both part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim - come to DVD this week. Captain Murphy, Marco, Debbie, Stormy, Doctor Quinn, Dolphin Boy (and a few giant squids and flesh-ripping aliens) invite you to enjoy Season One of "SeaLab 2021."
"Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 2" introduces you to Master Shake, Frylock and Meatwad, food products who live together, unsupervised, somewhere in New Jersey, not far from the ocean. (Carl, their next door neighbor, has an above-ground pool and an attitude.)
"Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends: Thomas and the Jet Engine" is a collection of animated tales about everybody's favorite tank engine and how he and his friends keep things running smoothly on Sir Topham Hatt’s railway.
"K Street" is that rare HBO misstep, a show so bad and so boring that nobody we know has been able to watch more than a single episode (there were only ten). That's not to say that this wasn't an interesting experiment. Co-produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, "K Street" was a highly improvised series combining fictional characters with appearances by real-life political figures, all centered around the biggest news stories of the week.
Produced on location in Washington, D.C., each show had a hectic five-day production schedule, with the final edit often taking place just hours before the show aired. Unfortunately, we never really cared very much about the characters on "K Street" and the "plot" became increasingly more complex and hard to follow, with very little reward for hanging on till the end.
Politics from an earlier era are on display as "NBC News Presents Ronald Reagan," hosted by Stone Phillips. This is an intimate and complete portrait of our 39th President – from his Hollywood career, through two terms in the White House and on to the week-long commemoration following his death.
The way our 35th President manipulated the media is examined in "The Kennedy Mystique: Creating Camelot" from Wellspring Media. With glamorous Hollywood good looks and two camera friendly children, the Kennedys helped to usher in a youth culture that affected every aspect of American life.
From behind closed doors in the White House to intimate family vacations, photography and television took the American public behind-the-scenes into the lives of the Kennedys… this documentary takes a look at just how accurate those images were.
And that wraps up another week of new DVD releases here at The DVD Dossier.
We'll see you next Sunday.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: July 20, 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.
Links above are for Region 1 (USA) Editions. Availability and release dates elsewhere may vary.
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| Emmy-Nominated Shows on DVD |
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Nominations for the 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced in Los Angeles this past week by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards will be handed out on September 12th, but many of the nominated shows and series are either already out on DVD or will be released soon.
Leading the nominations with 21 is "Angels in America," the HBO miniseries directed by Mike Nichols. "Angels," adapted from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Tony Kushner, will debut on DVD September 7th. Preoder now for special savings.
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Close behind with 20 Emmy nominations is the Fifth season of "The Sopranos," the HBO drama series about a New Jersey mafia boss, his family and his "family." No official word yet on when the Fifth Season will be out on DVD , but the First Four Seasons are available now and have become bestsellers.
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"The West Wing" follows as the next most-honored show with 12 nominations. The first two seasons of the NBC drama about life in the White House under President Josiah Bartlett are currently available on DVD.
The following shows and movies - each of which has a significant presence on DVD - were also nominated for Emmys:
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"Sex and the City," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Frasier," "Will & Grace" "Alias," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "24," "Friends," "The Reagans," "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," "Iron Jawed Angels," "Nip / Tuck" "The Apprentice," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "ER," "Monk," "Chappelle's Show" and "The Simpsons."
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| Don't Leave Home Without Your Raincoat |
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Fans have been waiting for years and at last, "Columbo: The Complete First Season" has a DVD release scheduled for the not too distant future.
The show - starring Peter Falk as a rumpled cigar-smoking detective with a ratty old car and an even rattier raincoat - was a big hit throughout much of the 70's and 80's and even on into the 90's, when the movies were treated as special events.
The show changed the TV mystery genre forever, as the object was no longer to find out "whodunit." We already knew who had done it, because we saw a crime (usually a murder) being committed at the top of each show.
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The reason we tuned in was to watch the elaborate game of cat and mouse between Columbo and the killer. Falk made Columbo seem like an idiot incapable of solving the simplest of crimes. His disheveled appearance and his casual manner led his suspects to underestimate his ability and they invariably cooperated as he pursued his investigation.
Falk, in a role first offered to Lee J. Cobb and Bing Crosby, was letter perfect as the police lieutenant with no first name. At $125,000 an episode, he was reportedly one of the highest paid actors on TV in 1975.
"Columbo: The Complete First Season" brings 9 episodes to DVD, including the two original Columbo movies "Prescription: Murder" and "Ransom for a Dead Man," as well as the pilot episode ("Murder by the Book") directed by Steven Spielberg.
"Columbo" will be released on September 7th, which is shaping up as one of the most crowded release dates in recent memory. You can preorder this 5-disc set now and save 30%
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Speaking of Steven Spielberg.... in addition to his early work on "Columbo," we can now report that his first films will soon be available on DVD for the very first time. The director who gave us classic films and box office smashes like "Jaws" and "E.T." started out with two more modest films.
"Duel," Spielberg's directorial debut, stars Dennis Weaver as a traveling salesman struggling for survival as a psychopathic truck driver terrorizes him on a California highway. This new Collector's Edition is loaded with bonus features, including an interview with Spielberg about the making of the film.
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And "The Sugarland Express," Spielberg's first theatrical film, is based on the true story of a young woman who kidnapped a state trooper and led police on a wild chase in an effort to save her son from adoption. Goldie Hawn stars.
Both titles will be released August 17th, but you can now preorder Duel: Collector's Edition and/or The Sugarland Express and save 30% |
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: July 27, 2004 |
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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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