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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for August 29, 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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August 29, 2004
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Join the Columbia House DVD Club and Save...
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Choose from big hit films like "Ray," "Shrek 2," "Anchorman," "Meet the Fockers" and more.
For a limited time, get FREE SHIPPING when you sign-up here.
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In a week in which Jesus dominates the aisles of your local video store and the web pages of online DVD merchants, no title is more prominent than "The Passion of the Christ." The film, directed (and financed) by actor Mel Gibson, sparked much controversy and debate with its singular vision of the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus.
"Passion" arrives with no special features whatsoever, you'll get just the film itself. (A more deluxe edition with extras is rumored for next year, perhaps at Easter.) As has become customary with most big titles, His DVD will be available in both widescreen and full screen editions.
The power of "Passion" at the box office motivated all the studios to go back into their vaults to see what library product they had that could be re-released to coincide with the debut of "Passion" on DVD this Tuesday. So you'll see a host of DVDs with religious themes out this week, including a few new titles.
Norman Jewison's 1973 screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice rock opera, "Jesus Christ Superstar" is one of the better choices. The film stars Ted Neeley as Jesus and Carl Anderson as Judas and features the song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (sung by Yvonne Elliman).
Also out this week, "Jesus: The Complete Story" from BBC Video and "NBC News Presents: The Last Days of Jesus," an investigative report by Stone Phillips,
The folks at Comedy Central's South Park have their say with the satirical "The Passion of the Jew," in which Kyle finally sees "The Passion" and is forced to admit that Cartman has been right all along. Meanwhile, many of the hardcore fans of the film unite together to carry out the film’s message under Cartman's leadership.
Included with "The Passion of the Jew" are two bonus episodes, "Christian Rock Hard," (Cartman, Butters and Token form a Christian rock band and rise to the top of the Christian rock charts with their own messages of faith) and "Red Hot Catholic Love," (about a trip to the Vatican and enduring real-life challenges of a video game from 1982).
Disney brings back the 1998 direct-to-home-video Lion King sequel, "Lion King II: Simba's Pride," in a 2-Disc Special Edition. If you're thinking about buying this one, you may wish to wait, as Disney has just announced "The Lion King Trilogy Gift Set" for December 7th. This set will bring together "The Lion King Platinum Edition," "Lion King I" and "Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Special Edition" in one collection.
Robinson Crusoe is back in what's being billed as the 50th Anniversary Edition of this classic tale starring Oscar Nominee Dan O'Herlihy under the direction of Luis Buñuel.
Chris Rock returns in "Never Scared," his most recent HBO solo concert and Tom Selleck portrays Dwight D. Eisenhower in "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," a made-for-cable movie documenting the General's planning for the Allied assault against Nazi-occupied Europe.
The Civil War is the focus of "Gettysburg and Stories of Valor," the third volume in the Civil War Minutes documentary series. Narrated by Keith Carradine, this two-disc boxed set presents a unique collection of 30 stories about people and artifacts from the Civil War.
Star Trek fans will be beaming up copies of "Star Trek The Original Series: The Complete First Season," out on DVD this week for the first time ever in complete season sets.
Also being released is "Trekkies 2," the second in a series of documentaries that take a light hearted look at actual Star Trek fans. The filmmakers visit fans all over the world, including a "Spock" who transformed his living space into a starship and auctioned it on the internet for two million dollars and the first Star Trek convention ever held in Serbia.
There's also a boxed set out this week containing both "Trekkies 1 and 2."
The Complete Second Seasons of "I Love Lucy" and "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends" arrive on Tuesday, as does the Complete First Season of "Touched by An Angel."
"Touched by An Angel" was a popular CBS series about three angels (Roma Downey, Della Reese and John Dye), dispatched from heaven to inspire people who are at a crossroads in their lives. The First Season features notable guest appearances by Randy Travis, Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
And that's your week in new DVDs.
Next week promises to be a banner week for new DVD releases, with more than 350 scheduled to hit store shelves on September 7th. Join us next Sunday as we provide an inside look.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: August 31, 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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| Caught in the Web Six Ways |
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Most critics thought "Spider-Man 2" was even better than the first movie, with dazzling special effects and a character-driven story that was rich with emotion and respect for its comic book origins.
In "Spider-Man 2," Tobey Maguire returns as mild-mannered Peter Parker, who struggles to juggle the competing demands of his dual life as college student and superhuman crime fighter.
Peter's life becomes even more complicated when he confronts a new nemesis, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) who has been reincarnated as the maniacal and multi-tentacled "Doc Ock."
When Doc Ock kidnaps MJ (Kirsten Dunst), Spider-Man must swing back into action to save everything he holds dear.
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On November 30th, "Spider-Man 2" comes to DVD in six separate editions! For starters, there will be both widescreen and full screen 2-Disc Special Editions of the film.
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These will feature more than ten hours of all-new content including commentary from director Sam Raimi, producers Avi Arad and Grant Curtis and Spidey himself, Tobey Maguire; a blooper reel and a trivia track with "pop-up" facts and trivia about the film and the world of Spider-Man.
Other extras include a 12-part documentary that takes us behind-the-scenes from pre-production to the Hollywood premiere; an "Ock-Umentary" that follows Doc Ock's journey from the comics to the big screen; a featurette on the women in Peter Parker's life; a multi-angle dissection of the climatic Pier sequence captured in real-time and much more.
There also will be a single disc SuperBit Collection version (widescreen only). You sacrifice most of the special features when you buy this one, but you gain a high bit rate digital transfer that optimizes video quality, along with both DTS and 5.1 audio.
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And if you don't already have Spider-Man on DVD, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has thoughtfully packaged the 2-Disc Special Editions of both films in one handy boxed set, available once again - you guessed it - in widescreen and full screen versions.
But collectors may want the "Spider-Man 2 Special Edition Gift Set," which includes not only the 2-Disc widescreen Special Edition, but also a postcard collection of Spider-Man 2 artwork, an exclusive limited edition 25-page comic book artists’ portfolio, collectible “concept-to-screen comparison” portfolio and a reprint of the Marvel comic book, The Amazing Spider-Man #50, titled “Spider-Man No More.”
Frankly, we think the only logical place to buy "Spider-Man 2" is on the, um, "web." And when you preorder any of these, you can save 30-40%.
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The Eighth Season of "Friends" comes to DVD on November 9th in a 4-Disc boxed set that will include every episode from the season, plus some extras which haven't yet been announced.
In Season Eight of "Friends," Ross finds out he's the father of Rachel's baby, Joey dates Rachel, Chandler discovers Monica's secret closet, Rachel has her baby shower, Monica hires a stripper for Chandler's birthday, Phoebe's new boyfriend drives everyone crazy, Joey scores another interview with Soap Opera Digest magazine and Chandler discovers the joys of a nice scented bubble bath.
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The season ends with the birth of Rachel's baby in a 1-hour season finale.
"Friends" stars Courteney Cox Arquette, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry, with guest appearances in Season Eight by Brad Pitt (Mr. Jennifer Aniston), Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, Marlo Thomas, Elliot Gould and Morgan Fairchild.
Detailing the exploits and romantic (mis)adventures of six best friends, this NBC "Must See TV" series remains one of the most popular sitcoms of all time and concluded its ten year run earlier this year.
Seasons Nine and Ten of "Friends" are expected to be released on DVD in 2005. Until then, spend some time with Season Eight. You'll be glad you did.
Preorder The Complete Eighth Season of "Friends" now and save 35%.
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| Sun Shines on Smart Sexy Romantic Comedy |
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One of the most original and critically acclaimed films of the year comes to DVD on September 28th.
Written by two-time Oscar® nominee Charlie Kaufman, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is a seriously funny comedy about the power of romantic destiny.
Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the doctor who invented the process (Tom Wilkinson) and orders up the same treatment for himself.
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But as his memories of Clementine are extinguished one-by-one, he realizes how much he still loves her. It soon becomes clear that Joel simply can't get Clementine out of his mind.
Extras include deleted scenes, commentary with director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, a behind-the-scenes featurette and "A Conversation with Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry," a discussion between Carrey and Gondry as they reflect upon their favorite moments from the making of the film. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" will be available in both widescreen and full screen versions
You can preorder "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" now and save 30%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: September 7, 2004 |
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Next week is one of the biggest DVD "street dates" ever, with more than 350 releases. We'll do our part to keep you informed of the top titles, as well as the best of the rest.
So here's a quick preview of what you have to look forward to next week:
Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Tom Arnold and Missi Pyle star in "Soul Plane," a raunchy comedy about an airline that caters to the hip-hop crowd. As you might expect, it's available not only in the R-Rated theatrical version, but also an unrated "Mile High Edition."
Also out next week: Tom Hanks in "The Ladykillers," Ben Affleck in "Jersey Girl," Hilary Swank in the HBO TV movie "Iron Jawed Angels" and the Collector's Edition of Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita."
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From the small screen comes new seasons of "Alias," "Will & Grace," "Angel," "Columbo," "Magnum P.I.," "Mork & Mindy," "Without a Trace," "American Dreams" and "Everwood."
As always, we recommend preordering any title you're interested in prior to its release. We never really paid much attention to this in the past, but we recently started to compare prices before and after release.
One two disc set we bought went up $12 after it was released. So we think it's a no-brainer: preorder the DVD's you're most interested in before they're released and save 30-45% off the list price.
Starting this week - and based on your feedback - we're adding links to many popular online merchants right here in The DVD Dossier newsletter, to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for at your preferred online store.
If there's a DVD web site you'd like us to add, just let us know. We'll do our best to develop a partnership with them. |
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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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