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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for October 3, 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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October 3, 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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This is your DVD Dossier for the week of October 3. Here you'll find everything you could possibly want to know about the DVDs to be released this coming Tuesday, October 5th. Let's get to it...
New this week: "Saved!," a controversial teen comedy about hype, hypocrisy and high school starring Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker and Macaulay Culkin. Without getting into plot details, we're here to report that the film deals with homosexuality, teenage pregnancy and Christianity. We think it's well made, funny and respectful of religion and alternate points of view.
We're aware that some may disagree.
Another controversial film, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" also makes its way to DVD this Tuesday. The film, the first documentary in history to debut at the top of the theatrical charts with a $24 million opening weekend, took this year's top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
In case you haven't heard (where the heck have you been?), the film is a searing critique of the Bush administration and its rationale for taking the United States to war in Iraq. The DVD release includes 80 extra minutes of updates and special content not seen in the theatrical version.
Other films are capitalizing on the interest in "Fahrenheit 9/11" and in political documentaries in general in the runup to the US elections next month. One of those is "Horns and Halos," the Best Documentary winner at the 2002 New York and Chicago Underground Film Festivals.
James Hatfield wrote a tell-all biography about George W. Bush back in the late 90's in which he alleged - among other things - that the presidential candidate had used cocaine as a young man.
But that's not the story this film tells.
"Horns and Halos" is really about how the publisher, St. Martin's Press, pulled the book from distribution when it was revealed that Hatfield was an ex-con who served prison time for his connection to a murder conspiracy.
And how a discredited Hatfield struggles, along with his new publisher, to get the book to market. Things don't go as they hope and the movie doesn't end the way you think it might.
Speaking of prison (hey, we'll take a segue wherever we can find one; we're not too picky), one of our favorite movies, "The Shawshank Redemption," is out this week in a new 2-Disc "Special Edition" in honor of the film's 10th Anniversary. "Shawshank," nominated for 7 Academy Awards, is the popular 1994 prison drama that was based on a novella by Stephen King.
Also available: the "Shawshank Redemption Deluxe Limited Edition Gift Set," which includes the 2-Disc Special Edition plus the CD soundtrack and a 96-page collector's book.
From television this week, we get "Tanner '88," a political miniseries created sixteen years ago for HBO by director Robert Altman and cartoonist Garry Trudeau.
This "mockumentary," recently shown on the Sundance Channel, brings a fictitious presidential candidate out onto the campaign trail, competing for the 1988 Democratic nomination against Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Gary Hart and Michael Dukakis.
Starring Michael Murphy as nice guy Senator Jack Tanner, the show is shot on video, is highly improvisational and way ahead of its time. "Tanner '88" debuts on DVD the same day its contemporary four-part sequel, "Tanner on Tanner," premieres on Sundance.
The DVD comes with a new video discussion between Altman and Trudeau and episodic introductions from the original cast members created for the 2004 broadcast of the series. (The cast, by the way, includes Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon as Tanner's teenage daughter, Alex.)
Other TV shows coming to DVD this week are two volumes of episodes from the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series, "The Amanda Show," plus several series about surviving life as a high school student: Season Two of "Roswell" (a show which brings new meaning to the term "alienated teen"), Season Four (Senior Year) of "Dawson's Creek" and Season Two of the funky late '70's sitcom "What's Happening!!"
Also making their way to DVD, Set 10 in the "Agatha Christie's Poirot" series and new discs from Dame Edna Everage, Dora the Explorer and The Cartoon Network.
Besides "Fahrenheit 9/11," we expect that much of the heat this week at DVD stores and rental counters will come from Disney's Platinum Series Special Edition of "Aladdin." The film comes to DVD for the first time in a fully restored and enhanced digital transfer with an all-new 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix and tons of special features.
Also available is the "Aladdin Special Collector's Gift Set," which is the same 2-Disc edition noted above, but placed in a fancy schmancy slipsleeve case with 5 exclusive all-new sketches by the original animators, a film frame from the movie and a new Special Edition book.
"Aladdin" is a wonderful animated Disney musical about a genie, a meanie and a pair of young lovers. Don't miss this one... and remember to take advantage of the 35% preorder discount by ordering before Tuesday!
And please join us next week when we'll return to take a look at a whole new selection of the best in DVD.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: October 5, 2004 |
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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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| Elf on the Shelf November 16th |
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"Elf," a charming family film, hits store shelves November 16th in a 2-Disc Infinifilm Edition from New Line Home Entertainment that includes both widescreen and full screen presentations of the film.
Will Ferrell stars as a cheerful misfit of an elf named Buddy, who, we soon discover, isn't really an elf at all. As a baby, he crawled into Santa’s toy bag and was whisked away to the North Pole, where he was raised by Santa's elves.
Fully grown, Buddy towers above his elf family and suspects something might be amiss. So he heads back to his birthplace – New York City – to seek out his roots. What he finds is a Scrooge-like father (James Caan) and a cynical eight-year-old half-brother who doesn’t believe in Santa.
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Worst of all, everyone seems to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas.
By using his simple elfin skills, however, Buddy is able to win over his family, save Christmas in New York and at last find his true place in the world.
"Elf" is a surprisingly good holiday movie, smart and funny, well written and acted and nicely directed by actor Jon Favreau.
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Bob Newhart and Will Ferrell in "Elf"
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There's a fine supporting cast with Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Peter Dinklage, Amy Sedaris, Edward Asner and Bob Newhart all delivering top notch performances. Everybody plays it straight and sincere and the film is better for it.
"Elf" comes to DVD with lots of special features including nine documentaries highlighted by a behind-the-scenes tagalong with Ferrell, the featurette “Film School for Kids” as well as separate commentaries with Favreau and Ferrell. “Buddy’s Adventure Game,” another extra, offers four challenges that, when played and successfully navigated, gives the player access to a code that unlocks the secret “Elevator O’ Fun!”
Make your list and check it twice this holiday season... and make sure "Elf" is on it.
Preorder "Elf" today and save 35%.
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| Rhett Gets Scarlett Fever |
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It is, perhaps, the most celebrated motion picture of all time, winner of 10 Academy Awards® including Best Picture. It holds the record for the biggest worldwide box office gross in movie history and more than 8.5 million copies of previous home video versions have been sold.
We're talking, of course, about David O. Selznick's production of Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Gone with the Wind."
Starring Clark Gable (Rhett Butler), Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara), Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland, the film is a classic tale of eternal love, set in the South against the backdrop of the Civil War.
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On November 9th, Warner Home Video releases the "Gone With the Wind: 4-Disc Collector's Edition." The classic film has been newly restored using Warner’s patent-pending “Ultra-Resolution” technology, which contains much sharper detail than conventional Technicolor release prints, and allows you to see images which were never visible before.
The movie also features a remastered soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 and extensive bonus content, all new to DVD and featured on two of the four discs.
Highlights of the bonus material include a 45-minute documentary, "Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone with the Wind" and the critically-acclaimed 1989 documentary "The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind."
In addition, you'll get footage of the 1939 Atlanta Premiere as well as footage from the 1961 Civil War Centennial "re-premiere" in Atlanta with Selznick, Leigh and de Havilland; a 66 minute documentary on Gable; and a 45 minute documentary on Leigh.
But, frankly, we don't give a damn about any of that.
What interests us most is that a full-color reproduction of the original 22-page souvenir booklet (sold during road-show engagements from 1939 through 1941) is included with every "Gone with the Wind" boxed set. Now, that's the kind of DVD extra we'd like to see more of.
You can preorder the "Gone with the Wind: 4-Disc Collector's Edition" now and save 30%. |
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Trying to describe exactly what a particular theatrical experience was like is nearly impossible. No two performances are ever the same and the bond between actor and audience is always part of the equation. Unfortunately, only a handful of shows are adapted for film or television... but even then, it's just not the same. You gotta be there.
Although many shows are recorded by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Library, it's strictly academic: you have to be a student, a scholar or an industry professional in order to view them. The annual Tony Awards broadcast provides the only publicly available filmed record of Broadway’s best. But the awards ceremony is a live event, seen only once a year.
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"Broadway's Lost Treasures," developed for PBS, comes to the rescue by presenting a dazzling array of Broadway stars and performances taken from the 20 years of Tony telecasts produced by Alexander Cohen.
The first "Lost Treasures," released last year on DVD, was a big success. And on October 26th, the curtain will rise on a second compilation of great musical moments from the Tonys.
In "Broadway's Lost Treasures II," hosts Lauren Bacall, Bebe Neuwirth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Jerry Orbach introduce 18 one-of-a-kind performances and share their personal Broadway and Tony memories.
Preserved forever on this disc are magical musical moments with Walter Bobbie and Nathan Lane (Guys and Dolls), Michael Jeter and Brent Barrett (Grand Hotel), Gregory Hines (Jelly’s Last Jam), George Hearn (La Cage aux Folles), Patti Lupone (Anything Goes), Nell Carter (Ain’t Misbehavin'), Jerry Orbach (Chicago) and more.
Some of the best numbers are the five added "bonus performances" not shown on the PBS telecast. These include Robert Lindsay in "Me and My Girl," Tom Bosley in "Fiorello" and Katharine Hepburn in "Coco."
As much as we like this nostalgic disc, we did find a couple of things to grumble about. The first is the lack of significant special features. Oh sure, they give you some Playbill covers and limited historical information about the shows.
But many of the creative artists and performers of these shows are still living and probably would have welcomed the opportunity to participate in interviews or a short two or three minute commentary on each of the songs. We would have liked that.
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Also, quite a few of these performances do indeed feature the original Broadway stars, but in many cases, they are recreating their performances from shows long since closed. The Tony Awards has done several tributes and salutes over the years, during which they've brought back performers to honor a composer or in which they've done a year-by-year rundown of Tony winners past.
On this DVD, Angela Lansbury and Beatrice Arthur in "Mame," Richard Kiley in "Man of La Mancha" and Robert Morse in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" all fall into this category.
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Hey, it's better than never getting to see these legendary performers at all, but don't kid yourself: a woman in an evening gown or a man in a tux, singing straight into the camera is not exactly the same thing as seeing the number performed in context, on a stage set, with props and a full cast.
But these are minor quibbles.
If you're a theatre fan, you'll want to own "Broadway's Lost Treasures II," which you can preorder now at a savings of 30%. (The original "Broadway's Lost Treasures" is still available, too.)
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Also coming soon from PBS Home Video is another theater-related disc, "Broadway: The American Musical."
This 3-Disc set debuts next week, October 12th, which is actually a week before the show begins airing on TV.
"Broadway: The American Musical" is a six-part high-definition series that chronicles the history of American musical theater from the time before electricity, when onstage gas jets literally "took your breath away," to today's multi-million dollar high-tech extravaganzas.
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PBS promises an "entertaining and compelling portrait of the history of the Broadway musical." We haven't seen it yet, but we have no reason to doubt them.
In fact, our hopes are as high as an elephant's eye.
You can preorder "Broadway: The American Musical" now and save 30%. |
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: October 12, 2004 |
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