TRONx2 Edition Plus: MPI's SHERLOCK HOLMES, SCREAM
& More Blu-Ray Blowout Coverage Plus New
DVD Releases
4/1 UPDATE: Warner Archive just announced an April Fool's Comedy
Giveaway that's no laughing matter.
Consumers can enter by using their Facebook account -- winners receive
a prize package of 20 titles, mostly new releases, including the
recently announced, long-lost Abbott & Costello comedy ABBOTT
& COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD with Charles Laughton. Access the
sweepstakes by clicking here.
Warner Home Video has also announced the long-awaited Blu-Ray release
of SUPERMAN: THE MOTION PICTURE
ANTHOLOGY, which will offer the Blu-Ray
debuts of SUPERMAN II, SUPERMAN III, SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE,
plus the theatrical version of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and the
much-discussed discarded opening for Bryan Singer's ill-fated SUPERMAN
RETURNS. "Supergirl"
remains out of commission, sadly. Here's the press release (MSRP is
$129.99):
Burbank, Calif.March 31, 2011 –Superman, the cultural icon and
quintessential
superhero, is back in a big way. In a powerhouse year marked by the
theatrical
releases of several major superhero films includingWarner Bros.’ Green
Lantern, his arrival couldn’t be more perfectly timed.
Warner
Home Video (WHV) is celebrating the year of the superherowith
the
June
7 release of Superman:
The
Motion Picture Anthology (1978-2006) on Blu-ray. For
the
first time, fans will be able to own one super-entertaining Blu-ray
collection
with all four original theatrical Supermanfilms
starring
Christopher Reeve
(available for the first time in high def), Superman Returns,
and
the two alternate versions
of Superman
I
and Superman
II.
Available now in superb
hi-def, with new digital/hi-def film
masters, the must-own comprehensive Superman: The Motion
Picture Anthology (1978-2006) on
Blu-ray includes all six versions of the films in the
original Superman
theatrical franchise -- Superman:
The
Movie – Original
Theatrical, Superman:
The
Movie
– Expanded Edition, Superman II
–
Original Theatrical, Superman
II – The Richard Donner Cut, Superman III – Original Theatrical, Superman IV
–
Original Theatrical, plus Superman
Returns. The Collection also boasts 20 hours of bonus
features
including the never-before-seen original opening to Superman Returns.
Also
included
are two documentaries in hi-def, Look,
Up
in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman and The Science of Superman, as
well as You Will Believe: The
Cinematic Saga of Superman,
deleted scenes, and much more. Fan-boys and technophiles will
especially appreciate
that all of the Superman
films are being released with English DTS-HD-MA soundtrack for superior
sound
quality. Also included is Movie
Cash good up to $8 off one admission
ticket to see the newest Warner Bros. superhero film, Green Lantern,at participating theaters
between June 17, 2011 and July 3, 2011
Everyone has movies in their lives that they have a hard time being
objective about, especially ones that pertain particularly to their
childhood. Disney's 1982 sci-fi blockbuster TRON is, for me, one of
those films. Now, this is not a film that I ever considered a classic
or needed to see eight times at the movies (like E.T.), but it's still
a movie that holds a special place in my heart because it – on a lot of
levels – represents everything that the social experience of arcade
gaming circa ‘82 meant to those of us who grew up and lived through the
era.
Whereas now we're content to play video games in the comfort of our own
homes with our Nintendos, Playstations, and Xboxes, back then the
arcade was a gathering spot for all ages to hang out, drop a few
quarters in the slots, and pound mercilessly on buttons, track-balls
and joysticks in an often futile attempt to get your initials displayed
on the "Pac-Man" monitor for all time -- or, at least until the machine
was unplugged after 10 o'clock.
For me, “Tron” embodies the neon-lit hues of local gaming
establishments of the era, even if it's an admittedly hokey,
under-developed movie that was techno-savvy at the time but still gives
us plenty of reasons why we should be thankful that Steven Lisberger
was never able to direct another major movie in the United States.
That's not to say TRON (**½, 95
mins., PG) isn't fun or entertaining, even if the spoiled young
people of today – those raised on high-tech games and 3-D IMAX movies
like the belated sequel “Tron: Legacy” (more on that later) – will be
chuckling at the effects and wondering what all the fuss is about.
“Tron” is like "Spartacus" set in the midst of a "Galaxian" machine:
real-world arcade master and computer genius Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges)
is somehow sucked into the middle of his ex-company's mainframe, where
the good, righteous programs (working on behalf of us, the human
"users") do battle with the Big Brother-like Master Control program,
which tries to stifle creativity and control everything within its
grasp. Bridges is joined in his quest to free the oppressed from the
tyrannical by a warrior named Tron (Bruce Boxleitner, in a role Michael
Douglas would have been perfect for), while both are pursued by the
ruthless Master Control (David Warner, whose image became a staple of
villainy for me as a kid, having watching this film, "Time After Time,"
and "Time Bandits" innumerable times back in those days).
Everything in the world of “Tron” is bathed in blues and reds, set
against dark backdrops -- the effects then groundbreaking for their
striking use of CGI. Even now, the movie still plays like an arcade
game from '82 -- it's empty cinematic calories all the way, glossy and
good-looking even though the story never becomes developed much more
than the plot summary I've just given you.
Most of the performances come off like posturing (especially with
Boxleitner and Cindy Morgan), but it's hard to blame the actors, seeing
that writer-director Steven Lisberger was an animator at the time, and
lacked filmmaking fundamentals. His script boasts some alternately
corny or stilted lines of dialogue, leaving the visuals to carry the
show, aided throughout by an evocative Wendy Carlos score with
occasional quasi-religious flourishes.
“Tron”may still be more of a great looking videogame-come-to-life than
a good movie, but nostalgia alone has kept the film in circulation,
leading Disney to release a gorgeous new Blu-Ray release alongside last
year’s TRON:
LEGACY (***, 125 mins., 2010, PG), a visually spellbinding
sequel that follows its predecessor’s lead in terms of both its
strengths and weaknesses but, overall, improves upon its foundation.
The threadbare plot follows Jeff Bridges’ son (the bland Garrett
Hedlund) as he’s sucked back into the world of Tron, looking for his
father, who went missing when he was a young boy. The decades haven’t
been kind to the “world within a computer,” with the former-good guys
having overthrown the MCP and started a dictatorial regime of their own
– spearheaded by Bridges’ CPU alter-ego “Clu” (digital animation is
only partially successful in attempting to make the actor appear as he
did in 1982). Hedlund ends up finding the real Kevin Flynn, much older
and wiser, who lives outside the computerized metropolis as an
Obi-Wan-like castoff hoping to bring freedom back inside “the grid.”
“Tron Legacy” is an uneven yet ultimately entertaining film that will
appeal, naturally, to fans of the original as well as video game
addicts and special effects buffs. It’s curious to see that not only do
director Joseph Kosinski and writers Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz,
Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal latch onto the 1982 movie for
inspiration, but how much of this film’s story refers back to it –
establishing in lengthy flashbacks how the “Tron: Legacy” universe came
to be. If you have never seen the first “Tron” (or haven’t watched it
in years), the plot might seem unnecessarily convoluted, though in
reality the movie simply serves up more of what made the original a
cult favorite, dressed up with today’s cutting-edge special effects and
even a bit of family-friendly moralizing (it’s still a Disney movie,
after all!).
Hedlund is bland but Bridges and fetching female lead Olivia Wilde are
game, as are some pulsating action sequences backed by outstanding
visuals and one phenomenal soundtrack by British electronica group Daft
Punk – apparently enhanced with orchestration supplied by a number of
high-profile composer “consultants” – that’s one of the freshest and
most exciting pieces of film music I’ve heard in several years. Their
vibrant percussive cues and catchy riffs add a whole layer to the movie
that helps you gloss over the scattershot character development and
fumbled dramatic opportunities (is there any particular reason why the
Tron character has to wear a helmet obscuring his face...could they not
afford the CGI treatment to make Bruce Boxleitner also appear 30 years
younger?).
It’s impossible to recommend “Tron: Legacy” to viewers who disliked the
original “Tron,” since its strengths and weaknesses mirror the original
1982 film in many ways. Yet for sci-fi geeks and game enthusiasts, it’s
still a lot of fun – and both movies are ideal to exploit the
capabilities of your HDTV home theater via Disney’s flawless, five-disc
Blu-Ray package.
“Tron: Legacy” is presented in a simply smashing AVC encoded 1080p
transfer, framed at 1.78 (during its “real world” sequences) and 2.35
(for the sequences set inside the computer world) – a shifting aspect
ratio that reflects its theatrical (non-IMAX) presentation. Colors are
glorious, contrasts are perfect, and minus its digital 3-D gimmick, the
picture offers a vibrancy lacking from its 3-D theatrical exhibition.
(There’s a 3-D Blu-Ray and digital copy discs also included within the
package. Having seen the film in theaters, I found some of the 3-D
effects to be effective, yet overall, I’d take the superior brightness
and clarity of the 2-D image over the 3-D exhibition). On the audio
end, Daft Punk’s music and a brilliantly engineered sound design make
for a reference-quality DTS Master Audio soundtrack that’s likewise
going to be a staple to show off the benefits of your home-theater
receiver.
Extras aren’t overwhelming but do include an interesting 10-minute “The
Next Day” segment that would’ve fit in the film’s opening section (and
also hints at a sequel that now seems inevitable given the picture’s
near-$400 million worldwide gross), plus mostly lightweight
featurettes, a music video of Daft Punk’s “Derezzed,” Comic Con footage
and other mostly disposable segments.
Accompanying the “Tron Legacy” release is the debut of the original
TRON on Blu-Ray (available as part of this five-disc package or
separately), and once again Disney has done a miraculous job
remastering the film for HD. The film’s 1080p transfer shows off the
film as it has never been seen in almost 20 years, with beautiful
colors and a pleasing amount of fine grain retained in the image. HDNet
debuted a HD master of the picture a year ago, but the print screened
here is much cleaner, with Wendy Carlos’ score and effective
directional sounds expertly mixed in the DTS Master Audio soundtrack.
The BD includes two new featurettes: a 10-minute look back at the film
(with recent interviews with the “Tron: Legacy” cast/crew) as well as a
superior, particularly nice 16-minute segment with Steven Lisberger and
his son Carl going through the Disney archives, looking at rare stills,
pre-production concepts and artwork that viewers have never seen before.
Besides these two new extras, the Blu-Ray retains the supplements from
its out-of-print 2002 DVD release, most of which were rehashed from the
studio's outstanding laserdisc box-set that was released fairly late in
the format’s run. There’s a terrific 90-minute documentary with cast
and crew interviews that was produced for the 2002 DVD edition,
offering comments from its principal players, all of whom boast proudly
about the movie's technical accomplishments and how it laid the
foundation for future CGI epics.
The deleted scenes have been brought back with Lisberger’s
introductions, while several hilarious clips from the TV special
"Computers Are People Too" are also here (don't miss the introduction
of "young writer-director Steven Lisberger," who is seen staring out
blankly into space, playing his xylophone!). The same trailers that
marked the prior DVD/LD releases are also present, and there are an
assortment of still-frame galleries included -- even the audio
commentary is the very same track recorded in the mid '90s for the
laserdisc!
“Tron” isn't a classic film, but it remains a cinematic milestone for
its landmark computer effects, which were far ahead of its time. For
many of us, though, it holds a greater significance as the one movie
that brings back a rush of nostalgia for the days of our youth,
plugging away at the "Tron" arcade game, grabbing another stack of
tokens, and trying to establish our names on that coveted High Scorers
list. That alone makes the Blu-Ray highly recommended for anyone who
spent time growing up in the summer of '82, with “Tron: Legacy” a
follow-up that fortunately doesn’t diminish its predecessor’s cult
status, but rather adds to its own imperfect, and yet undeniably
“cool,” cinematic legacy. Also New on Blu-Ray
THE SHERLOCK
HOLMES COLLECTION (MPI): HD enthusiasts with a passion for the
Golden Age need to do themselves a favor next week by picking up MPI’s
Blu-Ray box-set of the “Sherlock Holmes Collection.” Not only will it
encourage the release of more classic films on Blu, but it’ll also
infuse your collection with terrific HD presentations of the 14 vintage
Holmes mysteries starring Basil Rathbone as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
legendary detective and Nigel Bruce as his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson.
The five-disc BD set offers the duo’s first two series entries – “The
Hound of the Baskervilles” and the outstanding “Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes” – which were produced at Fox as Grade-A productions in 1939, as
well as the subsequent 12 pictures Rathbone and Bruce starred in for
Universal Pictures beginning in 1942.
Universal’s entries differed from the Fox films in a number of ways:
the studio produced the films on a lower (though not entirely
bargain-basement) budget and, most notably, initially shifted the
stories away from Victorian era England to the then-present day of the
1940s. This enabled the producers to offer more “contemporary” WWII-era
stories (most evidently seen in “Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of
Terror,” “Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon,” and “Sherlock Holmes
in Washington”), designed to appeal to populist sentiment of the time
with anti-Nazi themes permeating the respective mysteries. Additional
entries – “Sherlock Holmes Faces Death,” “The Spider Woman,” “The
Scarlet Claw,” “The Pearl of Death,” “The House of Fear,” “The Woman in
Green,” “Pursuit to Algiers,” “Terror by Night” and “Dressed to Kill” –
lessened the war-time rhetoric, with the latter entries also
de-emphasizing the modern trappings of the era in favor of a tone more
in keeping with the material’s literary roots.
Some of the pictures are more successful than others (and many are a
far cry from Conan Doyle’s stories), but with Rathbone and Bruce
onboard, every one of them is at least entertaining and MPI’s Blu-Ray
set is just tremendous. Universal’s 12 entries were painstakingly
restored by the UCLA Archive over a span of nearly ten years; despite
working often with less-than-stellar materials, the Archive’s efforts
were dazzling, particularly considering the shambles some of the films
were in (several had entered into the public domain after Universal
sold them all in the ‘50s, resulting in decades of showings that were
generations removed from the original negatives).
The 1080p AVC encoded transfers look like real film, with grain (and
not much DNR save for the two Fox entries) prevailing in the
impressively detailed transfers (and make no mistake – print damage and
numerous other issues are also occasionally evident throughout the
pictures). When screened on larger sets, there’s no question viewers
will see an appreciable gain in detail over their prior DVD editions.
Informative extras are carried over from MPI’s prior DVD releases of
the pictures, including a half-dozen commentary tracks, an interview
with UCLA preservationist Robert Gitt, a number of trailers, a photo
gallery and several theatrical trailers.
This is a marvelous release and one that comes highly recommended for
all Sherlock Holmes fans and Golden Age enthusiasts, and another
terrific catalog release for the format in 2011.
HEREAFTER
Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy (**½, 129 mins., 2010, PG-13; Warner): Clint
Eastwood’s
recent
films
have
mostly
hit the bullseye, but this sleepy
character drama from last fall failed to muster much of a reaction from
most critics and movie-goers.
Peter Morgan’s script isn’t so much a supernatural drama as the title
implies but rather an introspective study of three individuals affected
by death (Matt Damon’s former Bay Area physic; Cecile de France’s
French TV journalist; and a young British boy trying, with his brother,
to help their heroin-addicted mother) and how life ends up bringing
them all together.
“Hereafter,” which was co-produced by Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall
and Kathleen Kennedy, is an awfully slow-going drama that only
intermittently generates tangible emotional sparks. The performances
are fine, but between the script’s lack of fire and Eastwood’s
leisurely direction, the movie tends to meander on, failing to
culminate in a satisfying payoff (it should also be noted that viewers
sensitive to the tragedy in Japan may want to avoid this film’s
depiction of a tsunami – in fact, Warner Bros. had to understandably
pull the film from Japanese theatrical distribution in lieu of the
recent earthquake).
Warner’s Blu-Ray disc does offer a fine AVC encoded transfer, DTS
Master soundtrack, a couple of fluffy featurettes, and an extended HD
version of “The Eastwood Factor” documentary. A DVD and digital copy
round out the package.
TANGLED
Blu-Ray/DVD (***, 100 mins., G, 2010; Disney): Cute animated
rendering of the Rapunzel fairy tale, produced with CGI animation,
boasts a few laughs, colorful design, and songs by Alan Menken and
Glenn Slater that regrettably were dialed down in importance while
“Tangled” went through some conceptual alterations during production.
The shifts of tone are evident in “Tangled,” which seems to want to
veer off on a “Shrek”-ian kind of tangent with more ribald humor than
is typical for a Disney ‘toon, yet its heart remains firmly entrenched
in the studio’s more traditional “princess” tales of years past. It’s a
bit of a schizophrenic feature for that reason, yet the movie
nevertheless offers a pleasing amount of entertainment for kids and
adults alike, and Disney’s Blu-Ray boasts a high-quality AVC encoded
1080p transfer with DTS Master Audio sound, deleted scenes,
featurettes, Making Of materials, and a DVD copy for good measure.
SCREAM Blu-Ray
(***, 111 mins., 1996, R; Lionsgate) SCREAM 2
Blu-Ray (***, 120 mins., 1997, R; Lionsgate) SCREAM 3
Blu-Ray (***, 117 mins., 2000, R; Lionsgate): Director Wes
Craven and writer Kevin Williamson’s hugely successful,
self-referential horror trilogy finally sees a Blu-Ray release – in
time for the release of “Scream 4.”
The original “Scream” came out of nowhere in 1996 and started a whole
genre of imitators with its hip, if occasionally smug, dialogue, which
references classic slashers as it spins a tale of high school students
(Neve Campbell, Drew Barrymore, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jamie
Kennedy among others) being stalked by a hooded masked killer. TV
reporter Courtney Cox is on hand to chronicle the ghastly killings (and
exploit them for the betterment of her ratings) while David Arquette is
the lovable if mostly clueless sheriff trying to make sense of the
murders.
“Scream” is a tight, solid piece of entertainment, and it was followed
by a pair of sequels in 1997 and 2000 – each offering variations on the
same theme (funny dialogue, seriously gory murders, rinse and repeat)
with attractive cast members being killed left and right by others who
don the masked killer guise.
One of the things I wasn't too keen on in the original 1996 film was
how the line between horror and comedy was blurred, particularly in its
needlessly overdone "stabfest" finale. Thankfully, Craven and
Williamson dialed much of the gore down a notch in “Scream 2,” which
aside from being affected by temp-tracked cues from Hans Zimmer’s
“Broken Arrow” score, ranks as the strongest series entry, with
Campbell’s Sydney Prescott heading to college and being stalked by a
copycat killer on campus.
“Scream 3" followed three years later, and saw Neve Campbell's heroine
pretty much relegated to a secondary role, which allowed
then-off-screen newlyweds David Arquette and Courtney Cox to take
center stage as doofus Deputy Dewey and tabloid reporter Gail Weathers,
investigating a series of killings that have taken place on the set of
“Stab 3,” the final installment in Hollywood's crass commercialization
of the Woodsboro murders.
As usual, there are the typical grab-bag of possible suspects and
candidates for slayings, ranging from movie-within-a-movie stars Parker
Posey (hilarious mimicking Cox's character), Matt Keeslar, Jenny
McCarthy, and would-be-auteur filmmaker Scott Foley. Meanwhile, it
turns out that the murders are linked back to the killing of Campbell's
Mom, which culminates in another over-the-top climax and a series of
revelations about the original “Scream.”
Ehren Kruger took over writing chores in “Scream 3" from creator Kevin
Williamson, and while the movie lacks that sometimes-pretentious,
sometimes-hilarious snap of Williamson's prose, it nevertheless manages
to generate a successful amount of one-liners and appealing characters
to compliment the usual goings-on. Craven handles the situation with
his usual visual flair and the repartee between Arquette and Cox is
often amusing, particularly as Campbell spends the first hour almost
completely off-screen and appears mainly in the last third to properly
finish off the series (or, at least we thought it was the end!).
The series produced too many clones for its own good, but on its own
terms, the “Scream” pictures are certainly more enjoyable than most
exercises in the slasher genre, and remain entertaining for their
attractive casts and stylish widescreen lensing.
It’s taken an inordinate amount of time for the “Scream” films to see a
release on Blu-Ray in the U.S., with Miramax having recently broke off
from Buena Vista and taken their back catalog along with them. Because
of that, Lionsgate has become the primary caretaker of the
Miramax/Dimension catalog (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment will be
releasing other Miramax/Dimension titles, presumably the “B” grade
movies, on Blu-Ray over the next few months).
Lionsgate’s separate-disc BD releases of the “Scream” films look very
good indeed. 1080p AVC encoded transfers and DTS Master soundtracks are
all top-notch, while a good number of extras are carried over from each
film’s prior DVD release and include commentaries, deleted scenes,
outtakes, trailers, featurettes and more.
ALSO NEW FROM
LIONSGATE...Three Blu-Ray discs that have been Best Buy retail
exclusives for a while will soon be available nationwide. The
acclaimed, Oscar winning documentary THE COVE (96 mins., 2009, PG-13),
the lame sequel STILL WAITING... (90 mins., 2009, Unrated), and Roger
Avary’s overdone THE RULES OF ATTRACTION (110 mins., 2002, Unrated) all
arrive on BD with 1080p AVC encoded transfers, DTS Master soundtracks,
and their respective DVD extra features intact...Don Draper and Co. are
back on DVD in the complete Fourth Season of MAD MEN (611 mins., 2010),
which includes all 13 episodes in 16:9 transfers with 5.1 soundtracks
and a number of extras including commentaries for every episode and a
number of featurettes placing the show in its era’s proper historical
and social context. Warner Catalog Titles
KING OF KINGS
Blu-Ray (***½, 171 mins., 1961, PG-13; Warner): Samuel
Bronston’s sweeping 1961 Biblical epic is punctuated by a spectacular
Miklos Rozsa score and sensitive direction from Nicholas Ray, and looks
better than ever in Warner’s restored Blu-Ray edition. The AVC encoded
transfer is utterly spectacular, filled with detail and striking
colors, while robust DTS Master Audio sound does justice to Rozsa’s
stirring soundtrack. There aren’t a whole lot of extra features here –
just a vintage featurette, newsreels and the trailer are on-hand – but
the restored presentation ought to give Blu-Ray owners another reason
to boast about their format.
Also available from Warner on DVD, in time for Easter, is a
re-issue of CHARLTON HESTON PRESENTS THE BIBLE, the late actor’s 1992
sojourn to the Holy Land, where he recites tales from the Good Book
with accompanying music provided by Leonard Rosenman. Full-screen
transfers and stereo soundtracks accompany this four-volume DVD
re-issue of a release that ought to enchant the faithful and Heston
devotees.
ARTHUR/ARTHUR 2
Blu-Ray (***½ for Arthur, ** for Arthur 2, 1981-88, PG; Warner):
I’ve said it before, but it seems the only good thing to come out of
Hollywood’s recent remake explosion is a corresponding Blu-Ray release
of said remake’s predecessor. Such is the case with next week’s Double
Feature platter of Dudley Moore’s 1981 comedy classic “Arthur,” here
paired with its tepid and unnecessary 1988 flop sequel “Arthur 2: On
the Rocks” (time will tell if the new Russell Brand “Arthur” is
actually any funnier than the original movie’s own mediocre follow-up).
The original “Arthur” is a thoroughly pleasant, occasionally hilarious
updating of a ‘30s/‘40s romantic screwball comedy, following Moore’s
drunken playboy around the Big Apple with Liza Minnelli as the
working-class girl who wins his heart and John Gielgud in an
Oscar-winning performance as his butler and confidant Hobson. Steve
Gordon, who tragically died not long after the film’s release, wrote
and directed this 1981 box-office hit (his only directorial feature),
backed by a buoyant Burt Bacharach soundtrack that features Christopher
Cross’s all-time classic movie song “Arthur’s Theme.” Warner’s Blu-Ray
presentation generally does the film justice: the AVC encoded 1080p
transfer is a bit glossier than expected (with some DNR having been
applied), but it’s still a huge step up from the only DVD that’s ever
been available of the movie – one that’s in full-screen only! The DTS
MA sound offers a fine rendition of the movie’s mono mix, while the
trailer is also included.
“Arthur 2" is one of those sequels that never should’ve been made – a
completely unwarranted follow-up that feels belabored at every point.
The original cast returns and tries hard, but aside from a few fleeting
laughs, “On the Rocks” feels like a pointless rehash...even Bacharach’s
score is a letdown, opening up with a forgettable Chris deBergh song
that has the nerve to reference lyrics from Cross’ chart-topping
original theme. The AVC encoded 1080p transfer and DTS MA stereo sound
are both fine, while another trailer rounds out the disc – one that’s
certainly worthwhile for offering the first widescreen release of the
original “Arthur” in the U.S.
THE SPACE
KIDETTES/YOUNG SAMSON DVD (Warner Archive): More vintage
Hanna-Barbera fun joins the Warner Archives this month. This four-disc
set couples two cartoons that shared a half-hour on the Saturday
morning block: “The Space Kidettes,” which sports a quartet of
youngsters who, along with their puppy pal Pupstar, take on the
dastardly Captain Skyhook in a “Jetsons”-like future, and “Young
Samson,” a super-hero like show that borrows from “Shazaam!” and
“Johnny Quest” as it follows a teenage boy and his dog who transform
into a muscled superhero and corresponding lion, respectively, and
thwart evil around the globe. All 20 episodes of the show have been
spread across the set, which is available exclusively now through the
Warner Archive.
SCARECROW AND
MRS. KING Season 2 DVD (1984-85, 1087 mins.; Warner): A
lightweight slice of escapist entertainment that was likely influenced
to some degree by the success of NBC’s “Remington Steele” (and one that
would provide an influence on “True Lies” and similarly-themed
“domestic” spy caper yarns), this popular CBS series followed Kate
Jackson as single mom Amanda King, mom of two young boys in Washington
D.C., who improbably gets swept up with secret agent Lee “Scarecrow”
Stetson’s latest adventure -- thereby beginning a friendship with
romantic overtones and a new profession for our seemingly everyday
suburban mother.
Jackson and Boxleitner were both well-cast in this good-natured, upbeat
show, which boasts a fantastic Arthur B. Rubinstein title theme and is
back on DVD in a five-disc set from Warners, offering all 23 episodes
from its second season. Good looking full-screen transfers and mono
soundtracks adorn the package. Also New on Blu-Ray
HOW DO YOU KNOW
Blu-Ray (**, 121 mins., 2010, PG-13; Sony): James L. Brooks’
costly box-office flop is also, unsurprisingly, one of his weakest
films: a contrived, unconvincing tale about a former softball player
(Reese Witherspoon) who starts a relationship with a current baseball
star (Owen Wilson) but quickly meets a businessman (Paul Rudd) under
investigation by the feds whom she immediately strikes a rapport with.
Brooks’ frequent collaborator Jack Nicholson also appears in “How Do
You Know,” a phony and slow-going “relationship movie” that somehow
cost upwards of $120 million and returned only $30 mil domestically.
It’s unlikely Blu-Ray sales are going to help too much, yet Sony’s AVC
encoded presentation is just fine, as is the DTS MA audio. Extras
include deleted scenes, a Making Of, blooper reel, and commentary
track; the BD also includes a couple of exclusive extras (19 additional
minutes of deleted scenes and a conversation between Brooks and Hans
Zimmer).
ALL GOOD THINGS
Blu-Ray (***, 101 mins,, 2010, R; Magnolia): Andrew Jarecki's
thriller profiles the disappearance of a young wife (Kirsten Dunst) of
a New York real estate heir (Ryan Gosling) in the 1980s. “All Good
Things” is an uneven yet well-performed and compelling mystery that was
based on the notorious real-life case of Robert Durst, an NYC real
estate mogul whose wife disappeared and who was later charged with
murder in a separate case in Texas. The names have been changed but the
Durst family threatened to sue the filmmakers of “All Good Things,” and
at least succeeded in pressuring the Weinsteins (still credited as
executive producers) to drop their distribution of the film. Magnolia
picked it up and has now released it on Blu-Ray in a fine 1080p
transfer with DTS Master Audio sound and extras including deleted
scenes, two commentary tracks (including one with the real Robert
Durst; perhaps a condition to the film being released?), and a look at
the real-life tale that inspired it.
VANQUISHER
Blu-Ray (93 mins., 2009, R; Magnolia): A female special ops
agent (Sophita Sriban) joins forces with an American CIA agent (Jacquie
A. Thannon) to take down an Al-Qaeda terrorist, only to find she’s been
double-crossed in this Thai action import. Magnolia’s Blu-Ray sports a
1080p transfer, DTS Master soundtrack, two featurettes, the
international trailer, and both English and Thai language offerings. Also on DVD
WALLENBERG: A
HERO’S STORY (188 mins., 1985; CBS/Paramount): Fact-based,
Emmy-winning 1985 TV movie Richard Chamberlain as a Swedish
diplomat who helped over 100,000 Jews during the Holocaust finally gets
released on DVD by CBS. The label’s single-disc presentation includes
the original, uncut telefilm (over three hours long) in full-screen
format with mono sound. From Lamont Johnson’s assured direction to
Gerald Green’s teleplay and Ernest Gold’s music, this is one of the
finest TV movies of its era and comes highly recommended on DVD.
ALSO NEW: E One brings us Colin
Firth and Catherine Keener in Michael Winterbottom’s latest A SUMMER IN
GENOA (93 mins., 2008, R), a family drama now being released on DVD
with cast/crew interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, a 16:9 transfer
(2.35) and 5.1 audio....Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lahr and
Sheree North starred in a 1954 Colgate Comedy Hour production of
ANYTHING GOES (53 mins.), here remastered and presented on DVD from E
One. Extras include a new interview with musical director Buddy Bergman
and a 20-page booklet offering comments from writer-historian Stephen
Cole...Paul King’s Brit comedy BUNNY AND THE BULL (101 mins., 2009, Not
Rated) also finds a release from IFC this month, with interviews and
behind-the-scenes content on-hand...Jim Sturgess stars in a new
thriller from controversial director Philip Ridley (“The Reflecting
Skin”) entitled HEARTLESS (114 mins., 2009, Not Rated), which IFC has
packaged with commentary, extensive Making Of content and
more...Finally, IFC also brings to Region 1 the bizarre French import
RICKY (89 mins., 2008, Not Rated), about an odd toddler and how he
integrates into a young family; a 16:9 (1.85) transfer and 5.1
soundtrack complete the disc.
THE GENIUS OF
DESIGN DVD (242 mins., Acorn): First broadcast in the U.S. on
the Smithsonian Channel, this five-part BBC documentary examines the
art of design, whether it’s in the world of architecture or
technological advances like computers. This wide-ranging doc offers
interviews with contemporary designers like Dieter Rams, J Mays, and
Jonathan Ive, all of whom discuss their creative processes and how
design impacts our culture. Acorn’s box-set offers all five episodes
from the series in 16:9 transfers with stereo soundtracks and extras
including biographies of influential designers and a 12-page viewer’s
guide.
THE COSMOS: A
BEGINNER’S GUIDE DVD (169 mins., Acorn): Highly enjoyable BBC
series finds Adam Hart-Davis examining the mystery of the cosmos,
interviewing scientists and looking at high-tech telescopes and other
science equipment. “The Cosmos” shouldn’t be confused with Carl Sagan’s
own profile of the solar system, yet this is a more accessible and
personable view of the world outside Earth’s front door. Acorn’s DVD is
a six-disc set and also includes a viewer’s guide and gallery of Apollo
astronauts.
UPSTAIRS,
DOWNSTAIRS Season 1 (1971-72, 650 mins., Acorn): The legendary
London Weekend Television series is back on DVD in a new release from
Acorn after several
years of being out-of-print. Acorn’s DVD releases include a lavish
Complete Series set as well as individual Season releases, with Season
1 offering an alternate pilot episode, new commentary tracks, and the
first part of a new documentary on the series’ production. The
full-screen transfers are as solid as can be anticipated given the
video origins of the series (three episodes are presented in B&W),
making for a highly recommended release for series fans.
THE THIRD REICH
DVD (180 mins., 2010; History/NewVideo): The rise, the fall,
and the history of the Nazi Party is profiled in this 2010 three-hour
documentary from the History Channel. Vintage newsreels and some unique
footage (including material carried home by Russian troops) joins with
the requisite historian interviews to provide a fascinating new
documentary on a topic that’s been, naturally, much discussed in print
and on film.
STAN LEE’S
SUPERHUMANS Season 1 DVD (6 hrs., 2010; History/NewVideo): Stan
“The Man” Lee steps out of his comic book comfort zone for this
eight-episode History Channel series profiling humans with incredible
“powers” of their own, including Daniel Browning Smith, the world’s
most flexible man, who hosts the show. Widescreen transfers, stereo
soundtracks and additional footage are all on tap in the two-disc set. NEXT
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