Off the massive success of
"Jaws," studios eagerly anticipated new novels from author Peter
Benchley, hoping to create another box-office behemoth in the process.
Benchley's follow-up to
"Jaws," "The Deep," surfaced in 1976 and was promptly gobbled
up by Peter Guber's Casablanca FilmWorks label. Under the direction of Peter
Yates, the movie version of "The Deep" -- scripted by Benchley and Tracy Keenan Wynn -- follows a young
couple (Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte) who stumble upon the sunken wreck of
a WWII cargo ship while scuba-diving off the coast of Bermuda. In
particular, they find a gold medallion as well as a vile of morphine – the latter from the WWII wreck, but the former from
something else altogether. The duo enlist the help of local treasure hunter
Romer Treece (Robert Shaw) to investigate their findings, but run afoul of a
drug kingpin (Lou Gossett, Jr.) who wants the morphine for himself, and will do
anything -- including terrorizing Bisset and Nolte – to get it.
THE DEEP (***, 124 mins., 1977, PG; Sony) is
certainly a gorgeous looking movie: from the sumptuous location shooting and
wide Panavision lensing by Christopher Challis to John Barry's romantic,
dreamy score, this is the kind of picture that basically loses most of its
appeal when viewed outside its theatrical dimensions. The story and characters
are mostly half-baked, but it's fun to watch Shaw at work in another Benchley
adaptation (happily he doesn't suffer the same fate as Quint!), while Bisset
was never lovelier than here and Eli Wallach is amusing in a supporting role as
the sole survivor from the Goliath, the doomed WWII vessel. Yet it's really the
movie's underwater photography (supervised by veterans Al Giddings and
"Blue Water, White Death"'s Stan Waterman among others) and Barry's
score that make the film as casually entertaining as it is.
While not the box-office smash that
its makers intended, the picture was nevertheless a big hit upon initial
release, ranking 7th on the ‘77 box-office charts, and establishing Bisset's
wet T-shirt sequences as some of the era's more indelible imagery if nothing
else.
The film's reputation over the years
hasn't been helped by most of its video releases: a letterboxed laserdisc was
only released as a limited Pioneer Special Edition in 1991, while a promised
3-hour cut of the movie was announced for laser but canceled in 1995. Sony did
offer an early 16:9 DVD of "The Deep," but withdrew that release as
well, replacing it with a lousy pan-and-scan only disc that's long been a
bargain bin staple.
All of that makes this week's Blu-Ray
release of "The Deep" so satisfying: with a brilliant new AVC encoded
transfer, the movie's visuals have been restored to a level unseen since its
initial theatrical release, heightening the film's pleasures at every turn. The
early Dolby Stereo soundtrack is also surprisingly effective in the disc's
Dolby TrueHD mix, particularly when Barry's disco-rendition of the main theme
plays over the closing credits.
Likewise satisfying is that Sony has
gone the extra mile and included several extras that ought to be highly
appealing for aficionados of the film. Roughly half of the excised sequences
that were restored to NBC's two-night, expanded 1980 broadcast of the film are
on-hand here, and in full 1080p to boot. These bits include the original
prologue to the film (showing the sinking of the Goliath) and added character
sequences as well. There's also a terrific 1977 TV special, "The Making of
‘The Deep'," that even opens with the old "A CBS Special
Presentation" logo! Narrated by Robert Shaw, this is the kind of
old-fashioned fluff filler they just don't make anymore, mixing ample (and
awful-looking) film clips with vintage, archival on-set footage.
While I still would have preferred to
see the full three-hour cut of "The Deep" surface at long last (that
the added sequences all look terrific in 1080p only makes you more disappointed
they didn't restore the whole thing), this is nevertheless one of the better catalog
Blu-Rays I've seen this year, and comes strongly recommended for content-starved
BD owners.
Sony has another vintage ‘70s title
headed to Blu-Ray this month: Alan Parker's powerful, acclaimed 1978 thriller MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (***, 121 mins., R; Sony), the true story of young
American tourist Billy Hayes' nightmarish experience in a Turkish prison after
he's found guilty of trying to smuggle hashish back home. Well-acted by Brad
Davis (as Hayes), John Hurt, Randy Quaid, and Paul Smith, memorably scored by Giorgio
Moroder (who took home the Oscar), and suspenseful at every turn,
"Midnight Express" boasts a superb Oliver Stone script that keeps you
hooked from start until the film's triumphant finish, in spite of some
liberties that were apparently taken with the actual story that inspired it.
Sony's "Midnight Express"
Blu-Ray comes in the form of a hard-bound "Digibook" with glossy
photos and extensive booklet notes from Alan Parker himself. Parker isn't
afraid to divulge all kinds of fascinating backstage stories, from how he
initially wanted Vangelis to score the movie, going so far as to temp the
entire film around Vangelis' music, until the Casablanca FilmWorks production
outfit "politely" asked him for a seemingly more commercial
alternative (as Parker notes, Vangelis' recording career took off quite nicely,
particularly after "Chariots of Fire" won its Oscars in 1981).
The disc also boasts a commentary from
Parker, a Making Of featurette, three new retrospective segments, and a photo
gallery. Visually the AVC-encoded 1080p transfer is satisfying enough, while
the Dolby TrueHD audio track does a fine job rendering Moroder's moody
electronic sounds (the original mono mix is also on-hand here).
Upcoming Horrors
THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT DVD and
Blu-Ray (**½, 102 mins., 2009, PG-13/Unrated; Lionsgate): Surprise box-office
hit from this past spring arrives on both DVD and Blu-Ray next week from
Lionsgate.
This supposedly based-on-true-events
tale is a decently constructed effort on the part of director Peter Cornwell,
who initially attempts to tell a classically constructed ghost story...at least
at the outset, where a family moves to the Connecticut suburbs to get treatment
for their son's cancer, only to run afoul of spirits and other supernatural
forces who conspire to possess the same teenager (Kyle Gallner). Unfortunately
things go downhill once we find out the who and the why behind the haunting,
with an overly graphic, completely unnecessary display of gore along the way.
Despite its unpleasantness (though
what else can you expect from a Lionsgate genre release these days?), the
early-going of "The Haunting in Connecticut" is sufficiently creepy,
the performances uniformly fine (from Gallner to Virginia Madsen as the mother
and Elias Koteas as a cancer-stricken priest) and comes recommended for fright
fanatics in spite of its shortcomings.
Lionsgate's Blu-Ray offers both the
PG-13 rated and Unrated versions of the film in fine AVC encoded transfers,
backed by DTS Master Audio soundtracks, while an array of supplements includes
a profile of the "real" haunting, commentary, a Making Of featurette,
deleted scenes, the trailer and other extras, along with a digital copy for
your portable media players.
THE UNBORN Blu-Ray (*½, 89 mins.,
2009, PG-13/Unrated; Universal): Laughably bad horror outing from
writer-director David S. Goyer, making his second directorial stumble after the
okay teen thriller "The Invisible."
Odette Yustman plays a young woman
haunted by the spirit of her dead, unborn twin brother, who has taken up
residence in the body of a young neighbor -- but that's not all. Yustman's
grandmother, a Holocaust survivor (Jane Alexander, from the How Low Have We
Sunk Dept. Part 1), spins a yarn that she battled the same demonic presence back
in Auschwitz, with Nazi genetic experimentation to blame! Good thing
rabbi Gary Oldman (How Low Have We Sunk Dept. Part 2) is on-hand to help
Yustman battle a non-creepy succession of creatures including a dog with a
spinning head and the little kid with freaky pupils.
Director Goyer spices "The
Unborn" with a bevy of special effects, but the movie is so stilted and
ridiculous -- even for this genre -- it's impossible to keep a straight face through
it all. Idris Elba and James Remar likewise pop up, as does Carla Gugino, who had
the good sense not to take a major credit on this one. Perhaps they all owed
Goyer a favor?
Universal's Blu-Ray edition of
"The Unborn" does offer a crisp, terrific AVC encoded transfer with
DTS Master Audio sound. Minimal extras include deleted scenes in HD and both unrated
and PG-13 theatrical versions of the film itself.
MESSENGERS 2: THE SCARECROW DVD (94
mins., 2009, R; Sony): Made-for-video prequel to the moderately successful
Ghost House Pictures-produced "Messengers" takes us back to a quaint
North Dakota farm where owner John Rollins (Norman Reedus) tries to change his
family's fortunes by placing a scarecrow in the fields to overlook his crops.
Unfortunately for him, things go south once the Scarecrow is taken over by an eerie
force surrounding his property and all kinds of shenanigans ensue.
This is a watchable but still
pedestrian small-screen follow-up, competently helmed by Martin Barnewitz and
written by genre vet Todd Farmer ("Jason X," this year's "My Bloody
Valentine 3-D"). While Joe LoDuca contributes a solid score and the
performances are adequate, it's the material that's awfully familiar here.
Sony's DVD will be available on July
21st and includes a fine 16:9 (1.85) transfer with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and
commentary from Barnewitz and Farmer.
"REC" DVD (**½, 78 mins.,
2007, R; Sony): Before it was remade as the inferior "Quarantine," filmmaker
Jaume Balaguero collaborated with co-writer Paco Plaza for this short but effective slice of Spanish terror.
The plot is similar to its subsequent U.S. remake, with a TV reporter (Manuel Velasco) called to the
scene of an emergency while producing a documentary on firefighters. There the
group finds more than they bargained for with zombified apartment building residents
and all kinds of chaos going on. Well-directed but somewhat undernourished dramatically
(it runs under 80 minutes with credits), "Rec" is still worth a view,
particularly now that Sony has brought it stateside with an official North
American release.
The DVD offers a 16:9 (1.85) transfer
with 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtracks in either Spanish (English subtitled) or English
(dubbed), with one Making Of featurette comprising the supplemental side.
HORSEMEN DVD (**, 90 mins., 2009, R;
Lionsgate): Michael Bay co-produced this unreleased thriller starring Dennis
Quaid as a detective investigating a series of murders connected both to
himself and his wife's death. Ziyi Zhang and Peter Stormare appear in woefully
under-written (and brief) supporting roles in this good-looking but disappointing,
humorless attempt to replicate the thrills of "Seven," right down to
the murders being committed in a bizarre, riutalistic manner -- here, in the
vein of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Jan A.P.
Kaczmarek adds a solid score as well,
but with all the talent involved and the film bypassing a theatrical release
altogether, it's unsurprising that the finished product is a mess on several
levels. Lionsgate's good-looking DVD of "Horsemen" includes a
commentary from director Jonas Akerlund, deleted scenes, a 16:9 (1.78) transfer
and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound.
Also New on Blu-Ray
SPACEBALLS Blu-Ray (**½, 96 mins.,
1987, PG; MGM/Fox): I've never been overly fond of Mel Brooks' 1987 "Star
Wars" spoof, which seemed to come years after the fact and boasts far more misfired gags than infrequent moments
of inspiration. In fact, Ernie Fosselius' 1978 short "Hardware Wars"
is five times funnier in 15-minute duration than Brooks is here in an at-times
labored 96 minutes.
That being said,
"Spaceballs" is at least cheerful and offers a terrific John Morris
score, which helps you gloss over its painfully unfunny characters (like John
Candy's Chewbecca-inspired "man dog" Barf and Joan Rivers' take on
C3PO) and the lesser moments of Brooks' script, which he co-wrote with Thomas Meehan
and Ronny Graham. (I'll give them credit for John Hurt's cameo, however, which
WAS hilarious).
MGM's "Spaceballs" Blu-Ray
offers all the extras from its prior two-disc Special Edition DVD, including
commentary from Brooks and several featurettes, plus photo galleries and
original trailers (which list John Candy and Rick Moranis as "guest
stars"). The BD's AVC encoded transfer and DTS Master Audio soundtrack are
both highly satisfying.
THE PINK PANTHER 2 Blu-Ray (*½, 89
mins., 2009, PG; MGM/Fox): As a sign of how lazy this sequel to Steve Martin's
inexplicably successful remake of "The Pink Panther" is, the producers
couldn't even stretch their minds to come up with a more thrilling title than..."The Pink Panther 2." It's all
the evidence you need to know that this depressing sequel is yet another
misfire, squandering talent from Martin and Jean Reno to Alfred Molina and Andy
Garcia, in a pedestrian caper comedy that's unlikely to satisfy anyone except
undemanding seven-year-olds. Lily Tomlin, meanwhile, puts in a worthless cameo
that will only remind adults of her earlier, acclaimed ‘80s teaming with Martin
("All of Me"), while Kevin Kline had the good sense to bypass
returning to essay Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, leaving John Cleese to sleepwalk
through the role -- and not even attempt a French accent! MGM's Blu-Ray disc offers
as satisfying a package as can be expected, with a superb AVC encoded transfer,
DTS Master Audio soundtrack, bonus disc of 27 Pink Panther classic cartoon shorts
(in standard def) and a digital copy for portable media players all on tap.
12 ROUNDS Blu-Ray (**, 108 mins.,
2009, PG-13/Unrated; Fox): Renny Harlin might've lost the Midas touch long ago,
but he's back in at least watchable form in this box-office flop starring
former wrestling star John Cena, essaying a New Orleans cop who has to solve 12
puzzles from a nefarious criminal in order to save his girlfriend. Nothing too
exciting or fresh here, but it's a decent action fest that looks good in HD,
with Fox's Blu-Ray disc offering a fine AVC encoded transfer typical for the
studio along with DTS Master Audio sound, an unrated version of the movie, two
alternate endings, commentaries from Harlin, Cena and writer Daniel Kunka,
several featurettes including a look at Trevor Rabin's score, and a digital
copy for portable media players.
BURN NOTICE Season 2 Blu-Ray (684
mins., 2008-09; Fox): Jeffrey Donovan is back as ex-CIA op Michael Westen in
this top-rated cable series, which just premiered its third season on USA to strong ratings. Fox's Season 2 BD edition of "Burn
Notice" offers 16 episodes all in razor-sharp AVC encoded 1080p (1.78)
transfers with DTS Master Audio soundtracks, commentaries, deleted scenes, a
featurette with series creator Matt Nix, a gag reel and other goodies.
STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI
Blu-Ray (*½, 97 mins., 2009, PG-13/Unrated; Fox): Once in a while you come
across one of those deliriously ridiculous cinematic misfires that you know you
can't in good conscience recommend, yet have a hard time turning off. Such is
the case with this bizarre spin-off of sorts from the "Street Fighter"
video game, which last appeared on-screen in the forgettable (but slightly
entertaining) 1994 Van Damme vehicle of the same name. "The Legend of
Chun-Li" gives "Smallville"'s Lana Lang, Kristin Kreuk, an odd
vehicle to launch her big-screen career, with the actress essaying a piano
prodigy who becomes a kung-fu master in order to avenge her father's death.
Andrzej Bartkowiak's career as a
director ("Romeo Must Die," "Doom") has been a lot less
distinguished than his former work as a cinematographer ("Terms of
Endearment," "Prizzi's Honor," "Speed"), and the
Justin Marks script for this "Street Fighter" is completely absurd.
Yet the movie isn't without its charms, both intended and unintentional, with
Kreuk doing some karate chops and Chris Klein proving to be unbelievably
bonkers as an Interpol agent. It's not good cinema, but bad movie lovers are
likely to get their fill of entertainment with this one nevertheless. Fox's
Blu-Ray disc looks terrific with its AVC encoded transfer, two different cuts
of the movie (PG-13 and unrated), commentary, deleted scenes, a trivia track,
numerous featurettes, a digital copy disc for portable media players, and the
full-length animated movie "Street Fighter Round One: Fight!" also
included for good-measure.
AIR FORCE ONE Blu-Ray (***, 124 mins.,
1997, R; Sony): Harrison Ford doesn't exactly do anything in this 1997
box-office hit that we haven't seen before, but as an entry into the ‘90s
"Die Hard"/"Cliffhanger" action genre, this piece of
entertaining fluff works well enough.
Director Wolfgang Petersen does a
commendable job not getting involved with traditional Hollywood political
sentiment in this comic-book action thriller, as terrorist Gary Oldman (an
often sympathetic bad guy) takes over A.F.O. in order to get an imprisoned
Russian military general ("Das Boot"'s Jurgen Prochnow in an unbilled
role) out from behind bars. The set-pieces aren't overly spectacular or
original (the film's concluding piece is right out of "Cliffhanger"
in fact), but as a formulaic programmer, you could do a lot worse. With Wendy
Crewson as the first lady, William H.Macy as a military officer, Dean Stockwell
as the Chief of Staff, Glenn Close (unbilled) as the Vice President, and a bevy
of computer-generated effects adding to the formula. Jerry Goldsmith also chips
in a solid enough score that's far from his best, but is at least superior to the somewhat
underwhelming action scores he was writing around the same period ("Executive
Decision," "US Marshals," "Chain Reaction," etc).
Sony's Blu-Ray of "Air Force
One" includes a satisfying AVC encoded transfer with Dolby TrueHD audio
and Petersen's original commentary track from the prior DVD.
SHARK WEEK: THE GREAT BITES COLLECTION
Blu-Ray (2008, aprx. 6 hours; Image): The Discovery Channel's annual all-shark
extravaganza is about to kick off its latest rendition next month. In the
meantime, why not gear up for another round of Great White mania with this
first Blu-Ray edition of prior "Shark Week" specials. This single-disc
offering from Discovery and Image includes relatively recent documentaries "Surviving
Sharks" (with "Survivorman"'s Les Stroud), "How Not to
Become Shark Bait," "Mysteries of the Shark Coast,"
"Mythbusters: Shark Special 2," "Day of the Shark," "Dirty
Jobs: Greenland Shark Quest," plus "bonus" shows "Shark
Attack Files IV: Summer of the Shark," "Dirty Jobs: Jobs That
Bite," and "Dirty Jobs: Jobs That Bite...Harder." The 1080i
transfers and DTS Master Audio tracks are all fine, making for a solid
anthology of recent "Shark Week" shows. Hopefully the label will look
into the possibility of releasing some of the superior, older "Shark
Week" documentaries in HD in the near future.
THE EDGE OF LOVE Blu-Ray (**½, 111
mins., 2008, R; Image): Director John Maybury's period romantic drama about two
women (Sienna Miller, Keira Knightley) whose lives intersect with charismatic
poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) while Knightley's husband (Cillian Murphy) is
off fighting in WWII failed to find a major distributor on this side of the
Atlantic. Despite mixed reviews overseas, "The Edge of Love" is quite
watchable with fine cinematography from Jonathon Freeman and original Angelo Badalamenti
score, and Image's Blu-Ray disc captures it all with a fine HD transfer and DTS
Master Audio soundtrack. Extras include a commentary with Maybury and Rhys, plus
outtakes, a Making Of featurette, and the original trailer.
KICKBOXER Blu-Ray (**, 97 mins., 1989, R;
Lionsgate): Early Van Damme vehicle pits JCVD as the brother of a kickboxing
champion who vows revenge after his sibling is paralyzed in a ruthless Thailand
competition. Lionsgate’s Blu-Ray edition of this formulaic yet competent
actioner is light on extras (actually, it has none whatsoever!) but does offer
a fine 1080p transfer with DTS Master Audio sound.
New From Criterion
Al Reinert's 1989 chronicle of the
Apollo missions, FOR ALL MANKIND (***½, 80 mins., 1989), has been re-issued by
the Criterion Collection this month in a gorgeous new DVD edition, just in time
for the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight -- the first manned lunar
mission.
Beautifully restored and transferred
in HD (and presented in its original full-screen 1.33 aspect ratio and 5.1
Dolby Digital sound), "For All Mankind" offers gorgeous NASA
documentary footage and Brian Eno's superb, evocative soundtrack, making it an
essential chronicle of the Apollo missions and one of the finest films of its
kind ever made.
Criterion's new DVD offers commentary
featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan; a brand-new
documentary offering interviews with Reinert, Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean,
and numerous NASA archive specialists, who discuss the creation of the film;
on-screen interviews with 15 other Apollo astronauts; a new video program on
Bean's artwork; NASA archival audio highlights and liftoff footage; optional
on-screen identifications of astroanuts and mission control specialists during the
picture; and a booklet sporting essays from critic Terrence Rafferty and
Reinert.
Also new from Criterion this month are
a pair of mid ‘60s works from Jean-Luc Godard:
1966's MADE IN U.S.A. (85 mins.)
offers Anna Karina in one of Godard's most eclectic works of the period,
beautifully restored here in 16:9 (2.35) with interviews with Karina and
co-star Laszlo Szabo; a video piece from Godard biographers Richard Brody and Colin
McCabe on the film's political and personal elements; a visual essay
"cataloging the multiple pop-culture references in the film";
trailers; new subtitles; and an essay from J. Hoberman.
2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER (87
mins.) followed in 1967 and stars Marina Vlady as a Parisian housewife who
lives a double-life as a hooker in order to make extra money. Another study of
the era's political and socio-economic culture with Godard injecting his own
point of view throughout, "2 or 3 Things I Know About Her" offers another
dreamy 16:9 (2.35) widescreen transfer with commentary from film scholar Adrian
Martin; archival television interviews with Vlady and Godard; a new
conversation with one of Godard's friends from the ‘60s; another visual essay
"cataloging the multiple references in the film"; the trailer; new
subtitle translations; and an essay from critic Amy Taubin, as well as the
original letter that formed the basis for the picture.
New TV on DVD
Even if the upcoming "G.I.
Joe" movie is a total misfire (and it's entirely possible give the
unintentional yucks served up by its theatrical trailers), at least we can be
thankful that its very existence has enabled Shout! Factory to package a
brand-new Special Edition of the original G.I. JOE ANIMATED SERIES (1983-84, 8 hours),
which hits stores next week.
Similar to Shout!'s recent DVD of the
"Transformers"' first season, this deluxe release sports the entire
first season of the Marvel Productions-Hasbro cartoon in new transfers, spread
across a four-disc set.
The original "Knowing Is Half The
Battle" public service announcements are on-hand here, along with an
interview with writer Ron Friedman, archival Hasbro toy commercials, a printable script for
the episode "Jungle Trap," and the original 1963 Hasbro Toy Fair
Presentation reel of "G.I. Joe."
Fans should note that Shout! is also
offering a deluxe, limited "footlocker" package of the entire series
with a 60-page book and exclusive extras that's available for pre-sale direct
from www.gijoecollectorsset.com (cost is $145, and will also be available from
retailers like Amazon later on this year).
Another big release due out from
A&E/NewVideo is the deluxe Mega-Set of AGATHA CHRISTIE: POIROT &
MARPLE, boasting 21 entries of the David Suchet and Joan Hickson Christie
adaptations.
On the Poirot side are "The
Murder of Roger Ackroyd," "Lord Edgware Dies," "Murder in
Mesopotamia," "Evil Under the Sun," "Death on the
Nile," "Sad Cypress," "The Hollow," "Five Little
Pigs," "The Mystery of the Blue Train," "Taken at the
Flood," "After the Funeral," and "Cards on the Table."
From the Marple stable come "A Caribbean Mystery," "The Mirror
Crack'd from Side to Side," "Sleeping Murder," "4:50 From Paddington,"
"The Moving Finger," "At Bertram's Hotel," "Murder at
the Vicarage," "Nemesis," and "They Do It With
Mirrors."
All of these productions have been
released on DVD before, but the amount of material packed on these 17 discs is
quite appealing for the price, while the transfers and soundtracks are all
superior to the first DVDs I recall seeing of several of these shows. Extras, meanwhile,
include bios of Christie and the stars, plus a complete index of all Poirot and
Marple mysteries.
MAD MEN, Season 2 DVD & Blu-Ray
(611 mins., 2008; Lionsgate): Matthew Weiner's acclaimed AMC series is finally
ready to start Season 3, so viewers who missed out on "Mad Men"'s
uneven but still undeniably compelling and brilliantly performed Season 2 now
get the chance to see it in gorgeous 1080p transfers courtesy of Lionsgate's
Blu-Ray edition.
The BD multi-disc set is chock full of
extras, from cast and crew commentaries on all 13 episodes, to a look at the
birth of theb‘60s "Independent Woman" in a multi-part featurette,
plus a music sampler and an interactive time capsule of important ‘60s events. Lionsgate's standard DVD offers
limited edition packaging with 16:9 (1.78) transfers and 5.1 Dolby Digital
soundtracks, plus the same extras.
THE GIRLS NEXT DOOR Season 5 DVD
(2008-09, 390 mins.; Fox): It's the end of an era for this E! "reality
series," following the adventures of Playmates Holly, Bridget and Kendra
with the occasional appearance by old man "Hef," in this fifth and seemingly
final season of "The Girls Next Door." Fox's DVD includes every
episode of the series' fifth season (16 altogether) minus the show's finale,
with full-screen transfers, stereo soundtracks, commentaries and deleted scenes
all on-hand.
REBA Season 6 DVD (2006-07, 269 mins.;
Fox): Reba McEntire's long-running WB/CW series came to a close in 2007
with its sixth and final season. Fox's DVD box-set sports the show's final 13
episodes in full-screen transfers and with 2.0 Dolby Stereo soundtracks.
THE STATE: Complete Series (1993-95,
514 mins.; MTV/Paramount): Fans have been clamoring for years to get their
hands on an official release of this at-times hilarious MTV sketch comedy series, and
now Paramount has delivered the goods with a tremendous box-set compiling the
entire three-season run (1993-95) of "The State."
Kevin
Allison, Michael Ian Black,
Robert Ben Garant, Todd Holobek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney,
Thomas
Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter and David Wain
comprised
the cast of "The State," which garnered a good amount of fans, but
not enough viewers for the show to last beyond its two-year run on MTV
(most reviews,
meanwhile, were mixed, if not downright dismissive). Obviously personal
taste dictates how funny you'll find these alternately silly
or incisive bits to be, but for the most part, I found "The State" to
be more consistently amusing, at least, than anything I've seen from
Saturday Night
Live, MadTV, or any other related shows in recent years, with a
talented cast
and frequently strong writing.
Paramount's
DVD is worth the wait for "State" fans. In
addition to the series' entire run, the DVD includes commentaries,
interviews,
and a bonus disc offering 90 minutes of unaired sketches, the pilot
episode,
some hilarious promos from the show's broadcast, outtakes and more.
While there have obviously been some substantial musical alterations
(discussed up front in the booklet notes), this set comes highly
recommended!
RENO 911! Season 6 DVD (330 mins., 2009; Comedy
Central/Paramount): More antics with the ensemble cast of "Reno
911!" comprise this sixth season of the Comedy Central series, which Paramount is bringing to DVD this month in uncensored form. The studio's
Season 6 DVD set includes extended outtakes and commentararies, plus widescreen
transfers and stereo soundtracks.
LEVERAGE: Season 1 (2008-09, 584
mins.; Paramount): Timothy Hutton plays an ex-insurance investigator turned
high-tech "Mission: Impossible" like spy as he leads a team of con
artists, ex-cons and computer geeks in seeking justice against corporate and
governmental injustices. Season 1 of this TNT series, which garnered solid
ratings during its initial broadcasts last year, hits DVD in a fine package
from Paramount, offering all 13 episodes in widescreen transfers and 5.1
Dolby Digital soundtracks, plus extras including behind-the-scenes featurettes,
deleted scenes and more.
VAN WILDER FRESHMAN YEAR DVD (100
mins., 2009, Unrated; Paramount): Who knew that Ryan Reynolds' "Van
Wilder" would spawn an unlikely series of sequels – first in the form of
Kal Penn's disastrous spin-off "The Rise of Taj" and now this ridiculous
(of course) "prequel" with Jonathan Bennett as a young Van, trying to
sexually liberate Coolidge College's chastity-vowing females. Paramount's DVD is packed with extras, including a commentary with
director Harv Glazer and cast members, bloopers, featurettes and other extras.
The disc boasts a 16:9 (1.78) transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound as well.
FIVE FINGERS DVD (98 mins., 2006, R;
Lionsgate): Ryan Phillippe plays a Dutch pianist (!) attacked by terrorists in Morocco in this barely-screened flop from co-star and producer
Laurence Fishburne. Lionsgate's DVD includes a trivia track and Making Of
featurette, plus a 16:9 (1.78) transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.
NEXT
TIME: More of the latest reviews! Until
then, don't
forget
to drop in
on the official Aisle Seat Message
Boards and
direct
any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!