Boldly Going on Blu-Ray STAR TREK Season 2 in High Definition Plus:
HAUNTED HISTORIES and More
J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek”
won’t be hitting video store shelves until the middle of November, but
Trekkies have an abundance of titles, newly issued on DVD and Blu-Ray,
to tide them over until then.
In addition to new DVD
editions of the original movies and a Blu-Ray box-set of the “Next
Generation” films (none of which, regrettably, were made available for
review), CBS’ Blu-Ray edition of STAR TREK: THE
ORIGINAL SERIES Season 2 (1967-68, apprx. 22 hours) offers
seven additional platters of classic Kirk and Spock adventures, all
presented in gorgeous remastered HD transfers.
This collection of "TOS"
second season episodes includes fan favorites like "Amok Time," "The
Doomsday Machine," "Mirror, Mirror" (need I say more?), "I, Mudd," the
immortal "Journey to Babel," "The Trouble With Tribbles," and "The
Gamesters of Triskellion." There are also some clunkers here ("A Piece
of the Action," "Patterns of Force"), but even in its least successful
moments, Gene Roddenberry's creation manages to entertain with colorful
plots and William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly leading the
way.
As with the Season 1
remastered “Star Trek” Blu-Ray release from last spring, viewers are
here given the option of watching the episodes either in their original
broadcast form or with the remastered, enhanced special effects that
were added for the series’ most recent syndicated broadcasts. On the
audio front, both remixed DTS Master Audio stereo sound or a mono
soundtrack comprise the language offerings.
In addition to the
gorgeously detailed and colorful transfers, CBS has done a superb job
offering some exclusive extras here -- most significantly turning the
set’s fourth disc into a veritable “Tribbles” Special Edition with the
inclusion of the classic “Star Trek: Animated Series” episode “More
Tribbles, More Trouble” (with David Gerrold commentary) and the
terrific “Deep Space Nine” retro-throwback show “Trials and
Tribble-ations.” Both shows look good, though only the animated episode
appears to be true HD (the DS9 episode appears to be standard-def; I’m
not even aware that DS9 was filmed in any kind of high-definition
format so perhaps that’s the best we can get).
They join a full host of
other extras, mostly carried over (with the exception of a 10-minute
segment on the Blu-Ray remastering) from prior DVD releases. The latter
include featurettes "To Boldly Go -- Season Two," a 20-minute account
of the show's second year; "Life Beyond Trek: Leonard Nimoy," an
11-minute interview with the star focusing on his love of photography;
"Kirk, Spock & Bones: Star Trek's Great Trio," a seven-minute piece
about the show's heroes, with comments from William Shatner and series
writers including D.C. Fontana; "Designing the Final Frontier" (22
mins.) profiles production designer Matt Jefferies' contributions to
the program; "Star Trek's Divine Diva" (13 mins.) devotes time to the
ample talents of Nichelle Nichols, while "Writer's Notebook" (8 mins.)
looks at D.C. Fontana's involvement in the Trek legacy. Two other
featurettes look at the DS9 “Tribbles” episode and “Starfleet Access”
picture-in-picture content is available on the “Trouble With Tribbles”
and “Amok Time” episodes.
More of Billy
Blackburn’s home movies, preview trailers and four “Mobile Blu-To-Go”
downloadable vignettes round out another must-have purchase for Trek
aficionados.
Our other Aisle Seat
“Pick of the Week” this week is A&E’s HAUNTED HISTORIES
COLLECTION Megaset, a sprawling, 20 DVD collection of some of
the creepier programming A&E and the History Channel have offered
over the years.
Included here (many of
these have been previously released) are the original, Harry
Smith-hosted “The Haunted History of Halloween” (a perennial, must-view
documentary recounting the day’s origins), “Hauntings, “Poltergeists,”
“Salem Witch Trials,” “Vampire Secrets,” “Haunted Houses,” More Haunted
Houses: Tortured Souls and Restless Spirits,” “Zombies, “ ”Voodoo
Rituals,” “In Search of the Real Frankenstein,” “Bloodlines: The
Dracula Family Tree,” “Exorcism: Driving Out the Devil,” “Witch Hunt,”
“Exorcising the Devil,” “Voodoo Secrets,” “Haunted Tombstone,” “Haunted
Washington, D.C.,” “Haunted Savannah,” “Haunted Hawaii” and “Haunted
Chicago.”
With over 18 hours of
content, this is a terrific set for horror buffs looking for something
(partially) educational to compliment their Halloween viewing parties,
and with an ample array of content, there’s something here for
everyone, and at an affordable ($80 MSRP) price tag to boot.
Also New This Week
PAUL NEWMAN: THE
TRIBUTE COLLECTION DVD (Fox): Impressively packaged, affordable
package from Fox compiles 13 titles from the late star’s tenure at MGM,
UA and Fox.
Included in the set are
the collector’s editions of “The Hustler,” “Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid,” “The Towering Inferno” and “The Verdict,” as well as
“The Long, Hot Summer, “Rally ‘Round the Flag, Boys!,” “From the
Terrace,” “Exodus,” “Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man,” “What a
Way to Go,” “Hombre,” “Buffalo Bill and the Indians,” and “Quintet.”
(Check the Aisle Seat archive search page for individual reviews).
All are offered in their
prior, most recent DVD incarnations, but the big draw here (in addition
to the films themselves, naturally) is the package, which includes a
136-page, softbound book housing glossy photos, a tribute to each
picture, and quotes from Newman.
Particularly for the
price, this set comes highly recommended.
THE GIRLFRIEND
EXPERIENCE Blu-Ray (**½, 78 mins., 2009, R; Magnolia): One
of filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s more offbeat efforts, “The Girlfriend
Experience” is a almost-“cinema verite” chronicle of a Manhattan
prostitute (played, in an unconventional casting decision, by porn star
Sasha Grey), her live-in boyfriend (Chris Santos) and the events
leading up to last year’s Presidential election, with the movie’s
portrait of a woman offering more than just physical contact to her
clients being tied in with an ailing economy and the pursuit of
materialism.
This HDNet co-production
(which, I believe, aired on Mark Cuban’s cable channel before being
screened in limited theatrical release) is interesting and to the
point, yet most of the picture hinges on Grey’s performance. Critics
called Grey everything from a revelation to a massive hindrance to the
picture’s effectiveness; personally, I found her one-note delivery to
be fairly grating, yet perhaps that’s exactly what Soderbergh wanted.
Either way, it’s an interesting, if not altogether effective, work
which Magnolia has brought to Blu-Ray in a superb 1080p presentation
with commentary from Soderbergh and Grey, an HDNet Making Of, and an
alternate unrated version also housed on the disc.
DARK COUNTRY DVD
(**, 88 mins., 2009, R; Sony): Thomas Jane directed and stars
in this odd supernatural thriller about a couple (Jane, Lauren German)
who come across a car crash survivor in the Las Vegas desert and
attempt to save him. Unfortunately, things go downhill once the man
turns on them, leading to a bizarre, “Twilight Zone”-esque ending.
Written by Tab Murphy
(whose eclectic credits include the underrated “Last of the Dogmen” and
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”), “Dark Country” makes more sense once
you realize it was shot as a 3-D theatrical vehicle -- something that
explains the special effects that come bouncing at the screen and the
straightforward story, which unfortunately leads to a fairly
unsatisfying ending. Jane, though, at least makes a mostly assured
debut behind the camera here, and “Dark Country” is a watchable enough
genre timekiller if nothing else.
Sony’s DVD, out October
6th, includes commentary with Jane, Murphy and producer Patrick Aiello,
plus a Making Of featurette, a fine 16:9 (1.85) transfer and 5.1 Dolby
Digital sound.
THE NEW YORK RIPPER
Blu-Ray (93 mins., 1982, Not Rated; Blue Underground): Lucio
Fulci’s graphic and unsettling (if not downright exploitive) 1982 film
comes to Blu-Ray this month in another of Blue Underground’s superb HD
presentations.
This account of a NYC
serial killer who brutally (and I mean brutally) slashes his way
through a series of beautiful women boasts stylish 2.35 scope
cinematography, which has been captured splendidly in Blue
Underground’s BD edition. In a departure for the label, only DTS Master
Audio is on-hand for the 7.1 sound mix (most prior Blue Underground
releases contained both Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master sound), in
addition to the movie’s original mono mix. Extras contain an interview
with actress Zora Kerova and a look at the movie’s NY locations in 1982
and now, along with the theatrical trailer.
For Italian horror fans
“The New York Ripper” is worth a look but everyone else should steer
clear.
THE HILLS Season 5,
Volume 1 DVD (177 mins., 2009; MTV/Paramount): Lauren Conrad may
have left “The Hills” but fans of the MTV reality series will always
have the miracle of home video to look back on Conrad’s exploits. This
first compilation of episodes from “The Hills”’ fifth season bids adieu
to Conrad, and offers more scandalous (or not) story lines with Heidi,
Stephanie, Spencer and the crew. MTV’s box-set offers widescreen
transfers, 2.0 stereo soundtracks, deleted scenes, interviews, photo
shoot footage, featurettes, and all the fifth-season episodes leading
up to the series’ fall premiere on MTV this Tuesday.
DALLAS COWBOYS
CHEERLEADERS: POWER SQUAD BOD! DVD (Three volumes, 36-70 mins. each,
2009; CMT/Paramount): Looking for a different workout video to
replace your Billy Blanks routines? Paramount has one possible answer
with a trio of exercise videos offering something for everyone: “Hard
Body Boot Camp” (with low impact and high impact programs), “Calorie
Blasting Dance” and “Body Slimming Yoga,” each of which tackle a
different genre in the fitness department.
NEXT
TIME: Afterdark Horrorfest '09, SNOW WHITE, THE PROPOSAL and more!Until
then, don't
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