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 I AM LEGEND DVD |
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<P><STRONG>VIDEO RELASES By Tom Weaver</STRONG></P>
<P>END OF THE WORLD<BR>When a virus comes to Earth on a returning satellite, a squad of scientists assembles to stop the mutating killer before it ends life on our planet. </P>
<P>That’s the chilling premise of <STRONG>The Andromeda Strain</STRONG> (Universal, $26.98), the recent A&E mini-series based on Michael Crichton’s bestselling 1969 novel, which comes to DVD on two discs to accommodate bonus materials: “Terra Incognita: The Making of Andromeda Strain,” visual FX breakdowns, audio commentary by director Mikael Salomon, the executive producers and editor, and more.</P>
<P><BR>Revisit the game where the only winning move is not to play: In <STRONG>WarGames: The Dead Code</STRONG>, a computer hacker (Matt Lanter) cyber-stumbles into a restricted network of on-line gaming and a national defense system designed to ferret out fledgling terrorist cells...and realizes that his hometown is in the crosshairs of an automated military response! This all-new, direct-to-DVD MGM Home Entertainment release ($26.98) comes with director-actor audio commentaries and a “Making of.” <BR>Available on the same day (July 29), also from MGM, is the 1983 Matthew Broderick-Ally Sheedy-starring original <STRONG>War Games</STRONG>, available now as a (do the math) 25th Anniversary Edition DVD that also crams onto its two discs featurettes and commentary by director John Badham and the Oscar-nominated screenwriters ($14.98).</P>
<P><BR>All of civilization is in peril in director Roland Emmerich’s <STRONG>10,000 B.C</STRONG>. (Warner Home Video, $28.98) with Steven Strait as a young hunter whose quest for kidnapped beauty Camilla Belle leads him into unknown lands where he forms an army to battle prehistoric predators and, in a lost empire of great pyramids, a tyrannical god.<BR>But everything must turn out all right or you wouldn’t be reading this, eh? Or enjoying the following special features: extended ending, deleted scenes and featurettes.</P>
<P><BR>For fans of hand-to-Bug combat, <STRONG>Starship Troopers 3: Marauder</STRONG> (Sony Pictures, $27.96) returns Casper Van Dien to the role of the still-fearless Johnny Rico, leading his team on a secret rescue mission to a planet where (you guessed it) they battle Bugs both new and old—and begin to suspect that the Bugs have a secret weapon that could destroy humanity. <BR>The bonus items include featurettes plus commentaries by writer-director Ed Neumeier, visual FX supervisor Robert Skotak, actors Van Dien and Jolene Blalock et al. </P>
<P>Feel like revisiting the whole franchise? For that you need the new <STRONG>Starship Troopers Trilogy</STRONG> box set ($39.95).</P>
<P><BR>Bela Lugosi is Roxor, plotting to lay his wicked hands on a new death ray in order to subjugate the world, in the stylish 1932 fantasy-adventure <STRONG>Chandu the Magician</STRONG>, starring Edmund Lowe in the title role, co-directed by William Cameron Menzies, photographed by the incomparable James Wong Howe—and just one-third of the content of <STRONG>Fox Horror Classics: Volume Two</STRONG> (Fox Home Entertainment, $19.98). <BR>Chandu includes a commentary by film historian Gregory William Mank, the featurette “Masters of Magic: The World of Chandu” and an episode of the radio series on which the movie was based. <BR>The other two movies in the set are<STRONG> Dr. Renault’s Secret</STRONG> (1942), based on a Gaston (Phantom of the Opera) Leroux novel, and starring J. Carrol Naish as an ape man and George Zucco as the Moreau-like medico who made him that way, and the hardly-horror <STRONG>Dragonwyck </STRONG>(1946), a Jane Eyre-style romantic melodrama with Vincent Price as the mysterious master of a spooky Hudson River manor. The latter titles also come with short docs and, like the three movies in Volume One, are completely new to home video.</P>
<P>WHERE MONSTERS ROAM<BR>Jumping Jekylls! Here come two more loose versions of the old Bob Stevenson yarn, but (unlike the protagonist) neither one is good. Both are bad. <BR>In Genius Products’ <STRONG>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</STRONG> ($14.95), Dougray Scott is a modern-day Boston doc who so loathes his evil half that he gives himself up and goes on trial for half the movie (yaaawn!). In Image Entertainment’s DVDud <STRONG>The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</STRONG> ($24.98), also contemporary, Candyman’s Tony Todd mixes up the chemical cocktail, turning into a werewolf who gets a 9-5 job in a research facility! Whatever happened to hedonism??</P>
<P><BR>Hey, Verne! Once again, modern filmmakers dip into the literary deep-freeze, this time to resurrect <STRONG>Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth</STRONG> (Genius Products and RHI Entertainment, $19.95) with Rick Schroder heading the expedition to our planet’s core, inhabited (as every schoolboy knows) by prehistoric birds, carnivorous megalodons and Peter Fonda’s primeval tribe. <BR>Been there, done that? Then instead join astronaut Roy Thinnes on a <STRONG>Journey to the Far Side of the Sun</STRONG>, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson’s “parallel world” tale (Universal, $19.98).<BR><BR>Lionsgate contributes Bram Stoker’s <STRONG>Dracula’s Guest</STRONG> ($26.98) and the Julie Christie-starring <STRONG>Belphegor: Phantom of the Louvre</STRONG> ($19.98), about a mummy’s evil spirit loose in the Paris museum—where this was actually shot. <BR>Again shuffling out of the Universal vaults (just before they burned!) is Boris Karloff’s Imhotep in the 1932<STRONG> The Mummy</STRONG>, re-re-re-re-re-re-released as a $26.98 Special Edition with most of the old special features and a few new ones (commentary by Rick Baker, Bob Burns et al., a tribute to makeup master Jack P. Pierce, etc.). <BR>Multiple Universal monsters run amok in the two-disc <STRONG>Van Helsing: Collector’s Edition</STRONG>, $19.98 from the studio that invented movie horror.<BR></P>
<P>With its host of eerie creatures, a two-disc Collector’s Edition of <STRONG>The Nightmare Before Christmas</STRONG> (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, $32.99) boasts a digital restoration and new extras made just for this release, including Tim Burton’s original poem narrated by Christopher Lee, commentary by director Henry Selick, composer Danny Elfman and Burton, etc. Go all-out and get the Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set featuring a hand-painted bust of Jack Skellington with a “Sandy Claws” hat and beard and a sound chip that plays lines from the film—just $179.99. (That is, if you have some cash left over after springing for Disney’s <STRONG>The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Special Edition</STRONG> and <STRONG>The Jungle Book 2: Special Edition,</STRONG> both $29.99.) Beating the holiday crunch by...ummm...four months, these Nightmares will hit stores August 26.</P>
<P><U><STRONG>NEW IN BLU-RAY</STRONG></U><BR>The Blu-ray blitz continues, making us worry about the future of our present format. Perhaps it’s the old story of DVD vs. Goliath? <BR>New Blu-ray releases this time around include Warner’s <STRONG>Justice League of America: Season One</STRONG> ($59.98), <STRONG>Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season</STRONG> ($79.98), <STRONG>Pushing Daisies: The Complete First Season</STRONG> and <STRONG>Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season</STRONG> ($39.99 each), Beetlejuice: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition ($34.99), <STRONG>Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control, Lost Boys: The Tribe</STRONG> and <STRONG>10,000 B.C</STRONG>. ($35.99 each).</P>
<P>Sony Pictures’ <STRONG>The Exorcism of Emily Rose, I Know What You Did Last Summer</STRONG> and <STRONG>Urban Legend</STRONG> ($28.95 each), <STRONG>Starship Troopers 3: Marauder</STRONG> ($38.96) and <STRONG>Starship Troopers Trilogy</STRONG> ($89.95).</P>
<P> Paramount’s <STRONG>The Spiderwick Chronicles</STRONG> and <STRONG>The Ruins</STRONG> ($39.99 each); </P>
<P>Funimation’s <STRONG>Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks/Bardock: Father of Goku</STRONG> ($34.98)</P>
<P>Universal’s <STRONG>Doomsday</STRONG> ($39.98), <STRONG>The Mummy, The Mummy Returns</STRONG> and <STRONG>The Scorpion King</STRONG> ($29.98 each)</P>
<P> New Line Home Entertainment’s <STRONG>Dark City: Director’s Cut</STRONG> ($28.99) </P>
<P>Fox’s<STRONG> Nim’s Island</STRONG>; <STRONG>MGM’s Stargate: Continuum</STRONG> ($39.98 each); BBC Warner’s <STRONG>Robin Hood: Season One</STRONG> ($99.98); and Touchstone/Disney’s <STRONG>The Nightmare Before Christmas</STRONG> ($39.99).</P>
<P>TV ON DVD<BR>The classic reply to a pest’s “What time is it?” (“Time for you to buy a watch!”) can now be updated to “Time for you to buy the <STRONG>24: Season One: Special Edition</STRONG>!” because the Fox release ($59.98) comes in packaging with a real digital clock on the front. OK, you would look silly going around with this seven-disc set on your wrist, but its advantages over Fox’s earlier Season One release are the three hours of new special features: two featurettes, commentary on the premiere and finale episodes, “over 25” (publicist-speak for 26) deleted and extended scenes, etc. Wristband not included.</P>
<P><BR>If you are bold enough to go around with that thing on your wrist, next you can boldly go where...well, where you’ve gone so many times before: into your wallet for the latest “new-and-improved” <STRONG>Star Trek</STRONG> incarnation. <STRONG>The Original Series: Season Two</STRONG> (Paramount, $99.99) is an eight-disc set with the episodes remastered from the original camera negatives, new digital visual FX, new CG Enterprise, rerecorded opening theme, new 5.1 soundtrack, etc. <BR>There’ll also be a disc dedicated to the Trekkie favorite <STRONG><EM>“The Trouble With Tribbles,”</EM></STRONG> which is included in this collection along with two Tribbles-centric episodes from the spin-offs <STRONG>Star Trek: The Animated Series</STRONG> and <STRONG>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</STRONG>, as well as Tribble featurettes.<BR></P>
<P>Videolog made Paramount’s <STRONG>The Invaders: The First Season</STRONG> our Pick of the Month last issue, not including a list of the bonus features (because when we wrote it, we didn’t know there would be any). Turns out every episode has an intro by series star Roy Thinnes (who’s also on-camera-interviewed), creator Larry Cohen provides commentary over the episode <EM>“The Innocent”</EM> and there’s a newly discovered extended version of the pilot episode<EM> “Beachhead.”</EM></P><EM></EM>
<P><BR>Explore the limits of your spending power when Fox releases the new compilation<STRONG> The X-Files: Revelations</STRONG> ($22.98), eight episodes handpicked by Chris Carter (see page 74). He does an introduction for each one, noting its relevance to the new film. Perhaps he’ll explain why he thinks we’ll re-buy these eight episodes just for his introductions! </P>
<P>Explore the limits of an uncharted galaxy when MGM’s five-disc, 20-episode <STRONG>Stargate: Atlantis: Season Four</STRONG> ($49.98) takes the DVD plunge. The added-value material here includes cast-crew commentaries (including star Amanda Tapping), deleted scenes, photo galleries, blooper reel and more. <BR>And, speaking of Stargates, the feature-length <STRONG>Stargate: Continuum</STRONG> is a new, direct-to-DVD $26.98 release from MGM, complete with commentary and three featurettes.</P>
<P><BR>In the mood for cult comedy? From the creators of Shaun of the Dead comes <STRONG>Spaced: The Complete Series</STRONG> (BBC Video, $59.98), a three-disc collector’s set featuring all 14 surreal episodes plus a feature-length documentary, outtakes, deleted scenes, raw footage, “Homage-O-Meter” (an onscreen feature that tracks each pop culture reference) and commentaries by creator-stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes, director Edgar Wright and guests Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Bill Hader, Matt Stone, Patton Oswalt and Diablo Cody. </P>
<P>For yet more surreal humor, there’s <STRONG>Eureka: Season Two</STRONG> (Universal, $39.98) and, digging back into the vaults a bit, I<STRONG> Dream of Jeannie: The Complete Fifth Season</STRONG> (Sony, $39.95).</P>
<P><BR>The first five episodes of the Kids WB! series<STRONG> Eon Kid</STRONG> DVDebut on August 12 (Anchor Bay, $16.98), telling the tale of Marty, an 11-year-old who stumbles upon an ancient Iron Fist that unexpectedly comes to life and attaches itself to his arm, giving him amazing fighting powers and plunking him right in the middle of a centuries-old conflict between good and evil. Let that be a lesson to ya, kid. </P>
<P>For five more episodes of cartoon action, this time in anime, <STRONG>Bakugan: Battle Brawlers: Volume One</STRONG> (Warner/Cartoon Network, $14.98) tells of...well, we don’t know. Like all anime press release synopses, it’s about 12 notches below incomprehensible, but the show involves small spheres from a “far-off” universe (aren’t they all?), powerful warriors, a planet called Vestroia, somebody named Dan and yet more battles between good and evil. Hey, maybe that kid with the Iron Fist can lend a...fist.</P>
<P>DVDS IN BRIEF<BR><STRONG>The Animation Show: Volume Three</STRONG> (MTV Home Entertainment, $19.99): Mike (King of the Hill) Judge and Don Hertzfeldt return with another collection of animated short films that brings together the best work from the festival’s 2007 theatrical program. <BR>Check out the latest efforts from such leading independent artists as Judge, Hertzfeldt, Bill Plympton, Joanna Quinn and Pes. Bonus features include interviews with Gaelle Deni, Max Hattler and Quinn, an “Abigail” animatic and—break out your reading glasses—full-length text interviews with the animators. Yes, text!</P>
<P><BR><STRONG>The Dialogue: Learning from the Masters: Volume</STRONG> VII (Passion River Films, $19.95): So you wanna be a screenwriter? Pick up a few tips from this installment’s interviewees Simon Kinberg (Elektra, Fantastic Four, X-Men: The Last Stand), David Seltzer (The Omen, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) and Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci (Mission: Impossible III, Transformers, Star Trek).</P>
<P><BR><STRONG>Flakes </STRONG>(IFC, $19.95): Snap, crackle and pop into your DVD player this eccentric comedy about warring New Orleans cereal restaurants starring X-Men’s Aaron Stanford, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Zooey Deschanel and Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd.</P>
<P><BR><STRONG>Beetlejuice: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition</STRONG> (Warner, $19.96): Tim Burton’s cult classic returns from the afterlife remastered and juiced with three episodes of the Beetlejuice TV series: “A-Ha,” “Skeletons in the Closet” and “Spooky Boo-tique.”</P>
<P><BR><STRONG>UFO Files: Alien Encounters</STRONG> (A&E Home Video, $24.95): Jeez, it must be true—this is from A&E and the History Channel!<BR><STRONG>Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control</STRONG> (Warner, $27.95): Try this on for spies: A direct-to-video spin-off of the new Get Smart movie released just days after Get Smart hit theaters! Masi Oka is tech geek Bruce and Nate Torrence his nerdy analyst cohort Lloyd. Enjoy!</P>
<P><BR><STRONG>Superhero Movie</STRONG> (Weinstein Company, $29.95): Some of our Spandexed favorites, from the X-Men and Batman to Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, are spoofed for 75 minutes or 82 minutes, depending on whether you buy the theatrical or extended version. (Yeah, as long as they’re the same price, let me get the short version!) Comes with an alternate ending, deleted scenes, more. Humor optional.</P>
<P><BR><STRONG>Lost Boys: The Tribe</STRONG> (Warner, $27.95): Cowabunga! Vampire surfers quickly dispatch anyone who crosses their path. (We thought vampires couldn’t cross running water...?) This “homage” to the 1987 The Lost Boys comes in rated and uncut editions. Yeah, as long as they’re the same price, let me get the rated version!</P> |
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