Oct 6, 2006

DVD releases for Oct 3rd


21 Grams (Special Edition)Extras: " 21 Grams: In Fragments" - An Insightful Look at the Making of the Film (Universal)
Not sure what makes this special. Don’t get me wrong, the film is fantastic, but this edition features little that would deserve a closer look.

Body Double Special Edition (1984) Dir.: Brian De Palma; Melanie Griffith, Craig Wasson, Deborah Shelton, Gregg Henry, Dennis Franz. Extras: Four new featurettes including interviews with De Palma, Griffith, Shelton, Henry and Franz: "The Seduction," "The Set-Up," "The Mystery" and "The Controversy." (Sony).
If Scarface is an example of De Palma shining, this is an example of what happens when a film gets away from him. Not all bad, but it is a bit of a mess. One can see where there might be a good film in there someplace, but the final product leaves something to be desired.

Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection Volume 2 Seven-disc set with "The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition," "Across the Pacific," "Action in the North Atlantic," "All Through the Night" and "Passage to Marseille"; $59.92. "The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition" will be available separately for $29.92. (Warner).
The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition (1941) Dir.: John Huston; Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jr. Extras: Disc One: New digital transfer of 1941 movie from restored elements; commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax; Warner Night at the Movies 1941 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, Oscar-nominated Technicolor musical short "The Gay Parisian," classic cartoon "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt ," trailers of "The Maltese Falcon" and 1941's "Sergeant York." Disc Two: Two previous movie versions of the classic Hammett caper: "The Maltese Falcon" (1931) with Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez; "Satan Met a Lady" (1936) with Bette Davis and Warren William; trailers. Disc Three: New documentary "The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird"; Robert Osborne hosts "Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart"; "Breakdowns of 1941: Studio Blooper Reel"; audio-only bonus: three radio show adaptations featuring the movie's original stars including a version starring Edward G. Robinson.
Across the Pacific (1942) Dir.: John Huston; Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet. Extras: Warner Night at the Movies 1942 Short Subjects Gallery: vintage newsreel, patriotic Technicolor short "Men of the Sky," classic cartoon "The Draft Horse," trailers of "Across the Pacific" and 1942's "Captains of the Clouds"; new featurette "Hollywood Helps the Cause"; "Breakdowns of 1942: Studio Blooper Reel."
Action in the North Atlantic (1943) Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Julie Bishop, Ruth Gordon. Extras: Warner Night at the Movies 1943 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, musical short "Cavalcade of Dance," classic cartoon "Greetings Bait," trailers of "Action in the North Atlantic" and 1943's "Northern Pursuit"; new featurette "Credit Where Credit Is Due"; audio-only bonus radio show with George Raft and Raymond Massey.
All Through the Night (1942) Humphrey Bogart, William Demarest, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers. Extras: Commentary by director Vincent Sherman and Bogart biographer Eric Lax, Warner Night at the Movies 1942 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, Joe Doakes comedy short "So You Want to Give Up Smoking," classic cartoon "Lights Fantastic," trailers of "All Through the Night" and 1942's "Gentleman Jim"; new featurette "Call the Usual Suspects: The Craft of the Character Actor."
Passage to Marseille (1944) Dir: Michael Curtiz; Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet. Extras: Warner Night at the Movies 1944 short subjects gallery: vintage newsreel, Oscar-winning patriotic short "I Won't Play," and short "Jammin' the Blues," classic cartoon "The Weakly Reporter," trailers of "Passage to Marseille" and 1944's "Uncertain Glory"; new featurette "The Free French: Forgotten Unsung Victors"; "Breakdowns of 1944: Studio Blooper Reel."
To say I am excited by this release is a massive understatement. I am a HYOOOGE Bogie fan. Bogie is the freakin' man! This set gives The Maltese Falcon a royal treatment and offers us some films that have never been released on DVD. Even if you are not a Bogie fan, but enjoy the films of yesterday, this is worth picking up. I will be posting a complete review as soon as my copy shows up. Usually the review copies arrive weeks prior to the release but not this time.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Locked 'N Loaded Edition (Unrated Director's Cut) (1998) Dir.: Guy Ritchie; Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Nicholas Rowe, Nick Marcq, Charles Forbes, Vinnie Jones. Extra footage. Extras: Featurettes: "One Smoking Camera," "Lock, Stock and Two F**cking Barrels." (Universal).
This is the extended director's cut of the film that started more than a couple of careers. One could argue that Ritchie hit his peak with his feature film debut. While scenes are added, I don't think they really make the film better. If you already own this, I honestly can't see the need to buy it again.

Medium: The Complete Second Season Extras:Collectible 3-D glasses included
The Story Of Medium, Season Two, Medium In Another Dimension: a special on the making of the 3D episode, A Day In The Life Of The DuBois Daughters, The Museum of Television and Radio Q & A with Cast and Creative Team, Gag Reel (Paramount)
Patricia Arquette is talking to the dead. How did the dead manage so many years without voices on network TV?

Midsomer Murders, Set Seven Four-disc set with four feature-length mysteries involving murders in the quaint English village of Midsomer; $49.99. Extras: Midsomer map, cast filmographies. (Acorn Media).

Scarface Platinum Edition (2005) Dir.: Brian De Palma; Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Two-disc set with new sound effects and audio mix. Extras: "Scarface Scoreboard": Keep track of the number of times the "F" word is used and the number of bullets fired; deleted scenes; "Making of Scarface: The Video Game"; "The World of Tony Montana" featurette; "Scarface: The Rebirth" featurette with Pacino, De Palma, producer Martin Bregman and screenwriter Oliver Stone examining the history of "Scarface," from the original 1932 classic to shooting the script; "Scarface: Creating" featurette; "Scarface: Acting" featurette; "Scarface: TV Version Montage" montage of film clips that compare and contrast the theatrical release to the network version of Scarface. (Universal).
This De Palma film has become a cult classic, with phrases like “let me introduce you to my little friend” becoming recognizable even to those that have never seen the film. Al Pacino stars as the latino drug dealer.This edition is loaded with some great extras really talk about how the film came to be and give insight into what went into the filming. And if this special edition….sorry, “platinum edition” does not fill your need for Mr. Face, there is a new video game out in which you play the feisty Latino Kingpin.

Thank You For Smoking (2006) Dir.: Jason Reitman; Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall Extras: Cast and director commentary; deleted scenes; "The Charlie Rose Show" interview with Jason Reitman, Aaron Eckhart, Christopher Buckley and David O. Sacks; "Making of Thank You for Smoking" featurette; "America: Living in Spin" featurette; more. (Fox).
Ivan Reitman’s son Jason directs a star-studded cast in this very black comedy about advertising, marketing and American greed.

Point Break Pure Adrenaline Edition (1991) Dir.: Kathryn Bigelow; Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros. Extras: Deleted scenes, "It's Make or Break" featurette, "Ride the Wave" featurette, "Adrenaline Junkies" featurette, "On Location: Malibu" featurette. (Fox).
Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey star in this thriller about surfers that rob banks. I swear I am not making that up. Witness riveting scenes between Swayze and Reeves. There are so many jokes just waiting to be made.
While this has become a favorite of many, only a gun to my head is going to get me to watch it again. Having said that, we will have a review in the couple of weeks.

2 comments:

Reel Fanatic said...

For me, Thank You for Smoking definitely is the cream of the crop this week, though if I have the scratch I may spring for the Bogie set too, or maybe just the Maltese Falcon

MysterLynch said...

One very sad thing that this week shows is the trend to put out new editions with very few added features. 21 Grams and Lock, Stock are excellent examples of this.

Pathetic attempts to snag more money of the public.