MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
02.05.2008
This 1978 film was written by Oliver Stone and directed by Alan Parker (Mississippi Burning) and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two of them (Best Adapted Screenplay by Stone and Best Music: Original Score by Giorgio Moroder, who also wrote the themes for Flashdance and Top Gun). How does the film hold up today? It is a great movie with only a decent story. How can you really expect to sympathize with a man who is guilty of breaking the law in a foreign country? Is the movie supposed to make us believe that if an American is found guilty of a crime in a foreign country, he should receive special treatment? Should we believe that the way American authorities treat foreign prisoners is more civil? We all know that is not true anymore. However, the script and the setup do make us sympathetic to the prisoner and if you forget that the movie is based on a book from the point of view of the prisoner himself (Billy Hayes), a man who has publically expressed disappointment in the final results of the film. This film will get a Special Edition during its 30th Anniversary and will include the following: The Producers’ Featurette, The Production Featurette, The Finished Film Featurette, Commentary with Director Alan Parker, Photo Gallery, Original Midnight Express Theatrical Trailer and a Photo booklet & Essay from Parker’s on-set experiences.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON 3
03.25.2008
Thank God, this show didn’t release this DVD in the same manner as Season 2. Season 2 was released separately, as Season 2.0 and Season 2.5, both for the same price as we get this Season 3 set. One of the best shows to hit television (the BEST show to ever play on Sci-Fi) will see its third season released this March with all 20 episodes included. Also included on this DVD will be the Resistance webisodes which focused on events that took place on New Caprica between the second and third season. These webisodes will also be expanded in content and running time from their original airings. The biggest complaint was that most of Season 3 was stand-alone episodes and the show began to drop in ratings and receive harsher reviews along the way. Included on this set is Ronald Moore’s podcast commentaries throughout the season and on the final podcast Moore explained that Sci-Fi pressured the production to create more stand-alone episodes in an effort to increase viewership. He guaranteed that Season 4 would return to the format of the first two seasons. I’d say that would explain why Sci-Fi creates such shit and I really hope Galactica returns to its magnificence of the first two seasons. Also on the DVDs, you will get an exclusive DVD version of the "Unfinished Business" episode with 25 minutes of never-before-seen footage, deleted scenes, David Eick’s Video Blogs, and a commentary on "Hero" with Executive Producer David Eick.
GATTACA
03.11.2008
March will also include the special edition release of Gattaca which stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. I can now finally replace my Full Screen Version (which is all that was available up to now) with an anamorphic widescreen version. Finally, no more black bars on the sides of my TV! Now they go back to the top and bottom as they should be! Ok. Extra features will include deleted scenes, a Substance Test Outtake, Original “Making Of” Featurette, a “Welcome to Gattaca” Featurette featuring new interviews with Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, and a “Do Not Alter?” exposé on DNA testing). A Blu-ray release will also be available with identical features.
Finally, I have been telling anyone who will listen that KINO International is becoming almost as important as the Criterion Collection for Film Geeks. Recently they have released some pretty important movies such as the Nosferatu: Ultimate Edition and Battleship Potemkin. Well, on February 19 another classic will be released. If you only know this story through the movie Idol Hands, you need to watch the original.
