THE SPECIAL EDITION – 01.15.08

FAMILY GUY: BLUE HARVEST
d. Dominic Polcino
c. Seth McFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mila Kunis
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• More than four minutes of exclusive DVD material
• Animatics/Commentaries
• Interviews with Seth MacFarlane and George Lucas
• Uncensored Track
• Teaser of next Star Wars spoof, Something, Something, Something Dark Side
• Collectible Packaging (Special Edition)
• 3-D Fight Scene (Special Edition)
• 3-D Glasses (Special Edition)
• T-Shirt (Special Edition)
• Trading Cards (Special Edition)
• Exclusive Brochure (Special Edition)

I am not sure the purpose of releasing a Family Guy episode as a solo DVD. The season debut of the show was a parody of Star Wars and here is the DVD of that episode. Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, this one-hour episode was a retelling Episode IV: A New Hope and recast all the characters with the Family Guy cast. The four minutes of exclusive footage will include scenes cut from the televised episode die to time constraints or profanity. To appease the Star Wars fans, Lucasfilm officially endorsed the parody and the DVD is supposed to include some interview footage with George Lucas. There will also be a sneak peak of the upcoming Empire Strikes Back homage called Something, Something, Something Dark Side. Trivia: Blue Harvest was the fake working title of Episode IV.

THE NAKED PREY – CRITERION COLLECTION
d. Cornel Wilde
c. Cornel Wilde
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• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Audio commentary by film scholar Stephen Prince
• John Colter’s Escape – a 1913 written record of the trapper’s flight from Blackfoot Indians—which was the inspiration for The Naked Prey—read by actor Paul Giamatti
• Original soundtrack cues created by director Cornel Wilde and ethnomusicologist Andrew Tracey, along with a written statement by Tracey on the score
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Michael Atkinson and a 1970 interview with Wilde

Criterion will be releasing a couple of nice discs this week, the first being The Naked Prey. Released in 1966, The Naked Prey showed the endurance of a man pursued naked through the African jungle by a band of native warriors. It is noted for a scene depicting the torture and execution of members of an ivory hunting expedition by African tribesmen, and the amazing race-for-his-life chase scene by the naked and unarmed safari tour leader/guide (Cornel Wilde) as six tribe warriors give him a head start of 100 yards into the bush, in this film co-directed by Cornel Wilde and Sven Persson. Criterion describes it as “distinguished by vivid widescreen camera work and the unflinching depiction of savagery, The Naked Prey is both a propulsive, stripped-to-the-bone narrative and a meditation on the notion of civilization.” It will be one of Criterion’s single disc editions.

POST WAR KUROSAWA BOX – ECLIPSE FROM CRITERION
d. Akira Kurosawa
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• No Regrets For Our Youth
• One Wonderful Sunday
• Scandal
• The Idiot
• I Live in Fear

The Eclipse Series continues to release film sets by some truly amazing directors. In this set, they focus on Akira Kurosawa films made directly after World War II. Many of the films were made around the same time that Kurosawa crafted masterpieces like Seven Samurai and Rashomon but have remained out of the public eye for one reason or another. Many of the films deal with the fears and thought process immediately following the war, including re-entering a society that had changed dramatically since the end of the war and the fears of nuclear extermination. While the films never reach the height of Kurosawa’s masterpieces they are still a key piece of cinema history and even lesser works by Kurosawa are better than much of what we see today.

I kind of ran out of time this week. So here are some more pretty cool releases and their special features – no commentary included:

AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
d. Leo McCarey
c. Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr
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• Commentary by Singer Marni Nixon & Film Historian Joseph McBride
• Affairs to Remember: Deborah Kerr
• Affairs to Remember: Cary Grant
• Directed by Leo McCarey
• A Producer to Remember: Jerry Wald
• The Look of An Affair To Remember
• AMC Backstory: An Affair To Remember
• “Fox Movietonews: An Affair to Remember Shipboard Premiere Attracts Celebrities”
• Trailer
• Poster Gallery
• Still Gallery
• Shipboard Premiere Attracts Celebrities
• Trailer
• Poster Gallery
• Photo Gallery

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY – COLLECTOR’S EDITION
d. Rob Reiner
c. Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
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• Audio Commentary by Rob Reiner, Nora Ephron and Billy Crystal
• Deleted Scenes
• ”It All Started Like This” – Ephron and Reiner talk about the development of the film
• ”Stories Of Love” – Confessionals of the real stories of the “authentic couples” in the film – also stories of Reiner’s true love found during the shoot of this movie
• ”When Rob Met Billy” – Reiner and Crystal discuss each other and their working relationship
• ”Billy On Harry” – A comedy focused piece
• ”I Love New York” – Cast and crew describe the location and its importance in setting the story
• ”What Harry Meeting Sally Meant” – Cast, crew and critics look back on the impact of the film
• ”So Can Men And Women Really Be Friends?” – Cast, crew and sex experts weigh in!
• Original Theatrical Trailer

EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS
d. Fred F. Sears
c. ALIENS by Ray Harryhausen!!!
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• Featurette: Harryhausen on Earth vs. The Flying Saucers
• Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Other Visual Effects Specialists
• Featurette: A Present Day Look at Stop Motion
  Video Photo Galleries
• Featurette: Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen
• Featurette: Interview with Joan Taylor
• Advertising Artwork video montage of film’s ad materials by Producer Arnold Kunert
• Featurette: David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero
• Featurette: The Hollywood Blacklist and Bernard Gordon
• Sneak Peek of Digital Comic Book Flying Saucers vs. the Earth

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA
d. Robert Gordon
c. SEA CREATURES by Ray Harryhausen!!!
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• Featurette: Ray Harryhausen on It Came From Beneath The Sea
• Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Visual Effects Specialists
• A Video Discussion of It Came From Beneath the Sea’s 1955 marketing and advertising campaign by producer Arnold Kunert
• Featurette: A Present Day Look at Stop Motion
• Featurette: David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero
• Featurette: Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen
• Still and Production Art Gallery
• Sneak Peek of Digital Comic Book It Came from Beneath the Sea…Again!