The Mist (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)
d. Frank Darabont
c. Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, William Sadler

  • Audio commentary by writer/director Frank Darabont
  • Eight deleted scenes with optional commentary
  • A Conversation with Stephen King and Frank Darabont featurette
  • Exclusive black-and-white presentation of the film
  • When Darkness Came: The Making of The Mist
  • Taming the Beast: Shooting Scene 35
  • Monsters among Us: A Look at the Creature FX
  • The Horror of It All: The Visual FX of The Mist
  • Drew Struzan: Appreciation of an Artist

One of Stephen King’s most beloved stories has been adapted into a film by one of Stephen King’s best collaborators. Frank Darabont began his career as one of the first official Dollar Babies. In 1980, Darabont requested permission to adapt one of King’s short stories, The Woman in the Room, into a short film. King granted him permission and the offer to do it for only one dollar. In 1983, Darabont made the film and helped begin the Dollar Baby process which has stretched out over the last 25 years to include almost 50 short films created under the banner, including one by yours truly. King loved Darabont’s effort so much that he granted his request to make a feature length film out of his novella The Shawshank Redemption. The rest is history as Shawshank remains on the upper tier of people’s lists of best films of all time. This most recent adaptation is of one of King’s more respected stories, which achieved great popularity when it was released as a book-on-tape in 3D with actual actors playing the roles of the cast instead of a solitary voice reading the story. The DVD will include both the theatrical version as well as a black and white version, which Darabont preferred.

Lost Highway
d. David Lynch
c. Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette

  • 10-Part Multi-Angle Interview with David Lynch

One of David Lynch’s strange constructions, Lost Highway will finally get its long awaited DVD release in the U.S. this week. The film remains a confusing story as Bill Pullman portrays a musician who may or may not have murdered his wife and the mechanic he transposes into after he is arrested and placed on death row. The two lives begin to interconnect all while the hypnotic score by Trent Rezner plays eerily in the background. While it is never spelled out, I believe the story is somewhat a symbolic tale in the manner of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. I might be wrong, but I saw the film as an allegory of death and the mind’s ability to try to make sense of it. Either way, despite its polarizing effect on audiences, I believe it is a masterfully constructed film by a brilliant filmmaker.

Bonnie and Clyde Two-Disc Special Edition

   

d. Arthur Penn
c. Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman

  • Teaser Trailer
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • The History Channel Documentary – Love and Death: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde
  • Revolution! The Making of Bonnie and Clyde
  • Bonnie and Clyde’s Gang (The challenges of bringing together the right creative forces to adapt the true story into a glamorous tale)
  • The Reality and Myth of Bonnie and Clyde (Blending old and new Hollywood crews to bring about the style and look of a film which impacted more than just the fashion industry during the era)
  • Releasing Bonnie and Clyde (From production to the final edited cut, a look at the struggles and joys of making a film that became a worldwide phenomenon and an Oscar winner)
  • Warren Beatty Wardrobe Tests
  • Deleted Scenes
  • The Road to Mineloa
  • Outlaws

Two films changed the way Hollywood made films in the last 60s. With the arrival of Easy Rider and Bonnie and Clyde, the studio system was shunned for a more personal auteur theory of filmmaking. Both productions thought outside the box and showed a more rebellious and unstructured film narrative using location shooting and unorthodox acting performances by those involved. Arthur Penn’s masterpiece tells the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow and the infamous Barrow Gang as they left a string of robbed banks along the Midwest. The couple became icons and heroes to a number of people in the small towns they traveled through, but caught the eye of a lawman they embarrassed along the way. Their fate was sealed at that point and went out in a blaze of bullets. The classic film will get three releases this week, as either a special edition or a boxed Ultimate Collector’s Edition. The Ultimate edition will include the Special Edition as well as a 36-page hardcover book of rare, behind-the-scenes photos, a 24-page reproduction of the original 1967 press book and a special mail-in poster offer. The Blu-Ray version will include all the extra features from the special edition.

Them (a.k.a. Ils)
d. David Moreau, Xavier Palud
c. Olivia Bonamy, Michaël Cohen

Ils is a French horror film that details the story of a couple who awaken one night to strange noises. When Lucas sees their car is being stolen, he returns to call the police only to find the phone lines have been cut and when the lights go out they decide to run. However, they see a number of people surrounding their house and retreat into to their house to hide and try to develop their next plan of action. The movie has received fairly positive reviews (It reached 83% initially but has since dropped to around 62%). If you are looking for a horror film with a nice satisfying ending, don’t look here because this ending more resembles The Wicker Man than the typical teen-based Hollywood slasher flicks.

Speaking of Horror movies, here are four classic cult scare-fests for your pleasure.
       
 

Strange Culture
d. Lynn Hershman-Leeson
c. Tilda Swinton, Peter Coyote

  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Filmmaker Interviews
  • Outtakes
  • Filmmaker Biography

Strange Culture is a documentary about artist Steve Kurtz, who is being held as a suspected terrorist because of his work. Kurtz is an artist who dealt with genetically modified food and other issues of science and public policy. After his wife, Hope, died of heart failure, paramedics arrived and became suspicious when they noticed petri dishes and other scientific equipment related to Kurtz’s art in his home. They summoned the FBI, who detained Kurtz within hours on suspicion of bioterrorism. Dozens of federal agents in hazardous material suits raided the Kurtz home, seizing books, computers, manuscripts, and art materials, and removing Hope Kurtz’s body from the county coroner for further analysis. While he was found to be not guilty of any bioterrorism charges, he was still charged with federal criminal mail fraud and wire fraud charges based on the way he allegedly ordered and mailed the non-pathogenic bacteria used in several museum installations. Under the USA PATRIOT Act the maximum possible sentence for these charges has increased from five to twenty years in prison. Because he is not allowed to speak on the charges, actors were brought in to re-enact the details of the case including Oscar winner Tilda Swinton. Kurtz ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges partially due to health problems brought on by the stressful case including a series of strokes following his original indictment.

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 1 (The Public Enemy / White Heat / Angels with Dirty Faces / Little Caesar / The Petrified Forest / The Roaring Twenties)
Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 2 (Bullets or Ballots / City for Conquest / Each Dawn I Die / G Men / San Quentin / A Slight Case of Murder)
Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 (Smart Money / Picture Snatcher / The Mayor of Hell / Lady Killer / Black Legion / Brother Orchid)

   

Now these are some great films.  Volume 1 especially brings the goods. The Public Enemy (1931) tells the story of a young hoodlum (James Cagney) who rises through the ranks of the mob. White Heat (1949) was directed by Raul Walsh, who almost created the gangster genre with his 1915 silent film Regeneration. Angels with Dirty Faces (1939) would earn James Cagney his first Oscar nomination. Little Caesar (1931) is the seminal film that would made Edward G. Robinson a star. The Petrified Forest (1926) stars Humphrey Bogart as a killer and Bette Davis as a waitress at a diner where a hobo has just arrived, simply wanting to see the Pacific Ocean before he dies. Martin Scorsese calls The Roaring Twenties (1939) the last great gangster film before the advent of film noir as it tells the story of a gangster caricatured in the American dream. The other two sets also contain gems starring Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart among others.

Wristcutters – A Love Story
d. Goran Dukic
c. Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Tom Waits, Will Arnett

  • Audio Commentary with Director Goran Dukic, Actors Patrick Fugit and Mikal Portnoi Lazarev, and Producer Tatina Kelly
  • Making the Final Cut: The Wristcutters Journey
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Director’s Storyboard Look-in
  • Patrick’s On-Set Photo Gallery

Wristcutters – A Love Story is the latest in the storied line of small Indie sensations. The film is the strange, eclectic drama that should be expected from the Indie scene. Honestly, what studio would green light a film about a guy who kills himself and ends up in a purgatory where he learns that his old girlfriend also killed herself and sets off to find her? It has piqued my interest. Adding to the interest level is the star of the film, Patrick Fuget. I was not overly won over by his breakout performance in Almost Famous but really liked him in his small role in the wonderfully underrated Saved!. Add to that the appearance in the movie of one Tom Waits and you have won me over.

Alain Delon – Five Film Collection (The Widow Couderc / Diabolically Yours / La Piscine / Le Gitan / Notre Histoire)

Alain Delon earned his stripes playing Jef Costello in the fantastic French New Wave film Le SamouraÏŠ (read about that classic flick here). This week, five of Delon’s films will be released in a nice little box set. In La Veuve Couderc (1971), Delon plays the “handsome stranger” hired to help a widowed woman run her farm following World War I. Diaboliquement vôtre (1967) was Delon’s first film after Le SamouraÏŠ (although shot in the same year). It tells the story of a man who awakens from a coma with amnesia and sets out to find out who he really is. In La Piscine (1969), Delon plays a man in the center of a dangerous love triangle. Le Gitan (1975) is a loose retelling of the Robin Hood legend, as Delon plays a gypsy stealing from the rich and returning the money to his fellow gypsies. Finally, in Notre Histoire (1984), Delon plays a middle aged alcoholic who is taking a train trip and meets a woman who makes love to him on the train. He decides to follow her, believing her to be his last shot as happiness.

Violent City
d. Sergio Sollima
c. Charles Bronson, Telly Savales, Jill Ireland

Inspired by Melville’s La SamouraÏŠ (HERE!), Violent City stars Charles F’n Bronson as a hired killer who is double crossed and left for dead. He follows the hit-man and his mistress to New Orleans where he enacts revenge and takes the mistress as his own. This attracts the attention of a powerful crime boss (Telly F’n Savalas) who tries to blackmail him into joining his organization. When he refuses, he is hunted through the city by the crime bosses personal army and it is kill or be killed. Originally release in the U.S. under the title The Family, it has been restored from the original camera negative and it presented complete and uncut.

Kings of the Sun
Taras Bulba
Solomon & Sheba

   

Yul Brynner is the man best known for being the follically-challenged star of the Broadway sensation The King and I, one of the members of the Magnificent Seven and a man referenced in the Murray Head sensation One Night in Bangkok. This week there will be a few more reasons to like him as three of his historical dramas will hit DVD. Kings of the Sun (1963) is set in Mesoamerica and follows the intense battle between the immigrant Mayans and the native Indian tribes over territory. Solomon & Shelba (1959) is a Biblical epic set in ancient Israel and follows two brothers as they struggle to succeed their father, King David, to the throne. Taras Bulba (1962) is based on the short novel by Nikolai Gogol about a Ukrainian Cossack and his two sons as they set out and battle the Polish nobles in Ukraine. After this you will know more about Yul Brynner than just that fact that in Bangkok, there is “the creme de la creme of the chess world in a show with everything but Yul Brynner.”

OTHER MAINSTREAM RELEASES

Walk the Line (Extended Cut)

  • Commentary with co-writer and director James Mangold
  • Johnny Cash Jukebox: Eight Walk The Line Extended Musical Sequences with New Introductions
  • More Men in Black: Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by co-writer and director James Mangold
  • Becoming Cash / Becoming Carter featurette
  • Sun Records & The Johnny Cash Sound featurette
  • The Cash Legacy featurette
  • Folsom: Cash & the Comeback featurette
  • Ring of Fire: The Passion of Johnny & June featurette
  • Cash and his Faith featurette
  • Celebrating the Man in Black: The Making of Walk the Line featurette
  • Walk the Line Theatrical Trailer

The Kite Runner

  • Commentary with Marc Forster, Khalid Hosseini and David Benioff
  • Words from The Kite Runner
  • Images from The Kite Runner
  • Theatrical Trailer

NEW RELEASE TELEVISION DVDs

Noble House
Midsomer Murders, Set 10
Wings – The Sixth Season
Party of Five – The Complete Third Season
Day Break – The Complete Series
Frisky Dingo – Season 1
Sliders: The Fourth Season
The Invisible Man: Season One
Best of Laredo: Season, 1 Part 2
Midsomer Murders – The Early Cases Collection
Best of the Price is Right
Mike Douglas – Moments & Memories
Painkiller Jane (6pc)
WWE No Way Out 2008
The Catherine Tate Show – The Complete Second Series
Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vol. 79: Nemesis
Checkmate: Best of Season Two
The Upright Citizens Brigade: Asssscat!
Reba – Seasons 1-4
The Vice: The Complete First Season
Ultimate Fighting Championship: The Best of 2007
The Bob Newhart Show – Seasons 1 -4
Remington Steele – Seasons 1-5

OTHERS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

Tripping the Rift: The Movie
Socket
WWE – Triple H: King of Kings
Steep [Blu-ray]
Naked Beneath the Water [Blu-ray]
La Otra
Jimmy Carter Man from Plains
PU-239 (Paddy Considine, Radha Mitchell)
Sharpshooter (Bruce Boxleitner, Mario Van Peebles)
Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series Collector’s Edition
Mystery: Fantasy Bellydance
April Fool’s Day
Fingerprints
Suburban Shootout
The Unknown Soldier
Hunyadi Laszlo
Shrooms
Extraordinary Rendition (Andy Serkis)
The Living and the Dead
Naked and Lustful (Aka La Donneuse) (Rutger Hauer)
Mad Dog Killer (aka Beast With A Gun)
The Low Life (Sean Astin, Rory Cochrane, Ron Livingston)
The Breakout (Bob Sapp)
Pauly Shore’s Natural Born Komics Sketch Comedy Movie: Miami
Mr. Wong, Detective – The Complete Collection (Mr. Wong, Detective / The Mystery of Mr. Wong / Mr. Wong in Chinatown / The Fatal Hour / Doomed to Die / Phantom of Chinatown)

THE BARGAIN BIN

The Mist – $16.99
The Mist: 2 Disc Edition – $22.99 *
* Get free book with purchase of The Mist

The Kite Runner – $16.99
Triple H: King of Kings – $19.99
Tripping the Rift – $16.99
Frisky Dingo – $12.99
Greek: Chapter One – $19.99
Painkiller Jane – $24.99
Party of Five: Third Season – $29.99
Wings: Sixth Season – $29.99
Sliders: Fourth Season – $29.99
Invisible Man: Season One – $29.99
Bonnie and Clyde Special Edition – $14.99
Bonnie and Clyde Ultimate Edition – $29.99
Wristcutters: A Love Story – $19.99

$9.99 DVDs
The Departed, Goodfellas, Casino Royale, Taxi Driver, Heat, Snatch, Das Boot, Black Hawk Down

The Mist – $15.99
The Kite Runner – $15.99
Triple H: The King Of All Kings – $17.99
I Am Legend – $17.99
Bee Movie – $17.99
Enchanted – $17.99

$5.99 DVDs:
Inside Man, Underworld: Evolution Special Edition, The Transporter 2, The Sentinel (M. Douglas), House Of Flying Daggers, Silent Hill, Hitch, Snatch, Accepted, Munich, A Knight’s Tale, Starship Troopers, Sniper, Enough, Lawrence Of Arabia, Big Daddy, Hook, A League Of Their Own, The Wedding Planner, Kicking & Screaming, Bad Boys II, Bad Boys, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Alpha Dog, The Fifth Element, RV, A River Runs Through It

$9.99 DVDs:
Spider-man 3, Dragon Wars: D-War, The Simpsons Movie, Live Free Or Die Hard, Surf’s Up, Superbad: Unrated Extended Edition