THE SPECIAL EDITION – 1.31.06

Besides tailoring your viewing habits towards that of whatever Burtonesque tale of woe splatters across the land, this week is also noticeable for the DVD H-bomb of Bubble. Not only will its success send shockwaves throughout the mythical land of Hollywood, but also because that means you’ll be able to get Red Scorpion 3 faster than you ever dreamed. In all seriousness, we’re all witness to a part of changing history, and whether or not you shrug it off with some piss-poor “it’s art house” comment – know this. Change is (slowly) coming.

Satanized!

Those immortal words about death doing you ‘till you part never rung so hollow in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (read Devin’s so-so review and Ian’s DVD review), particularly because Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) suddenly and inexplicably finds himself wed to the mythically rotting title character (Helena Bonham Carter). Victor’s emo tendencies (he sulks and draws!) are on full display, as he just can’t seem to muster up much courage to marry the waifish Victoria (Emily Watson). Instead he journeys with the Bride to Romero’s land of the dead – the type of place where Burton and composer Danny Elfman have felt right at home. And so emerges the typical dilemma: should he return to his arranged marriage or take the plunge with those whose time is Half-Past Dead? The result whisks by in a scant 70+ minutes, and that’s coincidentally, where most of my griping comes from. The film is too short. Not only do we not get enough development between the world upstairs and down, but we also don’t nearly get to understand the wondrously stylized world of the dead – especially the maggot living inside of the Bride’s head who is prone to pop out and sound like Peter Lorre. As it stands, the visuals on display, from the lovely resurgence of the beautiful stop-motion animation to the titled and dreary Victorian set designs is worth it alone, but like your sexual prowess it goes by in the blink of an eye.

Have a Dwarf and not be afraid to use him – with: 7 featurettes (Inside the Two Worlds, Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds, The Animators: The Breath of Life, Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light, Voices from the Underworld, Making Puppets Tick, and The Voices Behind the Voice), The Corpse Bride pre-production galleries, a music-only track, and the film’s theatrical trailer.

I’ve always been a fan of Banderas’ first foray into Zorro, mostly because Martin Campbell was at the helm invigorating a viable franchise with gusto and his signature wallop of swashbuckling adventure (he even did it to Liotta when there was No Escape). It also didn’t hurt that Catherine Zeta-Jones was busting her way out to stardom and was adequately bursting in the process. While those items surely have informed me of enjoying the movie a tad more than others, it was, I suppose, necessary to facilitate the sequel – The Legend of Zorro (read Devin’s negative review) – and put those familiar stalemates (children, animals, explosions) to use. This time Zorro and Elena have a diminutive spawn codenamed Joaquin but Zorro just can’t seem to put his carving tool down for a split second. The damsel in distress happens to be Lady California, and she’s none too happy about the shady dealings going on inside her borders. Like everything else, I missed this one when it hit (I can’t be bothered to stop looking at Sexface – click here! and actually go out into the world) but I can seriously say I’m looking forward to it, even if it does hurt. You, me, or anyone else in the process.

Prison changes a man – with: Director and Cinematographer audio commentary, some deleted scenes with optional Campbell commentary, 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Stunts, Visual Effects, Armand’s Party and Playing with Trains), 2 Multi-angle Scene Deconstructions, and some previews.

Those fake plastic eyes in Hollywood are on Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble this week. Just in case you didn’t notice, the film opened up in selected theatres on Friday, played on HDNet the same night (read Devin’s interview with Todd Wagner here) and now streets on DVD mere days later – thus shrinking the semi-standard 4 month theatrical window to DVD into pummeled dust. There are big questions are stake: will it work? Will profit be turned? Will Marc Cuban fire off one of his signature tirades on his blog head-butting the President of NATO? Not that any of these matter right now, as I’d prefer to discuss the film itself. That’s what matters – if the films are good, then we’ll go to theatres once again. And if Devin had anything good to say about it in his review here, it’s that Bubble, using a cacophony of non-professional non-SAG voucher actors, is a worthwhile exercise from Soderbergh into the lives of people dealing with extraordinary measures. In this case it’s the death of someone from their small town. The townsfolk have to deal with this shocking development and with their lives in the process. Soderbergh (read his interview with Devin here) keeps things interesting by having these non-actors essentially play themselves even when the narrative developments flair up faster than your explosive acne. The future is here. Duck and cover.

There no special features, as far as I could tell.

David Lynch fans were probably in heaven at the sheer amount of ideas he was throwing back and forth into the conscripted world of Science Fiction. Ideas that are as out-there today as they were 21 years ago (feel old and withered yet?). You’ll probably be excited too that Dune: The Extended Edition arrives Tuesday (enter CHUD’s contest here), but squashing all previous hearts being aflutter – David Lynch has had nothing to do with this release, declining to sallyforth his definitive cut of the film. So instead, we’re getting the Extended Version which features fairly no discussion on the fabled political hell the film has been subjected to over the years – the squabbles, the fights, the Alan Smithees of the World uniting in unison. While any Dune fan will most likely still check out the renewed footage (clocking in at more than 40 minutes more on the second side of a DVD18), those hardcore Lyncian neophytes are probably going to be stewing in their deformed juices and then filming it for maximum effect.

The sleeper has awakened! – with: Side A – Original Theatrical Version – 2 Hours 17 Minutes, Side B – Extended Version Version – 2 Hours 57 Minutes, an Introduction to the deleted scenes with Raffaella De Laurentiis, 4 features (Designing Dune, Special Effects, Models & Miniatures, and Wardrobe Design), a production gallery, and some production notes all round out the rest of the set.

Curtis Hanson directed this? You’re probably wobbling in terror, but the fact is, he’s shepherded a “chick-flick” into the mainstream consciousness. In Her Shoes is not anything the denizens of CHUD are most likely going to go out of their way in watching, quite simply because the film has Trippin’s Cameron Diaz sporting so many skimpy outfits. They can’t be bothered by that, Ranma 1/2 is on. No, but maybe I can try and coax a “looks interesting” comment out of them as Hanson attempts to breakdown the gender-specific barriers of labeling certain films. It’s not only harmful if used incorrectly (although labeling Antropophagus as a musical was a good gesture on my roommates’ part) as they stifle the creative abilities of the film to unite cultures, to destroy the Klingons in their darkened lairs. In Her Shoes has Diaz reuniting with her sister (Toni Collette) only to discover a long lost Grandmother (the effervescent Shirley MacLaine) in their lives. Hanson doesn’t take the low road in such situations, rather infusing the story with a little thing called character development, shrouding everything in a study of the lives of three flawed women. Like Nick said – “it’s only a chick flick if you want it to be”, that is, unless you can’t cope with bonding with Mom again on Saturday night.

My Marsha’s vagina is made of diamonds – with: an Alternate Opening Title sequence, 3 featurettes (The Casting of Honey Bun, Making of In Her Shoes, and A Community For Acting Seniors), on top of an Inside Look: John Tucker & Just My Luck. Bleh.

Sony is going to be re-releasing the Pink Panther films singularly out of the boxed set in order to have you salivating for the (unnecessary) Steve Martin rehash. Although the bigger news is the unspooling of the Classic Pink Panther cartoons, because they hold a much bigger place in my child heart (yes, I’ve got two and one is hurtin’) than the Edwards/Sellers team-ups. The Friz Freleng/David H. DePatie animations helped definite that eras subsequence into retro-cool, as the Panther not only slinked his way across screens to introduce each Clouseau adventure, but also fired up my stunted brain with the possibilities of the slinky cat who was just so damned pleasing to look at. The first instance where he was let out onto his own – The Pink Phink – is still a sort of masterstroke of dealing with change and painting the world in the flooziest color imaginable. The animation is so simple and such a delight that’s its arguably impossible to fall out of its charms, it’s a regular Castlevania of 2-D delight, and that’s even taking Princess Toadstool into the equation. All 124 cartoons fro 1964-1980 are presented in the boxed set and that means 124 instances where my childhood is desecrated into nostalgic glee.

Features include the documentary “Behind the Feline: The Cartoon Phenomenon”, the featurettes Pink Patter With Art Leonardi: The Story Behind the Animation, Remembering Friz: A Tribute to Friz Freleng, Think Pink: How to Draw the Pink Panther, the features on Page to Screen: The Making of Two Cartoons and the Animated Main Title Sequences From Five of the Feature Films as well as "Life in a Pink Panther Factory" from American Cinematographer.

Grizzlied Men. Beards galore. Piting fools. FACE! – and even loving it when a plan comes together. Yes, that’s right, it’s the much beloved television series The A-Team: Season Three. Its infectious grooves have the team searching for a lost Archeologist in the Amazonian wilderness after his plane was attacked by a – you guessed it – PIRATE! and naturally going after the big guy when he threatens the little guy. In that instance, it’s usually the big corporation or even the large logging company hell-bent on winning those evil dastardly contracts. The formula of The A-Team is large and in charge in its third season and there’s not much to do other than to sit back watch the montage of planning come together and the bad guys get their comeuppance. All within 45 minutes from learning how to go about their business. What really works is the chemistry between the team, the iconic ways they work together and throw one-liners out like there was no tomorrow. And that day is slowly shaping up. The dreaded Season Five will most likely be released soon, and like that – whoosh – Peppard will be gone. Lost forever! Enjoy it while you can.

I love it when a corpse comes apart! – with: No Special Features, fool.

For some, they simply know Leonardo da Vinci as the guy who inspired Hudson Hawk. But whereas Bruce Willis could scale walls and sing songs about stars with peerless precision, da Vinci was actually destroying everyone else in his path in search of knowledge, history, and ways to sadistically enrage us when dealing with his painterly chef d’ouvre La Giaconda. In A&E’s Da Vinci and the Code He Lived By, those fascinating historians take on the man’s tireless work ethic, even when he was quickly accused of being a sodomite. Striking down the charge with effortless ease, da Vinci quickly binged and purged all of its association and began doing what he did best: living life to the fullest and writing down his memoirs so Lord Joel Silver could fashion it into a script a mere half millennia later.

That theme song. Always when it sparks up, I immediately must run in what the Cars’ call Moving In Stereo, and life isn’t the same. My shoes bear the full brunt, the ladies the other, as I must pay homage to the original playa – Benny Hill. In Benny Hill Complete and Unadulterated: The Hill’s Angels Years, Set Four (1978-1981), the title informs you as much as you need to know – Hill is the quintessential naughty man who caused my parents to turn off boatloads of Comedy Central on Cable growing up, as his acts consisted of merely burlesque things better left to imagination. But I digress, since you should arise to the occasion in more ways then one and watch as Mr. Hill cheekily lampoons both British and American dumplings in times past. Those unaccustomed to such insanity will most likely be smitten with breasts and charm, considering Hill was well known for both. As Roger Daltry once said – they call him the seeker.

Finally, there’s A&E’s reality show Inked: The Best of Season One, which has a revolving variety of B-list celebrities (Ja-Rule, Ron ‘Tiny’ Lester, Joey “am I famous?” Fatone, Lance “sexual preference TBA” Bass, and of course Tommy “I was in Ace Ventura 2” Davidson) bearing their hearts and minds and naked skin in order to show off ‘dem tats in an alleged ‘fly on the wall’ series of vignettes. Designed to spotlight the various personal stories I’m sure you’re absolutely terrified of, the show continues to garner some fairly positive word of mouth. So get ready to be hurting with the shows eclectic mixture of worker problems and celebrity sauces that should make you want to leave home and get the old plumbing painted.

Warner Brothers has also seen to throw out upon us a plethora of mighty older films – the most notable in the bunch being Vincente Minnelli’s Lust for Life, a title that I am jazzed about. The film is thoroughly liberal in its intent to show Douglas being righteous at all costs, but also disheartening in Van Gogh’s descent into madness! Madness! There’s also Spencer Tracy’s Academy Award-winning performance in Rudyard Kipling’s Captains Courageous. Even Edna Ferber’s Cimarron gets the SE treatment with its relatively wide portrayals of the western expanse in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. But then we mustn’t forget about The Champ, Johnny Belinda, The Good Earth, and Kitty Foyle. All in all, it’s a lovely time to be in love with older movies.

The bulging week also sees these titles ransack your town for dominant satisfaction. Some are good, others – like Supercross – are better left for your 8-bit deviant dreams of Rally Bike.

I can’t even begin to say that I’m done yet with this weeks’ releases, although you’ll probably stumble across the recent singular rereleases of the Pink Panther films. Here’s what some of them are going to look like – with the exception of the Alan Arkin mediocrity that is Inspector Clouseau. If you’d silly enough to purchase them separately without buying the great Boxed Set (from CHUD here) then I suppose you deserve to be bilked of your (mis)fortunes.

The steel has been tempered.

The metal is ready – for upcoming DVD releases.

Cecil B. DeMille’s The 10 Commandments has always been towards the pinnacle of spectacle filmmaking for me and many others – the sheer ferocity of shots, coupled with the massive amount of extras subjected to the most awesome special effects the 50’s had to offer equals nothing short of an awe-inspiring cinematic time. As the go-to guy for all things epic in those tumultuous times, Charlton Heston is miraculously fairly good as the one-and-only Moses, although acting was arguably never any strong suit in the visually eye-popping sequences that DeMille had ushered forth decades prior. The hooligan in you not only harbors secret desires for Anne Baxter’s sultry come-on of mouthing “Moses, oh Moses” but also is still enthralled with the parting of the Red Sea, shaky special effects lines and all. At least I know I was. DeMille’s sense of straightforward action coupled with sexually charged subtext was one of his directorial hallmarks, although with the movie largely based upon “THE HOLY SCRIPTURES” as the opening title credits actually SCREAMS at you, is still a testament of your Grandfather and when he warbles ‘that Anne Baxter is sure a fine piece – now get me a switch.’

The big news is that the 50th Anniversary Collection (out on 3.21.06) also includes DeMille’s own silent 1923 film, which largely contributed to his own up-and-down career. That’s quite spectacular, so consider me eagerly anticipating this title until it’s able to come down from the mountain. Other extras include audio commentary with Katherine Orrison, author of Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic, a 6-part documentary (Moses, The Chosen People, Land of the Pharaohs, The Paramount Lot, The Score, and Mr. DeMille), a newsreel about The 10 Commandments NYC premiere, and trailers (the 1956 “Making of” Trailer, the 1966 Trailer and the 1989 Trailer). DeMille’s own 1923 version will have audio commentary with Katherine Orrison again and hand-tinted footage of the Exodus and Parting of the Red Sea Sequence.

On May 2nd, most of our young readerships cries have been answered. The other half’s cries will have to continue in order to power my doom machine of eternal greatness. The TGIF staple Dinosaurs – The Complete First and Second Seasons arrives and your inner Facehugger just jumped out and did the Hanging With Mr. Cooper dance all over your blood stained Computer area. Place him back inside and take a breather. While the ambulance is on its way, Dinosaurs nostalgic purposes make it ripe for backlash the likes of which haven’t been seen since I keep hatin’ on Lord of the Rings. Baby with his “not the Mama!” frying pan antics is primed to explode into tediousness, although right now it retains its prime urges. The episode where Earl was forced to consider throwing Mother Ethel into the Volcano (was it called Hurling Day?) was howl-splitting when I was little, and I suffered palpable cries of grief during the revelation that Robbie was a herbivore and could never live up to his father’s stature (Dad, I’m still trying – so get off my f’in back!). In short, I wouldn’t be surprised if a Coca Cola truck pulled outside of your small town, but instead you wished it away, screaming “Dinosaurs are coming, Dinosaurs are coming” with harmonious lyrical precision.

Be willing to pay for genuine and unconditional love – with: these WESAYSO approved features – “Pre-Hysterical Times”, which takes a look at Jim Henson’s creature shop and how they made the creatures as well as a featurette on Character Designer Kirk Thatcher.

You’ll be afraid of what goes bump in the night in the latest film – The Dark (out on 4.11.06) – from the creator of Ginger Snaps (is this a good thing?). Mario Bello and Sean ‘Janus’ Bean’s relationship has soured. Bello is still holding out hope and brings their young daughter to Bean’s humble abode in Wales, although everything is shattered when the fragile Sarah is claimed by the wavy sea. While frantically searching for their lost spawn, another diminutive terror suddenly emerges, and the facts point to her being dead for over 60 years. See, the delicate balance of the plot has been fractured, and if they want to see their child ever again they must follow the pseudo-bushido code: “one of the living, for one of the dead.” I’ll say one thing and that’s that the Spanish trailer (click here) is filled with a sense of absolute dread and atmosphere, that is, until it liberally rips off the exact falling-off-of-a-cliff shot from The Ring. The Dark could have potential; otherwise it’s just like the words of dung flung upon it by reader reviews over at imdb.com.

Are you mad? I am your daughter – with: an Alternate Ending. Uh-oh.

For even more crazy shenanigans, The Chronicles of Narnia is also getting a 2-disc Special Edition which streets also on streets sometime around April. Samurai Jack: The Third Season sees the light of day on 5.23.06 and Marlene Dietrich gets a Glamour Collection with Josef Von Sternberg’s Morocco and Devil is a Woman (yes!) on 4.04.06. The cover art is rather bland. But what can you do?

See you at the party Richter!

Maybe he’ll bring some Region Free DVDs. If not, I might have to consider a divorce.

You can never pin the spectacular Takashi Miike down. He’s been busy lighting up the world over with his hyper kinetic ADD freakshows of cinematic possibilities and his latest has him tackling the tricky waters of the environmentally friendly children’s sci-fantasy with The Great Yokai War. The plot has a bunch of strange supernatural occurrences taking shape across the Japanese landscape. Children are taken. Horrific monsters attack. A stone wall walks and talks! Chaos ensues. In it, a young boy named Takashi is quickly named Kirin Rider (yeah, I don’t quite know either) and must follow local legend by claiming his rightful sword at the hands of the all powerful Great Goblin and his band of mighty Yokai (only visible by a select few). Naturally, he must then set about to reduce, reuse, and recycle the wrongs set by these evil beings intent on turning mankind into a pile of frat boy mush. Allegedly Miike infuses the story with some seriously frightening beings, enough to make your tiny package recoil. Still, word has been positive and even if you don’t care too much for it he’s already filmed seven more films waiting for distro.

There’s a single disc and a 2-disc SE, the latter having interviews with the main cast, a World Yokai conference, footage of a big gathering for Yokai fans in Toyko in 2005, visual records of promotion, the announcement of completion of the film, footage of the film’s screening with Miike introduction, a documentary chronicling the film’s young star and some more footage recounting the making of the film. The single disc has nothing. Both versions have ENGLISH subtitles. This is a Region 3 NTSC DVD.

You can pre-order these following films, which have just hit the states. They’ll be released in the UK in the coming months and if you’ve thoroughly enjoyed them here, you might wish to import them, much to those studios’ ire.

Forget it, pal!

You really shouldn’t, though. Make sure to check out our DVD reviews.

1/24:
Flightplan
(Nick’s Vs. DVD review), Repo
Man: CE, The Fog: Unrated Widescreen, Oliver Twist, The
Aristocrats, Thumbsucker, My Big Fat Independent Movie,
The
Virgin Spring: Criterion, All Souls Day, Vital, Live
Freaky! Die Freaky!, Educating Rita, Modern Romance, Cisco
Pike, Missing: Season Two (CHUD’s DVD review – coming soon), Dallas:
Season Four and The N-Word. Read last week’s Special Edition right here.

1/17:
Lord
of War (CHUD’s DVD review will arrive soon!), Two for the Money, The
Man (CHUD’s DVD review is forthcoming), Junebug, Asylum,
Venom
(Ian’s DVD Rack), The
Escapist, Lois & Clark: Season Two (David’s DVD review),
Enron:
The Smartest Guys in the Room, Puppetmaster Vs. Demonic Toys, Underclassman,
Doogie
Howser: Season Three, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, Dead
Poets Society: SE (Ian’s DVD review),
Good
Morning Vietnam: SE, My Dog The Thief, Adventures
of Superman: Season Two, Sueno, Take a hard ride, Old
Grey Whistle Test: Vol. 2, Eraserhead, and the Short
films of David Lynch. Read the old and withered down Special Edition here.

DVD Reviews Forum
General DVD Discussion Forum

I’d buy that for a dollar!

Unfortunately, we cannot buy quality DVDs for that sum. But we can collectively dream.

Browse the multi-region DVD retailers!
xploitedcinema.com, HkFlix.com, diabolikdvd.com, DDDHouse, and YesAsia.com

Additionally, check out THIS MESSAGE BOARD THREAD for other Region Free DVD options as well.

deepdiscountdvd.com:
Corpse Bride is $21.74
Legend of Zorro is $23.33
Dune: Extended is $20.74
Bubble is not being sold through them.
In Her Shoes is $21.45
A-Team: Season Three is $36.60
Magnum P.I. Season Three is $36.60
Knight Rider: Season Three is $36.60
Pink Panther Cartoon Collection is $45.76
Individual Pink Panther films are all $9.12/EACH
Supercross is $20.88
Lust for Life is $13.37
Kitty Foyle is $13.37
Johnny Belinda is $13.37
Good Earth is $13.37
Cimarron is $13.37
The Champ is $13.37
Kids in the Hall: Seasons 2 and 3 are all $29.98/EACH (Season One is $19.98)
Homicide: Seasons 4, 5 and 6 are all $49.98/EACH
DOG: Bounty Hunter Best of Season One is $9.98

Target.com:
Corpse Bride is $16.99
Legend of Zorro is $19.99
Dune: Extended is $19.59
Bubble is $19.99
In Her Shoes is $16.98
A-Team: Season Three is $34.99
Magnum P.I. Season Three is $34.99
Knight Rider: Season Three is $34.99
Pink Panther Cartoon Collection is $39.99 + Get FREE Movie Cash
Supercross is $20.99
Kitty Foyle is $14.99
Johnny Belinda is $13.99
Good Earth is $13.99
Cimarron is $14.99
The Champ is $14.99
A
$7.50 SALE for:
Spy
Kids 2, Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Catwoman, Five People You Meet in Heaven and
A
Cinderella Story

Circuit City.com:
Corpse Bride is $14.99
Legend of Zorro is $14.99
Dune: Extended is $19.99
Bubble is $24.99
In Her Shoes is $17.99
A-Team: Season Three is $39.99
Magnum P.I. Season Three is $34.99
Knight Rider: Season Three is $34.99
Pink Panther Cartoon Collection is $45.99
Pink Panther Film Collection is $45.99
Supercross is $19.99
Lust for Life is $15.99
Kitty Foyle is $15.99
Johnny Belinda is $15.99
Good Earth is $15.99
Cimarron is $15.99
The Champ is $15.99
Lord of War (non SE) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin are $17.99/EACH
A
2/$15 SALE involving: Forrest Gump, Mean Girls, Italian Job, Face/Off, Pitch Black, Fast
Times at Ridgemont High, SwordFish, Gothika, The Rock, League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen, Life, Coming to America, Dead Presidents, Incredible Mr. Limpet,
Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, Bringing Down the House, Rundown, Shaolin Soccer, 2
Fast 2 Furious, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sandlot 2, Hocus Pocus, From Dusk
Til Dawn, Monster’s Ball, Amistad, Seven, Field of Dreams, Jurassic Park
and The
Girl Next Door
A
$6.99 SALE for: Reservoir Dogs, Boondock Saints, DareDevil SE, Natural Born Killers,
Last of the Mohicans, SNL: Will Ferrell, Johnson’s Family Vacation, Drumline,
US Marshals, Angel Heart, Basic Instinct, Rambo: First Blood, Total Recall,
Harlem Nights, Godsend, Double Jeopardy, Enemy at the Gates, Made, Black Mask,
Negotiator, Suicide Kings, Way of the Gun, A Murder of Crows and Red
Heat

Best Buy.com:
Corpse Bride is $16.99
Edward Scissorhands and Nightmare Before X-mas are both $12.99/EACH
Legend of Zorro is $16.99
Dune: Extended is $16.99
Bubble is $22.99
In Her Shoes is $16.99
A-Team: Season Three is $34.99
Magnum P.I. Season Three is $34.99
Knight Rider: Season Three is $34.99
Hill Street Blues: Season One is $29.99
Pink Panther Cartoon Collection is $60.99
Supercross is $19.99
Lust for Life is $14.99
Kitty Foyle is $14.99
Johnny Belinda is $14.99