Another weighty week of reviews at DVD Savant : Starting off with Criterion's The Adventures of Antoine Doinel - a four-film collection that is an extremely pleasant account of growing up (or not growing up) and learning the rules of romance, The White Sheik - an utterly charming fable that has fantasy elements but always keeps its feet on the ground ,Nostalgia Ventures' One Step Beyond and Gangbusters & Dragnet are a pair of television show compilations whose mid-range quality is compensated for by their low price, Ruscico and Image's War and Peace will make you reassess just how Big an epic film can be - this is seven straight hours of amazement and Warners' Les Girls a bright & sassy romantic farce, that just happens to have 5 or 6 Cole Porter songs in it Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

It's easy to mistake the story of Murder on A Sunday Morning as something that has crawled from the pages of a good John Grisham book. But Murder on A Sunday Morning is anything but fiction. This amazing Academy Award Documentary has all the drama of a fantastic crime thriller with all the impact of a great documentary. It's a movie that's been overlooked and we hope more people will discover it on DVD. The Murder on A Sunday Morning DVD features: Deleted scenes, Brenton Butler's original police confession, Extensive Interviews with Butler's Attorneys and more. Enter Now for your chance to win one of 5 copies of the Murder on A Sunday Morning DVD.

A very eclectic mix of movies find their way on to DVD this week, including Disney's overlooked Animated feature Treasure Planet [Review] whose DVD release is a lot better timed than its theatrical one, moving from animated films to animated people A&E has Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean [Review] the essential DVD collection for the Mr Bean fan! Other notable TV to DVD releases this week include Xena Warrior Princess - Season 1, Babylon 5: Season 2, Son of the Beach - Volume 1 [Review] and the 8 hour A&E mini-series Napoleon - Collector's Edition [Review]. Finally for documentary lovers you should absolutely not miss Biggie & Tupac [Review - Interview] and the amazing Murder on a Sunday Morning two of the most solid documentaries we've seen this year.

Fox Home Video has announced the DVD release for Joel Schumacher's thriller Phone Booth starring Colin Farrell. Set for release on July 8th Phone Booth: SE will be presented in both anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and feature and audio commentary by Director Joe Schumacher. Pre-Order Phone Booth Now at DVD Planet who is running a special where you'll get a $5.00 coupon towards your next purchase of $30.00 or more with any Pre-Order purchase.

One of the significant things DVD has done for movies is made it a lot easier to see some of the great films that make the rounds of the major film fests. Recently there have been enough great independent films released on DVD that we wanted to suggest a line up for your very own DVD Film Fest: 101 Reykjavik, The Believer, The Crime of Padre Amaro, Bloody Sunday, Drumline, Mostly Martha, Personal Velocity, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Roger Dodger Real Women Have Curves, Secretary, Sex and Lucia and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Watch one, watch them all, just don't overlook some of the amazing independent films available on DVD.

A film that was originally called "LA Story" may seem a strange subject for Cinema Gotham but documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield takes his investigation into the murders of rap stars Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG beyond the city of angels and examines the state of modern urban centers from Brooklyn to Baltimore. The resulting film, the incredible Biggie and Tupac, delves deep into a world of police corruption, criminal record executives and gang violence to try and solve the crimes. Broomfield will be appearing at the Union Square Virgin Megastore for a Q&A about the issues raised in the film on Tuesday 29th, the day of the DVD's release. Cinema Gotham had the chance to talk with the filmmaker about some of those issues and his experience making the film Read The Complete Interview with Nick Broomfield

This week The Aisle View takes a look at Stone Reader, which purports to be a love letter to a neglected writer but turns out to be a filmmaker's fan letter to himself. In case you missed them also be sure to check out The Aisle View's take on Lost in La Mancha, Anger Management and Phone Booth, as well as DVD Talk's latest Theatrical Reviews including: Irreversible.

Staying up late's never been so hilarious (or uncensored) in The Best of Insomniac with Dave Attell. The ever explosive Andy Sidaris Collection detonates two more babe-a-licious bombshells with Do or Die and Hard Hunted. Two-fisted gun shooting and every other staple of the action genre checks in with The Transporter. Hannibal Lecter: The Spring Chicken struts in Red Dragon. Plus, responses to reader emails and Bates Motel joins CineSchlock-O-Rama's Most Wanted.

We're proud to announce that DVD Talk is a media sponsor of the 2003 IRMA 6th Annual DVD Awards hosted by Leonard Maltin. The Awards event and Conference takes place on August 20, 2003 at the Hilton Universal City and tickets for the event are On sale Now. If you work with a studio or DVD production company there's still time to submit your DVD for consideration for the awards (deadline for submissions is June 27th). In addition to the conference and ceremony there will be a Free - DVD Technology Showcase which you can Register for now.

This week The DVD Savant takes a look at Universal's Bob Hope Tribute Collection disc of The Ghost Breakers a good example of comedy mixing well in a horror milieu, Fahrenheit 451 a better transfer of the superior 1966 Francois Truffaut sci fi fable, MGM's A Chorus Line an excellent transfer of this Panavision musical and MGM's Cry of the Banshee & Murders in the Rue Morgue which are an undisputed bargain, but not the best pair of horror films one is going to encounter ... yet both are beautiful restorations of cuts never shown in theaters. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

On May 1st Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are headed back into the Disney Vaults and after retailers run out of the stock they have on hand these two DVDs will be considered Out of Print! We were fortunate to get in before the 'slamming of the vault' for a final Toy Story 1 & 2 giveaway. Enter now for your chance to win one of 5 Toy Story/Toy Story 2 DVD packs.

A good week for 'art house' and independent films on DVD, starting off with The Believer a harsh and powerful look at anti-semitism which beat Memento for the grand prize at Sundance a couple years back, Paramount's Bloody Sunday [Review] a stand out look at the tragic Sunday in 1972 Ireland Columbia Tri-Star's The Crime of Padre Amaro an Oscar nominated Mexican film that got the Catholic Church up in arms, Universal's A Night at the Golden Eagle - Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City) goes indie with a film that got lots of raves but little distribution, HBO's Real Women Have Curves [Review] - yet ANOTHER Sundance smash worth checking out on DVD, and finally Artisan's phenomenal documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown a DVD you simply shouldn't miss!

Docurama has announced the DVD release for Lost in La Mancha, a brilliant documentary which follows Terry Gilliam's disastrous attempt at making The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Not since Hearts of Darkness have seen a more poignant portrait of a film makers turmoil. Lost in La Mancha will be released on June 24th as a 2 disc special edition including interviews with Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, and co-directors of the documentary Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, nine deleted scenes which add yet ANOTHER layer of gloom and doom to already dark events, 'Sound Bytes' six sequences assembled from unused interview footage, Storyboards and Production Stills and more! Pre-Order Lost in La Mancha at: Amazon.com or DVDEmpire.

Steven Shainberg, the director of the new to DVD film Secretary starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a man passionate about his work. Anxious to dispell the myth that the film is nothing but S&M action aimed at the 18 and over crowd, Shainberg sat and talked with DVDTalk writer Phillip Duncan recently about the difficulties in getting the film made and the luck that brought him the right actors. Read our Complete interview with Steven Shainberg.

As expected, New Line Home Video has announced the dual release of Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers. First on Aug 26th is The Two Towers Theatrical Edition, a 2 disc special edition (available in both Widescreen and Fullscreen releases with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio) will feature a modest number of 'making of' featurettes, A 10 minute sneak preview of The Return of the King, and a short film by Sean Astin called 'The Long and Short of It' with an accompanying making of. On November 18th New Line will release The Two Tower's Extended Cut a super 4 disc extended cut of the film with 40 minutes of additional scenes with new effects and a new score created for the extended material. The Extended edition will be presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with BOTH Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio with a number of audio commentaries and comprehensive making-of documentaries. Pre-Orders for The Two Towers Theatrical Edition will begin on May 9th and Pre-Orders for The Two Tower's Extended Cut begin June 20th.

20th Century Fox has announced the DVD release for the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Garner superhero flick Daredevil. Set for release on July 29th Daredevil will be released as separate Widescreen and Fullscreen 2 Disc Special Editions with both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio and feature: Commentary by Mark Steven Johnson and Gary Foster, 'Beyond Hell's Kitchen" Making Daredevil, "The Art of Daredevil", Six Multi-angle scenes, HBO First Look, "Shadow World" - a look at how Daredevil views the world, Kingping featurette, Jennifer Garner's Screen test, 3 music videos and more! Pre-Order Daredevil Now

This week The DVD Savant takes a look at Universal's The Andromeda Strain - Robert Wise's unusual and fairly successful attempt to turn two hours of technical exposition into a doomsday thriller. MGM's double bill of the hippy-trippy Psych-Out & The Trip - excellent versions of two very loopy pictures, one that holds up and one that mainly entertains by letting Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell make fools of themselves. Paramount's first library Western of the season Gunfight at the O.K. Corral an entertaining film with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas having a mighty fine time blasting down the likes of John Ireland, Lyle Bettger and Dennis Hopper. Finally, Image's The House with Laughing Windows - Italian director Pupi Avati scores an A+ with this chilling modern gothic horror, set in a sunny village where an art restorer uncovers a macabre mystery. Very well, done, very rare, and very nicely presented on DVD. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

New Line Home Video has announced the newest member of their Infinifilm Series - Final Destination 2. Set for release on July 22nd Final Destination 2 - Infinifilm will feature both widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film with both Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS 6.1 ES audio and feature: commentary by Director David Ellis, Both Screenwriters and the Producer, deleted and alternate scenes, a subtitle fact track, and three documentaries - 'The Terror Gage', 'Cheating Death:Beyond and Back', and 'Bits and Pieces: Bringing Death to Life'. Pre-Order Final Destination 2 - Infinifilm at Amazon.com and DVDEmpire

This week The Aisle View takes a look at Lost In La Mancha a documentary about the making and breaking of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a potentially great Terry Gilliam film that never was.. In case you missed them also be sure to check out The Aisle View's take on Anger Management, Phone Booth, and Basic as well as DVD Talk's latest Theatrical Reviews including: House of 1000 Corpses, Irreversible, View From The Top, Head of State and The Guys.

This week we are extremely excited to be giving away 5 - Miyazaki 3 Pack DVDs including: Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service. These 3 Miyazaki films represent some of the crown jewls of animation with Spirited Away recently winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The Spirited Away DVD features and Introduction by John Lasseter, a voice talent featurette, The Art of 'Spirited Away', The Making of 'Spirited Away' and more. Castle in The Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service both Feature: introductions by John Lasseter, voice talent featurettes and Complete Japanese storyboards. Enter Now For your Chance to Win!

A very good week in DVD for movie lovers with the star attraction being the 3 fantastic Hayao Miyazaki films: Spirited Away [Review], Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service, run don't walk to pick these 3 up! Other notable releases this week include Lions Gate's Signature Series release for the ever popular The Cube [Review], Wellspring's wide release for the Ran - Masterworks DVD [Review], Fox's surprisingly good sleeper Drumline [Review], The absolutely hilarious The Family Guy Season 1 [Review] and over the top, guilty pleasure The Transporter [Review. Finally from Buena Vista comes Rabbit-Proof Fence [Review] a film you may have missed in theaters but should definitely catch on DVD.

Disney Home Video has announced it's putting two of it's 'Crown Jewels' back into the vault. So starting May 1st Toy Story & Toy Story 2 will be moved to 'Out of Print' status and so retailers will not be getting any more copies on their shelves or in their inventory. Toy Story & Toy Story 2. It would be a crime to miss out on owning these two movies, so if you've waited this long be sure not to wait any longer or you'll be kicking yourself when they're no longer available! Read our reviews of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 and then pick up your copy before they're gone!

MGM has a number of fantastic treats for fans of fantastic foreign films. On July 1st MGM will be releasing on DVD: La Femme Nikita: SE with "The Sound of Nikita" , "Revealed: The Making of La Femme Nikita" and Programming Nikita - an interactive map; Wings of Desire:SE with Commentary by director Wim Wenders and Peter Falk, Deleted scenes with commentary by Wim Wenders and a "Angels Among Us" documentary; To Live, Zhang Yimou touching and brilliant film; Akira Kurosawa's Rhapsody in August and Jules Dassin's Oscar Winning Never on Sunday.

Warner Bros. has announced the highly anticipated DVD release for Once Upon a Time in America: Special Edition. Set for release on June 10th Once Upon a Time in America will be presented as a 2 Disc Special Edition of a newly remastered Director's Cut print (1.85:1 optimized for 16x9 TVs) with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and feature: Feature-length commentary by Film Critic/Historian Richard Schickel and an extensive documentary 'Revealing Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone'. Pre-Order Once Upon a Time in America Now!

At 13 years old, Daveigh Chase already has an impressive career. In the past year she has played the lead in 2 Oscar Nominated films: Lilo & Stitch and Spirited Away as well as a major role in The Ring. Daveigh has more diversity in her resume than most actresses twice her age. We had an opportunity to talk to Daveigh about the DVD release of Spirited Away about her performance in the lead role of Chihiro, how it compared to working on Lilo & Stitch as well as her much more intense work as the creepy girl in The Ring. Read our Complete interview with Daveigh Chase.

Kino Video has announced the DVD Release for Takashi Mike's Dead or Alive (Unrated Edition). Set for release on May 27th Dead or Alive will be presented in Widescreen with Japanese Audio and English subtitles. The opening scene of Dead or Alive is considered by most to be Takashi Mike's best work to date. Takashi Mike is also known for his films Audition [Review], Visitor Q [Review] and The City Of Lost Souls [Review] all currently out on DVD. Watch the Preview for Dead or Alive and Pre-Order Dead or Alive (Unrated Edition) Now

This week The Aisle View takes a look at Anger Management, and tries to hold in its rage as it considers the career of Adam Sandler. In case you missed them also be sure to check out The Aisle View's take on Phone Booth, Basic, and Dreamcatcher, as well as DVD Talk's latest Theatrical Reviews including: House of 1000 Corpses, Irreversible, View From The Top, Head of State and The Guys.

This week The DVD Savant takes a look at MGM's Nineteen Eighty-Four - a close-but-no-cigar stab at George Orwell's sinister classic. Warners' A Man and A Woman - the definitive European date movie. Columbia's SuperBit Edition of Das Boot spreads the long, long picture over two discs, to keep up the high bit rate. MGM's DVD of the Claire Bloom-Anthony Hopkins version of A Doll's House presents a superior retelling of the old but still topical Henrik Ibsen play. Finally, Warners presents an attractive version of Francois Truffaut's Day for Night, his ode to the filmmaking process, French-style. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

Universal Studios Home Video has announced the DVD release for Old School - Widescreen Unrated Special Edition starring Will Ferrell and Directed by Todd Phillips (who also directed Road Trip). Set for release on June 10th Old School will be presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and feature: An additional two minutes of never-before-seen unrated footage, Audio commentary by director Todd Phillips and cast, Deleted scenes, A Blooper reel, "Inside The Actors Studio" skit,"Old School Orientation" featurette; and Academy Campaign TV spoof and more! Pre-Order Old School - Widescreen Unrated Special Edition Now

Lions Gate Home Entertainment has announced the DVD Release for the USA TV series The Dead Zone: Season One starring Anthony Michael Hall. Set for release on June 17th The Dead Zone: Season One will be presented in a four disc box set with Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio and feature: "Genesis" a feature on the creation of the show, Interviews with the show's cast and crew, "Writing"- A featurette following the writing process, "Music And Special Effects" featurette, a featurette with award-winning composer Roy Hay and A behind the scenes collection featuring never before seen interviews with The Dead Zone's many guest stars including Sean Patrick Flannery and Chris Masterson. Pre-order The Dead Zone: Season One now at: DeepDiscountDVD.com, Amazon.com or DVDEmpire.com.

Fox Home Entertainment has announced that they are bringing to the US the 'Hong Kong Legends' DVD Line - considered by most to be the definitive versions of some of the top Hong Kong DVDs with superior transfers and plentiful extras. The first wave of Hong Kong Legends DVDs are set to be released on July 22nd and include: Magnificent Butcher (directed by Yuen Woo-ping of The Matrix and Iron Monkey Fame) , Naked Killer [Trailer] , Magnificent Warriors (with Crouching Tiger's Michelle Yeoh), Hong Kong 1941 with Chow Yun-Fat, and City Hunter [Trailer] with Jackie Chan. All the Hong Kong Legend DVDs are presented with new anamorphic widescreen transfers and Cantonese 5.1 Dolby Digital with optional English Audio and subtitles. To make good news even better, Fox has set the MSRP on these titles at $14.98 so you should be able to get them online for just over $11 each!

People typically look to Hong Kong for great kung-fu-over-the-top-action films. But an odd French/US film slipped in under the radar this year that is so unbelievably over the top you can't help but love it: The Transporter. This week we have your chance to win one of 5 copies of The Transporter featuring: audio commentary by Director Corey Yuen, making-of the Transporter feature, an unrated extended action sequence and more! If you're looking for an action film completely, totally and unapologetically over the top be sure no to miss The Transporter! Enter Now for your chance to win The Transporter on DVD

This week it seems like all the studios got together and decided to not compete against the uber DVD release of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [Review] which is, without a doubt, this week's most notable DVD. Other notable DVDs this week include Citizen Ruth Directed by Alexander Payne who wrote and directed both Election and About Schmidt with a fantastic performance by Laura Dern! Things Behind The Sun - Director Allison Anders' semi-biographical account of painful times, with a stellar performance by Don Cheadle. Mekhi Phifer stars in Paid in Full [Review] a look at drugs in the 80s by Drumline [Review] Director Charles Stone III and The Beatles Anthology [Review] a stunning 5 Disc Box of everything Beatles!

The sleeper sci-fi hit Cube is revisited with a new special edition alongside the much-anticipated, but obscenely ponderous, CGI shanghai'd Cube 2: Hypercube. Gird thy loins for the big-screen bonanza of Jackass: The Movie, which earns DVD Talk's highest rating. It's utter-sucking hilarity with a three-release Tom Green overload featuring Subway Monkey Hour, Early Exposures and Endangered Feces. Plus, Citizen Toxie giveaway winners, responses to reader emails and The Pride of Jesse Hallam joins CineSchlock-O-Rama's Most Wanted.

This week The Aisle View takes a look at Phone Booth, Joel Schumacher's adaptation of a Larry Cohen script, which puts star Colin Farrell in the position of finally having to show that all the hype is justified. In case you missed them also be sure to check out The Aisle View's take on Basic,, Dreamcatcher, The Hunted and Tears of the Sun as well as DVD Talk's latest Theatrical Reviews including: Irreversible, View From The Top, Head of State and The Guys.

This week The DVD Savant takes a look at MGM's big West Side Story a special edition boxed set that is worth the wait. The documentary Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood an informative and pleasant look at the meteoric career of Hollywood's highest paid screenwriter of her time. Criterion's Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne is a truly obscure wonderment that would surely be passed over by almost any other DVD distributor. The Awful Truth - the cleverest of Screwball Comedies is one of Cary Grant's best, and after you see Irene Dunne, she'll become a favorite for sure. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

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