DVD Talk: July 2004 Archives

On our July DVD Talk TV Segment on ABC TV's AM Northwest we took a look at 4 Notable DVDs: Hellboy - another thrilling film by Guillermo del Toro with a fantastic performance from Ron Perlman, The Butterfly Effect - a time bending thriller that delivers on a DVD with the much harsher original ending, How's Your News? - a charming documentary that takes a unique look at the disabled and their view of America, and Warner Bros. Film Noir Collection including Out of the Past, The Asphalt Jungle, The Set-Up and Gun Crazy - featuring audio commentary from our own DVD Savant! Watch this show (which runs about 6 mins) in Windows Media High Bandwidth or Low Bandwidth. Also be sure to catch past month's shows.

This week the DVD Savant has reviews of The Golden Coach, French Cancan, Elena and Her Men - Criterion assembles a triple bill of Jean Renoir delights from the 1950s , Un, deux, trois soleil - Bertrand Blier whips up a completely weird (and sometimes disturbing) piece of Theater of the Absurd set in a Marseilles housing project, Trailer Trash & Horror on 42nd Street - Two independent micro-labels are hawking intriguingly exploitative collections of coming attractions from the pulp-heavy 1960s and 1970s, Human Resources - a labor-management drama French-style, and two from Claude Chabrol Masques - Chabrol's Hitchcockian thriller is really his own character-driven creation and Story of Women - Chabrol's chilling true story of occupied France. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

A ton of great clips this week including: Hellboy [Review] with a look at the DVD Trailer, a storyboard featurette, creating the Hellboy Costume and a look at the special effects. Another comic book based series Broken Saints has had a great run online, now there's a Broken Saints DVD trailer that gives a good peek at the fall DVD release. Buena Vista Home Video has sent along sneak peek clips from some of their upcoming DVDs: Project Greenlight: The Complete Second Season [Review], Hildago, The Ladykillers and The Alamo. Finally, from Palm Pictures comes a clip of the hidden gem Millennium Mambo [Review as well as a peek at some of their upcoming titles: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music and Springtime in a Small Town.

A ton of great DVDs announced this week including: one of the best films of 2004 - Super Size Me on 9/28 - a dark and funny documentary that may make you skip your next trip to Mickey D's, Coffee And Cigarettes on 9/21 - Jim Jarmusch returns to his indie roots in a film worth checking out, Dead Leaves on 9/28 - Manga turns the anime world upside down with a series so unique it defies classification, The Ren & Stimpy Show: The First And Second Seasons - Uncut on 10/12 - sick and hilarious, Taxi: The Complete First Season on 10/12 - the TV vaults continue to open and great TV on DVD emerges, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Complete Fourth Season on 10/12 - one of the best crime shows on TV keeps getting better and better, Salem's Lot: The Miniseries on 10/12 - Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland, Samantha Mathis, James Cromwell and Rutger Hauer all without commercials, SCTV: Volume 2 on 10/19 - the boys (and girls) from the great white north are back for more, 21 Jump Street: The Complete First Season on 10/26 - Johnny Depp as a teen heartthrob, who would have know the career he had ahead of him, Traffic: The Miniseries - Director's Cut on 11/2- the USA Miniseries based on a hit feature movie, based on a UK miniseries, based on some really bad guys and The Commish: Season One on 11/16 - Michael Chiklis never disappoints. Read our complete list of Upcoming DVDs.

An eclectic mix of notable DVDs this week including: Showgirls VIP Edition [Review] - one of the best box sets you'll ever see for a schlocky movie, Hellboy [Review] - one of the more enjoyable comic-book-to-movie adaptations with very strong performances, Devil's Backbone : SE [Review] - Guillermo del Toro's quiet, intricately woven ghost story on a fantastic DVD, Pennies From Heaven - Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in an enjoyably dark musical comedy, Nero Wolfe: Season 1 [Review] - a series which is almost the definitive 'hidden gem' and one you should not miss, Sledgehammer: Season 1 [Review] - an eighties screwball comedy series that is as funny now as when it originally aired, V: Complete TV Series [Review] - the popular mini-series turned TV series is now finally on DVD, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex [Review] - a great series that is destine to be on a lot of people’s top ten lists for this year and Living Hell [Review] - a strong debut from Subversive Cinema (a spin off of the legendary Scarecrow Video) leaves us eager to see what they put out next. Read our Complete List of Upcoming DVDs for more great DVDs out this week, and visit our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews.

This week the DVD Savant has reviews of The Soldier's Tale - a brilliant illustration of Igor Stravinsky's dynamic musical fable, The Counterfeit Traitor - a true story of wartime espionage that deflates preconceptions about secret agents and Nazi villainy, Port of Shadows - Marcel Carne defines French poetic realism in this hazy, romantic and violent melodrama, Out of the Past - a bonafide classic that transcends film noir, Jacques Tourneur's romantic masterpiece of intrigue and regret is one of the best American movies ever, Thunderbirds Are Go \ Thunderbird 6 - the handmade marionette heroes of the UK Telly invade the world of feature films in two outsized Techniscope adventures, lovingly restored for DVD by MGM and Story of Women - Home Vision Entertainment brings Claude Chabrol's chilling true story of occupied France to DVD. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

The DVD Talk DVD Easter Egg Database continues to grow. Here are the latest Eggs to be uncovered: Vince Vaughn's '70's trivia contest on Starsky and Hutch, an outake from William Friedkin's interview for The Manchurian Candidate: SE, a deleted line of dialogue and some fun with lines of the movie from Uncle Sam, and the theatrical EPK on Dirty Dancing: The Ultimate Edition. Find out how to access all these great hidden features and more in the DVD Talk Easter Egg Database. Also be sure to help our DVD Easter Egg Database grow by submitting DVD easter eggs when you uncover them on your DVDs!

A good number of notable DVDs getting their release this week including: Starsky & Hutch [Review] - a light and fun, tongue in cheek remake of the popular 70's cop show with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. Wilson also stars in the anemic remake of Elmore Leonard's The Big Bounce [Review] - which is only worth watching if you're a die hard Owen fan. Another movie with a raising star out this week is Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen [Review] with Lindsay Lohan, ideal for the pre-teen audience. The Human Stain [Review] had early Oscar buzz, but never could deliver, now on DVD it's worth checking out as a rental. How's Your News [Review] is like no documentary you've seen before, it's a point of view of disabled people by disabled people, it's heart warming, funny and sometimes painful. Finally, from X-Files creator, Chris Cater comes Millennium: Season 1 [Review] a truly spectacular show on a solid DVD. Read our Complete List of Upcoming DVDs for more great DVDs out this week, and visit our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews.

With a live action remake of The Thunderbirds hitting theaters soon, we thought we'd celebrate it's roots with a giveaway of The Best of Thunderbirds DVD containing the absolute best six episodes from the cult Gerry Anderson '60 TV series. The Best of Thunderbirds DVD features: the top episodes chosen by the fans, Before Thunderbirds Were Go: A Profile of Gerry Anderson, a Gerry Anderson interview, Pop-up episode of "Pit of Peril", The Story of Thunderbirds and more. Enter now for your chance to win one of 5 copies of The Best of Thunderbirds DVD we're giving away this week.

Some great DVD announcements this week including: The Day After Tomorrow on 10/5 - this summer's first blockbuster is one of the first to be announced on DVD, Saved on 10/5 - Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin star in a ruthlessly dark comedy that slipped under most peoples radar in theaters, but hopefully will find an audience on DVD, Born Rich on 10/5 - Johnson & Johson heir Jamie Johnson takes a look at himself and his rich friends and comes up with some pretty exceptional revelations, New Zoo Revue: Season One on 8/24 - a classic children's show from the '70's gets resurrected on DVD, Raising Helen on 10/12 - Kate Hudson is charming in this light Garry Marshall flick, reason enough to add it to your 'rental list'. Finally, Ed Wood: Special Edition on 10/19 - this oft canceled Tim Burton DVD is back on again with real release date we hope it makes. Read our complete list of Upcoming DVDs.

This week we have a special giveaway for the cult hit sci-fi series Sliders to celebrate the DVD release of Sliders The First and Second Seasons. The Sliders DVD features: All 10 episodes from the 1995 season and all 13 from the 1996 season, Commentary by co-creators Tracy Torme and Robert Weiss, and an all new making-of featurette. Enter Now for your chance to win one of 5 copies of the Sliders - The First and Second Seasons DVD we're giving away this week.

Ol' snaggle puss certainly has a mug only a CineSchlocker could love. Is the same devotion advisable before upgrading to the two-disc Predator special edition? CineSchlock-O-Rama's Most Wanted celebrates the capture of Loverboy (with extra anchovies). Creature Unknown might oughta stay that way. Soviet "Hooter Horn" technology debuts in Curse of the Erotic Tiki. Plus, responses to reader emails.

Director/Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson has worked with a lot of high profile rappers turned actors, including: Tupac Shakur in Juice, Ice-T in Surviving the Game and Snoop Dogg in Bones. This time around it's DMX in Dickerson's lens in Never Die Alone a dark film that takes a unique look at the world of drugs and violence. DVD Talk writer Danielle Henbest had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Ernest Dickerson about: the DVD release for Never Die Alone, his connection with Spike Lee, and what it was really like to work with DMX on the set of Never Die Alone. Read the complete interview with Ernest Dickerson.

With literally thousands of DVD Reviews in the DVD Talk Review Database is easy to miss some of our top reviews. Here's quick round up of them: If there were ever a reason to run out and get a region free player Oldboy: SE - Region 3 is it! it'll blow you away. If you need another reason to go region free then see The Twilight Samurai - Region 3 a simply beautiful film. We thought we'd seen it all, then we got the Showgirls V.I.P. Edition: Limited Edition Boxset - once considered the pinnacle of bad movies Showgirls returns as one of the most tricked out box sets yet. Guillermo del Toro knows how to make a great DVD and both The Devil's Backbone: SE and Hellboy: 2-Disc Special Edition live up to high expectations. Another smart, well made movie is The Butterfly Effect and the Infinnifilm DVD does it justice. The Kill Chiba Collection may be a shameless attempt to capitalize on the success of Kill Bill, but it's Sonny Chiba so they've got our money. Finally, the Cartoon Network continues it's strong DVD batting average with Sealab 2021: Season 1 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Vol 2! Read reviews for these and over 8880 more in the DVD Talk Review Database.

This week The DVD Savant is up in arms! A favorite Savant war time film Castle Keep has been butchered on DVD with a pan-scan version that destroys the film - read his complete review. Savant has also been hard at work with reviews of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold - Richard Burton mopes, drinks and tries to put a fast one over on the entire Soviet Bloc, The Deli - Twenty amusing New York characters revolve around Mike Starr's deli, which he's about to lose unless his gambling luck changes very soon, The Lower Depths '36 & '57 - Criterion doubles up on a classic play by Maxim Gorky: a depression-era French version by Jean Renoir, and a '50s Japanese interpretation from Akira Kurosawa, The Roger Donaldson Collection: Sleeping Dogs & Smash Palace - Director Roger Donaldson shows his early-career stuff in a pair of excellent dramas from New Zealand, The Driller Killer - Abel Ferrara's sleazoid horror item rubs Savant the wrong way, The Assassination Bureau - Basil Dearden's spoofy antique spy tale is a lot less fun than it thinks it is and F-86 Sabre - normally a modest collection of docu short subjects about a jet fighter would rate a minor review, but this disc is a great find for aviation lovers. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

An interesting mix of notable DVDs this week including: John Landis' indie documentary Slasher [Review] - a fascinating look at the miserable life of a used car salesman, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (Unrated) [Review] - steamy and erotic, but perhaps a little to heady and self conscious for its own good, The Manchurian Candidate: SE [Review] - the classic thriller is even more chilling given world events and MGM does a great job restoring it on this Special Edition release, Never Die Alone [Review] - DMX does a solid job in this dark film but don't listen to the commentary track it may be one of the worst yet, Project Greenlight 2 - the HBO series hasn't had a box office hit yet, but the series continues to show just how hard it is to make a good movie, Barbarian Invasions - a touching and poignant film that solidly qualifies as a hidden gem, and Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise [Review] - Director Danny Boyle's enjoyable made for BBC movie is worth checking out state side on DVD, Read our Complete List of Upcoming DVDs for more great DVDs out this week, and visit our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews.

Another fine batch of DVDs announced this week including: Clerks: Collector's Series - 10th Anniversary Edition on 9/21 - Kevin Smith's debut film gets a 3 disc special edition release including a special unrated edition of the film and a ton of extras, The Iron Giant: Special Edition on 9/7 - Warner Bros.' critically acclaimed animated film finally gets a special edition release, Rounders: Collector's Edition on 9/7 - an overlooked poker themed gem with Matt Damon and Edward Norton gets a special edition release and hopefully some more attention the second time around, New York Minute on 8/17 - a light teen comedy starring the Olsen twins, Van Helsing on 9/28 - not the best movie in the world, but who knows perhaps it'll turn into a good late night DVD, Resident Evil - Deluxe Edition on 9/7 - the third DVD release for this sci-fi horror flick, this time around with more extras and hype for the theatrical release of the sequel and MADtv: Season 1 on 9/21 - the popular late night sketch comedy show comes to DVD. Read our complete list of Upcoming DVDs.

Poker has never been more popular. You can't flick on the TV without running in to one of a dozen Poker themed TV programs. Many notable stars have taken up the game and the poker craze has begun to sweep the nation. If you've every wanted to play poker, now's the time to get in the game. This week we're giving away 5 copies of the Poker For Dummies DVD co-hosted by World Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker. Poker For Dummies will help you learn the (including the popular Texas Hold 'em) and give you a leg up the next time you hit the poker tables. Enter now for your chance to win the Poker For Dummies DVD.

We continue to get very positive feedback on the DVD Talk Clips of the week, so we're working to bring you even more clips every week. This week we have seven clips from seven from the DVD of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers - Clip 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Two clips from the charming and touching documentary How's Your News? [Review] - Clip 1, Clip 2, an exclusive clip and a trailer for MGM 's Thunderbirds International Rescue Edition DVD Box Set as well as a Thunderbirds 6 trailer, a look at screen legend Omar Sharif in Monsieur Ibrahim [Review], the trailer for Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl , a Home on The Range Trailer, A Cold Mountain DVD clip [Review] and finally a Shaolin Soccer DVD trailer.

Michelle Bauer! Brinke Stevens! Linnea Quigley! The Queens of Scream lather up as sorority SUCCUBI in Nightmare Sisters! The illusive cult classick, now available on an extras-lavished disc, debuts alongside another B-rarity with a title that says it all: Scream Queen Hot Tub Party!!! Just two of a DOZEN rapid-fire reviews featured in the latest CineSchlock-O-Rama Lightning Round. So much schlock, so little time!

This week The DVD Savant has reviews of Rita - an hour long career bio of Rita Hayworth, a screen siren with the disappointing love life, with an old Hayworth western on a second disc, The Tarzan Collection - six mighty Jungle spectacles roar from the screen, recycling footage and regaling us with gory violence, fake animal battles and sexy romance, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Maggie Smith got her Oscar with this highly original character study involving schoolgirls, irresponsible teaching and fascist overtones and The Manchurian Candidate - John Frankenheimer's knockout paranoid conspiracy film is both more credible and more enjoyable today than the year it opened. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

While everyone was away enjoying the Independence Day holiday weekend, the studios were busy announcing a number of fantastic upcoming DVDs, including: The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition on 10/5 - Warner Bros. gives one of the most critically acclaimed modern films a special edition treatment including commentary by Frank Darabont, Making of Docs and more. Another critical darling Mean Girls gets its release on 9/21 featuring: commentary By Director Mark Waters, Screenwriter & Actress Tina Fey and Producer Lorne Michaels as well as a Blooper Reel and Deleted Scenes. Fans of TV on DVD have reason to celebrate with the announcement of HBO's phenomenal series The Wire - Season 1 on 10/12 - it's not to be missed. HBO digs deep into their vaults for the release of Dream On: Seasons 1 & 2 on 10/12 - their first innovative comedy series which won them their very first Emmy. Other notable TV on DVD announcements include Comedy Central's Crank Yankers: Season One - Uncensored on 9/28, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Second Season on 10/5. Read our complete list of Upcoming DVDs.

This week Warner Bros. dominates the notable DVDs with the release of the Film Noir Collection: Vol 1 including such noir classics as The Set-Up [Review] - with commentary from Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese, Out of the Past [Review] - with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas, John Houston's The Asphalt Jungle [Review] - including an introduction by the Director, Raymond Chandler's Murder, My Sweet [Review] and Gun Crazy [Review] - featuring an audio commentary from our very own DVD Savant. Other notable DVDs this week include: Butterfly Effect [Review - Interview], Big Top Pee-Wee [Review], Charlie Chan Chanthology [Review], The Name of the Rose and Six Feet Under Season 2 [Review]. Read our Complete List of Upcoming DVDs for more great DVDs out this week, and visit our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews.

Michael Moore has been creating controversy and blowing away box office records with his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, so this week we're happy to bring you a giveaway for The Awful Truth - The Complete DVD Set (Seasons 1 & 2). This four disk box set features: all episodes from the 2 seasons of The Awful Truth, audio commentary by Michael Moore on four of his favorite episodes, Moore "Awful Truths", and more. Enter now for your chance to win one of 5 copies of The Awful Truth - The Complete DVD Set (Seasons 1 & 2) we're giving away this week.

It's the chosen few DVDs released each year which receive DVD Talk's Highest Rating: DVD Talk Collector Series. Recent DVDs to get this extremely high rating include: Cold Mountain: Collector's Edition - a lovely, thoughtful, and rich film with an outstanding transfer on a loaded DVD, Spider-Man - The '67 Collection - with 52 episodes of childish joy and exceptional video quality this set deserves to be on every comic book or cartoon fan's DVD shelf, The Dead Zone - Season 2 - a great show which holds up to repeat viewing on a DVD with the kind of bonus material that every television show release should strive to match and Infernal Affairs - a smart and suspenseful thriller that asks questions about the nature of good and evil and the moral dilemmas created by the collision of two conflicting worlds. Finally, it's extremely rare we give our highest rating to adult DVDs which makes Tera Tera Tera and Misty Beethoven: The Musical 2 extremely notable exceptions. See the complete list of all DVDs given DVD Talk's Highest Rating.

Writing and Directing team Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber impressed audiences with their full throttle intensity in the highly successful Final Destination 2. Now they're back and they've upped the stakes with The Butterfly Effect - a time bending thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the very end. DVD Talk writer Danielle Henbest had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber about the DVD release for The Butterfly Effect. Bress and Gruber talk about selecting Ashton Kutcher for the lead role, violence in movies and what they're working on next. Read our Complete Interview with Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber.

Tempted to buy your fave episode of American Chopper? As Paul Sr. would bark: "Come here and turn around so I can hit you in the back of the head!" Wait for the Season One box set instead as Mikey's Bike is just one of a DOZEN rapid-fire reviews featured in the latest Lightning Round. (So much schlock, so little time!) Plus, responses to reader emails and the ever-vigilant CineSchlock-O-Rama's Most Wanted.