Tag: uk dvd releases

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DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 12th January 2009

UK DVD Picks 12-01-09

DVD PICKS

Standard Operating Procedure (Sony): A disturbing but fascinating documentary in which director Errol Morris examines the photographs taken during the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003. Using interviews with the soldiers, Morris weaves their stories together with the actual images, re-enactments and graphics to create a chilling portrait of one of the most notorious episodes of the Iraq war.

The regular DVD has the following features:

  • 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English, French, Italian and Spanish DD5.1 Surround
  • Subtitles: English, English HOH, Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (Parisian), German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Slovene, Spanish (Castilian), Swedish, Turkish
  • Director’s Commentary
  • Deleted Scenes

The Blu-ray Disc is coded for all regions (A, B and C) and features:

  • 1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
  • English, Italian (VO) and Spanish (VO) 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
  • French (VO) 5.1 Dolby Digital
  • Subtitles: English, English HOH, Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Finnish, French, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
  • Commentary with Director Errol Morris
  • Los Angeles Premiere Q&A with Director Errol Morris
  • Berlin Film Festival Press Conference
  • Diplomacy in the Age of Terror: The Impact of Diminished Rule of Law on International Relations
  • 9 New Additional Scenes
  • Nearly 2 hours of new interview footage featuring Tim Dugan, Hydrue Joyner, Steven Jordan, Jeremy Sivits & Samuel Provance

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Pineapple Express (Sony): A comedy about two pot-smoking slackers (Seth Rogen and James Franco) who go on the run, directed by David Gordon Green (a big change of pace for him after films like George Washington and All The Real Girls). Co-written by Rogen and produced by Judd Apatow it is an amusing caper although it isn’t quite as laugh-out-loud funny as previous Apatow productions like Superbad and Knocked Up. Despite that there are enough decent action sequences and gags to recommend it.

The 2-disc DVD breaks down like this:

Disc 1: Main Feature

  • Includes Theatrical & Extended Cuts of the film
  • Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English DD5.1 Surround
  • Polish and Turkish Dolby Surround
  • English Audio Description Track
  • Subtitles: English, English HOH + many more including Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch and Hindi
  • Commentary with filmmakers and cast
  • Extended and Alternate Scenes
  • Gag Reel
  • The Making of Pineapple Express
  • Injury Report Featurette

Disc 2: Extra Features

  • Bonus Digital Copy of the film
  • 5 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Seth’s Apartment
  • Raw Footage
  • Rehearsal Footage
  • And Much More!

The Blu-ray Disc features all the content of the 2-Disc DVD plus an exclusive game ‘Ride the Express’. Features include:

  • Includes Theatrical & Extended Cuts of the film
  • 1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
  • English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
  • English Audio Description Track
  • English, English HOH and Hindi subtitles
  • Ride the Express Game – BD Exclusive
  • Commentary with filmmakers and cast
  • Extended and Alternate Scenes
  • Gag Reel
  • The Making of Pineapple Express
  • Injury Report Featurette
  • Bonus Digital Copy of the film
  • 5 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Seth’s Apartment
  • Raw Footage
  • Rehearsal Footage

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Somers Town (Optimum): The latest film from Shane Meadows didn’t reach the heights of This is England, but was still a charming urban tale of an unlikely friendship between two teenagers in an area of North London. Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello were very good in the two lead roles and Perry Benson offered solid support as an Arsenal supporting deckchair seller.

The regular DVD and the Blu-ray disc have the same extras which are:

  • 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English DD2.0 Stereo and DD5.1 Surround
  • English HOH subtitles
  • Interviews with Shane Meadows, Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello and Perry Benson
  • Shane Meadows Master class at Tribeca Film Festival
  • TV Spots
  • Trailer

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ALSO OUT

Apparitions (2 Entertain)
Aristocrats (Acorn Media)
Just Add Water (Sony)
Red Sorghum (Drakes Avenue Pictures)
Resident Evil: Degeneration (Sony)
Sakuran (ICA)
Speak Easily (Powis Square Pictures)
The Big Bang Theory – Season 1 (Warner)
The Devil’s Chair (Sony)
The Diary of Anne Frank (Contender)
The Sadist (Powis Square Pictures)

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> Buy Standard Operating Procedure, Pineapple Express and Somers Town at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 9th January)
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DVD & Blu-ray

The Best DVDs of 2008

Best DVDs of 2008

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Every year I usually compile a list of the best films but since I started doing regular DVD roundups it was clear that there was a lot of re-issues and special editions of films worth compiling in an end of year list.

This is my selection of the best films to come out on DVD during 2008 and all of these titles are ones that I would recommend to buy or put in your online rental queue.

When you click on the title of each entry it will take you to my original post on it or the entry in Amazon where you can buy the DVD.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

Best DVD releases of 2008

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

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N.B. As I’m based in the UK, all of these DVDs are UK titles but if you live in a different region of the world check out Play.com or your local Amazon site and they should have an equivalent version of the film.

> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Check out the best selling DVDs at Play
> Amazon US pick their best DVDs of 2008 (these are Region 1 DVDs)

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DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 15th-29th December 2008

DVD PICK

Man on Wire DVD coverMan on Wire (Icon): In what is quite a barren Christmas period for notable DVDs, there is only one that truly stands out which is this stunning documentary by director James Marsh,who made Wisconsin Death Trip. 

It chronicles Frenchman Philippe Petit, who on August 7th 1974 gave an incredible high-wire performance by walking between between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center eight times in one hour.

The act itself almost defies belief but what the film does brilliantly is capture the tension, beauty and brilliance of Petit’s highly illegal operation. 

Born out of a dream and an idea, Petit and his team of accomplices spent eight months planning the execution of their ‘coup’ down to the most intricate detail.

Like a team of bank robbers planning their most ambitious heist, the tasks they faced seemed virtually impossible: they would have to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the wire and rigging equipment into the towers; suspend the wire between the towers; secure the wire at the correct tension to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings; to rig it secretly by night – all without being caught.

Then there would be the walk itself.

One of the finest documentaries to come out in the last few years, the DVD has the following extras:

  • Audio commentary from James Marsh (director) and Simon Chinn (producer)
  • Interview with Phillipe Petit
  • Unseen footage

 * Listen to an interview we did with Philippe Petit about the film *

Man on Wire is released on Friday 26th December

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ALSO OUT

Friday 26th December 

Battle of Wits (Metrodome)
Lipstick Jungle – Season 1 (Universal Playback)
Mum & Dad (Revolver Entertainment)
Steep (Metrodome)
The Love Guru (Paramount)
The Strangers (Universal)

Monday 29th December 

Babylon A.D. (Fox)
Bangkok Dangerous (EIV)
Ben X (Momentum)
Cass (Optimum)
Death Note: L – Change the World (4 Digital Asia)
Doctor Who: Battlefield 2 (2Entertain)
Hellsing Ultimate Volume 2 (Manga)
Make it Happen (Optimum)
Naruto The Movie 2 : Legend of the Stone of Gelel (Manga)

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> Buy Man on Wire at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 12th December)

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DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 8th December 2008

DVD PICKS

The Dark Knight (Warner): The best blockbuster of the year gets a handsome DVD release from Warner Bros. If you missed it at cinemas this sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. With the back story of the first film out of the way, this jumps head first into the ongoing war against crime in Gotham City.

Now the forces of law and order under Batman, Lt Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) have to deal with a new criminal known as The Joker (Heath Ledger). Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel Dawes (replacing Katie Holmes) whilst Michael Caine (as Alfred) and Morgan Freeman (as Lucius Fox) both return in key supportg roles.

Managing to transcend the usual limitations of the comic book genre, its ambitious approach owes more to crime epics like Heat and The Godfather than the usual summer comic book adaptation. The admirably dark and oppressive tone is cleverly offset by some ingenious plotting and some truly memorable performances, especially from Ledger and Oldman.

Overall the technical contributions are outstanding – of particular not are Wally Pfister’s cinematography, Nathan Crowley’s production design and Lee Smith’s editing. Special mention must also go to the diverting score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, which sadly won’t be up for Oscar consideration due to a technicality.

It really struck a chord at the US box office – it is currently second only to Titanic there –  and managed to tap into current themes of terror, corruption and surveillance without being preachy. 

The extras on the 2-disc edition include:

  • Gotham Uncovered: How Christopher Nolan and his team developed the new Bat-suit and Bat-pod and composer Hans Zimmer musically characterized The Joker’s reign of chaos.
  • The Dark Knight IMAX® Scenes: View these 6 action-packed sequences – shot on the largest format possible – in their original IMAX framing, just as they were intended
  • Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable’s premier news program
  • The Galleries: Poster art and production stills
  • Digital Copy of the Feature Film

On the Blu-ray disc the following features are included:

  • 1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
  • English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
  • English 5.1, English 2.0, French 5.1 and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
  • English, French and Spanish subtitles (Movie & Select Bonus Material)

Disc 1: Movie with Focus Points

  •  Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene – Director Christopher Nolan and creative collaborators unmask the detail and planning behind the film including stunt staging, filming in IMAX, the new bat-suit and bat-pod…and more.

Disc 2: Special Features

  • Batman Tech: The incredible gadgets and tools (in Hi-Def)
  • Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight – Delve into the psyche of Bruce Wayne and the world of batman through real-world psychotherapy (in Hi-Def)
  • Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable’s Premier News Program
  • The Galleries: The Jokes Cards, Concept Art, Poster Art, Production Stills, Trailers & TV Spots

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal): Another sequel for a comic book character sees another hugely talented filmmaker impress in the mainstream realm. Although this wasn’t quite as good as The Dark Knight, director Guillermo Del Toro managed to demonstrate his usual intelligence, wit and style in this follow up to the 2004 original.

Ron Perlman returns as the title character, a demonic tough guy (turned good) now working for the US government as a secret agent. After a ruthless leader (Luke Goss) tries to awaken an unstoppable army of creatures, Hellboy and his colleagues have to try and stop him.

What’s impressive here is the power of Del Toro’s imagination, which has already contributed to such marvellous films as Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth and the breezy charm of the script which doesn’t feel inhibited about including a Barry Manilow sing-a-long.    

The extras on the 2-disc special edition include the following:

  • 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English DD5.1 Surround
  • Main Feature Disc Subtitles: English SDH
  • Bonus Disc Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish, Slovenian, Arabic, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
  • Hellboy: In Service of the Demon – Over two hours of an extensive, in-depth look at the creation of Hellboy II
  • Director’s Notebook
  • Production Workshop Puppet Theatre
  • Image Galleries
  • Deleted Scenes with Optional Director’s Commentary
  • Troll Market Tour with Guillermo del Toro
  • Feature Commentary with Guillermo del Toro

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ALSO OUT 

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (Paramount)
Austin Powers: Goldmember (EIV)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (EIV) 
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Warner)
The Fox and The Child (Pathé)
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Manga)
The Stranglers On Stage On Screen (Eureka)
The Wire: The Complete Series (HBO)

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> Buy The Dark Knight and Hellboy II: The Golden Army at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 5th December)

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DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 1st December 2008

DVD PICKS

Hancock (Sony): Although this Will Smith summer blockbuster attracted a mixed critical response it remains an entertaining and interesting riff on the superhero genre. The biggest movie star in the world plays a depressed, drunken superman who is reviled by Los Angeles because he causes mass destruction when fighting crime. After saving the life of a PR man (Justin Bateman) he is persuaded to change his ways and become a proper hero but complications ensue when his past catches up with him. Directed by Peter Berg (Very Bad Things, The Kingdom) from a script by Vince Gilligan & Vincent Ngo, the action is efficiently handled and the humor (especially between bateman and Smith) nicely played.

Thr two-disc edition is the one to get as it Includes both the theatrical and extended versions of the film with the following features:

  • 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English and Czech DD5.1 Surround
  • English Audio Description
  • Subtitles (Main Feature): English, English HOH, Czech, Dutch, Hindi and Slovak
  • Subtitles (Extra Features): English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese
  • Superhumans: The Making of Hancock behind-the-scenes documentary
  • Seeing the Future – takes eight scenes from the actual film footage or B-roll footage and shows side by side comparisons of the conception during the pre-visualization creation
  • Building a Better Hero special effects featurette
  • Bumps and Bruises – breakdown of action sequences in the film
  • Mere Mortals: Behind the Scenes with ‘Dirty Pete.’ – Interview with director Peter Berg
  • Home Life – – Shows via time lapse photography the building of the homes and buildings used in the film
  • Suiting Up – featurette on the film’s costume design
  • Digital copy of the theatrical cut for consumers to play on their PC or PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) System  

The French Connection – Bluray (Fox): Although I’m still in a state of Blu-ray limbo (a subject of a future post) this is one title I’d be really keen on getting. A landmark film of the early 1970s, it is the story of two New York City policemen trying to intercept a heroin shipment coming in from France. Directed by William Friedkin, it stars Gene Hackman (as detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle), Fernando Rey (as French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier) and Roy Scheider (as Jimmy’s partner Buddy “Cloudy” Russo). It also features Eddie Egan and Sonny “Cloudy” Grosso, the real-life police detectives on whom Hackman’s and Scheider’s characters were based.

The Blu-ray disc has exclusive new high-def content including an introduction by William Friedkin, an ‘Anatomy of a Chase’ featurette, Friedkin and Grosso remembering the real French Connection, and a featurette about the music of Don Ellis.

It also features the following:

Disc 1:

  • William Friedkin Introduction to The French Connection
  • Audio Commentary by William Friedkin
  • Audio Commentary by Gene Hackman and Roy Schieder
  • Trivia Track
  • Isolated Score Track
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • French Connection II BD Trailer

Disc 2:

  • 9 Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary by William Friedkin (12 mins 50 secs)
  • Anatomy of a Chase (20 mins 36 secs)
  • Hackman on Doyle (12 mins 14 secs)
  • Friedman and Grosso remember the real French Connection (19 mins 34 secs)
  • Scene of the Crime (6 mins 19 mins)
  • Colour Timing The French Connection (13 mins 21 secs)
  • Cop Jazz: The Music of Don Ellis (10 mins 11 secs)
  • Rouge Cop: The Noir Connection (13 mins 56 secs)
  • BBC Documentary: The Poughkeepsie Shuffle (53 mins)
  • Making the Connection: The Untold Stories of The French Connection (60 mins)

There is also a double disc edition that contains The French Connection 2.

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ALSO OUT

24: Redemption (Fox)
Aled’s Christmas Carols (2 Entertain)
Einstein and Eddington (2 Entertain)
Just the Ticket: The British Transport Films Collection Volume Nine (BFI)
Lotte Reiniger – The Fairy Tale Films (BFI)
Meet Dave (Fox)
Phil Daniels’ Football Match Day Madness (Fremantle)
Space Chimps (EIV)
Strictly Come Dancing The Workout With Kelly & Flavia (2 Entertain)
The British Transport Films Collection (BFI)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (Sony)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Universal)
Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage (Lionsgate)

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> Buy Hancock and The French Connection at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 28th November)

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DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 24th November 2008

DVD PICKS

WALL-E (Disney): The new film from Pixar starts far into the future with the last robot on earth, a trash collector called WALL-E, being visited by another robot called EVE. When they come across plant life it triggers a response from the rest of mankind, who for centuries have existed on a giant mothership faraway.

Directed by Andrew Stanton (who also made Finding Nemo in 2003), this magical tale contains some of the most stunning visuals yet seen in animated films. Added to that is a surprisingly moving love story between two very different robots and a narrative filled with interesting themes such as: the environment, our relationship with technology and even obesity.

The extras on this impressive two-disc set are:

Disc 1

  • ‘Presto’: Theatrical short that was seen in cinemas (5.30)
  • BURN-E: An exclusive short about a minor character in the film.
  • ‘Up’ Teaser for the new Pixar film
  • Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds From The Sound Up featurette
  • Audio Commentary with Director Andrew Stanton
  • Deleted scenes
  • Easter Eggs

Disc 2

  • Deleted scenes
  • The Imperfect Lens making of featurette
  • Captain’s Log featurette
  • Notes on a Score featurette
  • Life of a Shot featurette
  • Robo-Everything featurette
  • WALL-E & EVE featurette
  • Buy-n-Large Industrial Shorts (x5)
  • WALL-E trailers
  • Poster gallery
  • The Pixar Story documentary*
All in all it is a highly impressive DVD package and one of the essential films of the year. 
L’Argent (Eureka): A UK DVD release of Marcel L’Herbier’s classic film as part of their Masters of Cinema Series. Adapted from Émile Zola‘s novel of the same name, Marcel L’Herbier’s L’Argent [Money] is a notable film of late-silent era cinema. Filmed in part on location at the Paris stock exchange, it explores a world of intrigue, greed, decadence, and ultimately corruption and scandal when business dealings and amorous deceit combine. (Particularly relevant for the current financial climate!).

Never before released on home video in the UK, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the UK edition of a restoration that won the prestigious Best Silent Film DVD award at the 2008 Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, Bologna, Italy.

A raft of special features on the two-disc edition include:

  • A pristine transfer from a fine grain print struck from the original negative, featuring the director’s cut fought for by L’Herbier over many years, the film speed as projected in the late 1920s, and the entirety of each frame fully displayed
  • New and improved English subtitles
  • Newly improvised musical accompaniment by French composer and pianist Jean-François Zygel, who also provides a video introduction to the film and a documentary about accompanying silent cinema
  • About L’Argent (Autour de L’Argent) (1928) – Jean Dréville’s 40 minute “making of” documentary
  • Archival footage of star Brigitte Helm (fresh from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis) arriving in Paris for the shooting of L’Herbier’s film
  • Archival screen tests of the L’Argent actors
  • Marcel L’Herbier: Poet of the Silent Art (Marcel L’Herbier: Poete de L’Art Silencieux) (2007) – a 54 minute documentary profiling the director
  • A demonstration of L’Herbier’s innovative sound techniques, which used 78rpm records during key scenes of L’Argent
  • A lavish 80-page perfectly-bound booklet with archival publicity stills, a long essay by noted professor of French film Richard Abel (French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915-1929; French Film Theory and Criticism: A History/Anthology, 1907-1939; The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema, 1896-1914), newly translated interviews with L’Herbier, and newly translated extracts from the director’s biography.

The film might seem a distant arthouse oddity but given the paucity of decent DVD releases this week, it is well worth buying.

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ALSO OUT

ER Season 13 (Warner)
Lead Balloon – Series 2 (2 Entertain)
Mamma Mia! (Universal)
Merlin – Volume 1 (2 Entertain)
Mister Maker – Let’s Make It! (2 Entertain)
Oasis of Fear (Shameless)
Ray Winstone’s Football Blinders and Blunders (4DVD)
Roary the Racing Car: Stars ‘n’ Cars (2 Entertain)
Seed (Metrodome)
Survivors – Series 1 to 3 (2 Entertain)
The Armstrong and Miller Show (2 Entertain)
The Discovery of Heaven (Eureka)
The X-Files: I Want To Believe (Fox)
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – 10th Anniversary (Universal)
World War II – Behind Closed Doors (BBC)

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> Buy WALL-E and L’Argent on DVD at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 21st November)

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 17th November 2008

DVD PICKS

Kung Fu Panda (Paramount): One of the best animated films of the year saw Jack Black voice a panda named Po, along with Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen and Ian McShane in supporting roles. Set in ancient China, the story involves around a bumbling panda who gets selected to join a group of kung fu warriors who must defend their village. Directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne it was one of the best efforts from DreamWorks in recent years with some witty ideas and well executed set-pieces (a prison escape being one of the highlights).

The 2-disc edition is the one to go for as it has a solid selection of extras which break down as follows: 

Disc 1 (Single-Disc Edition):

  • Audio Commentary
  • Meet the Cast
  • Tech of Kung Fu Panda: Pushing the Boundaries
  • Conservation International – Help Save Wild Pandas
  • DWA Jukebox
  • Trailers
  • Set-Top Game: Dragon Warrior Training Academy

Disc 2 (on the “Kung Fu Master Edition”) As above, plus a second disc with the following additional extras:

  • Be a Kung Fu Master
  • Animals of Kung Fu Panda
  • What Kung Fu Style Are You?
  • Do You Kung Fu?
  • “Kung Fu Fighting” Music Video
  • Learn the Panda Dance
  • Learn to Draw
  • Sound Design
  • Land of the Panda
  • Mr. Ping’s Noodle House
  • How To Use Chopsticks
  • Inside the Chinese Zodiac
  • Po’s Power Play
  • Interactive DVD Rom activities: Dumpling Shuffle
  • HP Printable Projects
  • KFP Sound Machine
  • KFP and MAD 2 Activision Game Level
  • Kung Fu Panda Around the World
  • Po Around the World

Stephen Fry in America (West Park Pictures): This six-part BBC series saw Stephen Fry explore America – a country in which he was almost born. Each episode sees him travel around various states in a modified London taxi, as he attempts to explore the history and attitudes of the United States. Beginning in New England and Washington his travels take him through the Deep South, Mississippi, the Canadian border regions and Montana, the South West before concluding in Hawaii and the Pacific.

The DVD contains some unseen footage not shown on the BBC broadcast including: Dice Game in Eastport Maine; Whale talk in Nantucket; On the Mayflower in Plymouth Rock and Oyster fishing in Louisiana.

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ALSO OUT

Benidorm Series 2 (2 Entertain)
Bones – Season 3 (Fox)
Brendon Burns Live – So I Suppose This Is Offensive Now! (Universal)
Chuggington (2 Entertain)
City of Men (Buena Vista)
Creature Comforts USA – Series 3 (2 Entertain)
Doctor Who – Season 4 (2 Entertain)
Free Zone (Bluebell Films)
Golden Balls: The DVD Game (4DVD)
I Served The King of England (Arrow)
Manchester United DVD Annual 2008 (2 Entertain)
Michael McIntyre – Live & Laughing (Universal)
Richard Hammond’s Top Gear Stunt Challenge (2 Entertain)
Sean Lock Live DVD (Universal)
Shaun the Sheep Wash Day (2 Entertain)
Star Stories – Series 2 (4DVD)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney)
The Mighty Boosh Series 1 to 3 (2 Entertain)
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (30th Anniversary Edition) (Second Sight)
The Sopranos: The Complete Series (HBO)
This Christmas (Sony)
Thriller in Manila (4DVD)
Tigrero (Bluebell Films)

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> Buy Kung Fu Panda and Stephen Fry in America on DVD at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 14th November)

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 10th November 2008

DVD PICKS

Savage Grace (Revolver Entertainment): Directed by Tom Kalin, this is the true story of the life and death of Barbara Daly Baekeland (Julianne Moore), the socialite who married above her class to Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), the heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. It explores the tensions in their marriage and Barabara’s unusually close relationship to their only son Tony (Eddie Redmayne), who is a failure in his father’s eyes. Based on the book by Natalie Robins and Steven M. L. Aronson, the film impressively peels back the layers of a sordid true life episode amongst American high society. Moore is excellent in the title role and although the film won’t be to everyone’s tastes, there is much here to admire. This edition is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen but the only extra is a 16-minute making of featurette. [Cert 15]

Black God White Devil (Mr Bongo Films): A very interesting 1964 Brazilian film directed and written by Glauber Rocha, which tells the story of a peasant farmer (Geraldo Del Rey) who kills his tyrannical boss before going on the run with his wife.  A kind of Brazilian spaghetti western, it helped start the Cinema Novo movement, which addressed the socio-political problems of 1960s Brazil.

The great Luis Buñuel described the film as: 

The most beautiful thing I have seen in more than a decade, filled with savage poetry.

An important re-issue of an overlooked film. 

The Mist (2 Disc Edition) (Momentum): Writer-director Frank Darabont‘s adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novella of the same name is perhaps one of the darkest horror films released in recent memory. But instead of the cheap sadism and gore that has unfortunately dominated the genre recently, we have a thoughtful examination of what happens to society under extreme pressure. Set in King’s usual location of Maine, it explores what happens to a local artist (Thomas Jane) who becomes trapped in his local supermarket after a mysterious mist descends upon the town. A siege mentality then takes hold of the people inside, with fear and paranoia erupting amongst them on what they should do. Although not a flawless film, there is much to chew on with a haunting sense of despair running through the film and some convincing performances from Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Jones and Andre Braugher.

The 2 disc edition is the one to go for as it features an alternate cut of the film in black and white (which is how Darabont actually intended to shoot it) as well as the following extras:

Disc 1

  • Feature Commentary by Writer/Director Frank Darabont
  • A conversation with Stephen King
  • Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
  • Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist
  • Behind the scenes Webisodes
  • Trailer Gallery

Disc 2

  • B&W Feature
  • Director Introduction
  • When Darkness Came – Making of the Mist
  • Taming the Beast: The Making of scene 35
  • Monsters Among Us: The Creature FX of  The Mist
  • The Horror of It All: The Visual FX of The Mist

Although a horror, it functions as a highly effective parable of post-9/11 America and features some jump-out-of-the-seat moments and a memorable climax. [Cert 15]   

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ALSO OUT

Baraka: Remastered – 2 Disc Special Edition (Second Sight)
Donkey Punch (Optimum)
Elf Bowling – The Movie: The Great North Pole Elf Strike (Lionsgate)
Family Guy – Series 7 (Fox)
Fighters / Real Money (2 disc set) (Second Run)
Frankie Boyle Live (4DVD)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2 Disc Edition) (Paramount)
National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (Fremantle)
Neighbours – The Iconic Episodes (Shock/Fremantle)
Prisoner Cell Block H Vol.1 (Shock/Fremantle)
Russell Brand’s Ponderland – Series 1 (Universal)
Souls at Sea (Eureka)
Space Camp (Fremantle)
Speed Racer (Warner)
The Black Shield Of Falworth (Eureka)
The Flamingo Kid (Fremantle)
The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete First Series (BBC)
Tinker Bell (Disney)
Ugly Betty – Season 2 (Disney)
Viva La Diva – Darcey Bussell and Katherine Jenkins (Warner Music)
War Requiem: 20th Anniversary Edition (Second Sight)
Who’s Harry Crumb? (Sony)

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> Buy Savage Grace and Black God White Devil and The Mist on DVD at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
>  Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 7th November)

Categories
DVD & Blu-ray

UK DVD Releases: Monday 3rd November 2008

DVD PICKS

The Princess Bride (Lionsgate): One of the smartest and truly magical films of the 1980s gets re-released in a 2-disc set from Lionsgate. If you are unfamiliar with the film (which is possible as it didn’t set the box office alight in 1987) it is the story of a grandfather (Peter Falk) telling his grandson (Fred Savage) a fairy tale, which we then see unfold. It involves a fair maiden in the fictional land of Florin named Buttercup (Robin Wright) who lives waiting for her true love Westley (Cary Elwes) to return from abroad. After a few years he is believed to be dead, she reluctantly agrees to marry the oily Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). She is then kidnapped by a trio of rogues – Vizzini (Wallace Shawn); Fezzik (André the Giant) and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and as they sail away toward the Cliffs of Insanity, they notice the pursuit of a mysterious in black which kick starts the adventure.

Directed by Rob Reiner and adapted by William Goldman from his own 1973 novel, it features a raft of wonderful comic performances (especially Patinkin) and is a near-perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, and romance.

The features on this re-release include:

  • 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
  • Newly Re-Mastered Transfer
  • Audio Commentary with Director Rob Reiner
  • Audio Commentary by Author/Screenwriter William Goldman
  • 1987 Original Featurette
  • 1987 Making of Featurette
  • ‘As  You Wish: The story of The Princess Bride’
  • Cary Elwes ‘On-Set’ Video
  • Photo Gallery
  • Trailers and TV spots

If you don’t already own it or haven’t seen it then this is an essential purchase. A family film that is uncommonly smart, funny and genuinely entertaining.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Second Sight): One of the most iconic horror films gets re-released in a 3-disc ‘Seriously Ultimate Edition’. A landmark independent horror film, it was that was written, directed, and produced in 1974 by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. The story involves a group of friends who embark on a road trip to rural Texas only to get attacked by a family of cannibals, including a chainsaw-wielding nutcase named Leatherface. The film was massively influential and even in the current climate of overtly sadistic horror films like Saw and Hostel, still has a raw energy to it that hasn’t quite been matched since. Part of the charm (if that is the right word) is the low budget look and feel which adds to the creepy atmosphere and give the film a unique feel. 

This 3 disc edition breaks down like this:

Disc 1: Main Feature

  • Anamorphic Widescreen
  • English 1.0 Original Mono, 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround
  • English subtitles (Main Feature)
  • Commentary with director Tobe Hooper , cinematographer Daniel Pearl and ‘Leatherface’ himself Gunnar Hansen
  • Commentary with actors Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger and art director Robert A. Burns

Disc 2: Extra Features

  • ’Off the Hook’ – an interview with Teri McMinn (17mins)
  • Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman (16:25mins)
  • ’The Shocking Truth’ documentary (72:48mins)
  • A tour of the TSCM house with Gunnar Hansen (8:02mins)
  • ’Shocking Truth’ outtakes (7:33mins)

Disc 3: Extra Features

  • ’Flesh Wounds’ documentary (71:38mins)
  • Interview with director Tobe Hooper (13:46mins)
  • Interview with writer Kim Henkel (8:25mins)
  • Additional footage, outtakes and deleted scenes (27:44mins)
  • Trailers, TV and radio spots (6:02mins)
  • Posters, lobby cards and stills gallery
  • Dr. W.E. Barnes Presents ‘Making Grandpa’ (Stills)
If you don’t already own this then this is the edition to go for as the extensive features give the film a valuable context and overall it is very good value at just £11.98. 
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ALSO OUT

Arsenal’s Greatest Ever Goals (ITV DVD)
Black God White Devil (Mr. Bongo Films)
Bleach – Series 1 Part 2 (Manga)
Blood and Oil (Scanbox)
Brotherhood of Blood (Metrodome)
Charley Boorman – By Any Means (Universal)
Chocolate (Cine Asia)
Dead Set (4DVD)
Derren Brown – The Specials (4DVD)
Desperate Housewives: Season 4 (Disney)
Extras – The Special (Universal)
Family Fortunes – Interactive DVD Game (Fremantle)
Futurama – Bender’s Game (Fox)
Girls Night In (5 Disc Box Set – 50 First Dates/Friends With Money/Marie Antoinette/Sense & Sensibility/Sleepless in Seattle) (Sony)
Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law – Season 1 (Revolver)
I’m Not Rappaport (Nouveaux Pictures)
Insanitarium (Sony)
Jimmy Carr In Concert (Live) (4DVD)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D (EIV)
Lazytown – The Snow Monster And Other Stories (BBC)
Linewatch (Sony)
Mad Detective (Eureka/Masters of Cinema)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus – Series 1-4 (Complete) (Sony)
Monty Python’s Personal Bests Collection (Sony)
Most Haunted – Series 10 (Universal)
One Way (Metrodome)
Robin Hood – Series 2 (Entertain)
Shine A Light (Fox)
Son of Man (Spier Films)
The Colour Of Magic (Fox)
The Designated Victim (Shameless)
The Happening (Fox)
The Ring Finger (Second Sight)
The Scorpion King 2 – Rise Of A Warrior (Universal)
Lazytown – The Snow Monster And Other Stories (BBC)
War Made Easy (Scanbox)

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> Buy The Princess Bride and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on DVD at Amazon UK
> Browse more DVD Releases at Amazon UK and Play
> Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
> Take a look at the current UK cinema releases (W/C Friday 31st October)