Christmas DVD gift guide
Boffo Box Sets
- Superman: Ultimate Collector's Edition
For the 'I-want-it-all!' fan. Housed in a burnished silver metal box, this super-sensational set has 14 discs, a vintage comic repro and a coupon for five posters. On disc are seven editions of the five movies: Superman The Movie, the 1978 original and its 2000 extended version; Superman II, the original and Richard Donner's new revised cut (the movie he would have made if he hadn't been dumped for Richard Lester); Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (the series was dying and Christopher Reeve was looking ridiculous); plus Bryan Singer's franchise revival, Superman Returns. Among extras is doomed George Reeves in Superman And the Mole-Men (1951) plus all of Fleischer's gaudy 1940s cartoons. Release date is Nov. 28.
- King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition Gift Set:
Peter Jackson loves serving his fans, and cashing in. So he repeats his Lord Of The Rings pattern with a Deluxe Extended Edition, although only 13 new minutes have been edited in. Another 38 minutes is in the deleted scenes section, along with a truly exhaustive set of extras. Like the Ring cycle, the three-disc Kong set is available in a boxed Gift Set, which offers the three-disc DVD set plus a WETA statuette of Kong climbing the Empire State building with Ann Darrow clutched tenderly in his hand. Available now.
- M*A*S*H: The Martinis & Medicine Collection
The entire M*A*S*H season-by-season series was completed this month. So it was inevitable that one of the classic American TV shows would then repackage itself into another of those total immersion sets for people who did not buy the individual seasons. This spectacular box, in a pseudo military design, contains 36 discs with everything anyone could want, including all 11 seasons on 33 discs, two discs of extra extras, plus Robert Altman's terrific Sutherland-Gould movie that started it all in 1970. War is hell. But M*A*S*H is heaven-sent, especially in one kit bag. Available now.
- Six Feet Under: The Complete Series 2001-2005
Like Larry Gelbart's pioneering M*A*S*H, Alan Ball's droll series made an impact beyond the sitcom zeitgeist.
"Why do people have to die?" a mourner asks.
"To make life important!"
So it is that this dirt-brown box set, topped with fuzzy fake grass and a tombstone plaque, contains everything related to the series' five seasons.
It is presented in memoriam and cherished by hardcore fans. Available now.
FOR OLDTIMERS (AND YOUTH SMART ENOUGH TO LOOK TO THE PAST)
- The Rogers & Hammerstein Collection
Their musicals harkened to a bygone era, and now the musicals themselves are quaintly old-fashioned. So what? That is their charm. "Somebody has to keep saying that there are beautiful meadows bathed in sunlight," Oscar Hammerstein II says in a vintage interview. This box set contains six R&H classic titles, each in a two-disc version containing strong extras: State Fair (both the 1945 and 1962 versions), Oklahoma!, Carousel (both the 1956 version and Fritz Lang's dark French original, a surreal 1934 drama based on the Hungarian play), plus South Pacific, The King And I and, of course, The Sound Of Music. Available now.
- Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection
Unlike Frank Capra, Sturges has been (unfairly) moved to the fringes. But he was a sometimes savage, always incisive satirist who rattled the cage of Americana with screwball comedies and political dramas. This primo seven-disc set offers seven titles from 1940-44, four of which make their DVD debut. Included are classics, such as Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story and The Lady Eve. Just as worthy is the lesser known gem, The Great McGinty, about a Depression hobo who ascends to the state governor's office by collaborating with crooks.
The other titles: Christmas In July, The Great Moment and the brilliant, frenetic, war-aftermath film, Hail The Conquering Hero. Available now.
- The Premiere Frank Capra Collection
The stylish Capra raised populism to a fine art in American cinema. This absolutely essential, six-disc collection has a major doc on his career and five of his all-star classics of the '30s: American Madness (underrated and similar in theme to It's A Wonderful Life), It Happened One Night (spectacularly won Oscars for picture, actor, actress and director), Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, You Can't Take It With You and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
Capra is a genre as well as a legend and his son, Frank Jr., helps to explain the legacy. Release date is Dec. 5.
- Norman McLaren: The Master's Edition
On seven discs in a sublime box set, we get everything this Scottish-born Canadian genius ever did at the National Film Board Of Canada. Even experiments. No fan of classic animation, nor of Canadian cinema and heritage, nor of surrealistic film art, should leave this unwatched. If any proof is needed, first watch his loopy Blinkity Blank, then the live-action, Oscar-winning classic, Neighbours (as a caustic comment on aggression and war, it is as relevant now as it was in 1952). You'll quickly catch McLaren fever and have to see more. Available now.
ALSO AVAILABLE:
The Screen Legend Collection
Rock Hudson
Bing Crosby
Cary Grant
FOR PUCKHEADS (AND DISCERNING JOCKS)
- The Rocket: Maurice Richard
Even for Leafs fans, Charles Biname's drama about the hard life and triumphant times of the fiercely driven NHL star is fascinating. As the heart & soul of Montreal Canadiens hockey history, Richard also represented the rise of working class Francophones in an era of English paternalism or racism -- and that's all here. With subtle craft, actor Roy Dupuis captures The Rocket's essence and the DVD extends the mythology with a tribute doc. Available now.
- Canada Russia '72
Still the greatest spectacle in Canadian sports history, and essential to how Canada defined itself for a generation, the 1972 Summit Series led to this surprisingly good, epic-length drama. The three-disc DVD set, housed in a cool red-metal case, offers two versions. One is the broadcast cut at 184 minutes; the second is T.W. Peacocke's slightly extended version at 193 minutes. The third disc has limited extras (missing and missed is a stats packs and actor-player bios). Available now.
- Torino 2006: Canada's Quest For Success
It is big on sappy sentiment and official gear ads, but it is still packed with info and terrific highlights. This six-disc set covers Canada's participation at the Winter Olympics, where Canadians earned a record 24 medals, including seven gold. The DVDs focus on each day's events, celebrating winners and listing losers, with special intense coverage of hockey and curling. Offbeat, humanizing insights include backstage moments with Jennifer Heil -- and her giggles after getting the call from the PM for winning her gold. Available now.
ANIMATION MADNESS
- South Park: The Hits: Volume 1
Included are 10 of Stone & Parker's faves, plus four bonus episodes and the infamous damned-for-all-eternity short, The Spirit Of Christmas. Heck, I'd buy this for film buff just to share the charming (if twisted) riffs in The Return Of the Fellowship Of The Ring To The Two Towers, not to mention Trapped In The Closet and the sicko Scott Tenorman Must Die.
- Beavis And Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection
Speaking of sicko, Judge gives us three volumes (nine discs) of his favourite juvenile nonsense and offers his movie, Beavis And Butt-Head Do America, as a Special Collector's Edition bonus. Available now.
- Nick Picks: Volumes 1-3
Nickelodeon packages three DVDs into a box set full of excerpts from various cartoon shows, including SpongeBob SquarePants and his prehistoric, cave-sponge episode, SpongeBob B.C. Other shows sampled range from All Grown Up to Rugrats. Available now.
JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS
A selection of major titles set for release leading up to the holidays:
NOVEMBER 28
Superman Returns
Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition
Clerks II
A Star Is Born (1976)
The Ant Bully
DECEMBER 5
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season
Miami Vice: Unrated Director's Cut
1900: Special Collector's Edition
Charlie Chan Collection: Volume 2
DECEMBER 12
James Bond: Ultimate Edition: Volumes 3 & 4
The Devil Wears Prada
Talladega Nights: The Legend Of Ricky Bobby
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe: Four-Disc Extended Edition
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals
DECEMBER 19
Little Miss Sunshine
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Invincible
Lady In The Water
Step Up
DECEMBER 26
The Black Dahlia
The Last Kiss
The Descent
Jackass: Number Two: Unrated Edition
Dane Cook's Tougasm
Princes to organize Wembley concert to honour Diana
Princes William and Harry plan to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of their mother, Diana, with a massive concert featuring pop superstars, according to several British newspapers.
Both the Sunday Mirror and the Mail say the brothers are arranging the event themselves. They said it is to take place in London's Wembley Stadium on July 1, 2007 — on what would have been the 46th birthday of the late Princess of Wales.
"We're considering a number of options on how best to commemorate next year," said Paddy Harverson, a spokesperson for Prince Charles.
"William and Harry will make a decision in due course."
The stadium can hold 90,000 people. Proceeds from the concert, expected to be shown live on television, are said to be going to several charities supported by Diana.
Elton John, a friend of Diana who performed Candle In The Wind at her funeral, is expected to be invited. Other artists who are likely to take part include Beyonce, George Michael and Kylie Minogue, according to the Sunday Times.
Diana, boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, died when their car smashed into a concrete wall in a tunnel in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. At the time, Diana had already been divorced from Charles for a year.
A French judge ruled in 1999 the crash was an accident and concluded Paul had been drinking and taking prescription drugs as well as driving too fast.
However, conspiracy theories kept cropping up and a British inquest into their deaths is expected to begin in the new year.
Lord John Stevens, the former head of London's Metropolitan Police, has been investigating the crash for two years and will table his report at the inquest.
Fan restores 'Christmas Story' house
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ralphie Parker and Brian Jones know what it's like to want something.
For Ralphie, the object of desire was an official Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200-shot, range model air rifle. (Go ahead, say it, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid.") For Jones, the gotta-have-it item was Ralphie's house — the one in A Christmas Story, the quirky film that's found a niche alongside holiday classics like It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street.
Jones has restored the three-story, wood-frame house to its appearance in the movie and will open it for tours beginning Saturday. His hope is that it will become a tourist stop alongside the city's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other destinations.
He's unsure whether he'll make enough money to cover his $500,000 investment, but as sure as a kid's tongue will stick to a frozen flag pole, he's committed to the project.
"I just want people to come and enjoy it as I have," said Jones, a 30-year-old former Navy lieutenant.
A Christmas Story wasn't a big hit when released in 1983 but repeat TV airings and, in recent years, a 24-hour run on TBS starting Christmas Eve have made its story of boy's quest to get a BB gun for Christmas as infectious as the bespectacled Ralphie's eager grin.
"It just kind of sets the mood. In the Jones household, it's on all day once the marathon comes on," said Jones, who's married with an 8-month-old daughter.
Jones first saw the movie in the late 1980s and he and his parents became fans.
When the San Diego resident's dream of a becoming a Navy pilot like his father was denied because of his eyesight, his parents sent him a package to lift his spirits. Marked "FRAGILE" on the outside, it contained a leg lamp his parents built to look just like the one received by Ralphie's father, who proudly displayed it in the living room window, boasting, "It's a major award!"
Jones' mom noted that he could probably make a business out of selling them. In 2003, he started doing just that.
"I tooled together 500 lamps in my 1,000-square-foot condo in San Diego and sold them all in the first year," Jones said.
And he's still making and selling them — $129.99 for the 45-inch model, $159.99 for the 53-inch "deluxe full size" leg lamp.
When the house from the film was put up for sale on eBay in December 2004, it seemed like destiny to Jones.
"I said, 'Ooh, I gotta have that.'"
The auction price got up to $115,000. Jones, who shares Ralphie's unflinching enthusiasm, less than 20/20 eyesight and ability to speak at a breakneck pace, said he'd pay $150,000 if the owner stopped the bidding.
"It was mine. I sent him a deposit and flew out two days after Christmas just to make sure it wasn't a falling-down shack," Jones said.
He put in new windows and replaced the 111-year-old house's gray aluminum siding with mustard yellow painted wood and green trim that perfectly matches Ralphie's house.
Although only a couple interior shots were filmed there, Jones has recreated the '40s feel of Ralphie's home with a brown-and-white tile kitchen floor, a wide cast-iron sink in the kitchen, a claw-foot bathtub and, of course, a leg lamp in the window.
He also bought the house across the street — Ralphie runs past it in the film's opening scene — to serve as a museum and gift shop. Several original items from the film are on display, including the infamous snowsuit ("I can't put my arms down!") worn by Ralphie's brother, Randy.
The house is located in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood, just a few minutes from downtown where the exterior department store shots were filmed at the former Higbee's.
The cooperation of the department store is what brought the filmmakers to Cleveland for the film based on author Jean Shepherd's stories of his upbringing in Hammond, Ind.
The house is well known in the neighborhood and neighbors like Marlene Childers have watched the house change owners and go through ups and downs over the years. She's excited about Jones' tribute — even if it means more cars and traffic.
"I love that story," she said.
Jones knows the feeling. And he says stepping onto Ralphie's old street makes him feel like he's in the movie.
Standing in front of the house holding a replica Red Ryder rifle, he discusses his future plans — which could include a nearby bed and breakfast — when, seemingly on a director's cue, a motorist passes, stops his car, rolls down the window and shouts, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"
WGN fills up on Canadian "Corner Gas"
TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Canadian broadcaster CTV Inc. on Friday cracked the U.S. market by selling "Corner Gas," Canada's top homegrown sitcom, to Superstation WGN.
Under the two-year deal Tribune Broadcasting's Superstation WGN will air four seasons of "Corner Gas," an ensemble comedy set in the fictional prairie town of Dog River, Saskatchewan. The 88 episodes will be available in around 70 million homes via cable or satellite beginning in 2007.
The deal marks a coup for CTV, which fully financed the first two seasons of the series with no government subsidies. CTV then bankrolled the third and fourth seasons of "Corner Gas" with the Comedy Network.
Terms of the deal with Superstation WGN were not disclosed, but CTV will split the proceeds of the U.S. distribution deal with the series' producers, Prairie Pants Productions.
"Corner Gas" has consistently been the top-rated comedy on Canadian TV, beating out American competition and pulling in an average of around 1.5 million viewers weekly.
The series was created by Canadian comic Brent Butt, David Storey and Virginia Thompson. The ensemble cast includes Butt, veteran Canadian actors Eric Peterson Janet Wright, Cavan Cunningham, Gabrielle Miller and Fred Ewanuick.
Canadian-originated dramas have long aired in the U.S. market on cable channels. But homegrown sitcoms breaking through south of the border have been rarities, despite the prominence of Canadian standup and sketch comedy talent working in New York City and Los Angeles.
"Trailer Park Boys," a comedy about low life in a Halifax trailer park, earlier became a cult classic on BBC America after bowing on Showcase in Canada.
On radio, comic apologizes for tirade
NEW YORK - Comedian Michael Richards said Sunday he did not consider himself a racist, and that he was "shattered" by the comments he made to two young black men during a tirade at a Los Angeles comedy club.
Richards appeared on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio program, "Keep Hope Alive," as a part of a series of apologies for the incident. He said he knew his comments hurt the black community, and hoped to meet with the two men.
He told Jackson that he had not used the language before.
"That's why I'm shattered by it. The way this came through me was like a freight train. After it was over, when I went to look for them, they had gone. And I've tried to meet them, to talk to them, to get some healing," he said.
Richards, who played Jerry Seinfeld's wacky neighbor Kramer on the TV sitcom "Seinfeld," was performing at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory last week when he lashed out at hecklers with a string of racial obscenities and profane language. A cell phone video camera captured the outburst, and the incident later appeared on TMZ.com.
Richards told Jackson the tirade was fueled by anger, not bigotry. He said he wanted to hurt those who had hurt him.
"I was in a place of humiliation," he said.
Richards' publicist, Howard Rubenstein, said Saturday that Richards has begun psychiatric counseling in Los Angeles to learn how to manage his anger.
"He acknowledged that his statements were harmful and opened a terrible racial wound in our nation," Rubenstein said. "He pledges never ever to say anything like that again. He's quite remorseful."
Jackson, who has called Richards' words "hateful," "sick," and "deep-seated," said the comedian's inclusion on the show was a chance for a broader discussion about "cultural isolation" in the entertainment industry.
Richards noted that the racial epithet he used is frequent in the entertainment industry, and acknowledged that it could have consequences.
"I fear that young whites will think it's cool to go around and use that word because they see very cool people in the show business using that word so freely," he said. "Perhaps that's what came through in that ... the vernacular is so accessible."
'Happy Feet' dances atop box office
LOS ANGELES - A dancing penguin was king of the Thanksgiving birds among movie-goers. The animated penguin romp "Happy Feet" remained the No. 1 movie with $37.9 million in ticket sales from Friday to Sunday, while the James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" stayed in second place with $31 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Over the Wednesday-to-Sunday holiday period, "Happy Feet," from Warner Bros., took in $51.5 million while Sony's "Casino Royale" did $45.1 million.
Disney's thriller "Deja Vu," starring Denzel Washington as a police officer bouncing back in time to try to prevent a deadly ferry explosion, led new movies with $20.8 million for the weekend and $29 million since opening Wednesday.
The 20th Century Fox comedy "Deck the Halls," with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as neighbors feuding over excessive Christmas lights, debuted at No. 4 with a $12 million weekend and $16.9 million since it premiered Wednesday.
It was a sturdy but unremarkable holiday weekend overall, with the top 12 movies taking in $208.1 million from Wednesday to Sunday, down 3.4 percent from last year, when " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" took in $81 million to lead Hollywood to its second-best Thanksgiving ever. The best Thanksgiving period was in 2000, when the top 12 films grossed $232.1 million.
A flurry of movies debuted or expanded from limited release, led by writer-director Emilio Estevez's "Bobby," weaving together the stories of 22 characters gathered at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel the night Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.
"Bobby," from MGM and the Weinstein Co., came in at No. 9 over the weekend with $4.9 million.
Warner Bros. debuted director Darren Aronofsky's fantasy "The Fountain," starring "Happy Feet" co-star Hugh Jackman as a man who lives a 1,000-year adventure. "The Fountain" had a $3.7 million weekend to finish at No. 10.
New Line's "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny," with Jack Black and musical partner Kyle Gass in a spoof of how their folk-rock duo came to be, opened at No. 11 with $3.3 million over the weekend.
Christopher Guest's Hollywood satire "For Your Consideration" pulled in $2 million in its first weekend of wide release.
Debuting in limited release, Fox Searchlight's "The History Boys" took in a solid $100,721 in just seven theaters. Adapted from the Tony-winning stage play about British teens angling for acceptance to Oxford and Cambridge, the film gradually expands to nationwide release through Dec. 22.
While "Happy Feet" started out mainly a family film, good reviews and word-of-mouth pulled in more adults without children, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros.
Along with ravishing computer-animated visuals, the adult appeal of "Happy Feet" includes a positive environmental statement and wall-to-wall pop tunes reinterpreted by its vocal cast, led by Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Jackman and Robin Williams.
"I think it's just a good message, and it's just well made. And we all like the music," Fellman said. "Happy Feet" raised its 10-day total to $100.1 million.
With a 10-day domestic total of $94.2 million and a worldwide haul of $224 million, "Casino Royale" is on course to pass 2002's "Die Another Day ($161 million domestically and $432 million worldwide) to become the top-grossing Bond flick, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Happy Feet," $37.9 million.
2. "Casino Royale," $31 million.
3. "Deja Vu," $20.8 million.
4. "Deck the Halls," $12 million.
5. "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," $10.4 million.
6. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," $10 million.
7. "Stranger Than Fiction," $6 million.
8. "Flushed Away," $5.8 million.
9. "Bobby," $4.9 million.
10. "The Fountain," $3.7 million.