Category: DVD

Q&A: McCartney channels inspiration into “Full” slate
DETROIT (Billboard) – As far as Paul McCartney is concerned, words like “take it easy” are reserved for the Eagles.
During the past three years alone the ex-Beatle has released a pair of pop albums — the Grammy-nominated “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard” in 2005 and this year’s “Memory Almost Full” — as well as the 2006 classical piece “Ecce Cor Meum.” Sir Paul also collaborated on albums by Tony Bennett, George Benson and Al Jarreau, and George Michael.
This fall McCartney released an expanded edition of “Memory Almost Full,” adding three bonus tracks and a second disc of videos and live footage, along with a three-DVD retrospective of his solo career, “The McCartney Years,” that’s loaded with rare and unreleased material. And he had a piece in the DVD rollout of the Beatles’ “Help.”
There are musicians a third his age (65) who aren’t working at nearly the same level, and we can rest assured that the days of “doing the garden, digging the weeds” are still a long way off for this knighted former mop top.
Q: What accounts for the creative spurt you seem to be on the past few years?
Paul McCartney: “It’s simple: I really enjoy what I do. And every so often I just get sort of inspired. I never know why or how, but I think one of the great things is that music is a great healer and it’s a great sort of therapy. Often if you’re going through something difficult — as you can imagine without me laying too much of a point on it, this last year’s been pretty difficult — to get into your music is a great thing. So I think the last couple years I’ve been very glad to have my music and I’ve been putting stuff into it that seems to have added up to something.”
Q: Do you feel like you’re getting inspiration as well as healing from these hard times?
McCartney: “I think that’s true. You look at the lives of the great composers and they were not a lot of fun, some of them. Great painters, too; I was looking at a fantastic painting by Rembrandt the other day in a museum, and I was reminded by the blurb next to it that he died penniless and had a terribly bloody time, but he was one hell of a painter. So that’s why I say therapy; you’re feeling bad, you skulk off to a corner with your guitar and you write something, and somehow you seem to take yourself through it and you work through it with your music. I thank heaven for that. I feel very, very blessed. People always used to call it a gift, the gift of music, and I think that’s very much, more and more, how I see it.”
Q: That being said, “Memory Almost Full” isn’t exactly “Blood on the Tracks,” is it?
McCartney: “That’s funny, isn’t it? I still seem to come out positive and optimistic. I think that’s my character. But (the divorce from Heather Mills) is something I don’t want to talk about, and really for one reason. I have a baby daughter … a 4-year-old, and I do not want to excite the envelope in any direction whatsoever. I’m just sort of keeping the dignified silence.”
Q: So, how did “The McCartney Years” come about?
McCartney: “For a long time people have been saying to me, ‘When can we get a hold of that video?’ or ‘Is that video available? Is that released?’ And I just sort of thought, ‘No …’ I was always a little bit like, ‘One day, yeah, I’ll do it. Don’t worry.’ But then a couple of guys got in touch with me and said, ‘Look, we think it’s time. We want to work on it. Let us put forward a proposal of what we would do for you to look at.’
“It took a long time to put together. They started cleaning it all up, and then they cleaned the sound mixes up and then they started showing me, and that was like, ‘Jeez, I’ve never heard it like this. I’ve never seen it like this.’ So I started to get excited and I fell for the whole idea. I just said, ‘Go to it boys, let’s do it.”‘
Q: What did you encounter in doing the project that really blew you away?
McCartney: “I think the short answer is, ‘everything.’ Obviously, everything with Linda in it was particularly heartwarming, realizing her major contribution to everything once you see it all en masse. I hadn’t seen ‘Tug of War’ in a while, which was lovely. It was good to see things like ‘Say Say Say’ with Michael Jackson, and of course Linda and our daughter Heather make an appearance in that, so that was really cool.”
Q: You used Ringo (Starr) pretty liberally as a guest star in your videos.
McCartney: “Yeah, that was very good. ‘Take It Away’ and ‘Beautiful Night,’ he kindly agreed to be the drummer in those, especially as he’d (played on) ‘Take It Away.’ It was just fabulous. (Beatles producer) George Martin even appears in one of them.”
Q: You must have had an interesting perspective on videos in the ’80s and beyond because it was no stranger to you. You did videos — you even did movies — with the Beatles, so it wasn’t quite as revolutionary of a concept as it was in the U.S.
McCartney: “The difference was you suddenly had to be a short filmmaker as well, and not all of us liked it. The process was quite wearing. You’d sort of farm it out to three or four directors who you thought were hot and (one) would come back with — it was a bit like a comedy sketch — ‘I see you on a mountaintop in Tibet wearing nothing but a loincloth. The Sun God shines down …’ and you’re going ‘Oh no.’ Then the next one was, ‘I see you in a scene from the Keystone Cops. You’re hanging off the back of a wagon, it’s all shot in fast-motion black-and-white.’ Or it was, ‘I see you as a scene from “Casablanca” … I see you as the Terminator.’ You’re just desperate to get something where you can go, ‘This looks alright.’ Occasionally there would be a good idea … and the rest of the time there was an element of embarrassment ’cause you thought of yourself as a singer, not a film star.”
Q: Was it different when you were doing it in the ’60s?
McCartney: “Yeah, it wasn’t quite so important, so we would say, ‘Oh, look, just get a camera and we’ll get girls with grass skirts and we’ll just stand there in our Sgt. Pepper’s costumes and sing “Hello Goodbye.”‘ There wasn’t that much thought that went into it, which made it a little bit more innocent and less precious.”
Q: Of the live material on “The McCartney Years,” it’s kind of brave to include your Live Aid performance in the set.
McCartney: “Oh my God, the Live Aid was just one of those things I’d sooner forget. I came in from the country and sort of drove in and every window in Britain was open with televisions on and Live Aid blaring out. It was a national event and I knew I was gonna be on it, but I didn’t take anyone with me. I didn’t have a roadie. I didn’t even have anyone to make sure my mic or speakers were working. And Bob Geldof just said, ‘Well, your piano’s behind that curtain. You’re on.’ There I was in front of the world … and I heard in my monitor very ominous sounds of roadies talking: ‘Is this the plug?’ I figured, ‘I’ll just keep plugging on,’ but I couldn’t hear myself. I couldn’t hear anything. And then it suddenly became clear my mic wasn’t on, but the dear old audience helped me out, God bless ’em. They all sang it. So I escaped by the skin of my teeth. It was sort of a nightmare. If you asked me for three nervous moments, I think that’d be top.”
Q: Is there any news about the Beatles’ catalog going online?
McCartney: “I think it’s all happening soon. There are contractual things, and you’ll find that someone in the loop maybe doesn’t want to give what they should give, so it’s negotiating. But I think we’re kinda set. I think that Apple is set to do their bit. The whole thing is primed, ready to go. There’s just maybe sort of one little sticking point left, and I think that’s being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn’t be too long. But, you know, you’ve got to get these things right. … So it’s down to the fine-tuning, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be happening next year, 2008.”
Q: What’s next for you, musically?
McCartney: “I’m actually doing some recording with my son (James). We’re just looking at the idea of him making an album. He’s doing it all. He’s writing it all … It’s sensational. But there’s nothing set yet. … The plan is for me to just do some recording with him, and it’s really exciting. I’m really loving it.”

BIG BOX STORIES
Chances are you know somebody who still quotes ìSeinfeld.” Maybe even a pal who offers Vulcan salutes without irony. Yes, these people can be annoying, but they’ll also be easy to shop for this holiday season. On Tuesday, their gifts arrive in stores – as long as you’re willing to drop nearly $300. After all, what better to give a TV-show fan than more episodes and extras of that show than they could ever possibly watch.
Case in point: ìSeinfeld: The Complete Series” (Sony, $283.99). It comes with 32 discs, all 180 episodes and 104 hours of extras. The truly fanatic will want to hunt down one of the limited-edition faux refrigerators – just like Jerry’s! – to store the box in. Inside are all kind of ìSeinfeld”-themed edibles, such as muffin tops, Junior Mints and a bottle of Bosco.
ìStar Trek: The Next Generation: Complete Series” (Paramount, $455.95) is even more galactically massive, with 178 episodes on 49 discs. It comes in a nifty box that looks like a space station. And that price is liable to make your head explode like a supernova, but it’s already been discounted to $297.99 on Amazon.
ìSeinfeld” and ìStar Trek” join ìEverybody Loves Raymond: The Complete Series” (HBO, $279.98), which hit stores last week. Incredibly, it has even more episodes, boasting 210 on 44 discs. Even more amazing, it comes it a nice little suburban house – just like Ray’s Long Island digs!
When it comes to ginormous sets, these three are just the beginning.
On Nov. 13, we’ll see the arrival of ìThe Addams Family: The Complete Series” (MGM, $69.98) in a velvet-touch box. Always creepier and slightly funnier than ìThe Munsters,” it’s a relatively cheap way to delve insides the minds of Morticia and Cousin Itt.
The same week, a blast of arctic dramedy arrives with ìNorthern Exposure: The Complete Series” (Universal, $199.98), packaged in a handsomel suede adventure bag.
Teens who love fantasizing about kids much richer than themselves will be thankful for the Nov. 27 release of ìThe O.C.: The Complete Series Collection” (Warner, $179.98). They can pore over every romantic fling, hissy fit and jail sentence, since the discs come in an illustrated book.
Finally, on Dec. 11, Kelsey Grammer fans will rejoice in ìFrasier: Complete Series” (Paramount, $343.99), 44 discs worth of frothy lattes and witty banter.
These are hardly the only ìcompletes” out this season. There’s also: ìFull House” (Warner, $169.68) and ìThe King of Queens” (Sony, $232.95), out Tuesday; ìThe Gilmore Girls” (Warner, $258.82) on Nov. 13; and ìQueer as Folk” (Paramount, $249.99) and ìDr. Katz Professional Therapist” (Paramount, $139.99) on Nov. 20.

Krist Novoselic speaks ahead of ‘Nirvana Unplugged’ DVD
Nirvana’s legendary ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’ performance is finally set to be released on DVD, nearly 14 years to the day from when it was performed.
The DVD will contain both the original broadcast of the show and the complete unedited version of the set with 5.1 Surround Sound.
Speaking to NME.COM, Nirvana’s bass player Krist Novoselic said he was looking forward to the release, particularly in its new audio format.
“The new 5.1 sound really opens it up and it gave me a new appreciation for the songs,” he explained. “You can hear what each instrument is doing. It really invites you in and I’m sure everyone will enjoy it in a new way. I’d really like to re-release ‘In Utero’ in that way at some point.”
In between songs on the unedited 66-minute version, the band are seen affably chatting with each other, debating what songs to play and even taking requests from the audience.
At one point, they even break into a jokey version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ with guest performers The Meat Puppets.
Also featured on the DVD are previously unseen rehearsal takes of ‘Plateau’, ‘About A Girl’, ‘Polly’, ‘Come As You Are’, ‘All Apologies’ and their cover of David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World’.
A rehearsal version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ which features guitarist Pat Smear also playing in the track is included. This was originally the way the band planned to perform the song until Kurt Cobain decided at the last minute to play it solo during the show.
Additionally, a 20 minute documentary featuring interviews with the band and members of the crew are also included.
The DVD is set for release on November 20th.

FULL DVD PACKET
10-DISC SET CAPTURES THE SPIRIT AND GENIUS OF STANLEY KUBRICK
October 21, 2007 — To perfectly capture the quality of French soil, Stanley Kubrick brought actual samples of earth home with him for screen tests. But that level of obsessive preparation is what you would expect from a great director prepping “Napoleon,” a biopic starring Jack Nicholson in the title role.
Unfortunately, that movie never got made. But you’ll hear about it in the many hours of extras included in “Warner Director’s Series: Stanley Kubrick.”
The 10-DVD set features remastered and mostly widescreen versions of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “The Shining,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” as well as a documentary called “Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures.” “Full Metal Jacket” is the only film without a complete second disc of extras.
The treasures to be found here are both trivial and grand, including lots of from-the-set tidbits. While filming “A Clockwork Orange,” for example, star Malcolm McDowell tells how, when preparing to shoot the horrific “Singing in the Rain” attack scene, Adrienne Corri – the actress he would soon brutalize on camera – approached him and said, “Well, Malcolm, now you’re gonna find out that I’m a real redhead.”
On “The Shining” disc, we get a behind-the-scenes doc that shows Nicholson getting into character by bouncing around the set swinging an ax, mumbling, “Ax murderer, kill!”
We learn that the grand opening of “2001” was actually crafted from still photographs, and that Kubrick directed the photographers by phone using the coordinates on a map because of his paralyzing fear of flying.
We also get an in-depth glimpse of the man himself, with a gallery of pictures he took for Look magazine while still in high school.
Directors who worked with, and were inspired by, Kubrick – Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack and others – extoll his achievements, as if confirming that film may never gotten where it is today without the vision of this very private man from The Bronx.

The Zodiac: Director’s Cut is closing in on you
From Paramount Home Entertainment finally comes full information on the release of the Zodiac: Directorís Cut scheduled for release in January on DVD and HD-DVD.
Based on the actual case files of one of the most intriguing unsolved crimes in the nationís history, ìZodiacî is a thriller from David Fincher, director of ìSe7enî and ìPanic Room.î As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.
The Directorís Cut of David Fincherís thriller will comes as a 2-Disc set featuring the movie in anamorphic widescreen with 5 minutes of additional footage inserted back into the film. As extras the release will contain a Commentary Track by director David Fincher, as well as another Commentary Track featuring the cast and crew, including Jake Gyllenhall, Robert Downey Jr., Producer Brad Fischer, James Vanderbilt and James Ellroy.
A long string of Featurettes and Documentaries is included on the release, such as the multi-part documentary îZodiac Decipheredî covering aspects such as ìThe San Francisco Chronicle,î ìHall of Justice,î ìObsession,î ìBlue Rock Springs,î ìPresidio Heights,î and ìLake Berryessa.î
îThe Visual Effects of Zodiacî is another multi-part documentary showing the ìDigital Workflow,î and Sequence Breakdowns for ìBlue Rock Springs,î ìîLake Berryessaî and ìSan Francisco.î
îThis is the Zodiac Speakingî is a look at the facts behind the movie, covering ìLake Herman Road,î ìBlue Rock Springs,î ìLake Berryessaî and ìSan Francisco.î Then in Prime Suspect we get to take a look at ìHis Name Was Arthur Leigh Allenî and the ìLinguistic Analysis.î
The release will also offer up Jeopardy Surface: Geographic Profiling a 6:30 minute video, the 5-minute video The Psychology of Aggression: Behavioral Profiling and the movieís Theatrical Trailer
The HD-DVD version will feature a 1080p widescreen transfer complemented by a Dolby Digital Plus audio track. Also coming as a 2-Disc set, it will contain the same bonus materials, though all of them presented in full 1080p high definition, plus two additional text-based features, ìDr. Kim Rossmo’s Geographic Profile of the Zodiacî and ìSpecial Agent Sharon Pagaling-Hagan’s Behavioral Profile of the Zodiacî.
The ìZodiac: Directorís Cutî will be in stores on January 8 and carries a $39.99 price tag.

Third ‘Kissology’ Due In Time For Christmas
The third release in Kiss’ archival “Kissology” DVD series will arrive in time for Christmas. “Volume Three: 1992-2000” is due Dec. 18 via VH1 Classic and will feature four DVDs comprising nearly 10 hours of footage.
The first disc begins with a complete performance recorded at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit from November 1992. It also features the complete August 1995 “MTV Unplugged” set which found the original Kiss lineup of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss perform together on stage for the first time in nearly 16 years.
The second disc chronicles the original lineup’s subsequent successful reunion tours of the late ’90s, including the Detroit kickoff of the 1996 outing. Five tracks recorded near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York for the same year’s MTV Video Music Awards round out the DVD.
Disc three boasts a performance from the August 1999 film premiere party for “Detroit Rock City” and a June 2000 concert at New Jersey’s Continental Airlines Arena. The fourth disc eschews the chronological structure to offer a December 1973 set from New York, when Kiss performed the majority of its self-titled debut two months before its release.
Certain versions of “Kissology” will also include a fifth disc, which features the group’s June 1996 performance at L.A. radio station KROQ’s Weenie Roast.
In 2005, Stanley explained that the Kissology series was inspired by classic film by another renowned rock artist. “That Scorsese/Dylan piece [‘No Direction Home: Bob Dylan’] was eye opening, at least to me, in terms of how you can be immersed in a time capsule, and not only see the music and be part of the crowd, but also get a sense of who Dylan was then,” he said. “That set a really high bar, and I think that is more likely our approach at this point.”

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers get ready for their close-up
The story behind Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be told in a four-disc DVD/CD collection that is set to hit shelves next month and debut on big screens in select cities.
“Runnin’ Down A Dream: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers” will be sold exclusively at Best Buy retail outlets beginning Oct. 16. Two days before, the film will close the 2007 New York Film Festival at the Walter Reade Theatre, and will then premiere Oct. 15 for one night only in 21 cities across the country (listed below). The Sundance Channel is also scheduled to run the film commercial-free on Oct. 29
“Runnin’ Down A Dream,” directed by Peter Bogdanovich, takes viewers from Petty and the Heartbreakers’ humble beginnings in Gainesville, FL, to last year’s 30th anniversary celebration. It also follows Petty’s solo career and his time as a Traveling Wilbury alongside George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. The film features in-depth interviews with Petty and the band, as well as their circle of musicians, friends and collaborators, according to a press release.
Petty toured last year to support “Highway Companion,” his third solo release and 18th overall career album. The set debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, making it the singer/songwriter’s highest-ever chart debut. At the time of the outing, Petty told Rolling Stone the trek could be his last.
Petty continues to stay busy hosting the XM Satellite Radio show “Tom Petty’s Hidden Treasures,” which recently began its third season. He and his band can also be heard on the just-released tribute CD “Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino,” on which they do a rendition of “I’m Walkin.”
Over the past three decades, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50 million records. Between his work with the band and his solo efforts, Petty has picked up 18 Grammy nominations. He and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, which was the first year they were eligible for the honor.
Oct. 15 screenings in the following cities:
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
San Francisco, CA
Berkeley, CA
Santa Rosa, CA
San Diego, CA
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Detroit, MI
Evansville, IN
Lansing, MI
Grand Rapids, MI
San Luis Obispo, CA
Livermore, CA
Fairfax, CA
Martinez, CA
Petaluma, CA
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Washington, DC

Erik the Viking is recut
The Terry Jones’ satire Erik the Viking is making its way to DVD in a special Director’s Son’s Cut. Yes, the son of Terry Jones – with Jones’ blessing – has recut the film for DVD and it is coming your way from MGM Home Entertainment.
An unusually principled young Viking becomes increasing uncomfortable with all the killing and plundering that goes with the job, and sets out on a magical journey in order to bring about world peace.
The new cut is nearly thirty minutes shorter than the original cut with rearranged and shortened scenes and a remixed soundtrack. No release for the theatrical cut is planned. In addition to the film, the disc contains a Commentary Track with Terry Jones, a Behind the scenes featurette on the new cut as well as a vintage Featurette from 1989, a Trailer and a Photo Gallery.
The new DVD is priced at $19.98 when it arrives on November 7th.

DVD-sniffing dogs visit Canada
TORONTO (CP) – A pair of canine crimefighters who have sniffed out nearly two million illegal DVDs overseas showcased their noseworthy skills Wednesday, as an industry watchdog executive reiterated the need to remain vigilant in the fight against piracy.
Lucky and Flo, who are sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America, are the world’s first dogs specially trained to identify discs by the scent of their chemicals.
One by one, the black Labradors were unleashed to sniff among a suitcase and seven brown boxes scattered in close proximity in search of the one holding the DVDs, before flipping off the lid to unveil its contents.
Piracy cost the worldwide film industry US$18.2 billion in 2005, including US$225 million to the Canadian industry, said John Malcolm, the MPAA’s executive vice-president and director of worldwide anti-piracy.
“That represents huge lost opportunities for creative artists here in Canada to get their films made and their stories told and represents a huge lost opportunity in terms of being able to showcase the talents of Canadian filmmakers,” he said.
The dogs’ Canadian visit comes one week after the canines sniffed out a large inventory of knock-off DVDs in the New York City borough of Queens. Three people were arrested and officials seized between 10,000 and 12,000 discs. The dogs were also recently honoured in Malaysia for helping unearth nearly two million bootleg DVDs.
In recent months, Ottawa has moved swiftly to get an anti-camcording law on the books. Bill C-59, which gained royal assent June 22, amends the Criminal Code to make recording a movie without permission a crime, punishable by two years in jail. Taping a film for future sale or rental carries a maximum five-year jail term.
The bill was introduced just two days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that Canada would crack down on piracy.
While Malcolm applauds the government’s efforts to stem bootlegging, Canadian camcording remains a problem, accounting for about 25 per cent of the illegal recordings available worldwide, he said.
“Let’s be clear: when we talk about piracy, there’s nothing swashbuckling about this. It is stealing, pure and simple, no different than any other kind of theft. This is a serious criminal activity.”
Neil Powell, a search and rescue dog handler based in northern Ireland, has worked with Flo and Lucky for 2 1/2 years. He was approached by a representative of the Motion Picture Association in the U.K. who asked if he was able to train dogs to find DVDs and CDs.
The training process took 12 weeks and was divided into three segments: determining whether there was a detectable odour on DVDs, teaching the dogs to find the discs and environmental training exposing the duo to different types of search areas.
Despite their ability to detect discs, they can’t distinguish between the legitimate and pirated ones.
“Any searching we have to do is done where we know there are no genuine discs so they cannot tell the difference between the two,” Powell said.
“So you would get them to search consignments of clothing or furniture, that sort of thing, and if the discs are then hidden away in that the dogs will most certainly find them.”
The dogs were honoured in Malaysia last month following a six-month assignment dubbed “Operation Double Trouble” where they participated in 35 raids in the country and the Philippines resulting in 26 arrests.
The operations were so successful that Malaysian movie pirates reportedly placed a bounty on the dogs.
“When we started off, this was cutting-edge because it had never been done before anywhere in the world, so when I did it at first I thought, ‘Well, how can this be used? Where can we actually use these dogs?’ But it would seem the amount of interest around the world now is growing steadily,” Powell said. “I am amazed by the impact they’ve made.”
After a four-week break in Ireland, Lucky and Flo will be back on the road, heading to eastern Europe.

Beatles’ ‘Help!’ Expanded For New DVD
The Beatles’ second film, 1965’s “Help!,” will be released in a double-DVD edition Oct. 30 via Apple Corps Ltd and EMI Music. The movie was released in DVD in 1997 and again in 2000, but has been off the market ever since due to rights issues.
In “Help!,” drummer Ringo Starr comes into possession of a cursed ring, which he cannot remove, prompting adventures in London, the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas.
The first disc of “Help!” boasts a digitally restored version of the film plus a new 5.1 audio soundtrack, with songs like “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,” “The Night Before,” “Another Girl” and “You’re Going To Lose That Girl.”
Disc two offers a 30-minute documentary about the making of the movie, a missing scene, a featurette on the restoration process, interviews with cast and crew, three theatrical trailers and vintage radio advertisements.
“Help!” will also be available in a boxed set with a reproduction of director Richard Lester’s original script and a 60-page book with rare photos and production notes.