Category: DVD

Here’s The Almost Official Word on the Star Wars On DVD Rumours
Given that this weekend marks the debut of the all-digital “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” in theaters, it’s only appropriate to give you all a rundown of the Star Wars DVD situation. There are many “new” reports appearing in the press about this (stirred up for obvious reasons), but there’s no real news to be found. At least nothing those of you who have been following the subject forever don’talready know.
But for the rest of you, the basic story is this. Elements of the Episode II DVD have already been in production for many months. The DVD will be a 2-disc release, patterned very closely after the recent Episode I DVD. That means you can expect the film in anamorphic widescreen video on Disc One, along with Dolby Digital 5.1 EX surround sound and THX-certification. Word is Lucas and company are also planning another trip to the audio commentary booth for the DVD. Disc Two is likely to feature another “behind-the-scenes” documentary, along with a number of deleted scenes completed for the release, trailers and TV spots, the Episode II web documentaries and more.
The title IS expected to be released later this year, probably in October or November (latest word is you’ll have it before American Thanksgiving).
Lucasfilm has also basically suggested that it’s likely Episode III will be released on DVD without delay after that film appears in theaters in 2005.
NOW HERE’S THE BAD NEWS
As for the original Star Wars films, Lucas has himself confirmed that he’s filmed additional scenes (during the production of these prequels) that he intends to add into Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to “complete the Saga the way he always envisioned it”. He’s also expected to enhance and/or replace more special effects sequences with CGI and make other refinements to the original films. These “ultimate” versions are what will eventually find their way to DVD (there’s no word as to whether or not he’ll also include the unaltered theatrical versions – those of us who grew up with them certainly hope so). Lucas has also stated recently that he and his crew didn’t create as much “making of” material during the production of the original trilogy, so it will take time to compile new material for the eventual DVD release. And while he’s working on the prequels, time is something he doesn’t have a lot of. What that means, is that you shouldn’t expect the original films to appear on DVD until sometime after the release of Episode III in 2005.
And that is, more or less, the best and most up-to-date information available on the subject of the Star Wars films on DVD. We’ll be sure to keep you appraised as the production of the Episode II disc continues. You can reasonably expect official details to begin appearing from Lucasfilm later this summer.

‘Clones’ DVD May Hit Stores Quickly
The new “Star Wars” movie is hitting DVD at light speed compared with “The Phantom Menace.”
“Star Wars: Episode II ó Attack of the Clones” will be available on DVD this fall, the franchise’s creator, George Lucas, said last week in an interview at his film headquarters, Skywalker Ranch.
“Episode I ó The Phantom Menace” came out on videotape early in 2000, about 10 months after the film’s theatrical debut, but the DVD version was not released until a year and a half later. The delay resulted because Lucas was particular about refining deleted material and other DVD bonuses and was busy working on “Episode II.”
Lucas said he’d rather hold off on the “Attack of the Clones” DVD, as well, so he could spend more time tweaking the bonus material.
“But everybody says, `Oh, it’s so much more powerful if you bring it out in the same year as the movie,'” Lucas said. “So we’re doing our best to do that.”
Unfortunately for “Star Wars” fans, the original trilogy will not land on DVD until after Lucas finishes “Episode III,” due out in 2005, he said.

It’s another big day for DVD and video releases. That said, some of the worst films ever made (Corky Romano) are also available today (Corky Romano), but I don’t want to say which ones (Corky Romano) as film enjoyment is subjective. Of course, if you like the bad films that are released today (Corky Romano) then there may be no hope for you.
Either way, there is Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe and Kevin Smith with Stan Lee so it’s a good day for DVD!
Here are the new releases for Tuesday, May 14th, 2002:
The Others- An English family resides in an eerie mansion with servants. (Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann)
Snow Dogs- A Miami dentist inherits a team of sled dogs. (Cuba Gooding Jr., James Coburn, Randy Birch)
From Hell- A new take on the events surrounding Jack The Ripper. (Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm)
Corky Romano- The blacksheep of a Mafia family is called upon to save dad. (Chris Kattan, Peter Falk, Fred Ward)
Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters And Marvels- Stan Lee talks with Kevin Smith about his comic book legacy. (Stan Lee, Kevin Smith)
And The Marilyn Monroe Collection Wave II (Boxed Set)- This set of the lovely one’s films includes: Bus Stop, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How To Marry A Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch and There’s No Business Like Show Business. The films are also available individually.
AND ALSO COMING OUT…
Atlantic City (Widescreen)
David Blaine: Fearless
The Haunted World Of Edward D. Wood Jr.
Hip Hop Honeys
Jude
Keep Your Right Up
Little Red
Naked Gun Collection (Set)
Oliver & Company
Outta Time
Santee
A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries
South Shaolin Master II
Star Warp’d
Stephen King’s Rose Red
Super Chick
Tell Me Something
The X Files: The Complete Fifth Season (Collector’s Edition)

September begins Universal’s international rollout of ìBack to the Futureî on DVD and the official boxed-set specifications have been announced.
Wanna know more?
By the way, the initials stand for “Back To The Future Is Finally Coming Out On DVD.”

Paramount unleashes their Special Edition of “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan”
One of the most lauded and celebrated releases from Paramount Home Entertainment has been the fully restored and retooled Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition. Now the film’s first sequel, and arguably the best installment in the franchise is preparing to follow suit with the extensive new DVD release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ñ The Director’s Edition.
Although not as precedent setting as the “Motion Picture” set, the new two-disc set for “Wrath of Khan” has just about everything a fan of the film could hope for, except for the original version of the movie.
Disc one contains the New version of the film with an anamorphic widescreen transfer and audio tracks in Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround 2.0 and French Dolby Stereo. The film will be accompanied by a new audio commentary from the film’s director Nicholas Meyer and a text commentary by Trek tech guru Michael Okuda.
The most important piece of information is that the film will in fact contain the expanded 116 minute version of the film as overseen by Meyer incorporating footage previously only seen on the original television broadcast of the film. This new footage will be reintegrated into the film allowing viewers to see this footage for the first time in widescreen. Completists should consider hanging onto the original bare-bones DVD however, as the new release will unfortunately not incorporate branching to give the option of the original theatrical version of the film.
Disc two carries all the extras. A theatrical trailer and storyboard archives will be supplemented by over four hours of documentaries. The Captain’s Log features new interviews with Nick Meyer, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban and producer Harve Bennett. Designing Khan explores the overhaul of Trek’s visual style between the first two films including interviews with Meyer, Bennett, graphic designer Lee Cole, costume designer Robert Fletcher and production designer Joe Jennings. The Visual Effects of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” goes in depth with the designers at the then young ILM on the creation of the film’s effects. Original interviews from the film feature promotional clips from Shatner, Nimoy, Montalban and DeForest Kelley add some taste of the film’s original promotions. Finally, The Star Trek Universe ñ A Novel Approach by Authors Julia Exklarand Greg Cox discusses the expansion of Trek into novels with emphasis on the books stemming from “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”.
Whew.
If Paramount has this kind of commitment ready to put towards all of the Star Trek films, Trek fans will have a lot to be happy about in the coming years, unless you already bought the discs that Paramount already released.
“Wrath of Khan” will come much sooner than expected on August 6th with a suggested retail price of $24.99.

‘X-Men’ Special Edition DVD Gets ‘X’-tra Special Treatment
With Spider-Man building upon the comic book phenomenon that X-Men first enjoyed in 2000, it’s no surprise that Fox is planning a Special Edition X-Men DVD. What is surprising is the rumored contents of said DVD.
Not only will there be more “making of” features and an audio commentary from director Bryan Singer, but the Special Edition DVD will also have new footage.
And we’re not talking deleted footage here.
Apparently, Fox approved additional funds in the budget of the sequel (X2) for Singer and cast to shoot additional footage for X-Men with the sole purpose of inclusion on this new DVD. While no details have been released on the content of this new footage, it is rumored to be origin footage of some of the other mutants, namely Storm and Cyclops.
This would be the first time in history in which new footage would be shot specifically for the DVD release of a completed (and released) movie.

Original-trilogy DVDs delayed
Star Wars fans will have to wait at least three years for the release of the original trilogy on DVD, according to the only source that counts: George Lucas.
“Probably, when I finish this (trilogy),” Lucas said when asked to expect the DVD debuts of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi.
Lucas says he has been too busy preparing Thursday’s release of Episode II — Attack Of The Clones and will be too busy making Episode III, slated for theatrical release in 2005.
“We don’t have time to do it, to be honest with you,” Lucas said. “And the other ones don’t have any of the materials (such as the high-tech extras he gave fans on The Phantom Menace DVD).”
Because background materials were not archived as much in the 1970s and ’80s, Lucas says it will be a challenge to dress up the original Star Wars trilogy.
“So it’s going to be harder to put together a worthwhile DVD.”
Episode I — The Phantom Menace was released on DVD last October.

It’s A Big New DVD Day In The Neighbourhood
Here’s a preview of the major new DVD releases for tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12, 2002:
The X-Files: The Complete Fifth Season- This beautifully packaged fifth season of “The X-Files” is where fans that don’t want their hearts broken should stop. The show, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, would decline soon afterwards, with even creator Chris Carter unable to find any convincing new wrinkles in the wildly paranoid, wildly complicated conspiracy at the heart of the series. The truth may be out there, but I can’t be bothered.
The Others- A horror story about a mother and her two children that’s rather tame for anyone who’s ever watched “The Twilight Zone.” But it’s a beautifully made film on every level, with Nicole Kidman delivering a terrifically focused performance and looking every inch the proper heir to Grace Kelly.
The Original Transformers- Out of nowhere, “Transformers” has become the hot revival of the year. The ’80s series about a battle for universal domination has spawned a new comic book series that sold out immediately all over the country. (In the old days, that would mean the publishers would print a bunch more. Today it means frustrated fans, with greedy collectors who sit on their mint copies and dream of more money via E-Bay in a few years.) Adding to the nostalgia is this terrific compilation from the first season. Rhino gives this once dorky show its typical tender loving care via lots of extras.
Marilyn Monroe: The Diamond Collection II- Yep, Marilyn Monroe could act. She appeared in more decent films than you remember, though ironically it’s the awful Seven Year Itch (featured in Diamond Collection I) that produced her most iconic moment. Here you have mostly smaller roles, but you can’t go wrong with Joseph Cotton (in Niagara) or the Marx Brothers (indulging in a little Monkey Business). Nothing revelatory, but fans will appreciate the velvet glove treatment: Monroe always needed it.
Old Yeller- Like the best Disney movies, this is tougher than you remember. Our young hero has quite a little temper on him (and it isn’t noticeably tamed by the end) while life on the frontier is appropriately brutal. It’s still shocking to see Old Yeller turn vicious after getting rabies and still sad to hear that final gun blast. The film’s given deluxe treatment (complete with a second DVD loaded with extras), and there are similar sets for the silly fun of Swiss Family Robinson (featuring many of the same actors).
From Hell- This retelling of the Jack the Ripper crime spree never comes to life and certainly never captures the quirky grandeur of the groundbreaking graphic novel its based on. But Johnny Depp gives his usual, eccentric and exciting performance and he’s matched scene for scene by Robbie Coltrane. Since the directors (the Brothers Hughes) practically went to film school by listening to commentary tracks on laser disc, you can depend on them for good insight.

Cashing In?
Marvel sues Disney over “Spider- Man” artwork.