Monday, September 18, 2006

DVD Tuesday: Battlestar Galactica, Chucky Collection, The Unit S1 & More! - Xoanon @ 10:38 PST
10th and the Wolf James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi, Brad Renfro, Piper Perabo, and Dennis Hopper star in the Philidelphia-set street drama about gangsters and family, co-written and directed by Bobby Moresco, co-writer of Crash. Lesley Ann Warren, Tommy Lee, Brian Dennehy, and Val Kilmer co-star. Details: Color, 107 mins, THINKFilm/Lionsgate, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Filmmaker Commentary featuring Academy Award Winner Bobby Moresco and FBI Agent Joe Pistone, aka "Donnie Brasco"; Deleted Scenes; Behind the Scenes; Trailer Gallery. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish subtitles.

8th & Ocean - The Complete First Season The MTV reality series about 10 models at one of the top South Beach agencies, living together in two apartments, as they try to make the leap into the big time. Details: Color, 220 mins, MTV/Paramount, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 10 episodes on 3 discs from the 2005-2006 season; Talesha and Adrian's Miami Hot Spots featurette; Advice from the Experts featurette; Casting tapes; Deleted scenes; TRL Appearance; MTV Overdrive segments; Cast bios. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Angry Harvest (West Germany, 1985) Agnieszka Holland's masterpiece stars Armin Mueller-Stahl as a lonely, middle-aged farmer in Poland during the early days of World War II who rescues an upper-class Jewish refugee (Elisabeth Trissenaar) and hides her in his cellar. As his loneliness leads to an oppressive reign of terror, her dependency breaks her resolve and her strength. One of the most powerful films about the Holocaust and the nature of power and tyranny, it was an Academy Award-nominee for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985. Details: Color, 106 mins, Image, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Audio: German (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional English subtitles.

Backdraft (1991) Ron Howard directs this drama of New York firefighter brothers (Kurt Russell and William Baldwin) estranged due to competitive natures and expectations and brought back together by the work of a marauding arsonist. Scott Glenn is the firefighting veteran and father figure to Russell, Donald Sutherland is a Hannibal Lector-like arsonist in prison, and Robert DeNiro a methodical arson investigator who takes Baldwin under his wing. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Jason Gedrick, and J.T. Walsh co-star. Details: Color, 138 mins, Universal, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: Ron Howard Introduction; Deleted Scenes; "Igniting the Story" featurette; "Bringing Together the Team" featurette; "Explosive Stunts" featurette; "Creating the Villain: The Fire" featurette; "Real-Life Firemen, Real-Life Stories" featurette. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses Feature length made-for-video feature with Barbie dolls, brought to life through with CGI animation. Details: Color, 82 mins, Universal, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Dancing Fun: Shine Music Video Sing-Along; Merry Memory Ballet Game; Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional English subtitles.

Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.5 The inspired revival/creative rebirth of the clunky, kitschy 1980s sci-fi series flies strong and true through its second season, which concludes in this collection. We left off with the fleet on the verge of civil war as one-time nemeses Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and the civilian President (Mary McDonnell) join forces against the authoritarian fleet Admiral (Michelle Forbes) who has little use for civilians or the journey to Earth. There's plenty of myth and prophecy along with the more human challenges of the clash between civilian and military authority and the increasing complexity of the Cylon endgame (they are no monolithic villain, as conflicts within reveal) and evolution. Forget the robots and space ships and such, and get over the fact that Starbuck is a girl (Katee Sackhoff), because she's a cigar-chomping, rule-breaking girl who looks like she could kick Dirk Benedict's ass around the galaxy and back. This is a smartly written, dramatically compelling series that finds its best dramas in human conflict and metaphysical explorations, and the season ends on a cliffhanger that will have you desperate for season 3 to start. Details: Color, 521 mins, Universal, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: 10 episodes on 3 discs; Deleted Scenes; Audio Commentary for Extended "Pegasus" Episode with Executive Producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick; Podcast Commentaries; David Eick's Videoblogs; R & D Logos. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

The Big Hit (Blu-ray) Melvin Smiley, a successful young hitman, is living a normal all-day life for his jewish fiancé Pam, but kills for money in Paris' organization. In addition, he has a relationship with a beauty from the neighbourhood and gets bothered by a pimply video store guy, because he did not return "King Kong Lives" for two weeks. He and his three teammates Cisco, Crunch and Vince one day decide to kidnap the daughter of super-rich businessman Jiro Nishi - off the record. What they do not know, is that Jiro just went completely bankrupt due to a successless movie production, and, even worse, that his daughter Keiko is the god-daughter of Paris, the boss of the kidnappers. He and his men are now searching for the kidnappers in order to grind them up properly. Meanwhile, handcuffed Keiko falls in love with killer Melvin while both preparing a kosher meal in order to satisfy Pam's visiting parents, who are out of the house with Pam - with a body in the trunk.

Bob and Tom Radio: The Comedy Tour Radio host team Bob & Tom host this live stand-up comedy concert featuring Mike Armstrong, Greg Hahn, Drew Hastings, Roy Wood Jr., and Bob Zany. Details: Color, 74 mins, Image, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Bob Newhart: Button Down Concert (1995) Bob Newhart returns to his stand-up comedy roots in this 1995 concert. Details: Color, 62 mins, 20th Century Fox, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Bob Newhart: The Complete Fourth Season (1975-1976) "Hi, Bob." Buttoned-down comedian Bob Newhart is TV's greatest therapist in the third season of the hit sitcom that once anchored the unbeatable Saturday night comedy block. Newhart is perfect casting for Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley, the ever-calm (at least on the outside) in the center of the neurotic storm swirling around him. He only seems like a rock of stability until he's next to his down-to-Earth wife, elementary school teacher Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), who has the corner on normalcy in this professional couple. Bill Daily co-stars as his insecure airline pilot neighbor Howard, Peter Bonerz his overconfident orthodontist friend Jerry, Marcia Wallace their lively receptionist Carol, and Jack Riley, Florida Friebus, and John Fiedler are among his longtime patients. Newhart's muted delivery and blank stares make him the funniest straight man on TV, a master of the deadpan gag, the slow motion stammer, and delayed reaction laughs. Details: Color, 607 mins, 20th Century Fox, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 24 episodes on 4 discs; Commentary on five episodes by Bob Newhart and others; "A Second Family" featurette; Gag reel. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Boris Karloff Collection Five of the lesser-known vintage horrors and thrillers starring Boris Karloff are collected in this "Franchise Collection" box set. The best and best known of the collection is Tower of London (1939), starring Karloff as the bloodthirsty executioner to the murderous Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Basil Rathbone) in Hollywood's gothic take in Richard's bloody rise to the throne as King Richard III. Rowland V. Lee directs. In The Strange Door (1951), adapted from a Robert Louis Stevenson story, he plays servant to a mad aristocrat (Charles Laughton) who sends innocents into his booby-trapped dungeon. Also features the crime film Night Key (1937), where he plays an inventor who is cheated out of a new burglar alarm and forced by burglars to help subvert the system in their spree; The Climax (1944), with Karloff as a mad doctor driven into a murderous jealousy over an opera singer; and The Black Castle (1955), a gothic thriller starring Stephen McNally as an evil Count and Richard Greene as a nobleman looking for his missing friends, and featuring Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. in small roles. Details: Color/Black and White, Universal, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: Five film on three discs. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono). Optional French and English subtitles.

Brain Damage A normal, average guy who lives in New York City becomes dependent on an evil, disembodied brain. The brain feeds the guy a narcotic substance in exchange for his unwilling assistance in obtaining the brains of innocent victims for sustenance. This turns into a tour of circa-1980s underground NYC clubs, backlots, and other seedy locations. One scene features the band Swimming Pool Cues playing the song "Corruption."

Cartoon Network Fridays, Vol. 1 No description available

Case Closed 4: Season 1 Another night looms, but Conan Edogawa isn’t afraid of the dark. He doesn’t have time to be afraid. He’s catching murderers, exposing killers and busting up kidnapping plots. Criminals beware – the night belongs to Detective Conan. Episodes: Lights, Camera… Murder Smooth Sailing Part 1 Smooth Sailing Part 2 Better Off Forgotten The Counterfeit Ransom Kidnapping Jack Attacks DVD Features: More than 150 minutes of action, mystery and intrigue! English and Japanese subtitles

The Chris Rock Show - The Complete First and Second Seasons (1997-1998) The debut seasons of the Emmy-award winning series created by and starring Chris Rock for HBO. Features stand-up monologues, sketches and commercial parodies, musical performances and interviews, with such guests as Conan O'Brien, Tracy Morgan, George Carlin, Busta Rhymes, Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, Whoopi Goldberg, Missy Elliot, Usher, Vivica A. Fox, and others. Details: Color, 510 mins, HBO, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 17 episodes on 3 discs. Optional subtitles.

Chucky: The Killer DVD Collection The "Franchise Collection" box set of the Child's Play/Chucky series is conspicuously missing the first film in the franchise, but it does feature the inspired Bride of Chucky (1998), Ronny Yu's demented and darkly comic revival of the slasher series about a toy doll brought to life by the spirit of a serial killer. In this, the fourth in the series, the sardonic, pint sized killed (voiced by Brad Dourif) is revived by his old girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly), and he returns the favor by finding a doll for her own spirit. Katherine Heigl and Nick Stabile are teenage lovers caught in the killers' plot and John Ritter and Alexis Arquette co-star. The set also features Child's Play 2 (1990), directed by John Lafia, and Child's Play 3 (1991), directed by Jack Bender, and the final film to date in the series, Seed of Chucky (2004), where the demonic spawn of Chucky and Tiffany bring the killer dolls back to life. Directed by series creator Don Mancini, it features a cameo by John Waters. Details: Color, Universal, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Commentary on Bride of Chucky by director Ronny Yu; Commentary on Bride of Chucky by actors Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly and writer Don Mancini; "Bride of Chucky Spotlight on Location" featurette; Commentary on Seed of Chucky by writer/writer Don Mancini and actress Jennifer Tilly; "Conceiving the Seed of Chucky" featurette; Jennifer Tilly on The Tonight Show. Audio: on Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky (Dolby Digital 5.1), on Child's Play 2 and Child's Play 3 (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Criterion Coll: Spirit of the Beehive (Spain, 1973) Victor Erice's delicate and haunting film about childhood and wonder in a world that does not reward such trust and innocence is one of the masterpieces of Spanish cinema. Little Ana Torrent is heartbreaking as the little girl who opens her soul to the wonders of the world and loses her heart to the lost monster in the movie "Frankenstein" (dubbed in Spanish and shown in a village meeting hall), trying to take in this giant innocent hated by all. The echoes of the Spanish Civil War can be felt in the background as Ana wanders the Castilian countryside looking for the lost monster and finds a wounded soldier. Fernando Fernán Gómez plays her father, lost in his own dream world of nostalgia and regret. It's one the great films about childhood and a hypnotic classic of world cinema. Details: Color, 99 mins, Criterion, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.66:1. Supplements: All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer; "The Footsteps of a Spirit," a documentary featuring director V'ctor Erice, producer El'as Querejeta, co-screenwriter Ángel Fernández-Santos, and actor Ana Torrent; "Victor Erice in Madrid", an interview with the director by filmmaker Hideyuki Miyaoka; New interviews with actor Fernando Fernán Gómez and film scholar Linda C. Ehrlich; Booklet with a new essay by film scholar Paul Julian Smith. Audio: Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional English subtitles.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston The story of alt-rock legend Daniel Johnston, the influential singer-songwriter and primitive artist tormented by depression and madness his entire life. Beck, Sonic Youth, and Pearl Jam have recorded his songs and Kurt Cobain (who wore a T-shirt with his artwork for weeks on end) called him "the greatest living songwriter." Jeff Feuerzeig directs the documentary. Details: Color, 110 mins, Sony Pictures, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Deleted Scenes ; Sundance World Premiere Featurette ; Laurie and Daniel Reunion Featurette ; Daniel's reunion with his high school sweetheart Laurie ; Legendary WFMU Broadcast Featurette ; Cinema of Daniel Johnston ; Personal Movies of Daniel Johnston ; Daniel's Audio Diaries; Personal recording of Daniel Johnston ; Commentary with Director Jeff Feuerzeig and Producer Henry S. Rosenthal . Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional French subtitles.

Dinosaur (Blu-ray) Long before humans appeared on the planet, dinosaurs ruled the earth. On a little off-coast island, a clan of lemurs finds a dinosaur egg, hatching. Since there are no parents, the lemurs take care of the newborn, Aladar. Years later, a medium meteor goes down close to the island and the shockwave forces its inhabitants to flee to the continent. There, Aladar and his family meet other dinosaurs for the first time as well as real dangers. The destruction caused by the meteor here has also forced a herd of different herbivores to move to a remote valley that can provide food and protection against the carnivorous predators following after. Since Aladar grew up with a different understanding of the ways of the world, his way of helping others first isn't accepted within the herd, but soon it is proven that reason may be better than panic.

Eight Below (Blu-ray) In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood), the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd (Paul Walker) has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission while his dogs fight for survival.

Elvira's Movie Macabre: Frankenstein's Castle Of Freaks (Italy, 1974) Rossano Brazzi plays Count Frankenstein, who uses his experimental expertise to bring a Neanderthal (who just happened to rampage through an Eastern European village and get killed by angry villagers) back to life. Michael Dunn is his evil dwarf assistant, Gordon Mitchell is Igor, Edmund Purdom and Simonetta Vitelli co-star, and Robert Oliver directs. Includes an option to watch the film with the original "Movie Macabre" wraparounds and occasional interruption by Cassandra Peterson's eighties era TV horror host persona Elvira. Details: Color, 102 mins, Shout! Factory, Academy Ratio. Optional subtitles.

Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Werewolf Of Washington (1973) Dean Stockwell is an American reporter in Hungary bitten by a mystery beast and discovers the political animal within when he returns to Washington as a press secretary to the President. Includes an option to watch the film with the original "Movie Macabre" wraparounds and occasional interruption by Cassandra Peterson's eighties era TV horror host persona Elvira. Details: Color, 96 mins, Shout! Factory, Academy Ratio. Optional subtitles.

Everybody Loves Raymond - The Complete Seventh Season (2002-2003) "Hi, I'm Ray and I live here in Long Island with my wife, Debra." Things couldn't be better for Long Island family man and successful sportswriter Ray Barrone (Romano), a man at ease with his good life, except for one thing. His meddling parents (Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts) technically live across the street but seem to spend more time trying to run Ray and Debra's life, and his sad-sack brother (Brad Garrett) tags along. Most of the cast have won Emmy Awards for their performances over the 8 year run of the hit sitcom. Details: Color, 750 mins, HBO, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: 25 episodes on five discs; Commentary on four episodes by series creator Phil Rosenthal, Ray Romano, Chris Elliott, Monica Horan, Anna Romano, Fred Willard, and writers Tucker Cawley and Mike Royce; Bloopers and deleted scenes. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

Ghost Hunters: Part 1, Season 2 This one-hour weekly docu-soap from the creator/executive producer of "American Chopper" follows a group of real-life paranormal researchers as they investigate haunted houses throughout the country, encountering every type of imaginable haunting. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, plumbers by trade, head up TAPS -- The Atlantic Paranormal Society -- a group of ordinary, everyday people with an interest in getting to the bottom of your otherworldly disturbances.

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Sixth Season Lauren Graham is sweet, strong, somewhat kittenish single mother Lorelei and Alexis Bledel is the headstrong Rory, both her daughter and her best friend, in this bright, witty dramedy for mothers, daughters, and anyone who appreciates smarts and snap in their TV shows. This season opens with Lorelei finally taking the next step in the long-simmering game of romantic tag with Luke (Scott Patterson) getting engaged at the same time that Rory drops out of college and moves in to the poolhouse of her blue-blood grandparents (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann), causing a rift between the once inseparable mother/daughter act. Keiko Agena is Rory's best friend Lane, and the eccentric population of the picaresque Stars Hollow, the small town that Lorelei and Rory call home, provides plenty of character humor and color. Details: Color, 945 mins, Warner, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 22 episodes on six discs; Episode guide. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround). Optional Spanish and French subtitles.

Grease: Rockin' Rydell Edition (1978) It's the time, it's the place, it's the motion, and it's where we are living. The bouncy fifties-inflected rock musical starring John Travolta as a black leather jacket bad boy and Olivia Newton-John (making her American film debut) as the white sweater good girl who fall in love across high-school clique lines gets a new edition. Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, and Didi Conn co-star, with "special guest appearances" by Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Sid Caesar, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman, and Sha-Na-Na. Comes wrapped in a leather jacket sleeve. Details: Color, 110 mins, Paramount, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Rydell Sing-Along: Rock along with your favorite Grease songs; 11 deleted, extended, alternate scenes with introduction by director Randal Kleiser; Grease memories from John & Olivia; DVD launch party: A collection of memorable moments from the 25th anniversary DVD launch party; The moves behind the music; Thunder roadsters. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) and French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround). Optional English subtitles.

Go for Zucker (Germany) Subtitled "An Unorthodox Comedy," the first German-Jewish comedy to come out of Germany since World War II, an energetic farce with broadly drawn characters and big performances (especially Henry Hübchen as the charming scamp of a hustler Zucker), was also the biggest German film of the year and the winner of six Lolas (the German equivalent to the Oscar), including Best Picture, Best Actor (for Henry Hübchen), Best Direction, and Best Screenplay. Details: Color, 91 mins, First Run Features, widescreen. Supplements: Director Dani Levy on making a German-Jewish comedy; Production notes; Director biography; Photo gallery. Audio: German (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional English subtitles.

The Great Raid (Blu-ray) Set in the Philippines in 1945, THE GREAT RAID tells the true story of the 6th Ranger Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) who undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, the 6th Ranger Battalion aims to liberate over 500 American prisoners-of-war from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever.

Gunslinger Girl: Complete Box Set The Social Welfare agency, a government sponsored corporation is in the business for saving orphaned or abandoned children who are terminally ill or injured beyond the point of saving. Using cybernetic implants, the Agency uses a process called 'conditioning' to turn orphaned children into emotionless killing machines with hardly any memories, no human comfort and worst of all, no free will. The girls who make up the assassination unit within the Social Welfare agency are Henrietta, Triela, Claes, Rico and Angelica, all whom have shady backgrounds which led to their involvement with the agency. Each girl is skilled in martial arts, weapons and tactics, demolitions, foreign languages, espionage and counter-terrorism, skills that are necessary when dealing with terrorism, illegal arms deals or even crime organizations who have a serious stranglehold on the country of Europe. But while these girls are the perfect weapons against these types of everyday problems, they must constantly do their best to hold on to what little pieces of their humanity they have left, as they are being forced to commit cold-blooded murder, sometimes even killing innocent people who get in the way. Jose, Henrietta's handler doesn't like the way she and the other girls are being treated as tools for massacre and it pains him everyday to see Henrietta and her friends having to go through this type of life. But if Henrietta and the others want to live to see tomorrow, they have to play the guinea pigs and earn their keep, by getting their hands dirty for the Social Welfare agency, who is responsible for giving them their second chance at life. Because if they don't play by the agency's rules...they will die.

Hard Candy Ellen Page is teenage girl who sets up a coffee date with 30-something male photographer (Patrick Wilson) she met online and winds up getting plied with drinks and encouraged to shed her clothes for an impromptu photo shoot in his apartment… until she turns the tables. David Slade's controversial thriller, which stirs up revenge with the modern world of underage internet porn, co-stars Sandra Oh and Odessa Rae. Details: Color, 105 mins, Lionsgate, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: Commentary by director David Slade and writer Brian Nelson; Commentary by actors Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page; Deleted and extended scenes; "Creating Hard Candy" featurette; "Controversial Confection" mini-featurette; DVD-ROM: Production notebook; Trailer. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Hart to Hart: Complete Second Season (1980-1981) Self-made millionaire Jonathan Hart (Robert Wagner) and his beautiful wife Jennifer (Stefanie Powers), a former freelance journalist, would seem to have it made. But in this glitzy mystery series, created by Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, the fabulously wealthy couple would rather be sleuthing than resting on their laurels in the lap of luxury. Lionel Stander co-stars as their loyal butler and trusty sidekick, Max. The series ran for 5 seasons and was revived for a series of TV movies in the 1990s. Details: Color, 987 mins, Sony Pictures, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 20 episodes on 5 discs. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0) and Portuguese (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional Portuguese subtitles.

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe Season 2 V.2 (1983) In the land of Eternia, where magic and technology co-exist, the "cowardly" Prince Adam grasps the magical Sword of Power and transforms into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, to protect his people from the evil Skeletor and his crew of villains. Think of a barbarian Superman with a team of loyal heroes (among them Battle Cat and Teela). The animated adventure series was essentially a promotional tool for a line of toys and action figures, but it became an unexpected hit and found a cult following among adults as well as children. Episodes 99-130, which concludes the season and series. Details: Color, 688 mins, BCI, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 32 episodes on 6 discs; 2 original documentary featurettes on the creation of the series; 2 4x6 collectable cards with art by Dan Brereton and Mike McKone; Commentary on 3 episodes by Lou and Erika Scheimer, Larry DiTillo, Tom Sito, Tom Tataranowicz, and Dave Teague; Full length animated storyboards for 2 episodes; Character profiles; Trivia; 5 DVD-ROM accessible scripts. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music Documentary on the rise of Techno music set against the cultural history of its birthplace, Detroit. Gary Bredow directs. Details: Color, 64 mins, Plexifilm, widescreen, 1.66:1. Supplements: Deleted scenes; Outtakes; Bonus interviews. Optional German and English subtitles.

Inner Sanctum Mysteries: Complete Movie Collection The entire six-film collection of the feature film series inspired by the hit radio show of mystery and the macabre, all starring Lon Chaney Jr.: Calling Dr. Death (1943) with Patricia Morison and J. Carrol Naish, Dead Man's Eyes (1944) with Jean Parker and Acquanetta, Weird Woman (1944) and The Frozen Ghost (1945) with Evelyn Ankers and Milburn Stone, Pillow of Death (1945) with Brenda Joyce and J. Edward Bromberg, and Strange Confession (1945) with Brenda Joyce, J. Carrol Naish, and Lloyd Bridges. Each of the B-movie thrillers runs barely over an hour. Details: Black and White, Universal, 1.33:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional subtitles.

Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (Blu-ray) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a tale of adventure on the open road. When Dante and Randal (of Clerks fame) get a restraining order to keep the punchy Jay and his hetero life-mate, Silent Bob, from selling drugs in front of the Quick Stop convenience store, their lives are suddenly empty. They find new purpose when their friend, Brodie, informs them a movie is being made featuring two infamous characters based on their likenesses. After visiting one of the creators of the Bluntman and Chronic, Holden McNeil, they set out to get what fat movie cash they deserve and hopefully put an end to people slandering them on the Internet. Along the way, they learn the rules of the road from a hitchhiking George Carlin, ride with a group of gorgeous jewel thieves, and incur the wrath of a hapless wildlife marshal for liberating an orangutan named Suzanne. The quest takes them from New Jersey to Hollywood where a showdown involving the police, the jewel thieves, and the Bluntman and Chronic filmmakers will decide the fate of Suzanne, Jay, Silent Bob, and their good names.

Jigoku - Criterion Collection (Japan, 1960) One of the most influential of Japanese horror films, Jigoku (which translates to "Hell") is the story of a young theology student who flees a hit-and-run accident and is plagued by his conscience and by a mysterious doppelganger, both of which send him on an escape route straight to hell. The horrific and gory imagery was a departure for the genre, more in keeping with the New Wave than traditional Japanese ghost stories, and its influence can be felt in the recent new wave of Japanese horror. From director Nobuo Nakagawa, considered the father of the Japanese horror film. Details: Color, 101 mins, Criterion, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: New, restored high-definition digital transfer; "Building the Inferno," a new documentary on director Nobuo Nakagawa and the making of the film; Theatrical trailer; Galleries of posters from selected Nakagawa and Shintoho studio films; Booklet with a new essay by noted Asian-cinema critic Chuck Stephens. Audio: Japanese (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional English subtitles.

King of Queens: The Complete Sixth Season (2003-2004) Kevin James and Leah Remini are back as the down-to-earth blue-collar couple trying to raise their family in relative chaos in the working-class suburb of Queens, New York. Jerry Stiller is Remini's twice-widowed and slightly eccentric father, who lives with the family and drives parcel delivery driver James crazy, and often out of the house and into the company of his drinking buddies (Patton Oswalt and Victor Williams). Guest appearances this season include Janeane Garofalo, Jon Favreau, Rachel Dratch, Judge Reinhold, Anne Meara, and Lou Ferrigno. Details: Color, 528 mins, Sony Pictures, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 24 episodes on 3 discs. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Kittens No description available

A Knight's Tale (Blu-ray) Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition, and finds romance along the way.

Loverboy A quirky film about a single mother and the suffocating, tragic love she has for her 6-year-old child, Loverboy serves as an answer to anyone who might wonder if you can love your child too much: Absolutely. Emily (Kyra Sedgwick from The Closer) is an eccentric, anti-social woman yearning for the affection her parents showered on each other, but never on her. All her hopes and dreams are thrust upon her young son Paul (Dominic Scott Kay). Not only is adorable, but he's also incredibly mature and patient. Though his mother lavishes him with attention, gourmet meals, and an almost fairytale existence, Paul wants stability and normalcy. He yearns for a father. He wants to go to school with the other kids. And though he's only 6, he's old enough to know that having a mother who refers to him as "Loverboy" is just plain wrong. Directed by Sedgwick's husband, Kevin Bacon (The Woodsman, Mystic River), the film veers unsteadily between ironic comedic moments and touching drama. Full of cameos (Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Oliver Platt, Marisa Tomei, and Bacon, who plays Emily's father in flashback sequences), the film does a fine job of conveying Emily's desperation to be the only person who matters to Paul. But because she's such a manipulative freak, it's difficult for the viewer to feel much empathy for her as she tries to shelter her boy from the world. "There's no falling in love like the falling in love with a child," she says early in the movie. Ultimately, that's her downfall.

Marius and Jeannette (France, 1997) Jeannette (an earthy and energetic performance by Arian Ascaride) is a motor-mouth single mom and Marius (Gerard Meylan, quietly generous and wry) is a soft-spoken immigrant who meet in a poor section of Marseilles where they live. Director Robert Guediguian has a gift for capturing character and location in this sunny, sassy story of working class stiffs and marginalized characters, and he fills the film with anecdotal detail and courtyard kibitzing among the rich set of supporting characters. Details: Color, 102 mins, New Yorker, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Interview with director Robert Guediguian; Foreign theatrical trailer. Audio: French. Optional English subtitles.

Mister Roberts Mister Roberts is aboard a US cargo ship, working in the Pacific during the Second World War. He'd do anything to leave the quiet of the ship to join in the "action". Trouble is, the captain of the ship, is a bit of a tyrant, and isn't willing to sign Roberts' transfer requests. Also on board is Ensign Pulver, who avoids work as best he can, whilst living off the riches of his buying and selling. Roberts and the crew are in constant battle, even over the smallest of disagreements.

My Name Is Earl: The Complete First Season "Karma is a funny thing." There is plenty of TV based on redemption, but this may be the first sitcom literally grounded in the philosophy of karma in action. Jason Lee is Earl, a career lowlife who receives a life-changing epiphany when he's hit by a car seconds after getting a winning lottery ticket. The minute he starts to make amends for his wrongs (and it's a long list), the ticket blows back into his life and his life's journey of redemption is sealed. Lee brings a laid-back benevolence to Earl, following the windy road that karma has mapped for him with the help of his dumb as a rock and loyal as a pup brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) and their motel maid Catalina (Nadine Sanchez), who signs on as an unofficial guide to the vagaries of morality and social contracts. Former Playboy model Jaime Pressly finds the role of a lifetime as Earl's trashy ex-wife, a conniving blonde in hot pants trying to chisel money out of Earl. It's damnably funny, very clever and full of attitude, and the last episode of the season comes full circle to the stolen cash Earl used to buy the winning lottery ticket and the winding karmic path it charted. Among the supplements is the DVD exclusive mock "lost pilot" "Bad Karma," an alternate reality version of the show where Earl takes the path of vengeance with alarming results. Details: Color, 526 mins, 20th Century Fox, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Commentary by creator Greg Garcia, stars Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee, and others on 5 episodes; Commentary by the mothers of Greg Garcia (Natalie Garcia), Marc Buckland (Mary Buckland), Jason Lee (Carol Lee) and Ethan Suplee (Debbie Suplee) on the episode Dad's Car; Exclusive Earl Mis-Adventure "Bad Karma"; "Karma Is A Funny Thing" Blooper Reel ; "Making Things Right: Behind The Scenes Of My Name Is Earl" featurette; Deleted Scenes. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

The Proposition The jagged Australian frontier western in the key of Peckinpah is a family drama with a psychopath at the head of the clan. Guy Pierce is an outlaw given a choice by a steely lawman (Ray Winstone): bring in his savage, psychotic older brother (a nicely underplayed Danny Huston) or his younger brother will hang. The original script by Nick Cave has rich characters and a savage social subtext under its austere plotting which director John Hillcoat allows to bubble up from the fierce conflicts between law and outlaw, justice and social expediency, and brothers whose sense of loyalty is torn by the fits of sadistic violence perpetrated by its eldest. John Hurt, David Wenham, and Emily Watson co-star. Details: Color, 104 mins, First Look, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Director and Writer Commentary; 5 Behind the Scenes Featurettes; Still gallery; Previews. Audio: English (DTS 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish subtitles.

Roar: Complete Series A young Irish chieftain fights against Roman encroachment.

S.W.A.T. An arrested drug kingpin is transported by a Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team led by Jackson's character out of the city and into federal custody. Plans go awry when the kingpin offers $100 million to anyone who can free him.

The Shogun Collection No description available

Spirited Killer No description available

Stay Alive - Unrated Director's Cut A group of video gamers get addicted to a new sensation that sucks them in and then kills them, thanks to the ghost in the machine: at the heart of the software is the ancient " Blood Countess" Elizabeth Bathory, whose tastes for blood in insatiable. Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz, Milo Ventimiglia, Sophia Bush, and Jimmi Simpson are the photogenic victims and targets of the insatiable Blood Countess and they get dispatched in various photogenic ways. Wendell Pierce and Adam Goldberg co-star and William Brent Bell writes and directs. Available in separate PG-13 and "Unrated Director's Cut" editions. The "Unrated Director's Cut" runs 15 minutes longer than the theatrical version. Details: Color, 100 mins, Hollywood Pictures Unrated, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: Visual effects reel; Interactive bonus menus. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Commentary by filmmaker (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

Stick It The feature debut of Jessica Bendinger, a former music video director and screenwriter of the cute and brash Bring It On, is a sports empowerment fantasy of the best kind. Missy Peregrym is a rebellious world class gymnast (Missy Peregrym) who returns to the sport and finds a new cause: to take the sport back from the edicts of its at times arbitrary judges and redefine it as a form of self-expression and personal achievement. Bendinger breaths new life into old clichés with attitude, cheeky humor, youthful energy and fresh style. Jeff Bridges is the maverick coach of a gymnastics academy and Vanessa Lengies is bitchy rival whose competitive streak is matched only by her ignorance. Details: Color, 103 mins, Touchstone, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Buttaharas: Outrageous bloopers & outtakes; Skinny Fat: Hilarious deleted scenes with two optional commentaries; Missy Elliott music video: "We Run This"; Jeannie Ortega featuring Papoose Music video: "Crowded"; Hard Corps: The real gymnasts who were stunt doubles for Stick It; The Elites: Full gymnastics routines performed by some of the world's best with optional commentary; The Judges' Table: Uneven bar routines in slow motion with optional commentary; Read My Mind: Multiple feature commentaries - director and actors, director and filmmakers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

Tears of the Sun (Blu-ray) Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician, Dr. Lena Kendricks. Dr. Kendricks, an American citizen by marriage, is tending to the victims of the ongoing civil war at a Catholic mission in a remote village. When Waters arrives, however, Dr. Kendricks refuses to leave unless he promises to help deliver the villagers to political asylum at the nearby border. If they are left behind, they will be at the mercy of the enormous rebel army. Waters is under strict orders from his commanding officer Captain Bill Rhodes to remain disengaged from the conflict. But as he and his men witness the brutality of the rebels first-hand, they are won over to Dr. Kendricks' cause and place their lives at risk by agreeing to escort the villagers on a perilous trek through the dense jungle. As they move through the countryside on foot, Waters' team, experts at evasion and concealment, are inexplicably and ferociously pursued by an army of rebels. They are confounded until they discover that, among the refugees, is the sole survivor of the country's previous ruling family, whom the rebels have been ordered to eliminate at all costs. Waters and his small band of soldiers must weigh the life of one man against their own and the refugees they feel obliged to protect.

The Tomie Collection No description available

The Unit - The Complete First Season They are The Unit, a covert Special Forces team operating outside the usual military chain of command. Whether stateside or aboard, these heroes are on the frontlines protecting U.S. citizens and foreigners alike, slipping in under the radar and risking their lives to save the day then leaving just as quietly without any well-deserved credit or thanks. Starring Dennis Haysbert and Scott Foley, this riveting, action-packed drama is as realistic and pulse-pounding as it gets.

Zoo TV-Live from Sydney This is U2 at their creative highpoint. Zoo TV was far ahead of it's time, and is captured very well on this release. Disc 1 is the same as the 1994 VHS release. The video has been cleaned up to todays DVD standards, and is worth getting for that alone. However, the sound has been upgraded as well, and will not disappoint.

Monday, September 11, 2006

DVD Tuesday: Original Star Wars, Smallville, Lucky Number Slevin & More! - Xoanon @ 13:20 PST
The Adventures of Chico & Guapo - The Complete First Season The animated series co-created by Orlando Jones about best friends who work as interns in the music industry. Originally created as a series of shorts on The Orlando Jones Show, it was spun off as a series for MTV 2. Details: Color, Paramount, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 16 shorts from The Orlando Jones Show; Animated storyboards; "The Gift" - Director's cut version; Orlando Jones' TAL appearance; Early sketches; Original scripts. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection Helen Hayes stars in this box set of three made-for-TV features. She plays Christie's Miss Jane Marple in A Caribbean Mystery (1983), co-starring Maurice Evans, Swoosie Kurtz, and Barnard Hughes (with a script co-written by Sue Grafton), and Murder with Mirrors (1985), where she teams up with a crafty inspector (Leo McKern) to solve a murder in a country-house. Bette Davis and John Mills co-star. Hayes is Lavinia Fullerton, an armchair detective who teams up with a computer wiz (Bill Bixby), in Murder Is Easy (1982), and Lesley-Anne Down, Olivia de Havilland, and Jonathan Pryce co-star as the suspect gallery. Also available in the eight-disc Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection. Details: Color, Warner, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional Spanish, Korean and English subtitles.

America's Funniest Home Videos: Nincompoops and Boneheads (1990) Two episodes from the long-running family series, hosted by Tom Bergeron and Bob Saget. Details: Color, 80 mins, Shout! Factory, Academy Ratio. Optional subtitles.

America's Funniest Home Videos: Sports Spectacular (1990) Two episodes from the long-running family series, hosted by Tom Bergeron. Details: Color, 80 mins, Shout! Factory, Academy Ratio. Optional subtitles.

Backdraft A rookie firefighter tries to earn the respect of his older brother and other firefighters while taking part in an investigation of a string of arson/murders. This detailed look into the duties and private lives of firemen naturally features widespread pyrotechnics and special effects.

Ballets Russes Acclaimed documentary on the revolutionary twentieth-century dance troupe known as the Ballets Russes, which was born in turn-of-the-century Paris and spawned rival dance troupes who fought legendary "ballet battles" on pre-World War II London before shutting down in the 1960s due to rocketing egos, outside competition, and internal mismanagement. Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine direct. Details: Color/Black and White, 118 mins, Zeitgeist, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: "Encores": a 55-minute, four-part series of additional behind-the-scenes, rehearsal and interview footage with Ballets Russes dancers and collaborators; Rare archival footage, including Ballets Russes performances not in the film; Extensive photo galleries of Ballets Russes staris, additional dancers and vintage Playbill Covers; Original Theatrical Trailers. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional English subtitles.

The Batman - The Complete Second Season The second season of the revised animated superhero series about the young Batman in the early years of his crime-fighting career, battling such criminal masterminds as the Joker, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, and the Riddler with the support of police detective Jim Gordon. Part of the "DC Comics Kids Collection" featured on the Cartoon Network. Details: Color, Warner, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 13 episodes on 2 discs; "Catching up With… The Batman: Inside Season 2" featurette. Optional subtitles.

Beavis & Butt-Head Do America Our intrepid adolescent heroes wake up to find their beloved television stolen, and embark on an epic journey across America to recover it, and, who knows, maybe even score. On the way they encounter a murderous smuggler of a deadly virus and his treacherous wife, an FBI agent with a predilection for cavity searches, a couple of rather familiar looking ex-Motley Crue roadies, Mr. Van Dreesen singing "Lesbian Seagull", a little old lady and of course Mr. Anderson and his trailer. Can the Great Cornholio save the day? Uh-huh. Huh-huh.

Black Magic A magician makes money by charging people to cast love spells on the objects of their affection. Complications arise when he decides that he wants a customer's bride for himself.

Black. White. What's it like to live in someone else's skin? Find out by watching this fascinating documentary series in which the African-American Sparks family (Brian, Renee and 16-year-old Nick) trades places with the Caucasian Wurgel family (Bruno, Carmen and 17-year-old Rose) thanks to an incredible visual transformation created by Hollywood make-up artists. The two families agree to share a home for the duration of a six-week social experiment that will challenge their beliefs and core values in ways they could have never imagined. Their unscripted experiences are often explosive, always intriguing and ultimately insightful...resulting in a totally unique cultural perspective that's anything but black-and-white!

Bloodz vs Wolvez No description available

Bottoms Up Kevin Smith regular Jason Mewes stars as a Midwest bartender and heads to Hollywood, where he hooks up with a pampered starlet (Paris Hilton), in the romantic comedy from Erik MacArthur. Details: Color, 89 mins, Sony Pictures, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional French and English subtitles.

Clifford: Clifford's Big Halloween Kooky ghosts, spooky costumes and leaf piles are all part of the fun when Clifford and friends share in fall festivities on Birdwell island. DVD includes the episode Boo! where on Halloween night, Clifford gets tangled up in a white sheet, and the whole town gets a great big scare from the mysterious ghost dog of Birdwell Island. In these eight great episodes, Clifford and friends learn about doing your job, keeping a promise and making a new friend. Get ready to dig for Dinosaurs and meet a true superhero!

Code Lyoko: First Season "Code Lyoko" tells the story of a group of students who uncover a parallel universe called Lyoko inside a super-computer that is threatened by a renegade program named XANA that could destroy the world. It's up to four boarding school students named Jeremy, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd to help a humanoid being inside Lyoko named Aelita to stop the rogue program X.A.N.A and his plans to attack their world. Jeremy, who is in love with Aelita, struggles through season 1 to find a way to "materialize" aelita, so she can become human by exiting the scanners that connect Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi to Lyoko. If Jeremy accomplishes this, he will be able to shut down Lyoko and defeat XANA. In the episode "Code: EARTH", we witness Jeremy finally materializes Aelita, and accomplishes his dream. The group deactivate Lyoko, but the didn't guess what would happened. XANA apparently infected Aelita with a virus before she was materialized so that if XANA goes, she does too! After being distraught by this dilemma, Aelita and Jeremy spend time together. After returning Aelita to her temporary home, Yumi's house, Jeremy heads back home. In the beginning of season 2, we witness the dawn of new technology. Jeremy programs vehicles into Lyoko, for faster travel, and he also makes a better scan program to detect "activated towers", so Aelita can live on earth, without having to stay in Lyoko to look out for XANA's attacks on earth! ALong with that, Jeremy announces that he is working on an anti-virus good enough to save Aelita from XANA! Franz Hopper, a brilliant scientist, seems related to Aelita after some research. After discovering the Lyoko gang discovers the truth, we learn that Aelita was created on Lyoko as the guardian of it by Franz Hopper. Lyoko and even XANA were made by him, although XANA became evil by himself. With Jeremy, Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita against XANA, we're sure to experience a great adventure!

Crypt of the Vampire Count Karnstein sends for a doctor to help his sick daughter Laura. Her nurse believes she is possessed by the spirit of a dead ancestor;Carmilla. A young woman becomes intrigued by the mysterious deaths surrounding Laura after a carriage accident outside the castle forces her to stay. They become close friends until Laura becomes convinced the spirit of Carmilla is forcing her to kill.

Death of Mr Lazarescu (Romania) Cristi Puiu's dark, barbed social satire, set in the bureaucratic nightmare of Romanian socialized medicine, stars Ion Fiscuteanu as a flinty pensioner who starts off the film complaining of headaches and stomach cramps and ends up bounced from hospital to hospital, deteriorating to a state of numb incoherence while doctors and admitting nurses scold him like a naughty child. The scathing dark comedy cuts like a scalpel and won the Prix de Certain Regard at Cannes in 2005. Details: Color, 153 mins, Tartan, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Interview with the director; Perspective on the U.S. Healthcare System by Dr. Fred Berlin. Audio: Romanian (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Romanian (DTS 5.1). Optional English subtitles.

Diagnosis Murder - Complete 1st Season (1993-1994) Decades after starring in one of the landmark sitcoms on American TV, Dick Van Dyke returned to the small screen as the jovial Dr. Mark Sloan, a Los Angeles city hospital intern with a sideline as a consultant for the police, notably his Police Detective son (played by Van Dyke's real life son Barry Van Dyke), and a nose for mysteries. Along with Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote and Andy Griffith in Matlock (who participated in a cross-over episode with Van Dyke), he was part of the last wave of geriatric detective stars. Victoria Rowell co-stars as pathologist Amanda Bentley, Scott Baio is fellow doctor Jack Stewart, and Michael Tucci is the hospital administrator. Van Dyke's comic talents brought a light touch and no small amount of humor to the mystery drama and kept the show alive for a healthy eight seasons. Details: Color, Paramount, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 19 episodes on 5 discs. Optional subtitles.

Disney Princess Stories, Vol. 1 - A Gift From the Heart No description available

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Hollywood Box set of five previously released discs, repackaged in thinpak cases. Fritz Lang directs the World War II resistance thriller Hangmen Also Die (1943) with Brian Donlevy, Henry Fonda stars in The Long Night (1947), the remake of the French poetic realist drama Le Jour se leve by Anatole Litvak, Anthony Mann directs the low-budget Railroaded (1947), a marvelously tawdry thriller starring John Ireland as a cop-killing thug, Budd Boetticher directs Behind Locked Doors (1948), a B-movie thriller starring Richard Carlson as a reporter undercover in a mental hospital to find a wanted man in hiding, and Joan Crawford stars in the Oscar nominated Sudden Fear (1952) as a target in a murder plot by seductive Jack Palance and his scheming lover Gloria Grahame. Details: Black and White, Kino, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 1.0). Optional subtitles.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa Edward Elric and his younger brother Alphonse were living quite happily with their mother... until she died. So Edward and Alphonse decided to try to raise her from the dead. The resurrection failed, leaving Edward without an arm and a leg and Alphonse's soul attached to a suit of armor. Now they roam around the country trying to find a way to restore their bodies.

Gloomy Sunday Budapest in the thirties. The restaurant owner Laszlo hires the pianist András to play in his restaurant. Both men fall in love with the beautiful waitress Ilona who inspires András to his only composition. His song of Gloomy Sunday is, at first, loved and then feared, for its melancholic melody triggers off a chain of suicides. The fragile balance of the erotic ménage à trois is sent off kilter when the German Hans goes and falls in love with Ilona as well.

Goal: The Dream Begins Santiago Munez is the soccer-mad immigrant in Los Angeles whose dream of playing on a world class squad comes true when he's scouted for one of England's premiere clubs, Newcastle United, and lands in a culture where soccer is a religion and the star players are gods. The rousing sports drama directed by Danny Cannon co-stars Alessandro Nivola as the team's troubled star player, Anna Friel as the local girl who falls for the new recruit, Marcel Lures as the coach, and Stephen Dillane as the talent scout who makes it all happen. The game scenes feature footage from pro matches. Details: Color, 118 mins, Touchstone, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.40:1. Supplements: Extended PG-13 version; The Beautiful Game: Featurette about the fast-paced, exciting worldwide phenomenon of soccer; Behind the Pitch: Making-of featurette about how the film's intense soccer action was integrated with real matches played by superstar athletes; Happy Mondays music video: "Playground Superstar"; Golden Moments of the FIFA World Cup featurette. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0). Commentary by filmmakers Danny Cannon, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional Spanish subtitles.

Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment No description available

The Great New Wonderful The Great New Wonderful weaves five stories against the backdrop of an anxious and uncertain post-9-11 New York City.

The Great Yokai War A young boy with a troubled home life becomes "chosen," and he stumbles into the middle of a great spirit war, where he meets a group of friendly spirits who become his companions through his journey. Now he must fight to protect his friends and free the world of the spirits from oppression. The creatures and ghosts are taken directly from Japanese folklore and range from the cute and silly to the disturbing.

Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Second Season doctor following in the footsteps of her mother (Kate Burton), discovered that her Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) was married. In her second year the wife (Kate Walsh) moves to Seattle and joins the staff of Seattle Grace Hospital, just one of the complications in the hectic lives of Grey and her fellow interns (Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers and T.R. Knight) in the second season. A cross between E.R. and Scrubs, it's an addictive but light soap opera of a medical show, with plenty of energy and style, a pop soundtrack, and the usual romantic complications among the life-and-death crises that face the young doctors every day. Chandra Wilson is "The Nazi" (aka their attending physician Dr. Miranda Bailey), James Pickens Jr. the head of surgery, and Isaiah Washington is the talented surgeon who pairs off with the intense and aggressive Sandra Oh. Details: Color, 1180 mins, Buena Vista Uncut, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: 27 episodes from the 2005-2006 season on six discs; Four extended episodes; "The softer side of Dr. Bailey" interview with Chandra Wilson; "The Doctors Are In" - Favorite characters answer fans' burning questions; Deleted scenes; Exclusive set tour; Creating "Pink Mist": Anatomy of a special effect; Grey's Anatomy on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Commentary by director Jeff Melman and writer Krista Vernoff ("Into You Like a Train") (Dolby Digital 2.0), Commentary by Creator Shonda Rimes and editor Susan Vaill ("Thanks for the Memories") (Dolby Digital 2.0), Commentary by Sandra Oh and director Peter Horton ("Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer") (Dolby Digital 2.0) and Commentary by Creator Shonda Rimes, director Peter Horton and editor Edward Ornelas ("It's the End of the World" and "As We Know It") (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional English subtitles.

Headspace Horror film about a young man (Christopher Denham) whose intellect suddenly grows out of his control, with deadly side-effects, after a chance encounter with a stranger. Andrew van den Houten directs and Olivia Hussey, William Atherton, Sean Young, Larry Fessenden, Dee Wallace, and Udo Kier co-star. Details: Color, 89 mins, Freestyle/Visual Entertainment, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Filmmaker commentary; Deleted, extended, and alternate scenes; "Fractured Skulls: The Making of Headspace" featurette; FX Journal; Isolated music score; Photo gallery; Talent bios; Trailer; Easter Eggs. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish subtitles.

Hollywood Greats Daytime, primetime, then late-night talk and variety show. Often there was only one guest (GA Gov. Lester Maddox walked out angrily during one interview). Cavett was intelligent and witty, perhaps too much so for television.

House of Wax (HD DVD) A group of friends on their way to a college football game falls prey to a pair of murderous brothers in an abandoned small town. They discover that the brothers have expanded upon the area's main attraction.. the House of Wax. And created an entire town filled with the wax-coated corpses of unlucky visitors. Now the group must find a way out before they too become permanent exhibits in the House of Wax...

I Am a Sex Addict Director Caveh Zahedi's I Am A Sex Addict may be Zahedi's most autobiographical and, consequently, narcissistic film to date. Previously, when Tripping With Caveh featured Zahedi and musician Will Oldham wandering through meadows high on LSD, some viewers wondered what the point was. Now, "Caveh" relays his history of sex addiction, in nauseating detail, before taking wedding vows with his third wife to-be. Beginning the tale in Paris, 1984, Zahedi narrates the story of Anna, his first true love, Caroline, his second love played by actress Rebecca Lord, and the destruction of both relationships due to his insatiable desire for prostitutes. Speaking directly towards the camera or acting out dramatized scenes, Zahedi explains his deep-seated psychological needs to gawk at women. When his girlfriends repeatedly dump him, he hits rock bottom and begins attending Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings. Besides a frankly disgusting plot, Zahedi's experimentalism seems pretentious, as he explains, for example, why he casts actors before showing them on-screen. Perhaps the unsavory topic explored in I Am A Sex Addict is suitable for other fellow sex addicts, in a therapeutic sense. Otherwise, the question arises throughout: Why should I care?

Inspector Lewis Inspector Morse is dead, but his old partner Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately) returns in this British TV mystery, returning from a two-year assignment in the British Virgin Islands and landing in the midst of a murder in Oxford, England that has ties to an old Morse case. This time, Lewis is the senior partner to a former divinity student turned DI (Kevin Whately). Originally seen in the U.S. on the PBS anthology series Mystery!. Details: Color, 95 mins, WGBH, widescreen, 1.78:1. Optional subtitles.

International Cinema Collection A Very Long Engagement: The filmmaker and star of Amelie! Jean-Pierre Jeunet directs Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code) in a spellbinding and widely honored tale of lovers separated by WWI. Day for Night: Anything that can go wrong on the set does in Francois Truffaut's giddy, glorious valentine to movies. "The best movie ever made about the movies" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). The Damned: Luchino Visconti brings flamboyant style to a tale of a corrupt German industrialist family giving way to greater corruption: the rise of the Nazis. With Dirk Bogard, Charlotte Rampling and more. Gloomy Sunday: The art-house favorite about entangled romance, the Holocaust and a song that swept the world is "a stirring and provocative affirmation of the power and resilience of love" (Philip Wuntch, The Dallas Morning News). Death in Venice: Thomas Mann's meditation on beauty, age and obsession is "splendidly brought to the screen" (Leaonard Maltin's Movie Guide) by Luchino Visconti, Dirk Bogard stars.

Jan Svankmajer: The Ossuary & Other Tales No description available

Kill the Poor When a marriage of convenience becomes the real thing, Joe (David Krumholtz) moves his pregnant French wife (Clara Bellar) to a tenement building on New York's Lower East Side. The street is like a war zone with none of the nostalgic appeal that Joe remembers from tales of his immigrant grandparents arriving in the same neighborhood with a new life. This is the urban frontier filled with a wildly funny mixture of gentrifies, homeboys, dealers and local residents simply bent on staying a float.

La Petite Jerusalem (France) Karin Albou's drama about a family of Sephardic Orthodox Jews in a shabby Paris suburb, tackles touchy issues -- namely desire and sexual pleasure within the laws of religion -- with a respectful frankness. Fanny Valette and Elsa Zylberstein star as sisters whose opposing philosophies find common ground and Bruno Todeschini and Aurore Clément co-star. Details: Color, 94 mins, Kino, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.85:1. Supplements: Interview with writer/director Karin Albou; Still gallery; Trailer. Audio: and Hebrew. Optional English subtitles.

Las Vegas: Season Three James Caan playing "Big Ed" Deline, a tough but amiable President of Operations and a father figure to his protégé and right-hand man Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel) in the splashy, sexy TV series set in lavish trappings of the (fictional) high rolling Montecito Casino. The third season opens with the rebuilding the Monticello (after the fire that ended season two), a new owner (Lara Flynn Boyle), and a whole bunch of episodes devoted to pulling the old crew back together, and ends with yet another new owner (Dean Cain), a wedding, and a murder. In between are card sharks, high stakes heists, and bodacious babes in low-cut fashions and bikinis. Nikki Cox, Molly Sims, Vanessa Marcil, and James Lesure co-star, Cheryl Ladd has a recurring role as Big Ed's wife, and guest stars this season include Jill Hennesy and Jerry O'Connell (as their Crossing Jordan characters) and Rachel Leigh Cook. Details: Color, Universal, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: 23 Episodes on 5 discs; "In With the New" time-lapse photography featurette of the construction of the new hotel; Gag reel. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Laurel and Hardy Collection 2 Episode Description: The Laurel & Hardy Collection Volume 2 contains 3 classic comedies A-Haunting We Will Go, Dancing Masters, and Bullfighters. These titles are all available for the first time on DVD in a slipcase for $34.98 & $46.98. Disk 1: A-HAUNTING WE WILL GO (1942) *Full Frame Feature **Commentary by Randy Skretvedt **Movietone News **Theatrical Trailer Disk 2: THE DANCING MASTERS (1943) *Full Frame Feature **Commentary by Scott MacGillivray **A Ship's Reporter **Grand Hotel: The 1932 Laurel & Hardy Tour **Trailers Disk 3: BULLFIGHTERS (1945) *Full Frame Feature **Commentary by Scott MacGillivray **Laurel & Hardy: The Fox Years **Trailers

Lethal Weapon 2 (HD DVD) Riggs and Murtaugh are at it again in this sequel to the original Lethal Weapon in 1987. When a red BMW crashes while they are chasing it, they discover the trunk is full of South African Krugerands. Their boss assigns them to protect a federal witness named Leo Getz to try and keep them out of trouble. When the witness reveals he has been doing business with South Africans, the story evolves into a fast moving chase.

Love & Marriage "America's Funniest Home Videos" was inspired by a series of successful TV specials, where home viewers were invited to send in videotapes of their "funniest" moments. In "AFHV," host Saget provided commentary to the home videos which often showed wedding and sports bloopers, children and pets either being themselves or getting into trouble, furniture or other objects giving way (usually contributing to someone's fall) and "comical" reactions to getting inadvertently hit (usually in the groin). Sometimes, certain videos were grouped into themes, such as Christmas or a summer vacation, or had sentimental value to them, such as a marriage proposal; other times, videos were set to classic rock tunes. The top three videos of the week as selected by the producers were eligible for each week's $10,000 top prize; the audience would electronically vote for their one favorite video. Weekly winners got to compete in a later special for a $100,000 top prize.

Lower City (Brazil) Lázaro Ramos, Alice Braga, and Wagner Moura are three points in an erotic triangle playing out in the "lower city" of tropical Salvador da Bahia in the directorial debut of Sergio Machado. Details: Color, 98 mins, Palm, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Behind-the-scenes featurette; Deleted scenes; Cast rehearsal; U.S. theatrical trailer. Audio: Portuguese (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish and English subtitles.

Lucky Number Slevin Josh Hartnett as a seemingly innocent bystander caught up in an absurdly convoluted plot about a scheming hitman and criss-crossing assassination conspiracies in this Tarantino-esque crime pastiche from director Paul McGuigan and screenwriter Jason Smilovic. Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, and Stanley Tucci fill out the cast of quirky characters in the twisting story. Available in separate widescreen and full screen editions. Details: Color, 110 mins, The Weinstein Company/Genius, widescreen. Supplements: Commentary by actors Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu and writer Jason Smilovic; Commentary by director Paul McGuigan; "Making Lucky Number Slevin" featurette; Deleted scenes and alternate ending. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish subtitles.

The Maid (Singapore) Singapore's first homegrown horror movie (which broke domestic box office records on its theatrical release) follows the ordeal of a young Filipino maid in Singapore who breaks the "rules" of the seventh month and faces the supernatural consequences. Kelvin Tong writes and directs. Details: Color, 89 mins, Asia Extreme/Tartan, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: "The Making of The Maid" featurette; Trailer. Audio: with some English and Tagalog (Dolby Digital 5.1) and with some English and Tagalog (DTS 5.1). Optional English subtitles.

Masters of Horror: Tobe Hooper - Dance of the Dead Showtime has amassed some of the greatest horror film writers and directors to bring to you the anthology series, "Masters of Horror". For the first time the foremost names in the horror film genre have joined forces for the series consisting of 13 one-hour films each season.

The Miracle of Life A new DVD edition of the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Miracle of Life (1996), featuring microscopic photography by Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson. Also features the bonus documentary Life's First Feelings, originally made for Nova. Details: Color, 112 mins, WGBH, Academy Ratio. Optional subtitles.

The Miracle Match Sports movie veteran David Anspaugh turns to soccer for this "based on a true story" drama about the rag-tag team put together to represent America in the 1950 World Cup that pulled off one of the all-time great upsets in sports history. Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan, Gavin Rossdale, Costas Mandylor, Bill Smitrovich, John Rhys-Davies, and Patrick Stewart star. Originally titled The Game of Their Lives and renamed for DVD. Details: Color, 101 mins, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.40:1. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

Moonlighting: Season 4 The top model Maddie Hayes was betrayed by her investment adviser who flew with all her money to South-America and began the hard life of a Casino owner. All the unfaithful manager has left Maddie is her house, her unbelievable beauty and intelligence and the run-down detective-agency "City Angels" (renamed by Maddie into "Blue Moon"). Because of her lack of money, she wants to sell the agency, but the houses only detective David Addison tries to convince her to join the agency as the new boss. So Maddie Hayes becomes involved in the work of a real private detective, which means so hard work as to spy upon unfaithful husbands, find missing people or murderers, foil attempts on VIP's lives, stop killers, help lovers and by the way save the world`s peace and existence. While doing this Maddie and David try to get used to each other and this way they recognize their complete difference in life-style, humour, amusement and of course in the way how to run a detective agency. Maybe this is why they always seem to us as the perfect couple. Will they become lovers or not? The real thrill of the series you get, hearing the fantastic confusing, charming, frightening and senseless dialogues, seeing Maddie Hayes` eyes and David Addison`s smile. Real cracks will be really amazed by Miss Dipesto`s rhymes to the telephone.

My Little Pony - The Runaway Rainbow If it’s all about rainbows it must be about RAINBOW DASH. And it is. She loves this time of year when Ponyville and Breezie Blossom are all about celebrating rainbows. Meanwhile in a new magical place called Unicornia, RARITY is being taught how to be a Unicorn Princess and the importance of making the first rainbow of the season. But RARITY is quite a little rascal and embarks on an incredible ride that includes a MAGIC WAND, falling through the clouds right into the middle of Breezie Blossom, a visit to Ponyville, meeting SPIKE THE DRAGON and a huge adventure (with lots of mishaps) as she tries to get back to Unicornia. RARITY soon realizes that getting home in time to create the first rainbow of season is not an easy thing to do --- but it is fun! Come on, won’t you join RARITY and all her friends in the most colorful My Little Pony adventure ever?

The Nugget 'The Nugget' is a tale about a group of three roadworkers who stumble upon the world's biggest nugget, and become instant millionaires - or so they think. The roadworkers are mates from way back, and each weekend they go out to an old goldmining site hoping to strike it rich. Each weekend they come back with nothing but a hangover. But then everything changes when they discover the world's biggest nugget - worth many millions of dollars.

The Office: Season Two The American incarnation of the acclaimed British comedy series is a rare transplant that keeps both the attitude and the spirit of the original (a masterpiece created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant) while finding its own direction, which finds firm ground in the second season. Steve Carell carves out his own take as the attention-starved Michael Scott, an insensitive, blithely sexist, cluelessly racist (in a harmless way), and utterly ineffectual office manager who is convinced that he's the epitome of managerial efficiency and understanding. Rainn Wilson is the geeky, brown-nosing assistant manager Dwight ("No, that's assistant to the manager") who loses the long-running battle of wits with smart-alecky salesman Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), a prank-loving guy smitten with secretary Pam (Jenna Fischer), his unhappily engaged partner in pranks. It's a slyer, more squirrelly kind of comedy than you usually find on network TV, but behind the awkward silences and embarrassed stares is an often unexpected compassion and generosity. Details: Color, 477 mins, Universal, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: 22 episodes on four discs; Commentary on 10 episodes by the actors, writes, directors, and producers; Deleted Scenes; "Faces of Scranton" video (from the episode "Valentine's Day"); Fake PSAs; Webisodes from nbc.com; Blooper Reel; Olympics promo; Steve on Steve. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish subtitles.

On The Buses: The Ultimate Collection “This double-decker Britcom classic stars Reg Varney as jack-the-lad bus driver Stan, Bob Grant as his chirpy conductor and best mate Jack, and Stephen "I'll have you Butler!" Lewis as the long-suffering, dim-witted Inspector Blakey, who does his best to get the buses out on time while making Stan and Jack’s lives as miserable as possible. One of the most successful TV series ever made, running from 1969 to 1973, On The Buses is British comedy at its best delivering laughter from beginning to end!”

Phantom Flicker Alley, in partnership with the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation is proud to present, Phantom, which marked a major turning point in the influential career and the groundbreaking style of cinema poet F.W. Murnau. In this beautifully reconstructed and restored edition from an amazingly detailed, original 1922 negative, Alfred Abel (Metropolis, Dr. Mabuse) plays Lorenz Lubota, a man obsessed with his own desires to achieve fame and wealth, who must confront the barriers of class keeping him from a woman (Lya de Putti)with whom he has had a fateful encounter. Featuring a magnificent new orchestral score by Robert Israel, this powerfully expressive and surprisingly insightful film is a triumph of German Weimar cinema and a wonderful collaboration of many of its most skilled artisans and recognizable performers. Through dazzling visuals and memorable characters, Phantom paints a portrait of the corrupting influence of money, the conformity of societal norms, and the redemptive power of family.

Reading Rainbow Favorites No description available

Red Dragon (HD DVD) FBI Agent Will Graham has been called out of early retirement to catch a serial killer, known by authorities as "The Tooth Fairy". He asks for the help of his arch-nemesis, Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter, so that he can be able to catch "The Tooth Fairy" and bring him to justice. The only problem is that "The Tooth Fairy" is getting inside information about Graham and his family from none other than Dr. Lecter.

Roseanne: Complete Fifth Season (1992-1993) Another season of the hit working class sitcom starring Roseanne Barr as a working mother trying to juggle a job with her domestic responsibilities and John Goodman as a loving husband and father, a contractor with an innate reluctance to pitch in with household chores. Laurie Metcalf is Roseanne's sister Jackie, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, and Michael Fishman plays the kids, and Johnny Galecki and Glenn Quinn join the cast as the brothers next door. It was a rarity on American TV, a portrait of blue collar family life in the suburbs, from family troubles to money troubles, and found an audience eager for such familiar realities in their comedy. Details: Color, Anchor Bay, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 25 episodes on 4 discs; Exclusive Interview with Roseanne; Roseanne Answers the Top 10 Questions by Her Fans. Optional subtitles.

Seabiscuit (HD DVD) A half-blind ex-prizefighter (Maguire) and mustang breaker (Cooper) team up with a millionaire (Bridges) and his rough-hewn, undersized horse, Seabiscuit. The men bring Seabiscuit incredible heights, helping him earn Horse of the Year honors in 1938. Based on a true story.

Serving In Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995) The acclaimed TV movie based on the true story of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, the highest-ranking military officer to ever be discharged from the service for being gay. Glenn Close and Judy Davis both won Emmy awards for their performances and Close produces with Barbra Streisand. Details: Color, 92 mins, Sony Pictures, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: "Silent No More: Behind the Scenes of Serving in Silence" featurette; "Hollywood Premiere: January 23, 1995" featurette; "1996 GLAAD Media Awards" featurette. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional English subtitles.

Smallville - The Complete First Five Seasons A meteor shower bursts from the heavens, raining destruction on the unsuspecting citizens of Smallville. Present day. Twelve years later and the healing process has left the town's inhabitants with scars and secrets. From the ashes of tragedy, a popular yet awkward teen attemptsto decipher the meaning of his life and his clouded past. As he struggleswith the transition from boyhood to adulthood, his strength and strangeabilities set him uncomfortably apart from his peers, and his name is Clark Kent.

Smallville: The Complete Fifth Season A meteor shower bursts from the heavens, raining destruction on the unsuspecting citizens of Smallville. Present day. Twelve years later and the healing process has left the town's inhabitants with scars and secrets. From the ashes of tragedy, a popular yet awkward teen attemptsto decipher the meaning of his life and his clouded past. As he struggleswith the transition from boyhood to adulthood, his strength and strangeabilities set him uncomfortably apart from his peers, and his name is Clark Kent.

Space Cowboys (HD DVD) In 1958, the members of Team Daedalus, a group of top Air Force test pilots, were ready to serve their country as the first Americans in space but were pushed aside. Now, as a Russian satellite fails and is about to crash into earth, Team Daedalus is back in action in a rescue mission.

SpongeBob SquarePants - Season 4, Vol. 1 The character-driven toon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends. Dwelling a few fathoms beneath the tropical isle of Bikini Atoll in the sub-surface city of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob lives in a two-story pineapple. Instead of taking the logical approach to everyday challenges, SpongeBob approaches life in a wayward and unconventional way. Whether searching for the ultimate spatula to perfect his burger flipping technique at the Krusty Krab, or just hanging out with his best friend Patrick (an amiable starfish), SpongeBob's good intentions and overzealous approach to life usually create chaos in his underwater world.

Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope Part IV in a George Lucas epic, Star Wars: A New Hope opens with a rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker, as he and his newly met allies (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a rebel leader, Princess Leia, from the clutches of the Empire. The conclusion is culminated as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles make an attack on the Empires most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star.

Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Fleeing the evil Galactic Empire, the rebels abandon their new base on Hoth. Princess Leia, Han Solo and the droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 escape in the damaged Millenium Falcon, but are later captured by Lord Darth Vader on Bespin. Skywalker, meanwhile, follows Ben Kenobi's posthumous command and receives Jedi training by Yoda on Dagobah. Will Skywalker manage to rescue his friends from the dark lord?

Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Darth Vader and the Empire are building a new, indestructible Death Star. Meanwhile, Han Solo has been imprisoned, and Luke Skywalker has sent R2D2 and C3PO to try and free him. Princess Leia - disguised as a bounty hunter - and Chewbacca go along as well. The final battle takes place on the moon of Endor, with its natural inhabitants, the Ewoks, lending a hand to the rebels. Will Darth Vader and the dark side overcome the rebels and take over the universe ?

Stella - Season One Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain play unemployed roommates in the offbeat comedy series they created for Comedy Central. The show plays like a surreal sitcom that sends them in and out of oddball skits with the flick of a comment. Guest stars include Josh Charles, Janeane Garofalo, Topher Grace, Tim Blake Nelson, Ed Norton, Sam Rockwell, Alan Ruck, and Paul Rudd. Details: Color, 215 mins, Comedy Central/Paramount, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 10 episodes on 2 discs. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Taps: 25th Anniversary Special Edition An announcement that the venerable Bunker Hill Military Academy, a 141 year old institute, is to be torn down and replaced with condos sets off the young cadets led by their stodgy commander (George C. Scott). Under the command of a student cadet major (Timothy Hutton), the cadets seize the campus, refuse entry of the construction crews and ultimately confront the real military.

Teen Titans - The Complete Second Season Season two of the animated series about the teen superhero team led by Robin and featuring Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and new team member Terra. Part of the "DC Comics Kids Collection" superhero series featured on the Cartoon Network. Details: Color, Warner, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: 13 episodes on 2 discs; "Catching Up with… Teen Titans" featurette. Optional subtitles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 4 This show tells the adventures of four turtles who were transformed into humanoids by a strange ooze and were trained as ninja by a human martial arts master, Hamato Yoshi, who was changed into a humanoid rat, Splinter, by the same substance. Together with the intrepid reporter, April O'Neil, they fight against the threats against the world, like Shredder and Krang.

Too Hot Not to Handle Documentary on the effects of global warming in the United States, originally made for HBO. Details: Color, 54 mins, HBO, Academy Ratio. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Traffic (HD DVD) A modern day look at America's war on drugs told through four separate stories that are connected in one way or another. A conservative politician who's just been appointed as the US drug czar learns that his daughter is a drug addict. A trophy wife struggles to save her husband's drug business, while two DEA agents protect a witness with inside knowledge of the spouse's business. In Mexico, a corrupt, yet dedicated cop struggles with his conscience when he learns that his new boss may not be the anti-drug official he made himself out to be.

Twitches Tia and Tamera Mowry star as "twin witches" who use their newfound magical powers to fight the evil force of Darkness in the Disney Channel Original Movie. Stuart Gillard directs. Details: Color, 86 mins, Disney, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: Alternate ending; The Magic Behind Coventry: Inside look with Tia and Tamera; Twitches' Crystal Ball Predictions. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional subtitles.

The Whore's Son (Austria) A 16-year-old boy (Stanislav Lisnic) discovers the secret of his mother's "working" nights -- and the reason everyone swears at him on the street -- in the debut feature film from director Michael Sturminger. Chulpan Khamatova, Ina Gogalova, and Miki Manojlovic co-star. Details: Color, 86 mins, Picture This!, widescreen. Audio: German (Dolby Digital 5.1) and German (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

The Wild Kiefer Sutherland provides the pleasantly rumbling voice of zoo lion Samson, who heads to Africa with a merry menagerie of critters to rescue his cub in this computer animated adventure. Resemblances to Madagascar are coincidental but no less obvious, but this gets downright weird when Samson's merry menagerie land on a volcanic island where a wildebeest cult is staging an evolutionary coup to transform from prey to predator. Other voice actors include Jim Belushi, Greg Cipes, Janeane Garofalo, and Eddie Izzard, who steals the show by quipping a hilarious barrage of ad-libs. Details: Color, 82 mins, Disney, Widescreen anamorphic, 1.78:1. Supplements: Deleted scenes; Blunders & bloopers: Eddie Izzard unleashed; Everlife music video: "Real Wild Child". Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0). Commentary by Film's creators (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional subtitles.

Wildboyz - Complete Seasons 3 & 4 Uncensored Jackass stars Chris Pontius and Steve-O are back in their spin-off series, where they travel the globe to try their risky stunts and asinine antics in colorful cultures and wildlife settings with dangerous animals. Created for MTV by Jeff Tremaine and Dimitry Elyashkavich, who helped create the original Jackass. Details: Color, 350 mins, Paramount, Academy Ratio. Supplements: 16 episodes on 3 discs; Commentary by Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Johnny Knoxville, and others; Outtakes; Bonus segments; Top 10 Widlboyz moments; Still gallery. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

Monday, September 04, 2006

DVD Tuesday: Lost S2, United 93, Old School Doctor Who & More! - Xoanon @ 14:54 PST
The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 Who's on first? You'll be on Cloud 9 with this rare and riotous collection honoring the 100th birthday of Lou Costello and featuring the landmark Abbott & Costello Show that Jerry Seinfeld calls the inspiration for his own hit series! This remarkable 5-disc collection contains all 26 episodes of the first season (1952-1953), complete and unedited, digitally remastered and looking better than ever. In addition to Bud and Lou, there's the unforgettable supporting cast: Sid Fields, Hillary Brooke, Joe "Stinky" Besser and Gordon "Mike the Cop" Jones. PLUS: Never-before-seen home movies of Lou Costello and his family from the 1940s and '50s - many in full color with sound! (Even Bud manages to make a few "guest appearances.") And, for the first time anywhere, the recently restored short 10,000 Kids and a Cop made in 1948, featuring Bud and Lou, as well as Jimmy Stewart and William Bendix. To round things out, Lou's daughters, Paddy and Chris, share warm and wonderful anecdotes about their father in exclusive interviews. A treasure for Abbott & Costello fans everywhere! The Drugstore The Dentist Office Jail The Vacation The Birthday Party Alaska The Vacuum Cleaner Salesman The Army Story Pots & Pans The Charity Bazaar The Western Story The Haunted House Peace & Quiet Hungry The Music Lovers The Politician The Wrestling Match Getting a Job Bingo Hillary's Birthday Television Las Vegas Little Old Lady The Actors' Home Police Rookies Safari

Ace Ventura: Deluxe Double Feature Jim Carrey scored his first hit in the goofball comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) and was quickly signed up for a sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), before his career went through the roof. This 3-disc box set features both films (including the first widescreen DVD release of Pet Detective) and a bonus disc with 3 episodes of Ace Ventura: The Animated Series. Details: Color, Warner, Widescreen anamorphic, Academy Ratio, 1.85:1. Supplements: Includes; Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in widescreen for the first time; Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls; Selected cartoons from Ace Ventura: The Animated Series; Commentary by director Tom Shadyac on Ace Ventura: Pet Detective; New digital transfers; Theatrical trailers and TV spots. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Optional Spanish, French and English subtitles.

All the King's Men(1949) Just in time for the Sean Penn remake is a re-release of Robert Rossen's Oscar winning drama, based on Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and inspired by real life Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Broderick Crawford (who also won an Oscar for this portrayal) brings blustery charm and oversized performance to charismatic populist politician Willie Stark who turns his back on ideals when he discovers the real currency of political power. Mercedes McCambridge took home an Oscar in her film debut as the cool mistress come calculating assistant and John Ireland as the newsman turned political flack turn this film into an American classic. Details: Black and White, 110 mins, Sony Pictures, Academy Ratio, 1.33:1. Supplements: Sneak peek of the new theatrical film of All the King's Men, including interviews with James Gandolfini, Jude Law, and Anthony Hopkins; Theatrical trailer. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional English subtitles.

Almost Strangers (2001) BAFTA award-winning British mini-series from writer/director Stephen Poliakoff (who won an Emmy for his telefilm The Lost Prince), starring Matthew Macfadyen as a member of powerful family who gets seduced by the glamour of their world at a family reunion. Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Claire Skinner, Toby Stephens, and Timothy Spall co-star. 2 discs. Details: Color, 237 mins, BBC/Warner, Widescreen anamorphic. Supplements: Commentary by writer/director Stephen Poliakoff, producer John Chapman, and composer Adrian Johnston; Interviews with Stephen Poliakoff and the cast; Photo montage. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0). Optional English subtitles.

Angry Harvest In the winter of 1942-43, a Jewish family leaps from a train going through Silesia. They are separated in the woods, and Leon, a local peasant who's now a farmer of some wealth, discovers the woman, Rosa, and hides her in his cellar. Leon's a middle-aged Catholic bachelor, tormented by his sexual drive. He doesn't tell Rosa he's seen signs her husband is alive, and he begs her to love him. Rosa offers herself to L