Get Smart [Blu-ray]
Warner Home Video / 2008 / 110 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: November 04, 2008
Genres: Comedy, action
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway
Director: Peter Segal
Disc Features:
- Comedy Optimization Mode (HD)
- Featurette: "The Right Agent for the Right Job: Behind-the-Scenes Training" (SD, 11 minutes)
- Featurette: "Max in Moscow" (SD, 6 minutes)
- Featurette: "Language Lessons: Spotlight on Linguistics" (SD, 4 minutes) -
- Gag Reels (SD, 8 minutes) - Two blooper reels, "The Vomit Reel" and "Spy Confidential."
- Sneak Peek (SD, 9 minutes)
- Digital Copy (SD)
Trans-Siberian [Blu-ray]
First Look Studios / 2007 / 111 Minutes / Rated R
Street Date: November 04, 2008
Genres: Thriller
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Kate Mara
Director: Brad Anderson
Plot Synopsis: A Trans-Siberian train journey from China to Moscow becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers.
A Christmas Story [Blu-ray]
Warner Home Video / 1983 / 93 Minutes / Rated PG
Street Date: November 04, 2008
Genres: Comedy, family
Starring: Yano Anaya, Peter Billingsley, Les Carlson
Disc Features:
- Audio Commentary - The late director Bob Clark and star Peter Billingsley contribute a screen-specific audio commentary that's pretty good.
- Featurette: "Another Christmas Story" (SD, 29 minutes)
- Additional Featurettes (SD, 18 minutes)
- Script Pages
- Theatrical Trailer
Amazon.com Exclusive: Caligula [Blu-ray]
Image Entertainment / 1980 / Rated X
Street Date: November 04, 2008
Genres: Periodic drama
Starring: Adriana Asti, Paolo Bonacelli, Mirella D'Angelo
Plot Synopsis: Remember the dumbstruck, jaw-dropped expressions on "Springtime for Hitler's" shocked opening-night audience in Mel Brooks's original film of The Producers? That will no doubt be your face through much of the two-and-a-half-hour running time of this infamous 1979 pornographic epic that was a (Penthouse) pet project of publisher Bob Guccione. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But don't take our word for it. Listen to Helen Mirren--yes, the Oscar-winning Queen herself--who stars as Caesonia, Caligula's third wife and "the most promiscuous woman in Rome" (and in this film's salacious vision of Pagan Rome, that is saying something). In her very gracious, thoughtful and candid audio commentary that alone is worth the price of this set, she remarks, "I think it's a movie that is unlike any other, which is difficult to achieve." And for those of a more prurient bent, she adds, "It has an awful lot of bottoms." Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) gives a brave and fearless performance as Caligula, the hated and feared emperor corrupted by absolute power and no doubt voted Most Likely to Be Assassinated. The film unflinchingly charts his plummet into madness and the brutality of his reign in scenes of hardcore sex and violence that cannot be described here ("I can't watch," Mirren cries to her interviewers over one scene in which unfortunate characters are beheaded by a blade-spinning combine. "I can't even listen to it"). Caligula is also a career curiosity for author Gore Vidal, who wrote the original screenplay, but later demanded his name be removed from the credits, and venerable actors Peter O'Toole, appearing briefly as the syphilitic Emperor Tiberius Caesar, and John Gielgud as Nerva, a Senator who'd rather take his own life than "live with this reptile." This controversial film's tortured history is untangled in a very helpful booklet that is packaged along with this set's three discs. One is hard-pressed to think of a more reviled film graced with such a gala presentation, but Caligula's defenders and the curious will be amply rewarded with both the original uncut theatrical version of the film and a re-edited alternate version. Supplementary material includes an hour of deleted footage, a pretentious "making of" documentary made during the film's production and a new interview with director Tinto Brass, whose softcore tendencies clashed with Guccioni's more extreme vision (Brass did not have final cut, allowing Guccione to insert more explicit footage into the film). McDowell contributes his own lively audio commentary. "God help us," he groans as the film begins, but by its bloody conclusion, he proclaims he has "no regrets at all" about making the film. Caligula, Mirren maintains, is "an irresistible mix of art and genitals." And you've got to hand it to Guccione. Especially in these politically correct times, it is still strong and scandalous stuff.
Planet of the Apes 40th Anniversary Collection [Blu-ray]
Fox Home Entertainment / 1968 / Unrated
Street Date: November 04, 2008
Genres: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Starring: Charleton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter
Directors: Don Taylor, J. Lee Cobb
Disc Features:
• Audio Commentary by Composer Jerry Goldsmith
• Audio Commentary by Actors Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy, Kim Hunter and Makeup
Artist John Chambers
• Text Commentary by Eric Greene and Author of "Planet of the Apes as American Myth"
• Documentary: "Behind the Planet of the Apes"
• Behind the Planet of the Apes Promo (1988)
• Planet of the Apes Makeup Test with Edward G. Robinson (1966)
• Roddy McDowall On-set Footage
• Planet of the Apes Dailies and Outtakes (No Audio)
• Planet of the Apes NATO Presentation (1967)
• Featurettes: "Planet of the Apes Vintage Featurette," "A Look Behind the Planet of the Apes (1972)," "Don Taylor Directs Escape from the Planet of the Apes," "J. Lee Thompson Directs Conquest of the Planet of the Apes"
• Six Original Theatrical Trailers
• Original Sketches by Costume Designer Morton Haack
• Still Galleries: "Photo Gallery," "Planet of the Apes Timeline," "Interactive Pressbooks," "Vintage Apes Newspaper Galleries," "Advertising and Lobby Card Galleries," "Behind-the-Scenes Galleries"
HD Exclusive Content:
• "Science of the Apes" picture-in-picture (Bonus View)
• Interactive Game: "Beyond the Forbidden Zone Adventure Game" (BD-Java)
• "A Public Service Announcement From ANSA"
• Featurettes: "Evolution of the Apes," "Impact of the Apes," "The Secret Behind Escape," "Riots
and Revolutions: Confronting the Times," "End of an Epic: The Final Battle"
• Isolated score track in 5.1 DTS Master Audio for each 'Apes' sequel
Planet of the Apes (40th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]
Fox Home Entertainment / 1968 / Unrated
Street Date: November 04, 2008
Genres: Sci-fi, action, adventure
Starring:Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall
Director: Franklin J.Schaffner
Plot Synopsis: Many early science fiction films are now, quite inadvertently (and in most cases undeservedly), objects of camp attention: we laugh at the silly makeup, tin-can special effects, and the naive "high-tech" dialogue. Planet of the Apes is no such film. Its intelligent script, frightening costuming, and savagely effective conclusion (which needs no big-budget special effects to augment its impact) remain both potent and relevant. When Colonel George Taylor (the fabulous Charlton Heston) crash lands his spacecraft on what seems to be an unfamiliar planet, he is captured and held prisoner by a dominant race of hyperrational, articulate apes. However, the ape community is riven with internal dissention, centered in no small part on its policy toward humans, who, on this planet, are treated as mindless animals. Befriended and ultimately assisted by the more liberal simians, Taylor escapes--only to find a more terrifying obstacle confronting his return home. Heavy-handed object lessons abound--the ubiquity of generational warfare, the inflexibility of dogma, the cruelty of prejudice--and the didactic fingerprints of Rod Serling are very much in evidence here. But director Franklin Schaffner has a dark, pop-apocalyptic sci-fi vision all his own, and time has not dulled the monumental emotional impact of the film's climactic payoff shot. If you don't know what I'm talking about here, you owe it to yourself to check out this stone classic, and even if you do, see it with fresh eyes; and don't be surprised if you get the chills all over again... and again... and again.
Monster's Ball [Blu-ray]
Lionsgate / 2001 / 113 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: November 4, 2008
Overall Grade
Genres: Drama
Starring:Halle Berry, Sean Combs, Billy Bob Thornton
Director: Marc Forster
Plot Synopsis: ’Monster’s Ball’ tells the story of a trio of men in a racially charged South: a racist correctional officer named Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), his son and co-worker, Sonny (Ledger), and his father, Buck (Peter Boyle). When a family tragedy forces Hank to question his effectiveness as a father, his purpose in life, and the influence of his elderly father over the years, he finds a kindred spirit in a single mother named Leticia (Berry) who has experienced a terrible tragedy of her own. The two bond despite Hank’s prejudice and their relationship quickly escalates as sex and love begin to intermingle. As he grows closer to Leticia, Hank must contend with his father’s disapproval, overcome his own doubts, and come to terms with the man he has become.
Disc Features:
- Audio Commentary Director Marc Forster and screenwriters Milo Addica and Will Rokos sat down before the release of the 2003 Signature Series DVD release for a thoughtful discussion about the genesis of the project, the story, casting, the production, and, ultimately, the film’s reception by the public.
- Behind the Scenes (SD, 18 minutes) -- More an extended interview with producer Lee Daniels than a production featurette, this extra allows its candid subject to detail the history of ‘Monster’s Ball,’ the studio’s reaction to the material, and the obstacles the filmmakers had to overcome to accomplish everything they set out to.
- Interviews (SD, 20 minutes)
- Music for the Film (SD, 8 minutes) -- A suitably interesting featurette about the film’s score ported from the 2002 DVD.
- Deleted Scenes (SD, 4 minutes)
- On the Set (SD, 4 minutes) -- More a series of performance gaffes and asides, this short featurette plays like a production diary
- Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2 minutes)
Almost Famous [Extended Edition] [Blu-ray] [2000]
Dreamworks / 2000 / 162 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: November 4, 2008
Genres: Drama
Starring: Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Fugit
Director: Cameron Crowe
Plot Synopsis: Writer-director Cameron Crowe brings the 1970s music scene to life with his semi-autobiographical story of a teen journalist who goes on the road with a rock band. Uncool 15-year-old William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is living every teenager's dream. He's touring with Stillwater, an up-and-coming rock band featuring lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) and charismatic lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and writing about it for Rolling Stone magazine, whose editors are unaware of his young age. Though Miller's mentor, legendary rock critic Lester Bangs--portrayed with humour and heart by Philip Seymour Hoffman--cautions him not to befriend the musicians, Miller takes it a step further and befriends both the band and the Band-Aids--the girls who hang around with the band because they love the music. Newcomer Fugit is the perfect William Miller: baby-faced, slightly gawky, and an awestruck observer. Kate Hudson sparkles as Penny Lane, the leader of the Band-Aids, and Frances McDormand delivers a stellar performance as Elaine, Miller's protective and mildly paranoid mother. In the tradition of Say Anything and Jerry Maguire, Crowe's coming-of-age tale is intelligent, well written, and infused with humour in unlikely places.
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