3rd November 2004

DD Video has formerly announced two additions to it's ever-growing library of British horror movies: Tigon's The Blood Beast Terror and Planet Films' Island of Terror (both of which star Peter Cushing).

Both films have been "digitally-restored", and will include twenty-four page booklets featuring rare stills and notes by film historian Marcus Hearn.

The Blood Beast Terror (which has been mastered from a print with its alternate title, The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood), will feature an especially-filmed interview with actress Wanda Ventham (covering her appearances in Doctor Who (Image of the Fendahl) and UFO, as well as The Blood Beast Terror).

Island of Terror will feature an interview with Christopher Lee, in which he pays tribute to the director, Hammer veteran Terence Fisher.

Both films are due on January the 17th, and have an RRP of £15.99. Here's the sleeve art...

Tartan has announced some details of their January releases, which are spearheaded by their Wong Kar-Wai Collection, which coincides with the theatrical release of 2046.

The Collection will comprise of three discs: Kar-Wai's 1988 remake of Scorsese's Mean Streets, As Tears Go By; the 60s drama Days of Being Wild; and Jeff Lau's frantic 1990 martial arts comedy Chinese Odyssey, which was produced by Kar-Wai.

Bonus features and technical specifications are TBC. The release date is January 24th, the RRP for each disc is £19.99. 2046 will be released on DVD in the Summer.

The Wong Kar-Wai-inspired 16 Years of Alcohol, which marks the directorial debut of former The Skids member-turned-TV presenter Richard Jobson, will also be released by Tartan on January 24th. The disc will feature a commentary track by Jobson, and a Making of... documentary. The film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen format, with a choice of Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 tracks. The RRP is £19.99.

Tartan have changed the release date of two forthcoming titles: Super Size Me and Internal Affairs II will now both be released on January the 10th.

Full details of Channel 4 Video's DVD release of the Golden Rose award-winning and BAFTA-nominated camcorder point-of-view sitcom Peep Show are now available.

The disc will feature all six episodes of the first series, which is about two ill-matched flatmates, Jeremy and Mark. Two of the episodes (episodes one and six) feature commentary tracks by David Mitchell, Robert Webb and writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong.

The disc also features six especially-shot scenes, three featuring Jeremy (Jeremy's [Big Brother] Audition Tape (3m); Jeremy's Last Will & Testament (3m); Outrageous a.k.a. Celsius 488 1/3 (a 3m music video)), and three featuring Mark (Mark's CV (3m); Scorpion Patrol: Real Life Behind Enemy Lines - Part 1 and Part 2 (in which Mark persuades Jeremy and the object of his affection, Sophie, to read extracts from his novel, total 8m).

The disc will be released on November the 15th, with an RRP of £19.99. Menu screens from the disc are available here. You can see a trailer for the series here.

Beuna Vista will release M. Knight Shyamalan's ponderous thriller The Village on DVD on January the 31st.

The film is about an small Amish-like community, cut off from the rest of the world, who live in a valley surrounded by woods inhabited by monsters.

The film features a very impressive debut performance from Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of director Ron Howard), in a role that looks likely to guarantee her an Oscar nomination. The film also stars Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix, and Oscar winners Adrien Brody and William Hurt. The film also features Sigourney Weaver and 28 Days Later's Brendan Gleeson as village elders.

The disc will feature a series of featurettes collectively known as Deconstructing The Village: Real Estate: The Release of The Village (3:30); Secret Passage: The Ending of The Village (5:30); Landscaping: Mixing, Sound Design, Music and Editing for The Village (11:00); Brick by Brick: The making of The Village (24:00); Cornerstones: Writing The Village (6:30); Foundation: The Cast of The Village (10:30). Other bonus features include deleted scenes introduced by M. Night Shyamalan (Drill, August's Story, Pre-Wedding, and Pipes, total: 11m); one of Night's home movies, and a Production Photo Gallery. The disc will have closed captions, but no other technical details were released.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release Garry Marshall's  romantic comedy Raising Helen on December the 27th.

The film stars Kate Hudson as Helen Hudson, a high-flying model agent who is forced to adopt her sister's three children after their parents are killed in a car accident.

Joan Cusack plays Helen's matronly sister, and John Corbett supplies Kate Hudson's love interest, in the unlikely form of a pastor.

The disc will feature one of Marshall's notoriously dull commentary tracks, a blooper reel, deleted scenes and a music video. The film has closed captions, but no other technical details were released.

Universal will release Frank Oz's recent remake of The Stepford Wives, which stars Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick, on November the 29th.

The disc will feature a commentary track by director Frank Oz; A Perfect World - The Making of The Stepford Wives featurette (20m); Stepford - A Definition (4m); Stepford - The Architects (6m); The Stepford Wives (10m); The Stepford Husbands (8m); Deleted and Extended Scenes (Square Dance, Husbands on Driveway, Bobbie's Kitchen, Lab Sequence, Herb on Pole, Claire's Electrocution - total 10m); a Gag Reel (5m); and the Teaser and Theatrical trailers. The film, the commentary and the bonus materials all have English subtitles.

The film is presented in 1.80:1 anamorphic widescreen format, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (at 448kbps). RRP for the disc is £17.99. You can see some menu screens from the disc here.