28th January 2005

My thanks again to Al Samujh for sending provisional sleeve images for the other two forthcoming DD Video Hammer titles. Here are Spaceways and Stolen Face.

Paramount will release the sixth season of Star Trek - Voyager on the 7th of March. The seven-disc set will feature all twenty-six episodes of the show's penultimate series, re-mastered with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The bonus features are spearheaded by a retrospective look at the season, Braving The Unknown, along with interviews with Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Roxann Dawson, Kate Mulgrew, Marina Sirtis and regular guest star Vaughn Armstrong. Other bonus features include the Voyager Time Capsule: Chakotay and Red Alert - Amazing Special Effects.

Paramount have also confirmed the release dates for the first four seasons of Star Trek - Enterprise:

Season 1 - 2nd May

Season 2 - 11th July

Season 3 - 5th September

Season 4 - 31st October

MIA will release Shaolin vs Evil Dead on March the 21st.

The film, which stars Kill Bill's Gordon Lui, will have an anamorphic transfer, and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Bonus features will include The Making of Shaolin vs Evil Dead featurette and a production stills gallery. Note to PR company: "scene selection" and "fully interactive moving menus" are no longer classed as "Special Features". Give it up, dudes.

27th January 2005

Congratulations to Roobarb's DVD Forum member Ed Parsons for spotting that Play.com have added the 1967 Peter Cook / Dudley Moore comedy Bedazzled to their listings. This is one of the most eagerly-awaited DVD catalogue releases, confirmed by its win in the Roobarb's DVD Forum 2004 Awards poll as Most Anticipated Unannounced DVD - Film.

The label concerned is Second Sight, perhaps best known to Zeta Minor visitors for releases like Children of the Stones, Chocky and The Tripods. Contrary to the listing on Play.com, the film in fact will be released much earlier than November - May is the current target date. Bonus materials for the disc are being assembled, including a five-minute Movietone set report, which features Dudley interviewing Cook in character as the Devil. The disc should also feature interviews with John Fortune and Barry Humphries. Second Sight has approached director Stanley Donen, but he has been "unenthusiastic".

The provisional sleeve artwork is shown, above. More information as we receive it...

My thanks to Al Samujh for sending us the provisional sleeve artwork for two upcoming DD Video Hammer releases, for the car-racing drama Mask of Dust, and their early science-fiction movie Four Sided Triangle. These will be joined by two further Hammer titles, Stolen Face and Spaceways. Bonus features for the discs haven't been finalised yet - or officially announced - but it seems that the studio's short film Copenhagen will not be among them. The current plan is to pair Stolen Face with 1957 medical drama Danger List (which features The Avengers' Honor Blackman), Spaceways with the 1959 science documentary Operation Universe, Four Sided Triangle with the 1955 wartime resistance drama The Right Person and Early Hammer photo' galleries, and Mask of Dust with various Goodwood newsreels. Each title will come with one of the company's terrific collector's booklets. 

Finally, here's the sleeve artwork for the three Law & Order DVD titles that were announced here on January the 18th.

26th January 2005

Buena Vista will release the Brad Bird's Oscar-nominated Disney / Pixar movie The Incredibles on March the 18th. The two-disc Collector's Edition set will feature a never-before-seen short film Jack-Jack Attack, which reveals young Jack's previously- unknown super powers, and reveals what happened while he was left with the babysitter.

The disc will also feature an alternate opening; deleted scenes introduced by the filmmakers; behind-the-scenes featurettes; Incredi-blunders bloopers and outtakes; Pixar's sheep-shearin' short Boundin', and a featurette in its creator, Who Is Bud Luckey?; files on all the superheroes; fully-animated character interviews; a commentary track; and a "lost" cartoon featuring Mr Incredible, Frozone and their rabbit sidekick Mr Skiperoo, Mr Incredible and Pals (with in-character optional commentary).

The film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen format (2.39:1) (the set will also include a reframed 1.33:1 version). No details about the disc's audio presentation were revealed.

25th January 2005

Sorry, no new reviews today... and not much news, either.

Optimum are releasing two catalogue titles on March the 14th: Russell Mulcahy's 1993 caper movie The Real McCoy and Michael Chapman's The Clan of the Cave Bear.  Sad to report, though, that both these films are 4:3 transfers. This is particularly irksome in the case of The Clan of the Cave Bear, which should be in 2.35:1 ratio. The Real McCoy looks like it's been transferred recently, but Clan, a difficult film to capture, I'd have thought, looks pretty grim. Even well-lit scenes look mis-registered. The film's subtitles are burnt in to the print, and look like they were laser-etched into the film at the time of its theatrical release. Happily, both films are available in their correct aspect ratio in the US. RRP for the UK discs is £9.99 each.

Shane Meadows' BAFTA-nominated slasher movie Dead Man's Shoes will be released on DVD by Optimum on March the 21st. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen format, with a choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 audio tracks (at 448kbps and 256kbps respectively). Bonus features include a commentary track (by Meadows, star Paddy Considine and producer Mark Herbert); deleted scenes and extended takes, including an alternate ending (26m); a music video (What U Sitting on (Remix) by Danger Mouse and Jemini, 3m); Graphic novel animation (2m); In Shane's Shoes documentary (24m); a short film by Meadows, Northern Soul (26m); a theatrical trailer (2m) and an Easter Egg (click and drag to reveal: outtakes from the commentary, 9m). The disc also includes trailers for Switchblade Romance, Shaolin Soccer, 9 Songs and The Street Fighter Box Set. All-in-all a very nice package! RRP for the disc is £19.99.

Buena Vista has announced two further titles to add to their Walt Disney Treasures collection: Chronological Donald and Mickey In Living Colour 2. These will be released on April the 4th. As before, the two-disc sets will be packaged in limited-edition tin packaging. Chronological Donald features seven Donald Duck films from between 1934 and 1948, and a further six from the 40s. Mickey In Living Colour 2 features sixteen cartoons dating back to the 30s, including Tugboat Mickey and  The Nifty Nineties. Both sets feature introductions by Leonard Maltin.

The Mickey set will include the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment from Fantasia, Mickey's first venture into feature films. There's also a look at Mickey's career with two of the actors to give voice to the character recently, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor.

The bonus features on the Chronological Donald set will include storyboards, a background art gallery, and a featurette about the man who gave Donald his distinctive rasp, Clarence Nash.

Buena Vista will release the rather charming Anne Hathaway fairy tale story Ella Enchanted on April the 18th. The Miramax film - talking books, ogres, magic charms, you know the sort of thing, but with a Shrek-like post-modern twist  - is supported by a full package of bonus materials, including deleted scenes; a commentary track; Prince Charmont's Fan Club game; Red Carpet Premiere Special; The Magical World of Ella Enchanted featurette; a DVD-Rom featyre titled Happily Ever After - Create Your Own; and a music video (presumably Kari Kimmel's It's Not Just Make-Believe, as on the R1 disc).

24th January 2005