The suits at Paramount have always looked down their noses at their moneymaking slasher series. There must've been cigars all around when they sold the rotting franchise off to New Line. Well, now that Ronny Yu has hit a home run with FREDDY VS. JASON (and do I need to tell you who walked away from that scuffle?), and a region 2 uncut special edition DVD of part one has been well received, they may be seeing some potential in the eight F13 titles still in their possession. Our source inside Paramount Home Video (gotta admit, they've taken some strides lately to erase their reputation for only caring about their STAR TREK releases) let it slip that we should pay close attention for an announcement of some kind to coincide with the special screening of FRIDAY THE 13th on September 19 at Maniafest. Personally, I don't care one way or the other whether or not FRIDAY THE 13th: PART 5 is a part of my video library, but to have it as part of an unrated special edition box set? Sweet! Meanwhile, time is ticking down on the deadline for entries in the Voorhees 13-minute homage contest (http://www.maniafest.com/entryfriday.html). Now, wouldn't the winners of said contest make terrific DVD extras on such a SE box set? Double sweeet!
SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Oh good lord, [IMG2R]but MGM has staged a major assault this week to become THE DVD House of Horror, with a full 27 (!) horror features coming out today! Plus, several of cult writer/director Larry Cohen's features arrive in special editions today! But in order to keep from turning the column inside out, we've allowed the following worthy release to edge out those worthy releases:
(O) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (New Line) Peter Jackson didn't let us down with the middle film of his Middle Earth Trilogy, following a tough act with the FELLOWSHIP, and neither does this 2-disc DVD. And as with that DVD release, there will be a "precious" 4-disc extended cut special edition available in November that will be even more lavish (but no word on any repeat of last year's trade-up deal). The extras: 8 behind-the-scenes featurettes, preview of RETURN OF THE KING, "The Long and Short of It" (a short film by actor Sean Astin, with its own making-of featurette), music video, and video game preview. Widescreen and fullscreen editions available.
NEW RELEASES
(O) AIR MARSHAL (Lions Gate) It's DIE HARD on a plane when terrorists hijack an airliner with a U.S. Air Marshal aboard.
(O) AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON (Universal) John Landis and friends revisit KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE territory in this 1986 comedy. With deleted footage, outtakes, [IMG3R]and trailer.
(O) ANDROMEDA: Season 2 - Volumes 7 & 8 (ADV Films) Episodes 215-218. Includes interviews, bloopers and commentraks.
(O) ANIMAL HOUSE (Universal) It looks like John Landis Week at Universal Home Video. "Double Secret Probation Edition" with new extra features. In fullscreen and widescreen editions.
(O) BEASTMASTER: Complete Season 1 Collection (ADV Films) All 22 furry episodes.
(O) BEST OF RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT! (Columbia TriStar) Dean Cain and Kelly Packard can't hope to match Jack Palance and daughter Holly as hosts on this revival of the mondo documentary series.
(O) BINGE & PURGE (Sub Rosa) Dark gore comedy which reveals the secret diet of supermodels. Director's commentary track, deleted scenes, outtakes, featurettes, gallery, trailers.
(O) THE BLUES BROTHERS Collector's Edition (Universal) One of the best musical comedies ever made, restored with extra footage unseen since its 1980 preview screening, along with making-of, gallery, and trailer.
(O) BONE (Blue Underground) Cult fave Larry Cohen (PHONE BOOTH) wrote and directed this 1972 black comedy about a black home invader (Yaphet Kotto) in a Beverly Hills house a plot borrowed frequently by studio productions ever since. Includes director's commentrak, scenes from the aborted first shoot, [IMG4R]and more.
(O) BRONX EXECUTIONER (Westlake) Another 1980s Italian ROAD WARRIOR knock-off.
(O) THE BROOD (MGM) Creepy 1979 David Cronenberg movie about an experiment in "psychoplasmics" in which a woman (Samantha Eggars) gives "birth" to her negative emotions and they do all the bad things mommy can't.
(O) BRUCE LEE: IMMORTAL DRAGON (Catcom) One hour documentary.
(O) BURNT OFFERINGS (MGM) 1976 haunted house movie, includes commentrak with director Dan Curtis, co-writer William F. Nolan and star Karen Black.
(O) CHINA STRIKE FORCE (Buena Vista) One of Hong Kong's increasingly international action films, this one was directed by Stanley Tong (RUMBLE IN THE BRONX) and stars Aaron Kwok (STORM RIDERS) as a tough undercover cop, with Mark Dacascos (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) and Coolio (DEAR GOD).
(O) CHRISTMAS EVIL / SILENT NIGHT BLOODY NIGHT (Catcom) Bargain bin double feature sure to keep you awake waiting for Santa.
(O) A COMEDY OF TERRORS / THE RAVEN (MGM) Roger Corman '60s horror comedy double feature starring Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, with 3 featurettes.
(O) THE COP IN BLUE JEANS (Westlake) Violent Italian action comedy starring Tomas Milian.
(O) COUNTESS DRACULA / THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (MGM) Hammer sexy vampire double feature! Director and writer commentraks on both features with star Ingrid Pitt.
(O) DARK DAYS (Lions Gate) A community of underground dwellers deep beneath a city no, it's not C.H.U.D., but a documentary on "homeless" people living in tunnels.
(O) DARK SHADOWS: Collection 7 (MPI) The '60s supernatural soap opera continues. Has Dr. Lange cured Barnabas' vampirism? Includes bonus interviews.
(O) DEAN MARTIN & JERRY LEWIS COLLECTION (Passport) Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, one of the 20th century's top comedy teams, in their first starring vehicle AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (available separately), plus 7 episodes from THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR and the documentary [IMG5R]DEAN & JERRY AT THE MOVIES.
(O) DESPERADO / EL MARIACHI (Columbia TriStar) Roberto Rodriguez' early works, available again together or separately on special edition DVDs.
(O) THE DEVIL COMMANDS (Columbia TriStar) Unavailable for many years, this under appreciated Boris Karloff chiller finally comes to home video.
(O) EDUCATIONAL ARCHIVES: Patriotism (Fantoma) and...
(O) EDUCATIONAL ARCHIVES: Religion (Fantoma) Continuing this great series of collected ephemeral/educational films, including bonus film strips on each volume.
(O) AN EVENING WITH EDGAR ALLAN POE / THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (MGM) Poe times two with Vincent Price. Commentrak on TOMB with director Roger Corman and star Elizabeth Shepherd.
(O) THE FALL OF THE LOUSE OF USHER (Image) Recent Poe spoof from the twisted mind of Ken Russell (ALTERED STATES).
(O) FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY (Fox) Musical comedy and tons of extras for pre-teen girls and those that like to pretend they're pre-teen girls. Available in fullscreen and [IMG6R]widescreen editions.
(O) THE GHOUL (MGM) Boris Karloff returned to England in 1933 to film this creepy movie inspired by his hit THE MUMMY, with Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Richardson and Ernest Thesiger.
(O) GHOULIES / GHOULIES 2 (MGM) Rubbery '80s GREMLINS knock-offs.
(O) GOD TOLD ME TO (Blue Underground) Tony LoBianco is the perplexed detective tracking a rash of mass murders in which all the killers credit God as their inspiration. A gripping, bizarre thriller from 1975, remixed in DTS, with commentrak by filmmaker Larry Cohen. Look for a young Andy Kaufman as one of the maniacs.
(O) HANDS OF BLOOD (Image) An obscure horror item from 1974 (aka STEPSISTERS and THE TEXAS HILL KILLINGS) includes a video interview with the director, a rare spook show promo, and tons of trailers.
(O) THE HAUNTED PALACE / TOWER OF LONDON (MGM) Another Roger Corman/Vincent Price double feature, with interviews.
(O) THE HAUNTING OF HELL HOUSE (New Concorde) 1999 haunted house remake.
(O) THE HAUNTING OF MORELLA (New Concorde) Nicole Eggert, Lana Clarkson and Maria Ford star in some kind of horror movie with lots of nudity, with director's commentrak and trailer.
(O) HEART OF STONE (MTI) Angie Everheart serial killer thriller.
(O) HORROR 3-PACK (MGM) Special editions of CARRIE, THE FOG [IMG7R]and THE HOWLING.
(O) THE HOWLING (MGM) Director Joe Dante (and many fans) expressed disappointment in the initial DVD release of his great 1981 werewolf film, so this new edition that includes a director & cast commentrak, deleted scenes, outtakes, and other features, as well as new widescreen and fullscreen transfers, should create a better impression all around.
(O) HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP (New Concorde) 1997 remake of the 1980 drive-in movie about fishmen eager to interbreed.
(O) I, MADMAN (MGM) Jenny Wright stars in this well-regarded 1989 horror film about a killer that escapes from a book.
(O) LEMON GROVE KIDS (Media Blasters) Exploitation filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler (THE THRILL KILLERS) has always been a fan of the Bowery Boys, and in 1965 combined 3 shorts of his own "kid gang" composed of family and friends to release as this wacky feature. Includes Steckler interview and commentrak.
(O) LEXX: Series 3 (Acorn) 13 episodes on 4 discs, with making-of, interviews, and trivia.
(O) MR. SHOW: The Complete 3rd Season (Warner Bros.) Cult classic cable comedy starring David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, includes complete commentrak, featurettes, etc.
(O) MULE SKINNER BLUES (Showtime) A trailer park resident gathers the community to shoot a horror film. With behind-the-scenes, music video and "Turnabout is Fair Play" (the short created by the cast).
(O) MULVA: ZOMBIE ASS KICKER / FILTHY McNASTY (Tempe) A chocolate-addicted girl and her buddy Bonejack kick the asses of zombies on Halloween / A horny demon turns two nerdy chicks into [IMG8R]hot babes.
(O) MUTE WITNESS (Columbia TriStar) Great thriller about a mute make-up artist who has to run for her life when she stumbles on a gang shooting snuff movies in Moscow.
(O) NEVERWHERE (A&E) 3-hour miniseries adapting Neil Gaiman's horror fantasy novel. Includes interview and commentrak with Gaiman.
(O) NIGHT OF THE SHARKS (Westlake) Treat Williams and Antonio Fargas get chummy.
(O) NOT OF THIS EARTH (New Concorde) 1988 remake of the Roger Corman alien invader classic, with Traci Lords. Includes commentrak by director Jim Wynorski.
(O) ONCE BITTEN (MGM) Jim Carrey romances vampire Lauren Hutton.
(O) POLTERGEIST 2: THE OTHER SIDE / POLTERGEIST 3 (MGM) They're hee-ere. Again.
(O) PYROKINESIS (Media Blasters) After completing the hit Gamera trilogy, Shusuke Kaneko made this wonderful offbeat thriller (aka CROSS FIRE) about a girl with fiery superhuman abilities. It's everything that FIRESTARTER should have been and more. Includes interview and commentrak with [IMG9R]the director.
(O) Q, THE WINGED SERPENT (Blue Underground) Giant monster movie, Larry Cohen style, as New York police try to track down a dragon hiding and hunting among the Manhattan skyscrapers. Includes Cohen commentrak, DTS track, and DVD-ROM features.
(O) RAW MEAT (MGM) 1972 horror feature with Donald Pleasence about cannibalistic underground dwellers. Did much better after being retitled from DEATH LINE.
(O) THE ROSWELL CRASH: STARTLING NEW EVIDENCE (Hannover House) Documentary with the latest dirt on the UFO crash and government cover-up, first seen on the Sci-Fi Channel.
(O) R.S.V.P. (Lions Gate) Clever horror feature inspired by Hitchcock's ROPE about a disturbed college grad who throws a party to make sure his friends don't scatter and forget their good times together by killing them all! Special guest star Jason Mewes! Includes commentrak, behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes and trailer.
(O) SECRET AGENT MEGASET (A&E) 13-disc set includes all 47 episodes of Patrick McGoohan's spy series, aka DANGER MAN. Includes two color episodes that were first released as a feature.
(O) SCORCHER (Buena Vista) A nuclear accident has thrown the Earth's tectonic plates into a tizzy, and only Mark Dacascos and Rutger Hauer can save the world by blowing up Los Angeles!
(O) SIX-STRING SAMURAI (Lions Gate) Re-release of this out of print martial arts/sci-fi/post-apocalyptic rock 'n' roll action flick.
(O) SLASH (First Look) A rock band finds out one of them is a psycho. Yeah, just one.
(O) SLAUGHTER HOTEL (Media Blasters) 1971 Eurohorror (aka ASYLUM EROTICA and COLD-BLOODED BEAST) about a psycho killer in a mental asylum.
(O) SPACEMAN (Lions Gate) Low budget fun about an alien abductee who returns to Earth years later. Includes commentrak, [IMG10R]deleted scenes, etc.
(O) SQUIRM (MGM) Big hungry mutant worms. Commentrak with writer/director Jeff Lieberman.
(O) STEPHEN KING GIFT SET (MGM) MISERY, CARRIE, NEEDFUL THINGS, and THE DARK HALF.
(O) TROLL / TROLL 2 (MGM) Michael Moriarity, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and plenty of guest stars are terrorizes by the rubbery little squatter in their new home.
(O) U.F.O. MEGASET (A&E) The complete Gerry Anderson sci-fi series on an 8-disc box set, includes commentrak on select episodes, outtakes and galleries.
(O) THE UNBORN 2 (New Concorde) Fertility experiment spawns monsters.
(O) WATCHERS 3 (New Concorde) Continuing adventures of a boy and his dog versus a monster.
(O) WISEGUY: Season 1 - Part 1 (StudioWorks) First of a series of box sets collecting the classic TV series, with commentraks from star Ken Wahl, interviews, and a [IMG11R]gag reel.
(O) ZERO WOMAN: Triple Shot (Media Blasters) 3-disc box set.
(O) ZOMBI 2 (Media Blasters) Otherwise known as ZOMBIE, this Lucio Fulci gore-horror classick is now available in a new edition from MB, featuring a new uncut transfer from the original negative, plenty of extras, and is also available as a special edition with a second disc full of interviews, outtake footage, and other features.
ANIME ADDITIONS
And finally, we close off each weekly list with a rundown of the constant stream of anime from around the world:
(O) AURA BATTLER DUNBINE: Heroes of Byston Well (ADV Films) Show joins the rebels. 4 episodes.
(O) BEYBLADE: Volume 4 - Topsy-Turvy (Pioneer) Includes featurettes and music video.
(O) DARK MYTH (Manga)
(O) DRAGON BALL Z: Broly The Legendary Super Saiyan (Goldhill) Edited and uncut versions.
(O) EDEN'S BOWY 3: Nowhere to Run (ADV Films) 4 episodes.
(O) eX-DRIVER Perfect Collection (Media Blasters)
(O) GUN FRONTIER #3: Nooses Wild (Media Blasters) Episodes 8-10.
(O) HAIBANE-RENMEI: New Feathers - Volume 1 (Pioneer) Episodes 1-4. Also available in collector's box.
(O) HELLO KITTY'S PARADISE Essential Collection #2 (ADV Films) Eight episodes on 2 discs.
(O) INU-YASHA: Volume 9 - Origin of the Sacred Jewel (Viz) Episodes 25-27.
(O) K.O. BEAST #2: V-Darn Strikes Back! (Right Stuf)
(O) MACROSS Box Set #1 (AnimEigo)
(O) MAHOROMATIC: Maid in Training - Volume 1 (Pioneer)
(O) MICKEY'S HOUSE OF VILLAINS (Disney/Buena Vista) All of Disney's animated villains team up to take over Mickey Mouse's mansion in this 2002 feature. Includes games, sound effects and more.
(O) MIRAGE OF BLAZE #2: Ancient Rivals (Media Blasters)
(O) NEW DOMINION TANK POLICE Collection (Manga)
(O) OH MY GODDESS! Volume 1 (AnimEigo) Includes commentrak by the U.S. dubbing crew.
(O) RUPAN III: The Fuma Conspiracy (AnimEigo) Another excellent feature in the Lupin/Rupan series.
(O) SAMURAI DEEPER KYO #2: Curse of the Tokugawa [IMG12R](Media Blasters)
(O) THE SIMPSONS: Season 3 (Fox) Anybody have any information on this obscure cartoon series?
(O) STITCH! (Disney) The Hawaiian Alf in a D2V sequel, with games and other extras.
(O) THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES 2: Volume 1 (ADV Films) 6 episodes.
(O) ZONE OF THE ENDERS: Delores - Last Things Last! (ADV Films)
And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's DVD Shopping List!
DVD Shopping List is our weekly DVD column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive new book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!
Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVDShoppingList@cinescape.com.
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