Cool trash for hot days

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A recent industry study reports that viewers who see a movie in a theater are somewhat likely to buy the same film on DVD when it's released. Well, duh. A lot of the people that go see movies like movies, so it should be no surprise that if they like a movie they might buy the DVD. However, the same study indicates that if given a choice, consumers would rather buy the DVD than see a movie in the theater. Duh, again. Would you rather spend $8-12 (or whatever) to see a movie once, or spend around $20 to have complete control of the movie and see it anytime you like? The good news is that the industry is taking this as a warning not to try releasing movies in theaters on DVD and in theaters at the same time, or else income from both sources is likely to suffer. I like both viewing experiences, so I wouldn't like for either one to disappear, but I'd advise the studios to concentrate more on eliminating problems with both experiences, which will increase profits, and less on cutting corners for a quick buck.

Here's a good deal on DVDs: FREE! We've got five copies of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Season 1 Volume 2 in our Prize Closet to give away, courtesy of Fox. To enter, send one email for each title containing your name and address to psycho@psychotronic.info, and be sure to put "BOTTOM" in the subject line.

We also have two copies of the DANGER AFTER DARK Box Set, courtesy of TLA. This set contains the J-horror hits MOON CHILD, 2LDK and the incredible SUICIDE CLUB, and to win this one make sure to put "DAD" as the subject.


SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This week, the July lull continues, as the major studios hope you'll be out at the movies or busy with other activities and not renting or buying DVDs. However, there's still some good stuff coming out. Don't miss this one:

(O) SHOGUN ASSASSIN (AnimEigo) Re-edited and dubbed 1980 US release version of LONE WOLF & CUB 2 (with about ten minutes from the first film) has charms all its own. Now given a visual upgrade by AnimEigo, who have replaced almost every shot with much better footage from the original films.

NEW RELEASES

(O) ACAPULCO GOLD (Trinity) Marjoe Gortner gets framed as a drug smuggler, forcing him to team with town drunk Robert Lansing to try to bust a Hawaiian drug ring in this 1978 rarity.
(O) AFTER SUNDOWN (Liongate) vampire horror western
(O) BASIC INSTINCT 2 (Sony) Sharon Stone returns as the crime writer and seductive femme fatale, attempting to trap a criminal psychologist in her web. R-rated edition includes director commentrak, deleted footage and Making-Of, while the Unrated edition adds on bonus footage and alternate ending.
(O) BEST OF THE DAVID STEINBERG SHOW (Koch)
(O) BLACKBEARD (Echo Bridge) 2006 miniseries with Angus McFadyen (EQUILIBRIUM) as the notorious pirate Edward Treach.
(O) THE BLACK SWAN (Fox) Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara in a 1942 pirate adventure. With commentrak, featurettes and more.
(O) BLOODLINES (Koch) 2005 UK TV crime thriller.
(O) THE BUTCHER (Liongate) Stranded by a car accident, six college students find terror in an old farm house.
(O) CHAOS FACTOR (Trinity) Antonio Sabato Jr. and Susie Park are the only ones who can prevent World War III at a peace conference.
(O) THE CHAPLIN MUTUAL COMEDIES (Image) 90th anniversary edition includes improved remasters of 12 Chaplin Mutual shorts. Includes 1975 feature documentary, four featurettes and more. Delayed from last month.
(O) CLASSIC COMEDIES FROM HOLLYWOOD'D GOLDEN AGE (Passport) 5-disc set includes THE GOLD RUSH, MY MAN GODFREY, THE GENERAL, LIFE WITH FATHER, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, NOTHING SACRED, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL and more.
(O) CRASH LANDING (Echo Bridge) Antonio Sabata Jr. in a DIE HARD knock-off on a plane.
(O) CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL: THE MOVIE (Media Blasters) Live-action adaptation of the zany manga & anime favorite.
(O) THE DAMNED (Image) A college student stumbles upon a nest of vampires.
(O) DEAD WAVES (Genius) J-horror in which a supernatural news show frees evil spirits and broadcasts them.
(O) DEATH CLIQUE (Maverick) Teens spend a weekend in a cabin in the woods. Uh oh.
(O) DESTINATION MARS! (Dark Horse/Image) Devil girls from Mars invade Earth with an army of robots! A plucky inventor, a clumsy cop, and a young couple become the planet's only hope as they race to strike back with a super-weapon. In AtomicVision. Delayed from April.
(O) DESTRUCTION KINGS (Tempe) Chris Seaver's latest horror comedy pits Mr. Bonejack and Teen Ape against Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. Includes commentraks, outtakes, featurette and more.
(O) EAST L.A. WARRIORS (Echo Bridge) 1989 crime drama with Paris Hilton's Jewish half-uncle, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, in another movie glorifying worthless drug-dealing street gangs.
(O) THE ELLEN SHOW Complete Series (Sony) Just to clarify: this is not the groundbreaking ELLEN sitcom, nor the hit ELLEN daytime talk show, but the failed small town sitcom that came in between with Cloris Leachman and Martin Mull. All 17 episodes.
(O) THE FEMME FATALES COLLECTION (Image) The psychotronic classics THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER, MESA OF LOST WOMEN and DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS.
(O) FIST OF HONOR (Echo Bridge) Ex-boxer Sam Jones is chosen as fall guy when a thug spoils a truce between godfathers Abe Vigoda and Harry Guardino.
(O) FORBIDDEN ADVENTURE / FORBIDDEN WOMEN (Image) From deep within the Something Weird Video vaults comes this 1930s exploitation classic (aka ANGKOR), a documentary trip to a lost city in Thailand that Dwain Esper spiced up with shots of topless "native" girls and a guy in an ape suit for roadshow purposes. Plus, a Philippine exotic adventure flick similarly heated up with nudie inserts.
(O) FORCED TO KILL (Echo Bridge) A repo man gets into a mess of trouble when he tries to pick up a Jaguar XJS. Alert! Father & son guest stars Rance and Clint Howard.
(O) THE FUCCONS Volume 3: Fuccon! Fuccon! Fuccon! (ADV) In this final volume, Mikey meets Princess Isabella, the Blueberry King, and the Twins' mothers. Yipe!
(O) THE GARDEN (Anchor Bay) A troubled youth is forced to live on Lance Henriksen's spooky ranch. Hey, isn't that Sean Young and Claudia Christian? Includes commentrak, behind-the-scenes and more.
(O) HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK / THE ROTTEN APPLE (Image) A "Golden Girl Double Feature" of 1960s sexploitation melodramas from the Something Weird Video vaults starring GOLDEN GIRL Rue McClanahan.
(O) ICE (Echo Bridge) Traci Lords steals sixty million dollars in diamonds from the mafia and has to go on the run from rival mobsters.
(O) I DREAM OF JEANNIE Complete Second Season (Sony) Now in color! All 31 episodes on 4 discs
(O) JOHN WAYNE CLIFFHANGER COLLECTION (Passport) Includes the serials SHADOW OF THE EAGLE, THE THREE MUSKETEERS and HURRICANE EXPRESS.
(O) JOYSTICKS (Media Blastyers) Retro-gamer alert! 1983 Greydon Clark teen comedy in which kids try to save the arcade.
(O) KOKO: A TALKING GORILLA (Criterion) 1978 Barbet Schroeder documentary on the famous ape who was taught sign language by scientists. With interviews, essay and more.
(O) LADIES OF FRANKENSTEIN DOUBLE FEATURE (Elite) LADY FRANKENSTEIN and FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.
(O) LITTLE BOY BLUE (Lionsgate) A drifter finds the family he's staying with is pretty damn screwed up, but did they commit murder? Yep.
(O) NIGHT SHIFT (Warner Bros.) Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton run a call girl service out of a morgue.
(O) PATRIOT ACT (Hart Sharp) Drew Carey, Jeffrey Ross, and a handful of other stand-up comics entertain troops in Iraq. Includes extra bits, interview and more.
(O) PERRY MASON First Season, Volume 1 (Paramount) The first 19 episodes of the 1957 lawyer show landmark with Raymond Burr as Erle Stanley Gardner's brilliant defense attorney.
(O) PIRATES (MTI) Hot chicks sail the 7 seas on a fantasy adventure in "the most expensive adult film ever produced", now available in an ArrrR-rated edition. Not to be confused with Roman Polanski's dud or any other film of the same title.
(O) PROTOCOLS OF ZION (THINKFilm) About 100 years ago, anti-Semites created a phony book that was supposedly the Jews' secret master plan for world domination. This documentary examines why 9-11 revived belief in its ideas. Includes deleted footage and interviews.
(O) RENO 911 Complete Third Season (Paramount) Comedy Central mockumentary sitcom about the exploits of Reno's worst cops. With commentraks, outtakes and more.
(O) 17,000 BLOCK (Ventura) Gritty crime drama.
(O) SHOCK XTREME Volume 1: Snuff Video (Brain Damage)
(O) SHOCK XTREME Volume 2: Death.com (Brain Damage)
(O) SHOCK XTREME Volume 3: Gangs of Death (Brain Damage)
(O) SHOCK XTREME Volume 4: Real Fights (Brain Damage) As more of the world gets caught on video, more death, gore and violence will be recorded for posterity. This mondo series collects some of the worst examples. Not for the squeamish.
(O) SOUNDLESS (Koch) German hitman action drama from the director of PREMONITION.
(O) SUDDEN FURY (Echo Bridge) When the Hannigans are murdered, their three adopted sons Johnny Galecki, Neil Patrick Harris and Eric Lloyd are the top suspects.
(O) SWORD OF HONOR (Echo Bridge) Undercover cop Steven Vincent Leigh is out to avenge his partner's murder in this martial arts action-fest.
(O) T-FORCE (Echo Bridge) Tough cop Jack Scalia and a cyborg cop hunt down rogue killer cfyborgs.
(O) VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Season 1 Volume 2 (Fox) More soggy '60s sci-fi TV, plus interviews, bloopers and more.
(O) ZOMBIEGEDDON (Troma) Two crooked cops are the only ones standing in the way when Satan unleashes an army of the living dead. All star zombie break-out with J.R. Bookwalter, Conrad Brooks, Joe Estevez, Ron Jeremy, Lloyd Kaufman, Linnea Quigley, Tom Savini, William Smith, Lilith Stabs, Brinke Stevens, Julie Strain and Robert Z'dar.

BLU-RAY DISC CORNER

(O) BASIC INSTINCT 2 (Sony) R-rated version, plus commentrak and featurette.


HD-DVD CORNER

(O) LETHAL WEAPON (Universal) With additional scenes.
(O) PITCH BLACK (Universal)


UMD CORNER

(O) ROADHOUSE (MGM) Patrick Swayze bounces drunks.


And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's DVD Shopping List! And don't forget Anime Avalanche every Saturday!

DVD Shopping List (© 2006 Brian Thomas) is our weekly DVD column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVDShoppingList@cinescape.com.