Disc Wars continue

Plus: Shoot your wad

By BRIAN THOMAS     February 07, 2006

Last month's Consumer Electronics Show revealed just how muddy the waters have gotten in the war for High Definition home video. Though High Definition television, now available via cable and satellite, has been slow to creep into homes, indications say that the video upgrade is inevitable. As you may know, two formats have come to the forefront in the race to develop a way to record and distribute HD on home video, the simple and descriptive HD DVD and the pretty sounding Blu-ray Disc. Most entertainment companies favored Blu-ray for its higher capacity, but some major players like Microsoft lined up behind HD DVD. Since the best thing for consumers, media producers and manufacturers would be a universal format combining the best of both formats, of course creators of the two formats failed to reach an agreement, and we now have a confusing mess racing into the marketplace that resembles nothing so much as a modern political campaign, complete with back room wheeling and dealing. HD DVD backers claimed Blu-ray players won't play standard DVDs. Not true BD players are designed to play BDs, DVDs, DVD-Rs and CDs. Folks on the Blu-ray side claimed that almost all the movie studios were on their side. Not true in fact, most of the studios are hedging their bets by signing deals on both sides. HD DVD developer Toshiba will make the first strike by launching their players in March with a sticker price around $800, but have also hurried into production a version with fewer features for $500. Their top card seems to be their alliance with Microsoft, betting on the push behind Media Center PCs. Blu-ray's will launch later this Summer, but so far their prices don't seem to be any better although reportedly the next generation of Playstation shipping this Spring will also play BDs. While most of the prototypes on display look like clunky old VCRs, although Phillips' flashy BD player prototype picks up on the "blu" spirit by including attractive blue lighting. Some manufacturers, not wanting to try selling two competing machines, are developing dual format players. Even Toshiba is hedging their bets, as they own a company (TSST) that is also manufacturing BD hardware. So which way should early adopting video fans go? Both camps are boasting they'll have about 200 movies in their format by Christmas, with both formats available from Netflix. This may sound like a lot to them, but how many of these are you really going to want? Ten? So either way, you're risking spending several hundred dollars on equipment that plays a format that will be eliminated in a few years.

The choice most of us will make is to wait and see which way the wind blows, but as a reporter on the front lines of this war (well, technically the back office or comfy couch), I'd like to bring you as much information and as many dispatches as possible. And so, I'm expanding my offer of a few years ago, when I offered to sell my endorsement to the first HDTV manufacturer who delivered a monitor to my door. Well, now I'm taking that offer to the next level. Listen up Sony and Toshiba! For the first one of you that puts the necessary HD hardware in my hands either via player and HD monitor or laptop I will personally review EVERY title released in that format for an entire month. And with that kind of karma working for you, you know the reviews will be positive. B's and B+'s at least! So get in touch with me as soon as possible via psycho@psychotronic.info to arrange delivery. This is war, folks. Don't wait for the enemy to strike first! If both formats arrive, I'll settle this whole thing myself by deciding the final winner.

And while you're sending that email to psycho@psychotronic.info, you might as well send another with your name and address to win a prize from our Prize Closet. Today we've got copies of GROUNDED FOR LIFE Season One from Anchor Bay (put "WHERE'S HENRY?" in the subject line), the new work comedy WAITING from Lions Gate (put "WAIT CONSCIOUS" in the subject), and Universal's action-packed video game adaptation DOOM (put "FRAG 'EM" in the subject line). Remember: these discs will still play in your next machine.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This week, our spotlight falls on what looks like a (guardedly) promising start to a possible franchise. Now where's that damn red key?

(O) DOOM (Universal) Karl Urban and The Rock storm a Martian research station under attack by hellish monsters in this lively adaptation of the classic video game. In R-rated fullscreen and unrated fullscreen & widescreen editions that include featurettes and a DOOM 3 Xbox demo.

NEW RELEASES

(O) ADAM & EVE (New Line) College comedy under the National Lampoon banner about a guy on hold waiting for his girlfriend's treasured virginity. Includes commentrak, deleted footage, gag reel and more.
(O) ADVENTURES IN SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S THE LOST WORLD Volume 1 (Koch) Episodes 1-5 of the syndicated adventure series.
(O) ADVENTURES IN SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S THE LOST WORLD Volume 2 (Koch) Episodes 6-10 of the syndicated adventure series.
(O) ANDY COLBY'S INCREDIBLY AWESOME ADVENTURE (Buena Vista) 1988 TV movie in which kids are pulled into TV shows by a magic videotape.
(O) THE ANDY GRIFFITH COLLECTION (Passport) Sixteen episodes on five discs, plus a retrospective documentary.
(O) ANTHROPHAGUS: THE GRIM REAPER (Media Blasters) Notorious 1980 Italian gore film about teens trying to survive on an island terrorized by a hulking cannibal mutant. Delayed again from last month.
(O) ART OF THE DEVIL (Media Blasters) J-horror in which no one believes a reporter's theory that brutal murders were committed via witchcraft. Delayed again from last month.

(O) ATRAGON (Media Blasters) 1963 Japanese sci-fi about a mammoth submarine used to battle an invasion from a hostile undersea nation. Delayed from December again
(O) BACK ROAD DINER / BUGGED! (Troma).
(O) BLACK SCORPION (Buena Vista) Joan Severance delivers Severance payback as a sexy superhero in a 1995 Roger Corman produced TV movie.
(O) BLOOD AND WINE (Fox) Desperate wine dealer Jack Nicholson plots a jewel heist in this 1997 Bob Rafelson suspenser. With director and cast commentraks and deleted footage.
(O) CARY GRANT Box Set (Sony) Includes HOLIDAY, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, TALK OF THE TOWN, HIS GIRL FRIDAY and THE AWFUL TRUTH, plus ten postcards.
(O) CLEOPATRA (Fox) 2-disc special edition of the epic 1963 bomb starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. With commentrak and more.
(O) THE CRAZYSITTER (Buena Vista) Beverly D'Angelo terrorizes some kids.
(O) DAY OF THE DOLPHIN (Image) This prophetic 1970s thriller in which scientist George C. Scott is forced to train his talking dolphins to be military weapons was written by Buck Henry and directed by Mike Nichols.
(O) DEMON HUNTER (Anchor Bay) Sean Patrick Flanery is a Vatican exorcism expert sent to stop a Satanic infiltration in Los Angeles. Includes commentrak and featurettes.
(O) DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: WRATH OF THE DRAGON GOD (New Line) Five champions go on a quest in this DTV sequel to the flop RPG adaptation. Includes commentrak, featurettes and more. Also available bundled with the original.
(O) EMERGENCY! Season 2 (Universal) 21 more episodes.
(O) EVILENKO (TLA) Russian chiller with Malcolm McDowell as a cannibal killer. 2-disc set includes true crime documentary on the killer, interviews and more.
(O) FAMILY PLOT (Universal) Alfred Hitchcock's final film, a light romantic thriller, formerly available as part of Universal's Hitchcock box set. Includes featurette, storyboards and more.
(O) THE FRENCH CONNECTION (Fox) Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider bust a drug ring in this Oscar-winning 1971 cops & robbers thriller. 2-disc special edition includes commentraks by the stars and director William Friedkin, Making-Of, deleted footage and more.
(O) GROUNDED FOR LIFE Season One (Anchor Bay) A great family sitcom about a Brooklyn couple that got married right after high school and their nutty relatives. 20 episodes on four discs, plus commentraks and interviews.
(O) JUST LIKE HEAVEN (Universal) Reese Witherspoon is a ghost haunting Mark Ruffalo's new apartment! Widescreen & fullscreen editions include Making-Of, deleted footage, gag reel, interviews and more.
(O) KUNG FAUX Volume 1 (Tommy Boy/Koch) TV series takes old public domain Asian martial arts movies and re-edits them with dubbed soundtracks by hip-hop celebrities.
(O) THE LAST AMERICAN HERO (Fox) Surprisingly engrossing 1973 drive-in hit with Jeff Bridges as a moonshine runner who becomes a stock car racing champ.
(O) M*A*S*H (Fox) Hit 1971 Korean War comedy drama that inspired the hit TV series. 2-disc special THX edition includes director Robert Altman commentrak, documentaries and more.
(O) THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (Universal) Classic Hitchcock thriller starring Jimmy Stewart. Includes Making-Of and more.
(O) MARNIE (Universal) 1964 Hitchcock psychological drama in which husband Sean Connery is determined to work through wife Tippi Hedren's mental disorders. Includes featurette, archives and more.
(O) MOONLIGHTING Season Three (Lions Gate) Dave and Maddie take on more Emmy-winning cases. Includes commentraks, featurettes.
(O) THE NET (Sony) Sandra Bullock is stripped of her identity! 1995 thriller plus commentraks, featurettes and more.
(O) THE NET 2.0 (Sony) Nikki DeLoach is framed for a cybercrime in this belated in-name-only sequel. Includes commentrak. Also available bundled with the original.
(O) OKTOBER (Lance/Koch) A man is unknowingly turned into a living weapon by a secret enzyme project.
(O) ONE DARK NIGHT (Media Blasters) Meg Tilly gets more frights than she bargained for when she spends the night in a crypt as part of an initiation. Got good reviews when released in 1983 as MAUSOLEUM. Delayed from last month.
(O) ONE STEP BEYOND COLLECTION (Passport) Twenty episodes of the early supernatural anthology TV series on five discs.
(O) THE ORSON WELLES COLLECTION (Passport) 5-disc set includes THE STRANGER, KING LEAR, DAVID & GOLIATH, THE TRIAL and two documentaries on Welles.
(O) POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY Complete First Season (MGM) Nothing to do with the movies, but this TV series about a group of psychic investigators has its own fans. 5-disc set.
(O) THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (Hallmark) Ho-hum TV remake of the 1970s disaster campfest. In widescreen and fullscreen editions include interviews and featurette.
(O) RAGIN' CAJUN (Troma) David Heavener tries to excape the corrupt world of kickboxing and become a country music star.
(O) RICHARD PRYOR COLLECTION (Universal) Includes WHICH WAY IS UP?, BREWSTER'S MILLIONS, CAR WASH and BUSTIN' LOOSE.
(O) RIDE SWEET DIE SLOW (Maverick) Gunslingeresses ride for vengeance.
(O) ROCKIN' WITH ROSEANNE: Calling All Kids! (Anchor Bay) Roseanne Barr and a gang of puppets sing 12 songs. Includes karaoke lyrics.
(O) SEAN CONNERY COLLECTION (Paramount) Includes THE UNTOUCHABLES, THE PRESIDIO and HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.
(O) SECOND TO DIE (Buena Vista) Erika Eleniak in a sexy thriller.
(O) SHADOW OF A DOUBT (Universal) Teresa Wright slowly begins to suspect that her uncle Joseph Cotton is a psychopathic criminal in this awesome 1943 Hitchcock thriller. With Making-Of and more.
(O) SLAUGHTER PARTY (Troma) Severed tongue in cheek slasher horror.
(O) A SLIGHTLY PREGNANT MAN (Koch) Marcello Mastroianni becomes the first victim in a wave of male pregnancies, much to the distress of girlfriend Catherine Deneuve, in this 1973 French comedy.
(O) SNAKEMAN (First Look) Stephen Baldwin guides a team of scientists into danger in this Sci-Fi Channel monster flick.
(O) SPEED (Fox) First rate 1994 action flick with cop Keanu Reeves and passenger Sandra Bullock out to foil villain Dennis Hopper's plot to blow up a bus.
(O) SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL (Fox) Inferior sequel with Bullock and boyfriend Jason Patric's cruise threatened by bomber Willem Dafoe.
(O) A STATE OF MIND (Kino) Revealing documentary on modern North Korea. With director interview and more.
(O) STEVE MARTIN COLLECTION (Paramount) Includes LEAP OF FAITH, OUT-OF-TOWNERS and PLANES TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES.
(O) 13 GOING ON 30 (Sony) A tween girl's wish is answered when she grows overnight into Jennifer Garner in this hit comedy. This "Fun & Flirty Edition" is for those who felt the standard edition wasn't fun or flirty enough, and includes featurettes, bloopers, Making-Of, music videos and more.
(O) THREE THE HARD WAY... AGAIN (VideoAsia) The stars of the '70s action hit in four other movies: KILL FACTOR, PACIFIC INFERNO, WHITE FIRE and MAFIA VS. NINJA.
(O) TORN CURTAIN (Universal) Tense Hitchcock political thriller. With featurettes and more.
(O) TRIPLE B COLLECTION: THE FILMS OF ANDY SIDARIS Volume 3 (Brentwood) SAVAGE BEACH, RETURN TO SAVAGE BEACH and ENEMY GOLD
(O) TRIPLE B COLLECTION: THE FILMS OF ANDY SIDARIS Volume 4 (Brentwood) DAY OF THE WARRIOR, DO OR DIE and HARD HUNTED
(O) URBAN 2-PAC (Troma) Includes BACK ROAD DINER and BUGGED.
(O) WAITING (Lions Gate) Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris and Justin Long as waiters in a workplace comedy. Includes featurette and deleted footage. Unrated edition adds on video commentrak, telestrator track and extra featurettes.
(O) X-MEN (Fox)
(O) X-MEN 2 (Fox) Umpteenth DVD editions.

UMD CORNER

(O) ALIEN (Fox) Warning:

On the bus, everyone can hear you scream.
(O) BATMAN (Warner Bros.) Caped Crusader on PSP. Where'd you get that marvelous toy?
(O) DOOM (Universal) Unrated extended edition.
(O) SPEED (Fox) Yep, you can watch this on the bus, too.
(O) THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (Fox) And I like it.

And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's DVD Shopping List!

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.