Disney DVD Tin Treasures

Wow! There's a lot of great new releases in all different directions this week. Can you decide which one to watch first? I sure can't! Maybe I should clear my mind and get in touch with my center by watching a David Carradine Tai Chi infomercial before cracking the seal on a DVD...

Disney is back this week with the latest wave of two-disc special editions from their vaults. The tin box packaging is a bit much for just two-disc sets (plus they're kind of slippery on the shelf), but no one can deny the worth of the contents.

(O) WALT DISNEY TREASURES: CHRONOLOGICAL DONALD (Buena Vista) All 36 Disney cartoon shorts starring the short-tempered Donald Duck (do all cartoon ducks [IMG2R]have bad tempers?). Includes featurettes and art galleries.

(O) WALT DISNEY TREASURES: MICKEY MOUSE IN LIVING COLOR 2 (Buena Vista) A second volume of Disney color cartoon shorts and featurettes starring their premiere character. Includes featurettes, deleted scenes and art galleries.
(O) WALT DISNEY TREASURES: TOMORROWLAND (Buena Vista) Compiles 5 landmark DISNEYLAND 1950s TV episodes dealing with the future of the space program.
(O) WALT DISNEY TREASURES: WALT DISNEY ON THE FRONT LINES (Buena Vista) Compiles the Disney Studios wartime propaganda films, including the feature VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER.

(O) ALIEN 51 (York) A circus owner and his wife (former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss) try to capture a monster bred from alien DNA that escaped Area 51.
(O) AMONG US (Sub Rosa) A film crew is terrorized by a sasquatch in this new horror from the Polonia Brothers (HOUSE THAT SCREAMED). Includes three commentraks, Making-Of, music video and more. Delayed from last month.
(O) ANGEL HEART: Special Edition (Lions Gate) Mickey Rourke is a detective in New Orleans who is stymied by an enigmatic Robert De Niro. Includes two commentraks, interviews, featurettes, behind-the-scenes and more.
(O) AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (Warner Bros.) Uneven but incredibly entertaining, this 1956 70mm epic based on the Jules Verne novel follows David Niven and Cantinflas as they race around the globe meeting guest stars to win a bet. Two-disc set includes commentrak, feature documentary, featurettes, newsreels, outtakes, shorts and more.
(O) BRIDE OF FRANK (Sub Rosa) A filthy, violent homeless trucker searches for a bride, killing the dates that don't work out. This horrifying, funny and disturbing film has been compared to COMBAT SHOCK, PINK FLAMINGOES and HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. Includes commentrak, alternate ending, deleted scene, bloopers, featurettes and more. Delayed from last month.
(O) THE DAY AFTER (MGM) A 1983 hit TV-movie nuclear nightmare: your small town in Kansas is, for some reason, destroyed in an A-bomb attack, and your neighbors Steve Guttenberg and John Lithgow are among the survivors.
(O) DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (ADV Films) Godzilla and friends try to escape alien control in this classic kaiju spectacular (the inspiration for the upcoming GODZILLA: FINAL WARS), now available bundled with the soundtrack CD.
(O) DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN'S DIARY (Zeitgeist) Guy Maddin blends Stoker, cinema and ballet with fascinating results.
(O) DRAINING LIZARDS (Crash) Strange hybrid action comedy mixes British gangsters with Hong Kong style martial arts.
(O) ENTER THE DRAGON (Warner Bros.) Bruce [IMG3L]Lee's epic changed the action movie forever. New two-disc special edition includes commentrak, featurettes, interviews, and John Little's terrific feature A WARRIOR'S JOURNEY, which includes an expert reconstruction of surviving footage from Lee's GAME OF DEATH.
(O) ESSENTIAL SHERLOCK HOLMES (Delta) Eight-disc set includes radio and TV episodes, the documentary THE REAL SHERLOCK HOLMES, and features SILVER BLAZE, A STUDY IN SCARLET, SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE SECRET WEAPON, WOMAN IN GREEN, TERROR BY NIGHT, DRESSED TO KILL, SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE DEADLY NECKLACE, and THE SIGN OF FOUR.
(O) EVERYONE IS KUNG FU FIGHTING RELOADED (A55/Image) I loved the first collection of indie fu shorts, and this one promises more of the same, including commentraks, outtakes, etc.
(O) FARSCAPE Season 4 Collection 4 (ADV) Episodes 415-418. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers, deleted scenes and more.
(O) THE GOOD THE BAD & THE UGLY (MGM) Fully restored three-hour director's cut of Sergio Leone's classic western starring Clint Eastwood, now 18 minutes longer than previous US editions. Two-disc set also includes commentrak, Making-Of documentaries, further deleted scenes, postcards and more.
(O) THE GREAT ESCAPE (MGM) Based on a true story, this all-star 1963 WW2 epic is on of the best war adventures of all time. Two-disc special edition includes commentrak, Making-Of, background featurettes, annotation track, and more.
(O) JOAN OF ARC (Image) Ingrid Bergman stars as a French hottie instructed by God to lead troops against the invading British. Restored, full length version.
(O) KILL CHIBA COLLECTION (Crash) Three widescreen Sonny Chiba action flicks: BULLET TRAIN, THE EXECUTIONER and GOLGO 13: ASSIGNMENT KOWLOON.
(O) MOONCHILD (TLA) Sci-fi vampire gun fu starring Japanese pop stars Gackt and Hyde.
(O) PAYCHECK (Paramount) John Woo action thriller starring Ben Affleck as a man trying to find out what he did on a top secret contract. Uma Thurman helps. Widescreen or fullscreen editions include two commentraks, deleted scenes and featurettes.
(O) PRESIDENTIAL BLOOPERS (WEA) George W. Bush is not the only President to make mistakes. I know, he's made such big ones that sometimes it seems that way.
(O) THE REAGANS (Lions Gate) TV docudrama about America's greatest actor-turned-president that was too hot for chicken TV networks. Includes director commentrak, Making-Of and deleted scenes.
(O) ROARING ACROSS THE HORIZON (Facets) 1999 Chinese propaganda documentary chronicling their rise as a nuclear superpower.
(O) SAMURAI TRILOGY (Criterion) Re-issue of Hiroshi Inagaki's classic three part biography of one of Japan's greatest heroes in a box set. Toshiro Mifune stars as MUSASHI MIYAMOTO, whose saga is continued in DUEL AT ICHOJI TEMPLE and DUEL AT GANRYU ISLAND.
(O) SHOOT OR BE SHOT (Fox) William Shatner is typecast as an escaped mental patient who takes over a film crew and forces them to shoot his movie.
(O) SMALLVILLE: Season 2 (Warner Bros.) All 23 episodes on six discs. Also available bundled with Season 1.
(O) STAR TREK VOYAGER: Season 2 (Paramount) [IMG4R]Seven-disc set contains all 26 episodes, plus annotated episode, interviews, featurettes, Tuvok singing and more.
(O) SUDDENLY (Image) Frank Sinatra is out to assassinate the president!
(O) TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (Criterion) In Fritz Lang's sequel, mad crimelord Mabuse orchestrates his plan for world domination from within an asylum. Two-disc set features commentrak, interviews, complete French version of the film and comparison to the American cut.
(O) TORQUE (Warner Bros.) GRAND THEFT AUTO with motorcycles. Widescreen or fullscreen with two commentraks, featurettes, music video and more.
(O) THE WIND (MTI) Dramatic thriller in which a group of college students devolve from close friendships into hatred and murder.
(O) WYATT EARP (Warner Bros.) Outstanding portrayal of fact and legend surrounding the western lawman starring Kevin Costner. Includes new and 1994 Making-Of documentaries, and more.
(O) ZATOICHI AND THE CHESS EXPERT (Home Vision)
(O) ZATOICHI'S CANE SWORD (Home Vision)

(O) ZATOICHI'S VENGEANCE (Home Vision) If you haven't jumped on any of the many US DVD releases in the Blind Swordsman series, these three latest are a great place to start, as the series really hit its stride at this point. All feature gorgeous widescreen transfers and new English subtitles.

And finally, we close off each weekly list with a rundown of the constant stream of anime from around the world:

(O) DRAGON BALL Z: CELL GAMES The Games Begin (Funimation) Plus 2 other episodes.
(O) HELLO KITTY & FRIENDS: Fairy Tale Fantasy (ADV) Gripping drama of a coal mining family during the Depression. Or, mindless animal fun.
(O) KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: The Movie (AnimEigo)
(O) KINO'S JOURNEY Volume 3: Warning! Curves Ahead (ADV) Three widescreen episodes.
(O) MAHOROMANTIC: AUTOMATIC MAIDEN SUMMER SPECIAL (Geneon) Includes featurettes and mini-poster. Also available in collectors box.
(O) NADIA: SECRET OF BLUE WATER COLLECTION 1 (ADV) Nadia is a circus acrobat who holds the mystic gem Blue Water, which puts her in danger from the evil Gargoyle, but [IMG5L]receives help from the famous Captain Nemo. 20 episodes on five discs, plus two soundtrack CDs.
(O) ROBOTECH REMASTERED Volume 3: Macross Collection 3 (ADV Films) 12 episodes on 2 discs, plus transforming robot toy.
(O) SAINT SEIYA Volume 6: Silver Assassins (ADV)
(O) SOUL HUNTER: Complete Collection (ADV) All 26 episodes on six discs.
(O) SPEED RACER: Limited Collectors Edition (Lions Gate) 12 episodes previously unreleased on DVD. Plus, the package plays the theme song, and the mach five headlights light up!
(O) STEAM DETECTIVES Case 6 (ADV) Dr. Guilty and Knight Phantom threaten Steam City.
(O) UNDERCOVER BROTHER (Urban Works) The 12-episode animated series that inspired the nominal hit theatrical feature. Includes Eddie Griffin commentrak, interviews and more.
(O) ZOIDS: CHAOTIC CENTURY Volume 4: Siege (Viz)