The DVD After Tomorrow

As I was gazing lovingly at my growing stacks of DVDs the other day, I was pondering what sort of technology was bound to come along to make them all obsolete. Digital movies aren't even the wave of the future anymore they're the wave of the present. As theaters upgrade, more and more movies will be downloaded via satellite straight to the projection booth. (And don't be surprised when somebody comes up with a movie that has new scenes every week.) These same satellites are poised to sell us home video the same way consumers have begun purchasing music online. The big obstacles? Technology, of course it'll be some time before enough customers are wired enough to make a worthwhile market. Then there's Fear I'm paranoid about buying a movie online, then accidentally deleting it, or getting a damaged copy. You can always return a scratched DVD, but how do you prove to an online store that you got only half a movie? Obstacle Three: fun. It's fun to go into a store, browse, and come home with a treasure. Will an online movie store ever have a cut-out bin where you can find an old favorite at a bargain price? Nope there'll be little incentive for retailers to move out old stock, since it always takes up the same bitspace. Fourth: Convenience. Folks do NOT like to sit in front of computers reading novels or watching movies. When we get to the point where television is broadcast over the internet into living room entertainment centers instead of desktops, then we'll have a place to start. Until then, some folks will go for cable pay-per-view onto quickly-expanding DVR hard drives, and others will keep watching those shiny discs fill up their houses.

This week, our spotlight falls on two seasoned animation classics.

(O) THE JETSONS: Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) [IMG2R]For many of us, our vision of the way the future would be was crafted by this Hanna-Barbera cartoon sitcom. 24 episodes, with commentrak on two, featurettes and more.
(O) JONNY QUEST: Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) A '60s update of boy's sci-fi adventure ala TOM SWIFT in prime time! In each episode, young Jonny, along with his Indian pal Hadji and bodyguard Race Bannon, got embroiled in a dangerous adventure, usually due to the super-scientific work of his genius father. Includes annotation track, featurettes, vintage commercials and more.

(O) BIG BOSS OF SHANGHAI (VideoAsia) Chen Kuan-tai arrives in Shanghai and rises to the top in the triads, but must battle rival Chan Sing to keep his place.
(O) BILLIE (MGM) Patty Duke stars as a tomboy teen who becomes a track star fueled by rock & roll.
(O) BLOOD SHACK / THE CHOOPER (Media Blasters) Two version of Ray Dennis Steckler's 1971 horror film in which an abandoned ranch is haunted by a Native American spirit with a big-ass sword. Includes commentraks by both Steckler and Joe Bob Briggs, interviews, and more.
(O) BLUE DEMON VS. THE INFERNAL BRAINS (Rise Above/VAS) Go Blue Demon!
(O) BORN TO DEFENSE (Buena Vista) Jet Li directs and stars as a Chinese army veteran who returns to Shanghai after World War 2 to find the city overrun with racist foreigners, and the only way to fight back is in the ring in no-holds-barred kickboxing matches. English dubbed only.
(O) BUDDAH'S PALM AND DRAGON FIST (VideoAsia) James Lee and Chi Kuan-chun in kung fu action.
(O) CEMETERY HIGH (Full Moon) Teen girls lure men to their deaths.
(O) CURSE OF THE EROTIC TIKI (REtromedia/Image) Fred Olen Ray presents a tale of a cursed necklace that unleashes inhibitions, kind of like tequila. Includes exclusive "Hooter Horn" feature.
(O) DEAD EYES OF LONDON / THE GHOST (Retromedia/Image) A [IMG3L]double feature of early 1960s Eurohorror pairs a German Edgar Wallace adaptation about a murder/insurance racket under cover of a blind school, and an Italian tale of murder and revenge starring Barbara Steele.
(O) QUEEN BOXER / DEADLY KUNG FU LADY / A FISTFUL OF YEN / FOR A FEW MORE YEN THEY KILL (GoodTimes) The first one's a 1972 classic with Judy Lee (aka THE AVENGER). Wish I could tell you something about the other 3 retitled kung fu flicks without seeing them. The former and latter 2 are available bundled together.
(O) DRAGON LORD (Buena Vista) Early fun Jackie Chan hit, given typical handling by Miramax great picture & sound, but edited and dubbed. Stick to the Tai Seng version.
(O) FRIENDS: Finale (Warner Bros.) The two-part series finale you just watched last week, plus extra footage, series pilot, and more.
(O) THE GODFATHER (Paramount) Obscure 1972 crime drama from director Francis Ford Coppola. Includes director commentrak.
(O) HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL: Complete First Season (Paramount) Seasoned smash hit Richard Boone series from the Golden Age of TV westerns includes all 39 episodes on six discs. Includes cast bios and behind-the-scenes info.
(O) ICE COLD IN PHOENIX (MTI) A troubled young man is pushed past the psychological breaking point.
(O) INDEPENDENCE DAY (Fox) The [IMG4R]real reason behind this limited edition seems to be its Making-Of promo for THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, but it's still one of the best alien invasion movies ever, presented here in both the longer special edition and original theatrical version with two commentraks and more.
(O) INVITATION (Brain Damage) Childhood friends are reunited by mysterious invitations to an old lodge and end up fighting for their lives. Includes deleted scenes, featurettes and more.
(O) LADY SNOWBLOOD (AnimEigo) A woman becomes a living weapon, born for revenge, in this incredible movie that owes a bit stylistically to spaghetti westerns. Features soundtrack music recycled in KILL BILL.
(O) LADY SNOWBLOOD 2: LOVE SONG OF VENGEANCE (AnimEigo) Yuki is on a mission to seduce and destroy a man, but falls for him instead.
(O) LONE WOLF & CUB 3: BABY CART TO HADES (AnimEigo) The further adventures of Itto Ogami and son. Don't miss the huge bloody battle at the end!
(O) NAKED CITY: Portrait of a Painter (Image) William Shatner, Walter Matthau, Jon Voight and Jack Klugman all star in episodes from the gritty 1962 suspense anthology series.
(O) NAKED CITY: Spectre of the Roses Street Gang (Image) Carroll O'Connor, James Coburn, Robert Duvall and Herschel Bernardi take their turns in urban stories.
(O) NINE LIVES (Lions Gate) Nine pals are trapped in a Scottish mansion during a birthday party, and guests start to disappear. Is it... MURDER???!
(O) ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN VS. 9 KILLERS (VideoAsia) Jimmy Wang Yu assays his classic character for the last time in this 1976 feature in which he takes on the disciples of the Chu School.
(O) REBELLIOUS REIGN (VideoAsia) 1980 mix of historical drama and kung fu action with Lung Fong and Norman Tsiu.
(O) RENEGADES (Universal) Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips as undercover cops.
(O) ROBIN HOOD (Fox) 1991 version with Patrick Bergin.
(O) SAMURAI COP (Media Blasters) Robert Z'Dar cashes in on his MANIAC COP fame with this 1989 trashfest. Includes commentrak by Joe Bob Briggs, interview and more.
(O) SCARY MOVIE 3 (Buena Vista) A [IMG5L]better entry in this series, partially due to direction by David Zucker, but mainly due to a better, more diverse crop of movies parodied. In fullscreen and widescreen editions that come with commentrak, deleted scenes, alternate ending, bloopers, Making-Of, and fake Making-Of.
(O) SENORITA JUSTICE (Lions Gate) Miami lawyer by day, police secret weapon by night. Ay-yi-yi!
(O) SHADOW WARRIORS (New Concorde) Dopey 1996 TERMINATOR knock-off.
(O) SHAW LEGENDS 4-PACK (VideoAsia) Collection of kung fu flicks with stars that, at one time or other, starred in Shaw Bros. movies. Includes GALLANT BOXER (probably Jimmy Wang Yu in 1975's THE GALLANT), 800 HEROES (1975 action with a Carter Wong and a young Brigitte Lin), THE LOOT (Eric Tsang 1980 kung fu comedy with David Chiang, aka BLOODY TATTOO) and DEADLY ROULETTE (with Lo Lieh, 1983, aka DEADLY KICK).
(O) SPACEJACKED (New Concorde) Hollywood couple Corbin Bernsen and Amanda Pays both get to regretbeing in the same bad sci-fi movie.
(O) STAR HUNTER (New Concorde) High school football team and cheerleaders vs. alien predators.
(O) STAR QUEST (New Concorde) Space traveling astronauts awake from cryo-sleep to a major bummer: the human race has been annihilated.
(O) SURVIVOR: Borneo (Paramount)
(O) SURVIVOR: Complete First Season (Paramount) The hit game show, now without all that annoying suspense over who wins. Includes selected commentraks and featurettes.
(O) 300 SPARTANS (Fox) From the ancient year of 1962 comes this tale of what was going on in Greece in 480 BC, when 300 Spartan soldiers held a narrow pass against a huge Persian army. To put a contemporary spin on it, think of it as THE ALAMO without guns.
(O) UNKNOWN ORIGIN (New Concorde) Aquanauts are menaced by a mind-control alien at the bottom of the sea.
(O) VAMPIRE VIXENS FROM VENUS (Shanachie) Alien drug smugglers [IMG6R]disguised as hotties prey on men.
(O) THE X-FILES: Season 9 (Fox) 7-disc set includes two-hour season finale, plus three hours of behind-the-scenes, 10 deleted scenes, commentraks, DVD-ROM game, and more..

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

(O) ANGELIC LAYER 6: Inherit the Layer (ADV Films) Taking a break during tournament finals turns out to be just as tricky as the competition. Includes commentrak.
(O) THE BIG O II: Enemy Attacks (Bandai) A powerful new Megadeus proves difficult to control.
(O) BIRDY THE MIGHTY: Final Force (Central Park) Superhero action from director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (NINJA SCROLL).
(O) CYBER CITY: The Decoy (Central Park) An exciting thriller, including commentrak by director Yoshiaki Kawajiri.
(O) DRAGON BALL GT: Generations (Funimation) Goku faces Omega Shenron.
(O) DRAGON DRIVE 1: Amazing Transformation (Bandai) A lazy kid gets into a new virtual reality game. Like, every day. Also available in a limited edition art box.
(O) GATE KEEPERS Volume 3 (Geneon) Episodes 7-9. The Keepers find an alien enemy disguised as an airplane.
(O) INITIAL D Volume 5: Battle (Viz) Episodes 13-15. Vrooom!
(O) INVADER ZIM Volume 1: Doom Doom Doom (Media Blasters) Height-minded aliens try to get rid of shorty Zim by sending him to invade Earth.
(O) JIMMY NEUTRON/FAIRLY ODD PARENTS: Jimmy Timmy Power Hour (Paramount) Special crossover of two favorite TV series, plus three bonus episodes of each, storyboards and PC game demo.
(O) KALEIDO STAR Volume 1: Welcome to Kaleido Stage! (ADV Films) Adventures in a circus. Also available in a collectors box with paper doll set and exclusive motion-lenticular card.
(O) KEY: THE METAL IDOL Complete Collection (Viz)

(O) KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: TV Series 9 (AnimEigo) Cute romance complicated by magic mushrooms.
(O) KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD: TV Series 10 (AnimEigo) Cute romance complicated by hypnosis and time travel.
(O) LAIN Volume 4: Reset (Geneon) The existential series continues.
(O) LEGEND OF THE DRAGON KINGS Collection (Central Park) Episodes 1-12 on six discs.
(O) LEGEND OF THE DRAGON KINGS: Blue Dragon (Central Park) Episodes 11-12. Hajime is captured while his brothers fight to save him.
(O) MASK OF ZEGUY (Central Park) Miki is trapped in a dimension of monsters.
(O) SAILOR MOON S: Heart Collection 4 (Geneon) The Sailors learn each others secret identities, then meet Sailor Pluto.
(O) SAIYUKI Volume 10: Trouble in Paradise (ADV Films) The Journey to the West continues.
(O) SAMURAI DEEPER KYO Volume 6: A Shift in Time (Media Blasters) Episodes 23-26, plus outtakes and interviews.
(O) SHREK / SHREK 3-D (DreamWorks) The big animated hit, now bundled with a 12-minute follow-up short to promote SHREK 2.
(O) SLAYERS: Premium (ADV Films) Lina & Goury are in trouble again.
(O) SUPER DIMENSION FORTRESS MACROSS TV Volume 6 (AnimEigo) Uncut.
(O) TENCHI MUYO OVA Volume 3 (Geneon) Tenchi [IMG7L]tries to deal with the five gorgeous alien gals in his house.
(O) TENCHI UNIVERSE COLLECTION 3: Tenchi Muyo on Earth 8-10 (Geneon)
(O) TRIGUN Volume 4: Gung-Ho Guns (Geneon) The enigmatic Vash, contract killer.
(O) VAN HELSING: The London Assignment (Universal) Hugh Jackman lends his voice to this 30-minute direct-to-video animated prequel to his theatrical monster adventure movie. Includes Making-Of the video game.
(O) YOU'RE UNDER ARREST Volume 6 (AnimEigo) Female cops in action.
(O) YS LEGACY (Media Blasters) It ys what it ys.