DVD in the Museum

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Since tomorrow is my birthday, I’ll try not to delay you any longer than necessary, as I’m sure you all have plenty of shopping to do. To celebrate, I’ll be sending out a free random DVD of my choosing to every Maniac that sends an email to DVD Shopping List with “b-day” in the subject correctly guessing my age and who is buried in Jesus’ tomb.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This week, our spotlight falls on a set of French movies – the kind men like.

(O) JEAN RENOIR COLLECTOR’S EDITION (Lionsgate) Seven from the master filmmaker: Whirlpool of Fate, Nana, Charleston Parade, The Little Match Girl, La Marseillaise, The Doctor’s Horrible Experiment and Le Corporal Epingle, plus documentary.

NEW RELEASES

(O) AL FRANKEN: God Spoke (Docurama) Satirical documentary follows Franken from the publication of one of his books through the creation of his radio show and beyond. Includes deleted footage.
(O) AMERICAN JUSTICE: The Cult Murders (A&E) True Crime.
(O) APPOINTMENT IN HONDURAS / ESCAPE TO BURMA (VCI) A 1950s RKO adventure double feaure.
(O) BAIAN THE ASSASSIN COLLECTION (Media Blasters) Volumes 1-4 of the Japanese TV series.
(O) BIOGRAPHY: Ted Bundy (A&E) True Crime.

(O) BIOGRAPHY: Theodore J. Kaczynski, the Unabomber (A&E) True Crime.
(O) THE BLACK CAT (Blue Underground) Lucio Fulci’s grisly 1981 giallo thriller.
(O) BLIND WOMAN’S CURSE (DiscoTek) Wild 1970 yakuza action from Teruo Ishii stars Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) as a mob boss who must defend her clan from a vicious rival gang and a blind swordswoman. Not for the timid. Includes commentrak.
(O) BLOODMASK: The Possession of Nicole Lameroux (Razor) With Skin Crawl, this is the second horror inspired by Black Sunday released this month. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
(O) BLOODSTALKERS (After Midnight) Director Robert W. Morgan (In Search of Bigfoot) is selling autographed and personalized copies of his 1978 slasher movie. Info for ordering on this page.
(O) BORN TO FIGHT (Dragon Dynasty/Weinstein) 2004 Thai boxing action (AKA Kerd Ma Lui) from the Panna Rittikrai, the stunt genius behind Ong Bak and Spirited Killer. 2-disc “ultimate edition” includes commentrak, Making-Of and more.
(O) THE CHALLENGE (Image) Post-apoc German martial arts action.
(O) CODE NAME: THE CLEANER (New Line) Spy spoof starring Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Nicollette Sheridan and Will Patton. Includes featurette.
(O) COLUMBO MYSTERY MOVIE COLLECTION 1989 (Universal) Can Peter Falk get the goods on this week’s celebrity murderer? With featurette.
(O) CURSE OF THE SUN (Tai Seng) 2004 Thai zombie action.
(O) DEAD BODY MAN 2: SEPARATION ANXIETY (Sub Rosa) After burying his evil twin brother in a beer cooler, Willie decided that its time to start a normal life without his brother. But, things don't always go as planned.
(O) DÉJÀ VU (Buena Vista) Jerry Bruckheimer/Tony Scott action thriller with Fed Denzel Washington fighting crime using a time shifting device. Can it help him change the past? And ca it help him use manual transmission? With behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted footage and more.
(O) DÉJÀ VU (Buena Vista) Jerry Bruckheimer/Tony Scott action thriller with Fed Denzel Washington fighting crime using a time shifting device. Can it help him change the past? And ca it help him use manual transmission? With behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted footage and more.
(O) DIARY OF A CANNIBAL (Lionsgate) Ulli Lommel’s latest horror, plus commentrak.
(O) THE DREW CAREY SHOW Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) 1995 working stiff sitcom. With interviews and more.
(O) DVD BOOKSHELF: ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (DVD International/Ryko) Illustrated dramatic readings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories.
(O) ESSENTIAL CLASSICS: DRAMAS (Warner Bros.) This time they mean “essential”! Includes The Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane and Ben-Hur in one box.
(O) ESSENTIAL CLASSICS: FAMILY FILMS (Warner Bros.) Includes The Wizard of Oz, The Goonies and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
(O) FINAL JUSTICE (Tai Seng) 1988 Hong Kong buddy cop action comedy ala 48 Hours, starring Stephen Chow.
(O) FLIPPER Season One (MGM) Hit 1964 series about the family of a widowed park ranger and their dolphin friend.
(O) 48 HOURS / ANOTHER 48 HOURS (Paramount) 96 hours on one DVD? Wow, the storage capacity is getting really amazing.
(O) .45 (Velocity/THINKfilm) Milla Jovovich revenge thriller.
(O) THE GHOST (Tartan) Korean supernatural thriller. With Making-Of and interview.
(O) THE GREAT ESCAPE (MGM) Special edition of the 1963 John Sturges adventure classic based on the story of a massive breakout from a Nazi POW camp.
(O) HARRY & THE HENDERSONS (Universal) 1987 family adventure comedy about an encounter with sasquatch. With commentrak, deleted footage, featurettes and more.
(O) HOBOKEN HOLLOW (Passion River/Triumph) Gulf War vet Jason Connery is enslaved at a ranch that works captives to death, then makes jerky. Based on a true story (they say).
(O) THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (Blue Underground) Crazy, gory 1981 Lucio Fulci horror in which a family moves into an old house and discovers ghosts, a creature lurking in the basement and other supernatural menaces.
(O) IRONSIDE Season One (Shout Factory) Retired police chief Raymond Burr continues to fight crime from a wheelchair after an assassination attempt cripples him in this 1966 series. Pilot movie and 28 episodes on eight discs.
(O) IRONSIDE Season One Volume 1 (Shout Factory) Pilot movie and first 5 episodes on two discs.
(O) JOHN CLEESE COMEDY COLLECTION (Kultur) 3-disc set includes How to Irritate People, The Strange Case of the End of Civilization and Romance with a Double Bass.
(O) KAZUO UMEZZ’S HORROR THEATER Triple Feature (Media Blasters) Episodes 1-6 in three volumes.

(O) THE LAST SUPPER (MTI) J-horror in which a brilliant plastic surgeon can’t resist an urge to taste human flesh. Includes behind-the-scenes featurette.
(O) LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE (Blue Underground) The first zombie flick to follow in the rotten footsteps of Night of the Living Dead was this gory 1974 Eurohorror.

(O) THE LIVING COFFIN (Casa Negra) 1958 Mexican horror based on Poe’s “Prematurte Burial”.
(O) THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS (Koch) A controversial documentary from controversial documentarian Simcha Jacobovichi, but this time backed up by exec. producer James Cameron. Statistical analysis backs up the claim that a tomb discovered in 1980 held the bones of Jesus and his family.
(O) MACABRE (Blue Underground) 1980 early horror outing for Lamberto Bava.
(O) THE MAN AND THE MONSTER (Casa Negra) 1958 Mexican version of the Jekyll & Hyde idea.
(O) NAKED YOU DIE (Dark Sky/MPI) 1968 Eurohorror from Antonio Margheriti about murder at a girls’ school.
(O) NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (Fox) Out of work entrepreneur Ben Stiller takes a job as night watchman in a New York natural history museum where the exhibits come to life after hours. Widescreen and “fullscreen” editions include two commentraks. Special 2-disc edition adds on featurettes, deleted footage, bloopers, DVD-ROM game and more.
(O) THE ODD COUPLE First Season (CBS/Paramount) 1970 sitcom adaptation of Neal Simon’s play about two divorced friends trying to share an apartment. With commentraks, interviews on the Mike Douglas Show, gag reel, home movies and more on five discs.
(O) ONE DAY AT A TIME Complete First Season (Sony) 1975 sitcom about a divorced woman raising two daughters and a janitor.
(O) ONE STEP BEYOND Volume 1 (VCI)

(O) ONE STEP BEYOND Volume 2 (VCI) Six episodes each.
(O) RICCO THE MEAN MACHINE (Dark Sky/MPI) Violent 1973 Italian action flick
(O) SCHOOLGIRL REPORT Volume 1 (Impulse) The 1970 German sexploitation mockumentary that started a whole wave of schoolgirl flick imitators.
(O) SCORPION TRIPLE FEATURE (Media Blasters) Includes Female Prisoner 701, Grudge Song and Beast Stable.
(O) SENSITIVE NEW AGE KILLER (Subversive) Violent 2000 Australian action flick, previously only available in as box set.
(O) SCREAM THEATRE Volume 1 (VCI) Sisters of Death / Scream Bloody Murder
(O) SCREAM THEATRE Volume 2 (VCI) The Last Slumber Party / Terror At Tenkiller.
(O) TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER (Magnolia) 2000 Thai action comedy.
(O) THR3E (Fox) The infamous Riddle Killer returns to torment a grad student.
(O) TO PROTECT & KILL TWO-FER (Blue Underground) Bundles the Eurothrillers How to Kill A Judge and La Scorta.
(O) TRAGIC CEREMONY (Dark Sky/MPI) Gory 1972 Eurohorror from Riccardo Freda.
(O) UNTIL DEATH (Sony) Jean Claude Van Damme stars as a heroin addicted detective who recovers from a coma to hunt down the criminal that shot him.
(O) UPRIGHT CITIZENS BRIGADE Complete First Season (Rhino) Subversive 1998-2000 comedy series about a secret society that monitors everything, and each other, starring Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh – one of whom may really be a robot. Released in 2003, this out of print Paramount title gets a deserved re-release from Rhino for the delight of fans of Pohler on Saturday Night Live who will surely want to check out her earlier work.
(O) VON RICHTOFEN AND BROWN (MGM) Roger Corman’s 1968 war drama about competing fighter aces,
(O) WAYNE’S WORLD / WAYNE’S WORLD 2 (Paramount)
(O) WHERE IS MAMA’S BOY? (Tai Seng) 2004 Hong Kong kung fu musical comedy starring famous American Idol reject William Hung.
(O) WKRP IN CINCINNATI Complete First Season (Fox) 1978 workplace sitcom set in a rock & roll radio station. Includes commentrak and interviews.
(O) WO HU: OPERATION UNDERCOVER (Tai Seng) Hong Kong cop vs. gangs action.

HD-DVD CORNER

(O) ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Universal) With documentary featurettes, interviews, deleted footage and more.

(O) THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (Universal) Eddie Murphy version.

BLU-RAY DISC CORNER

(O) DÉJÀ VU (Buena Vista) With behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted footage and more.
(O) DÉJÀ VU (Buena Vista) With behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted footage and more.
(O) NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (Fox) With two commentraks and annotation track.
(O) SECRET WINDOW (Sony) Includes commentrak, behind-the-scenes featurettes and more.

NOT ON DVD CORNER

We welcome the input of Maniacs who want to share input on this section, where we highlight a different genre feature that has yet to come to digital disc format – just send your suggestions to DVD Shopping List in an email identified with “NOT ON DVD” in the subject line.

(O) ZATOICHI’S PILGRIMAGE (Miramax?) Eighteen have been released by Home Vision, seven by AnimEigo, and the final one by Media Blasters, but the 14^th Zatoichi film, made at the zenith of the Blind Swordsman’s popularity in 1966, was snapped up by Miramax for US distribution back when they were raiding Asian film libraries for action flicks. Until Miramax hands it off or gets their act together, it’s the only Zatoichi flick NOT ON DVD.

And be sure to check back next week—and every week—for Mania’s DVD Shopping List! And don’t forget Anime Avalanche every Monday!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVD Shopping List.