Jayne can't help it

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Attending comics conventions this summer I noted an extreme drop off in the number of video pirates, which seems odd now that DVD burners are so much more common. Even I have one! A few years ago, every other table had an illegal copy of SPIDER-MAN on it (which was in theaters at the time), but I didn't see one dupe of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2 or THE DESCENT or SNAKES ON A PLANE for sale. Here's some speculation on this issue. The conventions may be making an effort to crack down on such illegal activity, fearing loss of licenses or whatever. Or the pirates find it more profitable to operate over the internet. Or... that bust of that big pirate ring last month really was responsible for a huge percentage of bootlegs all over the world.

Appropriately enough, in our Prize Closet this week we have 5 legal and official release copies of PRISON BREAK Season 1, courtesy of 20th Century Fox. To be eligible to win one, send an email to psycho@psychotronic.info containing your name and address, and put "P-BREAK" in the email subject. Man, am I sophomoric.

We also have 1 copy of INSIDE MAN also appropriate to our theme courtesy of the nice folks at Universal. To enter this one, your entry should have the words "MAN INSIDE" in the subject line. It'll give you something to do while waiting for parole.

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Last month the Chicago Film Center and other artfilm venues across the country ran a special Frank Tashlin retrospective, so it's appropriate that our spotlight shine on this box that features his two collaborations with the immortal Jayne Mansfield (along with another from Raoul Walsh).


(O) JAYNE MANSFIELD COLLECTION (Fox) Includes THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT, WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? And THE SHERIFF OF FRACTURED JAW.

NEW RELEASES


(O) THE ADDAMS FAMILY / ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES (Paramount) 1991 hit based on the TV series based on Charles Addams' cartoons in the NEW YORKER, plus the 1993 sequel.
(O) BACK WOODS (Inspired) Teens kill a mountain woman, sending her huge transvestite psycho son on a rampage of revenge.
(O) BODYGUARD KIBA (Media Blasters) Takashi Miike's 1993 direct-to-video yakuza thriller about a top bodyguard protecting the Soryukai family from all comers.
(O) BRICK (Universal) A loner tries to find out who killed his rich girlfriend. Includes commentrak, 20 minutes of deleted footage and casting footage.
(O) BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING (Universal) Another sequel to the clever cheerleader comedy. Includes featurettes and gag reel.
(O) CEMETERY OF TERROR / GRAVE ROBBERS (BCI Eclipse) A Crypt of Terror double feature of Mexican chillers.
(O) CLONE (Image) In a post-apocalypse society, only one man holds the key to animating thousands of healthy clones.
(O) C.S.A.: CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA (Genius) Alternative history mockumentary. With 2 commentraks, deleted footage, Making-Of and more.

(O) THE CURSE OF KING TUT'S TOMB Complete Miniseries (Echo Bridge) Russell Mulcahy's Hallmark TV miniseries in which archaeologist Casper Van Dien searches for a powerful artifact.
(O) ELECTRIC ZOMBIES (Inspired) 2004 movie in which a government mind control weapon gets loose via a cell phone virus that turns people into zombies, somewhat like Stephen King's novel CELL. Coincidence?
(O) FARSCAPE STARBURST EDITION: Season 4 Collection 4 (ADV) 7 episodes on 4 discs, plus commentraks, interviews, deleted footage and more.
(O) FRIGHT PACK (Inspired) 3-pack includes TERROR HOUSE, LAST HOUSE ON HELL STREET and MALEFIC.
(O) GHOST IN A TEENY BIKINI (Retromedia) When action movie star Christine Nguyen inherits a mansion from a rich uncle, other potential heirs try to kill her, but a friendly ghost helps her.
(O) GROUNDED FOR LIFE Season 3 (Anchor Bay) 13 more misadventures of the rowdy Finnerty family, plus two unaired episodes and commentraks.
(O) HAUNTED HIGHWAY (Lionsgate) A haunted photographer drives over a lonely desert road with his wife's corpse in his trunk... Includes Making-Of.
(O) HEADHUNTER (Xenon) A man finds himself in the hands of a corporate-minded succubus.
(O) HELLRAISER 3: HELL ON EARTH (Paramount) Creator Clive Barker steps back from the series for this 1992 sequel in which TV reporter Terry Farrell discovers a sculpture that holds the captured souls of Pinhead and his friends. Includes featurettes and deleted footage.
(O) THE HIDDEN BLADE (Tartan) Japanese samurai action.
(O) INSIDE MAN (Universal) Spike Lee's twisty and tense heist thriller starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer. Widescreen and fullscreen editions include director commentrak, deleted footage, interviews, Making-Of and more.
(O) KAZUO UMEZZ'S HORROR THEATER 2 (Media Blasters) Episodes 3 & 4.
(O) NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES / CURSE OF THE DOLL PEOPLE (BCI Eclipse) A Crypt of Terror double feature of vintage Mexican horror..
(O) PRISON BREAK Season 1 (Fox) When a man is put on death row for a crime he didn't commit, his brother has himself incarcerated as part of a desperate plan to get them both out of the pen. All 22 episodes on 6 discs, plus commentraks, Making-Of featurettes, deleted footage and more.
(O) REVENGE OF THE LIVING DEAD GIRLS (Retromedia) Brigitte Lahaie in a gory 1987 Eurohorror spin-off of Jean Rollin's LIVING DEAD GIRL. Includes alternate ending.
(O) RIGHT TO FIGHT: SUPERKICKERS (Crash)
(O) SHOTGUN (Echo Bridge) Tough cop Stuart Chapin traces his sister's murderer to a small town in Mexico, where he has to fight a small army of drug runners.
(O) SWEET INSANITY (MTI) A slacker befriends the new girl in school, only to be menaced by something sinister from her past. With commentrak, deleted footage and more.
(O) TERROR PACK (Inspired) 3-pack includes HOLY TERROR, HELLINGER and INSANIAC.
(O) THIRD MAN OUT (Genius) TV mystery movie in which a gay man notorious for outing others hires a detective to find out who is making anonymous threats.
(O) THE TOOTH FAIRY (Anchor Bay) An inn in the California woodlands used to be the home of a psycho killer witch, and now she's waking up cranky. Includes commentrak, Making-Of, interviews and more.
(O) TOSHIRO MIFUNE Ultimate Collection (AnimEigo) Includes ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO, INCIDENT AT BLOOD PASS, SAMURAI BANNERS, RED LION and SAMURAI ASSASSIN.
(O) TROMEO & JULIET (Troma) 10th anniversary edition of Troma's take on Shakespeare, written by James Gunn (DAWN OF THE DEAD, SLITHER). Includes 4 commentraks, tons of interviews, featurettes, rehearsals, deleted footage, music video and more.
(O) THE UNBORN (Media Blasters) Asian horror about a mysterious pregnancy.
(O) THE WIRE Complete Third Season (HBO) Also available bundled with seasons 1 & 2.

BLU-RAY DISC CORNER

(O) GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (Warner Bros.)
(O) KISS KISS BANG BANG (Warner Bros.)
(O) TRAINING DAY (Warner Bros.)

HD-DVD CORNER

(O) AEON FLUX (Paramount) With 2 commentraks, featurettes and more.
(O) ANIMAL HOUSE (Universal)
(O) THE ITALIAN JOB (Paramount) With Making-Of featurettes, deleted footage and more.
(O) UNLEASHED (Universal)

UMD CORNER

(O) MAN ON FIRE (Fox)
(O) TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (Sony)



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.