Lost comedy lives on DVD

By: BRIAN THOMAS
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Here are the prize winners in our ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 giveaway: Stacey Allen and Aaron Essig proved to have superior email ninja skills, and will be receiving their prizes shortly. All others can just sit in the crying corner until they get their emotions under control. See if you can keep it together until our next giveaway.

Which is... now! In honor of the release of THE AVIATOR on DVD, we're proud to present the following giveaway:

Want to own a copy of BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP Season 1 of your very own, but are too cheap to buy it? Well, just send an email to DVDShoppingList@Cinescape.com with the words "BAA BAA BAA" in the subject line, and be sure to include your valid mailing address. I'll be giving away copies to entries 8, 9 and 10. Good luck!

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This week, our spotlight pays tribute to the gods of comedy with these fantastic new releases.

(O) THE FORGOTTEN FILMS OF ROSCOE

"FATTY" ARBUCKLE (Mackinac/Laughsmith) Well, to most people today every Fatty Arbuckle film is forgotten, which is a real shame. Arbuckles films are brilliantly funny and full of warmth that still comes through. This 4-disc set includes 30 restored films starring and/or directed by Arbuckle from 1914 to 1932, plus commentraks, booklet, and more.
(O) STOOGES: THE MEN BEHIND THE LAUGHTER (Mackinac/Laughsmith) Great documentary on the Three Stooges on a 2-disc set that also includes radio interviews, DVD-ROM archives, 4 shorts, extra interviews, TV appearance and more.

NEW RELEASES

(O) ABOVE AND BEYOND (Navarre) Documentary TV series covering all aspects of outer space exploration. Complete 26 episode series on 5 discs.
(O) AFTER SCHOOL SPECIALS: 1981-82 (Navarre/Brentwood) Another quartet of morality plays for tweens: "A Matter of Time", "First Step", "Tough Girl" and "The Night Swimmers".
(O) AFTER SCHOOL SPECIALS: 1982-86 (Navarre/Brentwood) More weekday dramas in which tweens confront coming-of-age issues: "Two Loves for Jenny", "Did You Hear What Happened To Andrea?", "Ace Hits the Big Time" and "Face at the Edge of the World".

(O) AIRWOLF Season One (Universal) Crusty old Ernest Borgnine and crusty young Jan-Michael Vincent in a 1984 helicopter adventure series.
(O) THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Complete Second Season (Paramount) All 31 episodes, including the immortal tale of Aunt Bea's pickles.
(O) THE AVIATOR (Warner Bros.) Acclaimed Martin Scorsese biopic of the young Howard Hughes starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett. 2-disc widescreen & fullscreen editions include Scorsese commentrak, deleted footage, Making-Of and more.
(O) BAA BAA BLACKSHEEP Volume 1 (Universal) Robert Conrad as "Pappy" Boyington in the TV exploits of WWII air fighters.
(O) BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED (Universal) Little robots from space help out tenement dwellers threatened with eviction in this 1987 fantasy.
(O) BLOOD TRAP (Lions Gate) Parents Alexandra Paul and Bruce Bowleitner try to get bone marrow from crooked natural father Michael Riley to save their leukemia victim daughter. Trouble is, the guy's a killer who kidnaps the little girl.
(O) CHARLIE'S ANGELS (Sony) UMD for your PSP.
(O) COMBAT Season 4 Conflict 1 & 2 (Image) Each volume includes 16 episodes of the 1965 season, plus commentraks, bloopers and more.
(O) DAY AFTER TOMORROW (Fox) Strange weather we're having lately, eh? Roland Emmerich's sci-fi epic in a collector's edition that includes 2 commentraks, production meetings, featurettes, a documentary, deleted scenes and more.
(O) DEAD & ROTTING (Brentwood/Navarre) Tempe horror 4-pack includes DEAD & ROTTING, THE BONESETTER, OZONE and BLOODLETTING.
(O) THE DETECTIVE (Fox) Gritty 1968 mystery thriller based on a book by Roderick Thorpe (DIE HARD) in which hard boiled dick Frank Sinatra investigates the murder of a gay man.
(O) DICK VAN DYKE SHOW Complete Series (Image) Classic sitcom in a 25-disc box set! Includes commentraks, interviews, commercials and more.
(O) DRENCHED IN BLOOD (Navarre) Horror 4-pack includes FUNGICIDE, GOREGOYLES, DEVIL'S MOON and TALES OF TERROR.
(O) EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND: Series Finale (Warner Bros.) Whatsamata? Missed it? Got no friendsthat taped it for ya and ya don't wanna wait til it's seasoned? Here ya go. Now stop cryin'.
(O) FAT ACTRESS (Showtime) Comedy series starring Kirstie Alley sending up her own struggle with being overweight. All 7 episodes on 2 discs, plus commentraks, behind-the-scenes footage and more.
(O) A FOREST WITH NO NAME (Facets) Tough private eye Mike Yokohama is sent to recover a runaway girl in a very unusual forest in this offbeat Japanese horror noir from director Shinji Aoyama (EMBALMING).
(O) GHOUL SCHOOL (Brentwood/Navarre) Horror 4-pack includes GHOUL SCHOOL, FILTHY McNASTY, MULVA: ZOMBIE ASSKICKER and SHOCK CINEMA.
(O) THE GODFATHER PART II (Paramount) Prequel tells the biography of Vito Corleone. 2-disc set includes commentrak by director Francis Ford Coppola.
(O) THE GODFATHER PART III (Paramount) Don Michael Corleone tries to go straight. Includes commentrak by director Francis Ford Coppola.
(O) H (Tartan) RED DRAGON-inspired Korean suspense thriller in which a jailed genius psycho is consulted to catch another serial killer.
(O) HAUNTED BY THE PAST (Brentwood/Navarre) Horror 4-pack includes COLLINSVILLE, COLLINSVILLE 2, WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON'S FIRE and HELL ASYLUM.
(O) IN THE FACE OF EVIL (Wellspring) Documentary paints Ronald Reagan as a hero that crushed the Soviet Union with his bare hands.
(O) INVASION OF TERROR (Brentwood/Navarre) Vintage horror/sci-fi 4-pack includes Boris Karloff in THE BLACK ROOM, THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION, INVASION FROM INNER EARTH and CRAZE.
(O) I, ROBOT Collector's Edition (Fox) Alex Proyas' distillation of Isaac Asimov's robot stories into a Hollywood action movie. 2-disc set includes 3 commentraks, Making-Of, production diaries, featurettes and more.
(O) LADY IN CEMENT (Fox) 1968 mystery thriller with Frank Sinatra as a hard boiled dick investigating a murder where all the witnesses are being killed in turn.
(O) MAN ON FIRE (Fox) Burnt out bodyguard Denzel Washington goes ape when client Dakota Fanning is kidnapped in this Tony Scott thriller. 2-disc set includes 2 commentraks, behind-the-scenes documentary, deleted scenes, alternate ending and more.
(O) M*A*S*H Season 8 (Fox) 1979 season viewable with or without laugh track.
(O) MISSION MARS COLLECTION (Image) Includes the classic INVADERS FROM MARS, ATTACK FROM MARS and FLIGHT TO MARS.
(O) MPD PSYCHO (Adness) In this 2000 miniseries from the prolific Takashi Miike, a homicide cop with multiple personalities hunts for the serial killer that murdered his wife.
(O) NEWSRADIO Seasons 1 & 2 (Sony) Fine ensemble workplace sitcom starring Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Stephen Root and Joe Rogan. 29 episodes on 3 discs, plus commentraks, bloopers and more.
(O) THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY (Criterion) Luis Bunuel's 1974 comedy has an anti-Communist subtext, but don't let that stop you from checking out his freeform surrealist visions. Includes 36-page booklet. (O) POSSESSED (Lions Gate) Nicollette Sheridan in a knock-off of Asian chillers like THE EYE in which a cornea operation brings ghostly visions.
(O) PSYCHOTIC TENDENCIES (Brentwood/Navarre) Psychohorror 4-pack includes THE STRANGER, MOLE, JACK'S HABIT and NIGHTMARE.
(O) QUEEN FOR A DAY (First Look) Twisted '50s game show in which women compete to see who has the most pitiful life. The winner is showered with prizes kinda like that EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER show, but with less taste. The 7 surviving episodes on a 3-disc set.
(O) SHINOBI: A WAY OUT (ADV) In the last of four films, two runaway ninjas run right into the middle of a civil war. Includes a featurette on the translation and more.
(O) SKINNED ALIVE (Navarre) Horror 4-pack includes SKINNED ALIVE, DEMON SUMMER, MIDNIGHT SKATER and SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT.
(O) THE SLEEPWALKER KILLING (First Look) True Crime TV movie with Hilary Swank trying to figure out whether her husband killed her mother while he was asleep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
(O) VIBRATIONS / FLUCTUATIONS / SUBMISSION (Image) Kinky schlock triple bill from 1970, courtesy of Something Weird Video. Includes deleted scenes and more.
(O) VOLCANOES OF THE DEEP SEA (Image) Miles beneath the ocean, life is thriving in an ecosystem totally alien to our own, and this IMAX film takes you there. Includes behind-the-scenes, trivia, educational video and more.
(O) VOYAGE TO THE PLANETS & BEYOND (BBC) The WALKING WITH DINOSAURS team goes to work on this docudrama chronicling a mission to capture a chunk of Saturn's rings. With 50-minute companion documentary about space probes, featurettes and more.

Looking for cartoons? Check out our Anime Avalanche column. And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's DVD Shopping List!

DVD Shopping List (© 2005 Brian Thomas) is our weekly DVD column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive new book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVDShoppingList@cinescape.com.