It stinks!

By: BRIAN THOMAS
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2006

This month you can see the Colin Farrell meets the American aborigines movie THE NEW WORLD on DVD but you won't be able to smell him. Not so in Japan. Last year, showmen in Japan revived Mike Todd Jr.'s old Smell-O-Vision idea in two theaters when they released chocolate scents from under seats during screenings of CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and last month theaters in Tokyo and Osaka sold out shows by giving viewers of THE NEW WORLD the scents of the deep woods.

Now, open the door to our Prize Closet and smell the goodies inside. We've got 5 copies of the funny but flawed spoof DATE MOVIE unrated to give away, courtesy of Fox. To enter either contest, you must send an email containing your name and address to psycho@psychotronic.info with the designated subject line "HANNIGAN".

We also have three copies of ALF Season 3, courtesy of Lionsgate. For this one make the subject read "ALF 3".

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

The seed that sprouted Video Watchdog magazine, which in turn bred a generation of more discerning videophiles and movie fans, began as an article examining the differences between the international blockbuster HERCULES as presented in various venues. This one's for Tim Lucas, and I can't wait to read his analysis.

(O) HERCULES / MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (Retromedia) Steve Reeves in the original 1958 international blockbuster that started the peplum craze, presented for the first time on home video in widescreen. Plus, a weirder, lesser follow-up starring Mark Forest.

NEW RELEASES


(O) A (Facets) Documentary on the cult responsible for a poison gas massacre on a Tokyo subway.
(O) ALF Season 3 (Lionsgate) Sitcom about a puppet from outer space.
AMAZON JAIL (Blue Underground) Sick 1982 Eurotrash WIP hijinks.
(O) AT DAWN THEY SLEEP (EI Cinema) Low budget horror about vampires vs. drugsters.
(O) BARE BEHIND BARS (Blue Underground) Uncut X-rated 1980 Euro-Brazilian WIP hijinks from the director of AMAZON JAIL.
(O) BLOOD KISS (EI Cinema) 1999 horror I which a man's vendetta against the vampire that killed his family.
(O) CEMETERY GATES (Graveyard/Ventura) College students filming a zombie movie in a cemetery are attacked by a huge mutant Tasmanian devil. Includes Making-Of featurettes.
(O) CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS / WAR BETWEEN THE PLANETS (MPI) Odd, talky and stagey, this 1962 sci-fi feature has some ahead-of-its-time ideas in it / Third entry in an Italian space opera quadrilogy. Includes trailers and drive-in ads.
(O) THE CURSE OF LOLA (Tai Seng) A killer stalks a Chinese dance troupe.
(O) DAN AYKROYD: UNPLUGGED ON UFOs (Union Station/Anchor Bay) Aykroyd is a conspiracy & unexplained phenomena buff and here he digs into the flying saucer thing.
(O) DARKNESS: THE VAMPIRE VERSION (Barrel) Leif Jonker's acclaimed low budget 1993 horror epic about a small town overrun by nosferatu, now in a definitive director's cut edition. Includes Making-Of and more. Also available in a 2-disc edition that includes the original release version, commentrak, Q&A, vintage featurettes, interviews and more.
(O) DARK SHADOWS DVD Collection 24 (MPI) 40 episodes plus interviews.
(O) DARK WOODS (Sub Rosa) Summer camp + psycho killer. With commentrak, interviews and more.
(O) DATE MOVIE (Fox) Alyson Hannigan is a multi-ethnic fat girl who slims down to win her dream guy in this spoof that too often strays from its chosen target. I mean, it's got already old Michael Jackson jokes, but she doesn't even have a gay best friend. With 2 commentraks, an "anti-commentary", laugh track recorded from a test screening (cool idea), featurettes, alternate footage and more. An unrated edition adds on more featurettes, a game, audition tapes, video diary and more and we're giving them away.
(O) DEVIL'S BLOODY PLAYTHING (EI Cinema) Mean girl Ruby Larocca makes life hell for roommate Zoe Moonshine.
(O) DUCT TAPE KILLER / SILVER MUMMY (EI Cinema) 1998/9 double horror feature starring Misty Mundae and Tina Krause.
(O) DUKES OF HAZZARD Complete Sixth Season (Warner Bros.) Two brothers too dumb to use the doors on their car. With a tour of the real Hazzard County.
(O) FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER (Dark Sky/MPI) Freaky 1965 psychotronic classic in which a damaged android astronaut on a killing spree meets some funky alien invaders and their mutant creature.
(O) FUNNY MAN (Subversive) 1994 UK horror starring Christopher Lee about a psycho killer in jester garb.
(O) JOEY Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) The sweet but dumb actor from FRIENDS in his own spin-off. All 24 episodes on 4 discs.
(O) KAZUO UMEZZ'S HORROR THEATER Volume 1 (Media Blasters) First two episodes of a TV series based on the works of the Japanese horror author: "House of Bugs" and "Diet".
(O) KIDS IN THE HALL Complete Season 4 (A&E) 1992-1993. With commentraks, archival footage and more.
(O) LITTLE BIGFOOT (Trinity) Kids befriend a young sasquatch.
(O) THE LON CHANEY COLLECTION (Retromedia) Lon Chaney Jr. stars in the suspense thriller MANFISH, the TELEPHONE TIME episode "The Golden Junkman", an episode of LOCK-UP, and the best looking edition of THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN ever issued on home video.
(O) MARILYN MONROE 80th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (Fox) Includes SEVEN YEAR ITCH, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, NIAGRA, RIVER OF NO RETURN, LET'S MAKE LOVE and the documentary MARILYN: THE FINAL DAYS.
(O) THE MONSTER (Tai Seng) Shu Qi is terrorized in a haunted apartment building. Special edition includes Making-Of and more.
(O) MUMMY'S KISS (EI Cinema) R-rated version of the sexy mummy movie.
(O) MY UNCLE THE ALIEN (Trinity) The president's daughter is in trouble and only her imaginary (?) uncle can save her.
(O) NIGHT STALKER Complete Series (Buena Vista) What? You say you already own the complete NIGHT STALKER series on DVD? Oh, that means you're forgetting this short-lived 2005 remake of the 1970s series. And well you should. Includes unaired episodes, commentraks, Making-Of, deleted footage and scripts.
(O) NUMB3RS Complete First Season (Paramount) FBI man and his math whiz brother solve crimes. All 13 episodes on 4 discs, plus commentraks, unaired pilot, auditions, featurettes and more..
(O) OZZIE (MTI) A talking koala bear? Now I've seen everything! Oh, wait Joan Collins as an evil toy manufacturer? Now, I've seen everything!
(O) PLATOON (MGM) 2-disc 20th anniversary edition of Oliver Stone's harrowing war drama includes two commentraks, deleted footage, documentary featurettes and more.
(O) THE RIDDICK TRILOGY (Universal) No, you didn't fall asleep during the second sequel and forget all about it. The box set includes the animated pre-sequel.
(O) ROBERT ANTON WILSON: Maybe Logic (Ryko) Writer, philosopher and humorist RAW shines forth in this amazing documentary.
(O) ROLLERGIRLS Complete Season 1 (A&E) Documentary series on female roller derby teams. With bonus episode, featurettes and more.
(O) SAVIOUR OF THE SOUL (Tai Seng) 1991 Hong Kong action with Andy Lau, Anita Mui, Gloria Yip and Kenny Bee as superheroes fighting villain Aaron Kwok.
(O) SERIAL KILLER MASSACRE (EI Cinema) A psycho couple goes on a bloody rampage.
(O) SEX & ZEN (Media Blasters) Michael Mak's twisted 1998 international hit.
(O) SHOCK-O-RAMA (EI Cinema) As studio execs watch movies about a giant junk monster fighting tiny aliens and a lascivious evil brain, their fired star Misty Mundae battles a cannibal zombie.
(O) SINGAPORE SLING (Synapse) 1990 Greek shocker in which a detective searching for his lost girlfriend is captured by a psychotic mother and daughter.
(O) SLAVE GIRLS ON AUCTION BLOCK 1313 (EI Cinema) More WIP nonsense.
(O) SMOKEY & THE BANDIT (Universal) Moonshine runners Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed, along with runaway bride Sally Field, outwit Southern-fried lawman Jackie Gleason in this hit action comedy. Special edition includes featurettes.
(O) SORORITY SADISTS / SCHOOLGIRL SACRIFICE (EI Cinema)
(O) TALES FROM THE CANNIBAL SIDE (EI Cinema) 1998 horror anthology.
(O) TOMIE: THE BEGINNING (Media Blasters) 2005 prequel to the Tomie franchise.
(O) THE TOMORROW PEOPLE Set 3 (A&E) The sixth, seventh and eighth seasons of the 1970s UK psychic series, plus a bonus disc with a documentary, interviews and more.
(O) THE UNINVITED (Panik House) 2003 K-horror with a guy haunted by little girl ghosts. Plus Making-Of, interviews, insert card, sticker and more.
(O) WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (Warner Bros.) Sisters Bette Davis and Joan Crawford wage psychological warfare within the walls of an old Hollywood house. 2-disc special edition includes commentrak, new and vintage featurettes, Bete on the ANDY WILLIAMS SHOW and more.
(O) XTRO 2 (Image) Jan-Michael Vincent and Tara Buckman in a 1990 monster sequel.


HD-DVD CORNER

(O) BLAZING SADDLES (Warner Bros.) Includes Brooks commentrak, deleted footage, featurettes, BLACK BART spin-off TV pilot and more.


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.