This week features an incredibly diverse set of titles released on disc. The deluge of product has much to do with the emerging popularity of the relatively recent HD DVD and Blu-ray formats, which has resulted in numerous previously available classics and cult films being released yet again. Newcomer MEET THE ROBINSONS arrives on DVD and Blu-ray. Box office dud HOSTEL – PART II emerges unrated on DVD; there is also a Blu-ray disc and a UMD for PSP. Stanley Kubrick’s body of work sees at least its third release in a box set, which includes sci-fi, fantasy, and horror efforts 2001: A SPACE ODYSSES, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and THE SHINING; all are also available as individual discs, in each of the major formats (DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray). MR BROOKS, the nifty serial-killer thriller, makes its debut on DVD and Blu-ray. A two-disc edition of the fantasy odyssey O LUCKY MAN is now available. The Alistair Sim version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is presented in an Ultimate Collector’s Edition, featuring lots of extras, plus the original black-and-white version and a colorized version. FIDO, the satirical zombie comedy, makes its debut on DVD. There is a Bava DVD Box Set, Vol 2, which includes such cult gems as BLACK SUNDAY and BLACK SABBAT (which are also available separately). In anticipation of SAW IV, SAW III arrives in a two-disc special edition, featuring an unrated director’s cut; there is also a SAW trilogy box set. The ’70s cult French animated film FANTASTIC PLANET gets the DVD treatment. HELLRAISER unlocks a 20th Anniversary Edition DVD. CUTTING CLASS – a long-forgotten ’80s slasher effort starring Brad Pitt – is dug up out of the mothballs and for presentation on DVD. And box set of the seventh season of TALES FROM THE CRYPT arrives, which prompts an even bigger box set featuring seasons 1 through 7.
Find all these and more below the fold.
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There’s a Biblical Noah’s flood of DVDs washing ashore this week, led by EVAN ALMIGHTY. Despite less than stellar reviews, the follow-up to BRUCE ALMIGHTY turned a pretty penny at the box office, even without Jim Carrey back in a starring role. The film arrives on home video shelves in a variety of versions: Widescreen DVD (pictured), Full Screen DVD, and HD DVD. Extras include some deleted scenes and film flubs. There is a feature about the animals seen in the film and on the construction of the ark, plus a “match the animal pairs” game.
Read about the rest of this week’s DVD releases below the fold.
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Today is a great day for classic horror film collectors in general and Vincent Price fans in particular. Although thee only new horror title arriving on home video is 2006’s negligible SNOOP DOGG’S HOOD OF HORROR, there are dozens of classic films hitting shelves in new DVD releases: an unrated director’s cut of Stuart Gordon’s FROM BEYOND, a Collector’s Edition of Dan O’Bannon’s RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, a double bill disc of two Amicus films from the ’70s based on old horror comics, TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE VAULT OF HORROR. But the true highlight of this week’s DVD releases is two box sets featuring the late “Merchant of Menace,” Vincent Price. The first, “The Fly Collection,” includes THE FLY (1958), RETURN OF THE FLY (1959), and CURSE OF THE FLY (1965). Price only appears in the first two FLY movies, but they helped cement his stature as a horror star, after decades of being a character actor and villain in mainstream melodramas and mysteries. The second, “Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection,” includes THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, TALES OF TERROR, THEATRE OF BLOOD, MADHOUSE, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN, and TWICE TOLD TALES.
The highlight here is WITCHFINDER (a.k.a. THE CONQUEROR WORM), which has never before been released on disc in the U.S. This DVD (which is available separately) is the first opportunity for U.S. fans to see the film in its original form, under its original title. (Read more about the film’s long and winding road here. With the exception of CURSE OF THE FLY, all the other titles have been previous available on disc, but this is a great opportunity to acquire them in collectible editions. The “Fly Collection” contains bonus features that were not available on the previously released, bare-bones DVD double bill of THE FLY and RETURN OF THE FLY. The “Scream Legends Collection” contains a fifth bonus disc, with a documentary and two featurettes about Price and his career.
In honor of these DVD releases, we have loaded up with retrospectives on the films. Some of them we are posting for the first time; others have already disappeared into the archives, but you can find them by clicking here for an in-depth article about THE FLY and here for an article about TALES OF TERROR.
The rest of this week’s DVD releases can be found below the fold.
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This is a busy week for home video, with lots of titles appearing on disc. Of course, quantity does not always equate with quality, but you’re bound to find something of interest among the DVDs below. There are only a couple of new titles, but several classics and/or cult films are showing up, repackaged in various ways to make them appealing to potential buyers.

First up is DISTURBIA, a somewhat mechanical retooling of REAR WINDOW, which managed to compensate for its derivative status with some decent characterization and performances. The film is available on DVD in a Widescreen Edition  (pictured above) and a Full Screen Edition, plus Blu-ray and HD DVD. Extras include: Read More