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:
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Audio commentary by director D. J. Caruso and cast members Shia LaBeouf and Sarah Roemer
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Four Deleted (actually extended) Scenes
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The Making of Disturbia
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Serial Pursuit Trivia Pop-up Quiz (which flashes interesting facts about the movie while you watch)
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Outtakes Photo Gallery, including 46 promotional and behind the scenes images
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Theatrical Trailer
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Previews from other movies
Up next is TMNT, which offers us a computer-animated version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The film si available on DVD (pictured above), Blu-ray, and HD DVD/Standard DVD Combo. Extras include: Alternate Ending; Audio Commentery by writer-director Kevin Munroe; Deleted Scenes; and Interviews with the voice talent.
David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of THE FLY remains one of the horror auteur’s greatest works; the 1989 sequel, THE FLY II, was a considerable disappointment. Both films are now available together in The Fly Collector Set. If you already have the Two-Disc Collector’s Edition of THE FLY, you may not want to shell out the money just to add the sequel to your collection, unless you are a true completist.
If that’s not enough Fly for you, how about “The Fly Collection“? This DVD box set offers up the 1958 original starring David Hedison and Vincent Price, plus its two sequels, RETURN OF THE FLY (1959) and CURSE OF THE FLY (1965). The latter, a mostly forgotten cash-in effort, has never been given much if any exposure on home video. The first two were previously packaged together on DVD in a bare-bones presentation; the new four-disc box set offer up a fourth bonus disc loaded with extras.
Both WAR OF THE WORLDS and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE have previously been released separately on DVD. The new Double Feature disc combines both films into one collectible package of 1950s sci-fi disaster, produced by George Pal (the George Lucas of his era). WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is rather weak, but the 1953 version of WAR OF THE WORLDS stands up as a true classic.
The Darkman Trilogy packages Sam Raimi’s 1990 theatrical film DARKMAN with its two direct-to-video sequels, spread out over two discs. The first film shows Raimi blending his early horror film techniques with a more comic book approach, which he would use to great effect in his three SPIDER-MAN films.
FLASH GORDON (1980) was producer Dino DeLaurentiis’ msiguided attempt to take the classic movie serial and update it for the STAR WARS generation with lots of gaudy production design, flashy special effects, and a ridiculously campy tone that almost completely undermined the excitement. It is perhaps most notable for the curiosity value of its music score, composed by the rock group Queen. (This is augmented by more traditional symphonic movement ins everal places.) The film is now available on a DVD entitled the Saviour of the Universe Edition.
BUBBA HO-TEP is PHANTASM-director Don Coscarelli’s flick about an Elvis impersonator (Bruce Campbell) battling ancient Egytptian supernatural forces. Previously released on DVD in a Limited Collector’s Edition, it is now out in a Hail to the King Edition.
The 1978 remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS gets the Collector’s Edition treatment on DVD. This is an excellent updating of the 1956 original (based on the novel by Jack Finney). The new script by W.D. Richter cleverly transplants the action from rural America to the big city, providing a more modern take on seeing society overrun by emotionaless pod people. Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Brooke Addams, and Jeff Golblum star for director Phillip Kaufman, who uses some nice expressionistic touches to convey a familiar world gone subtly off-center. The first disc offers a widescreen presentation of the film with an optional audio commentary by Kaufman. Disc 2 includes a trailer plus several other bonus features:
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Re-vistors from Outer Space or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod
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Inside the Pods: Examing the Invasion
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Practical Pagic
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The Man Behind the Scream
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The Invasion Will Be Televised
THE FILM CREW sees several alumni from the late, lamented MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 trying to revive the old magic by providing audio commentaries for bad movies from yesteryear. Although the concept is not specifically science-fiction oriented, this particular disc does feature an old sci-fi flick, KILLERS FROM SPACE, starring Peter Graves.