Items filtered by date: October 2012

Welcome to Dailies, a column dedicated to bringing you both the obscure and the mainstream on DVD and Blu-ray. Being that a lot of us seem to have such a large appetite for varying film genres, this column will cover virtually everything I can get my grubby little paws on. Some of it will be good, and some of it not so much, but hopefully it will illuminate a few titles that you might not have seen otherwise, or perhaps just needed a reminder about. Either way, enjoy!

This week, we're going to be talking about a serious problem.

Do you have the post-Halloween blues? Well, if you’re anything like me, you probably do. Just because the best holiday of the year has passed doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy some of our favorite horror movies, does it? For those of us who believe that October is just too short a month, here are a few classics for you to check out that you might have forgotten about.

All right, today is of course Election Day here in the States. In honor of the joyous occasion/apocalypse (depending on the outcome and your own particular political leanings) we thought we’d review an appropriate and recently released title on Blu-ray – Warner’s new HD upgrade of The American President. Enjoy!

Note that we’ll have the regular weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section posted later this afternoon, so be sure to check back for it.

In the meantime, Amazon is now taking pre-orders on Disney’s Peter Pan: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray. Street date is 2/5/2013 as expected (SRP $44.99).

Kino Lorber has set a White Zombie: Kino Classics Remastered Edition for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/29/2013. This 1932 gem stars Bela Lugosi.

Olive Films will release a Cujo: 30th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray on 1/22/2013, along with King of the Pecos (1936), Frontier Horizon (1939) and The Quiet Man (1952). SRP is $24.95 each.

And Magnolia has set Nobody Walks and Nature Calls for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/22 as well.

Don’t forget... Fox’s remastered Patton Blu-ray streets today, along with Von Ryan’s Express. And the studio has Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure coming on Blu-ray next week (11/13). Here’s the cover art (click on each to pre-order from Amazon.com)...

Back tomorrow. Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

Morning, folks! Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. If you live in the hurricane-ravaged Northeast, here’s hoping the new week finds you and yours dry and with full power restored. We tend to take such things for granted until they’re taken away. Given all the political advertising on TV these days, some of the rest of you probably wish you didn’t have power! Ah well – with any luck there’s just one more day to have to put up with it all.

Here at the site this morning, we’ve posted a new Blu-ray Disc review – my own take on Eagle Rock’s excellent HD upgrade of Peter Gabriel: Secret World Live. If you’re a fan of Gabriel’s music, it’s not to be missed.

In news today, Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders on Sony’s Looper on both Blu-ray Disc and DVD (SRP $35.99 and $27.98). No street date is yet available, but we expect details to be announced soon. Click on the links for the Amazon pre-order pages.

Speaking of Sony and Amazon, the retailer also has Resident Evil: Retribution available for pre-order on Blu-ray 3D Combo, Blu-ray Combo and DVD. Street date is listed as 12/21 (SRP $45.99, $35.99 and $30.99). Again, click on the links for the respective Amazon pre-order pages.

Meanwhile, Hannover House has set Toys in the Attic for release on Blu-ray on 2/5/2013.

Funimation has set Shorts HD Presents: Oscar Winning Short Films for release as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo on 1/29/2013 (SRP $24.98). Among the shorts included will be God of Love, The New Tenants, Toyland, West Bank Story, The Lost Thing, Logorama, The Danish Poet, Ryan and Harvie Krumpet.

Shout! Factory has moved the release of Ridley Scott’s The Duellists on Blu-ray from 12/18 to 1/29/2013. Adjust your plans accordingly. Shout! has also set a double-feature Blu-ray of Jackie Chan’s Crime Story and The Protector for release on 1/15 (SRP $19.93).

And in other news for you Star Trek Fans, Fathom Events is holding another theatrical screening of remastered Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on 11/29 – Q Who? and The Measure of a Man: Extended Version. Click here for details on tickets and participating theatres.

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover art for Fox’s The Big Trail (due 11/13) and Archer: The Complete Season Three (1/8/2013), as well as Warner’s Easter Parade (2/19/2013). All three can be pre-ordered now on Amazon by clicking on the covers...

Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

We’ve got a bit more announcement news to report today, as well as updates on some previously announced titles…

First up, CBS has revealed more details about the extras that you’ll find on the Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Two Blu-ray set due on 12/4 (SRP $130). In addition to including all 22 episodes from the season, you’ll get The Measure of a Man in both the original broadcast version and an Extended version “which includes deleted scenes and different angles from the broadcast version.” You’ll also get a Hybrid Extended Cut of the episode that combines the broadcast version with “video of the extra material taken from an early VHS rough-cut of the episode that was in the writer’s (Melinda Snodgrass) archives.” Audio commentary on the episode is also provided by Snodgrass and Mike and Denise Okuda. Nice! That’s one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series, so this should be a real treat. [UPDATE: I'm told there's also a second audio commentary for the episode Q Who? with director Rob Bowman, VFX supervisor Dan Curry and Mike and Denise Okuda.] On top of that, you’ll also get promos for each episode, an On-Air Season Two promo from 1998, a 1988 Reading Rainbow segment with LeVar Burton, a 2012 Reading Rainbow iTunes promo, a gag reel, deleted scenes [from the episodes The Icarus Factor and Up the Long Ladder], 5 Archival Mission Log featurettes (including Departmental Briefing Year Two: Production, Inside Starfleet Archives: Penny Juday, Star Trek Coordinator, Selected Crew Analysis: Year Two, Departmental Analysis Year Two: Memorable Missions and Mission Overview Year Two), an additional featurette (Energized! Season Two Tech Update), the all-new Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation cast documentary [hosted by our old friend and regular Bits Comic-Con panelist Robert Meyer Burnett] and the 2-part Making It So: Continuing Star Trek: The Next Generation retrospective production documentary (includes Part 1: Strange New Worlds and Part 2: New Life and New Civilizations).

Are any of you fans of TV’s JAG or the classic Mission: Impossible? Well, CBS is releasing both in new complete series DVD box sets on 12/11. JAG: The Complete Series - Collector’s Edition (56 discs - SRP $310.99 but just $267.83 on Amazon) includes an exclusive bonus disc with new cast and crew interview featurettes (The Jagged Edge and JAG: Beyond the Scenes) plus promos and a 40-page JAG Manual. Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible - The Complete Television Collection (56 discs - SRP $370.99 but just $267.83 on Amazon) also offers a new bonus disc of extras including 5 featurettes (Birth of the Mission, Mission Debriefing, Hour Magazine segment featuring Martin Landau, Peter Lupus and Greg Morris, Clip from CBS Fall Preview Show “Seven Wonderful Nights” (1966) and Archival interview with Greg Morris), select series and episode promos and a photo gallery montage with a vocal version of the show’s theme performed by The Kane Triplets. Here’s what the opened packaging will look like for each (you can click on the image to pre-order on Amazon)...

Meanwhile, Warner Home Video has set the animated Duck Dodgers: Dark Side of the Duck - Season 1 for DVD only release on 2/19/2013 (SRP $19.97). Warner also has the 29-disc Gossip Girl: The Complete Series (SRP $199.70) and Gossip Girl: The Complete Sixth Season (SRP $39.98) coming on DVD only on 2/19. And for you Christopher Guest fans, Warner has set the pedigreed pooch comedy Best in Show for Blu-ray release on 2/19/2013 (SRP $19.98)!

Universal has set Guns, Girls and Gambling for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/8/2013. The film stars Gary Oldman, Christian Slater and Dane Cook.

Anchor Bay Entertainment has set the documentary Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis for DVD only release on 1/22/2013. SRP is $19.98. The films looks at the comedian’s life and career.

Also, Artsploitation Films has set Lapland Odyssey – essentially the Finnish version of The Hangover – for DVD only release on 1/8/2013.

Shout! Factory has announced that they’ve acquired the U.S. home video release rights to a pair of British titles – the zombie apocalypse comedy Cockneys vs. Zombies and the action-thriller Tower Block. Look for them to be released in early 2013.

And don’t forget that Disney has The Muppet Christmas Carol: 20th Anniversary Edition due on Blu-ray on 11/6. That same day they’ll also have the Prep & landing: Totally Tinsel Collection on Blu-ray Combo featuring the original Prep & Landing and Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for CBS’ Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Two, Shout! Factory’s The Nest (1/22/2013), Disney’s The Muppet Christmas Carol, Fox’s Beasts of the Southern Wild (12/4) and Warner’s Best in Show, along with DVD cover artwork for Warner’s Duck Dodgers: Dark Side of the Duck - Season 1…

Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt