Hey folks, Harry here with this week’s DVD Picks & Peeks. There’s some jewels, but it is another short column – as there just weren’t many releases that really captured my attention today. Next week gets slightly better – with some big releases, but go ahead and check this week’s out. As usual – the pics and titles click over to Amazon where you can learn more and purchase the item – which gives a small percentage of the purchase price to help make this column happen. Here ya go…

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

FOR ALL MANKIND – Criterion – Blu Ray

20 years ago a stunningly gorgeous space documentary about NASA, The Moon & the Astronauts that did it came out and blew me away. I was freshly graduated from High School and this was one of the first documentaries that didn’t involve hippie music festivals – that I can recall seeing. I was very happy when I saw that Criterion had put this out on Blu Ray, because as a Space geek, seeing this footage as perfect as possible… well, its Christmas morning! Here’s what Criterion put together for us:

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by producer-director Al Reinert
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack
Audio commentary featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan, the last man to set foot on the Moon
An Accidental Gift: The Making of: For All Mankind, a new documentary featuring interviews with Reinert, Apollo 12 and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean, and NASA archive specialists Don Pickard, Mike Gentry, Morris Williams, and Chuck Welch
On Camera, a collection of excerpted, on-screen interviews with fifteen of the Apollo astronauts
New video program about Bean’s artwork, accompanied by a gallery of his paintings
NASA audio highlights and liftoff footage
Optional on-screen identification of astronauts and mission control specialists
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by film critic Terrence Rafferty and Reinert

G.I. JOE Season 1.1

This is a nice collection. 4 discs – but hold off if I were you. If you’re a real GI JOE fan, there is a COMPLETE COLLECTION coming out with a GI JOE footlocker and all manners of extras for the whole series (all seasons) – but it’ll be a bit pricey, this way would be an installment plan on getting them all – and you’ll wait longer. But if you want a TASTE of this original series – this is pretty darn good. The extras include a bunch of the PSAs, original Joe toy commercials, the original GI Joe 1963 Toy Fair presentation and more! It’s a fine first installment, but if you’re like me, you want that footlocker that’s coming up!

THE TOWERING INFERNO - Blu Ray

Haven’t seen this Blu Ray yet. But from folks that have received it, I hear Fox did a great job on the super-widescreen transfer. If you head over to Amazon – the list of extras never ever seems to end. For example – there are 32 Extended and Deleted Scenes and a different opening. There are 10 featurettes. 6 Storyboard comparison. The NATO presentation reel, the 1974 featurettes, a 77 Irwin Allen interview. Articles, photos, shot composition and matte paintings, behind the scenes and costumes photo galleries and a lot more. I can’t wait for the same treatment on POSEIDON ADVENTURE.

THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT

Watched this on Blu Ray. I didn’t like it the first time – mainly because I felt as I was watching it… I felt it descending into rampant bullshit (aka not true or close to it) – which was further confirmed by the “LADY THAT LIVED IT” in the crazy to watch evasive Q&A. But when it came in on Blu Ray – I decided to give it a fresh look. I love Peter Cornwell’s animated work – but this film just didn’t do it for me at all. I blame the editing, the photography, the sound editing, the score… every bit of Rock Video bullshit that is a part of this film. When telling a GHOST STORY – you do not need crazy amounts of visual effects. TRUE GHOST STORIES scare because they’re true – because when you really do witness a spirit – it sends a shiver that shakes everything that we think we know. That this plays with possession as well… the film doesn’t handle that or the ghost story well at all. Oddly enough – I liked the actors uniformly in the film. Just not the way the film came together or was written. PASS.

CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON / CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER / HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (Blu Ray)

Ok – this is a pretty shitty situation. If – like me – you got CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS instantly upon release – you’re being FORCED to rebuy them, to get CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON which has never been released on Blu Ray. Now – if you haven’t bought either of those releases – well then this is a great deal for you. The two titles we’ve had are exactly the same. Ang Lee’s classic – is STUNNING on Blu Ray. I haven’t revisited the film in years, but I fell in love all over again. Ziyi Zhang is so stunning in this film. She’s just amazing here – as is every aspect of the film, performance and story. As of now, Sony has not set a date for a stand alone release for CTHD, so if you want to pass on this release – have faith that when it is a single Blu Ray – I will let you know.

BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT / MONTE CRISTO

John Gilbert as a silent swashbuckler in two great features that I’d never seen till this release. MONTE CRISTO is a bit of a rough print of the sole surviving Czech print. But if you love that story like I do – it is very satisfying. And BARDELYS… well that’s directed by the great King Vidor – and is really cool to watch. Like Monte Cristo – it’s a rough print, but the only existing one. There’s moments where footage is missing, but is bridged with stills and the script fills in. Definitely not perfect prints, but it’s all that exists on the records for now. So if you’re a fan of Silent cinema – this is a treat!

[REC]

”The Movie That Inspired QUARANTINE” – fuck that noise, because if like me, you saw that incredibly bad QUARANTINE, that would make you want to possibly steer clear from that. However, REC is fucking phenomenal. In every step – this film gets it right, where QUARANTINE fucked it up. You put this on alone and you’re gonna get real scared. FUCKING GREAT! Do not let this pass you by.

1,0001 CLASSIC COMMERCIALS COLLECTION

I know. Most of us hate COMMERCIALS – but this isn’t like that. This is pure unadulterated Nostalgia. Over 16 hours of commercials spanning DECADES. Perfect for that CRASS COMMERCIAL PARTY where it’s nothing but brand names – and everyone comes as their favorite Ad character. They’re all on here. But it is a definite trip to watch these.

I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER – Blu Ray

Holy Shit! Did you know Jack Black plays an incredibly annoying dreadlocked stoner dude on the island that is painfully terrible? It is true. He didn’t do this for credit apparently, good idea. Freddie is terrible. Jennifer Love Hewitt’s chest was better in the original. Brandy made me laugh throughout… unintentionally. But though this is pretty much a trash flick – I kinda enjoyed it. At least it ain’t S. DARKO.

Ok – the past two weeks have been fairly weak on releases. That changes next week with WATCHMEN Director’s Cut, CORALINE, CHARLIE’S ANGELS 4th Season, Robot Chicken: Star Wars – Episode II, 300 The Complete Experience Blu Ray, MADE IN U.S.A. Criterion, TWO OR THREE THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER Criterion, THE MIGHTY BOOSH: Season 1 & Season 2 & Season 3, VISIONEERS and more. Now for a little clickable preview of a very cool Amazon exclusive Blu ray of WATCHMEN: