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November News
Home Vision Entertainment, the premier distributor of foreign and classic films in North America, has launched a collection of DVDs under the Home Vision Entertainment label. HVE will premiere four films starring international sex symbol Brigitte Bardot including "Plucking the Daisy" (1956, starring Bardot, Daniel Grelin, Darry Cowl, Jacques Dumesnil and Robert Hirsch), available now; "The Night Heaven Fell" (1957, directed by Roger Vadim and starring Bardot, Stephen Boyd and Alida Valli), available now; "Don Juan (or if Don Juan Were a Woman)" (1973, directed by Roger Vadim and starring Bardot in her last film), available November 13; and "Spirits of the Dead: Three Tales of the Macabre by Edgar Allan Poe" (1968, an anthology directed by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini, starring Bardot, Alain Delon, Jane Fonda, Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Carla Marlier, Francoise Prevost, James Robertson-Justice, Renzo Palmer, Salvo Randone, Fabrizio Angeli, Marina Yaru, and Vincent Price as the narrator, available November 13). The seminal collection of French language films, sold separately, will include new widescreen digital transfers enhanced for 16x9 televisions, original theatrical trailers, liner notes by film critic Chris Gore, deluxe animated menus and more. In 2002 the company will release Liv Ullmann's "Kristin Lavransdatter" and "Private Confessions," as well as programs from the BBC Arts line that include the outstanding documentary "Jackson Pollack: Love and Death on Long Island," a BBC film on Robert Crumb, and "Master Builders," a three-part series on great architects. For more information: www.homevision.com.
The complete 22-episode first season of the critically-acclaimed and highly-rated landmark Showtime series "Queer as Folk," about the lives of a group of gay men and women living in Pittsburgh, with graphic sexual content, provocative dialogue and unflinching portraits of an aspect of gay cultural life, will be released to VHS and DVD on January 8. Presented in a five-tape cassette set and a six-disc Special Edition Collectors DVD set featuring almost three hours of extras. The DVD includes special editions of episodes 1, 11 and 18 with actor and producer commentary; gag reel of hilarious outtakes; extended scenes with introduction by actor Hal Sparks; a sneak peek at Season Two; "Meet the Folk" -- unique biographies of the eight key characters as described by the actors playing them, as well as filmographies on the actors and producers; photo gallery put to music from the series; "At a Glance" -- an index outlining the content on each disc; show bumpers; widescreen format; 990 min; $119.98. Showtime Entertainment.
Other notable releases this month:
- November 2: "Shrek" (2001), with the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, on VHS and DVD. The two-disc DVD comes with director's commentary, three minutes of new footage as well as 11 hours of extra features. Disc 1: Pan-and-scan version with extended ending that picks up where the theatrical release stopped and continues the story to show what goes on after the fairy tale ending; behind-the-scenes featurette; DVD-ROM Shrek's Revoice Studio that enables viewers to voice the lines of their favorite characters; set-top and DVD-ROM games and activities: "Bugs and Slugs" (tic tac toe), "Ask the Magic Mirror," "Hangman," "Color a Scene," "Dragon Heart," "Fairy Tale Bowling," "Learn to Draw Shrek," "Coloring Pages," "Ogre Masks," "Soup Slam," "Shrek Pinball," "Trivia Game," "Pin the Tail on the Donkey," "Fire Donkey," "Rescue the Princess" and "Decorate the Gingerbread Man"; Shrek's Music Room including The Baha Men's music video and Smash Mouth's "I'm a Believer" music video; character interviews; hidden fun facts about the creation of the film. Disc 2: Widescreen version with extended ending; filmmakers' commentary; "The Tech of Shrek"; Shrek X-box game playing hints; storyboard pitch of deleted scenes; technical goofs and outtakes; international dubbing featurette; DTS; $19.95. DreamWorks. The VHS contains extra footage, $15.95.
- November 6: "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, Alec Guiness, Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger and Rita Tushingham, in a two-disc set with six hours of additional content, including commentary by Sharif, Steiger and David Lean's wife, Sandra Lean; $29.98. Warner.
- November 6: "The Young Lions (1958), directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Marlon Brando, Dean Martin, Montgomery Clift, Maximilian Schell, Hope Lange and Barbara Rush. One of the great anti-war films of all time. Fox War Classics.
- November 6: "The Sopranos: The Complete Second Season," a four-disc Collector's Edition box with all 13 episodes plus four commentaries by the directors of selected episodes, interviews with creator David Chase and the cast, "The Raw Deal" featurette (with discussions about "The Sopranos" with critics, psychiatrists, former FBI agents and other experts), first season recap, episodic synopses, episode index, more; $99.98. Also available in a five-volume VHS Collector's Edition box set for $99.92. HBO/Warner.
- November 6: "Star Trek -- The Motion Picture: Director's Edition" (1979), starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Stephen Collins, Persis Khambatta, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, George Takei and Majel Barrett, a two-disc set with commentary by director Robert Wise, special photographics director Douglas Trumbull, special photographics effects supervisor John Dykstra, music composer Jerry Goldsmith, actor Stephen Collins; three new retrospective documentaries; five additional scenes; outtakes; deleted scenes. Digital restoration of sound and visual effects; $29.99. Also available in widescreen VHS with bonus interview featurette, $19.95. Paramount.
- November 6: "Woody Allen Collection -- 3," six DVDs with "Broadway Danny Rose," "Hannah and Her Sisters," "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy," "The Purple Rose of Cairo," "Radio Days," and "Zelig"; $99.96. MGM.
- November 13: Two classic films from Hollywood's golden era on DVD for the first time: "Little Women" (1933), directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Jean Parker, Paul Lukas and Spring Byington, with a new digital transfer and audio restoration, additional audio track music cues from Max Steiner's score, notes on the Hepburn/Cukor collaboration, more; and "Now Voyager" (1942), starring Bette Davis, Claude Rains and Paul Henreid, with a new digital transfer and audio restoration, scoring session cues from Max Steiner's score; $19.98 each. Warner.
- November 13: "The X-Files Season Four Collection," a seven-disc set with bonus materials including "The Truth About Season Four" documentary, interviews, "behind the truth" segments, more; $149.98. Fox.
- November 20: "Apocalypse Now Redux" (1979); this reworked version of Francis Ford Coppola's classic adds 49 minutes to the film. In VHS ($24.95) and DVD ($29.99); the only DVD goodie will be the film's trailer. Paramount.
- November 20: "Dirty Harry Gift Set" with all five Dirty Harry films on DVD: "Dirty Harry" (1972), with the documentary "Dirty Harry: Celebrating 30 Years of an American Hero," all-new special hosted by Robert Urich and featuring interviews with Eastwood and cast and crew members from the Dirty Harry films; "Magnum Force" (1973), with the documentary "The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today"; "The Enforcer" (1976), with the documentary "Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films"; "Sudden Impact" (1983); and "The Dead Pool" (1988); $79.92; each title is available separately for $19.98 each. Also available in VHS $44.92 the set; each title $9.94. Warner.
- November 20: Four classic films from Home Vision/The Criterion Collection:
"8 1/2" (1963), directed by Federico Fellini and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anouk Aimee. A two-disc set with introduction by Terry Gilliam, commentary by film critic Gideon Bachmann, excerpts from Fellini interviews, "Fellini: A Director's Notebook," "Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert," more.
"The Last Wave" (1977), directed by Peter Weir and starring Richard Chamberlain. The DVD includes an interview with Weir.
"Rebecca" (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson. The DVD includes commentary by film scholar Leonard J. Leff; isolated music and effects track; excerpts from conversations between Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut; 1938 broadcast of the Campbell Playhouse radio adaptation; Hitchcock's casting notes; deleted scene excerpts; screen, hair, makeup and costume tests; more.
"That Obscure Object of Desire" (1977), directed by Luis Bunuel and starring Fernando Rey and Carole Bouquet. The DVD includes an interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, excerpts from Jacques de Baroncelli's 1929 silent "La Femme et le Pantin," text interview with Bunuel.
- November 20: "Planet of the Apes Special Edition" (2001), directed by Tim Burton and starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, Estella Warren, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and David Warner. Two-disc set (DTS and Dolby 5.1 Surround) with 13 hours of bonus material. Disc 1: Commentary by Burton; audio track by composer Danny Elfman; enhanced viewing mode that enables viewers to choose when to go behind the scenes, search cast and crew biographies, or view special effects; two Easter Eggs; NUON-enhanced features such as Viddies and Cool Zooms; DVD-ROM with screenplay/script/storyboard comparison; Disc 2: HBO First Look Special; five extended scenes; multiple featurettes: "Simian Academy" (Ape Movement), "Face Like a Monkey" (A day in the makeup chair), "Costume Tests"; "On Location in Lake Powell"; "Chimp Symphony Op. 37" (Behind the scenes on scoring the film) and "Swinging From the Trees" (stunt work); makeup, group and movement tests; a gallery of multi-angle features that lets viewers climb into the director's chair for several key scenes, a cutting room and mixing studio similar to that on "Die Hard" that allows viewers to cut and mix sequences; a music video; concept art and design gallery; additional DVD-ROM features; $29.98. Fox.
In conjunction with the modernized version of "Apes," Fox will release "Planet of the Apes: The Complete TV Series" in a four-disc box set of all 14 episodes from the TV series, including a rare bonus episode never aired on network TV; $49.98.
More November Video News For Kids:
For pre-schoolers: Paramount has released "Rugrats: Kwanzaa," a 46-minute videocassette in which America's favorite babies learn about Kwanzaa and the holiday festivities, $12.95; and the 50-minute "Blue's Clues: Blue's Big Holiday," in which young viewers join Blue and real-life host Steve Burns to explore the winter holidays, $9.95. On November 27 Columbia TriStar will release two "Jim Henson's Bear in the Big Blue House" DVDs: "Potty Time With Bear," a self- explanatory video with three episodes and three sing-alongs; and "Visiting the Doctor," with three episodes and four sing-alongs exploring the theme of health, $24.95 each.
Pioneer Entertainment has released two more episodes of the animated "Miffy," based on the series of books by dutch artist and author Dick Bruna (the adorable white bunny turns 47 this year, and has been featured in more than 100 books, with 80 million copies sold worldwide, translated into 40 languages). In "Miffy Tell Me a Story," episodes have Miffy and family and friends telling such fairy tales as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Hop 'O My Thumb; "Miffy at School" includes episodes that introduce cuddly characters such as Boris Bear, his girlfriend Barbara, Kitty Nelly and Poppy Pig; $12.98 each VHS.
"Newton in a Bottle: Physics for Kids" is the first early learning video that combines stimulating and entertaining programming with demonstrations of scientific principles. The 27-minute 3-D animated video features an inquisitive cat named Max who interacts with spheres and other objects that move in ways that demonstrate various physical principles -- simple mechanics, leverage, gravitation, momentum, projectile motion and light. Music ranges in style from Strauss waltzes to African rhythms. It's all handled in ways that the little ones (ages three months to three years) will relate to. There's even a parent's guide to the video, which is available free online. $14.95 VHS; for more info: 800-840-4460.
For older kids there's "Whispers: An Elephant's Tale," a live-action adventure about a lost baby elephant who joins up with a fiercely independent older elephant on a bickering, laughing and singing journey in search of his mother, with the voices of Betty White, Joan Rivers and Angela Bassett, from Disney, $22.99 VHS, $29.99 DVD. Also from Disney comes the animated "Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street," featuring the Recess kids and their teachers as they experience a special Third Street School Christmas and learn to believe in the true spirit of the holiday: when Principal Prickly's car gets stuck in the snow, he and his marooned passengers, Miss Finster and Miss Grotke, start to relive their students' outrageous escapades and come to the conclusion that the kids are both naughty and nice; with the voices of Dick Clark, Robert Goulet and James Earl Jones, $22.99 VHS, $29.99 DVD, due November 6. Pioneer Entertainment keeps kids anime hopping with new additions to their "Pokemon: The Johto Journeys" series ("Azalea Adventures" and "Buggy Boogie," $14.98 VHS and $24.98 DVD) and the "Gatekeepers" series ("Gatekeepers: New Fighters - Volume 2," $24.98 VHS and $29.98 DVD), as well as releasing a "Sailor Moon DVD Box Set" featuring three adventures, "Sailor Moon R," "Sailor Moon S -- Hearts in Ice" and "Sailor Moon Super S," $69.98 on DVD.
For the dancer in your kid, Kultur Video has released three instructional programs: "Baby Ballet," "Tot Tap" and "Junior Jazz," for ages four through six, $12.95 each (800-718-1300 or www.kultur.com).
This is the time of the year that holiday videos for kids start to trickle into the marketplace: Disney's offerings (in addition to the aforementioned "Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street") include "Rolie Polie Olie: A Jingle Jangle Holiday," featuring four adventures of Olie and his friends as they explore a magical, all-robot world where everything is round, $14.99 VHS; "The 12 Days of Christmas Sing Along Songs" featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and friends, $9.99 VHS; "Spot's Magical Christmas," featuring the delightful dog and his adventures on a surprise-filled journey that takes him all the way to Santa's workshop at the North Pole, $9.99 VHS; "Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse," a direct-to-video adventure in which Mickey Mouse joins other Disney characters (Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Mulan, Pooh and others) to celebrate Christmas, $22.99 VHS, $29.99 DVD, due November 6; and "Santa Who?" (2000), starring Leslie Nielson, Tommy Davidson, Steven Eckholdt and Max Morrow, a TV movie about Santa developing amnesia and forgetting about Christmas, $29.95 VHS. ... Columbia TriStar will release to DVD on November 6 "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas," a made-for-TV Jim Henson movie that features Emmet Otter as he joins a jug band to raise extra money to buy Christmas presents, featuring Henson (as Kermit the Frog) and Frank Oz, $19.95; as well as Jim Henson's delightful 1987 made-for-TV movie "A Muppet Family Christmas," $19.95 ... Warner has released "Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire," featuring the animated adventures of Robbie the Reindeer, who's a bit lazy, a bit chubby and totally lovesick, but still determined to join Santa's sleigh team, $9.99 VHS, $14.98 DVD; and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," an animated adventure about an outrageous case of hit-and-run that starts out as a tale about a missing grandmother and ends up proving that Santa is indeed "real," new to DVD at $19.98.
Special Interest:
Palm Pictures has released DVD and VHS box sets of "American Roots Music," a four-hour series broadcast in one-hour increments every Monday on PBS for four consecutive Mondays beginning October 29 at 10 p.m. "American Roots Music" explores the development of American music genres from the beginning of the 20th century, featuring rarely seen historical footage and musical performances by the pioneers of American-roots music while tracing the cultural evolution that shaped and influenced this country's rich tapestry of music. Masters in the fields of of folk, country, blues, gospel, Western swing, bluegrass, Cajun, Zydeco, Tejano and Native American music are profiled, including Bob Dylan, the Carter family, Jimmie Rodgers, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Son House, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Clifton Chenier, Flaco Jimenez, R. Carlos Nakai and many, many more. Collaborating in the series are the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, Experience Museum Project, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the NEA, PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and AT&T. VHS four-tape set: $44.95; DVD two-disc set: $42.95. For more info: www.palmpictures.com.Docudrama's "Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story," is an interesting cultural document that chronicles the frenetic and shocking life and times of Berlin, a blueblood socialite from an upper-crust New York City family who rose to fame as one of Andy Warhol's bad-girl divas. Expected by her family to follow in their perfect footsteps, Brigid defected to Warhol's New York Factory in the 1960s, where she blossomed (to 260 pounds), became addicted to speed and appeared in many Warhol performance art projects and films (most notably "Chelsea Girls"). Today, at the age of 60, Brigid's obsessions have shifted to weighing and measuring each meal, keeping a perfect house, collecting pugs, and making her own brand of unusual ephemera and art. Due November 27, $19.95 VHS, $24.95 DVD.
On November 20, York/Maverick Entertainment will release a VHS box set of HBO's controversial erotic series "Pleasure Zone," 13 episodes of people searching for love and sex in the modern world, and generally finding some sort of resolution at "Plato's Retreat." The VHS set contains four volumes of three episodes each (Volume 1 contains a bonus episode) for rental; DVD versions of Volume 1 and 3 will also be released.
Pioneer Entertainment has several interesting entertainment releases out this month: "Henry Rollins: Up For It," a 90-minute stand-up performance from the ex-lead singer of the seminal punk group Black Flag, recorded at London's Astoria Theatre in May, on VHS ($19.98) and DVD ($24.98); the DVD includes an in-depth interview, new music video "Your Number Is One," and making-of documentary. "The Sam Kinison Family Entertainment Hour" showcases the wild and raucous comedian at his last recorded concert at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles before his death in a car accident in 1992, on VHS ($19.98) and DVD ($24.98); the DVD includes rare excerpts from early stand-up performances, a biography of Kinison, and home movies. Pioneer has packaged this title and a previous Kinison release, "Breaking the Rules," into box sets, $29.98 VHS and $49.98 DVD.
"The Press Secretary" is an unprecedented look at the real West Wing, taking viewers behind the scenes for an exclusive look of how the real-time pace of today's 24-hour news coverage affects journalism and government. This is the first time since 1962 that a documentary filmmaker has been allowed behind-the-scenes into private presidential meetings in the Oval Office; longtime White House press secretary Joe Lockhart granted unprecedented access to himself, his press office and even President Clinton. Available November 20, $19.95 VHS from WGBH Boston Video (800-949-8670 or www.wgbh.org).
Other Documentaries: WhiteStar Video has released "Paul Anka: The Music Man," a biography of the singer/songwriter that follows his career from teen idol in the 1950s and '60s ("Put Your Head on My Shoulder") to pop hitmaker ("She's a Lady" and "My Way") to the present, $19.95 VHS (info: www.whitestar.com) ... WGBH Boston Video will release several interesting documentaries this month, all available November 20. "The Motley Fool Money-Making Life- Changing Special" is a financial self-help video from brothers David and Tom Gardner, the founders of the Motley Fool multi- media network that offers financial solutions to millions. The video covers investing, reducing debt burden, criteria for choosing stocks, investment "don'ts," and more, $19.95 VHS. "Evolution" is the video version of PBS' eight-hour series that presents evolution from the perspective of science journalism; the seven-tape (four discs in DVD) collection includes "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," "Great Transformations," "Extinction!" "The Evolutionary Arms Race," "Why Sex?" "The Mind's Big Bang" and "What About God?"; $99.95. And finally, "Sister Wendy's American Collection," a six-hour video series that follows Sister Wendy Beckett as she comes to America for a spectacular tour that blends art, history, culture and storytelling into one delightful experience, has been packaged by WGBH in a three-disc DVD set for $79.95.
The 'B' Side: Other November Releases
"The Point Men" is an action thriller with Christopher Lambert as an Israeli secret service agent assigned to track and kill a terrorist who is threatening the Middle East peace process. When the mission fails, his team is demoted, dejected and an embarrassment to the agency. When the other members of his team are killed in a series of brutal revenge killings disguised as accidents, the agent decides to take matters in his own hands. Director: John Glen. Stars: Christopher Lambert, Vincent Regan, Kerry Fox. Columbia TriStar, 2001, R, priced for rental, DVD day and date.
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October 25, 2001
