After a quiet Post-Oscar day, the DVD News is back in full swing.So READ ON! For news on a plethora of Oscar nominees and winners coming to DVD…CHICAGO!!! THE HOURS!!!Foreign films galore!WINGS OF DESIRE!!! LA FEMME NIKITA!!!2-Disc Special Editions!ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA!!!THE RIGHT STUFF!!GIANT, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES!!! A nuevo gore classic and Japanese Zombie Samurai Madness!!!!VERSUS!!!BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL YOU CAN EAT!!!Check it out in today’s DVD NEWS!!! Starting today off, MGM Home Entertainment has announced a years worth of fine viewing in the last couple of days…On June 29, MGM will release DARK BLUE the recent Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames flick about Police corruption on the eve of the L.A. riots. The film will be released as a “Special Edition”, complete with 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, 5.1 DDS sound, audio commentary, a featurette and trailersOn July 1, MGM has the classic Wim Wenders film WINGS OF DESIRE on the slate. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen and 5.1 DDS sound, this one comes with audio commentary from Wim Wenders and Peter Falk, as well as deleted scenes (also with commentary), interactive maps, the ANGELS AMONG US do*censored*entary and much more.Also appearing July 1, continuing the MGM barrage of World Cinema titles, LA FEMME NIKITA featuring a new 2.35:1 AW transfer and French or English 5.1 DDS tracks. Extras will include REVEALED: THE MAKING OF LA FEMME NIKITA and THE MUSIC OF NIKITA featurettes, an interactive map, still galleries and trailers.Also bowing on July 1, another long-awaited Kurosawa masterpiece – RHAPSODY IN AUGUST. July 1 will also see the foreign films NEVER ON SUNDAY, TO LIVE, THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS, and PRISONER OF THE MOUNTAINS.On July 15, MGM unveils the much anticipated (by me, anyways) BILLY WILDER DVD COLLECTION. Included in this collection – THE APARTMENT, THE FORTUNE COOKIE, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, AVANTI!, KISS ME STUPID, ONE TWO THREE, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, IRMA LA DOUCE and SOME LIKE IT HOT: SPECIAL EDITION. All of these titles are, or will be available separately.Also on July 15 is a selection of B-Movie hits including – REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS, GATOR, CATCH THE HEAT, RAGE OF HONOR, EVE OF DESTRUCTION, JUGGERNAUT, WHITE LIGHTNING and the seminal Sho Kusugi ninja flick, REVENGE OF THE NINJA. No deets, but extras will probably be slim.Warner Home Video has a couple gems of their own…June 10th, keep your eyes to the sky as THE RIGHT STUFF: SPECIAL EDITION debuts as a packed 2-disc set. 1.85:1 AW transfer and 5.0 Dolby Digital sound are accompanied on disc 1 by audio commentary with director, producers, and many of the cast. Add tot hat 13 deleted scenes, 50+ minutes of do*censored*entary material introduced by author Tom Wolfe, including interviews with the cast and Mercury 7 astronauts Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper, as well as legendary test-pilot Chuck Yeagher. Tres cool, baby!Also on June 10, WB releases the long-delayed GIANT: SPECIAL EDITION. No deets yet, but it is announced as a 2-discer.Another 2-disc WB offering is ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES – SPECIAL EDITION, featuring Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, 5.1 DDS sound, new audio commentary with cast and crew, and 20 minutes of previously unseen footage. Also included are the ROBIN HOOD: THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND featurette, interviews with the cast, a WEAPONS OF THE TIME feature, Bryan Adams’ EVERY THING I DO video, photo galleries, trailers and more.And one I’ve been waiting for for years… Sergio Leone’s magnificent Gangster epic, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, starring Robert DeNiro and James Woods. The new 2-disc ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA: SPECIAL EDITION features the almost 4 hour “International” cut of the film in AW, with 5.1 DDS sound. Extras include the full-length REVEALING ONCE UPON A TIME: SERGIO LEONE do*censored*entary, audio commentary with Film historian Richard Schickel, and much more that has yet to be announced. On the flipside of the WB universe, is the talking marsupial flick KANGAROO JACK, which will be unleashed upon the world on June 24. Separate Fullscreen and AW versions will be available with 5.1 DDS and a ton of extras. Look for 2 commentaries, one by the talking Kangaroo, and one by the other cast members. 3 featurettes, a gag reel, Karaoke sing-along track and trailers are also included. From Buena Vista Home Entertainment comes the May 20 release of Spike Lee’s THE 25TH HOUR in Special Edition format. THX certified 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and 5.1 DDS sound are accentuated by audio commentaries, SPIKE LEE: EVOLUTION OF AN AMERICAN FILMMAKER do*censored*entary, GROUND ZERO – A TRIBUTE featurette, deleted scenes and trailers.Also on the BVHE slate – Oscar winner FRIDA in a 2-disc Special Edition on June 10, other deets to follow. George Clooney’s CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND on July 15. Best Supporting Actor nominee Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser star in THE QUIET AMERICAN on July 29.Oscar Juggernaut CHICAGO comes straight into my loving arms on August 19.And, while retailers are taking pre-orders for a July 1 release, BVHE insists that GANGS OF NEW YORK will bow in early August.Paramount Home Entertainment has a June 24 release date set for THE HOURS featuring Best Actress winner Nicole Kidman. Available in separate Fullscreen and 2.35:1 AW releases with 5.1 DDS sound, HOURS will come stocked with a directors introduction, audio commentary by novelist Michael Cunningham and director Stephen Daldry, a first-time ever audio commentary by the three leading ladies – Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, 4 featurettes and trailers.Also hitting the shelves from The Mount, is the acclaimed drama NARC starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric. Also available in separate Widescreen and Fullscreen versions with 5.1 DDS sound, this one comes with commentary, 3 featurettes and the trailer.Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment has 3 titles skedded for June 17. BREAKAWAY, the indie darling ME WITHOUT YOU and Kung Fu Superbeasts in TSUI HARK’S VAMPIRE HUNTERS.Finally, some wicked good news from indie distributor Media Blasters – the Ryuhei Kitamura zombie mayhem masterpiece VERSUS will land on Home Video in a 2-disc set, featuring Anamorphic Widescreen transfer, DTS audio, commentaries by Kitamura and cast, a Japanese Making-Of featurette, an English do*censored*entary, interview with Kitamura, premiere footage, 3 trailers and the short film NERVOUS. July 29.Also July 29 from Media Blasters is the sequel to the original Gore film. BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL YOU CAN EAT. Details are still to come, but will hopefully include a Herschell Gordon Lewis retrospective with interviews. Both VERSUS and BLOOD FEAST 2 will have limited theatrical releases before they hit shelves. Life is good children.Axel
