HALLELUJAH!! HOLY SH*%!!!What a way to start your Monday off! DVD News for everyone!!!CLASSICS ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!CTHE and FOX NEWS!!Want to know when THE RING and, even better, RINGU will come to your DVD player?!?!WELL I’VE GOT THE NEWS HERE!!! THE RING RELEASE DATE!!!And something about JACKASS:THE MOVIE… Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment has announced another batch of releases for March 4. 1966 family favorite BORN FREE, about a game warden and his wife who raise and then release a lioness back into the wild, comes in remastered audio and video with both Fullscreen and Widescreen on the same disc, and trailers for extras.Also on March 4, is the debut of the Steven Seagal actioner HALF PAST DEAD, costarring Morris Chestnut and Ja Rule. This one also features both Fullscreen and Widescreen on the disc, with 5.1 DDS sound, director commentary, Cinemax “Making Of Half Past Dead” featurette, deleted scenes and trailers.And CTHE also has the debut of the acclaimed Chinese film QUITTING, directed by Zhang Yang and starring Jia Hongsheng portraying himself in the story of his own battle with fame, heroin and mental illness. This one falls under the Sony Classics banner and comes with a remastered 5.1 DDS Mandarin audio track, English subtitles and Anamorphic Widescreen video transfer. Also look for trailers to this and other Sony Classics films.Warner Home Video has just announced the March 25 release of the erotic thriller KILLING ME SOFTLY, starring Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham, in both R-rated and unrated versions. 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and 5.1 DDS audio. The R version runs 95 minutes, and the unrated version runs 100.Also on WB’s release list is the February 4 release of MILDRED PIERCE, with the accompanying Turner Classic Movies docu-feature JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ULTIMATE MOVIE STAR on the flip side of the disc. WB also announced the March 4 release of new 3-disc compilations of some of their most popular vintage titles. The EPIC DRAMAS COLLECTION will feature BEN-HUR, CASABLANCA and GONE WITH THE WIND. The CLASSIC MUSICALS COLLECTION comes stocked with AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, GIGI and MY FAIR LADY. Other collections are said to be in the planning stages. These will most likely be simple repackagings of the existing WB DVD versions of the films. In silent classics news, Image Entertainment and the Milestone Collection have a new do*censored*entary on the life of Silent-era screenwriter Frances Marion scheduled for a March 11 release. Entitled WITHOUT LYING DOWN: FRANCES MARION AND THE POWER OF WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD, this feature takes a look at the life and times of the first behind-the-scenes ‘Power female’ in Hollywood. Marion was the writer behind 200+ popular films from 1912 to 1937, including CAMILLE(1915 and 1936 versions) and ANNA CHRISTIE(1930) , as well as A LITTLE PRINCESS(1917) which is included here. Narrated by Uma Thurman and Kathy Bates, this is a worthy sequel to Milestone’s December release CAPTURED ON FILM: THE TRUE STORY OF MARION DAVIES. SUPERWICKEDFANTASTICGOODNEWS!!! HOORAY FOR DREAMWORKS!!!Dreamworks has announced a March 4 release date for it’s fall mega-hit THE RING. Anamorphic Widescreen with 5.1 DDS and DTS soundtracks, featurettes, production notes, filmographies and trailers (including for the original Japanese version). Dreamworks has also announced intentions to release the Japanese original RINGU on the same day. No deets on that one yet, but believe you me, it will be posted here when the info comes available.On the flipside of the cultural import scale, March 25 marks the day for the release of JACKASS: THE MOVIE with 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and Fullscreen versions on the same disc, 5.1 DDS sound, 2 commentary tracks, an MTV featurette, 27 minutes of extra footage, outtakes, photo galleries, filmographies, trailers and a music video.Also on March 25, THE TOM GREEN SUBWAY HOUR makes it’s debut in Fullscreen and 2.0 Surround, featuring bonus footage and a biography.Finally, from Paramount, also on March 25, look for CSI: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON, a six-disc set with all of the season 1 episodes, at least one featurette, a music video and filmographies. Other deets will be given as received.
