LION’S GATE BRINGS IT ON HOME!!!A final reminder for you Disney fans…20,000 LEAGUES, IN A LONELY PLACE, DESERT BLOOMA new slate from UNIVERSAL!!!Oh, yeah, and TROOP BEVERLY HILLS starring Carla Gugino??!?!??!!Read on if ye dare… In our first bit of Industry interest news today, Lion’s Gate Entertainment has announced the reclamation of the Home Video rights to 22 of it’s biggest releases. These films, which until recently were farmed out to Universal, will now be receiving re-releases from LGE. Included in this new venture will be selections going to Lion’s Gate’s SIGNATURE SERIES, which launches on February 18. First up under the new Signature banner will be MONSTERS BALL in a new uncut and unrated version of the film, new audio commentaries, cast and crew interviews and a Sundance Channel “Anatomy Of A Scene” special. Also in the Series and launching on the 18, EVE’S BAYOU, also presented in a previously unseen uncut and unrated version. Also look for new commentaries, cast and crew interviews, the short film DR.HUGO by director Kasi Lemmons and featurettes. Also on the 18, but specs forthcoming, is a Signature Series edition of the Shakespeare retread O. Other titles headed for re-release include AMERICAN PSYCHO, BUFFALO 66, GODS AND MONSTERS, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE and THE RED VIOLIN. All of the Signature Series discs will feature new Anamorphic Widescreen transfers, remastered audio, new packaging and more.Buena Vista Home Entertainment has announced a couple more for March 13. Look for a new 2-disc Special Edition of 1954’s’ 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, with Kirk Douglas and James Mason. This is a remastered (and THX certified!) 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer with a 5.1 DDS sound mix, and a bountiful booty of extras… New commentary tracks, 7 featurettes (including an unseen look at the ‘Sunset Squid’ sequence), a look at post-production including original unused music and Peter Lorre’s ADR tracks, storyboard comparisons, animations, theatrical trailer, radio spots, a script excerpt and the “Grand Canyonscope” animated short.Also look for the quickie STV sequel ATLANTIS 2: MILO’S RETURN in a 1.66:1 AW transfer, 5.1 DDS and extras including an alternate ending and an interactive game.And speaking of BVHE sequels, how about a cheapie horror redux with a STV sequel to DRACULA 2000… Yes, that’s right… DRACULA 2: ASCENSION. 1,78:1 AW with both DDS and DTS tracks. This looks to be a veritable B-movie smorgasbord as it stars not only Rutger Hauer, but Jason London, Jason Scott Lee, Craig Scheffer, Roy Schieder and Baywatch’s own Brande Roderick…AND… Part 3 (AKA DRACULA III: RESURRECTION) is already in the can with much of this cast returning. And don’t forget kiddies, you only have 5 more days to pick up those Disney DVD’s before they disappear into the vault with Walt’s frozen head. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS, PETER PAN, RETUIRN TO NEVERLAND, CINDERELLA 2 and LITTLE MERMAID 2 all go on moratorium as of February 1.Warner Home Video has announced a March 25 release for PATH TO WAR, a political thriller about the LBJ administration and it’’ involvement in the Vietnam War. Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt and Phillip Baker Hall star in this Golden Globe Award winning miniseries. Features include a 1.85:1 AW transfer, 5.1 DDS sound, bios, interviews, a timeline documentary, TIME magazine features and an interactive strategy simulator. Word has reached us, from the good folks at MTI, that Mark Pirro’s cult classics A POLISH VAMPIRE IN BURBANK and CURSE OF THE QUEERWOLF will finally land on DVD on February 11. Also just announced from MTI is the Bedford Entertainment release of BOG CREATURES from veteran STV action director J. Christian Ingvordsen. Starring T.J. Glenn and “Scream Queen” Debbie Rochon, BOG CREATURES follows the misadventures of a group of Archaeology students who unearth an ancient evil in the swamps where they’re excavating. Deets are unknown, but when I have em’, you’ll get em’… Now on to the ever-busy Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment.On March 11, CTHE releases DESERT BLOOM, the classic drama set in 50’s Las Vegas that draws parallels between a dysfunctional family imploding, and the beginning of A-bomb testing in the nearby desert. Jon Voight, JoBeth Williams and a young Annabeth Gish costar with a brilliantly rambunctious Ellen Barkin. This one comes in Anamorphic Widescreen with remastered audio and trailers as extras.March 18 sees the release of another Humphrey Bogart classic, the stylish Noir thriller IN A LONELY PLACE. This one stars Bogey as a fallen screenwriter, who agrees to adapt a trashy novel for his studio. When he meets a naïve hatcheck girl, who loves the book, he invites her up to his room to tell him the story in her own words. When she turns up dead, Bogey becomes suspect number 1. This is one of Bogart’s most nuanced performances, avoiding his usual ‘tough guy with a heart of gold’ character for something far darker. Remastered audio and the original aspect ratio are joined by extras including a restoration featurette, the “IN A LONELY PLACE: Revisited” featurette, trailers and a “Bogart Collection” Video montage.On March 25, CTHE adds to it’s steadily growing Cary Grant collection with the classic Oscar winner THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA. Grant plays a backwoods surveyor, and Martha Scott plays his wife, a Society girl who ‘marries down’. As the American Revolution unfolds, their love is tested by their idealistic differences. Remastered original audio and video with bonus trailers.Also on March 25 is the recent indie romance I’M WITH LUCY, starring Monica Potter and a hilarious cast of bit-part boyfriends including Anthony LaPaglia, David Boreanaz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Henry Thomas and the always charming John Hannah. Potter plays a lovelorn NYC single who just wants to meet Mr. Right. After a string of disastrously funny dates with the abovementioned guest-stars, will she ever find her man? Keep an eye out for Julie Christie and Harold Ramis, who round out the cast. Anamorphic Widescreen with 5.1 DDS sound and bonus trailers.And finally from CTHE comes the March 25 release of TROOP BEVERLY HILLS starring Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, and a continuous parade of guest-stars like Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Frankie and Annette, Cheech, Robin Leach, coolmeister Ted McGinley and Dr. Joyce Brothers. Also keep an eye out for such 80’s child-star luminaries as Nikki from “Saved By The Bell”, Margeaux from “Punky Brewster”, Jenny Lewis, Kellie Martin and Tori Spelling, as members of the titular troop. Most interesting is Carla Gugino at 17, playing a 12 year old. Fullscreen with remastered audio, this one also comes with trailers. Universal has announced another load of catalogue favorites that will street on May 6. Among them – A BEDTIME STORY, CAR WASH, COAL MINERS DAUGHTER, COME SEPTEMBER, DUEL AT SILVER CREEK, THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN, LAW AND ORDER (The 1953 Ronald Reagan western), and NIGHT PASSAGE. Also due on the 6, a Special Edition of SEA OF LOVE and, one of my own favorite westerns, TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARAH, with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine.That is all for today, Boyz and Grrrrrrls… Check in tomorrow for the DVD NEW RELEASE DAY deets, and keep an eye open for more reviews and news in the days to come. Don’t forget to check the forums for the newest clips and cover art. And watch for the debut of our newest reviewer, and a featured article on a classic of feature animation… THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED.
