DVD Headsup!

Every Tuesday, a vertiable slew of DVDs hit the streets. They all want your coin. Where in the hell can you go to find out what's what amongst the teeming masses? Look no further. Here's a brief rundown of some featured titles that will be hitting. We provide the information...what you do with it afterwards is entirely up to you.

Titles Streeting July 13, 2004

Widge's Personal Pick:

. Here in the Headsup feature, we particularly like getting some serious bang for your buck. What do you get for the seventy bucks asking price for this thing? Over one thousand minutes of stuff from Anchor Bay, including all twenty-two episodes from this particular season, a slew of interviews, another of slew of commentaries, a featurette on the monsters of the series, some dailies in another featurette, some behind-the-scenes stuff, photo gallery, and--if that wasn't enough--CD-ROM info with bios, trivia, production drawings and more. The fan of the show is definitely going to want to check this out. Yeah, it's cheesy. But think of it as cheesy on the good crackers. Check out the official site for more info.

. Poor Meg Ryan. She hasn't really smacked a grand slam since You've Got Mail in 1998 and this and her film before that (In the Cut) pretty much fell on their faces. Paramount is hoping for a better reception on DVD, so here we are, with Meg playing Jackie Kallen, a female boxing promoter who takes up a challenge to best another promoter, played by Golden Chazzie winner Tony Shaloub. Also starring are Omar Epps and Charles S. Dutton (who also helmed). Here you get two featurettes to coax boxing fans to give it a rental.

. Well, MGM is hoping that the franchise gets a new lease on life in video, since the box office didn't equal its predecessor--but Frankie Muniz' Spy Boy hits video with a little bit of gusto. He's in London to foil a baddie who's gotten a hold of a mind control device and has targeted the a slew of world leaders. The disc is not bare bones, so that's something: three cast members (Muniz, Anthony Anderson, and Hannah Spearritt) take part in the visual scene-specific commentary and there's a quiz, featurette and deleted scenes as well.

. From Paramount comes this tale set in England in the early 20th century. It seems there's a cadre of killers based there, led by Oliver Reed. (Well, the character Reed's playing--you understand.) Diana Rigg (sans catsuit) is a reporter who's hot on their trail, backed up by a publisher played by Telly Savalas. Based on an unfinished novel by Jack London, it's a bare bones release, but decently comedic enough (and sporting an excellent cast) to carry through.

. Nominated for two Oscars and having walked away with one for Best Foreign Language Film, this Canadian flick has gotten its share of kudos. It walked away with two awards at Cannes, and got nommed all over the place as well. Remy is a professor with terminal cancer whose son Sebastien comes back to take care of him. And while Sebastien has been successful and has fundage to take good care of his father, they've been estranged for some time. Discussions and differences both get aired as friends and family show up to celebrate life, warts and all. This Miramax release only comes with a featurette, but it's worth checking out nonetheless.

. The final four episodes of the series hit DVD thanks to the good folks at ADV. And hey, you've got to have respect for a series that goes with a three-parter entitled "We're So Screwed" and then the finale is called "Bad Timing." The features are pretty stacked, so the fan will be pleased: among the goodness there's an interview with Anthony Simcoe (who played D'Argo), executive producer/scribe David Kemper's wrap speech from the last day of production, stuff on the "Save Farscape" movement, deleted scenes, galleries for sets, props and costumes.

. Lloyd Bridges as a musketeer? He's wielding a sword and we're supposed to take him seriously? Yes, well, long before he was sniffing glue he was actually a fairly serious actor, boys and girls. It's Man in the Iron Mask time and Lloyd is Aramis, while son Beau is both Louis XIV and twin Philippe. It's the case of switcheroo you're mostly familiar with, but with an interesting cast to back it up: Rex Harrison, Ursula Andress, and Olivia de Havilland, to name a few. No features, but this Columbia-Tristar release is anamorphic widescreen, so we can be thankful for that.

. A Bronx family that's not without its problems (the husband's been arrested and the wife needs to figure out a way to support everyone--fast) is the focus of this decently executed comedy. Lauren Vélez plays Lisette, the wife and mother of three, who talks her way into being the assistant of a record producer and actually starts to kick ass at it. But word on the street gets back to the husband that Lisette is actually dating said producer. And of course, hijinks ensue. This Columbia Tristar release also stars Rita Moreno.

. This DMX/David Arquette vehicle wasn't well received box office was or critically, but Fox is bringing it to the DVD market with a few decent features along for the ride. You get a commentary with DMX, director Ernest Dickerson and the scribe James Gibson (who adapted from the Donald Goines novel), trailer, eleven deleted scenes with optional Dickerson commentary, and a featurette. Will this parade of amoral characters, guns and crime do well in home video? You must decide for yourself.

. Well, the second series might have been its last, but some people watched with rapt fascination as Hollywood supposedly laid bare the process for amateurs to take their best shot. Love it or lump it, you can't deny that Miramax hasn't treated it well on the transition to DVD. Across the first two discs, you get all thirteen episodes, a slew of deleted scenes with optional commentary, along with filmmaker bios. You also get, on disc number three, a special cut of the feature that came out of all this, Battle of Shaker Heights, which is a different edition than the previous one. This time around, Battle gets a commentary with the directors, gag reel, and a "jump to scene" feature that ties the movie in with the series.

. This Emmy-winning animated short, originally done for Great Performances for creator Igor Stravinsky's centennial, hits DVD thanks to Koch Lorber. It's the tale of a soldier who tries to bargain with the devil and come out on top. Oh well. This features Max Von Sydow as the Devil as was directed by R.O. Blechman. As a bonus, you get commentary from Blechman on the film and an additional thirty minutes of footage taken from Blechman's archive.

. This Italian flick from writer/director Ermanno Olmi concerns turn of the last century peasant life on an Italian farm. One of the families there has a bright kid, and instead of taking his place with them working the farm, they manage to get him to school so he can better himself. Trouble is, the only thing he has for shoes are some wooden clogs--and since he's walking to and from school every day for several miles, they break. Faced with this, and not being able to afford to buy new ones, what can they do to replace the kid's shoes? This Koch Lorber drama comes with both a trailer and a photo gallery.

. If you're a fan of Timothy Spall--and let's face it, what sane cinema fan isn't?--then you would do well to check out this Koch Vision release. A light-challenged comedy, shall we say, from director Danny Boyle--the mad genius who brought us 28 Days Later. Spall is a vacuum cleaner salesman in Manchester with his eyes on a coveted sales prize. He's so completely manic that you'll fear for his safety. And let's face it, with a title like this, you need to check it out on general principle, don't you?

. Sailor Moon in a wedding dress? Well, maybe. This series concerns Momoko, who using a magical compact can turn into the titular character, in order to save the world from the evil Raindevila, who wishes to purge the world of love. Here, both sides, good and evil, are in a race to acquire the Something Four. This ADV release comes with five episodes, a reversible cover and cleaning opening and closing animation.

. This drama concerns a young woman in 1920s rural China. Her father is in debt to another man, who the woman is to marry. However, her wedding plans are derailed when she is kidnapped by bandits--and her groom-to-be dies in an accident on his way to rescue her. The woman is rescued, but forced to honor her promise of marriage--to a wooden pole in place of the deceased groom. Koch Lorber brings this to DVD, sporting a theatrical trailer.