September DVD Preview

I'm proud to introduce a new feature for the website, a monthly DVD preview, written by the biggest DVD maniac I know. Bon appetite. --John

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Sam Smith here with the first of my DVD previews. If you're like me, you waste a good amount of your food money on DVDs each Tuesday, or else hunt for bargains wherever possible. This month, I'm highlighting a couple releases of general interest and a couple of my own personal favorites, hopefully helping you out with your checklist in some capacity. Release dates are subject to change, so please don't send hate mail. You can, however, leave feedback or send me love mail: apocalypsemyth AT-SIGN yahoo DOT com. For more about me, check out my movie reviews and more on Myspace. Enjoy!

MASCULIN FEMININ

The Criterion Collection, who've just announced a forthcoming edition of Kurosawa's RAN, lead off a great month of releases with one of Jean Luc Godard's best. Chantal Goya plays Madeline, one of Paris' "children of Marx and Coca Cola" immersing their youth in music, love, and rebellion. Also starring Jean-Pierre Léaud of Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle. Features include 2005 interviews with Goya and cinematographer Willy Kurant and an essay by Adrian Martin. For French New Wave newcomers as well as fans who may have missed the recent re-release. Also this month from Criterion: Jane Campion's AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE (9/20), Mike Leigh's NAKED (9/20), Nicholas Roeg's BAD TIMING (9/27) as well as his David Bowie sci-fi THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (9/27).
MASCULIN FEMININ: Release Date - 9/20, Pre-order from Amazon, Godard at Netflix, Learn more from Imdb

Read more of the September 2005 DVD Preview...
BEN HUR - 4-Disc Collector's Edition

Winner of 11 Academy Awards, BEN HUR is one of the most spectacular and epic movies ever made, and with this release Warner Brothers continues to deliver some of the best special editions out there. The set includes a feature-length (that's about 4 hours) commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher with scene commentaries by star Charlton Heston, a music-only track for Miklos Rozca's great score, a making-of documentary directed by William Wyler, another documentary featuring director Wyler's last interview, a 1925 feature-length silent film version, newsreels, galleries, Oscar highlights, screen tests, and finally a new documentary "Ben Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema," where today's directors (Ridley Scott, George Lucas, and others) look back on the film's legacy. For a nice Virtual Box Set, check out Criterion's SPARTACUS, the newly extended GLADIATOR, and the John Ott classic LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.
BEN HUR: COLLECTOR'S EDITION Release Date - 9/13, Pre-order from Amazon, Queue on Netflix, Learn more at Imdb

INSIDE DEEP THROAT

A wonderfully-produced documentary on the 1972 porn phenomenon DEEP THROAT, probably the only Magical-Realist porn flick in existence. It's also, as the film says in its opening, "the most profitable film of all time," making now over 600 million dollars off of a $22,000 budget, and incited multiple Supreme Court cases which divided the culture and turned the lives of those involved upside down. In other words, caused a bit of a hubbub. Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (PARTY MONSTER) intercut vibrant and colorful stock footage with talking heads, all of whom entertain in their own way. Like all great documentaries, INSIDE DEEP THROAT studies its subject and the bigger picture at the same time: This isn't just doesn't the dynamic story of one controversial film, but of an entire culture during one of its most radical periods of change, reminding us that the same culture wars are still being deviously waged; The whole, fascinating story is about as all-American as it gets. Essential viewing for 70's film lovers. Loaded with featurettes, and not to be confused with the R-Rated Edition.
INSIDE DEEP THROAT: Release Date - 9/20, Pre-order from Amazon, Queue on Netflix, Learn more at Imdb



THE DIRECTOR'S LABEL SERIES BOX SET #2

Not only my most anticipated release of the month, but sure to be one of the best DVD releases all year. Hopefully, you've already spent hours on end with Palm's original Director's Label series, which compiled the prolific short-form work-- music videos, commercials, and short films-- of today's new generation of young auteurs: Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Chris Cunningham. Finally, the next wave of this indispensable series arrives, in this boxed set as well as in four individual editions.

THE WORK OF DIRECTOR MARK ROMANEK pays tribute to easily the most influential and prolific music video director in the history of the form; You'll remember Nine Inch Nails' "Closer," Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream," Beck's "Devil's Haircut," Fiona Apple's "Criminal," and countless others. Romanek also succesfully crossed-over into feature filmmaking, as many music video directors do, with ONE HOUR PHOTO.

THE WORK OF DIRECTOR JONATHAN GLAZER collects some beautiful videos that have always been personal favorites of mine, long before Glazer blew me away with his 2004 feature BIRTH. Included are his memorable collaborations with Radiohead ("Karma Police," "Street Spirit"), Jamiroquai famous conveyor-belt opus "Virtual Insanity," a slew of commercials, and a look at BIRTH and 2001's SEXY BEAST.

THE WORK OF DIRECTOR ANTON CORBIJN includes over 25 rock videos (Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence," Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box") from the man who shot the cover of The Joshua Tree.

And THE WORK OF DIRECTOR STEPHANE SEDNAOUI interviews Bjork, Bono, Michael Stipe, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, all of whom have videos here. All four collections come with beautiful deluxe booklets full of sketches, concepts, photos, and interviews (the booklets from series one have been regular tenants of my coffee table). Absolutely essential for any lover of the moving image, and a great testament to the unsung heroes of contemporary visual culture.
DIRECTORS LABEL BOX SET #2: Release Date - 9/13, Pre-order from Amazon

THE BEST OF THE REST:

9/6:
Crash (Widescreen Edition)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition)
The Deer Hunter- Legacy Series
The Sting- Legacy Series
To Kill a Mockingbird- Legacy Series
Garbo - The Signature Collection (Anna Christie / Mata Hari / Grand Hotel / Queen Christina / Anna Karenina / Camille / Ninotchka / Garbo Silents)

9/13:
Fever Pitch (Boston Red Sox Collector's Edition)
Palindromes
Chicago - The Razzle-Dazzle Edition
Carlito's Way Ultimate Edition
Coal Miner's Daughter - 25th Anniversary Edition
Da Ali G Show - Da Compleet 2nd Seazon

9/20:
Mallrats (10th Anniversary Extended Edition)
Blood for Dracula - Criterion Collection
Flesh for Frankenstein - Criterion Collection
Born Into Brothels
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in The Hood (Unrated Miramax Collector's Edition)
Grimm
Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures
It's All About Love
Bob Dylan - No Direction Home

9/27:
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D
Lords of Dogtown:Unrated Extended Cut
The Evil Dead 2 (Book Of The Dead Limited Edition)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Creature Comforts - The Complete First Season

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Thanks, Sam! As always, buying through the Amazon links helps support this website and gets you great pre-order discounts. Feel free to shop around though. Bargainflix lets you compare DVD prices. If you prefer to rent, take advantage of a Netflix free trial: