10 Rillington Place special edition -- Dark Star special edition -- Spirited Away -- The Singing Detective -- Eating Raoul from Columbia Tristar -- Hammer favourites on region 1 -- Torch Song Trilogy

10 Rillington Place special edition [20 Feb 2004]

One of the best serial killer movies of all time is, surprisingly, British, and is based on the true story of John Christie, a landlord who murdered women and had sex with their corpses. When he kills the wife of tenant Timoth Evans, it is Evans who is arrested and executed for the crime. Directed by veteran American director Richard Fleischer, the low-key handling is wonderfully complimented by a supremely creepy performance by Richard Attenborough, and probably John Hurt's best ever "victim" role. The film remains a disturbing and effective work to this day, not least because of the spectres of Fred West and Harold Shipman, seemingly ordinary middle-aged men with a horrific secret. This new region 2 special edition features an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, the original mono soundtrack, an interview with and introduction by Richard Attenborough, lobby cards, filmographies, fact files and, best of all, a commentary by John Hurt. Expected street date is 29 March.

Dark Star Special Edition - or is it? [15 Feb 2004]

Announced for a March 1 release by Fabulous Films and Fremantle is a 30th Anniversary Edition of John Carpenter's wonderful first film, the inventive, ultra-low-budget science fiction comedy, Dark Star. Announced and packaged as a special edition, it will feature and anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, plus a 4:3 one (why?), Dolby 2.0 sound, biographies, publicity material, trailer and a stills gallery. Excuse me, that's it? I'm sorry, but when a film with this sort of cult following is packaged as a "30th Anniversary Special Edition" you expect a damned sight more than that. As someone who wrote a good 20 pages of his film school dissertation on this film, I am acutely aware of the many interesting tales there are to tell on its making, and in my view the lack of a commentary or documentary completely invalidates that "Special Edition" label. Let's hope the advance announcement is short of the mark, or, if not so, that at least the transfer is a good one.

Spirited Away arrives in the UK in March [11 Feb 2004]

Having been released just about everywhere else in the world, Hayao Miyazaki's wonderful, Oscar-winning animated feature Spirited Away finally arrives on a 2-disk DVD set in the UK. Here at DVD Outsider we cannot recommend this film enough - all Miyazaki films are a delight, and this is him at close to his very best, boasting more imagination in five minutes than the average Disney film has in its entire length. Slated for a 29 March release from Buena Vista, this looks to be almost identical to the already available region 1 set from the same company, and features an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, Japanese and English 5.1 sound, Miyazaki's storyboards for the entire film, a hugely enjoyable Nippon TV 'making of' special, an exclusive trailer for The Cat's Return and trailers and TV spots. Whether the featurette on the re-voicing of the American dub and the John Lassiter intro of the region 1 will be present is uncertain, but I could easily live without both.

The Singing Detective [8 Feb 2004]

A prime candidate for the position of Best TV Drama of All Time, Dennis Potter's brilliant 1986 mini-series features Michael Gambon in the performance of a lifetime as Philip Marlow, a writer of detective stories who is hospitalised with chronic case of psoriatic arthropathy, a debilitating skin disease that Potter himself also suffered from. In his hostital bed, fact and fantasy intertwine as his memories of childhood and his stormy relationship with his wife become interwoven with the novel he is constructing. The decline of British TV drama can almost be traced back to Potter's death, and of his considerable body of outstanding work, this may be the greatest, his extraordinary writing matched all the way by Jon Amiel's electrifying direction. We're not going to mess around here - this is a DVD Outsider favourite and we have been waiting for a region 2 DVD release for some time.

And here it comes, courtesy of the BBC on 8 March as a three-disk set featuring a commentary by director Amiel and producer Kenith Trodd, a documentary Close Up: Dennis Potter Under the Skin, segments from Arena and Points of View and filmographies. This appears to be the exact same release that the American public have been able to enjoy for some time. Initial impressions of that release were that the transfer was a little weak, but a review by the very reliable DVD Savant (click here to read) suggests the transfers were first rate, and my mouth is watering at the propect of the UK release. And yes, you heard right, this is another classic that has been unnecessarily remade as a Hollywood film. Don't waste your time - the original really is the greatest in every sense.

Eating Raoul from Columbia Tristar [3 Feb 2004]

When you're talking cult movies, paul Bartel's hilarious black comedy Eating Raoul is right up there with the best of them, but despite an eventual video release and screenings on Film Four it remains criminally unseen. Well now's your chance, at least if you have a multiregion player, as Columbia Tristar have announced that they will release the film on region 1 DVD on 13 April, with an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, Dolby 2.0 sound and....hey, nothing else. Considering this film's cult status, surely more could have been done than that. For those not in the know, Bartel himself teams up with Mary Woronov to play The Blands, a painfully straight-laced Los Angeles couple whose disgust at the sexual adventures practiced by those around them hatches a plan to finance their dream restaurant - advertise themselves as a swinging couple, lure like-minded individuals to join the fun, then kill them, steal their money and dispose of the bodies. The off-camera, pan-on-the-head killings were iconic enough to turn up as a gag in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the film still seems almost as fresh as it did back in 1982.

Hammer favourites on region 1 [3 Feb 2004]

Continuing their release of Hammer horror favourites, Warner brothers have three more lined up for region 1 on April 17. Dracula Has Risen From the Grave is the third Hammer Dracula film and one of the last of the series that really delivered, though it does lack the wonderfully dark edge of Dracula, Prince of Darkness, which is available as a special edition from Anchor Bay. Would that this were. An anamorphic widescreen transfer and mono sound are all you get here. Released the same day are Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, in which Peter Cushing gives a very nasty, manipulative interpretation of the Baron, and Taste the Blood of Dracula, which frankly saw Hammer in decline, though still has its moments. Previous Hammer releases from Warner have also turned up later on region 2, so here's hoping.

Torch Song Trilogy from New Line [3 Feb 2004]

Timing nicely with Tonsofun's article about straight actors playing it gay is New Line's announcement of the release of Torch Song Trilogy, Harvey Fierstein's Tony Award winning play about a female impersonator and his relationships with the three people most dear to him. Fierstein takes the lead role, and is very ably supported by Matthew Broderick as his young lover. An anamorphic widescreen transfer and 5.1 sound are promised, plus a trailer and - hey - a commentary by the gravel-voiced Fierstein himself. A witty and compassionate piece, one of my favourite lines has Fierstein dejectedly entering a gay nightclub, beer in hand, and as an unknown man begins unbuckling his belt from behind, he weeps "What am I going to do.....with the beer?" catch it on region 1 on 4 May.