DVD news

Eraserhead remastered and Lynch Shorts in January [17 December]

Every film fan has a few movies that go beyond favourites and which actually changed their lives, and for me Eraserhead is right up there at the top, a film that resulted in my first published letter in a film magazine and some threats of violence from fellow film-school students who I'd persuaded to see it, after begging the local arts cinema to screen it. various video and even DVD versions have failed to to do justice to the film's gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, but in 2000 Lynch himself set about supervising the remastering of the film for a special edition DVD that was released exclusively through his own web site at davidlynch.com. The problem for UK Lynch fans was that the site would not ship to addresses outside of the US, and though some suppliers were offering the DVD to UK purchasers but at something like £50 (Lynch signed ones were shifting for £100!), you needed to be a really dedicated Lynch fan to fork out for. Given how good the picture is reported to be, I came that close... But on January 10 2006 all of this changes, as the disk is re-released and made available for sale through all US retailers at the retail price of $29.95. The disk also includes the 90 minute documentary on the film and the original trailer from the 2000 release and can already be found on-line for well under £20.

Also set for a 10 January release is The Short Films of David Lynch, also previously a Lynch.com only disk, also carefully mastered from the original negatives and containing all of the director's early shorts, namely Six Men Getting Sick (1967), The Alphabet (1968), The Grandmother (1970 - a personal favourite of mine), The Amputee (1973), the infamous The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1987) and Lumiere (1995), his contribution to the uneven but occasionally inspired Lumiere and Company. Each of the films features an introduction by Lynch and the disk is again priced at $29.95.

Hill Street Blues in January, and March, and June? [17 December]

Stephen Bochco's Hill Street Blues was one of American TV's genuinely ground-breaking series, laying the groundwork not only for Bochco's own later NYPD Blue, but just about every modern institutional-based American TV drama and half a ton of features. The opening roll call in particular broke all of the formal TV rules with its vérité-style camerawork and edgy editing, the result of Bochco famously asking his directors and editors to "leave the rough stuff in." We've waited a long time and made do with re-runs on satellite channels, but finally the DVD release of series 1 has been scheduled for January 24 on region 1 from Fox at the retail price of $39.98, but this is already being quite heavily discounted on-line. With the original 4:3 picture and mono sound, the following extras have been imprecisely announced:

Episode promotions;
Episode commentaries;
Deleted scenes;
'Roll Call' featurette.

Rumours are also coming in of a region 2 release of the same (extras to be confirmed) on 6 March, with series 2 set for 12 June, retail price a rather more expensive £34.99. More details when we have them.

Three films by Louis Malle from Criterion in March [11 December]

One of the most internationally successful of French New wave directors, Louis Malle really made his mark later in his career and managed the rare trick of working successfully both in France and the USA. In March Criterion are to release three of his most acclaimed films both individually and as a box set.

Le Souffle au coeur / Murmur of the Heart (1971) is a semi-comic, autobiographical coming-of-age tale starring Benoît Ferreux and will have the following features:

New, restored high-definition 1.66:1 anamorphic digital transfer;
Dolby digital mono sound;
Original theatrical trailer;
A new essay by film critic Michael Sragow;
New and improved English subtitle translation.

The excellent but controversial Lacombe Lucien (1974) was one of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German occupation of WW2, and though also a coming-of-age film, its tone is considerbly darker and harsher. The DVD will feature the following:

New, restored high-definition 1.66:1 anamorphic digital transfer;
Dolby Digital mono sound;
Original theatrical trailer;
Pauline Kael’s 1974 New Yorker review;
New and improved English subtitle translation.

Finally we have what is possibly Malle's most famous and influential work, the extraordinary 1987 Au revoir, les enfants, an autobiographical tale of young boys in a French boarding school during WW2. the following features have been listed:

New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised by director of photography Renato Berta, 1.66:1 but not anamorphic;
Original theatrical trailer and teaser;
A new essay by film critic Philip Kemp;
New and improved English subtitle translation.

Exact release dates and retail prices have yet to be confirmed. Updates will be posted when we have them.

Cronos Special edition on region 2 in February [11 December]

The first feature from Guillermo Del Toro not only established the director on the international scene, but added a further layer to the subtextual richness of the vampire genre. It's also a cracking horror movie. Already available on region 1 as a largely first rate special edition, the original region 2 DVD release was seriously below par, but this is about to be rectified by Optimum, who are to re-release the film with a restored print and 5.1 sound, plus a 'Making of' featurette, an interview with Del Toro and a short film from the director. That's it? What about the commentary that is the star of the region 1 release? Oh well, the new print and decent sound should still make it worth the purchase, especially given the omission of regular English subtitles on the region 1 disk (hard of hearing subtitles only, resulting in information on sound effects and music as well as dialogue), which we assume will not be repeated here. release date is set for 13 February with the retail price of £15.99

Warner update two 70s classic in February [10 December]

In the early days of DVD, Warner released a fair few American classics from the 60s and 70s in variable condition with no extras, but then few disks had much in the ay of special features back then. In a move that has to be welcomed, they are now dusting off some of these early releases and repackaging them as 2-disk special editions befitting their cinematic status. First of the bat are Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon and Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men, both excellent dramas with a political edge sadly missing from most of the more recent Hollywood output. Anamorphic 1.85:1 transfers seem likely but have yet to be confirmed, at least on the region 2 versions (it would be a spectacular ball-drop if they weren't), and the following extra features have been confirmed:

Dog Day Afternoon

Audio commentary from Sidney Lumet;
Based On A True Story documentary (72 mins);
The Story featurette (10 mins);
Casting The Controversy featurette (13 mins);
Recreating The Facts featurette (21 mins);
After The Filming featurette (9 mins);
Lumet: Filmmaker featurette (10 mins);
Theatrical trailer.

All the President's Men

Audio commentary from Robert Redford;
Telling The Truth About Lies - The Making Of All The President's Men featurette (28 mins);
Out Of The Shadows - The Man Who Was Deep Throat featurette (16 mins);
Woodward And Bernstein - Lighting The Fire featurette;
Pressure And The Press - The Making Of All The President's Men vintage featurette (10 mins);
Vintage Jason Robards interview excerpt from Dinah!, hosted by Dinah Shore (7 mins);
Alan J. Pakula thrillers trailer gallery.

Region 1 releases are set for 21 February 2006for All the President's Men and 28 February 2006 for Dog Day Afternoon, while region 2 gets the jump on them with both films out on 13 February 2006, retail price £19.99 a piece.

A History of Violence of Region 1 in February [6 December]

David Cronenberg's extraordinary adaptation of John Wagner an Vince Locke's graphic novel is one of Outsider's favourite films of 2005 (you can check out our cinema review here), and we've been waiting for this announcement for some time. New Line have set a release date of 28th February for looks to be a rather well specified disk. Featuring an anamorphic transfer and 5.1 sound, the disk will also sport the following extras:

A commentary by David Cronenberg;
A deleted scene with optional commentary by Cronenberg;
A documentary, Acts of Violence;
Three featurettes: The Unmaking of scene 44; Violence's History - US Version vs. International Version; Too Commercial for Cannes;
Trailer.

No news of a region 2 release yet, but if the film follows trends of the past then the UK release will be conspicuously missing the commentary. Maybe I'm just being too cynical.

Knockabout in January [30 November]

With martial arts once again on the popularity rise thanks to the likes of Tony Jaa and Stephen Chow, Hong Kong Legends continue their quest to remaster and re-introduce us to favourites from the 1970s, where it all really started. In January this will include the 1979 kung fu-comedy favourite Knockabout (Za jia xiao zi), directed by and starring genre legend Sammo Hung, also responsible for the Jackie Chan comedy actioner Wheels on Meals, also released in January by Hong Kong Legends. The film also stars Yuen Biao, Leung Kar-yan and Shaw Brothers master Lau Kar-wing (Chinese Vengeance, King Boxer, Game of Death). Knockabout will sport the following features:

Digitally remastered anamorphic transfer created from a high definition master;
Original mono Cantonese language track with improved English subtitles;
5.1 remix and English dub;
Feature commentary by Asian cinema expert Bey Logan;
Heavy Hitter - an exclusive interview with director and star Sammo Hung;
Monkey Magic - an exclusive interview with Monkey Kung Fu Master Chan Sau-chung;
Above The Law - an interview with star Leung Ka-yan;
Back To Red - a rare promotional concept featuring Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung;
trailer gallery.

Release date is 16th January 2006 on UK region 2, retail price £16.99.

The Ipress File Special Edition in January [28 November - updated 4 January]

It always seemed a bit much that one of the great British spy films of the 1960s was avialable with an anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer and a commentary in the US, but was released with no extras and cropped to 4:3 on its native soil on a cheapo label, though a re-release in 2003 did at least sort the aspect ratio out. Well in January this should well and truly be put right when Network DVD are set to release a 2-disk special edition of the film with a remastered anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer and the following listed features:

Michael Caine Goes Stella comedy sketch with with Phil Cornwell as Michael Caine;
New interview with Michael Caine;
New interview with legendary production designer Sir Ken Adam;
Candid Caine - a 44 minute television documentary from 1969;
Commentary with director Sidney J. Furie and editor Peter Hunt;
Theatrical trailer;
Stills Gallery;
Commemorative Booklet written by journalist Christopher Bray, author of Caine: A Class Act;
Soundtrack CD;
Len Deighton's original novel;
Film Poster Reproductions.

The release date is set for 16 January 2005 at the RRP of £29.99. The film should also be available without the CD, novel or posters at the substantially lower price of £15.99.

Previous stories >>