DVD News

Planet of the Apes Ape Head Collection in April [7 January 2006]

OK, for some of us Planet of the Apes was just one movie, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston. The four sequels, the TV series and (oh God no) the remake were interesting footnotes. But for many other Schaffner's film was the start of a well-loved franchise, and recognising this fact, Fox Home Entertainment have scheduled the release of a very special box set containing all of the films and the entire TV series, all housed in a limited edition Ape's Head package, for a region 2 release on April 3 2006. This 12-disk set will feature the 35th Anniversary Edition of the original Planet of the Apes, the 2-disk Special Edition of Tim Burton's remake, movie-only disks of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), a 4-disk set of the TV series, including the never originally aired episode The Liberator, and a bonus documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes. The two special editions will contain the following features:

Planet Of The Apes - 35th Anniversary Edition

Audio commentary from stars Roddy McDowell, Natalie Trundy, Kim Hunter plus make-up artist John Chambers
Audio commentary from composer Jerry Goldsmith
Text commentary from Eric Greene, author of 'Planet Of The Apes As American Myth'
'Behind The Planet Of The Apes' documentary
Dailies and outtakes
Edward G. Robinson make-up test
'Planet Of The Apes' featurette
'A Look Behind Planet Of The Apes' featurette
1967 NATO presentation
Roddy McDowell's on-set home movies
Film reviews
Gallery
Don Taylor directs 'Escape From The Planet Of The Apes'
J. Lee Thompsons directs 'Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes'
Theatrical trailers

Planet Of The Apes (2001)

Audio commentary tracks by Tim Burton and Danny Elfman
Easter Egg
HBO First Look featurette
Simian Academy featurette
Face Like a Monkey make-up featurette
Costume Tests featurette
On Location in Lake Powell featurette
Chimp Symphony Op.37 music score featurette
Swinging From The Trees stunt work featurette
5 Extended Scenes
Make-up
Group and Movement Tests
Gallery of multi-angle features allowing viewer to climb into director's chair for key scenes
Theatrical Trailers
Music Video
TV Spots
Image, Art and Stills Gallery

All 12 disks are housed in an individually numbered Ape Head, sure to become a collector's item it itself. It's a very special set and comes at a price to match: £149.99.

Jack Arnold sf double in February [2 January 2006]

An early entry on our Wish List, Jack Arnold's 1953 science fiction classic The Incredible Shrinking Man has been crying out for a DVD release, and is finally set to get one when it arrives on region 2 in February from Universal. But it's not alone, as joining it will be Arnold's gorgeously atmospheric body snatchers feature from the same year, It Came From Outer Space, both at the retail price of £9.99. Rightly regarded as two of the finest sf films of the 1950s, Shrinking Man was written by the great Richard Matheson, while It Came From Outer Space was based on a a story by none other than Ray Bradbury. At present there is no news of either remastered pictures or special features, but the already available region 1 release of It Came From Outer Space has a commentary by film Historian Tom Weaver, a half-hour documentary on the film, a gallery, production notes, biographies and a trailer, eveni if the picture could do with cleaning up. The picture on It Came From Outer Space is set to be 4:3 (as is that on the region 1 disk), while The Incredible Shrinking Man should be 1.78:1 anamorphic. Details will be confirmed when we have them.

Street date for both disks is 6 February 2006.

Assassination and The Savage Innocents in January [31 December 2005]

Eureka's Masters of Cinema label kicks off the new year with two very different releases, Masahiro Shinoda's 1964 Assassination (Ansatu) and Nicholas Ray's 1959 The Savage Innocents.

Assassination follows the fortunes of ambitious Ronin (the fine Tetsuro Tamba) as his allegiance drifts between opposing sides and he single-handedly attempts to prevent civil war. Set against the real civil unrest of 1853 Japan at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Shinoda's film takes an almost nihilistic view of the samurai era, presenting a vision of historical Japan in which traditional notions of honour are effectively ignored. This newly restored, high definition anamorphic transfer will be joined by a large production stills gallery, the usual excellent MoC booklet and, we are assured, more, including a probable introduction by Alex Cox.

The Savage Innocents, a tale of Eskimo life disrupted by the arrival of white trappers starring Anthony Quinn and Peter O'Toole, may well be Nicholas Ray's most ambitious attempt to break with the meanstream, was slated on its release, censored for its UK release and has for many years been unfairly neglected, so the time is ripe for rediscovery and re-evaluation. Featuring a new, high definition progressive anamorphic transfer, the disk will also have a commentary by critics David Ehrenstein and Bill Krohn, a promotional stills gallery and a 32-page booklet on the film.

Both films are set for a 23 January release at the retail price of £19.99 each.

Primer on region 2 in February [24 December]

One of the low budget cult films of the year, Shane Curruth's Primer is a special-effects free science fiction tale of four young research scientists who spend their evenings exprimenting in a garage with various technologies in the hope of discovering something that will make their names, and in the process accidentally invent a time machine. Made for an extraordinary $7,000, Curruth's film takes this premise and intellectually runs with it, exploring the paradoxical nature of time travel in a way that is as baffling as it is gripping. Already available on region 1, the film is set for a 20 February release in UK region 2 courtesy of Tartan. a 16:9 anamorphic transfer and Dolby 2.0 soundtrack should be joined by two commentaris, one from director, star, editor and composer Carruth, the other by members of the cast and crew. There should also be a trailer, and some film notes.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence in February [20 December]

Innocence, Mamoru Oshii's extraordinary sequel to his own ground-breaking 1995 anime classic Ghost in the Shell and previewed by us back in April 2004, was the first animated feature to be nominated for the coveted Palm D'Or at Cannes and yet waited over a year for a UK cinema release (and believe me, the cinema is still the place to catch it if you can). On 27 February Manga are to release the film in the UK on a 2-disk special edition DVD, with an anamorphic widescreen picture, the original Japanese track in stereo 2.0, 5.1 and DTS, plus an English dub in all three for the Philestines. The following features have also been confirmed:

Audio commentary by director Maoru Oshii and animation director Toshihiko Nishikubo, with English subtitles;
Face To Face Interview With Mamoru Oshii (UK exclusive);
Sneak Peak at Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig Volume 2,
Episode 5;
Full-length Japanese trailer;
Manga trailers.

Release date is set for 27 February at the retail price of £19.99, or as a three-disk box set with the original Ghost in the Shell for £24.99 (extras on that disk to be confirmed).

Lost Highway 2-disk special edition for February? [19 December]

We are still waiting for full confirmation on this one, so this is a story of some speculation and a great deal of hope, but it looks very much like Cinema Club are to release a 2-disk special edition of David Lynch's brilliant cinematic nightmare Lost Highway in the UK on 6 February 2006. Details have yet to be officially released, but a few appear to be leaking to retailers and if they are accurate then the signs are that this will be a repackage of the French Mk2 double-disk set released in November, which would be no bad thing at all. Although the picture on the French disk is still a little short of the pristine quality ideal a film that explores just how dark you can take a picture and still read it needs, it's still reckoned to be the best DVD incarnation yet, and has an apparently glorious DTS soundtrack, which itself should be enough to get Lynch fans salivating. The second disk contains interviews with Lynch, Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette and Robert Loggia, a 'making of' featurette. a promotional featurette, theatrical and teaser trailers and 78 page booklet, though this is naturally in French. When we have confirmation of details, we will post them.

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