Written and compiled by The Film Nest guest contributor “FightinIrish” (peep him in the Comments section)
‘Tis the season for monster Blu-ray releases and this week will having you thinking no different. Kicking things off is Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s first U.S. Blu-ray release, bringing one of his most beloved films to high definition. Following that is a multiple Academy Award winner from 1994, besting Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption. Then, there are 80s classics, new blockbusters, two Criterion releases and the requisite holiday-themed films. There’s definitely something for everyone this week.
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North By NorthWest: 50th Anniversary
Far and away my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film. Cary Grant is the world’s greatest player, possessing a quick wit and dropping sexual innuendo mixed with his “I couldn’t care less” attitude. Eva Marie Saint, James Mason and a very young Martin Landau round out a great cast. This will be by far the best this film has looked since release and the score will be coming at you in Dolby True HD. A must own for all film fans.
Supplements: Audio Commentary; Music-only Track; Documentaries; Stills Gallery; Theatrical Trailers/TV Spot; Featurette
Who hasn’t seen this movie? Who doesn’t know the lines that are now a part of everyday life? Who hasn’t had a comfortable pair of shoes? Forrest Gump is basically the Cliff Notes film version of the baby boomer generation, from the mid 1950s all the way up until the early 1980s. Any and every major U.S. event is somehow replayed here through a man whose mental capacity is on par with Season 6 Homer Simpson. But it’s a movie that everyone seems to love and I have yet to find a real fault with. Hopefully Paramount has put together a transfer for this Sapphire Edition that rivals that of the recently released Braveheart and not that of the poor Gladiator. This week’s second must own Blu-ray.
Supplements: Commentary with Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Rick Carter; The Art of Screenplay Adaptation; Getting Past Impossible – Forrest Gump and The Visual Effects Revolution; Musical Signposts to History – Music as “Chronological Set Design” for the Times of Forrest Gump; Introduction by Ben Fong-Torres, Little Forrest; An Evening with Forrest Gump; Easter Eggs – Groom on Gump; Archival Special Features; Greenbow Diary; Commentary by Wendy Finerman
So the streak of this weeks’ must own discs comes to an end, for now. Growing up as a kid of the 80s there were really three major toy franchises/shows that dominated the majority of the decade: Transformers, He-Man, and G.I. Joe. We’ve gotten the first two in live-action major motion picture form and now we’ve finally gotten the third with this film. I missed this in theaters, but because of my childhood allegiances I cannot pass this up on disc. Much like the recently released Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, look for this disc to have amazing visuals, wickedly loud and spacious sound, and carry a decent set of special features.
Supplements: Feature commentary by director Stephen Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay; The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. JOE; Next-Gen Action: Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. JOE; Augmented Reality Technology
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: Ultimate Collector’s Edition
When you think of the traditional holiday classic films It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Story are the titles the most likely pop into mind. But for me that list is definitely nowhere near complete without Christmas Vacation. By far my favorite Vacation film, even though they don’t go anywhere, this film combines the humor of the Vacation films with the whole holiday season. You have the relatives, the inconvenience and the insanity. And we all have a cousin Eddy in our family. He may be an uncle, she may be a cousin, but there is that one relative who, while they mean well, just seems to not quite get it or fit in. This disc is probably not going to be demo material by a long shot, but I do look forward to an improved video and audio. Sadly, from the looks of it, Warner Bros. has skimped on any real special features, substituting in its place a package full of swag, including fake snow! And who doesn’t love swag? BTW, check out a pre-“Seinfeld” Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Supplements: Audio commentary with Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Miriam Flynn, director Jerimiah Chechnik, and producer Matty Simmons
Will this be a must own on Blu-ray? You’re going to have to check out our review to find out.
Supplements: Commentary with Director Tony Scott; Commentary with Writer Brian Helgeland and Producer Todd Black; No Time to Lose: The Making of Pelham 123; The Third Rail: New York Underground; Marketing Pelham; From the Top Down: Stylizing Character; Cinechat
Just about everyone has had that high school crush, that girl or guy who just hits you deep inside and yet seems so unattainable I know I had mine. But would any of us ever think to use our valedictorian speech to let her and the rest of the high school know of this, and even moreso expect it to work? Well I guess that’s why these are films and not rea- life documentaries. While Hayden Panettiere is very well known for her role as Claire in “Heroes” is she really top billing level yet? We’ll have to see to find out. BTW, the film was written by former “The Simpsons” scribe, Larry Doyle.
Supplements: Alternate Ending; Deleted scenes; “I Love You, Larry Doyle”; “We Are All Different But That’s A Good Thing” – behind the scenes with the cast; “Peanut Butter Toast” – improvised song by Paul Rust; FOX Movie Channel Presents in Character with Hayden Panettiere; FOX Movie Channel Presents in Character with Paul Rust
A fairly average child’s alien-adventure film, mixing human actors with computer generated characters. Is this the 21st century version of *batteries not included? Grab it for the young ones in the family.
Supplements: Introduction to the film with Ashley Tisdale; The Ashley Encounters; Deleted scenes; Gag reel; Behind the Zirkonians; Meet the Zirkonians
For some this film is a classic, for me, well, I’ve never seen it. Outside of Sixteen Candles and Stand By Me, I’ve never really seen any of John Cusacks’ films from the 80’s and he had but small supporting roles in those films. I will say that I am impressed with the extras packed into this disc, nice to see some love given to fan-favorite films that aren’t of blockbuster caliber.
Supplements: Intro and commentary by Cameron Crowe, John Cusack and Ione Skye; A Conversation with Cameron Crowe; I Love Say Anything…!; Vintage featurette; Deleted alternate and extended scenes; Theatrical trailers; TV spots; Photo gallery; An Iconic Film Revisited: Say Anything… 20 Years Later; Trivia track: To Know Say Anything… is to Love It!
Rocky: The Undisputed Collection
Now this is definitely a set that should reside on every red-blooded American male’s movie shelf. There is nothing that screams 1980s testosterone better than Rocky, specifically Rockys’ III through V. Now, the purist in me will tell you that the first Rocky is the only true work of art in this set, and this is true, but the rest of them aren’t trying to be works of art, they’re trying to be films that make guys want to fight their best friend in an empty ring, to go sprinting on the beaches in L.A. or to climb snow covered mountains. The first Rocky film was a love story, not a boxing story, and the rest we’re films that made boxing look like professional wrestling, but that’s the fun of it. And who doesn’t love Rocky III with both Mr. T and Hulk Hogan, a.k.a. Thunderlips? This set up the monster main event that was Wrestlemania I.
Supplements: 7 Discs; Featurettes; 3-Part Documentary; Trivia game; More yet to be announced
This houses all of the previous James Bond Blu-rays released to date, boxed all together for those who have yet to jump into the Blu pool. A nice set, but definitely missing some of my favorite Bond films. Expect the rest of the franchise to be hitting disc when the next Bond film drops.
Supplements: All content that was previously released on the individual discs
Remember that list of holiday films mentioned earlier? Well here’s your chance to grab another necessary piece of it on Blu. The film that makes you re-examine your life, who really cares about you and who the people are that rely on you. A must own and a must watch every December.
Supplements: Making-of featurette; Trailer
Surprisingly I don’t think I’ve ever seen this version of the Dickens’ holiday classic story. I’ve seen the Mickey Mouse version, the Muppet version, and even the Star Trek version, but never this one. Definitely somewhere on everyone’s list of top 25 holiday films.
Supplements: Audio commentary by George Cole; Bios; DVD copy (4:3 & 16:9)
From what I’ve heard this is a “chick flick” that most men won’t have a real problem watching with that special lady friend of theirs. From the person that brought you other rom-coms like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones Diary, this film tries to follow the success of those. I can say that having Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy and Alan Rickman in here speaks volumes in my book. Just one question for Universal Studios: Is this a region free release, because I seriously doubt the American audience needs DTS tracks in French, German, Italian and two forms of Spanish, with corresponding subtitles? Could have used that disc space for some more extra features.
Supplements: Audio Commentary; Deleted Scenes; 2 Featurettes; 2 Music Videos; BD-Live Access
A story of two girls who tell each other how great their boyfriends are only to find out that boyfriend is the same person. I have yet to see this and really have no interest in it at this point, even with the always-great Robert Downey Jr. If I’m missing out on something that’s worthwhile here, let me know. Directed by the man behind Tyson.
Supplements: Commentary by James Toback; Robert Downey Jr. and Natasha Gregson Wagner; A Conversation with James Toback; Theatrical Trailer
Criterion brings us another release this week, this time Germanys’ Der Himmel über Berlin. This is a movie I’ve just heard of, but from the sounds of it, and with Criterions stamp of approval, one that looks like I’d be interested in seeing. A mix of fantasy and drama, two angels watch over Berlin until one of them falls in love and wants to give up his immortality for a life with his love interest. As always ,Criterion puts together a great package for all fans of the film.
Supplements: The Angels Among Us; Excerpt from “Wim Wenders Berlin Jan. 87″; Interview with director of photography Henri Alekan; Deleted scenes and outtakes; Film excerpts; Production notes and photos; Trailers; Booklet
The second Criterion release of the week, this time the Academy Award-nominated film, Howard’s End. This film features a great cast, Emma Thompson in her Academy Award-winning role (1993), pre-Tim Burton Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins and Vanessa Redgrave in her Best Supporting Actress-nominated role. Based on the book of the same name, we get a film of class struggle and relations in turn of the 20th century England. As before, Criterion has put together a collection worthy of its name.
Supplements: New appreciation of the late Ismail Merchant by director James Ivory;
Building “Howard’s End” documentary; The design of “Howard’s End”; The Wandering Company documentary; Original 1992 behind-the-scenes featurette; Original theatrical trailer; An essay by critic Kenneth Turan
Jeff Daniels and Laura Graham star in this film about an author whose books seem to have all the answers, yet he himself seems to have none. Is it worth your time and money? That I can’t tell you, because for this film I am definitely not the answer man.
Supplements: Audio commentary; Behind the scenes; Deleted scenes
Ever want to know why your chicken breasts are so big yet so cheap, your tomatoes stay ripe for so long and your pork chops are near perfect? Well, this film will show you and it doesn’t look to be a pleasant sight. This documentary looks to expose the underbelly that is the American food machine and the government regulators who are supposed to be looking out for us yet seem to be more concerned with lining their pockets. As Super Size Me made you think heavily about eating at a fast food restaurant, this film looks to make you think heavily about who and where you buy your food. Certainly a film to enjoy at the dinner table.
Supplements: Celebrity public service announcements; Deleted scenes (approx. 40 mins.); “Nightline” segment from the You Are What You Eat series
Picking up "North By Northwest" today, can't wait. I'll wait on "Howards End" and "Wings of Desire"…not for a lack of interest, mind you, but lack of money.
I know the feeling. I got 2 today but the other 2 films I want have to wait (at least til the weekend). If the studios would just drop their pricing of Blus by roughly 6 dollars, it would pay off huge for them and the consumers. But sadly doubt that will happen anytime soon.