Aisle Seat October Arrival Edition!
Blu Ray and HD-DVDs including KING OF NEW YORK
Plus: SPECIES Special Edition; THE GETAWAY and More!
by Andy Dursin
www.andyfilm.com
dursin.blogspot.com (Newly
Updated!)
A good array of high-definition titles newly issued on Blu Ray and HD-DVD
ought to satisfy your viewing needs this week, especially for those not
interested in the Major League Baseball Divisional playoffs (I know where
I'll be Wednesday and Thursday, however!).
Without further ado here's a quick rundown to the latest offerings:
New & Coming Soon on Blu Ray
KING OF NEW YORK: Blu Ray (***, 106 mins., 1990, R; Lionsgate,
available Oct. 23rd): Abel Ferrara's most satisfying work to date is a
taut, well-performed gangster chronicle of a recently- released drug lord
(Christopher Walken) up to his old tricks in the Big Apple. Walken is tremendous
and a great supporting cast includes early turns from David Caruso and
Wesley Snipes as a pair of cops on his trail, plus Larry Fishburne as one
of Walken's henchmen. Lionsgate's high-definition Blu Ray release, due
out later this month, sports a crisp transfer with plenty of detail (along
with some infrequent blotches of MPEG noise), 6.1 DTS-HD and 5.1 Dolby
EX audio, and a good amount of extras, including two commentaries, a featurette,
documentary, trailers and TV spots. Recommended!
THE CONDEMNED: Blu Ray (*1/2, 113 mins., 2007,
R; Lionsgate): Run-of-the-kill variant on "The Most Dangerous Game," co-produced
by WWE Films and starring none other than "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. "Stone
Cold" essays one of several death-row inmates who are flown to a remote
island, where they become participants in a reality game show where its
contestants are hunted one-by-one. Lionsgate's Blu Ray release looks and
sounds superb (with 5.1 Dolby EX and 7.1 DTS-HD sound), and offers a gaggle
of extras (two commentaries, five-part Making Of featurette), but it's
standard-issue thrills worth a rental if that.
DELTA FARCE: Blu Ray (**, 89 mins., 2007, PG-13;
Lionsgate): Mediocre, intermittently amusing, comedy vehicle for Larry
the Cable Guy finds Larry and his army-reserve pals mistakenly sent to
Iraq. It's not exactly "In The Army Now" (the hideous Paulie Shore comedy
with the great Robert Folk score) but it's still fairly desperate nevertheless.
Lionsgate's DVD includes an excellent 1080p HD transfer with 7.1 PCM audio,
5.1 Dolby EX sound, deleted scenes, director commentary, and several Making
Of featurettes.
HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES: Blu Ray (*1/2, 88 mins.,
2002, R; Lionsgate): Typical Rob Zombie mess of gore, unappealing characters
and incoherent story hits Blu Ray in a fine HD presentation that should
please Zombie fans. The 1080p transfer is quite good while 7.1 DTS-HD audio,
5.1 Dolby EX sound, director commentary, casting footage, interviews, trailers,
and an interactive "Zombietron" game round out the package. More of a trick
than a treat!
TEKKONKINKREET: Blu Ray (**1/2, 111 miuns., 2006,
R; Sony): Highly stylized, flamboyant anime (albeit directed by an American,
Michael Arias) was based on a popular magna entitled "Black & White."
This interestingly designed but disjointed tale follows a pair of street
urchins in a faltering metropolis where Yakuza and nutty aliens populate
the streets; some impressive visual sequences are partially off-set by
an oddball narrative and particularly bizarre ending that's best left explained
by anime devotees. Sony's Blu Ray disc is, at least, sensational: the 1080p
transfer is gorgeous, filled with color and detail, while 5.1 uncompressed
PCM sound is offered in Japanese with English subtitles (an English 5.1
dialogue track is also on-hand). Extras include a 40-minute Making Of featurette,
commentary from Arias, and an interview with Arias and British music duo
Plaid, who perform the film's soundtrack. Well worth a look for anime fans,
in spite of its erratic story.
REIGN OVER ME: Blu Ray (**1/2, 124 mins., 2006,
R; Sony): Audiences weren't ready for a truly serious Adam Sandler vehicle
about a grieving man who lost his family in the events of 9/11, with "Reign
Over Me" flopping in theaters earlier this year. Though I didn't entirely
buy Sandler's sincere but not entirely convincing performance, there's
strong supporting work from Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler,
and Donald Sutherland on-hand in writer-director Mike Binder's slow-moving
but effective enough melodrama. Sony's Blu Ray release (available October
9th) offers a top-of-the-line 1080p transfer with uncompressed 5.1 PCM
audio, though not much in the way of extras (Making Of, photo montage,
and an "extended jam session" with Sandler and Cheadle).
New on HD-DVD
THE GETAWAY: HD-DVD (***, 116 mins., 1994, Not Rated; Universal):
Under-rated remake of the Sam Peckinpah-Steve McQueen-Ali McGraw '70s thriller
boasts Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the better of their two big-screen
affairs (it's a classic compared to "The Marrying Man"), with the original
Walter Hill script followed fairly faithfully by director Roger Donaldson
and writer Amy Jones. More over, the film's excellent supporting cast (James
Woods, Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, David Morse, Richard Farnsworth
and a young Philip Seymour Hoffman) makes revisiting the '94 "Getaway"
an unexpected pleasure in Universal's superb HD-DVD edition, which includes
a colorful, crisp (if occasionally grainy) 1080p, VC-1 encoded transfer
and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio. Recommended!
PATCH ADAMS: HD-DVD (**, 116 mins., 1998, PG-13;
Universal): Maudlin Robin Williams drama-edy from writer Steve Oedekerk
and director Tom Shadyac, who both illustrate why they ought to have stuck
to comedy with this 1998 effort (which still performed well at the box-office,
coming at a peak in Williams' career in features). Williams' performance
as a crazy doctor who inspires terminally ill patients by cracking jokes
is either heartwarming or exploitive (or possibly both) based on your personal
point of view, but there's no denying how saccharine and at-times unwatchable
this formula mess is, right down to Marc Shaiman's cloying score. Universal's
HD- DVD offers a decent 1080p, VC-1 encoded transfer with Dolby TrueHD
5.1 audio, commentary from Shadyac, outtakes, deleted scenes, and a documentary
examining the production of the film.
New and Coming Soon on DVD
ROOTS: THE NEXT GENERATION (1978-79, 688 mins., Warner): Star-studded
sequel to the classic David L. Wolper-produced mini-series traces the lives
of author Alex Haley's ancestors from following the Civil War to the present
day, offering another who's-who of actors from its era (Debbie Allen, Marlon
Brando [as a Nazi], James Broderick, Irene Cara, Diahann Carroll, Bernie
Casey, Robert Culp, Olivia de Havilland, Ruby Dee, Norman Fell, Henry Fonda,
Pam and Rosey Grier, Andy Griffith, Dorian Harewood, James Earl Jones,
Dina Merrill, Harry Morgan, John Rubinstein, Stan Shaw, Marc Singer, Greg
Morris, Richard Thomas, Hal Williams and Paul Winfield among them). Production
values remain high in this massive production, with another fine score
supplied by Gerald Fried. Warner's four-disc box-set arrives next week
and includes a new behind-the-scenes documentary to compliment fine full-screen
transfers and mono sound.
SPECIES: Collector's Edition (***, 108 mins., 1995,
R; MGM/Fox): Double-disc edition of the highly enjoyable 1995 Roger Donaldson-directed
sci-fi romp offers most of the same extras as the previous DVD editions
(two commentary tracks, featurettes), but adds a new Making Of and an alternate
ending (more of an unused epilogue) with stars Michael Madsen and Marg
Helgenberger. Visually the 16:9 (2.35) transfer is as vibrant as I recall
the film appearing on past releases, while 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital sound
compliment the audio presentation.
MEERKAT MANOR (273 mins., 2007; Genius Entertainment):
Hugely popular Animal Planet series hits DVD in a superb two-disc set offering
the series' complete first season in excellent 16:9 (1.85) transfers with
2.0 Dolby Surround audio. This chronicle of a group of South African meerkats
is an emotionally wrenching journey that ought to please kids and adults
alike, with pitch-perfect narration provided by Sean Astin. Extras include
a preview of Season 2 and a "Top Ten" from Season 1.
THE SECRET WORLD OF ALEX MACK: Season 1 (1994,
aprx. 7 hours; Genius Entertainment): Popular '90s Nickelodeon series stars
Larisa Oleynik as a 13-year-old who gains super powers after her first
day in junior high. Kind of like "Degrassi" meets the "X-Men," with loads
of shenanigans and an appealing performance from Oleynik (Jessica Alba
is also on-hand too!). Genoius' two-disc set offers okay full-screen transfers
and 5.1 audio. Recommended for fans.
EMMANUELLE: Special Edition (94 mins., 1974, Unrated;
Lionsgate): The original French "soft core" classic is back on DVD in the
U.S. with a restored 16:9 (1.70) transfer with 2.0 French stereo audio
(and optional English subtitles). Despite the lack of extras, Sylvia Kristel
has never looked better!
NEXT TIME: A ROOM WITH A VIEW in High Definition!
Until then, don't forget to check out my site, www.andyfilm.com,
to discuss the latest films on our Message
Board, and check out the Aisle
Seat Blog, which has been newly relaunched. You can also reach us at
mailbag@theaisleseat.com.
Cheers everyone!
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