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4/13/04 V8.15

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
FOR TUESDAY, April 13 -- MONDAY, April 19

CASA DE LOS BABYS
Director John Sayles' latest captures six American women at one
of the most emotionally charged moments in their lives -- each
one on the verge of adopting a baby. Trapped together in an
exotic South American motel run by the colorful Senora Munoz
(Rita Moreno), they anxiously wait for the local bureaucracy to
process their adoption of newborns from the nearby orphanage.
Over the weeks, they share hope and desperation surrounding their
overwhelming desires to have a child. A poignant, sharp,
insightful look at clashing cultures, modern maternity and the
mystery of fate. Director: John Sayles. Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden, Susan Lynch, Mary Steenburgen,
Lili Taylor, Rita Moreno. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min.,
Drama, Box office gross: $0.475 million, MGM, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

KILL BILL -- VOL. 1
The fourth movie by Quentin Tarantino is an epic tale of one
woman's quest for justice presented in two installments. Ultra-
violent, ultra-slick, and ultra-hip, this outing -- though not as
sophisticated as Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" but never-the-less
awash in visceral thrills -- leaves no stone unturned in its
washing of the screen with blood. But the bloodshed and bodily
dismemberments are so cartoonish that viewers soon realize that
this is just a movie, after all. Kids, don't try this at home!
In "Kill Bill -- Vol. 1" the title character, played by David
Carradine, is a mostly unseen sinister figure looming over the
story who has organized an elite group called the Deadly Viper
Assassination Squad (or DiVAS). All of the vipers are code-named
after poisonous serpents and the deadliest of them all is Black
Mamba (Uma Thurman), who is also Bill's former lover. Early in
"Vol. 1" (though the film is told in a Tarantino-non- linear
storyline) a Texas Ranger surveys a grisly scene: an entire
wedding party slaughtered during a dress rehearsal in a rural
chapel. The pregnant woman in the blood-splattered wedding dress
is Black Mamba, better known as The Bride. Bill and The Vipers
left The Bride for dead, but unluckily for them she was merely
comatose. Four years later, The Bride suddenly awakens and
realizes what has been done to her. She disposes of the hospital
orderly who has been auctioning off her (immobile) sexual favors,
confiscates his garish truck, and sets off on a ferociously
focused mission.

Her first target among the wedding massacre participants is the
Viper known as Cottonmouth, O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) -- the boss-
of-all-bosses of the Japanese yakuza underworld. In Okinawa, The
Bride acquires a legendary bladed weapon from the last of the
world's great samurai sword-smiths, the legendary ninjitsu master
Hattori Honzo (Sonny Chiba). In Tokyo, O-Ren Ishii is surrounded
by her lethal henchmen and holds court in a massive
nightclub/restaurant complex, the House of Blue Leaves. The
Bride's assault upon this stronghold is a pitched martial arts
battle with hundreds of black clad soldiers of O-Ren's personal
shock squad, The Crazy 88s. The assault also includes personal
showdowns with two of O-Ren's top aides, her personal assistant,
Sophie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), and her private bodyguard Go Go
Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). The assault culminates in a classic,
tragic snowy standoff between these two formidable warriors, O-
Ren Ishii and The Bride. A few days later, in Pasadena,
California, The Bride has moved on to her second knockdown-drag-
out battle with a Viper target, Copperhead, a.k.a. Vernita Green
(Vivica A. Fox).

Tarantino throws in hordes of popular culture, comic book and
martial arts allusions, and one we're extra fond of is the
Japanese all-girl pop band the "5-6-7-8s". Gotta love this guy.
Director: Quentin Tarantino. Stars: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl
Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Parks, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki
Kuriyama, Julie Dreyfus, Gordon Liu, Michael Madsen, David
Carradine. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Martial arts
thriller, Box office gross: $70.000 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

TOKYO GODFATHERS
From the highly acclaimed anime director Satoshi Kon ("Perfect
Blue," "Millennium Actress") comes the visually and emotionally
stunning urban fable about human decency among the down-and-out,
a meticulously drawn, Capraesque tale of adventure, love and
redemption. It's Christmas Eve in Tokyo. Three homeless people --
alcoholic Gin, drag queen Hana, and teenage runaway Miyuki --
discover an abandoned baby in a pile of garbage. Rather than turn
the infant over to the police, the trio decide instead to find
the baby's parents themselves. Following the only clue they have
-- a locker key -- the three "godfathers" embark on a surprising
journey of danger, humor and excitement. And in the process, they
revisit their own haunted pasts and learn to face their future.
Produced by the world-renowned animation studio Mad House ("X,"
"Vampire Hunter D," "Ninja Scroll"). In Japanese with English
subtitles. Director: Satoshi Kon. Stars: . 2003, CC, MPAA rating:
PG-13, 91 min., Animated, Box office gross: $0.066 million,
Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.


For more release info, check out our calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar.htm>


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NEWS

COMING SOON:
Due June 1 from Fox is teen caper comedy "Catch That Kid,"
starring Kristen Stewart, Corbin Bleu, Max Theiriot, Jennifer
Beals and Sam Robards, on $19.98 VHS and DVD ... In-depth
documentary "Tupac: Resurrection" arrives June 15 from Paramount
on VHS and DVD ... On June 29 MGM will release the hip comedy
"Barbershop 2: Back in Business," starring Ice Cube, Cedric the
Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy,
Leonard Earl Howze, Kenan Thompson, Harry Lennix and Queen
Latifah, on VHS and DVD ... Also on June 29 Paramount will
release teen drama "The Perfect Score," starring Scarlett
Johansson, Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, and
Darius Miles, on VHS and DVD ... On July 20 Buena Vista will
release teen angst comedy "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen,"
starring Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headley, Alison Pill,
Eli Marienthal and Carol Kane, on $24.99 VHS and DVD.

FROM TV TO VIDEO:
Due this week: "Highlander: The Series -- Season 4," a nine-disc
set with 22 episodes, $89.98. Extras include commentaries;
deleted, alternate, recently discovered scenes; interviews with
actors, producers, editors, writers, costume designers; "Watcher
Chronicles" featurette; bloopers and outtakes; production designs
and sketches; and a photo gallery, from Anchor Bay ... "Babylon
5: The Complete Fifth Season" is a six-disc set with 22 episodes,
$99.98. Extras: Commentaries by series creator J. Michael
Straczynski, "Digital Tomorrow" special effects featurette,
"Beyond Babylon 5" featurette on the series' fans, "The Universe
of Babylon 5" featurette with data and personnel files and a gag
reel, episode previews, Easter Egg, extended and deleted scenes,
from Warner.

Other TV shows coming to video this week include Masterpiece
Theatre's "Oliver Twist" and Mystery!'s "Second Sight," a
psychological police thriller about a hotshot detective who's
losing his sight and enlists his partner to be his eyes, both
from WGBH Boston Video on DVD; and "The Maldonado Miracle," a
drama, directed by Salma Hayek and starring Peter Fonda, Mare
Winningham and Ruben Blades, about a town's faith being tested
when a statue of Jesus seems to shed real tears, on DVD from
Showtime.

BUZZIN' THE 'B's:
From MTI Home Video comes "Devil's Knight," about the sister of
two murdered hot low-riders who returns from the army to avenge
their deaths, on VHS and DVD ... "Our America," directed by
Ernest Dickerson, recounts the true story of two intelligent
teenagers in the South Side of Chicago who get mentored by an NPR
producer and get the opportunity to become radio reporters, from
Paramount on VHS and DVD ... From UrbanWorks Entertainment comes
"Still Bout It," an urban drama about two ex-cons who try to
abandon their wild ways but are forced back to their old ways to
protect their families and rid the community of a tyrannical
crew, starring Master P, Silkk the Shocker, Lil' Romeo and Mike
Epps, on VHS and DVD.

FOREIGN:
From Facets Video comes the wacky international hit comedy, "The
Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob" (1973 -- France), about a
shameless racist who, on his way to his daughter's wedding,
uncovers a group of revolutionaries and has to dress up as a
Rabbi to escape their clutches, on VHS and DVD ... Also from
Facets is "Spoils of War" (2000), a documentary that focuses on
the legacy of Argentina's "dirty war" of 1976-83, during which
thousands of citizens were kidnapped, tortured and killed by the
military, on VHS and DVD.

SPECIAL INTEREST:
There's plenty of music this week on DVD: Kultur will release
three operas: Pietro Mascagni's comedic "L'Amico Fritz," recorded
live from the Teatro di Livorno in Tuscany; Alan Berg's
"Wozzeck," featuring the Frankfurter Museumorchster; and
"Offenbach in Paris," featuring mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von
Otter in a concert from the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris ...
Rhino will release "46664: The Event," a two-disc set documenting
convert extravaganza held on November 29, 2003, at Green Point
Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, to raise money for Nelson
Mandela's global anti-AIDS campaign. Performers included Queen,
Bono, Beyonce, the Edge, Peter Gabriel, the Corrs, the
Eurythmics, and others ... Kultur will release an impressive
series of DVDs on the "Artists of the 20th Century." Each 50-
minute program will profile one artist, including Francis Bacon,
Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, Wassily
Kandinsky, Rene Magritte, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Jackson
Pollock and Andy Warhol, $19.95 each ... First Run Features will
release "A Perfect Candidate" (1996), a documentary about the
hotly contested 1994 campaign pitting Oliver Morth against Chuck
Robb, with such extras as commentary by directors R.J. Cutler and
David Van Taylor, an Ollie & Chuck reaction featurette, and a
photo gallery ... UrbanWorks Entertainment will release "The
Torry Brothers -- Family Business," showcasing the comedic
talents of standups Guy and Joe Torry, filmed before a live
audience at the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, on DVD ...
Acorn Media will release "Keeping Fit in Your 50s," a total body
workout system designed specifically for women experiencing the
challenges of staying fit while adjusting to the normal physical
changes that occur after 50, in a three volume boxed set, $49.99
DVD and $39.99 VHS.


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THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

Weekly listings of DVD releases can now be viewed on mobile
devices at www.tagtag.com/onvideo

** Babylon 5: The Complete Fifth Season. Six-disc set with 22
episodes, $99.98. Extras: Commentaries by series creator J.
Michael Straczynski, "Digital Tomorrow" special effects
featurette, "Beyond Babylon 5" featurette on the series' fans,
"The Universe of Babylon 5" featurette with data and personnel
files and a gag reel, episode previews, Easter Egg, extended and
deleted scenes. (Warner).
** Booty Call: The Bootiest Edition (1987) Jamie Foxx, Tommy
Davidson, Vivica A. Fox, Tamala Jones. Extras: Filmmakers
commentary, alternate ending, "Smooth Operator" featurette.
(Columbia TriStar).
** Casa de los Babys (2003) Dir.: John Sayles; Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden, Susan Lynch, Mary Steenburgen,
Lili Taylor, Rita Moreno. Extras: Commentary by Sayles, three
making-of featurettes. (MGM).
** Eating Raoul (1982) Dir.: Paul Bartel; Paul Bartel, Mary
Woronov, Robert Beltran. (Columbia TriStar).
** Highlander: The Series -- Season 4. Nine-disc set with 22
episodes, $89.98. Extras: Commentaries; deleted, alternate,
recently discovered scenes; interviews with actors, producers,
editors, writers, costume designers; "Watcher Chronicles"
featurette; bloopers and outtakes; production designs and
sketches; photo gallery. (Anchor Bay).
** Kill Bill -- Vol. 1 (2003) Dir.: Quentin Tarantino; Uma
Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Parks,
Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Julie Dreyfus, Gordon Liu, Michael
Madsen. DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1. Extras: Behind-the- scenes
featurette. (Miramax).
** Paul McCartney: The Music and Animation Collection (2004)
Three classic songs brought to life by McCartney as well as other
McCartney songs. Extras: Interview with McCartney, "The Making of
Tropic Island Hum," "The Making of Tuesday," more. (Miramax).
** She's Out of Control (1989) Tony Danza, Catherine Hicks,
Matthew Perry. (Columbia TriStar).
** Tokyo Godfathers (2003 -- Japan) Animated. Toru Emori,
Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto. Extras: Animax making-of
featurette, director Satoshi Kon character illustrated postcard.
(Columbia TriStar).
** The Velocity of Gary (1998) Vincent D'Onofrio, Thomas Jane,
Salma Hayak, Olivia D'Abo. (Columbia TriStar).

For more DVD info, check out our DVD calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar/cal_dvd.htm>


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Copyright 2004 CyberPod. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1094-3676

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