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6/8/04 V8.23

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
FOR TUESDAY, June 8 -- MONDAY, June 14

ALONG CAME POLLY
Opposites-attract comedy with a tinge of dumb slapstick. Reuben
Feffer (Ben Stiller) has made a fine life -- and a good career --
out of playing it safe. The star risk assessor for a leading
insurance firm, Reuben is an expert on minimizing danger --
nothing ventured, nothing lost. Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston)
plays her life like a game of chance, taking joy from the
serendipity that a rolling stone existence brings her. There's
always another opportunity -- a new job, yet another apartment in
another city -- should this one not work out. So when a chance
meeting puts Reuben and Polly at the same party, the recently
(and extremely) jilted Reuben decides that for once, chance may
just be on his side. But he doesn't count on indigestible food,
scary children's stories, and a near-blind ferret Polly picked up
in Italy. Director: John Hamburg. Stars: Ben Stiller, Jennifer
Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin,
Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown, Michele Lee, Jsu Garcia. 2004, CC, MPAA
rating: PG-13, 90 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $87.062
million, Universal, $22.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date.

CITY OF GOD
Hard-hitting story of crime and punishment inside the slums of
Rio de Janeiro. Cidade de Deus is a poor Brazilian housing
project born in the 1960s that -- as organized crime and drugs
gained a foothold in the area -- became one of the most dangerous
places in Rio. For its impoverished residents, laws are made not
by the government but by the teenage drug barons and gang leaders
who rule using fear and the very real threat of death. The film
counts almost exclusively on the acting abilities of youngsters
coming from the favelas, neighborhoods, around Rio. The narrator,
Rocket, is a poor kid and scared to become an outlaw but also too
smart to contend with an underpaid job. He discovers that he can
see his surroundings with a different eye -- the eye of an
artist. Then there is Lil Dice, a kid the same age who already
dreams of being Rio's most dangerous criminal. There are dozens
of intertwined stories here, of love, humor, and struggle, that
reveal the people inside the favelas. In Portuguese with English
subtitles. Nominated for an Academy Award. Director: Fernando
Meirelles, Katia Lund. Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro
Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen.
2002, CC, MPAA rating: R, 130 min., Drama, Miramax, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

IN JULY
Comedy about a young physics teacher who wouldn't see happiness
if it hit him in the face but whose life is about to change when
he falls head over heels in love with a beautiful girl and
follows her across the globe. Daniel teaches in Hamburg, Germany,
and plays life by the rules. His students ridicule him,
bartenders ignore him, and every night he walks home to a
perfectly empty apartment. When he meets a beautiful Turkish girl
he is smitten, and spontaneously decides to follow her to
Istanbul, Turkey. On his way East, he discovers a new self and
learns to truly fight for happiness, even as he gets high on
drugs for the first time, gets beaten up, seduced, robbed and
finally busted by border guards. In German with English
subtitles. Director: Faith Akin. Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu,
Christiane Paul, Mehmet Kurtulus. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 96
min., Comedy, Koch Lorber Films, $24.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date.

LEOPARD, THE
Long-awaited U.S. home video debut of Visconti's epic. The film
recreates, with nostalgia, drama and opulence, the tumultuous
years when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle class
rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Burt Lancaster stars
as the aging prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the
face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew
(Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancee (Claudia Cardinale). "The
Leopard" translates Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel and the
history it recounts into a truly opulent masterpiece. Three-disc
set, restored, with two versions of the film: Visconti's original
187-minute Italian version and the alternate 161-minute English-
language version. Director: Luchino Visconti. Stars: Burt
Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon. 1963, CC, MPAA rating:
NR, Drama, The Criterion Collection. DVD: Only.

LOVE LETTERS
Laura Linney and Steven Weber star in this charming TV adaptation
of A.R. Gurney's internationally acclaimed stage hit, a heartfelt
look at love, life and friendship, directed by the legendary
Stanley Donen. Andy is a serious, down-to-earth attorney. Melissa
is a lively, free-spirited artist. But these two opposites have a
definite attraction. They're childhood friends who share a
lifetime of experiences through a voluminous series of letters
and notes. Poignant, romantic and frequently funny, their
correspondence follows a bittersweet path of boarding schools,
marriage, children, divorce and missed opportunities. It's the
life journey of two soul mates -- enacted through words both
written and unsaid -- who share the greatest gift of all: the
gift of love. Director: Stanley Donen. Stars: Laura Linney,
Steven Weber. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 85 min., Drama, Columbia
TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

MYSTIC RIVER
Clint Eastwood has crafted a gripping mystery punctuated by great
performances and a wonderful jazz-inflected soundtrack. When they
were kids growing up together in a rough section of Boston, Jimmy
Markum (Sean Penn), Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) and Sean Devine
(Kevin Bacon) spent their days playing stickball on the street,
the way most boys did in their blue-collar neighborhood of East
Buckingham. Nothing much ever happened in their neighborhood.
That is, until Dave was forced to take the ride that would change
all of their lives forever. Twenty-five years later, the three
find themselves thrust back together by another life altering
event -- the murder of Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter. Now a cop,
Sean is assigned to the case and he and his partner (Laurence
Fishburne) are charged with unraveling the seemingly senseless
crime. They must also stay one step ahead of Jimmy, a man driven
by an all consuming rage to find his daughter's killer. Connected
to the crime by a series of circumstances, Dave is forced to
confront the demons of his own past. Demons that threaten to
destroy his marriage and any hope he may have for a future. As
the investigation tightens around these three friends, an ominous
story unfolds that revolves around friendship, family and
innocence lost too soon. Penn won the Best Actor Oscar and
Robbins won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for their riveting
performances. On DVD, the film will be available as a single-disc
sans frills and a three-disc set with extras, including the
entire soundtrack album. Director: Clint Eastwood. Stars: Sean
Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gaye
Harden, Laura Linney. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 137 min.,
Mystery, Box office gross: $87.163 million, Warner, 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 August 17 from Universal is off-beat comedy (and 21st century
version of "Some Like It Hot") "Connie and Carla," starring Nia
Vardalos and Toni Collette, on $22.98 VHS and DVD ... Thriller
"Twisted," starring Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson and Andy
Garcia, arrives August 31 from Paramount ... Joel and Ethan
Coen's remake of "The Ladykillers," starring Tom Hanks and Marlon
Waylons, limps to $24.99 VHS and DVD from Buena Vista ... The
Rock tears up the screen in MGM's remake of "Walking Tall," due
September 28.

DVD COLLECTIBLES:
Warner Home Video goes ape this week with the release of "The
Tarzan Collection," a four-disc set featuring all six Johnny
Weissmuller/Maureen O'Sullivan films on three discs, with a
fourth disc of bonus material. Disc One includes "Tarzan the Ape
Man" (1932) and "Tarzan and His Mate" (1934); Disc Two includes
"Tarzan Escapes" (1936) and "Tarzan Finds a Son" (1939); Disc
Three includes "Tarzan's Secret Treasure" (1941) and "Tarzan's
New York Adventure" (1942); and Disc Four features a "Silver
Screen: King of the Jungle" documentary, a vintage vault
treasure: Jimmy Durante as "Schnarzan the Conqueror," two shorts
featuring Johnny Weissmuller, as well as theatrical trailers for
all six films. Two more recent Tarzan adventures from Warner this
week are "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes"
(1984), starring Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph
Richardson, James Fox and Ian Holm, and "Tarzan the Ape Man"
(1981), starring Miles O'Keefe, Bo Derek, Richard Harris and John
Phillip Law ... MGM will release the original cyborg warrior-cop
RoboCop in the "RoboCop Trilogy," a three-disc set with all three
"RoboCop" films featuring high-definition transfers and special
features on the "RoboCop" disc, $39.96; "RoboCop 2" and "RoboCop
3" are available separately for the first time at $14.95 ... On a
more serious filmic note, Home Vision Entertainment will release
Volker Schlondorff's 1984 interpretation of Marcel Proust's
"Remembrance of Things Past," "Swann in Love," starring Jeremy
Irons, Alain Delon and Ornella Muti in a new digital transfer,
enhanced for 16x9 televisions; and The Criterion Collection will
present Luchino Visconti's glorious "The Leopard" (1963),
starring Burt Lancaster (in one of his most elegant roles) and
Claudia Cardinale, in a three-disc set with the film presented in
two versions: Visconti's original 187-minute Italian version and
the alternate 161-minute English-language version; the set
includes a host of extras ... and, lastly, Paramount will release
the 1967 cult-favorite "The President's Analyst," starring James
Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge and Pat Harrington.

FROM TV TO VIDEO:
Due this week are: "Six Feet Under: The Complete Second Season,"
a five-disc set with 13 episodes, $79.99, from HBO ... "Quantum
Leap: Season 1," a three-disc set with eight episodes including
the pilot, $59.98 from Universal ... "Just Shoot Me: Seasons One
and Two," a four-disc set with 31 episodes, $39.95 from Columbia
TriStar ... "Tour of Duty: First Season," a five-disc set with 21
episodes including the pilot, $49.95, from Columbia TriStar ...
"Who's the Boss? -- The Complete First Season," a three-disc set
with 22 episodes, $39.95, from Columbia TriStar ... ""M*A*S*H
Television Season Six" (1977-1978), a three-disc set with 24
episodes, $39.98, with a nifty option allowing you to turn off
the laugh track, from Fox ... "The A-Team Season One," a four-
disc set with 14 episodes, $59.98, from Universal ... and
"Playmakers," a three-disc set with 11 episodes, $49.99, from
Buena Vista/ESPN.

OTHER TV: Columbia TriStar will release "The Perfect Husband: The
Laci Peterson Story," the 2004 exploitation telefilm starring
Dean Cain as accused killer Scott Peterson, on VHS and DVD ...
"The Irish R.M., Series 1," a PBS Masterpiece Theatre dramatic
comedy series about the trials and tribulations of Major Sinclair
Yeates, a retired English Army officer who becomes a Resident
Magistrate in Western Ireland during the early 1900s, arrives
from Acorn Media; the $49.99 two-disc set includes six episodes.

BUZZIN' THE 'B's:
"The Bunker" is a horror film set during WWII and follows a
battle-weary platoon of German soldiers as they take refuge
within the confines of an underground bunker system, only to be
stalked by an unknown force in a the dark maze of tunnels; on VHS
and DVD from MTI Home Video.

SPECIAL INTEREST:
"Travel the World With Putumayo" is a visual celebration of world
music and culture featuring videos and concert footage from
around the globe by many of the record label's roster of
international artists. Included are performances by Ricardo Lemvi
& Makina Loca (Congo/Cuba), Chico Cesar (Brazil), Vera Bila and
Kale (Czech Republic), Gotan Project (Argentina/France), Tukuleur
(Senegal), and many others, on DVD only for $19.98 ... From First
Run Features comes "One Nation Under God," a bizarre and
fascinating documentary that looks at the religious right's
attempt to "cure" gay America; the film provides an historical
context as well as political analysis of the well-financed anti-
gay campaign that hews to the persistent and harmful myth that
gay people are somehow damaged and need to be "fixed," on DVD.
Also due this week from First Run is "Venus Boyz," an award-
winning documentary that takes viewers into the world of Drag
Queens, on DVD only ... "Fangoria Blood Drive" is an anthology of
spine-tingling, blood-curdling and hair-raising films gathered
together as part of Fangoria Magazine's Best Short Horror Film
contest; the compilation is hosted by horror film auteur Rob
Zombie; $19.98 VHS and DVD from Koch Vision. Koch Vision will
also release this week two ABC News documentaries: "War With
Iraq: Stories From the Front," which provides viewers with
unprecedented access into Operation Iraqi Freedom, and "Peter
Jennings Reporting: In Search of America," with six episodes that
take viewers on a journey into the daily lives of ordinary
Americans; both two-disc sets will sell for $29.98 each.


------------------------------------------------------------

THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

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

** The A-Team Season One. Four-disc set with 14 episodes, $59.98.
(Universal).
** Along Came Polly (2004) Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria, Bryan
Brown, Michele Lee, Jsu Garcia. Extras: Commentary by director
John Hamburg, Stiller, Aniston; making-of documentary; outtakes;
deleted scenes; alternate opening; "Rodolfo (the ferret in the
movie) Goes Hollywood" featurette. (Universal).
** Carolina (2003) Julia Stiles, Shirley Maclaine, Alessandro
Nivola, Randy Quaid. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette.
(Miramax).
** City of God (2002 -- Brazil) Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro
Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen.
Extras: "News From a Personal War" documentary. (Miramax).
** The Creeping Flesh (1973) Dir.: Freddie Francis; Peter
Cushing, Christopher Lee, Lorna Heilbron. (Columbia TriStar).
** Crosby, Stills & Nash: Acoustics. Eighteen songs recorded live
in San Francisco. (Rhino Home Video).
** Crosby, Stills & Nash: Daylight Again. Twenty-one songs.
(Rhino Home Video).
** The Day of the Locust (1975) Dir.: John Schlesinger; William
Atherton, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, Donald Sutherland,
Geraldine Page. (Paramount).
** Field of Dreams Anniversary Edition (1989) Dir.: Phil Alden
Robinson; Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann, Ray Liotta,
Timothy Busfield, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster. Two-disc set.
Extras: Commentary by Robinson and cinematographer John Lindley,
five featurettes ("From Father to Son: Passing Along the Pastime"
on father-son baseball moments; "The Diamond in the Husks" about
the original movie set, which still exists; "Galena, Illinois
Pinch Hits for Chisholm, Minnesota," tour of the town that was
used as the setting for the movie; "If YOU Build It, They Will
Come" on how to build a baseball field; "From Page to Screen."),
deleted scenes, stadium facts, photos, baseball trivia, more.
(Universal).
** Goodbye, Columbus (1969) Richard Benjamin, Ali MacGraw, Jack
Klugman, Nam Martin. (Paramount).
** Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph Richardson, James
Fox, Ian Holm. 20th anniversary digital transfer. Extras:
Commentary by director Hugh Hudson and associate producer Garth
Thomas. (Warner).
** In July (2000 -- German) Dir.: Faith Akin; Moritz Bleibtreu,
Christiane Paul, Mehmet Kurtulu. (Koch Lorber Films).
** Just Shoot Me: Seasons One and Two. Four-disc set with 31
episodes, $39.95. Extras: Commentaries by creator Steven Levitan
on select episodes, "Cast and Creator: Always in Fashion"
featurette, cast and crew featurette, photo gallery. (Columbia
TriStar).
** The Leopard (1963) Dir.: Luchino Visconti; Burt Lancaster,
Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale. Three-disc set. Presented in two
versions: Visconti's original 187-minute Italian version and the
alternate 161-minute English-language version. Extras: Making-of
documentary, more. (The Criterion Collection).
** Love Letters (1999) Dir.: Stanley Donen; Laura Linney, Steven
Weber. (Columbia TriStar).
** The Man From Colorado (1948) Glenn Ford, William Holden, Ellen
Drew, Ray Collins. (Columbia TriStar).
** M*A*S*H Television Season Six (1977-1978) Three-disc set with
24 episodes, $39.98. Extras: Option to turn off the laugh track.
(Fox).
** Mystic River (2003) Dir.: Clint Eastwood; Sean Penn, Tim
Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gaye Harden,
Laura Linney. Available as a single disc and a three-disc set.
Three-disc extras: Disc 1: Commentary with Robbins and Bacon.
Disc 2: "Mystic River: Beneath the Surface" documentary, "Mystic
River: From Page to Screen" Bravo TV, selections from "The
Charlie Rose Show" including segments with Eastwood, Robbins and
Bacon. Disc 3: Original motion picture soundtrack from Malpaso
Records/Warner Bros. Records. (Warner).
** Playmakers. Three-disc set with 11 episodes; $49.99. Extras:
Commentary by creator/executive producer Johb Eisendrath on the
pilot episode, behind-the- scenes featurette, on-set visit by
Snoop Dogg (who appears in episode 10. (Buena Vista/ESPN).
** The President's Analyst (1967) James Coburn, Godfrey
Cambridge, Pat Harrington. (Paramount).
** Quantum Leap: Season 1. Three-disc set with eight episodes
including the pilot, $59.98. Extras: "A Kiss With History:
Remembering Quantum Leap" featurette with stars Scott Bakula and
Dean Stockwell and creator Don Bellisario; "Quantum Knowledge"
episode trivia with Bakula; "Hidden Messages From Scott Bakula &
Dean Stockwell to Leapers" featurette. (Universal).
** Reality Bites 10th Anniversary Edition (1994) Dir.: Ben
Stiller; Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane
Garofalo, Steve Zahn, Swoosie Kurtz, Joe Don Baker, John Mahoney,
Keith David, Kevin Pollak, David Spade, Renee Zellweger. Extras:
Commentary featuring Ben Stiller, deleted scenes, featurette with
cast interviews, music video "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. (Universal).
** RoboCop Trilogy. Three-disc set with all three "RoboCop" films
featuring high-definition transfers and special features on the
"RoboCop" disc, $39.96; "RoboCop 2" and "RoboCop 3" are available
separately at $14.95.
-- RoboCop (1987) Dir.: Paul Verhoeven; Peter Weller, Nancy
Allen, Ronny Cox. Extras: Commentary by Verhoeven, producer Jon
Davidson, writer Edward Neumeier; "Flesh and Steel: The Making of
RoboCop" documentary; "Shooting RoboCop" vintage featurette;
"Making RoboCop" vintage featurette; deleted scenes; "The
Boardroom" film-to-storyboard comparison; photo gallery.
-- RoboCop 2 (1990) Dir.: Irvin Kershner; Peter Weller, Nancy
Allen, Felton Perry, Tom Noonan.
-- RoboCop 3 (1993) Fred Dekker, Robert Burke, Casey Wong, Remy
Ryan, Rip Torn.
** Six Feet Under: The Complete Second Season. Five-disc set with
13 episodes, $79.99. Extras: Five commentaries, "Anatomy of a
Working Stiff" behind-the-scenes featurette. (HBO).
** Swann in Love (1984 -- French) Dir.: Volker Schlondorff;
Jeremy Irons, Alain Delon, Ornella Muti. New digital transfer,
enhanced for 16x9 televisions. (Home Vision Entertainment).
** The Tarzan Collection. Four-disc set featuring all six Johnny
Weissmuller/Maureen O'Sullivan films on three discs, with a
fourth disc of bonus material. Disc One: "Tarzan the Ape Man"
(1932) and "Tarzan and His Mate" (1934); Disc Two: "Tarzan
Escapes" (1936) and "Tarzan Finds a Son" (1939); Disc Three:
"Tarzan's Secret Treasure" (1941) and "Tarzan's New York
Adventure" (1942); Disc Four: "Silver Screen: King of the Jungle"
documentary, vintage vault treasure: Jimmy Durante as "Schnarzan
the Conqueror," two shorts featuring Johnny Weissmuller,
theatrical trailers on all six films. (Warner).
** Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) Miles O'Keefe, Bo Derek, Richard
Harris, John Phillip Law. (Warner).
** Tour of Duty: First Season. Five-disc set with 21 episodes
including the pilot, $49.95. (Columbia TriStar).
** Who's the Boss? -- The Complete First Season. Three-disc set
with 22 episodes, $39.95. Extras: Seven featurettes: "Brooklyn
Meets Connecticut," "Tony Micelli: Man of the House," "Angela
Bower: President of the Corporation," "Mona ... Mona ... Mona ...
and the Children," "Samantha and Jonathan," "Opposites Attract,"
"How Will It End?"). (Columbia TriStar).


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


------------------------------------------------------------

THIS WEEK'S VHS SELL-THROUGH RELEASES:


** Along Came Polly (2004) Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria, Bryan
Brown, Michele Lee, Jsu Garcia (Universal): $22.98
** In July (2000 -- German) Dir.: Faith Akin; Moritz Bleibtreu,
Christiane Paul, Mehmet Kurtulu (Koch Lorber Films): $24.98


For more sell-through info, check out our Sell-Through/Repriced
pages at <http://www.onvideo.org/reprice.htm>


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ISSN 1094-3676

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