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8/10/04 V8.33

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
FOR TUESDAY, August 10 -- MONDAY, August 16

JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION
It's a roadside emergency waiting to happen when Nate Johnson
(Cedric the Entertainer) sets out with three unruly kids and one
unsatisfied wife on a cross-country trek from California to
Missouri for the Johnson family's annual reunion/grudge match.
And yet, even if the Johnsons start out at each other's throats,
in the comic adventures ahead they're about to rediscover one
another's hearts. Despite being virtually ignored by his
separated wife Dorothy (Vanessa Williams) and out of touch with
his rapper-wanna-be son (Bow Wow), his Lolita-like teenage
daughter (Solange Knowles) and his imaginary-dog-toting youngest
child (Gabby Soleil), Nate is convinced that he and his relations
can make off with the coveted Johnson Reunion Family of the Year
award. But first they have to make it to Missouri. From the
minute Nate hits the accelerator of his Lincoln Navigator,
the Johnsons encounter one mishap after another, as they are
sucked into the universe of Murphy's Law where anything that can
go wrong does ... and the catastrophes just keep multiplying.
Along the way, Nate is chased by an 18-wheeler out for revenge,
savaged by unhygienic diners, put under a spell by a voodoo
hitchhiker, taken into police custody for using a "biological
weapon," set adrift in a corn field and trapped in a hot tub
nightmare. Still, nothing can detour Nate from getting his family
to Missouri on time -- except maybe finding Missouri. Director:
Christopher Erskin. Stars: Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa L.
Williams, Lil' Bow Wow. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 96 min.,
Comedy, Box office gross: $30.997 million, Fox, $19.98 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.

KILL BILL-VOL. 2
The action-packed conclusion to writer-director Quentin
Tarantino's "Kill Bill" saga. After dispensing with
former colleagues O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green in "Kill Bill-
Vol. 1," the Bride (Uma Thurman) goes out west to resume her
quest for justice. She has two remaining foes on her "death list"
to pursue -- Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl
Hannah). If she can survive these two assassins, she still has
her ultimate goal to achieve -- to kill Bill (David Carradine).
This adrenaline-fueled, wildly entertaining film brings together
all the plot elements from "Vol.-1" in a stunning finale. In
"Vol.-1" we learned that Bill, a broker of killers for hire, had
assembled and trained a ruthless assortment of assassins, the so-
called Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS). Each of these
gifted murderers was code-named for a different species of
poisonous snake: O- Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) was Cottonmouth, Elle
Driver (Daryl Hannah) was California Mountain Snake, Vernita
Green (Vivica A. Fox) was Copperhead, and Budd (Michael Madsen),
Bill's kid brother and the only other male in the Viper Squad,
was known as Sidewinder. The lethal weapon known as Black Mamba,
played by Thurman, the most talented of them all, was also Bill's
lover, and she became a fugitive from the assassination game when
she learned that she was pregnant with his child. At that moment
her worldview shifted on its axis. She no longer wanted to kill
or to put her life in mortal danger. She changed her name, hid
out in a small town, and found herself a kind and stable man to a
marry. But Bill was not about to let this situation stand. We
caught a few glimpses of the result early in "Vol.-1" with the
wreckage left behind when Bill and the Vipers assaulted a tiny
rural chapel and slaughtered everyone in sight. That slaughter
sets the plot of "Vol.-2" in motion. After fending off attacks
from Budd and Driver, The Bride tracks her ultimate quarry to his
lair in Mexico, with a flashback to The Bride's Zen-like training
as a kung-fu master. Director: Quentin Tarantino. Stars: Uma
Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Sonny Chiba, Vivica A.
Fox, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, LaTanya Richardson, Michael Jai
White, Woo-ping Yuen, Samuel L. Jackson. 2004, CC, MPAA rating:
R, 137 min., Action, Box office gross: $57.791 million, Miramax,
$24.99 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date.

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S DORM DAZE
Typical teen risque comedy set at a university co-ed dormitory a
few days before Christmas break. One student hires a prostitute
named Dominique for his unwitting brother to lose his virginity.
Meanwhile, another student awaits the arrival of a French foreign
exchange student who speaks little English, also named Dominique.
So what do you think: Is this a set up for a series of mistaken
identities and mishaps? In R-rated and unrated DVD editions.
Director: David and Scott Hillenbrand. Stars: Chris Owens,
Tatyana Ali, Danielle Fishel. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 98 min.,
Comedy, Box office gross: $0.056 million, MGM, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

PRINCE & ME, THE
Paige Morgan (Julia Stiles) is a girl from Wisconsin dedicated to
fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor. While studying
medicine and moving one step closer to making that dream a
reality, Paige meets Eddie (Luke Malby), who unbeknownst
to her is the Crown Prince of Denmark posing as a typical college
student as a means of escaping his royal obligations. As their
relationship deepens and the two fall in love, Paige must choose
between her dream of becoming a doctor and the possibility of
becoming part of Denmark's royal family. Director: Martha
Coolidge. Stars: Julia Stiles, Luke Malby, Ben Miller, James Fox,
Miranda Richardson, Eliza Bennett, Alberta Watson. 2004, CC, MPAA
rating: PG, 110 min., Romantic comedy, Box office gross: $28.108
million, Paramount, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day &
Date.

SADA
"Sada" is a compelling erotic thriller, based on the true
story of Sada Abe, a Japanese Geisha, who murdered and castrated
her lover on May 19, 1936. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi explores
Sada's past: her rape at age 14, her descent into prostitution,
and the crime of passion that ultimately turned her into an
overnight media celebrity. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi. Stars: Hitomi Kuroki. 1998, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 132 min., Erotic thriller, Home Vision Entertainment,
No VHS SRP. DVD: Only.

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


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NEWS

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING:
"Seinfeld" is coming to home video, according to a report in The
Hollywood Reporter. Columbia TriStar will release the pilot and
first three seasons of the show as two four-DVD sets as well as
combined in a boxed gift set on Nov. 23, just before the holiday
shopping season. Each individual release will include about 12
hours of new content and have a suggested list price of $49.95.
The gift set will have a list price of $119.95 and will include
such extras as a limited-edition script from co-creator Larry
David, "Monk's Diner" salt-and-pepper shakers and collectible
playing cards. Extra features on the releases include audio
commentaries by cast members, deleted scenes and never-aired
stand-up comedy footage of Jerry Seinfeld.

GREEN FRIDAY:
The wait is "Ogre": DreamWorks Home Entertainment will release
"Shrek 2," the #1 comedy of all time and biggest animated picture
ever on DVD and VHS on Friday, Nov. 5. Earning more than $430
million at the boxoffice, "Shrek 2" is the top movie of the year,
the most successful animated film of all time and the fourth
largest grossing motion picture ever. The VHS version will be
priced at $15.95 and the DVD will be available for $19.95. No
info yet on DVD extras.

COMING SOON:
Snoozer "Garfield the Movie," starring Breckin Meyer, Jennifer
Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Bill Murray (Voice of Garfield),
will purr its way to home video on October 19 on $19.98 VHS and
DVD from Fox ... Another snoozer, "Around the World in 80 Days,"
starring Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Robert Fyfe, Jim Broadbent,
Cecile De France, will fly to $24.99 VHS and DVD on November 2
from Disney.

DVD COLLECTIBLES:
Warner Home Video has a delightful array of wonderfully creepy
releases this week under the collective title of banned,
forbidden and condemned horror classics: "The Lost Boys Special
Edition" (1987), directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason
Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Edward Herrmann, Jamie
Gertz and Corey Feldman; the two-disc set of the tongue-in-cheek
vampire thriller includes a host of extras including commentary
by Schumacher and "The Lost Boys: A Retrospective" featurette ...
The 1956 shocker "The Bad Seed," directed by Mervyn LeRoy and
starring Patty McCormack, Nancy Kelly, Henry Jones and Eileen
Heckart, with extras ... The Bette Davis post-"What Ever Happened
to Baby Jane?" thriller "Dead Ringer" (1964), directed by Paul
Henreid and also starring Karl Malden and Peter Lawford, in which
Davis plays two sisters, one good, one evil, with extras ...
"Village of the Damned/Children of the Damned" double-disc set
with 1960's "Village of the Damned" starring George Sanders,
Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynne and Laurence Naismith, about the
human spawn of extraterrestrials, and its sequel, "Children of
the Damned" (1963), starring Ian Hendry, Alan Badel and Barbara
Ferris, with extras ... and Tod ("Dracula") Browning's classic
"Freaks" (1932), a weird drama that unfolds among the sideshow
freaks in a traveling circus, remastered from rare nitrate film
elements, with such extras as three alternate endings, a
documentary and the special message prologue that was added for
the theatrical release.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will release an interesting
experiment this week: Two volumes of Three Stooges shorts in
colorized and b&w versions using a new production process called
ChromaChoice" that allows viewers to toggle between the original
b&w version and its colorized version in a seamless manner using
the DVD remote. The two volumes are "Goofs on the Loose"
featuring "Men in Black" (1934), "The Sitter Downers" (1937),
"Punch Drunks" (1934) and "Playing the Ponies" (1937); and
"Stooged and Confoosed," featuring "Violent Is the Word for
Curly" (1938), "You Nazty Spy!" (1940), "No Census, No Feeling"
(1940) and "An Ache in Every Stake" (1941); $24.95 each.

FROM TV TO VIDEO:
Series due on video this week include "Good Times: The Third
Season," a three-disc set with 24 episodes, $29.95 from Columbia
TriStar ... "Manchild: The Complete First Season," a two-disc set
with seven episodes, $29.98, from Koch Vision ... "Star Trek: The
Next Generation -- Jean-Luc Picard Collection," a two-disc set
containing seven favorite Picard episodes; priced under $20, from
Paramount. And, last but not least, Acorn Media will release the
1982 miniseries "Smiley's People," the follow-up to John Le
Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," starring Alec Guinness as
aging British spy George Smiley and Patrick Stewart as his
nemesis, Soviet agent "Karla"; digitally remastered in a three-
volume set, $59.99 DVD and $69.99 VHS.

ON THE INDIE FRONT:
Ardustry Home Entertainment has a wild slate of Halloween titles
due on DVD this week: "America's Most Haunted Inns" and
"America's Most Haunted Town" (New Hope, Pa.), both TV
documentaries from 2001, present astonishing images of ghosts,
paranormal sightings, and haunting experiences ... "Breeders"
(1998) is a gothic horror feature about a meteorite that crash-
lands onto a Boston College campus releasing an alien beast ... A
Halloween party in the country turns into a horrifying blood-fest
when the teenage guests are murdered one by one in "The Fear"
(1998), which stars Ann Turkel and Vince Edwards ... Louis Gosset
Jr. and Amy Locane unleash a supernatural power that can only be
quashed by an ancient ritual ceremony in "The Mummy" (aka "Legend
of the Mummy" and "Bram Stoker's Mummy") (1997) ... Asia Argento
and Julian Sands star in a blood curdling and erotic take on
"Phantom of the Opera" (1998), directed by horror legend Dario
Argento ... "Killer Tongue" (1996) is a supernatural tale in
which the mysterious New Mexico desert and a meteor provide the
backdrop for an unearthly abduction of a woman's body ... In
"Jack Frost" (1997) a freak accident with a truckload of genetic
material turns a serial killer into a murderous snowman; in "Jack
Frost 2" (1997) the body of the thawed murderer is refrozen and
brought back to life in -- of all places -- the Caribbean ... In
"The Surgeon" (aka "Exquisite Tenderness") (1995) a doctor
hatches a twisted plan of revenge that turns a local hospital
into a laboratory of human guinea pigs; the film stars Peter
Boyle and Malcom McDowell. Each film has a price tag of $9.98,
except the "Haunted" titles, which sell for $14.98 each.

FOR THE KIDS:
There's plenty of kids product due this week. For the wee ones,
Classical Fun Music (www.cmkids.org) will release "The A to Z
Symphony," a kind of Music Appreciation 101 for children
featuring 26 one-minute videos set to the melodies from such
great composers as Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bach and Strauss; each
vignette is preceded by a letter of the alphabet and a sample of
vocabulary words; $14.95 VHS and $19.95 DVD ... HIT Entertainment
will release the latest title in the award-winning preschool
"Kipper" video series: "Kipper Helps Out," featuring six animated
adventures of the adventuresome pup and his friends that
encourage imaginative play while highlighting cooperation,
courtesy and kindness; $6.99 VHS and $9.99 DVD ... Paramount will
release this week two perennial favorites: "Blue's Clues: Blue's
Room - Snack Time Playdate," four animated episodes on VHS and
DVD; and "Fairly OddParents: Channel Chasers." a feature- length
animated film based on the Nick TV series ... For older kids
there's "What's New Scooby-Doo? Volume 3: Halloween Boos and
Clues," featuring Scooby and the gang in six monster-themed
episodes, $9.95 VHS and $14.95 DVD, from Warner Home Video ...
Warner also will release "Cartoon Network Halloween: 9 Creepy
Cartoon Capers," a DVD compilation of nine viewer-favorite
episodes from "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy," "Johnny
Bravo," "Ed, Edd n Eddy" and "Dexter's Laboratory," $14,97.

SPECIAL INTEREST:
Eagle Rock Entertainment will release this week "The Who: Live at
the Isle of Wight," The Who's legendary concert of August 30,
1970, available for the first time on DVD in DTS surround,
featuring a 40-minute interview with Pete Townshend, $19.98 ...
AnimEigo will release four DVD releases in its new line of "Metal
Munching Maniacs" that highlights the sport of Robotic Combat:
"Gourmet Damage" ($14.98), "Robot Club & Grille MAYhem" ($19.98),
"Robot Assault"($19.98) and "2003 Nationals" ($19.98).

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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

** The Bad Seed (1956) Dir.: Mervyn LeRoy; Patty McCormack, Nancy
Kelly, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart. Extras: Commentary by
McCormack and actor/playwright Charles Busch, new making-of
documentary "Enfant Terrible: A Conversation with Patty
McCormack." (Warner).
** The Bear and the Doll (1969 - French) Brigitte Bardot, Jean-
Pierre Cassel, Daniel Ceccaldi. (Koch Vision).
** Blue's Clues: Blue's Room - Snack Time Playdate. Four animated
episodes. (Paramount).
** Cartoon Network Halloween: 9 Creepy Cartoon Capers (2004)
Featuring over two hours of frightening viewer-favorite episodes
from "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy," "The Powerpuff
Girls," "Johnny Bravo," "Cow & Chicken," Ed, Edd n Eddy,"
"Dexter's Laboratory," "I Am Weasel" and "Courage the Cowardly
Dog." (Warner).
** Crossroads (1986) Dir.: Walter Hill; Ralph Macchio, Jami
Gertz, Joe Seneca. (Columbia TriStar).
** Dead Ringer (1964) Dir.: Paul Henreid; Bette Davis, Karl
Malden, Peter Lawford. Extras: Commentary by actor/playwright
Charles Busch and "Bette Davis Speaks" author Boze Hadleigh, new
"Double Take: Bette vs. Bette" featurette, "behind-the-scenes at
the Doheny Mansion" vintage featurette. (Warner).
** Fairly OddParents: Channel Chasers. Animated feature based on
the hit Nick series. (Paramount).
** Freaks (1932) Dir.: Tod Browning. Remastered from rare nitrate
film elements. Extras: Commentary by David J. Skal, author of
"Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood's
Master of the Macabre"; three alternate endings; "Freaks:
Sideshow Cinema" documentary; special message prologue added for
the theatrical release. (Warner).
** Girl With a Suitcase (1960 - French) Claudia Cardinale,
Luciana Angiolillo, Jacques Perrin. (Koch Vision).
** Good Times: The Third Season. Three-disc set with 24 episodes,
$29.95. (Columbia TriStar).
** It Takes a Thief (1960) Jayne Mansfield, John Gilling, Anthony
Quayle. (Koch Vision).
** Johnson Family Vacation (2004) Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa
L. Williams, Lil' Bow Wow. Extras: Commentary by Cedric, Bow Wow,
director Christopher Erskin; deleted and extended scenes;
outtakes; "Max on Set" behind-the scenes featurette. (Fox).
** Kill Bill-Vol. 2 (2004) Dir.: Quentin Tarantino; Uma Thurman,
David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Sonny Chiba, Vivica A. Fox,
Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, LaTanya Richardson, Michael Jai White,
Woo-ping Yuen, Samuel L. Jackson. DTS 5.1 surround. Extras: "The
Making of Kill Bill-Vol. 2," behind-the-scenes program featuring
writer/director Quentin Tarantino, the filmmakers and cast, with
interviews, comments and on-set visits; "Kill Bill-Vol. 2"
premiere party; deleted scene. (Miramax).
** The Lost Boys Special Edition (1987) Dir. Joel Schumacher;
Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Edward Herrmann,
Jamie Gertz, Corey Feldman. Two-disc set. Extras: Commentary by
Schumacher, "The Lost Boys: A Retrospective" featurette, "Inside
the Vampire's Cave" featurette, "Vamping Out: The Undead
Creations of Greg Cannom" makeup featurette, photo gallery,
multi-angle video commentary with Haim and Feldman, deleted
scenes, "The World of Vampires" interactive ancient map of the
world and the vampires who inhabit it, "Lost in the Shadows"
music video, more. (Warner).
** Manchild: The Complete First Season. Two-disc set with seven
episodes, $29.98. (Koch Vision).
** Metal Munching Maniacs. Four releases in a new line that
highlights Robotic Combat: "Gourmet Damage," "Robot Club & Grille
MAYhem," "Robot Assault" and "2003 Nationals"; $19.98 each.
(AnimEigo).
** National Lampoon's Dorm Daze (2003) Chris Owens, Tatyana Ali,
Danielle Fishel. Extras: R- rated edition: Deleted scenes, gag
reel; Unrated edition: Commentary by producers-directors David
and Scott Hillenbrand and editor Dave O'Brien, "making-of"
featurette, deleted scenes, gag reel. (MGM).
** The Prince & Me (2004) Dir.: Martha Coolidge; Julia Stiles,
Luke Malby, Ben Miller, James Fox, Miranda Richardson, Eliza
Bennett, Alberta Watson. Extras: Commentary by Coolidge; three
featurettes: "The Lawn Mower Race of The Prince & Me," "The Look
of The Prince & Me" and "Inside the Fairytale: The Prince & Me";
seven deleted/extended scenes and an alternate ending; gag reel.
(Paramount).
** Sada (1998 - Japan) Dir.: Nobuhiko Obayashi; Hitomi Kuroki,
Tsurutaro Kataoka, Norihei Miki, Kippei Shiina. Extras: Liner
notes by film critic Richard Kadrey. (Home Vision Entertainment).
** Smiley's People (1982) Alec Guinness, Patrick Stewart. Three-
disc set of the John Le Carre miniseries. (Acorn Media).
** Too Hot to Handle (1960) Dir. Terence Young; Jayne Mansfield,
Leo Genn, Christopher Lee. (Koch Vision).
** Village of the Damned/Children of the Damned Double-disc set.
"Village of the Damned" (1960): George Sanders, Barbara Shelley,
Michael Gwynne, Laurence Naismith. Extras: Commentary by
"Chronicles of Terror: Silent Screams" author Steve Haberman;
"Children of the Damned" (1963): Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara
Ferris. Extras: Commentary by screenwriter John Briley. (Warner).
** The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight. The Who's legendary
concert of August 30, 1970, available for the first time in DTS
surround. Extras: Interview with Pete Townshend. (Eagle Rock
Entertainment).

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


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THIS WEEK'S VHS SELL-THROUGH RELEASES:


** Fairly OddParents: Channel Chasers. Feature length animated
film based on the Nick TV series (Paramount): $9.95
** Johnson Family Vacation (2004) Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa
L. Williams, Lil' Bow Wow (Fox): $19.98
** Kill Bill-Vol. 2 (2004) Dir.: Quentin Tarantino; Uma Thurman,
David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Sonny Chiba, Vivica A. Fox,
Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, LaTanya Richardson, Michael Jai White,
Woo-ping Yuen, Samuel L. Jackson (Miramax): $24.99
** Smiley's People (1982) Alec Guinness, Patrick Stewart (Acorn
Media): Three-volume set of the John Le Carre miniseries, $69.99


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


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

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