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4/19/05 V9.16

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
FOR TUESDAY, April 19 -- MONDAY, April 25

BIRTH
Nicole Kidman stars as Anna, a delicate young widow who is on the
verge of a new life when a solemn little boy appears, claiming to
be the reincarnation of her dead husband. Ten years after the
sudden death of her beloved husband Sean, Anna is finally ready
to emerge from the shadow of grief and begin a new chapter in her
life. She has agreed to marry Joseph (Danny Huston), a good-
humored, cultured man who has patiently courted the lovely young
widow for three years. Anna's decision pleases her mother Eleanor
(Lauren Bacall), an elegant and commanding woman who has welcomed
Joseph into the family's spacious apartment on New York's
aristocratic Upper East Side. But at a birthday celebration for
Eleanor an uninvited guest appears as if out of nowhere. It's a
young boy, and he wants to speak privately with Anna: He declares
that he is her dead husband Sean and warns her not to marry
Joseph. A stunned and angry Anna takes the boy downstairs, and
discovers that the doorman knows the child: His name is Sean.
Sean begins to write to Anna and regularly visits her building
with his father, a tutor who has clients there. Sean's surreal
intrusion on Anna's life is met with varying reactions in Anna's
family. At the boy's own suggestion, he's quizzed about details
of the dead Sean's life, and the child's knowledge is uncanny.
More unnerving still is the intensity and certainty of his love
for Anna. Though she cannot deny the strangeness of it all, Anna
is increasingly drawn to the little boy and willing to flout the
wishes of her fiance and family to see him. Could this child
truly be Anna's husband, returned to her? How can she refuse the
chance to experience again the love she felt for him? Director:
Jonathan Glazer. Stars: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny
Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard, Michael
Desautels, Anne Heche, Peter Stormare, Ted Levine. 2004, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 100 min., Psychological thrill, Box office gross:
$5.005 million, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day
& Date.

DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and
banned in its native country, Wen Jiang's ravishingly
photographed anti-war epic is set in 1945 in a Japanese-occupied
rural Chinese village. Wen stars as Ma Dasan, a peasant, who, one
night at gunpoint, is compelled to shelter two prisoners. One is
a captured Japanese soldier who wants to be killed, the other his
Chinese interpreter, who wants to stay alive. As the days turn
into months, Dasan and his fellow villagers keep their unwanted
guests hidden from the Japanese forces, while deciding whether or
not to execute their captives. A plan to exchange the men for
grain leads to the film's harrowing and devastating climax. In
Japanese with English subtitles. Director: Wen Jiang. Stars:
Teruyuki Kagawa, Wen Jiang, Ding Yuan, Hongbo Jiang. 2000, CC,
MPAA rating: NR, 139 min., War drama, Home Vision Entertainment.
DVD: Only.

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
An exotic, beautiful blind dancer is associated with a dangerous
revolutionary gang, known as the House of Flying Daggers.
Captured by officers of the decadent Tang Dynasty, the woman
finds herself both threatened -- and attracted -- to the most
unusual circumstances. Here, her heart and loyalties battle each
other, amid warriors in the treetops and dazzling combat -- the
likes of which have never before been seen. In Mandarin with
English subtitles. Director: Yimou Zhang. Stars: Ziyi Zhang,
Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 124
min., Martial Arts, Box office gross: $10.159 million, Sony, No
VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
An estranged teenage girl returns to her family home only to
discover she has an unexpected roommate: her late mother's lover,
a boozy academic who's slowly drinking himself to death. Upon
hearing of her mother's death, jaded teenage loner Purslane
Hominy Will (Scarlett Johansson) returns to New Orleans for the
first time in years, ready to reclaim her childhood home.
Expecting to find her late mother's house abandoned, Pursy is
shocked to discover that it is inhabited by two of her mother's
friends: Bobby Long (John Travolta), a former literature
professor, and his young protege, Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht).
These broken men, whose lives took a wrong turn years before,
have been firmly rooted in the dilapidated house for years,
encouraged only by Lawson's faltering ambitions to write a novel
about Bobby Long's life. Having no intention of leaving, Pursy,
Bobby Long and Lawson are all forced to live together. Yet as
time passes, their tenuous, makeshift arrangement unearths a
series of buried personal secrets that challenges their bonds,
and reveals just how inextricably their lives are intertwined.
Director: Shainee Gabel. Stars: John Travolta, Scarlett
Johansson, Gabriel Mach. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: R, 120 min.,
Drama, Box office gross: $0.143 million, Sony, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

MEET THE FOCKERS
The makers and stars behind the runaway 2000 hit "Meet the
Parents" are reunited -- and joined by some formidable future in-
laws -- in this follow-up comedy. Returning to the roles they
originated in Meet the Parents are Robert De Niro as Byrnes clan
patriarch, Jack; Ben Stiller, as the soon-to-be son-in-law, Greg
Focker; Blythe Danner as Jack's wife, Dina; and Teri Polo as
Greg's intended, Pam Byrnes. It's been four years since Greg's
trial of initiation into the Byrnes family by ex-CIA operative
Jack. Greg has managed to earn his way inside the Circle of Trust
and things are going great. He and fiancee Pam are excitedly
planning their wedding and there's only one tiny, itsy-bitsy
little thing left to smooth the way to the altar: the future in-
laws need to spend a weekend together. So, Greg and Pam climb
aboard Jack's new state-of-the-art RV (with Kevlar-reinforced
hull and two-inch Plexiglas windows) for a trip to Focker Isle,
the Cocoanut Grove domicile of Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin
Hoffman and Barbra Streisand). The next 48 hours will provide the
parents of the intended bride and groom a little time to get to
know each other, but more importantly, give Jack the opportunity
to study Greg's parents. Things start off well enough, but that's
before Jack discovers that the lawyer and doctor Greg presented
are, in fact, a liberal stay-at-home dad and a senior citizens'
sex therapist. Then there's an RV toilet episode, an overly
zealous game of touch football, a saucy Cuban caterer, an
incident with the toddler and glue. Is this any way to start a
family? Director: Jay Roach. Stars: Robert De Niro. Ben Stiller,
Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Owen
Wilson, Tim Blake Nelson. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 115 min.,
Comedy, Box office gross: $276.573 million, Universal, No VHS
SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

PRIMER
Sci-fier set in the industrial park/suburban tract-home fringes
of an unnamed contemporary city where two young engineers, Abe
and Aaron, are members of a small group of men who work by day
for a large corporation while conducting extracurricular
experiments on their own time in a garage. While tweaking their
current project, a device that reduces the apparent mass of any
object placed inside it by blocking gravitational pull, they
accidentally discover that it has some highly unexpected
capabilities -- ones that could enable them to do and to have
seemingly anything they want: the ability to travel through time.
Convinced that the device could put their company on the map,
both men use themselves as guinea pigs to test the machine's
capabilities. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity is the
first challenge they face. Dealing with the consequences is the
next. Director: Shane Carruth. Stars: Shane Carruth, David
Sullivan, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford, Jay Butler. 2004, CC,
MPAA rating: PG-13, 78 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross:
$0.424 million, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day
& Date.

RIDING THE BULLIT
Film version of one of the short stories in Stephen King's
"Everything's Eventual." October 1969. The Summer of Love is over
and a winter of hate is about to paint the ideals of the Flower
Power Generation black. Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson) is a
young, struggling artist studying at the University of Maine
whose work is haunted by images of death. Believing he is losing
his girlfriend Jessica (Erika Christensen), Alan's obsession with
the dark side pushed him to try to take his own life on his
birthday. Some friends thwart his desperate act, yet events go
from bad to worse as Alan soon discovers he has opened a door
letting death literally enter his life. Recovering from his self-
inflicted wounds and about to embark on a road trip to a John
Lennon concert with his buddies, Alan receives crushing news --
his mother, Jean (Barbara Hershey), has suffered a major stroke
and is lying at death's door in Lewiston Hospital, over 100 miles
away. Rejecting his friends' offer to drive him, Alan decides to
hitchhike. But it is Halloween night and Alan is about to
discover that he has started down a nightmare road which will
take him on both an odyssey into black recesses of the human
heart and a journey that will bring him face to face with Death
Incarnate. Trapped in a speeding car with the Grim Reaper,
manifesting itself in the guise of a recently killed redneck,
Alan is forced into a terrible dilemma -- the Reaper will not
rest until it forces Alan to make a life or death choice.
Director: Mick Garris. Stars: Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette,
Cliff Robertson, Barbara Hershey, Erika Christensen. 2004, CC,
MPAA rating: R, 98 min., Horror, Box office gross: $0.101
million, Lions Gate, 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>


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

NEWS

COMING SOON:
The folks at Buena Vista/Disney have announced two new releases
on their Dimension label: Rated and unrated editions of Wes
Craven's vampire thriller "Cursed," starring Portia de Rossi,
Shannon Elizabeth, Daniel Edward Mora and Christina Ricci; and
action-thriller "Hostage" starring Bruce Willis and Kevin Pollak;
both due June 21 on DVD and $19.95 VHS. And for TV fans, Buena
Vista has announced September releases for two of ABC's breakout
hits this season: "Desperate Housewives: The Complete First
Season" (9/26) and "Lost: The Complete First Season" (9/6).

DVD COLLECTIBLES:
Due this week from Warner is another of their fabulous actor-
themed box sets, "Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection," a six-
disc set with "Captain Blood," "The Private Lives of Elizabeth
and Essex," "The Sea Hawk," "They Died With Their Boots On" and
"Dodge City." The sixth disc is devoted to an all-new feature
length documentary "The Adventures of Errol Flynn"; $59.92; each
film is available separately at $19.97 ... Due this week from
Home Vision Entertainment is "Devils on the Doorstep" (2000).
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and
banned in its native country, Wen Jiang's ravishingly
photographed anti-war epic is set in 1945 in a Japanese-occupied
rural Chinese village, where a peasant at gunpoint is compelled
to shelter two prisoners. One is a captured Japanese soldier who
wants to be killed, the other his Chinese interpreter, who wants
to stay alive. A plan to exchange the men for grain leads to the
film's harrowing and devastating climax ... Also from Home Vision
is "Hanzo: The Razor," a three-disc boxed set featuring the
legendary 1970s trilogy based on Kazuo Koike's classic mangas,
and starring Shintaro Katsu as Hanzo, the screen's most
outrageous samurai anti-hero: an incorruptible and uncompromising
samurai cop who packs a weapon more devastating than any sword
(just ask any of the female suspects he "interrogates"). The
trilogy: "Sword of Justice" (1972), directed by Kenji Misumi;
"The Snare" (1973), directed by Yasuzo Masumura; and "Who's Got
the Gold?" (1974), directed by Yoshio Inoue ... From the Merchant
Ivory Collection this week comes "In Custody" (1993 -- India),
directed by Ismail Merchant and starring Shashi Kapoor, Om Puri
and Shabana Azmi; and "The Courtesans of Bombay " (1983),
directed by Merchant and starring Saeed Jaffrey, Zohra Sehgal and
Kareem Samar.

FROM TV TO VIDEO:
"Dynasty Season One" is a four-disc set, $39.98, from Fox ...
"That '70s Show: The Complete Second Season," is a four-disc set
with 26 episodes, $49.98, also from Fox.

FOREIGN:
Wolfe Video will release this week "In the City" (En la Ciudad)
(2003), a sexy Spanish romantic comedy from "Nico and Dani"
director Cesc Gayo. This charming roundelay of romance about a
group of friends sharing their secrets and passions in modern-day
Barcelona won a Best Supporting Actor trophy at the Spanish Goya
Awards for heartthrob Eduard Fernndez.

FOR THE KIDS:
"Blue's Clues: Blue's Room: Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" features
four episodes of the Nick Jr. series, from Paramount.

SPECIAL INTEREST:
Anchor Bay Entertainment will release to DVD this week "Ali, the
Fighter," a 1971 documentary that follows the historic "Fight of
the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, featuring
never-before-seen footage; $19.98.


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

THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

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

** Ali, the Fighter. Documentary. (Anchor Bay).
** Ambush Bay (1966) Hugh O'Brian, Mickey Rooney, James Mitchum.
(MGM).
** An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) Dir.: Mike Newell; Hugh Grant,
Alan Rickman. (New Line).
** Attack on the Iron Coast (1968) Lloyd Bridges, Andrew Keir,
Sue Lloyd. (MGM).
** Beach Red (1967) Dir.: Cornel Wilde; Cornel Wilde, Rip Torn.
(MGM).
** Beachhead (1954) Tony Curtis, Frank Lovejoy. (MGM).
** Birth (2004) Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston,
Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard, Michael Desautels,
Anne Heche, Peter Stormare, Ted Levine. (New Line).
** Blue's Clues: Blue's Room: Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. Four
episodes of the Nick Jr. series. (Paramount).
** The Courtesans of Bombay (1983) Dir.: Ismail Merchant; Saeed
Jaffrey, Zohra Sehgal, Kareem Samar. Extras: "The Street
Musicians of Bombay," an hour-long documentary by frequent
Merchant Ivory composer Richard Robbins about the varied street
performers and personalities in this bustling city. (Merchant
Ivory Collection).
** Devils on the Doorstep (2000) Dir.: Wen Jiang; Teruyuki
Kagawa, Wen Jiang, Ding Yuan, Hongbo Jiang. Extras: Digital
transfer, enhanced for 16:9 televisions; introduction by Academy
Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, original theatrical
trailer, interview with Wen Jiang, Wen Jiang biography and
filmography. (Home Vision Entertainment).
** Dynasty Season One. Four-disc set, $39.98. Extras:
Commentaries, overview, profiles, outtakes. (Fox).
** Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection. Six-disc set with
"Captain Blood," "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex," "The
Sea Hawk," "They Died With Their Boots On" and "Dodge City." Also
includes an all-new feature length documentary "The Adventures of
Errol Flynn" on the sixth disc; $59.92. Each film is available
separately at $19.97. (Warner).
-- Captain Blood (1935) Dir.: Michael Curtiz; Errol Flynn,
Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill. Extras:
Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1935 with
newsreel, musical short Johnny Green and His Orchestra, comedy
short "All-American Drawback," cartoon "Billboard Frolics," 1935
trailer gallery; new featurette "Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler Is
Born"; audio-only bonus: Lux Radio Theater Production from
February 22, 1937 starring Flynn & de Havillland.
-- The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) Dir.:
Michael Curtiz; Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland,
Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, Vincent Price. Extras: Leonard Maltin
Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1939 with newsreel, musical
short The Royal Rodeo, cartoon "Old Glory," 1939 trailer gallery;
new featurette "Elizabeth and Essex: Battle Royale."
-- The Sea Hawk (1940) Dir.: Michael Curtiz; Errol Flynn, Flora
Robson, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale.
Extras: Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1940 with
newsreel, short "Alice in Movieland," cartoon "Porky's Big Fish,"
1940 trailer gallery; new featurette "The Sea Hawk: Flynn in
Action."
-- They Died With Their Boots On (1941) Dir.: Raoul Walsh;
Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy, Gene Lockhart,
Anthony Quinn. Extras: Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the
Movies 1942 with newsreel, military short "Soldiers in White,"
cartoon "A Tale of Two Kitties," 1942 trailer gallery; new
featurette "They Died With Their Boots On: To Hell or Glory."
-- Dodge City (1939) Dir.: Michael Curtiz; Errol Flynn, Olivia
de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale.
Extras: Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1939 with
newsreel, Academy Award-winning drama short "Sons of Liberty,"
cartoon "Dangerous Dan McFoo," 1939 trailer gallery; new
featurette "Dodge City: Go West, Errol Flynn."
-- The Adventures of Errol Flynn (2005) Emmy-Award winning
documentarians Joan Kramer and David Heeley ("Bacall on Bogart,"
"The Spencer Tracy Legacy," "The John Garfield Story," "Katharine
Hepburn: All About Me") cast their sights on the amazing Flynn
life story with this new feature length documentary, available
exclusively as part of the Errol Flynn Signature Collection.
Narrated by Ian Holm, it features film clips, home movies and
interviews that include fascinating commentary provided in 2004
by eight-time Flynn co-star Olivia de Havilland.
** The Four Feathers (1939) Dir.: Zoltan Korda; John Clements,
Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith. (MGM).
** The Grass Harp (1995) Edward Furlong, Walter Matthau, Jack
Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Nell Carter. (New Line).
** Hanzo: The Razor. Three-disc boxed set includes "Sword of
Justice" (1972), directed by Kenji Misumi; "The Snare" (1973),
directed by Yasuzo Masumura; and "Who's Got The Gold?" (1974),
directed by Yoshio Inoue. Stars Shintaro Katsu. Extras:
** House of Flying Daggers (2004) Dir.: Yimou Zhang; Ziyi Zhang,
Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau. Extras: Commentary by actor Ziyi
Zhang and director Zhang Yimou, "Creating the Visual Effects"
featurette, "Making of House of Flying Daggers" featurette, theme
song "Lovers" music video, behind-the-scenes photo gallery,
costumes gallery, storyboard comparisons. (Sony).
** In Cusdody (1993 -- India) Dir: Ismail Merchant; Shashi
Kapoor, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi. Extras: "Mahatma and the Mad Boy,"
a short film directed by Ismail Merchant; new interviews with
director Ismail Merchant and stars Shashi Kapoor, Om Puri, and
Shabana Azmi; original theatrical trailer. (Merchant Ivory
Collection).
** In the City (2003 -- Spanish) Dir.: Cesc Gayo; Monica Lopez,
Eduard Fernandez. (Wolfe Video).
** Julian Po (1997) Christian Slater, Robin Tunney. (New Line).
** Lil' Abner (1959) Peter Palmer, Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye,
Howard St. John, Julie Newmar, Stella Stevens. (Paramount).
** A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004) John Travolta, Scarlett
Johansson, Gabriel Macht. Extras: Commentary by the director and
cinematographer, behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes.
(Sony),
** Meet the Fockers (2004) Dir.: Jay Roach; Robert De Niro. Ben
Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri
Polo, Owen Wilson, Tim Blake Nelson. Extras: Includes theatrical
film and extended version. Sixty-five bloopers and over 20
deleted scenes, commentary by Roach and editor/co-producer Jon
Poll, "Fockers' Family Portrait," "Inside the Litter Box --
Behind-the-scenes With Jinx the Cat," "The Manary Gland --
Behind-the-scenes With the Propmaster," "The Adventures of a Baby
Wrangler." (Universal).
** Purple Plain (1954) Gregory Peck. (MGM).
** The Quiet American (1958) Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave.
(MGM).
** Primer (2004) Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Anand Upadhyaya,
Carrie Crawford, Jay Butler. Extras: Commentary by writer-
director Shane Carruth. (New Line).
** A Red Bear (2002 -- Argentina) Dir.: Adrian Caetano; Julio
Chavez, Soledad Villamil, Luis Machin, Agostina Lage. (New
Yorker).
** Riding the Bullit (2004) Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette,
Cliff Robertson, Barbara Hershey, Erika Christensen. Extras:
Director, cast and crew commentary, "Shooting the Bullet"
featurette, "The Art of Riding the Bullet," storyboard to film
comparisons. (Lions Gate).
** Shirley Temple Little Darling Pack. "Little Miss Marker"
(1934) and "Now and Forever" (1934) on one disc, $19.98. Extras:
"The Runt Page" Shirley Temple short. (Universal).
** Submarine X-1 (1968) James Caan, David Sumner. (MGM).
** Teacher's Pet (1958) Clark Gable, Doris Day, Gig Young, Mamie
Van Doren, Nick Adams, Peter Baldwin, Marion Ross. (Paramount).
** That '70s Show: The Complete Second Season. Four-disc set with
26 episodes, $49.98. Extras: Commentary on select episodes, six
behind-the-scene featurettes, overview featurettes for Season One
and Season Two. (Fox).
** Three Violent People (1951) Anne Baxter, Bruce Bennett,
Charlton Heston, Charlton Heston, Gilbert Roland, Tom Tryon,
Forrest Tucker, Bruce Bennett, Elaine Stritch. (Paramount).
** Widows' Peak (1994) Natasha Richardson, Mia Farrow, Joan
Plowright. (New Line).
** XXX -- Uncensored, Unrated Director's Cut (2002) Dir.: Rob
Cohen; Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Samuel L.
Jackson, Danny Trejo, Michael Roof, Tom Everett. Two-disc set.
Extras: Commentary by Cohen; eight minutes of additional footage
not seen in the theatrical version; "The Final Chapter: The Death
of Xander," a four minute sequence with Khristian Lupo as Xander
Cage, as a bridge to the film's sequel, "XXX: State of the
Union"; exclusive scene from "XXX: State of the Union"; behind-
the-scenes look at the making of "XXX: State of the Union";
multi-angle stunt views; "Starz! On the Set: The Making of XXX";
storyboard to final film comparisons; "Shavers' Gadgets
Presentation"; the end credit sequence -- raw and uncut; music
video for Hatebreed's "I Will Be Heard"; more. (Sony).

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


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Copyright 2005 CyberPod. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1094-3676

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