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5/22//07 V11.21

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
For Tuesday, May 22 -- Monday, May 28

Apocalypto Mythic action-adventure set against the turbulent end times of the once-great Mayan civilization. Powerful Maya kingdoms ruled in the Americas for more than 1,000 years, forging expansive cities, constructing sky-piercing pyramids and building an impressively advanced society of extraordinary cultural and scientific achievement. Then, in a flash of history, this world collapsed. All that was left behind were a few jungle-covered pyramids and a tantalizing mystery. The story: When his idyllic existence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, a man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family, he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life. Shot on location in Catemaco -- in one of the last remaining tracts of rainforests left in Mexico -- and in Veracruz, with a cast made up entirely of indigenous peoples from the Americas. Vitals: Director: Mel Gibson. Stars: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez, Ramirez Amilcar, Israel Contreras, Israel Rios, Mar'a Isabel D'az, Espiridion Acosta Cache, Iazua Larios. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: 139, R min., Action, Box office gross: $50.859 million, Buena Vista.

Epic Movie Favorite characters from Hollywood's biggest blockbuster films are skewered in this outrageous comedy of "epic" proportions. When four troubled orphans (from four different movies) become trapped in a bizarre chocolate factory, they escape to a magical world of fake snow and genuine sorcery. But in order to survive, they must join forces with pirates, wizards and even a wise-but-horny lion in order to defeat the evil White Bitch! Filled with sight gags and eye-popping special effects. Vitals: Director: Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Stars: Kal Penn, Adam Campbel, Crispin Glover, Kevin MacDonald, David Carradine, Darrell Hammond, Carmen Electra, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 85 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $39.208 million, Fox.

Good German, The Based on the novel by Joseph Kanon, "The Good German" takes place in the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, where U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) becomes embroiled with Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), a former lover whose missing husband is the object of a manhunt by both the American and Russian armies. Intrigue mounts as Jake tries to uncover the secrets Lena may be hiding in her desperation to get herself and her husband out of Berlin. Tully (Tobey Maguire), a soldier in the American army motor pool assigned to drive Jake around Berlin, has black market connections that may be Lena's way out -- or lead them all into even darker territory. In black and white. Vitals: Director: Steven Soderbergh. Stars: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges, Tony Curran. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $1.290 million, Warner.

Letters From Iwo Jima Shown from the vantage point of the Japanese military during World War II, the film chronicles the horrors of Iwo Jima and the struggles of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and his troops as they prepare for and engage in the historic battle. As the powerful companion piece to "Flags of Our Fathers," Clint Eastwood's other acclaimed movie about Iwo Jima, "Letters from Iwo Jima" is an intensely gripping drama that humanizes the enemy with a grim and tragic realism. Sixty-one years ago, U.S. and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that in all probability they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live to see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels in America have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war but also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in from across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home. In Japanese with English subtitles. Vitals: Director: Clint Eastwood. Stars: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya , Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 140 min., War Drama, Box office gross: $13.660 million, Warner.

Venus "Venus" tells the story of Maurice and Ian, a pair of veteran actors (Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips), who never quite hit the big time. Now in their "golden years," they continue to work, though the jobs are far from glamorous. But their comfortable routine and witty banter over breakfast in a favorite cafe is disrupted by the arrival of Ian's grand-niece, Jessie (Jodie Whittaker). Jessie quickly tries her great-uncle's patience; but Maurice is absolutely taken with the young woman and proceeds to show her the cultural sights of London. As Maurice tries to give Jessie the benefit of his experience, he is surprised to discover how very little he actually knows about himself now that his life is drawing to a close. Jessie, who had arrived with an enormous chip on her shoulders, slowly learns from Maurice the value of respect -- for herself as well as others. Vitals: Director: Roger Michell. Stars: Peter O'Toole, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.331 million, Warner.

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

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NEWS

Coming Soon:
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just announced the DVD set that many, many people have been waiting for: "Heroes: Season One," a seven-disc set with 23 episodes plus tons of extras, due August 28 with a retail price of $59.98. Bonus features include the unaired 73-minute version of the pilot episode, a "making of" featurette, special effects, score, and stunts featurettes, deleted and extended scenes, and more.

Due July 17 is the supernatural thriller "Premonition," starring Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Jeff Galpin, Nia Long, Amber Valletta, Marcus Lyle Brown and Mark Famiglietti, with such bonus features as deleted scenes including an alternate ending, a blooper reel, a "Bringing Order to Chaos" featurette that looks at the major events of the movie put in 'normal' order, "Real Life Premonitions: The Truth About Seeing The Future" documentary, and more; also available on Blu-ray Disc; from Sony.

DVD Collectibles:
Oh what a week for collectors. There's a host of sets, four films from the wild era of the late 70s-early 80s, classics from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, two Criterion Collection editions, plus a profundity of films starring Gary Cooper and John Wayne.

Paramount and Warner kick off the week with a celebration of John Wayne's 100th birthday on Tuesday by releasing 48 titles and four collections. The centerpieces of Warner's contribution are the "Rio Bravo: Special Edition" two-disc set and "The Cowboys: Deluxe Edition." Paramount will release "True Grit: Special Collector's Edition". All are loaded with bonus features and documentaries. Warner also has the "John Wayne Film Collection," a six-disc set of never-released-to-DVD "Allegheny Uprising," "Reunion in France," "Tycoon," "Without Reservations," "Trouble Along the Way" and "Big Jim McLain"; $42.92. Paramount has three sets of Wayne films: the John Wayne Century Collection" with "The High and the Mighty," "Island in the Sky," "True Grit," "Hondo," "McLintock!" "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," "The Shootist," "Big Jake," "Donovan's Reef," "In Harm's Way," "Hatari!" "Rio Lobo," "The Sons of Katie Elder" and "El Dorado" for $99.99; the "John Wayne Western Collection" with "True Grit," "Hondo," "McLintock!" "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," "The Shootist," "Big Jake," "Rio Lobo," "The Sons of Katie Elder" and "El Dorado" for $74.99; and the "John Wayne Adventure Collection" with "The High and the Mighty," "Island in the Sky," "In Harm's Way," "Donovan's Reef" and "Hatari!" for $42.99.

For Gary Cooper fans there's the "M-G-M Movie Legends Gary Cooper Collection," a four-disc set with "Vera Cruz" (1954), "Cowboy and the Lady" (1938) (new to DVD), "The Real Glory" (1939) and "The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926); $39.98 from MGM; as well as four single releases including the classic Howard Hawks' "Ball of Fire" (1941), starring Cooper and a leggy, sweltering Barbara Stanwyck in a screwball comedy gem that's a sexy take on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," about a group of professors who are putting together a dictionary and who realize they are woefully out of tune with "modern slang"; Stanwyck -- a gun moll on the lam) -- enters their midst to update their vocabulary (and more). The three other titles: "The Adventures of Marco Polo" (1938), starring Cooper, Basil Rathbone and Sigrid Gurie; "Casanova Brown" (1944), starring Cooper, Teresa Wright and Anita Louise; and "The Wedding Night" (1935), starring Cooper and Anna Sten.

From the 1930s comes the classic gangster outing that set the standard for mobster movies to come, "Scarface" (1932), directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson and starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley and George Raft, from Universal Cinema Classics; and "Pigskin Parade" (1936), starring Stuart Erwin, Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, Betty Grable and Judy Garland, digitally remastered and restored, from Fox Marquee Musicals Collection ... from the '40s there's "So Proudly We Hail!" (1943), starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake and George Reeves, from Universal Cinema Classics ... from the '50s comes "On the Riviera" (1951), directed by Walter Lang and starring Danny Kaye and Gene Tierney, digitally remastered and restored, from Fox Marquee Musicals Collection; and "No Man of Her Own" (1950), starring Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Jane Cowl, Phyllis Thaxter and Lyle Bettger, from Universal Cinema Classics ... and from the 1960s comes the film that offended Russia's Nikita Khrushchev for its risque underpinnings, "Can-Can" (1960), directed by Walter Lang and starring Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan and Juliet Prowse, digitally remastered and restored, from Fox Marquee Musicals Collection.

Further into the 20th century Warner has released "Prince of the City" (1981), directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Bob Balaban and Lindsay Crouse, in a two-disc set; "Steelyard Blues" (1972), starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Howard Hesseman, Peter Boyle and John Savage; "Straight Time" (1978), starring Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, M. Emmet Walsh and Kathy Bates; and "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" (1981), directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti and Bob Balaban.

From The Criterion Collection: "Sansho the Baliff" (1954 -- Japan), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi; the stunning film, set in medieval Japan, centers around an idealistic governor who disobeys the reigning feudal lord and is cast into exile;  his wife and children are left to fend for themselves and eventually are wrenched apart by vicious slave drivers. The monumental, empathetic expression of human resilience in the face of evil gets the Criterion special edition treatment with a new, restored high-definition digital transfer and loads of extras, in a two-disc set. Criterion also will release a new, restored, high-definition digital transfer of "The Third Man" (1949), directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard and Bernard Lee, in a two-disc set featuring a video introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich; commentary by film scholar Dana Polan; "Shadowing the Third Man," a 90-minute 2005 feature documentary on the making of the film; a booklet, and much, much more.

Want comedy: There's the "M-G-M Movie Legends Peter Sellers Collection," a four-disc set with "The Pink Panther" (1963), "Casino Royale" (1967), "The Party" (1968) and "What's New, Pussycat?" (1965); $39.98 from MGM ... and the Brett Ratner-Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker collaborations "Rush Hour" (1998) and "Rush Hour 2" (2001), both digitally remastered in time for the late-summer release of "Rush Hour 3."

Finally, there's the "Flags of Our Fathers Special Collector's Edition" of Clint Eastwood's World War II film from last year; Paramount has re-released it to coincide with Warner's release of Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima"; the two-disc set adds an introduction by Eastwood and six featurettes; there's also a "Flags of Our Fathers/Letters From Iwo Jima Commemorative Edition" five-disc set with the two-disc "Letters From Iwo Jima," the two-disc "Flags of Our Fathers" and a fifth disc of extras, $49.96 ... And Warner will release "Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition," a four-disc set of the series with commentary, featurettes, and DVD-ROM content; $59.98.

From TV to Video:
Due this week: "Airwolf: Season Three," a five-disc set with 22 episodes, $39.98 from Universal ... "Disappeared" (2004) stars Ray Winstone in a telefilm about a self-made man who investigates the disappearance of his daughter in Istanbul, from First Look Home Entertainment ... "Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series," a two-disc set with all 11 episodes, $29.98 from Fox ... "Kyle XY: The Complete First Season -- Declassified," a three-disc set with 10 episodes from the ABC Family Channel series, $39.99 from Buena Vista ... "The Magnificent Seven Season Two," a two-disc set with 13 episodes, $29.98 from MGM ... "The O.C.: The Complete Fourth Season," a five-disc set with the final 16 episodes, $59.98 from Warner ... "Scrubs: The Complete Fifth Season," a three-disc set with 24 episodes, $39.99, from Buena Vista.

Buzzin' the 'B's:

In "The Hard Easy" (2005), starring Henry Thomas, David Boreanaz, Nick Lachey, Vera Farmiga, Bruce Dern, Peter Weller and Gary Busey, a pair of losers are both approached by separate groups of thieves looking for accomplices in a bank robbery; an "easy" job gets complicated when the men find themselves involved in the same hold-up at the same time, from HBO Video ... A researcher in Brazil is haunted by nightmarish visions of a shadowy predator who abducts young girls in "Memory" (2005), starring Billy Zane, Tricia Helfer, Ann-Margret and Dennis Hopper, from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment ... "Alone With Her" (2005) is the harrowing story of a disturbed young voyeuristic man's attempts to win the affections of an unsuspecting young woman, starring Colin Hanks and Ana Claudia Talancon, from Genius Products ... College kids party on an island inhabited by genetically engineered killer dogs in "The Breed" (2006), starring Michelle Rodriguez, Taryn Manning, Hill Harper and Oliver Hudson, from First Look Home Entertainment ... "Constellation" (2005) centers on interracial romance and race identity in the ever-changing landscape of the Deep South, starring Gabrielle Union, Billy Dee Williams, Melissa De Sousa, Hill Harper, Lesley Ann Warren, Rae Dawn Chong and Zoe Saldana, from Fox ... In "Dark Corners" (2006), starring Thora Birch, Toby Stephens and Christien Anholt, a young woman leads two lives: as a downtrodden mortuary employee who, when she sleeps, dreams of a sunny life, and of a sunny upscale housewife who dreams she's the mortuary employee when she sleeps, from Union Station Media ... A bar-hopping, bed-hopping jerk of a TV reality show producer decides to change his ways when he runs into his college sweetheart in "Loveless in Los Angeles" (2007), starring Dash Mihok, Brittany Daniel, James Lesure, Navi Rawat and Geoffrey Arend, from Allumination FilmWorks ... In "The Mad" (2007), starring Billy Zane, Jordan Madley, Maggie Castle and Rothaford Gray, a road trip through the countryside turns gruesome and deadly when diner patrons are transformed into relentless flesh-hungry zombies, from Genius Products ... In "Three Bad Men" (2005), starring George Kennedy, Mike Moroff and Chris Gann, three outlaws make a promise to a dying man to save his wife from a notorious killer, from ThinkFilm.

On the Indie Front:
Due this week: "Fay Grim" (2006), directed by Hal Hartley and starring Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Liam Aiken and Chuck Montgomery, is a continuation of sorts of 1997's "Henry Fool"; here Fay Grim (Parker Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Jeff Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Thomas Jay Ryan) -- notebooks that could compromise national security. The film, which opened just last week to excellent reviews, is released by Magnolia Home Entertainment ... "American Pastime" (2007) is based on the true events of the World War II home front in the United States, where nearly a quarter of a million Japanese Americans were placed in remote internment camps because of a perceived security threat; the film's story centers around one family in Utah's Topaz camp where the interned community ironically uses baseball, for decades a part of the Japanese American fabric, as a way to rise above their daily hardships and adversity. The film stars Gary Cole, Leonardo Nam, Aaron Yoo, Masatoshi Nakamura, Judy Ongg Nakano, Sarah Drew and Jon Gries, from Warner ... In "Big Dreams in Little Hope (aka Mom)" (2006), two mismatched women doing market research in small town America begin to question where they've been and where they are going when their plans go awry; stars Julie Goldman and Emma Bowers, from Wolfe Video ... "The Mistress of Spices" (2005) chronicles the plight of a young Indian woman living in San Francisco who is forced to choose between the culture and conventions she has always known and those of her new land; stars Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott, from Genius Products.

For the Family:
"The Adventures of the Black Stallion" is a four-disc set of the Family Channel series, $39.99 from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment ... "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunks Go to the Movies" features three episodes spoofing movies: "Star Wreck," "Batmunk" and "Funny, We Shrunk the Adults," $14.99 from Paramount .. . "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 1 Part 1" is a two-disc set with 12 episodes, $16.98 from 4Kids Entertainment ... "Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure" is an original movie based on the celebrated Scholastic children's books; the feature is available exclusively on DVD from HBO Video ... For the wee ones there's a new series of titles that key in on early communication: "Baby IQ," from the folks at the Brainy Baby Company, feature two charming puppet characters who introduce babies (six months to three years) to the world around them. The first four 35-minute DVDs are "The World Around Us," "Baby's First Words," "Colors" and "Counting," $17.95 each; go to www.babyiq.com for more information ... And for toilet training time there's "Go Potty GO!" which introduces twin Pandas who, with their animal friends, show kids that "anyone and everyone uses the potty and how fun and easy it is to learn"; the Mazzarella Media DVD from Big Kids Video (www.bigkidsvideo.com) sells for $14.95.

Special Interest:
The 1960s was a heady time of change, defined in part by a common effort to fight against injustice. Chicago filmmaker Mike Gray was there, using his camera to document the politics of the streets. His "American Revolution 2" (1969) is a documentary about the police riots that followed the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago; his "The Murder of Fred Hampton" (1971) is a documentary that began as a film portrait of Fred Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party, and ended up as an investigation into his death at the hands of the Chicago Police Department; both titles are from Facets Video and sell for $24.95 each ... "Cannes: All Access" (2007) is a documentary on the Cannes Film Festival (which is underway in the South of France), hosted by film historian Richard Schickel, from Genius Products ... PBS Video/Paramount has three military-themed releases due this week: "Dogfight Over Guadalcanal," an up-close look at two ace fighter pilots' showdown over the Pacific in 1942; "The Marines," a definitive documentary about the rich history and tradition of the United States Marine Corps; and "Warplane," which explores the evolution of the warplane by telling the stories of the creative minds who, out of necessity, have created awe-inspiring machines; $24.99 each ... "Where Is the World Going, Mr. Stiglitz" is a five-part series on two discs featuring Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explaining how the world's economy works. Stiglitz makes complex international economic processess intelligible to a lay audience, boiling down jargon to simple terms and offering a crash course in globalization and its effects, global warming, trade and immigration, security and terrorism, and ultimately, the future of mankind; $39.95 from First Run Features ... First Run Features also will release this week two documentaries by Allan Miller on one disc: "The Bolero," made in 1973, captures the essence of an orchestra and the titular piece as Zubin Mehta conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a stellar performance of Ravel's classic, giving viewers insight into the music and the workings of a great orchestra; and "In Search of Cezanne," an exploration of the life and legacy of the 19th century French painter Paul Cezanne, as seen through the eyes of a young female documentary filmmaker who is just discovering his work; the film journeys from New York to Paris to the South of France, interweaving more than 45 of Cezanne's paintings into the narrative; $24.95.

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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 Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) Gary Cooper, Basil Rathbone, Sigrid Gurie. (MGM).

The Adventures of the Black Stallion. Four-disc set of the Family Channel series, $39.99. (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment).

Airwolf: Season Three. Five-disc set with 22 episodes, $39.98. (Universal).

Alone With Her (2005) Colin Hanks, Ana Claudia Talancon. Harrowing story of a disturbed young voyeuristic man's attempts to win the affections of an unsuspecting young woman. (Genius Products).

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunks Go to the Movies. Three episodes spoofing movies: "Star Wreck," "Batmunk" and "Funny, We Shrunk the Adults," $14.99. (Paramount).

American Pastime (2007) Gary Cole, Leonardo Nam, Aaron Yoo, Masatoshi Nakamura, Judy Ongg Nakano, Sarah Drew, Jon Gries Based on the true events of the World War II home front in the United States, where nearly a quarter of a million Japanese Americans were placed in remote internment camps because of a perceived security threat. The film's story centers around one family in Utah's Topaz camp where the interned community ironically uses baseball, for decades a part of the Japanese American fabric, as a way to rise above their daily hardships and adversity. (Warner).

American Revolution 2 (1969) Documentary about the aftermath of the 1968 Chicago Riots; $24.95. Extras: Booklet by director Mike Gray. (Facets).

Apocalypto (2006) Dir.: Mel Gibson; Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez, Ramirez Amilcar, Israel Contreras, Israel Rios, Mar'a Isabel D'az, Espiridion Acosta Cache, Iazua Larios. Extras: Commentary by Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia, "Becoming Mayan" making-of-featurette, deleted scene. (Buena Vista).

Ball of Fire (1941) Dir.: Howard Hawks; Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck. (MGM).

Big Dreams in Little Hope (aka Mom) (2006) Julie Goldman, Emma Bowers. Two mismatched women doing market research in small town America begin to question where they've been and where they are going when their plans go awry. (Wolfe Video).

The Breed (2006) Michelle Rodriguez, Taryn Manning, Hill Harper, Oliver Hudson. College kids party on an island inhabited by genetically engineered killer dogs. Extras: "Making-of" featurette. (First Look Home Entertainment).

Broken Arrow (1950) Dir.: Delmer Daves; James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget. (Fox).

Can-Can (1960) Dir.: Walter Lang; Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Juliet Prowse. Digitally remastered and restored. Extras: "The Classic Cole Porter" featurette, "The Steve Allen Plymouth Show" featurette, "A Leg Up: Making of Can-Can," restoration comparison, photo gallery, isolated score. (Fox Marquee Musicals Collection).

Cannes: All Access (2007) Documentary on the Cannes Film Festival. hosted by film historian Richard Schickel. Extras: "Fun in the Sun" beach montage, "The Party Is Over" alternate ending, ribbon cutting at American Pavilion, extended scene, deleted scenes. (Genius Products).

Casanova Brown (1944) Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Anita Louise. (MGM).

Constellation (2005) Gabrielle Union, Billy Dee Williams, Melissa De Sousa, Hill Harper, Lesley Ann Warren, Rae Dawn Chong, Zoe Saldana. Interracial romance and race identity in the ever-changing landscape of the Deep South. (Fox).

Convict Stage (1956) Harry Lauter, Don 'Red' Barry, Jodi Mitchell. (Fox).

The Cowboys: Deluxe Edition (1972) Dir.: Mark Rydell; John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Colleen Dewhurst, Bruce Dern. Extras: Commentary by Rydell, "The Cowboys: Together Again" featurette, "The Breaking of Boys and the Making of Men" featurette. (Warner).

Dark Corners (2006) Thora Birch, Toby Stephens, Christien Anholt. A young woman leads two lives: as a downtrodden mortuary employee who, when she sleeps, dreams of a sunny life, and of a sunny upscale housewife who dreams she's the mortuary employee when she sleeps. Which is the real world? Extras: Commentary by director Ray Gower and Thora Birch. (Union Station Media).

Disappeared (2004 -- TV) Ray Winstone, Lindsey Coulson, Gary Lucy, Emily Corrie, Haluk Bilginer, David Westhead. Self-made man investigates the disappearance of his daughter in Istanbul. (First Look Home Entertainment).

Dogfight Over Guadalcanal. PBS documentary gives an up-close look at two ace fighter pilots' showdown over the Pacific in 1942; $24.99. (PBS Video/Paramount).

Epic Movie (2007) Kal Penn, Adam Campbel, Crispin Glover, Kevin MacDonald, David Carradine, Darrell Hammond, Carmen Electra, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard. In theatrical and unrated versions Extras: Rated version: Commentary by writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, casting tapes, storyboards, Adam Campbell's tour of the Willy Wonka Factory; unrated version adds a "Making the Video" featurette about the Pirate Rap, "How Gratuitous" featurette, "Everyone Loves Beaver Epic Hook-Ups" featurette, gag reel, alternate ending, more. (Fox).

Fay Grim (2006) Dir.: Hal Hartley; Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Liam Aiken, Chuck Montgomery. Continuation of sorts of 1997's "Henry Fool," where Fay Grim (Parker Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Jeff Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Thomas Jay Ryan) - notebooks that could compromise national security. Extras: Making-of featurette, deleted scenes. (Magnolia Home Entertainment).

Flags of Our Fathers Special Collector's Edition (2006) Dir.: Clint Eastwood; Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, John Benjamin Hickey. Two-disc set DVD, Blue-ray and HD DVD sets. Extras: An introduction by Clint Eastwood, six featurettes: "Words on the Page," "Six Brave Men," "The Making of an Epic," "Raising the Flag," "Visual Effects" and "Looking Into the Past." (Paramount).

Flags of Our Fathers/Letters From Iwo Jima Commemorative Edition (2006) Five-disc set with the two-disc "Letters from Iwo Jima," the two-disc "Flags of Our Fathers" and a fifth disc of extras, $49.96. Extras: "Heroes of Iwo Jima" History Channel documentary hosted by Gene Hackman, "To the Shores of Iwo Jima" 1945 Academy Award nominated short film.

Fort Courageous (1965) Harry Lauter, Fred Beir, Don 'Red' Barry. (Fox)

Fury at Furnace Creek (1948) Victor Mature, Coleen Gray. (Fox).

Good German, The (2006) Dir.: Steven Soderbergh; George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges, Tony Curran. (Warner).

The Hard Easy (2005) Henry Thomas, David Boreanaz, Nick Lachey, Vera Farmiga, Bruce Dern, Peter Weller, Gary Busey. Pair of losers are both approached by separate groups of thieves looking for accomplices in a bank robbery; an "easy" job gets complicated when the men find themselves involved in the same hold-up at the same time. Extras: Commentary by director Ari Ryan and producer Scott Gold, bloopers, behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew. (HBO Video).

Hell and High Water (1954) Dir.: Samuel Fuller; Richard Widmark, Bella Darvi. (Fox).

The Italian (Italianetz) (2005 -- Russian) Kolya Spiridonov, Denis Moiseenko, Sasha Sirotkin. A young boy set to be adopted by an Italian couple sets out on a perilous journey to find his Russian mother. (Sony).

John Wayne Film Collection. Six-disc set with "Allegheny Uprising," "Reunion in France," "Tycoon," "Without Reservations," "Trouble Along the Way" and "Big Jim McLain"; $49.92 or $12.97 each. (Warner).

• Allegheny Uprising (1939) John Wayne, Claire Trevor, George Sanders, Brian Donlevy. Extras: "The Bill of Rights" (1939 WB short) and "Land of the Midnight Fun" (1939 WB cartoon).
• Big Jim McLain (1952) John Wayne, James Arness. Extras: "So You Want to Enjoy Life" (1952 WB short) and "The Super Snooper" (1952 WB cartoon).
• Reunion in France (1942) Dir.: Jules Dassin; John Wayne, Joan Crawford. Extras: "We Do It Because" (1942 MGM short) and "War Dogs" (1943 MGM cartoon).
• Trouble Along the Way (1953) Dir.: Michael Curtiz; John Wayne, Charles Coburn, Donna Reed. Extras: "So You Think You Can't Sleep" (1953 WB short) and "Muscle Tussle" (1953 WB cartoon).
• Tycoon (1947) John Wayne, Laraine Day, Cedric Hardwicke, Judith Anderson, James Gleason, Anthony Quinn. Extras: "Hollywood Wonderland" (1947 WB short) and "Red Hot Rangers" (1947 MGM cartoon).
• Without Reservations (1946) Dir.: Mervyn LeRoy; John Wayne, Claudette Colbert, Don DeFore, Jack Benny, Cary Grant, Louella Parsons. Extras: "I Love My Husband, But! (1946 MGM short) and "Holiday for Shoestrings" (1946 WB cartoon).

Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series. Two-disc set with all 11 episodes, $29.98. (Fox).

Kyle XY: The Complete First Season -- Declassified. Three-disc set with 10 episodes from the ABC Family Channel series, $39.99. (Buena Vista).

Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) Dir.: Clint Eastwood; Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe.Two-disc set. Extras: "Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima," "The Faces of War: The Cast of Letters From Iwo Jima," Images From the Frontlines" photos from world premiere at Budo-kan in Tokyo, press conference at Grand Hyatt Tokyo. (Warner).

Loveless in Los Angeles (2007) Dash Mihok, Brittany Daniel, James Lesure, Navi Rawat, Geoffrey Arend. A bar-hopping, bed-hopping jerk of a TV reality show producer decides to change his ways when he runs into his college sweetheart. (Allumination FilmWorks).

The Mad (2007) Billy Zane, Jordan Madley, Maggie Castle, Rothaford Gray. A road trip through the countryside turns gruesome and deadly when diner patrons are transformed into relentless flesh-hungry zombies. (Genius Products).

The Magnificent Seven Season Two. Two-disc set with 13 episodes, $29.98. Extras: Four unaired episodes. (MGM).

The Marines. Definitive documentary about the rich history and tradition of the United States Marine Corps; $24.99. (PBS Video/Paramount).

Memory (2005) Billy Zane, Tricia Helfer, Ann-Margret, Dennis Hopper. A researcher in Brazil is haunted by nightmarish visions of a shadowy predator who abducts young girls. (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment).

M-G-M Movie Legends Gary Cooper Collection. Four-disc set with "Vera Cruz" (1954), "Cowboy and the Lady" (1938) (new to DVD), "The Real Glory" (1939) and "The Winning of Barbara Worth" (1926); $39.98. (MGM).

M-G-M Movie Legends Peter Sellers Collection. Four-disc set with "The Pink Panther" (1963), "Casino Royale" (1967), "The Party" (1968) and "What's New, Pussycat?" (1965); $39.98. (MGM).

The Mistress of Spices (2005) Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott. Chronicles the plight of a young Indian woman living in San Francisco who is forced to choose between the culture and conventions she has always known and those of her new land. Extras: Making-of featurette. (Genius Products).

The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) Documentary began as a film portrait of Fred Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party, ended up as an investigation into his death at the hands of the Chicago PD; $24.95. Extras: Booklet by Mike Gray, bonus short film "Cicero March." (Facets).

No Man of Her Own (1950) Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Jane Cowl, Phyllis Thaxter, Lyle Bettger. (Universal Cinema Classics)

The O.C.: The Complete Fourth Season. Five-disc set with the final 16 episodes, $59.98. Extras: "The Magic of Chrismakkah" and "Summer Roberts: Coming of Age" featurettes, unaired scenes. (Warner).

On the Riviera (1951) Dir.: Walter Lang; Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney. Digitally remastered and restored. Extras: Directed by Walter Lang" featurette, restoration comparison, photo gallery, isolated score. (Fox Marquee Musicals Collection).

Pigskin Parade (1936) Stuart Erwin, Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, Betty Grable, Judy Garland. Digitally remastered and restored. Extras: "Making the team: The Talent of Pigskin Parade" featurette, restoration comparison, photo gallery, isolated score. (Fox Marquee Musicals Collection).

Porky's One Size Fits All Edition (1982) Dir.: Bob Clark; Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson, Cyril O'Reilly, Tony Ganios, Kaki Hunter, Kim Cattrall. Extras: Commentary by director Clark, "Porky's Through the Peephole: Bob Clark Looks Back" featurette, "Porky's: A Comedy Classic" featurette, video game, still gallery. (Fox).

Porky's Ultimate Collection. Three-disc set with "Porky's One Size Fits All Edition," "Porky's II: The Next Day" and "Porky's Revenge," $29.98. (Fox).

Prince of the City (1981) Dir.: Sidney Lumet; Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Bob Balaban, Lindsay Crouse. Two-disc set. Extras: New featurette "Prince of the City: The Real Story." (Warner).

Rio Bravo: Special Edition and Ultimate Collectors Edition (1959) Dir.: Howard Hawks; John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Ward Bond. Two-disc set special edition ($20.97) and a two-disc Ultimate Collectors Edition that includes such collectible memorabilia as the film's press book, a Dell comic book and lobby cards. Extras: Commentary by John Carpenter and Richard Schickel, Wayne trailer gallery, "The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks" (1973 documentary), two new featurettes: "Commemoration: Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo" and "Old Tucson: Where the Legends Walked." (Warner).

Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition (1977) Four-disc set, $59.98. Cicely Tyson, Le Var Burton, Ed Asner, Maya Angelou, O.J. Simpson, Ralph Waite, Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Reed, Lorne Greene, Lynda Day George, Vic Morrow, Richard Roundtree, Ben Vereen, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Uggams, Doug McClure, Sandy Duncan, Burl Ives, Richard Farnsworth, Chuck Connors, George Hamilton, Carolyn Jones, Extras: "Crossing Over: How Roots Captivated an Entire Nation" new featurette; "Remembering Roots" behind-the-scenes documentary; video highlights with key cast members relaying their memories of filming particular scenes; commentary by key cast members including Le Var Burton, Cicely Tyson and Ed Asner; CD-ROM content: "Roots' Family Tree." (Warner).

Rush Hour (1998) Dir.: Brett Ratner; Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Pena. Digitally remastered in time for late-summer release of "Rush Hour 3." (New Line).

Rush Hour 2 (2001) Dir.: Brett Ratner; Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Ziyi Zhang, Roselyn Sanchez, Harris Yulin, Alan King. Digitally remastered in time for late-summer release of "Rush Hour 3."

Sansho the Baliff (1954 - Japan) Dir.: Kenji Mizoguchi; Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyoko Kagawa, Eitaro Shindo. Stunning film set in medieval Japan about an idealistic governor who disobeys the reigning feudal lord and is cast into exile; his wife and children are left to fend for themselves and eventually are wrenched apart by vicious slave drivers. New, restored high-definition digital transfer. Two-disc set. Extras: Commentary by scholar Jeffrey Angles; new video interviews with critic Tadao Sato, assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka, and legendary actress Kyoko Kagawa on the making of the film and its lasting importance; booklet featuring a new essay by scholar Mark Le Fanu, Ogai Mori's 1915 "Sansho Dayu," the story on which the film was based, in a new translation by J. Thomas Rimer, and a written form of an oral variation of the same story, dating back to the 15th century, in a rare English translation. (The Criterion Collection).

Scarface (1932) Dir.: Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson; Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, George Raft. (Universal Cinema Classics)

Scrubs: The Complete Fifth Season. Three-disc set with 24 episodes, $39.99. Extras: Director's cut of the 100th episode, helmed by Zach Braff; "My 117 Episodes -- A Look Back at 5 Seasons of Scrubs"; deleted scenes and alternate lines. (Buena Vista).

So Proudly We Hail! (1943) Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, George Reeves. (Universal Cinema Classics)

Steelyard Blues (1972) Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Howard Hesseman, Peter Boyle, John Savage, Garry Goodrow. Extras: Vintage featurette "Would You Believe? Peter Boyle!!" (Warner).

Straight Time (1978) Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, M. Emmet Walsh, Kathy Bates. Extras: Commentary by Hoffman and director Ulu Grosbard, vintage featurette "Straight Time: He Wrote It for Criminals." (Warner).

Summer School Special Collector's Edition (1987) Dir.: Carl Reiner; Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Patrick Labyorteaux, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Dean Cameron. Extras: Commentary by director Carl Reiner and Mark Harmon, "Inside the Teacher's Lounge" featurette, "Summer School Yearbook" featurette, photo gallery. (Paramount).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 1 Part 1 .Two-disc set with 12 episodes, $16.98. (4Kids Entertainment).

The Third Man (1949) Dir.: Carol Reed; Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee. New, restored high-definition digital transfer. Two-disc set. Extras: Video introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich; commentary by film scholar Dana Polan; "Shadowing the Third Man," a 90-minute 2005 feature documentary on the making of the film; abridged recording of Graham Greene's treatment, read by actor Richard Clarke; "The Third Man" on the radio: the 1951 "A Ticket to Tangiers" episode of "The Lives of Harry Lime" series, written and performed by Orson Welles, and the 1951 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of "The Third Man"; illustrated production history with rare behind-the-scenes photos, original U.K. press book and U.S. trailer; actor Joseph Cotten's alternate opening voiceover narration for the U.S. version; archival footage and photos of postwar Vienna; look at the untranslated foreign dialogue in the film; booklet featuring essays by Luc Sante, Charles Drazin, and Philip Kerr. (The Criterion Collection).

The Third Secret (1964) Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Richard Attenborough, Diane Cilento, Pamela Franklin. (Fox).

Three Bad Men (2005) George Kennedy, Mike Moroff, Chris Gann. Three outlaws make a promise to a dying man to save his wife from a notorious killer. (ThinkFilm).

Together Brothers (1974) Ahmad Nurradin, Anthony Wilson, Nelson Sims. (Fox).

True Grit: Special Collector's Edition (1969) Dir.: Henry Hathaway; John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall, Strother Martin, Dennis Hopper. Extras: Commentary by Jeb Rosebrook, Bob Boze Bell and J. Stuart Rosebrook; "True Writing," " Working With the Duke," "Aspen Gold: Locations of True Grit" and "The Law and the Lawless" featurettes. (Paramount).

Unconquered (1947) Dir.: Cecil B. DeMille; Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard, Howard Da Silva, Boris Karloff, Cecil Kellaway, Ward Bond. (Universal Cinema Classics)

Venus (2006) Peter O'Toole, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker. Extras: Commentary by director Roger Michell and producer Kevin Loader, "Venus, A Real Work of Art" featurette." (Warner).

Warplane. PBS documentary explores the evolution of the warplane by telling the stories of the creative minds who, out of necessity, have created awe-inspiring machines; $24.99. (PBS Video/Paramount).

The Wedding Night (1935) Gary Cooper, Anna Sten. (MGM).

White Feather (1955) Robert Wagner, John Lund, Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter. (Fox).

Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981) Dir.: John Badham; Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti, Bob Balaban. Extras: Commentary director John Badham and composer Arthur B. Rubinstein. (Warner).

For more DVD info, check out our DVD calendar pages at

<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar/cal_dvd.htm>

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