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10/2/07 V11.40

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
For Tuesday, October 2 -- Monday, October 8

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
The Fantastic Four meet their greatest challenge yet in this sequel to the 2005 hit, as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As he races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery before all hope is lost. The Silver Surfer joins the returning family of superheroes from the Marvel Comics universe, including Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, who can stretch and contort his body into any shape he can imagine and, as the group's leader, is known as Mister Fantastic; Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, who is able to render herself invisible and to create and project powerful force fields as Invisible Woman; Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, known as The Human Torch, who can engulf his body in flames and take flight at will; and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm, whose freakish transmutation into a rock-like, superhumanly strong creature led him to be called The Thing. Julian McMahon reprises his "Fantastic Four" role as the Four's steely-eyed, iron-fisted nemesis, Dr. Doom. Vitals: Director: Tim Story. Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Gonzalo Menendez, Laurence Fishburne. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 92 min., Action, Box office gross: $131.117 million, Company.

1408
Based on a Stephen King story. Renowned horror novelist Mike Enslin (John Cusack) only believes what he can see with his own two eyes. After a string of bestsellers discrediting paranormal events in the most infamous haunted houses and graveyards around the world, he scoffs at the concept of an afterlife. Enslin's phantom-free run of long and lonely nights is about to change when he checks into suite 1408 of the notorious Dolphin Hotel for his latest project, "Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms." Defying the warnings of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), the author is the first person in years to stay in the reputedly haunted room -- where there have been 57 deaths since it's opening. Another bestseller may be imminent, but like all King heroes, Enslin must go from skeptic to true believer -- to ultimately survive the night. Vitals: Director: Mikael Hafstrom. Stars: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Len Cariou. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 104 min., Horror-Thriller, Box office gross: $71.519 million, The Weinstein Co./Genius Products.

Jindabyne
On an annual fishing trip, in isolated high country, Stewart, Carl, Rocco and Billy find a girl's body in the river. It's too late in the day for them to hike back to the road and report their tragic find. The next morning, instead of making the long trek back, they spend the day fishing. When the men finally return home to Jindabyne, and report finding the body, all hell breaks loose. Their wives can't understand how they could have gone fishing with the dead girl right there in the water -- she needed their help. The men are confused -- the girl was already dead, there was nothing they could do for her. Stewart's wife Claire is the last to know and, as details filter out, Claire's faith in her relationship with her husband is shaken to the core. Vitals: Director: Ray Lawrence. Stars: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 123 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.354 million, Sony.

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NEWS

DVD Collectibles:
Highlight of the week is PBS' "The War," a six-disc set with all seven episodes of the amazing PBS series on World War II; $129.99. The seven-part film, directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, explores the history and horror of the Second World War from an American perspective, through the personal accounts of men and women from four quintessentially American towns: Waterbury, Conn., Mobile, Ala., Sacramento, Calif., and Luverne, Minn. These geographically distributed locations stand in for - and could represent - any town in the states that went through the war's four devastating years. The 15-hours explore the most intimate human dimensions of the carnage and paints a vivid picture of how the war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America. Extras include a "Making The War" featurette, commentary, deleted scenes, additional interviews, biographies, photo gallery, educational resources; from Paramount.

Also due this week is Disney's Platinum edition of "The Jungle Book" (1967), with the voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway and J. Pat O'Malley. For the film's 40th anniversary edition, Disney has put together a two-disc set, giving the film an all-new restoration with enhanced picture and sound ... "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992) was Francis Ford Coppola's take on the vampire legend; the slightly anemic film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits and Monica Bellucci. The two-disc set -- also available on Blu-ray Disc -- from Sony comes loaded with extras .... MGM will release a collector's edition of "Misery" (1990), directed by Rob Reiner and starring James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen ... and Paramount has a 50th anniversary edition of "Funny Face" (1957), directed by Stanley Donen and starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompsom, Michel Auclair, Robert Flemyng and Suzy Parker.

For the cat's meow there's "Felix the Cat Golden Anniversary Edition," a two-disc set with 31 episodes from the 1958-59 season, restored and remastered, $39.93 from Classic Media/Genius Entertainment ... and for well-heeled space explorer there's "Star Trek: The Next Generation Complete Series," a 49-disc collector's box set that includes all 176 episodes, all-new special features, an exclusive poster and special collector's packaging; $440.00 from Paramount.

From TV to Video:
"Criminal Minds: The Second Season" is a six-disc set with 23 episodes, $64.99 from Paramount ... "Entourage: Season Three, Part 2" is a two-disc set with eight episodes, $39.98 from HBO Video ... "Everybody Hates Chris: The Second Season" is a six-disc set with 22 episodes, $72.99 from Paramount ... "How I Met Your Mother Season Two" is a three-disc set with 22 episodes, $39.98 from Fox ... "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 5" includes four episodes featuring the popular British detective; $39.95 from WGBH Boston Video ... "Jericho: The First Season" is a six-disc set with 22 episodes, $54.99 from Paramount ... "Metalocalypse: Season One" is a two-disc set with 20 episodes of the Adult Swim series about demented, devil-worshiping rock stars without a clue, from Warner ... "The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One" is a single disc with six episodes of the Comedy Central series, from Paramount ... "The Secret World of Alex Mack: The Complete First Season" is a two-disc set with 12 episodes of the Nick series that features Jessica Alba in her TV acting debut, $22.95 from Genius Entertainment ... "Shark Season One" is a six-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98 from Fox.

Buzzin' the 'B's:
"Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud" (2007) is the fourth installment in the backwoods horror franchise, starring Lance Henriksen, Amy Manso and Bradley Taylor, from Sony ... The war on terror strikes close to home in "Civic Duty" (2006), a psychological thriller about an average U.S. citizen who takes matters into his own hands when he becomes convinced that his Middle Eastern grad student neighbor is at the center of a terrorist conspiracy, starring Peter Krause, Kari Matchett, Richard Schiff and Khaled Abol Naga, from Fox ... "Species IV: The Awakening" (2007) is the latest installment in the "Species" franchise, starring Helena Mattsson and Ben Cross, from MGM ... In "After" (2006), urban explorers (gamers who investigate non-public areas of cities) get more than they bargained for beneath the streets of Moscow, from First Look Home Entertainment ... "The Other Side" (2006) is a supernatural thriller about a college student murdered during school break who is banished to Hell, a dank underworld known as "the Pit." Determined to figure out who killed him and why, he makes a daring escape back to the world of the living, one step ahead of Hell's own bounty hunters, known as "The Reapers"; from Allumination FilmWorks ... "Plasterhead" (2006) is a throwback to the more visceral, serious horror films of the late 70's and early 80's: A farmhouse is haunted by the visage of a young man brutally beaten and left for dead 15 years ago; from Arts Alliance America.

For the Family:
It's only October and already the studios are mounting their Christmas campaigns for kids. Due this week: "A Flintstones Christmas Carol" (2007), a Stone-age version of the magical holiday classic; $14.98 from Warner ... "Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale" (2007), a Christmas animated feature that has Jerry the mouse entering a magical world in an opera house only to have his fun stolen by Tom and his cat friends; $19.98 from Warner ... "Christmas Television Favorites" is a collection of telefilms presented in collectible packaging reminiscent of a classic book with foil accents; the four-disc set showcases eight lanimated holiday specials: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Deluxe Edition," Horton Hears a Who!" "The Year Without a Santa Claus Deluxe Edition," "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," "Nestor the Long-eared Christmas Donkey," "Frosty's Winter Wonderland," "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July"; from Warner ... "The Year Without a Santa Claus Deluxe Edition" is a 1974 telefilm with the voices of Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney and Dick Shawn, from Warner.

Special Interest:
"The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus" is a documentary that examines the explorer's groundbreaking discovery and the struggles he faced along the way, $19.95 from WGBH Boston Video ... "Red Without Blue" (2007) is a documentary that follows a pair of identical twins as one transitions from male to female, from Cinema Libre Studio ... "Street Thief" (2006) follows two documentary filmmakers who embarked on a journey to peer into the daily lives of ordinary career criminals; What they didn't expect was to end up spending a year in the life of Kaspar Carr, a reclusive man, whose skills have made him one of Chicago's most prolific and elusive burglars; $24.95 from A&E Indie Films ... "The Ramones: It's Alive 1974-1996" is a two-disc set that captures the essence of the Ramones' legendary racket with more than four hours of rare and unreleased performances; $19.99 from Rhino ... "Sun Dogs" (2006) is a wacky documentary about the 12 stray dogs trained to be the stars of Jamaica's first dog sled racing team, from Palm Pictures.

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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

After (2006) Daniel Caltagirone, Flora Montgomery, Nicholas Aaron. Urban explorers (gamers who investigate non-public areas of cities) get more than they bargained for beneath the streets of Moscow. (First Look Home Entertainment).

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Dir.: Francis Ford Coppola; Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits, Monica Bellucci. Two-disc set. Extras: Francis Ford Coppola video intro, commentary by Coppola, "The Blood is the Life -- The Making of Dracula," "The Costumes Are the Sets -- The Design of Eiko Ishioka," "In-Camera -- The Naive Visual Effects of Dracula," "Method and Madness -- Visualizing Dracula," deleted scenes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Sony).

Christmas Television Favorites. Presented in collectible packaging reminiscent of a classic book with foil accents, the four-disc set showcases eight legendary animated holiday specials: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Deluxe Edition," Horton Hears a Who!" "The Year Without a Santa Claus Deluxe Edition," "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," "Nestor the Long-eared Christmas Donkey," "Frosty's Winter Wonderland," "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July." (Warner).

Civic Duty (2006) Peter Krause, Kari Matchett, Richard Schiff, Khaled Abol Naga. The war on terror strikes close to home in this psychological thriller about an average U.S. citizen who takes matters into his own hands when he becomes convinced that his Middle Eastern grad student neighbor is at the center of a terrorist conspiracy. (Fox).

Criminal Minds: The Second Season. Six-disc set with 23 episodes, $64.99. Extras: Featurettes: "Profilers, Profiled," "The Physical Evidence," "Behavioral Science: Real-Life Criminal Minds," "Meet Kirsten Vangsness"; gag reel, deleted scenes. (Paramount).

Day Night Day Night (2007) Chronicles a young girl's journey over two days and nights to carry out a suicide terrorist mission in Times Square. (Genius Products).

Entourage: Season Three, Part 2. Two-disc set with eight episodes, $39.98. Extras: "Anatomy of Entourage" behind-the-scenes look at the third season's finale, Museum of Television and Radio panel discussion with the cast, commentaries by actors Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Dillon and Kevin Connolly, and producer Doug Ellin. (HBO Video).

Everybody Hates Chris: The Second Season. Six-disc set with 22 episodes, $72.99. (Paramount)

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Gonzalo Menendez, Laurence Fishburne. In single-disc and two-disc set. Extras: Single disc: Commentary by director Tim Story; commentary by producer Avi Arad, writer Don Payne and film editors Peter S. Elliot and William Hoy. Two-disc set adds extended/deleted scenes, "Family Bonds: The Making of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," "Sentinel of the Spaceways: Comic Book Origins of the Silver Surfer," "The FantasticCar: State of the Art" featurette, "The Power Cosmic" special effects featurette, character design featurette, scoring featurette, interactive FantasticCar featurette, still galleries. Available on Blue-ray Disc. (Fox).

Felix the Cat Golden Anniversary Edition. Original 1958-59 season, restored and remastered. Two-disc set with 31 episodes; $39.93. (Classic Media/Genius Entertainment).

A Flintstones Christmas Carol (2007) Stone-age version of the magical holiday classic; $14.98. (Warner).

1408 (2007) John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Len Cariou. Available as a single-disc edition and a two-disc collector's edition. Extras: Single disc: "John Cusack on 1408," "Inside Room 1408." Two-disc set adds deleted scenes, commentary by director Mikael Hafstrom and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, "The Secrets of 1408" behind-the-scenes featurette. (The Weinstein Co./Genius Products).

Funny Face 50th Anniversary Edition (1957) Dir.: Stanley Donen; Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompsom, Michel Auclair, Robert Flemyng, Suzy Parker. Extras: Featurettes; "The Designer and His Muse," "Parisian Dreams," "Paramount in the '50s"; photo gallery. (Paramount).

How I Met Your Mother Season Two. Three-disc set with 22 episodes, $39.98. Extras: Commentary by cast and crew on select episodes, "How We Make Your Mother" featurette, gag reel. (Fox).

I Love New York: The Complete Unrated First Season. Three-disc set with 10 episodes of the VH1 series, $39.99. (Paramount).

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 5. Four episodes featuring the popular British detective duo; $39.95. (WGBH Boston Video).

Jericho: The First Season. Six-disc set with 22 episodes, $54.99. Extras: Commentary, "Building Jericho" featurette, "What If?" featurette, deleted scenes. (Paramount).

Jindabyne (2007) Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell. Extras: Deleted scenes, "Jindabyne -- The Process" making-of featurette. (Sony).

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) Voices of Philip Ahn, Richard Crenna, James Franciscus, Kelly Harmon, Hal Holbrook, David Ladd, Dorothy McGuire, Juliet Mills. (Paramount).

The Jungle Book Platinum Edition (1967) Voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley. 40th anniversary edition, two-disc set. First time in original aspect ratio; restored original theatrical soundtrack; all-new restoration with enhanced picture and sound. Extras: "The Lost Character: Rocky the Rhino," "The Bare Necessities: The Making of The Jungle Book," "Disney's Kipling: Walt's Magic Touch on a Literary Classic," "The Lure of the Jungle Book," "Mowgli's Return to the Jungle," "Baloo's Virtual Swingin' Jungle Cruise" game, still frame art gallery. (Disney).

The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus. Documentary examines the explorer's groundbreaking discovery and the struggles he faced along the way, $19.95. (WGBH Boston Video).

Metalocalypse: Season One. Two-disc set with 20 episodes of the Adult Swim series about demented, devil-worshiping rock stars without a clue. Extras: Commentaries, deleted scenes, more. (Warner).

Misery Collector's Edition (1990) Dir.: Rob Reiner; James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen. Extras: Commentary by director Rob Reiner, commentary by screenwriter William Goldman, "Misery Loves Company" featurette, "Marc Shaiman's Music Misery Tour" featurette, "Diagnosing Annie Wilkes" featurette, "Advice for the Stalked" featurette, "Profile of a Stalker" featurette, "Celebrity Stalkers" featurette, "Anti-Stalking Laws" featurette. (MGM).

The Other Side (2006) Nathan Mobley, Jaimie Alexander, Cory Rouse, Poncho Hodges. Supernatural thriller about a college student murdered during school break who is banished to Hell, a dank underworld known as "the Pit." Determined to figure out who killed him and why, he makes a daring escape back to the world of the living, one step ahead of Hell's own bounty hunters, known as "The Reapers." (Allumination FilmWorks).

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. October 29, 1976 TV special featuring Lynde and Margaret ("The Wizard of Oz's" wicked witch) Hamilton, Tim Conway, Billy Barty, KISS, others; $14.99. Extras: Extensive photo scrapbook containing images from "Hollywood Squares," Lynde family photos, 30-question interactive trivia game based on questions asked of Lynde on "Hollywood Squares," extensive Lynde quotes, audio interview with "Hollywood Squares" host Peter Marshall, liner notes. (S'More Entertainment).

Plasterhead (2006) Kathryn Merry, Josh Macuga, Ernest Dancy, Raine Brown, Gerard AdimandoA throwback to the more visceral, serious horror films of the late 70's and early 80's. A farmhouse is haunted by the visage of a young man brutally beaten and left for dead 15 years ago. (Arts Alliance America).

Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud (2007) Lance Henriksen, Amy Manso, Bradley Taylor. Fourth installment in the franchise. (Sony).

The Ramones: It's Alive 1974-1996. Two-disc set captures the essence of the Ramones' legendary racket with more than four hours of rare and unreleased performances. $19.99. (Rhino).

Red Without Blue (2007) Documentary. An honest portrayal of a family in turmoil, the film follows a pair of identical twins as one transitions from male to female. Captured over a period of three years, the film documents the twins and their parents, examining the family's struggle to redefine itself. (Cinema Libre Studio).

The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One. Single disc with six episodes of the Comedy Central series. Extras: Musical performances, karaoke sing-a-long, cast commentary. (Paramount).

The Secret World of Alex Mack: The Complete First Season. Nick series features Jessica Alba in her TV acting debut Two-disc set with 12 episodes, $22.95. (Genius Entertainment).

Shark Season One. Six-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98. Extras: The pilot directed by Spike Lee, "Creating Shark" behind-the-scenes featurette, commentary on select episodes, gag reel, deleted scenes. (Fox).

Species Collector's Edition (1995) Dir.: Roger Donaldson; Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker, Marg Helgenberger, Natasha Henstridge, Michelle Williams. Two-disc set. Extras: Commentary by Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen and director Roger Donaldson; commentary by Donaldson, producer Frank Mancuso Jr., visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund and creature/special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson; "Engineering Life" featurette; "H.R. Giger at Work: Designing Species" featurette; "The Making of Species" featurette; "The Origin" featurette; "The Concept" festurette; "The Discovery" featurette; "Designing a Hybrid" featurette; alternate ending; "Project Sil" image files and photo gallery, (MGM).

Species IV: The Awakening (2007) Helena Mattsson, Ben Cross. Latest installment in the "Species" franchise. (MGM).

Star Trek: The Next Generation Complete Series. Forty-nine disc collector's box set includes all 176 episodes, all-new special features, exclusive poster and special collector's packaging; $440.00. (Paramount).

Street Thief (2006) It takes a thief to film a thief. In 2005, two documentary filmmakers embarked on a journey to peer into the daily lives of ordinary career criminals. What they didn't expect was to end up spending a year in the life of Kaspar Carr, a reclusive man, whose skills have made him one of Chicago's most prolific and elusive burglars. $24.95. (A&E Indie Films).

Sun Dogs (2006) Documentary. From the sun-kissed beaches and tropical paradise of Jamaica comes a story of second chances. Rescued from the mean streets and animal shelters of Kingston, 12 stray dogs are trained to be the stars of Jamaica's first dog sled racing team. Extras: "Jimmy Buffett and the Jamaica Dog Sled Team," "How to Teach Your Dog to Pull in Harness," "The Jamaica Dogsled Team Taking on the World," "The Work of the JSPCA," "Dog-ography: Meet the Mutts." (Palm Pictures).

Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale (2007) Christmas animated feature has Jerry the mouse entering a magical world in an opera house only to have his fun stolen by Tom and his cat friends; $19.98. (Warner).

Torn Apart (1990 -- Israel) Adrian Pasdar, Cecilia Peck. Star-crossed lovers in war-torn Middle East. (City Lights Entertainment).

The War. Six-disc set with all seven episodes of the amazing Ken Burns PBS series on World War II; $129.99. The seven-part film, directed and produced by Burns and Lynn Novick, explores the history and horror of the Second World War from an American perspective, through the personal accounts of men and women from four quintessentially American towns: Waterbury, Conn., Mobile, Ala., Sacramento, Calif., and Luverne, Minn. These geographically distributed locations stand in for - and could represent - any town in the states that went through the war's four devastating years. The 15-hours explore the most intimate human dimensions of the carnage and paints a vivid picture of how the war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America. Extras: "Making The War" featurette, commentary, deleted scenes, additional interviews, biographies, photo gallery, educational resources. (Paramount).

The Year Without a Santa Claus Deluxe Edition (1974 -- TV) Voices of Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn. Remastered. Extras: "We Are Santa's Elves" documentary focusing on the legacy of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass Productions, the company known for creating several, memorable seasonal television specials; "School of Stop Motion" featurette. (Warner).

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

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