Having problems with message search?
9/1/09 V13.35
This is an automated mail list; please do not reply to this
e-mail. Messages should be sent to mail@...
ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
For Tuesday, September 1 -- Monday, September 7
Earth
Award-winning filmmakers Alastair Fothergill ("The Blue Planet") and Mark Linfield ("Planet Earth") employ the latest innovations in film techniques to bring "Earth's" stunning visuals to the screen. Narrated by James Earl Jones, the three-part documentary is the inaugural release from Disneynature. In the Arctic, a mother polar bear trailed by her two cubs searches for food as their icy hunting grounds melt away. A herd of African elephants slowly traverses the arid Kalahari Desert toward the water-rich Okavango Delta. A humpback whale and her calf make a 4,000-mile journey in an epic migration that takes them from tropical waters all the way to Antarctica. Remarkable high-definition footage follows these creatures and more to places human beings rarely see, capturing unique worlds populated by Mandarin ducks and birds of paradise, as well as a pride of lions and a vast caribou herd. Filled with surprising facts and extraordinary images, "Earth" is a dazzling portrait of life on our planet. Vitals: Director: Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield. Narrated by James Earl Jones. 2009, CC, MPAA rating: G, 96 min., Documentary, Box office gross: $32.001 million, Disney.
State of Play
Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in a case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McAffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation's most promising political and corporate figures. Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out. McAffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer's identity, McAffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation's power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one's integrity, love or life is ever safe. Vitals: Director: Kevin Macdonald. Stars: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Helen Mirren. 2009, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 132 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $37.083 million, Universal.
Sugar
Coming-of-age tale that follows Miguel Santos, a.k.a. "Azucar" (Sugar), a pitcher from the Dominican Republic town of San Pedro de Macoris, who grew up poor but talented, always believing baseball was his ticket out of poverty. Playing professionally at the Kansas City Knights baseball academy, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system. Miguel travels to a small town in Iowa corn country, where he and other Latin American teammates are the only Spanish-speaking people. Despite the welcoming efforts of his host family, Miguel is faced with an isolation he never before experienced. When his performance on the mound falters, he begins examining more closely the world around him, his place within it, and ultimately questions his life's singular ambition. Vitals: Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck. Stars: Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland. 2009, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 114 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.063 million, Sony.
---------------------------------------------------------
NEWS
Turner Classic Movies and Warner Home Video have teamed again for three new low-priced collections of classic films: 
"TCM Greatest Classic Films: Sci-Fi," a two-disc set with "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Soylent Green," "Forbidden Planet" and "The Time Machine" (1960); "TCM Greatest Cl
assic Films: Murder Mysteries," a two-disc set with "The Maltese Falcon," "The Big Sleep," "Dial M for Murder" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice"; and "TCM Greatest Classic Films: Horror Films,"
a two-disc set with "House of Wax," "The Haunting" (1963), "Freaks" and
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941); $27.92 each ... Paramount's Sapphire
Blu-ray Disc series kicks off this week with the release of two-disc
sets of "Braveheart" and "Gladiator."
Bonus features for "Braveheart" include interactive timelines, a
retrospective feature, a featurette on the "Smithfield Medieval Killing
Fields," and "Battlefields of the Scottish Rebellion. Extras on
"Gladiator," which will be presented in theatrical and extended
versions, include commentary, trivia tracks, "Visions From Elysium:
Topic Marker" that allows viewers to tag moments of interest throughout
either version of the film, allowing them to create "shopping lists" of
topics to learn more about when they insert the second features disc,
making-of specials, and more.From TV to Video:
"Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Third Season" (2008-09), a six-disc set with 24 episodes, $59.99 from Disney ... "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Ninth Season" (2008-09), a six-disc set with 24 episodes, $98.18 from Paramoun
t ... "Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season" (2008-09), a seven-disc set with 24 episodes, $59.99 from Disney ... Three "Dr. Who" episodes: "Doctor Who: Ep. 88 -- The Deadly Assassin," "Doctor Who: Ep. 94 -- Image of the Fendahl" and "Doctor Who: Ep.150 -- Delta and the Bannermen," $24.98 each from BBC/Warner ... "The Game: The First Season" (2006-07), a three-disc set with 21 episodes, $39.99 from Paramount ...
"Heroes: Season 3" (2008-09), a six-disc set with 25 episodes, $59.98 from Universal ... "Nitro Circus: Season One"
(2009), a two-disc set with 12 episodes of the MTV show that highlights
stunt-fueled craziness and poor judgment, $26.99 from Paramount ... "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Complete Series Two"
(2005), a second helping of the original U.K. series that launched
Britain's most celebrated and colorful chef to international notoriety;
the three-volume set includes 10 episodes; $29.99 from Acorn Media ... "Rescue Me: Season Five, Volume One" (2009), a three-disc set with first 11 episodes of the fifth season, $49.95 from Sony ... "Rob Byrdek's Fantasy Factory: Season One" (2009), a two-disc set with 10 episodes of the MTV extreme sports series, $26.99 from MTV/Paramount ... "Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season" (2008-09), a six-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98 from Warner ... "Two and a Half Men: The Complete Sixth Season"
(2008-09), a four-disc set with 24 episodes, $44.96 from Warner.Buzzin' the 'B's:
"Impact" (2009) stars David James Elliott, Natasha
Henstridge, James Cromwell and Steven Culp in a thrilling ABC
miniseries about a rogue asteroid that collides with the moon, causing
a huge explosion and sending moon fragments catapulting to the Earth.
Within days, disastrous abnormalities start happening on Earth. What
started as the most beautiful and the largest meteor shower in 10,000
years unexpectedly becomes the catalyst for a potential collision
between the moon and Earth. The world's leading scientists, Alex
Kittner (Elliott) and Maddie Rhodes (Natasha Henstridge) have 39 days
to stop the moon's course or the Earth -- and all of humankind -- will
perish. From Sony ... "Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas"
(2009) stars Antonio Sabato Jr., John Diehl, Kostas Sommer and Kelly
Curran in a dramatization of the murder spree of serial killer Henry
Lee Lucas, who confessed to more than 350 murders, from Barnholtz
Entertainment/Lionsgate.For the Family:
Home video gears up for Halloween: "Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie Limited Edition DVD Gift Set" (2005) is a boxed set with the sequel to
the theatrical "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" packed with a Beanz plush toy of Pooh dressed as Tigger; $29.99 from Disney ... "Barney: Halloween Party" (2009) is a feature-length Barney Halloween special that has yet to air on TV; $14.98 from HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate ... "HIT Favorites: Trick or Treat Tales"
contains five Halloween-themed episodes from "Thomas & Friends,"
"Barney & Friends," "Bob the Builder," "Fifi and the Flowertots"
and "Angelina Ballerina"; $14.98 from HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate ... "Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors"
features six animated adventures that mix the spooky, the kooky and the
funny: "Little Sheep of Horrors," "Abracadabra," "Things That Go Bump,"
"Heavy Metal Shaun," "Troublesome Tractor" and "Sheepwalking"; $14.98
from HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate.Animated fare: "Ben 10 Alien Force V4" (2009) contains five episodes of the popular Cartoon Network series; $14.98 from Warner ... "Scooby-Doo Where Are You!: Volume 3" is a single-disc with four episodes, No. 9-12: "The Backstage Rage," "Bedlam in the Bigtop," "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts" and "Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too"; $14.97 from Warner.
Live: "America" (2009) stars Rosie O'Donnell, Philip Johnson and Ruby Dee in the story of a young biracial boy helped through the emotional roller-coaster of the foster care system by a caring therapist; from Sony ... "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish" (2008) is the latest installment in the "Bring It On" franchise: East Los Angeles high school cheer squad captain Lina Cruz (Christina Milian) has high hopes of winning the Spirit Championships with her team's fiery fusion of Latin and hip-hop moves. Instead, her world is turned upside down when her mother remarries and her family relocates to Malibu, where she is forced to adjust to a new home, a new stepsister and a new school with a less-than-stellar cheer squad. From Universal.
Special Interest:
Sherlock Holmes was not the only detective in Victorian London and the classic British mystery series "The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Set 1"features
top-notch adaptations of detective stories from Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle's contemporaries. Seen on public television in the 1970s.
Four-disc set with 13 mysteries, $59.99 from Acorn Media ... "Devotion: An Unauthorized Tribute to Michael Jackson"
(2009) is a biography featuring interviews with family, friends,
celebrities and music industry insiders; extras include four
featurettes: "The Memorial," "Media" (a look at the life-long
bombardment of press coverage), "Global Phenomenon" and "Charity"
(which explores Jackson's philanthropic work and donations to 39
charities).$19.98 from Infinity Entertainment.
-----------------------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:
America (2009) Rosie O'Donnell, Philip Johnson, Ruby Dee. Story of a young biracial boy helped through the emotional roller-coaster of the foster care system by a caring therapist. A Lifetime Original Movie. Extras: "Rosie O'Donnell's Vision: The Making of America." (Sony).
Barney: Halloween Party (2009) Feature-length Barney Halloween special; not aired on TV; $14.98. (HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate).
Ben 10 Alien Force V4 (2009) Five episodes of the popular Cartoon Network series, $14.98. (Warner).
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2008) Christina Milian, Rachele Brooke Smith, Cody Longo, Holland Roden, Nikki SooHoo, Meagan Holder, Vanessa Born, Gabrielle Dennis. In this latest installment in the franchise, East Los Angeles high school cheer squad captain Lina Cruz (Christina Milian) and her best friends Gloria (Vanessa Born) and Treyvonetta (Gabrielle Dennis) have high hopes of winning the Spirit Championships with the team's fiery fusion of Latin and hip-hop moves. Instead, Lina's world is turned upside down when her mother remarries and her family relocates to Malibu where she is forced to adjust to a new home, a new stepsister (Holland Roden) and a new school with a less-than-stellar cheer squad. Extras: Deleted scenes; "Practice Round" choreography featurette; "Back Stage Pass" behind-the-scenes featurette; "On Set With Christina Milian" interactive video diary. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Universal).
Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Third Season (2008-09) Six-disc set with 24 episodes, $59.99. (Disney).
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Ninth Season (2008-09) Six-disc set with 24 episodes, $98.18. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Paramount).
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season (2008-09) Seven-disc set with 24 episodes, $59.99. (Disney).
Devotion: An Unauthorized Tribute to Michael Jackson (2009) Biography featuring interviews with family, friends, celebrities and music industry insiders, $19.98. Extras: Four featurettes: "The Memorial," "Media" (a look at the life-long bombardment of press coverage), "Global Phenomenon" and "Charity" (which explores Jackson's philanthropic work and donations to 39 charities). (Infinity Entertainment).
Doctor Who: Ep. 88 -- The Deadly Assassin/Font. The Doctor and the Master match wits and wills in the ultimate showdown on their home planet; four episodes, $24.98. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, interviews, photo gallery, production notes. (BBC/Warner).
Doctor Who: Ep. 94 -- Image of the Fendahl. The Doctor and Leela discover a horrible truth behind the Fendahl, a legendary creature the Doctor knows only from Gallifreyan fairy tales. $24.98. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, interviews, photo gallery, production notes. (BBC/Warner).
Doctor Who: Ep.150 -- Delta and the Bannermen. With high hopes, the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) embark on an intergalactic tour bus for a prize trip to Disneyland, 1959. Their luck begins to change when the ship collides with an early satellite and everyone winds up in a Welsh holiday camp. Includes guest cameos by veteran variety performers such as England's Ken Dodd and$24.98. Extras: Commentary, interviews, photo gallery, production notes. (BBC/Warner)
Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas
(2009) Antonio Sabato Jr., John Diehl, Kostas Sommer, Kelly Curran.
Dramatization of the murder spree of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who
confessed to more than 350 murders. Extras: Commentary, stills gallery. (Barnholtz Entertainment/Lionsgate).
Earth
(2009) Three-part documentary narrated by James Earl Jones is the
inaugural release from Disneynature. In the Arctic, a mother polar bear
trailed by her two cubs searches for food as their icy hunting grounds
melt away. A herd of African elephants slowly traverses the arid
Kalahari Desert toward the water-rich Okavango Delta. A humpback whale
and her calf make a 4,000-mile journey in an epic migration that takes
them from tropical waters all the way to Antarctica. Available in a single-disc DVD or two-disc Blu-ray Hi-Def/DVD Combo Pack. Extras: "Earth Diaries," "Filmmaker's Annotations" in-movie experience with pop up facts. (Disneynature).
The Game: The First Season
(2006-07) Three-disc set with 21 episodes, $39.99. Extras:
Pilot: "The Game, which was shown as "Girlfriends Episode #137,"
commentary, "The Offseason: Interview With Mara Brock Akil."
(Paramount).
Heroes: Season 3
(2008-09) Six-disc set with 25 episodes, $59.98. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. Extras:
Deleted scenes; alternate stories: Heroes: Going Postal and Nowhere
Man, Pinehearst Commercial; "The Superpowers of Heroes" stunt
featurette; "Completing the Scene" visual style featurette; "The Prop
Box" introduction to the "Gold Room" where all the props used for
"Heroes" are stored, showing relics from the first season to the
present; Tim Sale Gallery of Screen Art"; Genetics of a Scene"
production featurette; "Exploring Clarie's Mind"; "Speedster Steals the
Formula"; "Throwing Thoughts," a quick look at the shooting style used
to create a specific scene from Episode 322; "Lights, Camera, Beeman"
featurette; "The Writers' Forum"; commentaries. Blu-ray extras add:
Picture-in-Picture commentaries; alternate stories: Heroes: The
Recruit; "Heroes Connections" bios & character profiles;
"U-Control" feature that allows viewers to delve into the making of the
film with the click of the remote without leaving the movie; BD-Live;
"Building Coyote Sands" segment revealing the complete building and
shooting of the Coyote Sands Internment camp featured in Episode 321
"1961." (Universal).
HIT Favorites: Trick or Treat Tales. Five
Halloween themed episodes from "Thomas & Friends," "Barney &
Friends," "Bob the Builder," "Fifi and the Flowertots" and "Angelina
Ballerina," $14.98. (HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate).
Impact (2009) David James
Elliott, Natasha Henstridge, James Cromwell, Steven Culp. ABC
miniseries about a rogue asteroid that collides with the moon, causing
a huge explosion and sending moon fragments catapulting to the Earth. Extras: "Making of Impact" behind-the-scenes featurette, "Creating Zero Gravity" featurette, deleted scenes. (Sony).
Nitro Circus: Season One
(2009) Two-disc set with 12 episodes of the MTV show that highlights stunt-fueled craziness and poor judgment, $26.99. Extras: Bonus footage, interviews, outtakes, more. (Paramount).
Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie Limited
Edition DVD Gift Set
(2005) Sequel to the theatrical movie "Pooh's Heffalump Movie." Boxed set includes a Beanz plush toy: Pooh dressed as Tigger. Extras: Games, "Heffalump Halloween Party Planner" with printable party invitations,
Halloween-themed recipes, and a "Decorate Your Own Jaggedy Lantern" featurette; $29.99. (Disney).
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Complete Series Two
(2005) A second helping of the original U.K. series that launched
Britain's most celebrated and colorful chef to international notoriety.
Three-volume set includes 10 episodes: the eight episodes that comprise
the second U.K. series and the two related "Kitchen Nightmares
Revisited" episodes. $29.99. (Acorn Media).
Rescue Me: Season Five, Volume One
(2009) Three-disc set with first 11 episodes of the fifth season, $49.95. Extras:
Blooper reel, deleted scenes, featurettes: "Walking Through Fire:
Surviving Season Five" and "Danny Does Danger: The Stunts of Rescue
Me." (Sony). The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Set 1.
Sherlock Holmes was not the only detective in Victorian London and this
classic British mystery series features top-notch adaptations of
detective stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's contemporaries. Seen on
public television in the 1970s. Four-disc set with 13 mysteries,
$59.99. (Acorn Media).
Rob Byrdek's Fantasy Factory: Season One
(2009) Two-disc set with 10 episodes of the MTV extreme sports series, $26.99. Extras:
Scooby-Doo Where Are You!: Volume 3.
Single-disc with four episodes, No. 9-12: "The Backstage Rage," "Bedlam
in the Bigtop," "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts" and "Scooby-Doo and a
Mummy, Too." $14.97. (Warner).
Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors.
Six animated adventures that mix the spooky, the kooky and the funny:
"Little Sheep of Horrors," "Abracadabra," "Things That Go Bump," "Heavy
Metal Shaun," "Troublesome Tractor" and "Sheepwalking," $14.98. (HIT
Entertainment/Lionsgate).
State of Play
(2009) Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Helen Mirren. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Universal).
Sugar
(2009) Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland. Extras:
Making Sugar: Run the Bases "Play Beisbol! The Dominican Dream"
including interviews with MLB players David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and
Sammy Sosa; "Casting Sugar: Interview With Algenis Perez Soto," deleted
scenes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Sony).
Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season
(2008-09) Six-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98. Extras:
"The Mythologies of Supernatural: From Heaven to Hell" featurette,
commentary on three key episodes by executive producers and writers,
Extended/unaired scenes, gag reel. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Warner).
TCM Greatest Classic Films: Sci-Fi.
Two-disc set with "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Soylent Green," "Forbidden Planet" and "The Time Machine" (1960); $27.92. (Warner).
TCM Greatest Classic Films: Murder Mysteries.
Two-disc set with "The Maltese Falcon," "The Big Sleep," "Dial M for
Murder" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice," $27.92. (Warner).
TCM Greatest Classic Films: Horror Films.
Two-disc set with "House of Wax," "The Haunting" (1963), "Freaks" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941), $27.92. (Warner).
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Sixth Season
(2008-09) Four-disc set with 24 episodes, $44.96. Extras: "Growing Up Harper" featurette, "The Women of Two and a Half Men" featurette, gag reel. (Warner).
For more
DVD info, check out our DVD calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar/cal_dvd.htm>
------------------------------------------------------------
ISSN 1094-3676
An archive of past issues of the OnVideo E-Mail News can be found
at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onvideoguide
Messages and missives: mail@...
Thanks to the Woo family of Culver City, Calif. and Leslie
Rigoulot for helping support this issue of the news.
Subscriptions to OnVideo E-Mail News are
free for the asking by sending an e-mail request to
onvideoguide-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
No subject or body text is required.
If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you can
un-subscribe by sending an e-mail message to
onvideoguide-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
No subject or body text is required.
And don't forget to bookmark our major OnVideo Web site located
at http://www.onvideo.org
Offline 
Send Email