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DISCussion: What’s New on DVD/Blu-ray (9.4.12)

Harry Potter is the highest-grossing film franchise in history and the eight movies have all been released onto DVD and Blu-ray in some form or another. The Wizard’s Collection is set to be the definitive Harry Potter boxset (at least for the moment), with 31 discs and hours of special features.

First Release
- The Five-Year Engagement (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Safe (2012) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Piranha 3DD (DVD and Blu-ray)

Re-Release
- Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection (Blu-ray) (Release date Sept. 7)
- The Dark Mirror (1946) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Navigator (1924) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- A New Leaf (1971) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Pursued (1947) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Mother’s Day (1980) (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Umberto D. (1952) (Blu-ray)
- Bridemaids (2011) (Blu-ray)
- The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992) (Blu-ray)
- Re-Animator (1985) (Blu-ray)
- Rear Window (1954) (DVD)


Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection (Blu-ray) (Releases Sep. 7) *Recommendation of the Week*

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Directed by Chris Columbus
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Ian Hart, Richard Harris

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Directed by Chris Columbus
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, David Thewlis, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Directed by Mike Newell
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Gambon

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
Directed by David Yates
Written by Michael Goldenberg (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Imelda Stauton, Alan Rickman

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Directed by David Yates
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Directed by David Yates
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Directed by David Yates
Written by Steve Kloves (screenplay), J.K. Rowling (novel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

What’s the Deal?
The Harry Potter film series has ended but that will not stop Warner Bros. from milking as much money out of the biggest film series ever. If you still do not own any of the Harry Potter DVDs or Blu-rays, then the Wizard’s Collection is the way to go, as it's filled with hours of special features as Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) battles the forces of evil while being educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and uncovers his own past. It does, however, come with a hefty price tag — $344.99.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 80% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 6.8/10

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 83% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.0/10

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 91% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 8.5/10

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 88% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 7.8/10

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 78% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 8.3/10

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 84% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.7/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 79% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 9.0/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 8.7/10


DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Nearly 4 hours of features including: All New! “The Harry Potters You Never Met”; “Creating the World of Harry Potter, Pt. 7: Story”; “Creating the World of Harry Potter, Pt. 8: Growing Up” and All New! Extended “A Conversation with JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe” with 15 minutes of new footage; Label Collection: This 32 page, 5" x 7" perfect-bound collection of prop labels from the films was designed exclusively for this collection by MinaLima Design. The book includes labels from potions, memory vials, Honeydukes and Wheasley's Wheezes. Harry Potter Catalogue of Artefacts: This 48 page rigid book was created by MinaLima Design: Eduardo Lima, Miraphora Mina and Lauren Wakefield, former graphic designers on the Harry Potter films. Filled with their favorite props from the films designed in "shadow boxes," this stunning catalogue can only be found in the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection.

Amazon Price: $344.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


There are only three new movies coming out onto DVD and Blu-ray, the rom-com The Five-Year Engagement, the Jason Statham actioner Safe and the awful horror-comedy Piranha 3DD. The rereleases of the week are a real mixed bag, ranging from art house to last year’s comedy hit Bridesmaids.


The Five-Year Engagement (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Written by Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie

What’s the Deal?
The Five-Year Engagement is the third collaboration between Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel, the others being Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets. The Five-Year Engagement met mixed reception, with the main criticism being the movie’s two-hour running time.

The title tells you exactly what the movie is about. Tom (Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) are a young couple who plan to get married, but events and circumstances always get in the way, Violet getting accept to do post-doctoral studies forcing the two to move, her position getting an extension and Tom losing his mind.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 63% (good)
Player Affinity Score: 5.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $20.85 (DVD), $23.86 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 4.5 stars, Replay 3 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.



Safe (2012) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Boaz Yakin
Starring: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, James Hong

What’s the Deal?
Jason Statham is one of the few genuine action stars working regularly and Safe is his latest solo effort. Written and directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember of Titans), Luke Wright (Statham) is a former elite agent and ex-cage fighter who ends up being the protector of Mei (Catherine Chan), a 12-year-old Chinese girl who is hunted by Chinese Triads, the Russian Mafia and corrupt NYPD because she has memorized the code to a safe.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 57% (average)
Player Affinity Score: 7.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Piranha 3DD (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by John Gulager
Written by Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan, Joel Soisson (screenplay), Josh Stolberg (characters)
Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, David Koechner, Chris Zylka

What’s the Deal?
Making a movie to appeal to bad movie fans almost never works because an enjoyable bad movie needs made on accident, not by design. That did not stop the filmmakers of Piranha 3DD, the sequel to 2010’s Piranha 3D, and it earned the critical derision it was aiming for. This sequel sees the prehistoric piranhas having increased in size. They find a new place to attack as well, a water park. This is a movie filled with enough misogyny to make all feminists weep.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 14% (awful)
Player Affinity Score: 4.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $14.96 (3D Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 1 stars, Video 2.5 stars, Audio 3 stars, Extras 2 stars, Replay 2 stars (out of 5). Skip It.



The Dark Mirror (1946) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Robert Siodmak
Written by Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Vladimir Pozner (story)
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell

What’s the Deal?
Olivia de Havilland plays twin sisters Terry and Ruth Collins in the psychological thriller The Dark Mirror. A doctor is murdered and the witnesses claim to have seen a woman committing the crime, the problem being that the murderer has a twin and both have an alibi. It is up to police detective Lt. Stevenson (Thomas Mitchell) and psychiatrist Scott Elliott (Lew Ayres) to crack the case.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): N/A
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD), $21.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



The Navigator (1924) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Buster Keaton, Donald Crisp
Written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean C. Havez, Joseph A. Mitchell, Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire

What’s the Deal?
Charlie Chaplin was not the only king of silent era comedy; Buster Keaton also had his fair share of hits. In The Navigator Keaton plays wealthy young and naïve man who ends up trapped on a ship called The Navigator with only one other person on board, the equally naïve Betsy (Kathryn McGuire).

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD), 29.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4.5 stars, Video 4 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 3.5 stars, Replay 4.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.



A New Leaf (1971) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Elaine May
Written by Elaine May (screenplay), Jack Ritchie (story)
Starring: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, James Coco, Jack Weston, George Rose

What’s the Deal?
From the mind of writer/director Elaine May (Mikey and Nicky) is the dark comedy A New Leaf. Walter Matthau plays Henry Graham, a man who has blown through his inheritance and his Uncle Harry (James Coco) refuses to give him any money. With his butler, Harold (George Rose), Henry comes up a plan to get the money — marriage! Henry gets a loan from his uncle for six weeks, but he will have to sacrifice his property if he fails. Henry's prayers are answered in the form of a clumsy, shy heiress, Henrietta (May).

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $23.18 (DVD), $27.43 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 3.5 stars, Video 3 stars, Audio 2.5 stars, Extras 0 stars, Replay 3 stars (out of 5). Recommended.



Pursued (1947) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Raoul Walsh
Written by Niven Busch
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright

What’s the Deal?
Pursued is both a Western and a psychological drama. Robert Mitchum stars as Jeb, a man who saw his whole family murdered in front of him. He has no other memories of his childhood and as an adult Jeb avoids his unseen assailant as he tries to remember his own past and find the men responsible for the killings.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $14.83 (DVD), $21.85 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Mother’s Day (1980) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Charles Kaufman
Written by Charles Kaufman, Warren Leight
Starring: Nancy Hendrickson, Deborah Luce, Tiana Pierce, Rose Ross

What’s the Deal?
Troma Entertainment was known as a company that released low-budget, exploitation films. The original Mother’s Day falls into this category as two sons try to impress their sadistic mother. Because of its scenes depicting violence and rape, it is still banned in the UK.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 45% (average)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Umberto D. (1952) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Written by Cesare Zavatti
Starring: Carlo Battisi, Maria-Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari

What’s the Deal?
From the Criterion Collection this week is the neo-realist movie Umberto D. directed by legendary Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thieves). Non-actor Carlo Battisti stars as Umberto, a pensioner who is on the edge of being evicted from his apartment and his only friends are a pregnant housemaid, Maria (Maria Pia Casilio) and his dog, Flick. Despite his desperate situation and need to raise money, Umberto intends to keep his dignity.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; That’s Life: Vittorio De Sica, a fifty-five-minute documentary made for Italian television in 2001; Video interview with actress Maria Pia Casilio from 2003; Trailer; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Stuart Klawans and reprinted recollections by De Sica and Carlo Battisti, who plays Umberto D.

Amazon Price: $34.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Bridesmaids (2011) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Paul Feig
Written by Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Bryne, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd

What’s the Deal?
Bridesmaids came out just last year, but because of Universal’s 100th Anniversary it has earned a rerelease to celebrate. From Mumolo and Wiig's Oscar-nominated screenplay, Judd Apatow produces this celebrated comedy as Annie (Wiig) becomes the maid of honor for her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph, Away We Go). Even though Annie’s life is a mess she pushes herself through to help Lillian with her wedding, as Lillian’s rich friend, Helen (Rose Byrne), tries to take control.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 90% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 7.6/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Feature Commentary with Director Paul Feig, Co-Writer Annie Mumolo, and Cast Members Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper; Gag Reel; Line-O-Rama; Deleted Scenes; Extended & Alternate Scenes; Cholodecki's Commercial

Amazon Price: $24.28 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992) (Blu-ray)

Directed by Curtis Hanson
Written by Amanda Silver
Starring: Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore, Madeline Zima

What’s the Deal?
Despite initially receiving just a mixed critical reception, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is renowned for Rebecca De Mornay‘s performance. Claire (Annabella Sciorra, What Dreams May Come), is a young mother who seems to have the perfect nanny, Peyton Flanders (De Mornay). But Peyton is not what she appears as she has her own mission against Claire.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 58% (average)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Theatrical Trailer

Amazon Price: $14.85 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Re-Animator (1985) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Stuart Gordon
Written by Stuart Gordon, William J. Norris, Dennis Paoli (screenplay), H.P. Lovecraft (short story)
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale

What’s the Deal?
Based on the short story by H.P. Lovecraft, Re-Animator tells the story of medical student and his girlfriend who become  involved in experiments to re-animate the dead, which as we've known since Frankenstein was first published, is never a good idea.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 92% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Audio commentaries from the film's director and producer; Cast interviews; Extended scenes; Galleries

Amazon Price: $12.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A



Rear Window (1954) (DVD)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich (short story)
Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Coery, Thelma Ritter

What’s the Deal?
Rear Window is classic thriller from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. It is currently No. 29 on the IMDB Top 250 List and No. 48 on the American Film Institute’s list. It has also been remade into a TV movie in 1998, been given a modern spin in the Shia LaBeouf movie Disturbia and parodied in a very funny episode of The Simpsons called Bart of Darkness.

L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (James Stewart) is a professional photographer who breaks his leg after trying to take an action picture. Stuck in his New York apartment, the only activity Jeff can do is spy on his neighbors. When he suspects one of his neighbors of murder, he enlists his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) and his nurse (Thelma Ritter) to help him investigate.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 9.3/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $10.83 (DVD)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A

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