DVD/Blu-ray DISCussion (New for 6.28.11)

The Lord of the Rings Extended Trilogy (Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*

What's the Deal?
Many people were linked to adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, from Stanley Kubrick to the Beatles, and there was a subpar animated film in 1978.The Lord of the Rings Extended Trilogy, 11 hours of fantasy, is released onto Blu-ray this week. Highlights include: commentaries from filmmakers, actors, members of the design team, documentaries about Middle-Earth, and the film making process.

The trilogy was a big risk for New Line Cinema, filming a multi-million dollar trilogy back-to-back with director Peter Jackson, who, at the time, was only known for his work in New Zealand. It paid off and the trilogy is a beloved modern classic.

This film focuses on Frodo (Elijah Wood) and companions, including Sam (Sean Astin), Aragon (Viggo Mortensen) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) as they have to take the Ring of Power to the heart of the Mordor to destroy the Dark Lord Sauron once and for all. On the way they get separated, have to stop the conquest of nations and debate on involvement of other races and even a resurrection — because Gandalf died for our sins.

This boxset is a must have. It is a loyal adaptation of Tolkien’s work of literature with many scenes added the films (my favorite is the Mouth of Sauron) and Player Affinity’s Recommendation of the Week.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 92% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 9.4/10

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 9.3/10

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 94% (excellent)
Player Affinity Score: 9.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Over 30 minutes of footage incorporated into the theatrical release of the film; Commentary by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens; Commentary by the design team; Commentary by the production/post-production team; Commentary by 10 actors, including Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen; Easter egg: MTV Movie Award Spoof (The Council of Elrod); Costa Botes Documentary: The Fellowship of the Ring: Behind the Scenes (DVD); The Appendices, Part 1: From Book to Vision (DVD); Peter Jackson introduction; J.R.R. Tolkein: Creator of Middle Earth; From Book to Script; Visualizing the Story; Designing and Building Middle Earth; Middle Earth atlas interactive; The Appendices, Part 2: From Vision to Reality (DVD); Elijah Wood introduction; Filming The Fellowship of the Ring; Visual effects; Post-production: Putting it all together; Digital Grading Sound and music; The Road Goes Ever On…

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended edition of the film, incorporating 43 minutes of footage incorporated into the film; Commentary track by writer-director Peter Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens; Commentary track by the design team; Commentary track by the production/post-production team; Commentary track by 16 cast members, including Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Bernard Hill, and Miranda Otto; Easter Egg: MTV Movie Awards clip (Gollum accepting award); Costas Botes documentary: The Two Towers--Behind the Scenes (DVD); The Appendices, Part 3: The Journey Continues (DVD); Peter Jackson introduction; J.R.R. Tolkein: Origin of Middle Earth; From Book to Script: Finding a Story; Designing and Building Middle-Earth; Gollum; Middle-Earth Atlas interactive; New Zealand as Middle Earth (map with video location); The Appendices, Part 4: The Battle for Middle Earth (DVD); Elijah Wood introduction; Filming The Two Towers; Visual effects; Editorial: Refining the Story; Music and Sound; The Battle for Helm's Deep is Over: 

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Extended edition of the film, with 50 extra minutes incorporated into the film; Commentary track by writer-director Peter Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens; Commentary track by the design team; Commentary track by the production/post-production team; Costas Botes documentary: The Return of the King: Behind the Scenes (DVD); The Appendices, Part 5: The War of the Ring (DVD);Peter Jackson Intro; J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-earth; From Book to Script; Designing and Building Middle-earth; Home of the Horse Lords; Middle-earth Atlas: Tracing the Journeys of the Fellowship: interactive map; New Zealand as Middle-earth: interactive map with on-location footage; The Appendices, Part 6: The Passing of an Age (DVD); Elijah Wood/Sean Astin/Billy Boyd/Dominic Monaghan intro; Filming The Return of the King; Visual Effects; Post Production: Journey's End; The Passing of an Age; Cameron Duncan

Amazon Price: $69.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4.5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 5 stars, Extras 5 stars, Replay 5 stars (out of 5). DVD Talk Collector Series


 

Also out this week are Zack Snyder’s action film Sucker Punch, Paul Giamatti in Barney’s Version, adaptation of two Chris Van Allsburg stories about some fictional board games you might have heard of, and international re-releases of films from France, Germany and Italy. 


Sucker Punch (DVD and Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
Since jumping on the scene, director Zack Snyder has made a name for himself for his visual style. He earned fans because of Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen. But he also has detractors because of his stylistic approach. They smiled with glee when Sucker Punch flopped with critics and audiences. At least Snyder has the Superman gig to fall back on. Starring in Snyder’s fantasy film are Emily Browning dressed in a Japanese schoolgirl outfit, Abbie Cornish (Limitless), Jena Malone (Into the Wild), Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Jamie Chung (The Hangover Part II), Carla Gugino (Watchmen), Scott Glen (Avatar) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men).

A 20-year-old woman named "Sweetpea" (Browning), is sent to a Mental Asylum for a lobotomy. Sweetpea escapes into a fantasy world with some of the other women in the asylum and they use the fantasy world to make their escape in the real world.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 22% (Very Bad)
Player Affinity Score: 4.8/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Sucker Punch Animated Shorts Gallery: Experience the Jaw-Dropping Prequel Stories of the Movie's 4 Fantasy Realms: Distant Planet, Dragon, Feudal Warriors and The Trenches; ; Sucker Punch: Behind the Soundtrack

Additional Blu-ray/DVD Combo Special Features: Movie Mode Explore the Fantasy World; ; Director Zack Snyder Hosts This Over-Two-Hour Expedition into Sucker Punch's Real and Fantasy Worlds, Including Director Walk-Ons, Picture-In-Picture Commentary, Storyboards, Interactive Galleries

Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $18.99 (Blu-ray), $22.99 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 2.5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 3.5 stars, Replay 2.5 stars (out of 5). Rent It.


Season of the Witch (DVD and Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
Damn Nicolas Cage for his taxes problems, forcing him to star in bad films like this and making audience watch them! Mr. Cage has been forced to do a lot of awful films in recent years including The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider, Next and Bangkok Dangerous. Season of the Witch joins the list. Joining Cage is Ron ‘Hellboy’ Perlman, who should know better. Cage is reunited with Gone in 60 Seconds director Dominic Sena. Other actors who perform in this Medieval supernatural film are Christopher Lee, Stephen Campbell Moore (The History Boys), Robert Sheehan (Misfits) and the best performer in the film, Claire Foy (Little Dorritt).

Behman von Bleiruck (Cage) and Felson (Perlman) are two 14th century knights fighting their way through the Crusades when they abandon the Christian army. As they travel through Europe they discover Black Death has taken hold of the land. When they enter a town, they are forced by the local clergy to take a suspected witch (Foy) to a monastery and help her stop the disease.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 7% (Awful)
Player Affinity Score: 2.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Deleted Scenes; Becoming a Demon; On A Crusade; Alternate Ending

Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Barney's Version (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

What's the Deal?
Based on a novel by Mordeacai Richler, Barney’s Version gained attention due to star Paul Giamatti, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. Directed by television specialist Richard J. Lewis (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Barney’s Version features Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight) and Dustin Hoffman.

Barney Panofsky, a serial husband, marries three different women and describes the mistakes of his life.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 80% (Very Good)
Player Affinity Score: 7.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Behind the scenes of Barney's version; Mordecai Richler interview; On the red carpet; 92ns Street Y Q&A with Paul Giamatti & Annette Insdorf; Commentary with Director Richard J. Lewis, Writer Michael Konyves and Producer Robert Lantos

Amazon Price: $28.99 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

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


Beastly (DVD and Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
Alex Flinn’s updated version of the Beauty and the Beast, Beastly, was a critically well-received young adult novel. Sadly, the film adaptation by Daniel Barnz (Phoebe in Wonderland) and CBS Films was a complete bomb. The eternally awful Alex Pettyfer stars with Vanessa Hudgens in her second flop of the week. They are joined by Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Mary-Kate Olsen.

Kyle (Pettyfer) is a spoiled and superficial 17-year-old high school student in New York who believes good looks and popularity are the only things that matter. He ends up insulting the local witch (Olsen) who curses him, making him ugly, and that if he does not find love in a year he will stay like that — including an impressive six-pack. Only one girl, outsider Lindy (Hugdens) can see through his exterior and see the real Kyle.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 16% (Awful)
Player Affinity Score: 2.0/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: "Be Mine" Music Video by Kristina and the Dolls; Alternate Ending; Deleted Scenes; A Classic Tale Retold: The Story of Beastly; Creating the Perfect Beast

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 1 star, Video 4 stars, Audio 3.5 stars, Extras 2 stars, Replay 0 stars (out of 5). Skip It.


Black Moon (DVD and Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
French director Louis Malle has two re-releases this week courtesy of the Criterion Collection. His 1975 film Black Moon is a surreal fantasy, where a teenage girl (Cathryn Harrison) takes refuge in a village of an unnamed war. She gets involved with a mysterious family and tries to escape from reality. 

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

DISC DETAILS

DVD Speical Features: New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; Archival interview with director Louis Malle; Gallery of behind-the-scenes photos; Alternate French-dubbed soundtrack; Original theatrical trailer; New and improved English subtitle translation; PLUS: A new essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau

Amazon Price: $21.99 (DVD), $29.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Zazie dans le Metro (DVD and Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
Louis Malle's second film of the week is a comedy and adaptation of a novel by Raymond Queneau. Child actress Catherine Demongeot plays Zazie, a 12-year-old girl who visits Paris with her uncle. We follow her journey around the city.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 82% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Archival Video Interviews with Director Louis Malle, Novelist Raymond Queneau, Actress Catherine Demongeot, and Screenwriter Jean-Paul Rappeneau; ; New Audio Interview with Director and Photographer William Klein, Artistic Consultant on the Film; ; Le Paris de Zazie, a 2005 Video piece featuring Assistant Director Philippe Collin; ; Original Theatrical Trailer; ; Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau

Additional Blu-ray Special Features: New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

Amazon Price: $21.99 (DVD), $29.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


People on Sunday (DVD and Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
German cinema is represented this week in the form of a 1930 silent film. It features two of Hollywood's classic actors: Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann (High Noon). People on Sunday focuses on a city dwellers as they away for a weekend in a film that looks at Weimar Republic Germany.

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

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: New high-definition digital restoration, created in collaboration with the Filmmuseum Amsterdam; Two scores—a silent-era-style score by the Mont Alto Orchestra and a modern composition by Elena Kats-Chernin, performed by the Czech Film Orchestra—both presented as uncompressed stereo soundtracks; Weekend am Wannsee, Gerald Koll’s 2000 documentary about the film, featuring an interview with star Brigitte Borchert; Ins Blaue Hinein, a thirty-six-minute short from 1931 by People on Sunday cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan; New and improved English subtitle translation; PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Noah Isenberg and reprints by scriptwriter Billy Wilder and director Robert Siodmak

Amazon Price: $21.99 (DVD), $29.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Jumanji (Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
Children's Author Chris Van Allsburg wrote The Polar Express and Jumanji. In 1995 Jumanji was released and it was a showcase for special effects. Directed by Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, October Sky, Captain America: The First Avenger), this re-release features Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce (The Borrowers) and Bonnie Hunt (Jerry Maguire).

This spin-off takes place in 1969. A 12-year-old boy named Alan Parrish gets trapped in a jungle set in a board game filled with killer animals, natural hazards and a mad 19th century hunter (Jonathan Hyde). This game, later found by two siblings, Judy and Peter Shepherd (Dunst and Pierce) eventually free adult Alan (Williams). Viewers see Alan and Alan’s childhood friend Sarah (Hunt) complete the game and survive Jumanji, while board game pieces and characters come alive.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 48% (average)
Player Affinity Score: N/A

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Special effects crew commentary; Behind the scenes documentary & featurettes; Storyboard comparisons and more!; Blu-ray exclusive - Jungle Adventure: virtual board game

Amazon Price: $15.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Zathura (Blu-ray)

What's the Deal?
The second Van Allsburg’s adaptation is Zathura, directed by Jon Favreau, who made this film between Elf and Iron Man. Zathura is a film that also stars child actors: Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Terebithia) and Kristen Stewart. Tim Robbins and Dax Sheppard (Parenthood) offer some adult gravitas. Top screenwriter David Koepp (Spider-Man, Jurassic Park) co-wrote the script with James Kamps.

This children’s sci-fi adventure focuses on two bickering brothers, Danny (Bobo) and Walter (Hutcherson), whose parents leave them in the care of their sister (Stewart). The brothers find a board game and end up in a sci-fi space adventure.


Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 75% (very good)
Player Affinity Score: 6.5/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Jon Favreau and Peter Billingsley Commentary; ; 7 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes on the Making of the Film; ; Blu-ray Exclusive Race Through Space: Virtual Board Game

Amazon Price: $14.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A


Zombie Holocaust (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

What's the Deal?
Italian cinema is known for making great high-end pictures and art-house flicks.  Surpisingly, Italy used to be a Mecca for horror cinema, particularly zombie films. These violent films have a cult audience within the horror community. Zombie Holocaust is one of the most famous. Zombie Holocaust is about an expedition that arrives on a small Caribbean island, where they are hunted by cannibals and the living dead.

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

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: N/A

Amazon Price: $15.99 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Score (DVDTalk.com): N/A