A year after T2: Judgment Day was given so-called "Ultimate Edition" treatment from Artisan in what many consider one of the finest DVD releases to date, MGM attempted to do the same for the predecessor to the more successful sequel, James Cameron's The Terminator. While it's tough for anything to live up to such high expectations (see Phantom Menace, The), MGM's Special Edition disc for the 1984 action film is one of the best efforts to date from the studio. Sporting an all-new anamorphic transfer, 5.1 Dolby Digital in addition to the original mono track, the film looks wonderful. And while the number of extras in this presentation do not rival the sequel's treatment, there are two documentaries, deleted scenes with commentary from Cameron, storyboards, trailers & TV ads, and a DVD-ROM feature to compare the script to the screen. All in all, a fine release for a fine film.
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One of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2000, writer/director Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous provides a look at the fictionalized band Stillwater's rise and fall from stardom. Funny, charming, and touching, Almost Famous is a quality film, in the typical Cameron Crowe style. This brand new special re-release (pssst....it's not really a bootleg) contains 2 DVDs plus an audio CD of six Stillwater songs. The director's cut of the film contains an additional half-hour of scenes cut back into the film, and the shorter theatrical cut is also here. Extras include articles, notes, even more deleted scenes with commentary from Crowe, trailers, a new making-of featurette, the shooting script, and a commentary from Crowe and his mother. Fans of the writer/director can also look forward to next year's Special Edition release of Jerry Maguire, his 1996 breakout film.
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Poignant and moving, charming and uplifting, this modern classic--(whoops, wrong film)--Dogma is your typical Kevin Smith comedy film, except here the jokes aren't about comic book writers, or slackers who hang out at the mall - the humor is about religion and church dogma. Another difference here is that Smith has a cast of big names for this film - post-stardom Affleck and Damon, Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Janeane Garafolo, Salma Hayek, etc. Yet, even with the impressive cast, Dogma keeps the feel of past Smith efforts with its relatively low-brow comedy, which takes potshots at religion. Sure it's kind of funny, but Smith needs to break out of his small comedy film mold and do something new, methinks. Regardless, his films have an audience, and the online community generally liked Dogma quite a bit. The 2-disc Special Edition re-release finally came this past summer, after a number of delays. It's missing one documentary that was supposed to be included but could not be worked out. Even with the documentary MIA, there is a load of extras - 100 minutes of deleted scenes, 3 feature-length commentaries, outtakes, and more. Kevin Smith fans are so lucky.
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John Carpenter's remake of Howard Hawk's influential 1951 creature feature was a pared down, much darker vision than its predecessor, alternating between icy, deliberately paced character study and slow-mounting terror and fiery bursts of slimy alien grotesquery and extreme violence. An excellent transfer allows closer detailed analysis of Rob Bottin's nightmarishly surreal special-effects. Well-chosen extras, including an in-depth set of interviews and an entertaining commentary from Carpenter and Kurt Russell, make for a great package. A perfectly formed beast indeed.
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Requiem for a Dream is one of several dark, disturbing films that the online DVD community seems to love. Featuring half of the WB's "Wayans Bros.", the "too blonde" guy from Project Mayhem, and some old over-the-top woman, Requiem for a Dream doesn't sound like a very good movie. You know, maybe it isn't. I haven't even seen it. Don't blame me if you think this DVD is too high - I just count the votes and do the writeups!
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Almost a decade before Titanic, James Cameron got into the deep sea films with The Abyss, a sci-fi drama starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (the queen of the long names). The immediate complaint with this set is its nonanamorphic transfer, but the fact that nonanamorphic withstanding, The Abyss STILL almost sneaks into the Top 20 says much about this 2-disc set. From Van Ling's elaborate menus to the storyboards, documentaries, and stills (oh my!).
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Ridley Scott's Alien was one of the biggest and most popular films of its time upon its 1979 release. One of the most exciting sci-fi action films released to date, the movie still holds up well over twenty years later. Fox's DVD release of Alien also holds up well, after two and half years of the DVD format growing and improving. Scott provides an audio commentary, and there are deleted scenes, outtakes, an isolated music score track, production notes, and more. A hell of a ride, and perhaps the scariest sci-fi film ever, the Alien DVD is a must-own.
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One of the most awaited titles to come to the DVD format, Forrest Gump's debut this past summer marked one of Paramount's first decent efforts into making special edition DVDs. The first Paramount title to actually feature the redundant phrase "Special Collector's Edition" (regular collectors need not apply), Gump does live up to expectations, featuring a beautiful anamorphic widescreen transfer, and a second disc of extras for Paramount's standard 1-disc retail price. While many argue it did not deserve to win the Best Picture Oscar, few would disagree that the film has a charming quality, Tom Hanks delivers yet another winning peformance, and that this DVD is pretty darn cool. And that's all I have to say about that.
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