DVD Roundup: 5.29.07 & 6.5.07

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – Extra Frills Edition

Buy this DVD at Amazon.com

Rating: R

Starring:

Terence Stamp as Ralph/Bernadette Bassenger

Hugo Weaving as Anthony ‘Tick’ Belrose/Mitzi Del Bra

Guy Pearce as Adam Whitely/Felicia Jollygoodfellow

Bill Hunter as Bob

Rebel Penfold-Russell as Logowoman

John Casey as Bartender

June Marie Bennett as Shirley

Murray Davies as Miner

Frank Cornelius as Piano Player

Bob Boyce as Petrol Station Attendant

Leighton Picken as Young Adam

Maria Kmet as Ma

Joseph Kmet as Pa

Alan Dargin as Aboriginal Man

Julia Cortez as Cynthia

Special Features:

Audio Commentary by Director Stephan Elliot

Birth of a Queen Featurette

Deleted Scenes

Tidbits from the Set

Bloopers

Fabulous Photo Gallery

Theatrical Trailer

Theatrical Teaser Trailer

Other Info:

Widescreen (2.35:1)

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

DTS 5.1 Surround Sound

French Language

Spanish Subtitles

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“They came. They conquered. They looked fabulous. This wonderfully inventive, visually stunning and incomparably funny Australian import about three drag performers braving the vast, rugged outback won the 1994 Academy Award for Costume Design. Veteran actor Terence Stamp (‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’), Hugo Weaving (‘The Matrix’), Guy Pearce (‘L.A. Confidential’) all give hilarious – and heartfelt – performances in a three-fishes-outta-water story that’s “one of the wildest movies ever made” (Rex Reed, New York Observer)! With a contract to perform a drag show way out in the Australian desert, Tick (Weaving), Adam (Pearce) and Ralph (Stamp) each has his own reason for wanting to leave the safety of Sydney. Christening their battered pink tour bus “Priscilla,” this wickedly funny and high-drama trio head for the Outback…and into crazy adventures in even crazier outfits. You go, girls!”

CS Comment:

It’s hard to believe General Zod and Agent Smith ever dressed in drag, but here’s the visual proof. Fans of the movie should be happy to get these new bonus features and deleted scenes.

Available Tuesday, June 5


The Outer Limits: The Original Series – Season 1, Volume 1

Buy this DVD at Amazon.com

Rating: Not Rated

Special Features:

None

Other Info:

Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Dolby Digital Mono Sound

Running Time: 736 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the DVD cover:

“The best program of its type ever to run on network TV!” – Stephen King

Perhaps marked for its opening sequence and eerie voice-over “There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission,” ‘The Outer Limits’ pushed the boundaries of television and viewers minds by introducing a new caliber of science fiction.”

CS Comment:

Here’s a great DVD offering for sci-fi fans. Unfortunately, they didn’t bother to put any bonus features on this TV classic.

Available Tuesday, June 5


Trading Places – “Looking Good, Feeling Good” Edition

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Rating: R

Starring:

Eddie Murphy as Billy Ray Valentine

Denholm Elliott as Coleman

Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthorpe III

Jamie Lee Curtis as Ophelia

Ralph Bellamy as Randolph Duke

Don Ameche as Mortimer Duke

Kristin Holby as Penelope Witherspoon

Frank Oz as Corrupt Cop

James Belushi as Harvey

Al Franken as Baggage Handler #1

Tom Davis as Baggage Handler #2

Special Features:

Insider Trading: The Making of Trading Places

Trading Stories

The Deleted Scene with Optional Commentary by Executive Producer George Folsey, Jr.

Dressing The Part

The Trade in Trading Places

Trivia Pop-Ups

Industry Promotional Piece

Other Info:

Widescreen

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

French, Portuguese, and Spanish Languages

Running Time: 116 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“What happens when you combine the comic genius of Eddie Murphy (‘Norbit,’ ‘Dreamgirls’) with Dan Aykroyd (‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Christmas With the Kranks’) and director John Landis (‘Animal House,’ ‘Coming to America’)? You get a timeless comedy classic laced with sidesplitting, satiric humor. Murphy stars as a small time con artist who gets a chance to switch lives with Aykroyd’s big time stock market maven. But their reversal of fortunes is just a cruel joke perpetrated by two bored mega rich brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) as part of an idle bet. And when the truth comes out….the consequences are sheer comedy gold!”

CS Comment:

Just in time for the “Norbit” DVD release, they reissue the Eddie Murphy classic “Trading Places.” A few bonus features are also included.

Available Tuesday, June 5


Coming to America – Special Collector’s Edition

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Rating: R

Starring:

Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem/Clarence/Randy Watson/Saul

Arsenio Hall as Semmi/Extremly Ugly Girl/Morris/Reverend Brown

James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer

John Amos as Cleo McDowell

Madge Sinclair as Queen Aoleon

Shari Headley as Lisa McDowell

Paul Bates as Oha

Eriq La Salle as Darryl Jenks

Frankie Faison as Landlord

Vanessa Bell Calloway as Imani Izzi

Louie Anderson as Maurice

Allison Dean as Patrice McDowell

Sheila Johnson as Lady-in-Waiting

Jake Steinfeld as Cab Driver

Calvin Lockhart as Colonel Izzi

Special Features:

Prince-ipal Photography: The Coming Together of America

Fit For Akeem: The Costumes of Coming to America

Character Building: The Many Faces of Rick Baker

Composing America: The Musical Talents of Nile Rodgers

A Vintage Sit-Down with Eddie and Arsenio

Photo Gallery

Theatrical Trailer HD

Other Info:

Widescreen

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

French Language

French, Portuguese, and Spanish Subtitles

Running Time: 116 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“Join Eddie Murphy (‘Norbit,’ ‘Dreamgirls’) on an unforgettable comic quest to the New World. As an African prince, it’s time for him to find a princess…and the mission leads him and his most loyal friend (Arsenio Hall) to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince relishes the chance to test his mettle in the urban wilderness. Keep an eye out for both Murphy and Hall in some unforgettable cameo roles!”

“Coming to America” is rated R.

CS Comment:

Along with “Norbit” and “Trading Places,” “Coming to America” also gets reissued. If you don’t already have it for you collection, here’s your chance.

Available Tuesday, June 5


Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection – Vol. 2 (You’re Never Too Young / Artists and Models / Living It up / Pardners / Hollywood or Bust)

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Rating: Not Rated

Starring:

Dean Martin

Jerry Lewis

Special Features:

None

Other Info:

Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Dolby Digital Sound

Running Time: 8 Hours 9 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“Living It Up: The 1954 Martin-and-Lewis romp ‘Living It Up’ is an amusing remake of the 1937 comedy classic Nothing Sacred. More specifically, it is the film version of the Broadway musical Hazel Flagg, which was based on Nothing Sacred. The heroine of the original undergoes a sex change to become feckless Homer Flagg (Jerry Lewis), who is led to believe that he’s dying of radiation poisoning. Manhattan newspaperwoman Wally Cook (Janet Leigh), hoping to improve circulation of her paper, convinces her boss, Oliver Stone (Fred Clark), to fete Homer as a hero with an all-expenses-paid trip to the Big Apple. Meanwhile, Homer learns from local doctor Steve (Dean Martin) that he isn’t dying at all. But Steve talks Homer into taking advantage of the celebrity treatment bestowed on him by Wally, and a good time is had by all — until medical specialist Dr. Egelhofer (Sig Rumann) insists upon examining Homer. Highlights include a hilarious bit at Yankee Stadium, and an energetic jitterbug number featuring Jerry Lewis and Sheree North. The handful of songs retained from Hazel Flagg include “Every Street’s a Boulevard in Old New York.”

You’re Never Too Young: ‘You’re Never Too Young’ is a slapstick-with-songs remake of the 1944 Ray Milland/Ginger Rogers vehicle ‘The Major and the Minor.’ Dean Martin plays the Milland part, while Ginger’s shoes are filled by…Jerry Lewis? Lewis plays an apprentice barber who inadvertently crosses a homicidal jewel thief (Raymond Burr), and equally inadvertently hightails it out of town with the crook’s jewels in his possession. Desperate to escape the crook’s clutches, and lacking the necessary funds for a train ticket, Lewis disguises himself as a 12-year-old boy so he can travel half fare. He latches onto Dean, a music teacher heading for an all-girls school. After innumerable routines sparked by Lewis’s adolescent disguise, the jewel thief catches up with him, leading to a rollicking climactic speedboat chase. Dean Martin has plenty of opportunities to serenade leading lady Diana Lynn (who’d played a supporting role in ‘The Major and the Minor’), while Jerry Lewis is in peak form doing his usual “waah-waah-waah” schtick. The original Billy Wilder/Charles Brackett script for ‘The Major and the Minor’ was reshaped into ‘You’re Never Too Young’ by future bestselling novelist Sidney Sheldon.

Artists and Models: Bearing very little relation to the 1937 Paramount musical of the same name, ‘Artists and Models’ is a lavish, girl-filled vehicle for the popular team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Martin plays Rick Todd, a comic-book artist who is under fire from his publisher (Eddie Mayehoff), who complains that Rick’s work isn’t gory enough. Lewis plays Eugene Fullstack, Rick’s roommate, who while asleep dreams up elaborate comic-book plots and garishly costumed superheroes. Eugene’s nightmares help Rick become a success; meanwhile, our two heroes romance their luscious neighbors, artist Dorothy Malone and rambunctious model Shirley MacLaine (who during one song wrestles Eugene to the floor and sits on his chest!) Eugene’s overworked imagination somehow attracts the attention of a group of Russian spies, who attempt to abduct Eugene during the annual Artists and Models Ball. Director Frank Tashlin uses Artists and Models as an excuse for some of the wildest sight-gags seen in a mid-1950s film. At one point, the director contrives to stuff a gag in Shirley MacLaine’s mouth. Tashlin also exhibits his ongoing fascination with female breasts and legs by giving ample screen time to the natural attributes of co-stars Anita Ekberg and Zsa Zsa Gabor. One of the best of the Martin/Lewis efforts, ‘Artists and Models’ suffers only from being about 20 minutes too long.

Pardners: This Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis romp is liberally based on the 1936 Bing Crosby film ‘Rhythm on the Range.’ Set around 1910, the film stars Lewis as the pampered son of female tycoon Agnes Moorehead. Yearning to return to the Wild West where his father was a famed peacekeeper, Lewis purchases a prize bull, destined for the ranch inherited by rodeo star Dean Martin. It so happens that Martin and Lewis’ late fathers were “pardners”, so Martin takes it upon himself to protect Lewis from the various and sundry tough hombres in the region. Through a series of bizarre plot convolutions, Lewis gains a reputation as a rootin’ tootin’ gunslinger, and in his hubris he decides to round up a gang of outlaws headed by Jeff Morrow. As a result, he nearly gets himself blown to smithereens, but Martin shows up in the nick of time to rescue Lewis and help him capture the bad guys. Lori Nelson and Jackie Loughery supply the film’s peripheral romantic angle. ‘Pardners’ ends with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis turning to the camera and promising that they’ll keep on making pictures for their faithful fans; ironically, the team was breaking up even while the cameras were turning.

Hollywood or Bust: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made their last joint film appearance in the girl-filled musical ‘Hollywood or Bust.’ The thinnish plot finds inveterate film fan Jerry making a cross-country journey to Tinseltown for the purpose of meeting his favorite screen star, the buxom Anita Ekberg (the film’s title, need it be added, has a double meaning). Dean goes along for the ride, hoping to expand his bankroll during a Las Vegas stopover. The boys are joined by a third traveller, an enormous Great Dane named Mr. Bascomb; along the way, the trio becomes a quartet when pretty Pat Crowley hitches a ride. The finale takes place in Hollywood, naturally, as Jerry wreaks havoc at a film studio which looks suspiciously like Paramount. All reports indicate that Hollywood and Bust was an unhappy shoot, with Jerry Lewis behaving so obstreperously that director Frank Tashlin ordered him off the set and told him to go home until he learned to behave himself; to this day, Lewis cannot bring himself to watch the film. Happily, the animosity between the two stars never comes across on screen, and as a result Hollywood or Bust is a most enjoyable diversion.”

CS Comment:

This is a great bargain for Martin & Lewis fans. The set includes 5 movies for a reasonable price. Complete your set now!

Available Tuesday, June 5


Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

Buy this DVD at Amazon.com

Rating: PG-13

Starring:

Winona Ryder as Dinky Bossetti

Jeff Daniels as Denton Webb

Laila Robins as Elizabeth Zaks

Thomas Wilson Brown as Gerald Howells

Joan McMurtrey as Barbara ‘Barbie’ Webb

Graham Beckel as Les Bossetti

Frances Fisher as Rochelle Bossetti

Robby Kiger as Beannie Billings

Dinah Manoff as Evelyn Whittacher

Sachi Parker as Libby Ohiemacher

Stephen Tobolowsky as Mayor Bill Klepler

Micole Mercurio as Louise Garweski

John Short as Ronald Reems

Robin Thomas as Scotty Sandholtzer

Valerie Landsburg as Miss Day Ashburn

Special Features:

None

Other Info:

Widescreen

Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound

Running Time: 96 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“It’s been fifteen years since Roxy Carmichael left Clyde, Ohio, for fame and fortune. Now the town is excitedly planning for her homecoming. Among those anxiously awaiting her return: the forgotten boyfriend who fathered Roxy’s child (Jeff Daniels); Roxy’s rival (Dinah Manoff); and Dinky Bossetti (Winona Ryder), a gifted but eccentric 15-year-old girl who feels secretly tied to Roxy’s past.

Sparkling with heartfelt humor and warmth, ‘Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael’ is a tender story of yearning and self-discovery. Of hopes, celebrity and dreams. And the importance of finding acceptance on one’s own terms.”

“Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael” is rated PG-13.

CS Comment:

I’m not quite sure why this film was reissued. There are no bonus features on the DVD and none of the actors have anything notable coming out. But here it is!

Available Tuesday, June 5


Rawhide: The Second Season – Volume 1

Buy this DVD at Amazon.com

Rating: Not Rated

Starring:

Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates

Steve Raines as Jim Quince

Paul Brinegar as Wishbone

Eric Fleming as Gil Favor

James Murdock as Mushy

Rocky Shahan as Joe Scarlett

Sheb Wooley as Pete Nolan

Robert Cabal as Hey Soos

Special Features:

The first 16 episodes from the 1959-1960 season on 4 discs

Other Info:

Fullscreen

Dolby Digital Stereo Sound

Running Time: 13 Hours 42 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the DVD cover:

“Academy-Award-winner Clint Eastwood returns to tame the Wild West in ‘Rawhide: The Second Season Volume 1.’ This 4-disc set, containing 16 digitally re-mastered episodes, features Eastwood – in his early TV role as Rowdy Yates, the tough-as-nails cowhand – and Eric Fleming as Rowdy’s strong-minded trail boss, Gil Favor. With sweeping locations, a stampede of guest stars and Frankie Laine’s impossible-to-forget, sing-along hit theme song – ‘Rawhide: The Second Season Volume 1’ rustles up one rip-roaring adventure after another! ”

“Rawhide: The Second Season – Volume 1” is not rated.

CS Comment:

Rawhide and Clint Eastwood fans can continue their collections with this second season DVD.

Available Tuesday, May 29


Hogan’s Heroes – The Sixth & Final Season

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Rating: Not Rated

Starring:

Bob Crane as Col. Robert E. Hogan

Werner Klemperer as Col. Wilhelm Klink

John Banner as Sgt. Hans Georg Schultz

Robert Clary as Cpl. Louis LeBeau

Larry Hovis as Sgt. Andrew Carter

Richard Dawson as Cpl. Peter Newkirk

Ivan Dixon as Sgt. James ‘Kinch’ Kinchloe

Leon Askin as General der Infantrie Albert Burkhalter

Special Features:

None

Other Info:

Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Dolby Digital Mono Sound

Running Time: 10 Hours 4 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“Firing off one-liners and bang-up hilarity, this sixth and final season of ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ is Number One Entertainment – with a bullet! Re-experience the uproarious escapades of Colonel Robert Hogan (Bob Crane) and fellow POWs of Stalag 13 (Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Larry Hovis, Kenneth Washington) as they relentlessly disrupt the Nazi war effort with their cache of hysterically elaborate schemes. Shot through with laughter, the wacky escapades of Hogan, his motley group of men and the camp’s ham-fisted kommandant, Colonel Wilhelm Klink (Werner Klemperer), and bungling sidekick, Sergeant Hans Schultz (John Banner) provide hours of sidesplitting, classic entertainment! One of the funniest television shows of all time, this collectible 4-disc set contains all 24 digitally remastered sixth-season episodes…..Nussing is Missing!!!”

“Hogan’s Heroes – The Sixth & Final Season” is not rated.

CS Comment:

The “Hogan’s Heroes” Saga concludes with this sixth season DVD. No bonus features for you!

Available Tuesday, June 5


Mission: Impossible – The Second TV Season

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Rating: Not Rated

Starring:

Greg Morris as Barney Collier

Bob Johnson as Voice on Tape

Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage

Peter Graves as James Phelps

Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter

Martin Landau as Rollin Hand

Special Features:

None

Other Info:

Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Spanish Language

French, Spanish, and Portuguese Subtitles

Running Time: 20 Hours 54 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the official DVD description:

“Spoken on a tape that self-destructs, these classic words introduce each episode of “Mission: Impossible,” the highly dramatic adventure series that returns to DVD in a set that includes all 25 second season episodes.

New IMF (Impossible Mission Force) leader Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) picks his team of skilled agents for the next covert mission: Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) is the female seductress, Rollin Hand (Martin Landau) is the master of disguise, Willie Armitage (Peter Lupus) is the muscle, and Barney Collier (Greg Morris) is the electronics whiz.

Tight, clockwork-precision plots… an array of neat gadgetry… all set to jazzy music. Television’s coolest spies take us around the world and beyond!”

“Mission: Impossible – The Second TV Season” is not rated.

CS Comment:

The “Mission: Impossible” series continues with this second DVD set. The bonus features must have self destructed.

Available Tuesday, June 5

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