DVD's and Blu-ray's are Our Passion

Archive for March, 2009

Blu-ray Review: The Robe – Special Edition

I first saw The Robe when I was about eight years old, at a showing by a local film society. I remember the man who introduced the film telling us that the movie we were about to see was the first film released in CinemaScope. That meant nothing to me then but I would later [...]

DVD Review: The Other End of the Line

Over the last few years, it seems as though American and European film audiences have become increasing interested in the Indian film industry. While India has been making films since the 1930′s, it’s Bollywood, the country’s Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry, that has occasionally attracted Hollywood and European stars to appear in films there. In [...]

Blu-ray Review: An American In Paris

Last September, I had the pleasure of reviewing Warner Bros. An American in Paris – 2 Disc Special Edition. Now Warner Bros. has made this undeniable classic available on Blu-ray as of March 31, 2009! Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the 1951 film An American in Paris was inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George [...]

Blu-ray Review: The Silence of the Lambs

It’s probably safe to say that almost every serious DVD collector owns at least one version of The Silence of the Lambs. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris, the film remains a seminal psychological thriller. With its recent release on Blu-ray, The Silence of the Lambs is sure to become one of those “must [...]

DVD Review: Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird – 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

It seems hard to believe but Follow That Bird is nearly a quarter century old. I was almost thirteen when the film came out and I’m not ashamed to admit, I saw it at a local theater. Having grown up with the gang on Sesame Street, I was curious what their first feature film would [...]

DVD Review: The Odd Couple – The Paramount Centennial Collection

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau made several films together but probably none is more beloved than The Odd Couple. Released on May 2, 1968, written by Neil Simon, the film was based on the Tony Award winning play of the same name. There’s little doubt that The Odd Couple’s two main characters, Oscar Madison and [...]

DVD Review: Johnny Got His Gun

With credits including Kitty Foyle (1940), Bill of Divorcement (1940), Roman Holiday (1953), (using the name of Ian McLellan Hunter as a front) and Spartacus (1960), Dalton Trumbo is considered by many one of the best screenwriters to ever work in Hollywood. Dalton Trumbo is also widely remembered as being part of the “Hollywood Ten,” [...]

Blu-ray Review: Never Say Never Again

Released in 1983, Never Say Never Again, is a remake of the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. The film marked Sean Connery’s return to the role of James Bond after a twelve year absence. The title is based on a conversation between Sean Connery and his wife. After Diamonds Are Forever he told her he [...]

Blu-ray Review: Watchmen – Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood

Since Watchmen was released in U.S. theaters in early March, Warner Bros. has released several companion DVDs and Blu-rays for fans of the series. They’ve released the a full-length, five-and-a-half-hour, animated “motion comic” of the irreverent superheroes created by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins; a video game; and now a disc that includes [...]

Blu-ray Review: South Park – The Complete Twelfth Season

South Park makes its debut on Blu-ray in its twelfth season. Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone continue to use the series to push the envelope of good taste and continue their longstanding tradition of skewering American culture and politics. As always, South Park isn’t for the faint of heart; crass and potentially offensive, [...]

Blu-ray Review: Quantum of Solace

Despite the reservations of many critics, Quantum of Solace is a solid entry into the James Bond franchise. While the movie itself isn’t quite a strong as its predecessor Casino Royale, Daniel Craig continues to prove himself to be a solid choice to play the vaunted British super spy. While I’m not prepared to say [...]

DVD Review: The Forbidden Hollywood Collection – Volume 3

Warner Bros. Forbidden Hollywood Collections contain films that were released before the Motion Picture Production Code or Hays Code took effect on July 1, 1934 in the United States. A previous code of conduct for the film industry, introduced in 1930, was widely ignored. The original code was written by Father Daniel A. Lord, a [...]

DVD Review: JAG – The Complete Eighth Season

Created by Donald P. Bellisario (Magmum, P.I., N.C.I.S.), JAG (the American Military acronym for Judge Advocate General), was originally conceived as Top Gun meets A Few Good Men, the show was cancelled by NBC after its first season and brought back by CBS as a mid-season replacement. This proved to be a smart move, as [...]

DVD Review: Happy-Go-Lucky

Writer/Director Mike Leigh has been in the entertainment business for more than forty years. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and did his early acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He began his career as a theater director and playwright in the 1960′s. By the 1970′s, he made a transition to [...]

DVD Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Directed by Mark Herman (Little Voice), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is based on the book of the same name by Irish novelist John Boyne. The story focuses on a little boy who is friends with another little boy who is in a Nazi concentration camp, their friendship conducted almost entirely through an electrified [...]

Blu-ray Review: Raging Bull

As I sit down to write this, my first impulse is to proclaim Raging Bull Martin Scorsese’s greatest film. However, that would be completely unfair. I’m driven to do that just because I just finished watching it. If I declared Raging Bull Scorsese’s best, were would that leave Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfella’s (1990), Cape Fear [...]

DVD Review: ER – The Complete Tenth Season

As ER gets ready to air its final episode on April 2, 2009 after a very successful fifteen year run, Warner Bros. recently released the complete tenth season of the multi-Emmy Award winning show. Created by the late novelist Michael Crichton (who was also a physician), ER is NBC’s second longest-running drama (after Law & [...]

Blu-ray Review: Pinocchio (70th Anniversary Platinum Edition)

After having such tremendous success in 1937, with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs–which marked the first time animation was used to produce an entire feature length film–some were skeptical when Walt Disney decided to follow it up with yet another animated movie. Moviegoers wondered if a second animated film could hold the attention of [...]

Blu-ray Review: Quo Vadis

One of the earliest epics Hollywood would produce, when Quo Vadis was released in November of 1951, it set in motion a wave of dramatic epics that would continue throughout the decade. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Ben Hur (1959), The Ten Commandments (1956) and El Cid (1961), were likely inspired at least in [...]

DVD Review: Return from Witch Mountain (Special Edition)

Often times, the most beloved films, generate the most dreadful sequels. As I said in my review of Escape to Witch Mountain, I was a huge fan of that film, having viewed it numerous times on television. However, it’s sequel, Return from Witch Mountain, failed to capture my imagination; I only remember watching it once [...]