Here’s yer DVD goodness…
TV DVD of the Week: 21 Jump Street: The Complete Third Season. For those Johnny Depp fiends (and you know who you are), Anchor Bay rides to the rescue with this release of the third season of the series, featuring all twenty episodes spread across six discs. Yes, they’re cops, but young looking so that they can get into the places where old fogies like Dennis Franz could not go. Thank creators Stephen J. Cannell and Patrick Hasburgh next time you feel that lust coming on. Again, you know who you are. (Buy it)
DVD of the Week: Clueless. Ten years afterwards, this retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma remains of such high quality that many will take it and Batman and Robin and call Alicia Silverstone even. This new “Whatever” edition hits from Paramount and sports a retrospective, a talk with director Amy Heckerling, a fashion featurette, a tutorial on the “Suck n Blow” game, a driving featurette, stories from the cast and crew, and more. (Buy it)
Docu DVD of the Week: Paris is Burning. This 1990 documentary takes you into the world of queens in New York, and you can see by the lack of capitalization I’m not talking about the borough. Drag balls are a huge deal to this community and this film takes you inside them to see footage from the events, as well as to talk with the men who participate in them. This Buena Vista releases comes with a commentary by the director, the editor, as well as two of the featured performers, and also the disc has outtakes. (Buy it)
Anime DVD of the Week: Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, Vol. 1: Monotone. In Marvel Comics, back before it started sucking rocks, Loki had managed to get Thor changed into all kinds of things: a frog, a woman, and finally a weakling in need of armor. Okay, I don’t remember if Loki was behind that last one, but it’s a safe bet. In this series, however, it’s Loki getting the short end of the stick as he’s turned into a boy and banished to Earth. To run a detective agency. Oookay. Anyway, this ADV release comes with the first four episodes, plus clean opening and closing animation, as well as a talk with some of the actors involved. (Buy it)
Animation DVD of the Week: Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. Fox’s loving the resurrection of this series. Why? Well, let’s see: in the first two weeks of its release, I understand the DVD raked in around $41 million. Which means that, even split in half to $20.5 million, it beat Doom on its #1 weekend. Three episodes make up this quest of Stewie to find his real father, and because it’s uncensored it’s about as disturbed as you might expect. Comes with audio commentary by cast and crew along with animatics. (Buy it)
Boxed Set of the Week: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection. It’s Halloween weekend, so what better than a crapload of Hitch? Fourteen films, a bonus disc with salutes to the director as well as a featurette. Basically every movie has room among these fifteen discs to get featurettes, Vertigo comes with audio commentary, three other films come with storyboards, one comes with an interview and one comes with alternate endings. For more info, check out our previous write-up here, but considering the date we felt we needed to put this in your face again. We’re like that. (Buy it)
Brit DVD of the Week: Chef: The Complete Collection. Cosette was just mentioning how she wanted to see more Lenny Henry, so here you go: all three seasons of his BBC series collected, of course, by BBC Home Video. Twenty episodes are here, spread across three discs, with Henry playing exactly what the title implies…an uber-chef running a kitchen with the utmost care and precision. This comedy set comes with interviews and footage of when Henry appeared on BBC’s Good Food Show. (Buy it)
Family DVD of the Week: Fraggle Rock: The Complete First Season. I didn’t grow up with this show, which I know causes shock and surprise from everybody else I know–so I admit it: I’m the odd mutant out. Fine. But it’s obviously it left an impression on everybody, because each year at the Film Fest people sing along with the theme song like crazy. So I know they’re going to be happy to see HIT Entertainment releasing this set of the entire first season, all twenty-four episodes across five discs. You get a slew of interviews, a behind-the-scenes docu and an incredibly sweet replica of Jim Henson’s notepad, filled with Fraggle info. Me, I’ll dig into it soon enough–promise. (Buy it)
Adverse Video of the Week: Dracula A.D. 1972. Oh man, this is just begging for it. Christopher Lee plus Peter Cushing plus this tagline: “The count is back, with an eye for London’s hotpants…and a taste for everything”–equals a groovy horrible movie! The count lusts for your hotpants! Moohahaha! What’s worse, a crucifix or 70s camp? I’m positively terrified and so happy this is out on DVD that you must worry for my sanity. It’s time to swing, baby, yeah! Swing with the undead! Man, I have been awake too long. (Buy it)
Horror DVD of the Week: High Tension. Hmmm. Crazed psycho killer on the loose, wiping out a family, taking a hostage and a stowaway who’s only safe because the killer doesn’t know she’s there? Okay, sure, I’ll bite. And from the looks of that makeshift weapon on the cover of the DVD, that young lady will bite too. This French slasher flick is anything but tame and if you don’t like your stuff very gory, you might just want to stay the hell away. But for those that dig it, this Lions Gate release has the unrated version of the film, an intro and commentary by the director and the artistic director, a making-of along with some other featurettes, select scene commentary with the director and the lead actress, and more. (Buy it)
