Here’s yer DVD goodness…
DVD of the Week: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I don’t think there’s anybody in our generation that didn’t think this movie was great…after all, talk about a hero for our times: he does whatever the hell he wants and bloody well gets away with it. Priceless. While this edition is very oddly missing the previous John Hughes commentary track, it does have a number of featurettes, including a casting bit, a retrospective, behind the scenes footage, and a talk with Mr. Ben Stein. This arrives courtesy of Paramount (Buy it)
TV DVD of the Week: ER: The Complete Fourth Season. Well, the show’s cracks started to show here, but it was still a solid prime time soap with the majority of its original cast. This season begins with the live episode, the first of twenty-two episodes across six discs. There’s two features that cover the live episode, plus outtakes, deleted scenes and a gag reel. This largish set, perfect for fans of the show, is available via Warner Brothers. Check out the official site. (Buy it)
Anime DVD of the Week: Starship Operators, Vol. 1: Revolution. A group of cadets are out in a warship joyride when it’s revealed that their government has had war declared against it. They decide to ride to the rescue, but the key to everything is that they’re going to be filmed doing it for their own reality show. In other words, it’s an anime Space Camp. Well, kinda. Wild, huh? This Geneon release hits with clean opening and closing animation plus a music video. (Buy it)
Animation DVD of the Week: The Corpse Bride. Well, it was no Nightmare Before Christmas, but it was still some nice stop motion animation fun from the twisted mind of Tim Burton. And the DVD release is decently stacked, coming with a slew of documentaries and featurettes, interviews with the cast, a focus on composer Danny Elfman and his work, and more. This hits from Warner Brothers. (Buy it)
Brit DVD of the Week: Nighty Night: The First Complete Series. We’re no strangers to really dark comedies here, but this sucker is so blackened light can barely escape it. When a hairdresser’s husband is diagnosed with cancer, she dumps him in a nursing home and starts to play the field, with no holds barred whatsoever. Scruples? Pshaw! Extremely funny, but in a “Man, I’m going to hell for laughing at that” kinda way, this first series hits DVD thanks to BBC Home Video and comes with all six episodes, plus outtakes and deleted scenes. (Buy it)
Adverse Video of the Week: Puppetmaster vs. Demonic Toys. The inheritor of the formula that brings the Puppetmaster toys to life is Corey Feldman? Who knew? And wait, in charge of the Demonic Toys is now…Vanessa Angel? What? Yes, well, while some people think Aliens vs. Predator was a big deal (potentially), it’s versus-flicks like these that can really make you howl over a nice weekend bowl of popcorn. (Buy it)
Docu DVD of the Week: The Aristocrats. This docu that covers the ultimate inside joke for comedians hits DVD thanks to Lions Gate and ThinkFilm. Probably the most obscenity-laiden docu ever created, it takes you through comedy by breaking in a cellar window, as a parade of comedians tell their versions of this particular joke. Bonus bits include commentary by Provenza and Jillette, a highlight reel, plus more. (Buy it)
DVD Boxed Set of the Week: The Richard Pryor Collection. Sure, these are bare bones releases of four Pryor films, but if you need to drop some of the man into your collection in a hurry, this boxed set from Universal might do the trick. This comes with Brewster’s Millions, Bustin’ Loose, Car Wash, and Which Way is Up? on two double-sided discs. (Buy it)
Comedy DVD of the Week: Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale. This man is very disturbed. This Image Entertainment release features almost a solid hour of Gaffigan and his weird “other voices,” which could be the inner voices of the audience or his own inner critics…or both…not sure. But regardless, the weirdness is extremely pervasive as he talks about dating a panda, Hot Pockets and the oddity that is Xmas. Some very funny stuff. (Buy it)
Family DVD of the Week: Toy Story 2. While the wise among you have already purchased the Ultimate Toy Box set of the two Toy Story films, if you were slow on the draw, you could pick this one up to grab a lot of the features they had in that uber-package. Pixar releases are always choice, and are sure to get even moreso now that Pope John is in charge. Here you get a remastered audio and video experience, audio commentary, outtakes, deleted scenes, the usual behind the scenes bonanza, and more. (Buy it)
Music DVD of the Week: Sugarcubes: Live Zabor. Fans of the band are going to want to snap up this Rhino release, which features live performances of songs like “Birthday,” “Deus,” and “Plastic,” plus interviews with band members. This was shot in the late 80s, so don’t freak and think it’s reunion party or something. (Buy it)
UMD of the Week: Wedding Crashers. New Line gives you a release for your PSP that’s one of the most stacked we’ve had come through here. This tale of men and the games they play to ah…enjoy themselves and others…comes with eight-point-five more minutes of footage (it’s the “Uncorked” edition, don’t you know), plus two commentary tracks (one with the director and one with stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn), along with deleted scenes. If it’s your thing and you want it tiny…never mind, that came out totally wrong. (Buy it)
