Here’s yer DVD goodness…
DVD of the Week: Class of 1984. This cult classic finally gets a decent DVD release thanks to the folks at Anchor Bay. It’s the touching story of a teacher who goes to a crime-infested high school and finds himself at odds with the young crime boss who’s running the show. Two men enter! One man leaves! Or something. This comes with a commentary with the director, a featurette, the screenplay on DVD-ROM and more. (Buy it)
TV DVD of the Week: Charles in Charge: The Complete First Season. The twenty-two episodes hitting DVD thanks to Universal isn’t my bag, but hey, maybe it’s yours. Let’s face it, there’s a guilty-pleasure show for each of us that we can pull from the 80s, no doubt. Here, Scott Baio moves in to become a male nanny to some kids and tries to keep it all together–so of course, hijinks ensue. Comes with an 80s flashback featurette and a bonus episode from the second season. (Buy it)
Family DVD of the Week: Chicken Little. Well, it wasn’t great, but it’ll keep your little ones in front of the television long enough for you to make dinner or wax the cat or whatever it is you need to do without interruption. It’s the chicken who cried wolf meets an alien invasion, and if you go for the Shrek school of animation (throw enough pop culture references out there and something‘s got to stick), maybe this is your thing. Be aware a two-disc uber-edition is no doubt coming later, but for now it’s deleted scenes, music videos and a making-of. This hits from Disney. (Buy it)
Comedy DVD of the Week: Dave Atell’s Insomniac Tour. This Paramount/Comedy Central features not only the comedy stylings of host and Head Insomniac Dave Atell, but Sean Rouse, Greg Giraldo, and the inevitable Dane Cook. The winning combination here comes with fifteen minutes of additional material and the whole thing is uncensored, which is nice. There are also interviews, a featurette, behind-the-scenes (and at-the-party-afterwards) footage, and more. And how could we not like a show with this title? (Buy it)
Anime DVD of the Week: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 3. This anime-retelling of the classic tale hits its stride as the Count hosts a party that will have reprecussions for everyone who attends–from the generation that screwed him and their children as well. The past is coming back to thump everybody on the nose and it’s not going to be entirely pretty. This Geneon volume comes with more comments from the vocal cast as well as a bit of commercials. (Buy it)
Brit DVD of the Week: Scum. Like prison movies? You probably haven’t seen anything like this: Alan Clarke‘s film that was originally made a BBC teleplay, banned, and then remade into a theatrical feature. Starring Ray Winstone as a guy inside dealing with the brutal nightmare of the prison system, it’s…pretty freaking intense. Both versions of the film are here in this Blue Underground release, with commentary on both (Winstone comments in one form or another on both versions), plus interviews and more. (Buy it)
Comics DVD of the Week: In the Studio With George Perez. Now, this TwoMorrows release is interesting as hell. George Perez has been one of my favorite artists since I started reading comics. And now you get a tour of Perez’ studio as well as a look at his typical workday. Terrifyingly enough, you get to see a comic book convention from the artist’s perspective. This, amazingly, does not morph into a horror title at this point. If you’re a fan, you really do need this. (Buy it)
Docu DVD of the Week: The Hobart Shakespeareans. In a world where public education, for the most part, sucks, it’s nice to see some teachers who care enough to make it work. Here, a teacher in central Los Angeles gets his kids interested in the classics and eventually stages a fifth-grade production of Hamlet. This New Video release comes with a filmmaker bio and interview, and will make you feel better (speaking to our American readers here) about all the money you just threw at the government. Well, a little. (Buy it)
Adverse Video of the Week: The Scorned. Say what you want: this is a genius idea. Reality TV is still big. Cheaply made horror movies get bigger all the time. Put them together and what do you get? Guaranteed to make your budget back, that’s what you get. Here the ghost of a murdered woman is fomenting romantic unrest in the place that she died. Hate it when that happens. This Anchor Bay release comes with a commentary, a director’s interview, a history of the reality TV genre, outtakes, bloopers and more. (Buy it)
Music DVD of the Week: King’s Singers. If a capella is your thing, then you might want to give this Acorn Media release a shot. Six guys, no music, and they’ve been touring the world doing that thing. Here, they bring you a wide array of musical selections, everything from Freddie Mercury to Rossini to Duke Ellington. You also get footage of them in the studio. This is their first DVD release. (Buy it)
Foreign DVD of the Week: Sex is Zero. What happens when you take the genre of sex-infused young comedy and drop it into Korea? Well, this film. Slightly perverse ha-ha is the name of the game on this one, so now you can watch a film of this nature and feel cultured for dipping your toe into world cinema at the same time–bonus! Because it’s from Panik House, it’s loaded up with features: you get two commentaries, including one from two of the guys on Howard Stern; deleted scenes; outtakes; behind-the-scenes featurette; and more. (Buy it)
Musical DVD of the Week: Daddy Long Legs. Fred Astaire stars with Leslie Caron in this musical from 1955–Astaire is the rich gentleman who takes a young French orphan under his wing, sending her to school on his dime. Attracted to her but concerned about the age difference between them, he tries to resist love–mooha! That always gets your ass in trouble. This Fox release is pretty sweet: you get commentary by Astaire’s daughter, a film historian, and songwriter Johnny Mercer is there from the archives. That plus Movietone News bits and more. (Buy it)
