Classic DVD of the Week: John Wayne: An American Icon Collection. Another Universal boxed set that should be welcomed with open arms by fans, it brings five films of which, as far as I can tell, three have never seen DVD before, and the other two are out of print. So bonus. The films are The Conqueror, Jet Pilot, Pittsburgh, Seven Sinners, and The Shepherd of the Hills. All five are on two discs, and as you might imagine: no bonus bits. But again, for a little over five bucks a flick, it wouldn’t pay to complain. (Buy it)
Musical DVD of the Week: The Producers. The film that returns a story to its original medium brings over the show that gave Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick careers on stage from now until the end of time if they don’t mind it. Sure, Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman are along for the ride instead of the actors from Broadway, but it’s Mel Brooks back in the saddle, so we can’t be too disappointed. Dead and Loving It–all is forgiven. This Universal release comes with a director’s commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes and a scene analysis bit. (Buy it)
Comedy DVD of the Week: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. 9. Four more classics and a short film fill out this latest set from the folks at Rhino. You get The Sinister Urge (introduced by actor Conrad Brooks), Wild Rebels, Women of the Prehistoric Planet (introduced by actress Irene Tsu), and personal favorite movie title of all time: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. And of course, the useful short is “Keeping Clean and Neat.” Must-own for our readers, because we know what sickos you all are. (Buy it)
Music DVD of the Week: Faith No More Double Feature. Ah, Mike Patton, vocal god. He and his crew put on a hell of a show at Brixton Academy that was captured in the film You Fat Bastards. Not only is Rhino giving you that here, but you also get Who Cares a Lot?, their music videos. Shows you just how bad my memory is getting–upon watching them, I realized I had seen them before, except for later on when I quit watching television. The shining moment is still their cover of Lionel Richie’s “Easy.” You haven’t lived until you’ve seen guitarist Jim Martin lip sync to that. (Buy it)
Family DVD of the Week: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. No secret that I wasn’t a huge fan of the film, but as far as family fare goes, it’s nice and safe. I think you’re better off with the books, but if you want to use this to shoehorn some reading in with your kids, be my guest. This Disney release comes with a commentary from the kids and the director, a separate commentary with the crew, blooper reel, and multiple featurettes. The FX stuff is worth the price of admission. (Buy it)
History DVD of the Week: Egypt: Rediscovering A Lost World. Not a straight up docu, this is actually a six-part miniseries from the BBC that dramatizes the efforts of Howard Carter, the guy who found King Tut’s tomb, Giovanni Belzoni, who made multiple discoveries, and Jean Francois Champollion, who deciphered hieroglyphics. The story’s there, warts and all, and both the story and production quality’s there like only the BBC (when they have a decent budget) can provide. Comes with a featurette. (Buy it)
Foreign DVD of the Week: The Warrior. A guy whose employed as the title suggests suddenly has an apostrophe while in the midst of battle and swears off violence. But as Al Pacino learned in the third Godfather movie, they just pull you back in. Renouncing his ways will cost him, and he will have to deal with his past before he can deal with his future…if he still has one. This Miramax comes with a director’s commentary, deleted scenes with optional commentary, and a making-of featurette. (Buy it)
Has THE MAGIC SWORD shown up in a MST3K collection yet? I keep looking and missing it.