to 
newDVDnews.com
to
POSTED JUNE 11, 2001
WELCOME TO THE newDVDnews NEWSLETTER
We've combined our previous Horror and Science Fiction & Fantasy
DVD Delivers mailings. With so many sci-fi fans equally hungry for
horror, we hope to avoid clutter in your inbox while keeping you
abreast of cool new DVDs from outer space, beyond the grave, and
other sufficiently far-out points of origin. You can still delve
directly into Horror and Science Fiction & Fantasy in our
separate DVD stores at Amazon.com. Happy viewing!
...more here
WORD FOR WORD
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind (The Collector's Edition)"
...more here
"Major Walsh, it is an event sociologique."
--Francois Truffaut as stargazing scientist Claude Lacombe
ponders signs of the Mothership's approach in "Close Encounters of
the Third Kind (The Collector's Edition)" (1977)
...more here
"Gormenghast"
...more here
starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ian Richardson, and Christopher Lee;
directed by Andy Wilson
Slated for national PBS broadcasts in late June, this lavish BBC
production brings Mervyn Peake's rich fantasy epic to vivid life. The
ancient family of Groan has presided over its imposing castle,
Gormenghast, for 77 generations when a new heir, Titus Groan, is
born. But a charming, evil kitchen-boy, Steerpike, exploits the birth
as the first step in his own ruthless ascent to power. This two-disc
set will be released on July 3.
"Dracula 2000"
...more here
starring Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, and Jennifer Esposito;
directed by Patrick Lussier
Producer Wes Craven filters Bram Stoker's sturdy vampire legend with
canny updates, cheeky humor, and a Gen-Y cast headed by Miller
(Trainspotting), but it's veteran Christopher Plummer who injects the
project with verve in a juicy turn as vampire-hunter Van Helsing. Look
for Star Trek: Voyager Borg-babe Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) as one of
the slinky bloodsuckers. Releases July 3.
"V - The Original TV Miniseries"
...more here
starring Jane Badler, Faye Grant, and Marc Singer; directed by
Kenneth Johnson
Long before Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin conjured up their vision
of remorseless invaders for Independence Day, Kenneth Johnson depicted
the ominous arrival of massive saucers casting shadows across an
unprepared Earth. If the special effects now look modest, Johnson's
clever 1983 narrative still holds more surprises and touches more
thoughtful themes in a conspiracy plot with ripe political
underpinnings closer to The X-Files than Independence Day's
fighter-pilots-in-space premise. Releases July 3.
"Akira - Limited Special Edition"
...more here
starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, and Mami
Koyama; directed by Katsuhiro Otomo
A landmark animated feature that established a high bar for anime,
Akira finally arrives on DVD. Artist-writer Otomo first conceived
this violent, visionary epic as a manga, then halted publication to
devote three years to its screen incarnation. Its depiction of
21st-century Neo-Tokyo, and its intricate narrative revolving around
psychic and physical superpowers, blur the lines between fantasy,
science fiction, and horror. This limited edition, two-disc set will
be released July 24.
NEW RELEASES
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
...more here
starring Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi; directed by
Ang Lee
Director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) weaves the soaring wuxia
martial arts fantasies of his youth with ethereal elements of romantic
tragedy to create this singular triumph--an exhilirating action
spectacle that concludes on a soulful, haunted note. The fights are
choreographed by Yuen Wo-ping (The Matrix), integrating wire stunts
and digital effects to yield truly fantastic sequences.
"Jaws 2"
...more here
starring Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton; directed
by Jeannot Szwarc
Peter Benchley's nightmare vision of a marauding great white shark
kept enough people out of the water to make this sequel to Steven
Spielberg's breakout hit inevitable. If the film can't repeat the
first-time jolt of the original film's finny terror, Roy Scheider,
returning as Sheriff Martin Brody, brings a credible sense of trauma
to his role, and there are plenty of clueless swimmers at hand to
sustain this aquatic buffet.
"Shadow of the Vampire"
...more here
starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe; directed by E. Elias
Merhige
A singular fusion of horror movie and cinematic homage, "Shadow of the
Vampire" turns on a delicious premise. To make his 1922 horror
classic, "Nosferatu," movie director F. W. Murnau (Malkovich) casts a
real bloodsucker (Dafoe) to play the vampire, with the compensation
decidedly outside the norms set by SAG or AFTRA. See it for Dafoe's
wonderful performance as Max Schreck.
"Big Trouble in Little China (Special Edition)"
...more here
starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, and Dennis Dun; directed by
John Carpenter
Director John Carpenter relaxes his steely grip and tables his
penchant for gore in this good-natured fantasy romp, which gets
tremendous mileage from Kurt Russell's comic take on a swaggering hero
with more brawn than brains. With a plot loosely (and presciently)
strung from supernatural martial arts fantasies, and a cocky mix of
suspense and slapstick, Big Trouble is big fun.
"The Pit and the Pendulum"
...more here
starring Vincent Price, John Kerr, and Barbara Steele; directed by
Roger Corman
Flush with the success of his lavish widescreen update of The Fall of
the House of Usher, B-movie baron Roger Corman retained Usher star
Price and screenwriter Richard Matheson to tackle the second of an
eventual string of Edgar Allan Poe melodramas. Price is a Spanish
nobleman who thinks he's his notorious, deceased dad--the most vicious
torturer of the Inquisition.
"Rollerball"
...more here
starring James Caan, John Houseman, and Maud Adams; directed by
Norman Jewison
With a high-octane remake headed for big screens this summer, now's a
great time to revisit this prophetic 1975 sci-fi thriller, which
marked a rare foray into the genre for issues-oriented director
Jewison. Then again, Rollerball has more on its mind than the
admittedly spectacular--and gruesomely violent--title sport. James
Caan is the superstar who's chafing at the corporate handlers that
control this prototypically "extreme" competition. The story's visuals
have dated slightly, but its underlying ideas about how sports,
politics, religion, and culture intersect are still potent.
"X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes"
...more here
starring Ray Milland, Diana Van der Vlis, and Don Rickles; directed
by Roger Corman
Another chapter from Roger Corman's prolific '60s filmography, this
variation on the perils of pure research finds scientist Ray Milland
creating a serum that confers those titular orbs. Fringe benefits
include the ability to sneak a peek beneath women's clothes (while
they're doing the twist, of course), but the good Doc comes to rue the
day. Recommended for cheese lovers.
IN THEATERS
Diving into uncharted realms of art and the imagination, "Atlantis:
The Lost Empire" chronicles the exploits of an inexperienced young
adventurer who joins a group of intrepid explorers to find the
elusive undersea kingdom. This latest animated Disney feature boasts
eye-popping widescreen animation and an ambitious blend of digital
and hand-drawn special effects--it's the biggest animated-effects
film Disney has ever done.
...more here
FATHER'S DAY
Make the big guy happy this Father's Day with great DVDs and more.
...more here
RARE AND USED DVDS
Attention, budget-minded DVD fans. Discover all the used DVDs
available at great prices by visiting the Rare & Used DVD Store
or by looking for the blue box where you currently shop. Great
deals are added daily.
...more here
You can also sell your DVDs and make money.
It's easy--list your items at Amazon.com in less than 60 seconds. If
you're ready, get started now.
...more here
POSTED 10 MAY 2001
WELCOME
With this edition of Delivers, we're combining our previous Horror
and Science Fiction & Fantasy DVD mailings to provide a broader
cross section of new releases, hot pre-order titles, and customer
favorites. With so many sci-fi fans equally hungry for horror, we
hope to avoid clutter in your inbox while keeping you abreast of
cool new DVDs from outer space, beyond the grave, and other
sufficiently far-out points of origin. You can still delve directly
into Horror and Science Fiction & Fantasy in our separate DVD
stores at Amazon.com. Happy viewing!
...more here
...more here
WORD FOR WORD
"Farscape #2: Exodus from Genesis/Throne for a Loss"
...more here
"Have we sent the 'Don't shoot, we're pathetic' transmission yet?"
--Ben Browder as Commander Crichton, the astronaut who finds himself
stranded in "Farscape #2" (1999)
ADVANCE ORDERS
"The Fall of the House of Usher"
...more here
starring Vincent Price, Mark Damon, and Myrna Fahey; directed by
Roger Corman
First filmed in the early days of silent movies, Edgar Allan Poe's
gothic tale of a family curse became the first and best of Roger
Corman's long string of Poe adaptations, thanks to Richard
Matheson's creepy script and Vincent Price's tour de force
performance as Roderick Usher. A second look confirms this as a true
horror classic. Releases on June 5.
"Donovan's Brain"
...more here
starring Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, and Nancy Davis; directed by Felix
E. Feist
The image of that disembodied brain kept alive in a laboratory dish
plus the prospect of the future Mrs. Reagan as love interest sounds
like instant camp, but this 1953 thriller actually works on its own
modest terms, thanks to its intriguing story and solid cast, headed
by veteran Lew Ayres. Releases on June 5.
"X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes"
...more here
starring Ray Milland, Diana Van der Vlis, and Don Rickles; directed
by Roger Corman
Another chapter from Roger Corman's prolific '60s filmography, this
variation on the perils of pure research finds scientist Ray Milland
creating a serum that confers those titular orbs. Fringe benefits
include the ability to sneak a peek beneath women's clothes (while
they're doing the twist, of course), but the good doc comes to rue
the day. Recommended for cheese lovers. Releases June 5.
"The Day the Earth Caught Fire"
...more here
starring Edward Judd, Janet Munro, and Leo McKern; directed by Val
Guest
This British sci-fi classic is a reminder that you don't need lavish
special effects when you've got a gripping story. During the
chilliest days of the cold war, rival superpowers conduct
underground nuclear tests that wind up jolting Earth into a new
orbit fatally close to the Sun. A first-rate cast (look for an early
cameo from Michael Caine), prescient environmental terror, some
strategic drops of sweat, and, voilá, it's the apocalypse.
Releases June 12.
NEW RELEASES
"The X-Files - The Complete Third Season"
...more here
starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson; created by Chris
Carter
Chris Carter's baroque series gets weirder and wittier in its third
season, emboldened by the show's graduation from cult hit to global
pop phenomenon, and the growing intricacy of the show's own
paranormal mythology. Both standalone episodes and multipart story
lines keep the paranoia at a fever pitch, and fans will savor the
introduction of such key elements as the alien black oil, Scully's
next implant, and Agent X.
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind (The Collector's Edition)"
...more here
starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, and François
Truffaut; directed by Steven Spielberg
Among the DVD candidates most requested by Amazon.com customers,
Steven Spielberg's 1977 science fiction classic finally arrives on
disc, a must-have for both Spielberg fans and sci-fi buffs. At once
mystical and suspenseful, it's a provocative drama about an Everyman
(Dreyfuss) whose alien encounter transforms his life. The DVD
release includes the director's third, preferred cut as first issued
on home video in 1998.
"Shadow of the Vampire"
...more here
starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe; directed by E. Elias
Merhige
A singular fusion of horror movie and cinematic homage, "Shadow of
the Vampire" turns on a delicious premise: to make his 1922 horror
classic, "Nosferatu," movie director F.W. Murnau (Malkovich) casts a
real bloodsucker (Dafoe) to play the vampire, with the compensation
decidedly outside the norms set by SAG or AFTRA. See it for Dafoe's
wonderful performance as Max Schreck.
"The Complete Superman Collection"
...more here
starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Terence
Stamp, and Richard Pryor; directed by Richard Donner, Richard
Lester, and Sidney J. Furie
The original superhero had already survived numerous live-action and
animated incarnations when Christopher Reeve donned tights, boots,
and cape for Richard Donner's epic 1978 hit, which brought the
Krypton orphan and his bespectacled alter ego, Clark Kent, to vivid
new life. If the franchise lost some of its freshness after Richard
Lester's antic, exciting sequel, Reeve's resolute heroics and solid
casting still make this an irresistible box for the faithful.
"The Mummy Ultimate Edition"
...more here
starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo; directed
by Stephen Sommers
This two-disc edition expands slightly on the already feature-packed
DVD version of the 1999 action-horror hit. Brendan Fraser's
good-humored hero owes a frank debt to Indiana Jones but repays it
with a winking, spirited performance, and the visual effects are
pure delight. This is a popcorn picture in the best sense.
"Farscape #3: Back and Back and Back to the Future/Thank God It's
Friday, Again"
...more here
starring Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and Anthony Simcoe; created by
Rockne S. O'Bannon
The Sci Fi Channel hit, already shaping up as a new heavyweight on
home video, continues its second life on DVD with a third pair of
episodes. In this installment, Crichton (Browder) finds himself
making unplanned (and unnerving) jumps into the near future, D'Argo
becomes smitten by a seductive alien, and a cultlike community of
deep space hippies casts its own idyllic spell.
CLASSIC HORROR & MONSTERS
We've created a new boutique for old-school horror buffs who long
for the crypts, tombs, castles, and moors of yore. Creep into our
Classic Horror & Monsters Store to find moldy oldies showcasing
vampires, mummies, monsters, mad scientists, aliens, and cool
ghouls, representing both Hollywood's golden age as well as the '60s
European renaissance sparked by Hammer Studios.
Read more
...more here
MORE WORD FOR WORD APRIL 2001
"12 Monkeys"
...on DVD here.
"Wiping out the human race? That's a great idea. That's great. But
more of a long-term thing. I mean, first we have to focus on more
immediate goals."
--Brad Pitt as Jeffrey Goines in Terry Gilliam's
dystopian classic, "12 Monkeys" (1996)
NEW RELEASES
"The 6th Day"
...on DVD here.
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Duvall, and Tony Goldwyn;
directed by Roger Spottiswoode
It's deja vu all over again as Schwarzenegger, back in the future,
awakens to find they've sent in the clones--including his. Fans of the
star's earlier replicant sci-fi hit, "Total Recall" may sniff at the
similarities, but a strong cast and some sneaky, satirical touches
will reward buffs with a taste for genetic mayhem.
"Starman"
...on DVD here.
starring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen; directed by John Carpenter
Director Carpenter's least typical sci-fi outing is also one of his
best--a warm, beguiling fantasy that earned Jeff Bridges an
Oscar(R) nomination for his title role as an alien journeying to
meet the mothership. When he meets a terrestrial widow (Karen Allen),
the resulting narrative weaves love story, road movie, and
interstellar possibilities in a mix closer to "E.T." than any of the
director's other films.
"The Navigator"
...on DVD here.
starring Bruce Lyons and Chris Haywood; directed by Vincent Ward
A neglected gem, this 1988 sleeper from New Zealand introduced Ward
(who later directed "What Dreams May Come") through a mystical tale
set in a 14th-century English village awaiting the approaching
plague. When a small band of villagers sets out to follow the visions
of a young boy, Ward plunges us into a strikingly visualized fantasy
mingling faith and time travel.
"H.G. Wells - Things to Come"
...on DVD here.
starring Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, and Cedric Hardwicke;
directed by William Cameron Menzies
Movie fans who like their space operas fast-paced and populated with
off-world villains need not apply for this early British foray into
science fiction's original, speculative core. Working from a script
penned by Wells himself, designer and director Menzies brings brooding
intelligence and a stunning, art deco vision of the future (as
envisioned from his 1936 vantage point), here rendered in its best DVD
transfer to date.
TOP CUSTOMER PICKS
"Roughnecks - The Starship Troopers Chronicles - The Pluto Campaign"
...on DVD here.
starring the voices of Elizabeth Daily, David DeLuise, and Bill
Fagerbakke; various directors.
"Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles" can be described in so
many ways; underappreciated, underpromoted and trapped in the ghetto
of early morning TV," observes a viewer from Boston. "Thankfully, it
can also be called revolutionary, daring, visually stunning, dynamic,
moving, epic, and intelligent. During its run on TV it received little
attention due to its label as a 'kiddie cartoon' and its awful
timeslot. However, those that did pay attention to it realized they
were watching something very special--an animated show with appeal for
younger viewers, but that did not talk down to them or dilute the
stories in any way."
"Dark City - New Line Platinum Series"
...on DVD here.
starring Rufus Sewell and Kiefer Sutherland; directed by Alex Proyas
Australian director Proyas's stylish nightmare prompts one viewer to
rave, "Part film noir, part science fiction, part fantasy, and part
psychotic dreamscape, "Dark City" is a visual marvel of a cinematic
experience. If not always coherent, it takes on the striking essence
of a visceral nightmare, where images flood and pour into one another,
all drenched in inky darkness. The film takes place in a city where
there is no daylight, and no one is who he thinks he is."
"Zardoz"
...on DVD here.
starring Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling; directed by John Boorman
Long a cult favorite, this 1974 speculation on the future equally
attracts fans of the profound and connoisseurs of the absurd. "Every
year I throw a "Zardoz" party," reports a fan from Smithtown, New
York. "For my friends and I, this is one of the most anticipated
events of the year. About 50 of us scramble into my living room, or a
friend's living room, and we turn this movie on...What was initially a
romp of bad acting and T and A became what I thought to be one of the
unintentionally funniest movies ever made."
BOX SCORES
Proving that there's life after the big screen, "Stargate SG-1" has
proven a sleeper hit that appeals to more than just fans of the
original theatrical feature created by Roland Emmerich and Dean
Devlin. This five-disc set contains all the first-season episodes of
the series, which features Richard Dean Anderson.
...on DVD here.
Available on April 10.
It's just one of the cool DVD boxed sets available for sci-fi fans
from Amazon.com.
...on DVD here.
ADVANCE ORDERS
"Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 21, Episodes 41 & 42: I, Mudd/
The Trouble With Tribbles"
"The Complete Superman Collection"
...on DVD here.
starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman; directed
by Richard Donner, Richard Lester, and Sidney J. Furie
The original superhero had survived numerous live-action and animated
incarnations when Christopher Reeve donned tights, boots, and cape for
Richard Donner's epic 1978 hit, which brought the Krypton orphan and
his bespectacled alter-ego, Clark Kent, to vivid new life. The
franchise may have lost some of its freshness after Richard Lester's
antic, exciting sequel, but Reeve's resolute heroics and solid casting
still make this an irresistible box for the faithful. Available May 1.
"Close Encounters 3rd Kind-Collector's"
...on DVD here.
starring Richard Dreyfuss and Francois Truffaut; directed by
Steven Spielberg
Spielberg would pluck the heartstrings more forcibly with his
subsequent meditation on nice (little) guys from outer space, but he
would never improve upon the remarkable sense of wonder that permeates
this 1978 predecessor, in which an ordinary man (Richard Dreyfuss)
encounters the extraordinary--the arrival of benevolent
extraterrestrials. As moving as it is spectacular, "Close Encounters
of the Third Kind" is one of our customers' most requested titles for
DVD release. Available May 29.
DVD
reviews excerpted are copyright © 2001 amazon.com & associate ncdn and CDnow, TowerRecords, Barnes & Nobel associates