Dune: Extended EditionDirected by: David Lynch(Universal)David Lynch turned down Return of the Jedi for this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic. Herbert’s novel proved too dense for two-and-a-half hours, and critics in 1984 were as offended by idiosyncratic commercial films as they are now (note Dune’s film school faux pas of multiple narrators). But the […]
Mark Palermo
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Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Published December 08, 2005. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle Directed by: Danny Leiner (New Line) The college sex comedy meets the buddy road movie, handled with a mounting insanity that’s a step away from being a horror film. Danny Leiner’s one-night adventure of Chinese and East Indian best buds on a trek for […]
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Point Break: Pure Adrenaline Edition
Point Break: Pure Adrenaline EditionDirected by: Kathryn Bigelow(Fox)So many titles have now hit DVD that 2006 has been more notable as a year for rereleases with new features. It also gives you a second chance to pick up Point Break. Kathryn Bigelow, one of the best action directors of the ’80s and ’90s, gives this […]
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Blade Runner
Blade RunnerDirected by: Ridley ScottWarnerFans have been anticipating a special edition DVD of Blade Runner since the format’s introduction. Now that it will be available December 18, the goods are almost overwhelming. You can choose between four discs with four versions of the film, five discs with five versions (packaged in a briefcase with a […]
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F For Fake
F For FakeDirected by: Orson Welles(The Criterion Collection)Half the challenge of discussing Orson Welles’ last completed film F For Fake is pinpointing what it is. “An essay documentary,” is how Welles’ friend, director Peter Bogdanovich classifies it. Things get complicated pretty fast. A good portion of F For Fake is lifted from a documentary on […]
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The Bela Lugosi Collection
Published December 08, 2005. The Bela Lugosi Collection Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer (Universal) All substance, no gristle. The Bela Lugosi Collection has a couple of trailers, but that’s it as far as extras go. What it offers is five movies for about $5 each. Three of them (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black […]
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The Third Man
The Third ManDirected by: Carol ReedCriterionCriterion cleaned up the print, and threw in more extras for its second release of The Third Man. It was worth the double dip. Carol Reed’s war time thriller is deserving of its classic status, and this DVD set comes insights from Peter Bogdanovich and Steven Soderbergh on the film’s […]
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The Fifth Cord
The Fifth CordDirected by: Luigi Bazzoni(Blue Underground)Director Luigi Bazzoni can’t quite equal Dario Argento in his take on the Giallo genre of Italian crime films. Yet this twisted, absorbing murder tale finds a uniquely pitiless, violent style. Franco Nero sports a great ’70s moustache as he seeks a killer to prove his own innocence. Scored […]
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High Tension: Unrated Version
Published December 08, 2005. High Tension: Unrated Version Directed by: Alexandre Aja (Lions Gate) For completists, you get in one package both the original French cut and the watered down English dub version. Lost amid complaints of the (admittedly) terrible ending, is the most relentless, imaginatively shot and sustainedly suspenseful straight horror film of 2005. […]
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Pretty in Pink: Everything’s Duckie Edition/Some Kind of Wonderful Special Collector’s Edition
Pretty in Pink: Everything’s Duckie Edition/Some Kind of Wonderful Special Collector’s EditionDirected by: Howard Deutch(Paramount)They’re both thought of as quintessential John Hughes films (Hughes only wrote them; Howard Deutch directed), largely because of their respectful vindication of high school kids. Pretty in Pink has Molly Ringwald as the poor girl who falls for the rich […]
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Collector’s Edition
Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Collector’s EditionDirected by: Francis Ford CoppolaSonyIn 1992, this was taken as an AIDS metaphor. Today, that seems like a stretch. Francis Ford Coppola’s gorgeous ode to old-school horror filmmaking needs no excuses. Avoiding any special effects techniques unavailable at the time of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu, Coppola gives this tale of immortal […]
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The Short Films of David Lynch / Dumbland
The Short Films of David Lynch / DumblandDirected by: David Lynch(Paradox)The David Lynch DVD releases of The Short Films of David Lynch and Dumbland (previously available at high prices on Lynch’s website, now affordable at retail outlets) are essential next stops for anyone who has exhausted the director’s output. The Short Films disc is the […]
