We’re here to let you know what’s out there for your entertainment dollar. Every week a new batch of DVD’s gets shipped out and thrown onto the shelves. This week we’ve got Little Red Riding Hood, special editons of Brando and Newman, and season sets of Kate & Allie, Red Dwarf, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and more. Take a peek inside for the full list.
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Here’s what is getting released today on DVD:
Film:
Hoodwinked – Clever animated retelling of what happened on the road to Grandma’s house (with the voices of Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Warburton, David Ogden Stiers, Andy Dick and James Belushi). The DVD contains commentary by writer/directors Cory and Todd Edwards and Tony Leech, deleted and extended scenes, a featurette on the making of an animated film, and a music video. Read the original review here.
The Family Stone – Sarah Jessica Parker plays the annoying girlfriend (not exactly a stretch) taken home to meet her man’s family. A good supporting cast can’t save this one from Parker’s endless whining. The extras include commentray by Parker and Dermot Mulroney, commentary by writer/director Thomas Bezucha, producer Michael London, editor Jeffrey Ford and production designer Jane Ann Stewart, deleted scenes, a gag reel, featurettes on casting the film, behind the scenes, and its premeire, and a Q&A session with the cast.
Last Holiday – Remake of the 1950 romantic comedy starring Alec Guinness and Beatrice Campbell. This 2006 version stars Queen Latifah as a woman who quits her job and decides to take a trip to Europe when she learns she only has weeks left to live. The DVD contains featurettes and deleted scenes, recipes, and the theatrical trailer.
Special Editions: –
A Streetcar Named Desire (Two-Disc Special Edition) – 1951 classic film with Viven Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden (all three won Oscars), and Marlon Brando (in what some argue was his best role) as Stanley Kowalski. This two-disc edition contains commentary by Karl Malden and film historians Rudy Behlmer and Jeff Young, a trailer gallery of director Elia Kazan, outtakes, Marlon Brando’s screen test, and six documentaries on director Kazan, the Broadway play, the film, censorship, Marlon Brando, and the music of the South.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Deluxe Edition) – Truth comes out and lies are exposed at Big Daddy’s (Burl Ives) 65th birthday party where his doctor infoms the family he is dying of cancer. Great cas includes Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson, and directed and adapted from the Tennessee Williams play by Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood, Elmer Gantry). This deluxe edition includes commentary by Williams biographer Donald Spoto, a new featurette, and the trailer.
Family/Animated:
Dinosaurs – The Complete First and Second Seasons – The first two series of the Sinclair family living in 60 million B.C. An updated take on The Flintstones that was based on Jim Henson’s original concept; the show features puppets and animatronics.
King of the Hill – The Complete Sixth Season – All 21 episodes of the white trash Hill family on three discs. Extras? Nada.
TV:
3rd Rock from the Sun – Season 4 – More wacky fun from the Solomon family trying to learn about this crazy little planet we call Earth in all 24 episodes. The set contains an interview with Jane Curtin, bloopers, season highlights, and a 16 page booklet.
Red Dwarf – Series 8 – 10 final episodes of the crew of the Red Dwarf. The set includes commentary by Chole Arnett, Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn, Norman Lovett, and Mac MacDonald, a documentary, a model-maker video, raw effects footage, deleted scenes, a photo gallery, radio sketch and a fight music featurette. Also available in a larger box with a Skutter toy.
I Love Lucy – The Complete Sixth Season – The final season of the classic televsion comedy includes all 27 episodes on four discs. The set also includes commentary by Keith Thibodeaux, Barbara Eden, Doris Singleton, and writers Madelyn Thibodeau and Bob Schiller, lost scenes, flubs, original commercials and promo spots, five episodes of the Lucy radio show, the 1956 Christmas Show, and the sketch done on The Bob Hope Chevy Show.
Leave It to Beaver – The Complete Second Season – More adventures with the Cleaver family in all 39 episodes. No extras here and oddly no special limited edition gift set like what was released for the first season (which has one of the coolest and most unique packaging ideas ever).
Kate & Allie – Season One – Susan Saint James and Jane Curtain as a pair of divorced women living together and raising their children. A mid-season replacement of only six episodes, the show coninued for five more full seasons. The DVD contains an interview with Susan Saint James and director Bill Persky, a gag reel, and a bonus episode from season two “Back to School.”
The Nanny – The Complete Second Season – Fran Drescher and her annoying laugh return for 26 episodes on three discs as the Nanny for a British Widower’s three young children.