DVD Monthly

A new 2-Disc Anniversary Edition of The Big Lebowski will be heading to US stores in September. Universal’s release will boast all-new bonus features including retrospective documentaries, an interactive map and a look at the fan festival, ‘Lebowski Fest.’ Unfortunately, there’s no word on a UK edition as yet.

The Big Lebowski – 10th Anniversary Edition will be released in both standard packaging and limited edition ‘Bowling Packaging’ (individually numbered).

Latest On Special Features:
Disc 1:
Introduction By Mortimer Young
Jeff Bridges Photograph
The Dude’s Life: Strikes and Gutters…Up’s and Downs…The Dude Abides
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Disc 2:
The Making Of The Big Lebowski
The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever’s Story
Flying Carpets And Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences Of The Dude
Interactive Map
Jeff Bridges Photo Book
Photo Gallery

Due to apparent financial reasons, it looks like Tartan Films has closed its US doors. Tartan USA was on the brink of pushing a new batch of Blu-ray releases before it was recently announced that the American branch was to be closed, and that Tartan’s assets, including its office furniture and the rights to 101 of its movies, are to be put up for sale by the government.

Tartan USA had previously released the likes of Oldboy and Lady Vengeance to US shop shelves. 

Warner will be releasing a straight-to-DVD animated spin-off of Zach Snyder’s forthcoming Watchmen. The Tale Of The Black Freighter will be released on DVD in the US after The Watchmen’s theatrical debut on March 6th, 2009, with The Watchmen DVD following four months later.

In Alan Moore’s original comic book, ‘Black Freighter’ is a story-within-a-story about a man trying to save his town from pirates. Zach Snyder has also stated that The Tale Of The Black Freighter may well be spliced together with the Watchmen movie when it is released to DVD, taking the film well beyond its current three-hour running time!

Fans of Montana born weirdo, David Lynch, are in for a treat this summer, as a brand new DVD boxset is set for release courtesy of Optimum Releasing. 

The David Lynch Boxset will be making its way to shop shelves on August 25th, and will include the movies, Inland Empire, Mulholland Drive and The Elephant Man. The Short Films Of David Lynch will also be included in the set.

Optimum will also be releasing a separate, special edition of The Elephant Man, which will be available to buy from August 24th.

Since the DVD Monthly website relaunched just a few weeks ago, we’ve been adding more and more reviews. There are already over 500 available in the Reviews section of the site, ranging from little known gems such as Mala Noche to full blown blockbusters like I Am Legend. We’ve got music, TV, film, Region 1 and Blu-ray all represented.

And of course, the best thing isn’t that you can read what we had to say about these movies, it’s that you get to give each release a mark out of 10 and if you’re signed up to the site, write your own reviews for everyone to read!

So whether your wondering what to buy next on DVD, or want to let the world know what you think about various releases, hop on over to the Reviews section…

We’ll be adding more and more reviews on an ongoing basis, so make sure you check back often to give your latest scores, and remember, for the very latest reviews, don’t forget to buy your copy of the magazine, either in stores or by clicking here. And if you’d like to save 50% on the shop price of the magazine, click here to take a look at our great subscription offer!

Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 103 May 2008
(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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Oliver Stone takes us back to the future!

The Lowdown: Set in futuristic 2007 Los Angeles, Wild Palms follows successful corporate lawyer Harry Wyckoff who finds himself plagued by recurring nightmares involving a rhinoceros. Bizarrely, Harry’s dreams are shared by a number of other people, all of whom are connected in some way to strange religious billionaire Anton Kreutzer…

Review: Produced by Oliver Stone and adapted by A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 scribe Bruce Wagner from his own comic strip, Wild Palms is an undeniably intriguing prospect. When you factor in guest directors like Kathryn Bigelow, your interest is cranked up even further. As you might expect, Stone et al’s vision of futuristic 2007 Los Angeles comes across as seriously dated and embarrassingly early-90s in retrospect, but because it grafts a quasi-cyberpunk storyline onto an old-fashioned film noir plot, such temporal concerns are largely irrelevant. James Belushi acquits himself adequately as Harry Wyckoff, the unwitting lawyer who becomes embroiled in the sinister world of paranoia and mind control, but he is overshadowed by brilliantly sinister Robert Loggia (as mogul Kreutzer), along with Kim Cattrall, who steals the show as the super-sultry femme fatale Paige.

The ensuing years have seen TV shows improve on pretty much every level, with longer, better, slicker series that captivate audiences with their offbeat premises. Nowadays viewers enjoy having their curiosity tweaked by deliberately confusing series like ‘Lost’, but it is easy to see why viewers were baffled at the time. Nevertheless, you can’t fault Stone and co. for trying, and as hyper-stylised sci-fi mini-series go, Wild Palms is an admirable attempt.

Whilst it can’t live up to those endless ‘Twin Peaks’ comparisons Wild Palms is infinitely preferable to David Lynch’s more recent enterprise, Inland Empire! As such, anyone in search of an offbeat, bargain-priced (£7.99) mini-series to kill time between their favourite shows, should find Wild Palms a suitably diverting prospect.

FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 1

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: James Belushi, Kim Cattrall, Ernie Hudson, Angie Dickinson
Directed By: Various, 1993
Distributor: Fremantle Media
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 255mins
Price: £7.99

Special Features:
Episode Selection

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 103 May 2008
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 10)

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Review: Yet again the BBC churns out a sitcom dealing candidly with the subject of sex. Lying in bed and tossing off her fiancé Karl, 29-year-old Donna decides that maybe marrying the boring guy next to her isn’t quite what she wants to do. Ditching Karl mere days before their wedding, she decides to move in with her single mates Karen and Louise and live it up a bit. Unfortunately, Karl’s none too chuffed about the situation and borders on suicide. While sounding about as funny as a funeral, it’s actually three hours of solidly dry wit. While it’s by no means destined to be a classic, Pulling is a descent show and it’s a good disc that features some neat commentaries, interviews, deleted scenes and a ‘making of…’ featurette.

FILM: 4 EXTRAS: 6

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Sharon Horgan, Cavan Clerkin
Directed By: Tristram Shapeero, 2006
Distributor: BBC DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 170 mins
Price: £19.99

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 103 May 2008
(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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Review: Long-running 80s sitcom Watching makes a return to DVD as Network releases the second series. Featuring another seven episodes revolving around mismatched lovers Brenda and Malcolm, this series sees the pair continuing to struggle through their tumultuous relationship until their differences finally getting the better of them and the two finally decide to split up. With the newly single Brenda and Malcolm starting to annoy everyone around them, everyone tries their utmost to reunite the pair – with the obvious hilarious consequences. Heavily dated and featuring some grating performances from the two leads, it’s still fairly watchable and enjoyable stuff thanks to Liza Tarbuck and Patsy Byrne, doing bang-up jobs as Brenda’s sister and Malcolm’s mother. While it’s hardly an essential release, it’s not bad for ten quid.

FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 1

DVD Info:
Certificate: PG
Starring: Emma Wray, Paul Bown
Directed By: Various, 1988
Distributor: Network
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono)
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 175 mins
Price: £9.99

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 103 May 2008
(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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Review: When Tove Jansson initially came up with the idea of basing a series of books around a bunch of creepy, hippo-like Finnish trolls back in the early 40s, you can bet your bottom dollar that she didn’t expect her creations to become a worldwide phenomenon. While the books spawned a heap of TV series, comic strips, films and even a theme park, this cartoon is one of their more popular incarnations. Hugely popular in the early 90s, this nostalgic slice of Japanimation followed the adventures of the barmy inhabitants of the idyllic town of Moomin Valley. While it’s not quite as memorable as its puppetty predecessor, it’s still a dose of good, clean fun – especially if you’re one of the many Moomin enthusiasts out there.

FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 1

DVD Info:
Certificate: U
Starring: Susan Sheridan, John Chancer
Directed By: Hiroshi Saito, 1990
Distributor: STAX Entertainment
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 328 mins
Price: £9.99

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 103 May 2008
(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 10)

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Review: The televisual equivalent of a turd that won’t flush, Runcorn based shit-com Two Pints returns for yet another foul-mouthed series. While many will cringe at the idea of another eight episodes of knob gags and biscuit-based enthusiasm, they may be pleased to discover that this series shakes things up like an Etch-a-Sketch. During the live opener, it’s discovered that Jonny has been killed after failing to jump over a shark in Hawaii (see what they did there?). The resulting chain of events sees a widowed Janet starving for a shag, Donna and Gaz getting hitched and Louise getting knocked up by Donna’s brother. It’s a ballsy move that marks a slight turn for the better. It’s still far from perfect, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

FILM: 5 EXTRAS: 5

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Will Mellor, Sheridan Smith
Directed By: Nick Wood, 2008
Distributor: 2Entertain
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 230 mins
Price: £19.99