Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Robocop Trilogy On Blu-ray October 5

MGM Home Entertainment will release the Robocop Trilogy as a Blu-ray collector’s set October 5.  The three disc set from contains the original Robocop Blu-ray, as well as Robocop 2 and Robocop 3 on Blu-ray for the first time.
Robocop Trilogy [Blu-ray]
Directors Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct) of Robocop, Irvin Kershner (Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back) of Robocop 2 and Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps) of Robocop 3 deliver drama, camp and plenty of action with the  half robot, half police officer in the spotlight. The cast in the various films include Peter Weller as Robocop, Robert Burke, Kurtwood Smith and Nancy Allen.
In the first film (1987), a terminally wounded copnamed Murpy in crime-ridden Detroit is transformed into cyborg to fight crime, but still has memories of his previous life.  In the sequel(1990), co-written by comic book writer and artist Frank MIller, corporate baddy OCP wants to replace him with a completely inhuman model of cyborg. In the third film (1993), Robocop takes on ruthless developers who want to evict some people on "their" land.

Friday, August 27, 2010

'Black Cauldron' 25th Anniversary DVD Coming September 14



Walt Disney Home Entertaiment will release The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Special Edition DVD September 14The movie was Walt Disney Pictures’ 25th animated feature-length film, 
The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Special EditionBased on Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain books, this mystical adventure tells the story of Taran, an apprentice pig keeper with dreams of becoming a great warrior. He heads out on a quest to find a magical and powerful Black Cauldron before the evil tyrant Horned King can use it to control all. With characters like the pig Hen Wen, princess Eilonwy, the are witches, elves, magic swords and more elements of fantasy as Taran learns what it takes to be a true hero.
New Bonus Features include a deleted scene, "The Fairfolk": Viewers join Taran, Fflewddur Fflam, Gurgi and Princess Eilonwy as they travel into the depths of the earth and meet the Fairfolk. There's also "The Witches’ Challenge Game" : In order to defeat the dark powers of the Horned King, players must gain possession the magical sword from the Witches of Morva by solving their riddles. 
The release also include bonus material from the previous DVD edition:

  • Still Frame Gallery—A compilation of behind-the-scenes artwork and photos.
  • Quest For the Black Cauldron—A trivia game in which players compete against the evil Horned King in a race to reach the Black Cauldron first.
  • "Trick Or Treat"—A classic Donald Duck cartoon from 1952.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sherlock Holmes 'In Washington,' 'Faces Death' 2-in-1 DVD Coming September 14


Sherlock Holmes Double Feature: Sherlock Holmes Faces Death and Sherlock Holmes in WashingtonBoth films are classic Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone as the Baker St. detective and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. Too many, the pair were the Holmes and Watson by which all others are measured including Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes and Jeremy Brett's as well.
The double feature of Holmes tales are based on two of Conan Doyle’s most famous stories, the World War II-era movies, both from 1943, digitally restored in 35mm by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The DVD package includes the period war bond tag, studio logo and credits from the original theatrical releases.
Here are the story summaries:
Sherlock Holmes in Washington:
The film is based on Conan Doyle’s story “The Dancing Men,” but with WWII elements added in. A British secret service operative, carrying top-secret microfilm from England to Washington during World War II, disappears en route. Fearing for his safety just before his disappearance, he’d passed the microfilm, ingeniously hidden, to another passenger on the train without her knowledge. The British government asks Holmes and his trusted friend Dr. Watson to go to Washington to recover the missing documents before they fall into the wrong hands, which would be disastrous for England and the Allies. Holmes is up against an international ring of spies in a race against time to piece together the clues and recover the microfilm before it is too late.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection Sherlock Holmes Faces Death 
This mystery based on Conan Doyle’s “The Musgrave Ritual,”  finds Dr. Watson tending recuperating soldiers housed at centuries-old Musgrave Manor, then sending for Holmes to investigate strange happenings. What follows is a bizarre series of events, including murders, secret passages, a game of chess and a mysterious family ritual. Inspector Lestrade is on hand, as well as Hillary Brooke as Sally Musgrave. But only Sherlock Holmes, in a race against time and a desperate killer, can decipher the ancient riddle and uncover the treasure it hides. 
Earlier this year, MPI released The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection.

'Back to the Future 25th Aninversary Trilogy' Due October 26

Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]The Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy will be released on Blu-ray and DVD October 26 from Universal Home Entertainment.
This will be the first time on Blu-ray for the trilogy starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Fox was already a TV star on Family Ties when the first film was made and the trilogy made him a movie star as well. Lloyd was also a TV star as Reverend Jim on Taxi
Here's a trailer from the Blu-ray/DVD trilogy:




Friday, August 20, 2010

'Batman Beyond' Complete Series DVD Set Coming November 23

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series will be release November 23 by Warner Home Video for the holiday season
Batman Beyond: The Complete Series (Limited Edition)The limited edition box set will include all 52 episodes of the show along with three new bonus featurettes
and a 24-page, 8”x 12” collectible booklet. The collection will also contain the DC 75th anniversary documentary, Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics.The price tag? Just under $100. 
In Batman Beyond  Terry McGinnis, an ordinary teenager of future finds his world turned upside down when his father is mysteriously murdered. Suspecting someone at his father's company, Wayne/Powers Corporation being behind it, Terry meets Bruce Wayne and learns he was Batman, but has long been retired. Wayne refuses to help,  so Terry steals a Bat-suit in the cave, one that Wayne had worn for a time before he retired.  Vowing to avenge his father's death, Terry heads out in the high-tech suit with jetpacks, a microphone and even camouflage capabilities.  Wayne takes him on then, in a mentor-student relationship.  The series starred Will Friedle as Terry McGinnis and, the masterful Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman, a role he's voiced since the original animated series, the Justice League shows and through several DC Comics animated direct-to-video features. 
Casting during the show's run included actors from feature films, primetime television and the Broadway stage, such as Paul Winfield, Stockard Channing,  Seth Green, William H. Macy, Wayne Brady and Teri Garr as well as George Lazenby, Dan Castellaneta, Jodi Benson, George Takei and Henry Rollins.
The program's production team was headed by executive producer Jean MacCurdy and producers Bruce TimmAlan BurnettGlen Murakami and Paul Dini. Writers on the series included Burnett and Dini, as well as Stan Berkowitz, Bob Goodman, Rich Fogel, Hilary Bader and John McCann.





The three bonus features on the complete series set are:

"Tomorrow Knight: The Batman Reborn" - The show's creative team gives you a looks at character of Terry McGinnis, inheritor of the Bat mantle; "Gotham: City of the Future" - A look at Gotham City, circa 2039, and how the team built a realistic vision of the near future while remaining true to the city they created in Batman: The Animated Series; and "The High Tech Hero" - 
Explore the technology behind the Bat-Suit, with powers and devies inspired by real world science that inspired it.
The story of Batman Beyond was completed (to a point) in the final season of Justice League Unlimited. Batman Beyond also was a kids-oriented animation styled comic book series and currently is a more teen and adult-looking mini-series from DC Comics.


'Secret of Moonacre' On DVD/Blu-ray in September

The fantasy adventure The Secret of Moonacre will be released on DVD and Blu-ray September 21 from Entertainment One.
Secret of Moonacre [Blu-ray]The world of Moonacre Valley comes to life in the film directed by Emmy Award-winner Gabor Csupo (Bridge to Terabithia, creator of Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys). The film is based on Elizabeth Goudge’s Carnegie Medal-winning novel The Little White Horse, which Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling called  a "favorite childhood book." 
Moonacre is a magical world inhabited by outlandish characters and mythical beasts with the able assistance of a first-rate cast including Dakota Blue Richards(The Golden Compass), Juliet Stevenson (Triage, Bend It Like Beckham), Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Charlie’s Angels), Natascha McElhone (Californication, The Truman Show) and Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, King Arthur).
As the synopsis says, "When 13-year-old Maria Merryweather's (Richards) father dies, she is left orphaned and homeless, forced to leave her luxurious London home to go and live at the mysterious Moonacre Manor with Sir Benjamin (Gruffudd), an eccentric uncle she didn't know she had.  Soon Maria finds herself in a crumbling moonlit world torn apart by a hatred borne of an ancient feud with the dark and sinister De Noir family.  Maria discovers that she is the last Moon Princess and, guided by an unlikely mix of allies, she must unearth the secrets of her past before the 5000th moon rises and Moonacre disappears into the sea forever."
The Secret of Moonacre is Dove and Kids First!-approved and includes 90 minutes of bonus features including an on-set  “making-of” featurette, deleted scenes, cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.  The film was shown as an exclusive one-night-only premiere on 75 screens across the country in August.