Just two days after mentioning a rumored release date for Transformers, Paramount has officially announced that the Michael Bay movie will in fact be released on October 16th. The studio is planning both a single and double disc release. The single and two-disc releases will both feature a commentary track by Michael Bay, with the second disc housing all of the bonus material. Disc Two will be broken up in the three sections, the first one “Our World” will feature four featurettes (The Story Sparks, Human Allies, I Fight Giant Robots, Battleground); “Their War” will also include four featurettes (Rise of the Robots, AUTOBOTS Roll Out, DECEPTICONS Strike, Inside the AllSpark); Finally, “More Than Meets The Eye” has a From Script to Sand: The SKORPONOK Desert Attack featurette, Concept Art, and Trailers (SRP $TBD) We have a look at the artwork for both the single and two-disc special edition below. You can find out more on this release along with what will be included on the HD-DVD release by clicking here.
HBO has announced several big titles for release later in the year. First up is Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season, which will feature all twelve episodes from the first season (SRP $29.98). No news on any extras, but we’ll let you know as soon as we can. For now, you can expect to find the DVD set on November 6th.
They has also made it aware that Big Love: The Complete Second Season is coming to DVD on December 11th. No word on what will be included for bonus material but seeing how little was included with the first seasons DVD, don’t expect much. One bright piece of new on the release is that it will only cost $59.99, $40 cheaper than when the first season was released last year.
I always get yelled at when I tell people I’ve never watched The Wire, almost as much as when I say I’ve never watched a single episode of The Shield. But for those of you who follow the critically acclaimed HBO series will be happy to know that they’ve recently announced The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season for December 4th with a MSRP of $59.99. Presumably, all 13 episodes of the season will be released in a four disc set. We have a look at the artwork below.
Warner Brothers will roll out Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 5 on December 4th. Little is known about the set right now, but it has been confirmed that the two-disc set will feature an uncensored version of “Dickesode” (SRP $29.98). Speaking of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, be sure to check the site later on today for a review of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD by Joe Corey.
The last bit of news for the day (what can I say, it’s a slow one) is that Fox will be releasing Day Watch on the 30th of October. Presented in anamorphic widescreen, the DVD will include both the original Russian Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track (with English subtitles) and an English 5.1 dub. Extras will include a commentary by director Timur Bekmambetov, a Making Of Day Watch featurette, six Russian trailers, 16 Russian TV spots, and the US theatrical trailer. The title should retail at around $27.98.
Word is going around that Fox is quietly planning a massive 25 film box set which will chronicle the work of legendary director John Ford during his time at the studio. I officially love Fox. I’ll forgive them for all of their wrong doings in the past if they do this box set and Ford’s legacy justice. While not yet official, here’s a press release that is being posted around some sites from Movies Unlimited:
FORD HAD A BETTER IDEA: The diverse works of the great John Ford are on view in an incredible schedule of releases from Fox Video called The Ford At Fox Collection. This celebration of the master director’s labors for the studio will bring us many flicks from his folio that have never before surfaced in any home video format, much less on DVD.Most people know John Ford as the director behind such John Wayne classics as Stagecoach, Fort Apache, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. But “Pappy’s” career encompassed several decades, beginning in the silent era. He worked on all sorts of films in all genres, which is evidenced in this impressive collection.
The Essential John Ford includes the currently available The Grapes Of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, My Darling Clementine, and Drums Along The Mohawk, as well as the new documentary Becoming John Ford.
John Ford’s American Comedies includes Doctor Bull (1933), with Will Rogers as a country doctor whose affair with a widow causes waves in the area; and Judge Priest (1934), with Will as a judge trying to help his nephew find a girl and preside over a big case at the same time. When Willie Comes Marching Home(1950) offers Dan Dailey as a war hero whose reassignment to his hometown cause problems; and the prison break comedy-drama Up The River (1930) offers very early career showcases for Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart. The previously available What Price Glory? and Steamboat Round The Bend are also included.
John Ford’s Silent Epics includes Four Sons (1928), about how war affects a Bavarian mother and her quartet of boys; The Iron Horse (1924), a thrilling tale of building a railroad and a son’s vengeance for his father’s murder; 3 Bad Men (1926), where a trio of outlaws help a young woman when her father is killed; Hangman’s House (1928), a tale of a no-nonsense judge who meddles in his family’s affairs (look closely for John Wayne!); and Just Pals (1920), with cowboy star Buck Jones in a change-of-pace role as a ne’er-do-well who befriends a young boy who has been thrown off a freight train.
When Willie Comes Marching Home, The Iron Horse, Hangman’s House, 3 Bad Men, and Up The River will be available individually, as well as The Prisoner Of Shark Island (1936), centering on the doctor (Warner Baxter) who treated Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, and his ordeals in prison; Pilgrimage (1933), in which a mother who disapproves of her son’s marriage enlists him in the army with disastrous results; and Born Reckless (1930), starring Edmund Lowe as the gangster who takes military service over a jail term and becomes a war hero.
The big shebang, however, is the voluminous Ford At Fox: Gift Set. ALL of the aforementioned Ford films are included, PLUS the following: The currently available Young Mr. Lincoln; Tobacco Road (1941), Erskine Caldwell’s rustic satire; the Shirley Temple vehicle Wee Willie Winkie (1937); the Madeleine Carroll costumer The World Moves On (1934); the WWI submarine saga Seas Beneath (1931); and the Loretta Young-David Niven adventure Four Men And A Prayer (1938). For good measure, you’ll be able to compare My Darling Clementine to Frontier Marshal (1939), Allan Dwan’s take on the Wyatt Earp legend starring Randolph Scott. These 25 films are contained on 20 DVDs in their own screw-bound folder. You’ll also get a hardback 172-page book, reproductions of souvenir books for The Iron Horse and Four Sons, and a separately packaged Becoming John Ford documentary, all packaged in a heavy duty vinyl box. This is easily one of the most impressive DVD packages of the year, if not ever!
Also being rumored, but not nearly as cool, is that Rob Zombie’s Halloween will be released on December 18th. Nothing says Christmas like lousy, unwatchable horror remakes! Since it’s from The Weinstein Company, you can be sure that an Unrated Cut will also be released at some point.
With so little to write about today, what better time to tell you about all of the free stuff we’re giving away? That’s right, for just taking a couple minutes to send us an e-mail you’ll be entered in to a contest to win either Desperate Housewives: Season Three, Heroes: Season 1, or Prison Break: Season Two. Some of these are ending soon, so hurry up and enter before the deadline.
We also have upcoming giveaways for Grey’s Anatomy: Season Three, Bones: Season Two, Family Guy: Volume Five, Face/Off: 2-Disc Special Collector’s Edition, Next, Beyond the Gates, Wall Street: 20th Anniversary Edition, Boston Legal: Season Three, The TV Set, Saturday Night Fever: 30th Anniversary Special Collector’s Edition, Flashdance: Special Collector’s Edition, The Unit: Season Two and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Seasons 1 & 2. So make sure to check back in throughout the next week for those.
Below you’ll find artwork for 1408: Two-Disc Collector’s Edition (10/2), Day Watch (10/30), Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season (11/6), The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season (12/4), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (11/19), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: 2-Disc Limited Edition (11/19), Seinfeld: Season 9 (11/6), Transformers (10/16), Transformers: Two-Disc Special Edition (10/16), Seinfeld: The Complete Series Collector’s Edition (11/6).
As always, feel free to drop me a line with anything I may have missed. See you tomorrow!
