Got some good release tidbits.
Sony Pictures has announced both a 1-disc and a 2-disc special edition of the Spring surprise, 21, for July 22. Grossing more than 80 million domestic, the film, which stars Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess, will sport an anamorphic widescreen presentation and English Dolby Digital 5.1. For the 1-disc, no extra material will be included. The 2-disc will have filmmaker commentary by director Robert Luketic, and three featurettes (21: The Advantage Player, Basic Strategy: A Complete Film Journal, and Money Plays: A Tour of the Good Life). A Blu-ray release will also be available with an additional “21” Virtual Blackjack Game.
Credit: DVDActive, TVShowsonDVD
Sony Pictures has also announced a June 24 release for the 2007 Academy Award nominee Persepolis which features the voices of Simon Abkarian, Danielle Darrieux, and Catherine Deneuve. The film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks. Extras will include commentary on select scenes, animated scene comparisons, a Hidden Side of Persepolis featurette, and a 2007 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference. A Blu-ray release will also be available.
Falling into the “It’s About Time” category is Warner’s announcement that there will be a deluxe edition of Cool Hand Luke this September 9. Looking at the contents, deluxe is a misnomer as the release is similar to the Deliverance release last year. With a price tag of $19.97, extras will include a commentary by noted writer and Paul Newman biographer Eric Lax, the featurette A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke that takes an in-depth look at the creation of an uncompromising classic, and the theatrical trailer. A Blu-ray release will also be available.
MGM has announced the direct-to-DVD sequel of WarGames for a July 29 release, twenty-five years after the original. Entitled WarGames: The Dead Code, the feature will have an audio commentary, photo gallery and making-of featurette. Also that same day, the original WarGames will get a 25th anniversary, 2-disc release. The film, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy, will have an audio commentary by director John Badham and writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, a Loading WarGames documentary, theatrical trailer and three featurettes (Attacking the Hackers, Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress, and Tic Tac Toe: A True Story).
Moving to the TV front, Paramount has announced the release dates for a number of classic shows and recent hits. Everybody Hates Chris – The 3rd Season arrives on August 26. Also on that date are the releases of The Untouchables: Season Two, Volume Two and NCIS: The Fifth Season. A week later on September 2nd, Paramount will release Cheers: The Tenth Season and Ghost Whisperer: The Third Season.
Universal has announced the fifth and final season of Las Vegas for July 22nd. Special features are set to include a gag reel, a VFX featurette, Hot Stuff, and NBC.com webcasts. On September 13th, the truncated season of Chuck will be available for a list price of $39.98. Looks to be a supplemental heavy box set with “declassified scenes,” a gag reel, three featurettes (Chuck’s World, Chuck on Chuck, and Chuck’s Online World) and the inclusion of a playable demo of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 09 for Xbox 360.
Finally, there is word that RHI Entertainment and Genius Products are coming out with a new 2-Disc Collector’s Edition of one of the most celebrated Westerns of all time, Lonesome Dove. The episodes will be digitally remastered and appear in widescreen for the very first time, and supported with 5.1 Surround Sound. Both the DVD and Blu-ray will be available on August 19 and will include quite of few extras. The biggest is The Making of an Epic, a 50-minute documentary. Also, there will be vintage interviews taken from the set with the likes of Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Diane Lane, a new interview with director Simon Wincer, photo galleries, a collectible reprint of the original poster and a hand-written letter by Simon Wincer.
