At the end of last week, Twentieth Century Fox, together with MGM, made some announcements regarding upcoming horror titles and the last volume of a famous sleuth.
On September 9, FOX will release volume two of its Fox Horror Classics. Three movies will be unleashed for the first time on DVD. The three-disc DVD set includes Chandu The Magician, Dr. Renault’s Secret and Dragonwyck. Each classic has been restored and remastered and features in-depth bonus materials including behind-the-scenes featurettes, restoration comparisons, trailers and more. Based on the addictively popular radio serial, Chandu The Magician (1932) stars the legendary Lugosi in a stunningly photographed thriller about an ingenious inventor with plans to dominate the human race – at all costs. In Dr. Renault’s Secret (1942), a scientist’s remote villa in the French countryside leads to a forbidden terror for anyone who encounters it. And lastly, multiple Academy Award-winner Joseph Mankiewicz directs an all-star cast of Hollywood legends, including Gene Tierney, Walter Huston and the original master of horror Vincent Price in Dragonwyck (1946), a riveting, atmospheric tale of gothic secrets and forbidden love.
That same day, twelve different movie collections containing three movies each will also be released. The collections have a certain theme attached to them and will retail for $19.98. They are:
Don’t Go In The House – The Amityville Horror (2005), The Legend of Hell House, Poltergeist II & III
Don’t Talk To Strangers – The Boston Strangler, The Silence of the Lambs, The Vanishing
Dying Of Laughter – Club Dread, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Killer Tomatoes Strike Back!
Dying To Be Popular – Carrie – 25th Anniversary Edition, Swimfan, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
Hell Hath No Fury – Best Laid Plans, The Deep End, Misery
Inmates Running The Asylum – Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Don’t Say A Word, Unspeakable
Little Terrors – Child’s Play, The Good Son, The Omen (2006)
Revenge Is Sweet – Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh, The Fog, Terror Train
Stay Out Of The Water – Alligator People, Lake Placid, Swamp Thing
They Came From Above – Alien – 20th Anniversary Edition, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Lifeforce
Under A Blood Red Moon – Darkwolf, The Howling, Perfect Creature
Roadmap To Hell – Wrong Turn, Motel Hell, Needful Things
For the Blu-ray format FOX is prepping some horror-related titles, some with never-before-seen extras. Arriving on September 9 is The Omen (1976) and The Omen Collection. The Blu-ray release of The Omen will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with English 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Audio. Most of the features from the two-disc collector’s edition DVD release will be ported over, but the Blu-ray will include four new extras. Richard Donner on The Omen interview featurette, The Omen Revelations BonusView with Trivia Track, Commentary by film historians Lem Dobbs, Nick Redman and Jeff Bond and the film’s Isolated score track (in Dolby Surround 5.1 audio). The Collection will include the 1976 film, Damien: Omen II, Omen III: The Final Conflict and The Omen (2006).
Also on September 9, FOX will release the two most successful films ever produced in Russia: Night Watch and Day Watch. The NIGHT WATCH BD will be presented in widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) with Russian/English 5.1 Dolby TruHD amd English/French 5.1 Dolby Surround plus English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin & Cantonese subtitles. It will include a commentary track with director Timur Bekmambetov, subtitled commentary by novelist Sergei Lukyanenko (English, French & Spanish subtitles), three featurettes (Making of Night Watch, Characters, Story and Subtitles, Night Watch Trilogy), seven deleted scenes with optional commentary by Bekmambetov, an extended ending, two photo galleries, the theatrical trailer, and D-Box capabilities.
The DAY WATCH BD will be presented in widescreen (2.35:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Audio, Russian 5.1 Dolby TruHD and French/Spanish 5.1 Dolby Surround plus English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin & Cantonese subtitles. Bonus features include commentary with director Timur Bekmambetov, The Making of Day Watch featurette, Russian TV spots, theatrical trailers and D-Box capabilities.
A week after the horror subsides, Fox will release the last volume of its acclaimed Charlie Chan Collection. Volume 5 contains seven Chan films, including Charlie Chan At The Wax Museum, Murder Over New York, Dead Men Tell, Charlie Chan In Rio
Charlie Chan In Panama, Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise, and Castle In The Desert. Each film contains the original theatrical trailers as well as still and advertising galleries. There’s also a featurette entitled The Era of Chan, a 30 minute documentary celebrating the legacy of the Chan series at Fox.
