Weekly Digital Disc Picks – November 16, 2010

There’s a lot of 3D product hitting this week. PlayStation 3 owners may be interested in knowing that the recent system patch to version 3.50 supports 3D Blu-Ray over the HDMI interface.

Title DVD Release(s) Blu-Ray Release(s)
Action
RoboGeisha Amazon.com, rightstuf.com Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Alex: New film from the creator of The Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police. At RightStuf this comes with a free bumper sticker.
Anime
Hayate: The Combat Butler Vol. 7 Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Taisho Baseball Girls Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Alex: Anime series about Japan’s first girls baseball team, set during the Taisho period (immediately prior to World War II).
Vampire Knight Vol. 3 Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Voltron: Fleet of Doom Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Alex: RightStuf says this won’t be shipping for another month. Blaine: Amazon.com still doesn’t have package art, so their release date could well be out of date.
Art House
Christmas
Disney’s A Christmas Carol DVD only two disc combo edition, four disc combo edition
Blaine: Note that this is the Jim Carrey version, as opposed to Disney’s best version, released last year.
Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Combo edition
Peanuts Deluxe Holiday Collection (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) Amazon.com
Blaine: Includes the same disc content as the previous edition, but this one also has window clings and a snow globe.
Polar Express 3D Amazon.com
Classics (Cult)
Classics (Traditional)
The Complete Metropolis Amazon.com Amazon.com
Blaine: Two important things to note here. One is that this edition includes footage recently discovered in South America, restoring a lot of the footage previously represented by title cards in recent years. The other is that the Blu-Ray edition doesn’t actually ship until November 23, one week after the DVD edition, but I’m listing it anyway so people know it’s an option.
Modern Times (Criterion Collection) Amazon.com Amazon.com
Blaine: The Charlie Chaplin classic.
Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages single disc, ultimate two disc edition
Blaine: A pair of Buster Keaton classics.
Comedy
Glee: Season One Giftset Amazon.com
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Sunny Christmas Giftset Amazon.com Amazon.com
The Last Airbender Amazon.com Blu-Ray only, combo
Blaine: I haven’t seen it myself, but I have it on good authority that this was a comedy.
The Office: Digital Shorts Collection Amazon.com
Documentary
The Endless Summer Re-Mastered One Disc, Two Disc
Alex: Bruce Brown’s legendary documentary film about several surfers doing a complete lap around the world in search of the perfect wave).
Gangland: Complete Season Six Amazon.com Amazon.com
Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods Amazon.com
Drama
The Kids are Alright Amazon.com Amazon.com
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Amazon.com
Family
Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore Amazon.com single disc Blu-Ray, three disc Blu-Ray/DVD/Blu-Ray 3D combo
Open Season 3D Amazon.com
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) Amazon.com
Fantasy
Clash of the Titans 3D Amazon.com
Blaine: The recent remake, not the Harryhausen version. This 3 disc edition also has regular Blu-Ray and DVD versions, so it’ll play on anything.
Horror
Children of the Corn Amazon.com
Crowley Amazon.com
Alex: Horror film about a professor’s virtual reality expiriments leading to the soul of Alastair Crowley getting stuck in his head. Written by the lead singer of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickenson.
Music / Musical
Das Ring Der Niebelugen Amazon.com Amazon.com
Alex: All 4 parts of the Ring Cycle on DVD or Blu-Ray, in one boxed set.
Neon Nights – 30 Years of Heaven & Hell, Live at Wacken Amazon.com
Alex: This is Ronnie James Dio’s last concert performance, performing with Heaven & Hell – the Black Sabbath lineup during his time as lead singer. Were it not for Dio’s death, I would have had a chance to see him perform on Iron Maiden’s Final Frontier tour – as he was scheduled to open (after his death Dream Theater was booked to open for them instead, on their last tour with Mike Portnoy before his departure from the band).
Mystery
Perry Mason, Season Five, Volume Two Amazon.com
Romance
Science Fiction
Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition DVD Blu-Ray
The Twilight Zone: Season Two Amazon.com
Blaine: This is the original series, from the 1960s, and not the 1980s version.
Sports
The John Cena Experience Amazon.com
Alex: 3 Disk collection of some of John Cena’s earlier matches.
Superhero
Heroes: The Complete Series Amazon.com
Blaine: This appears to be DVD only, despite the fact that all four seasons have been released on Blu-Ray in the past. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks they’re using this to test the waters for the rumoured made-for-TV movies to wrap things up, which would then be included in the complete series Blu-Ray box in hopes of getting people to upgrade the entire collection at that point.
Suspense / Thriller
The Night of the Hunter (Criterion Collection) Amazon.com Amazon.com
This has been on my “must see” list for years.
War

Finally, the picks of the week. Alex says, “If you’ve been waiting on getting Avatar, this is the week to get it. Metalheads will probably be interested in the Heaven & Hell DVD.” Blaine says, “Metropolis is a genre classic, and has been highly influential in and out of the genre ever since 1927. Kino did an excellent job on their previous release, so I’m looking forward to this one. The Night of the Hunter is also on my must-see list.”

6 replies on “Weekly Digital Disc Picks – November 16, 2010”

  1. Saw Airbender at the $1 theaters here and it’s as bad as people say. Amongst a multitude of cinematic sins, the biggest is the fact that the narrator (Katara) tells the audience what’s going on, when we can see full well what’s going on ON SCREEN.

    • Proposed qualifiers: “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is the best version produced by Disney. “A Muppet Christmas Carol” was produced by Jim Hensen’s studios, and merely distributed by Disney.

    • A Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite version, period. I still chuckle over the line where the Muppet thinks it’s colder inside Scrooge’s office than it is outside in the snow.

  2. Lots of film history this week: not only this version of Metropolis, but also Endless Summer (if you’re a nerd with any affinity for surfing or the beach culture. Beautifully shot), and Chaplin’s landmark Modern Times. The 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty is both stylistically dated and historically inaccurate, but I found it a fascinating view, especially for the central performances.

    • It would be hilariously appropriate for time-traveling cell phone lady to show up in that movie too.

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