One of the great classics is getting the loving special edition DVD Treatment. Next week, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 50th Anniversary Edition hits the streets October 7th (next week).  This colorful adventure is the screen version of one of the classic tales from “1001 Arabian Nights.” It tells the story of Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) and Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant).  When they unexpectedly stop on the island of Colossa on their way to Baghdad, they find themselves battling all types of dangers, such as evil magicians, a man-eating Cyclops, a fire-breathing dragon, and a sword-wielding skeleton. Directed by Nathan Juran (20 Million Miles to Earth, First Men ‘In’ the Moon), the newly remastered film stars Kerwin Mathews (The 3 Worlds of Gulliver), Kathryn Grant (Anatomy of a Murder), Richard Eyer (The Invisible Boy), and Torin Thatcher (Witness for the Prosecution). The DVD contains an audio commentary by Ray Harryhausen, visual effects experts Phil Tippett and Randall William Cook, author Steven Smith and producer Arnold Kunert; six featurettes: Remembering The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in which Ray Harryhausen reflects back on the 50th anniversary with a look at the film, drawings, artwork, models, etc., The Harryhausen Legacy; The Music of Bernard Herrmann with Herrmann biographer Steven Smith; A Look Behind the Voyage with interview footage; This is Dynamation; and Ray Harryhausen Interview by Director John Landis, plus the music video Sinbad May Have Been Bad, But He’s Been Good To Me. 

I adore this movie. The DVD includes -

Audio Commentary with Ray Harryhausen, visual effects experts Phil Tippett and Randall William Cook, author Steven Smith and producer Arnold Kunert
Music Video: Sinbad May Have Been Bad, But He’s Been Good To Me Photo Gallery

Featurettes:

- Remembering The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
- The Harryhausen Legacy
- The Music of Bernard Herrmann
- A Look Behind the Voyage (includes interview footage)
- This is Dynamation (Special Effects)
- Ray Harryhausen Interview by Director John Landis

Start revisiting memory lane by watching these clips, after the break. 

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Ten years ago, ABC premiered a new half hour series the likes of which had never been seen before. With its single-camera walk-and-talks and three camera set pieces, it was a hybrid both in terms of style and content, being both dramatic and comedic in equal measure. Sports Night, which chronicled the behind the scenes goings on of running an ESPN/Sports center type of show, introduced the television audience to the unique perspective of creator Aaron Sorkin and his quintessential director, Thomas “Tommy” Schlamme.

With an ensemble cast of first-rate actors [Robert Guillaume, Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Felicity Huffman, Sabrina Lloyd and Joshua Malina as the main characters and recurring players including Greg Baker, Kayla Blake, Timothy Davis-Reed, Suzanne Kellogg, Jeff Mooring and Ron Ostrow] who could shift from drama to comedy [and vice-versa] in the middle of a line – hell! In the middle of a word!; dialogue-heavy scripts that could be as much as sixty-to-seventy pages for a thirty-minute show, and that unique shooting style, Sports Night became a cult hit even while it was airing – and it influenced an entire wave of single-camera shows. It’s safe to say that The Office and Arrested Development would probably not have been sold if Sports Night hadn’t laid the groundwork.

The show was groundbreaking in content as well as style. Some of the best episodes carried controversy lightly on their shoulders – The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee dealt with race and the Confederate flag; Jeremy Goodwin dated an “adult film actress” over a four-episode arc; The Head Coach, Dinner and the Morning Mail dealt with date rape by a sports star; co-anchor Dan begins therapy, and so much more – not for the sake of controversy, but always in service of telling a compelling story.

In a momentary burst of controversy, I’m going on record as saying that Sports Night is the only series I’ve ever seen that produced no bad eps. None. Zero. Nada. Bupkiss. Zilch. It is a series that I can watch over and over and enjoy as much as I did the first time I saw it. Most eps of Sports Night are such works of beauty that I even mist over – made melancholy by the way the series died early, while far lesser programs flourished [I’m looking at you, According to Jim!] . For me, Aaron Sorkin will always the creator of Sports Night and those other two shows.

The six-disc Shout!Factory box set does it justice.

Features include: two excellent commentaries by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme for the series premiere, Pilot, and the series finale, Quo Vadimus; a terrific commentary by editor Jane Ashikaga for Small Town; two decent commentaries for The Six southern Gentlemen of Tennessee by Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Sabrina Lloyd and Robert Berlinger, and Eli’s Coming by Peter Krause and Robert Berlinger; three so-so-to-awful commentaries by various cast members for Sally, Kafelnikov and The Local Weather; Season One Bonus Disc: The Show – new interviews with cast and crew; Face-Off – ESPN’s Sports Center vs. Sports Night – the pros talk about what the show got right and… not so much; Season One Gag Reel; Season Two Bonus Disc: Looking Back – an intimate conversation with Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme; Inside the Locker room – a look at the technical innovations of Sports Night, and the Season Two Gag Reel.

Grade: Sports Night: The Complete Series – A+

Grade: Features: A+

Final Grade: A+

In May, 1977, NBC premiered a [very] short-lived satirical science fiction series created by Buck Henry – one of the duo behind Get Smart. The series was called Quark and it ran for seven weeks before it was unceremoniously cancelled. The series was based around a United Galactic Sanitation Patrol vessel captained by Adam Quark [Richard Benjamin].

Most of the components of the series were based on Star Trek – particularly the relationship between Quark and his Vegeton science officer, Ficus [Vegetons, being plants have no emotions] – The Captain’s “Space Notes;” the transporter [or at least its sound effects], and even one episode, Goodbye Polumbus, which was a send up of the classic Trek ep, Shore Leave.

Henry took the Get Smart template [smart stories about less than brilliant characters in important positions] and transferred it to Quark. The crew of the USGP ship included Gene/Jean [Tim Thomerson], a “transmute” who exhibited both male and female behaviors; Ficus [Richard Kelton], the aforementioned Vegeton; Bettys I & II [Trish and Cybill Barnstable], a human and her clone, both of them second in command [and both of them crazy about their captain], and Andy [Bobby Porter], a cowardly android/robot that Quark built from spare parts. They received their missions from Otto Palindrome [Conrad Janis], commander of Perma Station 1 and The Head [Alan Caillou], a disembodied giant head seen only on a video screen.

Besides the show’s riffs on Star Trek, it also poked fun at all manner of SF and space opera conventions. The episode, May the Source Be With You, had a pretty obvious target [and skewered it pretty thoroughly] and set the tone for the series. But the show was just hitting it stride with the two-part Flash Gordon spoof, All The Emperor’s Quasi-Norms, when it was taken from NBC’s schedule.

Much of the series has held up pretty well, but there are instances where the silliness doesn’t quite make it. Overall, though, even some of the effects hold up – the transporter is more colorful than Trek’s and the series did show a fair number of actual alien lifeforms [some of which changed shapes disconcertingly – check out Captain Walker who is radically different in each of two eps].

Final Grade: B+

Tim Burton is a genius. That’s been made apparent by films like Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, among others. He might not have directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it comes from his story and all the major design work, a goodly chunk of the song lyrics and the story are his – and Henry Selick does a marvelous job of bringing them to life.

The story – about how Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, gets bored with his life and decides to try his hand at Christmas – is bizarre, but only in the best of ways. It’s a holiday mashup, with Jack having “Sandy Claws” kidnapped so that he can deliver Christmas presents [and his idea of cool prezzies is certainly not anyone else’s. It’s a funny, scary and occasional poignant film that accepts the premise that kids like to be a bit scared now and then [and that stories fro kids do not have to be all sweet and nice...].

This new release comes in a box that features a 3-D plastic bust of Jack, which looks amazing. There is also a third disc which contains the digital copy for download to your computer or portable viewing device. Other features include: Commentary by Burton, Selik and composer Danny Elfman; What’s This? Jack’s Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour with Actual Narration, plus an optional Trivia Track, and Off Track – a look at how the Tour was adapted for Jack; Tim Burton’s Original Poem, read by Christopher Lee; The Making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas; Disc Two: The Uncut Version of Frankenweenie [with new intro by Burton]; Burton’s first animated short, Vincent; Deleted Scenes [Deleted Storyboard Sequences and Deleted Animated Scenes – all with intros by Burton]; The worlds of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas – Halloweentown, Christmastown, The Real World; Storyboard-to-Film Comparison; Posters; Teaser Trailer, and Theatrical Trailer.

Grade: The Nightmare Before Christmas – A

Grade: Features – A+

Final Grade: A

One of the greatest films of all time, The Godfather is getting the full restoration treatment and will be available on Blu-ray and DVD, September 23rd.  Check out these two new video clip after the break. 

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Even with the writers strike, Grey’s anatomy finished the season with seventeen episodes. The problem was that it wasn’t the show’s best [or even third best] season. Somehow, amidst all the bed hopping, gossiping and medical arcs, the show’s creative team seemed to lack focus. One of the most glaring mistakes was having best friends Izzie [Katharine Heigl] and George [T.R. Knight] fall in love. Another was having Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan’s [Eric Dane] behavior prompt both a boycott of his surgeries by all the nurses, and the required filling out and signing – by every hospital employee – of a form in which they divulged the names of every hospital employee with whom they had had sex. The episode, The Becoming, was on pretty shaky ground legally and the farcical subplot almost detracted from an arc involving a pair of gay soldiers – one of whom had a terminal brain tumor and had decided to try an experimental procedure devised by Drs. Derek “McDreamy” Shepard [Patrick Dempsey] and Meredith Grey [Ellen Pompeo].

On the plus side, the season introduced Meredith to the concept of therapy; introduced a nurse, Rose [Lauren Stamile], who caught Derek’s attention while he and Meredith were not together; the trials of the experimental procedure for treating brain tumors, which served to keep Derek and Meredith in close proximity; the introduction of Dr. Erica Hahn [Brooke Smith]; the introduction of Meredith’s half-sister, Lexie Grey [Chyler Leigh]; the crumbling of Bailey’s [Chandra Wilson] marriage, and the possibility that Erica and Callie [Sara Ramirez] were lesbians.

Most likely the problem was dealing with plots that had to include twelve regulars plus a number of recurring players as well as a host of guest stars. By the end of the season things were back on track and the final three eps really cooked. Which is not to say that all the earlier eps sucked. Very few were actually bad – and several were very good, especially Forever Young – in which a busload of high school students and their driver were hurt. That episode juxtaposed the cliques of high school with the cliques that had grown in the hospital – without anyone even seeming to notice [except rose, who was introduced in the ep].

Features include: two expanded episodes – Forever Young and The Becoming; three audio commentaries: Chyler Leigh and Associate Producer Karin Gleason on the season premiere, A change is Gonna Come; Lauren Stamile and Executive Producer/Director Rob Corn on Forever Young, and Sandra Oh and Director Julie Anne Robinson on The Becoming; New docs on the Block - featurette on the three new members of the cast – Chyler Leigh, Brooke Smith and Lauren Stamile; On Set with Patrick and Eric – the boys of Grey’s goofin’; Good Medicine: Favorite Scenes; Dissecting Grey’s Anatomy: Deleted Scenes [optional commentary would have been nice here...]; In Stitches: Season four Outtakes, and One Quick Cut – Grey’s from day one to the first part of season four in four minutes.

Grade: Grey’s Anatomy, Season Four – B-

Grade: Features – A

Final Grade: B

Last season’s addition of two new couples [one gay] to the inhabitants of Wisteria Lane sparked a season of television that ranked right up with the first season’s deliriously/deliciously funny first year. Of course, one member of one couple was a former resident of Wisteria Lane who was returning after a dozen years. Katherine [Dana Delaney] and Adam [Nathan Fillion] Mayfair and her daughter, Dylan Davis [Lyndsy Fonseca] brought one of the season’s darkest secrets with them, while the gay couple, Bob Hunter [Tuc Watkins] and Lee McDermott [Kevin Rahm] brought the world’s ugliest lawn ornament.

Katherine brought one other thing to the show – competition for Bree in the Make-Martha-Stewart-Look-Like-a-Piker Sweepstakes and Adam’s profession [gynecologist] led to some unusual [and unusually funny scenes early in the season. Meanwhile, Lynette [Felicity Huffman] and Tom Scavo [Doug Savant] had to deal with Tom’s daughter from his first marriage, Kayla [Rachel Fox] – a true demon seed if ever there was one. Add to that the Carlos-Gaby-Victor triangle; prospective in-laws; Edie’s usual machinations and the drama of a gay wedding… sorry, commitment ceremony… and that would do for an entire season on any other show. Then, there was the tornado…

The balance between the dramatic and comedic aspects of the series has never been better and the cast really tore into the material. Season four even spawned an episode that could contend for FX and set design Emmys with the tornado and aftermath episodes. If Marc Cherry decided to end the series tomorrow, it could have no better send-off.

Continuing his innovations, Marc Cherry came up with a great concept for the DVD package for season four: Couples’ Commentaries. Each of five episodes has a commentary track by the actors who play one of the main couples on the show, plus there are two additional commentaries of the traditional nature.

Features: Audio Commentaries: Marc Cherry, Bob Dailey and Jeff Greenstein on the season premiere, “Now You Know,” and Marc Cherry, Nicollette Sheridan and David Warren on Mother Said; Couples’ Commentaries: Marcia Cross and Kyle MacLachlan on Now I Know, Don’t Be Scared; Dana Delaney and Nathan Fillion on Distant Past; Eva Longoria Parker and Ricardo Antonio Chavira on Something’s Coming; Felicity Huffman and Doug Savant on Welcome to Kanagawa, and Teri Hatcher and James Denton on Mother said; Getting Desperate: From Beginning to End – following the making of Something’s Coming; Spare Time: Hanging With the Men of Wisteria Lane; Cherry-Picked: Creator Marc Cherry’s Favorite Scenes [with optional commentary]; Alternate ending [with optional commentary]; Deleted Scenes [with optional commentary], and a Blooper Reel. There is also an eight-page booklet designed as a Fairview Reality flyer with realtor’s descriptions of the eight houses we’ve seen in the show, along with ads for local businesses and a list of episode titles and some [but not all] of the bonus features [at the least, they could have included the list of commentary tracks].

Grade: Desperate Housewives, Season 4 – A

Grade: Features – A

Final Grade: A

The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard is coming to DVD Sept. 9. It’s been a tough week for Peter Parker.  His two best friends are mad at him, Aunt May is behind on the bills and Flash Thompson is still bullying him at school. It hasn’t been a cake walk for Spider-Man either.  The Enforcers are trying to destroy him, the Vulture is seeking revenge on Mr. Osborn, Electro is wreaking havoc on the city and his mentor, Dr. Connors, just transformed into The Lizard - a reptile on the rampage.  But with great power comes great responsibility and Peter Parker wouldn’t have it any other way! Here are some clips.

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Presented by David Fincher and Spike Jonze, and from acclaimed Director Tarsem comes THE FALL, starring Golden Globe® nominee Lee Pace.  On Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD September 9th! Filmed over a period of 4 years in 18 different countries, Tarsem’s The Fall is an unforgettable movie experience. In 1920s Los Angeles, Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a 5-year-old girl hospitalized from a fall, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Roy (Lee Pace, TV’s “Pushing Daisies”), a Hollywood stuntman shattered by a near-fatal movie set accident and his lover’s betrayal.

To pass the time, he tells Alexandria the epic story of Governor Odious and the 5 remarkable heroes determined to defeat him – a dazzling world of magic and myth. Only when the line between reality and fantasy begins to dissolve does Alexandria realize how much is truly at stake. Presented by David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB) and Spike Jonze (ADAPTATION), THE FALL is an awe-inspiring, cinematic tour de force. Check out the clippage.

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April 6, 1968 – just over twenty-four hours after Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, James Brown took the stage at the Boston Gardens for a concert that was televised live – and simulcast on radio – and what riots had been on the brink of turning the city into a conflagration, simply went away.

Shout Factory’s three DVD set I Got the Feelin’ – James Brown in the ‘60s features The Night James Brown Saved Boston, a look back at what might just be the single most important music concert in history. Combining documentary footage of the riots that followed King’s assassination with clips from news reports of his death and interviews with members of Brown’s band, his manager, the former Mayor of Boston [who almost cancelled the concert], the Reverend Al Sharpton and more, the documentary that takes up disc one, paints a picture of an extraordinary evening that left Boston relatively unscathed while every other major city in America burned.

The seventy-five minute documentary includes television footage from Brown’s concert and shows his mastery of his music and his uncanny ability to read an audience. In one sequence, fans climb up on stage after Brown has waved the police back. Instead of showing fear, Brown shames them into leaving the stage – and carries on. The set’s first DVD also includes well over an hour of extra interview footage that adds to our understanding of the magnitude of what Brown did that night.

James Brown Live at the Apollo ’68 features performances culled from Brown’s performances at the legendary Apollo Theater and his performance of Out of sight from the acclaimed concert film, The T.A.M.I. show. One again, we can see the power that Brown had to command an audience’s attention – and devotion.

The final disc of the set is James Brown Live at the Boston Garden – April 5, 1968. Yup, it’s the concert that Brown gave the night after the Martin Luther King assassination. The DVD is a combination of the televised show plus additional audio from the FM radio simulcast. Despite the fact that the public television station remote crew had never recorded anything like the Brown concert [they had been doing classical concerts, primarily], the WGBH crew manages to capture the raw energy and power of Brown’s performance.

Besides the monumental importance of the Boston concert in terms of helping keep the city’s black population from falling into rioting, this disc shows that – even with an inexperienced crew televising the event – Brown was a masterful entertainer. His band is as tight as a band can be and yet swings like mad. Brown’s vocals pivot from a hushed moan to a full on wail in the turn of a phrase. The music is all. Brown uses his music to project hope and life into an arena – and city – where it had been thought lost only the night before. It’s a masterful performance – perhaps the best single performance of Brown’s long and illustrious career.

The set also includes a twenty-four page booklet that details the life of James Brown.

Grade: I Got the Feelin’ – James Brown in the ‘60s – A+

Grade: Features: B+

Final Grade: A