Sales Rank:174 List Price: $49.98 Lowest New Price: $31.54 Lowest Used Price: $36.26 MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
AC-3
Box set
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
THX
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Harrison Ford
Mark Hamill
Disc 1: Star Wars: A New Hope WS Disc 1 Disc 2: Star Wars: A New Hope WS Disc 2 Disc 3: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back WS Disc 1 Disc 4: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back WS Disc 2 Disc 5: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi WS Disc 1 Disc 6: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi WS Disc 2
Sales Rank:182 List Price: $49.98 Lowest New Price: $29.98 Lowest Used Price: $29.99 MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
AC-3
Box set
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
THX
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Ewan McGregor
Natalie Portman
Hayden Christensen
Ian McDiarmid
George Lucas
Disc 1: Star Wars Episode 1 WS Disc 1 **Commentary by George Lucas and company
Disc 2: Star Wars Episode 1 WS Disc 2 **Never-before-seen Making of documentary **Never-before-seen deleted scenes documentary featuring 7 deleted scenes finished in 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound **2 animatics with multi-angles **5 Featurettes **12 original web documentaries **Music Video: "Duel of the Fates" **Production photos, print ads, theatrical trailers, TV spots, DVD-ROM - game demo
Disc 3: Star Wars Episode 2 WS Disc 1 **Commentary by George Lucas and Rick McCall **Easter Egg **THX Trailer - "Cavalcade"
Disc 4: Star Wars Episode 2 WS Disc 2 **2 Documentaries - "From Puppets to Pixels"and "State of the Art: Previsualization of Episode II" **8 deleted scenes with intros **Music Video, Visual Specs Breakdown **12 Web Documentaries **4 Trailers **12 TV Spots **Easter Egg **Still Galleries **DVD-ROM links
Disc 5: Star Wars Episode 3 WS Disc 1
Disc 6: Star Wars Episode 3 WS Disc 2 **Full-length documentary produced by Lucasfilm **2 New Featurettes: One exploring the prophecy of Anakin Skywalker as The Chosen One, the other providing an in-depth look at the movie's eye-popping stunts **15 part collection of Lucasfilm's groundbreaking "Web-documentaries"
Episode Description: Disc 1: Star Wars Episode 1 WS Disc 1 Disc 2: Star Wars Episode 1 WS Disc 2 Disc 3: Star Wars Episode 2 WS Disc 1 Disc 4: Star Wars Episode 2 WS Disc 2 Disc 5: Star Wars Episode 3 WS Disc 1 Disc 6: Star Wars Episode 3 WS Disc 2
Sales Rank:1914 List Price: $99.98 Lowest New Price: $69.68 Lowest Used Price: $59.14 MPAA Rating:
Format:
Box set
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Billie Piper
Christopher Eccleston
Camille Coduri
Noel Clarke
John Barrowman
The venerable science fiction program Doctor Who returned to British televisions in 2005 after a 15-year absence and delighted the majority of fans and critics with its adherence to the adventure and charm of the original series while making admissions for a new generation of viewers (hipper editing and score, CGI effects). Thirteen episodes were generated, all starring Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor and pop-singer-turned-actress Billie Piper as his companion Rose; acclaimed writer/producer Russell T. Davies (Touching Evil, Queer as Folk) oversaw the show as chief writer and executive producer. The new series proved so popular that the BBC agreed to revive the program for second and third seasons--though without Eccleston, who has since been replaced by David Tennant. This six-disc set comes with all 13 episodes plus the battery of supplemental features now customary to all Doctor Who DVD releases.
Eccleston is very engaging in the title role, bringing a manic curiosity tempered by occasional bouts of gravity (which befit a personality with a long and dramatic a lifespan as the Doctor's) that hew closely to the (arguably) most popular Doctor, Tom Baker. Piper is equally adept as department store clerk Rose--she's afforded more of a back story than most of the Doctor's sidekicks have received in the past, and she more than handles her own alongside Eccleston. Highlights among the 13 episodes include the season opener, "Rose" (which sees the return of an old foe, the Autons, and their controlling force, the Nestene Consciousness); the revamped Daleks in "Dalek" and the two-parter "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways"; a trip to Victorian England to aid Charles Dickens in "The Unquiet Dead," and of course, the arrival of the tenth Doctor at the conclusion of the action-packed "Parting of the Ways." The episodes strike the right blend of quirk, excitement, and imagination, thanks largely to the engaging performances and the guidance of Davies, whose admiration for the show and its history is evident throughout.
Supplemental features--and there are many--including commentary on all 13 episodes by members of the cast and crew, including Piper and Davies; numerous making-of featurettes, including a profile of Davies; a video diary by Piper; an interview with Eccleston, and best of all, a glimpse at the 60-minute Christmas special, "The Christmas Invasion," which picks up where the series concludes. Who fans won't be disappointed. --Paul Gaita
Sales Rank:1603 List Price: $99.98 Lowest New Price: $71.96 Lowest Used Price: $69.99 MPAA Rating:
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Director(s):
Actor(s):
David Tennant
Billie Piper
Christopher Eccleston's tenure as the time-traveling title hero in the venerable UK sci-fi series Doctor Who lasted just 13 episodes, but he left enough of a impression on fans to make some wonder how his replacement, veteran television performer David Tennant, might fare in the role. As this second-series boxed set proves, the answer is: he's a near-perfect Doctor who combines the eccentricities of earlier incarnations (most notably Tom Baker) with a fresh and youthful interpretation of his own, and even brings a healthy dash of romantic chemistry with his sidekick, Rose Tyler (the equally charming Billie Piper). And their adventures retain the solid blend of thoughtful speculative fiction, pulp action, and quirky humor that typified the series at its best. Among the 15 terrific stories contained in the six-disc set are the "Children in Need" (a.k.a. "Pudsey Cutaway") mini-episode from the 2005 Children in Need telethon that showed Eccleston's transformation into Tennant; "School Reunion," in which Elisabeth Sladen returns as Sarah Jane Smith; "The Girl in the Fireplace," which draws together robots in 18th century France with a derelict space station in the distant future; and the season finale, "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday," which not only revives the series' most popular villains, the robotic Daleks, in a head-to-head struggle against the Cybermen, but also marks the final appearance of another series regular. For fans and first-time visitors to the TARDIS alike, the Second Series is simply thrilling sci-fi TV.
As with the First Series set, the supplemental features are plentiful here; commentary by the show's cast and crew is provided on each episode, and four feature picture-in-picture commentary tracks; deleted scenes and outtakes are also included, as are video diaries by Tennant and Piper, and a lengthy featurette, "Doctor Who Confidential," which covers nearly every aspect of the series' production, including the introduction of the Torchwood Institute and the return of Sarah Jane, both of which would be featured in their own respective spin-off series (the first in Doctor Who's long history) in 2007. – Paul Gaita
Sales Rank:1032 List Price: $14.98 Lowest New Price: $7.42 Lowest Used Price: $6.84 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format:
Animated
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
Full Screen
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Mark Hamill
George Lucas
Robot Chicken's finest half hour is more savvy than Spaceballs, more inside than Family Guy: Blue Harvest, and funnier, even, than The Star Wars Holiday Special. This Very Special Episode of Comedy Central's stop-motion animated series parodies and goofs on all things Star Wars, from a disgruntled Empire janitor to an ad for Admiral Ackbar Cereal ("Your tongues can't repel flavor of that magnitude"). Twenty three minutes goes by like the jump to hyperspace with such priceless bits as the collect phone call to Emperor Palpatine from Darth Vadar to inform him of the Death Star's destruction, awkward morning-after pillow talk between Luke and Leia ("That was so wrong"), and George Bush's newfound Jedi powers. Co-creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and company immerse viewers in the Robot Chicken universe with generous bonus features, including storyboarded deleted scenes (with self-deprecating commentary), behind the scenes footage of animation meetings, and alternate audio takes. Good sport George Lucas, who gave his blessing to this episode, boldly goes where William Shatner went before by voicing himself in a Star Wars convention sketch that concludes with a Lucas-worshiping geek telling his son that meeting his idol was the best day of his life. What about his son's birth? "Not even close," dad replies. But you don't have to have that kind of devotion to Star Wars to be amused by this weather forecast for Cloud City: "Cloudy, followed by clouds." --Donald Liebenson.
Sales Rank:659 List Price: $12.98 Lowest New Price: $7.48 Lowest Used Price: $6.47 MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
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NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Christopher Reeve
Jane Seymour
Christopher Plummer
Teresa Wright
Bill Erwin
It's silly, it's superficial, it's so desperately earnest about its tale of time-spanning love that you almost wish for a cheap flatulence gag just to break the solemn mood. But there's something so unabashedly gushy and entertaining about Somewhere in Time that you can't begrudge its enduring popularity. The film has become a staple of romantic-movie lovers since its release in 1980, and endless showings on cable TV have turned it into a dubious classic of sorts--a three-hanky weeper that anyone can enjoy as a guilty pleasure or a beloved favorite, with no apologies necessary.
In his first film after the star-making success of Superman, Christopher Reeve stars as a contemporary playwright who visits a posh hotel and sees the portrait of an actress (Jane Seymour) who had performed there in 1912. He becomes obsessed with this beautiful woman and learns all he can about her, and then discovers a method of hypnotically transporting himself backward in time to meet her. "Is it ... you?" she says upon seeing the lovestruck playwright, and it's clearly a mutual attraction. But even the slightest reminder of the playwright's modern time can jar him from his seemingly real existence in the past, so his wonderful love affair is constantly just a step from being stolen away.
Based on Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return, this flaky film may strain one's tolerance for plot holes and corny romance, but it's hard to deny its lasting appeal--and let's face it, guys, it'll make wives and girlfriends swoon if they're in a tearjerker mood. --Jeff Shannon
Sales Rank:2094 List Price: $99.98 Lowest New Price: $71.90 Lowest Used Price: $67.00 MPAA Rating:
Format:
Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
DVD-Video
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NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
David Tennant
Freema Agyeman
Doctor Who fans concerned that the departure of popular companion Rose (Billie Piper) at the end of the second season might spell an end to the venerable UK science fiction series' revival were soon reassured by the program's third series, which is compiled in its entirety in this six-disc set. Not only did Freema Agyeman (as Earth doctor Martha Jones) prove to be more than a worthwhile replacement for Rose, but the quality of the series' 14 episodes maintained--and in many cases surpassed--the blend of wit, excitement and drama brought by head writer Russell T. Jones when he revived the program in 2003. Highlights from the third series include the Christmas special "The Runaway Bride" (starring comedian Catherine Tate as a temporary companion to the Doctor as he mourns the loss of Rose), "Gridlock" (the Face of Boe summons the Doctor and Martha to a future New York City to stop an invasion by his old enemy the Macra), "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" (a two-part serial in which the Doctor changes his biological form to escape the clutches of an alien brood who seek his immortality), and the three-part "Utopia," "The Sound of Drums" and "The Last of the Time Lords," which not only revives the Doctor's greatest adversary, The Master (played by Derek Jacobi in "Utopia" and John Simm in "Drums" and "Time Lords") but also revives Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and introduces his new position with the Torchwood team. Supplemental features are included on each of the six discs in the set; chief among them are commentary by Jones, Tennant, Agyeman, producer Phil Collinson, and members of the writing and production team (in various permutations) on each of the 14 episodes. The Doctor Who Confidential series, which aired on BBC Three and offered behind-the-scenes looks at elements from each episode, is included in its 15-minute "cut down" version (as well as an hour-long episode that covered a live performance of music from the show by the National Orchestra of Wales and hosted by Tennant), as are several video diaries shot by Tennant, who proves as engaging behind the camera as he is on the show. A smattering of deleted scenes, outtakes (mostly featuring Tennant reacting good-naturedly to his own blown lines), BBC promos for all 13 episodes (including the amusing "Vote Saxon" spot, which offers Sharon Osbourne and UK pop stars McFly throwing their support behind the Master's disguise as a human MP in the series' final two episodes), and trailers for other BBC series like Jekyll, Torchwood, and MI-5, round out this terrific set. -- Paul Gaita
Sales Rank:906 List Price: $14.98 Lowest New Price: $8.30 Lowest Used Price: $8.57 MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format:
Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC
Director(s):
Actor(s):
Harvey Brumfield
Eric Christmas
Bud Cort
Cyril Cusack
Gordon Devol
Black comedies don't come much blacker than this cult favorite from 1972, and they don't come much funnier, either. It seemed that director Hal Ashby was the perfect choice to mine a mother lode of eccentricity from the original script by Colin Higgins, about the unlikely romance between a death-obsessed 19-year-old named Harold (Bud Cort) and a life-loving 79-year-old widow named Maude (Ruth Gordon). They meet at a funeral, and Maude finds something oddly appealing about Harold, urging him to "reach out" and grab life by the lapels as opposed to dwelling morbidly on mortality. Harold grows fond of the old gal--she's a lot more fun than the girls his mother desperately matches him up with--and together they make Harold & Maude one of the sweetest and most unconventional love stories ever made. Much of the earlier humor arises from Harold's outrageous suicide fantasies, played out as a kind of twisted parlor game to mortify his mother, who's grown immune to her strange son's antics. Gradually, however, the film's clever humor shifts to a brighter outlook and finally arrives at a point where Harold is truly happy to be alive. Featuring soundtrack songs by Cat Stevens, this comedy certainly won't appeal to all tastes (it was a box-office flop when first released), but if you're on its quirky wavelength, it might just strike you as one of the funniest movies you've ever seen. --Jeff Shannon