Entertainment > Movies / TV (Belated) MonDVDay News Update Posted by Jay Spree on Jul 9, 2002, 17:34

In the player: Three Kings
On the box: Big Brother (noooooooooooo!)

NO TIME FOR REST… NO… REST… NEED… SLEEP… EAT… FOOD… NO… REST… SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP……

Yikes. My body doesn’t know what the fuck is going on. I’m basically a night owl – I even managed to manufacture last term’s lectures to cater to my vampiristic sleeping, with not a single learning session taking place before 1pm, allowing me to take in marathon sessions of videogames and DVDs before checking in at 8 or 9am. When I get home, and I don’t even have lectures to “get up” for, it’s even more extreme – I’ll go to bed at about 11am and get up about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Which is a pretty perfect way to live.

That is, until your girlfriend finishes her exams and you start staying with her for a few weeks. She generally hits the sack at about 10 or 11 AT NIGHT, and gets the hell up at 8 or 9 IN THE FREAKING MORNING. Obviously, this comes as something of a system shock to my nocturnal instincts, and completely fucks up my body clock. Then, just as I’m getting my shit together, we have to leave on our vacation at 4am, requiring a 3:30am wakeup. Now, when my girl was falling asleep at about 11:30 at night, I would quite happily plug in my laptop and piss away a couple of hours with DVDs or zSNES – usually, 3am would be about the time I’d be drifting off, giving me a decent 6 hours before having to get up. Bearing in mind how much it fucked me up to adjust my body THAT much, factor in that I now had to somehow try and get from going to sleep at 11am, to 11PM, to 8 O FUCKING CLOCK, in order to wake up when I’d usually be going to sleep at 3am.

Well, the eight-hour drive to Scotland was fucking agony. Christ, the missus was driving and she was barely conscious most of the way, although frequent bursts of Queen were able to jolt her to life. Me? Nothing between Linkin Park and Rob Zombie was able to keep me awake. All we could do was make frequent stops at the services for sleep and Burger Kings (shit, I must have spent at least £100 ($150) on fucking hamburgers in those few days).

But it was worth it. Edinburgh’s a very cool town – lots of old castles and shit for history fruits like my girlfriend, and a bunch of big stores for consumer fruits like me. The Art of Star Wars Exhibition was running at the Arts Centre, which of course warranted a visit, and was very cool. Loads of props, costumes, production models, art and all that other good stuff. Yoda is like the height of my knee, but those frigging Ewicks come up to my ribcage – crazy. Lots of cool Episode 2 stuff, but the absolute highlight of the trip was the photo I got of me holding up a Jar Jar head executioner style (although since I was without my digital camera, it’s on the beginning of a roll of film, but I’ll post it as soon as we use up the rest). We also stopped off at Glasgow on the way back, which is just a paradise for shopping, with probably the nicest Forbidden Planet outside of New York (although I’ve never been to that one, so I don’t really know). I even managed to pick up a three-pack of BOLO~! films for only a fiver ($8), which was totally hardcore. I had a bunch of good sex that was pretty hardcore too, but that’s none of your concern.

So anyway, we got back on Friday night, and I was straight into work Monday morning, so that’s why I’m late (and half-assing it) again, although I am a little better prepared than last week. I’ve also almost convinced myself to buy a Panasonic Q (the swank GameCube/DVD hybrid) now that it’s half-price and multi-region, but I’m still a little undecided. I’ve got the feeling impulse will get the better of me next time I’m parked over at Lan-Kwei with my credit card in my pocket, but hey – I’ve at least got to pretend to be responsible with my cash.

Anyway, no release list this week (when you’re slugging two-day old Diet Coke just to stay awake, wading through 200 DVDs on a schedule isn’t too high on your list of priorities), but everything else is here. LET’S HIT THE CONTENT~!



IS THERE A CURE FOR DVD ROT?

Further to last week’s story on “DVD Rot” (milky swirls on the data side of discs caused by the bonding agents going apeshit), recently a major concern on big MGM releases like The Terminator and Silence of The Lambs (and also on the original run of The Matrix discs), MGM have stepped up and accepted the problem like Mick Foley taking a chairshot, releasing the following in a press release:

“Our investigations have concluded that any playback problems on these titles may be due to an incompatibility etween [sic] certain ink combinations used on the disc labels and storage conditions during the production process… We do not believe this is a case of "DVD Rot" as this is associated with discs where the reflective layer has deteriorated rendering the disc unplayable. No products returned to MGM show any deterioration of the reflective layer.”

All well and good, but where does this leave folks with the faulty discs?

“What is of primary concern is customer satisfaction and as such would ask any consumer suffering these playback problems for either Terminator or Silence of The Lambs Special Editions to call a free phone line, where they will be advised as to how to receive a replacement copy at no cost… This free phone line is currently being set up and we will advise you of the number in the very near future.”

Of course, this is a Region 2-only situation at present, but there have been reports of similar problems with certain R1 discs, some of which are detailed in the latest DVD Times article on the subject. It may be worth getting in touch with the distributor if the problem affects you and you aren’t a Region 2er, since it seems to be something the companies are willing to help with. Props to them on that.

Original DVD Rot article
DVD Rot update



THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The two-disc Region 2 version of Ali (that is basically the prototype for the R1 Special Edition) is on sale, and while it isn’t great, it’s still leaps and bounds ahead of the barebones edition doing the rounds in the US.

The flick now contains a DTS soundtrack which outdoes the original 5.1 track, but is still a little front-heavy at times. ‘The Making of Ali’ is a 28-minute making-of that contains its fair share of scenes from the film, but a surprising amount of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews (including some tidbits from the DVD-reclusive Michael Mann). ‘Behind The Scenes’ is the raw 12 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the documentary masquerading as an independent extra. Weh, it’s fun if you don’t want to wade through all the kayfabed Hollywood back-patting of the doc. In addition, the complete interview footage from the doc can be found in ‘Cast And Crew Soundbites’, which runs about 35 minutes. Then you get the trailer which is cool, but not among my faves (hey, I’ll watch a trailer like Romeo Must Die all day).

So basically, it’s the barebones R1 disc with a DTS track and a pretty good documentary, but they’ve taken the raw materials used to make the doc and tried to con us into thinking they’re two completely different extras, when they aren’t. Still, it’s better than the original release and, if you haven’t already done so, you could certainly do worse than pick this up. Play.com comes highly recommended, as always.

Check out The Times' review here.



DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET

Details have been released on MGM’s upcoming The Outer Limits boxsets are available and here for your viewing pleasure.

The Outer Limits: The Original Series contains all 31 episodes from the first season of the show across four discs, which will street on September 3rd for $80. Then there’s The Outer Limits: The New Series – Sex and Science Fiction and – Time Travel and Infinity which will hit stores the same day and retail for only $15 each. I’m not too familiar with TOL mythos, but I guess these are from the recent remake of the series. The episodes are Caught in the Act, Bits of Love, Valerie 23, Human Operators, Skin Deep and Flower Child.on the former, and Stitch in Time, Tribunal, Gettysburg, Time to Time, Deja Vu and Patient Zero on the latter.

Rumours that DVD Rot will be included as an extra feature on the discs are unconfirmed.

Thanks to The Bits.



YOU’RE ONE UGLY MOTHER FUCKER

Sad news for American Arnie fans looking for a release of the awesome 2-disc Predator Special Edition currently doing the rounds in Region 2.

Word comes from the DigitalBits that, with two versions of the film already in Region 1 stores, Fox will only release a third edition of the film if international sales perform better than forecast. A similar line was bandied about when the RoboCop Trilogy Special Edition was released in R2, and six months later that set hasn’t yet made it Stateside, so it doesn’t look hopeful for this one either.

However, both are readily available from importers like Play.com (no, astoundingly I’m NOT on commission), and if you’re not sure about whether to order, check out my reviews here:

Robo SE
Predator SE



D-VHS: D-O’H!

The good folks over at The Bits have got their hands on a D-VHS setup and the first batch of films.

The verdict? Well, as expected, the audio and visuals blow away even DVD, thanks to the enormous bitrate and definition. And we’re not just talking SuperBit, you’ll-notice-it-if-you-spend-eight-grand-on-home-cinema-equipment, we’re talking plug this bitch in on a black and white set with some GameBoy headphones and it’ll knock you on your ass. On the flipside, IT’S STILL A TAPE-BASED SYSTEM. Bits honcho Bill Hunt noted the noticable grain from dirt on the heads after only a few viewings, meaning that quality will inevitably deteriorate a la VHS as tape formats always do, and of cours,e you’ve still got to REWIND the frigging things. Rewind them! It’s like being in the eighties again. And of course, you can kiss your extras goodbye.

So that’s the skinny. Great quality, but subject to wear and tear, dirt and damage, needs to be rewound, and it’s still EXPENSIVE. Basically, I’m of the opinion that if you’re so anal that DVD quality audio and visuals isn’t good enough for you, you’re just one of the people who thinks Ric Steamboat matches are boring (i.e. you’re a fucking idiot). In any case, the technology is by no means a threat to the livelihood of DVD, so don’t worry about that.

To look at The Bits’ complete coverage of the new format, click here.



TEEN WOOOOOOLF!

Nah, not quite. Better, actually.

Specs for the Canadian-only R1 versions of Brotherhood of The Wolf have been announced, and they’re looking pretty slick.

The regular edition of the film will be released in October, featuring the Director’s Cut of the film (including the extra footage found in the French theatrical release) in anamorphic widescreen, French 5.1 and DTS and an English 5.1 dub (boo!). There will also be two audio commentaries, one by the director and one by stars Samuel LeBihan and Vincent Cassal. However, both of these tracks, having been taken straight from the R2 version, are only in FRENCH.

The three-disc Special Edition contains the first disc, plus two discs of extras identical to the R2 release: two feature-length documentaries (running 80 and 90 minutes each), six deleted scenes, photo galleries, a historical interview concerning the film’s legend, and other minor extras like bios, trailers and so on.

The question is, English. Obviously, the film itself has been given a new English language dub and subtitles, but what remains to be seen is whether the other features (such as the commentary and docs) will also contain dubs or subs. Yes, it would make sense for them to do so, since more Canadians speak English (or at least, speak it as well) than just French, but then again, I wouldn’t put it past them to just repress the original R2 discs to save money. But who knows?

In any case, the set is identical to the three-disc French R2 set (Le Pacte des Loups: Version Longue), except for the absence of English dubs or subs, a review of which you can look at here. So, if you speak fluent French, you may as well snap that set up right away. It might also be of interest to know that there is a two-disc, France-only Special Edition of Christophe Gans’ previous film (that also stars BoTW’s Marc DeCascos), Crying Freeman. Both sets can be picked up at Amazon France or DVDzone.

Big thanks to the DVD Times massiv.



Okay, time for bed. Hit me with an email, or go fuck yourself, whatever takes your fancy. And don’t forget:

YOU ARE NEXX~!

Peace.
Jay