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On The Town October 26, 2007  RSS feed



What's new on DVD

Film and television author Randy Williams reviews the latest movies, television shows, documentaries and music programs now available for purchase online and at retail stores.

Deliverance35th Anniversary Edition (Warner Bros.)- Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox star as "weekend warriors" on a canoe trip in remote Georgia. They run into a lot more than challenging currents as the group's survival instincts quickly take on deadly dimensions. Based on the James Dickey novel, "Deliverance" was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture. A extras include a four-part retrospective with the film's cast, commentary by director John Boorman and a featurette, "The Dangerous World of Deliverance."

Saturday Night Fever-30th Anniversary Special Collection (Paramount)- "Saturday Night Fever" stars John Travolta (in an Oscar-nominated performance) as Tony Manero, a young Brooklyn man who finds that his way to success could be via the dance floor. The film influenced fashions, discos, deejays and dance styles around the world when it was released in late 1977. The special features include "Catching the Fever."

The Graduate40th Anniversary Edition (MGM)- A recent college graduate (Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock), still unsure of his career direction, is seduced by the wife of his father's business partner (Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson). Then Benjamin finds the woman of his dreams (Katherine Ross), and it is Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, with Mike Nichols winning for Best Director. The two-disc presentation includes the soundtrack on a separate DVD and a retrospective documentary.

Flashdance-Special Collector's Edition (Paramount)- A young woman in Pittsburgh (Jennifer Beals) holds down two jobs, welder and exotic dancer, as she dreams of joining a dance troupe. The film's soundtrack won an Oscar for Best Song, "Flashdance...What a Feeling." Bonus materials include features on the film's design, music and choreography.

The Jungle Book40th Anniversary Edition (Disney)- This was the last animated film to receive Walt Disney's personal touch. He uses jungle characters- panther, snake, rhino and bear- to present a lighthearted look at life and the true meaning of friendship. Bonus materials include games, music videos, deleted songs, commentaries and a "The Bare Necessities: The Making of 'The Jungle Book.'"

Wall Street-20th Anniversary

Edition (Fox)- "Greed is good," says Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas in an Oscarwinning performance), one of the most ruthless corporate raiders on Wall Street. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film captures the junk bond/inside trading scandals of the '80s and features Charlie Sheen as a naive and hungry stockbroker fatally attracted to the highrisk greed, lowyield ethics applied as an art form by his mentor Gekko. The double disc offers bonus material including commentary by Stone, deleted scenes, a "Greed is Good" documentary and a making-of feature.

Neil Young-Under Review 19762006 (MVD)- This featurelength documentary chronicles one of music history's most prolific songwriters. The disc spans four decades and is filled with biographer and music critic commentary, live and studio clips of Neil performing classic tunes, interviews and an interactive gaming feature.

North America's National ParksDeluxe Box Set (Discovery)- This adventure of natural treasures comes in four discs and covers parks large and small, including the Grand Canyon, Denali, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. Brilliant photography provides astonishing images of some of our most celebrated landscapes.

The Addams Family-Volume 3 (MGM)- That creepy yet popular clan from the mid-1960s are back for more with this final volume containing all 21 episodes of season three. The threedisc set includes selected scene commentaries by Thing and Cousin Itt, Tombstone Trivia and audio commentary by The Addams Chronicle author, Stephen Cox. The series directors included Arthur Hiller, who was nominated for an Oscar helming "Love Story." Weird can be funny and beautiful.