New DVD releases include Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess With the Zohan
Published Monday October 6th, 2008
Selected home-video releases:
You Don't Mess With the Zohan
The Adam Sandler hit machine continues with his comedy about an Israeli commando who fakes his own death to live the life he's dreamed about - being a hairdresser in New York City and romancing his elderly clientele.
On DVD, the movie comes in three varieties: single-disc releases with the theatrical version or an extended cut, or a two-disc set with the extended edition and a digital copy of the movie. Extras include deleted scenes, a huge batch of behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentary from Sandler and some of his collaborators. The Blu-ray high-definition release includes both the theatrical and extended versions. (Sony)
Sleeping Beauty
Classic Disney cartoons enter the high-definition age with this first Blu-ray release from the studio's animation vaults. The tale of an enchanted princess slumbering until her true love plants a kiss on her returns in a 50th anniversary package.
The two-disc Blu-ray and DVD sets come with a new documentary chronicling the creation of studio founder Walt Disney's last animated adventure based on a fairy tale. There's also a reconstruction of an alternate opening that Disney discarded, four deleted songs and a segment on Peter Tchaikovsky, whose Sleeping Beauty ballet was the inspiration for the movie's score. (Disney)
The Happening
Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel go on the run - along with just about everyone else in the Northeast - to stay ahead of a bizarre mental contagion that prompts people to kill themselves in grisly ways.
The horror tale from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan arrives in a single-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray set accompanied by making-of segments on the special effects, makeup and prosthetics tricks that went into creating some of the gnarly visuals.
The Blu-ray set also has a digital copy of the movie and a featurette on how Shyamalan crafted the eerie breeze that signals the movement of the contagion. (20th Century Fox)
The Visitor
Richard Jenkins delivers one of the year's finest performances with this drama about a lonely widower who forges an unlikely bond with the immigrant couple (Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira) illegally occupying his rarely used Manhattan apartment.
Writer-director Tom McCarthy fills the story with vibrant music as Jenkins' sad-sack revitalizes his dreary life by joining one of his new friend's drum circles, battling the cold U.S. immigration bureaucracy and making fitful, touching stabs at romance.
Among the extras are deleted scenes, commentary from Jenkins and McCarthy, a making-of featurette and a segment on the African djembe drum featured in the film.(Anchor Bay)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Ray Harryhausen Collection
Hollywood's master of stop-motion animated creatures for science-fiction and fantasy tales joins the Blu-ray era with a four-disc set packing a 50th anniversary edition of
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad plus 20 Million Miles to Earth, It Came From Beneath the Sea and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. Each film is accompanied by a huge collection of background featurettes and commentary with Harryhausen.
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad also debuts in single-disc DVD and Blu-ray releases. The other three films also are available in a six-disc DVD gift package that includes a reproduction of the space creature from "20 Million Miles to Earth." (Sony)
TV on DVD
30 Rock: Season 2: Fresh off its Emmy triumph, Tina Fey's series set behind-the-scenes at a sketch-comedy show returns with a two-disc set packing year two's 15 episodes. The set includes deleted scenes, a backstage look at Fey as she prepares to host Saturday Night Live and a 30 Rock episode performed live by the cast at a New York City theatre. (Universal)
The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season: Homer and his cartoon comrades march on for another season that features such guest voice stars as Mel Gibson, Britney Spears and Willie Nelson. The four-disc set has all 22 episodes, plus deleted scenes and commentary. (20th Century Fox)
How I Met Your Mother: Season Three: The comedy featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel relates a young man's romantic adventures on the road to marriage. The third season's 20 episodes come in a three-disc set, along with cast and crew commentary and deleted scenes. (20th Century Fox)
Martin: The Complete Fifth Season: Martin Lawrence is back for the final year of his 1990s sitcom about a TV personality whose antics cause grief for his wife and friends. The four-disc package has the last 24 episodes. (HBO)
The Beverly Hillbillies: The Official Second Season: Year two arrives for the comedy starring Buddy Ebsen as patriarch of a clan of hayseeds who strike it rich in oil and move to a California mansion. The season's 36 episodes are packed in a four-disc set. (Paramount)
The Munsters: The Complete Series: A 12-disc set gathers all 70 episodes from the 1960s comedy starring Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo as the heads of a lovably ghoulish family. The package also includes the feature-length movies Munster, Go Home and The Munsters Revenge. (Universal)
Midsomer Murders: Set Eleven: The long-running British mystery series features John Nettles as a local village police inspector solving gruesome murders. The four-disc set contains four feature-length mysteries. (Acorn)
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