DVD Playhouse--April 2008

DVD PLAYHOUSE – APRIL 2008
By
Allen Gardner


BONNIE & CLYDE (Warner Bros.) For its 40th anniversary (actually its 41st), the legendary 1967 tale of Depression-era bank robbers Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty, who also produced), arguably the most-important film of “new Hollywood,” arrives in a beautifully remastered, 2 disc edition. Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard and Gene Wilder (film debut) all offer fine support in Arthur Penn’s masterpiece, that’s as powerful today as it was in ’67. A must-have, and must-see! Bonuses: Trailers; Documentaries on the film’s production, and the real Bonnie & Clyde; Warren Beatty wardrobe tests; Additional scenes; Trailers. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Miramax/Paramount) The Coen brothers’ adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s existential novel about stolen drug money, changing moral landscapes and the ennui of “just livin’” in west Texas circa 1980 deservedly won the Oscar for 2007’s Best Picture. Josh Brolin (criminally overlooked by the Academy) plays a hapless cowpoke who sets off a chain of deadly events, Javier Bardem his seemingly inhuman pursuer, and Tommy Lee Jones the aging Texas cop who’s seen far too much and understood far too little over the course of his lifetime. Simply brilliant. Bonuses: Three featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paramount) Epic story of oil barons at the turn of the century follows one man (Daniel Day Lewis, brilliant)’s quest for riches and the personal toll it takes on his life. At its best, Paul Thomas Anderson’s work rivals that of David Lean and George Stevens. At its worst, it’s over-the-top and indulgent and rivals the work of…Paul Thomas Anderson at his most over-the-top and indulgent. That said, it’s 2/3 of a great movie, maybe even a masterpiece of sorts, albeit a flawed one. Bonuses: Production documentary; Trailers; Deleted/expanded sequences; 1923 silent film about the oil business. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
SWEENY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (Paramount) Director Tim Burton’s masterful realization of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway smash about a vengeful, psychotic barber (Johnny Depp, brilliant as ever) in Victorian London who wields a deadly razor in his sartorial chair against those who have done him wrong, with his downstairs neighbor (Helena Bonham Carter) cooking the nearly-departed into the best-selling meat pies in the city. Nearly Pythonesque in its over-the-top bloodletting, with scene stealing support from Sacha Baron Cohen and Alan Rickman. 2 disc set. Bonuses: Documentary; Seven featurettes; Interviews with Burton and Depp. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR (Universal) Tom Hanks stars as a seemingly ineffectual Texas congressman who, in the course of enjoying the high life on Capitol Hill, develops a conscience when he learns of the Russian’s and their invasion of Afghanistan in the early ‘80s. Fine satire penned by Aaron Sorkin, helmed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Julia Roberts and Oscar-nominee Philip Seymour Hoffman, who steals the show as a cynical CIA operative. Bonuses: Two featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
BLAST OF SILENCE (Criterion) Nifty little film noir shot on a micro-budget in 1961, about a hitman (played by director Allen Baron) who undergoes a crisis of conscience while on a job in New York. Unsettling film gets under your skin from the start, and really stays with you. Location filming helps a great deal, as does the very unglamorous cast, giving the film an almost-documentary feel at times. A real curiosity, rescued from obscurity by Criterion, and beautifully restored. Bonuses: Documentary; On-set Polaroids; Photo gallery. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
A PASSAGE TO INDIA (Sony) David Lean’s last film is a meticulous adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel of culture clash in colonial India. Judy Davis heads a knock-out cast that includes Alec Guinness, Peggy Ashcroft (Best Supporting Actress, 1984), James Fox, and Victor Banerjee. Breathtaking, epic filmmaking at its finest. 2 disc set. Bonuses: Commentary by producer Richard Goodwin; Seven featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
100 YEARS OF BETTE DAVIS 2008 marks the centennial of Bette Davis, one of Hollywood’s most venerable performers. Two boxed sets hit shelves this month, containing some of Miss Davis’ best work. 20th Century Fox’s THE BETTE DAVID COLLECTION features Bette’s greatest performance as the nastiest of divas, Margo Channing, in ALL ABOUT EVE; PHONE CALL FROM A STRANGER is a thriller starring Bette and (then-husband) Gary Merrill, about four strangers who endure a catastrophic plane crash; THE VIRGIN QUEEN features Davis’ acclaimed performance as Queen Elizabeth I, while HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, features Bette in Robert Aldrich’s grand guignol horror classic about family skeletons in the deep south. Finally, THE NANNY features Davis as a would-be psychotic nanny whose charges suspect her of evil-doings! All feature audio commentaries by film scholars; Featurettes; Isolated film score tracks; Restoration comparisons; Fox Movietone News; TV spots and trailers; Photo and poster galleries. Full and widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo and mono. Warner Bros. releases THE BETTE DAVIS COLLECTION, VOL. 3, featuring some of Bette’s earliest works, including THE OLD MAID, featuring Bette as a mother who wants the child she bore out of wedlock back! ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO, stars Davis as a seductive governess who convinces nobleman Charles Boyer to do away with his wife; THE GREAT LIE stars Bette and Mary Astor as seemingly best friends who end up becoming bitter enemies; IN THIS OUR LIFE has Davis playing a homewrecker who steals sister Olivia de Havilland’s husband—for starters! WATCH ON THE RHINE, an adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s play by her lover, Dashiell Hammett, tells the exciting story of Nazi agents in Washington D.C. Finally, DECEPTION features Davis, Claude Rains and Paul Henried in a tale of musicians, indiscretion and murder! All feature commentary by film scholars; Warner Night at the Movies extras: shorts, cartoons, newsreels, and trailers. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono.
THE KITE RUNNER (Paramount) Two young Afghan boys experience a childhood trauma that tears them apart, then must embark on a quest years later to right the wrong that was committed. Director Marc Forster does a mostly-successful job of adapting Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel (which many thought was unfilmable), with the timely and timeless elements that gave the story its power intact. Dazzling visuals help, as well. Bonuses: Commentary by Forster, Housseini, and screenwriter David Benioff; Featurettes; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
PLAY BALL! Three of cinema’s best about America’s favorite pastime arrive on DVD: EIGHT MEN OUT: 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION is writer/director John Sayles’ take on the infamous 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, in which the World Series was fixed by mobsters and gamblers. Fine ensemble cast, vivid period details. Bonuses: Commentary by Sayles; Documentary; 3 featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES features Gary Cooper as the New York Yankees’ legendary Lou Gehrig, who was cut down in his prime by a degenerative neuromuscular disease. Babe Ruth is a hoot playing himself! Bonuses: Six featurettes. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono. BULL DURHAM is writer/director Ron Shelton’s home run satire about life in minor league baseball, with Kevin Costner as the sage catcher who tries to teach rookie Tim Robbins a thing or two about baseball and life, and Susan Sarandon (in one of cinema’s sexiest turns) as the worldly women who schools them both. Bonuses: Commentary by Sheldon, Costner and Robbins; Three featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
THE ICE STORM (Criterion) Ang Lee’s fine ensemble drama set in tony New Canaan, CT. circa 1973, revolves around the lives of its wealthy, disenfranchised denizens who seek solace in booze, casual sex and serious drugs. Terrific cast of vets (Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen) and young stars (Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci) make up one of the finest films of the 1990s. 2 disc set. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, screenwriter/producer James Schamus; Trailer; Documentary; Interviews with cast and crew; Deleted scenes. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 surround.
ANTONIO GAUDI (Criterion) Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara’s unique documentary on architect Antonio Gaudi, who designed some of the world’s most amazing buildings, parks, and interiors. Less a conventional documentary, and more of a visual tone poem, Teshigahara’s camera takes the viewer of an eye-popping tour of Gaudi’s greatest creations, including the legendary, unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. 2 disc set. Bonuses: Interviews with noted architects; Footage from Teshigahara’s 1959 trip to Spain; BBC documentary on Gaudi; Profile on Gaudi by director Ken Russell; Short film by Teshigahara on his architect father. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
WALK HARD (Sony) Very funny satire of the latest spate of films about famous musicians (Ray, Walk the Line) stars John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox, a Johnny Cash-type country singer whose journey from honky-tonk ‘50s guitar picker to ‘70s and ‘80s burn-out very cleverly sends up every cliché known to the genre. The sequence set in the ’60s when Dewey spends time with the Beatles is a real hoot! Bonuses: Deleted and extended scenes; 8 full songs; Four featurettes; Commentary by director Jake Kasdan, Reilly and producer Lew Morton. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
THE GOLDEN COMPASS (New Line) Engaging fantasy set in a parallel universe where witches fly through the air and sage ice bears rule the frozen north. When a little girl (Dakota Blue Richards) finds herself the keeper of the mythical Golden Compass, she holds the fate of the universe in her hands, and the power to keep it from slipping into eternal darkness. Fine support from adult heavyweights like Daniel Craig, Ian McKellen, Kathy Bates, Nicole Kidman and Sam Elliott make this a delight for young and old alike. Two disc set. Bonuses: Commentary by writer/director Chris Weitz; 11 featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 and DTS 6.1 surround.
FOX FILM NOIR CLASSICS 20th Century Fox releases more noir crime classics from its vaults. BLACK WIDOW follows the murder investigation of an ambitious, aspiring writer (Peggy Ann Garner) whose apparent suicide doesn’t sit well with tough NY cop George Raft. DAISY KENYON stars Joan Crawford as who can’t decide between married attorney Dana Andrews and returning army sergeant Henry Fonda. Will her passions get the better of her? Finally, Jeannie Crane and Michael Rennie star in DANGEROUS CROSSING, with Crane as a honeymooning wife on a cruise ship whose husband mysteriously vanishes—with no one on the ship having any record he ever existed! Rennie plays the ship’s physician who must help solve the mystery. Bonuses on all: Commentary by film scholars; Featurettes; Pressbook and photo galleries; Trailers. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
WALK THE LINE—EXTENDED CUT (20th Century Fox) Fine biopic about the life and times of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) and his romance with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) is fleshed out with about 20 minutes of extra footage, including extended musical sequences, both of which give more depth to an already-solid piece of work. 2 disc set bonuses include: Commentary by co-writer/director James Mangold; Extended musical sequences; Deleted scenes; 7 featurettes; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
DAN IN REAL LIFE (Touchstone/Focus Features) Amiable comedy starring Steve Carell as an advice columnist who can’t seem to get his own life as a single dad to three precocious daughters in order. Things get more complicated when Dan falls for his brother’s gorgeous new girlfriend (Juliette Binoche, and who can blame him?). Great supporting cast includes John Mahoney, Dane Cook, and Dianne Weist. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Outtakes; Two featurettes; Commentary by writer/director Peter Hedges. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
LOST HIGHWAY(Universal) Another exercise in existential film noir from writer/director David Lynch. Long on style ( nearly 2 ½ hours worth, some of it quite brilliant), but short on plot and story, which this viewer found nearly incomprehensible from the get-go. That said, it’s a must for Lynch purists. Others viewers, proceed at your own risk! Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, and Robert Blake (!) head a fine, if somewhat odd, cast. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
OUTLAW (Magnet/Magnolia) Tough, mean British crime drama stars Sean Bean as an Iraq war veteran who returns home to England, only to find the crime in his homeland even more intolerable than the insurgents in the Middle East. A sort of Cockney take on Death Wish, but one that works quite well, thanks to a lack of glamour on the part of filmmaker Nick Love, and a fine cast that also includes the great Bob Hoskins. Bonuses: Commentary with Love and co-star Danny Dyer; Four featurettes; Deleted scenes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
THE GOOD NIGHT (Sony) A man (Martin Freeman) going through a midlife crisis suddenly finds redemption in the girl of his dreams (Penelope Cruz). The catch is, the “dream girl” is literal: he is only able to see her when he is asleep! Danny DeVito co-stars as the dream therapy expert who tries to walk Freedman through the delicate line of dreams and reality. Gwyneth Paltrow is fine as Freeman’s suffering wife. Bonuses: Commentary by writer/director Jake Paltrow. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
ENCHANTED (Disney) Charming modern-day fairly tale about an animated princess (Amy Adams) who is banished from her magical kingdom and forced into the live-action world of modern-day Manhattan. James Marsden plays the attorney who comes to her aid, and her heart, and Susan Sarandon nearly steals the show as the evil villainess! Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Two featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
DOCUMENTARY DAYS Four new terrific “docos” (as the Aussies would say) hit disc this month. Dokument Films releases the compelling JAMES ELLROY’S FEAST OF DEATH, originally produced for television in the UK, which follows the acclaimed mystery writer as he investigates the notorious, unsolved Black Dahlia murder and addresses the unsolved, 1958 murder of his mother, as well. Fascinating, but very dark, with some crime scene photos that are not for the squeamish. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. TILT: THE BATTLE TO SAVE PINBALL, is a fun look at the attempt of resuscitating the game of pinball after video games all but killed the game and the industry in its tracks. Bonuses: 3 hours of extra interviews; Featurettes; Filmmaker commentary. Full screen. Dolby 5.0 surround. City Lights releases MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET), a shattering examination of the political and social climate of Brazil, and how through a domino-like series of events, the country has been nearly torn apart by corruption and poverty. Bonuses: Filmmaker commentary; Additional scenes; Seven featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. A GENERATION APART explores the lives of those who survived Hitler’s Holocaust of WW II, and how the families of those survivors did, or did not, manage to stick together. Harrowing, and still topical. Bonuses: Commentary by director Jack Fisher and his father, a survivor; Featurette; Bonus interview. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono.
ANIMATION CONFLAGRATION A host of terrific animated features hit disc this month, staring with Disney’s release of the 101 DALMATIONS: PLATINUM EDITION, a 2 disc set of the newly-restored 1961 classic about a villainous woman in London who attempts to kidnap all the city’s Dalmatian puppies. Bonuses include: Music video; Games and activities; Three featurettes; Deleted songs. Full screen. Dolby 5.1 surround. DreamWorks brings us BEE MOVIE, featuring the voice of Jerry Seinfeld as a college-educated bee who, when he finds how humans have taken advantage of his species, decides to sue us! Very funny, very clever. Bonuses: Commentary by Seinfeld and filmmakers; Alternate endings and deleted scenes; Trailers; Four featurettes; Video game. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. Sony releases STORMHAWKS: HEROES OF THE SKY, a two disc collection of the series’ first ten episodes, following a group of heroic teens who battle the evil forces of Cyclonia to protect the citizens of Atmos. Bonuses: three bonus episodes. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Paramount releases LIL’ BUSH: RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SEASON ONE in a hilarious, uncensored take of the hit satire from Comedy Central that pokes brilliant fun at our current Resident (I mean, President…). Bonuses: Commentary by Jerry Springer, Ralph Nader and Tucker Carlson; Bonus episode; Interviews with cast and crew. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. SOUTH PARK IMAGINATIONLAND is a new, uncensored feature film that has the boys from South Park being whisked into a magical realm after terrorist launch an attack that unleashes the most evil characters imaginable. Great, politically incorrect fun! Bonuses: Commentary by Trey Parker and Matt Stone; Bonus episodes. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. MGM/UA/Fox releases THE PINK PANTHER AND FRIENDS CLASSIC CARTOON COLLECTION VOL. 6, featuring 17 cartoons with our favorite pink feline foiling the inept Inspector Clouseau. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono. Genius Products releases 3 PIGS AND A BABY, a clever, animated twist on the classic Three Men and a Baby, in which a trio of bachelor pigs stumble upon an orphaned wolf cub. Fun for the whole family. Bonuses: Three featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Shout Factory releases the popular Japanese titles NINJAS LOVE NOODLES and KUNG-FU KISSES, featuring the character of young Pucca who lives with her uncles, chefs at the Go-Rong Restaurant. Fun and off-beat. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Finally, SAM & MAX: FREELANCE POLICE THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES features the irreverent adventures of canine cop Sam and quasi-rabbit Max as they solve the weirdest criminal cases around. Bonuses: Interview with creator Steve Purcell; 3 shorts; Featurette; Series bible; Video game demo. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono.
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP (Sony) A mostly-successful fantasy about a young Scottish boy who discovers a huge egg on the shores of Loch Ness, and takes care of the hatchling inside, which grows into…a “water horse,” or the Loch Ness Monster, depending on your POV. Clever and heartwarming most of the time, cloying once or twice, but that can be overlooked! Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Six featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
AWAKE (Genius Products) Creepy thriller about patients who are in surgery, under anesthesia and completely paralyzed, who are conscious of everything they are experiencing, including the pain! When a wealthy young tycoon (Hayden Christensen) is immobilized by this after heart surgery, he overhears a plot to have him killed. Solid work all the way around, includes fine support from Terrence Howard and Jessica Alba. Bonuses: Commentary by writer/director Joby Harold; Deleted scenes; Featurette; Storyboards; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
THE HORROR, THE HORROR…Some creepy, scary titles that hit disc this month: Genius Products releases Frank Darabont’s adaptation of STEPHEN KING’S THE MIST, a terrific, uncompromising horror flick that also boasts some provocative social commentary. Fine cast includes Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden, and Toby Jones, as denizens of a small New England town holed up in a local supermarket after a strange, thick mist covers their town. Hang on! Bonuses: Commentary by Darabont; Deleted scenes; Two featurettes; Trailers. Widescreen. Dolby5.1 surround. AUTOMATON TRANSFUSION is a worthy addition to the zombie genre, about a group of teens who fight off an army experiment gone horribly wrong. Truly terrifying, and very, very gory! Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Short film; Music videos; Featurette; Commentary by the filmmakers. Widescreen. Dobly 5.1 surround. INSIDE: UNRATED is the horrific tale of a pregnant widow who is visited by a psychotic woman who terrorizes her, and her unborn child, on Christmas Eve. French production is not for the squeamish! Bonuses: Featurette; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. Summit Entertainment releases P2, a crackling little gem of a thriller starring Rachel Nichols as an ambitious yuppie who finds herself in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a psycho security guard (Wes Bentley). Great, claustrophobic fun. Bonuses: Filmmaker commentary; Three featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. Dark Sky Films releases THE DEL TENNEY COLLECTION, three low budget, campy horror flicks from the ‘60s: The Curse of the Living Corpse (film debut of the late Roy Scheider), The Horror of Party Beach, and Violent Midnight, featuring an early turn by James Farentino. Full and widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Severin Films releases the Italian giallo THE SISTER OF URSULA, a delightfully sleazy and depraved thriller about two beautiful sisters: one virginal, and one promiscuous, who find their seaside vacation turned into a nightmare by the most depraved bunch of denizens this side of a Fellini nightmare! Not for the faint-of-heart…Bonuses: Interview with director Enzo Milioni; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Finally, Dark Sky Films releases THEM, a French thriller shot and set in Romania, about a young couple terrorized by shadowy figures outside their rural home. Manages to build up terrific suspense to an absolutely absurd conclusion, made even worse by the “based on a true story” caveat it tries to redeem itself with. Talented filmmakers, weak script! Bonuses: Three featurettes; Trailers. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL! More of televisions greatest hits arrive on DVD this month. A few that we like include Paramount’s releases of the sketch comedy show THE HUMAN GIANT: SEASON ONE, featuring bonuses of additional sketches, deleted scenes and improvs; Early live footage; Commentary by cast and crew. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. BECKER: THE FIRST SEASON features Ted Danson as a caustic Bronx doctor who never lets his grumpiness get in the way of taking care of a patient or two. Full screen. Dobly 2.0 stereo. WINGS: THE SIXTH SEASON features more comical adventures of the employees of Tom Nevers Field. 26 episodes on four discs. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. PERRY MASON: 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION is a four disc “best of” collection of the legendary legal drama’s best episodes. Bonuses include: Vintage screen tests; Interviews with cast and crew; Featurettes; Photo gallery. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. MATLOCK: THE FIRST SEASON stars the venerable Andy Griffith as a folksy Atlanta defense attorney whose easy charm masks a cunning intellect in th courtroom. 7 disc set features 24 episodes. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 surround. THE LOVE BOAT SEASON ONE features the first 12 episodes of the Aaron Spelling classic about romance on the high seas aboard a luxury liner. Bonuses: Episodic promos. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. THE FUGITIVE: SEASON ONE, VOL. 2 features the further adventures of David Janssen’s wrongly-accused Dr. Richard Kimble, on the run from the intrepid Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse). 15 episodes in all. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. THE WILD, WILD WEST: SEASON FOUR features more adventures of Jim West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), 19th century Secret Service agents who battle villains by day, and romance lovely ladies by night! 24 episodes in a 3 disc set. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. THE UNTOUCHABLES: SEASON 2, VOL. 1 stars Robert Stack as G-man Eliot Ness, who fights bootleggers and gangsters during the height of the Depression. 16 episodes. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. THE MOD SQUAD: SEASON ONE, VOL. 2 features more groovy daring-do from three late ‘60s hippies recruited by the LAPD to take on counter-culture crime. 13 epidsodes. Bonuses: Featurette. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. LOVE AMERICAN STYLE: SEASON ONE, VOL. 2 features the remainder of the 1969-70 season, with hilarious episodic stories about that thing called love. Three disc set. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Kultur/S.R.O. releases MIKE DOUGLAS: MOMENTS AND MEMORIES, featuring legendary guests on the ‘60s and ‘70s talk show, including Martin Luther King, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Paul Newman, and young comics like Steve Martin, David Letterman and Billy Crystal. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Shout Factory releases FATHER KNOWS BEST: SEASON ONE, starring Robert Young as the head of a typical 1950s American household. 4 disc set features 26 episodes. Bonuses: New cast interviews; Robert Young’s home movies; Behind-the-scenes color footage; Bonus episodes. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono. Acorn Media releases some fine titles from across the pond, including: CLIVE CUSSLER’S THE SEA HUNTERS: SET 2 which follows some deep sea archaeologists on their treasure-finding adventures. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. INTELLIGENCE, SEASON ONE, follows an elite squad of Canadian cops who tackle organized crime in Vancouver. 14 episodes on 4 discs. Bonuses: Behind-the-scenes clips; Chris Haddock bio; Filmographies. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. D.N.A: THE COMPLETE SERIES stars Tom Conti as renowned, but troubled criminologist who returns to work after a nervous breakdown. Great procedural, with some quirky twists. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. THE ADAMS CHRONICLES is the award-winning miniseries from 1976 that covers the legendary Adams family, and 150 years of American history. 4 disc set. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono.THE BRITISH EMPIRE: IN COLOR features startling color footage from the 1930s-1950s that documents the changing face of Britain. Narrated by Art Malik. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. I REMEMBER NELSON is a classic Masterpiece Theater production from 1981 about legendary Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, whose scandalous private life nearly eclipsed his heroic public exploits. Bonuses: Photo gallery; Cast filmographies. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono.