August 31st 2000:

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August 31st :Oo-er, missus! It’s Sex and Zen 2 on DVD…

Sex, sex and more sex, plus a bit of zen and a mechanical penis! Make ofthat what you will.

Sex and Zen 2is online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film / DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 30th :Robbie sings when he’s winning on CD…

The title of Robbie Williams‘ new album has been seen as a digagainst his former That That band-mate Gary Barlow, who was dumpedby his record company earlier this year. However, after hearing this newalbum, I’d like to think Le Williams is going the same way.

Robbie Williams: Sing When You’re Winningis online and out on CD now.

Got something to say about this album ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 29th :Jesus Christ, they’ve done it! They’ve released Threads on DVD…!

Mick Jackson‘s classic 1984 nuclear warfare drama starring KarenMeagher and Reece Dinsdale was one of the most horrifying filmsever made and still has the same impact sixteen years on.

Threadsis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Bruce Lee ‘enters the dragon’ on widescreen video…

In the continuing series of classic widescreen video reviews,regular DVDfever reviewer Jason Maloney looks at the 1973Bruce Lee classic, Enter the Dragon.

Enter the Dragonis online and out on DVD now.

The French stop off at the Last House on the Left on DVD…

Banned in the UK, but thanks toWayne for the info thatLast House on the Left is coming to DVD (Region 2). The DVD is to bereleased in France in early October (no exact date yet) and will bewidescreen (1.77:1) and anamorphic.

The film will feature an English and French track. Extras will include thetrailer and a bio on director Wes Craven.

Sex Gore Mutants say it’s available right now, but for rental only.

Sega present the future of gaming this Sunday in London…

PREMIERE THE FUTURE OF COMPUTER GAMES

Sega of Europe, the makers of Dreamcast, are to set for another computer games first on Sunday 3rd September by throwing open the doors and inviting the public to preview the best in interactive entertainment due for release over the coming months.

The game playing public is excluded from ECTS, the European Computer Trade Show, Europe’s biggest computer game exhibition, which takes place at Olympia from Sunday to Tuesday that week. With demand for video games at an all time high and the industry generating more revenue than the film business Sega have decided to hold a special public screening of the newest, best and most innovative video games.

The Empire Cinema, Leicester Square London, scene of many a film premiere, will host a UK gaming first with a big screen Dreamcast premiere. Sega are pleased to invite UK gamers to preview the future of electronic entertainment at a very special exclusive preview screening of games due for release this coming Christmas season on Dreamcast, the world’s only internet ready games console.

800 gamers will have the special opportunity to glimpse into the future of online gaming, including for the first time in the UK a viewing of the much-anticipated Quake III Arena on Dreamcast. The main feature will be a specially commissioned 40-minute feature film of some of the best game graphics and in-game play sequences ever seen.

In-game characters such as Sonic, Ulala and the Soul Calibur fighters will be in attendance to pose for pictures and distribute free Dreamcast drinks and popcorn to everyone who comes to the premiere.

To collect a ticket for the hottest game show of the year please go to the Dreamcast stand at the front of The Empire Cinema, Leicester Square, London W1 between 1.30 and 5.30 PM on Sunday 3rd September. The doors open at 6 PM and the big show starts at 6.45. Come along and see the future with Sega Dreamcast.

August 28th :It’s spooky and creepy. It’s the Phantasm Box-Set on DVD…

Released today :

Angus Scrimm is the Tall Man in this trilogy of schlock-horror nonsense,but is he the biggest Bryan Ferry fan around? See my review for thereason why.

Phantasm Box-Setis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Can Gere and Julia recreate the ‘Pretty Woman’ magic in Runaway Bride on DVD…?

Regular DVDfever reviewer Jason Maloney returns with a look at thesequel to the film which made a star of her and resurrected a career for him,but will it work again?

Runaway Brideis online and out on DVD now.

COMPETITION WINNERS: Digby the Biggest Dog in the World on VHS…

Thanks to those who entered and the winners of the competition wereWendy Nugent, Barbara Coughlan, Chris Montgomery and theirvideos will be with them shortly.

Look out next week for a competition to win a Miami Vice double-packof action, shades and Ferrari Testarossas.

Is Madonna making sweet ‘Music’ at No.1…?

To find out the answer – and to see last week’s chart – visit mymusic chart analysis page

What do you think of the state of the charts? Why not discuss it onthe newTalk Talk Forum forum.

New DVDs and widescreen videos out this week

DVDs out this week include :

• The Bachelor (19.99, Entertainment in Video)
• Stargate: Series 2 Vol.7 (19.99, MGM)
• Stereophonics: The Vids (19.99, Visual Entertainment)
• Thunderball (19.99, MGM)
• Topsy-Turvy (19.99, Pathe)

Widescreen videos out this week include :

• L’Ennul (15.99 sub, Artificial Eye)

August 27th :Stevie Ray Vaughan at the El Mocambo on DVD…

The late Stevie Ray Vaughan only made four albums over a seven-yearperiod before his untimely death in 1990, but here’s a classic concert givenin 1983 when he appeared with Double Trouble at the El Mocambo.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble at the El Mocambois online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Sequel-time for Tremors and Darkman on DVD…

Thanks to Marcus Harben from Media Group for following info I’vereceived on two more September DVD release.

Tremors 2: Aftershocks: Fred Ward returns as Earl Bassett for the sequel, fouryears after his conquest of the Graboids. His money waste on a very unsuccessfulOstrich farm, he has another chance to restore both his pride and his bankaccount.

The Graboids have resurfaced at an oilfield in Mexico and are feasting onthe workers. Bassett is offered $50,000 for every Graboid he kills and heteams up with taxi driver Grady Hoover and the beautiful geologist Kate WhiteReilly. All they need now is some serious firepower, so when Burt Gummer,the gun-crazy survivalist from the original film joins the pack, it seemsthat success against the creatures is assured…

Until it becomes apparent that the Graboids are mutating into a terrifyingnew species – Shriekers! Comedy and adventure are combined with SFX from theteams that brought us Jurassic Park andJumanji.

Extras include a trailer, 8 subtitle tracks and 5 dialogue tracks.The film is in widescreen 16:9 and with Dolby surround sound.

Darkman 2: The Return of Durant: The Mummy‘sArnold Vosloo takes over from Liam Neeson in this sequelin which he believed arch-gangster Durant was dead, but he’s back with avengeance.

Durant is determined to take over the US drug trade using a deadly hi-techlaser weapon. The action and violence escalates to new heights as Darkmanwages a spectacular war against his nemesis.

Extras include trailers, 8 subtitle tracks and 5 dialogue tracks and a linkto the Universal website. The film is in widescreen 1.85:1 and with Stereosound.

No prices have been quoted for either disc, but expect to pay between£17.99-19.99.

Tartan’s September/October DVDs and beyond…

Tartan have announced a few titles due out in the next two months but afew of them have worryingly been quoted as having a screen ratio of 4:3.Tartan video has never released such a title on video unless that was theoriginal academy ratio, but I hope to get clarification soon.

One title though, The Hairdresser’s Husband, was originally 2.35:1but Tartan cocked this up good and proper at the time, cropping it to about1.90:1 and sticking it in the bottom half of the screen (!)

September 25th :

• The Idiots: Lars Von Trier’s classic. Widescreen: 1.66:1.Extras: Dogma manifesto, trailer, star and director filmographies, stillsgallery, text interview, character analysis.
• The Hairdresser’s Husband: 4:3 ratio. Extras: star and directorfilmographies, stills gallery, director’s notes, film review (they can havemine! 🙂

October 9th :

• Man Bites Dog: An exceptional film, both genuinely shocking anddisturbing. Widescreen: 1.66:1. Extras: Short film (“Pas de C4 pour Daniel”),star and director filmographies, stills gallery, film review.
• Matador: 4:3 screen ratio. Extras: star and director filmographies,stills gallery, film review.

October 23rd :

• Cinema Paradiso (cinema-length version): 4:3 screen ratio.Extras: trailer, star and director filmographies, stills gallery,interview.
• Cyrano de Bergerac: 4:3 screen ratio. Extras: production notes,star and director filmographies, stills gallery, interview.

Also, coming from Tartan before Christmas :

• Donald Cammell’s Wild Side: a dark psycho-sexual thrillerwith Christopher Walken and celebrated-Hollywood-lesbian-gone-walkaboutAnne Heche.
• The original cult horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
• A slew of Tartan Terror titles including the original video nastyBlood Feast, from ‘The Godfather of Gore’, Herschell Gordon Lewis.
• Alexei Balabanov’s Of Freaks and Men.

Eidos Ricochet range, Thief 3, plus Tomb Raider Chronicles and Level Editor…

Eidos Announces Ricochet Range :

Eidos Interactive is launching a new range, Ricochet, as part of thePlayStation Value Series™. Tomb Raider, FA Manager, Gex: Deep CoverGecko, Warzone 2100 and Firestorm Thunderhawk II will be thefirst titles launched on September 8th at just £9.99.

The Ricochet Range will be supported with a range of in-store POS such asposters, counter standees, shelf strips, window displays and counter displayunits. Advertising includes trade publications and selected consumermedia. There will also be mailings to Eidos’ database, and promotions on itswebsiteEidos.co.uk

“The thrust of the marketing campaign for the launch titles will be in-store,”says Toby Feldman, product manager of the Ricochet Range at Eidos Interactive.

“The price point of under £10 makes them easily accessible to impulse buys. This togetherwith the quality and reputation of the titles and I’m sure the new range will be highlysuccessful.”

Tomb RaiderDeveloper: Core DesignGenre: Action/AdventureELSPA Rating: 15+Adventurer Lara Croft has been hired to recover the pieces of anancient artefact known as the Scion. With her fearless acrobatic styleshe runs, jumps, and swims her way toward the truth of it’s originsand powers – leaving only a trail of empty tombs and gun-cartridgesin her wake. On this trail are the most breath-taking 3D worlds yetseen – where exploration, puzzle and platform elements blend in aseamless real-time environment.- 16 original levels encompassing four continents – Over 5,000 frames of animation on the main character, Lara, alone – Unique multi-target acquisition system – State of the art intelligent third person perspective cinematiccamera system – Multi-genre immersive gameplay – The first real 3D interactive exploratory adventurePress Awards/ScoresOFFICIAL PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE – 10/10 (StarPlayer)CV&G – 5/5 (High Five)PLAY MAGAZINE – 90% (Classic)MEAN MACHINES PLAYSTATION – 93% (Red Hot)PLAY – 9/10 (Game of the Month)FA ManagerDeveloper: KrysalisGenre: Football ManagementELSPA Rating: 3+Take total control with the most realistic football management gameever released on the PlayStation. Produced with the full endorsementof the Football Association, FA Manager contains exclusive knowledgeof player contracts, wages and bonus structures. Featuring exclusivecommentary by Brian Moore ‘The Voice of Football’ for over 30 years,in game 3D action sequences, and an innovative menu system allowingquick navigation to all options and data.- Database containing all four English leagues, the GM Conferencealong with many non-league and top European clubs- Commentary by Brian Moore – ‘The Voice of Football’- Buy, sell, loan or borrow players from across the leagues- Check the performance of any team in the database- A pre-game tacti-grid enables players to choose team formationand game plan before the matchPress Awards/ScoresTOTAL PLAYSTATION – 92% (Bang On Award) STATION – 90%Gex: Deep Cover GeckoDeveloper: Crystal DynamicsGenre: 3D PlatformELSPA Rating: 11+Get reacquainted with an all-new Gex and his Miss Adventures.Gex makes a triumphant return in Gex: Deep Cover Gecko, as aninternational secret agent for hire. Gex’s next mission is to findthe beautiful Agent Xtra, who has been kidnapped by Gex’s archnemesis, Rez. – Over 25 original disguises Including Private Gex, Count Dracugexand Long John Gex- Over 1,000 wise-cracks, celebrity impressions and in-game hintsfrom famous actor Danny John-Jules- Help Gex control army tanks, scuba dive, snowboard and evenride crocodiles- Baywatch’s Marliece Andrada stars as the beautiful Agent XtraPress Awards/ ScoresSTATION – ‘Triple A Title’ 93%PLAYSTATION MAX – 86% Silver AwardEXTREME PLAYSTATION – 91%PLAYSTATION PRO – 90 %Warzone 2100Developer: Pumpkin StudiosGenre: Real-time strategyELSPA Rating: 11+In 2085 the world ended. In 2100 we emerged to build a new world.We knew it was going to be tough there. What we didn’t know wasthat the war against NEXUS was about to begin. Warzone: 2100 takesreal-time strategy to an exciting new dimension.- Amazing 3D terrain- Fast-action combat- In-depth strategy- Transparency effects and Gouraud shaded landscape- Design, develop and build over 2200 combat units- Explore the unique setting of the devastated Earth in threediverse campaigns- Resource management and real-time decision making- True 3D environment-interaction from any viewpoint- Sophisticated Artificial Intelligence governs enemybehaviour and combatPress Awards/ScoresSTATION – 92% (Triple A Award)OFFICIAL UK PLAYSTATION – 9/10 (Star Player Award)PLAYSTATION PRO – 93%PLAYSTATION MAX – 90%Firestorm ThunderHawk IIDeveloper: Core DesignGenre: Action / HelicopterELSPA Rating: 11+You are ‘Firestorm One’, your task is to lead a crack force ofAH-73M Thunderhawk Attack Helicopters, commissioned by NATO andcomplete dangerous missions. Clear Serbian forces blocking ahumanitarian convoy, and sort out the Columbian drug cartels! – Intensive enemy attack patterns for relentless action- Diverse variety of terrain including canyons, hills, seasand deserts- Fully-textured 3D Landscape- Mission-specific objectives

Yesterday I completed Thief 2. Now, Thief 3 is coming…

Eidos Interactive announced today the continuation of the immensely popularThief franchise for PC CD-ROM and the PlayStation® 2 Computer Entertainment System.

Eidos Interactive is pleased to report that further iterations of the Thief franchise, will bedeveloped in the Austin, Texas offices of Ion Storm and will be lead by Warren Spector,who contributed on the original Thief: The Dark Project. Warren has also produced otherhighly praised titles including System Shock, Ultima Underworld, and most recently, DeusEx. Several members of the original Thief team have already signed on with Ion Storm tocontinue working on the series and more announcements are expected soon.

Warren Spector states, “With Thief, LookingGlass Studios created an entirely new kind ofgame and, in so doing, changed the face of gaming forever. We here in the Austin officeare thrilled, proud and a bit humbled at the prospect of continuing and building on thework of the talented men and women who made Thief and Thief 2. Several of us cut ourteeth working with those folks, our design philosophies were developed in collaborationwith them and, plain and simple, we’re fans ourselves. To all the other fans out there, wesay: Rest easy. We respect the Thief tradition and we’ll do everything in our power notonly to live up to everyone’s justifiably high expectations but to surpass them.”

“This is great news for all fans of the Thief series,” states Eidos’ Vice President ofDevelopment, Nick Earl. “Warren has proven his game design talents time and time again.The next Thief will undoubtedly be the greatest to date.”

No release date has yet been set for the tentatively titled “Thief 3.”

EIDOS TO RELEASE TOMB RAIDER PC LEVEL EDITOR

Due for release November 2000, the PC format of Tomb Raider Chronicles will include thehighly acclaimed Tomb Raider level editor – as used to create previous Tomb RaiderAdventures. The system will allow users to create and play their own unique Tomb Raiderlevels.

Having received numerous requests for the release of the editor, Core Design has nowdecided to release all the tools and systems required for users to create levels in the samemanner as the Tomb Raider team themselves.

The software includes a tutorial, allowing users to familiarise themselves with each aspectof designing their own levels. Core Design and Eidos plan further support via dedicatedwebpages offering advice, troubleshooting and download updates such as new texturesand enemies.

Tomb Raider Chronicles will also be released for Dreamcast and PlayStation formatsNovember 2000.

Sega Dreamcast’s release schedule updated…

Thanks to Stuart fromBell Pottinger forthe following updated info :

TitleRelease DatePriceVirtua Athlete
Virtua Tennis
Space Channel 5
Timestalkers
M-SR
Extreme Sports
Quake 3
Jet Set Radio
Sega GT
Shenmue
Samba De Amigo
SWWS 2001
Phantasy Star Online01-Sep-00
08-Sep-00
06-Oct-00
13-Oct-00
20-Oct-00
27-Oct-00
10-Nov-00
24-Nov-00
01-Dec-00
01-Dec-00
08-Dec-00
08-Dec-00
15-Dec-00£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99
£ 39.99 August 26th :Baa, Baa, Black Sheep Affair on DVD…

Martial arts mayhem with Chiu Man Chuk and Qi Shu, but where’sthe script?

The Black Sheep Affairis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

BBC Autumn shake-up…

As has been rumoured in recent months, the following changes have beenannounced by Roger DeCourcey look-a-like BBC Director General Greg Dyke.

BBC ONE will continue to have popular drama shows, but the Nine O’Clock Newsis to move to 10pm, which should, thankfully, mean that ITV’s News at Tenwill never return.

BBC TWO will continue with specialist and minority programmes, presumablyincluding the censoring of excellent post-watershed shows like Lamarr’sAttacks.

BBC THREE is the new name for BBC Choice and BBC FOUR replacesBBC Knowledge, but both will show kids programmes during the day.

BBC NEWS 24 will make up the fifth channel.

Friends 6 and Underworld…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor much of the following info. I’ve received the info about Underworldmyself, but Andy’s got the OCR, not me 🙂

Warner have officially announced Friends series 6 on DVD for October16th. There will be 3 disks each containing 8 episodes and priced at £19.99. There will be a boxset of all 3 disks for £59.99.

Visual have announce Underworld: Everything Everythingwith a stunning array of extras that push the envelope for DVD, at least inthe music arena. The disk is releases October 9th priced at £19.99. Here’sthe features (taken from the PR):

• The 1st menu provides a choice of 3 languages: English, Japanese and Welsh. From here you’re taken to the main menu which has several options.
• The Everything Everything module contains 90 minutes of dynamic live footage which is edited from the Underworld tour including festivals like Fuji Rock in Japan, Pink Pop and Glastonbury.
• Live Tomoto Art Jam is a 90 minute alternative To the live concert visuals, containing Tomato imagery with the same soundtrack as the concert footage. You can also swap between the live performance and synchronised art visuals.
• The select a track option gives you the chance to select individual tracks for viewing.
• Program your Gig – Here you can pre-program your track order in which the concert runs
• Out takes – a 4 minute montage of concert footage moments Kittens and Rowla – 2 additional Dolby Digital tracks accompanied by Tomato artwork.
• Dolby Digital 5.1 which makes full use of all the latest in house surround sound technology.
• 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo – a special stereo mix designed by the band to give you the best possible sound on a regular stereo system.

The DVD rom section contains the following interactive features:

• Dogboy head set is an engaging sample player and mix generator. Here you can creatively activate sampled sounds by dragging the mouse over the shapes on the screen. You can also modify the speaker through which the sounds are heard.
• One Visor offers 52 different moving images that can be displayed simply by tapping on the computer keyboard whilst a live versiQn of Underworld’s track ‘Dark and Long’ is played.
• Live allows you to have exclusive access to audio and visual material via the internet including film footage that has never been available and data files that can be downloaded to increase the gameness Qf the DVD rom.These will be updated at regular intervals.

More DVD PR rounding-up…

Once Upon a Time in China and America is released October 23rd.Jet Li, star of the Hollywood blockbuster Romeo Must Diereturns as Wong Fei Hung, the legendary Chinese Hero.

The DVD (£19.99) contains both fullscreen and widescreen versions,two trailers, a 30-min featurette, biogs and a production stills gallery.

Brothers is an eye-opening and stomach-turning cinematic homage toholiday hedonism (it says here). The film features a group of lads on thepull and getting pissed in sunny Greece.

For £19.99, it’s out on October 16th, but no other details are yet known.

Dreamscape, the Dennis Quaid-starring sci-fi thriller is outon October 23rd for £15.99.

The DVD will be in widescreen, features a Dolby Digital soundtrack (5.1 orjust surround?), the US trailer, biogs and filmogs, a still-frame SFX showreelcovering the amazing ‘Snakeman’ mutation sequence and a nightmare-inducing’Things That Make You Jump’ feature.

Chuck Connors appear three times in DVDs for just £9.99 apiece.No date is specified, but it’s probably October like the rest.

Good Guys Wear Black, A Force of One and The Octagon are thethree. Each are in fullscreen and don’t appear to have any extras.

Finally, THREE’s company for two other fullscreen extras-free DVDs :Amityville III: The Demon and Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

October 9th is the date and £9.99 is the price, but when it comes tocropping a 2.35:1 film like Halloween 3 down to 4:3, it just looks likeit’ll be an expensive coaster.

August 25th :Alice in Chains go Unplugged on DVD…

Another grunge rock band in the vein of Nirvana, Alice in Chainsperform a set for MTV Unplugged, but when you hear it will you want tounplug your speakers?

Alice in Chains Unpluggedis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Charlton Heston is The Omega Man on widescreen video…

In the first of a short series of classic widescreen video reviews,regular DVDfever reviewer Jason Maloney delves into the 1971Charlton Heston sci-fi outing, The Omega Man.

The Omega Manis online now.

Got something to say about this DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Updated cinema listings…

Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The listof the films showing at Manchester Showcase Cinemacan be found on this page.

This week’s new films are : There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble, Gossip, CherryFalls, Shanghai Noonand reviews of Cherry Falls,X-Men,M:I-2andGone in 60 Secondsare online now.

Extensive DVD PR round-up…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor much of the following info. I’ve received some of the press releasesmyself, but haven’t had time to update my site with it.

An update on the EiV September titles. Still no details on the features buthere are the dates.

11th September, Magnolia, Tumbleweed, Pecker.
25th September Next Friday.

The full sound and picture information for September 4th Paramount titles.

• Top Gun. 2.0:1 anamorphic with DD 5.1 sound.
• War of the Worlds 1.33:1 Stereo.
• 48 Hours 1.85:1 non-anamorphic, DD5.1 sound. Includes the trailer.
• A Night at the Roxbury 1.78:1 anamorphic picture with DD 5.1 sound. Includes the trailer.
• Varsity Blues 1.78:1 anamorphic picture with DD 5.1 sound. Includes trailer an 10 minute featurette.
• Black Rain 2.35:1 non-anamorphic and DD5.1 sound.

Included in the latest batch of Paramount disks is a leaflet “Are you sittingcomfortably” that lists all their titles until the end of the year. Although the dates are flexible the leaflet it does list the extra featuresplanned for the upcoming disks. Here then is a run down of these features,although of course these are subject to change.

• Saving Private Ryan 2 Trailers, production notes, featurette.
• The General’s Daughter 2 trailers, 4 cut scenes, alternate ending, behind the scenes featurette, commentary. Due October but could now be November.
• Apocalypse Now Trailer, Original program excepts, 9-minute commentary by Coppola. (October 2nd)
• Witness Interview with Peter Weir and trailer
• A Civil Action Production featurette and trailer
• Chinatown Exclusive interviews and trailer.
• Election Commentary by Alexander Payne

The following disks will only have a trailer for an extra The Ghost and the Darkness, Another 48 Hours, The Firm (two trailers), Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Hunt for Red October, The Saint, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, Jade, Clueless (two trailers), Scrooged, Barbarella and Event Horizon.

It’s all change at Fox for their pre-Christmas schedule :

• Young Frankenstein Oct 23
• Fight Club 6th November
• X-Files Season 1 box set 6th November
• Edward Scissorhands 20th November
• The Beach Possibly end of December

This leaves Planet of the Apes, IndependenceDay and The Abyss all moved until January. The date forBraveheart is still unknown.

Pathe have announced Asterix and Obelix Take on Caesar for release October 2nd priced at £19.99. The only extra on the disk willbe the theatrical trailer. The PR makes no mention of picture ratio or soundformat.

MGM have announced their full line-up for October including two new Bond filmsand the infamous This is Spinal Tap. All disks are £19.99. The fulllist with extras is as follows:

• Diamonds are forever 23rd October
  • Inside Diamonds Are Forever documentary
  • Cubby Broccoli – The Man Behind Bond documentary
  • Audio Commentary featuring director: Guy Hamilton
  • Deleted Scenes:
    • Dinner with Plenty
    • Plenty Returns
    • Sammy Davis Jnr
    • Through the Alley again
  • Trailers:
    • The Christmas Teaser
    • Release Trailer
    • 4xTVSpots
  • Radio Spots:
    • Only One Man…
    • Sean Connery as James Bond
    • Only One Man – Version 2
• Live and Let Die 23rd October
  • Inside Live and Let Die documentary
  • Behind the Scenes: Richard Dix’s Number One Fan
  • Behind the Scenes: Go Fly a Kite
  • On Set with Roger Moore:
    • Hangliding Lessons
    • The Funeral Parade
  • 2 x Audio Commentaries featuring Guy Hamilton and Tom Mankiewicz
  • 2 x theatrical trailers
  • 2xTVSpots
  • 2xRadioSpots
  • UK Milk Commercial
• This is Spinal Tap 16th October
  • Digitally remastered version with 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack
  • All-new audio commentary from the band, including lead vocalist David St.Hubbins, co-lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, and bassist Derek Smalls
  • All-new interview with director and star Rob Reiner
  • Over 1 hour of rare footage which includes never-before-seen out takes
  • A rare TV appearance on the Joe Franklin Show
  • Flower People press conference
  • Three original theatrical trailers
  • Three TV spots
  • Four rarely seen music videos including: Hell Hole, Listen To The Flower People, Big Bottom and Gimme Some Money
  • Three rare rock ‘n’ roll commercials
• The Rage: Carrie 2 23th October. Includes: Alternate ending, deleted scenes, directors commentary and US theatrical trailer
• Some Like it Hot 9th October. Includes the trailer and a 8 page booklet
• The Mod Squad 9th October.
• Poltergeist 2 23rd October. Includes the original trailer. (Warner Brothers are believed to be releasing Poltergeist at around the same time)
• Delta Force 1 23rd October. Includes the trailer
• Delta Force 2 23rd October. Includes the trailer

Warner have announced Mel Gibson in Million Dollar Hotel for 30thOctober Day and Date with the VHS release. Priced at £15.99 the disk featuresa 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and Dolby 5.1 sound. Extras include the trailerand a 10 minute featurette with director Wim Wenders, Bono and Deepak Nayaar.By the way there does not apopear to be a R1 release date for this feature setyet.

Warner have also announced Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tim Mathesonin The Story of us. The disk will be 1.85:1 aspect ratio with DD 5.1sound. Extras include a 20 minute documentary on The Story of us and afeature length audio commentary by Rob Reiner.

Nintendo shows its hand with the Gamecube…

Thanks toCTW.co.ukfor the following info :

Nintendo has finally lifted the lid on its next generation console -revealing at its Spaceworld 2000 event that it will be called simplyGamecube (shite name but I still want one! – Ed.) and will launch inJapan in July 2001.

The much-vaunted 128-bit console will be launched with five titles inNintendo’s home country, although a price point has yet to be decided. ANorth American release will follow in October, with playable softwaredebuting at next year’s E3 show. A number of games are currently indevelopment for the console, with exact titles being announced closer tolaunch, although we should expect to see some of the household names thatNintendo is famous for.

“It is a given that the Nintendo Gamecube will offer better graphics andhigher quality sound, but more importantly it will allow developers thefreedom to concentrate on creativity without worrying about the technicallimitations,” stated Shigeru Miyamoto.

Nintendo also announced that Game Boy Advance will go on sale in Japan onMarch 21st 2001 at a suggested retail price of 9,800 yen. The initialsoftware library is expected to include 10 titles, while the handheld willalso play nearly 1,000 titles already available for the Game Boy and GameBoy Color. The Advance is currently planned to launch in North America andEurope in July 2001.

In addition, the Gamecube and the Game Boy Advance will combine in a numberways. Games can be created to allow data transfer in either directionbetween the systems, while the Advance can be used as a discreet controllerto direct action on the Gamecube.

Just a shame it looks like one of those Dixons 20quid karaoke machines forfive-year-olds. I thought they were trying to aim for adults this time?

Dreamcast & PS2 price cuts and Big Brother on PC…

Thanks toCTW.co.ukfor the following info :

Dream price cut in store

Sega is set to cut the price of Dreamcast on September 4th to £149 tokick start sales in the console, and unveil a £19.99 budget range.

PS2 price cut early 2001?

PlayStation 2 could receive a price cut in the early part of next year, SCEEpresident Chris Deering said this week.

Watching you…

Nasty Nick will get the chance to return to the Big Brother household afterall, after Infogrames grabbed the rights to publish a PC version of the hitChannel 4 series.

Sega sponsors MTV video music awards…

Sega SPONSORS MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS;
Gaming COMPANY TO INTRODUCE SEGANET
and new ad campaign TO 22 MILLION VIEWERS

Sega’s Newest Brand Icon to Appear in Shows Promotionsss

San Francisco – Sega of America today announced their second consecutive commitment to be a title sponsor for the MTV Video Music Awards and will launch a new ad campaign to support SegaNet, the only high-speed online gaming network and ISP service. The VMAs, which air live on September 7, 2000, will mark Sega’s kick-off multi-million marketing and advertising campaign to support this unprecedented online gaming service. In addition, Ulala, the dancing sensation from the hit Sega game “Space Channel 5”, will be presenting the best dance video category in 50 spots that will air from now until September 7, 2000.

“We introduced Dreamcast last year during the VMAs, which became the most successful product launch in entertainment retail history,” says Joe Culley, vice president of marketing for Sega of America. “This year we’ll use this show to introduce an audience of 22 million to SegaNet, a gaming network that is going to redefine the industry. We’re delivering on our promise to take video gaming to the next level, which is through online game play.”

The SegaNet advertising campaign is designed to appeal to the competitive nature of gamers who can now play opponents across the street or across the country through the Internet. Sega will debut one 60-second spot and two 30-second spots during the broadcast. In addition, Ulala, the dancing sensation from the popular Sega game “Space Channel 5” will promote the show by introducing the best dance video category in 50 spots featuring “Gomi’s Lair Remix”, the hit single from the Tommy Boy Silver Label: Space Channel 5 Mexican Flyer CD.

These promotions will air from now until September 7. Since the release of “Space Channel 5” in June, this super-sexy alien crime fighter has graced hundreds of magazine pages and airwaves.

The “2000 MTV Video Music Awards” will feature performances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, DMX, Blink 182, Janet Jackson, N*SYNC, Eminem, Britney Spears and Rage Against the Machine. Hosted by the Wayans brothers, Shawn and Marlon, the “2000 MTV Video Music Awards” will broadcast live fromRadio City Music Hall in New York City on Thursday, September 7 at 8:00PM (ET).

Universal Playback VHS box-sets…

Thanks to Deborah Carey for the classy pamphlet I’ve receivedregarding some boxsets due out in time for Christmas :

October 10th :

Classic TV Box Sets

All of these are £19.99 each (saving £10 off the RRP), eachvideo contains unreleased episodes, each boxset averages 8hours running time.

• The Action Men: A-Team, Six Million Dollar Man, Knight Rider
• Classic TV Westerns: Alias Smith & Jones, The Virginian, The Men from Shiloh
• Watching the Detectives Set 1: Columbo, Ironside, Quincy
• Watching the Detectives Set 2: Kojak, Banacek, The Rockford Files

November 6th :

Xena and Hercules Series 2

Box-sets embossed & ‘leatherette’ effect, individually numbered,£34.99 each. The Boxsets contain the entire unreleased Series 2 ofXena and Hercules.

• Xena Warrior Princess Series 2 Episodes 1-11
• Xena Warrior Princess Series 2 Episodes 12-22
• Hecurles Series 2 Episodes 1-12
• Hecurles Series 2 Episodes 13-24

December 4th :

Battlestar Galactica: The complete TV movies

The ultimate collection of the cult 70s sci-fi series. Contains 6 cassettewith two 94-minute movies on each. Total running time: 19 hours. Price: £49.99.

August 24th :David Lynch tells a Straight Story on DVD…

Richard Farnsworth drives his lawnmower 317 miles to see his estrangedbrother. Sounds boring as hell, but read the review to find out why it’sone of the most interesting and intriguing films I’ve seen recently.

The Straight Storyis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 23rd :It’s no lottery – It’s Thunderball on DVD…

Released Monday August 28th :

The fourth Sean Connery Bond film and the first to be shot in 2.35:1Panavision, the full width of the spectacle being recreated here with tonsof extras as MGM’s Bond collection goes from strength to strength.

Thunderballis online and out on DVD from next Monday.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 22nd :EDtv: get some reality TV on DVD…

Matthew McConaughey is the Ed in question, but after the adventof ‘Big Brother’, can one man alone entertain a nation?

EDtvis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

The No.1 slot – was it Spiller or Spice…?

To find out the answer – and to see last week’s chart – visit mymusic chart analysis page

What do you think of the state of the charts? Why not discuss it onthe newTalk Talk Forum forum.

The Deep Throat CD soundtrack: drink up…!

Thanks to Daniel Furniss from Hot Rod Productions

“Deep Throat, deeper than deep your throat.
Deep Throat, don’t row a boat,
don’t get your goat, that’s all she wrote,
Deep Throat”

This is a unique aural experience.

In fact in its strange history the recording has become legendary. Thisis the real thing, the definitive porno soundtrack.

Since the film’s release in 1972, there have been two issues of thesoundtrack – the first available at the original screening, simplypackaged in a plain white sleeve with a black and white sticker andextreme hardcore photo. This item is very scarce and seldom reaches themarket, with copies selling for around $400 in mint condition.

The second issue, from Sandy Hook Records in 1981, is also a scarcemonster, with copies selling for around $150 on ebay, and a copy sellingrecently in London for £100.

The recording as now issued on Bonk, in association with Hot RodProductions, is the complete film. This includes all the trashy dialoguein addition to the marvellous music.

The music itself is extraordinary, starting with Linda Lovelace’sintroductory theme and moving quickly into “Blowing Bubbles” – a campbut groovy experience. The highlight for many collectors has always been”Love is Strange”, an eight minute twisted funk workout with mad effectsand breakdowns which sums up the ‘porno sound’ better than any othertrack of any time.

Of the many other highlight there is a strange version of the Coca-Colatheme tune – “It’s The Real Thing” – with spooky vibes and lyrics thatgo well beyond the ridiculous. From sleazy to sexy, from weird to wild,even hip to trippy, this score has it all. It is a legend because thereis nothing quite like it anywhere. Oh, and of course there’s endlesssalacious dialogue to sample.

Whilst the quality of the recording is not perfect, this new release iswithout doubt the best it has ever been. There are no original mastersavailable, as they are all still held by the FBI. And the film was madeon a shoestring, so sound quality was never part of the brief. But partof the recording’s charm lays very much in this original sound.

The groovy musicians involved remain anonymous and any information thatmay lead to them is still held by the authorities. Just imagine they allhad loads of facial hair, think handlebar moustaches, high pants andvery tight shirts. The girls singing probably looked the same.

To sum it all up, this is the finest ever release of this legendaryscore and the first for 20 years. It’s a collector’s dream, and verymuch the peak of underground soundtrack listening.

Enjoy, and Deep Throat to you all…

HOT ROD PRODUCTIONS

Deep Throat is now available on CD and vinyl from Virgin, HMV and allgood record stores. Original video and DVD out now on the Cultpornlabel.

A review of Deep Throatis online and out on DVD now.

URwired.com no longer…

Thanks toCTW.co.ukfor the following info :

UR liquidated

European Games and DVD e-tailer URwired.com ceased trading this week, afterthe firm fell victim to a lack of funding.

“Unfortunately the funding needed to keep the company running was not madeavailable to us in time so we had to shut URwired.com down,” commented MDand founder Mattias Lamotte.

“Ironically we had some exciting deals in the pipeline with some big namecompanies which we were unable to sign because of our financial situation.”

The company has now closed leaving 24 staff positions redundant.

Earlier today, Lamotte told CTW “We’re looking at the company beingliquidated on August 30th, and will be sending out a letter to ourcreditors.”

Asked why he felt the business had failed, Lamotte blamed a lack of faithfrom the financial market.

“No-one placed any value on the business we built; the people in thefinancial market had no interest. They were afraid of our business toconsumer model, and did not understand that we were selling goods thatultimately will be delivered down the wire, with no shipping costs,” hesaid.

“They put us in the same category as Boo.com, but that was clearly wrong,”Lamotte added.

Paramount, Castle and Disney DVD updates…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor the following info :

According to Paramount’s PR Star Trek: Generations is now delayed until2nd of October. The other titles for September 4th : War of the Worlds, BlackRain, Varsity Blues, Night at the Roxbury and Top Gun are all still on target.

Castle’s next set of disks are the following, released on Septmeber 17th.

• Dune: Alan Smithee Version: This is the 3 hour made for TV versionwith around 35 minutes of material not in the existing theatrical release.It is important to remember that this version was made specifically for showingon US TV so one or two moments of excessive violence where removed and thepicture was reframed for 4:3 viewing. Since this was done in the early 80’sthe sound was remixed into mono for showing on TV. To be honest this shouldbe thought of as a completely different version and any fan of the film shouldhave both versions in their collection. As far as I am aware this version hasonly ever been available on Japanese Laserdisk previously.
• Blue Velvet: Finally the film will be released in widescreen ! Not only that, but Castle tell me the film has been digitally cleaned up tomake the picture more acceptable. The disk will include a 45 minute interviewwith Dennis Hopper who talks about his life in the movies including his workon Blue Velvet.
• Conan the destroyer. Widescreen with the original Mono soundtrack.
• Firestarter Widescreen and Stereo with trailer. I think a lot ofpeople will have forgotten this 1980’s Steven King adaptation with a soundtrackby “Tangerine Dream” but it’s well worth a look.
• Yes: Keys to Ascension 2½ hours long and anamorphicwidescreen. Stereo and Dolby Stereo sound

AndyC at the R2 Project has just confirmed with the Disney PR people thatToy Story 2 will be released November 6th priced at £22.99. The PRpeople also confirmed that a box set of Toy Story and Toy Story 2will be released on the same day.

Harry Potter actor named…

And it’sDaniel Radcliffe from the BBC drama David Copperfield whowill appear in the Warner Bros. film.

Don’t start queueing at the cinema though as it won’t be on the silver screenuntil the end of 2001.

The parting of the lips…

Yes, celebrated Hollywood lesbians Anne Heche and Ellen Degenereshave split after 3½ years.

August 21st :Cherry Falls, but is it worth dropping into the cinema on Friday…?

Released in the cinema on Friday :

Brittany Murphy is the high-school teen who’s just one of the virginstargetted by a deranged female killer who has come back into town after25 years. The film also stars Michael Biehn and Jay Mohr.

Cherry Fallsis online and out at the cinema from Friday August 25th.

Got something to say about this film ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Howard Jones has a new album out on double CD…

Fellow DVDfever readers, You Know I Love You, Don’t You? Everythingaround us is Natural, don’t fight it, so seek out what must be thePearl in the Shell of this month’s album releases and check outJason Maloney‘s review.

Howard Jones: Pefawmis online and out on CD now.

COMPETITION for Digby and a WINNER for Rogue Trader on DVD…

Thanks to those who entered and the winner of the competition wasTina Seymour, whose DVD will be with her shortly.

Also, there’s a competition to win Digby the Biggest Dog in the Worldon video.

Click on the COMPETITION heading on the left for a chance to wina copy on video of this film starring Jim Dale which is out on videonow.

New DVDs out this week

• Baby Geniuses (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• The Beach (rental, Fox)
• Birth of a Nation (19.99, Eureka)
• Black Beauty (15.99, Warner)
• Bon Jovi: Live from London (17.99, Universal)
• City Hall (15.99, Warner)
• Dolores Clairborne (15.99, Warner)
• Double Impact (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• End of the Affair (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Jimi Hendrix Story (15.99, Warner)
• Memphis Belle (cut) (15.99, Warner)
• Metallica Vol.1 (17.99, Universal)
• Metallica Vol.2 (17.99, Universal)
• Red Rock West (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• The Towering Inferno (15.99, Warner)

DVD PR round-up…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor much of the following info. I’ve received some of the press releasesmyself, but haven’t had time to update my site with it.

Warner brothers have announced “2010 – the Year we make contact“

Discover for yourself ten years early that “we are not alone” in the universewhen Warner Home Video releases the science fiction masterpiece 2010: The YearWe Make Contact on DVD Video on 11 September priced £15.99 RRP.

Certain to prove a huge smash hit with DVD and sci-fi enthusiasts, this filmis based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke and a highly impressive sequel toStanley Kubrick’s epic 2001: A Space Odyssey (where is the UK DVD Warner?!).The story of the Hal 9000 computer, the spaceship U.S.S. Discovery and themysterious black monoliths continues in 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

Featuring an impressive array of stars in the form of Roy Scheider, JohnLithgow and Helen Mirren and superbly written, directed and shot by PeterHyams (End of Days, The Relic), 2010 is so rich in theme and detail, viewerswill be compelled to watch it over and over again!

Now film fans can marvel at the breathtaking cinematography and special effectswith all the benefits that DVD has to offer: stunning crystal clear picture(the best ever), Dolby digital 5.1 sound and anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1)presentation, so none of the action is missed or blurred.

Synopsis:
A joint American – Soviet expedition headed by Dr Haywood Floyd (Roy Scheider)and Tanya Kirbuk (Helen Mirren) are sent to Jupiter to discover what wentwrong with the U.S.S. Discovery and to investigate what happened to DaveBowman ten years earlier. Among the mysteries the expedition must explainagainst a backdrop of growing global tensions are the appearance of a hugeblack monolith in Jupiter’s orbit and the fate of H.A.L., the Discovery’ssentient computer.

VCI have announced Filmfour’s “Welcome to Sarajevo“and “Kama Sutra – A Tale of Love” for October the 2nd  both priced at £19.99.

• “Welcome to Sarajevo”  will feature a 16:9 anamorphic picture with a Dolby Surround mix.  Extras will be cast and crew intervies, behind the scenes footage, theatrical trailers and TV Sports.
• “Kama Sutra – A Tale of Love” will feature a Dolby Surround mix, cast and crew interviews, and a featurette.  There is no picture ratio information given.

Second Sight have announced “Les Enfants Du Paradis“for release September 18th.  The film (apparently “The Best French film evermade”) has been completely restored from the original negative using digitaltechnology.  The disk will be presented in 4:3 (probably the origianl ratio) with theoriginal mono soundtrack and will feature the original theatrical trailer.

AvIvA have announced “Twilight Zone volumes 7 and 8 forthe 28th of August.  Both disks are £15.99 The episodes on these disks are:

“Volume 7“

• “Perchance to Dream”
• “The Hitch-Hiker”
• “King Nine will not return” (An episode everyone remembers as a film that never existe or as a real tale from World War 2″
• “Shadow Play”

“Volume 8“

• “Third from the Sun”
• “The Shelter”
• “To Serve Man” (with a twist in the tale that has to been seen to be believed!)
• “The Fugitive”

EiV have announced two disks for August.

• “The Bachelor” 14th August priced at £19.99.   The disk is presented 16:9 widescreen with Stereo sound and includes the theatrical trailer.

• “Body Shots” will be releases August 21st also at £19.99. The disk is presented 16:9 widescreen

IMC Vision have announced two major Rap releases for the 11th ofSeptember -“Tupac – Words Never Die” and “NotoriusB.I.G – Bigga Tahn Life“, both priced at £12.99 and running for around 50minutes.  Both are presented as 4:3 fullscreen.

Warner have announced Get Carter For the 16th of October withsome special features. Priced at £19.99 the disk features:

• AUDIO COMMENTARIES
• Writer / director Mike Hodges
• Cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky.
• MUSIC ONLY SOUNDTRACK
• Listen to genius Roy Budds incredible music score for the film
• THREE FANTASTIC TRAILERS
• Original US theatrical trailer
• Michael Caines personal introduction to the film
• Roy Budd plays the theme tune to the movie

We have had a bit of an advance warning of Downtowns slate for nextyear. I’m sure they will be as good as Summer as Sam

• The long delayed Orphans complete with deleted scenes thought to be lost will now be available on 27th of November
• The Last days 27 Jan 2001
• Kadosh Jan 2001
• Toms midnight GardenFeb 2001
• Twin falls Idaho Sept 2001
• Switchblade Sisters Early 2001

There are others (such as Debbie Harry in Union City) but theseare second quarter 2001 so its best to leave them to see how they pan out

The October releases from Columbia just came in. Here we go briefly

• Jurassic Park Oct 10th

Special Features: 50min Making Of Jurassic Park Feature, Early Pre-Production Meetings Feature, Storyboards, Animatics, Production Photographs, Theatrical Trailers, Dinosaur Encyclopedia, Production Notes, Cast & Filmaker Biographies, DVD Rom link to the set of Jurassic Park 3

• JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD COLLECTORS EDITION BOX-SET. Oct 10th Price £34.99

JURASSIC PARK . Special Features: AS ON SOLO DISC ABOVE

THE LOST WORLD. Special Features: 53min documentary The Making of The Lost World , Deleted Scenes (7mins), Storyboards, Illustrations & Conceptual Drawings, Production Photographs & Models, Features on The World of Jurassic Park and the special effects team at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Dinosaur Encyclopaedia special menu facts about dinosaurs, 3 x Original Theatrical Trailers, including the trailer for the forthcoming Jurassic Park 3 , Production Notes, Cast & Filmmakers Notes, DVD Rom Features

• ERIN BROCKOVICH – Simultaneous Rental & DVD Release 16th October. Special Features: Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Featurette, Trailer, Filmographies, Menus & Isolated Music Score
• PERMANENT MIDNIGHT Simultaneous Rental & DVD Release 23rd October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Directors Commentary, EPK, TV and Radio Spots, Trailer, Production Notes, Filmographies
• ONE FALSE MOVE 16th October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Directors Commentary, Filmographies
• LEGENDS OF THE FALL COLLECTORS EDITION 16th October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Feature Length Commentary with Brad Pitt and Edward Zwick, Deleted Scenes, Feature Length Commentary with Cinematographer and Production Designer, Filmographies, Isolated Scores
• TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 23rd October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Filmographies
• VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED 23rd October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Trailer, Production Notes, Universal Web Link, Filmographies
• TREMORS 23rd October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Making Of Documentary, Trailers, Outtakes including original ending, Production Photos
• SLEEPWALKERS 23rd October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Filmographies
• NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 23rd October
• FRIGHT NIGHT 23rd October RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Filmographies

Along with the October schedule form Columbia, they also let us know ofthe planned November releases. Gladiator doesnt feature in them but of course thuscould easily change before then.

• ELMO IN GROUCHLAND 13th November RRP: £19.99 Special Features: 5min Making Of Documentary, Trailers, 30 second intro from Elmo And Bug
• JOAN OF ARC 13th November 15 RRP: £19.99 Special Features: 24min Featurette, 2 Theatrical Trailers, Isolated Score, Filmographies
• SPARTACUS 13th November RRP: £19.99 Special Features: Trailer, Production Notes, Filmographies
• DIRTY DANCING 27th November RRP: £19.99 Special Features: 3 music videos, Dirty Dancing Concert
• MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN 6th November
• BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI 6th November
• SIMON SEZ 13th November
• SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS 13th November
• AMERICAN GRAFITTI 20th November
• THE JERK 20th November
• IRON EAGLE 20th November
• NO WAY BACK 20th November
• BASKETBALL DIARIES 27th November
• THE NUTTIEST NUTCRACKER / BUSTER & CHAUNCEY 27th November
• HANGING UP 27th November

Warner brothers have announced “The Hurricane” and “TheInsider“

• “The Hurricane. 11th September, £19.99. Dolby Digtial 5.1. Stars Denzel Washington
• Spotlight on location – The Making of the Hurricane
• Feature Commentary with Director Norman Jewson
• Deleted Scenes
• “The Insider” 11th September, £19.99 Dolby Digital 5.1 Russell Crowe Al Pacino
  • Cigarette Featurette with star interviews and conversation with the actual characters

The charts will be here tomorrow…

I would’ve updated them today, but was too busy watching DVDs 🙂

August 20th :Get freaking it with Will Smith on DVD…

A collection of seven Will Smith music videos with a 12-certificate,but if you were a “hot mummy” in Miami, would you want to fuck him?

What am I on about? Read the review then.

Will Smith Music Video Collectionis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 19th :Rancid Aluminium or rancid DVD…?

The billing for this Rhys Ifans / Joseph Fiennes film is “Thosein the know, know”, but if I’d known what I know now before I’d watchedit, would I have bothered?

Rancid Aluminiumis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 18th :Question reality in The 13th Floor on DVD…

Craig Bierko and Gretchen Mol star in a film in which noteverything you see may be real. A computer program allows you to simulatean era of time gone by, but while those people inside the simulation arenot real, problems are abound when one starts to realise all is not welland wants to check out the real world.

The 13th Flooris online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Updated cinema listings…

Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The listof the films showing at Manchester Showcase Cinemacan be found on this page.

This week’s new films are : Rules of Engagement, My Dog Skip, Wedding Tackleand reviews of X-Men,M:I-2andGone in 60 Secondsare online now.

August 17th :It’s not all fun and WarGames on DVD…

Matthew Broderick appears on another 80s classic released on DVDafter Ferris Bueller in a thriller also starring Ally Sheedy as thelove interest.

WarGamesis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

The Talented Mr. Ripley charms his way onto DVD…

Regular DVDfever reviewer Jason Maloney returns with a review ofAnthony Minghella‘s tale of a man to whom there is more than meetsthe eye, played by Matt Damon, not to mention a BAFTA Award-winningperformance from Jude Law as Best Supporting Actor.

The Talented Mr. Ripleyis online and out on DVD now.

How can Mel C’s single be brilliant AND crap…?

To find out the answer – and to see last week’s chart – visit mymusic chart analysis page

What do you think of the state of the charts? Why not discuss it onthe newTalk Talk Forum forum.

Who’ll be No.1 this Sunday…?

At the end of Wednesday’s sales, Posh Spice is 2000 sales aheadwith her dire “Out of Your Mind” with lame dance outfit Truesteppersand even more lame ex-Another Level loser Dane Bowers.

Much better is Spiller with the song that accompanies BBC’s “One Summerof Music” self-trailers with a fat man dancing down to being thin. The trackis “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)”, with vocals from ex-Theaudience leadsinger and daughter of Blue Peter/Jigsaw’s Janet Ellis, SophieEllis-Bextor.

August 16th :Adam Sandler takes on Big Daddy on DVD…

Adam Sandler is a lazy, anything-but-hard-working bum who couldn’t doa day’s work to save his life, but things get complicated when a kid turnsup that’s not his own.

Big Daddyis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 15th :Desperate for some Susan-seeking on DVD…?

Released this week :

One of Madonna‘s first big-screen outings, she stars alongsideRosanna Arquette in a weird tale of mistaken identity. AidanQuinn also features.

Desperately Seeking Susanis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 14th :X-Men – Is it X-citing…?

Released in the cinema on Friday :

It’s been a long time coming, but the Marvel comic heroes arrive onscreento do battle with their foes. Patrick Stewart leads the cast whichalso includes Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ray Park, Ian McKellen, AnnaPaquin and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.

X-Menis online and out at the cinema from Friday August 18th.

Got something to say about this film ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

COMPETITION: Digby the Biggest Dog in the World on video…

Click on the COMPETITION heading on the left for a chance to wina copy on video of this film starring Jim Dale which is out on videonow.

New DVDs out this week

• Barney: Let’s Play School (19.99, Universal)
• The Basketball Diaries (cut) (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Bleeder (15.99, Metrodome)
• Children of the New Forest (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Def Leppard: Video Archive (17.99, Universal)
• Desperately Seeking Susan (19.99, MGM)
• FX: Murder By Illusion (19.99, MGM)
• FX2: The Deadly Art of Illusion (19.99, MGM)
• House on Haunted Hill (19.99, Warner)
• My Stepmother is an Alien (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• No Mercy (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• The Prisoner Vol.1 (15.99, Carlton)
• The Prisoner Vol.2 (15.99, Carlton)
• The Prisoner Vol.3 (15.99, Carlton)
• The Prisoner Vol.4 (15.99, Carlton)
• The Prisoner Vol.5 (15.99, Carlton)
• The Prisoner Boxset (59.99, Carlton)
• Someone to Watch Over Me (19.99, Columbia TriStar)

The charts will be here tomorrow…

I would’ve updated them today, but Dotmusic couldn’t be arsed to updatetheir full Top 75 lists. All being well, normal service will be resumedtomorrow.

Virtua Tennis due on the Dreamcast next month…

SEGA SERVES UP ARCADE HIT VIRTUA TENNIS FOR DREAMCAST

Sega serves up an ace with the imminent release of Virtua Tennis,its first-ever tennis title for the 128-bit, Internet-ready Sega Dreamcast videogame console. Virtua Tennis features fast-paced gameplay, authentic environments and an array of court surfaces that make this game ultra-realistic and fun to play.

Virtua Tennis delivers rich 3D graphics and crisp animations so the pros in the game move like the pros in real life. Using simple, intuitive controls, gamers feel like they are actually delivering that drop shot or overhead smash.

Virtua Tennis allows gamers to play solo or match up against each other four at a time, for hard-hitting multi-player fun. Gamers can choose to play eight internationally ranked tennis pros including Jim Courier, Cedric Pioline, Tim Henman, Tommy Haas, Mark Phillippoussis, Carlos Moya, Thomas Johansson and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

The pros in the game not only bear each athlete’s physical likeness, but also each electronic player has the pro’s real life skill attributes. Hear the pros’ grunts and groans as they volley for victory with cross-court shots. Watch them go head-to-head on a variety of surfaces — hard, clay, grass, or carpet — and see how each surface responds differently.

“Virtua Tennis breaks new ground in the tennis genre in terms of graphics and gameplay”, said Alison Turner, Head of Marketing, UK. “The game is easy to pick up and play, and provides for hours of replay value with multiple playing modes, new lifelike courts and all-new virtual shopping.”

“Virtua Tennis” players can choose World Circuit Mode and tour the globe as they battle to win all the big tournaments. With each win, players collect cash awards and shop in the game. Gamers can go into virtual stores and buy new strings for their rackets, cool tennis apparel or energy drinks. If they’re feeling like big spenders, they can buy their way into locked stadiums or take on a new identity and buy locked characters. Once players have completed the entire World Circuit, they can access a secret character that can only be seen by circuit champions.Sega’s got a surprise for those who prefer arcade gameplay. In arcade mode, gamers can progress to different locations with each match won.

They too will unlock a secret character after winning all of the arcade mode levels.

To add to the realism, “Virtua Tennis” has included crowds that chime in with oohs and aahhs with every good or bad play. To add to the fun, Sega has included a replay feature, which allows gamers to watch incredible plays over again, right after they’re made.

Virtua Tennis will be in stores 8TH Sept 2000.

Stream Digital Media press release…

STREAM DIGITAL MEDIA’S SUCCESS GROWS FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

Stream Digital Media is pulling in the stars with many of the cult and industryacclaimed feature films it has recently produced on DVD. The most currenttitles completed on DVD include Holy Smoke, Blood Simple (Coen brothers),The Filth and The Fury (documentary feature of the Sex Pistols),Spinal Tap and Simpatico.

Paul Kind, Head of Stream Digital Media, commented: “We have an incrediblystrong team here who have contributed significantly to Stream’s growth. Oursuccess is down to attention to detail but above all the creative andimaginative talent we have developed over the last year. Having doubled insize in terms of both projects and staff this year alone, we are alreadylooking at a new location to base the division.”

Utilizing the wide range of facilities available at 4MC, Stream Digital Mediahas also recorded a number of live commentaries in their sound suites. PaulKind commented: “Recently we have seen the likes of Spike Lee recording hisdirector’s commentary for Summer of Sam, Damien O’Donnell for East is East,and Kate Winslet with Anne Campion for Holy Smoke”.

Universal September and October DVDs…

As mentioned earlier in the week, the dates have changed.

• Sep 4th: Darkman 2, The Best of Elton John, Doors Live at the HollywoodBowl
• Sep 18th: Shania Twain Live
• Sep 25th: Tremors 2
• Oct 2nd: ID, El Cid, To Die For, Walkabout, Chubby Brown: You Fat Bastard,Michael Ball: Live at the Royal Albert Hall
• Oct 9th: Oklahoma
• Oct 16th: Fall of the Roman Empire, Gridlock’d, Jude, Joseph and theAmazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Andrew LloydWebber Celebration, Shania Twain: Come on Over
• Oct 23rd: Land Before Time 7, Dragonheart 2, Darkman 3, Tommy 3
• Oct 30th: Michael Ball: Live in New York

More details will be posted here as soon as they are known.

Stereophonics Greatest Hits DVD…

Released on August 28th for £19.99 are all the singles from the albumPerformance and Cocktails plus a number of others including HurryUp and Wait, Just Looking and More Life in a Tramp’s Vest.

The DVD will also include a ‘making of’, a photo gallery and other bits andpieces.

I’ve really got into the band over the last year and their songs get atremendous amount of airplay on MTV2 (Sky ch.446).

A review of theirPerformance and Cocktails LiveDVD is also online.

Two new VCI October DVDs…

October 2nd sees the release of two films for the usual price of£19.99.

• Welcome to Sarajevo: 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby surround,interviews, behind the scenes footage, trailers, TV spots.

  I hope the film is in the original 2.35:1 ratio and not cropped to 16:9 though.

• Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love: Dolby surround, interviews,featurette

August 13th :Oh, to be sure to be sure, it’s the Westlife Story on DVD…

Five boys, five No.1 hits, six videos and an hour-long documentary about12 months in the life of.

The Westlife Storyis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 12th :Mad Max-it with Red Dog on Sega Dreamcast…

Flashy graphics, loud gunfire, but where’s the gameplay?

Red Dogis online and out on Sega Dreamcast now.

Got something to say about this game ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 11th :Grunt along with the WWF Summerslam 99 on DVD…

Hard working sportsmen and women… or overpaid actors? You decide.

WWF Summerslam 99is online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

David Gray climbs the White Ladder on CD…

Regular DVDfever reviewer Jason Maloney returns with a review of thenew album from a man who’s only just come to the fore, but he’s long sincebeen at the three…

David Gray: White Ladderis online and out on CD now.

Updated cinema listings…

Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The listof the films showing at Manchester Showcase Cinemacan be found on this page.

This week’s new films are : Rules of Engagement, My Dog Skip, Wedding Tackleand a review of bothM:I-2andGone in 60 Secondsare online now.

August 10th :Ewan McGregor is the Rogue Trader on DVD…

Ewan McGregor and Anna Friel are the new happily-married couplefor whom life goes seriously wrong when Ewan, as Nick Leeson, bets the farmon the wrong horse.

Rogue Traderis online and out on DVD now.

Check out the COMPETITION page to win a copy of this DVD.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

August 9th :Take a trip with the Dinosaurs on DVD…

Kenneth Branagh narrates the ground-breaking TV series in fullcomplete with a ‘making of’ programme and if you enjoyed this, check outDavid Attenborough‘s Living with Dinosaurs which startstonight on BBC1 at 8pm.

Walking with Dinosaursis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

All change on the Universal DVD front…

Thanks to Marcus Harben from Media Group for the phone update I receivedyesterday regarding the forthcoming DVD releases as stated on Sunday.

It appears that many of these titles are subject to change and we shouldhave full details shortly of those changes. However, two new additions whichare destined to make it are The Best of Elton John (20 tracks, £17.99)and The Doors Live at the Hollywood Bowl (11 track, £17.99), theironly live recording. The latter in their original line-up is one band I’dreally like to see play live, but it’s a bit difficult since their lead singer,one Jim Morrison, died the year before I was born…

More news on the other discs as I receive it.

August 8th :Shh… It’s the Silence of the Se7en Bone Collectors on DVD…

Released this week :

Denzel Washington‘s a cripple but a duff plot device won’t stop himfrom cracking the case of madman murderer with a penchant for stealing bitsof bone from his victims, as long as Angelina Jolie joins him.

The Bone Collectoris online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Granada Media DVDs coming soon…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor the following info which I’m due to receive shortly and after hearingabout it I’m trying to get confirmation whether Cold Feet will bein 16:9 anamorphic widescreen (I sincerely hope so!)

The majority of the titles just announced contain extras including is somecases commentaries from cast, crew and authors. Here’s what they have planned,all are in their original 4:3 ratio except where noted:

• Cold Feet The complete series 1 11th September. 2*DVD9, running time 355 minutes. The sound is Dolby Surround and the DVD also features the original ITV pilot episode. Price is £24.99
• Cold Feet The complete series 2 23rd October. 2*DVD9, running time 321 minutes. The sound is Dolby Surround and the DVD also features a behind the scenes featurette and a photo gallery. Price is £24.99
• The Best of the Darling Buds of May 1 11th September. Featuring 3 of the best feature length episodes. DVD9 + DVD5, running time 140 minutes. The sound is Stereo and the DVD also features a photo gallery. Price is £24.99
• Jeeves & Wooster The Complete 1st series 23rd October. DVD9 + DVD5, running time 250 minutes. The sound is Stereo and the DVD also features a photo gallery and a commentary from the editor of Wooster Sauce. Price is £19.99
• The Best of Rising Damp 23rd October. Five episodes of theclassic 70s series including 2 that have never before been available on videoor DVD. Running time 140 minutes. The sound is mono and the DVD alsofeatures a photo gallery and a commentary from the UK’s leading RisingDamp author. Price is £19.99
• The Royle Family The Complete 2nd series 6th November. DVD9 , running time 175 minutes. The sound is Stereo and the DVD also features a photo gallery and the 1999 Christmas Special episode. Price is £19.99
• An Audience with Tom Jones 23rd October. DVD5 , running time 73minutes. The sound is Stereo and the DVD also features a photo gallery. This disk is presented with a 16:9 anamorphic picture. The performersinclude Mick Hucknall, Cerys Matthews and Tommy Scott from Space. Price is£19.99
• An Audience with Billy Connolly 20th November. DVD5 , running time 55 minutes. The sound is Stereo. This was his legendary 1985 performance in front of a celebrity audience for London Weekend Television Price is £19.99

August 7th :Nicolas Cage is Gone in 60 Seconds at the cinema…

Out now :

Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Vinnie Jones are amongst thecar thieves attempting to steal 50 cars within 24 hours. Will they make it?What do you think…

Gone in 60 Secondsis online and out at the cinema now.

Got something to say about this film ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

KISS Psycho Circus – the band get their own game on PC…

New DVDfever reviewer Nathan Rose from the other side of the pondtakes an in-depth look at a game that hasn’t been released in the UK yetbut sounds like another good first-person-shooter.

KISS Psycho Circusis online now.

COMPETITION: Rogue Trader & Sleepy Hollow on DVD…

Click on the COMPETITION heading on the left for a chance to wina copy on DVD of this film which is out on DVD now and a review will be postedonline later in the week.

The winner of the Sleepy Hollow competition was Pat Griffinand I shall pass their details to Fox’s PR dept. immediately.

Will Robbie’s striptease gain him the No.1 spot…?

To find out the answer – and to see last week’s chart – visit mymusic chart analysis page

What do you think of the state of the charts? Why not discuss it onthe newTalk Talk Forum forum.

Alec Guinness dies at 86…

Veteran actor Alec Guinness has died in hospital, aged 86.

He was taken to King Edward VII hospital in West Sussex on Thursday and diedon Saturday. He was one of the last surviving members of Britain’s greatestgeneration of actors, which included Laurence Olivier and RalphRichardson.

Alec Guinness (right) married playwright Merula Salaman in 1938and they lived near Petersfield, Hampshire. They had one son, Matthew.

Of the many films he appeared in during his career spanning over 60 years,they included Ealing comedies, Bridge on the River Kwai (1959) – forwhich he won an Oscar, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and, of course, asObi Wan Kenobi, first in Star Wars (1979).

He was born on April 2nd, 1914.

Alec Guinness, 1914-2000 R.I.P.

New DVDs and widescreen videos out this week

DVDs out this week include :

• ABBA: Forever Gold (19.99, Universal)
• Beethoven (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Body Shots (19.99, Entertainment in Video)
• Bone Collector (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• K-911 (15.99, Universal)
• The Land Before Time (19.99, Universal)
• The Land Before Time 2 (19.99, Universal)
• Robin Hood: Men in Tights (19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Shania Twain Live (19.99, Universal)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley (19.99, Buena Vista)

Widescreen videos out this week include :

• Boys on the Beach (15.99, Tartan)
• Last Hurrah for Chivalry (13.99, dub, MIA)

August 6th :Go, Go, Inspector Gadget on DVD…

Special effects galore, but lasting not much longer than an hour, MatthewBroderick is the eponymous hero and Rupert Everett is the evilDr. Claw.

Inspect Gadgetis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Universal DVD releases for September/October…

Thanks to Media Group for the DVD Press Pack I’ve received detailing theirreleases for September and October.

September 4th :
• High Noon: The classic western starring Gary Cooper,in mono with English subtitles and presented in 4:3 fullscreen. Extraswill include a 24-minute featurette, photo gallery, original film posterand a trailer.
• The Quiet Man: John Ford directs John Wayne inthis Oscar-winning classic, in 4:3 fullscreen, mono sound and Englishsubtitles. Extras include a booklet, a photo gallery and other extras TBA.

September 18th :
• Blood Simple: One of the early Coen brothers films starringFrances McDormand, with English subtitles and in 16:9 widescreen.
• I.D.: A superb and hard-hitting drama about football violenceand what happens when policeman Reece Dinsdale gets way too involved.Also starring Warren Clarke, Sean Pertwee and Saskia Reeves,the only info given is that it’s in 4:3 fullscreen. We have been promised”extra features” when it’s out though.
• Mulholland Falls: Gangster film starring Nick Nolte, JohnMalkovich and Michael Madsen, but in 4:3 fullscreen surprisinglyand a Dolby Stereo soundtrack. Extras will include a photo gallery andbiographies.

September 25th :
• Southern Comfort: Gritty thriller directed by Walter Hilland with a score by Ry Cooder, the disc contains a trailer, is inDolby Digital 5.1 sound, 16:9 widescreen and contains English subtitles.

October 23rd :
• Dragonheart: A New Beginning: TV sequel to the Sean Connery-voicedoriginal, but the only big star here is the return of Pete Postlethwaitewho isn’t mentioned in the press release. No extras are mentioned, nor is aprice but it runs for 81 mins.

August 5th :Gormengreat or Gormenghastly? It’s out now on DVD…

With a wealth of talent onscreen and lots of money ploughed into the set-design,can this over-ambitious BBC drama go the distance?

Gormenghastis online and out on DVD now.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

PS2 delayed until November 24th…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor the following info which I’ve been trying to get out of Sony but haven’theard back from them yet.

Sony Computer Entertainment Announces Price and New Launch Date for PlayStation®2

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe yesterday announcedthat it would be releasing its PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systemat recommended retail prices of £299 in the United Kingdom, FF2990 inFrance and DM869 in Germany. All other European prices are aligned with thevarying trade margins and VAT rates across the European markets.

SCEE also confirmed that due to unprecedented consumer demand forPlayStation 2 in Japan, it would be realigning the launch date in Europe toNovember 24th. Since its Japanese debut on March 4th 2000, a staggering 3million PlayStation 2 units have been shipped, making it one of the mostsuccessful electronic entertainment product launches ever.

A total of 10 million PlayStation 2 units are forecast to be shippedworld-wide this financial year, with three million of those expected to beshipped to SCEE territories. With over 40 PlayStation 2 titles due forrelease before Christmas, both retail and consumers can look forward to avery exciting period in the history of computer entertainment.

In announcing the price and adjusted release date, Chris Deering, Presidentof SCEE, said: “PlayStation 2’s performance continues to exceed even themost optimistic forecasts in Japan. This revised launch date allows us toprovide increased quantities to retail day one. In fact, we will beshipping many times the number of PlayStation units when it was released inSeptember 1995. We believe that our recommended retail price pointrepresents great value for money for consumers offering interactiveentertainment, DVD-video and future-proof technology poised to lead thebroadband revolution.”

In commenting on the move, Ken Kutaragi, President and CEO of Sony ComputerEntertainment Inc. said: ‘SCEI has shipped it’s 3 millionth unit ofPlayStation 2 in Japan. This record-breaking strong demand allows us tolook to the future with great confidence. Just as PlayStation broughtinteractive gaming to an unprecedented mass market, PlayStation 2’s fusionof games, music and video will open the doors to new entertainmentexperiences in the home.”

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is responsible for the marketing,sales and distribution of the PlayStation video games console and thePlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. SCEE also develops, publishes,markets and distributes software and manages the third party licensingprogrammes for these two platforms in the PAL territory markets of Europe,Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa. SCEE is a subsidiarydivision of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

No other system has created as much excitement and support amongst thesoftware development community as the PlayStation 2 computer entertainmentsystem. Currently over 480 publishers and developers have signedPlayStation 2 license agreements and more than 400 software titles arecurrently in development world-wide. Backing has also been strong amongtool and middleware developers, whose products ensure an environment inwhich software developers can create the very best entertainment contentfor PlayStation2.

To date a record-breaking 74 million PlayStation units have been shippedworld-wide and over 3 million PlayStation 2 units have shipped in Japansince 4th March 2000, making it one of the most successful consumerelectronic product launches of all time.

BBC videos released in September…

Tinsel Town leads the charge for BBC’s videos next month – the nameof a club that’s central to the search for weekend pleasure for a group ofyoung-twentysomethings trying to balance love, work and relationships inGlasgow.

It comes on three videos for £14.99 each, or a boxset for £29.99,totalling 6½hours and you can check it out on BBC2 from this Monday(Aug 7th) from 11.20pm each week.

September 4th sees BBC release :

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child: £12.99, 95 mins. The firstever complete Doctor Who adventure starring William Hartnell, nowavailable in remastered format for the first time in its entirety.

Monty Python: Live at Aspen: £12.99, 57 mins. A live showfilmed in March 1998 that’s never been shown on TV and featured the teamreunited after 18 years. Seems rather a short video though.

Stephen Poliakoff Box Set: £24.99, 275 mins. The entireShooting the Past and Caught on a Train

Delia Smith: How to Cook: Part Two: £19.99, 300 mins.Not Jamie Oliver, thankfully.

Holy Smoke and the Sex Pistols coming sooner…

Thanks to VCI for the info that both Holy Smoke and The Filth andThe Fury have been brought forward to September 11th.

The date applies to the DVD and rental VHS of the former, plus the DVDand rental/retail VHS of the latter.

August 4th :Way down deep in the middle of the Congo on DVD…

Released this week :

If you go down to the woods today, you’ll get a big surprise in the form ofgorillas hell-bent on killing humans when… oh, to hell with the explanationjust read the review…

Congois online and out on DVD from this week.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Wallace and Gromit and more BBC DVDs…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor the following info. I presume my copy of the press release is stuck in the post.

“We have had official confirmation from BBC Worldwide’s Children’s unit of it’s planned out put for the Christmas market. Most of these titles have been reported elsewhere before but there is one surprise to me:

• Wallace and Gromit Available in the UK for the first time , all three Wallace and Gromit films will make there appearance on one BBC DVD on November 6th.

  The disk will feature A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave with a total running tiome of 96 minutes, the PR statesthis will be straight lay of the films althoughthe BBC’s PR people tell me it will have additional footage “The Amazing Worldof Wallace and Gromit” although we don’t know the length.

  The price will be £19.99.

• There will be 2 Teletubbies disks for Autumn both priced at £16.99. Dance with the Teletubbies + Here come the Teletubbies will be releasedon the 18th of September. Teletubbies in the Snow + Happy Christmas fromthe Teletubbies will be released 30th of October.
• For slightly older children there will be two Tweenies disks. On the 9th of October there will be Animal friends + Party games, Giggleand Laughs running to over 100 minutes and featuring animated menus. On the 30th ofOctober there will be Merry Tweenie Christmas a complete Christmaspackage. Both disks will be priced at £16.99

“

Friends Series 6 on DVD…

Thanks to theR2 Projectfor the following info :

“Warner’s PR have finally confirmed a long standing rumour on the net that Friends Series 6 will be released on DVD in October. The likely date will be the 16th. From dealers sheets we believe there will be 3 diskspriced at £24.99. Disk 1 will have eps, 1-8, disk 2 will be 9-16 and disk 3eps 17-24.”

August 3rd :Huh-huh… Beavis and Butthead Do America on DVD…

Released this week :

MTV’s Beavis and Butthead get up to all manner of idiotic thingsin their plan for world domination, or something like that. The questionis, does anyone still remember them?

Beavis and Butthead Do Americais online and out on DVD from this week.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Miami Vice heads for video next month…

THE HEAT IS STILL ON WITH MIAMI VICE NOW ON VIDEO

Under the hot pink neon lights where guns and tough street action meet withglamour and fast cars, ‘Miami Vice’ captured a look and a lifestyle that wasemulated across the globe but that could only belong to the 80’s.

Whether you were an eighties guy or girl, the chances are that you wanted apiece of perma-tanned Don Johnson and his Ferrari Daytona Spider.(DVDfever Ed: I thought it was a Ferrari Testarossa?)And now you can have it as the world of ‘Miami Vice’ becomes available tobuy on two sizzling videos from 4th September.

In what was undoubtedly the definitive 80’s cop show, Don Johnson starred astough but cool Detective Sonny Crockett with his vice squad sidekick, thebold and bad Detective Ricardo Tubbs and, of course, his pet crocodileElvis.

Riding high on a Miami wave of 80’s nostalgia, Volume 1 introduces viewersto the world of the vice squad in the original feature-length two-hour pilotshow where the two cops first meet in difficult circumstances on the trailof a Colombian drug baron.

Volume 2 contains two classic first series episodes, ‘No Exit’ and ‘Give ALittle, Take A Little’. Produced by Starsky & Hutch’s David Soul, ‘No Exit’sees Fed agents join Crockett and Tubbs to stop an arms dealer (played byBruce Willis complete with hair and baggy white 80’s trousers) from sellingstingers.

In ‘Give A Little, Take A Little’ Crockett goes downhill as he gets jailedfor refusing to name an informant tied to a crime boss.

So what are you waiting for… book a course of 10 at your local Costa DelSolarium, dust-off the lilac suit, rev-up the motor and head off to Petworldfor something less tame than a terrapin. Miami Vice is back and the heat ismost definitely still on…

Both videos released on 4th September 2000 by Playback,RRP £9.99 each, Certificate 15.

Updated cinema listings…

Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The listof the films showing at Manchester Showcase Cinemacan be found on this page.

This week’s new films are : Gone in 60 Seconds, The Road to El Doradoand a review of M:I-2is online now.

August 2nd :Bjorn-Free: Picard engages the Borg in Star Trek First Contact on DVD…

Released this week :

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Alfre Woodard and JamesCromwell reinvent the wheel and go back in time with the Borg queenAlice Krige in one of the better films from the Trek stable.

Star Trek First Contactis online and out on DVD from this week.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

Robin Williams stars in Jakob the Liar on DVD…

Regular DVDfever reviewer Jason Maloney takes a look at this dramastarring Robin Williams, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Alan Arkin.

Jakob The Liaris online and out on DVD now.

Want those Kinowelt DVDs in the UK…?

After reading the news piece for Sunday and Monday, do you want those 240beauties winging their way to us in the fullness of time? Then pay a visitto theR2 Projectwhere Andy C has a full press release from Momentum Pictures whowill be the UK arm of the operation.

August 1st :Do it all in a day with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on DVD…

Released this week :

Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Jeffrey Jones and the delectableMia Sara star in one of my favourite comedies, in which the principalcharacter does exactly what we’d all like to have done in his shoes – skipschool for the day and make it count.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Offis online and out on DVD from this week.

Got something to say about this film/DVD ? Spit it out on theTalk Talk Forumforum.

News Archive: April 1999 to last month Back to top of page