Dominator’s News and Views Dec 1999

The new widescreen videos out this week are :

December 25th : It’s a Wonderful Life for James Stewart on DVD…James Stewart puts others before himself, ends up on Stress Farm andgets ready to call it a day permanently in this happy family film alsofeaturing Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore.It’s a Wonderful Life,is my Xmas Day review online and is out on DVD now.

Hope you all have a Happy Xmas and that you get the Dolby Digital amplifierI wish I was getting…

December 24th : First look: 2 Ghostbusters, 1 Sarah Michelle Gellar, 1 Flashing Blade and a George Michael in an outside toilet…Thanks to Sue Foster on behalf of Sony Music for the review copy I’ve receivedfor

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael: 23 top pop videosfrom one of the biggest talents around, or is that just the talent he wavedabout in a public lavatory ?

Either way, the promos appear in a variety of ratios and the tracks includeOutside, Fastlove, I Want Your Sex, Careless Whisper, duets withToby Bourke, Elton John, Queen, Aretha Franklin and a few selectionsfrom MTV Unplugged.

To top it off, it includes the 1998 interview on Parkinson in full, shortlyafter he came out.

Thanks to Julian Sheldon on behalf of Columbia for the review copies I’ve received for :

Ghostbusters: The original film and still the best with a ratio of2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio commentary, storyboardsplit-screen comparison, Still storyboards, SFX Before and After, PhotoGallery, Featurette and Interviews, Deleted scenes and trailers.

Ghostbusters 2: They’re back for the sequel. 2.35:1 anamorphicwidescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1, trailer and filmographies.

The Mask of Zorro: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1,Director’s commentary, 60-minute “Unmasking Zorro” documentary, alternateending, music video, trailer, photo gallery, filmographies.

Cruel Intentions: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1,Director/Producer commentary, 5 deleted scenes, 2 music videos, featurette,trailer, filmographies.

December 23rd : Noddy and Big Ears in Toyland on DVD…Noddy and Big Ears make their DVD debut in three episodes ofNoddy in Toyland,which is online and out on DVD now. John Carpenter and Bruce Lee on DVD next year…Well, not in the same film, but as per a press release I’ve received fromThe Associates, there’s some interesting DVDs on the horizon for the new year :

January 17th :
Dark Star: John Carpenter sci-fi classic in its 1.85:1 widescreen ratioand for £17.99 (also for £12.99 on video).

February 7th :
Cinema of Vengeance: A 90-minute compliation of the “best introductionto the ‘chop sockey’ genre ever released” featuring footage of Bruce Lee,Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat. Price: £19.99
Death By Misadventure: 91 minutes of what happens “When MartialArts Go Wrong” including the story behind Bruce & Brandon Lee. Price: £19.99
P.O. Box Tinto Brass: A sensational collection of real-lifesexual fantasies. Price: £17.99
The Voyeur: More Tinto Brass eroticism for a price of £17.99

December 22nd : Goodbye to the Digital Telly Tax and ONdigital’s magazine…Just added to myONdigital set-top box,review is the news that the £24 digital telly-tax and the ONdigitalsubscription magazine are both on their way out…

December 21st : The Five Doctors land on DVD. Do not exterminate…Peter Davison, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and RichardHurndall (replacing William Hartnell) join forces against eviland all that in a Dolby Digital-tastic remastered version ofThe Five Doctors,which is online and out on DVD now. Who will be the Xmas No.1…?Find out now on mymusic chart analysis page 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 : Dogma, Blue Streak, Mystery Menand Muppets from Space.

December 20th : Rowan Atkinson is The Black Adder on DVD…Rowan Atkinson, Tim McInerry, Tony Robinson and Brian Blessedstar in the first series ofThe Black Adder,which is online and out on DVD now. First look: Scum, Maurice, Ricky Martin & James Taylor…Thanks to Amanda Evans on behalf of Odyssey for the review copies I’ve received for :

Scum: 4:3 open-matte fullscreen, trailer, Interviews with Clive Parsons(co-producer) and Roy Minton (writer)
Maurice: 1.66:1 widescreen, Featurette celebrating the MerchantIvory 30th Anniversary, Trailer, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound

Each contain a booklet giving production notes and biographies.

Thanks to Sue Foster on behalf of Sony Music for the review copies I’ve receivedfor :

Ricky Martin: Video Collection: 4:3 fullscreen with Dolby Digital 5.1sound for 40 minutes of songs including Livin’ La Vida Loca, Maria & The CupOf Life. A 15-minute piece with Ricky Martin explaining the background to his current,self-titled album is also included.
James Taylor: Live at the Beacon Theatre: 4:3 fullscreen with Dolby Digital 5.1sound again, with 110 minutes of concert footage from May 30th, 1998 and featuring classicssuch as Fire and Rain and You’ve Got a Friend. Lyrics are included in Englishand French, a couple of promo videos, interviews, discography and biography.

Desmond Llewelyn R.I.P.Taken from yahoo:

Desmond Llewelyn, the veteran actor who played gadgetry expert Q in astring of James Bond films, died in a car crash Sunday, police said.

Llewelyn, 85, was on his way home from a book-signing in East Sussex,south of London, when his car hit another head-on. “It was a head-oncollision near Firle in East Sussex at about 2 p.m. GMT and Mr. Llewelynsuffered massive multiple injuries,” a Sussex police spokeswoman toldReuters.

“He was airlifted from the scene and, along with two others, was takento hospital where he died at 1710 GMT.“

Llewelyn starred in 17 Bond films, including the latest, The World is Not Enough.

Llewelyn, from Sussex, was alone in his car. The two others involved inthe accident, a 35-year-old man and his female companion, were still inhospital with minor injuries.

“Weather wasn’t a factor in the accident,” the spokeswoman said,declining further comment on what might have caused the accident.

New DVDs out this week

December 19th : British Comedy Awards 1999: The Results…Last night it was hosted by Jonathan Ross on ITV and now here are theresults.

Click HERE to see who won what.

December 18th : Enter the Nomad Soul with David Bowie on PC CD-ROM…You take over the body of Kay’l in a parallel universe that really needs yourhelp, but can you figure out what to do and do it as soon as is required?The game features an appearance from David Bowie as well as eighttracks from his latest album, “..hours”.

The review of The Nomad Soul,is online and out on PC CD-ROM now.

December 17th : First Look: It’s a Wonderful Life & Lock Stock: Director’s Cut on DVD…Thanks to Susie from Universal for the review copies I’ve received for :

It’s a Wonderful Life: 4:3 fullscreen, as filmed, Featurette about thefilm introduced by Happy Days‘ Tom Bosley and an interviewintroduced by Frank Capra Jr featuring chat from Frank Capra &Jimmy Stewart.
Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels: Contains an extra 13 minutesfootage and is presented in an anamorphic 16:9 ratio (so slightly less thanthe theatrical version DVD’s 1.85:1 ratio) and includes a trailer, plusthe booklet containing biographies, but does not include the interviews foundon the original DVD.

December 15th : 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 : Iron Giant, Inspector Gadget, Anna and the Kingand Cotton Mary.

A review ofThe World Is Not Enough,is online and in cinemas now.

December 14th : First Look: Arlington Road on DVD…Thanks to Susie from Universal for the review copy I received yesterday for :

Arlington Road: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 soundand a plush booklet featuring biographies. This title was released yesterday.

December 13th : The Pet Shop Boys reach Manchester…Well, they did on Friday night and I went to their concert in the M.E.N. (ManchesterEvening News) Arena, formerly known as the Nynex Arena, which was excellentand featured seven songs from their latest album, Nightlife, which hasa very ambient feel and I recommend it wholeheartedly, including For YourOwn Good, which opened the gig, plus I Don’t Know What You Want But ICan’t Give It Any More, Happiness is an Option, Vampires, New York City Boy,Footsteps and an acoustic version of their January 2000 single, YouOnly Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk.

I last saw the Pet Shop Boys on their 1989 tour at the Birmingham NEC whichwas more of a theatrical experience and featured several short films createdexclusively by the late director Derek Jarman. The new backdrops which appearedbehind every song, had some that were more specific than others but each playedtheir part and the only time we saw an actual promo video was when selectedclips of What Have I Done To Deserve This ? were played as Neil sangthe duet with the late Dusty Springfield.

Other tunes played throughout the two-hour concert included West End Girls,Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money), It’s a Sin, Young Offender, BeingBoring, Only The Wind, Se A Vida E (That’s The Way Life Is),It’s Alright and a rousing finale of Go West.

The only thing that played a partial downer on the gig was that within foursongs, a number of people including the rows around us walked out and neverreturned – quite odd considering they’d paid at least £25 per ticket(and mine were closer to £30 each after you add the booking fee andP&P). However, this wasn’t such a bad thing as it meant we could move aboutmore and do our best to avoid the tall people in front obscuring the stage,plus it got rid of one particularly annoying bottle blonde bimbo who justwouldn’t shut up!

And yes, they did wear THOSE wigs, but for the first half only.

Ben Dover checks out the Little Smart Arses on DVD…Ben Dover takes Zoe, Charlotte, Nancy & Sue up the arsenalinBen Dover: Little Smart Arses,which is online and out on DVD now. Oh God, can it be true? Is Cliff STILL No.1…?Find out now on mymusic chart analysis page First look: Heat and Dust, Howards End, California Man & Blade Runner: Director’s Cut…Thanks to Amanda Evans on behalf of Odyssey for the review copies I’ve received for :

Howard’s End: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, Featurettes (one for the film and one celebrating the Merchant Ivory 30th Anniversary), Interviews,Trailer, Behind-the-scenes, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound
Heat and Dust: 1.66:1 widescreen, Featurette celebrating the Merchant Ivory 30th Anniversary, Trailer, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound

Thanks to Steven Pearson on behalf of Warner for the review copies I’ve receivedfor :

Blade Runner: Director’s Cut: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen but no extras
California Man: 1.70:1 widescreen but no extras

New DVDs out this week

December 10th : Pink Floyd: The Wall delayed again…I’ve just received confirmation from Fiona Ball at Sony that this DVD, whichhas been put back in the schedules a few times, is now set for a releasein “early 2000” along with Mariah Carey’s “#1s”.

The features still due to be included are :

• New Hi-definition film transfer of the complete motion picture from theoriginal widescreen interpositive
• Previously unreleased film footage
• Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack direct from the original mastertapes
• 25-minute documentary: The Other Side of the Wall
• Audio commentary from Roger Waters & Gerald Scarfe
• Retrospective: an exclusive 45-minute documentary of interviews withRoger Waters, Gerald Scarfe, Alan Parker, Peter Biziou, Alan Marshall &James Guthrie.
• Original film trailer and production stills
• Newly-designed interactive menus
• Subtitled, scene/song selection and secret buttons
• Subtitles: English, Japanese, French, Italian and Spanish

Sega Dreamcast sales top half-a-million and now you can order a pizza too…OVER 500,000 DREAMCAST SOLD IN EUROPE IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS.
SALES OF HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND PERIPHERALS ACROSS EUROPE CONTINUE TO BREAK RECORDS

Over 150,000 Internet registrations

Dreamcast, the most powerful video games console ever created, continues tobreak all previous games console records. Dreamcast has sold over 500,000units across Europe in less than two months, confirming its position as thefastest selling games console ever.

Since its launch on October 14 1999, sales of Dreamcast, SEGA software andperipherals have generated over EUR225,000,000 retail value.

In addition, there have been over 150,000 on-line registrations, with 40% ofcustomers using Dreamcast’s on-line capability.

Dreamcast’s phenomenal success has been supported by the release of fortygames titles, including best-sellers Sonic Adventure, Sega Rally 2, Ready 2Rumble and Soul Calibur.

JF Cecillon, Chief Executive Officer, SEGA Europe, said:“We’re very excited about the phenomenal sales figures announced today andare looking forward to a strong Christmas period. Dreamcast is the firstconsole with evolutionary capabilities. The console will continue to growand change to match advances in technology, allowing it to further itsdevelopment as a multi-purpose platform. The next generation console hasarrived and everyone at Sega Europe is proud to be part of it.”

Fernhart New Media announces another first for Domino’s Pizza – order apizza through Sega Dreamcast

Eating pizza has never been so much fun!

London, 7th December 1999 – Fernhart New Media, the pioneering Internetdesign and e-commerce application development company, has today announcedthe availability of Europe’s first ever pizza delivery service through agames console. Domino’s Pizza, using the Sega Dreamcast as a medium, nowoffers the world’s first Internet and interactive pizza delivery service.Hungry game players can simply activate their Dreamcast Internet connection,go to the Domino’s site and follow the simple online ordering instructions.Then its back to the games until the pizza arrives around 30 minutes later.

Because the Dreamcast offers full Internet capability, Domino’s customersare presented with the menu of their nearest store, with all the menu itemsand ordering times available, just as they would if they ordered on theInternet or telephone. For media with less functionality, a scaled-downversion of the interactive ordering service has to be created providinggeneric menu items and generic ordering times.

“Fernhart New Media is more than a web design or development agency – it isan interactive commerce partner,” commented Daren Forsyth, Managing Directorof Fernhart New Media. “The company is one of only a handful of companies inthe UK experienced and proven in multi-platform e-commerce deployment. Witheach exciting new vision, as the Dreamcast was just a few months ago, wehave a challenge to be the first to provide practical and popular servicesthat complement it. We will therefore be looking to create a specificDreamcast version of the popular Domino’s site within the next few months tomake ordering food using the Dreamcast as streamlined and fast as the gamespeople are playing.”

“This is a very convenient way for our customers to place orders, and onethat we hope will rise in popularity massively over the next few months,”explains Domino’s Marketing Director, Chris Moore. “Once the order isplaced, we establish which of our national outlets is nearest to thecustomer and the details are faxed through to them.”

About Fernhart New Media

Fernhart New Media is one of the most impressive New Media and web designagencies to date. Combining classic design skills, fresh ideas, in-depthtechnical knowledge and strong marketing skills enables Fernhart to puttogether solutions that are not only highly attractive to the owner andcustomer alike, but also deliver real business benefits.

Working in partnership with clients, through all stages of their projects,Fernhart provides advice and expertise from the initial concept stage,through strategic planning, design, development and build, to sitemanagement and promotion. These specialist skills are complemented by thestrategic partnerships forged with other new media, marketing and PRcompanies, enabling Fernhart to offer total solutions, without compromisingon the quality of any service provided. Clients enjoying the added valueFernhart offer include Virgin Radio, Granada Media Group, ITV & Bonhams FineArt Auctioneers. www.fernhart.com

December 8th : First Look: Kingpin on DVD…Having received the press release shortly after its release date, a copyof Kingpin has arrived. The film stars Woody Harrelson, RandyQuaid and the gorgeous Vanessa Angel (spot the stage name :)who appeared in the TV series of the film Weird Science. The film wasdirected by the Farrelly Brothers (There’s Something About Mary).

The good news is that although it has the cheaper price of £15.99,it is anamorphic but the ratio is 16:9 as stated on the box, not the originaltheatrical ratio of 2.35:1. I think the film was shot with Super-35 so it maynot look as bad as a typical pan-and-scan film would.

Also, Entertainment in Video have dropped another clanger. It’s ProLogic!The DVD also contains a brief trailer and 3-minute “making of”.

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 : October Sky, The Muse, The Last Yellow, Walk on the Moonand End of Days.

A review ofThe World Is Not Enough,is online and in cinemas now.

December 7th : Prepare to be Judged: Dredd on DVD…Sylvester Stallone dons the helmet in the action film based in thecomic book hero,
Judge Dredd,which is online and out on DVD now.

December 6th : Chow Yun-Fat returns as The God of Gamblers on DVD…Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung and the gorgeous Chingmy Yau starin the action-comedy sequel
Return of the God of Gamblers,which is online and out on DVD now. Oh God, can it be true? Is Cliff STILL No.1…?Find out now on mymusic chart analysis page New DVDs and widescreen videos out this weekThe new DVDs out this week are :

The new widescreen videos out this week are :

December 4th : First Look: What Dreams May Come, The Gingerbread Man and Plunkett & Maclaine on DVD…Thanks to Susie from Universal for the review copies I received yesterday for :

Plunkett and Maclaine: 2.35:1 widescreen, Featurette, Interviews, Trailer
What Dreams May Come: 2.35:1 widescreen, Featurette inc. Interviews, Trailer
The Gingerbread Man: 1.85:1 widescreen

All titles are anamorphic, contain plush booklets featuring biographies inEnglish and one or two other languages, depending on the title, and featureDolby Digital 5.1 sound. The last two are out now, but Plunkett andMaclaine is released this Monday.

December 3rd : First Look: Judge Dredd on DVD…Thanks to Liz from DSA for the review copy I received yesterday forJudge Dredd. A review will follow in due course, but in brief,it’s not anamorphic, but it does come in its full widescreen 2.35:1 ratio,has Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and comes complete with a trailer and 20-minutemaking of feature. New DVD releases…There’s a number of changes in the DVD list online, as some have shifteddates and others have been added to the release date list (no extra details forthe additions yet though).

Check theDVD List onlinefrom December 13th onwards.

December 1st : 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 : Guest House Paradiso, Secret Laughter of Women, Anywhere But Here,plus re-releases for Star Wars I, Deep Blue Sea and Doug’s 1st Movie.

A review ofThe World Is Not Enough,is online and in cinemas now.