Search

DVD Releases For 7/14


1haunting_in_connecticut
1. The Haunting in Connecticut
After a family is forced to relocate for their son’s health, they begin experiencing supernatural behavior in their new home, which turns out to be a former mortuary.

What’s good about it:
Zero. There is not a single shred of originality, entertainment value, or style in this film. It’s like an episode of Full House, but with ghosts.
On the upside there are no Olsen twins!

What’s bad about it:
See the above statement.

Bottom Line:
Director Peter Cornwell vomits this celluloid waste on to the screen with, what seems like, zero regard for the genre of horror. Avoid at all costs.

1the_horsemen_poster

2. The Horsemen
A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife’s death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

What’s good about it:
Strong performances by Dennis Quaid and Ziyi Zhang. Zhang is particularly creepy (and hot) as Kristen. Director Jonas Akerland has a strong visual style that keeps the Horsmen afloat for most of its duration, and the film’s gore is very well done.

Bottom Line:
Wait for cable. Horsemen will pass for slight entertainment for fans of the genre, but its cliched characters and ending will leave most of you disappointed.

Blu-Ray Releases of Note

1. The Towering Inferno
1towering_inferno
At the opening party of a collosal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Absolutely one of the best disaster films ever made! Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Paul Newman, Susan Blakely, Richard, Chamberlin, Fred Astaire, and Robert Wagner! You can’t really go wrong! This film is a must own.

This BD contains a plethora of special features. The full list follows:
Commentary by F.X. Feeney, film historian
Scene-specific commentary by Mike Vezina, special effects director on ‘X3′
Scene-specific commentary by Branko Racki, stunt coordinator on ‘The Day After Tomorrow’
32 extended and deleted scenes
Alternate opening sequence
10 featurettes:
Inside the Tower: We Remember
Innovating Tower: The SPFX of an Inferno
The Art of Towering
Irwin Allen: The Great Producer
Directing the Inferno
Putting out Fire
Walking on Fire
Still the World’s Tallest Building
The Write Stirling Silliphant
AMC Backstory: The Towering Inferno
Six storyboard comparisons
Vintage promotional materials:
NATO presentation reel
Two original 1974 featurettes
Irwin Allen 1977 interview
Trailer farm:
‘The Towering Inferno’ teaser
‘The Towering Inferno’ trailer
‘The Poseidon Adventure’ trailer
Interactive galleries:
American Cinematographer article
‘The Towering Inferno’ and how it was filmed
Photographing the dramatic sequences for ‘The Towering Inferno’
“Action Unit” lives up to its name while shooting ‘The Towering Inferno’
Stills galleries:
Shot compositions
Publicity
Behind the scenes
Conceptual sketches
Costumes

2.Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon / Curse of the Golden Flower / House of Flying Daggers Box Set
crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-curse-of-the-golden-flower-house-of-flying-daggers-trilogy-20090529112158404_640w
The Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Blu-ray will feature the following bonus materials:

Three visually arresting martial arts epics in one blu-ray box set. I just wish that they offered a bit more in the way of special features. I’ll likely wait until they are released separately with all the extras these films deserve. You should do the same.

Audio commentary with Ang Lee and James Schamus
A Conversation with Michelle Yeoh
Unleashing the Dragons: Making Of Featurette
Photo Gallery

The Curse of the Golden Flower Blu-ray will feature the following bonus materials:

Los Angeles Premiere Featurette
Secrets Within: Making Of Featurette

The House of Flying Daggers Blu-ray will feature the following bonus materials:

Storyboards
Creating the Visual Effects Featurette

3. Death Trance
0death_trance_blu_ray_tokyo_shock

Living in an undisclosed time and location, a master samurai known as Grave is on the constant lookout for a battle worth his energy. He finds this fight in a quest for a coffin from the Tougan Temple, a journey that puts a young woman from the temple grounds on Grave’s path.

I’m not sure how well this will turn out in HD, but I’m willing to give it a shot. While Death Trance is not a great film it certainly is visually stunning. I haven’t been able to find any specs or extra features information online so if you’ve bought the disc or have a link to the info drop me a line.

2 Responses to “DVD Releases For 7/14”

  1.  Heather Says:

    The Horsemen – not to be confused with Aussie thriller The HorsemAn, as I learned the hard way while looking for a torrent of the latter. D’oh.

  2.  Erik Giberti Says:

    Boy with such a great recommendation, I might need to go check out The Haunting in Connecticut!

Leave a Reply