How to Spend $20
By Les Winan
August 17, 2005
Taking a look ahead at the week's DVD releases is always dicey for your wallet. Nearly every week, there's a disc that would fit nicely into any size collection. When it comes time to decide what to buy, there are really two determining factors: how much you love the content and the quality of the extra features on the disc. The massive unreleased studio (film and television) back-catalogue means that every week there's likely something for you.
For renting before you buy: Sin City (2005)
I'll save my full writeup and gushing description for the inevitable special edition DVD. For now, I'll note that there is a single featurette on the disc and that you should all rent this movie. For more on the love that Sin City received from BOP staff, check out its Release Schedule listing and Tony Kollath's review.
For having dexterous appendges: My Left Foot (Collector's Edition) (1989)
This just in, Daniel Day Lewis can act. In fact, the film that brought him to the attention of the majority of moviegoers was My Left Foot. In the movie, Day-Lewis plays Christy Brown, a man limited by cerebral palsy, but still able to move his left foot. It's a fantastic performance that appropriately won Day-Lewis an Academy Award. Included on the disc are several featurettes, reviews and a still gallery. It's too bad the disc's producers couldn't pull off having Day-Lewis sit down for an audio commentary.
For putting Australia in their place: The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season (1994)
Before reading any further, if you've been living under a rock for several decades and aren't familiar with the clever adventures of America's favorite yellow family (or if you just haven't purchased the first season DVD yet), I highly recommend checking out BOP's Michael Bentley and his review of the complete first season of The Simpsons.
There is little left to be said about the genius of The Simpsons that hasn't already been exhaustively covered on the pages of BOP and other similar media outlets. Season six, among the final seasons that are consistently great (note to self, remove TiVo season pass before the fall TV season starts), features such fantastic episodes as Lisa's Rival, Itchy and Scratchy Land, Treehouse of Horror V, Lisa on Ice, Homer Bad Man, Homer the Great, Bart's Comet, Bart vs. Australia, A Star is Burns, Two Dozen and One Greyhounds, Lemon of Troy and Who Shot Mr. Burns. It's another great season from one of the greatest comedies in television history.
Included on the disc are commentary tracks on each episode with creator Matt Groening, producers David Mirkin and Mike Scully and some combination of the vocal talent behind the show. Also on the disc are deleted scenes; an animation showcase with illustrated commentary and storyboards; featurettes and commercials. It's a great set and the co-DVD Pick of the Week.
For yet another on the long list of television shows that Fox screwed over: Undeclared: The Complete Series (4-DVD Set) (2001)
The half-hour comedy cousin of Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared is another on the vast pantheon of shows screwed over by the Fox network. In fact, it's not even a surprise any more. But thanks to the cult success of Freaks and Geeks and the subsequent DVD sales of the complete set of that screwed over series (though by NBC, not Fox), we're lucky enough to get Undeclared on DVD. Created by Freaks and Geeks' Judd Apatow, Undeclared is a similar conceit with college freshman in the form of a more obvious comedy series. All that said, the show still didn't feature a laugh track, had no recognizable stars, and was less obvious than most shows that appeal to the general buffoons who make up the American viewing public (Two and a Half Men, I'm looking in your direction). Proving once again that network suits are as willing to understand non-broad, intelligent humor, Fox used their infinite wisdom to cancel Undeclared after sixteen episodes.
Featuring Jay Baruchel as ostensible lead Steven and a supporting cast made up of Carla (Carnivale) Gallo, Charlie (Nicholas Nickelby) Hunnam, Monica (former Dawson's Creek cast member) Keena, Seth (Freaks and Geeks) Rogen and Loudon (folk musician and father of Rufus) Wainwright III, Undeclared certainly suffered from not having a big star. Then again, nobody knew who Jerry Seinfeld was back in the late '80s and he became one of the richest men in Hollywood. The show centers around the cast dealing with their freshman year of college. Steven, on the other hand, also must deal with his father (Wainwright) hanging out on campus with his friends. The show did feature guest appearances from Adam Sandler, Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, Amy Poehler, Fred Willard, Tenacious D's Kyle Gass and Freaks regulars Samm Levine, Martin Starr, Busy Phillips and Jason Segel, but that wasn't enough to make Fox understand the show.
Luckily for us, the DVD set is as terrific as the Freaks and Geeks set that came before it. Produced (like Freaks and Geeks) by Shout Factory, the Criterion Collection of television on DVD, Undeclared: The Complete Series includes the entire 16 episode run of the show, one unaired episode, one episode recut as a "director's cut"; commentary tracks on all eighteen total episodes with directors, writers & cast; auditions; a Museum of Television & Radio Q&A; unproduced scripts; outtakes; deleted scenes; Loudon Wainwright live concert footage; and a 28-page booklet. It's an outstanding package for a show that didn't deserve its fate. If you loved Freaks and Geeks, this is the DVD set for you. Undeclared is the co-DVD Pick of the Week.
August 16, 2005
The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Third Season (5-DVD Set) (1962)
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
The Beat (2003)
Bereft (2004)
The Brown Bunny (2004)
Creepies (2003)
Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth (2005)
The Deal (2005)
Feeding the Masses (2004)
Follow the Fleet (1936)
Girl Play (2004)
The Glass Shield (Collector's Edition) (1994)
Hazlo Por Mi (1997)
I Got Five On It (2005)
The Mambo Kings (1992)
The Man Who Copied (2005)
My Left Foot (Collector's Edition) (1989)
My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
The Off Season (2004)
The Psychic (2004)
Shall We Dance (1937)
The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season (1994)
Sin City (2005)
Strings (2004)
Swing Time (1936)
Top Hat (1935)
Undeclared: The Complete Series (4-DVD Set) (2001)
Walt Disney's Timeless Tales Vol. 1 (2005)
Walt Disney's Timeless Tales Vol. 2 (2005)
The Wedding Date (Full Frame) (2005)
The Wedding Date (Widescreen) (2005)
Will & Grace: Season Four (4-DVD Set) (2001)
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