How to Spend $20
By Joel Corcoran
November 8, 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 unreleased studio (film and television) back-catalogue means that every week there's likely something for you.
For anyone who dressed up as an Oompa Loompa on Halloween: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition).
Everyone take a deep breath and repeat after me ... "It's not a remake." And regardless of anything Gene Wilder ever said, this version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a pretty good movie. Johnny Depp does a fantastic job of playing Willy Wonka with just the right tinge of creepy weirdness that any man would have if he ate too much sugar, lived in a giant psychedelic factory, and was surrounded by a bunch of hard-working foreigners who happen to be little people. With orange skin. However, if you ask me, Julia Winter (who portrays Veruca Salt) steals just about every scene she's in.
This two-disc "deluxe" edition doesn't have too many added features, but the extras are individually substantial, and the box does come with five limited-edition trading cards. The film comes with audio tracks and subtitles in English, Spanish, and French (perfect for your niece in high school as she's studying for her Spanish final next month). Some of the featurettes include a history of Roald Dahl, the author of the original book, a description of how the squirrels were trained for the film, and "Becoming an Oompa-Loompa." which relates how one actor (Deep Roy) served up the source material for a veritable army of Oompa-Loompas.
For anyone who believes Christmas truly does last the whole year 'round: Warner Bros. Classic Holiday Collection (Boys Town / A Christmas Carol 1938 / Christmas in Connecticut).
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) alone is worth the price of this boxed set (so just think of receiving the other two movies as a bonus). Barbara Stanwyck stars as Elizabeth Lane, one of the nation's foremost food writers who her adoring fans, editors, and employer all believe is a devoted wife, mother, and forerunner to Martha Stewart. In reality, Ms. Lane is an unmarried urban sophisticate who can barely boil water and is a complete wreck in the kitchen - she relies on friends for inspiration and material to write her columns. Worlds collide when her editor decides the paper will feature a down-home, feel-good piece of holiday Americana by arranging for a war hero to spend Christmas on Elizabeth Lane's farm. And, as they say, hilarity ensues.
Christmas in Connecticut is the perfect counter-point to other traditional holiday movies like It's a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Carol. The 1938 version of the Charles Dickens tale isn't quite as good as the 1951 version starring Alistair Sim, but Reginald Owen gives a solid performance and the movie is a good enough alternative for the 1951 masterpiece.
Boys Town (1938) usually doesn't get as much credit as it deserves. The storyline is a bit schmaltzy, but it's one of the best films for family gatherings around the holidays. Spencer Tracey and Mickey Rooney give compelling performances as Father Flanagan and Whitey Marsh, respectively. Tracey even won an Oscar for Best Actor. Father Flanagan is the director of Boys Town, a real-life home for wayward boys located in Omaha, Nebraska (and, as a bit of self-touting, where my uncle taught music for many years). Whitey Marsh is a troubled young lad who overcomes personal shortcomings and life tragedies to finally help save Boys Town in the end.
Apparently, the boxed set comes with only the movies on DVD and no extras. But you're getting three classic movies, so what more do you need for your twenty bucks?
For unemployed thirty-somethings or anyone else who is filled with bitterness and self-loathing: Beavis & Butt-head, Vol. 1 - The Mike Judge Collection
In the early '90s, I was a haggard, over-worked, stressed-out graduate student. I had no plan for the future and watched way too much late-night television. Beavis and Butt-head gave me many reasons to laugh, primarily because they reminded me of people I went to high school with. Now, over ten years later, I'm a haggard, unemployed, stressed-out attorney with no plans for the future who watches too much late-night television (it's a long story, but my resume is available upon request). And while Adult Swim has gotten me through more bouts of anxiety-induced insomnia than I care to mention, nothing really compares to a couple good Cornholio episodes.
This release of the best show MTV ever aired (well, okay, maybe Undressed was better, but for different reasons), and the Mike Judge Collection has more extras in it than that stupid rave scene from Matrix: Revolutions. Not only does the set come with 40 (40!) episodes, 11 music videos with commentary from Beavis and Butt-head, our boys' appearances at various Video Music Awards events, and the infamous Thanksgiving Special (hosted by Kurt Loder), an exclusive featurette is included - Taint of Greatness: The Journey of Beavis and Butt-Head, Part 1. How can we possibly wait for parts 2 and 3? Even better, the 40 episode collection includes 14 episodes never released on DVD and over 20 with restored material that was previously censored. So, for the next week or so, you can just find me on the couch eating leftover mac and cheese and wearing the same sweats I have for the past week.
For people who hate it when See Me, Feel Me comes on the "adult contemporary" station: The Who: Tommy and Quadrophenia Live.
This three-DVD set comes with not one, but two of the best rock operas ever created. And two of the best performances of those same creations. Disc One holds the 1989 live performance of Tommy at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. If you don't know the story, Tommy is a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who plays a mean pinball. (okay, so it's a lot better than it sounds). This live performance featured guest appearances from gigantic rock stars who still remain gigantic rock stars almost 20 years later. Billy Idol, Patti LaBelle, Steve Winwood, Phil Collins, and Elton John all joined the band onstage.
Disc Two contains a 1996 performance of Quadrophenia from The Who's tour of the United States in 1996 and 1997. The story centers around the coming-of-age tale of a young mod growing up in the 1960s (never mind that the mods of the '60s are now grandparents). This tour constituted the first live performance of the work as Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey had originally envisioned it.
Disc Three features a collection of hits performed live, including all the staples of any concert The Who ever performed. The boxed set features some interesting extras, including interviews with Billy Idol and new, exclusive interviews with Townshend and Daltrey. They also provide voice-over commentary on the shows in real time if you like. There also is a featurette titled The Quadrophenia Story by Aubrey Powell, a director of rock documentaries about Yes, Deep Purple, The Cure and others.
Other titles worth mentioning ... .
50 Cent: Refuse 2 Die
America Brown
The Andy Williams Show
The Anne Murray TV Special
The Backyardigans: Snow Fort
Battlenight: Krump Wars
The Big Black Comedy Show: Volume 4
Black Mark: Metal by Metal
Blue Collar TV: Season 1, Volume 1
Christmas with the Kranks
City of Champions: The Best of Boston Sports
Cronicas
The Devil's Rejects
Dot.Kill
Eden's Bowy: The Complete Collection
El As De Oros
Fag Hag
Greg Behrendt is Uncool
Jay & Silent Bob Do Degrassi The Next Generation
Jeopardy: An Inside Look
John Luther Adams: Strange & Sacred Noise
La Joven Mancornada
Las Vegas: An Unconventional History
The Legendary Pink Dots: A Dream is a Dream
Mahalia Jackson: Christmas
Margaret Cho: Assassin
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Vol. 8
The Partridge Family: The Complete Second Season
Pioneers of Primetime
Popstar
Prodigy: Their Law, The Singles 1990-2005
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
Remington Steele: Season Two
Rescue Rangers Volume 1
Robotech: Protoculture Collection
Shadow Star: Narutaru 4
Slipstream
Soundstage Presents: Lindsey Buckingham
Space Above & Beyond: The Complete Series
Starwoids: The Ultimate Star Wars Fan Celebration
They Shoot Divas, Don't They?
Time of Fear
Tsunami: Rage
The Very Best of Country Music Volume 1
The Very Best of Country Music Volume 2
What's New Scooby-Doo? Vol. 7 Ghosts on the Go
The White Shadow: The Complete First Season
WWE No Mercy 2005
Zoetrope
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