DVD Releases for April 6, 2004

April 5, 2004

Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. Here is a list of wide releases, limited releases and a few from the growing TV on DVD section. An eclectic mix with an even mix of recent releases, older movies and TV series and the best pick being the complete Freaks and Geeks collection.

Here's the highlights, (and some lowlights) of the DVDs released today, January 20, 2004.

Cheaper by the Dozen - (Buy from Amazon)
A surprise hit this past Christmas opening in a strong second place before going on to earn $137 million. An excellent result for a movie costing just $40 million to make, substantially less than the average film. In the process it became the number one film in the careers of Steve Martin, Hilary Duff and almost all the rest of the actors playing the Baker family. Critics were less kind to the movie, but with a sufficient amount of extras, (2 commentary tracks and 2 featurettes) it should see strong sales in the home market.

Freaks and Geeks - The Complete Series - (Buy from Amazon)
Freaks and Geeks had a small but loyal following, but it was canceled at the end of the first season. The creators then moved on to Undeclared, which also had a small but loyal following and was also canceled at the end of the season. Now they're working on the upcoming Jennifer Love Hewitt's new show. Hmm, I wonder how long that will last. The DVD set is full of special features including 29 audio commentaries on 18 episodes, behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes, etc.

Friends - The Complete Seventh Season - (Buy from Amazon)
I stopped watching Friends long before the seventh season, so there's not much I can offer in the way of specifics about this DVD set. However, if you've bought the other six seasons you don't need me to tell you what it's like.

In Living Color - (Buy from Amazon)
A ground breaking sketch comedy show that launched the careers of Jim Carrey, among others. The first season introduced such characters as Vera Dimilo and Homey D. Clown.

The Matrix Revolutions - (Buy from Amazon: Widescreen or Pan and Scan)
Had the film not been a financial and critical disappointment, this should have been one of the biggest DVD release of the year. As it is, it isn't even the DVD pick of the week. Still, it has plenty of special features on the DVD and might be worth renting just for those.

Passionada - (Buy from Amazon)
The film opened in a lot of theatres for a limited release, perhaps too many. It's per theatre average wasn't high enough and it quickly lost most of its theatres. That's too bad because its reviews suggest a better result than that. The DVD release does have better special features than many limited releases do.

The Pink Panther Collection - (Buy from Amazon)
Peter Sellers is one of the greatest comedians and Inspector Clouseau is one of his best known roles. Unfortunately the series went on a little beyond its prime and the last few films. Also, almost half the films were left out of the set, very strange indeed. I suspect with a new version coming out next year I suspect I better, more complete collection to be released then to take advantage of the extra publicity.

The Police Academy Collection - (Buy from Amazon)
Was there a demand for this? The first Police Academy was actually a pretty decent film, but they quickly got worse from there. A decade later when the last film was released, the series was wildly regarded as the worst movie franchise ever. On the plus side, the set is very cheap for seven movies. YOU can also purchase the movies individually, in which case I'd just stick with the first one.

The Sweetest Thing - Unrated Edition - (Buy from Amazon)
I'm not sure there was a demand for an unrated version of this movie. It is six minutes longer, which is not necessarily a good thing given its rather dismal reviews.

The Trailer Park Boys - Season 3 - (Buy from Amazon.ca)
Firstly, this DVD set is only available in Canada so if you'll have to import it if you don't live up there. This TV Series is based on the Mockumentary of the same name. The series follows the exploits of two trailer park dwelling petty felons. Very entertaining and much more intelligent than it first appears.

Transylvania 6-5000- (Buy from Amazon)
I remember this film fondly, but since I haven't seen it in nearly 20 years I don't know if it's actually a good film or if its just nostalgia. Reviews are poor, so it's probably just nostalgia. On the plus side, the DVD does have more special feature than these types of releases normally have with a commentary track plus art work / image gallery.


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Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, The Matrix Revolutions, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Passionada