Over and over and over ....

There's no question I'm a big fan of DVDs. They've opened up a whole new world. They've freed the home viewer of the movie theater (to the theater owner's dismay).
And unlike VHS tapes, they've brought extra information in the form of special features to consumers.
But you know what I absolutely hate about DVDs? The re-packaging syndrome. The same movies over and over and over again. Yes, we're starting to see movies on their third cycle now.
Some of it is understandable. And legitimate. For example, a reissue from a better master is always a welcome thing, especially when the master originally used was in very poor condition. The reissue of "The Wizard of Oz" in 2005 was a great example of a re-release that made sense.
But now, some DVD manufacturers are reissuing just to add special features. Sure, the package will promote a remastered film, but unless you have a high-tech monitor, you're usually not going to notice the difference.
I won't count Blu-Ray or HD versions. Those are legit, though how many of your old DVDs will you replace?
Or even worse ... anniversary editions. The 50th anniversary edition of "70 Million Miles to Earth"? Why?
It all comes down to money, of course. Let's get the consumer for what we can, especially at the holidays.
Consumers, though, should be hesitant about this stuff. Don't buy a new package just because you can.
Let us know what DVDs you've seen or bought that shouldn't have been reissued.

Here's what's coming up ...

11/27/06 - Waitress
11/27/07 - Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score
11/30/07 - Heroes of War Collection - Frontline Combat
12/4/08 - Saturday Night Live - The Complete Second Season
12/4/07 - 24 - Season 6
12/4/07 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
12/4/07 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection 3 - Still Laughing
12/4/07 - Battlestar Galactica: Razor
12/11/07 - Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald Volume 3
12/11/07 - Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit -
12/11/07 - Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic
12/11/07 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
12/11/07 - Frasier - The Complete Tenth Season
12/11/07 - Lost - The Complete Third Season
12/11/07 - Bourne Ultimatum
12/18/07 - Blade Runner - Ultimate Collector's Edition
12/18/07 - Blade Runner - Complete Collector's Edition
12/18/07 - Blade Runner - The Final Cut
12/18/07 - Halloween
12/31/07 - Two-Lane Blacktop
1/1/08 - Naked Prey
1/1/08 - This Sporting Life
1/1/08 - Miss Julie

"Truthiness," justice and the American Way

I feel sorry for the people who had to choose what to leave out of "The Best of the Colbert Report" (Paramount). You want it to be so much longer!
Even at almost three hours long, the single disc compilation, released Nov. 5, barely covers the reasons why "The Colbert Report" is one of the sharpest and funniest shows on TV.
Colbert, by his own admission, owes much to Bill O'Reilly, "Papa Bear," as he called him (to his face) in a fantastic interview Colbert did on the Fox News Channel last year. O'Reilly's guest spot on "The Report" is on the DVD.
But Colbert, in addition to lampooning O'Reilly's overblown sense of self-importance,
has a keen sense of comedy. His "Know Your District" series, in which he profiles all of the members of the House of Representatives, aren't composed of your usual political interviews. In his interview with Massachusetts' Barney Frank, he steps around the usual subject of interviews with Frank and says, "You like .... dogs?"
And the guy is hip, too. The final segments on the disc feature a "Rock and Awe" competition where Stephen shows his (somewhat) musical chops. He has a lot of fun lampooning both politics and rock here. (He manages to get Henry Kissinger, of all people, to kick off the competition. Amazing!)
One of the best sections of the disc is the appearance of Barry Manilow on his show. You wouldn't think a guy like Manilow would even be in the same room as Colbert, but apparently the two have a genuine friendship. Even funnier is the fact that Manilow won (Colbert likes to say "stole") the Emmy that Colbert was nominated for. When Manilow came on the show, Colbert managed to get Manilow to sign a "peace treaty" (duly notarized) in which the two would share custody of the Emmy and even sings Manilow's trademark "I Write the Songs" with him.
And when Willie Nelson comes on the show, Colbert lampoons him for Nelson's Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor competing with his. When Willie sings, "On the Road Again" at the end, Stephen, of course, joins in. Is a music CD next?
"The Best of the Colbert Report" was put out to capitalize on the current white-hot popularity of the show.
And unlike most TV compilations these days, it's very moderately priced. Colbert obviously knows his audience. And they certainly know him.

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Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Five continues the tradition of the first four volumes and shows once more why these cartoons aren't just for kids. ("The Looney Tunes: Spotlight Collection, Vol. 5," released at the same time, condenses the Golden Collection to cartoons aimed at children.)
In the four-disc set, the first features Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the second features Looney Tunes versions of fairy tales, the third spotlights the work of Bob Clampett and the fourth features vintage shorts. The special features include some of the brilliant music-only tracks that were Looney Tunes trademarks, tributes to Chuck Jones and Robert McKimson and vault rarities, including Private Snafu.
What's great about these sets is you don't have to feel guilty anymore about liking these cartoons. That's fine with us.
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"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Films) is the most recent film breakdown of the buildup to the war in Iraq by the Bush Administration. The film clearly and distinctly shows how faulty reasoning played an immense part in toppling Saddam Hussein and invading Iraq. One of the most surprising, but maybe not shocking reasons, given the current situation there, is that those in the Bush administration lacking military experience pushed for the invasion and the only ones that had it -- Colin Powell and Richard Armitage -- had reservations.
"No End in Sight" comes at a time when the majority of Americans are disillusioned by the war. As a result, it probably won't change a lot of minds. But a little education can't hurt.


DVDs

Give Netflix a try

After pondering the idea for some time, we decided to give Netflix's free trial a go. (Click through the banner at the top if you want to try.)
For those who haven't tried it, they have plans starting at $4.99 a month. We chose the $8.99 plan, which allows you to get one DVD at a time, plus watch 19 hours of movies on line a month.
So far, we've gotten "Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends" and "The Best of the Colbert Report." We like the convenience, especially watching DVDs (stuff that's just been released, too) without leaving home.
And the queue, which you set up to decide which films you'll get, is pretty unique and a nice idea. You never have to tell them to send you something. They send you what's in your queue automatically when you return the previous one you've rented.
If you're a Netflix subscriber, add your comments.

Wanted on DVD!

The list of most wanted on DVD gets smaller and smaller all the time. Still, there's a few things we'd love to see out on DVD. Here they are in no particular order:

1) "American Hot Wax" -- Great 1978 rock film starring Tim McIntyre as legendary disc jockey Allen Freed and co-starring Jay Leno, Fran Dreschler, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Why this one isn't on DVD is anyone's guess, but we suspect it has to do with music rights.

2) "The Devil and Miss Jones" -- No, this isn't the porn film, but the 1941 comedy starring Charles Coburn, Jean Arthur, Spring Byington and Bob Cummings. It was originally released on VHS, but has yet to appear on DVD. Why? (It happens to be one of our favorite old films, too.) (Note: "The More the Merrier," which re-teamed Arthur and Coburn two years later, is on DVD and available through Amazon.com.)

3) "Let It Be" -- This 1970 Beatles film may never show up on DVD if the rumors we've heard are correct. This was not a favorite film of the four Beatles. And even though two of them aren't around to prevent it, their widows want to respect their wishes. Still, we've heard that the film has been restored and maybe, just maybe it'll get released. But for now, don't hold your breath.

4) "Batman" -- That's the Adam West-Burt Ward TV series we're referring to. It has yet to show up, though the 1966 feature film, which isn't as good as the series, has been on DVD for several years and priced very inexpensively. West was asked about this possibility a few years ago and said he knew nothing about it happening. A shame.

5) "The Green Hornet" -- The companion TV series is also not on DVD. A great show. Why isn't it there?

6) "Quick Draw McGraw" -- Hanna Barbera has released many of its core cartoon characters on DVD, but not Quick Draw and Baba Louie (or our fave, El Kabong).

7) "Dr. Syn Alias the Scarecrow" -- Patrick McGoohan starred as Dr. Syn in this 1964 Disney adaptation, shown on "Wonderful World of Color" and separately. McGoohan's character gave us nightmares as a young boy. We'd love to see this one released.

8) "The Monkey's Uncle" -- Released on VHS, the 1965 film starred Annette Funicello and Tommy Kirk and featured a great theme song featuring Walt Disney's teen star Annette and the Beach Boys. We'll guess again it's music rights, but this one needs to be out. Walt would have wanted it.

Know of any DVDs you'd like released? Let us know and we'll feature them in an upcoming column.

And if you're interested in discussing this or other DVD issues, join our Yahoo DVD Watch discussion group.

Click to join dvdwatch

Things to come

Here are highlights of what's coming down the pipeline:

11/6: The Best of the Colbert Report (Paramount)
11/6: Help! (The Beatles)
11/6: Up the Down Staircase (WB)
11/6: The Cosby Show: Season 5 (Universal)
11/6: Barry Manilow: The First Television Specials (Rhino)
11/13: Ocean's Thirteen (WB)
11/13: Paul McCartney: The McCartney Years (Rhino)
11/13: Ravi Shankar: Concert for World Peace
11/13: Perry Mason: The Second Season, Vol. 2 (Paramount)
11/13: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Extended Edition (WB) 11/13: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Limited (WB)
11/13: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) (WB) 11/13: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Limited Edition (WB)
11/13: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Extended Edition (WB) 11/13: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Limited Edition (WB)
11/13: Johnny Cash Christmas Specials from 1976 and 1977 (Shout Factory)
11/13: Shrek the Third (Paramount)
11/20: Mission Impossible: The Complete Third Season (Paramount)
11/20: Love American Style: Season 1, Vol. 1 (Paramount)
11/20: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Complete Seventh Season (Paramount)
11/20: Hairspray (WB)
11/20: Bill Maher: The Decider (HBO)
11/20: Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same Special Edition (also Limited Collector's Edition)
11/20: Santa Clause III: The Escape Clause (Buena Vista)
11/20: The Wild Wild West: The Complete Third Season (Paramount)
11/27: Happy Days: The Complete Third Season (Paramount)
11/27: Laverne and Shirley: The Complete Third Season (Paramount)
11/27: Mork and Mindy: The Complete Third Season (Paramount)
11/27: The 2007 World Series (Shout Factory)
12/4: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
12/4: Best of Gallagher, Vol. 3
12/4: Diagnosis Murder: The Complete Third Season
12/11: High School Musical 2 (Disney)
12/11: Walt Disney Treasures: Chronological Donald Vol. 3, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic
12/11: Gomer Pyle: The Third Season (Paramount)
12/11: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (WB)
12/14: Emergency: Season Three (Universal)
12/14: Murder She Wrote: The Complete Third Season (Universal)
12/14: Law and Order: Special Victims Unit - The Third Year (Universal)
12/18: Stardust (Paramount)
12/18: Rawhide: Season two, Volume 2 (Paramount)
12/18: Mod Squad: Season One, Volume 1 (Paramount)
1/8/08: The Waltons, the Complete Sixth Season
1/15/08: Alex Haley's Queen
1/22/08: ER, the Complete Eighth Season
1/22/08: Hawaii Five-0, the Third Season (Paramount)
1/22/08: The Odd Couple: the Third Season (Paramount)
2/5/08: Beauty and the Beast: The Third Season (Paramount)
2/5/08: You've Got Mail: Deluxe Edition (Warner Home Video)
2/12/08: Joan Crawford Collection Vol. 2 (Includes A Woman’s Face, Flamingo Road, Sadie McKee, Strange Cargo, Torch Song)
2/12/08: Dallas: The Complete Eighth Season (WB)
2/26/08: The Smurfs, Season 1, Volume 1 (WB)