With "The Dark Knight" performing beyond everyone's expectations - over $155 million in its first three days of release - now is as good a time as any to review the latest direct-to-DVD DC Universe title from Warner Home Video, "Batman: Gotham Knight". This new release has been served up in a single-disc release, a two-disc special edition, and a Blu-Ray version, the latter two of which include additional features including a biography of "Batman" creator Bob Kane and several episodes of the 1990's "Batman" animated series. Only the single-disc release was provided for review.
Set in between the events of "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight", "Gotham Knight" is a six-part story of Batman's pursuit of a Russian mob king while continuing to be seen by both the police and the citizens of Gotham City as either its hero or its worst nightmare come to life. What makes "Gotham Knight" unique is the combination of Japanese-style anime and the storytelling method employed to the film, whereby you can view each segment individually or in its complete feature-length form. Each installment stands on its own merit while contributing to the overall complete picture to form the larger story in hand. The anime approach, which I last saw employed in the "Animatrix" spinoff DVD release, far exceeds anything and everything employed in the animated Batman series of the 1990's, lending an added hand to the stories conveyed in this new film.
First off is "Have I Got a Story for You". In this tale, teenagers put their own different spins on how they each view Batman, from a mysterious spirit to a human-like bat to an automated machine, but only one sees the Batman for who he really is. Next up is "Crossfire", in which two of Gotham City's finest get caught in the middle of a gangland shootout gone wrong. This tale sets up the thread of the Russian mafia's involvement in organized crime that pays off in "The Dark Knight". In "Field Test", Bruce Wayne (who artfully looks a lot like Christian Bale) is given a new weapon that can render him invulnerable to enemy attack.
It then dovetails into "In Darkness Dwells". This tale, written by David Goyer (who also penned "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight"), sees Batman in pursuit of the mysterious Scarecrow who has kidnapped a city priest. Batman is injured in the process, and in "Working Through Pain" he carries that injury with him while awaiting rescue from his faithful butler Alfred, while recalling his early days of training in an Asian land. Finally, in "Deadshot", Batman must stop an assassin bent on taking out Lieutenant Jim Gordon while searching for the head of the Russian mafia.
The 76-minute film is presented in anamorphic widescreen format in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, with subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Thai. Unusually, the Dolby surround tracks are presented in your choice of English, Japanese, or Thai 5.1 mixes, as well as Spanish and Portuguese 2.0 mixes. The 5.1 mix is definitely the way to go, lending to the same ambience and mystery given the recent feature films. The print is crisp and vividly full of details. The film is rated PG-13 for stylized violence.
In addition, "Gotham Knight" carries with it several interesting bonus features. First off is a full-length audio commentary with DC Comics vice-president Gregory Noveck, longtime DC Comics editor and Batman writer Dennis O'Neil, and actor Kevin Conroy (who has voiced the character since the first animated incarnations of the 1990's). Each participant lends their thoughts on presenting Batman in an anime style while serving to bridge the events of the feature films.
Next up is a behind-the-scenes look (10:30) at the next DC Universe direct-to-DVD release, "Wonder Woman", coming in 2009. In this segment, DC president/publisher Paul Levitz, editor Dan DiDio, producer Bruce Timm, and actors Keri Russell, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, and Virginia Madsen provide their thoughts on putting a new animated spin to the character first created in 1940.
There is also a trailer gallery on this disc, which includes, naturally, a preview trailer for the just-released "Dark Knight" (which even in two-minute form gets me hyped up for the film for a second viewing, which I'll discuss later); a theatrical trailer for "Journey to the Center of the Earth"; a promo spot for the upcoming Lego "Batman" video game (from the creators of the Lego-themed "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" games) coming in September; and the DVD release of the second "Popeye the Sailor" collection. In addition, at the head of the disc there are preview spots for the DVD releases of "10,000 B.C." and "Appleseed: Ex Machina", as well as an anti-piracy spot utilizing clips from "The Wizard of Oz".
"Gotham Knight" is by far the best animated adaptation of the Batman character, far exceeding any other animated take I have seen over the years. While it's not required viewing prior to seeing "The Dark Knight", it sure helps understanding the opening moments of the new film.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
As if that weren't enough...
Before I call it a day, I've got a few things to get off my chest, so permit me to blow some steam...
First off, who gives a rip about Angelina Jolie's twins being born? She's nothing but a damn homewrecker, and she knows it. For that matter, she's not all that attractive, and since the first time I even heard of her, I thought she was flippin' ugly. And she's too damn overrated for that matter.
Second, who wants to buy a piece of crap from that loudmouth Billy Mays? Who in the hell is he, where did he come from, and why doesn't he go back to where he came from and stay there? Who wants to buy anything from somebody who yells all the time? I sure don't. I wouldn't waste my money in buying a toothbrush from that loudmouth jerk.
Finally, how come it's so hot in the summer? I think extremely hot weather should be outlawed.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog already in progress.
First off, who gives a rip about Angelina Jolie's twins being born? She's nothing but a damn homewrecker, and she knows it. For that matter, she's not all that attractive, and since the first time I even heard of her, I thought she was flippin' ugly. And she's too damn overrated for that matter.
Second, who wants to buy a piece of crap from that loudmouth Billy Mays? Who in the hell is he, where did he come from, and why doesn't he go back to where he came from and stay there? Who wants to buy anything from somebody who yells all the time? I sure don't. I wouldn't waste my money in buying a toothbrush from that loudmouth jerk.
Finally, how come it's so hot in the summer? I think extremely hot weather should be outlawed.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog already in progress.
Right and wrong in this world...
Sometimes there are things that go incredibly wrong in this world. For example, take my outing this afternoon to mail a simple letter to my wife.
First of all, traffic through town is horrendous enough as it already it is without having to wait for one car after another after another before you can even friggin' turn left! Not to mention multiple cars you have to wait on before you can even cross a stoplight or turn onto a single road! And how many police cars does it take to patrol one small stretch of road? Within five minutes it probably takes seven, because that's how many were out there between my house and the post office! Utterly ridiculous, if you ask me.
Second, there's the post office. It's bad enough that the post office rates to mail a simple piece of ordinary mail keeps going up and up and up. Forty-two cents right now, this time last year forty-one, and the year before that thirty-nine, and before then thirty-seven. My wife says, "Why don't they just raise it to a dollar and get it all over with?" She can't be closer to the truth, I tell you. Because to mail a simple, regular piece of mail cost - now get this - sixty-two cents! Damn post office clerk ripped me off over twenty lousy cents! For what reason? Makes no sense.
And then, as if that weren't enough, every time I come to the library to use one of the computers - and I've been so much to the library since returning to Mississippi, I'm on a recognizable first name face basis - that some punk kid who doesn't have bat brains to use the bathroom cards adults and old people! Why is that? Sometimes there isn't any justice in this world for regular ordinary people, you know?
Then again, sometimes things go right for a reason. Take this... between last Thursday and yesterday I managed to connect with two people, one by phone and one in Madison, who are helping me get back a lot of the "Star Trek" books and magazines that got thrown out a couple of years ago. Talk about a miracle! It'll take a while, but it should get nearly everything that I lost restored to me, with the exception of the DVDs, which will take time and money, like everything else. When that happens, I don't plan on letting any of it go once I've got it all back again. I'm taking out an insurance policy on my things in case of fire, flood damage, theft, or loss into the garbage.
And then there's this morning.
My wife calls me just to talk, and I hear my three-year-old daughter's voice on the phone. She tells me about her new Dora swimsuit Mommy got for her and about watching "Spongebob Squarepants" on one of the channels, and I tell my wife that my daughter doesn't need to be watching it because of some crude humor that she doesn't need to be listening to at this age.
Then I hear the three words that I've missed hearing from my wife for the longest time since my return... "I love you."
This now changes the entire picture as I know it in my life.
Maybe there's hope after all in this world.
First of all, traffic through town is horrendous enough as it already it is without having to wait for one car after another after another before you can even friggin' turn left! Not to mention multiple cars you have to wait on before you can even cross a stoplight or turn onto a single road! And how many police cars does it take to patrol one small stretch of road? Within five minutes it probably takes seven, because that's how many were out there between my house and the post office! Utterly ridiculous, if you ask me.
Second, there's the post office. It's bad enough that the post office rates to mail a simple piece of ordinary mail keeps going up and up and up. Forty-two cents right now, this time last year forty-one, and the year before that thirty-nine, and before then thirty-seven. My wife says, "Why don't they just raise it to a dollar and get it all over with?" She can't be closer to the truth, I tell you. Because to mail a simple, regular piece of mail cost - now get this - sixty-two cents! Damn post office clerk ripped me off over twenty lousy cents! For what reason? Makes no sense.
And then, as if that weren't enough, every time I come to the library to use one of the computers - and I've been so much to the library since returning to Mississippi, I'm on a recognizable first name face basis - that some punk kid who doesn't have bat brains to use the bathroom cards adults and old people! Why is that? Sometimes there isn't any justice in this world for regular ordinary people, you know?
Then again, sometimes things go right for a reason. Take this... between last Thursday and yesterday I managed to connect with two people, one by phone and one in Madison, who are helping me get back a lot of the "Star Trek" books and magazines that got thrown out a couple of years ago. Talk about a miracle! It'll take a while, but it should get nearly everything that I lost restored to me, with the exception of the DVDs, which will take time and money, like everything else. When that happens, I don't plan on letting any of it go once I've got it all back again. I'm taking out an insurance policy on my things in case of fire, flood damage, theft, or loss into the garbage.
And then there's this morning.
My wife calls me just to talk, and I hear my three-year-old daughter's voice on the phone. She tells me about her new Dora swimsuit Mommy got for her and about watching "Spongebob Squarepants" on one of the channels, and I tell my wife that my daughter doesn't need to be watching it because of some crude humor that she doesn't need to be listening to at this age.
Then I hear the three words that I've missed hearing from my wife for the longest time since my return... "I love you."
This now changes the entire picture as I know it in my life.
Maybe there's hope after all in this world.
Friday, July 11, 2008
A pretty good way to end the week...
While things are still running a bit frazzled on the homefront, it looks like it'll be the first part of September before I'm able to make it back to Alabama to see my daughter. The reason: money - or more specifically, lack of money. Because I won't get my first paycheck until sometime in August, I won't be able to drive over to see my family again. Oh well, it happens that way at times, I guess.
As if that weren't enough, both my mother and I are getting mixed messages from my wife. While I'm still frustrated enough not to go into any of the details, it makes the thought of divorce all the more an unbearable possibility. But all that matters to me is being with Lily once again.
In the meantime, though, there is a bit of good news to report. First up, I just got a copy of the new "Batman: Gotham Knight" DVD in its general single-disc issue, in time for next week's highly anticipated theatrical release of "The Dark Knight". Look for that review very soon.
Second, and this is an immensely huge break for me, it looks like I'll be getting back quite a bit of my "Star Trek" collection that got unceremoniously tossed into the garbage a couple of years ago by my wife. Without going into specifics, I'll be getting back a number of the novels that I lost, along with the comic strip CDs, and quite possibly the comic books themselves! That would only leave more recent books and the DVDs to obtain. It's nothing short of a blessing for this Trek fan.
And on that note, I'll see you again soon!
As if that weren't enough, both my mother and I are getting mixed messages from my wife. While I'm still frustrated enough not to go into any of the details, it makes the thought of divorce all the more an unbearable possibility. But all that matters to me is being with Lily once again.
In the meantime, though, there is a bit of good news to report. First up, I just got a copy of the new "Batman: Gotham Knight" DVD in its general single-disc issue, in time for next week's highly anticipated theatrical release of "The Dark Knight". Look for that review very soon.
Second, and this is an immensely huge break for me, it looks like I'll be getting back quite a bit of my "Star Trek" collection that got unceremoniously tossed into the garbage a couple of years ago by my wife. Without going into specifics, I'll be getting back a number of the novels that I lost, along with the comic strip CDs, and quite possibly the comic books themselves! That would only leave more recent books and the DVDs to obtain. It's nothing short of a blessing for this Trek fan.
And on that note, I'll see you again soon!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Metropolis mystery is finally complete!
One of the greatest film mysteries of all time has to be the whereabouts of the missing footage to one of the great silent classics, Fritz Lang's 1927 German masterpiece "Metropolis". For years the film had been released in many different cut versions from its original 153-minute master print. In the 1980's I remember record producer Giorgio Moroder releasing a controversial 87-minute edited version of the film complete with a then-modern rock score accompanying the film. During that time I remember seeing at a friend's house a 120-minute re-edit using classic rock and roll songs as the underscore, among them Percy Faith's "When a Man Loves a Woman" underscoring the first appearance of the female robot Hel. But the whereabouts of the remaining footage always remained a mystery.
In 2002 German film restoration producer Martin Koerber gave the world a completely restored version of "Metropolis" compiled from all of the then-available resources from prints accessible at that time. The film looked incredibly better than ever, but at 124 minutes in length (based on an upscaling of 30 frames per second, followed by a downscale transfer to 24 fps in NTSC format), there still remained some 25 minutes of footage missing. When the DVD was released by Kino Video, it was hailed as a marvelous, though flawed, attempt to reconstruct a classic, and the liner notes sadly stated that (if I remember correctly), "Until a more complete print surfaces, we must believe the missing footage to be irretrievably lost forever."
Welcome to forever.
Over on the Digital Bits website, Bill Hunt (one of the most rabid "Star Trek" fans you'll ever meet), proudly announced that the missing footage to "Metropolis" had finally been located!!!!! I can almost hear Marlon Brando's voice by now: "This is no fantasy, no careless product of wild imagination..."
According to a report on TDB, a 16-millimeter print of "Metropolis" containing the lost scenes was located in Buenos Aires, Argentina recently. The film was studied and analyzed, and believe it or not, the missing scenes were in fact there, complete and unedited!!! According to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation, who, along with Koerber, oversaw and produced the previous restoration for the 2002 DVD release, the key missing scenes are scratchy but complete. This now opens the door for the film's complete, and hopefully final, restoration, which has film fans and serious film students hoping that it will be on the Blu-Ray DVD release next year. In all fairness, the extra footage belongs only in one place: IN THE FILM ITSELF, completely restored and cleaned up, and not in some silly supplemental section.
Now THIS is a wonderful surprise indeed! While I haven't converted to Blu-Ray, I do have the capacity to watch Blu-Ray discs, thanks to my PlayStation 3 unit. But the 2009 release of "Metropolis" may finally push me over the edge and become a convert. We shall wait and see.
(Now if someone would just do the same for that other famous lost missing footage, from the original preview print of "Superman IV", then the world will be a perfect place once again.)
UPDATE: Yesterday on CNN they showed during one of the news programs several seconds of footage from the missing footage from "Metropolis", and I have to admit, I am positively stunned beyond belief! This is like the Holy Grail of film! While the footage is not in good condition due to its age, the print is nonetheless complete and the scenes are watchable. Granted, it'll take some time for Martin Koerber and his team to clean up all of that lost footage and restore them to as good a condition as possible so it can be finally placed with the remaining footage. All I can say is that I believe it will be done, and done right. Home theater buffs and serious film students definitely deserve it.
In 2002 German film restoration producer Martin Koerber gave the world a completely restored version of "Metropolis" compiled from all of the then-available resources from prints accessible at that time. The film looked incredibly better than ever, but at 124 minutes in length (based on an upscaling of 30 frames per second, followed by a downscale transfer to 24 fps in NTSC format), there still remained some 25 minutes of footage missing. When the DVD was released by Kino Video, it was hailed as a marvelous, though flawed, attempt to reconstruct a classic, and the liner notes sadly stated that (if I remember correctly), "Until a more complete print surfaces, we must believe the missing footage to be irretrievably lost forever."
Welcome to forever.
Over on the Digital Bits website, Bill Hunt (one of the most rabid "Star Trek" fans you'll ever meet), proudly announced that the missing footage to "Metropolis" had finally been located!!!!! I can almost hear Marlon Brando's voice by now: "This is no fantasy, no careless product of wild imagination..."
According to a report on TDB, a 16-millimeter print of "Metropolis" containing the lost scenes was located in Buenos Aires, Argentina recently. The film was studied and analyzed, and believe it or not, the missing scenes were in fact there, complete and unedited!!! According to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation, who, along with Koerber, oversaw and produced the previous restoration for the 2002 DVD release, the key missing scenes are scratchy but complete. This now opens the door for the film's complete, and hopefully final, restoration, which has film fans and serious film students hoping that it will be on the Blu-Ray DVD release next year. In all fairness, the extra footage belongs only in one place: IN THE FILM ITSELF, completely restored and cleaned up, and not in some silly supplemental section.
Now THIS is a wonderful surprise indeed! While I haven't converted to Blu-Ray, I do have the capacity to watch Blu-Ray discs, thanks to my PlayStation 3 unit. But the 2009 release of "Metropolis" may finally push me over the edge and become a convert. We shall wait and see.
(Now if someone would just do the same for that other famous lost missing footage, from the original preview print of "Superman IV", then the world will be a perfect place once again.)
UPDATE: Yesterday on CNN they showed during one of the news programs several seconds of footage from the missing footage from "Metropolis", and I have to admit, I am positively stunned beyond belief! This is like the Holy Grail of film! While the footage is not in good condition due to its age, the print is nonetheless complete and the scenes are watchable. Granted, it'll take some time for Martin Koerber and his team to clean up all of that lost footage and restore them to as good a condition as possible so it can be finally placed with the remaining footage. All I can say is that I believe it will be done, and done right. Home theater buffs and serious film students definitely deserve it.
Monday, June 23, 2008
What I believe...
Looks like death is bringing more and more well-known people home in the past month and a half alone. We've lost too many popular, productive people since May. Among them:
Earle Hagen (who composed the famous "whistle" theme to "The Andy Griffith Show")
Alexander Courage (composer of the original "Star Trek" theme and the score to "Superman IV", which was finally released earlier this year)
Joseph Pevney (director of many original "Star Trek" episodes)
Robert H. Justman (co-producer on the original "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation")
Harvey Korman (longtime member of the Carol Burnett show during the 1960's and 1970's, and who can forget his tongue-in-cheek hilarious role as Hedley Lamarr in "Blazing Saddles"?)
director Sydney Pollack (who directed one of my favorite 1980's comedies, "Tootsie")
Stan Winston (makeup artist who helped design and create the looks for the Terminator and the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park")
Tim Russert (political analyst and host of NBC's "Meet the Press")
And now George Carlin's gone, too. Somehow I'm not surprised, because Carlin was a professed atheist.
This is really starting to creep me out more than you know. It just goes to prove the old adage that the mortality rate in this world is 10 out of every 10.
I guess what really matters most is how we live our lives; how we take care of ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; and how we serve, honor, and live before the Lord God. It shouldn't be any of this Universalist philosophy of, "If I do good, I am good. If I do bad, I am bad. That's my religion." Nor should it be, "We should try to behave as though God were watching," because that statement is hogwash - God is ALWAYS watching. It should be following the Biblical precepts and in accepting God's son Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives.
That's what I believe.
Earle Hagen (who composed the famous "whistle" theme to "The Andy Griffith Show")
Alexander Courage (composer of the original "Star Trek" theme and the score to "Superman IV", which was finally released earlier this year)
Joseph Pevney (director of many original "Star Trek" episodes)
Robert H. Justman (co-producer on the original "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation")
Harvey Korman (longtime member of the Carol Burnett show during the 1960's and 1970's, and who can forget his tongue-in-cheek hilarious role as Hedley Lamarr in "Blazing Saddles"?)
director Sydney Pollack (who directed one of my favorite 1980's comedies, "Tootsie")
Stan Winston (makeup artist who helped design and create the looks for the Terminator and the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park")
Tim Russert (political analyst and host of NBC's "Meet the Press")
And now George Carlin's gone, too. Somehow I'm not surprised, because Carlin was a professed atheist.
This is really starting to creep me out more than you know. It just goes to prove the old adage that the mortality rate in this world is 10 out of every 10.
I guess what really matters most is how we live our lives; how we take care of ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; and how we serve, honor, and live before the Lord God. It shouldn't be any of this Universalist philosophy of, "If I do good, I am good. If I do bad, I am bad. That's my religion." Nor should it be, "We should try to behave as though God were watching," because that statement is hogwash - God is ALWAYS watching. It should be following the Biblical precepts and in accepting God's son Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives.
That's what I believe.
Almost back to feeling normal again...
While I'm awaiting the next DVD for review, I can't help but think about the accomplishments I've made since returning to Mississippi. For one, I got my teacher's license back. Second, I got a teaching job only a few minutes from where I'm living. Third, I'm getting back on track in some personal areas that I'd rather not discuss here. Let's just say that I'm on the road back to feeling normal once again.
But it's cost a lot in the process.
For one, I've lost a lot of DVDs and books in the process. Among them:
- ALL of the Star Trek and Star Wars DVDs
- the Alien and Matrix sets
- numerous Star Trek and Star Wars books and magazines I brought with me from MS to AL or picked up while in AL
- countless other DVDs that are too many to list here
All in all, it's thousands and thousands of dollars in DVDs, books, and magazines that I'll more than likely never see again. And if I'm even able to find them, it may take another 40 years before I can ever recoup what I lost that Sunday after Thanksgiving in November 2006. My only regret is that April never knew to share in those hobbies and interests of mine, as I did with hers. At least it's just stuff. That can be replaced.
What can never be restored is the trust and love that was the basis of my marriage. For all intents and purposes, it's over. All that awaits me now is perhaps the ugliest battle of my life, filing for divorce and getting Lily. But one way or another, that's a battle that I have no intention of losing.
But it's cost a lot in the process.
For one, I've lost a lot of DVDs and books in the process. Among them:
- ALL of the Star Trek and Star Wars DVDs
- the Alien and Matrix sets
- numerous Star Trek and Star Wars books and magazines I brought with me from MS to AL or picked up while in AL
- countless other DVDs that are too many to list here
All in all, it's thousands and thousands of dollars in DVDs, books, and magazines that I'll more than likely never see again. And if I'm even able to find them, it may take another 40 years before I can ever recoup what I lost that Sunday after Thanksgiving in November 2006. My only regret is that April never knew to share in those hobbies and interests of mine, as I did with hers. At least it's just stuff. That can be replaced.
What can never be restored is the trust and love that was the basis of my marriage. For all intents and purposes, it's over. All that awaits me now is perhaps the ugliest battle of my life, filing for divorce and getting Lily. But one way or another, that's a battle that I have no intention of losing.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thoughts on Indy, more with Mike, and the last word on Superman IV...
Well, it's been a while for me, and things have begun to move in the right direction in my life. I signed with the Clinton Public School District and completed the majority of my paperwork, and as of this writing all that awaits me is signing my final contract papers. I'm really excited to be making great money doing what I trained to do, and only five minues from my house! All that remains now at this point is beginning the process to get my daughter moved to Mississippi.
This past weekend I finally had the chance to go see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". It's not the most high-brow epic film entertainment in the universe, but it's a good solid two hours of leave your brain at the door, get a Coke and a bag of popcorn, and enjoy Harrison Ford once again returning to one of his most famous roles. There's nice little nods to his past film adventures (including an eyebrow-raising nod to the Ark of the Covenant, and even a tip of the brown felt fedora to "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", to boot!), while further setting up possible sequels to come in the future (you know this is going to be inevitable). And anytime Spielberg and Lucas manage to work in music from Elvis and the Everly Brothers into the film's ambience, amid another exciting John Williams musical score, you know you're in for a treat.
What I loved about the new "Indiana Jones" movie is that it did something for the first time since my broken return to Mississippi: it gave me a period of escape for two hours where I felt nothing but joy and happiness for a little while. That's a good sign indeed.
I've been talking more and more lately with Mike Matessino, the film and score restoration producer extraordinare who gave us his magnum opus soundtrack box set earlier this year with the "Superman" eight-disc CD set. If you rub him the wrong way, you better brace yourself for a cold, shivery feeling. However, go with the straightforward and friendly approach, and you've got a very trusted and reliable source who will accord you with the same respect and friendliness in turn. Anyway, Mike informed me that Film Score Monthly has reissued the "Superman" CD box set in a second edition of 3,000, so I wouldn't be surprised if that edition sells out quickly. Any plans for a third edition, perhaps?
Recently Mike told me of the passing of film and TV composer Alexander Courage, the man best known for giving the world the familiar "Star Trek" theme and some of the original series' most memorable cues. If for nothing else, he'll be remembered for that singular contribution. But Courage's work was not just limited to "Star Trek". Among his most magnificent scores was the complete score to "Superman IV", which made its world premiere release on the "Superman" box set. For years Courage maintained that he didn't feel the need to see the score released, since he had adapted the original John Williams themes for the new film - I know that for a fact because in 2000 I was part of an online chat including Courage, "Star Trek: TNG" composer Dennis McCarthy, and "Matrix" composer Don Davis - and yet the Courage score (which adapted Williams' original "Superman" themes along with three new themes composed by Williams for IV) was one of the most enjoyable and pleasurable aspects of the film.
Sadly, Courage passed away only a couple of months after the "Superman" box set was initially released. But it pleased not only Mike but also Courage himself to know that his score to "Superman IV" would now be enjoyed by legions of fans for years to come. So it makes not only the initial pressing but also the second edition of the box set a bittersweet release, with Courage's passing.
Speaking of "Superman IV", Mike has prepared a thorough article and interview which covers not only the troubled production but also the complexities of assembling the score from the German and British recording sessions. In addition, for the past 21 years, reports and comments of a 134-minute version of the film have continually surfaced, among them from screenwriter Mark Rosenthal and visual effects supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw. The first time I had heard of a 134-minute cut of "Superman IV", it was on Gregory Oshel's now-defunct "Superman" films website, the precursor to Superman Cinema, initially developed by GandalfDC of Great Britain, and Hiphats' Superman Web Central, which is also defunct at this time as well. Over the years reports surfaced of somebody obtaining a video of the 134-minute cut of the film from the SFM Holiday Network, but the variations to the story were always the same: "My uncle/aunt/brother/parents taped the film but lost the tape/recorded over it/can't find it anywhere." I tracked down one rumor that had it in Washington state, and the fellow's name and address were given. Another rumor I tracked all the way to the Netherlands, where it was reported that a 120-minute cut of the film was for sale at a Dutch video store, but the store owners confirmed that it only ran 88 minutes long (comparable to the 89- or 90-minute U.S. release). In 2004 someone from the U.K. tried to auction a bootleg workprint of the 134-minute cut on eBay, with very few details given. That turned out to be another red herring, too, and I'm thankful that I didn't lose any money from that phoney auction. And most recently on the Superman Cinema message board, it was reported that someone had gotten a VCD of the 134-minute cut. That turned out to be a joke went awry, another false sighting/red herring.
Let's look at the facts:
- Given the reports from Mike Matessino, Mark Rosenthal, and Harrison Ellenshaw, there was indeed a 134-minute cut of "Superman IV" that was initially screened. Based on the status of that print of the film, it was closer to completion than a lot of people assume, given the nearly completed quality of all visual effects and some of the lost music appearing in one of the cut scenes (the "Red Alert" sequence).
- The film was cut to 93 minutes for its international release from Cannon Films, with the tornado and Russian missile sequences intact (though the workprint versions of those scenes appeared on the 2006 DVD release), while those two scenes were cut from the film for its 89-minute U.S. release.
- Over the years dozens of film stills and production photos from the lost sequences continually surfaced on websites around the world, including Superman Cinema and CapedWonder.com, as well as on the initial 2001 DVD release.
- In 2005 confirmed reports placed the master negatives of the film in storage at Deluxe Film Labs in Denham, Middlesex, England.
- When the film was reissued on DVD in 2006, some 25-30 minutes of deleted scenes were issued for the first time.
- I constructed a series of three test reels that reassembled the film's components together into a more cohesive whole (with only two scenes unknowingly misplaced at the time). Based on that assembly, I came up with a running time of just under 116 minutes.
- A few further additional bits and pieces of unreleased footage surfaced on a couple of foreign theatrical trailers and one U.S. TV spot (most importantly a piece of footage of Lex Luthor asking Superman, "Isn't that adorable?", which Mike Matessino correctly identified in the CD box set as deleted from the final film).
- Based on these and other assessments from the DVD and the CD soundtrack release, some 18-19 minutes of footage remain unreleased to the public (if we go with the 134-minute figure).
So now the question is, where is that remaining footage, and does it still exist? For that matter, why does someone always surface on the Internet and claim to have a copy of that now-fabled 134-minute cut of "Superman IV" and yet never offer the proof itself? Not only is Mike Matessino a devoted Superman fan, he is quite possibly the most knowledgeable expert when it comes to the "Superman" films itself. Mike himself believes that the footage is possibly lost forever, and that a complete restoration of the film is impossible (given a chunk of footage from the opening of the Metro Club scene remains unreleased).
So here's my point: There needs to be a formal statement made that states once and for all whether or not the 134-minute cut of "Superman IV" exists (in my view, it more than likely doesn't), and that if it does exist, someone should step forward and offer the rock-solid proof for experts like Mike and independent analysts like me to once and for all confirm. If that person cannot produce the evidence, then he (or she) needs to keep quiet.
That's all I really have to say about it.
This past weekend I finally had the chance to go see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". It's not the most high-brow epic film entertainment in the universe, but it's a good solid two hours of leave your brain at the door, get a Coke and a bag of popcorn, and enjoy Harrison Ford once again returning to one of his most famous roles. There's nice little nods to his past film adventures (including an eyebrow-raising nod to the Ark of the Covenant, and even a tip of the brown felt fedora to "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", to boot!), while further setting up possible sequels to come in the future (you know this is going to be inevitable). And anytime Spielberg and Lucas manage to work in music from Elvis and the Everly Brothers into the film's ambience, amid another exciting John Williams musical score, you know you're in for a treat.
What I loved about the new "Indiana Jones" movie is that it did something for the first time since my broken return to Mississippi: it gave me a period of escape for two hours where I felt nothing but joy and happiness for a little while. That's a good sign indeed.
I've been talking more and more lately with Mike Matessino, the film and score restoration producer extraordinare who gave us his magnum opus soundtrack box set earlier this year with the "Superman" eight-disc CD set. If you rub him the wrong way, you better brace yourself for a cold, shivery feeling. However, go with the straightforward and friendly approach, and you've got a very trusted and reliable source who will accord you with the same respect and friendliness in turn. Anyway, Mike informed me that Film Score Monthly has reissued the "Superman" CD box set in a second edition of 3,000, so I wouldn't be surprised if that edition sells out quickly. Any plans for a third edition, perhaps?
Recently Mike told me of the passing of film and TV composer Alexander Courage, the man best known for giving the world the familiar "Star Trek" theme and some of the original series' most memorable cues. If for nothing else, he'll be remembered for that singular contribution. But Courage's work was not just limited to "Star Trek". Among his most magnificent scores was the complete score to "Superman IV", which made its world premiere release on the "Superman" box set. For years Courage maintained that he didn't feel the need to see the score released, since he had adapted the original John Williams themes for the new film - I know that for a fact because in 2000 I was part of an online chat including Courage, "Star Trek: TNG" composer Dennis McCarthy, and "Matrix" composer Don Davis - and yet the Courage score (which adapted Williams' original "Superman" themes along with three new themes composed by Williams for IV) was one of the most enjoyable and pleasurable aspects of the film.
Sadly, Courage passed away only a couple of months after the "Superman" box set was initially released. But it pleased not only Mike but also Courage himself to know that his score to "Superman IV" would now be enjoyed by legions of fans for years to come. So it makes not only the initial pressing but also the second edition of the box set a bittersweet release, with Courage's passing.
Speaking of "Superman IV", Mike has prepared a thorough article and interview which covers not only the troubled production but also the complexities of assembling the score from the German and British recording sessions. In addition, for the past 21 years, reports and comments of a 134-minute version of the film have continually surfaced, among them from screenwriter Mark Rosenthal and visual effects supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw. The first time I had heard of a 134-minute cut of "Superman IV", it was on Gregory Oshel's now-defunct "Superman" films website, the precursor to Superman Cinema, initially developed by GandalfDC of Great Britain, and Hiphats' Superman Web Central, which is also defunct at this time as well. Over the years reports surfaced of somebody obtaining a video of the 134-minute cut of the film from the SFM Holiday Network, but the variations to the story were always the same: "My uncle/aunt/brother/parents taped the film but lost the tape/recorded over it/can't find it anywhere." I tracked down one rumor that had it in Washington state, and the fellow's name and address were given. Another rumor I tracked all the way to the Netherlands, where it was reported that a 120-minute cut of the film was for sale at a Dutch video store, but the store owners confirmed that it only ran 88 minutes long (comparable to the 89- or 90-minute U.S. release). In 2004 someone from the U.K. tried to auction a bootleg workprint of the 134-minute cut on eBay, with very few details given. That turned out to be another red herring, too, and I'm thankful that I didn't lose any money from that phoney auction. And most recently on the Superman Cinema message board, it was reported that someone had gotten a VCD of the 134-minute cut. That turned out to be a joke went awry, another false sighting/red herring.
Let's look at the facts:
- Given the reports from Mike Matessino, Mark Rosenthal, and Harrison Ellenshaw, there was indeed a 134-minute cut of "Superman IV" that was initially screened. Based on the status of that print of the film, it was closer to completion than a lot of people assume, given the nearly completed quality of all visual effects and some of the lost music appearing in one of the cut scenes (the "Red Alert" sequence).
- The film was cut to 93 minutes for its international release from Cannon Films, with the tornado and Russian missile sequences intact (though the workprint versions of those scenes appeared on the 2006 DVD release), while those two scenes were cut from the film for its 89-minute U.S. release.
- Over the years dozens of film stills and production photos from the lost sequences continually surfaced on websites around the world, including Superman Cinema and CapedWonder.com, as well as on the initial 2001 DVD release.
- In 2005 confirmed reports placed the master negatives of the film in storage at Deluxe Film Labs in Denham, Middlesex, England.
- When the film was reissued on DVD in 2006, some 25-30 minutes of deleted scenes were issued for the first time.
- I constructed a series of three test reels that reassembled the film's components together into a more cohesive whole (with only two scenes unknowingly misplaced at the time). Based on that assembly, I came up with a running time of just under 116 minutes.
- A few further additional bits and pieces of unreleased footage surfaced on a couple of foreign theatrical trailers and one U.S. TV spot (most importantly a piece of footage of Lex Luthor asking Superman, "Isn't that adorable?", which Mike Matessino correctly identified in the CD box set as deleted from the final film).
- Based on these and other assessments from the DVD and the CD soundtrack release, some 18-19 minutes of footage remain unreleased to the public (if we go with the 134-minute figure).
So now the question is, where is that remaining footage, and does it still exist? For that matter, why does someone always surface on the Internet and claim to have a copy of that now-fabled 134-minute cut of "Superman IV" and yet never offer the proof itself? Not only is Mike Matessino a devoted Superman fan, he is quite possibly the most knowledgeable expert when it comes to the "Superman" films itself. Mike himself believes that the footage is possibly lost forever, and that a complete restoration of the film is impossible (given a chunk of footage from the opening of the Metro Club scene remains unreleased).
So here's my point: There needs to be a formal statement made that states once and for all whether or not the 134-minute cut of "Superman IV" exists (in my view, it more than likely doesn't), and that if it does exist, someone should step forward and offer the rock-solid proof for experts like Mike and independent analysts like me to once and for all confirm. If that person cannot produce the evidence, then he (or she) needs to keep quiet.
That's all I really have to say about it.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Good news and bad news...
Why is it that anytime somebody wants to share good news with another person, there's always bad news to go along with it? I'm not alone, thankfully.
The good news I have to share is that I have landed a job at last! I'll be teaching over at Sumner Hill High School in Clinton in the fall. I'll have four classes of English and a class of public speaking, so I'm excited about finally landing on my feet once again with a job! I'm now waiting for the paperwork to come in from the central office so I can complete it and be ready for the new school year.
In the meantime, I'll have to do some work in the interim through the summer months until the school year starts. Whatever that is, I'll be glad to get something, anything, to do until the school year begins.
Now the bad news... My wife said yesterday that she wants to file for legal separation and child support. This is not acceptable. I want to be able to get Lily moved from Alabama to Mississippi, and whatever it takes, I will do it. If it costs me my marriage, I can live with it - I think. I talked with a buddy of mine I've known for 20 years, and he made some practical suggestions. What I'll have to do is follow up with those suggestions and go from there.
Right now I'm at wits' end with this whole separation anxiety. All that matters to me is working once again and being with Lily once again.
The good news I have to share is that I have landed a job at last! I'll be teaching over at Sumner Hill High School in Clinton in the fall. I'll have four classes of English and a class of public speaking, so I'm excited about finally landing on my feet once again with a job! I'm now waiting for the paperwork to come in from the central office so I can complete it and be ready for the new school year.
In the meantime, I'll have to do some work in the interim through the summer months until the school year starts. Whatever that is, I'll be glad to get something, anything, to do until the school year begins.
Now the bad news... My wife said yesterday that she wants to file for legal separation and child support. This is not acceptable. I want to be able to get Lily moved from Alabama to Mississippi, and whatever it takes, I will do it. If it costs me my marriage, I can live with it - I think. I talked with a buddy of mine I've known for 20 years, and he made some practical suggestions. What I'll have to do is follow up with those suggestions and go from there.
Right now I'm at wits' end with this whole separation anxiety. All that matters to me is working once again and being with Lily once again.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The rumors are true...
Wouldn't you know it? Four days before the release of the highly anticipated "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", I happened to find the hardcover novelization of the film (along with reprints of the 12 Indy novels from the 1990's and the novelizations of the first three films) at Wal-Mart. Naturally, I couldn't resist taking a peek at some of the pages of the book, since it's going to be a while before I pick up the novel at all.
Of course, they (being, naturally, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg) kept the major surprises of the new film's story until the final quarter of the film. And then of course there were the rumors that were rampant for months. Now it can be told once and for all:
Mutt Williams IS indeed the son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood.
How he got the last name of Williams is beyond me. I can only surmise that Marion married someone sometime later whose last name was Williams, though she still kept her maiden name, while she kept the Williams surname for her and Indy's son.
Somehow I'm not too surprised, given all of the rampant rumors over the months. And then there was the mention that Mutt would be Indy's son reported months before in one of the teen tabloid magazines that my stepdaughter happened to pick up. Oh, and you'll get to see a wedding at the end of the film, too!
So those are the big things we'll get to see in this new movie, along with a rousing adventure from start to finish. Somehow I feel like I've let myself down in the same way that I ruined it for myself about the big spoilers in "Return of the Jedi" from 25 years ago.
So sue me. Then again, you can't sue something that's publicly out there for everyone to consume, especially this close to game time. Nickel give you a dollar that someone's already spoiled that information elsewhere by now.
See you this Thursday at the starting line!
Of course, they (being, naturally, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg) kept the major surprises of the new film's story until the final quarter of the film. And then of course there were the rumors that were rampant for months. Now it can be told once and for all:
Mutt Williams IS indeed the son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood.
How he got the last name of Williams is beyond me. I can only surmise that Marion married someone sometime later whose last name was Williams, though she still kept her maiden name, while she kept the Williams surname for her and Indy's son.
Somehow I'm not too surprised, given all of the rampant rumors over the months. And then there was the mention that Mutt would be Indy's son reported months before in one of the teen tabloid magazines that my stepdaughter happened to pick up. Oh, and you'll get to see a wedding at the end of the film, too!
So those are the big things we'll get to see in this new movie, along with a rousing adventure from start to finish. Somehow I feel like I've let myself down in the same way that I ruined it for myself about the big spoilers in "Return of the Jedi" from 25 years ago.
So sue me. Then again, you can't sue something that's publicly out there for everyone to consume, especially this close to game time. Nickel give you a dollar that someone's already spoiled that information elsewhere by now.
See you this Thursday at the starting line!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Not-so-"Special" Edition
You knew it was inevitable. Paramount has a storied history of milking its franchises for multiple dips on every conceivable home video format known to man whenever something really big happens. They're especially bad when it comes to the "Star Trek" franchise - I can't tell you how many times it seemed inevitable to upgrade from VHS to laserdisc to DVD over the years. (BTW, I happened to find used copies of the Original Series' third season and Deep Space Nine's fifth and seventh seasons over at a local GameStop, along with an affordable used copy of Battlestar Galactica Season 2.0, so all that awaits me is scraping up enough money to get those DVD sets and begin rebuilding my DVD collections!) I remember shelling out $200 back in 1993 just to double-dip on getting the first six "Star Trek" films in a limited edition box set just to get a six-pack of trading cards and a watch - big whoop! And of course, I'm equally guilty of multi-dipping for the films and series on DVD.
So it should come as no surprise that Paramount is going the double-dip DVD route with the "Indiana Jones" trilogy, given its recent three-volume release of the "Young Indiana Jones" series and the upcoming theatrical release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (man, is that film gonna rock or what!). Each of the first three Indy films have been released in newly-packaged and relabeled "special" editions, as well as a three-disc Adventure Collection.
The problem I have is that Paramount, as well as Wal-Mart and who knows how many other retail outlets, have publicly promoted that this is the "first" time that the "Indiana Jones" films have been released on DVD in a special edition. Let me see a show of hands out there... how many of you recall, say, about five years ago when the Indy trilogy was first released on DVD in a four-disc (or five-disc, if you got it at Best Buy) boxed set edition? How many of you went ape nuts over that DVD set? Count me among them - if my dad were still alive, he'd have loved that set (and the "Young Indy" volumes) as well. So why should Paramount publicly say that this is the "first" time these films are coming onto DVD? Makes no sense. I'll bet you that you could go into almost any video store and still find that four-disc box set on sale. Publicly promoting this trilogy as coming out "for the first time" is a major misnomer, and their PR department should know better than that.
As for the films themselves, each film's transfer is identical to the previous DVD set, in full anamorphic widescreen format, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, and optional subtitles in English, Spanish, or French. So visually and sonically you're getting the same transfer that was afforded the films back in 2003.
What's new is the collection of extras included with each disc. Since I just picked up the "Raiders" disc, I'll go with the bonus content on this one (the "Temple of Doom" and "Last Crusade" DVDs were not available for review at this time). Starting off the disc is a preview trailer for the upcoming "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at the head of the disc. Remember how I griped about there being a lack of a trailer for the new film on the "Young Indy" sets? Well, this definitely satisfies my taste (along with the different TV spots I've been picking up along the way on USA, Sci-Fi, Spike, and other channels). Also included on this set is a new introduction to the film with series creators Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, which runs approximately 5-10 minutes. (Remember how, the last time that the trilogy was issued on DVD, it contained "new" interview segments with Spielberg, Lucas, and Harrison Ford? Here we go again...)
The remainder of the discs' supplements include a 12-minute feature called "The Indy Trilogy: A Crystal Clear Appreciation", which looks back at the first three films while offering some new interviews on the set of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Another feature is "Snakes Alive!" (10 minutes), which looks at the Well of Souls sequence, while "The Melting Face" (4 minutes) shows how actor Ronald Lacey's face was modeled to melt in the final film. Storyboards galore accompany this disc - for "Raiders" there's some 400 storyboards alone! Finally, we have a preview trailer for Lego's upcoming "Indiana Jones" game for Playstation 3 and XBox 360, along with a playable PC demo. (Just the thought of a Lego Indiana Jones game makes me want to shell out $400 to buy a system!)
Still missing in action from this DVD release are a pair of vintage documentaries from 1981 - "Great Movie Stunts" (narrated by Harrison Ford) and "The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark", both of which were issued on VHS from Paramount in the 1980's. For "Temple of Doom", there are two documentaries from 1984 - "Heroes and Sidekicks" (narrated by William Shatner) and "The Making of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and a 60-second teaser trailer for "Temple of Doom" (first included on the very first VHS release of "Raiders") - that have never been released on VHS or DVD at all! Finally we have a 45-minute documentary, "Great Adventurers and their Quests" (narrated by Dennis Weaver), from 1989 that looks at the making of "The Last Crusade" and profiles some real-life Indys and their adventures. Where are all of these documentaries when the DVDs first came out? Where are they now? Still MIA, I'm afraid. (Thank goodness I recorded these onto DVD+R discs, turning my five-disc collection into an eight-disc box set blowout!)
So the bottom line is this: Is it worth shelling out the extra bucks to double-dip for around 30 minutes of extras on each disc? Well, if you got the set last time, then you could replace the film-only discs with these new releases. The main casualty from the original set is the bonus fourth disc of documentaries and featurettes on the making of the original trilogy. If you didn't get the set last time, it's worth getting the discs. It's really hard justifying the need to double-dip just to put a few extra bucks into Luca$'s cash-cow pockets to get a few new bonuses this time around. What would have made these new releases really worth it would have been to include feature-length running audio commentaries with Lucas and Ford (since Spielberg doesn't like audio commentaries) and much-ballyhooed deleted scenes (which we got hints at in the BTS footage on the first DVD set but still not represented at all, along with the remaining deleted footage from the original "Star Wars" trilogy), along with something extremely more substantial than what we get here in these new single-disc releases. Or maybe I should just hardwire my DVD player up to a computer and do my own podcast commentary on this film.
Indy may say, "It's not the years, it's the mileage," but in this case your mileage definitely varies.
So it should come as no surprise that Paramount is going the double-dip DVD route with the "Indiana Jones" trilogy, given its recent three-volume release of the "Young Indiana Jones" series and the upcoming theatrical release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (man, is that film gonna rock or what!). Each of the first three Indy films have been released in newly-packaged and relabeled "special" editions, as well as a three-disc Adventure Collection.
The problem I have is that Paramount, as well as Wal-Mart and who knows how many other retail outlets, have publicly promoted that this is the "first" time that the "Indiana Jones" films have been released on DVD in a special edition. Let me see a show of hands out there... how many of you recall, say, about five years ago when the Indy trilogy was first released on DVD in a four-disc (or five-disc, if you got it at Best Buy) boxed set edition? How many of you went ape nuts over that DVD set? Count me among them - if my dad were still alive, he'd have loved that set (and the "Young Indy" volumes) as well. So why should Paramount publicly say that this is the "first" time these films are coming onto DVD? Makes no sense. I'll bet you that you could go into almost any video store and still find that four-disc box set on sale. Publicly promoting this trilogy as coming out "for the first time" is a major misnomer, and their PR department should know better than that.
As for the films themselves, each film's transfer is identical to the previous DVD set, in full anamorphic widescreen format, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, and optional subtitles in English, Spanish, or French. So visually and sonically you're getting the same transfer that was afforded the films back in 2003.
What's new is the collection of extras included with each disc. Since I just picked up the "Raiders" disc, I'll go with the bonus content on this one (the "Temple of Doom" and "Last Crusade" DVDs were not available for review at this time). Starting off the disc is a preview trailer for the upcoming "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at the head of the disc. Remember how I griped about there being a lack of a trailer for the new film on the "Young Indy" sets? Well, this definitely satisfies my taste (along with the different TV spots I've been picking up along the way on USA, Sci-Fi, Spike, and other channels). Also included on this set is a new introduction to the film with series creators Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, which runs approximately 5-10 minutes. (Remember how, the last time that the trilogy was issued on DVD, it contained "new" interview segments with Spielberg, Lucas, and Harrison Ford? Here we go again...)
The remainder of the discs' supplements include a 12-minute feature called "The Indy Trilogy: A Crystal Clear Appreciation", which looks back at the first three films while offering some new interviews on the set of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Another feature is "Snakes Alive!" (10 minutes), which looks at the Well of Souls sequence, while "The Melting Face" (4 minutes) shows how actor Ronald Lacey's face was modeled to melt in the final film. Storyboards galore accompany this disc - for "Raiders" there's some 400 storyboards alone! Finally, we have a preview trailer for Lego's upcoming "Indiana Jones" game for Playstation 3 and XBox 360, along with a playable PC demo. (Just the thought of a Lego Indiana Jones game makes me want to shell out $400 to buy a system!)
Still missing in action from this DVD release are a pair of vintage documentaries from 1981 - "Great Movie Stunts" (narrated by Harrison Ford) and "The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark", both of which were issued on VHS from Paramount in the 1980's. For "Temple of Doom", there are two documentaries from 1984 - "Heroes and Sidekicks" (narrated by William Shatner) and "The Making of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and a 60-second teaser trailer for "Temple of Doom" (first included on the very first VHS release of "Raiders") - that have never been released on VHS or DVD at all! Finally we have a 45-minute documentary, "Great Adventurers and their Quests" (narrated by Dennis Weaver), from 1989 that looks at the making of "The Last Crusade" and profiles some real-life Indys and their adventures. Where are all of these documentaries when the DVDs first came out? Where are they now? Still MIA, I'm afraid. (Thank goodness I recorded these onto DVD+R discs, turning my five-disc collection into an eight-disc box set blowout!)
So the bottom line is this: Is it worth shelling out the extra bucks to double-dip for around 30 minutes of extras on each disc? Well, if you got the set last time, then you could replace the film-only discs with these new releases. The main casualty from the original set is the bonus fourth disc of documentaries and featurettes on the making of the original trilogy. If you didn't get the set last time, it's worth getting the discs. It's really hard justifying the need to double-dip just to put a few extra bucks into Luca$'s cash-cow pockets to get a few new bonuses this time around. What would have made these new releases really worth it would have been to include feature-length running audio commentaries with Lucas and Ford (since Spielberg doesn't like audio commentaries) and much-ballyhooed deleted scenes (which we got hints at in the BTS footage on the first DVD set but still not represented at all, along with the remaining deleted footage from the original "Star Wars" trilogy), along with something extremely more substantial than what we get here in these new single-disc releases. Or maybe I should just hardwire my DVD player up to a computer and do my own podcast commentary on this film.
Indy may say, "It's not the years, it's the mileage," but in this case your mileage definitely varies.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Battlestar Galactica S3 - first thoughts
Well, I just finished going through my DVD set of the third season of "Battlestar Galactica", and I'm just really stunned beyond belief. No wonder this show keeps getting better and better in its storytelling!
Of course, part of the problem I had with this set was the fact that, having watched the "Razor" spinoff film a few months back, then catching up with the series during its fourth season upon my return to Mississippi, some of the major plot points had already been spilled to me without my watching the third season in its entirety (sorry, guys!), especially with Baltar (James Callis) being let off the hook for his crimes against humanity; Kara Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) mysteriously returning from the dead; and Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan), Kara's husband Samuel Anders (Michael Trucco), and presidential advisor Tory Foster (Rekha Sharma) all revealed to be four of the final five Cylons! Add to it the suggestion that, between S3 and "Razor", Kara is allegedly destined to be the doom of the entire fleet, and you've got an interesting mix that leads into the final episodes of the series.
The six-disc set has more extras than the episodes themselves - more audio podcasts, deleted scenes galore, a 70-minute extended cut of the episode "Unfinished Business", original DVD audio commentaries, three bonus podcast commentaries with actor Mark Sheppard (who played Baltar's defense attorney in the final three episodes of the season), and no less than 20 video blogs from SciFi.com! Could you pack anything else onto this set that hasn't already been thought of?
Now we're approaching the final batch of episodes for the entire series. Still one question remains: Who is the final Cylon? There's not a lot of suspects left among the main cast. My choice is among the top three leading suspects - Kara Thrace (after all, she died and supposedly returned at the end of the third season); President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), who's currently dying of cancer; and, unbelievably, the big man himself, Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos). What would his agenda be? No doubt a surprise twist that would leave everyone saying, "Oh s---!" Or could it be someone else we haven't thought of?
Whatever your guess, the third season of BSG is a major addition to undoubtedly the best series on TV. Watching these final episodes on the SciFi Channel gives me that same feeling I had back in 1994 when I knew the end of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was approaching its end: I'm definitely gonna miss this series. That's why man made DVD.
Look for the full review soon!
Of course, part of the problem I had with this set was the fact that, having watched the "Razor" spinoff film a few months back, then catching up with the series during its fourth season upon my return to Mississippi, some of the major plot points had already been spilled to me without my watching the third season in its entirety (sorry, guys!), especially with Baltar (James Callis) being let off the hook for his crimes against humanity; Kara Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) mysteriously returning from the dead; and Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas), Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan), Kara's husband Samuel Anders (Michael Trucco), and presidential advisor Tory Foster (Rekha Sharma) all revealed to be four of the final five Cylons! Add to it the suggestion that, between S3 and "Razor", Kara is allegedly destined to be the doom of the entire fleet, and you've got an interesting mix that leads into the final episodes of the series.
The six-disc set has more extras than the episodes themselves - more audio podcasts, deleted scenes galore, a 70-minute extended cut of the episode "Unfinished Business", original DVD audio commentaries, three bonus podcast commentaries with actor Mark Sheppard (who played Baltar's defense attorney in the final three episodes of the season), and no less than 20 video blogs from SciFi.com! Could you pack anything else onto this set that hasn't already been thought of?
Now we're approaching the final batch of episodes for the entire series. Still one question remains: Who is the final Cylon? There's not a lot of suspects left among the main cast. My choice is among the top three leading suspects - Kara Thrace (after all, she died and supposedly returned at the end of the third season); President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), who's currently dying of cancer; and, unbelievably, the big man himself, Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos). What would his agenda be? No doubt a surprise twist that would leave everyone saying, "Oh s---!" Or could it be someone else we haven't thought of?
Whatever your guess, the third season of BSG is a major addition to undoubtedly the best series on TV. Watching these final episodes on the SciFi Channel gives me that same feeling I had back in 1994 when I knew the end of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was approaching its end: I'm definitely gonna miss this series. That's why man made DVD.
Look for the full review soon!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Everything would happen on a Monday...
Well, you know how much Mondays sometimes suck. That's only because everything that could possibly happen on a Monday has happened thus far today.
First off, I had a good interview with the principal at a middle school here in Mississippi for an English teacher's slot on staff. That would be a wonderful way for me to get my feet back on solid ground here, given my experience as a teacher (not to mention my work in Alabama in curriculum development and management). I'm supposed to hear something by the end of this week, so that would definitely be a step in the right direction.
But I was lucky enough to have even made it to the interview in the first place today. Earlier I'd been battling a serious case of diarrhea and had to go to the store to get some medicine to counteract it. On the way out of the driveway, my car died out on me for no uncertain reason. From what I could tell, the engine just up and died on me. I'm thinking and hoping that it's not the timing belt. That happened two years ago in Huntsville when I was on the way for a routine checkup - the car just up and died for no reason, and it turned out to be the timing belt as well. Anyway, it meant calling for a tow truck to haul my car over to the local Chevron station to find out what the problem is. No word on it yet.
As if that weren't enough, I got a callback from DirecTV asking me to come in for an interview this Wednesday - in Huntsville! This after putting in many months before for a job there, and only now after I've relocated back to Mississippi do I get a call to interview for DirecTV in Huntsville! Turns out that they called the house, April gave them my mother's phone number in Mississippi, and called me here for the job interview. I really don't know if I could go back to Alabama, knowing that it would give Lois many more opportunities to raise hell toward me and accuse me of a bunch of false malarky for no uncertain reason. I've already endured enough hell from Lois, not to mention feeling betrayed that April would support her every false accusation and not stick up for me one time. I'm not going back. My mother agrees with me.
And I've got another interview tomorrow with a temp staffing agency in Jackson, where I'm to bring my driver's license and Social Security card to fill out the I-9 paperwork and do the standard drug testing (which of course I"ll pass with flying colors). I'm hoping that I'll get something - anything - soon so I can get back on my feet working once again. Then I'll go back to Alabama and get Lily moved here.
And the "Indiana Jones" trilogy is being re-released on DVD tomorrow in separate discs to hype up the forthcoming "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" film on the 22nd. This past weekend channels left and right have been running a slew of Harrison Ford films to hype the new movie - "Witness", "Patriot Games", "Working Girl", and of course "Star Wars" and the "Indy" trilogy (the latter four just yesterday alone!). All they're doing is stripping the fourth disc off the previous box set release and including a few new featurettes, including a trailer for the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones game for XBox 360 and Playstation 3. I don't know if it's worth shelling out the bucks just to get a few new features. The original box set was pretty comprehensive. And still MIA are the original five TV documentaries from the 1980's on the making of the trilogy - oddly enough, the "Raiders" and "Last Crusade" documentaries were issued on VHS, but the "Temple of Doom" docs weren't, and none of them were released to DVD in an official capacity! To further add insult to injury, where's the original "Temple of Doom" teaser on the DVDs? Nowhere to be found but only on the head of the first VHS release of "Raiders". Thankfully I was able to transfer all of that material, as well as a collection of DVD trailers and a feature on soundtrack deconstruction (using "The Last Crusade" as an example) onto DVD+R for my collection, expanding that set to eight discs. And now there's several new TV spots for the new DVD releases and the upcoming film that I've got - looking forward to getting those burned to disc soon!
Gotta run for now... the dog's getting his vaccine shots. Maybe I'll get the "Indy" DVDs tomorrow, maybe I won't. Is it worth shelling out the buck again? Your guess is as good as mine. My buddy Andy Dursin at the Aisle Seat doesn't think so.
First off, I had a good interview with the principal at a middle school here in Mississippi for an English teacher's slot on staff. That would be a wonderful way for me to get my feet back on solid ground here, given my experience as a teacher (not to mention my work in Alabama in curriculum development and management). I'm supposed to hear something by the end of this week, so that would definitely be a step in the right direction.
But I was lucky enough to have even made it to the interview in the first place today. Earlier I'd been battling a serious case of diarrhea and had to go to the store to get some medicine to counteract it. On the way out of the driveway, my car died out on me for no uncertain reason. From what I could tell, the engine just up and died on me. I'm thinking and hoping that it's not the timing belt. That happened two years ago in Huntsville when I was on the way for a routine checkup - the car just up and died for no reason, and it turned out to be the timing belt as well. Anyway, it meant calling for a tow truck to haul my car over to the local Chevron station to find out what the problem is. No word on it yet.
As if that weren't enough, I got a callback from DirecTV asking me to come in for an interview this Wednesday - in Huntsville! This after putting in many months before for a job there, and only now after I've relocated back to Mississippi do I get a call to interview for DirecTV in Huntsville! Turns out that they called the house, April gave them my mother's phone number in Mississippi, and called me here for the job interview. I really don't know if I could go back to Alabama, knowing that it would give Lois many more opportunities to raise hell toward me and accuse me of a bunch of false malarky for no uncertain reason. I've already endured enough hell from Lois, not to mention feeling betrayed that April would support her every false accusation and not stick up for me one time. I'm not going back. My mother agrees with me.
And I've got another interview tomorrow with a temp staffing agency in Jackson, where I'm to bring my driver's license and Social Security card to fill out the I-9 paperwork and do the standard drug testing (which of course I"ll pass with flying colors). I'm hoping that I'll get something - anything - soon so I can get back on my feet working once again. Then I'll go back to Alabama and get Lily moved here.
And the "Indiana Jones" trilogy is being re-released on DVD tomorrow in separate discs to hype up the forthcoming "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" film on the 22nd. This past weekend channels left and right have been running a slew of Harrison Ford films to hype the new movie - "Witness", "Patriot Games", "Working Girl", and of course "Star Wars" and the "Indy" trilogy (the latter four just yesterday alone!). All they're doing is stripping the fourth disc off the previous box set release and including a few new featurettes, including a trailer for the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones game for XBox 360 and Playstation 3. I don't know if it's worth shelling out the bucks just to get a few new features. The original box set was pretty comprehensive. And still MIA are the original five TV documentaries from the 1980's on the making of the trilogy - oddly enough, the "Raiders" and "Last Crusade" documentaries were issued on VHS, but the "Temple of Doom" docs weren't, and none of them were released to DVD in an official capacity! To further add insult to injury, where's the original "Temple of Doom" teaser on the DVDs? Nowhere to be found but only on the head of the first VHS release of "Raiders". Thankfully I was able to transfer all of that material, as well as a collection of DVD trailers and a feature on soundtrack deconstruction (using "The Last Crusade" as an example) onto DVD+R for my collection, expanding that set to eight discs. And now there's several new TV spots for the new DVD releases and the upcoming film that I've got - looking forward to getting those burned to disc soon!
Gotta run for now... the dog's getting his vaccine shots. Maybe I'll get the "Indy" DVDs tomorrow, maybe I won't. Is it worth shelling out the buck again? Your guess is as good as mine. My buddy Andy Dursin at the Aisle Seat doesn't think so.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Young Indiana Jones, Volume 3 - final thoughts...
Well, in preparation for the latest Indiana Jones feature film "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", Paramount Home Video has completed the trilogy of DVD releases of its "Young Indiana Jones" series with the third and final volume, The Years of Change.
Having the chance to go back and revisit this series has been like a breath of fresh air to me, because it's been, like, 10 years or so since I last saw this on television, and at that it was in re-edited form on the USA Network. The final seven chapters of this volume - "Tales of Innocence", "Masks of Evil", "The Treasure of the Peacock's Eye", "The Winds of Change", "The Mystery of the Blues", "The Scandal of 1920", and "The Hollywood Follies" - are shown in mostly re-edited form from their original 1990's broadcast versions. I say mostly, because of one important example I'll get to later. All of the episodes are presented in full-frame format, Dolby 2.0 surround sound, and optional English subtitles. That's all nice and good, which means you're getting crisp transfers that I have to admit look better than what I remember during the 90's broadcasts. Only two of the seven segments - "The Winds of Change" and "The Mystery of the Blues" - are presented in separate volumes with their respective documentaries ported over to separate discs.
The remaining discs contain a total of 31 all-new documentaries produced by CBS News producer David Schneider spotlighting the real stories of the incidents and people young Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery) encounters in his journeys around the world. Disc 1, as I have previous commented on, covers the lives of writers Edith Wharton and Ernest Hemingway and news broadcasting pioneer Lowell Thomas, as well as the history of the French Foreign Legion. Disc 2 spotlights the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Ataturk revolution that led to the creation of the independent nation of Turkey, the revolutionary work of Turkish writer Halide Edib, and the fact and fiction behind the real-life Vlad (the Impaler) Dracula (aka Dracula). Disc 3 covers the life and career of philosopher Bronislaw Malinowski, the history of anthropology, and the land and troubles of New Guinea. Disc 5, the companion disc to "The Winds of Change", profiles the Versailles Treaty conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, Iraqi leader Gertrude Bell, Chinese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, Paul Robeson (who fought to overcome racial barriers as an accomplished writer in his own right), and space pioneer Robert Goddard.
From there, Disc 7 (the companion disc to "The Mystery of the Blues") gives viewers a history of jazz and blues and one of its pioneering musicians, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong; the Untouchable Eliot Ness and his arch-enemy Al Capone; the history of the Prohibition era in the 1920's; a profile of screenwriter Ben Hecht; and a look at the Hellfighters, Harlem's unsung black heroes during World War I. Disc 8 further explores the musical scene with a history of Tin Pan Alley, the success of Broadway, and the Algonquin Round Table. Finally, Disc 9 profiles the pioneers of filmmaking with looks at the eccentric Erich von Stroheim, Hollywood's boy wonder Irving Thalberg, maverick Western director John Ford (who was recently spotlighted in a massive 21-disc box set from Fox Video), and the media moguls who transformed Hollywood from a small town in California into the glamour capitol of the world. On Disc 10 we're given "New Gods for Old", the third and final installment in Professor H.W. Brands' historical narratives, as well as DVD-ROM interactive programs of a third adventure game with young Indy and an interactive timeline of Indy's adventures and the people he encounters.
Overall, this is a nice addition to the previous two volumes. I only wish that they had preserved the original TV broadcasts intact with all of the original bookend segments as first shown on ABC... Wait a minute, did I say that mostly all of the segments were re-edited? I've got to clarify one point here. With the exception of tweaked main and end title credits, one segment has survived virtually intact from its original U.S. airing back in 1993, and it's the one that concerned Indy fans need not worry about...
In other words, HARRISON FORD IS ON THE SET!!!!!
To dismiss the original Indiana Jones' appearance in "The Mystery of the Blues" would be completely sacrilege, and Ford very rarely makes TV appearances, making this segment well worth the watch just for him alone. The only thing that would have made this set even just a little more sweeter would have been a preview for "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Oh well...
See you in the theaters on the 22nd!
Having the chance to go back and revisit this series has been like a breath of fresh air to me, because it's been, like, 10 years or so since I last saw this on television, and at that it was in re-edited form on the USA Network. The final seven chapters of this volume - "Tales of Innocence", "Masks of Evil", "The Treasure of the Peacock's Eye", "The Winds of Change", "The Mystery of the Blues", "The Scandal of 1920", and "The Hollywood Follies" - are shown in mostly re-edited form from their original 1990's broadcast versions. I say mostly, because of one important example I'll get to later. All of the episodes are presented in full-frame format, Dolby 2.0 surround sound, and optional English subtitles. That's all nice and good, which means you're getting crisp transfers that I have to admit look better than what I remember during the 90's broadcasts. Only two of the seven segments - "The Winds of Change" and "The Mystery of the Blues" - are presented in separate volumes with their respective documentaries ported over to separate discs.
The remaining discs contain a total of 31 all-new documentaries produced by CBS News producer David Schneider spotlighting the real stories of the incidents and people young Indy (Sean Patrick Flanery) encounters in his journeys around the world. Disc 1, as I have previous commented on, covers the lives of writers Edith Wharton and Ernest Hemingway and news broadcasting pioneer Lowell Thomas, as well as the history of the French Foreign Legion. Disc 2 spotlights the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Ataturk revolution that led to the creation of the independent nation of Turkey, the revolutionary work of Turkish writer Halide Edib, and the fact and fiction behind the real-life Vlad (the Impaler) Dracula (aka Dracula). Disc 3 covers the life and career of philosopher Bronislaw Malinowski, the history of anthropology, and the land and troubles of New Guinea. Disc 5, the companion disc to "The Winds of Change", profiles the Versailles Treaty conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, Iraqi leader Gertrude Bell, Chinese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, Paul Robeson (who fought to overcome racial barriers as an accomplished writer in his own right), and space pioneer Robert Goddard.
From there, Disc 7 (the companion disc to "The Mystery of the Blues") gives viewers a history of jazz and blues and one of its pioneering musicians, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong; the Untouchable Eliot Ness and his arch-enemy Al Capone; the history of the Prohibition era in the 1920's; a profile of screenwriter Ben Hecht; and a look at the Hellfighters, Harlem's unsung black heroes during World War I. Disc 8 further explores the musical scene with a history of Tin Pan Alley, the success of Broadway, and the Algonquin Round Table. Finally, Disc 9 profiles the pioneers of filmmaking with looks at the eccentric Erich von Stroheim, Hollywood's boy wonder Irving Thalberg, maverick Western director John Ford (who was recently spotlighted in a massive 21-disc box set from Fox Video), and the media moguls who transformed Hollywood from a small town in California into the glamour capitol of the world. On Disc 10 we're given "New Gods for Old", the third and final installment in Professor H.W. Brands' historical narratives, as well as DVD-ROM interactive programs of a third adventure game with young Indy and an interactive timeline of Indy's adventures and the people he encounters.
Overall, this is a nice addition to the previous two volumes. I only wish that they had preserved the original TV broadcasts intact with all of the original bookend segments as first shown on ABC... Wait a minute, did I say that mostly all of the segments were re-edited? I've got to clarify one point here. With the exception of tweaked main and end title credits, one segment has survived virtually intact from its original U.S. airing back in 1993, and it's the one that concerned Indy fans need not worry about...
In other words, HARRISON FORD IS ON THE SET!!!!!
To dismiss the original Indiana Jones' appearance in "The Mystery of the Blues" would be completely sacrilege, and Ford very rarely makes TV appearances, making this segment well worth the watch just for him alone. The only thing that would have made this set even just a little more sweeter would have been a preview for "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Oh well...
See you in the theaters on the 22nd!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Words of encouragement from Bob Greene
The first time I encountered Bob Greene's writings was during the late 1980's. He wrote, and continues to write, funny and introspective columns for the Chicago Tribune about slices of everyday life. The earliest piece I recall was a funny piece he wrote about the rising prices of movie tickets and parking in 1989 at the time of the first "Batman" film's release. He said, and hopefully I'll get his words right, "I don't mind paying $10 a ticket to go see 'Batman'. It's the extra $2 for parking that bothers me."
He also authored a number of great books, among them "Be True to Your School: A Diary of 1964" (a funny and heartfelt poignant look at his life as a teenager during the 60's) and his fictional piece "All Summer Long" (about three 40-something men who take one last trip across America to recapture some of their carefree glory days of their long-gone youths). Many of the books he wrote were compilations of his newspaper columns, among them "He Was a Midwestern Boy on His Own", taken from a lyric in the Bob Seger song "Hollywood Nights".
I picked up "Midwestern Boy" just a couple of days ago for the first time in years and found myself enjoying the many colums that compile this book. Among the columns reprinted in the book is "A Father's Words", a piece about a father who wrote Greene to ask for his help in finding his 33-year-old son a job. Greene described how the father did everything he could to help him, how the son was intelligent and talented enough to land any job he would apply for, but the responses were always the same: either "No" or "We'll keep your resume on file." And the son sank into deeper and deeper depression over not being able to land a job. When Greene questioned the father why he was going to this extent, the father's response was very honest:
"Because he's the only son I've got."
At the end of the column Greene wrote an extremely touching final paragraph, which says as follows:
"Things might not be going so well, and you might believe that your life and your luck will never turn around. There are a lot of jobs in this world, though, and a lot of people who take their jobs for granted. You have something that some people don't have, and that no one should ever take for granted - you have a father who truly loves you. On your darkest nights, never forget that. It's something that no one can ever deny you, and no one can ever take away."
When I read that column, I see myself in that exact same position, because I'm there right now. The only thing that would need to be changed is the father to a mother.
I don't know why I'm not getting any calls, even though I'm plugging away left and right in applying for job after job, talking with one job agency after another. And I've just left an environment where I faced the most impossible form of hell I could ever face in one false accusation after another from my mother-in-law. And I don't know what has hurt worse, her accusations that drove me to the breaking point, or the fact that April didn't stand up to her in my defense even after I tried valiantly to defend myself.
All I know is that coming back to Mississippi, I have felt broken inside physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And I'm doing my best to pick up the pieces of my broken life by searching for a job so I can start over again. But I know this:
I've got a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and a mother who cares about her only son. Nobody can take that away from me, not even that damned Lois Howell with her false accusations.
And I will be going back to Alabama to bring my daughter Lily to live with me... mark my word.
He also authored a number of great books, among them "Be True to Your School: A Diary of 1964" (a funny and heartfelt poignant look at his life as a teenager during the 60's) and his fictional piece "All Summer Long" (about three 40-something men who take one last trip across America to recapture some of their carefree glory days of their long-gone youths). Many of the books he wrote were compilations of his newspaper columns, among them "He Was a Midwestern Boy on His Own", taken from a lyric in the Bob Seger song "Hollywood Nights".
I picked up "Midwestern Boy" just a couple of days ago for the first time in years and found myself enjoying the many colums that compile this book. Among the columns reprinted in the book is "A Father's Words", a piece about a father who wrote Greene to ask for his help in finding his 33-year-old son a job. Greene described how the father did everything he could to help him, how the son was intelligent and talented enough to land any job he would apply for, but the responses were always the same: either "No" or "We'll keep your resume on file." And the son sank into deeper and deeper depression over not being able to land a job. When Greene questioned the father why he was going to this extent, the father's response was very honest:
"Because he's the only son I've got."
At the end of the column Greene wrote an extremely touching final paragraph, which says as follows:
"Things might not be going so well, and you might believe that your life and your luck will never turn around. There are a lot of jobs in this world, though, and a lot of people who take their jobs for granted. You have something that some people don't have, and that no one should ever take for granted - you have a father who truly loves you. On your darkest nights, never forget that. It's something that no one can ever deny you, and no one can ever take away."
When I read that column, I see myself in that exact same position, because I'm there right now. The only thing that would need to be changed is the father to a mother.
I don't know why I'm not getting any calls, even though I'm plugging away left and right in applying for job after job, talking with one job agency after another. And I've just left an environment where I faced the most impossible form of hell I could ever face in one false accusation after another from my mother-in-law. And I don't know what has hurt worse, her accusations that drove me to the breaking point, or the fact that April didn't stand up to her in my defense even after I tried valiantly to defend myself.
All I know is that coming back to Mississippi, I have felt broken inside physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And I'm doing my best to pick up the pieces of my broken life by searching for a job so I can start over again. But I know this:
I've got a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and a mother who cares about her only son. Nobody can take that away from me, not even that damned Lois Howell with her false accusations.
And I will be going back to Alabama to bring my daughter Lily to live with me... mark my word.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
More on BSG, jobs, etc.
So I've started pouring into the latest BSG DVD set, and I continue to be impressed with this series! One quality episode after another, all in Dolby 5.1 digital sound, with multiple podcast commentaries, extended versions of episodes, webisodes, deleted scenes, video blogs, you name it - how much better could this series get? Well, they could have more BSG trailers on the set and not clutter it up with junky cross-promotional trailers for other series on DVD. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. Still, it continues to prove why "Battlestar Galactica" is, hands down, one of the top series on television today. The quality is that exceptional. When this series ends, I'm going to be really bummed. Now I'll have to go back and track down the first two seasons and the "Razor" spinoff movie my wife threw out of the house.
Still job-searching. Got a promising lead today from a contact of mine at my alma mater. He said that there's a good possibility of a job opening up, and once that job becomes available it would be the foot in the door for me to eventually teach a couple of English classes each semester. It wouldn't be the greatest work in the world, but at least I would be living a normal life once again. But things won't be normal until Lily's here with me.
I saw where John Langworthy's still at Morrison Heights. Lying two-faced bastard.
Still job-searching. Got a promising lead today from a contact of mine at my alma mater. He said that there's a good possibility of a job opening up, and once that job becomes available it would be the foot in the door for me to eventually teach a couple of English classes each semester. It wouldn't be the greatest work in the world, but at least I would be living a normal life once again. But things won't be normal until Lily's here with me.
I saw where John Langworthy's still at Morrison Heights. Lying two-faced bastard.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Battlestar Galactica S3 here at last!
Well, in the middle of checking out the second batch of documentaries on Young Indiana Jones, Volume 3, what happened to arrive at my doorstep today but none other than the third season of Battlestar Galactica! YES!!!!!
Since returning to Mississippi, I've been catching up on the current batch of fourth (and final) season episodes of this really terrific series that just seems to keep turning the notch up higher and higher in terms of storytelling quality (not to mention all of those realistic and impressive visual effects!). It's the first time since the DVD release of the BSG spinoff film "Razor" that I've been able to sit back down and watch anything BSG-related. And now with the series heading into its final hurrahs, I can now go back and check out the entire third season that saw, among other things, the series itself reset a year into its future; President Gaius Baltar (James Callis, who plays the most textured villain on TV this side of Michael Rosenbaum's portrayal of Lex Luthor on Smallville) on trial for betraying the fleet; the disappearance and return of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff); and the shocking revelation of four more Cylons within the fleet, among them engineering Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Colonel Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) aboard the Galactica itself! Talk about missing out!
Now that I've got the six-disc DVD set, I can check out the entire third season for myself and find out everything that I've missed. That'll definitely prep me for when the fourth and final season hits DVD eventually. I only wish that I still had the first two seasons and the "Razor" spinoff movie with me, but they were unfortunate casualties along with all of the Star Trek and Star Wars DVDs that my wife saw to it were thrown out. Even a couple of recorded DVDs of extra BSG content, with stuff not on the season sets, thrown out and gone. The only good thing about it is, as opposed to Star Trek and Star Wars, there isn't as much to go back and attempt to regain. Perhaps Universal Home Video will be kind enough to issue the entire series down the road in a complete series package with some extra bonus content, as some series have been issued in recent years, among them MASH, Star Trek: TNG, and Miami Vice, among others.
Looking forward to tonight's all new episode! See you then... so say we all!
Since returning to Mississippi, I've been catching up on the current batch of fourth (and final) season episodes of this really terrific series that just seems to keep turning the notch up higher and higher in terms of storytelling quality (not to mention all of those realistic and impressive visual effects!). It's the first time since the DVD release of the BSG spinoff film "Razor" that I've been able to sit back down and watch anything BSG-related. And now with the series heading into its final hurrahs, I can now go back and check out the entire third season that saw, among other things, the series itself reset a year into its future; President Gaius Baltar (James Callis, who plays the most textured villain on TV this side of Michael Rosenbaum's portrayal of Lex Luthor on Smallville) on trial for betraying the fleet; the disappearance and return of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff); and the shocking revelation of four more Cylons within the fleet, among them engineering Chief Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) and Colonel Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) aboard the Galactica itself! Talk about missing out!
Now that I've got the six-disc DVD set, I can check out the entire third season for myself and find out everything that I've missed. That'll definitely prep me for when the fourth and final season hits DVD eventually. I only wish that I still had the first two seasons and the "Razor" spinoff movie with me, but they were unfortunate casualties along with all of the Star Trek and Star Wars DVDs that my wife saw to it were thrown out. Even a couple of recorded DVDs of extra BSG content, with stuff not on the season sets, thrown out and gone. The only good thing about it is, as opposed to Star Trek and Star Wars, there isn't as much to go back and attempt to regain. Perhaps Universal Home Video will be kind enough to issue the entire series down the road in a complete series package with some extra bonus content, as some series have been issued in recent years, among them MASH, Star Trek: TNG, and Miami Vice, among others.
Looking forward to tonight's all new episode! See you then... so say we all!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Quick note today...
Just thought I'd chime in with a little note to let you know that I should be able to review the "Blade Runner" Ultimate Collector's Edition DVD set very soon! This is one film that, with its myriad versions (the U.S. cut, the international cut, the 1990's Director's Cut, the recent Final Cut, and the seldom-seen workprint cut), I'm definitely interested in comparing. And you thought all of the myriad versions of "Superman" and "Superman II" were staggering!
Look for that review coming soon!
Look for that review coming soon!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The French Foreign Legion
Well, just after I last posted my thoughts on the documentaries on Disc 1 of Young Indiana Jones, Volume 3, I happened to remember the other documentary spotlighted on the disc. There is an excellent 30-minute piece on the history of the French Foreign Legion. Originally organized around 150 years ago, the French Foreign Legion originally consisted of outcasts from other societies who had no place else to go and wanted to get their lives back in order. Over a five-year tour of duty, those associated with the Foreign Legion put themselves through an extremely rigorous training where death is considered the ultimate way to go out - their mindset: "Today is a good day to die." (And you thought the Klingons first came up with it!)
Through the eyes of two surviving officers, we learn about the history of the French Foreign Legion and what drives people to pursue such aspirations of glorious, romantic adventures and dying for a cause. Hollywood had its hand in perpetuating the romantic myth of the Legion through numerous movies in the 1930's, the myth of which still continues to this day in the harsh guerrilla warfare of the 21st century. Desertion was the norm in the Foreign Legion, and if you returned, more often than not your punishment was to go back to your unit and start all over again. And if you survived five years of hell, you had a story to tell, as those soldiers interviewed for this documentary have to offer.
I'm currently getting started on the documentaries for Disc 2, which include a look at the formation of the Turkish Empire in the 20th century and an exploration of the myth of Dracula. See you then!
Through the eyes of two surviving officers, we learn about the history of the French Foreign Legion and what drives people to pursue such aspirations of glorious, romantic adventures and dying for a cause. Hollywood had its hand in perpetuating the romantic myth of the Legion through numerous movies in the 1930's, the myth of which still continues to this day in the harsh guerrilla warfare of the 21st century. Desertion was the norm in the Foreign Legion, and if you returned, more often than not your punishment was to go back to your unit and start all over again. And if you survived five years of hell, you had a story to tell, as those soldiers interviewed for this documentary have to offer.
I'm currently getting started on the documentaries for Disc 2, which include a look at the formation of the Turkish Empire in the 20th century and an exploration of the myth of Dracula. See you then!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Documentaries on Young Indy, Volume 3, Disc 1...
I've gotten through the first disc of documentaries on Volume 3 of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, which hit stores today, and I've got to admit I'm more than impressed with the substance of information and material on these and all of the documentaries on the previous two volumes. This isn't just simply talking head fluff, this is substantial commentaries on the people and places spotlighted in the entire Young Indy TV series that really gives you the most in-depth look this side of a history book.
Disc 1 starts off with a great 30-minute documentary on the life of Ernest Hemingway, the author of classic 20th century novels such as "The Sun Also Rises", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and "The Old Man and the Sea". Here was a guy who found his passion through his writing because of the lack of love from his parents. When I read "The Sun Also Rises" in college, I found it extremely dull and boring, because in my college-age eyes it was about people partying, going to one cafe' after another in Paris, and going off to the bullfights in Spain. Not the most thrilling of tales in my book. But now I understand why Hemingway wrote in such sparse, "He said, she said" language. He wanted the accuracy of the description to take hold of the reader's attention. Now I wonder if I should go back and re-read his novels.
There's another interesting 30-minute documentary on the life and career of Edith Wharton, the author of works such as "Ethan Frome", another book I read in college. The reasoning for her frequently depressing works all stemmed back to the fact that Edith Jones started out trapped in that upper class society of the 19th to 20th centuries, and she didn't want to be a part of it. She saw herself as a revolutionary, writing to express her thoughts and feelings of being trapped in society and loveless marriages as a token trophy piece, the way most women of the time were. She was definitely a modern woman living decades before the term "women's liberation" became commonplace in America.
A third documentary on Disc 1 focuses on the life and career of journalist Lowell Thomas, who pioneered the craft of informational entertainment in traveling slideshow presentations, radio, newsreels, and television. He was one of those rare breed of reporters who, according to the legendary newsman Walter Cronkite, loved to get the human side of the story, not taking any sides in the progress, and accurately reporting on lands and peoples and conditions to a hungry American public. And to think this was way back in the day before CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and the Internet! With all of the tabloid-like media crap surrounding the current presidential races, every single reporter on the scene today could take a major lesson or 20 from the life and career of Lowell Thomas.
And to be honest, I completely forgot the other documentary on Disc 1. With the emphasis on this disc of writers and reporters, it completely slipped my mind! I'll comment on it soon.
The remainder of this 10-disc set is carved up mostly the same way, though the documentaries for "Winds of Change" and "The Mystery of the Blues" are separated from their respective films and placed on separate discs a la the first Young Indy volume. The final volume, as in the previous two sets, contains an hour-long commentary from Professor H.W. Brands on the progress of the 20th century in the years after World War II and the changes in the world's societies; an interactive timeline on the real-life people, places, and events depicted in this set; and an interactive video game where you can lead young Indy on an adventure through time, sort of like those old-school "choose your own path" books but set to DVD-ROM. That's the down side of this series - the final disc of each set requires DVD-ROM usage to access the interactive timelines and video games.
With the release next month of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", this is an excellent precursor to the film and a wonderful way to round out one of the most enjoyable and underappreciated series of the 1990's. My dad would have loved seeing this on DVD.
Disc 1 starts off with a great 30-minute documentary on the life of Ernest Hemingway, the author of classic 20th century novels such as "The Sun Also Rises", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and "The Old Man and the Sea". Here was a guy who found his passion through his writing because of the lack of love from his parents. When I read "The Sun Also Rises" in college, I found it extremely dull and boring, because in my college-age eyes it was about people partying, going to one cafe' after another in Paris, and going off to the bullfights in Spain. Not the most thrilling of tales in my book. But now I understand why Hemingway wrote in such sparse, "He said, she said" language. He wanted the accuracy of the description to take hold of the reader's attention. Now I wonder if I should go back and re-read his novels.
There's another interesting 30-minute documentary on the life and career of Edith Wharton, the author of works such as "Ethan Frome", another book I read in college. The reasoning for her frequently depressing works all stemmed back to the fact that Edith Jones started out trapped in that upper class society of the 19th to 20th centuries, and she didn't want to be a part of it. She saw herself as a revolutionary, writing to express her thoughts and feelings of being trapped in society and loveless marriages as a token trophy piece, the way most women of the time were. She was definitely a modern woman living decades before the term "women's liberation" became commonplace in America.
A third documentary on Disc 1 focuses on the life and career of journalist Lowell Thomas, who pioneered the craft of informational entertainment in traveling slideshow presentations, radio, newsreels, and television. He was one of those rare breed of reporters who, according to the legendary newsman Walter Cronkite, loved to get the human side of the story, not taking any sides in the progress, and accurately reporting on lands and peoples and conditions to a hungry American public. And to think this was way back in the day before CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and the Internet! With all of the tabloid-like media crap surrounding the current presidential races, every single reporter on the scene today could take a major lesson or 20 from the life and career of Lowell Thomas.
And to be honest, I completely forgot the other documentary on Disc 1. With the emphasis on this disc of writers and reporters, it completely slipped my mind! I'll comment on it soon.
The remainder of this 10-disc set is carved up mostly the same way, though the documentaries for "Winds of Change" and "The Mystery of the Blues" are separated from their respective films and placed on separate discs a la the first Young Indy volume. The final volume, as in the previous two sets, contains an hour-long commentary from Professor H.W. Brands on the progress of the 20th century in the years after World War II and the changes in the world's societies; an interactive timeline on the real-life people, places, and events depicted in this set; and an interactive video game where you can lead young Indy on an adventure through time, sort of like those old-school "choose your own path" books but set to DVD-ROM. That's the down side of this series - the final disc of each set requires DVD-ROM usage to access the interactive timelines and video games.
With the release next month of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", this is an excellent precursor to the film and a wonderful way to round out one of the most enjoyable and underappreciated series of the 1990's. My dad would have loved seeing this on DVD.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Something amiss here...
I just noticed this on my copy of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume 2: The War Years. Does that documentary "Colonel Lawrence's War" on Disc 8 look awfully familiar? It should - that's because it was included on the first disc of Volume 1: The Early Years!
You would have thought that somewhere along the way during the review process, the QA people at Lucasfilm and/or CBS/Paramount Video would have picked up on the fact that the same documentary was included in Volumes 1 and 2! But it went by completely unnoticed, and so the same documentary appears twice across two sets! Is there any more overlapping between the three sets, in terms of duplicating the same documentaries, that we should be aware of? I certainly hope not...
BTW, I've just started into the documentaries for Volume 3 and have gotten thus far with the docs on Disc 1. Really informative information on Ernest Hemingway, Lowell Thomas, and Edith Wharton. I only wish that somewhere along the way they could have included a little teaser for the fourth Indiana Jones feature film, though I'm thinking it'll be included on the upcoming reissues of the first three films.
For some unusual reason I have yet to receive my review copy of Battlestar Galactica, Season 3. I've requested it for review here and on TrekWeb.com like only three times (or is it four?), and I've not received it at all. Why? I've missed the entire third season, and already I'm in the middle of watching the latest fourth season episodes on the Sci-Fi Channel. That just really chaffs my hide for some reason.
Now that I'm back in Mississippi, I can now start looking at picking up all, if not as many, of the Star Trek DVDs, books, and comics that April made me throw out of the house back in 2006, not to mention all of the Star Wars and BSG DVDs as well. Thank goodness I got back here with all of the Superman and Indiana Jones DVDs intact! I've got a contact here who said he would help me track down as many of the ST comics as possible. Again, I don't know how many of them I can find and locate, or how long it'll take, if I can ever get them completely replaced again. All that matters right now is getting back on my feet with a good job and getting back to Alabama long enough to get my daughter relocated to Mississippi so she and I can be together again.
Oh, and I'm finally getting ahold of the Blade Runner Ultimate Collector's Edition! I missed out on it this past Christmas when it came out, but I should be getting it soon. Now I'll be able to check out all five of the different editions, especially the final cut and the treasured work print version that I've heard much about. I wish I had come back with my DVD+R recorder, though. Oh well, the next return trip I'll see to it.
Separation sucks, especially when there's children involved.
You would have thought that somewhere along the way during the review process, the QA people at Lucasfilm and/or CBS/Paramount Video would have picked up on the fact that the same documentary was included in Volumes 1 and 2! But it went by completely unnoticed, and so the same documentary appears twice across two sets! Is there any more overlapping between the three sets, in terms of duplicating the same documentaries, that we should be aware of? I certainly hope not...
BTW, I've just started into the documentaries for Volume 3 and have gotten thus far with the docs on Disc 1. Really informative information on Ernest Hemingway, Lowell Thomas, and Edith Wharton. I only wish that somewhere along the way they could have included a little teaser for the fourth Indiana Jones feature film, though I'm thinking it'll be included on the upcoming reissues of the first three films.
For some unusual reason I have yet to receive my review copy of Battlestar Galactica, Season 3. I've requested it for review here and on TrekWeb.com like only three times (or is it four?), and I've not received it at all. Why? I've missed the entire third season, and already I'm in the middle of watching the latest fourth season episodes on the Sci-Fi Channel. That just really chaffs my hide for some reason.
Now that I'm back in Mississippi, I can now start looking at picking up all, if not as many, of the Star Trek DVDs, books, and comics that April made me throw out of the house back in 2006, not to mention all of the Star Wars and BSG DVDs as well. Thank goodness I got back here with all of the Superman and Indiana Jones DVDs intact! I've got a contact here who said he would help me track down as many of the ST comics as possible. Again, I don't know how many of them I can find and locate, or how long it'll take, if I can ever get them completely replaced again. All that matters right now is getting back on my feet with a good job and getting back to Alabama long enough to get my daughter relocated to Mississippi so she and I can be together again.
Oh, and I'm finally getting ahold of the Blade Runner Ultimate Collector's Edition! I missed out on it this past Christmas when it came out, but I should be getting it soon. Now I'll be able to check out all five of the different editions, especially the final cut and the treasured work print version that I've heard much about. I wish I had come back with my DVD+R recorder, though. Oh well, the next return trip I'll see to it.
Separation sucks, especially when there's children involved.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sometimes things happen...
Sometimes things happen for a reason. Call it God-inspired direction, serendipity, being in the right place at the right time, you name it.
Today I went to my alma mater, where I got my bachelor's and master's degrees, to apply for a student recruitment position and also for a position in the registrar's office. It turns out that the lady in HR referred me to the vice-president of academic affairs, who was one of my former teachers as an undergraduate student. She suggested I put in for an adjunct teacher's slot, and my former teacher recommended I put in for an assistant webmaster's position as well. Both of those, where I did web work by day and taught classes by night, would be wonderful opportunities for me to get back on my feet at my former college once again.
This comes on the heels of a pretty productive day yesterday that saw my teacher's license renewed until 2013, as well as a job interview scheduled for Friday afternoon after another job interview that same day. I have to admit, for being back only a few days, I've made some serious progress in my job search that's yielding some pretty decent results.
I don't know what's happening or why, all I know is that God's directing my footsteps now for a reason, and I want to find out what that reason is. I mean, it's obvious, I need a position so I can get back on my feet and take care of my daughter and family. Even if it does wind up in divorce, at least I'd be able to provide for my daughter. All I know is that I'm ready to go back to work...very soon.
Today I went to my alma mater, where I got my bachelor's and master's degrees, to apply for a student recruitment position and also for a position in the registrar's office. It turns out that the lady in HR referred me to the vice-president of academic affairs, who was one of my former teachers as an undergraduate student. She suggested I put in for an adjunct teacher's slot, and my former teacher recommended I put in for an assistant webmaster's position as well. Both of those, where I did web work by day and taught classes by night, would be wonderful opportunities for me to get back on my feet at my former college once again.
This comes on the heels of a pretty productive day yesterday that saw my teacher's license renewed until 2013, as well as a job interview scheduled for Friday afternoon after another job interview that same day. I have to admit, for being back only a few days, I've made some serious progress in my job search that's yielding some pretty decent results.
I don't know what's happening or why, all I know is that God's directing my footsteps now for a reason, and I want to find out what that reason is. I mean, it's obvious, I need a position so I can get back on my feet and take care of my daughter and family. Even if it does wind up in divorce, at least I'd be able to provide for my daughter. All I know is that I'm ready to go back to work...very soon.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Branching out, or returning to familiar territory...
Before and even after I moved to Alabama, one thing that I enjoyed doing in my free time was reviewing all of the latest Star Trek titles from Pocket Books. From 2002 to 2006 I was the regular book and media reviewer for TrekWeb.com, one of the largest Star Trek fan-maintained websites on the Internet. Part of its success came because of my many contributions to the site in the forms of regular book reviews (sometimes I would have as many as three or four per week, that's how up to date I was!); DVD reviews of many of the different Star Trek season sets, Battlestar Galactica, and miscellaneous films and TV series; and on occasion interviews with writers (when my schedule permitted it).
Unfortunately, I had been forced into a corner by my wife where I had to give it up. In her words, she said, "It's either me or Star Trek." So she forced me to throw it all out, and I walked away from it by the end of 2006. All of the DVDs, not to mention the books and magazines that were in the house, even the Starship Creator CD-ROMs and the CD collections of Rich Handley's excellent comic strip compilations - all gone. On rare occasion I would return for an occasional DVD product review, but otherwise that was the extent of it. I had been pretty much forced to give it all up.
Flash forward to 2008. My wife and I are going through a separation at this time, one that I wish I could say could be peacefully resolved and result in us getting back together, but at this point it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. As a result of a job loss that was beyond my control, months of struggling to make ends meet, and a mother-in-law who had repeatedly made false accusations against me (all of which my wife believed and wouldn't stand with me to oppose), I returned to Mississippi to start job-searching once again, which has resulted in a number of good leads through job agencies and direct applications, and I haven't stopped. I'm also making plans to return to Alabama to bring my three-year-old daughter to live with me here in Mississippi. My mother and I have been in contact with our attorneys, one here and one in Alabama, and both have indicated that I have an equal right as my daughter's father and that I can move her to Mississippi. When that will be, I don't know.
In the meantime, I've been reconnecting with some old friends... namely, the crews of the starships Enterprise and Voyager, among others. I've caught a few episodes on TV, and the majority of the novels are still at my mother's house. There's also a few comics, I would say about ten percent of the complete collection, still intact. I'm in the process of trading other comics out for the remaining Star Trek comics to rebuild my collection. I'm also looking at getting the series and films on DVD once again, which I know will be costly and will take a long time to reacquire. Not to mention getting hold of those missing books and keeping up with the current and upcoming titles.
Which brings me to this... since launching this website last year I've been thinking about branching out into conducting book reviews as well as DVD and CD reviews. Make it all three of those forms of media. I think it would only be a natural progression to expand my reviewing skills on this blog site. I'm hoping to get in contact with someone in the PR department at Pocket Books to get me back on the mailing list to get all of the latest and current Star Trek titles for review here - hopefully I'll be successful. If that happens, then look for book reviews here in the near future, along of course with the latest DVD product reviews.
All I can do is try. When you've got nothing much left, all you can do is pick up and start over again. We'll see what happens.
Unfortunately, I had been forced into a corner by my wife where I had to give it up. In her words, she said, "It's either me or Star Trek." So she forced me to throw it all out, and I walked away from it by the end of 2006. All of the DVDs, not to mention the books and magazines that were in the house, even the Starship Creator CD-ROMs and the CD collections of Rich Handley's excellent comic strip compilations - all gone. On rare occasion I would return for an occasional DVD product review, but otherwise that was the extent of it. I had been pretty much forced to give it all up.
Flash forward to 2008. My wife and I are going through a separation at this time, one that I wish I could say could be peacefully resolved and result in us getting back together, but at this point it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. As a result of a job loss that was beyond my control, months of struggling to make ends meet, and a mother-in-law who had repeatedly made false accusations against me (all of which my wife believed and wouldn't stand with me to oppose), I returned to Mississippi to start job-searching once again, which has resulted in a number of good leads through job agencies and direct applications, and I haven't stopped. I'm also making plans to return to Alabama to bring my three-year-old daughter to live with me here in Mississippi. My mother and I have been in contact with our attorneys, one here and one in Alabama, and both have indicated that I have an equal right as my daughter's father and that I can move her to Mississippi. When that will be, I don't know.
In the meantime, I've been reconnecting with some old friends... namely, the crews of the starships Enterprise and Voyager, among others. I've caught a few episodes on TV, and the majority of the novels are still at my mother's house. There's also a few comics, I would say about ten percent of the complete collection, still intact. I'm in the process of trading other comics out for the remaining Star Trek comics to rebuild my collection. I'm also looking at getting the series and films on DVD once again, which I know will be costly and will take a long time to reacquire. Not to mention getting hold of those missing books and keeping up with the current and upcoming titles.
Which brings me to this... since launching this website last year I've been thinking about branching out into conducting book reviews as well as DVD and CD reviews. Make it all three of those forms of media. I think it would only be a natural progression to expand my reviewing skills on this blog site. I'm hoping to get in contact with someone in the PR department at Pocket Books to get me back on the mailing list to get all of the latest and current Star Trek titles for review here - hopefully I'll be successful. If that happens, then look for book reviews here in the near future, along of course with the latest DVD product reviews.
All I can do is try. When you've got nothing much left, all you can do is pick up and start over again. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume 3: The Years of Change - first thoughts
Well, yesterday I happened to find at my doorstep the third and final volume of "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones", entitled "The Years of Change". This 10-disc set contains the final seven chapters of the series in mostly re-edited form from their original broadcast versions, along with 31 all-new historial documentaries and a historical commentary on Disc 10. All of the discs are reproduced in their original full-frame broadcast aspect ratio in Dolby Digital 2.0 sound with optional English subtitles, and the discs look and sound great.
All good and fine and dandy, yada yada yada. Enough said of that. Now for the really big news about this set that will please all of the Indy fans out there:
HARRISON FORD IS IN THE SET!
That's right, the original Indy's cameo appearance in "The Mystery of the Blues" is preserved intact from the original ABC telecast from 1992-93. The only minor edits to this segment are in a slight re-editing of the main title credits and cleaner bridgings from one segment to another (as opposed to its original telecast, with the commercial break fade-ins and fade-outs included). Other than that, this remains the sole "Young Indy" segment with the original bridging bookends preserved for DVD.
YES!!!!!! I knew it would be sacrilege to edit out Ford's bookend segments from the episode. Good thing I was wrong about the editing on this one! Hopefully I'll have a more complete review of the set in a few days.
All good and fine and dandy, yada yada yada. Enough said of that. Now for the really big news about this set that will please all of the Indy fans out there:
HARRISON FORD IS IN THE SET!
That's right, the original Indy's cameo appearance in "The Mystery of the Blues" is preserved intact from the original ABC telecast from 1992-93. The only minor edits to this segment are in a slight re-editing of the main title credits and cleaner bridgings from one segment to another (as opposed to its original telecast, with the commercial break fade-ins and fade-outs included). Other than that, this remains the sole "Young Indy" segment with the original bridging bookends preserved for DVD.
YES!!!!!! I knew it would be sacrilege to edit out Ford's bookend segments from the episode. Good thing I was wrong about the editing on this one! Hopefully I'll have a more complete review of the set in a few days.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Somewhere in transition...
I wish I had better and more enjoyable news to share with you, but this is much more serious than any DVD review commentary I could ever do...
April and I have separated.
Things finally reached the breaking point with us because of her mother's repeated accusations of reproach, passing it down to my daughter Lily, not actively job searching when in fact I had been looking for better work to take care of my family, and one repeated accusation after another that I know in the bottom of my heart and spirit are completely false and inaccurate. And instead of standing with me, as she should have, April chose to believe the lies and spin her mother was creating just to get me out of the house. Needless to say, this has hurt me more than anything in my life, more than even my dad's death.
Right now I have relocated back to Mississippi to get the pieces of my life back together into some form. This means looking for work here and doing what I can to bring Lily here to live with me. April had said on Tuesday, if not on multiple occasions, that I could bring Lily to live with me and my mother. But when I left on Tuesday, I had no more room in the car for anything, much less my three-year-old daughter.
So now I'm having to start all over, look for a new job, and do all I can to get Lily out of Alabama. My mother has said that Lily shouldn't be without her mother, but right now she's without her father. Which is the lesser of the two evils? I have no idea.
I don't know when I'll be back on to report on new DVD releases. Right now my main focus is getting my life back together and being with my daughter again.
This hurts like hell... no, worse than hell itself. And all I can do is cry and mourn.
April and I have separated.
Things finally reached the breaking point with us because of her mother's repeated accusations of reproach, passing it down to my daughter Lily, not actively job searching when in fact I had been looking for better work to take care of my family, and one repeated accusation after another that I know in the bottom of my heart and spirit are completely false and inaccurate. And instead of standing with me, as she should have, April chose to believe the lies and spin her mother was creating just to get me out of the house. Needless to say, this has hurt me more than anything in my life, more than even my dad's death.
Right now I have relocated back to Mississippi to get the pieces of my life back together into some form. This means looking for work here and doing what I can to bring Lily here to live with me. April had said on Tuesday, if not on multiple occasions, that I could bring Lily to live with me and my mother. But when I left on Tuesday, I had no more room in the car for anything, much less my three-year-old daughter.
So now I'm having to start all over, look for a new job, and do all I can to get Lily out of Alabama. My mother has said that Lily shouldn't be without her mother, but right now she's without her father. Which is the lesser of the two evils? I have no idea.
I don't know when I'll be back on to report on new DVD releases. Right now my main focus is getting my life back together and being with my daughter again.
This hurts like hell... no, worse than hell itself. And all I can do is cry and mourn.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
My interview with Mike Matessino...
I've known and talked with film and music restorationist Mike Matessino off and on for nearly a decade, and I have to admit he is one of the top go-to guys when it comes to restoring and preserving film and music scores. He's extremely knowledgable in his field, especially when it comes to films like "Alien", the original "Star Wars" trilogy, "The Sound of Music", "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", and, of course, "Superman". I first had the pleasure of talking with Mike back in 2000 in hosting a special online chat with him upon the release of Rhino Records' 2-CD release of John Williams' "Superman" musical score, then at the time the most complete version released to the public.
Flash forward to 2008. Mike, Lukas Kendall, and the guys at Film Score Monthly and Screen Archives Entertainment have significantly raised the bar when it comes to film score sets with their magnum opus, the eight-disc "Superman: The Music (1978-1988) soundtrack set. Far and away, it is extremely light years ahead in terms of completeness and sound quality, definitely unparalleled to anything I've heard - and I've followed film music for 30 years now!
In addition to his credentials, Mike is one of the nicest and friendliest guys you could ever talk to, not to mention a serious film fan like the rest of us. What began as an e-mail of congratulations to him on the FSM set has turned into a great interview with him that's now posted at CapedWonder.com. Here, he answers my questions on the eight-disc set, as well as reflections on his beginnings, his thoughts on a possible "Superman IV" restoration (look for a separate article by him coming soon on the FSM web site), and possible future projects down the pike. Check out the interview, along with the latest information on the eight-disc set!
Just to let you know, the original first edition pressing of 3,000 has sold out, and it looks like it'll be before the end of May before a second edition pressing is made available. That's how hot the set is!
Thanks to Jim Bowers for posting and hosting the interview, and a big special thanks to Mike for all of the hard work and fun he's given to everyone!
Flash forward to 2008. Mike, Lukas Kendall, and the guys at Film Score Monthly and Screen Archives Entertainment have significantly raised the bar when it comes to film score sets with their magnum opus, the eight-disc "Superman: The Music (1978-1988) soundtrack set. Far and away, it is extremely light years ahead in terms of completeness and sound quality, definitely unparalleled to anything I've heard - and I've followed film music for 30 years now!
In addition to his credentials, Mike is one of the nicest and friendliest guys you could ever talk to, not to mention a serious film fan like the rest of us. What began as an e-mail of congratulations to him on the FSM set has turned into a great interview with him that's now posted at CapedWonder.com. Here, he answers my questions on the eight-disc set, as well as reflections on his beginnings, his thoughts on a possible "Superman IV" restoration (look for a separate article by him coming soon on the FSM web site), and possible future projects down the pike. Check out the interview, along with the latest information on the eight-disc set!
Just to let you know, the original first edition pressing of 3,000 has sold out, and it looks like it'll be before the end of May before a second edition pressing is made available. That's how hot the set is!
Thanks to Jim Bowers for posting and hosting the interview, and a big special thanks to Mike for all of the hard work and fun he's given to everyone!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Superman: The Music - 1978-1988 (first thoughts)...
Well, believe it or not, when I got to work yesterday, what was waiting for me was none other than the queen mother of all music CD box sets, the long-awaited eight-disc "Superman" soundtrack box set of all the music from the four feature films and the 1988 Ruby-Spears animated series. Just looking at this box set makes my mouth water with excitement!
I've got to tell you, I've only sampled a few tracks from the set thus far. I started out with some of the action-oriented pieces from "Superman IV", then checked out some of the variations on the Main Title theme as heard in II and III, followed by the long-awaited alternate version of "The Dome Opens" from STM (which was adapted as the villains' theme music and some of the action music from SII) and the Main and End Title themes from STM. All I can say is this...
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The music thus far is solid and clear, reproduced from the very best elements around! Mike Matessino, Lukas Kendall, and the guys at Film Score Monthly have completely outdone themselves with this CD box set! Everyone needs to stand up and take notice, this is how the game is played, and this will no doubt be the benchmark for all soundtrack CD sets for years to come in terms of sound reproduction, extensive research and liner notes, and all-around fun and excitement in just listening to the music. And not only that, but with "Superman IV" you get the complete score to the original 120-minute cut of the film that was in progress but never completed after the Orange County sneak preview, which in my opinion could have benefitted from another 6-8 months of completion on the visual effects. With this score, coupled with the 2006 Deluxe Edition DVD and the 93-minute international print (which should have been released on DVD), you get a very clear picture of how the film would have turned out, and it would have been much broader in scope than the B-picture budget revealed.
Hands down, this is the CD soundtrack set of the year to beat, and it's going to be completely impossible to top this set with any other release from any studio. Once I have a chance to listen to the complete set, I'll provide a further detailed review, so look for that soon.
Congrats to Mike, Lukas, and everyone for a job well done!
I've got to tell you, I've only sampled a few tracks from the set thus far. I started out with some of the action-oriented pieces from "Superman IV", then checked out some of the variations on the Main Title theme as heard in II and III, followed by the long-awaited alternate version of "The Dome Opens" from STM (which was adapted as the villains' theme music and some of the action music from SII) and the Main and End Title themes from STM. All I can say is this...
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The music thus far is solid and clear, reproduced from the very best elements around! Mike Matessino, Lukas Kendall, and the guys at Film Score Monthly have completely outdone themselves with this CD box set! Everyone needs to stand up and take notice, this is how the game is played, and this will no doubt be the benchmark for all soundtrack CD sets for years to come in terms of sound reproduction, extensive research and liner notes, and all-around fun and excitement in just listening to the music. And not only that, but with "Superman IV" you get the complete score to the original 120-minute cut of the film that was in progress but never completed after the Orange County sneak preview, which in my opinion could have benefitted from another 6-8 months of completion on the visual effects. With this score, coupled with the 2006 Deluxe Edition DVD and the 93-minute international print (which should have been released on DVD), you get a very clear picture of how the film would have turned out, and it would have been much broader in scope than the B-picture budget revealed.
Hands down, this is the CD soundtrack set of the year to beat, and it's going to be completely impossible to top this set with any other release from any studio. Once I have a chance to listen to the complete set, I'll provide a further detailed review, so look for that soon.
Congrats to Mike, Lukas, and everyone for a job well done!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Indy returns, Superman flies, etc.
With the release of the fourth "Indiana Jones" film Memorial Day weekend, Paramount Home Video is re-releasing the first three films on DVD in all-new special editions. Apparently none of the extras from the original four-disc box set will be on these new re-releases, though it looks like there will be a host of exclusive bonus features including a preview of the upcoming "Lego Indiana Jones" videogame. Will it be worth the double-dip? Hopefully I'll be able to provide a review soon.
The latest word on the "Superman" score box set is that there are fewer than 600 copies left from Film Score Monthly's initial pressing of 3,000. According to Lukas Kendall, there should be a second pressing down the road in a few months. From everything I've read thus far, it's been an extremely big hit with Superman and music fans. I'm trying to get a copy for review, but it's been no luck at all with nearly all of my leads. Hopefully I won't get left out of the party.
On a side note, I'm in early talks with album producer Mike Matessino to conduct an interview for one of the Superman-based web sites. I had the privilege of hosting a special online chat with him back in 2000 upon the release of Rhino's 2-CD "Superman" set, and he and I have kept in touch on occasion since then on different things. He's quite knowledgeable about the material he's worked on, and he's quite a nice guy to boot. Look for that interview soon.
Finally, I heard this morning that with the upcoming release of "The Dark Knight", the late Heath Ledger has delivered such an extremely powerful performance as the Joker that talks are in the works of considering him for a posthumous Oscar nomination. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that happens.
On that note, I'll touch base again soon. Take care!
The latest word on the "Superman" score box set is that there are fewer than 600 copies left from Film Score Monthly's initial pressing of 3,000. According to Lukas Kendall, there should be a second pressing down the road in a few months. From everything I've read thus far, it's been an extremely big hit with Superman and music fans. I'm trying to get a copy for review, but it's been no luck at all with nearly all of my leads. Hopefully I won't get left out of the party.
On a side note, I'm in early talks with album producer Mike Matessino to conduct an interview for one of the Superman-based web sites. I had the privilege of hosting a special online chat with him back in 2000 upon the release of Rhino's 2-CD "Superman" set, and he and I have kept in touch on occasion since then on different things. He's quite knowledgeable about the material he's worked on, and he's quite a nice guy to boot. Look for that interview soon.
Finally, I heard this morning that with the upcoming release of "The Dark Knight", the late Heath Ledger has delivered such an extremely powerful performance as the Joker that talks are in the works of considering him for a posthumous Oscar nomination. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that happens.
On that note, I'll touch base again soon. Take care!
Friday, February 15, 2008
It's official!
Last month I reported the "officially unconfirmed" news about the eight-disc Superman movie soundtrack collection. Well, it's now official! Next Thursday, February 21, is the day the set goes on sale through Film Score Monthly's website, with a limited ediiton pressing of only 3,000 copies. Click here to read the full report on FSM's website, along with detailed articles on some of the behind-the-scenes goodness.
This is definitely going to be THE soundtrack release to beat this year! And it's definitely well-timed, considered that this year marks both the 30th anniversary of the release of the first "Superman" film (1978) and also the 70th anniversary of Superman's debut in the first issue of Action Comics (1938). Talk about a way to celebrate!
When I'm able to get a copy of the CD set, I'll provide a blow-by-blow review for everyone, so hopefully that'll be soon.
On a different note, the first trailer for this summer's long-awaited "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is now online at the official Indiana Jones website. Check it out! This one's been 19 years in the making!
Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you again soon!
This is definitely going to be THE soundtrack release to beat this year! And it's definitely well-timed, considered that this year marks both the 30th anniversary of the release of the first "Superman" film (1978) and also the 70th anniversary of Superman's debut in the first issue of Action Comics (1938). Talk about a way to celebrate!
When I'm able to get a copy of the CD set, I'll provide a blow-by-blow review for everyone, so hopefully that'll be soon.
On a different note, the first trailer for this summer's long-awaited "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is now online at the official Indiana Jones website. Check it out! This one's been 19 years in the making!
Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you again soon!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Battlestar Galactica - Razor (Unrated Extended Edition)
It's hard to believe that over a year has gone by since I've caught up with the continuing saga of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, Ronald D. Moore's hard-hitting revision of the campy 1970's series. Since the time between the second and third seasons many fans had heard rumors of a spinoff TV project set either before or during the events of the series. And during that spectacular second season, with the return of the Battlestar Pegasus, many fans asked, "What happened to the Pegasus during the Cylons' attack at the start of the series?" With RAZOR, the Sci-Fi Channel has presented an epic lost chapter of the saga that answers many of the fans' questions and more.
Divided between present-day events and flashbacks, RAZOR tells the story of one Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobson), a young officer newly transferred to the Pegasus under the command of Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes). During her tenure she learns of Cain's ways of command while discovering her own edge and fearlessness in dealing with enemies both external and internal. Shaw soon exposes the secretive plots by Gina Inviere (Tricia Helfer) to lure the Cylons into attacking the Pegasus, eventually leading to her rise in command and to adopting Cain's ruthless nature as her own.
Meanwhile, Commander Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber), newly assigned as commander of the Pegasus in present-day times, orders an assault raid on a secret Cylon regeneration factory, one which brings back haunting memories of his father Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) during the first Cylon war.
RAZOR effectively converges the two storylines into a strong cohesive whole, making for one extremely intense chapter of the BSG saga. Of course, it's been no surprise that during the film we get to see the old-school Cylons and their Raiders during the first Cylon war - hearing that classic "By your command!" brings back smiles and laughs from 30 years before! - which definitely more than pleases classic BSG fans. On the other hand, RAZOR offers some tantalizing hints of what we can expect in the upcoming fourth and final season of the series, with a possible plot hint that we may see developed by the series' end.
Universal Home Video has released RAZOR on DVD with not just one version presented but two - both the original 87-minute broadcast version and an unrated extended version with an additional 16 minutes of footage not seen in the U.S. While the disc package only advertises the unrated extended cut, it's quite a pleasant surprise that both versions are presented on this disc! You are given this option when you press Play, so it's quite the surprise indeed! I checked out the original broadcast version first, followed by the extended cut, and I've got to admit I prefer the extended cut more because of some of its additional substance that permeates RAZOR. Granted, the extended cut contains a bit more graphic violence and language not present in the broadcast version, so it plays more like a theatrical release. Both versions of RAZOR are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format and in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with optional English subtitles.
The visuals are tightly packed with substance, though during the presentation I did notice some digital artifacting present. This is because of the disc's contents with both versions of RAZOR as well as its varied extras. Thankfully, the artifacting is minor overall, at least what I noticed, and the colors and blacks are rich and balanced. The sound mix is another tour de force for your 5.1 set-up, with explosions and dialog nicely balanced all around. How they continually manage to accomplish this with each successive BSG installment, I have no idea, because it keeps looking and sounding better and better!
The DVD release of RAZOR also contains a wonderful array of supplements. First off is a newly recorded audio commentary with series creators Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, as they discuss the origins of the telefilm and the intentions to present multiple storylines that bounce between present and past. As with their past commentaries, Moore and Eick are an enjoyable listen, and they continue to be extremely knowledgeable about their production and cast selections. The only caveat here is that the audio commentary is accessible only with the extended cut and not the broadcast version.
In "The Look of Battlestar Galactica", director of photography Stephen McNutt discusses how the series achieves its gritty, in-your-face look with each installment. Through a combination of handheld cameras, tightly developed set constructions, strong storylines, and realistic visual effects, we see how each episode looks more like a realistic drama than something clean and neat. We also get to see some on-set production footage from RAZOR as well. Running time: 10:00.
In "My Favorite Episode So Far", cast and crew members discuss, well, their favorite episodes to date. Moore, Eick, Olmos, Bamber, Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, and others select some of the episodes that they found extremely memorable over the past three seasons, ranging from the first season premiere "33" to the second season finale to the third-season two-parter. Olmos' comments are most interesting, because he notes that perhaps the series' best episode may not be until the series' finale. For those of you who have not seen the third season at all (like me), beware that there are spoilers abound in this one! Running time: 7:00.
We also have two deleted scenes cut from RAZOR, running all of three and a half minutes in length, both presented in anamorphic widescreen format and Dolby 2.0 sound. Here, we witness Lee Adama preparing to depart for Galactica at the same time as Kendra Shaw's departure for Pegasus, while in the other scene we have Lee and Kara sitting in the conference room drinking and reviewing old mission tapes (from earlier in the series).
In addition we have a fourth season sneak peek (4:30) and preview trailer (45 seconds) which give us more tantalizing glimpses into what we can expect in the upcoming final season. Once again, for those of you who have not seen the third season, look out for big spoilers! (Of course, by the time you read this review, you'll already know what some of those big spoilers are, thanks to TV Guide.)
Finally, we have a series of wasted preview trailers, promoting upcoming Universal movies and DVDs, at the head of the disc that you can easily skip past in order to get to RAZOR.
Once again Universal has delivered another solid BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DVD release with their unrated extended cut of RAZOR, making for another excellent complement to the entire series. It's got me looking forward to the final two seasons of the series! Originally I had intended to have this review ready back in December, but when life changes affect you, sometimes DVD reviews become less important in the overall scheme of things. Oh well, better later than never!
Divided between present-day events and flashbacks, RAZOR tells the story of one Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobson), a young officer newly transferred to the Pegasus under the command of Admiral Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes). During her tenure she learns of Cain's ways of command while discovering her own edge and fearlessness in dealing with enemies both external and internal. Shaw soon exposes the secretive plots by Gina Inviere (Tricia Helfer) to lure the Cylons into attacking the Pegasus, eventually leading to her rise in command and to adopting Cain's ruthless nature as her own.
Meanwhile, Commander Lee Adama (Jamie Bamber), newly assigned as commander of the Pegasus in present-day times, orders an assault raid on a secret Cylon regeneration factory, one which brings back haunting memories of his father Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) during the first Cylon war.
RAZOR effectively converges the two storylines into a strong cohesive whole, making for one extremely intense chapter of the BSG saga. Of course, it's been no surprise that during the film we get to see the old-school Cylons and their Raiders during the first Cylon war - hearing that classic "By your command!" brings back smiles and laughs from 30 years before! - which definitely more than pleases classic BSG fans. On the other hand, RAZOR offers some tantalizing hints of what we can expect in the upcoming fourth and final season of the series, with a possible plot hint that we may see developed by the series' end.
Universal Home Video has released RAZOR on DVD with not just one version presented but two - both the original 87-minute broadcast version and an unrated extended version with an additional 16 minutes of footage not seen in the U.S. While the disc package only advertises the unrated extended cut, it's quite a pleasant surprise that both versions are presented on this disc! You are given this option when you press Play, so it's quite the surprise indeed! I checked out the original broadcast version first, followed by the extended cut, and I've got to admit I prefer the extended cut more because of some of its additional substance that permeates RAZOR. Granted, the extended cut contains a bit more graphic violence and language not present in the broadcast version, so it plays more like a theatrical release. Both versions of RAZOR are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format and in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with optional English subtitles.
The visuals are tightly packed with substance, though during the presentation I did notice some digital artifacting present. This is because of the disc's contents with both versions of RAZOR as well as its varied extras. Thankfully, the artifacting is minor overall, at least what I noticed, and the colors and blacks are rich and balanced. The sound mix is another tour de force for your 5.1 set-up, with explosions and dialog nicely balanced all around. How they continually manage to accomplish this with each successive BSG installment, I have no idea, because it keeps looking and sounding better and better!
The DVD release of RAZOR also contains a wonderful array of supplements. First off is a newly recorded audio commentary with series creators Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, as they discuss the origins of the telefilm and the intentions to present multiple storylines that bounce between present and past. As with their past commentaries, Moore and Eick are an enjoyable listen, and they continue to be extremely knowledgeable about their production and cast selections. The only caveat here is that the audio commentary is accessible only with the extended cut and not the broadcast version.
In "The Look of Battlestar Galactica", director of photography Stephen McNutt discusses how the series achieves its gritty, in-your-face look with each installment. Through a combination of handheld cameras, tightly developed set constructions, strong storylines, and realistic visual effects, we see how each episode looks more like a realistic drama than something clean and neat. We also get to see some on-set production footage from RAZOR as well. Running time: 10:00.
In "My Favorite Episode So Far", cast and crew members discuss, well, their favorite episodes to date. Moore, Eick, Olmos, Bamber, Helfer, Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell, Grace Park, and others select some of the episodes that they found extremely memorable over the past three seasons, ranging from the first season premiere "33" to the second season finale to the third-season two-parter. Olmos' comments are most interesting, because he notes that perhaps the series' best episode may not be until the series' finale. For those of you who have not seen the third season at all (like me), beware that there are spoilers abound in this one! Running time: 7:00.
We also have two deleted scenes cut from RAZOR, running all of three and a half minutes in length, both presented in anamorphic widescreen format and Dolby 2.0 sound. Here, we witness Lee Adama preparing to depart for Galactica at the same time as Kendra Shaw's departure for Pegasus, while in the other scene we have Lee and Kara sitting in the conference room drinking and reviewing old mission tapes (from earlier in the series).
In addition we have a fourth season sneak peek (4:30) and preview trailer (45 seconds) which give us more tantalizing glimpses into what we can expect in the upcoming final season. Once again, for those of you who have not seen the third season, look out for big spoilers! (Of course, by the time you read this review, you'll already know what some of those big spoilers are, thanks to TV Guide.)
Finally, we have a series of wasted preview trailers, promoting upcoming Universal movies and DVDs, at the head of the disc that you can easily skip past in order to get to RAZOR.
Once again Universal has delivered another solid BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DVD release with their unrated extended cut of RAZOR, making for another excellent complement to the entire series. It's got me looking forward to the final two seasons of the series! Originally I had intended to have this review ready back in December, but when life changes affect you, sometimes DVD reviews become less important in the overall scheme of things. Oh well, better later than never!
Friday, January 25, 2008
And now for some good news...
Well, on the heels of such a downer note about the death of Heath Ledger, the John Williams Fan Network, jwfan.com, has just posted some officially unconfirmed news that coming this February is a massive eight-disc box set of the complete scores to all four of Christopher Reeve's "Superman" films, with a newly remastered version of John Williams' score to "Superman: The Movie", the complete Ken Thorne scores to "Superman II" and "Superman III", and for the first time ever the complete Williams/Alexander Courage score to "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace"!
All I can say is...
WOW!!!!!!!!!!
As soon as I'm able to get a review copy of this set, I'll be posting my thoughts on it here. I'll keep you posted!
All I can say is...
WOW!!!!!!!!!!
As soon as I'm able to get a review copy of this set, I'll be posting my thoughts on it here. I'll keep you posted!
Heath Ledger R.I.P.
It's been three days since I first heard the shocking news of the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger at the age of 28 due to a drug overdose and possible pneumonia (the full details are still coming together at this point, but that's what I've heard thus far). It really saddens me, because here was a young man whose career was blossoming because of some really high profile appearances in films such as "A Knight's Tale", "The Patriot", and his Oscar-nominated performance in the 2006 film "Brokeback Mountain" (aka the gay cowboy movie). It saddens me even more that, as a parent myself, he too had an infant daughter who's only two and will now have to grow up without getting to know her daddy. I just don't have more words about that part.
But here's what really is sad. Obviously you know about his high profile portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's upcoming Batman sequel "The Dark Knight", which is scheduled for release this July. I was looking forward to his take on one of comicdom's most sinister villains ever, which from the few video and audio glimpses I've seen thus far was going to be even more intense than Jack Nicholson's portrayal 20 years ago in Tim Burton's big-screen adaptation. On one of Warner's promotional sites for the film, WhySoSerious.com, it's got a very ironic and chilling message that says something to the effect of, "The only way to live in this world is without rules." On the film's official website, in place of the usual film-related promotions they have a single touching memorial page to Ledger.
And last night I shared this with my wife... Jack Nicholson had talked with Ledger some time recently and warned him of the dangers of drugs and fame. It's extremely eerie that the actor who portrayed the Joker two decades before had warned the actor who would have made his mark as the Joker in this decade of this danger. Even eerier is the fact that in Burton's original "Batman" film, the Joker dies. Apparently, in some earlier promotional teases for "The Dark Knight", a mock police dossier appeared online stating that the Joker was dead. Now Heath Ledger is dead in real life. This is too eerie, if you ask me.
How many more actors, musicians, and Hollywood celebrities have to die from drugs before people stand up and take notice? Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, John Belushi, Chris Farley (who idolized Belushi to the point of boasting that he wanted to live and die like him - don't ask for it, you may get it), Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, and now Heath Ledger - granted I've only mentioned some of the more notable examples, but who else has to die before everyone gets the message? If Britney Spears doesn't get her act together inside and out, she'll be gone before she's 30, mark my word.
In any event, when "The Dark Knight" hits theaters in July, we'll have the opportunity to see Heath Ledger's last fully completed performance on the big screen. As for his unfinished work on Terry Gilliam's current film project, nobody really knows what'll happen there - probably Gilliam will have to recast the role and reshoot everything. Really sad.
I know this is a bit of a downer compared to my reviews, but somehow I just had to get this out of my system.
But here's what really is sad. Obviously you know about his high profile portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's upcoming Batman sequel "The Dark Knight", which is scheduled for release this July. I was looking forward to his take on one of comicdom's most sinister villains ever, which from the few video and audio glimpses I've seen thus far was going to be even more intense than Jack Nicholson's portrayal 20 years ago in Tim Burton's big-screen adaptation. On one of Warner's promotional sites for the film, WhySoSerious.com, it's got a very ironic and chilling message that says something to the effect of, "The only way to live in this world is without rules." On the film's official website, in place of the usual film-related promotions they have a single touching memorial page to Ledger.
And last night I shared this with my wife... Jack Nicholson had talked with Ledger some time recently and warned him of the dangers of drugs and fame. It's extremely eerie that the actor who portrayed the Joker two decades before had warned the actor who would have made his mark as the Joker in this decade of this danger. Even eerier is the fact that in Burton's original "Batman" film, the Joker dies. Apparently, in some earlier promotional teases for "The Dark Knight", a mock police dossier appeared online stating that the Joker was dead. Now Heath Ledger is dead in real life. This is too eerie, if you ask me.
How many more actors, musicians, and Hollywood celebrities have to die from drugs before people stand up and take notice? Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, John Belushi, Chris Farley (who idolized Belushi to the point of boasting that he wanted to live and die like him - don't ask for it, you may get it), Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, and now Heath Ledger - granted I've only mentioned some of the more notable examples, but who else has to die before everyone gets the message? If Britney Spears doesn't get her act together inside and out, she'll be gone before she's 30, mark my word.
In any event, when "The Dark Knight" hits theaters in July, we'll have the opportunity to see Heath Ledger's last fully completed performance on the big screen. As for his unfinished work on Terry Gilliam's current film project, nobody really knows what'll happen there - probably Gilliam will have to recast the role and reshoot everything. Really sad.
I know this is a bit of a downer compared to my reviews, but somehow I just had to get this out of my system.
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