Monday, August 04, 2008

DVD News Roundup

Lots of good DVD news in the last few days! Here are some highlights:

The 10-film Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection was released on July 24th. The set was reviewed by the New York Times, L.A. Times and The Deseret News.

Carrie Liz of Classic Ramblings has reviewed one of the movies in the set, LOVE IS NEWS. It sounds like a lot of fun. This may be the No. 1 set of the year for me; I love having such a large number of Power films released at once -- many of the titles are "little" films I never would have expected to see on DVD. The Amazon box containing the set was waiting for me when we arrived home this weekend, but between unpacking, a new puppy, and work already piled up waiting for me, I haven't been able to watch anything yet.

Over at The Shelf, J.C. reviewed THE BIG TRAIL and Fox Western Classics in the last few days. I've loved what I've seen of the extras in both sets thus far, and I was quite taken with RAWHIDE when I saw it last year. (My RAWHIDE review is one of my most heavily viewed posts, which is intriguing.) I was fortunate to see the Grandeur version of THE BIG TRAIL at the Los Angeles County Art Museum many years ago, and I highly recommend checking out the DVD.

BLUES IN THE NIGHT has recently been released; here's a wonderful review from DVD Times. My own review of the film, after seeing it via Turner Classic Movies, can be found here, with further comments on the DVD release here. I'm looking forward to seeing this one again on DVD.

Another great new release is the miniseries CENTENNIAL, reviewed at DVD Talk.

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY comes to DVD on August 19th, and the DVD has already been reviewed at DVD Talk. My review of the theatrical release was posted in March.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, reviewed by me here, comes to DVD on November 11, 2008. It will be a two-disc set. No word yet on extras.

On the subject of INDY, fans may want to check out this column on the phrase "nuked the fridge."

Fans of classic TV can look forward to upcoming releases of THE DONNA REED SHOW (Season 1 will be released on October 28th), THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY (Season 3 will be released October 14th), and ADAM-12 (Season 2 will be released September 30th). It's been a long wait for new volumes of ADAM-12 and THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY. My kids especially love ADAM-12. I've never seen THE DONNA REED SHOW and will be checking it out.

Happy viewing!

Tuesday Update: More great retro TV news came my way today thanks to a note from J.C. Loophole of The Shelf: Ultimate Disney has announced a new addition to this year's Disney Treasures sets, ANNETTE.

ANNETTE was a Mickey Mouse Club serial which stars Annette Funicello (of course) and other Disney actors of the era, including Roberta Shore. I remember seeing reruns of ANNETTE as a child and will love having the opportunity to see it again.

I had previously read that DESTINO, originally scheduled for this year's "wave" of Disney Treasures releases, has been pushed back and may possibly be a single-title release in 2009.

My husband has been anxiously awaiting Disney's DR. SYN: ALIAS THE SCARECROW, which is another of the new batch of Disney Treasures titles. This year's third Disney Treasures release is the fourth volume of THE CHRONOLOGICAL DONALD.

The Disney Treasures will be released on November 11, 2008.

4 Comments:

Blogger Mrs. Happy Housewife said...

I watched "The Donna Reed Show" on Nick at Nite when I was a kid. That was back when Nick at Nite aired actually old shows. I enjoyed Donna Reed and can't wait to see if rewatching it holds up to my memories. Thanks for alerting me.

4:57 AM  
Blogger Irene said...

Yipes. I'm old ... I watched the Donna Reed Show first run :o)

So looking forward to Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. That was a fun movie and I loved the look of it too.

Regarding new TV shows coming out on DVD, I'm really looking forward to Season 1 of Pushing Daisies (which got cut short due to the writers strike) coming out September 16.

7:56 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

Thanks for the thumbs up on DONNA REED, Mrs. HH. Let us know what you think when you get a chance to see the new set! I like Donna's movies so I'm hoping her show will be fun too.

Irene, my girls adore PUSHING DAISIES. (I found the concept off-putting but I just might have to give it a whirl at some point!) I think that show is going to be on my oldest daughter's birthday wish list along with Season 2 of EUREKA.

Best wishes,
Laura

8:57 AM  
Blogger Irene said...

Annette - I loved her growing up (and yes, another first run for me right from the get go on the Mickey Mouse Club show - see I was a Disney geek back in the 50's too). Add this to my list of DVD's to get.

9:45 AM  

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