Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Edition) [Blu-ray]

Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Edition) [Blu-ray] Review

Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Edition) [Blu-ray] Overview

Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell go deep undercover in the explosive, action-packed Miami Vice Unrated Director's Edition! When detectives Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) and Sonny Crockett (Farrell) are asked to investigate the brutal murders of two federal agents, they find themselves pulled into the lethal world of drug traffickers. From the acclaimed director of Heat and Collateral comes an exclusive motion picture experience you won't want to miss!

Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Edition) [Blu-ray] Specifications

Bearing absolutely no resemblance to the 1980s TV series that helped to propel Michael Mann into big-time filmmaking, Miami Vice is the kind of serious, and seriously stylish, crime drama that Mann does better than anyone else. As written by Mann himself, this undercover sting thriller doesn't reach the peak intensity of Mann's 1995 classic Heat, and it lacks the tight, nail-biting suspense of Collateral, but that doesn't mean it doesn't occasionally pack a wallop. As Miami detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs (respectively), Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx don't have to do much but mumble their plot-thickening dialogue and look ultra-cool in the casual cop attire, and their partnership is rather lifeless on screen (perhaps owing to the fact that this was a troubled production, with an actual shooting that occurred during filming, and Foxx's refusal to risk his life on dangerous locations in South America). But once Mann shifts into high gear with a plot to foil a powerful drug kingpin (Luis Tosar) and his ruthless middle-man (John Ortiz), Vice pays off with the kind of smart, realistic action that Mann's fans have come to expect. With Chinese superstar Gong Li as Crockett's love interest on the wrong side of the law, Miami Vice covers territory that's a little too familiar, and one suspects Mann's screenplay might've been punched up with a polish or two. Still, this is an above-average crime thriller that demands and rewards close attention, with a climactic shoot-out that's pure Mann, worthy of the brooding drama that precedes it. --Jeff Shannon

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Yentl (Two-Disc Director's Cut)

Yentl (Two-Disc Director's Cut) Review

Yentl (Two-Disc Director's Cut) Overview

Disc 1: Theatrical Cut (Widescreen Feature) Director's Extended Cut (Widescreen Feature) with added scenes from Barbra's Archives An Introduction by Barbra Streisand Commentary with Barbra Streisand and Rusty Lemorande Deleted Scenes

Disc 2: Special Features with Materials from Barbra's Archives An Introduction by Barbra Streisand The Director's Reel The Rehearsal Process with Materials from Barbra's Archives An Introduction by Barbra Streisand “Where is it Written?“ Original Rehearsal Concept “Where is it Written?“ Rehearsal/Feature Comparison “No Wonder - Reprise“ Pre-Rehearsal/Feature Comparison “Tomorrow Night“ Pre-Rehearsal Concept “Tomorrow Night“ Pre-Rehearsal/Feature Comparison “Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way?“ Rehearsal/Feature Comparison “The Moon and I“ Deleted Song Storyboard Sequence “Several Sins a Day“ Deleted Song Storyboard Sequence Barbra's 8mm Concept Film (Play with Narration / Play without Narration) My Wonderful Cast and Crew Production Stills Gallery Portraits Stills Gallery Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery The Recording Studio Stills Gallery Teaser Trailer Theatrical Trail

Yentl (Two-Disc Director's Cut) Specifications

Barbra Streisand made her directorial debut with this 1983 adaptation of the Isaac Bashevis Singer story about a young Eastern European woman (Streisand) who disguises herself as a male at the turn of the century in order to get an education. Except for an excessive musical score with too many songs and Streisand's tiresome tendency to play characters who suppress their beauty, the film is crisp and engaging, and the gender-bending love story complications are fun, if gimmicky. Streisand gives a smart, vulnerable performance and gets fresh work from costars Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving. --Tom Keogh

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The Warriors (The Ultimate Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

The Warriors (The Ultimate Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Review

Insanely enjoyable movie. Depicts all the grit of Late 70's early 80's New York City. The gangs might seem a little cheesy by todays standards but that doesn't bother me at all. Walter Hill chooses all of these arty shots that would be amazing photographs standing alone, but the action evolves from within in those scenes.

Incredible depiction of New York City for all of its hardcore, raw, griminess.

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The Warriors (The Ultimate Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Overview

A battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,000; they outnumber the police 5 to 1; and tonight they're after the Warriors - a street gang blamed unfairly for a rival gang leader's death. This contemporary action-adventure story takes place at night, underground, in the sub-culture of gang warfare that rages from Coney Island to Manhattan to the Bronx. Members of the Warriors fight for their lives, seek to survive in the urban jungle and learn the meaning of loyalty. This intense and stylized film is a dazzling achievement for cinematographer Andrew Laszlo.

The Warriors (The Ultimate Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Specifications

The Warriors combines pure pulp storytelling and surprisingly poetic images into a thoroughly enjoyable cult classic. The plot is mythically pure (and inspired by a legendary bit of Greek history): When a charismatic gang leader is shot at a conclave in the Bronx meant to unite all the gangs in New York City, a troupe from Coney Island called the Warriors get blamed and have to fight all the way back to their own turf--which means an escalating series of battles with colorful and improbable gangs like the Baseball Furies, who wear baseball uniforms and KISS-inspired face make-up. Pop existentialism, performances that are somehow both wooden and overwrought, and zesty, kinetic filmmaking from director Walter Hill (Southern Comfort, 48 Hrs.) result in a delicious and unexpectedly resonant operatic cheesiness. The Ultimate Director's Cut doesn't radically alter the movie--some of the editing is tighter, the Greek legend has been added as an introduction--with one exception: in transitions, scenes begin and end as scenes from a comic book. While The Warriors always had a comic book flavor (and Hill, in an interview, says he deliberately pursued that sensibility), this device--similar to The Hulk--seems a bit overkill. But it's a minor problem; the movie holds its own, even 26 years later. --Bret Fetzer

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THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Review

Having been an avid Star Wars fan since I was a kid, I was always interested in checking out this George Lucas film. Now that I am able to collect a lot of my favorite sci-fi I finally added this DVD to my personal collection and watched it all the way through. While I only caught bits and pieces of it on TV over the years it was a revelation on DVD. I know George tinkered around with it to give us his definitive director's cut, and though I don't remember everything that was originally in it, I think whatever he did added tremendously to it by fleshing out a little more (à la Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back special edition) thus giving it more of a sense of timelessness. Not necessarily a bad thing considering it is already 40 years old. It doesn't give you any sense of where you are (unless you're familiar with B.A.R.T.), just a consumer-driven dystopia in the vein of Brave New World and Logan's Run and probably countless other lesser known sci-fi stories. You almost feel as if you are seeing a working person's life on a Star Wars world under the cruel rule of the Galactic Empire. Perhaps this is what life was like for those who worked in the Death Star or on some other distant world on the edge of the Outer Rim. Oh and those cars are awesome, Lucas knows his cars and racing to be sure! Great to see legendary Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now, Falling Down, The Road) and Donald Pleasance (Halloween) in this of course. Was also surprised by the appearance of an obviously much younger Sid Haig from the Rob Zombie horror films House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, playing another sociopath of course.

I hope George applies this film style to a more mature Star Wars film. You'll be slightly shocked by what you see from the otherwise PG/PG-13 filmmaker in this one. Hopefully George will make or will allow someone else to make some Star Wars films in this style, I'm thinking a trilogy of films set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. He mentions wanting to return to this earlier style of filmmaking in his commentary. Perhaps a smaller-budget more independent style Shadows of the Empire, Dark Forces, Force Unleashed trilogy or tweakquel if you will (between prequel and sequel) that would take the kid gloves off for the original fans and show more of a character study of the lives of lesser known anti-heroes in the Star Wars world such as Kyle Katarn or Starkiller. Anyways, this is a must have for any sci-fi or Star Wars fan but make sure you know what version you want. I don't think there are any real heinous changes like Greedo shooting at Han Solo first in the Star Wars special editions (unless you take issue with replacing most of the little people at the end with some digital space monkeys for a few seconds - I didn't mind it at all) but fans of whatever the original contained may wish to have both versions, which is what should have been packaged with the blu-ray because if it had I would have bought the newly released blu-ray instead of the much cheaper DVD.

THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Overview

A chilling exploration of the future is also a compelling examination of the present in George Lucas’s THX 1138, starring Robert Duvall as a man whose mind and body are controlled by the government. THX makes a harrowing attempt to escape from a world where thoughts are controlled, freedom is an impossibility and love is the ultimate crime.

THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Specifications

George Lucas's enigmatic feature film debut expands on a student film he made at USC. Created under the wing of producer Francis Ford Coppola, this movie is a bleak vision of a world in which technology, not man, is the ultimate dictator. Efficiency overrides every other aspect of human life, as people are reduced to code names and their lives are contained, monitored, and manipulated for the sake of the system. Featuring unsettling performances by Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasance, and Maggie McOmie, THX 1138 does not attempt to explain how things became this way; rather, it utilizes the alienation of its characters, the stifling white-on-white imagery of its sterilized society, and the claustrophobic, droning sound design to emphasize the dangers of a world reliant on soulless technology. Even though this is not a film one will want to take in repeatedly, THX 1138 merits attention because it is that rare film that uses images and sounds--rather than relying heavily on dialogue--to communicate its dark prophecy. --Bryan Reesman

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The Last of the Mohicans: Director's Definitive Cut [Blu-ray]

The Last of the Mohicans: Director's Definitive Cut [Blu-ray] Review

While significant points have been changed from the original classic novel, this is still a wonderful movie. I especially like the music in it. Hauntingly beautiful.
The love story is very romantic and well-done, the historical aspects very educational. Well drawn characters, well acted by all and the scenary is gorgeous, filmed in western North Carolina. A great adventure.

The Last of the Mohicans: Director's Definitive Cut [Blu-ray] Overview

Wildly romantic, daringly exciting, Michael Mann's film of James Fenimore Cooper's novel created a new babe magnet out of Daniel Day-Lewis, he of the heaving pecs and flowing mane. As Hawkeye, he plays an American settler raised by the Mohicans who is forced to serve as a guide for British adventurism in upstate New York. But the British have been outflanked by the French (and their Indian allies); then British honor is betrayed when a band of renegades assaults them during their retreat. Mann captures the viciousness of this era's hand-to-hand combat in startling battle scenes. But he also invests the film with heartfelt romance, as the feelings swell between Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. The ending is a stunner, a long, nearly wordless sequence of battle and loss. Strong performances all around, particularly by Russell Means as Chingachgook and Wes Studi as the evil Magua. --Marshall Fine

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