Bitter Dregs

All right, back on track this week and good thing since there's a lot more stuff coming out as we get closer to the crazed holiday buying season. Box sets ahoy! Backers of both hi-def formats are pushing out as many titles as they can before the end of the year, but save for some new releases, the titles coming out are less than impressive for the most part. I'm a bit glad that the titles out so far aren't tempting me to get into one of the formats right now. Costs aside, I (along with many others I'm guessing) don't want to invest in this until there's a clear winner. So let's see what we've got for new stuff this week:

The Best of Carson - Volume 1 Another collection of Tonight Show highlights.

Beverly Hills, 90210 - The Complete First Season It took a while for this one to make it to DVD, but here it is; I'm guessing music rights were the reason for its delay.

Cars The big hit this week, no question. I enjoyed this one, but didn't find it up to the level of some previous Pixar films. This was a bit timely though since we just got back from a vacation that took us through parts of the country with bits of Route 66. We were also obliged to ask aloud whether we were near Radiator Springs, AZ.

The Fallen Idol (1948) Criterion provides the first DVD release of this Carol Reed classic. To learn more about it, check out the DVD Savant review here.

Flower Drum Song (1961) This Rodgers/Hammerstein movie version comes to DVD for the first time.

Gary Cooper: The Signature Collection Some new-to-DVD titles show up in this box set, which include Sergeant York: Two-Disc Special Edition (1941, a review of this disc can be found here), The Fountainhead (1949, I was really hoping for excerpts from the play, "Ayn Rand Gives Me a Boner" as a bonus feature...), Dallas (1950), Springfield Rifle (1952), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959).

James Bond Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 Well, look here, it's time for another round of Bond film reissues. This is the third time, IIRC (could be mistaken; I have some of these films from their original DVD releases in the late 1990s). This new round offers some new transfers (although the word on the web is that some are better than others) and some new bonuses. Here's my take: the bonuses aren't doing much for me since I didn't really watch much from the previous DVDs and we all know that these films will be hitting HD in the next year or two. Plus, they're packaging them in box sets so you have to get the crappy Bonds to get the good Bonds. Some of the Bond films really aren't worth watching more than once (if once at all!), IMO. Anyway, here's what you get in volume 1(the other two volumes come out next month): Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The Living Daylights (1987), and The World Is Not Enough (1999).

Volume 2 includes: Thunderball (1965), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), A View To A Kill (1985), Licence To Kill (1989), and Die Another Day (2002).

The Marlon Brando Collection See, I told you there'd be box sets! More new-to-DVD films within this set: Julius Caesar (1953), Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), Mutiny on the Bounty - Two-Disc Special Edition (1962), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), and The Formula (1980).

M*A*S*H - Season Eleven The last season hits DVD and...you can now buy the whole enchilada: M*A*S*H - Martinis and Medicine Complete Collection, as well.

Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

Police Squad! - The Complete Series (in color!) Yep, it's finally on DVD. This one's been awaited by many for a long time. And at under $20, it's a no-brainer for me.

She-Ra: Princess of Power - Season One, Vol. 1 Uh, yeah...

The Sopranos - Season Six, Part I The final season is broken into two parts. I'll be sad to not see more season sets come out, if for no other reason than I'll stop getting reminders to watch more of this show beyond season 1.

The West Wing - The Complete Seventh Season The final season comes out on election day. Figures. The entire run of the show can be had in The West Wing - The Complete Series Collection (for those of you who are West Wingless).