TFC Journal at TheFilmChair.com

Michael Jackson’s This Is It is coming to DVD on Jan. 26, according to THR.  The music film, featuring rehearsal footage from what would have been MJ’s “This Is It” performance series at London’s O2 arena, has already grossed $240 million around the globe.

Sony’s announced DVD release date is perfectly timed to coincide with the Grammys telecast (airing Jan. 31), meaning that inevitable MJ tribute is going to turn into serious DVD sales.

What are you doing with those gift cards you’re getting for Christmas? Fox hopes that you plan to purchase Glee on DVD. THR says that Fox will release Glee: Season 1 – The Road to Sectionals on Dec. 29. This mid-season release, featuring the show’s first 13 episodes, follows a similar pattern that SciFi SyFy used when issuing the Battlestar Galactica series on DVD. As far as I know, this is the first time a broadcast series has ever been released this way. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)

When you have an obsessed fan base, why not take advantage of them by forcing them to shell out extra cash for the show they love? Start saving those pennies Gleeks. You’re going to have to buy another DVD set come May.

So here’s the deal. I’m not a big fan of Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake. Here’s my review. But being a fan of debate and discussion, I want to know what you think.

I have two copies of Rob Zombie’s Halloween Unrated Director’s Cut available ready to giveaway. Here’s what you have to do to get a copy.

Send me a one sentence on why you think Rob Zombie’s remake is better than the John Carpenter original OR send me a sentence on why the original will always be the best. I’ll pick one response from each category and its author will receive a copy on DVD. It’s that easy.

Submit your answers to contest@thefilmchair.com by Dec. 14, 2007 at midnight. I’ll post the winners and some of my favorite runners-up here on Dec. 17.

Even if you don’t win, you can still pick up Rob Zombie’s Halloween in stores on Dec. 18, 2007.

Warner Bros. is the only sane studio as it continues to support both HD formats. To that end they’ll likely have the biggest HD hit for the second year in a row with the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. The discs hit stores on Dec. 11, 2007.

From the Warner Home Entertainment people:

From acclaimed director David Yates (BBC’s State of Play, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix brings back the ensemble cast including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter series, December Boys), Emma Watson (Harry Potter series) and Rupert Grint (Harry Potter series, Driving Lessons) as well as two-time Academy Award Winner Maggie Smith (Gosford Park, A Room With A View, Harry Potter film series), Academy Award Winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Howards End), Academy Award Nominee Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List, The English Patient), Alan Rickman (Love Actually, Die Hard, Harry Potter film series), and Gary Oldman (Batman Begins, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also introduces Academy Award Nominees Helena Bonham Carter (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride) and Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Freedom Writers).

Warner Bros. is also leveraging the power of the box set again with the release of Harry Potter 5. A Limited Edition Collectible DVD Set will also be available on Dec. 11 and features every Harry Potter film thus for in a 2-disc, standard-def version.

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From the folks at Paramount Home Entertainment:

The armies of CYBERTRON invaded theaters with a juggernaut fury that shook the summer of 2007, but on October 16, 2007 fans of all ages will discover that there is far “More Than Meets The Eye” to the massive mechanical behemoths when Transformers arrives on Earth in spectacular DVD and HD DVD two-disc Special Edition sets as well as on a single disc from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures; distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Earning over $650 million at the global box office to date, the massive production exploded onto screens from the creative minds of director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg, in association with Hasbro, taking audiences by storm and becoming the biggest original film of the year. The first live-action film based on the enduringly popular “robots in disguise”, Transformers features the ultimate battle between good and evil, as the peace-loving AUTOBOTS seek to protect humanity from the evil forces of the DECEPTICONS. The action-packed film stars a hot young cast of up-and-coming actors including Shia LaBeouf (Disturbia), Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas), Tyrese Gibson (Four Brothers) and Megan Fox (Hope &Faith), as well as seasoned performers such as Jon Voight (National Treasure) and John Turturro (The Good Shepherd). But the biggest stars are the Transformers robots themselves – including fan favorites OPTIMUS PRIME, MEGATRON, BUMBLEBEE, RATCHET, JAZZ and more – brought to life by revolutionary new VFX techniques developed by the innovative digital wizards at Industrial Light &Magic (ILM).

The Transformers Special Edition two-disc sets provide an incredible experience with an arsenal of bonus material that delivers excitement and fun for long-time fans, as well as for viewers who are new to the TRANSFORMERS universe. The extensive special features include commentary by Michael Bay and two multi-part in-depth documentaries exploring the human elements of the film as well as the phenomenal robot stars. Presented in multiple parts, “Our World” and “Their War” include segments with Steven Spielberg discussing his love for the franchise and the early concept for the movie, the extensive casting process, the training, consultants and real-world weapons provided by the military to lend authenticity to the film, the evolution of the robots from Hasbro’s iconic toy line to big-screen stars, the unique vehicles created for the movie, a discussion with ILM’s legendary digital artists and much more.

The discs go even further behind-the-scenes with early sketch concepts of the robots and an in-depth look at the making of the SKORPONOK attack from writing and conceptualization through the creation of the stunning visual effects.

Transformers Special Edition DVD bonus features include:

Disc 1:
· Feature film
· Commentary by Michael Bay

Disc 2:
· Our World
The Story Sparks – Steven Spielberg discusses his love for the franchise and early concept art for the film. Explores how the writers adapted the cartoon into a live-action movie and why Michael Bay is the perfect director for the film.
Human Allies – A look at how the actors were selected and their experiences on the set.
I Fight Giant Robots – An exploration of the military training that
Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson underwent for their roles and the various stunts that the actors were asked to perform.
Battleground – A piece on the senior officials from the Department of Defense and Air Force who consulted on the film to give it authenticity and the key locations that the U.S. government provided access to.

· Their War
Rise of the Robots – Explores the interaction between Hasbro designers and Michael Bay to bring the toy line roaring to life.
AUTOBOTS Roll Out – Michael Bay discusses working with Chevy and its designers and the modifications that were made to the cars seen in the film.
DECEPTICONS Strike – The film’s military advisors discuss the “toys” they allowed the production to borrow: F-22 Raptors, Ospreys and A-10 Warthogs.

· More Than Meets The Eye
From Script to Sand: The SKORPONOK Desert Attack – An in-depth look at the making of this particularly epic and challenging scene from initial storyboarding through production and visual effects.
Concepts – Early sketch concepts of the robots.
Trailers

Buena Vista Home Entertainment has officially announced that Disney-Pixar’s critically-acclaimed box office hit Ratatouille is coming to DVD and Blu-ray Hi Def on Nov. 6. Experience Paris from the unique perspective of a rat named Remy (Patton Oswalt), who dares to dream the impossible dream of becoming a gourmet chef in a five-star French restaurant. Bubbling over with bonus features, including an original animated short starring Remy and his brother, Emile, deleted scenes and more.

DVD Bonus Features Include:
• Deleted Scenes – With introductions by Ratatouille’s acclaimed screenwriter/director Brad Bird.
• “Your Friend the Rat” – Remy and Emile star in an all-new animated short film.
• Fine Food and Film: A Conversation with Brad Bird and Thomas Keller – Cuisine and cinema come together in this behind the scenes look at how master chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller brought his real life expertise to the table.
• Lifted – In Pixar’s latest short, Oscar nominated for Best Animated Short Film, a teen alien learns that failure is an option.

Ratatouille is written and directed by Brad Bird; the film is produced by Brad Lewis and executive produced by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. The voice cast includes popular stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt, Golden Globe Award winner Brian Dennehy, Emmy Award winner Brad Garrett, comic star and Emmy nominee Janeane Garofalo, Academy Award nominee Ian Holm and the legendary-time Academy Award nominee Peter O’Toole.

From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release its international blockbuster Spider-Man 3 on DVD Oct. 30. Spider-Man 3 will be available in several versions for fans to collect including a single-disc release, a two-disc Special Edition release, PSP, and a three-pack DVD release which will include Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 on DVD with collectible O-Ring packaging. Also available is the Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy, a three-pack release of all three films on Blu-ray High-Def. Spider-Man 3 will also be available as a stand-alone two-disc release on Blu-ray High-Def.

The two-disc Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray High-Def and two-disc Special Edition DVD offers more than six hours of all-new bonus materials, including a trio of featurettes spotlighting the cinematic creation of the web crawler’s greatest nemeses. Grains of Sand — Building Sandman details the challenges Sony Pictures Imageworks faced in creating the iconic villain; Re-Imagining the Goblin explores the changes in the New Goblin character from page to screen; and Covered in Black — Creating Venom follows the cinematic creation of Spider-Man’s archrival.

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From Sony Pictures

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed classic, will be released on Blu-ray Disc and standard DVD in multi-disc sets as Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition on Nov. 13 . The set incorporates all three versions of the film, including the first-ever home video release of the 1977 Original Theatrical edition, as well as the re-edited 1980 theatrical Special Edition and Spielberg’s definitive Director’s Cut (released in 1998 as the Collector’s Edition). Bonus material on the 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition includes a never-before-seen interview with Spielberg created specifically for this release, a retrospective documentary and more.

The Original Theatrical version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released on screens in 1977 and was never available on home video. Spielberg released a re-edited Special Edition theatrically and on VHS in 1980 wherein he deleted several smaller scenes and added other sequences including scenes of Dreyfuss inside the alien mother ship at the end of the film. In 1998, the Collector’s Edition was released on home video with a limited theatrical run and featured Spielberg’s definitive director’s cut with changes, some small and subtle, as well as a change eliminating the interior mother ship scenes from the end of the Special Edition, thus restoring the original ending. The Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition is the first collection to include all three versions of the film.

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Like the Music? Get the soundtrack.

Disney announced that the third Pirates of the Caribbean film At World’s End will be released on DVD on Dec. 4, just in time for the holidays!

The “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” 2-disc Disney DVD set immerses users in hours of behind-the-scenes content and pirate lore from the four corners of the earth. Features include a behind-the-scenes documentary, Keith & the Captain; Anatomy of a Scene: The Maelstrom; The Tale of the Multiple Jacks; Hoist the Colors; Masters of Design; Inside the Brethren Court; The Pirate Code: Revealed; The World of Chow Yun Fat; The Pirate Maestro: The Music of Hans Zimmer; Bloopers of the Caribbean; and much, much more! As with the other Pirates DVD releases, Pirates 3 will be available on the high def Blu-Ray Disc.

Pre-Order Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End (Two-Disc Special Edition)

I live by a simple rule: there’s no such thing as bad publicity. With that in mind, let’s see what the metacritics.com critics had to say about Pathfinder, which debuts on DVD at the end of the month.

The 0/100 reviews:
“No more than a minute into this, and it becomes obvious that the next 98 are going to be trouble.” – San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle

“Here’s my nomination for future grindhouse double-bill from hell: Pathfinder and Apocalypto.” – Baltimore Sun, Michael Sragow

The 20/100 reviews:
“Makes Conan the Barbarian seem like Dostoyevsky in its complexity.” – Washington Post, Stephen Hunter

“The director, Marcus Nispel, takes his butchery very seriously. (He was the lead vivisectionist for the remake of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.) He may not be able to make this movie move, but, man, can he make an eyeball fly.” – The New York Times Manohla Dargis

There are better reviews, but for a movie like Pathfinder, an epic Viking actioneer starring Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings), the bad reviews tend to be more entertaining and enlightening then damning. Take that line from the New York Times review about the eyeball flying. For me and many other critics, that line would be a bad thing, but for the fans of full-throttle action movies, it may be exactly what they want to see.

Also as the Times’s Dargis points out that Pathfinder is directed by Marcus Nispel, an early trendsetter in the current torture film movement. The plot of a renegade Viking fighting against his Norse brethren mixed with the bloody sensibilities of Nispel is a perfect storm of exploitation, and Pathfinder has the R-Rating for “strong brutal violence throughout” to prove it.

So what can DVD connoisseurs expect from the Pathfinder: Unrated Edition disc? How about:

o Five-part behind-the-scenes featurette
o The Beginning (the original film, the factual history, and how the movie got the green light)
o The Design (the look of the film, and the collaboration with the creator of the graphic novel)
o The Build (constructing the costumes, props, and sets)
o The Shoot (the challenging shooting conditions and schedule)
o The Stunts (an in-depth look at some of the stunts in the film)
o We Shoot Now! Marcus Nispel on the set of Pathfinder featurette
o Clancy Brown: Cult Hero featurette
o Theatrical trailers

That’s in addition to the features the appear on both the rated and unrated DVD:
o Audio commentary by director Marcus Nispel
o Eight deleted scenes (with optional director commentary)
o Ghost hunts in the forest
o Ghost crosses the lake for the first time and realizes the danger
o Starfire tends to Ghost’s wounds
o Starfire tends to Ghost’s wounds and gets more than she bargained for
o Jester follows Ghost and is chased away
o Jester mimics Ghost
o Vikings hold Ghost, Pathfinder and Starfire hostage
o Pathfinder counsels Ghost before the Quartering

Damning as the reviews may have been, I’d venture to guess Pathfinder, with its meager $10 million box office tally, wasn’t harmed by reviews. It may have just been a bad movie. Lucky for Nispel and the other people involved in making this film, they weren’t shooting for Oscar; they wanted a bloody action epic.

If this clip proves anything, they deliver:

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Pathfinder comes to DVD on July 31.