Fifteen years ago I was planning my nights around episodes of "Mystery Science Theater," programming math cheats into my graphing calculator and filming "60 Minutes"-style interviews with Cobra Commander. I was also madly in love with director Roland Emmerich's "Stargate," the German filmmaker's bold sci-fi experiment in 1994 that foreshadowed his big-budget juggernaut "Independence Day" only two years later. "Stargate" is now bowing on Blu-ray as a "15th Anniversary Edition," and it's one of a handful of notable releases during an otherwise forgettable DVD week.
"Stargate" finds Kurt Russell as a suicidal, no-nonsense military officer tasked to lead a group of battle-hardened veterans -- and soft-skinned ninny scientist James Spader -- through a newly discovered wormhole to an unknown destination. The other side winds up being a sandy desert planet whose native inhabitants have kept their human slaves in bondage under the guise of ancient Egypt. It was a wholly original concept, driven forward by personality-heavy stars, amazing location photography and Emmerich's strong sense for the fantastical. The film would eventually launch a number of successful television spin-offs, although sadly no follow-up film (although one was originally planned).
The "15th Anniversary Edition" is the best the film has ever looked or sounded (natch, in high-def), and we get a number of brand new special features along with ported over audio commentary from a previous release. For fans of the film, it really doesn't get any better than this, and for me personally is the stand-out title for the week.
It's a slow Tuesday, to be sure. Only two wide release films make their debut: one of those is "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," the third offering in DreamWorks' animated mega-franchise, and the other is "Orphan," a fairly low-budget horror film. Direct-to-video spoof flick "Stan Helsing" also drops, a horror-bent parody in the vein of "Scary Movie" and starring Leslie Nielsen and "SNL" castmate Kenan Thompson.
For sci-fi fans, the other big title this week is "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan," the Edward James Olmos-directed telepic which retells humanity's apocalypse from the Cylon point of view. The film has the distinction of being the dirtiest "Battlestar" offering to date. There's sex, nudity, and a lot of it. We're talking full-frontal, folks (though not with any principal castmembers). This isn't your typical "BSG."
Woody Allen's "Whatever Works" also hits; the film starring Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fame made a lackluster appearance at the box office and doesn't fare much better on DVD.
Rounding out the week's new releases are "Monty Python: Almost the Truth" -- a massive documentary about the legendary comedy troupe -- and "The Prisoner: The Complete Series," for genre buffs who want to get into the sci-fi spirit ahead of AMC's November 15 reboot.
DVD & BLU-RAY NEWS:
Judd Apatow's Adam Sandler/Seth Rogen dramedy "Funny People" takes the stage November 24, while surprise hit of the year "Julie & Julia" heats up store shelves on December 8. Looking waay forward, Werner Herzog's excellent Nicolas Cage-starring "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" -- which hasn't even hit theaters yet -- will bow February 23, while "Goodfellas" gets an anniversary edition on Blu-ray a week earlier on February 16.
NEXT WEEK:
Next Tuesday is a big one. "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" is the 800lbs gorilla with "The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3" nipping at its heels, while Ashley Tisdale's kid-friendly "Aliens in the Attic" and Hayden Panettiere's teen flick "I Love You, Beth Cooper" pick up the rear. Going Blu-ray are "Forrest Gump," "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "Love Actually," Alfred Hitchcock's "North By Northwest," all six Rocky Balboa movies, John Cusack's "Say Anything" and "It's A Wonderful Life."
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