Doctor Zhivago Blu-ray and More Canadian Release Dates

Among the newly announced dates and titles for Canada are the following:

Alliance: Defender makes its DVD debut April 13, as well as Lesbian Vampire Killers ($25.99 DVD/$30.99 BR).

Mongrel Media: Doug Pray's documentary Art and Copy will be available on DVD April 6 for $34.95. Loft is (finally!) being released in Canada March 23 for $29.95, and Petropolis will be released March 30 for $29.95, and will include webisodes, narrated slideshow, Media B-roll, and trailer.

Universal: Is this idea really worth giving a second spin? Universal's first two flipper BR/DVD combos in Canada will be Out of Africa and The Jackal; the former is cinematically important, whereas the latter is rabbit rubbish, and both will street April 27 for $30.99 each. The Digital Bits found significant playback issues with the studio's first efforts to place HD-DVD content on the A-side (go HERE, and scoot down to the entry "1/12/10"), and DVD content on the B-side, and one hopes the glue that sandwiches the two discs together will last a while.

Warner Bros.: Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings comes back remastered on DVD ($24.98) and Blu-ray ($34.97). Now that Bakshi's LOTR is an "animated classic," it also comes with a new featurette, "Forging Through the Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for LOTR."

April 27th brings the first two volumes of Looney Tunes Super Stars, with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck getting their own themed collection. Each single disc set comes with 15 remastered cartoons previously unavailable on DVD, and will retail for $24.98.

Doctor Zhivago debuts on Blu-ray in a 45th Anniversary Edition May 4 for $37.99. The Blu-ray book format will contain 44 pages of of essays, as well as a wan sampler CD featuring 8 score selections. New to the anniversary edition is a documentary "Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration, Parts 1 & 2," as well as the extras present on the prior 2-disc DVD release from 2001.


- MRH

Canadian DVD and Blu-ray Fall Release Dates, Pt.2

Yes, there's more.

Alliance will release Jim Jarmusch’s Limits of Control and Park Chan-Wook’s Thirst on Nov. 17th, as well as Don’t You Forget About Me: A Tribute to John Hughes on Nov. 3rd.

Also coming Nov. 3rd is a 2-disc set of Passchendeale on DVD ($25.99) and Blu-ray ($30.99). Both releases will contain the following NFB documentaries; Front Lines, Nurses at the Front, The Officer’s Role, The Life of a Soldier, Faith and Hope, The Trenches, and Remembrance (from 2009). The sets will also come with a commemorative magnet poppy pin.

Alliance will also release the Kevin Smith collection on BR, with Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back arriving Nov. 17th ($30.99 each, or $76.90 for the box). Chasing Amy will contain the same bonus material as the 2000 Criterion release, plus the following new extras: Tracing Amy: The Chasing Amy Doc, Was it something I said?, a conversation with Kevin and Joey, a 10 Years Later Q&A, and commentary with director Smith and producer Scott Mosier.


From Mongrel on Oct. 27 comes Animation Express, a 2-disc set on DVD ($34.95) and Blu-ray ($39.95) featuring NFB shorts including the Oscar-nominated Madame Tutli-Putli, and Sleeping Beauty.


The complete series of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock will be available Nov. 3 from Maple/Lionsgate in a 20-disc set for $99.95


Sony’s TV roster will include the complete series of Dawson’s Creek, with all 127 episodes spread out over 24 DVDs ($141.95). In addition to existing extras, the set will contain several new items: a Creek Daze featurette, interview with creator Kevin Williamson, Final Exam trivia game, deleted scenes from the pilot with alternate cast members, and a CD featuring selected songs from the CDs.


A&E brings Farscape back from out-of-print hell by re-releasing the series in individual season sets ($24.95 each), plus a complete series box ($189.99) on Nov. 17th.


The CBC series Heartland, Season 1 Part 2 debuts on DVD Nov. 10th from E1.


Lastly, MPI will release a pair of documentaries: Earth 2100 arrives Nov. 3rd on DVD ($18.99) and BR ($31.99), and the superb space doc Moonshot arrives Nov. 17th on DVD ($24.99) and BR ($31.99).



- MRH

Canadian DVD and Blu-ray Fall Release Dates - Pt. 1

Phase 4 Films will release Flashpoint, Season 1 Oct. 13th on DVD ($64.99) and Blu-ray ($74.99). Extras will include “Behind the Scenes of Flashpoint” and “The Human Cost of Heroism” featurettes, and director commentary on pilot episode. Season 2 will be released in 2010. The label will also release The Tudors, Season 3 Nov. 11th.

HBO will reissue Rome, Seasons 1 and 2 in a 10-disc set Nov. 11th on DVD ($124.98) and BR ($174.98). Exclusive to BR edition are the “Bloodlines” character guide, and an enhanced version of “All the Roads Lead to Rome” interactive on-screen guide.

Paramount’s TV slate for DVD will include Vegas, Season 1, Vol. 1 (Oct. 20), The Fugitive, Season 3, Vol. 1 (Oct. 27), Nash Bridges, Season 3 (Nov. 11), and Tales from the Darkside, Season 3 (Oct. 27). Why the last two series aren’t divided into pointless volumes 1 and 2 waves is a mystery known only by the label’s oddball bean counters.

Universal’s TV wave on DVD will include Battlestar Galactica: The Plan on DVD ($32.99) and BR ($47.99) Oct. 27. Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 4 comes out on DVD Nov. 24 ($39.98), and The Rockford Files Movie Collection on Nov. 3 ($26.98).

While fans are still waiting for the legal headaches of The Larry Sanders Show to be sorted out, Shout Factory will release its predecessor, It’s Gary Shandling’s Show on Oct. 20th ($159.95). The set will contain all 72 episodes spread out over 16 DVDs.

Lastly, VSC will release Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… Nov. 10th on DVD ($54.98) and BR ($74.98). Each episode is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, and extras include extended episodes with extra songs, The Police in their final TV performance, and 60 mins. of behind-the-scenes footage.

- MRH