This Week on DVD and Blu-ray - September 30, 2008

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Before anything else, we need to acknowledge the passing of Paul Newman this past weekend. With a career spanning six decades and a marriage running nearly that long, the last time Newman was seen or heard on screen was in Pixar´s 2006 "Cars." He earned his one and only Oscar in 1987 for "The Color of Money." A beloved actor, a humanitarian and one of the legends of Hollywood was 83 years old.

And so it begins, the tidal wave of 2008 theatrical releases on disc has started. I guess you can make the argument both "Leatherheads" and "Sex and the City" were "major" 2008 releases; I'd rather think of "Iron Man" as being numero uno for 2008, honestly. That being said, there's a single disc edition, Two-Disc Ultimate Edition and the Ultimate Two-Disc Blu-ray Edition with enough store exclusives than I care to even think about. There was a slight mastering glitch on the BD version last week, but Paramount says stores will have the correct discs today.

Another 2008 release finds it's way to both DVD and Blu-ray this week. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" comes to us from the Judd Apatow factory and, much like "Iron Man," comes in a few different permutations. There are both fullscreen and widescreen DVD flavors, along with a Three-Disc Unrated Collector's Edition, not to mention the now-obligatory Blu-ray Disc. As best as I can figure it, both the single disc releases include the theatrical and unrated versions of the movie; the three disc version adds a plethora of extras, all of which makes it to the BD.

Just in time for its tenth anniversary, "Can't Hardly Wait" is being rereleased by Sony on both formats. This is for anyone who wants to see Jennifer Love Hewitt's...friends...in high def. (Okay, I'll admit I like the movie too.) The only other dual format titles this week are the "Ultimate Unrated Comedy Collection" (featuring "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up"...more on those on BD in a minute) and "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions."

Now, about those BD releases...both "Knocked Up" (Unrated) and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (Unrated) make their blue debuts after being available on HD DVD. Accompanying them are films of a totally different genres. Fox dishes up Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner in "Daredevil," successfully porting over all the extras from the Two-Disc SE as well as the Director's Cut...but not the theatrical print of the movie. Universal gives us the unrated director's cut of the "Dawn of the Dead" remake (again, without the original theatrical cut). Then there's John Carpenter's "The Thing," the 1973 version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense."

Best Documentary Oscar winner "Taxi to the Dark Side" leads the DVD-only releases while a number of smaller, more obscure titles also make their digital bows. Another doc, "Bigger Stronger Faster," muscles its way onto shelves (little joke there). I don't want to forget to mention "Bad Girls Dormitory" and "The Blood Spattered Bride." Even though "CSNY/Déjà vu" may sound like a spinoff from the popular "CSI" franchise, it's not. Rather, it's a concert film featuring Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Last up is the story of Mark David Chapman, otherwise known as the man who shot John Lennon, in "Chapter 27."

With a majority of new television programs already on the air (and their previous season on DVD for cross-promotional purposes), the TV on DVD schedule has room for classic series. "Numb3rs" Season Four streets ahead of the October 3 premiere. Two different complete series sets are up for grabs, the first being Ron Pearlman and Linda Hamilton in "Beauty and the Beast." The second is a personal favorite of mine and is actually a Special Edition release. "Sports Night" has a new 10th Anniversary box set and, really, anything the good people over at Shout! Factory put together is better than the craptastic version put out by Buena Vista in 2002. Please please please check out the witty writing and fantastic performances coming from Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman, Robert Guillaume and Peter Krause, not to mention the rest of the cast.

Three vintage programs finish out the release list this week. Season Two of "Adam-12," "the first volume of "My Three Sons" and Volume Six of "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" are all available now.

Blu-ray recap: "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Can´t Hardly Wait," "Daredevil," "Dawn of the Dead," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Iron Man," "Knocked Up," "The Sixth Sense," "The Thing," "Ultimate Unrated Comedy Collection," "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions."

DVD recap: "Adam-12" Season Two, "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" Volume Six, "Bad Girls Dormitory," "Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series," "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," "The Blood Spattered Bride," "Can´t Hardly Wait," "Chapter 27," "CSNY/Déjà Vu," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Iron Man," "My Three Sons" Volume One, "Numb3rs" Season Four, "Sports Night: The Complete Series," "Taxi to the Dark Side," "Ultimate Unrated Comedy Collection," "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions."



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