Hello, Newman: Box sets starring Paul Newman and more
Photo credit: AP | PAUL NEWMAN
Claim to fame: Actor
Organization: Hole in the Wall Gang
Mission: A nonprofit, residential camp and year-round center serving children and their families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses and conditions. holeinthewallgang.org
Each time the Christmas season rolls around, the studios roll out their DVD box sets in the hope of pleasing the cinephiles of the world.
These days, though, they're also hoping that people haven't stacked their DVD players in the basement next to those old turntables.
Home video sales have been steadily shrinking, eaten away by cheaper alternatives like rentals, video-on-demand and Internet downloading - both legal and illegal. As the novelty of simply owning a movie has faded, studios have been beefing up their packaging with bonuses like deleted footage, behind-the-scenes documentaries, audio commentary and fancy booklets. (A new edition of "Forrest Gump" even comes with a box of chocolates.)
Prices on some DVD box sets this year make them almost cheap enough for stocking stuffers: MGM is selling its four-disc "Star Collections" (each devoted to the movies of a single actor) for just $24.98 per set. Paramount's "Star Trek" collections can be had for as little as $39.99. And with retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and Amazon furiously outslashing each other's prices, you may be able to find a nice box set for less than the asking price.
Here's a short list of this season's most likely crowd-pleasers for both Blu-ray and DVD:
THE MEL BROOKS COLLECTION
What's in the box? Almost as much Mel as you can handle. The nine films include the overlooked classic "The Twelve Chairs," some of his best-known genre spoofs ("Blazing Saddles," "Silent Movie," "Spaceballs"), the Hitchcock parody "High Anxiety," a remake of the Jack Benny comedy "To Be or Not to Be," two later-period sendups ("History of the World, Part 1," "Robin Hood: Men in Tights") and, of course, "Young Frankenstein." Available Dec. 15 on Blu-ray only.
Where's 'The Producers'? Not here, though you can find the original Mostel-Wilder version and the Lane-Broderick remake in stand-alone editions.
List price $139.99 (20th Century-Fox)
AK 100: 25 FILMS BY AKIRA KUROSAWA
What's in the box? Commemorating what would have been the Japanese master's 100th birthday, this luxe DVD box set from Criterion covers the gamut, from 1943's "Sanshiro Sugata" to 1993's "Madadayo," Kurosawa's final film. Available Tuesday.
What's not in the box? Most notably, the 1975 Soviet-Japanese production "Dersu Uzala: The Hunter" and the 1985 epic "Ran." Nearly everything else is here.
List price $399 (Criterion)
MGM 85 YEARS OF STARS
What's in the box? These budget box sets throw together four films from a given actor. Some might find the selections odd, but you can also look at them as refresher courses: The Mickey Rourke collection includes the offbeat "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and his pulpy turn in "Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man," while the Robert Downey Jr. volume features "Richard III" and the Rodney Dangerfield comedy "Back to School."
Other stars Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Jodie Foster, Jack Lemmon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Frank Sinatra and Reese Witherspoon.
List price $24.94 (MGM)
THE PAUL NEWMAN TRIBUTE COLLECTION
What's in the box? Thirteen films from the Fox and MGM libraries, including well-known classics ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), modern classics ("The Verdict") and camp classics ("The Towering Inferno"). The 17-disc set - some movies are in multi-disc "special editions" - comes with a 138-page book about Newman's life. On DVD only.
Grab bag Some of the movies are clearly required viewing, though others, like 1958's forgotten comedy-romance "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!," might strike only die-hard fans as crucial.
List price $89.98 (20th Century Fox)
Rocky: the Undisputed Blu-ray Collection
What's in the box? Sylvester Stallone's most famous film character has been boxing for 30 years. This set includes all six films, beginning with 1976's "Rocky" and ending with 2006's "Rocky Balboa." The middle four movies make their Blu-ray debuts here.
The seventh disc No, it's not another sequel. It's a collection of boxing-related features, a making-of documentary and a trivia game called "Feeling Strong Now!"
List price $89.99 (MGM)
STAR TREK COLLECTIONS
What's in the box? On the heels of this year's popular "Star Trek" reboot come two box sets for Trekkies. One is the "Original Motion Picture Collection" (DVD only), which includes the first six films to feature the old-school crew. The other is the "Next Generation" collection (on DVD and Blu-ray), with the four Picard-era films.
Wait, there's more The latest "Trek," from J.J. Abrams, is also out on home video ($39.99 on DVD and Blu-ray) with deleted footage that focuses on the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana).
List price $39.99-$69.99 (Paramount)
WATCHMEN: THE ULTIMATE CUT
What's in the box? Though not the box-office smash some expected, the superhero saga "Watchmen" drew intense interest from fans of the original comics. The home version includes "Tales From the Black Freighter," a story-within-a-story that fans regarded as a critical omission from the theatrical release, along with a 36-minute "retrospective" from the fictional character Hollis Mason. Available in four-disc DVD or five-disc Blu-ray versions.
Living arts One big selling point here is "The Complete Motion Comic," which animates the original comic art to create a whole different movie.
List price $43.98-$59.99 (Warner)
