DVDs WE LOVE: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Release: 2006

Availability: In print

Legacy: Before its release under Fox's Cinema Classics Collection label, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was only available as a bare bones Region 2 disc -- which made the lavish treatment it got for its Region 1 debut all the more surprising. One of the strongest all-around releases of the year, Beyond stretches the cult classic's psychedelic theme inside and out, and is bursting at the seams with extras (another common theme of the movie). Inside the blue snapcase is a DVD with perhaps my favorite animated menu of all time -- a few select scenes from the movie pop up in succession, eventually forming a sort-of photo mosaic of the title, and a Carrie Nations riff takes us through any menu selection. The movie itself bounces off the screen with a beautiful transfer, and when The Strawberry Alarm Clock busts out the tunes at Z-Man's party, it makes you want to grab your honey and start shaking. Nearly outshining the stars on screen are two discs loaded with extras, highlighted by a commentary track from the screenwriter -- one Roger Ebert! Always one of the better commentary participants, Ebert's turn on Beyond is unique in that he's critiquing the movie and also giving stories of what it was like to work with Russ Meyer and all the assorted starring beauties. The story of how Ebert came to work with Meyer seems like something out of a movie, and Ebert seems delighted to tell the tale, as well as many others stemming from his young film career. A second commentary track features many of the cast members -- but not the recently departed Michael Blodgett (who played Lance "Jungle Lad" Rock). The second disc features lots of interviews, with the best being a short conversation between Erica Gavin (Roxanne) and Cynthia Meyers (Casey) about their love scene late in the movie. It's obvious neither is sober, and their recollections of the steamy scene has the awkward erotic tone of an old married couple laughing about their first date.

Personal: DVDs like this give hope to those of us who dream of some day seeing a special edition of Leonard 6 or a Shannon Tweed box set. The Cinema Classics version of Beyond is that much of a dream come true for fans of the film, since it gives you more than you ever could have imagined. After watching Beyond many times on DVD, I can't imagine having to see it in pan-and-scan on VHS, since Meyer's wide screen lens is always filled to the edges with eye candy -- especially during Z-Man's parties. "This is my happening DVD, and it freaks me out!"

Availability: $19.99 at Amazon.

DVDs We Love: Universal Monsters (The Legacy Collection)

Release: 2004

Status: In print

Legacy: One of the benefits of Van Helsing being made was that it spurred Universal to give some royal treatment to some of its most famous properties: those wonderful monsters from the 1930s and 40s. Chronically neglected before, Universal's best-known monsters would receive a generous presentation, and the movies' fans were the hands-down winners. For around $20, you wouldn't just get the flagship movie in a given monster's series, you would get all the movies, plus some top-notch extras and elegant packaging. Applied to Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, The Invisible Man, The Creature and The Mummy, The Legacy Collection gave fans an economical and practical way to explore a series they otherwise may have passed on. The collections were spread across two discs, with each offering an expert commentary, remastered picture and sound, a variety of featurettes and ... a look at the film from Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers. The memorable packaging included the book-like case that is now the trademark of Universal Legacy Series, housed inside a crypt-like slip cover with a decorated "window" that created a sort of 3-d effect. The Universal Monsters Legacy Collection gift set includes the Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolfman collections, along with busts of the three characters, and is still being produced.

Personal: The Frankenstein collection is an absolute slam-dunk. You get two classics in Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, along with the watchable Son of Frankenstein, scholarly commentaries by Rudy Behlmer and Scott MacQueen, and two excellent documentaries on the films. Sure, the last two sequels are subpar, but for the price you're pretty much getting them for free. The Invisible Man collection is interesting since it's the more obscure of the series, and Claude Reins' performances are always entertaining. The Dracula set is also noteworthy because it contains Phillip Glass' excellent, newly-composed score and also the intriguing Spanish version of the film, which was shot concurrently with the English-language version -- sometimes for the better. I'm glad these are all still in print, as it seemed at the time of their release that it would be a limited edition -- maybe it's a sign that they fared better with audiences than Van Helsing?

Availability: Around $20 almost anywhere.

DVDs WE LOVE: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (The Criterion Collection)

Release: 2003

Status: In print

Legacy: Though it was long-established with the movie community and DVD collectors, this release was what put Criterion Collection on the mainstream map, and it's easy to see why. It wasn't the first time Criterion had released a contemporary, big studio film (see: The Royal Tenenbaums, The Rock, Chasing Amy, Armageddon), it did serve as the company's first foray into re-releasing a mainstream film that deserved a definitive edition. It was the perfect time for such a venture, because Fear and Loathing was gaining steam as a cult classic on video after its theatrical release bombed. Suddenly, Hunter S. Thompson was being introduced to a new generation of readers, and the strange comedy produced by Johnny Depp and Benecio del Toro in the film was starting to resonate as other movies followed its batshit lead. The DVD was also riding Criterion's new wave of ultra editions that came in sleek radical packaging and contained a bounty of print essays in addition to a new level of video content. Early Criterions, even their sterling examples of Notorious and The Third Man, were hardly stacked with extras -- leaning mostly on archived articles presented on screen or old radio spots (which were still appreciated). But Fear and Loathing represented the new Criterion standard, featuring full-length documentaries both classic and contemporary to go along with first-rate commentary tracks and impeccable audio and visual transfers. This would go on to be Criterion's best-selling DVD and serve as a gateway to the masses just what the company does and why so many pay a $10 or $20 premium for their releases.

Personal: I'm conflicted about how good this movie is, but I'll always be amazed by the Criterion's DVD. It has become an example of how relevant DVDs can be: just listen to Thompson's amazing commentary track, is there a better or more candid into the writer's brain? Sitting in his Colorado home with his wife and a producer of the movie, Thompson alternates between talking about Depp and director Gilliam to shrieking wildly and even taking a call from a University of New Orleans professor for an impromptu interview. For someone from my generation who didn't grow up with Thompson, this is a rich introduction since it includes two of his essays and two documentaries following his life (one made in 1978, another during the filming of the movie). The extras are generous enough, but you see what Criterion is all about in the details: the packaging is fun just to look at, and it has one of the best menu screens of all time (Steadman painting the film's chaotic logo in real time).

Availability: Often discounted to around $30. A steal.

DVDs WE LOVE: Ghostbusters (Collector's Series)

[About this series]

Release: 1999

Status: Out of print

Legacy: In the days when DVD was still finding its legs, this Ghostbusters disc was one of the first few must-haves even for people who were still on the fence about whether to give up their VCR. Even though magazines and techies had been trumpeting the infinite amount of features DVDs could offer, many releases simply had a movie and maybe some "interactive menus" or "subtitles" under the Special Features section. The Ghostbusters DVD featured a slew of valuable extras that were far from any "behind the scenes" feature you could find on HBO. There was finally a use for that "angle" button on the DVD remote (SFX Before and After), exclusive DVD-ROM content ("it goes in my 'puter too?") and loads of conceptual drawings, production photos and storyboards. But the centerpiece of the extras was its "live" video commentary, featuring Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and producer Joe Menchick as Mystery Science Theater-style silhouettes at the bottom of the screen. This seemed revolutionary at the time, but in reality it's just like a regular commentary except with three dark shapes on your screen that occasionally move. Unsurprisingly, this kind of commentary was never again seen on DVD to my knowledge and it was left out of the 2006 re-release DVD of Ghostbusters. Of course, the extra that got the most "wow" factor were the ambitious animated menus that now look like something out of a bad PlayStation game -- the menu is a "model" of Manhattan and different buildings are associated with different aspects of the DVD (for instance, clicking on the "commentary" building will zoom you to that location, where the options are represented as neon signs). The more recent Ghostbusters release (often sold as a double feature with Ghostbusters 2) also features a less-desirable transfer, with a needless overall "lightening" of the colors.

Personal: Beyond what the special features were with Ghostbusters, one of the greatest aspects of it was the 5.1 digital sound that introduced a generation of fans to what the movie was really like. On the VHS that many fans my age grew up with, Elmer Bernstein's eerie opening score sounds good, but on a good digital receiver those initial horns hit you smack in the head as the camera reveals the lion statues in front of the New York Public Library. And the wonderful title card reveal is even more invigorating when a subwoofer helps the opening drum beats of Ray Parker, Jr.'s familiar theme song.

Availability: After selling for $10 for most of the end of its retail lifespan, Ghostbusters: Collector's Series is easy to find on eBay for around $5.

DVDs WE LOVE: Terminator 2 (The Ultimate Edition)

[Preface: If you're like me, then you love DVDs -- and also talk to your dog more than you need to But this new series concerns DVDs, namely the ones you can't help but love. This series will look at DVDs that set trends in the industry and became cornerstones for almost anyone's DVD collection. It will also look at DVDs that for one reason or another seem to be owned by anyone who has a DVD player, and why that is. We read lists all the time about great movies, but how often do we stop and appreciate history's greatest DVDs -- can you believe it's been 11 years since the format's introduction?]

Release: 2000

Status: Out of print

Legacy: One of the first true "super DVDs" that delivered a movie in its most definitive form along with a few truckloads of extras, Terminator 2: The Ultimate Edition also ushered in a few technological advances: it featured the debut of the DVD-18 format (dual sided/dual layered=18 hour capacity) and the debut of 7.1 channel sound mixes in Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES. The DVD-18 aspect of T2 appeared to mark the beginning of a new age where almost anything was possible on a DVD, since the release was able to hold three versions of the movie (including one hidden version) in addition to all the extras. However, DVD-18 experienced no shortage of flaws, and it was never widely used -- forcing Artisan to re-release The Ultimate Edition in a two-disc edition. Though it was "The Ultimate Edition," T2 received another lavish release with the Extreme Edition, which was noteworthy in its own way as the first "high definition" DVD (through playback on a Windows Media Series 9-equipped PC).

Personal: I remember this being the first DVD to really stretch what the format could do, and I picked it up on the first day it was released. From the second you popped it in, you knew you were in for something special: the animated menus are still among the most lavish ever created, with high-quality computer animation that takes you into Skynet. The extras were truly staggering: the entire screenplay, over 700 storyboards, a commentary track from 26 cast and crew members, featurettes on every aspect of the production and two extra versions of the film (the "hidden" version, featuring about 5 extra minutes of footage, can be accessed by typing in "82997" on your DVD remote at the main screen). This was also one of the first DVDs to come with limited edition packaging, with a handsome metal casing surrounding the DVD.

Availability: Surprisingly cheap on eBay, often selling for less than $5.