Posted on: Friday, September 2, 2005
'Blues Brothers' 25th anniversary set on DVD
By Susan King
Los Angeles Times
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Elwood and Jake Blues (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, center) with "The Blues Brothers Band" perform in prison in "The Blues Brothers," which has been rereleased to celebrate the movie's 25th anniversary.
Gannett News Service
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Every Tuesday heralds the arrival of special or collector's DVD editions of movies, and this week is no exception, with four anniversary editions of vintage films.
"The Blues Brothers — 25th Anniversary Edition" (Universal) includes the original theatrical and extended versions of the musical comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the "legendary" Chicago brothers Jake and Elwood Blues — characters they introduced on "Saturday Night Live." The musical numbers, which feature singers such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and James Brown, are spectacular, but the comedy is overblown.
The DVD features a vintage documentary on "The Blues Brothers," an intro to the film by Aykroyd, a heartfelt tribute to the late Belushi and new interviews about the genesis of the Blues Brothers and the making of the film.
Although there was a 10th-anniversary edition of "Pretty Woman," that hasn't stopped Disney/Touchstone from bringing out a 15th anniversary edition of the 1990 romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
At least this disc includes a few new things that weren't on the last "special edition," including a tour of "Pretty Woman" locations with director Garry Marshall and commentary with the gregarious director.
The "Tommy Boy: Holy Schnike Edition" (Paramount) celebrates the 10th anniversary of the popular Chris Farley-David Spade comedy about the extreme underachiever.
The enjoyable two-disc set includes insightful commentary from director Peter Segal ("The Longest Yard"), who says the late Farley was one of the funniest men he had ever met; an affectionate look at Farley through the eyes of his two brothers; a featurette on Spade and Farley's off-screen friendship; and retrospectives on the making of the film.
Also celebrating its 10th anniversary is "Clueless," writer-director Amy Heckerling's smart update of Jane Austen's "Emma." The hit comedy also introduced the world to Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Sisto, Donald Faison and Britney Murphy.
The "Clueless — 'Whatever!' Edition" (Paramount) features new interviews with Heckerling and several members of the cast — but not Silverstone, who appears only in old clips — as well as a look at the trend-setting fashions and the film's legacy.
ALSO NEW
"Sahara" (Paramount): Matthew McConaughey plays Clive Clusser's popular hero Dirk Pitt in this action-adventure, which also stars Penelope Cruz and Steve Zahn. The extras, which include interviews with director Breck Eisner and a seductive McConaughey, are pretty standard fare.
"Monster-in-Law" (New Line): After a 15-year absence, Jane Fonda returned to the movies in this brash comedy as an insanely possessive mother. Jennifer Lopez also stars. The digital edition features slick featurettes, an unfunny gag reel and deleted scenes. The commentary with director Robert Luketic, actress Wanda Sykes, producer Chris Bender, production designer Missy Stewart and director of photography Russell Ball is breezy fun.
"Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch" (Disney): Better-than-average made-for-video sequel to the 2002 Disney animated hit about a lonely Hawaiian girl who befriends an alien. Extras are pretty slim — an animated short on Stitch's origin, a music video, a set-top game and an experiment profiler.
"Roseanne — Season One" (Anchor Bay): The seminal ABC sitcom, which premiered in 1988, finally makes its way to DVD. Unlike most family comedy series of the era, Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and Dan Connor (John Goodman) looked and acted like real people. They were overweight, middle class and struggled to make ends meet. The four-disc set includes new interviews with Barr and Goodman, some funny bloopers and first-season highlights. And the slender actor with the modified mullet hairdo who plays Roseanne's unsympathetic boss is none other than George Clooney.
"House, M.D. — Season One" (Universal): Fox's popular freshman year medical series. Emmy-nominated Hugh Laurie plays the brilliant, cynical Dr. House. The three-disc set includes an interview with Laurie, his audition footage and a set tour.
"Petticoat Junction — Ultimate Collection" (MPI): This three-disc set of the popular spinoff of "The Beverly Hillbillies," which aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970, features 20 restored episodes — including one from 1964 with Dennis Hopper as a beatnik — original commercials with the cast, a network promo for the show and a 1966 interview with star Bea Benaderet conducted by Art Linkletter.
"The Complete Ripping Yarns" (Acorn): After completing "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Michael Palin and Terry Jones teamed up to write this clever, classily produced and funny sendup of British literature; Palin also starred. The two-disc set includes commentary on all nine episodes with Palin and Jones, a restoration clip and a 1983 documentary on Palin.
"The Staircase" (Docurama): Riveting documentary series from Oscar-winner Jean-Xavier de Lestrade about a sensational murder case in North Carolina. The two-disc set features a "making of" mini-doc; a follow-up interview with Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen; and previously unseen family interviews.
