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| BATMAN |
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Batman:
The Movie |
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1966
Director: Leslie H. Martinson |
DVD, Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
Not Rated
Twentieth Century Fox
ASIN: B00005LOUK |
$19.98
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Cast List
Adam West ... Batman/Bruce Wayne
Burt Ward ... Robin/Dick Grayson
Lee Meriwether ... Catwoman/Kitanya Irenya Tatanya Karenska Alisoff:
'Kitka'
Cesar Romero ... Joker
Burgess Meredith ... Penguin
Frank Gorshin ... Riddler
Alan Napier ... Alfred Pennyworth
Neil Hamilton ... Comissioner Gordon
Stafford Repp ... Chief O'Hara
Madge Blake ... Aunt Harriet Cooper
Reginald Denny ... Commodore Schmidlapp |
DVD Features:
Commentary by Adam West and Burt Ward
Tour of the Batmobile
All-new Batman featurette
Behind the scenes still gallery
Full-screen format
Other Formats:
VHS, VHS subtitled in Spanish |
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Holy camp site, Batman! After
a fabulously successful season on TV, the campy comic book adventure hit
the big screen, complete with painful puns, outrageous supervillains, and
fights punctuated with word balloons sporting such onomatopoeic syllables
as "Pow!," "Thud!," and "Blammo!" Adam West's wooden Batman is the cowled
vigilante alter ego of straight-arrow millionaire Bruce Wayne and Bruce
Ward's Robin (a.k.a. Dick Grayson, Bruce's young collegiate protégé)
his overeager sidekick in hot pants. Together they battle an unholy alliance
of Gotham City's greatest criminals: the Joker (Cesar Romero, whooping
up a storm), the Riddler (giggling Frank Gorshin), the Penguin (cackling
Burgess Meredith), and the purr-fectly sexy Catwoman (Lee Meriwether slinking
in a skin-tight black bodysuit). The criminals are, naturally, out to conquer
the world, but with a little help from their unending supply of utility
belt devices (bat shark repellent, anyone?), our dynamic duo thwarts their
nefarious plans at every turn. Since the TV show ran under 30 minutes an
episode (with commercials), the 105-minute film runs a little thin--a little
camp goes a long way--but fans of the small-screen show will enjoy the
spoofing tone throughout. Leslie H. Martinson directs Lorenzo Semple's
screenplay like a big-budget TV episode minus the cliffhanger endings.
--Sean Axmaker
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| BATMAN |
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Batman |
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1989
Director: Tim Burton |
DVD, Color, Widescreen, Dolby
Rated: PG-13
Warner Studios
ASIN: 0790729652 |
$19.98
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| Thanks to the
ambitious vision of director Tim Burton, the blockbuster hit of 1989 delivers
the goods despite an occasionally spotty script, giving the caped crusader
a thorough overhaul in keeping with the crime fighter's evolution in DC
Comics. |
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| Michael Keaton
strikes just the right mood as the brooding "Dark Knight" of Gotham City;
Kim Basinger plays Gotham's intrepid reporter Vicki Vale; and Jack Nicholson
goes wild as the maniacal and scene-stealing Joker, who plots a takeover
of the city with his lethal Smilex gas. Triumphant Oscar-winning production
design by the late Anton Furst turns Batman into a visual feast, and Burton
brilliantly establishes a darkly mythic approach to Batman's legacy. Danny
Elfman's now-classic score propels the action with bold, muscular verve.
--Jeff Shannon
Cast List
Michael Keaton ... Bruce Wayne/Batman
Jack Nicholson ... The Joker/Jack Napier
Kim Basinger ... Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl ... Alexander Knox
Pat Hingle ... Commisioner James W. Gordon
Billy Dee Williams ... Harvey Dent
Michael Gough ... Alfred Pennyworth |
DVD Features:
Production notes
Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
Other Formats:
VHS |
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| SPIDER-MAN |
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Spider-Man |
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2002
Director: Sam Raimi |
DVD Widescreen Special Edition
Color, Closed-
captioned, Dolby
Rated:.PG-13 |
$28.96
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Columbia Tristar Home Video
ASIN: B00005JKCH |
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Cast List
Tobey Maguire ... Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Willem Dafoe ...
Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin
Kirsten Dunst ... Mary Jane Watson
James Franco ... Harry Osborn
Cliff Robertson ... Ben Parker
Rosemary Harris ... May Parker
J.K. Simmons ...
J. Jonah Jameson, Daily Bugle Editor
Joe Manganiello ... Flash Thompson |
Widescreen anamorphic format
Number of discs: 2
Other Formats:
VHS, VHS subtitled in Spanish, DVD |
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DVD Features:
Commentary by director Sam Raimi, Kirsten Dunst, producer Laura Ziskin,
and co-producer Grant Curtis
Commentary by special effects designer John Dykstra and visual effects
crew
Theatrical trailer(s)
Disc 1:
"Weaving the Web": subtitled pop-on production notes and historical
facts
Branching web-isodes
Music videos: Hero (Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott), What We're
All About (Sum 41)
TV spots
Filmographies and character files |
Disc 2:
HBO Making of Spider-Man
Spider-Mania, an E! Entertainment Special
Director profile: Sam Raimi
Composer profile: Danny Elfman
Screen tests for Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons, and CGI Spider-Man
Costume and makeup tests
Gag/outtake reel
Conceptual art and production design gallery
Comic book artist pin-up gallery
"Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century" historical documentary
The Spider-Man Comic Book Archives
Rogues Gallery
The Loves of Peter Parker
Activision game hints and tips |
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For devoted fans and nonfans
alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less than a superhero blockbuster. Having
proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi
brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing
high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who
reacts with appropriate euphoria-- and well-tempered maturity-- when a
"super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting
Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's
girl-next-door sweetheart. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid
nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. |
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| STAR
TREK |
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The
Motion Picture
The
Director's Edition |
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1979
Director: Robert Wise |
DVD, Color, Widescreen, Dolby
Rated: G
Paramount Home Video
Number of discs: 2
ASIN: B00005JKHP |
$29.99
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Amazon.com
Back when the first Star
Trek feature was released in December 1979, the Trek franchise was still
relatively modest, consisting of the original TV series, an animated cartoon
series from 1973-74, and a burgeoning fan network around the world. Series
creator Gene Roddenberry had conceived a second TV series, but after the
success of Star Wars the project was upgraded into this lavish feature
film, which reunited the original series cast aboard a beautifully redesigned
starship U.S.S. Enterprise. Under the direction of Robert Wise (best known
for West Side Story), the film proved to be a mixed blessing for Trek fans,
who heatedly debated its merits; but it was, of course, a phenomenal hit.
Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) leads his crew into the vast structures surrounding
V'Ger, an all-powerful being that is cutting a destructive course through
Starfleet space. With his new First Officer (Stephen Collins), the bald
and beautiful Lieutenant Ilia (played by the late Persis Khambatta) and
his returning veteran crew, Kirk must decipher the secret of V'Ger's true
purpose and restore the safety of the galaxy. The story is rather overblown
and derivative of plots from the original series, and avid Trekkies greeted
the film's bland costumes with derisive laughter. But as a feast for the
eyes, this is an adventure worthy of big-screen trekkin'. Douglas Trumbull's
visual effects are astonishing, and Jerry Goldmith's score is regarded
as one of the prolific composer's very best (with its main theme later
used for Star Trek: The Next Generation). And, fortunately for Star Trek
fans, the expanded 143-minute version (originally shown for the film's
network TV premiere) is generally considered an improvement over the original
theatrical release.
--Jeff Shannon
Cast List
William Shatner ... Adm./Capt. James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy ... Commander Spock
DeForest Kelley ... Dr. L:eonard 'Bones' McCoy
James Doohan ... Cmdr. Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott
George Takei ... Lt. Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig ... Lt. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols ... Lt. Cmdr. Uhura
Majel Barrett ... Dr. Christine Chapel
Persis Khambatta ... Lt. Ilia/V'Ger Probe
Stephen Collins ... Capt./Cmdr. Willard Decker
Grace Lee Whitney ... CPO Janice Rand
Mark Lenard ... Klingon Captain
DVD Features:
Commentary by director Robert
Wise, special photographic effects director Douglas Trumbull, special photographic
effects supervisor John Dykstra, music composer Jerry Goldsmith, and actor
Stephen Collins. |
Disc 1:
The newly restored, director's
edition of the feature film
Text commentary by Michael
Okuda, co-author of the Star Trek Encyclopedia
Disc 2:
3 retrospective documentaries
with cast and crew interviews
3 trailers
8 television commercials
11 deleted scenes
5 additional scenes
Storyboard archives
New Star Trek series Enterprise
promo spot
Widescreen anamorphic format
Other Formats: VHS widescreen,
Theatrical |
Additional features
More than simply a "director's
cut," this new edition features enhanced, and in some cases completely
redone, special effects as well as (for a change of pace) cuts to tighten
the dawdling story. It may not fly with purists, but director Robert Wise
makes his case in the documentary featurette "Redirecting the Future,"
which details the changes with scene-by-scene comparisons, and on the commentary
track, which he shares with special-effects legends Douglas Trumbull and
John Dykstra (revisiting work they created over 20 years ago), actor Stephen
Collins, and composer Jerry Goldsmith. Elder statesman Wise speaks in a
slow and ponderous manner, but he gets his point across. Further documentaries
tackle the project's leap from TV pilot to blockbuster feature and the
making of the film itself, and a supplemental gallery gathers the original
scenes cut or condensed from the theatrical version and all 11 scenes from
the 1983 TV version.
--Sean Axmaker |
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| STAR
TREK II |
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The
Wrath of Khan
Director's
Edition |
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1982
Director: Nicholas Meyer |
DVD, Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby
Rated:
Paramount Home Video
Number of discs: 2
ASIN: B0000683DH |
$29.99
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Amazon.com essential
video
Although Star Trek: The
Motion Picture had been a box-office hit, it was by no means a unanimous
success with Star Trek fans, who responded much more favorably to the "classic
Trek" scenario of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Inspired by the "Space
Seed" episode of the original TV series, the film reunites newly promoted
Admiral Kirk with his nemesis from the earlier episode--the genetically
superior Khan (Ricardo Montalban)-- who is now seeking revenge upon Kirk
for having been imprisoned on a desolated planet. Their battle ensues over
control of the Genesis device, a top-secret Starfleet project enabling
entire planets to be transformed into life-supporting worlds, pioneered
by the mother (Bibi Besch) of Kirk's estranged and now-adult son. While
Mr. Spock mentors the young Vulcan Lt. Saavik (then-newcomer Kirstie Alley),
Kirk must battle Khan to the bitter end, through a climactic starship chase
and an unexpected crisis that will cost the life of Kirk's closest friend.
This was the kind of character-based Trek that fans were waiting for, boosted
by spectacular special effects, a great villain (thanks to Montalban's
splendidly melodramatic performance), and a deft combination of humor,
excitement, and wondrous imagination. Director Nicholas Meyer (who would
play a substantial role in the success of future Trek features) handles
the film as a combination of Moby Dick, Shakespearean tragedy, World War
II submarine thriller, and dazzling science fiction, setting the successful
tone for the Trek films that followed.
--Jeff Shannon
| Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, See more
DVD Features:
Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer
Theatrical trailer(s) |
Disc 1:
Extended 116-minute director's
edition of the film
Text commentary by Michael
Okuda (co-author of The Star Trek Encyclopedia)
Disc 2:
The Captain's Log (new,
exclusive cast & crew interviews with Nicholas Meyer, William Shatner,
Leonard Nimoy,
Ricardo Montalban, and Harve
Bennett)
"Designing Khan" featurette
(comparisons of Star Trek I and Star Trek II)
"The Visual Effects of Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (featuring interviews with Meyer and ILM visual
effects
designers)
Original interviews with
DeForest Kelley, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban
"The Star Trek Universe:
A Novel Approach" by authors Julia Ecklar and Greg Cox (includes interviews
with the authors of "A Test of Character: The Kobayashi Maru Scenario"
and "The Eugenics Wars: A History of Khan Noonien Singh")
Storyboard archives
Widescreen anamorphic format |
DVD features
On the DVD commentary track,
Nicholas Meyer discusses his directing philosophy, how he scrimped to stay
under budget (Wrath of Khan was the cheapest Star Trek film), and his nautical
approach to Trek, but he doesn't dissect all the various bits of footage
(only a few minutes total, with the most substantial change explaining
Midshipman 1st Class Peter Preston's connection to Commander Scott) that
went into the director's cut DVD. For those kinds of technical details
and trivia, switch on the subtitled commentary track by Michael Okuda (who
cowrote The Star Trek Encyclopedia and did the same honors on the Star
Trek: The Motion Picture DVD). Disc 2 offers substantial featurettes on
how the story developed and how the costumes, ships, and sets were designed,
highlighted by new interviews of Meyer, producer-writer Harve Bennett,
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban. There are also 8
minutes of 1982 interviews, 13 storyboard archives, and a feature that
might seem like a 27-minute commercial for Star Trek books, but is actually
an interesting and lighthearted look at how novelists create the back story
for such topics as the Kobayashi Maru test and the Eugenics Wars, which
feature prominently in Khan.
--David
Horiuchi
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| STAR
TREK |
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Generations |
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1994
Director: David Carson |
DVD, Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
Rated: PG
Paramount Studio
ASIN: 6305181721 |
$29.99
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DVD Features:
Widescreen letterbox format
Other Formats: VHS, VHS widescreen, VHS subtitled in Spanish |
| There were only
two ways for "classic Trek" cast members to appear in a movie with the
cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation: either Capt. Kirk and his contemporaries
would have to be very, very old, or there would be some time travel involved
in the plot. Since geriatric heroes aren't very exciting (despite a welcomed
cameo appearance by the aged Dr. McCoy), Star Trek: Generations unites
Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)
in a time-jumping race to stop a madman's quest for heavenly contentment.
When a mysterious energy coil called the Nexus nearly destroys the newly
christened U.S.S. Enterprise-B, the just-retired Capt. Kirk is lost and
presumed dead. But he's actually been happily trapped in the timeless purgatory
of the Nexus--an idyllic state of being described by the mystical Guinan
(Whoopi Goldberg) as "pure joy." Picard must convince Kirk to leave this
artificial comfort zone and confront Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), the
madman who will threaten billions of lives to be reunited with the addictive
pleasure of the Nexus. With subplots involving the android Data's unpredictable
"emotion chip" and the spectacular crash-landing of the starship Enterprise,
this crossover movie not only satisfied Trek fans, but it also gave them
something they'd never had to confront before: the heroic and truly final
death of a beloved Star Trek character. Passing the torch to the Next Generation
with dignity and entertaining adventure, the movie isn't going to please
everyone with its somewhat hokey plot, but it still ranks as a worthy big-screen
launch for Picard and his stalwart crew.
--Jeff Shannon
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