Tags: dvd

DVD Drive-In reports that Universal Home Video will be releasing two five-movie box sets as Best Buy exclusives sometime before Halloween. The sets will retail for about $20 each.

The first set, a "Horror Collection" will contain several sought after titles, including The Black Cat (1941), Man-Made Monster (1941), Horror Island (1941), Night Monster (1942), and Captive Wild Woman (1943).

The second set will be skewed towards science fiction and will include Dr. Cyclops (1940), Cult of the Cobra (1955), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Land Unknown (1957), and The Leech Woman (1960).

DVD Drive-In has more details on Fox Home Video's upcoming The Fly Collection. The box set, which will contain The Fly (1958), The Return of the Fly (1959), and (for the first time ever on home video in the US) The Curse of the Fly (1965). Additionally, DVD Drive-In has learned that David Hedison, star of The Fly, has recorded a commentary track for that film, moderated by David Del Valle of FilmsInReview.com. Del Valle said of the commentary: “David Hedison was in fine form for the duration of the taping. He had not seen the film for years so it was a fresh approach for him and he had fun with it. It was interesting to watch him look at himself as he appeared on film half a century ago.” In addition to the commentary track, the set will include two new featurettes -- one on the making of the films and another on Vincent Price, who co-starred in The Fly and The Return of the Fly.(read more...)

Dread Central has received word for DVD producer Elijah Drenner on what fans can expect from Dark Sky Films' September 25 DVD release of Jack Hill's classic Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told. Features will include:

• A new commentary track by director Hill and co-star Sid Haig.
• The Hatching of Spider Baby - a documentary featuring interviews with Hill, Haig, and a bevy of others from the Spider Baby cast and crew.
• Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein - a brief featurette on the movie's composer.
• The Merrye House Revisited - Jack Hill revisits the location where Spider Baby was filmed.

The DVD has its own MySpace page where the cover art will soon be revealed.

Fangoria.com has scored the final details on Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment's "Masters of Horror" Season 1 box set. Coming August 28th, the set will collect all 13 episodes of Showtime's horror anthology series in a "mausoleum" box. Also included (and this is the new information) will be a fourteenth disc with some intriguing featurettes. They are:

• "Masters of Horror" Dinner: Executive producer Mick Garris gathers the Season 1 directors to converse over a meal at Hollywood's Magic Castle restaurant.
• "Masters of Horror" Director's Guild of America discussion
• Two segments from Garris's 1980s cable talk show "Fantasy Film Festival", featuring Steven Spielberg and John Boorman.

The set's suggested retail price is set at $79.97, although you can expect it to be lower at online retailers like Amazon.com. The collection is limited to 20,000 units.

MGM has announced more Midnite Movie DVDs for release on September 11, 2007, according to DVD Drive-in. In addition to the previously announced Witchfinder General, Food of the Gods, From Beyond, Return of the Living Dead, After Midnight and Scarecrows, you can expect to see the following double features on the shelf:

Return of Dracula (1958) & The Vampire (1957)
The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955) & Phantom from 10000 Leagues (1955)
Pharaoh's Curse (1957) & Curse of the Faceless Man (1958)
The Beast Within (1982) & The Bat People (1974)
Konga (1961) & Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967)

Additionally, several Roger Corman/Vincent Price collaborations will be offered as a box set. All of these discs will be produced by MGM but distributed by Fox.

More from the DVD Drive-In folks. In addition to the MGM releases detailed here, Fox will be releasing DVDs of a number of films from its own vaults on September 11, 2007. Included is a double feature of the Amicus Tales from the Crypt (1972) and Vault of Horror (1973), both making their DVD premieres. Other two-in-one deals include Chosen Survivors / The Earth Dies Screaming (the latter directed by Terence Fisher), Devils of the Darkness / Witchcraft, and Blueprint for Murder / Man in the Attic. All of these sets are expected to retail for around $14.99.(read more...)

Michael Reeves' 1968 horror film Witchfinder General (also known as The Conqueror Worm) will finally be coming to DVD in the USA, according to DVD Drive-in. The film follows Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) as a man who preys on the superstitions of 17th Century England, torturing "witches" for a fee. The new DVD will contain Reeves' director's cut of the film, as well as the original score by Paul Ferris, which had been replaced in all previous US video editions of the film. Producer Phillip Waddilove and actor Ian Oglivy have recorded a commentary for the release, and Waddilove's personal collection of production stills will be included as well.(read more...)

DVDActive has learned that MGM will be releasing a brand-new two-disc special edition of their 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This edition will feature a commentary by director Philip Kaufman, four featurettes (including what I presume to be a making-of, entitled "Re-Visitors From Outer Space or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Pod"), and the original theatrical trailer. No word yet on whether the commentary is a rehash from the previous DVD release of this film. Invasion of the Body Snatchers stars Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Veronica Cartwright. The Collector's Edition DVD comes out on August 7th, a week and a half before the August 17th theatrical release of Warner Bros.' not-a-remake The Invasion.

Fangoria.com has received the cover art for the new two-disc special edition of Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome, which is set to be released by Blue Underground on September 25th. The DVD will come with a new DTS 6.1-ES English soundtrack, as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Italian soundtracks. Blue Underground's edition will run at an uncut 119 minutes, three minutes longer than the current Troma edition. Disc 1 will also contain the film's trailer, while Disc 2 will house featurettes on Argento, Sergio Stivaletti, Luigi Cozzi, and others involved in the production.(read more...)

Welcome to Haunted Newsreel's DVD Preview for June. This edition is sponsored by Starz Home Entertainment's upcoming disc for Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron. Blurby goodness follows:(read more...)