This Week in DVD

DVD of the Week: Without a doubt, the best and brightest new release is The Fugitive Season 1, Volume 1. Fans of the show have endured a long wait for this classic, and Paramount compounds that pain by delivering a product that has no extras...and is only half of a season, to boot! Co-star Barry Morse is still active and willing to participate, but Paramount evidently told him not to bother

As I've followed the news about this set and the online reaction to it, I've learned there are a lot of people out there who fell in love with the series the way I did: By watching the reruns on A&E in the early nineties. Getting chicken pox when you're in high school is a real pain, but one silver lining for me was getting to watch a bunch of Fugitive episodes during my quarantine. I now realize A&E's presentation of the show wasn't perfect: It used slightly edited, time-compressed versions. But at least it was on. Now at least Paramount will hopefully give us great transfers of unedited episodes (though there is apparently some minor music replacement).

Yes, putting this all-time great out in split-season sets is a bush league move by Paramount and an insult to loyal fans, especially without any assurance that the whole series will eventually be released. Still, at least some of The Fugitive will finally be on DVD, and that's great news. May we not have to wait 4 years for the whole show.


ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:

Fracture: This is one of those "eh, I'll catch it on video" movies that I nearly saw in a theater this year. This legal thriller seems like it'll be an OK fit on the small screen. It also seems potentially hilarious, with the Anthony Hopkins-Ryan Gosling battle of wits rivaling the Anthony Hopkins-Cuba Gooding struggle in Instinct. "You never had control; you only thought you did!"
The cool thing about this is, cheesy as this movie might be, at least the idea of Gosling daring to take on Hopkins doesn't make you burst out laughing. Sure, he should be no match for him, but can you imagine if they cast Hayden Christensen or Ryan Phillippe or Orlando Bloom? Talk about a non-starter of a movie.

Vacancy: Another "wait till video" one for me, though in this case I didn't have much choice. Despite surprisingly decent reviews, this horror movie was ushered in and out of movie theaters rather speedily. In fact, it seems like that was two months ago. I'll be looking to rent this one, as it seems more in the thriller mold than the torture mold.

Wild Hogs: Now, this is one of those "why in the world am I not waiting to catch this on video" movies that I DID see in a theater. You know what? It isn't bad for what it is. It's stupid and predictable and all, but it does deliver the laughs it's going to. While critics trashed the film and the direction, I thought it was competently done in a sitcomesque way. William H. Macy is legitimately funny, and it's amusing to see John Travolta mug like he was back on "Welcome Back, Kotter." I haven't seen Hairspray, but I find it hard to believe he could be any broader than he is here. But that's the kind of movie it is. I'll bet it scores huge in DVD sales this week, and I'm fine with that.

Charlie Chan Collection Volume 3: Kudos to Fox for continuing this well-done series, featuring restored prints and enlightening extras. Also, something really cool happened here because I believe Warner Brothers licensed out Chan rarity The Black Camel for this set. Kudos to both studios, then, for doing the right thing and finding a way to let the fans get something extra.