LUCID FORGE

The key to making money in the movie industry is repeat business; it’s what separates the modestly successful from the incredibly successful. This can be somewhat difficult in the home video sector because save for a defect or breakdown, once you have a DVD, you don’t really need to buy a new one. Which is why studio bosses invented the “special edition;” also referred to as a “double dip,” a new cut of the film, improved effects or never-before-seen extras, perhaps all the above, re-packaged and marketed as a must-have for fans. This September is a busy month for the Grand Poobah of the special edition: the anniversary release. Here are a few of the offerings.


The key to making money in the movie industry is repeat business; it’s what separates the modestly successful from the incredibly successful. This can be somewhat difficult in the home video sector because save for a defect or breakdown, once you have a DVD, you don’t really need to buy a new one. Which is why studio bosses invented the “special edition;” also referred to as a “double dip,” a new cut of the film, improved effects or never-before-seen extras, perhaps all the above, re-packaged and marketed as a must-have for fans. This September is a busy month for the Grand Poobah of the special edition: the anniversary release. Here are a few of the offerings.

The Big Lebowski As Burn After Reading tickles the dark side of funny bones across North America, fans of the Coen Brothers struggle to believe that it’s been 10 years since The Dude entered our lives. Lebowski has landed on several “Best Of…” lists in the years since its release, and like any true cult phenomenon, it spawned its own convention: Lebowski Fest, which began in Louisville, Kentucky in 2002. The tenth anniversary edition of Lebowski, released earlier this month, features the docs "The Dude's Life: Strikes and Gutters ... Up's and Downs ... The Dude Abides," "The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story", and "Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude." It also includes all the extras from the previous “Collector’s Edition” as well as the theatrical trailer, an interactive Map, Jeff Bridges’ photo book and a photo gallery. Optional bowling pin shaped-collectors’ case is also available.

Can’t Hardly Wait Released amongst a glut of other “teen” movies in 98/99, Can’t Hardly Wait was a surprising entry that got lost in the shuffle. But perhaps now, new fans can rediscover this hidden gem which proved a launching pad for the careers of nearly the entire cast, from principles to background players, even the ones that ended up on the cutting room floor. The only holdover from the last edition is the original commentary with filmmakers and cast and the Smash Mouth video for “I Can’t Get Enough of You, Baby.” New stuff includes the features “Hunnington High Class of '98 Reunion,” “The Life of the Party,” and “Can't Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic” as well as deleted scenes and a new 10 years later commentary.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Tim Burton’s first and best foray into stop-motion animation has only grown in popularity and appreciation over the last 15 years. After two years of playing in 3-D IMAX theatres, the digital print of Nightmare arrived on special edition DVD and Blue-Ray last month. Aside from the digital print of the film, there’s not much different between this package and the one released way back in 2000. That means another look at two early Burton shorts, Frankenweenie and Vincent, as well as deleted scenes storyboards and trailers. Added to the new set is the original poem Nightmare was based on and a tour of Disneyland’s new attraction Haunted Mansion Holiday. Hardcore fans can get the Ultimate Collector’s Edition complete with a bust of Jack Skellington with detachable hat and beard. Then, to complete the anniversary, pick up the Nightmare Revisited CD next week featuring Korn, Amy Lee, Plain White T's, Rise Against, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Flyleaf covering the songs from the soundtrack.

Beetlejuice One of the problems with the early release of many DVD titles is that they were just thrown out on the marketplace without any of the special features that were the added bonus beside aesthetics that made the new format an improvement over VHS. One such victim was Beetlejuice, the film that gave Tim Burton the commercial clout enough to make Batman his own. Given its fond remembrances and cult status, one would think that the ‘Juice would get a sweet makeover for its 20th anniversary. Alas, only three episodes from the Saturday morning cartoon version of Beetlejuice count as “special edition extras.” The three episodes are “A-Ha,” “Skeletons In The Closet,” and “Spooky Boo-tique” in case you’re interested.

Child’s Play Another horror icon shares a 20th birthday with Beetlejuice this year: Chucky. And as producer David Kirschner talks about remaking the original Child’s Play, MGM has decided to celebrate the anniversary of Charles Lee Ray’s voodoo possession of a Good Guy doll right by producing a proper DVD edition of the film. Previously, Child’s Play’s been released twice in a bare bones package in ’99 and ’07, but the set released three weeks ago is full loaded. There are two audio commentaries with Alex Vincent (Andy), Catherine Hicks (Karen), special effects artist Kevin Yagher, producer David Kirschner and screenwriter Don Mancini. As for docs and other featurettes there’s "Evil Comes in Small Packages" featurettes," "Introducing Chucky: The Making of Child's Play," "Chucky: Building A Nightmare," the theatrical trailer and a photo gallery. And while there’s no Brad Dourif commentary, his alter ego does not remain silent with the "Selected Scene Chucky Commentary.”

Risky Business It feels like only yesterday that Tom Cruise danced in his tighty whiteys and opened a brothel in his parents’ house, but it’s actually been 25 years. The anniversary DVD and Blue-Ray edition of Risky Business has generated more buzz than new Cruise projects as of late, but then again a classic never goes out of style. Extras include audio commentary with director Paul Brickman, producer Jon Avnet and Tom Cruise, as well as a picture-in-picture commentary with the three men. Naturally, the DVD also has a documentary and features an alternative, “downer” ending where Paul doesn’t get into Princeton. Studio bosses at the time demanded a “more happy ending” as it was the style at the time.

The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Apparently, the original print of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II were so ruinous that they wouldn’t have survived if run through standard film laboratory equipment. But now, digital scanned and rendered, then cleaned of dirt and imperfections while being colour-corrected, the Don is back and better than ever. The restoration was supervised by Robert A. Harris, who also looked after the clean-up of Rear Window a few years ago. The story remains the same; a tale so rich and intricate with detail you can watch it again and again and always learn something new. All the extras from the 2001 have been imported over, but several new featurettes have been included on this release, including: “Godfather World,” “The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t,” “…When the shooting stopped,” “Emulsional Rescue Revealing The Godfather,” “The Godfather on the Red Carpet,” “Four Short Films on The Godfather,” “Cannoli,” “Riffing on the Riffing,” “Clemenza” and the all important “The Godfather vs. The Godfather, Part II.”