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Bad reviews no match for onslaught of discs, including $170 box set
POSTED: 08:37 a.m. EDT, Oct 18, 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was one of the bigger recent examples of the gulf between movie critics and moviegoers.
Critics scorched it; Rotten Tomatoes' compilation of more than 200 reviews calculated that just 19 percent were positive. But fans did not care; the movie made more than $108 million on its opening weekend in the U.S. on the way to the top box-office spot for 2009, and it has taken in more than $832 million worldwide.
More money will come in next week as Paramount releases a single-disc DVD ($29.98), a two-disc ''special edition'' ($34.98) and a two-disc Blu-ray version ($39.98). And Shout! Factory will hope you have some disposable income left over after buying the movie, and an urge to pick up the epic The Transformers: 25th Anniversary ''Matrix of Leadership'' Limited Edition Collector's Set.
That big box, retailing for about $170, contains 16 DVDs with 98 episodes of the original animated series, extras ranging from features to fan art to vintage toy commercials to a 60-page booklet. Not to mention two refrigerator magnets.
The package has its awkward spots. I've been spending a lot of time on peeling off the gummy little adhesive dots holding an outer sheet in place (since you have to move the sheet to open the box). And you have to be careful with various sliding panels on the box, or you'll bonk one panel into another when closing the box.
Not that this will be a problem for really fanatical collectors, since they won't even tear the shrink wrap on their sets. But I thought I'd warn the folks who actually plan to watch the shows. Or at least get out the magnets.
Going back into TV history even before the Transformers, Vega$: The First Season, Volume One, arrives on Tuesday (CBS/Paramount, 11 episodes, three discs, $39.99), a somewhat skimpy compilation of the 1978 telecasts of the series starring Toronto, Ohio, native Robert Urich as private eye Dan Tanna.
The set includes the series pilot from April 1978 and 10 episodes from the first season that fall, but I think a full-season set could have been released at a reasonable price. There are no extras, but the show has its historical points of interest. For instance, before settling into his vintage Thunderbird late in the pilot, Dan drove a yellow Corvette; and where he lived at the Desert Inn in the series, he was at the ''Maxim'' in the pilot.
The scenes of Las Vegas are also nostalgia-laden, especially in the names of the stars listed on the old casino marquees. But Michael Mann, who wrote the pilot, made richer use of Vegas later in Crime Story. And this is basically a glossy Aaron Spelling production, with lots of fluff and guest stars.
Horror-movie producer-director William Castle was famous not only for making schlocky movies but for promoting them with great zeal and gimmicks like ''Illusion-O'' (to help you see, or not see, creatures in 13 Ghosts) and electrically wired seats to buzz the audience during The Tingler. He deserves a place somewhere in film history, and the in-depth treatment of The William Castle Collection (Sony, five discs, $80.95).
The set contains eight of Castle's movies from 1959 to 1964 (among them The Tingler, 13 Ghosts, Homicidal, Mr. Sardonicus and Strait-Jacket), with three making their DVD debut (The Old Dark House, 13 Frightened Girls! and Zotz!). There is also the documentary Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, as well as featurettes on the movies and effects, and a promotional film from a screening of Homicidal at the Palace theater in Youngstown.
That last piece includes shots of people in line and Castle interviewing moviegoers; my favorite question is, ''What was the most delightful piece of mayhem?''
Down the DVD road: The Official Major League Baseball World Series Collection, due Nov. 10, contains World Series highlight films from 1943 to 2008 on 20 discs. It also includes a commemorative book. And former Cleveland Indian Lew Fonseca narrates the early films. The list price is $229.95, but you can pre-order it now from the shop at MLB.com for $50 less.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal, in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com, on Facebook and on Twitter. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was one of the bigger recent examples of the gulf between movie critics and moviegoers.
Critics scorched it; Rotten Tomatoes' compilation of more than 200 reviews calculated that just 19 percent were positive. But fans did not care; the movie made more than $108 million on its opening weekend in the U.S. on the way to the top box-office spot for 2009, and it has taken in more than $832 million worldwide.
More money will come in next week as Paramount releases a single-disc DVD ($29.98), a two-disc ''special edition'' ($34.98) and a two-disc Blu-ray version ($39.98). And Shout! Factory will hope you have some disposable income left over after buying the movie, and an urge to pick up the epic The Transformers: 25th Anniversary ''Matrix of Leadership'' Limited Edition Collector's Set.
That big box, retailing for about $170, contains 16 DVDs with 98 episodes of the original animated series, extras ranging from features to fan art to vintage toy commercials to a 60-page booklet. Not to mention two refrigerator magnets.
The package has its awkward spots. I've been spending a lot of time on peeling off the gummy little adhesive dots holding an outer sheet in place (since you have to move the sheet to open the box). And you have to be careful with various sliding panels on the box, or you'll bonk one panel into another when closing the box.
Not that this will be a problem for really fanatical collectors, since they won't even tear the shrink wrap on their sets. But I thought I'd warn the folks who actually plan to watch the shows. Or at least get out the magnets.
Going back into TV history even before the Transformers, Vega$: The First Season, Volume One, arrives on Tuesday (CBS/Paramount, 11 episodes, three discs, $39.99), a somewhat skimpy compilation of the 1978 telecasts of the series starring Toronto, Ohio, native Robert Urich as private eye Dan Tanna.
The set includes the series pilot from April 1978 and 10 episodes from the first season that fall, but I think a full-season set could have been released at a reasonable price. There are no extras, but the show has its historical points of interest. For instance, before settling into his vintage Thunderbird late in the pilot, Dan drove a yellow Corvette; and where he lived at the Desert Inn in the series, he was at the ''Maxim'' in the pilot.
The scenes of Las Vegas are also nostalgia-laden, especially in the names of the stars listed on the old casino marquees. But Michael Mann, who wrote the pilot, made richer use of Vegas later in Crime Story. And this is basically a glossy Aaron Spelling production, with lots of fluff and guest stars.
Horror-movie producer-director William Castle was famous not only for making schlocky movies but for promoting them with great zeal and gimmicks like ''Illusion-O'' (to help you see, or not see, creatures in 13 Ghosts) and electrically wired seats to buzz the audience during The Tingler. He deserves a place somewhere in film history, and the in-depth treatment of The William Castle Collection (Sony, five discs, $80.95).
The set contains eight of Castle's movies from 1959 to 1964 (among them The Tingler, 13 Ghosts, Homicidal, Mr. Sardonicus and Strait-Jacket), with three making their DVD debut (The Old Dark House, 13 Frightened Girls! and Zotz!). There is also the documentary Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, as well as featurettes on the movies and effects, and a promotional film from a screening of Homicidal at the Palace theater in Youngstown.
That last piece includes shots of people in line and Castle interviewing moviegoers; my favorite question is, ''What was the most delightful piece of mayhem?''
Down the DVD road: The Official Major League Baseball World Series Collection, due Nov. 10, contains World Series highlight films from 1943 to 2008 on 20 discs. It also includes a commemorative book. And former Cleveland Indian Lew Fonseca narrates the early films. The list price is $229.95, but you can pre-order it now from the shop at MLB.com for $50 less.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal, in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com, on Facebook and on Twitter. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
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