Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2008 - (Page 24) PIPELINE The Shepherd: Border Patrol www.homemediamagazine.com Miriam Collection Readies Second Lavish DVD Release By Thomas K. Arnold CLASSIC Bob and Harvey Weinstein have already made their mark on Hollywood. Now, they’re bent on leaving their imprint on the DVD business as well, with a premium label they hope will be put in the same category by movie buffs as the prestigious Criterion Collection or Warner Home Video’s extravagant collector’s editions of marquee films such as Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Ben-Hur. The Miriam Collection, named after the brothers’ mother, launched in late January with the release of one of the last great epics not previously available on DVD, Anthony Mann’s El Cid. Release No. 2 is another Anthony Mann film, The Fall of the Roman Empire, a lavish 1961 production starring Alec Guinness, Sophia Loren and Omar Sharif, that earned its place in the record books for the largest outdoor set in Hollywood history: more than 55 acres, with a reconstructed Roman Forum that measured in at 1,312 feet by 754 feet. The film comes to DVD April 29 from Genius Products, the independent DVD distribution company majority-owned by the Weinsteins. “The Miriam Collection is a very personal selection of films,” said Harvey Weinstein. “The brand is not only about remastering films for the best picture and sound, but also to showcase the backstory of each film and develop compelling features that complement the title.” Weinstein said he and his brother plan on picking 12 to 15 films for branded release each year, ranging from big productions such as El THEBRUSSELS RETURNS MUSCLES FROM Jean-Claude Van Damme discusses his new direct-to-video thriller By Billy Gil ACTION With a recent surge of action films driven by actors now in their 50s and 60s, such as Rambo and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it’s only fitting to revisit one of the genre’s staple stars — Jean-Claude Van Damme. It’s been a while since his late 1980s/early ’90s heyday, but Van Damme — still fit at 47 — sounds hopeful about his future in film, which includes what looks like a biopic on Van Damme, starring Van Damme, called J.C.V.D. (the French film is due in 2008). Currently, the actor has the direct-to-video title The Shepherd: Border Patrol hitting DVD March 4 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment at $24.96. have a film opening at the Cannes Film Festival, so this is big for me. Hopefully I will go into making those types of movies. … Hopefully I will make … bigger movies, which is cool for me, cool for Sony and cool for everyone. I HM: Timecop recently came out on HD DVD. What other films of yours would you like to see come out on in high-def? Van Damme: I like film. … HD is good for sci-fi-type movies, but if you’re going to shoot a movie with texture, with heart in it, nothing can beat film. One movie [that had] close to the texture of film on HD was the Jean-Jacques Annaud film Two Brothers. [Since the film featured] tigers, it used HD because of motion control. But that movie was I HM: Tell me about the story and your characshot in HD, and it looked like film. … The ter in The Shepherd: Border Patrol. eyes of a tiger are very deep. It’s like an eagle Van Damme: I’m playing a detective eye — very detailed. I believe HD was able to based in New Orleans who takes a job capture that. Also to use … CGI, it’s easier on as a U.S. border patrol agent between HD than film. But if you shoot a movie like Columbus and Las Palomas, Mexico. I’m Sea of Love or Scent of a Woman … those types undercover, but I’m covering drug lords passing drugs of movies, to me, they’re made to be shot on film. It’s from Mexico to the States. We find out those guys are difficult for me to accept today those movies in HD. … coming from the [U.S.] Army, where they made a deal To me, the screen is too clean, too clear. [in Iraq and Afghanistan] exporting heroin to Mexico I HM: What’s your favorite movie you’ve been in? and transferring it to the U.S. … This movie is made of Van Damme: The Shepherd is going to be a good film with good physical action, which is good for my cult audi- action and fighting and stuff like that — I came back with ence in the video arena. new techniques and everything — but my latest movie, I HM: What do you have lined up next? J.C.V.D., is a great movie. I’m very proud of that movie. Van Damme: My next movie I directed and produced I HM: There seems to be a resurgence in high-charged action by myself in Thailand. … The type of movie is love, so films lately. Why do you think that is? it’s a different kind of concept [for me]. There will be Van Damme: They go up and go down. The last action, of course, but it has a very strong story, and “Rambo” and “Rocky” are great, but I think people I’ve been working on that script for years now. … I’m are missing the muscles from before, and they want to not trying to run away [from action] because I want to see those action stars from before. A lot of these actors please my audience … but I just did a movie, J.C.V.D., [today] aren’t so fit physically. I don’t want to mention … [and with that] for the first time in my career I will guys by name, but they’re not really believable. Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Circus World and 55 Days at Peking to critically acclaimed niche films such as two movies about British band Joy Division, the documentary Joy Division and the award-winning band biopic Control; as well as the Oscar-nominated The Deal, Stephen Frears’ followup to The Queen. Weinstein clearly relishes being able to play kingmaker, to give deserving films the true DVD VIP treatment a la the fabled Criterion Collection. “The Fall of the Roman Empire,’ for example, is fully loaded,” Weinstein said. “It looks and sounds astonishing, and the bonus materials fully explore the sheer magnitude and grandeur of making a film of this scale in a time long before the advent of CGI.” Indeed, the Weinstein’s DVD version of The Fall of the Roman Empire will come in an elegantly packaged three-disc limited collector’s edition that features a host of extras, both on the discs and in the package. The film itself has been digitally remastered, both picture and sound. Extras include a commentary by Bill Bronston, son of producer Samuel Bronston, and film expert Mel Martin; a reproduction of the original 1964 souvenir program; a behind-the-scenes look at the real fall of the Roman empire; a detailed making-of documentary; five Encyclopedia Britannica featurettes on the Roman Empire; and a set of six color production stills. The Fall of the Roman Empire was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for best original music score. The film was written by then-blacklisted writer Ben Barzman, who also wrote El Cid. LIONSGATE REVS ‘SPEED RACER’ DVD By Erik Gruenwedel I Van Damme Discography A selection of Van Damme on disc, and the year they were released theatrically: I “Van Damme Collector’s Set” (Kickboxer/Replicant/Universal Soldier) – Lionsgate, released on DVD May 1, 2007 Until Death (2007) – Sony Pictures The Hard Corps (2006) – Sony Pictures I Second in Command (2006) – Sony Pictures I In Hell (2003) – Sony Pictures I Timecop (1994) – Universal, reI I leased on HD DVD Dec. 23, 2007 I Street Fighter: Collector’s Edition (1994) – Universal I Double Impact (1991) – Fox/MGM I Lionheart (1990) – Universal I Cyborg (1989) – Fox/MGM I Bloodsport (1988) – Warner Lionsgate is looking to grab pole position May 6 with the DVD release of Speed Racer: The Next Generation — The Beginning at $19.98. The venerable anime brand, which debuted on Japanese TV in 1967, is set for a major revamp this spring with Warner Bros.’ May 9 theatrical release of Speed Racer, starring Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox, ANIMATED and “Speed Racer: The Next Generation” bowing May 2 on Nicktoons Network, Nickelodeon’s 24-hour animation network. The Beginning finds Speed Racer challenged at The Racing Academy while supported by friends Conor, Lucy and Conor’s monkey, Chim Chim. The 66-minute disc includes an interactive racing game and featurette, “Creating the Next Speed Racer.” Home Media Magazine March 2–8, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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