Home Media Magazine - November 11-17, 2007 - (Page 32) PIPELINE www.homemediamagazine.com Miriam Collection Debuts With ‘El Cid’ By Thomas K. Arnold CLASSIC One of the last great epics that has never been released on DVD, Anthony Mann’s El Cid, will finally be issued on disc Jan. 29 by Genius Products and The Weinstein Co. The 1961 medieval epic, which stars Sophia Loren and Charlton Heston, was nominated for three Oscars and won a special merit award in the Golden Globes. The film is the first release in the minimajor’s new Miriam Collection, named after Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s mother. “We are proud to launch our new DVD label with the DVD debut of this classic film,” said Michael Radiloff, EVP of marketing for Genius Products. He said the new line will showcase “the best of classic and contemporary cinema, including acclaimed independent, foreign-language and vintage classics, in collectible editions with extensive bonus materials and digitally remastered picture and sound.” El Cid tells the story of legendary Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz, known as El Cid to his followers, who drove the Moors from 11th century Spain at a time when the country was divided into Christian kingdoms and Moorish strongholds. The film will be released on DVD in a pair of two-disc incarnations, a deluxe edition and a collector’s edition. Both versions feature a digitally remastered version of the film with an introduction from Martin Scorsese. Bonus materials include cast interviews, including 1961 promotional radio interviews with Loren and Heston; a feature-length commentary from Bill Bronston (son of producer Sam Bronston) and histo- Sports Announcer Lee Corso Lends Voice to Team Baby By Chris Tribbey KIDVID When Greg Scheinman, CEO and founder of Team Baby Entertainment, asked Lee Corso to do voiceovers and be a spokesman for NCAA-themed DVDs, he said it was an easy call. So did Corso. “When I studied the project, I knew it was perfect for me,” said Corso, star of ESPN’s Saturday “College GameDay” show and one of the top college football analysts in the country. The decision was even easier when the Florida State University alumnus found out he’d be doing the voice work on the Baby Seminole DVD. “I do have some background there,” he joked. Corso graduated from FSU in 1959, still resides in the area, is a member of the university’s hall of fame and met his wife there. Two of his kids graduated from the university. “It’s an absolute pleasure,” he said of doing the narration on the DVD. Team Baby Entertainment has released dozens of the sports-themed baby DVDs, giving die-hard fans a chance to indoctrinate their children early in their team’s colors, fight songs and stadiums. Corso is just the latest talent the company has reeled in to do work on the DVDs: Regis Philbin did work for the Notre Dame Baby Irish DVD and Matthew McConaughey worked on the Texas Baby Longhorn DVD. In addition to the FSU DVD, Corso did the narration on the Penn State University and The Ohio State University DVDs (Baby Nittany Lion and Baby Buckeye, respectively). He said he got little guff from GameDay cohost and OSU alumnus Kirk Herbstreit for doing the Baby Buckeye work. “It’s an educational thing,” Corso said of the 30-minute DVDs. “These are great presents for kids and grandkids. Also they’re [good for] brainwashing! You see Brutus the Buckeye, and you see the Horseshoe (OSU’s stadium).” Corso has already taken a step along those lines for his family. “The first thing my grandkids got: Baby ’Noles!” in mid-September to not only qualify for the playoffs, but also dominate their National League opponents. The 2007 World Series DVD includes narration from actor Matt Damon, a noted member of the “Red Sox Nation,” plus hours of bonus footage, exclusive interviews and candid moments with the players and coaches. The DVD also contains footage from the 2007 American League Championship Series, in which the Red Sox came back to defeat the Cleveland Indians in seven games. This is Boston’s second championship since 2004, after not winning a World Series since Babe Ruth led the franchise to the 1918 title. rian-author Neal M. Rosendorf, assistant professor of U.S. international history at Long Island University; a documentary on the importance of film preservation and restoration; featurettes on producer Bronston, director Mann and composer Miklos Rozsa; and a making-of documentary, “Hollywood Conquers Spain.” The collector’s edition also comes with reproductions of the original 1961 souvenir program and El Cid comic book, as well as six color production stills. When El Cid was released theatrically in 1961, the tagline read, “The Greatest Romance and Adventure in a Thousand Years.” Oscar nominations were subsequently received for Rozsa’s score and original song, “Love Theme from El Cid (The Falcon and the Dove),” as well as best color art direction. Leonard Maltin, the veteran film critic known for his series of video guides and long stint on television’s “Entertainment Tonight,” said the DVD release of El Cid is long overdue. “El Cid is high on any film buff’s list of most-wanted movies on DVD,” Maltin said. “It is considered one of the most majestic and intelligent of the epic films of that period, as directed by Anthony Mann, with one of Charlton Heston’s best performances.” El Cid came just two years after Ben-Hur, another epic starring Heston in the lead role and featuring a score composed by Rozsa. Ben-Hur won 11 Oscars, including best picture and best actor (for Heston), and grossed $70 million at the box office on a budget of $15 million. El Cid was cheaper to make, with a budget estimated at a little more than $6 million, but earned only $26.6 million in theaters. WHAT CURSE? By John Latchem With its second World Series title in four years, the Boston Red Sox obliterated any trace of the famed Curse of the Bambino. Shout! Factory will commemorate Boston’s recent run to Major League Baseball’s ultimate prize with the Nov. 27 release of the official 2007 World Series: Colorado Rockies vs. Boston Red Sox DVD. The $19.99 volume chronicles Boston’s four-game sweep of Colorado. The Rockies were somewhat of a Cinderella story after coming out of nowhere SPORTS Warner Rounds Up the Wise Guys By Billy Gil CLASSIC With the multiplexes currently crowded with the likes of American Gangster and Gone Baby Gone, audience thirst for gangster films seems to be growing. Warner Home Video is taking heed by releasing its third collection of gangster-themed films, Warner Bros. Gangsters Collection Vol. 3, March 11, 2008 (prebook Feb. 5). The $59.92 set includes the films Picture Snatcher, Lady Killer, Smart Money, Black Legion, The Mayor of Hell and Brother Orchid. Single titles also will be available at $19.97 each. “The gangster film is a huge cornerstone in the legacy of our studio, and we take great pride in bringing freshly-minted, restored digital masters to new generations of fans via DVD,” said George Feltenstein, Warner Home Video’s SVP of theatrical catalog marketing. The films, each released during the 1930s and ’40s, come from a time when Warner Bros. was known for its gangster films. All the films are on DVD for the first time, with new transfers from newly restored film elements, as well as Warner shorts, cartoons and trailers. Picture Snatcher (1933) stars James Cagney as a former gangster trying to reform himself as a tabloid photographer. The DVD includes the vintage theatrical trailer “I Loved A Woman,” as well as the short “Plane Crazy” and cartoon “Wake Up The Gypsy in Me.” Lady Killer (1933) also stars Cagney, as a reformed con artist in Hollywood who becomes a star, and the DVD includes the shorts “The Camera Speaks” and “Kissing Time,” as well as the cartoon “The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives” and the film’s original trailer. Smart Money (1931) teamed Cag- ney with Edward G. Robinson as small-town brothers who become big-city gamblers. The DVD includes the trailer for Other Men’s Women; two shorts, “George Jessel and His Art Choir” and “The Smart Set-Up”; and the cartoon “Big Man From the North.” Black Legion (1937) stars Humphrey Bogart as a factory worker turned anti-immigrant group member when he gets passed for a promotion in favor of a Polish immigrant. The DVD includes the trailer for “The Perfect Specimen,” a newsreel and the shorts “Hi De Ho,” “Under Southern Stars” and “Porky and Gabby.” The Mayor of Hell (1933) stars Cagney again as a former gangster, this time as the appointed head of a state reformatory, housing five teenage criminals. The DVD includes the short “The Audition,” the cartoon “The Organ Grinder” and the trailers for The Kennel Murder Case, The Mayor of Hell, Crime School and Hell’s Kitchen. Brother Orchid (1940) stars Robinson and Bogart in a gangster comedy akin to Whoopie Goldberg’s Sister Act — one of the gangsters seeks protection with monks while plotting revenge on another, until the monks’ peaceful ways begin to change him. The DVD includes the trailer for It All Came True, the short “Henry Busse and His Orchestra” and the cartoons “Busy Bakers” and “Slap Happy Pappy.” Home Media Magazine November 11–17, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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