Monday, November 28, 2005

(Entertainment Weekly) -- The 1999 "Oz" disc was crammed full of magical extras -- deleted scenes, documentaries, screen tests. The package was so pristine it was named EW's DVD of the year. You can now throw it away. That's because an exhaustive new set featuring all this plus oodles more proves as precious as Dorothy's ruby slippers.Following the yellow brick road of "The Wizard of Oz" through all three discs takes about 15 hours, but it's a journey every film buff should make. A plethora of docs cover Toto's real gender (he is actually a she), the feminist interpretation of the film (beyond Toto, of course), and "the advent of a breakthrough technology -- lip-synching." And the five previous versions of "Oz" include a slapsticky entry from 1925 with Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodsman and a truly bizarre ending in which the Scarecrow apparently plunges to his death (talk about brainless).The film looks fabulous thanks to a fancy-schmancy process called Ultra-Resolution (there's a doc on that too), and features a top-notch track of old interviews with the cast and poor Buddy Ebsen, who was bumped from the role of Scarecrow and then forced to bow out as the Tin Man after having an allergic reaction to the aluminum-dust makeup. "They thought I bore a grudge and now I was going to get even with them," says Ebsen. "They never quite believed that I was really sick." What's truly sick is the astounding wealth of information and archival footage here.As Peter Jackson says in one of the extras, "You can feel the heart and care that's gone into every frame of that film." You could say the same for the entire package.EW Grade: A'Titanic'Reviewed by Dade HayesThe third "Titanic" release in six years promises glory but skates by on scant fresh bonus material. The film, meanwhile, has never looked or sounded better (6.1 DTS ES, if you're curious), and the Cecil B. DeMille comparisons on an uproarious crew video are apt. Among the recycled EXTRAS, new lures include over 45 minutes of deleted footage, with thrilling shots of the doomed couple kissing under a shooting star and running in a complex, expensive chase sequence. Less captivating is an alternate ending emphasizing the "epiphany" Brock (Bill Paxton) experiences, seeing the error of his diamond-lusting ways. Leonardo DiCaprio is still notably absent, but Kate Winslet quips about the embrace on the bow at sunset: "We were like, 'Ugh, God, we are so over this scene!' " Director James Cameron recalls it differently, with trademark humility: "This is one of those great moments in cinema."EW Grade: B-'Bewitched'Reviewed by Timothy GunatilakaIn this update of the beloved bedknobs-and-broomsticks series "Bewitched," Will Ferrell plays an arrogant actor trying vainly to remake the classic show and Nicole Kidman is a doe-eyed dimwit casting pesky spells. Director/co-writer Nora Ephron seems to have forgotten that romantic-comedy leads are supposed to be likable. EXTRAS In the revealing making-of and commentary, Ephron explains how the story derived from a last-second request from a studio desperate to cast Kidman as Samantha. Such concessions underscore the movie's problem: Its modestly clever concept has no brains behind it. One of the outtakes even depicts a meeting of uninspired writers, hoping to "add the magic later." Meanwhile, the pop-up factoids during the film are amusing only because of their utter irrelevance -- did you know (and do you care) that the original martini was called a martinez? Note: Season 2 of the original TV show, also just released, is the better buy.EW Grade: D

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