New on DVD: November 13

PICKS OF THE WEEK

The Amazing Spider-Man

In this reboot of the Marvel Comics superhero franchise, Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) takes on the role of Peter Parker, a teenager who hides his crime-fighting alter ego Spider-Man while uncovering the secret to his parents’ disappearance and battling a strange villain called The Lizard (Rhys Ifans).

The Incredible Mel Brooks

Shout Factory outdoes itself with this 6-disc celebration of the early years of comedy legend Mel Brooks. As one of only 11 people in history to ever win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, he has managed to dabble and succeed in almost every medium of entertainment. This collection includes his recent HBO interview with Dick Cavett, I Thought I Was Taller: A Short History of Mel Brooks; An Audience with Mel Brooks; Excavating the 2000 Year Old Man; a two-hour documentary (shown in five parts) looking at his film career; episodes of Get Smart and When Things Were Rotten (both of which he co-created) as well as an assortment of vintage clips including 1983’s “Hitler Rap,” an unaired 1963 pilot called “Inside Danny Baker”, commercials from the 1960s and much more. If this wasn’t enough, this set includes new introductions from Brooks himself, an audio CD featuring songs from his films and a hardcover 60-page book which proves beyond a doubt that it’s good to be king. (Shout Factory).

DVDs:

Brave

In this latest animated film from Pixar, a headstrong princess (voiced by Boardwalk Empire’s Kelly MacDonald) rebels against her kingdom’s traditions (including her parents voiced by Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson) and takes off on her own to defeat a dreadful curse. (Disney)

Savages

Director Oliver Stone returns to the seamier side of life with this gritty thriller about two pot-growing friends (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who find themselves taking on a Mexican drug cartel when they refuse to go into business with them. (Universal)

The Watch

Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod) directed this comedy about a group of suburban men (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade) who form a neighbourhood watch only to find themselves having to protect their families from an alien invasion.

2 Days in New York

In this sequel to her 2007 film 2 Days in Paris, writer-director-star Julie Delpy plays Marion, who now lives in New York and is living with her new boyfriend Mingus (Chris Rock). There lives are turned upside down for 48 hours when Marion’s family arrives from France to stay with them.

Natural Selection

Rachael Harris stars in this bleak character study of a childless woman named Linda, who discovers that her dying husband Abe has a illegitimate son (Matt O’Leary) living in another state. She decides to follow Abe’s final request and bring the young man back to see him before he dies and along the journey discovers many things about herself.

The Queen of Versailles

When the Siegels began construction of their new mansion – partly designed to replicate the Palace of Versailles – they were billionaires. Over the next couple of years, due to the financial crisis that affected millions of Americans, they lost much of their fortune with much of the work left on their house undone. This documentary, from Laura Greenfield, the director of Food, Inc. follows the Siegels as they learn to adapt to their changing lifestyle.

Stephen Sondheim’s Company

This recording of a live performance of Sondheim’s Broadway musical boasts an all-star cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Patti Lupone, Christina Hendricks, John Cryer and Stephen Colbert all backed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The show, which features such memorable numbers as “The Ladies Who Lunch” and “Side by Side”, tells the story of a bachelor (Harris) and the different married couples he comes into contact with while celebrating his 35th birthday. (Image)

Vamps

Alicia Silverstone reunites with her Clueless director Amy Heckerling for this romantic comedy about two vampires (Silverstone and Krysten Ritter of Don’t Trust the B—– in Apartment 23) whose friendship is tested when one of them considers giving up immortality for true love. (Anchor Bay)

Elles

Juliette Binoche stars in this French drama as a middle-aged journalist writing about the lives of young prostitutes. After interviewing some of them, she soon discovers that her preconceptions about the profession may have been wrong and in investigating it further discovers a rebirth of her sexuality.

Airborne

Star Wars’s Mark Hamill stars in this gory British horror film about a group of terrorists who take over a commercial jet and wreak increasing violence on the passengers after they attempt to stop the hijacking. (eOne)

CLASSIC RE-ISSUES:

Lawrence of Arabia: 50th Anniversary Edition

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this 1963 film, Sony has released this epic collection to match the spectacle of the film itself. Peter O’Toole stars as real-life British soldier T.E. Lawrence who, during the First World War helped lead a battle against the Turks that changed the face of North Africa. This release brings you a choice of two editions – a two-disc and a four-disc – both of which have the digitally-restored 227-minute director’s cut (complete with original intermission) as well as a new feature-length “making of” documentary; a new interview with star O’Toole and much more. For the purists among you that spring for the bigger edition, you also get never-before-released deleted scenes; an interview with Martin Scorsese about the importance of the film; a CD of the film’s soundtrack; an 88-page book and much more. (Sony)

The Postman Always Rings Twice

If you like your film noir gritty, you get two choices with the re-release of both versions of James M. Cain’s classic crime novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. In the first, from 1946, you get John Garfield as the drifter who arrives at a roadside diner and begins an affair with the proprietor’s wife (Lana Turner), which leads to murder. In the 1981 version (with a screenplay from David Mamet), Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange steam up the tale with their much more graphic take on the tale. (Warner)

TV ON DVD:

The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

One of the most beloved sitcoms of all time gets the royal treatment with this digitally-restored box set which contains all five seasons of the Dick Van Dyke Show on 15 discs. Now, you can re-watch the adventures of comedy writer Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) at home with his wife (Mary Tyler Moore) and their son (Larry Matthews) and at work on the Alan Brady Show with his co-workers Buddy (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally (Rose Marie) in high-def looking better than you could even imagine. EXTRAS on this set include audio commentaries from cast members; the original pilot (which starred creator Carl Reiner in the lead role); vintage rehearsal footage; new interviews; a TV academy tribute; and much, much more. (Image)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – Season 1, Vol. 2
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Complete Series

You could just pick up the Season 1: Vol. 2 DVD package which contains the final 20 episodes from the first season (on 3 DVDs) or a real fan can go all out and get the 19-disc Complete Series box set which not only gives you all 145 episodes from the first rendition of this series (that’s three complete seasons), but also the Alien Rangers mini-series and two entire discs of bonus content including a look back at the phenomena, interviews with the cast; several out-of-print straight-to-VHS specials (including a Fan Club exclusive and a Christmas special) and much more. (Shout Factory)