The big release of the week is Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, formerly one half of the greater double-feature Grindhouse that paired itself with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror to disappointing box office results earlier this year. The good news is that this is a longer, unrated version of the film, so there’s more to go around for those that liked the original. And, as if to emphasize that they are being treated separately, The Weinstein Company is waiting until October 16th to release Planet Terror.

Much farther from the radar this week is The Boss of it All, the latest film from infamous Danish director Lars Von Trier. Von Trier made a big splash in recent years with films like Dancer in the Dark and Dogville, but seems to have drawn less of an audience since then, with a quieter response to Manderlay and this latest film. But unlike the director’s trademark serious and at times hard-to-watch entries, The Boss of It All arguably marks his first foray into “official” comedy. Certainly, this isn’t the first time he’s wandered away from his “Dogme” past — he previously had some fun with a blackly comic made-for-TV horror miniseries about a haunted hospital (The Kingdom, which spawned a sequel also directed by Von Trier, and a US remake by Stephen King). In interviews, Von Trier did not attach a lot of important to The Kingdom, describing it as essentially “just having some fun”, though personally I’d argue it’s up there with his best work (read: Zentropa, imho). I suspect The Boss of It All can be explained similarly as taking a break from the much darker dramas for which he is known, and along those lines I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out great — Von Trier is one of the most creative, if a bit nutty, directors working today, and The Kingdom proves that when he wants to be funny, he can be very good at it.

I’m also delighted to see that The Dead One was released this week. This film played at the recent New York International Latino Film Festival, and while not the film of the year by any means, it is a solid entry in the genre of comic book adaptations. The titular dead one is Diego, a Crow-lookalike, though the plots are different. Specifically, Diego is possessed by the Aztec god of human sacrifice, Tezcatlipoca, and brought back to life to enforce the will of the Aztec diety Mictlan, primarily by way of human sacrifice. As with most comic adaptations, things are — intentionally — a bit oversimplified, and nobody will scream originality with the love story or Diego’s struggle to retain what is human within him. But then that’s not the main draw of a film like this anyway, and it works fairly well even if the budget is a far cry from the special effects of a Hollywood film.

The Criterion Collection is back this week with three new releases. It’s hard not to be excited about the release of beloved sci-fi classic Robinson Crusoe on Mars, a visual treat from the creative mind of Byron Haskin. And the classic Brecht story The Threepenny Opera, as directed here by G.W. Pabst (Pandora’s Box) comes in not one but two versions — the German classic that wowed audiences at the beginning of the sound era of film, and a rarely-seen alternate French language version. As usual, the Criterion folks have outdone themselves. That said, and while you may call me a spoil-sport, I suspect the third Criterion title out this week, Martha Graham: Dance on Film, will be more of an “eat your vegetables” release for those who aren’t already dedicated dance enthusiasts, but The Criterion Collection has rightly earned our trust, so I’m sure there’s something important to see here, and certainly it’s not their first foray into dance (see also, The Red Shoes - admittedly a narrative film).

There is a little movement in the high-definition world this week though, sadly, there is as yet no announcement for an HD-DVD or Blu Ray release of Death Proof, and from the releasing patterns we’ve seen from the Weinstein Company, I wouldn’t hold your breath for an imminent release. But this Tuesday did treat us to the release of the first two Elvis films to the world of high def (Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock, in both formats), along with a nice handful of other catalog titles (see below for complete list). Certainly the quantity of releases is up this week and looks set to stay that way for at least a month, which is encouraging.

Nothing to write home about hit the streets on Region 2 (PAL) DVD, but Hong Kong distributors gave us several exciting releases this week on Region 3 (NTSC) DVD, including several newly released Ho Meng Hua films, and a handful of 80s gunplay movies. Good stuff.

Also, CSB correspondent David wanted to point out a couple of releases from last week that shouldn’t be overlooked: “The pre-Halloween horror boom hit on September 11th, and there are a couple of long-unavailable doozies. First up is From Beyond, Stuart Gordon’s excellent follow-up to Re-Animator. It’s got a great cast with Re-Animator’s Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs, and Dawn of the Dead’s Ken Foree, along with some of the grossest special effects of the ’80s. The new version also has restored footage, including the much-discussed but rarely seen cut of Combs removing an eyeball in an unorthodox fashion. Also out is Michael Reeve’s The Witchfinder General, which sees Vincent Price as a sleazy agent of Cromwell, dispensing pardons in return for sexual favors. Finally, on a non-horror note, Tartan has finally released Johnny To’s Election on Region 1 DVD. We’ve said a lot about this film on CSB in the past, but it bears saying again, To is one of the best filmmakers working today, and this is one of his masterpieces.”

Alright, enough of my babbling. A complete list of this week’s highlights follows below. Enjoy!

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Released This Week On DVD in the USA (September 18, Region 1, NTSC):

Death Proof (Weinstein)
2007, USA, Director: Quentin Tarantino

Lucky You (Warner)
2007, Director: Curtis Hanson, USA

Martha Graham: Dance on Film (Criterion)
various, USA, Director: various, lots of Graham, if you like her

Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (Starz/Anchor Bay)
2007, USA, Director: Brad Anderson

Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (Starz/Anchor Bay)
2007, USA, Director: Peter Medak

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (Criterion)
1964, USA, Director: Byron Haskin, classic sci-fi

The Threepenny Opera (Criterion)
1933, Germany, Director: G.W. Pabst, theatrical decadence

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Released This Week On DVD in Hong Kong (September 18-20, Region 3, NTSC):

Angel (aka Iron Angels) (Mei Ah)
1987, Hong Kong, Director: Teresa Woo

Lady of Steel (IVL/Celestial Pictures)
1969, Hong Kong, Director: Ho Meng Hua, Starring: Cheng Pei Pei, Yue Hua

Master of Kung Fu (IVL/Celestial Pictures)
1973, Hong Kong, Director: Ho Meng Hua, Starring: Ku Feng, Chen Ping

My Heart is That Eternal Rose (Mei Ah)
1989, Hong Kong, Director: Patrick Tam, Starring: Tony Leung

People’s Hero (Mei Ah)
1987, Hong Kong, Director: Derek Yee, Starring: Tony Leung, Ti Lung

The Warlord and the Actress (IVL/Celestial Pictures)
1964, Hong Kong, Director: Ho Meng Hua

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Released This Week On High Definition (HD-DVD and Blu Ray) in the USA (September 18):

Available on Blu-ray and HD-DVD: Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas, Alexander (Revisited), Deliverance, Troy (Director’s Cut), We Are Marshall

Available exclusively on Blu-Ray: The Condemned, A Few Good Men, House of 1000 Corpses

Available exclusively on HD-DVD: The Last Starfighter, Saturday Night Fever, Elizabeth, For Love of the Game

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Additional Links:
::: DVD Calendar — a Look at What’s Coming Up
::: Discuss This Week in DVD with Others in the Movie Forum Lounge
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“Where’s my Tae Bo exercise video!!!!”

Here at Cinema Strikes Back our goal is to sift through the masses of dvd information so you don’t have to — to cut straight to the good stuff, or at least what us handful of film geeks think is the good stuff. That means that many dvd releases are left off the list, either because they suck or more likely because we don’t know better. Although I can’t promise we’ll include everything sent to us (”ARRGH, How could you not include Postnatal Rescue or Topless Fight Club in this week’s lineup!”), we always welcome feedback, and I invite you to email me here if I’ve forgotten any important releases this week.