Hey folks, Harry here with our last DVD column of the year… though before the year is up, I’ll have JAN 1st’s column done and up, but it’s for the New Year. Sorry there isn’t a lot of titles here, there isn’t a lot coming out this Tuesday (actually Sunday most of these will be hitting shelves I hear) due to it being Christmas. So enjoy and remember – you click the titles or art and you’ll be whisked away to AMAZON, where if you choose 1 day shipping it can be at your place on Christmas Eve for last minute wrapping! Here ya go – enjoy…

PAN’S LABYRINTH (HD DVD)

The Best Film of Last Year comes out in the best formats available – HD DVD and BLU RAY on Christmas Day! How great a gift! When a film is given the sort of care and treatment that Guillermo did to this one… it becomes time to step up and see it exactly how it was meant to be seen – and the high definition of these two formats really show how beautifully crafted and perfect the visuals of this film were executed. This will be a high rotation disc in my home!

EASTERN PROMISES

Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES is yet another resounding success for the filmmaker! I really want him to do at least one more Viggo film so we have his Viggo trilogy done right. HISTORY OF VIOLENCE was great… but I prefer EASTERN PROMISES… Viggo’s character is such an enigma – and I’d love to see his character’s beginning in Russia…. Along with him running things over here. Something like EASTERN LIES, EASTERN PROMISES and EASTERN REALITIES. The disc has great extras delving into the history of Russian mob tattoo work. Along with how Cronenberg tackled adapting the script to film. This is a tremendous films and Viggo’s character is one of the best of 2007!

THE KINGDOM

I literally just got finished watching this disc, as I write this, I’m watching Ridley Scott’s work print of BLADE RUNNER (bliss) – And as I think back on THE KINGDOM – it was a relatively by the numbers procedural investigation with a fish out of water aspect thrown in… but the last 25 minutes are so… from the HIGHWAY SCENE on – it has one helluva nail-biting race to the end. Really nicely done! Not very probable, but fun as hell action and very positive feeling. Jamie Fox does a very good job with this film and Jennifer Garner did a nice job too. Hope she keeps it up. Solid action film.

CAT PEOPLE

I’m so happy to have this! Now – I absolutely worship the original Simon Simone version produced by Val Lewton – but I also love Paul Schrader’s remake with Nastassia Kinski and Malcolm McDowell. What I wasn’t expecting was a bunch of extras on here. From Paul Schrader’s commentary to a look at making the film by Paul Schrader to a feature on the Make Up, a feature on the MATTE PAINTINGS and Robert Wise telling us about the original CAT PEOPLE producer… Val Lewton!!! This was a nice treat!

LOST AND FOUND: THE HARRY LANGDON COLLECTION

10 hours of material here. Harry Langdon was one of those fantastic discoveries of Mack Sennett, the grand-dad of slapstick! Here’s what on here:

Disc One: Picking Peaches, Smile Please, His New Mamma, The First 100 Years, The Luck o' the Foolish, The Hansom Cabman, and All Night Long

Disc Two: Feet of Mud, The Sea Squawk, Boobs in the Wood, His Marriage Wow, Plain Clothes, Remember When, Lucky Stars, and There He Goes surviving extract.

Disc Three: Saturday Afternoon, Fiddlesticks, Soldier Man, and His First Flame. Plus Bonus extra: Catalina Here I Come, a sample of faux-Langdon starring Eddie Quillan and Madeline Hurlock.

Disc Four: Knight Duty, Hooks and Jabs, and Love, Honor and Obey (the Law). Plus bonus extra: Lost and Found, an original feature-length documentary on the life and films of Harry Langdon.

Special Features: Lost and Found, a feature-length documentary, Audio Commentaries by Film Historians, Home Movies, and Facets Cine-Notes collectible booklet, Home Movies, Beautiful Clothes Make Beautiful Girls talkie from 1942, HEART TROUBLE press book

Enough to make any Langdon fan… or silent comedy lover tremble in anticipation.

THE HANNA-BARBERA TREASURY

Lastly – this is my last recommendation. A friend sent this to me as an early Christmas present and it’s just awesome. It’s by Jerry Beck, cartoon lover extraordinaire – and it’s a love letter to Hanna-Barbera… my fave is a TOP CAT punch out mask inside that makes you into one hip pussy dick! But I love the mini-comics and storyboards and character designs and cels inside. It truly is a treasure.

That’s it for me this final Tuesday of 2007 – we’ll kick off the New Year, which btw is the very next DVD Tuesday with SHOOT EM UP, WAR, WEIRD SCIENCE the series, BILLY JACK, INDIE SEX and JIMMY AND JUDY among others… Till then keep well and enjoy the Holidays… Merry Christmas!