DVD Recommendations For A Strike-Filled Night

We will take a look at some DVD releases due out next month that we recommend to fill those entertainment starved nights before an empty tube caused by the writer’s strike. These choices are not your typical fare and and three are animation.

Turok Son of Stone:

We mentioned this DVD earlier last month but wanted to bring it to mind one more time before its official DVD release on February 5.

During his 20 years in exile, Turok has become a powerful and feared warrior. Returning home, he finds that everything he cared about, his family, his village, have all been destroyed by the tyrant Chichak.

This discovery sets Turok’s feet on the path of vengeance. His journey of retribution leds him to ‘The Lost Land,’ a place of pure savagery where hope and time are lost and terrible flesh-eating beasts linger behind every shadow.

This epic adventure bringsTurok to his ultimate destiny, which is to become a legend for all ages.

Due to the graphic nature of the violence portrayed in this video, it is not recommended for children.

30th Anniversary Edition of Midnight Express:

Not sci-fi or genre-related but one of the finest films ever made, so it’s 30th Anniversary DVD release needs special mention here as a must have.

When this film was originally released in 1978 it was the most gripping, compelling dark drama ever produced about life in a Turkish prison from the perspective of a young American caught in the middle of the drug traffic business. Films like “Blow” and “Traffic” that came years later pale by comparison.

It starred a young unknown named Brad Davis and the movie propelled him into superstar status. He was so dynamic in “Midnight Express” that he never again was able to capture that kind of role. His genius went basically ignored until the TV miniseries “Chiefs” in the 1980’s. Davis, a strong advocate for the rights of HIV and AIDS victims, died in 1999 of the disease.

The movie co-starred John Hurt, Paolo Bonacelli, Randy Quaid and Bo Hopkins.

Batman & Mr. Freeze - SubZero / Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Double Feature):

This is another animated feature that comes out on DVD on February 12. It is a Batman fan’s wet-dream featuring 2 feature-length Dark Knight adventures! The first, “SubZero,” has Batman pitted against his old arch-nemesis Mr. Freeze. The subzero villain kidnaps Batgirl leaving it up to Batman and his sidekick Robin to rescue her before Freeze sends her into an eternal chill.

Kevin Conroy is Batman and Michael Ansara stars as the voice of Freeze.

“Batman Mask of the Phantasm,” is the second full-length animated film in this DVD package. This story finds Batman being accused of murders done by a sinister masked figure. The real killer is an unknown phantom and it’s up to Batman and friends to try to clear his name before it’s too late.

When “Batman Mask of the Phantasm” was first released in 1993 critics called it one of the best caped crusader animated films to come out in a long time.

Kevin Conroy is the voice of Batman and Stacy Keach provides the voice of the Masked Phantasm.

Finally some good news to report about one of 1980’s fan favorite television shows. “The Equalizer - Season One” in a remastered release will become available on DVD beginning February 12.

The weekly television Michael Sloan series starred Golden Globe® winner Edward Woodward as a private detective named Robert McCall. He was a former covert government agent who was involved in the death and destruction of many lives, innocent and guilty alike. In order to atone for what he considered his sins of the past, he set out to right the wrong done to others whenever the American justice system failed them.

The series garnered seven Emmy Award nominations and won two Golden Globes during its 4-year reign has the best anti-hero action drama on television from 1985 to 1989. It was this show that set the standard for all future shows in that genre, right up to today.

Besides Woodward, “The Equalizer” co-starred Robert Lansing, Keith Szarabajka, Mark Margolis, Richard Jordan, Ron O’Neal and Maureen Anderman.

A big screen version of “The Equalizer” is set for release sometime in 2009 or 2010, depending on the length of the writer’s strike. No named stars have been assigned to the project yet, however it will be directed by “Lucky Number Slevin” helmer Paul McGuigan.

The last DVD release to cozy up to that we will talk about is the 2007 movie titled “Gabriel.” It starred Andy Whitfield (”All Saints”) as the angel Gabriel, and his ongoing battle as an Arc Angel to bring light back to the city of Purgatory, the way station of the human soul where darkness rules.

To succeed in his mission Gabriel must assume a human form, which brings its own kind of torment since he is totally unprepared for human feelings and frailties. In Purgatory, Gabriel soon learns why humanity is so precious as he wanders this underworld which reveals the real human condition as both weak and mighty, corrupt and yet full of integrity, making the human soul the most precious thing in Heaven, on Earth and in Prugatory.

“Gabriel” becomes available on DVD February 19.