Before the DVD of The Matrix, there was the DVD of Ghostbusters, Ivan Reitman’s masterful paranormal comedy which – no matter how many times he’s tried (Evolution, anyone?), he’s never even come close to duplicating. But more to the point, Ghostbusters was also the original really cool, feature-packed DVD.

Now, to be fair, this was the first feature-packed title in the infant stage of the DVD industry, but there aren’t too many movies which are better qualified for that special treatment. The animated menus are still standard-setters for the industry, and the commentary – one of the most anticipated parts of the disc prior to its release – is classic. Reitman himself, along with co-writer/star Harold Ramis and associate producer Joe Medjuck, make some riotously funny comments on their own film – and fittingly enough, they’re silhouetted, MST3K-style, against the movie – a trick I haven’t seen done since. (more…)

While this is far from the most feature-packed of DVDs, the excellence of the movie itself and the quality of those features that are included make it well worth owning. The DVD includes two commentaries – one by director Ron Howard, one by Jim and Marilyn Lovell – plus a documentary (“Lost Moon: The Triumph Of Apollo 13″) and the entire film score as the background music to the Menu screen. The commentaries are enlightening, especially to those who want to know more about where things in the movie don’t quite match up with historical fact; both Howard and the Lovells are open and detailed about those changes and provide some nice background information. Marilyn Lovell doesn’t talk much, but what she does say gives a little insight into what it’s like to have actors come into your life and prepare to portray you to an audience of millions, which is something just as valuable as Jim’s historical factchecking. (I love the movie, but this is an invaluable resource to have on the DVD – as good a job as the filmmakers did in bringing the Apollo era to life, they did play fast and loose with some facts. That’s regrettable, but at least they take the opportunity to clear up the record somewhat.) (more…)

To the best of my recollection, this was 20th Century Fox’s first foray into the world of DVD, and the first time a double-disc set was devoted to a single movie. And what better movie than James Cameron’s epic, oft-misunderstood The Abyss? I’ve always liked that film’s feel, its characters, the cast, the sets, the music, and just the total atmosphere that is the sum of all of those elements. Sure, by the time Cameron reaches the point at which he delivers his anti-war message, it’s brought home to the viewer with the quiet, delicate touch of a jackhammer at a Manhattan construction site, but if you’ve made it that far into the movie, chances are you’ll be too engrossed in other things to be put off by the oversimplification of the sermon. And hey, it’s still more eloquent than “All these worlds are yours, except Europa…” (more…)

Often hailed as love-it-or-hate-it fare among Star Trek fans, Star Trek: The Motion Picture remains possibly my favorite movie of the entire franchise to date. Seriously. I’m not joking.

What do I like about ST:TMP? Maybe that it’s as brainy and as close to hard science fiction as the original Trek franchise ever got. Granted, that probably didn’t gain this movie the widest possible audience, but in 1979, Star Trek was thought of more fondly than it is by the public in 2002, and also in 1979, the most likely audience for a Star Trek flick was Trekkers themselves – so it was safe to throw a bit of real SF at them. Future movies made much more obvious attempts to appeal to a broad action-adventure audience. (more…)