Demko's DVD shelf

You can call it Samurai day here, and more specifically Toshiru Mifune day, and how can that be a bad thing?

Seven Samurai

The only thing that worries me about this new, three-disc release of Kurosawa's masterpiece is that it will add fuel to the (yet another) remake rumors I've been hearing for years now. Shame on anyone considering this.

This one already has its deserved Criterion kudo-set, but this new edition adds tantalizing extras to the classic tale of a fighting force recruited to save a suffering village from marauding bandits. Extras include: An all-new, restored high-definition digital transfer; two audio commentaries: one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns and Donald Richie, and the other by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck; a 50-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai, "It Is Wonderful to Create"; My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima produced by the Directors Guild of Japan; "Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences," a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa's masterpiece; theatrical trailers and teaser; a gallery of rare posters and behind-the scenes and production stills; and a booklet featuring essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Kenneth Turan, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn and Sidney Lumet, and an interview with Toshiro Mifune.

Whew! Now that's a deluxe treatment! But no movie I can think of is more worthy of it, so this one is my lock of the week.

Toshiro Mifune - The Ultimate Collection

No image from "Seven Samurai" gets seared in your mind faster than the entrance of Toshiro Mifune, with his eyes seemingly swollen with simmering rage. Get your fill of this great actor in this new box set of five of his samurai classics.

This comes from the IMDB: In "Samurai Assassin" (1965), directed by Okamoto Kihachi, he's a scruffy swordsman who joins a secret sect plotting to assassinate the Emperor's advisor, who has built himself up to become the most powerful man in Japan. "Samurai Banners" (1969), from director Inagaki Hiroshi, is a sweeping story of two men attempting to build an empire in 16th century Japan. In "Red Lion" (1969), he plays a common stablehand who returns to his village impersonating a great military officer just as the corrupt governor has kidnapped a number of locals. And finally, Mifune revives his beloved rogue samurai character Yojimbo in "Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo" (1970), his only showdown with Shintaru Katsu's legendary samurai character, and in "Incident at Blood Pass" (1970), hired for an assignment so mysterious that he isn't even told what it is.

I have to confess I haven't seen any of these, so it should make for a fun week of viewing chez moi.

Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Monsters just don't get any badder than the O.G. himself, no matter how many pretenders have followed in his footsteps.

Now, in a two-disc set, we get both the original Japanese flick, "Gojira," which had both an anti-Atomic bomb message and references to Hiroshima, and the first American version, "King of the Monsters," which includes new footage featuring Raymond Burr.

If it weren't for "Jackass" (more on that later), this would definitely be my fun video pick of the week.

Brazil and Amarcord from Criterion

Terry Gilliam's sci-fi mindtrip has already gotten the three-disc treatment from Criterion, so consider this single-disc version still packed with extras a gift to those of us on a budget.

This new version features Gilliam's definitive version of the film, culled from materials in numerous different release cuts, in a newly restored high-definition master and a remastered soundtrack. You'll also get a commentary by Terry Gilliam and a booklet with an essay by Jack Mathews.

Amarcord, Fellini's carnivalesque portrait of Italy during the Fascist period, also gets the Criterion treatment this week, in a two-disc special edition. If you spring for this one, you'll get a commentary by scholars Peter Brunette and Frank Burke; a deleted scene; "Fellini's Homecoming," a new 45-minute documentary on the complicated relationship between Fellini, his hometown, and his past; a video interview with star Magali Noël; Fellini's drawings; "Felliniana," a presentation of "Amarcord" ephemera; audio interviews with Fellini, his friends and family by Gideon Bachmann; trailers; and a booklet featuring a new essay by Sam Rohdie and Fellini's 1968 memoir, "La mia Rimini."

All the King's Men

Count me as skeptical-turning-toward-cautiously-optimistic that the upcoming remake of this true American classic won't suck hard. Even if it does, at least it has brought us this special edition of what is, in my opinion, America's greatest political film.

If you don't already own Robert Rossen's flick based on Robert Penn Warren's novel, featuring a blistering performance from Broderick Crawford as the populist firebrand Willie Stark, I'd recommend this highly. But if you already do, this set will offer little reason for an upgrade. The main extras are all about the new film, including interviews with James Gandolfini, Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins, plus the theatrical trailer.

United 93

Though I readily concede Paul Greengrass' retelling of the flight of United 93, the plane that crashed in a Pennsylvania farm field on 9/11, is a masterful piece of filmmaking, it's also something I never need to see again.

Call me a wuss, but I had to turn away from the screen at several points during the third act, knowing too well how it would all end. If you'd like, you can read my original review here.

If you haven't seen this one, it's definitely worth a rental. Supplements include a commentary with director Greengrass; "United 93: The Families and the Film" featurette and memorial pages.

Jackass - The Movie

And now for something completely different ... I had never seen the show "Jackass" (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it) when my brother called to tell me he had just seen the movie and it was just about the funniest thing he had ever seen. And I have to agree.

In this new edition most surely inspired by the upcoming "Jackass" sequel, you'll get four minutes of extended scenes added to the original film; Two commentaries, one by star Johnny Knoxville, director Jeff Tremaine and cinematographer Dimitry Elyashkevich, and another by the cast of jackasses; "The Making of Jackass The Movie" MTV special; outtakes; 27 minutes of additional footage; "Too Hot for MTV" additional footage, and, of course, an inside look at "Jackass Number Two."

If you like your humor, rude, crude and straight for the gut, jump at this one.

Fraggle Rock

HBO brought us this musical trip with Jim Henson's creations, a delight for children and adults alike. This set contains the 24 episodes from season two of the show's five-year run.

And with that, I sign off. A lot of titles to choose from this week, so I hope you found something to check out. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to return to work after a rather enjoyable holiday weekend. Peace out.