John Waters on DVD

[Lino]

Surprised I haven't seen any online reviews yet of Cry-Baby. Well, here goes mine: the A/V are both excellent and the extras are good if somewhat missing of any sort of teasers or trailers making this the only John Waters DVD that doesn't have them. Shame as I'm a big fan of trailers and I might even one day dedicate a thread to them which they certainly deserve as it's of historical importance the way films were advertised to the film-going public through the decades.

The Waters audio-commentary is always interesting to hear and terrific fun as well and this one didn't disapoint either. He even starts it off by saying: "Yes, I'm John Waters and I made this film."

The best thing about the special features is the 47 minutes featurette on the making of the film: you get to see all the gang that made it and see if the years have been kind to them or not (poor old Hatchet Face is now very thin, almost anorexic-like and is a lawyer, no less!).

The only thing I have bugging me with this new Director's Cut is that overall you don't see much difference between what was and now is and the most curious of all is that the best scenes that were left out of the movie in the first place he never got around to include them on this new version so they are in the Deleted Scenes option of the bonus features. A dirty shame, Mr. Waters!

[dx23]

There is a decent review over at DVD Talk.

[Lino]

Serial Mom is being re-released in a new Collector's Edition by Universal. Seems that HBO lost the rights to this one.

I wonder who will be behind the release of Multiple Maniacs.

[Lino]

Specs for Serial Mom are up at DVDTown:

Extras will include: "Digitally Remastered Picture," a "Theatrical Trailer," a "Feature Commentary with Director John Waters and Star Kathleen Turner," "Feature Commentary with Director John Waters," a "Serial Mom: Surreal Moments" featurette, "The Kings of Gore: Herschell Gordon Lewis and David Friedman" featurette, and "The Making of Serial Mom."

Sweet.

[zombeaner]

Specs for Serial Mom are up at DVDTown:

Extras will include: "Digitally Remastered Picture," a "Theatrical Trailer," a "Feature Commentary with Director John Waters and Star Kathleen Turner," "Feature Commentary with Director John Waters," a "Serial Mom: Surreal Moments" featurette, "The Kings of Gore: Herschell Gordon Lewis and David Friedman" featurette, and "The Making of Serial Mom."

I'm in! Any John Waters is good John Waters.

[Lino]

We have artwork!

[Lino]

Artwork and street date for 'Til Death Do Us Part Season 1.

[luridedith]

Love Waters but that show was incredibly dull and unfunny (granted I only saw one episode but still). Would have been much better if he wrote it.

[Lino]

DVDTimes announces the new edition of Serial Mom.

[Lino]

Has anyone got the new Serial Mom DVD? How does it look? Can't find any reviews for it.

[manicsounds]

I found 1 review, on www.allmovie.com blog, and they give it a very positive review

[Lino]

Thanks! Here it is for posterity, then:

John Waters fans, prepare to be happy. No, unfortunately Mondo Trasho isn’t coming out on special edition DVD, but his morbid tale of suburban butchery, Serial Mom, has finally arrived in an impressive package that makes HBO Home Video’s previous release of the film look positively anemic by comparison. Go ahead and use that old fullscreen disc as a coaster, because this is the version of Serial Mom that every Waters fan is going to want for their collection.

Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the film has never looked as good on home video as it does here: The suburban shrubs burst with Tru-Green color, the blood flows a vivid deep red, and Beverly Sutphin’s linens look so Bounty fresh you can almost smell the fabric softener. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is so crisp the viewer can hear the birds happily chirping outside the Sutphin’s windows, and Barry Manilow’s Daybreak blasts with crystal clear, cheery irony.

But a pristine presentation of the film itself is only the beginning, because in addition to including the director’s commentary track originally recorded for the 2004 DVD release of Serial Mom, this disc also includes an abundance of fantastic bonus materials. A newly recorded commentary track finds Waters watching the film alongside star Kathleen Turner, and it’s truly fascinating to hear Hollywood legend Turner’s take on working with the so-called “Prince of Puke.” She may not be the most talkative actress ever to appear on a commentary track, but it’s obvious that she had fun working on the film and she shares some great stories about the production. It’s especially fun to hear Waters and Turner talking about working with Sam Waterston, who reluctantly went crowd surfing for a climatic scene at a punk concert and at one point worried that he was endorsing deviant behavior by appearing in the film. First up on the featurette list is “Serial Mom: Surreal Moments.” A nearly thirty-minute documentary on the making of Serial Mom, “Surreal Moments” finds all the Waters regulars discussing the production of the film along with a few unique surprises: It’s pretty amazing to hear Patricia Hearst recalling her original meeting with Waters, Donita Sparks from L7 discusses her uncomfortable costume, and Film Critic Dennis Dermody reveals an interesting piece of trivia about Beverly Sutphin’s serial killer scrapbook. Additional interviews find Ricki Lake discusses the chaos of shooting Serial Mom and launching her hit talk show at the same time, and Matthew Lillard joyfully recalling his very first film appearance. Fans of Serial Mom know that the film Blood Feast plays a pivotal role in the plot, and in “The Kings of Gore: Herschell Gordon Lewis and David Friedman” viewers are treated to a ten-minute history lesson in screen slaughter. “The Making of Serial Mom” is a six-minute original promotional featurette, and somewhat chillingly highlights how Serial Mom anticipated the cult of celebrity surrounding serial killers. An original theatrical trailer is also included.