Night Shift (DVD New Box Art) [DVD]

Milos Forman's award winning biopic Amadeus gets the deluxe two-disc treatment from Warner Brothers on this release. The film is presented in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, and a second English soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. There are no subtitles, but both English soundtracks are closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Forman and the writer Peter Shaffer, a making of documentary, and a theatrical trailer. This is the director's cut of the film that restores a sequence cut from the original theatrical release. This is an excellent DVD.

The much-celebrated 1995 Oscar winner Leaving Las Vegas is available on DVD through MGM DVD. The film can be viewed either in widescreen or standard format. It is available in the uncut, unrated version that features additional explicit footage not shown in theatres and comes equipped with English, French, and Spanish subtitles and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD comes with the original theatrical trailer and a six-page booklet with trivia, fluffy production notes, and a list of the film's awards and nominations. The main menu screen is set against a backdrop of moving headlights and Vegas neon while jazz music plays in the background. Viewers who click on the playing cards in the upper right hand corner of the screen are led to a hidden page menu feature. This hidden page features "From College to Call Girl," a short list of Ivy League graduates (such as the film's star Elisabeth Shue) who went on to play prostitutes on film. The colors and sound on this DVD appear sharp and bright. Perhaps more detailed production notes or filmographies/biographies would have been appropriate, especially for an Oscar winner such as this one, but in essence, it's a decent package.