A tradition of excellence from New Line Home Video continues with the first release of 2001's epic The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, a DVD that quite simply takes sound, and especially picture, to a new level. The image on this disc, framed at the original aspect ration of 2.35:1 (but also available in a separate severely cropped pan-and-scan version) is stunning. Stunning might not even be enough to describe how good it looks. The Oscar-winning cinematography is perfectly realized, with solid and deep blacks and lush, wonderfully saturated colors. The sound is equally impressive with a 5.1 EX Dolby Digital English track that is startling strong. Recorded loudly, this track will certainly put all sound systems to the test with vibrant use of the surrounds and deep bass. Also available are a surround track and subtitles in English. As for supplemental materials, they are a mixed bag. The focus is on three documentaries, but there is far too much repetition among them. The longest, "A Passage To Middle-earth," at 40 minutes, is really the only one that needs to be watched, as all the information, from interviews to behind-the-scenes segments, are basically the same. A real plus are 15 featurettes taken from the original website for the film. Each lasts only a few minutes, but adds in its own distinct way. Also included is a music video from Enya, a preview of the video game for the second film, theatrical trailers and television spots, and a look at the four-disc special extended set, released three months after this two-disc set. In addition to some online DVD-ROM content is a ten-minute preview for the second film in the series, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Granted, there is a supplement-heavy special edition of this film (if you want a commentary track from director Peter Jackson, among others, better look for that one), but this release is still a outstanding presentation of a spectacular film.

This classic horror movie based on Stephen King's first novel stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy, diffident teenager who is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Many films had featured school bullies, but Carrie was one of the first to focus on the special brand of cruelty unique to teenage girls. Carrie's world is presented as a snake pit, where the well-to-do female students all have fangs -- even the reticent Sue Snell (Amy Irving) -- and all the males are blind pawns, sexually twisted around the fingers of Chris and her evil cronies. The talented supporting cast includes John Travolta, P.J. Soles, and William Katt. One of the genre's true classics, the film was followed by a sequel in 1999, as well as by a famously unsuccessful Broadway musical adaptation that starred Betty Buckley, the movie's gym teacher, as Margaret White.

The wacky Zucker brothers are at it again with their '80s cold war spoof Top Secret! Paramount's work on this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is only mildly passable at best. There is an overabundance of dirt, grain, and other defects in the transfer, and some of the colors and black levels aren't nearly as sharp as one might hope. While the image is decent, Paramount could have done a much better job at cleaning up this print. The soundtrack is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English and Dolby 2.0 Stereo in French. The 5.1 soundtrack on this disc is evenly mixed with a few directional effects sprinkled throughout the movie. All aspects of the mix are free and clear of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English subtitles and closed captions. Fans of this nutty comedy will be happy to see the inclusion of four deleted scenes from the film. The scenes are in very poor condition, but are quite amusing. A very funny commentary track by director Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker; producers Jon Davidson and Hunt Lowry; and moderator Fred Rubin provide a belly full of laughs and chuckles all the way though. Sure, there are a few stories about the production and history of the film, though mostly this is just a goofily entertaining commentary full of funny asides. Finally, there are three storyboard sequences and a theatrical trailer for the film.