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.

The high seas are set for high laughs in the wacky Chris Elliot comedy Cabin Boy. The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and features a very attractive picture. The film displays a vast array of colors and black levels, each finely detailed and sharp. Besides the slightest amount of dirt and edge enhancement in the image, this transfer appears to be in excellent condition. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround in English and sounds better than expected. While directional effects are lacking, the fidelity of the track is very clear with both the front and center speakers utilized thoroughly. All aspects of the mix are free of any excessive hiss or distortion. No alternate soundtracks are included on this edition of Cabin Boy. Sadly, this DVD is swimming in a barrel of chum -- not a single extra feature is available on this disc.

John Harrison's television adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic science fiction tale, Dune comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.77:1. English soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround, and DTS Surround. There are no subtitles, but all three soundtracks are closed-captioned. The extensive supplemental materials include a commentary by the director and the crew, a featurette about the Dune books, a featurette with legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, an essay writen by Storaro, an interview with the director, a still photo gallery, information on the cast and crew, and a roundtable discussion of issues facing science fiction writers featuring a handful of respected and award-winning authors. This is an outstanding disc for fans of the books or any science fiction enthusiast.

David Lynch's stylish, flawed Dune was a controversial movie upon release for many fans of the Frank Herbert novel from which it was adapted. By the time of this DVD release, the controversy had pretty much faded away, allowing Dune to be viewed as more of a campy, cult-classic sci-fi film. The picture and sound quality of the DVD transfer are both superb. The 2.35:1 widescreen presentation consistently impresses via the rich colors of Lynch's bold visuals, the stunning cinematography of Freddie Francis, and Carlo Rambaldi's bizarre creature effects. The Dolby Digital Sound is quite rich and always aurally interesting. Supplemental materials don't provide much of interest. The production notes could just as easily and successfully have been included in the liner notes for the DVD; they only amount to about ten paragraphs of straightforward information. The cast and filmmaker bios are standard biographical filmographies. The theatrical trailer is interesting, but its sound and video quality isn't up to the presentation quality of the movie itself. The liner notes claim the DVD includes a "Film Highlights" feature, but that feature doesn't seem to be accessible from any menu. It's possible the notes are actually referring to the "Chapter List" menu, which allows direct scene access. It should be noted that some fans prefer the longer, edited-for-television version of this production, though David Lynch disowned it in classic Alan Smithee fashion; that version is not included on this DVD edition. Dune still makes for a highly entertaining DVD, if one isn't expecting anything more than the movie itself.