The triple-disc collector's edition of The Wizard of Oz is one of the two editions of the 1939 Victor Fleming film released in October of 2005. The other is the two-disc special edition, and both were preceded by the MGM/UA DVD at the end of the '90s and the first Warner Bros. DVD edition a couple of years earlier. The latter, in particular, was very good in its time, in terms of the transfer and the bonus materials, but this triple-desk version does indeed outclass it and all rival versions. It contains everything that's on the double-disc set: a stunningly crisp transfer that reveals more detail in the image -- elements of the picture that are blurred or barely seen in the older Warner transfer, such as the details in the bricks on the Yellow Brick Road, can be seen in the new edition. The chaptering is close to what was used in the older Warner disc, but fine-tuned in some of the locations and breaks, and the sound is improved somewhat as well. The commentary by John Fricke and surviving cast and crew -- at least the third full-length commentary ever done on Oz, counting the one done by Ron Haver for The Criterion Collection laserdisc (which, itself, set a new standard for transfers of the movie) -- has been updated anew. There are featurettes on the cast and crew, the restoration of the movie, and a free-standing music-and-effects track on the first disc in the package, in tandem with the full-length movie. Disc two is loaded up with the Angela Lansbury-hosted making-of feature, which holds up extremely well, as well as the "Memories of Oz" television special -- but it's mostly filled with the new features "The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz" and "Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz," plus composer Harold Arlen's home movies, outtakes and test footage of the tornado sequences, galleries of stills and trailers, and six hours of audio bonus features, including raw session recordings of the music and radio adaptations and promotional materials. The third disc is for those who genuinely love not only the movie and its origins but the man behind Oz; the centerpiece of the third platter is a full-length documentary on Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum that does about as good a job of telling his life as has ever been brought before the public. L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain is lively and entertaining as well as informative and lavishly produced. It is supported by complete editions of the earlier attempts at bringing the world of Oz to the screen, from 1910 through 1933. The silent Oz features have also been issued by some public domain DVD companies, but here they've been restored and re-scored, and each with a different kind of music score, from solo keyboard to orchestra, so that the experience of each film is distinct and different from its companion features. The 1933 cartoon Wizard of Oz is in rougher shape than one would wish, but it is also one of the rarer manifestations of the early Oz films, as its distribution was complicated by legal disputes. The disc opens automatically to an easy-to-use multi-layered menu. The other major features of the triple-disc slipcased set are reproductions of the 1939 publicity art and promotional screening invitational materials.

Grosse Pointe Blank never got the attention it deserved, but it is one of John Cusack's better films. While the DVD, like most early releases, lacks supplemental features, it is nonetheless a great opportunity to see the movie's successful blend of neurotic humor and well-choreographed action with an impressive 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Sound. While it is an early transfer, the print looks good and is clear of dirt or grain. The sound outshines that of the video release and actually makes the disc an impressive sample of the audio and visual potential of DVD, at least for the early years of the format. The audio transfer also upholds the film's quirky comic interplay in its quieter moments while waiting to really deliver the goods during the action scenes. The theatrical trailer is the only special feature on the disc. While it would have been nice to hear a John Cusack and George Armitage commentary track, the disc is still worth hunting down for Cusack fans or lovers of dark comedy and gunplay.

It has taken almost a decade for Warner Bros. to finally release a deluxe edition of Tim Burton's first mega-successful blockbuster Batman flick, so now that it's here, how does it stack up? Could it possible live up to expectations? The answer is a resounding and joyous "Yes!" This two-disc special edition release is just what any film geek ordered -- the transfer is stunning and the bonus materials deliver hours of drool-inducing material. Despite all its bells and whistles, though, at the heart of this release lies the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. It's a crying shame that the folks at WB didn't update the presentation of this film sooner. The previous edition is an utter failure by today's standards and, needless to say, the digital picture remastering and combination of 5.1 Dolby and DTS tracks make for a truly new experience for the viewer. The movie disc comes complete with a Tim Burton commentary that finds the filmmaker scatterbrained as ever, but it's a solid and insightful commentary nonetheless. The real goodies come in the form of the documentaries and featurettes, adding up to over two hours of material dedicated to the various departments of this colossal production. Possibly the most interesting tales are those that present the film's decade-long road to production, spearheaded by a professor who happened to be the first to teach a comic book course at a university (just one of the little-known facts that abound on the bonus disc). Also included is a 40-minute special on the Batman mythos in the comic books that features interviews with past and current creators including Frank Miller and Alex Ross. Packed into the rest of the edition are three music videos from Prince, some smaller featurettes on each main character and character creator Bob Kane, and a surprising storyboard scene that features an early appearance by Robin that was cut (made even cooler by the vocal stylings of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy doing the voices of the Joker and Batman, respectively). It's a bit of a disappointment that the discs don't include the heavily rumored deleted scenes, but you can bet that they're being saved for some kind of "Ultimate Edition" down the road. For now, you can't get any better than this release, compounded by the similar treatments done to all three later Batman films and, of course, Batman Begins, which was obviously the marketing strategy for waiting so long to finally unleash these stellar editions onto the scene.

Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on all comers in a mythic style in this special DVD twin-pack, which presents Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer in one package. Both films have been transferred to disc in letterboxed format at the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, with the images enhanced for anamorphic playback on widescreen monitors. The audio for both films has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono; both are in English, while Conan the Destroyer also features an optional dubbed soundtrack in French. Conan the Barbarian includes optional subtitles in French, while the follow-up does not feature subtitles. Bonus material featured on Conan the Barbarian includes an extended cut of the film, deleted scenes, a short documentary on the making of the picture, the original theatrical trailer, and a commentary track with director John Milius and star Arnold Schwarzenegger discussing the movie. The Conan the Destroyer disc is fortified with production notes, biographies of the cast and crew, and the original trailer.