After multiple heartbreaking delays, John Carpenter's classic Escape From New York arrives on DVD shores in MGM's packed two-disc Special Edition Collector's Set. In addition to the new and stunning high-definition transfer, the release is packed with extras for which film fans have been salivating for years. Technically, the film looks brilliant in its anamorphic 16 x 9 enhanced 2.35:1 widescreen picture. Additionally, audio options have been tweaked and given a face-lift, with the disc's 5.1 Dolby Digital track finally doing justice to the director's trademark synth score. Bonus features begin with the long-awaited audio commentary with Kurt Russell and John Carpenter, originally recorded for the long out-of-print 1994 laserdisc. Also supplied is a brand-new track with producer Debra Hill and production designer Joe Alves. Both commentaries are lengthy in their detail of the film. Fans of Russell and Carpenter's other commentaries should be happy with this earlier session, even if it doesn't live up to the banter-filled fun of Big Trouble in Little China or Universal's The Thing discs. Another big deal extra-wise is the full deleted original bank robbery opening of the film, something that's only been glimpsed on past VHS and laserdisc releases. Here it is presented in full, with complete opening credits and an optional star/director commentary track to go along with it. Endlessly interesting and surprisingly lengthy, the scene lives up to its hype, now aided by the help of a new score penned by Carpenter himself for better presentation. Disc two's special features include the brand-new "Return to Escape From New York" featurette, containing new interviews with Carpenter, Hill, and Russell; bits from Adrienne Barbeau, Isaac Hayes, and Harry Dean Stanton; along with thoughts from screenwriter Nick Castle and cinematographer Dean Cundey. Covering all aspects of the production, this 23-minute making-of is a behind-the-scenes treat that delves into everything from the political climate from which the Snake Plissken character was born to the Steadicam work and film process that helped create Escape From New York's definitive look. With liner notes from the director himself, plus three different trailers and an immense photo gallery to boot, you are left with an ultimate DVD release that is truly worthy of the film. The Collector's Set also contains a sized-down copy of the Snake Plissken Chronicles comic and a side-show featurette on its step-by-step production, chronicling the various stages of the creators' writing and artwork.

The peaceful existence of romance novelist Joan Wilder is abruptly turned upside down when she receives a map in the mail from her recently murdered brother-in-law. She soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous jewel-hunt in the wilds of Colombia. Director Robert Zemeckis Star Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito Special Features Widescreen, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes and Behind the Scenes 105 Minutes Year of 1984.

Fox offers yet another excellent DTS audio transfer for Predator. During the scenes witnessed from the eyes of the alien, the rear speakers are wonderfully utilized to hear the soldiers' barely comprehensible voices. The depth of the sound field in these scenes helps to heighten the suspense of the film. The crisp DTS sounds shine during several shootout scenes, especially when all the soldiers fire at the unseen jungle for several minutes. This disc also includes a well-done 5.1-channel Dolby Digital transfer, as well as a decent 2.0-channel Dolby Surround track. The 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer on this disc is surprisingly uneven and varied. During certain scenes, the events on the screen shine with brilliance and clarity, while other portions contain large amounts of grain that hinder the overall presentation of the film. Overall, the visuals are stunning and work well, but the intermittent poor moments keep it from being an excellent transfer. This disc contains no extra features except for a brief theatrical trailer, which is presented in a full-screen format that is around VHS quality. It's nice to see a preview that gives away very little about the plot of the film. Of course, at that time, Arnold Schwarzenegger's name was enough to draw hordes of fans to a picture. The menus on this disc are amateurish and poor; in fact, they rank with some of the worst on any recent DVD.

Director Rawson Marshall Thurber was not only lucky enough to get first-rate comic talents Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn to star in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, he also managed to get them to take part in the commentary track recorded for the film's initial DVD release. The three are very entertaining mixing explanations of how they honed the film to be as funny as possible with humorous asides about Fox's rules on what can be said during a DVD commentary. The film itself is presented in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that fails to preserve the original theatrical aspect ratio. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Deleted scenes with optional director commentary, a blooper reel, and a featurette on how to play dodgeball are all available for viewing. The best extra, however, might be the ability to read the screenplay, which offers a valuable lesson to up and coming comic filmmakers that if it is funny on the page it is far more likely to be funny on screen.