Directed by Peter Jackson and featuring Oscar-winning CG animation by Randy Cook and the team at WETA Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will no doubt dominate video sales and rentals with today’s release through Warner Home Video. Featuring a star-studded cast including Elijah Wood, Sir Ian Mc Kellen, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler, the fantasy adventure gets the two-disc DVD treatment with a full slate of extras. Hardcore fans can even pick up the Platinum Series extended edition or the Platinum Series extended edition gift set.
Two-disc DVD Features:
• Closed-captioned, widescreen
• Theatrical trailers
• Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of The Two Towers
• Three in-depth documentaries that reveal the secrets behind the production, including: Welcome to Middle-earth (in-store special as shown by Houghton Mifflin)
The Quest for the Ring (as debuted on the FBC Network)
A Passage to Middle-earth (as premiered on the SCI-FI Channel)
• 15 featurettes originally created for www.lordoftherings.net, which explore the locales and cultures of Middle-earth and include interviews with cast members Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler and others
• Enya May It Be music video
• An inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Preview of Electronic Arts’ video game, The Two Towers
• DVD-ROM features: Exclusive online content
• Widescreen anamorphic format
Elijah Wood is also featured in another of today’s releases, Disney’s The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina. Wood and Jennifer Love Hewitt voice the title pair in the animated musical.
Another eagerly awaited release hitting stores today is The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season. CBS/Fox Home Video is putting out this four-disc set loaded with extras, including:
Edition Details:
• Commentary by on all episodes
• Interviews with James L. Brooks and Matt Groening
• Bart on the American Music Awards (with commentary)
• Do The Bartman music video (with optional commentary)
• Deep, Deep Trouble music video (with optional commentary)
• Do The Bartman (Director’s Cut) – video
• David Silverman on the creation of an episode
• Licensing and merchandising review
• Emmy Awards presentation
• Three Butterfinger commercials
• Still Photos (Easter eggs)
• Early drawings
• Full-screen format
Also arriving on video shelves today is the long-due DVD release of the classic 1981 mythological fantasy feature Clash of the Titans. Showcasing the talents of legendary stop motion animator Ray Harryhausen, the film stars Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier and Burgess Meredith. It is being released by Warner Home Video.
Features
• Closed-captioned
• Theatrical trailers
• A conversation with Ray Harryhausen
• "Map of myths and monsters” gallery
• All-new digital transfer
• Cast film highlights
• Widescreen anamorphic format
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Adventures in Nowhere Land debuts on DVD and VHS though Columbia Tristar Home Ent. This volume contains six episodes. The popular television series, produced by Nelvana, airs on Nick Jr. in the U.S. and TELETOON in Canada.
Episodes:
• “Beastly Picture”
• “The Big Duck”
• “Hamilton’s Past”
• “My One and Only Book”
• “Mr. Shivers”
• “The King of Nowhere Land”
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: We are Family arrives on VHS.
Wrapping up the video roundup is Mondo Media’s DVD release of Happy Tree Friends “Volume 1: First Blood.” The popular web series, featuring a cuddly cast of tree-dwellers, comes to home video with three never-before-seen episodes created exclusively for this release.
Features:
“Spin Fun Knowing Ya’: Pop-Corn Video”
“Whose Line is it Anyway?” — an episode from the vaults
“Banjo Frenzy” — the original episode that started it all
• 14 classic episodes
• Four Smoochies (interactive pets gone awry)
• Episode-to-storyboard commentary
• Early character sketches
• Meet-the-character slideshow
Priced at $16.99 (S.R.P.) this title is now exclusively available online at Mondo Media’s Yahoo! store at http://dvd.mondominishows.com/shop.html
