Eeks! vs. Whatever - 12:02am

Ouch, that was fast! Despite just now disappearing from theaters after a less-than-spectactular box office run, on December 17th Warner Home Video will bow the action-fest Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever. This one comes presented in anamorphic widescreen with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks, plus extras including the HBO First Look special, a "Know Your Enemy" interactive challenge, and the trailer. Retail is $26.95.

Street date alert - 12:02am

Just in from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment are another batch of new and catalog releases, all due January 21st. Making their DVD debuts are the recent limited release theatrical features World Traveler and Mad Love (not the 1997 Drew Barrymore pic), plus three new library gems, including Sirocco, The Harder They Fall and the Warren Beatty classic Shampoo. Stay tuned for more details...

Three classics from Criterion - 12:02am

From The Criterion Collection comes three more must-have classics, all due to hit shelves on January 21st.

Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 classic Bande a part (Band of Outsiders) comes presented in a brand new high-definition transfer in the film's original 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio and supervised by cinematographer Raoul Coutard, plus the film's original French mono mix with new English subtitles. Extras include a "Visual Glossary: with film clips and stills, exclusive new video interviews with Raoul Coutard and actress Anna Karina, interview excerpts with Godard from 1964, behind-the-scenes footage during the production of the film, the Agnes Varda's silent comedy "Les Fiances du Pont MacDonald," and two theatrical trailers. Retail is $29.95.

Up next is Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise featuring a new 1.37:1 full screen transfer and mono mix, a new video introduction by director Peter Bogdanovich, audio commentary by Lubitsch biographer Scott Eyman, Lubitsch's 1917 short film "Das fidele Gefangnis (The Merry Jail)", 1940 Screen Guild Theater radio program featuring Lubitsch, Jack Benny, Claudette Colbert, and Basil Rathbone, and text tributes to Lubitsch by Billy Wilder, Leonard Maltin, Cameron Crowe and Roger Ebert. Retail is $39.95.

Last but not least is the newly restored, full-length version of Julien Duvivier's Pepele Moko, presented in 1.37:1 full screen and mono. Extras include a 1962 French television interview with Duvivier, excerpts from the 1978 television documentary "Remembering Jean Gabin" and Ginette Vincendeau's BFI Classics special, a video comparison between Pepele Moko and the 1938 U.S. version, and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $29.95.