Just in time for Oscar season, Warner Home Video has announced two new additions to their special edition series, the 1989 Best Picture Oscar winner Driving Miss Daisy, and the film that holds the record for the most Oscar nominations but no wins, The Color Purple. Both sets will come complete with newly remastered 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers and plenty of extras.

Driving Miss Daisy debuts on February 4th as a single-disc special edition, with English and French Dolby 2.0 surround tracks, an audio commentary with director Bruce Beresford, producer Lili Finn Zanuck and writer Alfred Uhry, the new featurettes "Miss Daisy's Journal: From Stage to Screen" and "Jessica Tandy: Theatre Legend to Screen Star", the original 1989 making-of, a still gallery, trailers, and an awards list. Retail is $19.95.

Then on February 18th comes Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, featuring a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, the new Laurent Bouzereau-produced documentary (in multiple parts): "Conversations with Ancestors: The Color Purple From Book to Screen," "A Collaboration of Spirits: Casting and Acting The Color Purple," "Cultivating a Classic: The Making of The Color Purple," and "The Color Purple: The Musical," still galleries with production and publicity photos, and trailers. Retail is $27.95.

The siege - 12:00am

From the camp du Criterion comes a trio of new releases on March 11th: Robert Bresson's Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne, the video compilation By Brankhage - An Anthology, and Sam Peckinpah's legendary Straw Dogs. Retail is $39.95 each. Specs for Straw Dogs include a new 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of the uncut version of the film, audio commentary by film scholar Stephen Prince, rare footage of Dustin Hoffman on the set, video interviews with Susan George and Daniel Melnick, an isolated music and effects track, and theatrical and television trailers. Stay tuned for specs for the rest...

Fans of the John Carpenter cult classic Assault on Precinct 13 have a new special edition to look forward to, also coming on March 11th from Image Entertainment. This one features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, audio commentary with Carpenter, new video Q&A with Carpenter and star Austin Stoker recorded at the American Cinematheque, an isolated music score, still galleries with production photos, advertising materials and storyboards, the theatrical trailer and radio spots. Retail is $29.95.

Happy holidays... - 12:00am

Sorry, kiddies, due to the holiday next week, this humble little page will not return with new updates until Monday, December 30th. (Dry your eyes...it's only one week!) Have a great holiday one and all, and we'll see you soon to ring in the new year!