Sea Evil - 12:00am

Let's start off our first update of 2003 with some scary stuff on the way from Warner Home Video. Just announced for a March 28th release is the waterlogged scarefest Ghost Ship, which racked up about $30 million at the box office this past fall. Warner will release this spooky Fog-esque thriller in separate 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, each with "spectacular holographic (lenticular) packaging," English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks, plus a "boatload" of extras: "Secrets of the Antonia Graza" (break the code of Katie’s twist toy game to view spooky new footage that delves into), "Strategy of the Villains" (how they plotted to take over the boat), "Artwork of an Innocent Child" (a collection of Katie’s paintings), "Back Story of Francesca" (watch the sultry songstress prepare for her last show), "Radio" (the story of the previous group killed on the ship), and four additional featurettes "Max on Set: Ghost Ship - Behind the Scenes," "A Closer Look at the Gore," "Designing the Ghost Ship," and "Visual Effects." All this plus the music video for Mudvayne’s "Not Falling" trailers, and filmographies. Retail is $27.95.

Speaking of things that go bump in the night, how many Friday the 13th fans out there are tired of waiting for Paramount to release some gosh darn golly special editions of the horror classics? Well, 2003 may prove to be the year fans finally get what they've been waiting for... sort of. In addition to the upcoming Freddy Vs. Jason due in theaters this summer and a new book on the making of the entire series hitting bookstores this fall, Warner will release a new special edition of the one that started it all in 2003... but only overseas (Paramount retains the domestic home video distribution rights). The disc will feature the international cut of the film (already available via Warner in some foreign territories), plus the new documentary "Return to Crystal Lake," featuring all-new interviews with Cunningham, stars Adrienne King and Betsy Palmer, screenwriter Victor Miller, and more. Alas, a Paramount spokesperson told us there are still no plans for any special edition releases of any of the Friday flicks here in the States, despite the Warner effort. Stay tuned for more, and in the meantime, guess you Friday fans will have to check into those multi-region players until Paramount changes their minds...

In less scary news, Warner has also issued the full press release for the February 18th special edition DVD re-release of Steven Spielberg's acclaimed The Color Purple, which helps clear up some confusion of what will and will not be on the release. This two-disc set features a newly remastered 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen version of the film on disc one, with English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital surround tracks. Surprisingly for a Spielberg title, no DTS option will be included. Disc two features four new documentaries produced by longtime Spielberg collaborator Laurent Bouzereau: "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." (The musical!?) Other extras include two teasers, a trailer and filmographies. No commentaries will be included, and retail is $27.95.

Street date alert - 12:00am

As the Oscar race heats up, so does the last minute, just-in-time-for-the-ceremony DVD announcements. Coming March 11th from Buena Vista Home Entertainment is the little-seen Brad Siberling drama Moonlight Mile, starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon. No specs yet, but retail is $29.95.

More new street dates from Columbia include a March 25th arrival for the J.Lo comedy hit Maid in Manhattan, plus Cary Grant in The Howards of Virginia, I'm With Lucy, and - at long last! - the Shelley Long classic Troop Beverly Hills. Watch this space for more...

Last but not least, due to different released street dates, Fox Home Entertainment has issued a clarification that the actual street date for the upcoming One Hour Photo is February 18th for both the DVD and VHS releases. Features and pricing remain the same.

Artful 'Dodger' - 12:00am

Rounding out today's news comes the announcement of a small but acclaimed flick that seems to have gotten lost amid all the Oscar buzz saved for the big studio-backed efforts, but don't let it pass you by this time. On March 18th, Artisan Home Entertainment will release Rodger Dodger, featuring an Oscar-worthy performance from Campbell Scott and a topflight cast, including Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Beals and everybody's favorite showgirl, Elizabeth Berkeley (really, she's actually good in this). Presented in anamorphic widescreen and English 5.1 Dolby surround, extras include 2 audio commentaries, deleted scenes, filmographies and trailers. Retail is $26.95, and this one is well worth checking out.

Also just announced from Artisan - come on, you knew it was coming - is Trading Spaces Greatest Moments, 100 minutes of some of the top segments from the wildly popular TLC series. There are no extras, and retail is $19.95.