Training day - 12:00am

Making a highly-acclaimed directorial debut, Oscar winner Denzel Washington's Antwone Fisher comes to DVD on May 20th from Fox Home Entertainment. Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with English and French 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, extras include an audio commentary with Washington and producer , the featurettes "Meeting Antwone Fisher," "The Making of Antwone Fisher" and "Hollywood & The Navy," filmographies, and trailers. Retail is $27.95.

Fox will also release the real-life tale of Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, starring William Hurt. Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and English Dolby Digital 5.1, extras include audio commentary by director Lawrence Schiller, a featurette, and 12 deleted scenes with commentary. Retail is Fox's high $34.95 "rental" price.

Pop idols - 12:00am

Yes, Beatles fans, it's finally here. The Beatles Anthology will make its DVD debut on April 1st from Capitol Records. This five-disc set has been newly remastered, and will include Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks, plus PCM 2.0 stereo. Among the extras is a bonus disc with over 50 minutes of never before seen footage. Retail price has not yet been set, but stay tuned for more...

Space odyssey - 12:00am

Buena Vista Home Entertainment has just announced a number of new Spring releases, a mix of box office hits and lesser-known critical hits.

First up on May 13th is the 1984-esque sci-fi thriller Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. Featuring a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, extras include an audio commentary by director Kurt Wimmer, a featurette, and the trailer. Retail is $29.95.

Laughs will also abound on the 13th with Rob Schneider's latest, The Hot Chick. Packed with extras, goodies include an audio commentary by director Tom Brady, the "Hot Chick Yearbook: A Behind The Scenes Look At The Film And The Characters" featurette, deleted scenes, Zed's "Starlight" music video, and trailers. Also making its home video debut is Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, extras include an audio commentary (participants TBA), the "Where Is Orny Now?" featurette, interviews with Jimmy Glick, deleted scenes, a Letterman Show appearance by Seinfeld, and trailers. Retail is $29.95 apiece.

Rounding out the new announcements, April 1st sees the release of the import The Other Side of Heaven, and on May 20th Jackie Chan's Project A2. Both feature anamorphic widescreen transfers and 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, but no real extras aside from trailers. Retail is $29.95 a pop.
 
Sluts in the city -12:00am

The girls are back! HBO has just announced Sex and the City: The Complete Fourth Season, hitting DVD on May 20th. This 3-disc set features all 18 fourth season episodes in 4:3 full screen and Dolby 2.0 surround, Extras include audio commentaries on select episodes by producer Darren Star and others, filmographies, and episode previews. Retail is $49.95.

Indie roundup - 12:00am

Wrapping up this week's news comes the latest indie DVD releases. First up, Strand Releasing has the final two installments in Ferzan Ozpetek’s erotic trilogy (following up Steam: The Turkish Bath) on tap for March 18th: Harem and His Secret Life. Each is presented in anamorphic widescreen and with their original language tracks with English subtitles, plus trailers. Retail is $29.95 each.

You fans of French cinema have more to look forward to on March 25th, when Pathfinder releases The Claude Chabrol Collection, the first-ever DVD releases of eight classic films from France's master of suspense: Ten Days' Wonder, La Femme Infidele, Les Biches, Innocents with Dirty Hands, Le Boucher, This Man Must Die, La Rupture, and Nada. Each is available separately for $19.95 a pop, or as an 8-disc set for $109.95.

Finally, music fans have a number of new titles to look forward to: Music Video Distributors has Dave Matthews: Plugging the Gaps, Art of Noise Into Vision: Complete Compendium and Outside Out: A Film by Mike Gordon of Phish on tap for March 18th, and CBGB: Punk from the Bowery and Long John Baldry: Live in Concert due April 22nd. Retail is $19.95 a pop.

(Due to the President's Day holiday, there will be no update this Monday, February 17th. See you Tuesday!)