Newsletter - FOR THE WEEK OF July 27th, 2009

This Week's Highlights

If there are DVD titles you'd like us to cover - please feel free to recommend!

Gary at 2ze dot com

HUGE Blu-ray Blowout sale at Amazon HERE

• UP TO 50% OFF SALE ON CRITERIONs AT AMAZON: El Norte [Blu-ray] (37% OFF!), The 400 Blows [Blu-ray] (50% OFF!), The Last Emperor [Blu-ray] (37% OFF!), The Man Who Fell to Earth [Blu-ray] (50% OFF!), Ace in the Hole (41% OFF!), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (40% OFF!), Last Year at Marienbad [Blu-ray] (35% OFF!), Wages of Fear [Blu-ray] (40% OFF!), The Seventh Seal [Blu-ray] (37% OFF!), The Third Man [Blu-ray] (50% OFF!), Chungking Express [Blu-ray] (50% OFF!), The Last Metro [Blu-ray] (50% OFF!), Bottle Rocket [Blu-ray] (37% OFF!)

• $14.99 Blu-ray SALE - 96 titles to choose HERE

• Amazon UK Blu-ray SUMMER SALE HERE

• Use Amazon code SONYPIC5 for $5 off Dr. Strangelove on Blu-ray

• Use Amazon code GHOSTBLU for $5 off Ghostbusters on Blu-ray

• Blu-rays from only £8.98 at Amazon UK HERE

• 36% OFF CRITERION FAVORITES HERE

• WORLD CINEMA SALE STILL ON - UP To 70% OFF HERE

• SALES: US Blu-ray up to 53% OFF        UK Blu-ray 2 for 3 SALE       Amazon France Blu-ray SALE (BUY 1 get 1 FREE!)

LATEST ADDITIONS to the Calendar: (PRE-ORDER & save!):

Z. (Costa-Gavras, 1969) - Criterion Collection

Howards End [Blu-ray] (James Ivory, 1992) - Criterion Collection

Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987) - Criterion Collection

Wings of Desire [Blu-ray] (Wim Wenders, 1987) - Criterion Collection

Eclipse Series 18: Dusan Makavejev Free Radical - Criterion Collection

Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001) - Criterion Collection

Monsoon Wedding [Blu-ray] (Mira Nair, 2001) - Criterion Collection

Diary For My Children (Marta Meszaros, 1084) R2 UK Second Run

La tete contre les murs (Georges Franju, 1959) R2 UK - Masters of Cinema

Herostratus (1967) and Don Levy Shorts R2 UK - BFI Video

Herostratus (1967) and Don Levy Shorts [Blu-ray] R'B' UK - BFI Video

All the Right Noises (Gerry O'Hara, 1969) - R2 'UK' BFI

All the Right Noises [Blu-ray] (Gerry O'Hara, 1969) - RB 'UK' BFI

Man of Violence (Pete Walker, 1971) R2 UK - BFI Video

Man of Violence [Blu-ray] (Pete Walker, 1971) R'B' UK - BFI Video

North by Northwest [Blu-ray] (50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book) – Warner

The Housemaid (Ki-young Kim, 1960) Korean Federation of Film Archives

Star Trek XI (J.J. Abrams, 2009) – Paramount

Star Trek XI (3-Disc Edition) [Blu-ray] (J.J. Abrams, 2009) – Paramount

Star Trek: The Original Series Remastered Season 2 [Blu-ray] – Paramount

Star Trek: First Contact [Blu-ray] (Jonathan Frakes, 1996) Paramount

The Negotiator [Blu-ray] (F. Gary Gray, 1998) Warner Home Video

Logan's Run [Blu-ray] (Michael Anderson, 1976) Warner

Heat [Blu-ray] (Michael Mann, 1995) – Warner

Monty Python: Almost the Truth [Blu-ray] (Alan G. Parker, 2009) Universal

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue [Blu-ray] (Jorge Grau, 1974) Blue Underground

The Soloist BR - It will be a compelling human drama of music and a promising life derailed by..... what? The Soloist is about Lopez's search for answers to that question and his efforts to make a difference in one man's life. That true story makes for an emotional, transportive movie, a film about two "soloists," loners, and how their connection changes both their lives. Blu-ray Release date: August 4th, 2009

The 10th Victim - It is the 21st Century, and society's lust for violence is satisfied by "The Big Hunt," an international game of legalized murder. But when the sport's two top assassins (Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress) are pitted against each other, they find that love is the most dangerous game of all. As the world watches, the hunt is on. Who will become THE 10TH VICTIM? DVD Release Date: July 28th, 2009

Torso - After a leisurely first act peppered with both atmospheric stalk-and-slash setpieces and some quintessential seventies moments (like the memorably-scored pot orgy, some skinny-dipping and nude sunbathing), the film takes a sudden suspenseful turn with a particularly nail-biting final act. Although the identity of the killer was rumored to have been withheld from the cast, its pretty obvious who are the red herrings and who's the killer (as such, the police procedural element is obligatory and dropped relatively early). DVD Release Date: July 28th, 2009

Requiem For Billy the Kid - Requiem’s narrative unfurls like fragments of a waking dream, with Kris Kristofferson speaking as Billy from beyond the grave and doing his best gruff ‘ole boy voice-over, imbued with calm sincerity and tender reflection. Director and co-writer Anne Feinsilber also narrates, and at times she and Kristofferson even interact as though she had resurrected Billy the Kid for one last interview. These moments are strangely touching as they each appear so unguarded, familiar and earnest. DVD Release Date: July 20th, 2009

My Cousin Vinny BR - Two carefree pals (Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield) traveling through Alabama are mistakenly arrested, and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer - Vincent Gambini (Joe Pesci, Lethal Weapon 3, Home Alone), a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who just passed his bar exam after his sixth try. Vinny's never been in court - or in Alabama - and when he arrives with his leather-clad girlfriend (Marisa Tomei in her Oscar winning Supporting Actress performance), to try his first case, it's a real shock - for him and the Deep South! Blu-ray Release date: August 4th, 2009

Big Trouble in Little China BR - A cult favorite (and one of director John Carpenter's personal favorites), 'Big Trouble in Little China' is a fantasy-action film that is brilliantly imaginative, funny, and absorbing. Kurt Russell plays hard-boiled truck driver Jack Burton, who gets caught in a bizarre conflict within, and underneath, San Francisco's Chinatown. An ancient Chinese prince and Chinatown crimelord has kidnapped a beautiful green-eyed woman, who is the fiancee to Jack's best friend. Jack must help his friend rescue the girl before the evil Lo Pan uses her to break the ancient curse that keeps him a fleshless and immortal spirit. Carpenter uses all the best elements of martial arts films, 1940s old action serials, Chinese mythology and straight- forward American adventure to make up a tale wild with imagination. Kurt Russell is wonderful as the brash, brave, and reluctant hero Jack Burton, who is hysterically out of place in this world of magic potions, goblins and curses. A visually stunning work that ranks as one of Carpenter's best films. Blu-ray Release date: August 4th, 2009

Dog Day Afternoon BR - A gripping true crime yarn, a juicy slice of overheated New York atmosphere, and a splendid showcase for its young actors, Dog Day Afternoon is a minor classic of the 1970s. The opening montage of New York street life (set to Elton John's lazy "Amoreena") establishes the oppressive mood of a scorching afternoon in the city with such immediacy that you can almost smell the garbage baking in the sun and the water from the hydrants evaporating from the sizzling pavement. Al Pacino plays Sonny, who, along with his rather slow-witted accomplice Sal (John Cazale, familiar as Pacino's Godfather brother Fredo), holds hostages after a botched a bank robbery. Blu-ray Release Date: April 10th, 2007

Prison Break - The Final Break BR - The federal government can’t touch Michael Scofield, so they’re going after the woman he loves. When Sara is arrested for murder, only Michael can rescue her — and their unborn child — from an impenetrable women’s prison. With a price on Sara’s head and time running out, Michael must rely on his deadliest enemies to help attempt the most daring breakout ever. Blu-ray Release date: July 20th, 2009

Winstanley BR - 1649. With poverty and unrest sweeping England, a group of impoverished men and women, known as the diggers, form a settlement on St George's Hill, Surrey. Inspired by the visionary leadership of Gerrard Winstanley, the commune's tireless, yet peaceful, attempts to assert their right to cultivate and share the wealth of the common land, are met with crushing hostility from local landowners and government troops. With Winstanley, filmmakers Brownlow and Mollo (the creators of It Happened Here) have produced an astonishingly authentic historical film, and a powerful, moving story of one extraordinary man's vision. Blu-ray Release date: August 3rd, 2009

Twelve Monkeys BR - Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to save the human race from a deadly virus that has forced mankind into dank underground communities in the future. Along his travels, he encounters a psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) and a mental patient, brilliantly portrayed by Brad Pitt, who may hold the key to the mysterious rogue group, the Army of the 12 Monkeys, thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease. Believing he can obtain a pure virus sample in order to find a cure in the future, he is met with one riddle after another that puts him in a race with time. This sci-fi masterpiece from the genius mind of Terry Gilliam is a modern-day classic. Blu-ray Release Date: July 28th, 2009

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon BR - Known for making films about familial relationships, director Ang Lee surprised everyone with his martial arts epic CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Based on a novel by Wang Du Lu, CROUCHING TIGER starts with the revenge plot common in the wuxia stories that Lee loved as a child, then adds a feminist twist. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) is a legendary martial artist who has decided to pass on his sword, the Green Destiny, to a friend. Soon afterward, the sword is stolen by a masked female, setting in motion events that test the bonds of family, love, duty, and sisterhood. Blu-ray Release Date: July 6th. 2009

Sling Blade BR - The movie's ultimate destination is not hard to guess, but we feel a certain satisfaction when it arrives there. And by then we have come to know Karl with a real understanding and fondness. He is a character unlike any other in the movies, an original, and in creating him, Thornton has made a place for himself among the best new filmmakers. As an actor, he creates a difficult character and finds exactly the right way to play him. If there were the slightest justice and curiosity in the Academy Award process, Thornton's work here would get a nomination. Blu-ray Release Date: August 4th, 2009

Anti-Clock BR - Sebastianne Saville stars as a young fellow who reacts to the modern, atom-dominated society by withdrawing from it. He 'makes peace' with the threat of nuclear holocaust by wandering aimlessly about, refusing to be bound by minutes, hours or days. Originally conceived as a short film by producer Jack Bond and director Jane Arden, ANTI-CLOCK was given the feature length treatment to contain its ambitious subject matter. Blu-ray Release Date: July 27th, 2009

Green Lantern - First Flight BR - Fresh off her triumphant solo directorial debut of Wonder Woman, Lauren Montgomery shifts gears from Amazons and mythology to intergalactic intrigue as the director of Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies. Blu-ray Release Date: July 28th, 2009

This is Spinal Tap BR - Rob Reiner’s directorial debut has developed into a cult phenomenon. The film that invented the “rockumentary” has now outlasted most of the bands it mocked. Following the ill-fated American comeback tour of an aging heavy-metal group, this film has joined the ranks of the greatest comedies ever made. Blu-ray Release Date: July 28th, 2009