DVD Verdict reviews: THE LOWER DEPTHS: CRITERION COLLECTION and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of ALI: DIRECTOR'S CUT, BANDOLERO!, IN
JULY, THE LOWER DEPTHS: CRITERION COLLECTION, PUNKY BREWSTER: THE
COMPLETE FIRST SEASON, SPIDER-MAN: SUPERBIT EDITION, SUMMER SCHOOL, and
THE THIN BLUE LINE: THE COMPLETE LINE-UP:


ALI: DIRECTOR'S CUT (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 82/100):
"Sadly, even in a Director's Cut, Michael Mann fails to show Ali's rise
and/or the reasons for his ongoing regality. Perhaps Muhammad Ali is a
figure too large for even the largest cinema screen."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/alidirectorscut.php

BANDOLERO! (reviewed by Bill Treadway, overall score 96/100):
"Bandolero! is one of the finest examples of a traditional Western
available."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/bandolero.php

IN JULY (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 86/100):
"Perhaps the greatest victory of In July is succeeding despite being so
familiar and generic in form. It's a wonderful film to kick back and
enjoy, because it has no pretensions to be more than it is, and it
delivers exactly what it promises."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/injuly.php

THE LOWER DEPTHS: CRITERION COLLECTION (reviewed by a panel, overall
score 95/100):
"Criterion's release of Kurosawa's The Lower Depths was originally
slated for the late summer of 2003, but was delayed so the set could be
expanded to include Renoir's film. It was worth the wait."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/lowerdepths.php

PUNKY BREWSTER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (reviewed by Patrick Naugle,
overall score 77/100):
"Was Punky Brewster the high point of television history? Not on your
life. But it does offer some soft chuckles, stories with solid moral
messages, and oh...that Brandon, he's just soooooo dang cute!"

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/pu...terseason1.php

SPIDER-MAN: SUPERBIT EDITION (reviewed by Michael Stailey, overall
score 82/100):
"Spider-man, much like its main character, is not without its flaws.
Cramming more than 40 years of continuity and character development into
121 minutes is no small task."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/spidermansuperbit.php

SUMMER SCHOOL (reviewed by Patrick Naugle, overall score 87/100):
"Summer School isn't the highpoint of 1980s cinema, but it does
entertain. What more could you possibly be looking for in a movie about
summers in sunny California?"

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/summerschool.php

THE THIN BLUE LINE: THE COMPLETE LINE-UP (reviewed by Joel Pearce,
overall score 90/100):
"The only problem with The Thin Blue Line is that it ended after only
two short seasons."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/thinblueline.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

DVD Verdict

Mike,
I like the new format. The short synopsis for each review is good. I
wish the Spiderman had given a recommendation for those of us who
already have the original, as should all "re-releases".

dick
-- I guess I'll just have to go read the review.

Dick Sidbury

> I like the new format. The short synopsis for each review is good. I
> wish the Spiderman had given a recommendation for those of us who
> already have the original, as should all "re-releases".

We ("we" being me and the rest of the editorial staff) are trying to pick
quotes that best represent the review. I can't recall if the Spider-Man
Superbit review had a buy/not-buy recommendation. It's probably just like
all the other double-dip Superbit releases: it depends on what's important
to you. The original release looked and sounded pretty good and had great
bonus features. If the DTS is important to you, go for the double-dip. My
site doesn't particularly value the Superbits, because our focus is more on
the film than the technical quality, so in general we don't recommend the
Superbit releases unless you're a real technophile.

Mike Jackson
Editor & Web Developer, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

Mike Jackson

Mike Jackson wrote:

>>I like the new format. The short synopsis for each review is good. I
>>wish the Spiderman had given a recommendation for those of us who
>>already have the original, as should all "re-releases".
>
>
> We ("we" being me and the rest of the editorial staff) are trying to pick
> quotes that best represent the review.

That's resonable.
> I can't recall if the Spider-Man
> Superbit review had a buy/not-buy recommendation.

Well, I did read the review and the recommendation was not to buy if you
had the original. I don't even remember the review commenting about the
"improved" quality of the superbit release.

dick

Dick Sidbury

> Think he means the "old disk, with new stuff sold separately" Deluxe
> Edition box that came out just before the movie--
> At least you could look at the cardboard box and *see* you weren't getting
> anything new in the main disk.

Ah. Well, we've received that "deluxe" edition, but haven't reviewed it yet,
and curiously, we never got around to reviewing the original DVD release.
Freakin' Sony and their shameless double-dipping.

Mike Jackson
Editor & Web Developer, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

Mike Jackson

Mike Jackson wrote:
>>I like the new format. The short synopsis for each review is good. I
>>wish the Spiderman had given a recommendation for those of us who
>>already have the original, as should all "re-releases".
>
>
> We ("we" being me and the rest of the editorial staff) are trying to pick
> quotes that best represent the review. I can't recall if the Spider-Man
> Superbit review had a buy/not-buy recommendation. It's probably just like
> all the other double-dip Superbit releases: it depends on what's important
> to you. The original release looked and sounded pretty good and had great
> bonus features. If the DTS is important to you, go for the double-dip. My
> site doesn't particularly value the Superbits, because our focus is more on
> the film than the technical quality, so in general we don't recommend the
> Superbit releases unless you're a real technophile.

Think he means the "old disk, with new stuff sold separately" Deluxe
Edition box that came out just before the movie--
At least you could look at the cardboard box and *see* you weren't
getting anything new in the main disk.

Derek Janssen

Derek Janssen