By Steve Marinucci
Published Sept. 24, 2004, San Jose (CA.) Mercury News
When the first TV series came out on DVD, one wondered, ''Why?'' Now that they're doing very well on disc, the question becomes ''Why not?''
Putting TV on DVD was a brilliant move: You can buy a full season or more in a compact form. And you can rerun your favorites without commercials and without waiting a week between episodes.
With that in mind, here's a look at some recent releases from television:
''American Dreams -- Season 1 -- Extended Music Edition'' (Universal, $89.98 list) -- The first set featuring this Emmy-winning series, a drama about young Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow) and her family living in the turbulent 1960s, contains all 25 episodes from the first season on seven discs. With Dick Clark as executive producer, the original episodes have been recut with new footage showing current singers -- including Usher, LeAnn Rimes and india.arie -- as vintage stars. Extras include a timeline, hosted by Brian Williams, of events from the period, rare footage from ''American Bandstand'' shows from the era (including interviews with the Beach Boys, Lesley Gore and Marvin Gaye) and audio commentaries.
''Happy Days -- Season 1'' and ''Laverne & Shirley -- Season 1'' (Paramount, $38.99 list for each) -- While ''American Dreams'' offers a serious look at the mid-'60s, these two sitcoms, made in the '70s, revisit the '50s for laughs. Both became big hits for ABC.
The first season of ''Happy Days'' gets off to a slow start, as the writers take time to develop the cast of characters. It wasn't until later seasons, for example, that Arthur Fonzarelli, or ''Fonzie'' (played by Henry Winkler), became the center of the show. Early on, he was a minor player, and Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) was the star. The series was inspired by ''American Graffiti,'' the George Lucas film about high-schoolers, which also starred Howard.
''Laverne & Shirley,'' a ''Happy Days'' spinoff, gets off to a quicker start, with Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall as brewery workers, playing beautifully off each other.
Neither set offers any extras, and that omission seems particularly glaring on ''Happy Days.'' It would have been great to hear Winkler and Howard looking back today at their roles. Also missing is the ''Happy Days'' pilot, whichaired as an episode of ''Love, American Style'' and featured Howard, Anson Williams (as Potsie) and Harold Gould (not Tom Bosley) as Richie's dad.
(Paramount has released the first season of ''Mork & Mindy,'' another ''Happy Days'' spinoff, on DVD too.)
''Groucho Marx -- You Bet Your Life -- The Best Episodes'' (Shout Factory, $39.98 list) -- If you want an idea of what TV itself was like in the ''Happy Days'' '50s, here's a place to start. This disc and the earlier Shout Factory volume ''You Bet Your Life -- The Lost Episodes'' are hilarious. Today, you might call ''You Bet Your Life'' a reality series, rather than a game show, since it appears that most of the dialogue, especially Groucho's outrageous ad-libs, was unscripted. You have to feel sorry for poor George Fenneman, Groucho's strait-laced announcer.
The set offers a few outtakes, a ''stag reel'' with outtakes that were considered too sexy for '50s television but seem fairly tame today, and some commercials from the period. In this case, bonuses aren't necessary. The shows themselves are more than enough.
''Dallas -- The Complete First and Second Seasons'' (Warner Bros., $49.98) -- ''Dallas'' was kingpin in the CBS lineup during the '80s, and well before the ''Who Shot J.R.?'' cliffhanger, it was dangerously addictive. Besides the spinoff ''Knots Landing,'' it spawned a spate of imitators, ''Dynasty'' being perhaps the most notable. This five-disc ''Dallas'' set takes us to back where it all began, the 29 episodes from the first two seasons (1978-80), plus commentaries and a short feature on a cast reunion.
The first episode, which shows the Ewings in shock over the marriage of Bobby (Patrick Duffy) to the former Pamela Barnes (Victoria Principal), sets up the plot line and reveals some interesting details about the family. At the very start, the ever-nasty J.R. (Larry Hagman) gets off on the wrong foot.
''Columbo -- The Complete First Season'' and ''Magnum, P.I. -- The Complete First Season'' (Universal, $59.98 each list) -- These series -- with leads Peter Falk in klutz mode as Lt. Columbo, and Tom Selleck at his most debonair as Magnum -- were opposites in sex appeal but both huge hits. ''Magnum, P.I.,'' with Selleck playing a detective/security man at an estate in Hawaii, features 18 episodes from the first season, plus bonus episodes with appearances by ''Simon & Simon'' stars Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney, as well as guest appearances by Morgan Fairchild and Sharon Stone. The five-disc ''Columbo,'' with Falk playing a deceptively mild-mannered LAPD officer, offers seven episodes from the first season and two made-for-TV movies, ''Prescription: Murder'' and ''Ransom for a Dead Man.'' Neither set has commentary or other extras.
''Without a Trace -- The Complete First Season (Warner Bros., $59.98) -- ''Without a Trace'' could become a 21st-century classic. It's a taut drama about missing persons being tracked down by FBI agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia). Twenty-three episodes of the Emmy-winning series are featured in this four-disc set. Also included are commentaries, unaired footage and a documentary on the series.
(box) ''Lost in Space -- Season 2, Vol. 1'' (20th Century Fox, $39.98 list) -- The first color episodes (1966-67) of the cult sci-fi series are included in this four-disc set, which offers 16 episodes in all. It was during the second season that the series took camp to a new level, with the Space Family Robinson having stranger and more colorful adventures than before. There are no extras here, just the episodes.
(box) ''The Munsters -- The Complete First Season'' (Universal, $59.98) -- There's great classic TV, and there are vintage shows that were merely silly. ''The Munsters'' is one of the latter. It puts some formidable stars -- Yvonne DeCarlo and Fred Gwynne -- in the ridiculous roles as husband and wife in a family of spooks. Al Lewis plays the vampire-like grandpa.
It would have been nice to hear an audio commentary from one of the surviving actors -- Butch Patrick, maybe -- but none is included. The three-disc set offers 38 episodes, including the unaired pilot with different actors in the roles of Herman's wife, Lily, and son, Eddie.
CAPTION: PHOTO: George Fenneman, left, played straight man to host Groucho Marx on the classic '50s TV show ''You Bet Your Life,'' now on DVD.
PHOTO: The ''Happy Days -- Season 1'' box set shows the popular series getting off to a slow start.
PHOTO: New DVD box sets capture the work of Tom Selleck, top, in the title role of ''Magnum, P.I.'' and Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing in ''Dallas.''
Friday, September 24, 2004
Friday, August 20, 2004
NYUK, NYUK, NYUK
THREE STOOGES SHORTS ARE COLORIZED FOR A NEW AUDIENCE
By Steve Marinucci
Published Aug. 20, 2004, San Jose (CA) Mercury News
Remember the furor back in the '80s when film studios first added color to black-and-white movie classics, with the idea of heightening their appeal for a new generation?
Fans thought it was something akin to sacrilege for ''Casablanca,'' ''Yankee Doodle Dandy,'' some Shirley Temple films and many others to be altered by people who had nothing to do with their making.
Now comes a new offense -- the Three Stooges in color!
Go ahead, chuckle. But for fans, any tampering with the Stooges' comedy shorts sounds like a knucklehead idea.
After all, the Three Stooges were those gifted physical comedians who employed the silent-film style of visual comedy well into the ''talkies'' era.
Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard were active in films from their movie debut in 1933 in the Paramount short ''Hollywood on Parade'' until Curly suffered a stroke in 1947. They inspired belly laughs not only from a couple of generations of filmgoers but also several generations of TV viewers.
Shemp Howard (Moe and Curly's brother, who had worked with them in their vaudeville act) initially replaced Curly in 1947 in ''Hold That Lion,'' which featured a cameo by Curly and marked the only time the three Howard brothers appeared together on film. And then after Shemp's death in 1955, Joe De Rita and Joe Besser each played the third Stooge.
On Aug. 10, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released two new Stooges DVDs, each with four shorts that can be viewed in either black-and-white or color. Five of the eight shorts are new to DVD. Titled ''Goofs on the Loose'' and ''Stooged & Confused,'' each DVD has color added by West Wing Studios, using a process dubbed Chromacolor.
The ''Goofs on the Loose'' DVD features ''Men in Black'' (1934), ''The Sitter Downers'' (1937), ''Punch Drunks'' (1934) and ''Playing the Ponies'' (1937).
''Stooged & Confused'' offers ''Violent Is the Word for Curly'' (1935), ''No Census, No Feeling'' (1940), ''An Ache in Every Stake'' (1941) and ''You Nazty Spy'' (1940).
With an option Columbia calls Chromachoice, one can switch easily while viewing between color and black-and-white by using a button on the remote.
After releasing dozens of Stooges shorts on videotape, Columbia put out thefirst Stooges DVD, ''Curly Classics'' with six shorts, in 1998. Since then, it has released more than 15 additional discs containing both shorts and feature films. The shorts appear to have been transferred with little or no restoration, but some of the features look very clean.
As a Stooges fan since childhood, I was wary about the new DVDs. The Stooges in color? Hey, Moe! Hey, Larry! Get me outta here!
After watching them, my feelings are mixed. The DVD menus on the older discs, which used silly animation that the viewer couldn't interrupt, have been replaced by cleaner and more practical menus that allow a viewer to go right to the films.
The Chromacolor picture isn't as washed out as many color-added films, and it looks better on the later films than the earlier ones. The most recent, ''An Ache in Every Stake'' (1941), looks almost as if it had been filmed in color.
When watching in black-and-white, there's some noticeable improvement in sharpness and clarity, most visible on the newer films. Columbia says the films have been restored from the original negatives and remastered in high-definition.
Misgivings about the color aside, the films themselves, all featuring Curly, are very enjoyable. ''Men in Black'' depicts the Stooges as bumbling doctors in a hospital where the intercom incessantly pages ''Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard.'' This was the only Stooges film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short.
''Punch Drunks'' spotlights Curly as a boxer who loses his memory whenever he hears the song ''Pop Goes the Weasel.'' Part of the fun is seeing the extremes to which Larry will go to keep the song in Curly's head.
In ''Violent Is the Word for Curly'' the three impersonate professors and sing the charming song ''Swinging the Alphabet.''
''An Ache in Every Stake'' has the Stooges delivering ice on a stifling day, which leads to all sorts of complications.
In ''No Census, No Feeling,'' the boys play census takers. There's one hilarious exchange when Moe doesn't realize he's talking with Curly until he hears the familiar, ''Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.''
In ''The Sitter Downers,'' the Stooges attempt to build a house so they can get married.
In ''Playing the Ponies,'' they train a horse to race.
In ''You Nazty Spy,'' Moe does a hilarious parody of Hitler, one that rivals Charlie Chaplin's in ''The Great Dictator.'' (Moe reprises it in ''I'll Never Heil Again,'' 1941, which is not on these discs.)
Both new DVDs contain the same special features: a promotional trailer for Stooges discs and a short feature on the coloring process.
If these discs sell well, we're sure to see more in color. But too bad the number of shorts per DVD has shrunk from six on the pre-color sets to four. And surely Columbia has some rare footage of the Stooges lying around in a vault. It would be nice to use in additional special features.
Will I watch these discs again? Probably. But it's likely that I'll see the color versions just out of curiosity. When I want to really enjoy the films, I'll go for black-and-white. That's how they were meant to be seen, then and now.
CAPTION: PHOTO: COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME ENTERTAINMENT
A scene from ''Men in Black'' on the ''Goofs on the Loose'' DVD, in the original and color versions.
PHOTO: COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Moe Howard, left, Curly Howard and Larry Fine in one of their recently released shorts on DVD.
THREE STOOGES SHORTS ARE COLORIZED FOR A NEW AUDIENCE
By Steve Marinucci
Published Aug. 20, 2004, San Jose (CA) Mercury News
Remember the furor back in the '80s when film studios first added color to black-and-white movie classics, with the idea of heightening their appeal for a new generation?
Fans thought it was something akin to sacrilege for ''Casablanca,'' ''Yankee Doodle Dandy,'' some Shirley Temple films and many others to be altered by people who had nothing to do with their making.
Now comes a new offense -- the Three Stooges in color!
Go ahead, chuckle. But for fans, any tampering with the Stooges' comedy shorts sounds like a knucklehead idea.
After all, the Three Stooges were those gifted physical comedians who employed the silent-film style of visual comedy well into the ''talkies'' era.
Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard were active in films from their movie debut in 1933 in the Paramount short ''Hollywood on Parade'' until Curly suffered a stroke in 1947. They inspired belly laughs not only from a couple of generations of filmgoers but also several generations of TV viewers.
Shemp Howard (Moe and Curly's brother, who had worked with them in their vaudeville act) initially replaced Curly in 1947 in ''Hold That Lion,'' which featured a cameo by Curly and marked the only time the three Howard brothers appeared together on film. And then after Shemp's death in 1955, Joe De Rita and Joe Besser each played the third Stooge.
On Aug. 10, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released two new Stooges DVDs, each with four shorts that can be viewed in either black-and-white or color. Five of the eight shorts are new to DVD. Titled ''Goofs on the Loose'' and ''Stooged & Confused,'' each DVD has color added by West Wing Studios, using a process dubbed Chromacolor.
The ''Goofs on the Loose'' DVD features ''Men in Black'' (1934), ''The Sitter Downers'' (1937), ''Punch Drunks'' (1934) and ''Playing the Ponies'' (1937).
''Stooged & Confused'' offers ''Violent Is the Word for Curly'' (1935), ''No Census, No Feeling'' (1940), ''An Ache in Every Stake'' (1941) and ''You Nazty Spy'' (1940).
With an option Columbia calls Chromachoice, one can switch easily while viewing between color and black-and-white by using a button on the remote.
After releasing dozens of Stooges shorts on videotape, Columbia put out thefirst Stooges DVD, ''Curly Classics'' with six shorts, in 1998. Since then, it has released more than 15 additional discs containing both shorts and feature films. The shorts appear to have been transferred with little or no restoration, but some of the features look very clean.
As a Stooges fan since childhood, I was wary about the new DVDs. The Stooges in color? Hey, Moe! Hey, Larry! Get me outta here!
After watching them, my feelings are mixed. The DVD menus on the older discs, which used silly animation that the viewer couldn't interrupt, have been replaced by cleaner and more practical menus that allow a viewer to go right to the films.
The Chromacolor picture isn't as washed out as many color-added films, and it looks better on the later films than the earlier ones. The most recent, ''An Ache in Every Stake'' (1941), looks almost as if it had been filmed in color.
When watching in black-and-white, there's some noticeable improvement in sharpness and clarity, most visible on the newer films. Columbia says the films have been restored from the original negatives and remastered in high-definition.
Misgivings about the color aside, the films themselves, all featuring Curly, are very enjoyable. ''Men in Black'' depicts the Stooges as bumbling doctors in a hospital where the intercom incessantly pages ''Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard.'' This was the only Stooges film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short.
''Punch Drunks'' spotlights Curly as a boxer who loses his memory whenever he hears the song ''Pop Goes the Weasel.'' Part of the fun is seeing the extremes to which Larry will go to keep the song in Curly's head.
In ''Violent Is the Word for Curly'' the three impersonate professors and sing the charming song ''Swinging the Alphabet.''
''An Ache in Every Stake'' has the Stooges delivering ice on a stifling day, which leads to all sorts of complications.
In ''No Census, No Feeling,'' the boys play census takers. There's one hilarious exchange when Moe doesn't realize he's talking with Curly until he hears the familiar, ''Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.''
In ''The Sitter Downers,'' the Stooges attempt to build a house so they can get married.
In ''Playing the Ponies,'' they train a horse to race.
In ''You Nazty Spy,'' Moe does a hilarious parody of Hitler, one that rivals Charlie Chaplin's in ''The Great Dictator.'' (Moe reprises it in ''I'll Never Heil Again,'' 1941, which is not on these discs.)
Both new DVDs contain the same special features: a promotional trailer for Stooges discs and a short feature on the coloring process.
If these discs sell well, we're sure to see more in color. But too bad the number of shorts per DVD has shrunk from six on the pre-color sets to four. And surely Columbia has some rare footage of the Stooges lying around in a vault. It would be nice to use in additional special features.
Will I watch these discs again? Probably. But it's likely that I'll see the color versions just out of curiosity. When I want to really enjoy the films, I'll go for black-and-white. That's how they were meant to be seen, then and now.
CAPTION: PHOTO: COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME ENTERTAINMENT
A scene from ''Men in Black'' on the ''Goofs on the Loose'' DVD, in the original and color versions.
PHOTO: COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Moe Howard, left, Curly Howard and Larry Fine in one of their recently released shorts on DVD.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Starr gazing turns fuzzy
By Steve Marinucci
Published Aug. 11, 2004, San Jose (CA.) Mercury News
STARR-GAZING TURNS FUZZY
Residents of St. Augustine, Fla., were surprised Thursday to see a man identified as former Beatle Ringo Starr at a local hotel. Stories in the St. Augustine Daily Record, on Friday and Saturday said he played the piano, toured a museum and later sat in with a local group. Two stories appeared on St. Augustine.com, the paper's Internet arm, which has a picture of the man at www.staugustine.com/stories/080604/new2493536.shtml.
The man in the photo, wearing a black T-shirt with a Volkswagen Beetle on it, appears to have a different hairline and more of a paunch than past pictures of Starr. Other newspapers picked up the story from the Associated Press.
Problem is, it wasn't Ringo. Ringo's publicist, Elizabeth Freund in New York, confirmed that the former Beatle was in England last week.
Published Aug. 11, 2004, San Jose (CA.) Mercury News
STARR-GAZING TURNS FUZZY
Residents of St. Augustine, Fla., were surprised Thursday to see a man identified as former Beatle Ringo Starr at a local hotel. Stories in the St. Augustine Daily Record, on Friday and Saturday said he played the piano, toured a museum and later sat in with a local group. Two stories appeared on St. Augustine.com, the paper's Internet arm, which has a picture of the man at www.staugustine.com/stories/080604/new2493536.shtml.
The man in the photo, wearing a black T-shirt with a Volkswagen Beetle on it, appears to have a different hairline and more of a paunch than past pictures of Starr. Other newspapers picked up the story from the Associated Press.
Problem is, it wasn't Ringo. Ringo's publicist, Elizabeth Freund in New York, confirmed that the former Beatle was in England last week.
Friday, July 2, 2004
The King's comeback: Two exhaustive DVD sets capture a mature Elvis Presley in peak form
THE KING'S COMEBACK
TWO EXHAUSTIVE DVD SETS CAPTURE A MATURE ELVIS PRESLEY IN PEAK FORM
By Steve Marinucci
Published July 2, 2004, San Jose (CA.) Mercury News
OK, here's a little test: Picture in your mind your most familiar image of Elvis Presley.
. . .
No doubt, some of you are recalling the ''Hound Dog'' Elvis, as Presley looked in 1956 when his raw power and sex appeal had just been discovered. Others see the GI Elvis, in uniform just after his discharge from the Army, as he appeared on Frank Sinatra's 1960 TV show. Still others picture the ''Blue Hawaii'' (1961) Elvis, draped in leis and flanked by palm trees and hula girls. A few probably see the bloated Elvis from the 1977 CBS-TV special, just before his death.
But it's likely that a lot of Presley fans imagine the leather-clad Elvis from the 1968 NBC-TV ''Comeback Special'' or the jumpsuited Elvis from the 1973 ''Aloha From Hawaii'' show, which was broadcast all over the world.
Now, both these shows are available in deluxe-edition DVD sets from BMG Strategic Marketing. Priced at $49.98 for the ''Comeback Special'' and $29.98 for ''Aloha From Hawaii,'' they are must-haves for Elvis collectors and some fans.
Each set includes a huge collection of outtakes, a bit of footage never before released and other footage that has circulated in low-quality copies among collectors.
The three-disc ''Elvis '68 Comeback Special -- Deluxe Edition'' runs a marathon seven hours and includes the televised material, outtakes, false starts, dramatized musical numbers and alternate stagings of musical numbers. There's no commentary, however.
Taped at NBC's Burbank studios, the special was assembled from five sources: two shows in which the black-leather-clad Elvis performed alone in the round with an enthusiastic studio audience; two other shows in which Elvis and longtime musician buddies such as D.J. Fontana and Scotty Moore performed seated, also surrounded by an audience; and several staged production numbers.
The DVD offers all these shows, as well as outtakes from the footage for ''Trouble/Guitar Man'' and ''If I Can Dream,'' and unused material from a gospel production number and ''Guitar Man.''
The two-disc ''Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii -- Deluxe Edition'' runs more than four hours and includes the broadcast in its expanded and re-edited form, as presented by NBC on April 4, 1973; the complete Jan. 14 show from which the live TV special was taken; and the full rehearsal concert from Jan. 12, 1973. It also offers lengthy footage (a bit of which was used in the TV special) of Elvis arriving in Hawaii and greeting fans, plus five songs performed in an empty arena on Jan. 14, after the initial show; excerpts were included in the American TV broadcast. According to press materials, the set will also contain a booklet with rare pictures and text.
For collectors, these sets are a dream come true. Casual fans may find them to be too much of a good thing. Though the outtakes give an interesting look at the creative process, some from the ''Comeback Special'' are highly repetitive.
Which of the shows offers a more definitive look at the King? The ''Comeback Special'' presents Presley as a sexually dynamic rocker returning to his roots. ''Aloha From Hawaii'' gives us a more mature Presley and, as some critics argue, Elvis at his most commercial. He performed in ''Comeback Special'' mode only once. He kept repeating versions of the ''Aloha'' concert until his death.
Still, for this viewer, the Elvis from the ''Aloha'' concert is the more adult and more interesting performer, his range of material wider and more diverse.
When you compare the ''Comeback'' Elvis of 1968 and the ''Aloha'' Elvis of 1973 with what he had become by the time of his death in 1977, it's sad thatthe mighty King could fall so far. Fortunately, these DVDs show him at the top of his game -- and that's the way the King should be remembered.
CAPTION: PHOTO: FILE PHOTOGRAPH
Elvis Presley performs during the filming of his 1968 ''Comeback Special.''
TWO EXHAUSTIVE DVD SETS CAPTURE A MATURE ELVIS PRESLEY IN PEAK FORM
By Steve Marinucci
Published July 2, 2004, San Jose (CA.) Mercury News
OK, here's a little test: Picture in your mind your most familiar image of Elvis Presley.
. . .
No doubt, some of you are recalling the ''Hound Dog'' Elvis, as Presley looked in 1956 when his raw power and sex appeal had just been discovered. Others see the GI Elvis, in uniform just after his discharge from the Army, as he appeared on Frank Sinatra's 1960 TV show. Still others picture the ''Blue Hawaii'' (1961) Elvis, draped in leis and flanked by palm trees and hula girls. A few probably see the bloated Elvis from the 1977 CBS-TV special, just before his death.
But it's likely that a lot of Presley fans imagine the leather-clad Elvis from the 1968 NBC-TV ''Comeback Special'' or the jumpsuited Elvis from the 1973 ''Aloha From Hawaii'' show, which was broadcast all over the world.
Now, both these shows are available in deluxe-edition DVD sets from BMG Strategic Marketing. Priced at $49.98 for the ''Comeback Special'' and $29.98 for ''Aloha From Hawaii,'' they are must-haves for Elvis collectors and some fans.
Each set includes a huge collection of outtakes, a bit of footage never before released and other footage that has circulated in low-quality copies among collectors.
The three-disc ''Elvis '68 Comeback Special -- Deluxe Edition'' runs a marathon seven hours and includes the televised material, outtakes, false starts, dramatized musical numbers and alternate stagings of musical numbers. There's no commentary, however.
Taped at NBC's Burbank studios, the special was assembled from five sources: two shows in which the black-leather-clad Elvis performed alone in the round with an enthusiastic studio audience; two other shows in which Elvis and longtime musician buddies such as D.J. Fontana and Scotty Moore performed seated, also surrounded by an audience; and several staged production numbers.
The DVD offers all these shows, as well as outtakes from the footage for ''Trouble/Guitar Man'' and ''If I Can Dream,'' and unused material from a gospel production number and ''Guitar Man.''
The two-disc ''Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii -- Deluxe Edition'' runs more than four hours and includes the broadcast in its expanded and re-edited form, as presented by NBC on April 4, 1973; the complete Jan. 14 show from which the live TV special was taken; and the full rehearsal concert from Jan. 12, 1973. It also offers lengthy footage (a bit of which was used in the TV special) of Elvis arriving in Hawaii and greeting fans, plus five songs performed in an empty arena on Jan. 14, after the initial show; excerpts were included in the American TV broadcast. According to press materials, the set will also contain a booklet with rare pictures and text.
For collectors, these sets are a dream come true. Casual fans may find them to be too much of a good thing. Though the outtakes give an interesting look at the creative process, some from the ''Comeback Special'' are highly repetitive.
Which of the shows offers a more definitive look at the King? The ''Comeback Special'' presents Presley as a sexually dynamic rocker returning to his roots. ''Aloha From Hawaii'' gives us a more mature Presley and, as some critics argue, Elvis at his most commercial. He performed in ''Comeback Special'' mode only once. He kept repeating versions of the ''Aloha'' concert until his death.
Still, for this viewer, the Elvis from the ''Aloha'' concert is the more adult and more interesting performer, his range of material wider and more diverse.
When you compare the ''Comeback'' Elvis of 1968 and the ''Aloha'' Elvis of 1973 with what he had become by the time of his death in 1977, it's sad thatthe mighty King could fall so far. Fortunately, these DVDs show him at the top of his game -- and that's the way the King should be remembered.
CAPTION: PHOTO: FILE PHOTOGRAPH
Elvis Presley performs during the filming of his 1968 ''Comeback Special.''
Monday, February 9, 2004
It was 40 years ago today: A boomer landmark: Beatles on "Ed Sullivan"
By Steve Marinucci
Published Feb. 9, 2004
IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO TODAY
A BOOMER LANDMARK: BEATLES ON 'ED SULLIVAN'
When Ed Sullivan presented ''these youngsters who call themselves the Beatles'' on Feb. 9, 1964, he was introducing more than just a group of longhaired British rockers making their first visit to America. It was the beginning of a new era in rock music.
Until this time, Top 40 radio had been dominated by such fresh-faced American singers as Paul Anka, Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello singing milquetoast songs like ''Dede Dinah'' and ''Put Your Head on My Shoulder.''
The Beatles, through both their original songs and cover versions, ignited interest in roots rock by artists Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Carl Perkins. American artists had to step back or be swept up by the flood.
But it was more than just the music: The Beatles also sparked trends in fashion, hairstyles and social thinking (example: they refused to tour in South Africa because of apartheid). They came along at just the right time, too, as they helped ease the pain from the assassination of President Kennedy not quite three months earlier.
It was 40 years ago today that most of America met them on that first appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show.'' And we haven't been the same since.
CAPTION: PHOTO: The Ed Sullivan Theater, home of ''The Late Show With David Letterman,'' will host the Beatles once again tonight as the CBS show airs a clip from their Feb. 9, 1964, appearance.
PHOTO: Viewers' reactions to the Beatles' debut on U.S. TV.
Published Feb. 9, 2004
IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO TODAY
A BOOMER LANDMARK: BEATLES ON 'ED SULLIVAN'
When Ed Sullivan presented ''these youngsters who call themselves the Beatles'' on Feb. 9, 1964, he was introducing more than just a group of longhaired British rockers making their first visit to America. It was the beginning of a new era in rock music.
Until this time, Top 40 radio had been dominated by such fresh-faced American singers as Paul Anka, Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello singing milquetoast songs like ''Dede Dinah'' and ''Put Your Head on My Shoulder.''
The Beatles, through both their original songs and cover versions, ignited interest in roots rock by artists Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Carl Perkins. American artists had to step back or be swept up by the flood.
But it was more than just the music: The Beatles also sparked trends in fashion, hairstyles and social thinking (example: they refused to tour in South Africa because of apartheid). They came along at just the right time, too, as they helped ease the pain from the assassination of President Kennedy not quite three months earlier.
It was 40 years ago today that most of America met them on that first appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show.'' And we haven't been the same since.
CAPTION: PHOTO: The Ed Sullivan Theater, home of ''The Late Show With David Letterman,'' will host the Beatles once again tonight as the CBS show airs a clip from their Feb. 9, 1964, appearance.
PHOTO: Viewers' reactions to the Beatles' debut on U.S. TV.
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