DVD / Blu-ray Hit List - May 24, 2011

Welcome back movie nerds!  While many people look forward to Friday’s to keep them going during the week, movie nerds like myself luck out and have every Tuesday to perk them up.  This Tuesday is certainly no exception since all three titles are coming from the best company in the biz, Shout! Factory.  Although, last week and again this week seem to have a limited selection to pick from, it’s weeks like these that movie fanatics benefit from.  It’s a tricky obstacle to manage picking up every title that comes out on a release heavy Tuesday.  Luckily, the lighter weeks help us to get our fix while not blowing our whole paycheck in one day.  That said, let’s take a look at what’s hitting store shelves and online retailers this week:

“Eat My Dust” / “Grand Theft Auto” (The Ron Howard Action Pack) - Hot off the success of Happy Days, prolific producer Roger Corman hired Ron Howard to star in two supercharged action-comedy car flicks.  Howard agreed to star in both if Corman allowed him to direct 1977’s Grand Theft Auto.  The rest is history.  Shout! Factory presents this 2-disc set with new anamorphic widescreen transfers of both films as well as an abundance of special features including audio commentaries with Ron Howard and Roger Corman, an extensive interview with Howard, theatrical trailers, TV spots and more.  The Roger Corman Cult Classics banner that Shout! Factory has released films under over the past year has been terrific.  Corman has such an extensive library of classic exploitation and cult films that are begging for a new generation to be introduced to.  This latest set continues to offer an excellent variety and should not be missed.  Start your engines and check out Richie Cunningham long before he became an Oscar winning movie director.

“Transformers” The Complete Series - Shout! Factory is no stranger to releasing classic animated shows that we all grew up loving.  Chalk another gem up for the company that gets my money on a weekly basis.  Transformers The Complete Series comes home to fans again this Tuesday in a comprehensive 15-disc set.  In 2009, Shout! Factory released the complete series in a 25th anniversary edition set that is now out of print as well as releasing all four seasons of the show in individual sets.  If you missed out on snagging this whole series the first time around then this set is the way to go.  For a devoted cartoon fan like myself who has G.I. Joe, DuckTales, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and more lined up on my shelf, Transformers‘ absence was becoming incredibly painful to bear.  All 98 episodes have been remastered and are accompanied with retrospective featurettes as well as PSAs and toy commercials.  Before Michael Bay’s big-budget trilogy concludes this June, go back and rediscover the fun of the original show.  I promise you it doesn’t require more than what meets the eye. 

“Fighting Mad” / “Moving Violation” (Action-Packed Double Feature) - The company that Shout’s also packs double the action power!  Fighting Mad tells the story of an Arkansas farmer who wages war on the corrupt land developers who want to evict him.  Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs and Rachel Getting Married) directs.  In Moving Violation, drifter Eddie Moore (Stephen McHattie) gets hassled by the local sheriff and deputy but things go from bad to worse when Moore and a local waitress witness something they weren’t supposed to.  Car chases, explosions and shootouts ensue to keep the pace moving.  Shout! Factory released another Action-Packed Double Feature this past April with Dirty Mary Crazy Larry and Race With The Devil.  If this latest double feature contains a fraction of the exploitation fun that was found in those films then count me in!  Both films are presented with new anamorphic widescreen transfers as well as audio commentaries with the film directors and actors.