Cinefantastique Online

Not much new and exciting in terms of fantasy, horror, and science-fiction films on home video this week, so fans must content themselves with some classics being released in new and improved form.

ROBOCOP (1987) was one of the best science-fiction films to emerge during the ’80s - a combination of a great concept with great production values, blending comic book-style action with genuine pathos for the titular character (a cop killed and resurrected as a cyborg). The film has been released on home video in various formats, including an unrated edition on laserdisc that briefly resurfaced on stand-alone DVD before being replaced by a box set containing the two sequels. If you have avoided the set containing the disappointing ROBOCOP II and ROBOCOP III, now is your chance to obtain the original in the 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. The two-disc set contains the theatrical cut on Disc 1 and the 103-minute extended cut on Disc 2. Bonus features include audio commentary, deleted scenes, theatrical trailers, and featurettes.

After KING KONG, producer Merian C. Cooper delivered SHE, his 1935 adaptation of H. Rider Haggard’s classic novel of adventure and fantasy, about an immortal queen presiding over a lost civilization in Africa. The film version borrows elements from Haggard’s sequel Ayesha: The Return of She (such as substitutng the icy mountain setting in place of Africa), and much of the masculine paranoia in the face of an all-powerful woman has been toned down (which was a major entertainment feature of the novel), yet the glossy production values still make the film a classic of the adventure genre.  The new “Deluxe Two-Disc Edition” offers the original black-and-white version of the film, plus a colorized print with an audio commentary.

Other titles of interest this week include:

• The Serentiy Collector’s Edition (read a review of the film and DVD here)
• Toho Triple Feature: The Mysterians, Varan, and Matango (read a DVD review of The Mysterians)

The remainder of the week’s sci-fi, fantasy, and horror DVD releases can be found below: