Yahoo! Movies: New Remake DVD Releases

The Jazz Singer

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:47 -0000

In New York City, Yussel Rabinowitz (Neil Diamond) trains to be a cantor. Although his father (Laurence Olivier) and wife, Rivka (Catlin Adams), don't approve, he also sings and writes songs for a black soul group under the name Jess Robin. When the group gets an opportunity in California, their leader, Bubba (Franklyn Ajaye), asks Jess to join them. Reluctantly, Rivka and his father let him go. In Los Angeles, Jess meets record company executive Molly Bell (Lucie Arnaz). Impressed by his music, she tries to promote him. However, Jess still struggles and is about to give up when Molly gets him a solo TV spot. Just as Jess seems set for stardom, Rivka and his father arrive to plead for his return.

Samson Raphaelson's play about a talented singer's attempts to break away from a restrictive religious family was first filmed in 1927--when it became the first talkie. This--the third version--was made in 1980. Directed by Richard Fleischer after another director was dismissed, the film focuses on Molly's struggles to find opportunities for Jess, then on Jess's subsequent concert performances. Neil Diamond carries the film, singing his own songs with verve. (1 hr. 56 min.) Release date: Dec 1, 2009

Scarface

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:46 -0000

Brian De Palma's blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportee�s rise to the top of Miami's cocaine business has become something of a popular classic since its release; it's been referenced in rap songs and subsequent gangster movies and quoted the world over. Despite this lovefest with the dialogue, the film�s brutal violence and lack of positive characters still make it controversial and disliked by certain critics. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire but whose eventual paranoia and incestuous desire for his kid sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) prove his undoing. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Tony�s neglected coke-addicted trophy wife, and Steven Bauer is his concerned friend. F. Murray Abraham, Robert Loggia, and Paul Shenar are some of Tony�s sleazy business partners and potential killers. Oliver Stone wrote the expletive-packed screenplay, based on Howard Hawks�s 1932 version--which was ostensibly about Al Capone and starred Paul Muni and George Raft. The synth-heavy Giorgio Moroder score expertly evokes the drug-fueled decadence of 1980s Miami, and De Palma provides several of his elaborate set pieces, including a horrific showstopper in a motel room with a chain saw.

RERELEASE: September 19th, 2003 (New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Detroit, Dallas, Miami and San Francisco) (2 hrs. 50 min.) Release date: Nov 1, 2009

House of Wax

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:45 -0000

Ever been creeped out by the life-like statues at a wax museum? Yes? But have you ever recognized your old roommate behind the glass? Vincent Price plays the menacing Professor Henry Jarrod, in a role that would solidify his reputation as the creepiest man in Hollywood. With everything from cancan girls to rubber paddleballs finding their way into the audience, 'House of Wax' takes full advantage of the novel 3-D stereoscopic process. (1 hr. 28 min.) Release date: Nov 3, 2009

Halloween

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:44 -0000

The early 2000s have seen a string of big-budget remakes of classic horror films. In addition to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and THE HILLS HAVE EYES, John Carpenter's benchmark slasher flick HALLOWEEN has been given a new-millennial overhaul. At the helm of the project sits rocker Rob Zombie, whose previous films, HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, brought a fan's touch and an auteur's vision to the director's chair. While Zombie's HALLOWEEN is faithful to Carpenter's vision, there are some obvious changes, the most pronounced of these being the substantial focus on Michael Myers's childhood. The film posits Michael (played by a creepily vacant Daeg Faerch) as a troubled child made all the worse by a horrible home life--wonderfully illustrated via William Forsythe's performance as Deborah Myers's boyfriend--and constant abuse at school. Zombie paints Michael's pain with palpable grit and sleaze, but he isn't out to put our culture on the couch--he simply wants to show Michael killing his family. With the exception of Michael's therapy sessions while incarcerated, the film, post-massacre, stays loyal to the original.

Zombie's film is clearly the work of a filmmaker who knows and loves the genre. The director's signature is stamped all over HALLOWEEN (most notably in the use of grainy home movie footage and a smokin' classic rock soundtrack), although remnants of Carpenter's brilliant original still remain. When it comes to remakes, it's hard to ask for much more. (1 hr. 49 min.) Release date: Oct 6, 2009

Meet the Parents

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:43 -0000

In Meet the Parents, everything that could possibly go wrong for groom-to-be Greg Focker does. The problems begin with Greg's disastrous first meeting with his girlfriend's family-most notably her intimidating father Jack Byrnes-and it's all downhill from there. (1 hr. 48 min.) Release date: Nov 1, 2009

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:42 -0000

New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber's ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. Ryder, a criminal mastermind, leads a highly-armed gang of four, threatening to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there's one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape? (1 hr 35 min.) Release date: Nov 3, 2009

Land of the Lost

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:41 -0000

A disgraced paleontologist, his assistant and a macho tour guide find themselves in a strange world inhabited by dinosaurs, monkey people and reptilian Sleestaks. (1 hr. 41 min.) Release date: Oct 13, 2009

Disney's A Christmas Carol

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:25:40 -0000

Ebenezer Scrooge begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk and his cheery nephew. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late. (1 hr. 36 min.) Release date: Oct 13, 2009