“Van Helsing”
Universal, $29.98
WHO’S IN IT: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh
RECAP: Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein, all in one film! It’s the Pu Pu Platter of monster movies (pun intended).
BEST EXTRA: The actors who play the central trio of monsters get a funny commentary track to themselves, revealing the tedious makeup process as they watch the finished film for the first time.
SECRETS REVEALED: The opening sequence was filmed in black and white as an homage to the original 1931 “Frankenstein” but also as a chance to use 21st Century special effects in a black-and-white setting.
FEATURE TO SKIP: “Explore Dracula’s Castle” has the Count host a tour of his fake castle. If you’re older than 5, so what?
TRIVIA: The Transylvania set was so intricate, the studio decided to save it for a future TV show.
IF YOU LIKED THIS,TRY: Any of the classic 1930s and 1940s Universal horror movies the film borrows from.
RATING: 2 REMOTES
“Ed Wood”
Touchstone, $29.99
WHO’S IN IT: Johnny Depp, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Murray
RECAP: The entertaining biopic of the most famous bad director of all time finally comes to DVD as an oft-delayed special edition.
BEST EXTRA: The commentary track with director Tim Burton, actor Martin Landau and the screenwriters is full of entertaining stories and trivia.
SECRETS REVEALED: Burton says that the scene where Wood meets fellow director Orson Welles was invented for the sake of the story.
FEATURE TO SKIP: It’s been skipped for you–a feature on cross-dressing was excised from this edition, which accounted in part for its delay.
TRIVIA: Screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were inspired to write “Ed Wood” after their own experience writing “Problem Child,” when they began wondering how bad movies end up that way.
IF YOU LIKED THIS,TRY: Ed Wood’s “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” frequently cited as the worst film ever.
RATING: 3 REMOTES
COMING SOON
In stores next week:
– “Dawn of the Dead” (director’s cut)
– “The O.C.: The Complete First Season”
– “White Chicks”
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
