Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon -- Columbia/Tri-Star Home Entertainment

An excellent presentation overall, for a film that’s over 15 years old. Not only does the movie sound great, but it looks great too. The wear of the film can be noticeable at certain times, but the clarity of the picture more than makes up for it. It’s also presented in anamorphic widescreen (as well as Pan & Scan), providing the most video you can get on whatever size television you happen to use. For a standard release, the features weren’t too dull. Considering that most of the people involved in this film have since dropped off the map, it’s very commendable that they at least provided a full-length commentary by the director. It’s full of very interesting back stories and little known facts, though a few of the better questions were left unanswered. However, it was disturbing that the disc lacked any theatrical or promotional trailers, aside from the absurdity of including bonus trailers for other releases. Production notes and filmographies are also included.

Lethal Weapon 1 - 3: Director’s Cuts - Warner Home Video

To coincide with the release of the final (yes, FINAL) entry in the series, Lethal Weapon 4, Richard Donner re-edited/approved extended cuts of all 3 previous films on VHS and DVD. Adding more many more character moments, and depth in the case of Lethal Weapon 1, these new editions help enhance the overall quality and enjoyment of the franchise. While the quality of the tapes were downright laughable (my first set was damaged), the DVD releases are decent enough. Despite the lack of documentaries that I KNOW exist, which paints Warner as a bit lazy, the sound and picture quality are quite nice. Presented in anamorphic widescreen and, surprisingly, DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 channel (that’s 5 + subwoofer) remastered sound. This is the kind of theatre level quality DVD consumers should expect for most films they buy today (especially those developed in/after the late 80’s). Each film is accompanied by its theatrical trailer, rounding out the set as a perfectly reasonable product.

George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1990) -- Columbia/Tri-Star Home Entertainment

Despite what you might expect from the release of a 21st Century Film Corporation product (Cannon’s redheaded stepchild), Sony has provided a very respectable edition here. Containing both anamorphic widescreen and pan & scan versions of the film on one disc, the sound has also been remastered in 2-channel Dolby Surround. The disc also has a *NEW* behind-the-scenes featurette, a full-length commentary with Tom Savini, production notes and theatrical trailers. While the featurette is fantastic and very informative for it’s length, the commentary is little more than Savini (the director) reacting to the movie with useless comments like "Ooh, wasn’t that great?" Despite the needless audio track, the overall release is very well done.