It's rare that anime dominates home entertainment releases, but that is the situation this week as the release of two Marvel Anime series dominates the “TV on DVD” releases, while the “Anime” category sports two excellent releases from the highly popular Full Metal Alchemist series, both of which are available on Blu-ray. Also on Blu-ray is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, the classic miniseries adaptation of John LeCarre's espionage saga.
TV on DVD
The top releases in this category could be listed in "Anime" as well. Marvel Anime: Iron Man The Complete Series (Sony, 287 min., $19.99) and Marvel Anime: X-Men The Complete Series (Sony, 287 min., $19.97), two 12-episode series that were produced in Japan by Madhouse featuring interesting "localized" versions of the familiar Marvel heroes. These series aired on the G4 network, and are of interest to both Marvel and anime fans. It is fascinating to see the Marvel heroes done up in fine anime style and unhampered by the industry-imposed limitations of Saturday morning cartoons produced in the States.
Other animated releases of note include the single-disc Ben 10: Hero Collection: Four Arms (Warner Bros., 92 min., $5.98) collecting 4 episodes of the popular Cartoon Network series, and The Wild Thornberrys: Season 2, Part 2 (Shout Factory, 180 min., $19.93).
Vintage TV releases include Car 54, Where Are You?: The Complete Second Season (Shanachie, 780 min., $39.98), the long out of circulation sitcom that was one of the best of TV's Golden Age, I'm Dickens, He's Fenster 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition (eOne Entertainment, 609 min., $29.98), which includes half of the innovative single season working class sitcom that should never have been cancelled. The other classic is McMillan and Wife: Downshift to Danger/ The Game of Survival (First Look, 180 min., $9.98). a single-disc release with two made-for-TV features featuring Rock Hudson and Susan St. James.
Equally interesting, especially for fans of classic drawing room mysteries, is Poirot: Series 4 (Acorn Media, 319 min., $49.99), which contains three intriguing mysteries featuring David Suchet as the definitive screen version of Agatha Christie’s Belgian sleuth. These meticulous productions are not only faithful to the material they adapt, they are also some of the finest examples of the recreation of the classic between the wars art deco era in any format. Guest stars in Series 4 include David Sumpter (Game of Thrones) and Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who).
Anime
Also worthy of notice is the release of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood Collection 1 (FUNimation, "14+," 825 min., $59.98, BD $69.98), which includes the first 33 episodes of the 64-episode Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime, which follows the storyline of the FMA manga with great fidelity. This is a series that deserves to be seen in the Blu-ray format.
Fans who like old school, hardboiled, seinen manga-based anime can’t do much better than Golgo 13 Collection 3 (Sentai Filmworks, "17+," 300 min., $59.98), which collects episodes 27-38 of the classic series about the world’s greatest assassin.
Re-priced re-releases include Fushigi Yugi Season 1 Collection (Anime Works, "13+," 650 min., $49.99), which collects the first 26 episodes of the excellent shojo anime series based on the classic manga series by Yuu Watase, and Jyu-Oh-Sei Complete Series (FUNimation, "14+," 255 min., $29.98).
Theatrical Movies
The best of a very light slate of theatrical releases is Contraband (Universal, "R," $29.98, BD/Combo $34.98), a better than you might expect action thriller based on a 2008 Icelandic film. Its plotline about an ex-smuggler who gets sucked back into the criminal life is all too familiar, but this film has a solid sense of place and a strong lead performance by Mark Wahlberg, and is recommended for those who enjoy this type of crime film.
--Tom Flinn
The opinions expressed in this column are soley those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.