A Thrill Filled Feast Of DVDs!

JULY 1, 2003
MEDIA RELEASE

A Thrill Filled Feast Of Dvds!

From the snowy streets of 1860s Manhattan to the avalanche-prone peaks of Alaska, next month’s breathtaking DVD offerings from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment encapsulate the chills, spills and thrills of winter. Mega Academy Award nominee GANGS OF NEW YORK is the star of the selection, while SKI MOVIE III, STEREOTYPE and CATALYST will quell even the most die-hard snow sport extremist’s DVD desires. Ultimate DVD Collector’s Editions of SINBAD, DEATH WISH, and MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL will wither away the longest of winter hours, while thrill-fests HALF PAST DEAD and xXx - due out on VHS, add spark and spunk to August’s awesome assortment.

GANGS OF NEW YORK
Release Date: 7 August 2003
Set on the mean streets of nineteenth century New York against a backdrop of lawlessness, corruption and volatility, GANGS OF NEW YORK is a movie masterpiece that tells a spellbinding story of friendship, love, loyalty and revenge. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, this $1.5 million Box Office sensation is a blockbuster extraordinaire that reigns in the proud tradition of epics like THE GODFATHER, GLADIATOR, and BRAVEHEART. Widely acclaimed as the motion picture event of 2003, GANGS OF NEW YORK has the star-pull power of Leonardo Di Caprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz and comes to us from the producers of PULP FICTION. This two-disc DVD classic includes special features ‘Uncovering the real Gangs of New York’ - the Discovery Channel documentary on the true events that inspired the movie, the U2 music video ‘The Hands that Built America’ and an audio commentary from Academy Award Best Director Nominee Martin Scorsese. A breath taking experience, GANGS OF NEW YORK is a collaboration of brilliance you must see and will not forget.
HALF PAST DEAD
Release Date: 7 August 2003
A $200 million secret lies at the bottom of this mesmerising thriller starring the incredibly sexy Nia Peeples (ALONE WITH A STRANGER) alongside action hero Steven Seagal (UNDER SIEGE, OUT FOR JUSTICE). Sent behind bars undercover at the newly upgraded and re-opened Alcatraz prison, FBI Agent Sascha Petrosevich (Seagal) is on a mission to infiltrate a gangland kingpin’s operations and retrieve the coveted information. A must for those who love films like CON AIR, HALF PAST DEAD is a riveting thrill fix not to be missed.

SKI MOVIE III
Release Date: 7 August 2003
Following in the grand and exhilarating custom of SKI MOVIES I & II, SKI MOVIE III is the most remarkable collection of massive mountain descents yet. An awe-inspiring DVD mindblower, SKI MOVIE III gets you up close and personal with skiing superstar Seth Morrison, captures the thrills of huge tricks and 100-foot gap jumps, and brings them to your living room! A hit from Matchstick Productions, SKI MOVIE III is an epic DVD title that snow sport extremists everywhere will savour.

STEREOTYPE
Release Date: 7 August 2003
A revolutionary compilation of the hottest performers to hit the slopes including Chris Turpin, Eric Pollard and Mike Nick, STEREOTYPE expels traditional notions of skiing and captures the intensity and passion of extremists pushing the sport in new directions. A SCOTT USA sponsored Poor Boyz Production by Eric Iberg (ROYALTY) STEREOTYPE follows a squadron of hugely innovative athletes who each bring something new and unseen to the sport. The soundtrack, featuring hits from Tricky and Living Legends, is equally as impressive.

CATALYST
Release Date: 7 August 2003
An epic snowboarding manifestation, CATALYST lets you feel the friction between metal, snow, board and bone as seriously hard-core riders launch an all out assault on slopes and super parks throughout North America. An all-encompassing DVD engagement, CATALYST unveils the future of snowboarding, features boarding legends destroying urban structures as well as avalanche-prone backcountry hits, and lets you suck in the first ever drakslide accomplished on a snowboard. Relished by boarding legends around the globe.

DEATH WISH I & II
Release Date: 7 August 2003
A controversial classic telling a renowned tale of turmoil and revenge made all the more compelling by the movie’s innate inherence to the bounds of reality and possibility, DEATH WISH comes to life in this its first appearance on DVD. Estranged husband Paul Kersey played by the now legendary Charles Bronson belittled the judicial system by taking the law into his own hands following the murder of his wife and savage rape and beating of his daughter. Together for the first time DEATH WISH and its brutal sequel are united in this magnetically thrilling DVD Collector’s Edition.

SINBAD
Release Date: 28 August 2003
True entertainment for all the family comes to you in this trilogy from Hollywood maestro Ray Harryhausen. The pre-eminent special effects wizard in Hollywood for decades, Harryhausen brought his creatures to life with painstaking stop-motion animation and a realism no one else's work could touch. Join Sinbad in his mysterious adventures in THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, and SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER, collated in this three-disc DVD Collector’s Edition that will entertain both young and old for hours.

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
Release Date: 28 August 2003
With new and improved picture quality, all-new really loud 5.1 Audio sound, and hardly an attempt at humour that fails, this DVD revamp of the engaging classic will alleviate the deepest and darkest of winter woes! Viewers will appreciate the incisive intelligence behind the Pythons' approach in MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL as the quality of the humour - irreverent, smart and challenging, inevitably differentiates their work from other motion picture comedies. Insanely full of extras, this two-disc DVD set includes insightful directors’ audio commentaries and really special subtitles! An absolute must for anyone who likes really silly movies with big killer rabbits in them.

Also available this month to own on video….

xXx
Release Date: 28 August 2003
This turbo-charged, high-octane thrill-ride stars Vin Diesel (FAST AND THE FURIOUS) as Xander Cage – a new breed of secret agent who makes 007 look like Mr Bean! A notorious underground thrill-seeker living on the edge and just managing to stay one step ahead of the law, Cage (code name: xXx), is coerced by crack NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) into infiltrating a ruthless Russian crime ring. Taking receipts of $2.5 million at the New Zealand Box Office, xXx features a deliciously devilish Marton Csokas in a role a million miles removed from his Dr. Leonard Rossi-Dodds persona on Shortland Street. An acclaimed high-action blockbuster with local appeal!

DIRTY DEEDS
Release Date: 28 August 2003
An enjoyable romp in which plucky Aussies stand up to condescending foreigners, DIRTY DEEDS tells the tale of a Sydney crime boss assailed by Chicago Mafia attempting to muscle their way in. From acclaimed director David Caesar, DIRTY DEEDS stars Bryan Brown (TWO HANDS, COCKTAIL), Toni Collette (ABOUT A BOY, THE SIXTH SENSE) and local legend Sam Neill (JURASSIC PARK I & III). An amusing and engaging title, DIRTY DEEDS is a slice of pure entertainment that will lighten up any dismal day.

ENDS

About Columbia TriStar/Sony Pictures Entertainment
Columbia TriStar is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, digital content creation, post production and distribution, home video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment technologies and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries worldwide. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.spe.sony.com.

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