DVD round-up from The TOMB

Eighties classics rub shoulders with eastern gems in this week's recommendations.

May 30 2006

The most entertaining film released on DVD this week is without doubt 'Survive Style 5+', a movie experience quite unlike any other I've had this year.

Directed by Gen Sekiguchi, a critically acclaimed commercial and music video director, it's an aesthetic tour de force that combines horror, action and comedy in eye-popping fashion.

The story is beyond description, but suffice to say its deftly woven portmanteau of five deliriously insane segments that really need to be seen to be believed

Continuing the eastern theme, 'Seven Swords' also hits the streets this week, an elegant martial arts film set at the birth of the Qing Dynasty.

Like 'Survive', it's stunning to look at, but in a more classical sense, and should appeal to fans of the traditional, fast-paced swordplay of 'House of Flying Daggers' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.

We've also got a hat-trick of films from my childhood that have definitely stood the test of time.

First up is 'Airplane', a spoof disaster movie that really needs no introduction. One of the funniest movies ever made, this special edition features deleted scenes and a priceless commentary from Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers.

Two gems from 1986 also get the special edition treatment this week – 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'The Fly'.

The former was one of the finest teen comedies of the '80s, and in Ferris, director John Hughes created the ultimate smart alec anti-hero for a smart alec eight-year-old like myself.

And 'The Fly' is my favourite David Cronenberg film to date, a truly touching tale of 'girl meets insect' that had me barfing my guts up way back in the day.

Finally, the high concept TV series 'Prison Break' hits DVD this week, and while it's pure guff from start to finish, it's also much more fun than it has any right to be.

Starring Wentworth Miller as a brother so loyal (or stupid) that he purposely gets himself thrown in prison to help his sibling escape, the first half of the season has more twists and turns than an industrial corkscrew, and is highly recommended to fans of high concept TV and/or sweaty man on man prison action.

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