ScreenIt? – The Weekly DVD Lesser Knowns

Over the last five or six weeks, an unbelievable number of notices from friends have made me aware of DVDs that were newly available on Netflix. These were things that likely would never have made it on my radar otherwise, and because I was so grateful, I’ve decided to start a new weekly feature wherein I will briefly throw out a few things you can now check out on DVD. I’ll try to also include links to Amazon pages for the items.

I hope a small shout out for these DVDs that aren’t getting much mention will be of some value to my readers, as similar mentions certainly were to me. The initial pictures will take you to the Netflix page. If there is a subsequent picture, it will take you to the Amazon page.

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon – TV Series

From the creators of “The Lone Ranger” and “The Green Hornet” comes this beloved 1950s TV series about the adventures of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in Gold Rush-era Alaska. With his horse, Rex, and his faithful sled dog, King, by his side, the dashing Sgt. Preston (Dick Simmons) proves that the Mounties always get their man.

Rick Steves’ Travel

This is just one example of a slew of releases in the travel series by Rick Steves.

The lush green lands of Ireland and Scotland are within reach with this installment of travel expert Rick Steves‘s popular television series. As the luck of the Irish would have it, Steves gives viewers rare access to the eclectic blend of city, coastline and countryside that is Dublin. Other places visited include South Ireland, West Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as Scotland’s Islands, Highlands and beautiful Edinburgh.

Men

Long a staple of the “best foreign movie you’ve never seen” lists, Men is a wild and rich romp.

After learning his wife (Ulrike Kriener) is sleeping with a virtually penniless artist (Uwe Ochsenknecht), successful corporate ad exec Julius (Heiner Lauterbach) cooks up a twisted plot for revenge by moving in with the competition and becoming his pal. The plot thickens when Julius influences the artist to become more and more like himself — all in an effort to put the kibosh on his wife’s affair. Doris Dörrie writes and directs.

Dark Matter

Liu Ye stars as Liu Xing, a promising young cosmology student who comes to America under the patronage of Joanna Silver (Meryl Streep). While working with cosmologist Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn), Liu becomes obsessed with his own theories of the universe, a fixation that may threaten his future. How far do personal belief and the need to achieve drive the quest for scientific discovery?

My Best Friend is a Vampire

Part of an apparent push to release everything with anyone who is somewhat popular, My Best Friend is a Vampire is the weirdest, and possibly worst, vampire comedy ever (Leaving out Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter… which is awesome). It’s not a bad bit of very silly fun.

After a night of passion with a seductive customer, shy teen delivery boy Jeremy (Robert Sean Leonard) starts looking pale, hating garlic and thirsting for blood. Mentored by the mysterious Modoc (Rene Auberjonois), the budding bloodsucker slowly gets the hang of his new lifestyle. David Warner co-stars as the ruthless vampire-hunting professor Leopold McCarthy in this smartly written, underrated 1980s teen comedy.

Anna Karenina

While helping her adulterous brother repair relations with his wife, the happily married Anna Karenina (Claire Bloom) plummets headfirst into an all-consuming affair of her own with a handsome soldier (Sean Connery). The resulting romance begets tragedy and drives her Russian diplomat husband (Marius Goring) mad with jealousy.Rudolph Cartier directs this BBC television adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s timeless novel.

Animal Atlas

One of several releases in this series of educational DVDs that aim to connect kids with a variety of animals.

Little ones will love learning more about their favorite animals — and meeting other critters they’ve never even heard of — in this kid-friendly series about the wonders of the wild kingdom. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the types of animals they’ll encounter, from the dolphins, whales and manatees that make their home in the oceans’ depths to the lions, tigers and cheetahs that fight to survive on the African plains.

North Star

It’s been quite some time since Christopher Lambert was in anything good (and many may think even that is too kind), but I’ve heard some positive responses to this one.

A trapper with Indian blood (Christopher Lambert) butts heads with a greedy mining boss (James Caan) who wants to get his pickax into a rich lode of gold that’s buried on sacred Inuit land in this action-driven drama set in late 19th century Alaska.Catherine McCormack co-stars as the mining boss’s beautiful mistress, who becomes an unwitting pawn in the trapper’s passionate fight for what he believes is right.