NOTE: This is an archival section and therefore some of the links may no longer be active or valid.
26 June 2007 - GREAT NEWS - The Silent One is now available on dvd. If you have never had an opportunity to see
this family film, that was photographed in the Cook Islands, you will also find that a link to a divx video clip download has also been added. Also you
might want to check out the latest additions to the Sneak Peek Trailers page which now includes 'The Tattooist' and
'The Water Horse'.
15 June 2007 - The balance of the used vhs movies, listed at the VHS Sale page are going for $2.50 or $5us.
There are 45 titles represented, but there is only one copy of most and since many are hard to find, you might want to look over the list.
17 May 2007 - Information, including a sample clip link, on the soundtrack cd of 'River Queen' is now up for your enjoyment. Currently this cd is not widely available outside of the UK, however it can be ordered from Amazon. I have not yet located any retailers
in New Zealand or Australia. Aro Video in Wellington is having a limited time sale on dvds of Whale Rider
and No. 2 this month, but you would need to have a machine that can play R4 pal discs. They are also taking advance orders for 'Out of the Blue'. Click on the following to view the Out of the Blue Trailer. It will not be available for purchase until 7 July and only on R4 PAL.
8 May 2007 - Check out our new Poll on the Index page. No personal details are taken and no prizes - just a slight diversion for fun. Email me if you have some subject idea for a future relevant poll. Enjoy.
2 May 2007 - I regret to inform you that Brad McGann, at age 43, the director who gained worldwide acclaim for In My Father's Den, has succumbed in his 10 year battle against bowel cancer. A December 2005 fundraiser, supported by many in the film industry, raised $60,000 to help pay for Avastin treatment, which costs about $5,000us per month and did provide him with over a year of additional quality time. It is truly sad to lose such a fine talent and one who would have been able to provide us with many more wonderful film experiences.
13 April 2007 - Information on one more title has been added, Offensive Behaviour, which will become available for purchase, in New Zealand, late May 2007. A new section has been added, Sneak Peek Trailers which contains links to trailers of films currently in theatrical release, but not available on dvd until later this year. Currently it includes: Black Sheep, The Devil Dared Me To, Eagle and Shark, The Ferryman, Maori Merchant of Venice, Out Of The Blue, Perfect Creature, Quiet Night In.
Actor, Casting Director, Producer, Director and teacher Don Selwyn has died. His presence in films during the '70s and '80s, such as Sleeping Dogs, The Lost Tribe, and Came A Hot Friday led the way for the many Maori actors that followed him. As the director and executive producer of the excellent 'The Maori Merchant of Venice' he provided us a unique contribution which hopefully will find its way to dvd soon so that a wider, world-wide, audience will have an opportunity to experience this special production. For further details, go to: Veteran filmmaker Don Selwyn dies.
26 March 2007 - Two more feature films have been added to the database: Event 16, New Zealand's second science fiction feature film, and Ozzie, a children's film that, although was released in 2001, only recently found its way to dvd.
23 March 2007 - Aro Video in Wellington is having numerous specials, commemorating the
10th Anniversary of their website. Included in the specials are a few New Zealand titles. The following are selling for only $10nz each: Tongan Ninja,
Snakeskin, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, Utu and the 2-disc offering of Goodbye Pork Pie. Additionally, until the end of March, they are offering the
following special pricing: River Queen - $24.95nz and Footrot Flats - $19.95nz. There are limited quantities at these prices.
23 February 2007 - Information on the Fijian-New Zealander hit feature film, No. 2 is now available for viewing.
Unfortunately it is only available on dvd and, currently, only available from New Zealand sources. It will become available in Australia 14 March.
Currently no information about when it will become available in other countries or on other than R4 PAL discs. An R1 NTSC dvd is scheduled to be released 20 March, 2007, by Olive Films, of 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous and Woodenhead. Also a link to the official trailer of 'Desperate Remedies' has been added for your enjoyment.
19 February 2007 - Links to an informative three part video series from TVNZ, concerning Polynesians and film, has been added to the
Misc. Section. Additional trailers and film clip links have been added that should help in providing an insight to the respective
title's story. This includes, but not limited to, An Angel at my Table, Fracture,
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, Kombi Nation and Once Were Warriors.
29 January 2007 - Information on Stewart Main's recent feature film, 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous is
now available for viewing. Unfortunately the dvd is currently only available in Australia and New Zealand. It is still making the rounds in
the art theatres of North America and Europe, so it will be later this year before the dvd shows up in those areas.
02 January 2007 - The Fijian-New Zealand film, 'No. 2'
will have its dvd release in NZ 1 February and 14 March in Australia. It is suppose to start a limited U.S. theatrical release
in February, under the title of "Naming Number Two' - apparantly the distributor was not brave enough to use its original title:)
29 December 2006 - The much awaited authorized Peter Jackson biography is now out and information has been added to
the books section of the database. Additionally, vastly improved information about where to buy all listed
books and comparison pricing in North America and Europe has been added.
NOTICE - December 2006 - Until further notice, balance of sale vhs movies at
VhsSale.html are two, of equal value, for the price of one.
3 December 2006 - 17 January 2007 has been confirmed as the R4 dvd sales release date in Australia for 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous. Various online sales dealers
are taking advance orders, with the lowest price seeming to be offered by
ezydvd.com.au, with their website listing the many special features that are included on the disc. In the U.S., Olive Films is
taking advance orders for R1 versions, which will be released 20 March 2007.
23 November 2006 - More than 45,000 people have signed an ONLINE PETITION demanding Peter Jackson be reinstated to film Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit after he was dumped by movie studio New Line Cinema earlier this week. Click on the link above to add your name to the petition. If you wish further information about all of this, go to the Let The Hobbit Happen, website.
14 November 2006 - Information is now available on Fiji's first feature film, The Land Has Eyes.
This Fijian/NZ co-production is in the Rotuma language, with English subtitles, although some English is also spoken. A very worthy
effort by a native Rotuman and deserves the praise it has received. Today is the release date for the dvd extended edition version of
King Kong. In addition to an additional 13 minutes, it also contains commentary tracks and many other extras within
the 3-disc set. This is also the release date of the High Definition DVD of the theatrical version of King Kong. That makes it the first New
Zealand HD DVD. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy should be coming out on HD within a couple of months.
20 October 2006 - Aro Video in Wellington, who has the largest selection of New Zealand titles for sale, is currently conducting their
Kiwiana Film Sale. Significant savings can be found on such titles as: The World's Fastest Indian, In My Father's Den, The Piano, Goodbye
Pork Pie, Footrot Flats, Sleeping Dogs/Smash Palace double-pack and many others, including documentaries, most for less than $20nz.
Click here for the complete list of over 200 titles.
20 September 2006 - Sorry about the drought with notices - had some house repairs that had to get done. However, there now is info on
Vincent Ward's latest,River Queen and the Samoan comedy, Sione's Wedding. Both are
worth viewing, but currently only available in New Zealand. Information on the 14 November 2006 release of the extended, 3-disc, edition of
King Kong is now available. Preston-Laing Productions has scored a first, at least in NZ, by putting Gaylene Preston's
1985 thriller, Mr. Wrong, on disc, by making it available as a PAL DVD-R. Here's hoping that other producers see
the value in making their small market films available via the much less expensive route of DVD-R dubs.
22 July 2006 - Another issuence of Lord of the Rings is coming 29 August, according to New Line Cinema. There will be three "Limited Edition" sets, one for each movie. Each of the two-disc sets will include both the original theatrical and the extended versions of the film, along with a feature-length documentary on each film's creation, by Costa Botes. With the exception of the documentaries, there is no new material. The extended edition version is accomplished through seamless branching. OnFilm has an article in its July 2006 issue on this and some background on Costa Botes' problems with the documentaries.
On 14 November 2006, Universal is releasing the Extended Edition version of King Kong. It will be a three-disc set which will include 13 additional minutes, plus 40 minutes of deleted scenes, introductions by Peter Jackson, feature commentary tracks with Peter and Philippa Boyens, numerous featurettes, concept art galleries, outtakes, gag reels, trailers, pre-viz animatics, motion-capture/Animation comparisons and more. There will also be a giftset version that will contain a King Kong figurine.
17 July 2006 - New Zealand TV2 is having an Internet wide drawing for dvd copies of Flight of the Albatross. However the closing date is 3 August, 2006 (NZ time). Information is now up on the digital psychological drama Luella Miller. Sione's Wedding will, legally, find its way to dvd in New Zealand on 23 August - advance
orders are now being taken at Aro Video in Wellington.
9 July 2006 - Flight of the Albatross is now available on dvd from
Aro Video in Wellington.
This is the first New Zealand feature film on dvd that has optional English or Maori soundtracks. A very watchable film,
and the only one, so far, to have be shot on beautiful Great Barrier Island.
New Zealand TV2 is having an Internet wide drawing for dvd copies of the film. Up to date information on the recently
released to dvd versions of 'Nate and Hayes' as well as 'The Quiet Earth'
has been added to their respective pages. Vincent Ward's latest, 'River Queen', will have its New Zealand dvd release 17 August 2006.
Aro Video in Wellington is taking advance orders.
20 June 2006 - Information on the great new Roger Donaldson film, The World's Fastest Indian has now
been added to the database. If you haven't seen this one, get your hands on the dvd for a real treat. A page of Trailer Links
has been added. This should be helpful for those who's main interest is in seeing trailers. So far, trailers for 53 titles are listed and more will be added gradually.
25 May 2006 - A great deal of code cleanup and deletion or correction of links. More trailers or film clips have been found, so
new links have been added to specific title pages - over 50 such now linked. Major review additions - literally hundreds have been
added, especially for the older titles. I have also been adding the quirky reviews from Four Word Film Reviews.
For those unfamiliar, FWFR consists of viewer submissions of film reviews consisting of only four words. Check it out and submit some of your own -
there still are many New Zealand films that have not yet been so favoured, and be sure to let me know you have done so and I will add yours to
the growing number. Flight of the Albatross will be released on dvd, in New Zealand, 15 June. More on this next month.
15 May 2006 - Information on Peter Jackson's King Kong has been added to the database.
Information on the soundtrack cd of the new hit, Sione's Wedding, is also now available.
Additional information on the forthcoming dvd extras of The World's Fastest Indian
includes: director Roger Donaldson's 1971 documentary 'Offerings to the God of Speed' with historical footage of Burt Munro;
Featurettes, Southland: Burt's Hometown of Invercargill and The making of 'The World's Fastest Indian'; also feature commentary
with Roger Donaldson and deleted scenes. Although "Indian" is currently available in New Zealand as a rental, it will not
be available for purchase until June 26. The dvd is still scheduled for release in the U.S on 13 June.
28 April 2006 - Three low-budget films, now on DVD, have been added to the database:
Futile Attraction, Memories of Tomorrow and Tyrannical Love.
I have been able to locate legitimate DVDs of Heart of the Stag and
The Returning. They are difficult to locate and best success would probably be via ebay. I am happy to announce that
The Quiet Earth and The World's Fastest Indian
will make their way to R1 NTSC DVD on June 13. Quiet Earth will be widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 and contain a dolby digital 2.0
soundtrack. Extras include the theatrical trailer and audio commentary by the producer, Sam Pillsbury. It will also contain an
eight page booklet of further details. The "Indian" website contains trailers and other information. On June 20
Nate and Hayes (ne: Savage Islands) comes to R1 NTSC DVD. This Paramount release will be in 16x9 anamorphic widescreen
and dolby digital 5.1, 2.0 with subtitles and an optional French mono track.
04 March 2006 - Information and link to sample downloads is now available on the Sundance award winning movie,
' No. 2'. Further information on King Kong DVD release dates: Germany on April 4 with pricing of
the 2-disc version at about 22eur; New Zealand on April 12 with the 2-disc set selling for about $40nz. Given that the 2-disc set
is priced at only about $5 more than the single disc version, I can see what Universal wants people to buy.
26 February 2006 - I regret to report that the well known and respected actor, Wi Kuki Kaa, has died. His roles in features such as Utu,
Ngati, Te Rua, Kingpin, The Bounty and most recently, River Queen, have given us an extra measure of pleasure that will sincerely be missed.
Further details may be found within articles in the
NZ Herald and TVNZ .
13 February 2006 - Although, as of this date, there still is no public information from Universal, it would appear that Peter Jackson's
'King Kong' is being released on different dates in different markets. Amazon(us) and Amazon(ca) are indicating a 28 March release date.
There still is no reliable details as to "extras" content. Hopefully we will know before April:)
9 February 2006 - Peter Jackson's King Kong is being advertised by cduniverse and moviegoldmine with a DVD release date of 28 March
and selling for about $21us ($30 list). In the UK, sendit is saying that it will be available 10 April, selling for 14# (25# List). In Australia, ezydvd says
that they will begin deliveries 11 April with a selling price of $30au, although they have a special package offer that also includes the production
diaries and all packaged in a special tin, with a selling price of $32au. This initial "Special Edition" package will be a 2-disc set which includes
a documentary about the plight of gorillas. There is yet nothing public coming from Universal.
28 January 2006 - Information on the soundtrack CD of 'The World's Fastest Indian' is now
available for viewing. This film should find its way to dvd this coming April-May. Additionally most site pages have been updated with,
hopefullly, corrected links and current pricing.
06 January 2006 - The soundtrack CD of 'The World's Fastest Indian' will be released in the U.S. 24 January. The J. Peter Robinson
composed film is starting its major U.S. theatrical run after a outstanding New Zealand premier run. The CD is a Milan distribution and advance
orders can be placed at Amazon, among others. Further details will be provided later this month.
Early information, not verified by official sources, says that Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' will find its way to dvd 15 June, 2006. No details as yet.
31 December 2005 - Information, including review links, on the high quality photo locations book, 'White Cloud - Silver Screen' is now available for viewing. Additionally, details on the recent R4 release of the 'Goodbye Pork Pie', two-disc "Collector's Edition/Director's Cut" is available. In addition to being digitally remastered 16 x 9 enhanced with 5.1 surround, it includes 2 hours of extras, mostly involving recent cast and crew interviews.
15 December 2005 - Information concerning the just released book, The Making of King Kong,is now available
including ordering sources and some reviews.
13 December 2005 - Information concerning the soundtrack of King Kong is now available, with links to reviews, pricing and track downloads included.
11 December 2005 - As of 13 December, 2005, a 3-cd + dvd-audio soundtrack set, of the complete Fellowship of the Ring, extended edition, is available. It is a 180+ minute, 3-disc set in 2.0 or 5.1 surround that also includes an audio DVD of the score in PPCM 2.0 or PPCM 5.1 uncompressed audio. Additionally it includes a 45 page booklet with liner notes. Complete soundtrack sets of The Two Towers and Return of the King will also be released at some, as yet, unannounced dates. For review and details, go to Soundtrack Net.
23 November 2005 - A re-mastered R2-PAL DVD of New Zealand's first colour feature, The Seekers, is now available with original English soundtrack, plus optional Spanish soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles. It is in the original 1.33:1 format, with 2.0 sound. The transfer is excellent - far better than the vhs version, so if you can play R2 discs, it is clearly the way to go.
22 November 2005 - I am thinning out my stock of New Zealand VHS titles. Some 70 different titles are being offered at very reasonable
prices - $5 or $10. Some are rare and most of them are NTSC. For further details, check out the list at VhsSale.html
21 November 2005 - A sad bit of news. Brad McGann, director of 'In My Father's Den', has been reported having
inoperable cancer, which he has been fighting for the past nine years. His medical expenses are growing and one helpful drug, Avastin, is not covered
by his insurance. Avastin costs about $5,000us per month. A fundraiser, including an auction of many one-of-a-kind NZ film items is being held, 5 December, at Sky City Theatre, Auckland. Some details about the event can be found at:
Sharon's Charities.
18 November 2005 - It would appear that the Soundtrack CD of 'King Kong' will be released 13 December, 2005, according to the info at the
producer's (Decca) site and, as to be expected, Amazon is taking advance orders. Given that the current composer, James Newton Howard, has been working on it for less than two months, I wouldn't be surprised if the CD has a delayed release. 'King Kong' related books are starting to show up, with 'The Making of King Kong: The Journey behind the Magic' being released the same day as the soundtrack CD.
16 November 2005 - Universal has scheduled a North American R1 NTSC double-sided, single disc "Director's Cut" of The Frighteners with release on 29 Nov. 2005 for $20-25us; a 4-disc R2 German release of 1 December (20-22eur); a 3-disc R4 Australian release of 7 December ($35au) and a 3-disc R2 PAL UK release of 26 December (17#). It will be 13min. longer than currently available on DVD and audio will be dolby surround 5.1, dolby surround 2.0, and DTS 5.1. It will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. The confusion over what exactly will be contained, has come from the info going around about the package being one-disc, two-disc, three-disc or four. It would seem that the R1 North American release will be a single disc that has the feature, with a 2minute intro by Jackson, on one side, along with an optional audio commentary by Jackson. The other side contains a 270+ minute "Making of" documentary that includes interviews with Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Dee Wallace Stone, Jake Busey, Chi McBride, John Astin and Jim Fyfe; a section (Ghost Stories) where Jackson and Fyfe share their personal close encounters with ghosts; bloopers and "lost footage" is included, as is a piece with Peter describing script development; a cast rehearsal; an introduction to WETA; a close-up look at miniature use; motion control and bluescreen effects; details on how they constructed wallpaperman, portraitman, slimeface, blobman, worm, the reaper; there is a 24 minute section on the music, with Danny Elfman and more. With the R2 and R4 versions, the 270+ minute documentary is split between discs 2 and 3. The German R2 is the same as the other R2s, except that there is a fourth disc in the package that contains the original theatrical 105 min. version feature in anamorphic 2.35:1 with English or French 5.1 surround or German 2.0 surround options. It also has subtitles for: English, French or German. The audio options on the Director's Cut offering (Disc 2), in addition to being in English, contains subtitle options of: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arab, Bugarian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finish, Hebrew, Islandic, Norweigen, Swedish, Rumanian, Slovac
and Polish. I won't be surprised if I am surprised some more, when these issuings are released. Universal, I am not amused.
31 October 2005 - Happy 44th Peter Jackson. Well, you went and did it Peter - theatrical 'King Kong' is to be 180+ minutes and I lose my bet.
Additionally, the anticipated initial DVD release will be a 2-disc set in April 2006. On 9 November the price of the 12-disc Extended Edition of The
Lord of the Rings Trilogy will be offered in Australia and New Zealand for about $100au or $100nz. The best price I have seen, so far, has been
Marbecks who is offering it for $85nz, including shipping within NZ.
25 October 2005 - New Zealand Post stamp information, including images, of Peter Jackson's King Kong,
are now available for viewing. Each stamp has a watermark that, so far, I have been unable to appropriately scan, but maybe that was their point. Noticed at Amazon's page on the forthcoming 'Frighteners - Director's Cut' : "Special Offer: Inside this DVD is a coupon for up to $10.50 in movie cash to see Peter Jackson's new King Kong. Valid in US and Canada from 12/14/05-1/1/06. Offer available only while supplies last."
18 October 2005 - A "Collector's Edition" of Goodbye Pork Pie will have an R4 release 7 December.
It is to be 16x9 enhanced and 5.1 surround plus, on a second disc, some 150 minutes of extras. Marbeck's seem to be the only place that is taking advance orders, so far. Universal is releasing, 13 December, "King Kong - Peter Jackson's Production Diaries" as a 2 disc gift set with 52 page "scapbook", etc. It would seem that only Universal and Amazon are taking advance
orders, as yet. Kombi Nation will become available on R1 DVDs, from U.S. sources, January 31, 2006.
11 October 2005 - On October 19, New Zealand Post will be releasing five stamps with actors images from Peter Jackson's King Kong - including Kong, of course. In addition to the individual stamps, there will be sheets, miniature sheets, first day covers, pre-paid souvenir cards and special bubble bags and strong boxes. Details with images can be found at the
New Zealand Post King Kong Stamps Site
29 September 2005 - Further details on the Footrot Flats DVD, being released November 9 2005, in Australia and New Zealand. It will be presented in enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen, with DTS and Dolby digital 5.1 sound. Extras currently include: Audio commentary by Murray Ball & Tom Scott; Interview with Dave Dobbyn; A "Making of" featurette; Music videos of - 'Slice Of Heaven' & 'Oughta Be Love', plus Photo Gallery.
Further clarity concerning the "Director's Cut" release of 'The Frighteners'. It will have an R1 NTSC North American release of 29 Nov. 2005, an R2 PAL UK release of 5 December and an R4 Australian release of December 7. It will be 13min. longer than currently available on DVD, and the audio will be upgraded from 2.1 surround to a dolby digital 5.1. It will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. Extras will include an optional director's commentary track and a "making of" feature.
Lastly, it would seem that the periodic "production diary" videos that have been gradually available for downloading at the 'Kong is King' website,
will be assembled as a 5+ hour 2-disc package, with a sell date of December 7, 2005 in Australia. More details on this later.
26 September 2005 - A "Collector's Edition" R4 DVD of 'The Piano' will be released, in Australia, 5 October and in
New Zealand, 25 October. It will still be 116 minutes and 1.85 widescreen, but the sound has been upgraded to 5.1 surround and an English subtitles
option is included. Extras include: commentary option by Jane Campion and Jan Chapman; 'Inside The Piano' featurette; and a Limited Edition booklet. Also on 5 October, an R4 "collectors edition" of 'Once Were Warriors' will be released in Australia that is perported to be from a restored print and contains the extras previously offered, plus a Tamahori short film, 'Thunderbox' and interviews with the cast.
The books section has had three additions: 'The Selling of New Zealand Movies', by Lindsay Shelton; 'Shadows on the Wall', by Barbara Cairns & Helen Martin and 'The Rough Guide to Lord Of The Rings'.
06 September 2005 - Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' will have its official world premiere, 15 December, in New York City. The New Zealand Premiere will be held in Wellington, 14 December. An article in the NZ Herald 'King Kong Glimpse', about the finished trailer, will give you some ideas, but to really understand, you will need to download the trailer itself.
25 August 2005 - Two more titles have found their way to DVD, Via Satellite and
Bad Blood. And on 22 September, Broken English finally makes it to DVD; details will come later.
However, all of these releases are only as R4 PAL.
24 August 2005 - I just received word that Footrot Flats the Dog's Tale animated movie will be released on DVD on November 9 '05 in 16x9 and 5.1 sound. Extras currently include: Interview with Murray Ball, Making of Feature, Film clip of Slice Of Heaven & Oughta Be Love and the P-Money remix of Slice Of Heaven plus Photo Gallery. I don't know any more than this now, but
check back next month.
16 August 2005 - This will be the last month that the nzfilmsonsatellite section will be available.
Interest in this information has always been low and never popular. After deducting the "tourists" (people from outside of North America), the
listing of NZ movies, that are being shown on North American satellite or cable TV, has only been about one visitor per week. I will, instead,
apply my time to more work on the forthcoming "People" section, which I know will have much more interest.
11 August 2005 - An R1 NTSC DVD of An Angel at my Table is scheduled for release 20 September
2005 from Criterion for about $30us. This is to be a new HD digital transfer supervised by the original photographer (Stuart Dryburgh) and
approved by Jane Campion. There will be a new dolby digital 5.1 soundtrack option, in addition to the standard 2.0, and it is presented in
1.78:1 anamorphic. It will also contain extras of: optional audio commentary featuring Jane Campion, Stuart Dryburgh and Kerry Fox; a 1982
audio interview with Janet Frame and a 40 page booklet featuring a film essay by critic Amy Taubin and excepts from Janet Frame's
autobiography. Universal has scheduled a new R1 NTSC "Director's Cut" of The Frighteners; release date
of 29 Nov. 2005. It will be 13min. longer than currently available on DVD, and the audio will be upgraded from a 2.1 surround to a dolby digital
5.1. It will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. No word yet as to extras.
27 July 2005 - Information on the NZ disaster movie, 'Terror Peak', is now available for viewing.
26 July 2005 - Information on the new DVD release of Geoff Murphy's thriller, 'Spooked',
is now available for viewing, including a link to a trailer.
25 July 2005 - The August edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. Information on the soundtrack CD of Chicken
is now available for viewing, including an mp3 sample.
23 July 2005 - During my weekly check of the Aro Video website, I looked through their
DVD "Bargain Bin" and amongst the many fine titles - all selling for $19.95nz - are the following NZ movies: Fracture, Spooked, Christmas,
For Good, Nemesis Game, Orphans & Angels, Tongan Ninja, No One Can Hear You, This Is Not A Love Story, The Vector File, The Waiting Place,
Kids World, Scarfies, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Utu and Race For The Yankee Zephyr. These are either R0 or R4 PAL discs.
If you do not know what that means, email me - especially if you live in the U.S., your player may not be compatible with these discs.
4 July 2005 - The roving
New Zealand International Film Festivals are about to start their five month run, with venues in: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin,
Gisborne, Hamilton, Levin, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Queenstown, Tauranga, Wellington and Whangarei.
Do yourself a favour and find time for an adventure in film by attending at least one evening at one of these showings. It is guaranteed to
be the best thing that happens to you that day.
19 June 2005 - The July edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section.
14 June 2005 - Information on two additional book titles have been added to the
books section - 'Don't Let It Get You', by John O'Shea and 'Footrot Flats - The Making of the Movie' by Lesley Stevens.
13 June 2005 - From WYSIWYG News - 12 June 2005 - Copyright, Brian Harmer
Writers, actors, and sports stars feature in this year's
Queen's Birthday Honours. One hundred and
seventy-seven people are honoured today.
Amongst the honored was the author of the best-selling
Lord of The Rings Location Guidebook, Ian Brodie who has been
made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services
to tourism. The Cromwell writer's guide to the sights where
Peter Jackson filmed Lord of the Rings spent eight weeks at
number one on the best-seller list. It has now sold around
250,000 copies. Ian Brodie says he is overwhelmed by being
honoured for something which is such a passion. He says he
will celebrate with a quiet beer at his local pub at Luggate.
A well-known face on television, stage and film, Michael Hurst,
has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
He has directed about forty plays, and had more than a hundred
stage roles. He achieved international renown for his acting role
in the television series Hercules, which he went on to direct, along
with Xena Warrior Princess. Michael Hurst says he is thrilled
to be receiving the award. He says it is an honour to be honoured.
29 May 2005 - I am pleased to announce that many corrections and updates have been made recently. They include eliminating or correcting bad links,
the addition of previously unavailable audio samples, some new external links to trailers, pricing updates and new back links to their related film pages from all soundtrack pages. If you find any errors, please let me know - all help is warmly accepted.
24 May 2005 - The June edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. Included are rare presentations of The Truth About Demons.
1 May 2005 - And another two films have been added: Christmas and In My Father's Den.
RE: The possibility of a DVD version of Footrot Flats - sorry, it turned out to be an unauthorized copy that was unplayable. Hopefully it will happen someday.
26 April 2005 - Two more films have been added. Fracture and Her Majesty
Two films well worth viewing, although both have had a difficult road to fruition, they will hopefully soon become available for more than just
Australian and New Zealand viewers.
25 April 2005 - Two more films have been added. The Waiting Place and Woodenhead.
The latter is clearly one of the most unique films you will see this year.
22 April 2005 - The May edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section, also note that
STARZ East will be showing Lord of the Ring/Return of the King in High Definition on April 24 and 28. Also for those that might be interested, Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' will be represented by New Zealand Post issuing stamps featuring the film starting October 5, 2005; details coming later.
29 March 2005 - Sorry about the long spell without entries here, although there have been small unannouced upgrades during the past couple of months,
such as the addition of some titles that are now available on DVD - Alex, Dangerous Orphans,
Race for the Yankee Zephyr and Vigil. However I am finally getting some new titles included such as:
For Good, Orphans & Angels, This Is Not A Love Story and
Tongan Ninja. This coming month at least four more new titles will be added: Fracture, Her Majesty, The Waiting Place and Woodenhead. I may have some news about the availability of Footrot Flats on DVD, but I want to receive a copy (which is supposedly on its way) and check out the quality and source. More on that later.
25 November 2004 - The December edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. Updated information on
Lord Of The Rings - Return of the King now includes details
regarding the Extended Editions version.
26 October 2004 - The November edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section.
21 October 2004 - WIN A DVD OF KOMBI NATION. Send an email to
competitions@arklesentertainment.com with Kombi November in the subject line and in the body of the email include the names of
three of the stars of "Kombi Nation". Your email must be in the hat by November 24 which is shelf date for the
retail of "Kombi Nation", a great DVD for Christmas! There are 5 copies of the DVD on offer to five winners drawn at random...be in to win!
25 September 2004 - The October edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section.
28 August 2004 - The September edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. For those who can receive high definition Starz,
Lord of the Rings/The Two Towers will be shown September 18 in theater quality.
28 July 2004 - The August edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. Also samples of special re-issues of LOTR miniature sheet First Day Cover
stamps, as a fundraiser for KIWIPLEX 2006, are now available for viewing.
25 June 2004 - Great News - SLEEPING DOGS and SMASH PALACE are now available on R1 DVD.
They are packaged together as a two disc set from Anchor Bay and has a number of extras such as
commentaries by Donaldson and others, "Making of....." of both movies, bios, stills, etc. The movies
are restored widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 and restored soundtracks with Dolby 5.1 surround.
The DVD set sells for $20 - $30us from various sources, but be sure to search for it by the title: ROGER DONALDSON COLLECTION.
22 June 2004 - Information about PERFECT STRANGERS is now available for viewing, as well as the July
schedule of NZ movies scheduled for viewing on satellite/cable channels at nzfilmsonsatellite.
19 June 2004 - Information about the soundtrack CD of Woodenhead is now available for viewing.
Additionally, GOODBYE PORK PIE is now available in R0 PAL DVD from various UK sources. Also R4 PAL DVD copies
of THE SINKING OF THE RAINBOW WARRIOR can now be purchased from various Australian sources.
16 June 2004 - Great news for those looking for CD copies of QUIET EARTH. The Composer is having a new run made
of this popular CD and they should be available by July, 2004. He is also re-issuing the soundtrack CD of UTU.
They will cost, the equiv. of, about $20us + shipping. If you want to be notified when they become available, send a note to
info@nzvideos.org. Insert QUIET EARTH CD in the subject line, and you will be appropriately notified.
24 March 2004 - The April edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section. Links to many country's film commissions are now available through the visitor countries section of this website. Please let me know of other (non U.S.) such sites that I need to add.
21 December 2003 - The December edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section. There are 15 titles available for viewing, including the new thriller, Nemesis Game. Special note: The Golden Globe Awards will be aired on NBC, January 25. Return of the King has been nominated in the Best Drama Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Original Song catagories.
6 December 2003 - Info on another Scott Reynolds film - When Strangers Appear is now available for viewing.
23 November 2003 - The December edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section. Highlights include Whale Rider showings on Pay Per View
and STARZ begins showing the 3hr. theatrical version of Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers. STARZ will also have some showings of the
3 1/2 hr. extended version of Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring. For those that might be interested in looking in on the crowds that
will be gathering at the Wellington world premier of Lord of the Rings - Return of the King, a webcam has been set up and can be viewed at:
LOTR Wellington Parade on December 1 (That will be the evening of November 30 for North and South America and early morning of the 1st for Europe). The stamp FDCs for LOTR/ROTK are now available for viewing in the Misc. Section. These stamps are now available for
purchase from the New Zealand stamp
philatelic bureau.
24 October 2003 - The November edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section. Included is, the rarely seen on TV, Broken English, as well
as the first North American TV showing of Stickmen. Details are now available, including a sample mp3 download, of the soundtrack CD to
Peter Jackson's first film Bad Taste.The soundtrack CD of Lord of the Rings-Return of the King will be released 25 November - check here later for details.
10 October 2003 - Whale Rider details are now available for your perusal - unfortunately initially only
as NTSC. PAL versions will be announced at a later date.
25 September 2003 - Whale Rider will be released on NTSC/VHS and R1 DVD-SE October 28. No word yet as to when it will be released on PAL or
other region DVDs.
21 September 2003 - The October edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. Included is Lord of the Rings-The Two Towers which will start showing on
September 26 and continue throughtout October at Pay-Per-View. Melanie Lynskey and Dean O'Gorman fans will be glad to know that
Snakeskin will be showing in October. Good News - soundtrack CDs of Heavenly Creatures, Braindead and Crooked Earth are now available
direct from the Australian distributor at: http://www.mana.com.au/. New Zealand Post is now taking orders for official Lord of the Rings - Return of the King stamp products that will be shipped 5 November 2003.
9 September 2003 -
Having received my copy of The Quiet Earth on DVD from Blackstar, I can now confirm that it is an
R0 PAL version. It played fine on my converted JVC machine. It is a bare-bones disc with virtually no extras. I paid 5# + shipping.
29 August 2003 - Beginning September 2, Once Were Warriors will be available for
purchase, on DVD, from U.S. sources. No longer will it be necessary to purchase this award winning title from Canadian
sources, to obtain an R1 version. Warner Home Video is the U.S. distributor, and as of this date, no details about "special
features". However, it could be expected that it would, at least, have what is found with the Canadian disc - A Behind-the-Scenes
Featurette, Bios, Filmographies, Trailer, Stills Gallery, Scene selection, and presented in its original 1.85 dolby digital format
and its full 105 min. length. Now the question is: When will the sequel - What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
- be available in North America on R1 DVD?
23 August 2003 - The September edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. It would seem that The Quiet Earth is
now available on DVD. However there is some question about which zones - R2 or R0 - so I will report further on this soon, after I have received a copy (which is on its way). For the handfull of you who do not know - Lord of the Rings -The Two Towers will be available on DVD and VHS 26 August, in most markets.
10 August 2003 - A list of this website's visitor countries is now up for viewing.
There still are a number of countries not represented, although I suspect that the site has had visitors that have not been
recorded, due to domain names and other reasons. If I have left out your country, please email me about that and I will enter
you in a drawing of a New Zealand stamp first day cover dedicated to NZ cinema. For those whos country is already listed,
I will have another such drawing for those who send me the URLs of their country's film archive and/or film commission.
30 July 2003 - Information is now available on the hard-to-find
HERCULES IN THE MAZE OF THE MINOTAUR, including info and a link to DVD details about this
title as well as others in the Hercules series. A new section, DVD List, has been
added, that is the beginning of a section that will gradually have more details regarding titles available on DVD.
26 July 2003 - The Two Towers page is now available with information related
to videos and dvds, of that title, that will be released this coming August and November.
23 July 2003 - The August edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section.
14 July 2003 - Upgraded information now available concerning the soundtrack CD of
MEET THE FEEBLES, including an mp3 downloadable sample track.
9 July 2003 - Two NZ titles that you might not realize are now available on R1 DVD are:
SECOND TIME LUCKY & SHAKER RUN.
SHAKER RUN is buried within a dvd titled 'Wild Rides', that contains four movies of less than "A" classification.
Two films that will become available on R4 DVD are The Navigator, on 1 August,
and RAIN , on 20 August.
As most will know, the theatrical version of 'Lord of the Rings-The Two Towers' will be available on DVD,
starting 26 August. What you might not know is that SHRIMP ON THE BARBIE
will also become available on R1 DVD that same day.
10 September is the scheduled release date for
TONGAN NINJA on PAL video and R4 DVD.
4 July 2003 - Two more film titles have been added: SAVING GRACE,
Costa Botes' first feature film, and LUNATICS' BALL, a very worthwhile first effort by Michael Thorp.
22 June 2003 - The July edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section. U.S. National Public Radio has an audio report on the new hit
movie, WHALE RIDER, which you can hear by clicking on the following link options for the download.
Whale Rider Real Audio or
Whale Rider Windows Media.
It includes interviews with principal actors Keisha Castle Hughes, Rawiri Paratene and Cliff Curtis.
17 June 2003 - Two more titles added - Memory & Desire,
director Niki Caro's ('Whale Rider') first feature film; and the 2000 comedy,Savage Honeymoon.
08 June 2003 - Details on four more titles are now available for viewing: Hopeless;
Jubilee; Magik & Rose; Stickmen.
Those interested in such details, the 2002 annual report
from the New Zealand Film Commission is now available for pdf downloading.
22 May 2003 - Information is now available on SNAKESKIN, staring Melanie Lyskey.
Although not yet available on video or dvd in North America, it will be able to be viewed on Showtime during June.
In that regard, the June edition of NZ films showing on North American satellite and cable channels is now available in the
nzfilmsonsatellite section.
11 May 2003 - Information is now available on FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS.
Scarfies is now available in North America, under the aka of 'CRIME 101', and
can be purchased in VHS/NTSC or DVD R1 from various sources.
25 April 2003 -
The New Zealand Film Archive is currently presenting material commemorating
GOODBYE PORK PIE, including a film clip. A seperate report has it that this
1981 film will become available on DVD later this year, but no details as yet.
22 April 2003 - May updates are now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section.
Information is now available concerning CROOKED EARTH. This film, starring Temuera Morrison,
had its world premier in 2001, but has yet to have a general release in North America, however that may change later this year.
Video and DVD release dates have been announced for
Lord of the Rings/The Two Towers: standard theatrical version - 26 August with advance sales starting 9 May; extended (40 min.added) version - 18 November with advance sales starting 20 June. A link to the forthcoming TWO TOWERS TV promotional video. BTW, the worldwide theatrical box office
receipts for THE TWO TOWERS has reached us$900 million.
9 April 2003 - Information is now available on three comedies: SEND A GORILLA,
RUBY AND RATA and Old Scores . Unfortunately they are only available on VHS-PAL at this time.
7 April 2003 - Information is now available concerning the WW1drama Chunuk Bair.
Information on two more titles, 'Send a Gorilla' and 'Ruby & Rata', will be up for viewing in a couple of days. More titles to follow.
31 March 2003 - Universal Pictures has issued a press release stating that Peter Jackson will be re-making KING KONG
starting next year, with an anticipated release date in 2005. Details from the New Zealand press can be found at:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2371077a10,00.html.
28 March 2003 - Information on two addition films is now available: Illustrious Energy
and Ngati. These two films from the '80s are now available on VHS-PAL from New Zealand sources.
They are both unique in that they provide a glimpses of an aspect of New Zealand that is less known - early chinese residents and
mid-20th century rural maori. Additionally, both contain excellent cinematography and soundtracks.
26 March 2003 - April updates are now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section.
Information is now available about LEAVE ALL FAIR. This 1985 little known film about Katherine Mansfield
can now be purchased on PAL VHS. For those that might be interested - Lord of the Rings/The Two Towers has passed The Fellowship
of the Rings in world-wide theatrical box office receipts, and has reached fifth highest position with $882us million.
24 March 2003- Information is now up for two more soundtrack CDs - Maori Merchant of Venice and Whale Rider. Both are recommended and sample clip links are provided. Information on videos and DVDs of
Maori Merchant of Venice will be available soon, but no word yet as to when videos or DVDs will be available for Whale Rider. It is only now having its theatrical showing in New Zealand. It is scheduled to begin theatrical showings in the U.S. later this year.
22 February 2003 - March updates are now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section.
BAFTA awards will be given out Sunday, 23 February. It is being aired live on BBC
and BBC America. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers has received nominations in 9 catagories, including best picture and best director. Worldwide theatrical box office receipts for The Two Towers has reached $780us million.
22 January 2003 - Information on the 2001 film RAIN, is now available. This film will become available,
on R1 DVD, starting 13 February. It is available on VHS-PAL and will be on VHS-NTSC. No information about DVD for other zones as yet.
19 January 2003 - February updates are now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section.
7 October 2002NTSC VHS and DVD versions of 'The Price of Milk' will be
available for purchase in North America beginning 26 November. Warner Records has
scheduled the release of 'The Two Towers' soundtrack CD for 9 December. Details on
these releases will be posted soon.
19 September 2002Information is now available for another
title - Jack Brown, Genius.This very
hard to find film is available in PAL-VHS from Germany and also
found on all-zone DVD from Hong Kong (with Chinese subtitle option).
21 August 2002 - Heavenly Creatures will be released
Sept. 24 on DVD in the U.S. This will be in its original widescreen format and at the original
108 min length. No "extras" information available at this date. As confirmation of this release
in other markets becomes available - that information will be posted here. September updates
are now available in the nzfilmsonsatellite section.
18 August 2002 - Due to increased interest, I am considering selling new, factory sealed,
soundtrack CDs of New Zealand related titles. Most of these CDs are hard to find - especially
outside of New Zealand or Australia. The cost would be between $18 - $22 us, plus shipping.
To give me an idea of actual interest, I would welcome emails, that would indicate which titles,
be sent to me at: Mail to: info@nzvideos.org
I am NOT asking for an order or commitment and I will not sell or otherwise use your name and
email address. I will contact you when I am ready to supply the item, but you are under no obligation.
7 August 2002 Lord of the Rings-Fellowship of the Ring is now available
on VCD from
Eureka Movies. The 3 disc set is $9.97us plus shipping and is in English
with Chinese and Malay subtitles. Early reports have dealers, worldwide, going crazy
trying to keep up with the demand for videos or DVDs of the film.
23 July 2002 The August information of titles showing via
Satellite and some cable systems, is now available in the NZ Films on Satellite section.
You can still catch 'The Piano' the end of July. On 4 December, 2002, New Zealand Post
will begin issuing stamp products commemorating 'The Two Towers' - the second film in the
Lord of the Rings trilogy. Check back in September for details regarding this issuance.
New Zealand Post will continue selling 'Fellowship of the Ring' items (depending upon stock),
until 4 December, 2002.
19 July 2002 New information regarding
Lord of the Rings/Fellowship of the Ring has been uploaded and includes further
content details for both the August 6 release as well as the 12 November release.
Those interested in the technical details of what is going on
at Weta, and what equipment they are using, you might find the following
article in
"Digital Animators'(July 2002) interesting. Examples: Their central
storage is being upgraded from 9TB to 20TB, and the offline storage
is up to 45TB and growing.(BTW, 1TB is equal to 1,000,000 Megabytes)
24 June 2002 The July information of titles showing via
Satellite and some cable systems, is now available in the:NZ Films on Satellite section.
You can still catch 'Frighteners' or 'Sleeping Dogs' this week.
Next month 'Braindead/Dead Alive' will be showing, as well as the
fairly new 'Price of Milk', which is only now having limited
theatrical showings in North America.
22 June 2002 For those interested in the Sept. DVD
re-release of Heavenly Creatures, you might want to sign the
petition regarding 16:9 widesceen and other details. It seems
that Miramax will be issuing it in TV style pan & scan without
extras. The website is: Heavenly Creatures
Petition.
16 June 2002 For those who enjoy such things - I have
discovered that in six countries, LOTR-FOTR box office sales, as
of early June, have exceeded, expressed in U.S. dollar amounts,
the population of those countries. They are as follows:
Australia - $23,923,000 from a population of 19,390,000 -
1.23
New Zealand - $6,112,000 from a population of 3,865,000 -
1.58
Norway - $8,097,000 from a population of 4,507,000 - 1.80
Sweden - $12,450,000 from a population of 8,870,000 - 1.40
United Kingdom - $89,450,000 from a population of 59,741,000 -
1.50
United States - $311,526,000 from a population of 278,262,000 -
1.12
The small number at the end of each line, is the ratio of dollar
to population. Does that mean that LOTR/FOTR is more popular in
Norway than anywhere else? Or does it mean that it is more
expensive there than anywhere else? I don't have information on
the average ticket prices in each country. Note that the June
stats show that Norway is number one, with New Zealand in second
and UK is in third place - per capita. Comments?
13 June 2002
I found a copy of Trespasses, a
rare 1984 film, staring Patrick McGoohan and Emma Piper ; details
are now up for inspection. Good news: It would appear that
Miramax is going to re-release Heavenly Creatures, on DVD, this
coming 24 September, 2002. Further details later, as I am able to
confirm. Aro Video, in
Wellington, is clearing out some New Zealand titles at $25nz or
less. Included are: Broken English, Crush, The End of the Golden
Weather, Topless Women Talk About Their Lives, The Ugly and
Ngati. Note: All of these are PAL format, so they will NOT play
on most North American VCRs. Although the majority of the
visitors to this site are from the U.S., NZ, AU or UK, there are
quite a number representing Germany, Spain, Netherlands,
Portugal, Italy and France. Additionally, there are occationaly
visitors from: Switzerland, Canada, Chile, Belgium, Finland,
Austria, Brazil, Croatia, Norway, Slovak Republic, Czech
Republic, Sweden; and smaller numbers from: Thailand, Mexico,
Romania, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Russia, Argentina, Hungary,
Greece, Hong Kong, Denmark and Lithuania. If I have left out your
home country, please email me a correction.
26 May 2002
The "Factoids" section has been renamed "Misc", and now contains a link to a list of NZ
film titles that will become viewable from North American cable
and satellite feeds. This list will be undated the last week of
each month, to reflect the titles available for the coming month.
Zone 2 DVDs of When Love Comes are now
available from Blackstar. Zone 1 DVDs will
become available from Amazon and CDNow starting 30 July 2002.
Note that Zone 2 DVDs advance orders are being taken by Blackstar
for LOTR/FOTR.
10 May 2002
There are now, at the bottom of all pages, jump links to all
major sections - for your navigation convenience.
9 April 2002
Additional information now at Lord
Of The Rings-Fellowship of the Ring, including links to
awards, trailers, other title sites and reviews. Information
concerning the forthcoming VHS and DVD availability, content and
costs is also available. Fellowship of the Ring has reached to #5
position in box office sales - worldwide. The top four are:
Titanic, Harry Potter, Phantom Menace, and Jurassic Park.
28 March 2002
Information about the forthcoming VHS Video and DVDs of Lord Of The Rings-Fellowship of the
Ring is now available for viewing. Check back periodically
for further details.
25 March 2002
Including the four Oscars that 'Lord of the Rings' received last
night, the film's total awards have now reached 52. That is four
more than 'The Piano', which had been
the New Zealand film with the most awards. Given that there are
still many more awards to be handed out this year, 'Lord of the
Rings' stands a chance of reaching the century mark, in the award
count. BTW, your local theatre should start showing a four minute
trailer of 'The Twin Towers', starting this next weekend.
5 March 2002
By now you would probably know that Lord of the Rings has picked
up five awards from BAFTA, including best picture and director.
Worldwide, the film has taken in over $750us million, and has
just opened in Japan where it is expected to do quite well.
Some site changes include: Listing awards that various titles
have received and pricing updates for all film titles. As always,
if you spot an error, or have discovered a pricing source that
you want to pass on, please let me know.
20 Feb. 2002
The following was posted yesterday in the Coming Soon.Net website. The
Italian Website Caltanet Cinema tells us that there is yet
another DVD release planned for "The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring".The site spoke with a representative of
the Home Video Department of Medusa, the Italian distributor for
"The Lord of the Rings." It appears that, on top of the August
release of the DVD & VHS and the November double DVD, with extra
features, there will also be a 4-Disc Collectible box coming in
November. "A box containing 4 DVD, 2 of them are the same as the
double DVD (see above), but you get also a DVD with the
director's cut (Peter Jackson didn't decide yet between a 3h 30'
version and a 4h version) and another DVD with other extra
stuff."
16 Feb. 2002
I regretfully report that New Zealand actor, Kevin Smith, has
died of injuries due to a falling accident, while in China. The
38 year old actor of films such as Desperate Remedies and Channelling Baby, is probably best known
as Ares in the Xena television series. Those interested in
further information about this talented actor, might check the
following websites: Jubilee cast
information, Sura's Fansite,
Rachel's Fansite.
19 Jan. 2002
Fellowship of the Ring continues to rack up amazing statistics.
Worldwide, it has taken in over $500us million, at box offices,
and although it is slowing in the U.S., having taken in over
$233us million, it is still #1 at box offices in Brazil, Czech
Republic, Finland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand (where it has
broken all NZ records with nearly $4us Million, and still going),
South Africa, and the U.K., and there are still markets that are
opening up; it just started in Italy on Jan. 18 and Taiwan on
Jan. 19. It will open up in Hong Kong on Jan. 31, India on Feb. 7
and Japan on Feb. 23. It might hit $1 Billion worldwide by the
end of the year.
Another tie-in with Lord Of The Rings is
Houghton Mifflin Publishing. They are the exclusive North
American distributor of things Tolkien, and as such they are
distributing books related to the movies. You might enjoy
checking out a site of theirs that includes exclusive video clip
downloads (if you have the patience of Job), as well as
production notes, wallpaper downloads, and links to their LOTR
books.
06 Jan. 2002 Last night, Fellowship of the Ring picked up
three awards from the American Film Institute. Grant Major as
Production Designer of the Year; Jim Rygiel as Digital Effects
Artist of the Year; Best Movie of the Year - beating out nine
other nominees for that honor. Next major awards are the Golden
Globe on January 20.
03 Jan. 2002
As of 01 Jan. 2002, Fellowship of the Rings has far exceeded any
other New Zealand film, in gross sales or popularity. Worldwide
(only showing in 23 countries, so far) grosses have reached
$330,000,000us. Production costs were reached in the first
week.Ratings are such that this film is destined to become one of
the ten most popular films of all time - equal to, and possibly
exceeding The Godfather. By comparison, the previously big New
Zealand winner, was The Piano, with a gross of about $50,000,000,
by the end of its first year.
Changes have been made within the FACTOIDSsection, that includes information
about the recently issued New Zealand Fellowship of the Ring
stamps.
01 Jan. 2002
Following is a link to a New Zealand Herald story relating Peter
Jackson, LORD OF THE RINGS director, being honored as New
Zealander of 2001. BTW, the number of linked reviews at Movie
Review Query Engine has grown to over 130 - see link in 16 Dec.
posting.
New Zealander of the Year The Soundtrack Section now
contains information on 33 CDs, including RAIN, which will be featured at the Sundance
Festival in February, 2002.
16 Dec. 2001
Although I do not have information about LORD OF THE RINGS -
FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING videos yet (check back later in 2002), for
those that might be interested in what various reviewers have
been saying about the film, there are now some 30 linked from
Movie Review Query Engine at:
MRQE - LOTR/FOTR Reviews
3 Dec. 2001 NZ Post Official Lord Of The Rings Products Website
Link
The Peter Jackson authorized Official Lord Of The Rings New
Zealand Stamp Site is launched. Orders may be placed for a
variety of postal stamp items, including: stamps, cards, first
day covers, and booklets. Full graphic details can be viewed, at
the site. Shipping costs are nominal, and all prices are in New
Zealand dollars.
22 Nov. 2001
Although I still have some work to do on it, the revised SOUNDTRACKS SECTION is now available for
viewing. It has over 30 titles and more will be forthcoming. Yes,
there is info on LOTR/FOTR:)
The following is from the 19 November edition of WYSIWYG News,
which can be seen weekly within the soc.culture.new-zealand
newsgroup.
The most dedicated of Lord of the Rings fans are expected to
begin queuing today for the tickets to the first film instalment.
Tickets for Fellowship of the Rings go on sale early tomorrow
morning. The first public screening is scheduled for one minute
past midnight on December the 20th. Hoyts Marketing Manager Karen
Cafe says the 10,000 tickets will probably sell out quickly. She
says many corporate groups have already booked cinemas for
opening week screenings. The Australasian premiere is taking
place at the Embassy cinema in Wellington on the same night as
the public launch. 18 Nov. 2001
For those of you who collect movie posters, I have found a
wonderful UK site that currently lists some three dozen New
Zealand titles, including some early ones, such as THE SEEKERS
and THE LAST STAND. You can check them out at:
15 Nov. 2001
For those that might be interested in what is going on at the New
Zealand Film Commission board meetings - their "Notes" are
available, in pdf form, on the net. Links to 2001 notes are:
I am revising the soundtrack section and over 30 titles will
be shown, including Lord of the Rings, within 30 days. 18 Sept. 2001
Another video title has been added. Rewi's
Last Stand
This hard to find 1940 title is a bit of New Zealand film
history. 7 Sept. 2001
Another book added to the BOOKS
section.
48 film reviews from TV Guide added. See the specific titles for
details. 30 August 2001 LINKS Links to non film title specific
sites.
SOUNDTRACKSTemporary soundtrack
CD information. Week ending 26 Aug. 2001
- Additional minor corrections in various sections.
BOOKS section setup with some links to
various sources for review or purchasing is possible. Week ending 5 Aug. 2001
- Additional minor corrections in various sections.
CREDITS section setup with some links
to various sources from which I have obtained information and
graphics. Week ending 29 July 2001
- Minor corrections in various sections.
Buy-Sell-Rent section setup with
some links to various businesses that offer many New Zealand film
titles on VHS video or DVD.
Factoids section setup initially with
information regarding the New Zealand Philatelic Bureau 1996
issue of stamps commemorating the Centenary of New Zealand
cinema. 6 July 2001 - Official launching of this website.
NZ Post Official Lord Of The Rings Products Website
Link