DVD Round Up, Mar. 23, 2009: ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘The Odd Couple,’ ‘To Catch a Thief’

CHICAGO – A Disney movie and two all-time classics being inducted in Paramount’s “Centennial Collection” make up this week’s version of the “DVD Round-Up,” your safety net for titles that may have slipped by your home entertainment radar.

The Round-Up, HollywoodChicago.com’s famous recurring column about lesser Blu-Ray and DVD titles that may have slipped through your fingers at the store recently, brings you three catalog titles being reissued for DVD in new two-disc editions.

“Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition,” “The Centennial Collection: The Odd Couple,” and “The Centennial Collection: To Catch a Thief” will all be released on March 24th, 2009.

“Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition”

Photo credit: Disney

Piggy-backing on the more awesome and high-profile Blu-Ray release for “Bolt [17],” Disney is giving fans a chance to catch up on one of their bigger titles from the early part of the decade, 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” now available in a two-disc DVD version called the “Big Wave Edition”.

“Lilo & Stitch” features voice work by Daveigh Chase [18], Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, and Jason Scott Lee. It was written and directed by Chris Sanders & Dean Deblois. The film is rated PG.

“Get ready for the wildly original story about an independent little girl named Lilo and her adopted alien “puppy,” the mischievous Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet. After crash-landing on Earth, Stitch wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, but he also learns about loyalty, friendship and ‘ohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.”

“Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition” is presented in 1.66:1 widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track. Special features include deleted scenes, “Your ‘Ohana” music video featuring The Hawaiian Chorus, “The Story Room: An Interactive Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Making of the Film,” Lilo & Stitch Island Adventure Games, “A Stitch in Time: Follow Stitch Through the Disney Years,” “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” music video performed by A-Teen, “DisneyPedia: Hawaii - The Islands of Aloha: Explore the Hawaiian Islands,” and much, much more.

“The Centennial Collection: The Odd Couple”

Photo credit: Paramount

Neil Simon & Gene Saks’ “The Odd Couple” is one of my favorite comedies of all time and there’s no better version that the new Centennial Collection release for this classic. The two-disc Centennial Collection releases are becoming one of the more notable series of classic movies on the market. The first five movies in the series were “Roman Holiday [19],” “Sabrina [20],” and “Sunset Boulevard [21]” from last November and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s [22]” and “Funny Face [23]” in January.

“The Odd Couple” stars Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. It was written by Neil Simon and directed by Gene Saks. The film is rated G.

“Bogart & Bacall…Tracy & Hepburn…but Lemmon & Matthau?? There’s nothing really odd about it - the pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau is a perfect fit in this enduring and endearing comedy romp from writer Neil Simon. The premise - two divorced men decide to share a New York apartment - is simple. The result is fall-on-the-floor hilarity. Lemmon plays the fussy and fastidious Felix Ungar, who proves that cleanliness is next to insanity. Matthau is Oscar Madison, slovenly and sloppy, who can wreak havoc on a tidy room with the speed and thoroughness of a tornado. Sure, they can live together…but can they live together without killing each other?”

“The Odd Couple” is presented in a widescreen version enhanced for 16x9 TVs and accompanied by a Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround Sound track. Special features include a commentary by Charlie Matthau and Chris Lemmon, “In the Beginning…,” “Matthau & Lemmon,” “Memories From the Set,” “Inside The Odd Couple,” “The Odd Couple: A Classic,” two galleries, and the theatrical trailer.

“The Centennial Collection: To Catch a Thief”

Photo credit: Paramount

Two of the first names that come to mind when I hear the words “classic movie icons” are Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Their “To Catch a Thief” may not get the buzz as some other Alfred Hitchcock [2] films, but it has really stood the test of time. If you caught “Duplicity [24]” in theaters, check out “To Catch a Thief,” a clear inspiration for Tony Gilroy [25]’s romantic thriller.

“To Catch a Thief” stars Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, and John Williams. It was written by John Michael Hayes and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is not rated.

“The French Riviera…two luminous stars…and the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, behind the camera. They all add up to one romantic, dazzling screen thriller in the Paramount Centennial Collection. Grant plays John Robie, a retired jewel thief once known as “The Cat,” who catches the eye of Frances Stevens (Kelly), a pampered, vacationing heiress. But when a rash of gem thefts occurs amongst the luxury hotels of the spectacular French playground, it appears that “The Cat” is on the prowl once again. Is Robie truly reformed? Or is he deviously using Frances to gain access to the tempting collection of fabulous jewelry belonging to her mother? Romantic sparks fly as the suspense builds in this glittering Hitchcock classic that nabbed an Oscar for Best Cinematography.”

“To Catch a Thief” is presented in a widescreen version enhanced for 16x9 TVs and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound track. Special features include a commentary by Dr. Drew Casper (Hitchcock Film Historian), “A Night with the Hitchcocks,” “Unacceptable Under the Code: Film Censorship in America,” “Writing and Casting To Catch a Thief,” “The Making of To Catch a Thief,” “Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly,” “Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief: An Appreciation,” “Edith Head: The Paramount Years,” “If You Love To Catch a Thief, You’ll Love This Interactive Travelogue,” the original theatrical trailer, and galleries.

[26]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [27] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [26]