WE'RE LIVE! 

GreenCine's new DVD Sales service is now up and running and ready to service all of your DVD collecting needs. As mentioned in this space a few weeks ago, we offer competitive pricing, quick, reliable delivery and the big one: free priority shipping for all orders over $50. 

A big thank you to all the members who have taken the time to explore the new homepage features, buy DVDs, ask questions and comment on the service. If there's anything you need to know that isn't addressed on the help page or hasn't been answered by a GC staffer on the discussion boards, please drop us a line and we'd be happy to help. 

We know you have a lot of options when buying DVDs and we appreciate the love you've been throwing our way. There are some big companies out there vying for your hard- earned money, but we think you'll agree that none of them combine content, community and commitment the way GreenCine does. Again, we appreciate any suggestions you may have and look forward to being your trusted source for DVD rentals and sales. 

Also, please check back frequently as we are constantly updating the site and will be launching a member benefits package shortly.

This week's new DVD releases are a short but sweet bunch - or, more accurately, less sweet than dark, but high quality nonetheless: 

Because David Cronenberg's A History of Violence was nominated for "only" two Oscars (Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, William Hurt, and Adapted Screenplay, Josh Olson), the film played a mere walk-on role during red carpet season. But we're sure the film will endure. When the Village Voice polled the best critics in the nation at the end of last year, the film came out on top. "A masterpiece of indirection and pure visceral thrills," Manohla Dargis called it in the New York Times, "the feel-good, feel-bad movie of the year."

"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home." -- Good Night and Good Luck. Nominated for six Academy Awards (Best Picture; Best Director, George Clooney; Best Actor, David Strathairn - be sure and catch up with Sean Axmaker's interview if you haven't yet; Best Cinematography, Robert Elswit; Original Screenplay, Clooney and Grant Heslov; and for Art Direction and Set Decoration), Good Night, and Good Luck pits CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly, against Senator Joseph McCarthy who, of course, was doing his best to cast anyone questioning authority as an enemy of the United States. Not that there might be any contemporary relevance or anything... 

Also out this week: 

Marebito (2004). "While it may be no Audition (that conceptual revenge piece's second half was one of the most alarming and confounding catharses put to film," wrote Reverse Shot editor Michael Koresky,"Marebito keeps its gaze focused and tight, and never bites off more than it can chew." 

And a new director's edition of the crowd pleaser Remember the Titans (2000).

New anime: 

Planetes Volume 6 (2003). "a very pleasant surprise," writes drseid. "Great animation combines with a great storyline that could reflect our not-so-distant future, and a very likable group of misfit characters that seem real. This is definitely one of the best shows released in recent memory."

A complete list of this week's New Releases | Coming Soon | New Releases Archive | Your Queue  

Check out David Lam's gripping Hong Kong police drama Powerful Four (1992), which "underscores the bitter subtext of troubled British-Chinese relations and the part it played in fueling resentment between factions even within the police force," wrote Eric Henderson in City Pages. "Of course, not everything here is about repression and injustice: Indeed, there's no shortage of balls-on-ice, severed ladyfingers, and bullet ballets to hold even the most bloodthirsty viewer at full attention."  

 "Tristram Shandy, the unfilmable novel, is not so unfilmable after all," writes David D'Arcy, introducing the conversation he had with director Michael Winterbottom when his adaptation of Laurence Sterne's 18th century classic, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

 Primer coming soon: Pre-code cinema, by an expert on the subject, film critic Mick LaSalle. Look for it shortly.

The GreenCine Daily blog has been on the road, in Austin, Texas, for the SXSW Fest. Don't miss our detailed coverage of the whole shebang.  

The member list of the week is actually several GreenCine-staff created lists based around film distributors we hold in high regard: THINKFilm, and Docurama - the latter's catalog is so voluminous we made several lists to break it down (Docurama list #1, list #2, list #3 and list #4). Both companies have an extraordinarily diverse catalog of fine, award-winning films. 

As part of the addition of sales to our site, we've changed the way our catalog pages work for multi-disc sets. If you would like to buy a box set, all you have to do is hit "buy" on its product page, of course, but if you wish to rent it, or rent some of the volumes but not all of them: Click the "rent" button. That will bring you to a second page, where you can either click on the "rent all" link, or rent individual volumes. It's simple! 

Answers to this and lots of other buy-related and general site-related questions by clicking through our newly updated help pages.

Our next screening at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will be on April 5 as we proudly unleash Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf. The film is by notorious Japanese director Teruo Ishii, known in some circles as the "King of Cult Movies," who single-handedly crafted some of the strangest motion pictures ever released. Blind Beast is based loosely on the writings of Edogawa Rampo. Wednesday April 5, 7:30 pm. 701 Mission Street, San Francisco. $8, $5 GreenCine members, students, seniors & teachers, $5 YBCA Members.

Win a pair of tickets to see Citizen Dog at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival! This would be for the Friday, March 17 screening at the Castro Theater. Citizen Dog is from the director of the extraordinary Tears of the Black Tiger, and is a fabulously bizarre collection of tall tales, curios and love affairs, set in a Bangkok where everyone sings and grows tails. A film for true cinephiles. 

To win a pair of tickets, be the first person to e-mail us at contest@greencine.com.