Blu-ray Releases
OnVideo's Guide to DVDs
Links to DVD news, information and sales sites.
June 2024
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- June 4
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
(1998) It is 1971, and journalist Raoul Duke barrels toward Las Vegas -- accompanied by a trunkful of contraband and his slightly unhinged Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo -- to cover a motorcycle race. What should be a cut-and-dried journalistic assignment quickly descends into a feverish psychedelic odyssey. Director Terry Gilliam and an all-star cast, headlined by Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, show no mercy in bringing Hunter S. Thompson’s excoriating dissection of the American way of life to the screen, creating a film both hilarious and savage. Formats: 4K UHD/Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terry Gilliam, presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).
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Postal
(2007) Director: Uwe Boll; Stars Zack Ward, David Foley, Verne Troyer, Jackie Tohn, Chris Coppola. Dive into the chaotic world of Postal Dude, a man down on his luck, thrust into an outlandish scheme by his cult-leading uncle. Their audacious heist at a local amusement park, targeting a coveted trove of trendy toys, spirals into madness with the sudden intervention of terrorists with a sinister plot. Massacre Video brings Uwe Boll's daring and controversial adaptation of the popular video game to stunning 4K UHD. This darkly comedic masterpiece has been meticulously scanned from the original negatives for a state-of-the-art 4K presentation. Formats: 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo. Extras: Director audio commentary; "Running With Scissors" audio commentary: behind the scenes; deleted scenes; making of features; gag reel. (Massacre Video).
Back to top- June 11
The Animal Kingdom
(2024 -- France) Roman Duris, Paul Kircher, Adèle Exarchopoulos. Thriller that takes place in an extraordinary world where mutations in human genetics cause people to transform into hybrid creatures, François does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Emile, their 16-year-old son, on a quest to find her with help from a local police officer. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. (Magnolia Home Entertainment/Magnet Label). Read more here Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning
(2023 -- Japan) It's 2012, and 10 years have passed since the adventure in the Digital World. Daisuke Motomiya is now 20, and he and the rest of the DigiDestined seem to be changing bit by bit in terms of appearance and lifestyle. Then one day, a giant Digitama suddenly appears in the sky over Tokyo Tower. Daisuke and the others encounter a mysterious young man named Lui Ohwada, who informs them that he’s the first ever DigiDestined in the world. Available for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, the collectible Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack includes original Japanese and English dub movie presentations. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: An introduction from director Tomohisa Taguchi. (Shout! Studios). Read more here 
Origin
(2024) Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) seems to have it all, with a loving husband, a supportive family and a new book coming out. When she's asked to write a newspaper article about the tragic events surrounding Trayvon Martin's death, she turns it down, feeling she has enough on her plate. However, the teen's plight is never far from her mind, and as tragedy strikes, she decides to delve into what causes this form of hatred of others, from the Holocaust, to the slaves of America, to the caste system in India. Her research uncovers a startling new take on all of this discrimination. The more she learns, the more content she finds while writing what would become her New York Times best-selling book, "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents." Vitals: Director: Ava DuVernay. Stars: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Vera Farmiga, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, Finn Wittrock, Nick Offerman, Jon Bernthal. CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 141 min., Drama, North American box office gross: $4.689 million, worldwide $4,812 million, Decal Neon. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: "Behind the Scenes of Origin" featurette. 
Querelle
(1982 -- Germany, France) Conjured from the unholy meeting of two iconoclastic queer artists, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final film audaciously raises Jean Genet’s controversial novel to the level of myth. In an expressionistic soundstage vision of a French seaport town—bathed in fiery reds and complete with phallic spires -- a strapping sailor and unrepentant criminal (Brad Davis) comes ashore to arouse passion, rivalry, and violence among the libidinal denizens drawn into his orbit. Enacted with dreamlike stylization by a cast of international stars, including Jeanne Moreau and Franco Nero, "Querelle" finds Fassbinder pushing his taboo-shattering depiction of gay desire to delirious extremes. Formats: Blu-ray, with restored high-definition digital master, approved by director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New interview with critic Michael Koresky on director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's aesthetics and visual storytelling; "Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- Last Works" a 1982 documentary by Wolf Gremm; trailer; an essay by critic Nathan Lee. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).
Back to top- June 18
Bound
(1996) Before they blew the world’s mind with "The Matrix", Lana and Lilly Wachowski delivered a jolt of pure pulp pleasure with their hyperstylish debut, which puts a deliciously sapphic spin on a crackerjack caper premise. When butch plumber Corky (Gina Gershon) catches the eye of alluring femme (fatale) Violet (Jennifer Tilly), little does she know she’s about to be drawn into both a torrid affair and a high-stakes heist that will pit the pair against the mob. With crackling dialogue, luscious neonoir cinematography, and live-wire performances by Gershon, Tilly, and Joe Pantoliano, "Bound" is a genre-reimagining joyride that keeps both the tension and the erotic heat rising through each crazily careening twist. Formats: 4K UHD/Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by cinematographer Bill Pope, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Audio commentary featuring directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski, actors Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano, and Jennifer Tilly, editor Zach Staenberg and technical consultant Susie Bright; new video essay by film critic Christina Newland; six interview programs featuring Gershon, Pantoliano, Pope, Staenberg, Tilly, actor Christopher Meloni, composer Don Davis, title designer Patti Podesta, and film scholars Jennifer Moorman and B. Ruby Rich; trailers. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection). 
Victims of Sin
(1951 -- Mexico) A treasure of Mexico’s cinematic golden age, this deliriously plotted blend of gritty crime film, heart-tugging maternal melodrama, and mambo musical is a dazzling showcase for iconic star Ninón Sevilla. She brings fierce charisma and fiery strength to her role as a rumbera -- a female nightclub dancer -- —who gives up everything to raise an abandoned boy, whom she must protect from his ruthless gangster father. Directed at a dizzying pace by filmmaking titan Emilio Fernández, and shot in stylish chiaroscuro by renowned cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa amid smoky dance halls and atmospherically seedy underworld haunts, "Victims of Sin" is a ferociously entertaining female-powered noir pulsing with the intoxicating rhythms of some of Latin America’s most legendary musical stars. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, with New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New interview with filmmaker and archivist Viviana Garcia Besné; new interview with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto on the work of Gabriel Figueroa; archival documentary on "cine de rumberas," featuring interviews with actor Ninón Sevilla; trailer; an essay by scholar Jacqueline Avila. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection). - June 25
Backwoods Double Feature: Common Law Wife (1963) + Jennie, Wife/Child (1968)
Make a jug of sweet tea, y’all, and enjoy some summer viewing with these “Hicksploitation” films from the ‘60s—over-the-top exploitation films that targeted cultural stereotypes of rural Southern culture. Old men cast their eyes on young women, moonshine brews in the swamps, young farm hands, town floozies. This pair of slice-of-life films transports you to 
the best of the backwoods. Both films are from original 35mm archival elements—with supplemental 1080p footage in "Common Law Wife," on Blu-ray for the first time. In "Common Law Wife," Shugfoot Rainey (George Edgley) trades in his longtime girlfriend (Annabelle Weenick) for a newer model ... who just happens to be his niece, Baby Doll (Lacey Kelly). Unfortunately, his mistress does her research and discovers she is his common law wife ... and he won't be able to get rid of her that easily. Directed by Eric Sayers, the film is actually spliced together with an unfinished film, "Swamp Rose," directed by Larry Buchanan ("Mars Needs Women," 1968; "It’s Alive," 1969; "Naked Witch," 1964). Marketed as an “educational film” in the original trailer, it warned its potential viewers of the lecherous lives its characters led. As parts of the film were shot a few years later, Baby Doll is allegedly played by a couple different actresses, contributing to a frenzied, not completely cohesive, storyline. In "Jennie, Wife/Child," aka Albert Peckingpaw’s Revenge, Albert Peckingpaw (Jack Lester) takes Jennie (Beverly Lundsford) to be his wife ... But Jennie is a whole lot younger and has her eye on the young farm hand, Mario (Jim Reader). Old Man Peckingpaw is bound to find out what's happening on his farm sooner or later and, when he does, watch out. Cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, a later Oscar winner for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), elevates this film above others in the genre. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: Ballyhoo Motion Pictures documentary, "That’s Hicksploitation: The Origin of Southern Sinema"; archival audio commentary for "Common Law Wife" by director of "Swamp Rose," Larry Buchanan, and film historian/Mondo Digital founder, Nathaniel Thompson; Millie De Chirico, film programmer, writer and host of the podcast I Saw What you Did, and Ben Cheaves, programmer at Turner Classic Movies, provide a new, feature-length commentary for "Common Law Wife"; De Chirico also provides the full-length commentary for "Jennie Wife/Child"; liner notes by Lisa Petrucci; original, restored trailer for "Common Law Wife"; and newly created trailer by Film Masters for "Jennie, Wife/Child." (Film Masters). Read more here
Blue Velvet
(1986) Home from college, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) makes an unsettling discovery: a severed human ear, lying in a field. In the mystery that follows, by turns terrifying and darkly funny, writer-director David Lynch burrows deep beneath the picturesque surfaces of small-town life. Driven to investigate, Jeffrey finds himself drawing closer to his fellow amateur sleuth, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), as well as their person of interest, lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) -- and facing the fury of Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), a psychopath who will stop at nothing to keep Dorothy in his grasp. With intense performances and hauntingly powerful scenes and images, "Blue Velvet" is an unforgettable vision of innocence lost, and one of the most influential American films of the late 20th century. Formats: 4K UHD/Blu-ray, with 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, supervised and approved by director David Lynch. Alternate original 2.0 surround soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection). Beast Fighter
(1975 -- Japan) Two thrilling martial arts movies based on the hit manga series "Karate Baka Ichidai" and starring Sonny Chiba. The mighty Sonny Chiba stars in two spectacular martial arts movies based upon the real life of Masutatsu “Mas” Oyama – the fabled bull-slaying karate master who trained none other than Chiba himself. In "Karate Bullfighter" (or "Champion of Death"), a karate tournament is crashed by an enigmatic martial artist calling himself Oyama (Chiba), who arrives in tattered rags and beats all who dare challenge him. But Oyama’s entrance into the world of karate has unforeseen consequences, and soon he is fighting for far more than sporting victory. Then, in "Karate Bearfighter," Oyama is expelled from the karate community for refusing to pull his punches. With nowhere else to turn, he takes a job with the yakuza after running into Kimura (Hideo Murota), who Oyama once knew as a fellow member of the Imperial Japanese Air Service before he turned to a life of crime. Ultimately, though, Oyama has no more respect for his superiors on the streets than he did in the dojo. Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi ("Sister Street Fighter"), both films were adapted from the popular manga series "Karate Baka Ichidai" by Ikki Kajiwara, which ran from 1971 to 1977 and chronicled the life and legend of Mas Oyama. New restorations of the original film elements by Toei. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Brand new feature length audio commentaries on both films by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema; "In Search of the Ultimate Truth" new video essay by Jonathan Clements, author of "A Brief History of the Martial Arts"; original theatrical trailers; limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Eddie Falvey (first print run of 2000 copies. (Eureka Entertainment). Ennio
(2022 -- Italy) Giuseppe Tornatore ("Cinema Paradiso") turns his camera on his longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone in a moving and comprehensive portrait of the prolific composer. This thoughtful documentary exploration captures the breadth of the maestro’s career across the hundreds of unforgettable film scores that he wrote, and affords the master one last chance to recount his career and artistic process. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. (Music Box Films). Read more here The Miracle Fighters
(1982 -- Hong Kong) Kung fu fantasy classic from the legendary choreographer/director Yuen Woo-ping. "The Miracle Fighters" is a comedic tale of taoist magic directed by the martial arts maestro behind "Drunken Master," "The Magnificent Butcher" and "Iron Monkey." During the Quing dynasty, marriage between Manchu and Han people is outlawed. When it is discovered that high-ranking official Kao Hsiung (Eddy Ko) has taken a Han wife, the Emperor informs him that he will be forgiven – but only if he kills his beloved before the court. When he refuses, Kao Hsiung is marked for death by the powerful Sorcerer Bat (Yuen Shun yee) and forced to watch as his wife is slain before his eyes. Kao Hsiung flees, kidnapping the Crown Prince during his escape – but soon the prince is dead, and Kao Hsiung is forced to silently replace him with another young boy. In adulthood, that innocent child – Shu Gut (Yuen Yat-chor) – finds himself relentlessly pursued by Sorcerer Bat, and turns to two quarreling taoist priests in the hope of protecting himself with their magic. New 2K restoration. Original theatrical and export versions. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Brand new audio commentary on the Hong Kong theatrical version by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival); brand new audio commentary on the export version by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; "Action Master": An Interview with Yuen Woo-ping – archival interview by Frédéric Ambroisine; "John Kreng on Yuen Woo-ping" brand new documentary featurette by Michael Worth; reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork; trailer; limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver (first print run of 2000 copies only). (Eureka Entertainment). Orlando, My Political Biography
(2023 -- France) “Come, come! I’m sick to death of this particular self. I want another.” Taking Virginia Woolf’s novel "Orlando: A Biography" as his starting point, academic virtuoso turned filmmaker Paul B. Preciado fashioned the documentary "Orlando, My Political Biography" -- a personal essay, historical analysis, and social manifesto. By inviting a diverse group of more than 20 trans and nonbinary people to play the role of Orlando, weaving into Woolf’s narrative their own stories of transition and identity formation, Preciado interrogates the relevance of Orlando in the ongoing struggle to secure dignity for trans people worldwide Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. (Janus Contemporaries/Criterion). Roll With It
(2024) Chonda Pierce, McKaley Miller, Evan Hofer, Carl McDowell, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Judith Hoag. A music-filled and heartfelt comedy built around southern comedy icon Chonda Pierce, who is beloved for her gut-level honesty and pointed humor. If laughter is the best medicine, Chonda’s character Bonnie Taylor could use an extra dose or two. Not only is she dealing with an unexpected demotion at her job at the Biscuit Barrel and a young new boss willing to match her snark-for-snark, she also discovers her house will be on the auction block by month’s end if she can’t come up with $20,000 in back taxes. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. (Shout! Studio). Read more here 
The Underground Railroad
(2021) A monumental reimagining of American history, Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning 2016 novel is a harrowing and rhapsodic journey through a still-echoing past. Weaving together historical fiction with moments of magical realism, "The Underground Railroad" is a full sensory immersion into the world of Cora (Thuso Mbedu), who, -- fleeing slavery, embarks on a treacherous quest for freedom -- and is menaced by violence, supported by a clandestine community fighting for liberation, and haunted by the people she loses along the way. With images of searing power and stirring poetry, Jenkins delivers an epic saga of survival and resilience that pushes the limited-series format to new heights of cinematic transcendence. Four-disc set with all 10 episodes. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, with 4K digital master, approved by cowriter-director Barry Jenkins, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Alternate stereo soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).
All listings are based on information from the home video studios. Some release dates may change and titles may come out after a specified date (with no announcement from the studio). Additionally, some titles may be released with little or no advance announcement. And since all DVDs are priced at sell-through and are available for substantial discounts at both online and brick-and-mortar stores, we only list suggested retail prices for some special editions, box sets and collections. 
All DVDs are screened on a reference system consisting of a Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio, a Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center), and 50 (rear) speakers and Power 10 subwoofer.
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May 3, 2024
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