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Blu-ray Releases
OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
May 7:
Paterno: HBO drama dives into the legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno (Al Pacino)and the aftermath of his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse scandal.
Strike Back: The Complete Fifth Season: Cinemax's counter-terrorism series returns. (DVD, Blu-ray release: August 14)
May 8:
Dear White People Season One: Based on Justin Simien’s critically acclaimed film of the same name, the refreshing and thought-provoking satire is set among a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college. (DVD release: Day & Date)
The Party: Director Sally Potter's black comedy about an intimate gathering of friends that goes haywire when an unexpected announcement sets off a chain reaction exposing secrets, sex, and betrayal. (DVD: May 22)
Black Panther: A young African prince returns home to the hidden high-tech African nation of Wakanda to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king, following the death of his father. But his mettle as king -- and Black Panther -- is tested when he’s drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. (DVD, Blu-ray release: May 15)
May 11:
Revenge: Jen is enjoying a romantic getaway with her wealthy boyfriend until his sleazy friends arrive for an unannounced hunting trip -- and she's attacked and left for dead. Unfortunately for her assailants, she survives and reemerges with a relentless, wrathful intent: revenge.
May 14:
Here and Now: A multi-racial family made up of husband, wife, three adopted children from Liberia, Vietnam and Colombia and one biological child, find their bonds tested when one of the children begins seeing things which the rest cannot. (DVD release: August 7)
Ackley Bridge, Series 1
(2017) Two-disc set with six episodes of the new school-based British drama that offers a gritty, funny and truthful insight into the daily drama of teachers, teenagers and families whose lives and cultures collide in a fictional 21st century Northern English town. After years of racial segregation in a small Yorkshire town, two high schools integrate white and Pakistani students by combining into Ackley Bridge College. But the transition is far from easy for teachers and students alike. Headmistress Mandy clashes with her husband, PE teacher Steve, and free-spirited English teacher Emma deals with her daughter showing up drunk to class. Troublemaker Jorda creates enemies by disparaging the school, while best friends Missy and Nasreen quarrel when vivacious Missy doesn’t fit in with Nasreen’s conservative Muslim friends. Will Ackley Bridge unite the community -- or tear it apart?
Formats: DVD. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette. (Acorn Media).
Dear White People Season One
(2017) Three-disc set with all 10 episodes. Set against the backdrop of a predominantly white Ivy League university, where racial tensions bubble just below the surface, "Dear White People Season One" is a send-up of the now post-postracial America that tells the universal story of finding one’s own identity and forging a wholly unique path. The satirical series -- which picks up where the acclaimed 2014 film by the same name left off -- follows a group of Winchester University students of color as they navigate a diverse landscape of social injustice, cultural bias, political correctness (or lack thereof), and activism in the millennial age. Through its absurdist lens, "Dear White People Season One" leads with laughter as it utilizes biting irony, self-deprecation, and sometimes brutal honesty to hold a mirror up to the issues plaguing society today. Formats: DVD, Digital. Extras: “Dear White People: Art As Activism” featurette, “Filming Chapter V” featurette, commentaries for Chapters I and X with creator Justin Simien. (Lionsgate).
Divine Divas
(2018 -- Brazil) The Divine Divas are icons of the first generation of Brazilian transvestite artists of the 1960s. One of the first stages to host men dressed as women was the Rival Theatre, then run by Americo Leal, the director's grandfather. The film explores the intimacy, the talent and the stories of a generation that revolutionized sexual behavior and defied the moral of the time. Formats: DVD. (FilmRise).
Gray Matter
(2018) Alys Crocker, Brenna Llewellyn, Shaun Mazzocca. Since the 1940's alien beings known as "Grays" have been sighted around the globe with the thought that they're visiting our planet to study our species and civilization before they eventually invade ... but what if we're wrong? What if they are only here to protect us? After a meteorite crashes to Earth awakening the extraterrestrial creature within, a young woman is abducted by an alien "Gray" to aide in hunting down and destroying the creature before it can reach a second meteorite that fell to Earth decades earlier, waiting to unleash a deadly infestation of the planet. Formats: DVD. (IndiCan Pictures).
House of Evil
(2017-- Italy) Andrew Harwood Mills, Lucy Drive, Désirée Giorgetti, David White, Eleonora Marianelli. Horror thriller follows a young couple who, in the 1970s, move into a large, remote house in the countryside with hopes of starting a family. However, it's not long before they are menaced by ghosts and a darker demonic presence. Formats: DVD, VOD. (Breaking Glass Pictures).
Human Experiments
(1979) Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, Aldo Ray, Jackie Coogan, Ellen Travolta, Laurene Tuttle. The terrifying cult classic finally hits you in the face with a stunning new HD restoration. Rachel Foster (Linda Haynes) is a country singer traveling alone through the United States. She resists the advances of lecherous bar owner Mat Tibbs (Aldo Ray), and in her hurry to leave town, she accidentally wrecks her car. Looking for assistance, she finds what appears to be an abandoned house, but after stumbling inside, she discovers that in fact it's the scene of a grisly multiple homicide. Simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time, she's railroaded into a women's correctional facility and finds herself at the mercy of prison psychiatrist Doctor Kline (Geoffrey Lewis) who has insidious intentions up his sleeve. Evidently, it doesn't take Rachel long to realize that something is greatly amiss, as female inmates inexplicably go missing without a trace. Formats: DVD. Extras: Audio commentary with director Gregory Goodell, theatrical trailer. (Scorpion Releasing/Kino Lorber).
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Fourth Season
The '60s gave us "in-crowds," "be-ins" and "love-ins," and starting in 1968, the happening place for free-form comedy was "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," broadcast from
Valentina’s Wedding (La Boda De Valentina)
(2018 -- Mexico) Omar Chaparro, Marimar Vega, Ryan Carnes. Valentina (Vega) has the perfect life in New York with the perfect boyfriend (Carnes), but things get complicated when she visits her politically scandalous family in Mexico and she reunites with her former love (Chaparro). Formats: DVD (Lionsgate).
Vazante
(2017 -- Brazil) Adriano Carvalho, Juliana Da Cunha, Luana Nastas. In Southeastern Brazil in 1821, white drover turned farmer Antonio (Carvalho) returns from a trading expedition to discover that his wife and baby have died in labor. Living on his expansive but desolate property that he fails to cultivate, in the company of his aging mother-in-law (Da Cunha) and numerous slaves, Antonio’s marries his deceased wife’s young niece, Beatriz (Nastas). Separated from her family and left alone on the rugged farmhouse in the Brazilian mountains when her husband departs on business, child bride Beatriz finds solace in the displaced and oppressed inhabitants around her, all of whom are growing openly restless. The film explores the fraught intersection of feminism, colonialism, and race that has persisted across centuries and continents, and Brazil’s shameful, violent sins: miscegenation and slavery -- the conditions that undermines the humanity of all.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: Masterclass with director Daniela Thomas at Princeton University’s Brazil LAB.
(Music Box Films).
Fifty Shades Freed
Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian (Jamie Dornan) and Ana (Dakota Johnson) fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.
Vitals: Director: James Foley. Stars: Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Eric Johnson, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden.
2018, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Drama, Box office gross: $99.229 million, Universal.
Extras: Deleted scene, "The Final Climax" behind-the-scenes featurettes: "The Wedding," "Honeymoon: Travel," "Mr. & Mrs. Grey," "Ana Takes Charge," "Ana & Mr. Hyde," "Aspen in Whistler," "Ana's Revelation," "Resolution," "The Meaning of Freed." Blu-ray adds "An Intimate Conversation with (author) EL James and Eric Johnson," three music videos.
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Batman Ninja
(2018) The Caped Crusader in feature-length, full-blown anime style. "Batman Ninja" takes a journey across the ages as Gorilla Grodd’s time displacement machine transports many of Batman’s worst enemies to feudal Japan -- along with the Dark Knight and a few of his allies. The villains take over the forms of the feudal lords that rule the divided land, with the Joker taking the lead among the warring factions. As his traditional high-tech weaponry is exhausted almost immediately, Batman must rely on his intellect and his allies -- including Catwoman and the extended Bat-family -- to restore order to the land, and return to present-day Gotham City. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Steelbook, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Digital. Extras: “East/West Batman” featurette): Batman meets the anime medium, as this documentary looks into some of the Western tropes and archetypes, meshed into the world of feudal Japan. East meets West, swords, samurai and giant robots, all playing into the clash between Batman and his Rogues gallery; “Batman: Made in Japan” featurette: To make a special film about Batman requires just the right artist to bring the mix of style and energy that is unmistakably anime. The filmmakers discuss how the Japanese character models, influences and design create a fusion experience into this hyper real world; “New York Comic Con Presents Batman Ninja." (Warner Bros. Japan/DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Home Entertainment).
Blood and Glory
(2016 -- South Africa) Charlotte Salt, Greg Kriek, Josh Myers. Set in 1901, this period epic follows Willem Morkel -- a Boer and family man whose wife and son are murdered during the Anglo-Boer War. Captured as a prisoner of war, Willem must survive incarceration in the notorious St. Helena concentration camp and defeat the ruthless Colonel Swannell, at his own game ... Rugby. Formats: DVD. (Cleopatra Entertainment).
Fifty Shades Freed
(2018) Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson, Eric Johnson, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden. The seminal final chapter of the darkly alluring tale. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, Movies Anywhere. Extras: Deleted scene, "The Final Climax" behind-the-scenes featurettes: "The Wedding," "Honeymoon: Travel," "Mr. & Mrs. Grey," "Ana Takes Charge," "Ana & Mr. Hyde," "Aspen in Whistler," "Ana's Revelation," "Resolution," "The Meaning of Freed." Blu-ray adds "An Intimate Conversation with (author) EL James and Eric Johnson," three music videos. (Universal).
The House That Dripped Blood BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1971) A Scotland Yard inspector’s search for a missing film star leads him to a haunted house. The house sets the framework for four separate tales of terror written by the author of "Psycho," Robert Bloch, and starring horror icons Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt. All four stories center on the mysterious fates of tenants who have leased the mansion over the years. Extras: New audio commentary by film historian/author Troy Howarth; new interview with second assistant director Mike Higgins; audio commentary with director Peter Duffell and author Jonathan Rigby; Vintage Featurette "A-Rated Horror Film" featuring interviews with director Peter Duffell, actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt and Chloe Franks; theatrical trailers (English and Spanish); radio spots; The Amicus Radio Spots Collection; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
La Belle Noiseuse (aka The Beautiful Troublemaker)
(1991 -- France) The Grand Prix winner at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, "La Belle Noiseuse" is Jacques Rivette's intimately epic exploration of the convergence between artistry and eroticism. Edouard Frenhofer (Michel Piccoli) is a reclusive painter living in the French countryside with his wife (Jane Birkin). Their lives are radically upended with the arrival of a younger artist (David Bursztein) and his girlfriend (Emmanuel Béart), who becomes the muse that awakens Edouard's fading passions. Rivette creates a layered character study, while also offering an immersive meditation on the creative process. Rivette (1928-2016) was a key member of the New Wave of the late 1950s and '60s -- the group of film critics for the influential magazine Cahiers du Cinéma who put their revolutionary theories to the test as they became filmmakers themselves and changed the face of modern movies. Standing somewhat apart from Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer and other pioneers of the movement, Rivette created films marked by improvisation, unusual length and loose narrative that give the impression of events simply unfolding before the camera. New 4K restoration of the original four-hour version (in 1992, Rivette released a much shorter cut, titled "Divertimento," which presented the story chiefly from the Béart character's point of view). Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: Feature-length audio commentary track by film historian Richard Suchenski, interview with Rivette, interview with co-writers Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent, the 2017 re-release trailer. (Cohen Film Collection).
Moonrise
(1948) A small-town fable about violence and redemption, ""Moonrise" is the final triumph of Frank Borzage, one of Hollywood’s most neglected masters. Stigmatized from infancy by the fate of his criminal father, young Danny (Dane Clark) is bruised and bullied until one night, in a fit of rage, he kills his most persistent tormentor. As the police close in around him, Danny makes a desperate bid for the love of the dead man’s fiancée (Gail Russell), a schoolteacher who sees the wounded soul behind his aggression. With this postwar comeback, Borzage recaptured the inspiration that had animated his long and audacious early career, marrying the lyrical force of his romantic sensibility with the psychological anguish of film noir, in a stunning vindication of faith in the power of love.
On DVD and Blu-ray, with restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray.
Extras: New conversation between author Hervé Dumont ("Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic") and film historian Peter Cowie, an essay by critic Philip Kemp.
(The Criterion Collection).
Paradox
(2017 -- China) Louis Koo, Gordon Lam, Tony Jaa, Wu Yue, Chris Collins, Ken Low, Vithaya Pansringarm. The third instalment of the SPL martial arts franchise. Hong Kong cop Lee (Koo) goes on a search in Thailand for his missing 16-year-old daughter Chi. Thai Chinese police officer Chui Kit (Yue) lets Lee join the investigation, having no idea that Lee is going to use the mass media to hunt for clues. A short clip which accidentally filmed Chi’s capture is uploaded to the police website, but subsequently deleted. Chui Kit and colleague Tak (Jaa) track down the clip owner, but the evidence is destroyed. The duo begins tracking down the culprit. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that the case is more complicated than they expected, and the mastermind behind the scene is not someone they can deal with. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. (Well Go USA).
beautiful downtown Burbank. Straight man Dan Rowan and wisecracking co-host Dick Martin led a gaggle of goofballs through a rapid-fire assault of one-liners, skits, bits and non sequiturs that left viewers in hysterics and disbelief. Anything and anyone in the public eye was a target. Political correctness? Forget it! The groundbreaking show anchored the Monday 8 p.m. time slot on NBC until March 12, 1973. Available for the very first time at retail, this seven-disc set features 26 complete, remastered episodes from the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series. Season Four guest stars include Truman Capote, Art Carney, Johnny Carson, Wilt Chamberlain, Carol Channing, Tim Conway, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Rich Little, Bob Newhart, Vincent Price, Carl Reiner, Debbie Reynolds, Don Rickles, Rod Serling, Orson Welles, and many more. Formats: DVD. (Time Life).
© 1996 -- 2018 OnVideo. All rights reserved
May 6, 2018
(ISSN 1094-3676).
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