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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
July 9:
Alita: Battle Angel: Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned cyborg Alita is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido, a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes her to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past. (DVD, Blu-ray release: July 23)
Ashes: After a family’s estranged aunt passes away, they’re reluctant and creeped out to receive her cremated ashes. But when a series of supernatural misfortunes beset them, they’ll have to go through Hell to be rid of her angry spirit. (VOD, Digital only)
Hellboy: Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy, caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge. (DVD, Blu-ray release: July 23)
Missing Link: Mr. Link recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, this trio of explorers travel the world to help their new friend. (DVD, Blu-ray release: July 23)
The Professor: Black comedy stars Johnny Depp as a college professor who decides to live his last chapter with reckless abandon after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. (DVD, Blu-ray release: Day & date)
July 12:
Miss Arizona: A bored ex-beautty queen housewife trapped in a less-than-ideal-marriage accepts an invitation to teach a life skills class at a women's shelter and ends up going on a wild adventure through the Los Angeles night life. (Digital, VOD only)
The Refuge: A getaway driver finds himself in harm's way when he gets caught up in a job involving casino heist money in the adrenaline-charged new crime thriller from Keith Sutliff. (VOD only)
Trespassers: Two dysfunctional couples rent a modern luxury desert home for the weekend hoping to sort out their messed-up lives. Just as they are about to settle in for a fun night, a neighbor turns up at their front door saying she has car trouble. And that's when the murderous trouble really starts. (VOD only)
After
(2019) Josephine Langford, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Selma Blair, Inanna Sarkis, Shane Paul McGhie, Jennifer Beals, Peter Gallagher. A young woman falls for a guy with a dark secret and the two embark on a rocky relationship. Based on the novel by Anna Todd. Formats: DVD Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes. (Universal).
BRD Trilogy
In 1977, German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder was 32-years old and had already directed more than 25 feature films. That summer, he embarked on a project to trace the postwar history of West Germany in a series of films told from the perspectives of three remarkable women. Fassbinder's "The Marriage of Maria Braun" (1979), "Veronika Voss" (1982) and "Lola" (1981) -- "The BRD Trilogy" -- would garner him his greatest commercial success, both at home and abroad, and cement his position as one of the foremost figures of the New German Cinema. Formats: Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restorations of The "Marriage of Maria Braun" and "Lola," with uncompressed monaural soundtracks; and high-definition digital restoration of "Veronika Voss," with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Audio commentaries from 2003 featuring filmmaker Wim Wenders and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus ("The Marriage of Maria Braun"), film critic and author Tony Rayns ("Veronika Voss"), and film scholar Christian Braad Thomsen ("Lola"); interviews with actors Hanna Schygulla, Rosel Zech,and Barbara Sukowa; interviews with cinematographer Xaver Schwarzenberger, screenwriter Peter Märthesheimer, and film scholar Eric Rentschler; "Life Stories: A Conversation with R. W. Fassbinder," an interview filmed for German television in 1978; "I Don't Just Want You to Love Me," a feature-length 1992 documentary on director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's life and career; "Dance with Death," a program from 2000 about Ufa studios star Sybille Schmitz, Fassbinder's inspiration for the character Veronika Voss; conversation between author and curator Laurence Kardish and film editor Juliane Lorenz; trailers; an essay by film critic Kent Jones and production histories by author Michael Töteberg (Rainer Werner Fassbinder). (The Criterion Collection).
The Buster Keaton Collection Volume 2: Sherlock Jr. and the Navigator
(1924) Two-disc set with 4K restorations of the Buster Keaton classics. In "Sherlock Jr.", Buster plays a movie projectionist who daydreams himself into the movies he is showing and merges with the figures and the backgrounds on the screen. While dreaming he is Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective, he snoops out brilliant discoveries. This landmark cinematic achievement features jaw-dropping special effects as Buster repeatedly enters the film within the film. In the equally hilarious "The Navigator," Keaton and his sweetheart are cast adrift on a deserted ocean liner. The ship finally runs aground on a desert island where the two unfortunates are chased by cannibals. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: Two featurettes: "Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face" and "Buster Keaton: The Comedian," trailers. (Cohen Film Collection).
The Dark Within
(2019) Paul Flannery, Kendra Carelli, Stephanie Lynn Styles. Horror-thriller concerns a disturbed man with unknown psychic abilities who tries to unravel the mystery of his parent's disappearance while battling his own demons. Formats: DVD, VOD. (Uncork’d Entertainment).
Europa Europa
(1990) As World War II splits Europe, 16-year-old German Jew Salomon (Marco Hofschneider) is separated from his family after fleeing with them to Poland, and finds himself reluctantly assuming various ideological identities in order to hide the deadly secret of his Jewishness. He is bounced from a Soviet orphanage, where he plays a dutiful Stalinist, to the Russian front, where he hides in plain sight as an interpreter for the German army, and back to his home country, where he takes on his most dangerous role: a member of the Hitler Youth. Based on the real-life experiences of Salomon Perel, Agnieszka Holland's wartime tour de force "Europa Europa" is a breathless survival story told with the verve of a comic adventure, an ironic refutation of the Nazi idea of racial purity, and a complex portrait of a young man caught up in shifting historical calamities and struggling to stay alive. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Agnieszka Holland, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary from 2008 featuring Holland; new interviews with Holland and actor Marco Hofschneider; new video essay by film scholar Annette Insdorf; an essay by critic Amy Taubin. (The Criterion Collection).
High Life
(2019) Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth. Visionary director Claire Denis brings this eerie sci-fi film to life. Monte (Pattinson) and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. The crew -- death-row inmates led by a doctor (Binoche) with sinister motives -- has vanished. As the mystery of what happened unravels, father and daughter must rely on each other to survive. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: “Audacious, Passionate, and Dangerous: Making High Life” featurette, “Visualizing the Abyss: The Look of High Life” featurette. (Lionsgate).
Little
(2019) Regina Hall, Issa Rae and introducing Marsai Martin. Comedy about a business woman who is transformed into her younger self at a point in her life when the pressures of adulthood become too much to bear. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: Gag reel; "More Than a LITTLE Talent" behind-the-scenes look at the cast that brings Black Girl Magic to the silver screen; "Regina Goes Method" look at Regina Hall’s unique approach to playing the character of Jordan Sanders; "Marsai Martin Presents set tour; "Black Momma Whuppin’ Situation" behind-the-scenes of the parking lot fight with Issa Rae and Marsai Martin; "Issa Rae’s Assistant Survival Guide." (Universal).
The Loveless
(1981) Willem Dafoe, Robert Gordon, Marin Kanter. They're going nowhere... Fast! The United States, late 1950s. A time of generational conflict, of immense social change, of bold fashions and toe-tapping music -- just some of the elements that collide in thrilling fashion in the feature debut of both its star, Willem Dafoe, and its directors, Monty Montgomery (producer, David Lynch's "Wild at Heart") and future Academy Award-winner* Kathryn Bigelow. A motorcycle gang roars into a small southern town en route to the Daytona races, unnerving and angering the locals with their standoffish attitude and disrespect for social niceties. When one of their number, the charismatic Vance (Dafoe), hooks up with sports car-driving Telena (Marin Kanter), he incurs the wrath of the girl's father, setting the gang on a collision course with the rest of the town as simmering tensions boil over into violent retribution. Raw, angry and honest, "The Loveless" evokes, with unflinching clarity, both an attitude and a bygone era, exploring the tensions between two very different Americas. Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by co-writer/co-director Monty Montgomery and director of photography Doyle Smith. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary with co-writer/co-director Monty Montgomery, moderated by Elijah Drenner; "No Man’s Friend Today: Making The Loveless," new video interviews with actors Willem Dafoe, Marin Kanter, Robert Gordon, Phillip Kimbrough; "U.S. 17: Shooting The Loveless," new video interviews with producers Grafton Nunes and A. Kitman Ho; "Chrome and Hot Leather: The Look of The Loveless," new interviews with production designer Lilly Kilvert and director of photography Doyle Smith; "Relentless," new audio interview with musician Eddy Dixon; extensive image gallery, including on-set photographs, storyboards and original production; theatrical trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Peter Stanfield. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
Mojin: The Worm Valley
(2018 -- China) Yusi Chen, Taishen Cheng. Sequel to "Mojin: The Lost Legend" and based on the bestselling novel series. In this mystical action-adventure, legendary tomb explorer Hu Bayi sets off with the Mojin Six on a dangerous mission across an island of monstrous creatures to find the Tomb of Emperor Xian. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital. (Well Go USA).
The Professor
(2018) Johnny Depp, Roasmarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, Zoey Deuth. After learning he has six months to live, Richard (Depp), a buttoned-down college lecturer, transforms into a rebellious party animal. To the shock of his wife (DeWitt) and school chancellor (Livingston) -- and the delight of his students -- Richard leads a hilarious crusade against authority and hypocrisy in this dark comedy. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: “Death and How to Live It: Making The Professor” featurette. (Lionsgate).
Silent Hill Collector’s Edition
(2006) Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland. Based on the best-selling horror/action video game. Rose is a desperate mother who takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears, and Rose begins a desperate search to get her back. She descends into the center of the twisted reality of a town’s terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier. HD master approved by director Christophe Gans. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary with cinematographer Dan Laustsen, theatrical trailer, new interview with director Christophe Gans, new "A Tale of Two Jodelles," new "Dance of the Pyramid," new interview with makeup-effects artist Paul Jones, "Path of Darkness: The Making of Silent Hill" six-part documentary, "The Making of Silent Hill" vintage featurette, on set interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, photo galleries – still photos and posters. (Scream Factory).
This Island Earth BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1955) Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason. One of the all-time classic sci-fi films comes to Blu-ray this week. When atomic scientist Dr. Meacham (Rex Reason) is chosen to take part in a top-secret research experiment in a remote lab, he quickly discovers that he is really involved in a scheme by alien Metalunans to create a new weapon to fight their enemies. After he and the gorgeous Dr. Adams (Faith Domergue) make their escape shortly before the lab explodes, they are whisked away in a flying saucer to Metaluna, where they discover that the Metalunans have been fighting with the warlike people of the planet Zagon and, in lieu of a new weapon that they had hoped that the Earth scientists would help them build, they would now have to take over the Earth. New 4K scan of the inter-positive: Two aspect ratios: 1.85:1 and 1.37:1. New: The original Perspecta Stereophonic Sound restored by 3-D Film Archive. Extras: New audio commentary with author and Academy Award winning visual effects artist Robert Skotak; new audio interview with film historian David Schecter on the music of "This Island Earth"; new "Alien Ideas" interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi ("Starcrash"); new "Facts about Perspecta Stereophonic Sound" by Bob Furmanek; This Island Earth - Two and A Half Years in the Making: The Extended Documentary" look at the making of the film; "War Of The Planets" 1958 Castle Films release for the home market including both the 50-foot silent headline edition and the 200-foot sound complete edition; "Trailers from Hell – This Island Earth" with commentary by filmmaker Joe Dante; theatrical trailer; still galleries – poster and lobby cards, publicity stills and behind-the-scenes photos. (Scream Factory.
The Tough Ones
(1976 -- Italy) Umberto Lenzi, the legendary director of "Cannibal Ferox," kicked off the Italian police film craze with this hyper-kinetic, ultra-violent, brain-blasting action thriller. Maurizio Meril stars as an Italian Dirty Harry, punching and shooting his way through the sleazy drug, sex, and crime infested cesspool of mid-70s Rome, on the trail of a sadistic, machine gun-toting hunchback, played by Tomas Milian (star of "The Big Gundown"). Original unrated, uncensored director's cut. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary by Mike Malloy, director of "Eurocrime!"; new, in-depth interviews with director Umberto Lenzi, actors Tomas Milian, Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Sandra Cardini, Maria Rosaria Riuzzi and Corrado Solari, screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti, and composer Franco Micalizzi; special tribute to Marizo Merli with appearances by Enzo Castellari and Ruggero Deodato; vintage VHS intro by cult movie superstar Sybil Danning; original international theatrical trailer; liner notes by Italian crime film expert Roberto Curti; bonus CD: original soundtrack album by Franco Micalizzi, newly remastered in stunning 24 bit/192khz sound from the original master tapes. (Grindhouse Releasing).
Transit
(2019 -- Germany) Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Lilien Batmann, Maryam Zaree. Fleeing from German-occupied Paris to the port city of Marseille and assuming the identity of a recently deceased writer, a refugee meets a young woman desperate to find her missing husband -- the man whose identity he has stolen. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: "Making of Transit" interview featurette with Franz Rogowski; interview with director Christian Petzold; "Franz Rogowski: Shooting Star"; filmmaker Q&A from the Film Society of Lincoln Center; press conference with the cast and crew from the Berlin film premiere; "In Transit: Thrown Into the World," a conversation with Christian Petzold and Barbara Auer; collector's booklet featuring interviews and an essay by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky. (Music Box Films).
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