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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
Bad Education: The fascinating true story of one of the largest public-school embezzlement scandals in America. Inspired by the true story that rocked the town of Roslyn, NY in 2004 and garnered attention nationwide, the film centers on the stunning impact and aftermath of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme, and follows Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), who reign over a popular Long Island school district on the verge of the nation’s top spot. (DVD, Blu-ray release: Day & date)
Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!: This sequel begins 10 years after the Great Truce, which established a joint-species surveillance system designed and monitored by both cats and dogs. But a diabolical parrot (voiced by George Lopez) threatens this peace, manipulating cats and dogs back into conflict by hacking into wireless networks to use frequencies only they can hear. (DVD, Blu-ray release: October 6)
Retaliation: Bloom stars as Malky, a demolition worker whose life receives a seismic shock when, out drinking with friends at a local pub, he sees a disturbing figure from his past: the man he holds responsible for a traumatic childhood incident. (Amazon, iTunes; DVD, Blu-ray release: Day & date)
I Am Woman: The inspiring story of singer Helen Reddy, who wrote and sang the song “I Am Woman” that became the anthem for the women's movement in the 1970s. The film is a story of fearless ambition and passion, of a woman who smashed through the patriarchal norms of her time to become an international singing superstar. (VOD only)
Red, White & Wasted: Documentary follows a family of mudding enthusiasts as the last mudhole in Orlando, Florida goes up in flames and they are forced to reconsider their way of life in a city that doesn’t have room for them anymore. (Virtual cinema release; VOD: September 22)
Outlander: Season Five: The fifth season follows Claire and Jamie’s fight to protect those they love, as they navigate the trials and tribulations of life in colonial America. The Frasers strive to flourish within a society which is unwittingly marching towards Revolution, and Jamie must now defend the home they have built together while Claire seeks to put her own skills and medical expertise to use in keeping her family together and safe from harm. (DVD, Blu-ray release: September 15)
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Ballbuster
(2020) Jerry O’Connell, Elisabeth Röhm, Luenell. Rich (O’Connell) is an entitled all-star basketball icon who is suspended from the league just before the final championship due to poor judgement. If he wants another chance to play in game seven, he has to tour with a charity league team of castoffs. In the “unfortunate” process, he encounters the most bizarre on-road experiences, endures wacky consequences and faces his craziest challenges yet.
Formats: DVD, Digital. Extras: Behind-the-scenes vignettes. (Indican Pictures).
Bull: Season Four
(2019-20) Four-disc set with all 20 episodes. Inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, the founder of one of the most prolific trial-consulting firms of all time. Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Jason Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human
Caro Diario
(1993 -- Italy) Director Nanni Moretti recounts three entries from his "diary," a hilarious self-reflective comedy that follows the filmmaker's musing on cinema atop a Vespa, a trip to the Aeolian Islands to work on his new screenplay, and his search for health and wellness after breaking out with a nagging skin rash .. all with the beautiful Italian scenery as a backdrop.
Winner of Best Director at the 1994 Cannes Film, named "Best Film" by Cahiers du Cinéma, winner of the Italian Golden Globes and Italy's David di Donatello Awards, the FIPRESCI Prize at the European Film Awards and many more. In a new 2K digital restoration.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: Making-of featurette, deleted scene, booklet with new essay by Millicent Marcus, professor of Italian, Yale University. (Film Movement).
Evil Boy (aka Stray)
(2019 -- Russia) Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Sevastian Bugaev. Several years after their son’s disappearance, a grieving couple adopts a feral boy, who begins to eerily resemble
Evil Under the Skin
(2019) Helene Udy, Carl Bailey, Tim O'Hearn, Donna Hamblin, Angela Barajas. A mother and daughter head off for a secluded weekend to reconnect but little do they know the sordid past of the home they’re staying will drag them down into madness. Formats: DVD, Digital. (Midnight Releasing).
Frankie Drake Mysteries, Season 3
(2020) Three-disc set with all 10 episodes. A slate of new adventures as the ladies of Drake Private Detectives take on more challenging cases and face off against some impressive foes in Toronto in the 1920s. Formats: DVD, digital. (PBS Distribution).
Kentucky Kernels
(1934) Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey team up with Our Gang star “Spanky” McFarland in this slapstick comedy from director George Stevens. Out-of-work vaudevillians Willie (Wheeler) and Elmer (Woolsey) somehow become Spanky’s guardians and think they’ve come into a fortune when Spanky inherits a farm in Kentucky. What they don’t know is that the farm sits directly in the line of fire in a feud between the Milfords and the Wakefields. Now, as Willie falls in love with the beautiful Gloria Wakefield (Mary Carlisle) and the pair manage to arrange a truce, young Spanky reignites the war between the two families. 4K scan of original nitrate camera negative. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Vintage 1934 cartoons "Buddy’s Circus," "Popeye in the Dance Contest," "Popeye in Sock-A-Bye Baby." (Warner Archive).
Range Runners
(2019) Celeste M Cooper, Sean Patrick Leonard, Michael B. Woods, Tiffany Renee Johnson. A woman thru-hiking an isolated trail runs into trouble when her pack is hijacked by two men hiding out in the woods, desperate and on the run. Now, stranded and left to fend for herself, she has a choice: crawl back to her normal life in defeat, or push forward and take back what was stolen from her. Formats: DVD, Digital. (Dark Star Pictures/Uncork’d Entertainment).
Rob Zombie Trilogy Steelbook
Includes the grizzled, horrifying films "House of 1000 Corpses," "The Devil's Rejects," and "3 From Hell." Baby Firefly, Otis Driftwood, Captain Spaulding, Sheriff Wydell, and Rob Zombie's other killer characters wreak havoc in the blood-soaked trilogy that made them famous. Two young couples cross paths with Otis Driftwood and the cannibalistic Fireflys while touring America's backroads in "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003). In "The Devil's Rejects" (2005), Sheriff Wydell deals with depraved, hostage-taking murderers holed up in a rundown motel in his uniquely unhinged way. Baby, Otis, and Captain Spaulding are finally put behind bars in "3 From Hell" (2019) ... but can evil really be locked away? Formats: Blu-ray. (Lionsgate).
Supergirl: The Complete Fifth Season
(2019-20) Four-disc set with all 19 episodes. In season five, Supergirl faces threats, both new and ancient. National City becomes enthralled with addictive virtual reality technologies created by CatCo's charming-but-secretive new owner, Andrea Rojas. As Kara uses the power of the press to try to expose this danger, she must contend with challenges put up by rival reporter William Dey, renegade Martian Malefic J'onzz, a shadowy organization called Leviathan, and the shocking return of Lex Luthor who, in addition to his plot for world domination, seeks to claim the soul of Supergirl's best friend (and his sister) Lena. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: "The Best of DC TV's Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019," deleted scenes, gag reel. Blu-ray adds bonus disc with all five epic episodes of the DC Crossover "Event Crisis on Infinite Earths" from Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. (Warner).
Swans: Where Does A Body End?
(2019) An intimate portrait of the band Swans, from their roots as a brutal, confrontational post-punk band that emerged from the same early 1980s era NYC that gave us Sonic Youth (and, somehow, Madonna) through their ill-fated bid at mainstream success in the 90s indie-rock gold rush, through breakups and chaos (on and offstage) to their odds-defying current status as one of the most accomplished and ambitious bands in the world, one whose concerts are more like ecstatic rituals than nostalgic trips back through their most popular songs.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. (MVD Entertainment). Due September 11.
Up On the Glass
(2020) Chase Fein, Chelsea Kurtz, Hunter Cross. A wanderer named Jack DiMercurio secretly desires the life and wife of his more affluent friend, Andy Shelton. Past tensions surface between the two men during an informal reunion at Andy’s cottage on Lake Michigan. One heinous act allows Jack to draw close to Andy’s wife Liz, but Jack finds living Andy’s life is a dangerous lie. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD. (Gravitas Ventures).
We Bare Bears The Movie
(2020) A TV movie based on the Cartoon Network’s hit series. When the bears' love of food trucks and viral videos gets out of hand, it catches the attention of the menacing Agent Trout from the National Wildlife Control, who pledges to restore the "natural order" by separating them forever. Chased from their home, Grizz decides there’s only one thing they can do to find refuge - move to Canada! The Bears embark on an epic road trip filled with new friends, dangerous obstacles, and massive parties. Formats: DVD. Extras: Commentary, early sketches, movie pitches, animatics and pencil tests, deleted scenes. (Warner).
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Bad Education
(2020) Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, Annaleigh Ashford, Ray Romano. The fascinating true story of one of the largest public-school embezzlement scandals in America. Inspired by the true story that rocked the town of Roslyn, NY in 2004 and garnered attention nationwide, the film centers on the stunning impact and aftermath of a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme, and follows Frank Tassone (Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Janney), who reign over a popular Long Island school district on the verge of the nation’s top spot, spurring record college admissions and soaring property values. Between them, they racked up over $11.2 million dollars in extravagant personal expenses.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: "Based on a True Story" detailed breakdown of the true story that inspired the film, a New York Magazine article by Robert Kolker; "The Perception of Perfection"; "Hugh Jackman & Allison Janney: Virtual Conversation." (Warner).
Brute Force
(1947) As hard-hitting as its title, "Brute Force" was one of Jules Dassin’s first forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama with a scathing critique of the punitive American incarceration system at its heart. Burt Lancaster is the timeworn Joe Collins, who, along with his fellow inmates, lives under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey (a riveting Hume Cronyn). Only Collins’s dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey’s chains? Matter-of-fact and ferocious, "Brute Force" builds to an explosive climax that shows the lengths men will go to when fighting for their freedom, and asks the question of who society’s real brutes are. Formats: Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration by TLEFilms FIlm Restoration & Preservation Services, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Audio commentary from 2007 featuring film-noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini; interview from 2007 with Paul Mason, editor of "Captured by the Media: Prison Discourse in Popular Culture"' program from 2017 on "Brute Force’s" array of acting styles featuring film scholar David Bordwell; trailer; an essay by film critic Michael Atkinson, a 1947 profile of producer Mark Hellinger, and rare correspondence between Hellinger and Production Code administrator Joseph Breen over the film’s content. (The Criterion Collection).
intuition and high-tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. His personal life proves harder to manage as he tries to live a healthier lifestyle following a heart attack and learns he is expecting a child with his ex-wife. Bull employs an enviable team of experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to the very last detail. Formats: DVD. (CBS/Paramount).
their child more with each passing day. While the mother believes they have found their son, her husband is certain that he died. As strange accidents begin happening around the boy, the pair soon wonders whether they've adopted something not entirely ... human. With English subtitles and dub. Formats: DVD, Digital. (Well Go USA).
First Cow
(2019) John Magaro, Orion Lee,Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, René Auberjonois, Alia Shawkat. Two travelers, on the run from a band of vengeful hunters in the 1820s Northwest, dream of striking it rich — but their tenuous plan to make their fortune on the frontier comes to rely on the secret use of a wealthy businessman’s prized dairy cow. With their scheme landing somewhere between honest ingenuity and pure grift, renowned filmmaker Kelly Reichardt finds a graceful and deeply moving origin story of America in their unlikely friendship and fragile life at the margins. The film world premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2019 and screened to great acclaim at the New York Film Festival in September 2019 and the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo,VOD, Digital. Extras: “A Place in This World” featurette. (Lionsgate).
Graveyards of Honor
(1975/2002 -- Japanese) Two peerless masters of Japanese cinema - Kinji Fukasaku ("Battles without Honor and Humanity," "Battle Royale") and Takashi Miike ("Dead or Alive," "Audition") - present their own distinctive adaptations of yakuza expert Goro Fujita's gangster novel "Graveyard of Honor," each tapping into the zeitgeist of a distinct period of Japanese history. Set during the turbulent post-war years, Fukasaku's original 1975 film charts the rise and fall of real-life gangster Rikio Ishikawa (Tetsuya Watari). Shot through with the same stark realism and quasi-documentarian approach as Fukasaku's earlier "Battles Without Honor and Humanity," Fukasaku nonetheless breaks new ground through his portrayal of a gangster utterly without honor or ethics, surviving by any means necessary in a world of brutal criminality. Meanwhile, Miike's 2002 retelling transplants the story to Tokyo at the turn of the millennium. Less a direct remake of Fukasku's film than a radical reimagining of the same overarching premise, Miike's film captures both the hedonism and nihilism of the modern Japanese crime scene in deliriously stylish fashion, resulting in a fascinating companion piece to the original that nonetheless stands as its own entity. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Limited edition two-disc set package featuring newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan; illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on both films by Jasper Sharp; DISC ONE – GRAVEYARD OF HONOR (1975): new audio commentary by author and critic Mark Schilling; "Like a Balloon: The Life of a Yakuza," a new visual essay by critic and Projection Booth podcast host Mike White; "A Portrait of Rage," an archival appreciation of Fukasaku and his films, featuring interviews with filmmakers, scholars, and friends of the director; "On the Set With Fukasaku," an archival interview with assistant director Kenichi Oguri; theatrical trailer; imagery gallery; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan. DISC TWO – GRAVEYARD OF HONOR (2002): new audio commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes; new visual essay by author and critic Kat Ellinger; archival “interview special” featuring Miike and cast members Goro Kishitani and Narimi Arimori; archival “making-of” featurette; archival “making-of” teaser; rchival press release interviews featuring Miike, Kishitani and Arimori; archival “premiere special” featuring Miike, Kishitani and Arimori; theatrical trailer; imagery gallery; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
The Naked City
(1948) “There are eight million stories in the Naked City,” as the narrator immortally states at the close of this breathtakingly vivid film —- and this is one of them. Master noir craftsman Jules Dassin and newspaperman-cum-producer Mark Hellinger’s dazzling police procedural was shot entirely on location in New York. Influenced as much by Italian neorealism as it is by American crime fiction, this double Academy Award winner remains a benchmark for naturalism in noir, living and breathing in the promises and perils of the Big Apple, from its lowest depths to its highest skyscrapers. Formats: Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration by TLEFilms FIlm Restoration & Preservation Services, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Audio commentary from 1996 featuring screenwriter Malvin Wald; interview from 2006 with film scholar Dana Polan; interview from 2006 with author James Sanders ("Celluloid Skyline") on the film’s New York locations; footage of director Jules Dassin from a 2004 appearance at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; stills gallery; an essay by author and critic Luc Sante and production notes from producer Mark Hellinger to Dassin. (The Criterion Collection).
Prodigal Son: The Complete First Season
(2019-20) Four-disc set with all 20 episodes. Criminal psychologist Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) knows how killers think and how their minds work. Why? His father is “The Surgeon,” a serial killer who has taken the lives of more than 20 people. He works with NYPD detective Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips); Detective Dani Powell (Aurora Perrineau), a headstrong cop; Dr. Edrisa Tanaka (Keiko Agena), an off-center coroner; and Detective JT Tarmel (Frank Harts), who questions whether Bright is a psychopath himself. But Bright’s best resource is his homicidal yet oddly loving father, Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen). As he helps track down dangerous criminals, Bright also battles his own demons – and it doesn’t help that his mother, former leading socialite Jessica Whitly (Bellamy Young), has an opinion on every aspect of his life. Malcolm Bright isn’t a serial killer, he was just raised by one. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. (Warner).
Straight Up
(2019) James Sweeney, Omar Guazzelli, Brendan Scannell, Katie Findlay. Todd is a hyper-articulate, obsessive compulsive gay twentysomething whose fear of dying alone leads him to a baffling conclusion: he might not be gay after all. When he meets Rory, a whip-smart struggling actress with her own set of insecurities, the two forge a relationship that’s all talk and no sex. Writer-director-star James Sweeney delivers a razor sharp rom-com that’s equal parts Classical Hollywood and distinctly 21st century, exploring just how elastic our definitions of love and sexuality can get. Formats: DVD. Extras: Deleted scene, outtakes, trailer. (Strand Releasing).
Superman: Man of Tomorrow
(2020) Latest entry in the popular series of animated DC Universe Movies. It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent – working alongside reporter Lois Lane – secretly wields his alien powers of flight, super-strength and x-ray vision in the battle for good, there's even greater trouble on the horizon. Follow the budding hero as he engages in bloody battles with intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo and fights for his life to halt the attack of power-hungry alien Parasite. The world will learn about Superman … but first, Superman must save the world.
Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, Digital. Extras: "Lobo: Natural Force of Chaos" new featurette; "Martian Manhunter: Lost and Found" new featurette; "Look Back: Justice League vs. The Fatal Five" featurette; "Look Back: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" featurette; "From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series, The Main Man, Part I"; "From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series, he Main Man, Part II"; trailers. (Warner).
