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OnVideo's Guide to Blu-ray Debuts 2019
8MM BLU-RAY DEBUT(1999) Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Anthony Heald, Chris Bauer. An electrifying thriller about one man’s obsessive search for the truth about a six-year-old crime and his ultimate discovery of the truth about himself. Cage plays a private investigator hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not. Extras: New "8MM in 35MM" interview with producer-director Joel Schumacher, audio commentary with Schumacher, vintage behind-the-scenes featurette, theatrical trailer, TV spots, still gallery. (Scream Factory).
24 Frames(2017) For what would prove to be his final film, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami gave himself a challenge: to create a dialogue between his work as a filmmaker and his work as a photographer, bridging the two art forms to which he had dedicated his life. Setting out to reconstruct the moments immediately before and after a photograph is taken, Kiarostami selected 24 still images -- most of them stark landscapes inhabited only by foraging birds and other wildlife -- and digitally animated each one into its own subtly evolving four-and-a-half-minute vignette, creating a series of poignant studies in movement, perception, and time. A sustained meditation on the process of image making, "24 Frames" is a graceful and elegiac farewell from one of the giants of world cinema. 2K digital master, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: New interview with director Abbas Kiarostami's son Ahmad Kiarostami, who helped finish the film after his father's death; new conversation between Iranian film scholar Jamsheed Akrami and film critic Godfrey Cheshire; new short documentary about the making of the film by Abbas Kiarostami collaborator Salma Monshizadeh; trailer; an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri. (The Criterion Collection).
Howling III(1987) Barry Otto, William Yang, Imogen Annesley. The third entry in the popular werewolf horror franchise. The race is on as a colony of marsupial werewolves attempts to outwit and outlast their human counterparts. Long ago, the now-extinct marsupial wolf (a.k.a. Tasmanian Tiger) roamed the Australian Outback. Today, a werewolf colony that has descended from these marsupials has taken over the land. This race of human-like creatures roams the outback, feeding its need. The race for survival is on as the humans struggle to contain these out of control creatures. New digital transfer sponsored by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Extras: New audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora, moderated by filmmaker Jamie Blanks; new "A Conversation with Philippe Mora" interview with the writer-director; vintage interviews from the documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!" by director Mark Hartley; theatrical trailer. (Scream Factory).
Obsession(1976) A 10th wedding anniversary celebration ends tragically when Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) discovers that his wife (Geneviève Bujold) and 9-year-old daughter have been kidnapped. When an attempt to thwart the captors goes awry, Courtland's wife and daughter are never recovered. Several years later while vacationing in Florence, Courtland falls in love with a young woman who is an exact double of his dead wife. On the eve of their wedding, the woman disappears and Courtland finds a ransom note ... a duplicate of the one found several years earlier. A riveting Hitchcockian mystery thriller from Brian De Palma. Extras: New audio commentary with author Douglas Keesey ("Brian De Palma’s Split-Screen: A Life in Film"); new "Producing Obsession" interview with producer George Litto; new "Editing Obsession" interview with editor Paul Hirsh; "Obsession Revised" vintage featurette featuring interviews with director De Palma, Robertson and Bujold; theatrical trailer; radio spots; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days(2007) Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu shot to international prominence with this rigorously realistic Palme d'Or-winning second feature. In 1987, during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, college roommates Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) seek an illegal abortion for Gabita. In unflinching but empathetic detail, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" recounts the events of 24 perilous hours in their lives, culminating in their encounter with a manipulative and menacing abortionist (Vlad Ivanov). With powerful performances that accentuate the characters' flawed humanity, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" is a gutting account of the impossible choices women face when taking control of their bodies means breaking the law. New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Cristian Mungiu, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: New interview with Mungiu; new interview with film critic Jay Weissberg on the New Romanian Cinema; press conference from the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, featuring Mungiu; director of photography Oleg Mutu, and actors Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, and Alexandru Potocean; "The Romanian Tour," a short documentary from 2007 on the film's reception in Romania; alternate and deleted scenes; trailer; an essay by critic Ella Taylor. (The Criterion Collection).
10 to Midnight BLU-RAY DEBUT(1983) Charles Bronson, Gene Davis, Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens. Bronson plays Leo Kessler, a cynical Los Angeles cop on the trail of Warren Stacy (Davis), a homicidal maniac who turns rejection from beautiful women into the ultimate revenge. When the legal system sets Stacy free, Kessler plants evidence to put him behind bars for good. But Kessler's plan backfires, leaving him with only one option: to hunt down Stacy on his own ... before the crazed killer can strike again. New 4k scan of the original camera negative. Extras: New "Charlie’s Partner" interview with actor Andrew Stevens; new "Producing Bronson" interview with producer Lance Hool; new "Remembering Bronson" interview with actor Robert F. Lyons; new "Undressed to Kill" interview with actress Jeana Tomasina Keough; new audio commentary with writer-historian Paul Talbot (the "Bronson’s Loose!" books); audio commentary with producer Pancho Kohner, casting director John Crowther and film historian David Del Valle; theatrical trailer; radio spots; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Screamers BLU-RAY DEBUT(1995) The year is 2078. The man is rebel Alliance Commander Col. Joseph Hendrickson (Peter Weller), assigned to protect the Sirius 6B outpost from ravage and plunder at the hands of the New Economic Bloc. His state-of-the-art weaponry are known as Screamers; manmade killing devices programmed to eliminate all enemy life forms. Screamers travel underground; their intent to kill announced by piercing shrieks. They dissect their victims with precision, then eradicate all traces of the carnage. They are lethal. Effective. Tidy. And somehow, they are mutating ... self-replicating into human form ... and slaughtering every beating heart on the planet. Based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick and featuring a screenplay by Dan O’Bannon. Extras: New "Northern Frights" interview with director Christian Duguay; new "Orchestrating the Future" interview with producer Tom Berry; new "More Screamer Than Human" interview with co-writer Miguel Tejada-Flores; new "From Runaway to Space" interview with actress Jennifer Rubin; theatrical trailer. (Scream Factory).
Suburbia Collector’s Edition(2018) Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris (Decline of Western Civilization, Wayne’s World), and featuring Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers in his acting debut, Suburbia is Spheeris's study of the Los Angeles punk rock scene in the early 1980s. Featuring live performances by T.S.O.L., The Vandals and D.I., and starring Bill Coyne, Chris Pederson, Jennifer Clay and Christina Beck, 1984’s Suburbia deftly explores the punk rock generation and follows the unforgettable journey of runaway teens who have escaped unhappy homes, punks who have banded together to form their own family. Dubbing themselves “The Rejected,” (aka T.R.), the teens have taken squatters’ rights in a filthy, abandoned house, and are bound together by tragedy and punk rock until they’re confronted by the “Citizens Against Crime,” a group of irascible adults from the suburbs who blame the punks for the ruin of their town. Extras: Audio commentary with director Penelope Spheeris; audio commentary with Spheeris, producer Bert Dragin, and actress Jennifer Clay; still gallery; trailers. (Shout! Factory Select).
Higher Learning BLU-RAY DEBUT(1995) Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Michael Rapaport, Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Jennifer Connelly and Tyra Banks. First-term freshmen get a crash course in diversity, identity and sexuality when people from all different walks of life encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus. Extras: Commentary by director John Singleton, theatrical trailer. (Sony).
Poetic Justice BLU-RAY DEBUT(1993) Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry. Jackson and Shakur made their film debuts in director John Singleton’s ("Boyz N the Hood") street-smart love story. A mismatched pair pushed together for a road trip from South Central L.A. to Oakland, Justice (Jackson) and Lucky (Shakur) have only one thing in common: they can’t stand each other. But as their friends Iesha and Chicago (King and Torry) fight -- and make up -- in the back of the van, Justice and Lucky find themselves reluctantly drawn together before being confronted once again by the shocking violence they thought they’d left behind. Featuring the music of Naughty by Nature and Tony! Toni! Tone!, and the poetry of Maya Angelou. Extras: Ten never-before-seen deleted & extended scenes; new Janet Jackson & Tupac Shakur's rare original screen test; new retrospective interview with writer-director John Singleton; commentary by Singleton; theatrical trailer. (Sony).
Shame(1968) Directed by Ingmar Bergman, "Shame (Skammen)" is at once an examination of the violent legacy of World War II and a scathing response to the escalation of the conflict in Vietnam. Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann star as musicians living in quiet retreat on a remote island farm, until the civil war that drove them from the city catches up with them there. Amid the chaos of the military struggle, vividly evoked by pyrotechnics and by cinematographer Sven Nykvist’s handheld camera work, the two are faced with impossible moral choices that tear at the fabric of their relationship. This film, which contains some of the most devastating scenes in Bergman’s oeuvre, shows the impact of war on individual lives. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Interviews with director Ingmar Bergman and a brief excerpt from a press conference for the film, recorded in 1967 and 68 for Swedish television; new interview with actor Liv Ullmann; "An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman," a 1968 documentary made during the film’s production, featuring an extensive interview with Bergman; an essay by critic Michael Sragow. (The Criterion Collection).
La vérité(1960) Beautiful, troubled Dominique Marceau (Brigitte Bardot) came to bohemian Paris to escape the suffocation of provincial life, only to wind up in a courtroom, accused of a terrible crime: the murder of her lover (Sami Frey). As the trial commences and the lawyers begin tangling over Dominique’s fate, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Oscar-nominated "La vérité" delves into her past, reconstructing her struggle to find a foothold in the city. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of an impulsive young woman misunderstood and mistreated by those around her, and of her ultimately tragic affair with an up-and-coming conductor. With an astonishing performance by Bardot, Clouzot’s affecting and intricately constructed film -- a huge late-career success for the French master -- renders a harsh verdict against a hypocritical and moralistic society. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "Le scandale Clouzot," a 60-minute documentary from 2017 on director Henri-Georges Clouzot; interview from 1960 with Clouzot; interview with actor Brigitte Bardot from the 1982 documentary "Brigitte Bardot telle qu’elle"; an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau. (The Criterion Collection).
Berlin Alexanderplatz(1980) Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s controversial, 15-hour "Berlin Alexanderplatz," based on Alfred Döblin’s great modernist novel, was the crowning achievement of a prolific director who, at age 34, had already made over 30 films. Fassbinder’s immersive epic follows the hulking, childlike ex-convict Franz Biberkopf (Günter Lamprecht) as he attempts to “become an honest soul” amid the corrosive urban landscape of Weimar-era Germany. With equal parts cynicism and humanity, Fassbinder details a mammoth portrait of a common man struggling to survive in a viciously uncommon time. On DVD and Blu-ray, with high-definition digital restoration by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation and Bavaria Media, supervised and approved by director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Two documentaries by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation president Juliane Lorenz: one from 2007 featuring interviews with the cast and crew, the other from 2006 on the restoration; Hans-Dieter Hartl’s 1980 documentary "Notes on the Making of “Berlin Alexanderplatz”; Phil Jutzi’s 1931 feature-length film of Alfred Döblin’s novel, from a screenplay co-written by Döblin himself; interview from 2007 with Peter Jelavich, author of “Berlin Alexanderplatz: Radio, Film, and the Death of Weimar Culture"; a book featuring an essay by filmmaker Tom Tykwer, reflections on the novel by Fassbinder and author Thomas Steinfeld, and an interview with Schwarzenberger. (The Criterion Collection).
Man’s Best Friend(1993) Ally Sheedy, Lance Henriksen. When an ambitious news journalist (Sheedy) breaks into a genetic research facility, she uncovers the biggest story of her career and unleashes the lab's most dangerous experiment: Max, a genetically enhanced guard dog with a vicious killer instinct. Superior sight, hearing, strength, and intelligence make him faster, stronger, and smarter than almost any other animal alive -- and deadlier. Without the neuropathic drugs needed to curb his aggressive nature, his predatory urge runs out of control ... and once he tastes blood, nothing can stop him. New 2K scan of the original film elements.Extras: New audio commentary with writer-director John Lafia, theatrical trailer, teaser trailer, TV spots. (Scream Factory).
The Poison Ivy CollectionThe delightfully sleazy neo-noir sinister psychodrama Poison Ivy films make their Blu-ray in a four disc Blu-ray box set with both the rated and unrated versions of each film: "Poison Ivy" (1992) with Drew Barrymore, "Poison Ivy 2: Lily" (1996) with Alyssa Milano, "Poison Ivy: The New Seduction" (1997) with Jaime Pressly, and "Poison Ivy: The Secret Society" (2008) with Miriam McDonald. Extras: New audio commentary with co-writer/director Katt Shea on "Poison Ivy"; trailers. (Scream Factory).
Valentine(2001) David Boreanaz, Denise Richards, Marley Shelton, Katherine Heigl. Be my Valentine ... or else. Broken hearts and other mortal wounds await a cast of contemporary young stars when they play dating-scene veterans dying for love in this humor-laced, twist-filled teen slasher about a Cupid-masked killer. New 2K scan of the original film elements supervised and approved by director Jamie Blanks and director of photography Rick Bota. Extras: New audio commentary with director Jamie Blanks and filmmaker Don Coscarelli, moderated by author Peter Bracke. new "Thrill of the Drill" interview with actress Denise Richards; new "The Final Girl" interview with actress Marley Shelton; new "Shot Through the Heart – an interview with actress Jessica Cauffiel; mew "Writing Valentine" interview with co-writers Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts; new "Editing Valentine" interview with editor Steve Mirkovich; new "Scoring Valentine"interview with composer Don Davis; new behind-the-scenes footage from director Jamie Blanks’ personal archive; audio commentary with director Jamie Blanks; vintage “making of” featurette featuring cast and crew; extended interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from the electronic press kit; deleted Scenes including extended death scenes; music video; teaser trailer; theatrical trailer; TV spots; still gallery; hidden Easter Egg. (Scream Factory).
Backbeat(1993) An energetic musical drama chronicling the pre-fame Beatles as they head to Hamburg in search of success. As they gain popularity, the “fifth Beatle,” bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff), falls in love and ultimately must choose between his best friend John Lennon (Ian Hart), his new love Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee), and what will become the greatest band in the world. Extras: "A Conversation with Astrid Kirchherr"; deleted scenes; interviews with director Iain Softley and actor Ian Hart; Iain Softley interview for the Sundance Channel; audio commentary with Iain Softley, Ian Hart, and Stephen Dorff; TV featurette; casting session. (Shout! Factory Select).
Death in Venice(1971) Based on the classic novella by Thomas Mann, this late-career masterpiece from Luchino Visconti is a meditation on the nature of art, the allure of beauty, and the inescapability of death. A fastidious composer reeling from a disastrous concert, Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde, in an exquisitely nuanced performance) travels to Venice to recover. There, he is struck by a vision of pure beauty in the form of a young boy named Tadzio (Björn Andrésen), his infatuation developing into an obsession even as rumors of a plague spread through the city. Setting Mann’s story of queer desire and bodily decay against the sublime music of Gustav Mahler, "Death in Venice" is one of cinema’s most exalted literary adaptations, as sensually rich as it is allegorically resonant. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "Luchino Visconti: Life as in a Novel," a 2008 documentary about the director, featuring Visconti; actors Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, and Marcello Mastroianni; filmmakers Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli; and others; "Alla ricerca di Tadzio," a 1970 short film by Visconti about his efforts to cast the role of Tadzio; new program featuring literature and cinema scholar Stefano Albertini; interview from 2006 with costume designer Piero Tosi; excerpt from a 1990 program about the music in Visconti’s films, featuring Bogarde and actor Marisa Berenson; interview with Visconti from 1971; "Visconti’s Venice," a short 1970 behind-the-scenes documentary featuring Visconti and Bogarde; trailer; an essay by critic Dennis Lim. (The Criterion Collection).
The Return of the Vampire BLU-RAY DEBUT(1943) Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Miles Manders. In 1918, Armand Tesla (Lugosi), a 200-year-old Hungarian Vampire, prowls the English countryside, feeding from the jugulars of the villagers. But Tesla's reign of terror is interrupted when a pair of scientists, Lady Jane and Sir John Ainsley, drive a railroad spike through his heart. The "un-dead" Tesla remains safely entombed for two decades until the impact from a stray Nazi bomb accidentally releases him. Along with his werewolf servant Andreas Obry, the resurrected vampire now plots vengeance on the family that put a halt to his nocturnal feasting. Extras: New audio commentary with film historian Troy Howarth; new audio commentary with author/film historian Gary Don Rhodes; new audio commentary with film historian Lee Gambin; silent 8mm presentation; trailer; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
The Mole People BLU-RAY DEBUT(1956) John Agar, Hugh Beaumont and Nestor Paiva star as three archaeologists who discover the remnants of a mutant five-millennia-old Sumerian civilization living beneath a glacier atop a mountain in Mesopotamia. The party of archeologists come upon an unusual race of albino beings who shun all forms of light and have mutant mole men as their slaves. Because of their “magical cylinders of fire” (what we know as flashlights), these archaeologists are treated like gods -- until they try to liberate the mole people. Can the archaeologists escape this hallowed mountain in Asia -- or will they be destroyed in a strange underground world? The film is presented in two aspect ratios – 1.85:1 and 2.00:1. Extras: New audio commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter; new "Of Mushrooms and Madmen: The Making of The Mole People"; Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode “The Mole People” (2/15/97) in standard definition; still galleries: movie stills, posters and lobby cards; theatrical trailer. (Scream Factory).
To Sleep With Anger(1990) A slow-burning masterwork of the early 1990s, this third feature by Charles Burnett is a singular piece of American mythmaking. In a towering performance, Danny Glover plays the enigmatic southern drifter Harry, a devilish charmer who turns up out of the blue on the South Central Los Angeles doorstep of his old friends. In short order, Harry’s presence turns a seemingly peaceful household upside down, exposing smoldering tensions between parents and children, tradition and change, virtue and temptation. Interweaving evocative strains of gospel and blues with rich, poetic-realist images, "To Sleep with Anger" is a sublimely stirring film from an autonomous artistic sensibility, a portrait of family resilience steeped in the traditions of black mysticism and folklore. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by director Charles Burnett, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New interview program featuring Burnett, actors Danny Glover and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and associate producer Linda Koulisis; "A Walk with Charles Burnett," a new hour-long conversation between Burnett and filmmaker Robert Townsend that revisits Burnett’s films and shooting locations; short video tribute to Burnett produced for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards ceremony in 2017; an essay by critic Ashley Clark. (The Criterion Collection).
Willard(2003) New version of the classic 1971 film. For years, Willard Stiles (Crispin Glover) has been trapped in a dead-end job with no friends and no future. Willard's life seems hopeless until he makes an eerie discovery: he shares a powerful bond with the rats that dwell in his basement. Now a guy who has been trampled in the rat race his entire life is suddenly ready to tear up the competition ... beginning with his boss. New 2K scan of the original film elements. Extras: New audio commentary with writer-director Glen Morgan and director of photography Robert McLachlan; new audio commentary with animal trainers Mark Harden and David Allsberry of Animals for Hollywood; new "The Road to Willard" interview with Morgan; new "Destination Willard" interview with McLachlan; new "The Rat Trainer’s Notebook" behind-the-scenes footage from Animals for Hollywood; audio commentary with Morgan, producer James Wong, actors Crispin Glover and R. Lee Ermey; "The Year of the Rat" documentary on the making of "Willard"; "Rat People: Friends or Foes?" real rat documentary; deleted/alternate scenes with optional commentary; music video "Ben" by Crispin Hellion Glover with optional commentary; behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the electronic press kit; theatrical trailer; TV spots. (Scream Factory).
The Kid Brother(1927) Silent-comedy legend Harold Lloyd goes west in this irresistible blend of action, romance, and slapstick invention. The bespectacled everyman is at his inimitable best as Harold Hickory, the gentle son of a prominent lawman who lives in the shadow of his rough-and-tumble brothers. When a traveling medicine show rolls into town, it brings with it excitement, the possibility of love, and a chance for Harold to prove his mettle. Deftly balancing Lloyd’s brilliant sight gags and thrilling set pieces -- including an epic, knock-down, drag-out fight aboard an abandoned ship -- with one of the actor-filmmaker’s most fully realized, root-for-the-underdog narratives, "The Kid Brother" is a hilarious and heartwarming high-water mark of early screen comedy. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration. Extras: Orchestral score by composer Carl Davis from 1989; alternate archival organ score performed by Gaylord Carter; audio commentary from 2005 featuring filmmaker and Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Correll, film historian Annette D’Agostino Lloyd, and Harold Lloyd’s granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd; "Harold’s Leading Ladies," a new conversation between author Cari Beauchamp and Suzanne Lloyd; "Anatomy of a Gag: Monkeyshoes," a new video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns; behind-the-scenes stills gallery curated by Harold Lloyd archivist Richard Simonton Jr.; "Close to Home, a new video essay on the film’s shooting locations by author John Bengtson; Dutch television interview with Lloyd from 1962; featurette from 2005 about Greenacres, Lloyd’s estate, hosted by Suzanne Lloyd; two restored rare early Lloyd shorts: "Over the Fence" (1917) and "That’s Him" (1918), with new Wurlitzer theater pipe organ scores and a discussion of their early film formats by archivist Dino Everett; new tour of the Wurlitzer organ with composer Nathan Barr and organist Mark Herman; an essay by critic Carrie Rickey. (The Criterion Collection).
Man's Best Friend BLU-RAY DEBUT(1993) Ally Sheedy, Lance Henriksen. When an ambitious news journalist (Sheedy) breaks into a genetic research facility, she uncovers the biggest story of her career and unleashes the lab's most dangerous experiment: Max -- a genetically enhanced guard dog with a vicious killer instinct. Superior sight, hearing, strength, and intelligence make him faster, stronger, and smarter than almost any other animal alive -- and deadlier. Without the neuropathic drugs needed to curb his aggressive nature, his predatory urge runs out of control ... and once he tastes blood, nothing can stop him. Extras: New audio commentary with writer-director John Lafia, theatrical trailer, teaser trailer, TV spots. (Scream Factory).
![photo for Born In East L.A. [Collector’s Edition] BLU-RAY DEBUT](https://onvideo.org/photos19/born-east-la.jpg)
Born In East L.A. [Collector’s Edition] BLU-RAY DEBUT(1987) Cheech Marin wrote, directed and starred in this hip, outrageous comedy that's more timely than ever. The story follows Rudy (Marin), an American of Hispanic descent, whose south-of-the-border looks show him no mercy during an immigration raid in a migrant worker factory. As his luck goes, he is caught with neither money nor his ID and is deported to Mexico -- without speaking a word of Spanish! Unable to contact his vacationing family or his newly immigrated cousin (played by comedian Paul Rodriguez), Rudy is in for a crazy ride as he tries every legal -- and illegal -- scheme he can think of to get back home. Extras: New audio commentary by director-writer-star Cheech Marin; new interview with Marin; New interview with actress Kamala Lopez; new interview with actor Paul Rodriguez; extended television cut (standard definition); theatrical trailer; photo gallery; production notes. (Shout! Factory Select).
The Deadly Mantis BLU-RAY DEBUT(1957) Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton. What’s worse than a horde of locusts? A gigantic man-eating praying mantis, released from a million years of deep, frozen sleep and ready to claw its way to world domination. This menacing insect kills everything in its path while scientists and military men work feverishly to stop it. Stevens stars as the commander in charge of putting an end to this beastly insect with Hopper as the paleontologist and Talton as his beautiful assistant, a photojournalist, assigned to help in this epic battle between man and insewct. Extras: New audio commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter, "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" episode “The Deadly Mantis,” theatrical trailer, still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Detour(1945) From Poverty Row came a movie that, perhaps more than any other, epitomizes the dark fatalism at the heart of film noir. As he hitchhikes his way from New York to Los Angeles, a down-on-his-luck nightclub pianist (Tom Neal) finds himself with a dead body on his hands and nowhere to run -- a waking nightmare that goes from bad to worse when he picks up the most vicious femme fatale in cinema history, Ann Savage’s snarling, monstrously conniving drifter Vera. Working with no-name stars on a bargain-basement budget, B auteur Edgar G. Ulmer turned threadbare production values and seedy, low-rent atmosphere into indelible pulp poetry. Long unavailable in a format in which its hard-boiled beauty could be fully appreciated, "Detour" haunts anew in its first major restoration. "Detour" was restored by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Française, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen," a 2004 documentary featuring interviews with filmmakers Roger Corman, Joe Dante, and Wim Wenders and actor Ann Savage; new interview with film scholar Noah Isenberg, author of "Edgar G. Ulmer: A Filmmaker at the Margins"; new program about the restoration of "Detour"; trailer; an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito. (The Criterion Collection).
Wanda(1970) With her first and only film -- a hard-luck drama she wrote, directed, and starred in -- Barbara Loden turned in a groundbreaking work of American independent cinema, bringing to life a kind of character seldom seen on-screen. Set amid a soot-choked Pennsylvania landscape, and shot in an intensely intimate vérité style, the film takes up with distant and soft-spoken Wanda (Loden), who has left her husband, lost custody of her children, and now finds herself alone, drifting between dingy bars and motels, where she falls prey to a series of callous men -- including a bank robber who ropes her into his next criminal scheme. A difficult-to-see masterpiece that has nonetheless exerted an outsize influence on generations of artists and filmmakers, "Wanda" is a compassionate and wrenching portrait of a woman stranded on society’s margins. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 2K digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, The Film Foundation, and Gucci, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "I Am Wanda," an hour-long documentary by Katja Raganelli featuring an interview with director Barbara Loden filmed in 1980; audio recording of Loden speaking to students at the American Film Institute in 1971; segment from a 1971 episode of "The Dick Cavett Show" featuring Loden; "The Frontier Experience," a short educational film from 1975 about a pioneer woman’s struggle to survive, directed by and starring Loden; trailer; an essay by film critic Amy Taubin. (The Criterion Collection).
The Witches (The Devil's Own) BLU-RAY DEBUT(1967) Joan Fontaine, Alec McCowen, Kay Walsh. Classic Hammer Films thriller. Haunted by the terrors of her experience with African witch-doctors, school teacher Gwen Mayfield (Fontaine) accepts an appointment as headmistress at the Haddaby School run by Alan Bax (McCowen) and his sister Stephanie (Walsh). Gwen initially revels in the peacefulness she has found in the quiet English countryside but soon begins to sense "undercurrents." Before long, a local boy falls into a coma and Gwen discovers a voodoo doll impaled by pins. The danger that follows brings her face to face with witchcraft as a series of disasters unfold and lead her to the horrible truth. Extras: New audio commentary with filmmaker/historian Ted Newsom, "Hammer Glamour" featurette on the women of Hammer, U.S. trailer "The Devil’s Own." double feature trailer "Prehistoric Women" and "The Devil’s Own," still gallery. (Scream Factory).
The Body Snatcher BLU-RAY DEBUT(1945) The two titans of horror, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, come together in their last on-screen pairing. Karloff plays the title role in the Val Lewton adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's fictional short story "The Body Snatcher," directed with subtle calculation by versatile Robert Wise ("West Side Story," "The Sound of Music"). A doctor (Henry Daniell) needs cadavers for medical studies and Karloff is willing to provide them one way or another. New 4K scan of the original camera negative. Extras: New "You’ll Never Get Rid of Me: Resurrecting The Body Snatcher," audio commentary with director Robert Wise and writer-film historian Steve Haberman, "Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy" documentary, still galleries: posters, lobby cards, movie stills. (Scream Factory).
Brighton Beach Memoirs(1986) Jonathan Silverman, Blythe Danner, Bob Dishy, Judith Ivey. Fifteen-year-old Eugene Jerome (Silverman) is desperately trying to uncover life’s mysteries, but his family keeps hiding the clues. Even so, he manages to keep his priorities -- baseball and girls -- firmly in order. Neil Simon’s hilarious adaptation of his Broadway smash about growing up in Brooklyn is a wonderful, semi-autobiographical comedy with heart, wit and hysterical insights into family life and growing up just a little off-center. Extras: Theatrical trailer. (Shout! Factory).
I Wanna Hold Your Hand(1978) On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first live appearance on American television on "The Ed Sullivan Show," ratcheting up the frenzy of a fanbase whose ecstatic devotion to the band heralded an explosive new wave of youth culture. "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" looks back to that fateful weekend, following six teenagers, each with their own reasons for wanting to see the Fab Four, from New Jersey to Manhattan on a madcap mission to meet the band and score tickets to the show. With this rollicking first feature, director Robert Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale established themselves as a filmmaking team par excellence, adept at mining America’s cultural memory for comedy and adventure with a winning mixture of sweet nostalgia and playful irreverence. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Robert Zemeckis and co-writer Bob Gale, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray.
Extras: New conversation among Zemeckis, Gale, and executive producer Steven Spielberg; new interview with actors Nancy Allen and Marc McClure; audio commentary from 2004 featuring Zemeckis and Gale; "The Lift" (1972) and "A Field of Honor" (1973), two early short films by Zemeckis; trailer; an essay by critic Scott Tobias; more.
(The Criterion Collection).
Japón(2002 -- Mexico) In this preternaturally assured feature debut by Carlos Reygadas, a man (Alejandro Ferretis) travels from Mexico City to an isolated village to commit suicide; once there, however, he meets a pious elderly woman (Magdalena Flores) whose quiet humanity incites a reawakening of his desires. Recruiting a cast of nonactors and filming in sublime 16 mm CinemaScope, Reygadas explores the harsh beauty of the Mexican countryside with earthy tactility, conjuring a psychic landscape where religion mingles with sex, life co-exists with death, and the animal and spiritual sides of human experience become indistinguishable. A work of soaring ambition and startling visual poetry, "Japón" is an existential journey through uncharted cinematic territory that established the singular voice of its director. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Carlos Reygadas, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New conversation between Reygadas and filmmaker Amat Escalante; video diary shot by actor Alejandro Ferretis during the film’s production; "Adulte," a short film directed by Reygadas in 1998; deleted scene; trailer; a new essay by novelist Valeria Luiselli. (The Criterion Collection).
Perfect Blue(1997 -- Japan) The directorial debut of acclaimed director Satoshi Kon ("Paprika," "Millennium Actress"), the critically-acclaimed animated film has frequently been hailed as one of the most important animated films of all time. This new Blu-ray edition features both a newly digitally remastered version of the film and an original definition presentation. Rising pop star Mima has quit singing to pursue a career as an actress and model, but her fans aren’t ready to see her go. Encouraged by her managers, Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima’s reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia. As her stalker closes in, in person and online, the threat he poses is more real than even Mima knows, in this iconic psychological thriller. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo. Extras: New lectures by Satoshi Kon featurette; new "Into the Blue" interviews featurette, new "Angel of Your Heart" recording sessions; theatrical trailers and TV spots; cast and crew interviews. (GKIDS/Shout! Factory).
The Tarnished Angels(1958) Dir.: Douglas Sirk; Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, Jack Carson, Troy Donahue, Robert Middleton, Alan Reed, William Schallert. Set in the 1930s Depression era during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, "The Tarnished Angels" covers three days in the lives of a trio of flying-circus performers, headlined by former WWI fighter-pilot hero Roger Shumann (Stack) and his beautiful blonde wife, LaVerne (Malone). Romantic complications arise when newspaper reporter Burke Devlin (Hudson) falls in love with LaVerne while covering their daredevil aerial show. Legendary filmmaker Douglas Sirk ("Magnificent Obsession," "All That Heaven Allows," "Written on the Wind," "Imitation of Life") directed this masterpiece based on a novel by William Faulkner, adapted for the screen by George Zuckerman. Features Troy Donahue in one of his earlier roles. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary by film historian Imogen Sara Smith, theatrical trailer. (Kino Lorber Studio Classics).
Warning Sign(1985) Sam Waterston, Kathleen Quinlan, Yaphet Kotto. In the rolling Utah countryside, a small town is host to a fortress-like research facility that the townspeople believe is developing new advancements in agriculture. But deep within is a top-secret project to create a bioweapon that turns anyone exposed to it into a raging, psychotic killer. When the unthinkable happens and the facility is locked down, Sheriff Cal Morse (Waterston) must choose between keeping the town safe and rescuing his wife Joanie (Quinlan), who is trapped inside. But for Major Connolly (Kotto), there is only one remorseless solution: contain the deadly virus ... at all costs. Extras: New interview with director/co-writer Hal Barwood, new interview with producer Jim Bloom, audio commentary track with Barwood, TV spot,theatrical trailer, still gallery. (Scream Factory).
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires BLU-RAY DEBUT(2018) Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) and Count Dracula (John Forbes-Robinson) meet again in this spectacular Kung Fu horror thriller set in the village of Ping Kuei. After learning about the seven golden vampires of the village, Hsi Ching (David Chiang), Vanessa Buren (Julie Ege) and Mai Kwei (Szu Shih) offer to guide Van Helsing and his son to Ping Kuei to free it from the curse of Count Dracula. Presented here for the first time in high definition is Hammer’s original uncut version. It was released in the US in an edited version called "The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula," which is also included here in high definition as a bonus feature. Extras: New audio commentary with author-film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck; new "When Hammer Met Shaw" interview with actor David Chiang; new "Kung Fear" interview with Hong Kong Film Expert Rick Baker; theatrical trailers; TV spot; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Night on Earth(1991) Five cities. Five taxicabs. A multitude of strangers in the night. Jim Jarmusch assembled an extraordinary international cast of actors (including Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Beatrice Dalle, and Roberto Benigni) for this quintet of transitory tales of urban displacement and existential angst, all staged as encounters between cabbies and their fares. Spanning time zones, continents, and languages, "Night on Earth" winds its course through scenes of uproarious comedy, nocturnal poetry, and somber fatalism, set to a moody soundtrack by Tom Waits. Jarmusch’s lovingly askew view of humanity from the passenger seat makes for one of his most charming and beloved films, a freewheeling showcase for the cosmopolitan range of his imagination. On DVD and Blu-ray, with High-definition digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jim Jarmusch, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Selected-scene commentary from 2007 featuring director of photography Frederick Elmes and location sound mixer Drew Kunin; Q&A with Jarmusch from 2007, in which he responds to questions sent in by fans; Belgian television interview with Jarmusch from 1992; A booklet featuring essays by authors and critics Thom Andersen, Paul Auster, Bernard Eisenschitz, Goffredo Fofi, and Peter von Bagh, and the lyrics to Tom Waits’s original songs from the film. (The Criterion Collection).
Stranger Than Paradise(1994) With this breakout film, Jim Jarmusch established himself as one of the most exciting voices in the burgeoning independent-film scene, a road-movie poet with an affinity for Americana at its most offbeat. Jarmusch follows rootless Hungarian émigré Willie (John Lurie), his pal Eddie (Richard Edson), and his visiting 16-year-old cousin Eva (Eszter Balint) as they drift from New York’s Lower East Side to the snowy expanses of Lake Erie and the drab beaches of Florida, always managing to make the least of wherever they end up. Structured as a series of master-shot vignettes etched in black and white by cinematographer Tom DiCillo, "Stranger Than Paradise" is a nonchalant masterpiece of deadpan comedy and perfectly calibrated minimalism. On DVD and Blu-ray, with high-definition digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jim Jarmusch, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "Permanent Vacation" (1980, 75 minutes), Jarmusch’s first full-length feature, presented in a high-definition digital restoration supervised by the director; "Kino ’84: Jim Jarmusch," a 1984 German television program featuring interviews with cast and crew from "Stranger Than Paradise" and "Permanent Vacation"; "Some Days in January, 1984," a behind-the-scenes Super 8 film by Tom Jarmusch; U.S. and Japanese trailers; a booklet featuring Jarmusch’s 1984 “Some Notes on Stranger Than Paradise,” critics Geoff Andrew and J. Hoberman on "Stranger Than Paradise," and author and critic Luc Sante on "Permanent Vacation." (The Criterion Collection).
Diamonds of the Night(1964 -- Czechoslovakia ) With this simultaneously harrowing and lyrical debut feature, Jan Nemec established himself as the most uncompromising visionary among the radical filmmakers who made up the Czechoslovak New Wave. Adapted from a novel by Arnošt Lustig, "Diamonds of the Night" closely tracks two boys who escape from a concentration-camp transport and flee into the surrounding woods, a hostile terrain where the brute realities of survival coexist with dreams, memories, and fragments of visual poetry. Along with visceral camera work by Jaroslav Kucera and Miroslav Ondrícek -- two of Czechoslovak cinema’s most influential cinematographers -- Nemec makes inventive use of fractured editing, elliptical storytelling, and flights of surrealism as he strips context away from this bare-bones tale, evoking the dizzying plight of consciousness lost in night and fog. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Interview from 2009 with director Jan Nemec; "A Loaf of Bread," Nemec’s 1960 student thesis film, based on a short story by Arnošt Lustig; "Arnošt Lustig Through the Eyes of Jan Nemec," a short documentary on Lustig from 1993; new interview with film programmer Irena Kovarova; new video essay on the film’s stylistic influences by scholar James Quandt; an essay by film critic Michael Atkinson. (The Criterion Collection).
A Face in the Crowd(1957) "A Face in the Crowd" chronicles the rise and fall of Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes (Andy Griffith), a boisterous entertainer discovered in an Arkansas drunk tank by Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal), a local radio producer with ambitions of her own. His charisma and cunning soon shoot him to the heights of television stardom and political demagoguery, forcing Marcia to grapple with the manipulative, reactionary monster she has created. Directed by Elia Kazan from a screenplay by Budd Schulberg, this incisive satire features an extraordinary debut screen performance by Griffith, who brandishes his charm in an uncharacteristically sinister role. Though the film was a flop on its initial release, subsequent generations have marveled at its eerily prescient diagnosis of the toxic intimacy between media and politics in American life. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New interview with Ron Briley, author of "The Ambivalent Legacy of Elia Kazan"; new interview with Andy Griffith biographer Evan Dalton Smith; "Facing the Past," a 2005 documentary featuring actors Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, and Anthony Franciosa, screenwriter Budd Schulberg, and film scholars Leo Braudy and Jeff Young; trailer; an essay by critic April Wolfe and a 1957 "New York Times Magazine" profile of Andy Griffith. (The Criterion Collection).
The Brain(1988) Tom Bresnahan, Cynthia Preston, David Gale. Imagine a pulsating mass of grey matter, exploding in size and strength as it takes control of human minds and devours human bodies. It could never happen, right? Just watch Independent Thinking, starring Dr. Anthony Blakely, a hot new TV program. But as the show’s ratings continue to soar, so does the suicide and murder rate among its viewers. What they don’t know is that Dr. Blake has teamed with an alien brain and plans to gain control of all humanity. New 4K scan of the original negative. Extras: New Audio commentary with director Ed Hunt; new audio commentary with composer Paul Zaza; new audio commentary with actor Tom Bresnahan; new "Canada on the Mind" interview with actress Cynthia Preston; new "From Monster Kid to Monster Man" interview with actor George Buza; new "Brain Art" interview with assistant art director Michael Borthwick; new "Food for Thought: A Love Letter to THE BRAIN"; still gallery. (Shout! Factory/Scream Factory).
Tarantula(1955) Biochemist Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) has a plan to feed the world by using a special growth formula on plants and animals. Instead he creates terror beyond imagining when his work spawns a spider of mammoth proportions. Feeding on cattle and humans, this towering tarantula has the people of Desert Rock, Arizona running for their lives. Can this horrifying creature be stopped, or will the world succumb to this oversized arachnid? This classic sci-fi film from director Jack Arnold ("Creature From the Black Lagoon," "It Came From Outer Space") stars John Agar and Mara Corday and features a cameo by Clint Eastwood as a jet squadron leader. New 2K scan of the original film elements. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary with film historians Tom Weaver, Dr. Robert J. Kiss and David Schecter; theatrical trailer; still gallery. (Shout! Factory/Scream factory).
The Heiress(1949) Directed with a keen sense of ambiguity by William Wyler, this film based on a hit stage adaptation of Henry James's Washington Square pivots on a question of motive. When shy, fragile Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland, in a heartbreaking, Oscar-winning turn), the daughter of a wealthy New York doctor, begins to receive calls from the handsome spendthrift Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), she becomes possessed by the promise of romance. Are his smoldering professions of love sincere, as she believes they are? Or is Catherine's calculating father (Ralph Richardson) correct in judging Morris a venal fortune seeker? A graceful drawing-room drama boasting Academy Award-winning costume design by Edith Head, "The Heiress" is also a piercing character study riven by emotional uncertainty and lacerating cruelty, in a triumph of classic Hollywood filmmaking at its most psychologically nuanced. New, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: New conversation between screenwriter Jay Cocks and film critic Farran Smith Nehme; new program about the film's costumes featuring costume collector and historian Larry McQueen; "The Costume Designer," a restored 1950 short film featuring costume designer Edith Head; appearance by actor Olivia de Havilland on a 1979 episode of "The Paul Ryan Show"; excerpts from a 1973 tribute to director William Wyler on "The Merv Griffin Show," featuring Wyler, de Havilland, and actors Bette Davis and Walter Pidgeon; Wyler's acceptance speech from the American Film Institute's 1976 "Salute to William Wyler"; interview with actor Ralph Richardson filmed in 1981 for the documentary "Directed by William Wyler"; trailer; an essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson. (The Criterion Collection).
Funny Games(1997) Michael Haneke's most notorious provocation, "Funny Games" spares no detail in its depiction of the agony of a bourgeois family held captive at their vacation home by a pair of white-gloved young men. In a series of escalating "games," the sadistic duo subject their victims to unspeakable physical and psychological torture over the course of a night. A home-invasion thriller in which the genre's threat of bloodshed is made stomach-churningly real, the film ratchets up shocks even as its executioners interrupt the action to address the audience, drawing queasy attention to the way that cinema milks pleasure from pain and stokes our appetite for atrocity. With this controversial treatise on violence and entertainment, Haneke issued a summation of his cinematic philosophy, implicating his audience in a spectacle of unbearable cruelty. New 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Michael Haneke, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: New interviews with Haneke and actor Arno Frisch; new interview with film historian Alexander Horwath; press conference from the 1997 Cannes Film Festival featuring Haneke and actors Susanne Lothar and Ulrich Mühe; trailer; an essay by critic Bilge Ebiri. (The Criterion Collection).
House of Games(1987) The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter David Mamet sat in the director's chair for the first time for this sly, merciless thriller. Lindsay Crouse stars as a best-selling author and therapist who wants to help a client by making restitution for the money he owes to a gambler. After she meets the attractive cardsharp (Joe Mantegna), her own compulsions take hold as he lures her into his world of high-stakes deception. Packed with razor-sharp dialogue delivered with even-keeled precision by a cast of Mamet regulars, "House of Games" is as psychologically acute as it is full of twists and turns, a rich character study told with the cold calculation of a career con artist targeting his next mark. High-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Juan Ruiz Anchía, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Director-approved special edition. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary from 2007 featuring director David Mamet and consultant and actor Ricky Jay; interviews with actors Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna from 2007; David Mamet on "House of Games," a short documentary shot on location during the film's preparation and production; detail from a storyboard of a short con not used in the film; trailer; an essay by critic Kent Jones and excerpts from Mamet's introduction to the published screenplay. (The Criterion Collection).
Let the Sunshine In(2017) Two luminaries of French cinema, Claire Denis and Juliette Binoche, unite for the first time in this piercing look at the elusive nature of true love, and the extent to which we are willing to betray ourselves in its pursuit. In a richly layered performance, Binoche plays Isabelle, a successful painter in Paris whose apparent independence belies what she desires most: real romantic fulfillment. Isabelle reveals deep wells of yearning, vulnerability, and resilience as she tumbles into relationships with all the wrong men. Shot in burnished tones by Denis's longtime collaborator Agnès Godard and featuring a mischievous appearance by Gérard Depardieu, "Let the Sunshine In" finds bleak humor in a cutting truth: we are all, no matter our age, fools for love. 4K digital master, approved by cinematographer Agnès Godard, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: New interviews with director Claire Denis and actor Juliette Binoche; "Voilà l'enchaînement" (2014), a short film directed by Denis and adapted from a text by author Christine Angot, featuring actors Norah Krief and Alex Descas; trailer; an essay by critic Stephanie Zacharek. (The Criterion Collection).
The Seduction(1982) Steamy stalker thriller starring Morgan Fairchild and Andrew Stevens. L.A. anchor woman Jamie Douglas (Fairchild in her big screen debut) has it all: a glamorous career on a top-rated news show, a luxurious house in the hills, and a devoted young admirer named Derek (Andrew Stevens). But when Jamie rebuffs his romantic advances, Derek becomes an obsessed stalker who plays out an increasingly psychotic courtship with the frightened newswoman. Soon he is threatening every part of her life, secretly watching even her most intimate moments. Her tough-talking lover (Michael Sarrazin) can't console her. A by-the-book cop (Vince Edwards) can't protect her. But Jamie is far from helpless -- and ready to fight back with all the weapons at her command. Extras: New “Beauty and Strength” interview with Morgan Fairchild; new “The Seducer” interview with Andrew Stevens; new “Flashbacks” interview with producer Bruce Cohn Curtis; audio commentary with producer Irwin Yablans, Bruce Cohn Curtis and writer-director David Schmoeller; “Remembering The Seduction” featurette featuring interviews with Bruce Cohn Curtis, Irwin Yablans, David Schmoeller, actress Colleen Camp, actor Kevin Brophy and associate producer Tom Curtis; “Remembering the Locations and Production” featurette with Bruce Cohn Curtis and location manager Charles Newirth; “Remembering The Seduction and The Law” featurette; original theatrical trailer and TV spot; still gallery. (Shout! Factory/Scream Factory).
Madame X(1960) Screen goddess Lana Turner stars in one of the best roles of her career in this stunning and emotional adaptation of Alexandre Bisson's classic play. The ill-fated Holly Parker (Turner) is blackmailed by her evil mother-in-law (Constance Bennett) into leaving her politician husband (John Forsythe) and their baby. Twenty years later, Holly finds herself on trial for her life ... where she is defended by her own son (Keir Dullea). Directed by David Lowell Rich and co-starring Ricardo Montalban, Burgess Meredith, Virginia Grey and Warren Stevens. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood, theatrical trailer. (Kino Lorber Studio Classics).
The Nun (La Religieuse)(1965) Restored in 4K from the original lm negative, Jacques Rivette's "The Nun," initially banned in France, can now be seen in all its revolutionary glory. Adapted from Denis Diderot's novel, it follows a rebellious nun (played by an incandescent Anna Karina) who is forced into taking her vows. Initially shunted into a restrictive, torturous convent, she eventually moves on to a more liberated one, where she becomes an object of Mother Superior's (Liselotte Pulver) obsession. Banned for over a year by the French Minister of Information, and not released in the United States until 1971, it slowly became a landmark of the French New Wave, and with this stunning restoration, should also become an object of worship. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton; booklet essay by Dennis Lim, director of programming at the Film Society of Lincoln Center; "La Scandaleuse," a new making-of documentary, trailer. (Kino Classics).
One Sings, the Other Doesn't(1977) In the early 1960s in Paris, two young women become friends. Pomme is an aspiring singer. Suzanne is a pregnant country girl unable to support a third child. Pomme lends Suzanne the money for an illegal abortion, but a sudden tragedy soon separates them. Over a decade later, they reunite at a demonstration and pledge to keep in touch via postcard, as each of their lives is irrevocably changed by the women's liberation movement. A buoyant hymn to sisterly solidarity rooted in the hard-won victories of a generation of women, "One Sings, the Other Doesn't" is one of Agnès Varda's warmest and most politically trenchant films, a feminist musical for the ages. New 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Agnès Varda and cinematographer Charlie Van Damme, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: "Women Are Naturally Creative," a 1977 documentary directed by Katja Raganelli, featuring an interview with Varda shot during the making of the film, plus on-set interviews with actors Valérie Mairesse and Thérèse Liotard; "Réponse de femmes," a 1975 short film by Varda, on the question "What is a woman?"; "Plaisir d'amour en Iran," a 1976 short film by Varda, starring Mairesse and Ali Raffi; trailer; an essay by critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from the film's original press book. (The Criterion Collection).Portrait in Black(1960) Screen icons Lana Turner and Anthony Quinn star as an adulterous couple who conspire to kill her tyrannical husband. Soon after the murder, the lovers in crime receive an anonymous letter that says only, "Dear. Mrs. Cabot: Congratulations on the success of your murder." With this alarming complication, their new life together begins unraveling as they become trapped in the realization that someone, somewhere, knows their dark secret. Directed by Michael Gordon with a screenplay by the writing team of Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts. The strong supporting cast includes Richard Basehart, Sandra Dee, John Saxon , Ray Walston, Virginia Grey, Anna May Wong and Lloyd Nolan. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood, theatrical trailer. (Kino Lorber Studio Classics).
The Entity Collector’s Edition(1982) Dir.: Sidney J. Furie; Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa, George Cole. Carla Moran (Hershey), a hard-working single mother whose life becomes a nightmare when she is attacked in her bedroom by someone -- or something -- that she cannot see. Disbelieved by her friends and dismissed by skeptical psychiatrists, Carla begins to lose her grip as she is repeatedly attacked in her car, in the bath, and even in front of her children. Could this be a case of hysteria, a manifestation of childhood sexual trauma, or something even more horrific? Seeking help from a group of daring parapsychologists, Carla will attempt an unthinkable experiment: to seduce, trap and ultimately capture the depraved spectral fury that is The Entity. (strong>Extras: New "Inner Strength" interview with actress Barbara Hershey; new "Seeing Is Believing" interview with actor David Labiosa; new "High Dread interview with composer Charles Bernstein; new "Spirits & Sprocket Holes" interview with editor Frank J. Urioste; new audio commentary with author/filmmaker Daniel Kremer ("Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films"); "Trailers From Hell -- The Entity" with audio commentary by Luca Guadagnino; "The Entity Files" featurette; theatrical trailer; TV spots; radio spots; still gallery.(Scream Factory).
Final Stab(2001) Erinn Hayes, Jamie Gannon, Bradley Stryker. A murder mystery weekend is the perfect time for a perfect crime. At a secluded estate, a group of college friends have gathered together for a weekend of fun and games. Killer, victim, or innocent bystander, they all have their part to play. But when people begin disappearing -- and the bloodshed turns out to be real, everyone quickly realizes that the only way out of this killer game is to be the last one left alive. New 2k restoration from the 35mm original camera negatives, with uncompressed PCM audio. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: New audio commentary with director, David DeCoteau. (Massacre Video).
Swing Time(1936) In this irresistible musical, the legendary dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are at the pinnacle of their art as a feckless gambler and the shrewd dancing instructor in whom he more than meets his match. Director George Stevens laces their romance with humor and clears the floor for the movie’s showstopping dance scenes, in which Astaire and Rogers take seemingly effortless flight in a virtuosic fusion of ballroom and tap styles. Buoyed by beloved songs by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern—including the Oscar-winning classic “The Way You Look Tonight”—Swing Time is an exuberant celebration of its stars’ chemistry, grace, and sheer joy in the act of performance. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary from 1986 featuring John Mueller, author of "Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films"; archival interviews with performers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and choreographer Hermes Pan; new interview with George Stevens Jr.; "In Full Swing," a new program on the film’s choreography and soundtrack featuring jazz and film critic Gary Giddins, dance critic Brian Seibert, and Dorothy Fields biographer Deborah Grace Winer; new interview with film scholar Mia Mask on the “Bojangles of Harlem” number; an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith. (The Criterion Collection).
L’humanité(1999) The transcendent second feature by Bruno Dumont probes the wonder and horror of the human condition through the story of a profoundly alienated police detective (the indelibly sad-eyed Emmanuel Schotté, winner of an upset best actor prize at Cannes for his first film performance) who, while investigating the murder of a young girl, experiences jolting, epiphanous moments of emotional and physical connection. Demonstrating Dumont’s deftness with nonactors and relentlessly frank depiction of bodies and sexuality, L’humanité is at once an idiosyncratic police procedural and a provocative exploration of the tension between humankind’s capacity for compassion and our base, sometimes barbarous animal instincts. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Bruno Dumont, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New interview with Dumont; conversation between Dumont and critic Philippe Rouyer from 2014; segment from a 2000 episode of the French television program "Tendances," featuring actress Séverine Caneele; segment from a 1999 French television-news program featuring Dumont; trailer; an essay by critic Nicholas Elliott. (The Criterion Collection).
La vie de Jésus(1997) With his stunning debut feature, the risk-taking auteur Bruno Dumont immediately established his reputation as an uncompromising iconoclast on the cutting edge of French cinema. Blending unflinching realism with moments of startling, light-filled beauty, La vie de Jésusfinds unexpected philosophical richness in the quotidian, small-town existence of Freddy (nonprofessional David Douche in a revelatory, one-off performance), an aimless young man with epilepsy who, in his childlike simplicity, embodies both great tenderness and terrifying brutality. Leaving the film’s cryptic title tantalizingly open to interpretation, Dumont dares viewers to see the divine in a seemingly dead-end world. On DVD and Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Bruno Dumont, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New interview with Dumont; conversation between Dumont and critic Philippe Rouyer from 2014; segment from the French television program "Tendences" featuring actress Séverine Caneele; segment from a 1999 French television news program featuring Dumont; trailer; an essay by critic Nicholas Elliott. (The Criterion Collection).
The Running Man(1963 Over a decade after re-defining the thriller with "The Third Man," director Carol Reed returned to the genre with "The Running Man." Reuniting with that film's cinematographer Robert Krasker (BAFTA-nominated for his work here), Reed goes in the opposite direction visually, framing the twisty plot in sun-kissed widescreen color. Rex Black (Laurence Harvey) has successfully faked his death in a plane crash and escaped to sunny Málaga under a new identity, waiting for his wife Stella (Lee Remick) to arrive with £50,000 of life insurance money. It's the start of a blissful, trouble-free new life for the couple -- until Stephen (Alan Bates), the insurance agent in charge of investigating Rex's death, suddenly arrives in town. Is he just holidaying in Spain, as he claims, or is he on assignment to foil Rex's scheme? Adapted by John Mortimer (later the creator of "Rumpole of the Bailey") from the novel "The Ballad of the Running Man" by Shelley Smith, this underappreciated entry in Reed's celebrated oeuvre makes its official worldwide home video premiere. 2K restoration of the film by Sony Pictures. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Isolated music and effects track; audio commentary by Peter William Evans, author of "British Film-Makers: Carol Reed"; "On The Trail of The Running Man, all-new featurette with crew members such as script supervisor Angela Allen and assistant director Kits Browning; Lee Remick at the National Film Theatre, an audio-only recording of the actor's appearance at the NFT in 1970; image gallery; reversible sleeve featuring original artwork; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw. (Arrow Academy/MVD Entertainment).
Thirst(2009) Dir.: Chan-wook Park; Kang-ho Song, Dong-soo Seo, Hee-jin Choi, Hwa-ryong Lee, In-hwan Park, Ok-bin Kim, Mi-ran Ra, Eriq Ebouaney. From Chan-wook Park, the director of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy," "Lady Vengeance" and "Stoker," comes a shockingly original vampire story with a chilling, erotic style. A blood transfusion saves the life of a priest (Kang-ho Song), but also transforms him into a vampire. He struggles to control his insatiable thirst for blood until a love affair unleashes his darkest desires in deadly new ways. Daring and operatic, "Thirst" is a truly wicked love story that takes classic vampire lore to twisted new heights. Extras: New audio commentary by entertainment journalist and author Bryan Reesman, theatrical trailer. (Kino Lorber Studio Classics).
Fatso BLU-RAY DEBUT(1980) The only film written and directed by the legendary Anne Bancroft. This boisterous, heartwarming comedy about a man caught between his health, his self-esteem and his appetite, highlights Dom DeLuise’s genius for blending pathos and comedy. All his life, Dominic DiNapoli (DeLuise) has found comfort in food. But when his sister Antoinette (Bancroft) implores him to stop eating himself into an early grave, Dominic begins bouncing from crash diets to the support group “Chubby Checkers” to all manner of binges in between. In the end, Dominic discovers that what he needs most is a steady diet of love -- from his family, from a new and lovely neighborhood acquaintance -- and most importantly, from himself. Extras: “Looking back on Fatso” featurette with Mel Brooks and producer Stuart Cornfeld; interview with Maya Montañez Smukler, author of "Liberating Hollywood - Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema." (Shout! Factory Select).Fatso(1980) The only film written and directed by the legendary Anne Bancroft. This boisterous, heartwarming comedy about a man caught between his health, his self-esteem and his appetite, highlights Dom DeLuise’s genius for blending pathos and comedy. All his life, Dominic DiNapoli (DeLuise) has found comfort in food. But when his sister Antoinette (Bancroft) implores him to stop eating himself into an early grave, Dominic begins bouncing from crash diets to the support group “Chubby Checkers” to all manner of binges in between. In the end, Dominic discovers that what he needs most is a steady diet of love -- from his family, from a new and lovely neighborhood acquaintance -- and most importantly, from himself. Extras: “Looking back on Fatso” featurette with Mel Brooks and producer Stuart Cornfeld; interview with Maya Montañez Smukler, author of "Liberating Hollywood - Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema." (Shout! Factory Select).
Hedwig and the Angry Inch(2001) With this trailblazing musical, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell and composer-lyricist Stephen Trask brought their signature creation from stage to screen for a movie as unclassifiable as its protagonist. Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig (Mitchell) undergoes a traumatic personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an "internationally ignored" but divinely talented rock diva, characterized by Mitchell as a "beautiful gender of one." The film tells Hedwig's life story through her music, an eclectic collection of original punk anthems and power ballads by Trask, matching them with a freewheeling cinematic mosaic of music-video fantasies, animated interludes, and moments of bracing emotional realism. A hard-charging song cycle and a tender character study, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is a tribute to the transcendent power of rock and roll. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Cameron Mitchell and cinematographer Frank DeMarco, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary from 2001 featuring Mitchell and DeMarco; new conversation between members of the cast and crew, including Mitchell, DeMarco, composer and lyricist Stephen Trask, hairstylist and makeup artist Michael Potter, animator Emily Hubley, actor Miriam Shor, and visual consultant Miguel Villalobos; "Whether You Like It or Not: The Story of Hedwig" (2003), an 85-minute documentary tracing the development of the project from its beginnings in a New York club to its theatrical premiere at the Sundance Film Festival; new conversation between Trask and rock critic David Fricke about the film's soundtrack; "From the Archives," a new program exploring "Hedwig's" production and legacy through its memorabilia; deleted scenes; trailer; an essay by Stephanie Zacharek, along with, for the Blu-ray edition, production photos by Potter and costume designer Arianne Phillips, illustrations by Hubley, and excerpts from two of the films inspirations, "Plato's Symposium" and "The Gospel of Thomas." (The Criterion Collection).
Heroes Shed No Tears(1986 -- Hong Kong) Never before released on Blu-ray in North America. In this explosive precursor to his breakout film "A Better Tomorrow," director John Woo demonstrates the genesis of his trademark style of hyperkinetic action and violence. The action movie that he identifies as his "first real film" broke a string of low-budget slapstick farces, and built the foundation for his over-the-top genre films that would follow. Hong Kong action veteran Eddie Ko stars as soldier-of-fortune Chan Chung, the leader of an elite Chinese commando force enlisted by the Thai government to capture General Samton, a powerful drug lord from the Golden Triangle. After a successful raid on the general's headquarters, the mercenaries cross into Vietnam and encounter a barbaric colonel (Lam Ching Ying), who is determined to stop them at any cost. Now pursued by both Samton's henchmen and the colonel's troops, the heroes flee for the border of Thailand, outmanned and outgunned by their enemies. 2K digital restoration. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Digital. Extras: Interview with star Eddy Ko, new essay by author, film programmer, and Asian film expert Grady Hendrix. (Film Movement Classics).
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).
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. With new 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Agnieszka Holland, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. 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).
This Island Earth(2018) 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.
Klute(1971) With her Oscar-winning turn in "Klute," Jane Fonda arrived full-fledged as a new kind of movie star. Bringing nervy audacity and counterculture style to the role of Bree Daniels -- a call girl and aspiring actor who becomes the focal point of a missing-person investigation when detective John Klute (Donald Sutherland) turns up at her door -- Fonda made the film her own, putting an independent woman and escort on-screen with a frankness that had not yet been attempted in Hollywood. Suffused with paranoia by the conspiracy-thriller specialist Alan J. Pakula, and lensed by master cinematographer Gordon Willis, Klute is a character study thick with dread, capturing the mood of early-1970s New York and the predicament of a woman trying to find her own way on the fringes of society. New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by camera operator Michael Chapman, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New conversation between actors Jane Fonda and Illeana Douglas; new documentary about Klute and director Alan J. Pakula by filmmaker Matthew Miele, featuring scholars, filmmakers, and Pakula's family and friends; "The Look of Klute," a new interview with writer Amy Fine Collins; archival interviews with Pakula and Fonda; "Klute in New York," a short documentary made during the shooting of the film;. (The Criterion Collection).
The Baker's Wife(1938) The warmth and wit of celebrated playwright turned cinema auteur Marcel Pagnol shine in this enchanting slice-of-life comedy. Returning to the Provençal countryside he knew intimately, Pagnol draws a vivid portrait of a close-knit village where the marital woes of a sweetly deluded baker (the inimitable Raimu, praised by no less than Orson Welles as "the greatest actor who ever lived") snowball into a scandal that engulfs the entire town. Marrying the director's abiding concern for the experiences of ordinary people with an understated but superbly judged visual style, "The Baker's Wife" is at once wonderfully droll and piercingly perceptive in its depiction of the complexities of human relationships. New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Selected-scene audio commentary featuring Marcel Pagnol scholar Brett Bowles; introduction by Pagnol from 1967; excerpt from a 1966 interview with Pagnol for the French television series "Cinéastes de notre temps"; short French news program from 1967 revisiting the village of Le Castellet, where the film was shot; an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau. (The Criterion Collection).
1984(1984) This masterly adaptation of George Orwell's chilling parable about totalitarian oppression gives harrowing cinematic expression to the book's bleak prophetic vision. In a rubble-strewn surveillance state where an endless overseas war props up the repressive regime of the all-seeing Big Brother, and all dissent is promptly squashed, a profoundly alienated citizen, Winston Smith (thrillingly played by John Hurt), risks everything for an illicit affair with the rebellious Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) in a defiant assertion of humanity in the face of soul-crushing conformity. Through vividly grim production design and expressionistically desaturated cinematography by Roger Deakins, Michael Radford's 1984 conjures a dystopian vision of postwar Britain as fascistic nightmare-a world all too recognizable as our own. With new 4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Roger Deakins, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New interviews with director Michael Radford and cinematographer Roger Deakins; new interview with David Ryan, author of "George Orwell on Screen"; behind-the-scenes footage; trailer; an essay by writer and performer A. L. Kennedy. (The Criterion Collection).
The Leopard Man BLU-RAY DEBUT(1943) Dennis O’Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks. From legendary horror film producer Val Lewton and from Jacques Tourneur, the director of the original "Cat People," "The Leopard Man" is one of the first American films to attempt a remotely realistic portrayal of a serial killer. Is it man, beast or both behind a string of savage maulings and murders? An escaped leopard provides the catalyst for a foray into fear in which a cemetery is the rendezvous for death and love, and a closed door heightens rather than hides the horror of a young girl’s fate. New 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative. Extras: New audio commentary with filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr, audio commentary with filmmaker William Friedkin, theatrical trailer, still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Quatermass 2 BLU-RAY DEBUT(1957) The second and most talked about of the three science fiction stories written by Nigel Kneale and based on his critically acclaimed 1955 BBC series. Professor Quatermass, played by Hollywood veteran Brian Donlevy reprising his role from "The Quatermass Xperiment," is Britain's most clever scientist. Investigating a series of bizarre incidents that have been reported from a deserted area, he finds a group of soldiers and government officials that appear to be controlled by aliens from another world. When a close friend is brutally murdered by these beings, Quatermass leads a mob of local workers to a showdown with the extraterrestrials. Directed by Val Guest and produced by Anthony Hinds, "Quatermass 2" was retitled "Enemy From Space" for its U.S. theatrical release. 2K scan of a pristine archival film print. Extras: New audio commentary with filmmaker/film historian Ted Newsom; new audio commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman and filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr; new interview with Academy Award-winning special effects artist Brian Johnson ("Alien"); new interview with assistant director Hugh Harlow; vintage interview with director Val Guest; audio commentary with director Val Guest and writer Nigel Kneale; "World of Hammer – Sci-Fi"; U.S. theatrical trailer – "Enemy From Space"; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Quatermass and the Pit BLU-RAY DEBUT(1967) Hobbs End, Knightsbridge, London. While working on a new subway tunnel for the London Underground, a group of construction workers uncover a strangely shaped skull. Nearby, another discovery: a large, mysterious and impenetrable metal object. Initially mistaken for an unexploded bomb, the object and its strange power turn out to be far more horrific than anybody could have possibly imagined. Is it of this Earth? Could it be the ancestral link to mankind's evolution? Or could it be an ancient link to the unleashing of the ultimate evil? There's only one man capable of unravelling the clues, and his name is Professor Bernard Quatermass, a man of science who thrives on the dark mysteries of the world. Written by legendary screenwriter Nigel Kneale, "Quatermass and the Pit" stars Andrew Keir, James Donald, Barbara Shelley and Julian Glover. The film is directed by Roy Ward Baker ("A Night to Remember)". For its U.S. theatrical release, it was re-titled "Five Million Years to Earth." Extras: New audio commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck; new audio commentary with filmmaker Constantine Nasr and author/film historian Steve Haberman; new interview with actor Hugh Futcher; new interview with Academy Award-winning special effects artist Brian Johnson ("Alien"); new interview with clapper loader Trevor Coop; new interview with focus puller Bob Jordan; interview with author Judith Kerr; interview with actor Julian Glover; interview with actor/writer Mark Gatiss; interview with filmmaker Joe Dante; interview with author/film historian Kim Newman; interview with author/Hammer Film historian Marcus Hearn; audio commentary with director Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale; "World of Hammer – Sci-Fi"; theatrical trailers; TV spots; alternate U.S. credits; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie BLU-RAY DEBUT(1997) The evil space alien Divatox plans to unleash the dark forces of Maligore, a powerful, fiery creature imprisoned inside a volcano on the magical island of Muiranthias. She can reach the island only by traveling through the dangerous Nemesis Triangle, and for that she needs the special powers of the magician Lerigot. But Lerigot flees to Earth, to see the only people who can stand against Divatox and her evil plan — the Power Rangers. Extras: "Ranger Tales: A Look Back at Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie," original featurette, trailer. (Shout! Factory).
An Angel at My Table(1990) "With An Angel at My Table," Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion brought to the screen the harrowing autobiography of Janet Frame, New Zealand's most distinguished author. Three actors in turn take on the lead role (including Kerry Fox in a marvelous performance as the adult Frame), as the film describes a journey from an impoverished childhood marked by tragedy to a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia resulting in electroshock therapy and a narrowly escaped lobotomy to, finally, international literary fame. Unobtrusively capturing the beauty and power of the New Zealand landscape while maintaining the film's focus on the figure at its center, Campion broke new ground for female filmmakers everywhere and earned a sweep of her country's film awards, along with the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Formats: Blu-ray Disc with high-definition digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Stuart Dryburgh and approved by director Jane Campion, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Audio commentary featuring Campion, Dryburgh, and actor Kerry Fox; short documentary from 2002 about the making of the film; six deleted scenes; audio interview with author Janet Frame from 1983; trailer; stills gallery; an essay by film critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from Frame's autobiography, on which Campion based her film. (The Criterion Collection).
The Inland Sea(1991) In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue about his explorations of the islands of Japan's Inland Sea, recording his search for traces of a traditional way of life as well as his own journey of self-discovery. Twenty years later, filmmaker Lucille Carra undertook a parallel trip inspired by Richie's by-then-classic book, capturing images of hushed beauty and meeting people who still carried on the fading customs that Richie had observed. Interspersed with surprising detours -- a visit to a Frank Sinatra-loving monk, a leper colony, an ersatz temple of plywood and plaster -- and woven together by Richie's narration as well as a score by celebrated composer Toru Takemitsu, "The Inland Sea" is an eye-opening voyage and a profound meditation on what it means to be a foreigner. With new, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Hiro Narita, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack. Extras: New interview with director Lucille Carra; new conversation between filmmaker Paul Schrader and cultural critic Ian Buruma on author Donald Richie; interview with Richie from 1991; an essay by scholar Arturo Silva (The Criterion Collection).
Vice Squad Collector’s Edition BLU-RAY DEBUT(1982) Season Hubley, Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser. Princess (Hubley) is a single mom by day, a Hollywood prostitute by night. A volatile cop, Tom Walsh uses her to trap a sadistic pimp named Ramrod, who murdered one of her friends. But when Ramrod escapes police custody, Princess is in grave danger. No matter which way she turns, Ramrod is coming for her. New 4K scan of the negative. Extras: New Audio Commentary with director Gary Sherman and producer Brian Frankish; new "Tracking the Beast" interview with actor Gary Swanson; new "Of Poltergeist and Neon Lights" interview with director Gary Sherman; new "Hollywood Magic" interview with producer Brian Frankish; new "The Roots of Reality" interview with actress Beverly Todd; new "Catching a Killer" interview with actor Pepe Serna; new "Princess Driver" interview with actor Michael Ensign; new "Hollywood Streetwalking" look at the locations; audio commentary with director Gary Sherman; theatrical trailer; radio spots; TV spots; still galleries: poster and lobby cards, publicity stills, press kit. (Shout! Factory).
The Harder They Come [Collector’s Edition](1972) Jimmy Cliff stars as Ivan Martin in 1972’s "The Harder They Come," the first feature film to come out of Jamaica. An aspiring singer who leaves his rural village for the big city of Kingston, Ivan is hoping to make a name for himself. Robbed of his money and possessions on his first day in town, he finds work with a self-righteous preacher and an unscrupulous music mogul who exploits young hopefuls. In desperation, the simple country boy turns outlaw, at war with both the police and his rivals in the ganja trade. Ivan’s dream of stardom soon becomes a reality as he rises to the top of both the pop charts -- and the most-wanted lists. Directed and produced by Jamaican Perry Henzell, and written by Henzell and Trevor D. Rhone, the film also stars Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw, and Toots and The Maytals. Features a new transfer from the original 16mm negative. Extras: The first-ever home entertainment release of Perry Henzell’s long lost follow up feature, "No Place Like Home," which had gone unfinished and was thought to have been lost; "Perry Henzell: A Filmmaker’s Odyssey," a new documentary about "The Harder They Come's" genesis and restoration; a full slate of new bonus features, shot in Jamaica, to be announced at a later date. (Shout! Factory).
Magnificent Obsession(1954) Reckless playboy Bob Merrick (Rock Hudson, in his breakthrough role) crashes his speedboat, requiring emergency attention from the town's only resuscitator -- at the very moment that a beloved local doctor has a heart attack and dies waiting for the lifesaving device. Thus begins one of Douglas Sirk's most flamboyant master classes in melodrama, a delirious Technicolor mix of the sudsy and the spiritual in which Bob and the doctor's widow, Helen (Jane Wyman), find themselves inextricably linked amid a series of increasingly wild twists, turns, trials, and tribulations. With high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Audio commentary from 2008 featuring film scholar Thomas Doherty; "Magnificent Obsession," John M. Stahl's 1935 adaptation of the same novel, newly restored; "From UFA to Hollywood: Douglas Sirk Remembers" (1991), a documentary by German filmmaker Eckhart Schmidt; interviews from 2008 with filmmakers Allison Anders and Kathryn Bigelow, in which they pay tribute to Sirk; theatrical trailer; an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien. (The Criterion Collection).
The Koker TrilogyAbbas Kiarostami first came to international attention for this wondrous, slyly self-referential series of films set in the rural northern-Iranian town of Koker. Poised delicately between fiction and documentary, comedy and tragedy, the lyrical fables in The Koker Trilogy exemplify both the gentle humanism and playful sleight of hand that define the director's sensibility. With each successive film, Kiarostami takes us deeper into the behind-the-scenes "reality" of the film that preceded it, heightening our understanding of the complex network of human relationships that sustain both a movie set and a village. The result is a gradual outward zoom that reveals the cosmic majesty and mystery of ordinary life. "Where Is the Friend's House?" (1987): The first film in Abbas Kiarostami's sublime, interlacing Koker Trilogy takes a simple premise -- a boy searches for the home of his classmate, whose school notebook he has accidentally taken-and transforms it into a miraculous, child's-eye adventure of the everyday. As our young hero zigzags determinedly across two towns, aided (and sometimes misdirected) by those he encounters, his quest becomes both a revealing portrait of rural Iranian society in all its richness and complexity and a touching parable about the meaning of personal responsibility. Sensitive and profound, Where Is the Friend's House? is shot through with all the beauty, tension, and wonder a single day can contain. "And Life Goes On" (1992): In the aftermath of a 1990 earthquake that left at least thirty thousand dead, Abbas Kiarostami returned to Koker, where his camera surveys not only devastation but also the teeming life in its wake. Blending fiction and reality into a playful, poignant road movie, "And Life Goes On" follows a film director who, along with his son, makes the trek to the region in hopes of finding out if the young star of "Where Is the Friend's House?" is among the survivors, and discovers a resilient community pressing on in the face of tragedy. Finding beauty in the bleakest of circumstances, Kiarostami crafts a quietly majestic ode to the best of the human spirit. "Through the Olive Trees" (1994): Abbas Kiarostami takes meta-narrative gamesmanship to masterful new heights in the final installment of The Koker Trilogy. Unfolding "behind the scenes" of "And Life Goes On," this film traces the complications that arise when the romantic misfortune of one of the actors -- a young man who pines for the woman cast as his wife, even though, in real life, she will have nothing to do with him -- creates turmoil on set and leaves the hapless director caught in the middle. An ineffably lovely, gentle human comedy steeped in the folkways of Iranian village life, "Through the Olive Trees" peels away layer after layer of artifice as it investigates the elusive, alchemical relationship between cinema and reality. With new 2K digital restorations of all three films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Extras: New audio commentary on "And Life Goes On" featuring Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa and Jonathan Rosenbaum, co-authors of Abbas Kiarostami; "Abbas Kiarostami: Truths and Dreams," a 1994 documentary; new interview with Abbas Kiarostami's son Ahmad Kiarostami; new conversation between Iranian-film scholar Jamsheed Akrami and film critic Godfrey Cheshire; conversation from 2015 between Kiarostami and film-festival programmer Peter Scarlet; an essay by critic Godfrey Cheshire. (The Criterion Collection).
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice(1952 -- Japan) One of the ineffably lovely domestic sagas made by Yasujiro Ozu at the height of his mastery, "The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice" is a subtly piercing portrait of a marriage coming quietly undone. Secrets and deceptions strain the already tenuous relationship of a childless, middle-aged couple, as the wife's city-bred sophistication bumps up against the husband's small-town simplicity, and a generational sea change -- in the form of their headstrong, modern niece -- sweeps over their household. The director's abiding concern with family dynamics receives one of its most spirited treatments, with a wry, tender humor and buoyant expansiveness that moves the action from the home into the baseball stadiums, pachinko parlors, and ramen shops of postwar Tokyo. With New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: "What Did the Lady Forget?", a 1937 feature by director Yasujiro Ozu; new interview with film scholar David Bordwell; "Ozu & Noda: Tateshina Diaries," a new documentary by Daniel Raim on Ozu's relationship with longtime screenwriter Kogo Noda; new English subtitle translation; an essay by scholar Junji Yoshida. (The Criterion Collection).
Fists in the Pocket(1965 -- Italy) Tormented by twisted desires, a young man takes drastic measures to rid his grotesquely dysfunctional family of its various afflictions, in this astonishing debut from Marco Bellocchio. Characterized by a coolly assured style, shocking perversity, and savage gallows humor, "Fists in the Pocket" was a gleaming ice pick in the eye of bourgeois family values and Catholic morality, a truly unique work that continues to rank as one of the great achievements of Italian cinema. Formats: Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Marco Bellocchio, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Interviews from 2005 with Bellocchio, actors Lou Castel and Paola Pitagora, editor Silvano Agosti, critic Tullio Kezich, and filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci; new interview with scholar Stefano Albertini; trailer; an essay by film critic Deborah Young. (The Criterion Collection).
The Cloud-Capped Star(1960 -- India) Directed by the visionary Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak, "The Cloud-Capped Star" tells the story of a family that has been uprooted by the Partition of India and come to depend on its eldest daughter, the self-sacrificing Neeta (Supriya Choudhury). She watches helplessly as her own hopes and desires are pushed aside time and again by those of her siblings and parents, until all her chances for happiness evaporate, leaving her crushed and ailing. Experimenting with off-balance compositions, discontinuous editing, and a densely layered soundtrack, Ghatak devised an intellectually ambitious and emotionally devastating new shape for the melodrama, lamenting the tragedies of Indian history and the inequities of traditional gender roles while blazing a formal trail for the generations of Indian filmmakers who have followed him. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, with new 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New conversation between filmmakers Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kumar Shahani; stills gallery of Ghatak family photographs curated by writer and photographer Nabarupa Bhattacharjee; an essay by film scholar Ira Bhaskar. (The Criterion Collection).
The Juniper Tree BLU-RAY DEBUT(1990 -- Iceland) Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir, Valdimar Örn Flygenring. An unsung talent in her lifetime, director, professor and Fulbright scholar Nietzchka Keene’s stark, stunning debut feature is loosely based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name and stars Björk in her first on-screen performance. The film premiered to glowing reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991 and led Keene to further direct "Heroine of Hell" (1996) starring Catherine Keener and "Barefoot to Jerusalem" (2008), the latter completed after her tragically early death in 2004. Set in medieval Iceland, "The Juniper Tree" follows Margit (Björk) and her older sister Katla (Bryndis Petra Bragadottir) as they flee for safety after their mother is burned to death for witchcraft. Finding shelter and protection with Johan (Valdimar Orn Fygenring), and his resentful young son, Jonas (Geirlaug Sunna Pormar), the sisters help form an impromptu family unit that’s soon strained by Katla’s burgeoning sorcery. Photographed entirely on location in the stunning landscapes of Iceland in spectacular black-and-white by Randy Sellars, the film is a deeply atmospheric film, evocative of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s "Day of Wrath" and Ingmar Bergman’s "The Virgin Spring," and filled with indelible waking dream sequences (courtesy of legendary experimental filmmaker Pat O’Neill). A potent allegory for misogyny and its attendant tragedies, "The Juniper Tree" is a major rediscovery for art house audiences. New 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by The George Lucas Family Foundation. Extras: Three newly remastered short films by Nietzchka Keene; new video interview with cinematographer Randy Sellars; archival video interview with Nietzchka Keene; never before seen outtakes; U.S. theatrical trailer; new essays by Amy Sloper and Angeline Gragasin, plus a short story by Lorrie Moore. (Arbelos Films).
Scars of Dracula(1970) Christopher Lee is back as Dracula, bringing unspeakable horrors upon a local village that defies his evil reign. But when a young man and his luscious girlfriend unwittingly visit the Count's castle, they find themselves trapped in a face-to-face frenzy of bloodthirsty vixens, religious blasphemy and sadistic henchmen. The prince of darkness has returned like never before, but will his horrific mark remain forever? The Hammer horror cult classic was injected with bloody bravado by Hammer veteran Roy Ward Baker ("Quatermass and the Pit," "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde") Presented in two aspect ratios - 1.66:1 and 1.85:1. Extras: New audio commentary with filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr and film historian Randall Larson, "Blood Rites: Inside Scars of Dracula," audio commentary with star Christopher Lee and director Roy Ward Baker, moderated by Hammer film historian Marcus Hearn, theatrical trailers, still gallery. (Shout! Factory/Scream Factory).
Cluny Brown(1946) The final film completed by Ernst Lubitsch, this zany, zippy comedy of manners, set in England on the cusp of World War II, is one of the worldly-wise director's most effervescent creations. Jennifer Jones shines in a rare comedic turn as Cluny Brown, an irrepressible heroine with a zeal for plumbing. Sent to work as a parlormaid at a stuffy country manor, she proceeds to turn the household upside down -- with plenty of help from Adam Belinski (Charles Boyer), an eccentric continental exile who has fled the Nazis but is still worried about where his next meal is coming from. Sending up British class hierarchy with Lubitsch's famously light touch, "Cluny Brown" is a topsy-turvy farce that says nuts to the squirrels and squirrels to the nuts. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New conversation between film critics Molly Haskell and Farran Smith Nehme on unconventional female characters in Ernst Lubitsch's films; new video essay by film scholar Kristin Thompson; "The Lubitsch Touch," an interview with film scholar Bernard Eisenschitz from 2004; Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1947, featuring Olivia de Havilland and Charles Boyer; an essay by novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt. (The Criterion Collection).
Polyester(1981) For his first studio picture, filth maestro John Waters took advantage of his biggest budget yet to allow his muse Divine to sink his teeth into a role unlike any he had played before: Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw, a heroine worthy of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. Blessed with a keen sense of smell and cursed with a philandering pornographer husband, a parasitic mother, and a pair of delinquent children, the long-suffering Francine turns to the bottle as her life falls apart -- until deliverance appears in the form of a hunk named Todd Tomorrow (vintage heartthrob Tab Hunter). Enhanced with Odorama technology that enables you to scratch and sniff along with Francine, "Polyester" is one of Waters' most hilarious inventions, replete with stomach-churning smells, sadistic nuns, AA meetings, and foot stomping galore. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, with new, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary featuring Waters from the 1993 Criterion laserdisc release of the film; new conversation between Waters and critic Michael Musto; new program featuring interviews with Waters collaborators Tab Hunter, Dennis Dermody, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Mink Stole, Mary Garlington, and Greer Yeaton; interviews from 1993 with cast and crew members Waters, Divine, Moran, Peranio, Edith Massey, and Van Smith, featuring footage from the making of the film; archival interviews; deleted scenes and alternate takes; trailer; scratch-and-sniff Odorama card; an essay by film scholar Elena Gorfinkel. (The Criterion Collection).
The Circus(1928/1969) In the last film he made during the silent era, Charlie Chaplin revels in the art of the circus, paying tribute to the acrobats and pantomimists who inspired his virtuoso pratfalls. After being mistaken for a pickpocket, Chaplin's Little Tramp flees into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show, falling for the troupe's bareback rider along the way. Despite its famously troubled production, this gag-packed comedy ranks among Chaplin's finest, thanks to some of the most audacious set pieces of the director-performer's career, including a close brush with a lion and a climactic tightrope walk with a barrelful of monkeys. Rereleased in 1969 with a new score by Chaplin, "The Circus" is an uproarious high-wire act that showcases silent cinema's most popular entertainer at the peak of his comic powers. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, with new 4K digital restoration of Charlie Chaplin's 1969 rerelease version of the film, featuring an original score by Chaplin, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary featuring Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance; interview with Chaplin from 1969; new interview with Chaplin's son Eugene Chaplin; "In the Service of the Story," a new program on the film's visual effects and production design by effects specialist Craig Barron; "Chaplin Today: The Circus," a 2003 documentary on the film, featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica; excerpted audio interview with Chaplin musical associate Eric James; unused café sequence with new score by composer Timothy Brock, and related outtakes with audio commentary by Chaplin historian Dan Kamin; newly discovered outtakes featuring the Tramp and the bareback rider; original recording of the film's opening song, "Swing, Little Girl," by Ken Barrie; footage of the 1928 Hollywood premiere; rerelease trailers; an essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson. (The Criterion Collection).
Fear No Evil(1981) Stefan Arngrim, Elizabeth Hoffman, Kathleen Rowe McAllen. God has appointed three archangels to fight against Lucifer, who has assumed human features. Archangel Raphael, in the guise of Father Damon, kills Lucifer and ends his life in jail. But his sister, Archangel Mikhail, knows that one day the Devil will reappear. Eighteen years later, Lucifer returns, now in the form of Andrew, a brilliant but shy schoolboy at Alexandria High who becomes conscious of his devilish nature on his birthday. Extras: New interview with actor Stefan Arngrim, new interview with special effects artist John Eggett, audio Commentary with writer-director Frank LaLoggia and cinematographer Frederic Goodich, theatrical trailer, TV spots, still gallery. (Shout! Factory/Scream Factory).
Local Hero(1983) Bill Forsyth put Scottish cinema on the map with this delightfully eccentric culture-clash comedy. Riffing on popular representations of Scottish life and folklore, "Local Hero" follows the Texas oil executive Mac (Peter Riegert), who is dispatched by his crackpot boss (Burt Lancaster) to a remote seaside village in Scotland with orders to buy out the town and develop the region for an oil refinery. But as business mixes with pleasure, Mac finds himself enchanted by both the picturesque community and its oddball denizens -- and Texas starts to feel awfully far away. Packed with a near nonstop stream of droll one-liners and deadpan gags, this enchanting cult hit finds Forsyth surveying the idiosyncrasies of small-town life with the satirical verve of a latter-day Preston Sturges, arriving at a sly commentary on conservation, corporate greed, and the legacies we leave behind. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, with new 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New conversation between Forsyth and film critic David Cairns; "Shooting From the Heart," a 1985 documentary about the work of cinematographer Chris Menges; episode of "The South Bank Show" from 1983 about the production of the film; "The Making of Local Hero," a documentary made during the film's production, featuring interviews with actors Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert; "I Thought Maybe I'd Get to Meet Alan Whicker," a 1983 interview with Forsyth on his early career in documentaries, his first narrative features, and the success of "Local Hero"; an essay by film scholar Jonny Murray. (The Criterion Collection).
3 Silent Classics By Josef Von Sternberg BLU-RAY DEBUTVienna-born, New York-raised Josef von Sternberg ("Shanghai Express") directed some of the most influential and stylish dramas ever to come out of Hollywood. Though best known for his later star-making collaborations with actor Marlene Dietrich, von Sternberg began his career during the final years of the silent era, dazzling audiences and critics with his films' dark visions and innovative cinematography. The titles in this collection, made on the cusp of the sound age, are three of von Sternberg's greatest works, gritty evocations of gangster life ("Underworld," 1927), the Russian Revolution ("The Last Command," 1928), and working-class desperation ("The Docks of New York," 1928) rendered as shadowy movie spectacle. High-definition digital restorations of all three films. Formats: Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Six scores: by Robert Israel for all three films, Alloy Orchestra for "Underworld" and "The Last Command," and Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton for "The Docks of New York"; two video essays from 2010, one by UCLA film professor Janet Bergstrom and the other by film scholar Tag Gallagher; Swedish television interview from 1968 with director Josef von Sternberg; a booklet featuring essays by critic Geoffrey O'Brien, scholar Anton Kaes, and author and critic Luc Sante; notes on the scores by the composers; Ben Hecht's original treatment for "Underworld"; and an excerpt from von Sternberg's 1965 autobiography, "Fun in a Chinese Laundry," on actor Emil Jannings. (The Criterion Collection).
Häxan(1922) Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary silent film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. Far from a dry dissertation on the topic, the film itself is a witches' brew of the scary, the gross, and the darkly humorous. Christensen's mix-and-match approach to genre anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in the history of cinema. Formats: Blu-ray Disc with new 2K digital restoration. Extras: Music from the original Danish premiere, arranged by film-music specialist Gillian Anderson and performed by the Czech Film Orchestra in 2001, presented in 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio; audio commentary from 2001 featuring film scholar Casper Tybjerg; "Witchcraft Through the Ages" (1968), the 76-minute version of "Häxan," narrated by author William S. Burroughs, with a soundtrack featuring violinist Jean-Luc Ponty; director Benjamin Christensen's introduction to the 1941 rerelease; short selection of outtakes; "Bibliothèque Diabolique": a photographic exploration of Christensen's historical sources; essays by critic Chris Fujiwara and scholar Chloé Germaine Buckley, as well as remarks on the score by Anderson. (The Criterion Collection).
When We Were Kings(1996) In 1974, Leon Gast ("Our Latin Thing") traveled to Africa to film Zaire 74, a music festival planned to accompany an unprecedented sports spectacle: the Rumble in the Jungle, in which late-career underdog Muhammad Ali would contend with the younger powerhouse George Foreman for the boxing heavyweight championship title -- "a fight between two blacks in a black nation, organized by blacks," as a Kinshasa billboard put it. When the main event was delayed, extending Ali's stay in Africa, Gast wound up amassing a treasure trove of footage, capturing the wildly charismatic athlete training for one of the toughest bouts of his career while basking in his role as black America's proud ambassador to postcolonial Africa. Two decades in the making, "When We Were Kings" features interviews with Norman Mailer and George Plimpton that illustrate the sensational impact of the fight, rounding out an Academy Award-winning portrait of Ali that captures his charm, grace, and defiance. With new, restored 4K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: "Soul Power," a 2009 documentary about the Zaire 74 music festival directed by Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte; new interviews with producers Taylor Hackford and David Sonenberg; interview from 1997 with director Leon Gast; trailer; an essay by critic Kelefa Sanneh. (The Criterion Collection).
Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series Limited Edition(1999-2001) Six-disc set with all 52 episodes, digitally remastered for this Blu-ray debut, individually numbered for a Limited Edition release of 50,000. The animated adventures of The Dark Knight were taken to even greater heights with this series, providing an edgier, faster-moving, more contemporary take on crime-fighting in Gotham. Extras: Fifteen featurettes, select commentaries, "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" feature-length film), an exclusive chrome Batman Beyond Funko POP, and four beautifully-designed lenticular art cards. (Warner).
Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975Criterion celebrates the arrival of spine number 1000, a Blu-ray collector's set fit for the granddaddy of all movie monsters. This landmark edition gathers for the first time all the Godzilla films from Japan's Showa era: 15 kaiju rampages, presented in high-definition digital transfers and accompanied by a slew of supplemental material, including a giant deluxe hardcover book with notes on each film and new illustrations from sixteen artists, new and archival interviews with cast and crew members, and much, much more. In 1954, an enormous beast clawed its way out of the sea, destroying everything in its path -- and changing movies forever. The arresting original "Godzilla" soon gave rise to an entire monster-movie genre (kaiju eiga), but the King of the Monsters continued to reign supreme: in 14 fiercely entertaining sequels over the next two decades, Godzilla defended its throne against a host of other formidable creatures, transforming from a terrifying symbol of nuclear annihilation into a benevolent (if still belligerent) Earth protector. Collected here for the first time are all 15 Godzilla films of Japan's Showa era, in a landmark set showcasing the technical wizardry, fantastical storytelling, and indomitable international appeal that established the most iconic giant monster the cinema has ever seen. Formats: Eight Blu-ray Discs, $224.95. More information, and a list of bonus features, can be found here. (The Criterion Collection).
Man of a Thousand Faces(1957) One screen legend pays homage to another in "Man of a Thousand Faces," an enthralling biopic that sees Oscar-winning tough guy James Cagney give a multifaceted portrayal of silent cinema legend Lon Chaney. In early horror classics such as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Phantom of the Opera," Lon Chaney captivated audiences with his vivid personifications of grotesque and afflicted characters. His extraordinary make-up skills, and miraculous ability to completely transform into grisly yet sympathetic and tragic monsters, garnered him international acclaim and the famous moniker of this film's title. Yet, despite his talent and success, Chaney led a life plagued by hardship and heartache. This insightful film-portrait traces the trajectory of the actor's career: from impoverished vaudeville clown to Hollywood stardom, while also capturing the drama that surrounded his private life. Presented here for the first time in High Definition from the original negative. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary by film scholar Tim Lucas; "The Man Behind a Thousand Faces," a newly filmed look at Lon Chaney and his legacy by the critic Kim Newman; image gallery; original trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully Illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned essay by Vic Pratt of the BFI. (Arrow Academy/MVD Entertainment).
Matewan(1987) Written and directed by John Sayles, this wrenching historical drama recounts the true story of a West Virginia coal town where the local miners' struggle to form a union rose to the pitch of all-out war in 1920. When the town of Matewan's miners go on strike, organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his screen debut) arrives to help them, uniting workers white and black, Appalachia-born and immigrant, while urging patience in the face of the coal company's violent provocations. With a crackerjack ensemble cast-including James Earl Jones, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and Will Oldham -- and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Haskell Wexler, "Matewan" taps into a rich vein of Americana with painstaking attention to local texture, issuing an impassioned cry for justice that still resounds today. With new 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Sayles, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary featuring Sayles and cinematographer Haskell Wexler; new documentary on the making of the film featuring Sayles, producer Maggie Renzi, production designer Nora Chavooshian, and actors Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, and David Strathairn; new interview with composer Mason Daring on the film's soundtrack; new program on the film's production design featuring Chavooshian; trailer; an essay by critic A. S. Hamrah. (The Criterion Collection).
Ringu(1998 -- Japan) In 1998, director Hideo Nakata unleashed a chilling tale of technological terror on unsuspecting audiences, which redefined the horror genre, launched the J-horror boom in the West and introduced a generation of moviegoers to a creepy, dark-haired girl called Sadako. The film's success spawned a slew of remakes, reimaginations and imitators, but none could quite boast the power of Nakata's original masterpiece, which melded traditional Japanese folklore with contemporary anxieties about the spread of technology. A group of teenage friends are found dead, their bodies grotesquely contorted, their faces twisted in terror. Reiko (Nanako Matsushima), a journalist and the aunt of one of the victims, sets out to investigate the shocking phenomenon, and in the process uncovers a creepy urban legend about a supposedly cursed videotape, the contents of which causes anyone who views it to die within a week -- unless they can persuade someone else to watch it, and, in so doing, pass on the curse. Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, approved by director of photography Junichiro Hayashi. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary by film historian David Kala; "The Ringu Legacy," a series of new interviews from critics and filmmakers on their memories of the "Ringu" series and its enduring legacy' "A Vicious Circle," a new video interview with author and critic Kat Ellinger on the career of Hideo Nakata; "Circumnavigating Ringu," a new video essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on the evolution of the Ringu series; "Sadako’s Video"; theatrical trailers; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
Two Evil Eyes(1990) Three-disc set; new 4K restoration from the original camera negative; 30th anniversary. The Masters of Modern Horror -- George Romero and Dario Argento -- bring you an unprecedented pair of shockers inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. In Romero's "The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar," a conniving wife (Adrienne Barbeau) and her lover use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband, only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Argento's "The Black Cat," a deranged crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend's new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own? Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall, John Amos and Tom Atkins co-star in this wild horror hit that also features grisly makeup effects by Tom Savini. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Disc 1: new audio commentary with Troy Howarth, author of "Murder By Design: The Unsane Cinema of Dario Argento"; theatrical trailer; poster & still gallery. Disc 2: "Two Masters' Eyes" interviews with directors Dario Argento & George Romero, special make-up effects supervisor Tom Savini, executive producer Claudio Argento, and Asia Argento; "Savini's EFX " behind-the-Scenes look at the film's special make-up effects; "At Home With Tom Savini" personal tour of Tom Savini's home; Adrienne Barbeau on George Romero; new "Before I Wake" interview with star Ramy Zada; new "Behind the Wall" interview with star Madeleine Potter; new "One Maestro and Two Masters" interview with composer Pino Donaggio; new "Rewriting Poe" interview with co-writer Franco Ferrini; new "The Cat Who Wouldn't Die" interview with assistant director Luigi Cozzi; new "Two Evil Brothers" interview with special make-up assistant Everett Burrell; new "Working With George" in interview with costume designer Barbara Anderson; Disc 3 (CD): "Two Evil Eyes" original motion picture soundtrack by Pino Donaggio. BONUS: Collectable booklet with new essay by Michael Gingold. (Blue Underground).
Snow Falling on Cedars Collector’s Edition(1999) Ethan Hawke, James Cromwell, Richard Jenkins, Youki Kudoh, James Rebhorn, Sam Shepard, Rick Yune , Max von Sydow. A murder trial has upset the quiet community of San Piedro, and now this tranquil village has become the center of controversy. For Ishmael Chambers, a local reporter, the trial strikes a deep emotional chord when he finds his ex-lover is linked to the case. As he investigates the killing, he uncovers some startling clues that lead him to a shocking discovery. New 4K transfer and restoration supervised by cinematographer Robert Richardson. Extras: New “Accident Rules” look back at the film including brand-new interviews with director/co-writer Scott Hicks, novelist David Guterson, director of photography Robert Richardson, and composer James Newton Howard; new “A Fresh Snow” look at the restoration of the film with Robert Richardson; audio commentary with Scott Hicks; "Spotlight On Location"; deleted scenes; theatrical trailer. (Shout! Select).
The Daytrippers(1996) With its droll humor and bittersweet emotional heft, the feature debut of writer-director Greg Mottola announced the arrival of an unassumingly sharp-witted new talent on the 1990s indie scene. When she discovers a love letter written to her husband (Stanley Tucci) by an unknown paramour, the distraught Eliza (Hope Davis) turns to her tight-knit Long Island family for advice. Soon the entire clan -- strong-willed mom (Anne Meara), taciturn dad (Pat McNamara), and jaded sister (Parker Posey) with pretentious boyfriend (Liev Schreiber) in tow -- has squeezed into a station wagon and headed into Manhattan to find out the truth, kicking off a one-crazy-day odyssey full of unexpected detours and life-changing revelations. Performed with deadpan virtuosity by a top-flight ensemble cast, "The Daytrippers" is a wry and piercing look at family bonds stretched to the breaking point. New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Greg Mottola, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack. Extras: New audio commentary featuring Mottola, editor Anne McCabe, and producer Steven Soderbergh; new interviews with Mottola and cast members Hope Davis, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, and Campbell Scott; "The Hatbox," a 1985 short film by Mottola, with audio commentary by the director; an essay by critic Emily Nussbaum. (The Criterion Collection).
The Far Country(1954) An archetypal example of its genre, "The Far Country" is one of five superb Westerns the screen legend James Stewart made with acclaimed Hollywood auteur Anthony Mann (the others being "Winchester '73" [1950], "Bend of the River" [1952], "The Naked Spur" [1953] and "The Man from Laramie" [1955]. Mann's film tells of Jeff Webster (Stewart) and his sidekick Ben Tatum (Walter Brennen, two stoic adventurers driving cattle to market from Wyoming to Canada who come to logger heads with a corrupt judge (John McIntire) and his henchmen. Ruth Romai plays a sultry saloon keeper who falls for Stewart, teaming up with him to take on the errant lawman. An epic saga set during the heady times of the Klondike Gold Rush, "The Far Country" captures the scenic grandeur of northern Canada's icy glaciers and snow-swept mountains in vivid Technicolor. Mann's direction expertly steers the film to an unorthodox, yet thrilling 'all guns-blazing' finale. Two-disc limited edition with two presentations in both original aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 2.00:1. Brand new 4K restoration from the original film elements by Arrow Films. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Limited edition booklet with new writing on the film by Philip Kemp and original review; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys; new audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin; "American Frontiers: Anthony Mann at Universal," an all-new, feature-length documentary with Mann biographer Alan K. Rode, western author C. Courtney Joyner, script supervisor Michael Preece, and critics Michael Schlesinger and Rob Word; "Mann of the West," a newly filmed appraisal of the Westerns of Anthony Mann by the critic Kim Newman; image gallery, original trailer. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
Road Games(1981) Stacy Keach is Pat Quid, a lone trucker who plays games to keep his sanity on long hauls through the desolate Australian Outback. Jamie Lee Curtis is a free-spirited hitchhiker looking for excitement with a game of her own. And somewhere up ahead is a maniac in a van whose game may be butchering young women along the highway. But when the killer decides to raise the stakes, Quid's game becomes personal ... and the rules of this road are about to take some very deadly turns. Extras: New "Australian Long Haul" interview with actor Stacy Keach; new audio commentary with cinematographer Vincent Monton, production coordinator Helen Watts and costume designer Aphrodite Kondos, moderated by filmmaker Mark Hartley; new 1980 script read with producer/director Richard Franklin and actors Stacy Keach and Marion Edwards; new composer Brian May music demos accompanied by stills and poster gallery; audio Commentary with producer/director Richard Franklin; more. (Scream Factory).
Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection BLU-RAY DEBUTAll 28 of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s iconic films from the height of their popularity at Universal Pictures, spanning 1940-1965: "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars," "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion," "Abbott and Costello Lost in Alaska," "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," "Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops," "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff," "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy," "Buck Privates," "Buck Privates Come Home," "Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man," "Comin’ Round the Mountain," "Here Come the Co-Eds," "Hit the Ice," "Hold that Ghost," "In Society," "In the Navy," "It Ain’t Hay," "Keep ‘Em Flying," "Little Giant," "Mexican Hayride," "One Night in the Tropics," "Pardon My Sarong," "Ride ‘Em Cowboy," "The Naughty Nineties," "The Time of Their Lives," "The Wistful Widow," "Who Done It?" Extras: Ten new audio commentaries, a collectible book, a bonus disc with more than eight hours of content. Read more here. (Shout! Factory).
Betty Blue(1986) When the easygoing would-be novelist Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) meets the tempestuous Betty (Béatrice Dalle in a magnetic breakout performance) in a sunbaked French beach town, it's the beginning of a whirlwind love affair that sees the pair turn their backs on conventional society in favor of the hedonistic pursuit of freedom, adventure, and carnal pleasure. But as the increasingly erratic Betty's grip on reality begins to falter, Zorg finds himself willing to do things he never expected to protect both her fragile sanity and their tenuous existence. Adapted from the hit novel "37°2 le matin" by Philippe Djian, Jean-Jacques Beineix's art-house smash -- presented here in its extended director's cut -- is a sexy, crazy, careening joyride of a romance that burns with the passion and beyond-all-reason fervor of all-consuming love. High-definition digital restoration, approved by director Jean-Jacques Beineix, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: "Blue Notes and Bungalows," a 60-minute documentary from 2013 featuring Beineix, actors Jean-Hugues Anglade and Béatrice Dalle, associate producer Claudie Ossard, cinematographer Jean-François Robin, and composer Gabriel Yared; "Making of Betty Blue," a short video featuring Beineix and author Philippe Djian; "Le chien de Monsieur Michel," a short film by Beineix from 1977; French television interview from 1986 with Beineix and Dalle; Dalle screen test; trailers; an essay by critic Chelsea Phillips-Carr. (The Criterion Collection).
The Fan(1981) Lauren Bacall, Michael Biehn, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton, Hector Elizondo. Sally Ross (Bacall) is a renowned Broadway star, glamorous celebrity, and the object of adoration for countless admirers. But among all the loving little people lurks a young man (Biehn) whose devotion teeters on the edge of madness. His impassioned letters to her are initially a source of pleasure, but as he attempts to realize his ultimate fantasy -- and is met with rejection -- the stakes are raised to terrifying heights ... which might bring on the final curtain for Sally. Extras: New "Number One Fan" interview with actor Michael Biehn; new "Fan Service" interview with director Edward Bianchi; new "Fanning the Flames" interview with editor Alan Heim; new audio commentary with cult film director David DeCoteau and film historian David Del Valle, moderated by Scream Factory marketing director Jeff Nelson; theatrical trailer; TV spots; still gallery. (Scream factory).
Now, Voyager(1942) Nervous spinster Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is stunted from growing up under the heel of her puritanical Boston Brahmin mother (Gladys Cooper), and remains convinced of her own unworthiness until a kindly psychiatrist (Claude Rains) gives her the confidence to venture out into the world on a South American cruise. Onboard, she finds her footing with the help of an unhappily married man (Paul Henreid). Their thwarted love affair may help Charlotte break free of her mother's grip -- but will she find fulfillment as well as independence? Made at the height of Davis's reign as the queen of the women's picture and bolstered by an Oscar-winning Max Steiner score, "Now, Voyager" is a melodrama for the ages, both a rapturous Hollywood romance and a poignant saga of self-discovery. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Episode of "The Dick Cavett Show" from 1971 with actor Bette Davis; interview with Paul Henreid from 1980; selected-scene commentary on the film's score by professor Jeff Smith; new interview with film critic Farran Smith Nehme on the making of the film; new interview with costume historian Larry McQueen; two radio adaptations from 1943 and 1946; an essay by scholar Patricia White and a 1937 reflection on acting by Davis. (The Criterion Collection).
Prophecy(1979) 40th anniversary edition. Directed by John Frankenheimer. Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire star as a doctor and his wife who travel to Maine to research the impact of the lumber industry on the local environment. They begin to investigate a succession of mysterious and terrifying events: ecological freaks of nature and a series of bizarre and grisly human deaths. Something unimaginably horrible waits in the woods ... something unwittingly created by man, that will become an uncontrollable, merciless machine of destruction. Extras: New "All of Our Sins" interview with Talia Shire; new "Bearing Up" interview with actor Robert Foxworth; new "Bear and Grin It" interview with writer David Seltzer; new "Hard to Bear" interview with special make-up effects designer Tom Burman; new "Prophecy Prodigy" interview with special make-up effects artist Allan Apone; new "Beneath the Bear" interview with mime artist Tom McLoughlin; theatrical trailer; radio spots; still gallery. (Scream Factory).
The Story of Temple Drake(1933) Loosely adapted from William Faulkner's controversial novel "Sanctuary," this notorious pre-Code melodrama stars Miriam Hopkins as Temple Drake, the coquettish granddaughter of a respected small-town judge. When a boozehound date strands her at a bootleggers' hideout, Temple is subjected to an act of nightmarish sexual violence and plunged into a criminal underworld that threatens to swallow her up completely. Steeped in Southern-gothic shadows by influential cinematographer Karl Struss and shot through with moral ambiguity, "The Story of Temple Drake" is a harrowing vision of sin and salvation that boasts an astonishing lead performance from the fiery Hopkins, whose passage through the stations of terror, trauma, and redemption is a true tour-de-force of screen acting. High-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray Extras: New program featuring a conversation between cinematographer John Bailey and Matt Severson, director of the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, about the film's visual style, along with archival materials relating to its production; new program with critic Imogen Sara Smith about the complexity of the film and its central performance by Hopkins; new interview with critic Mick LaSalle about the film, censorship, and the Production Code; an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien. (The Criterion Collection).
Tunes of Glory(1960) In Ronald Neame's "Tunes of Glory," the incomparable Alec Guinness plays Jock Sinclair -- a whiskey-drinking, up-by-the-bootstraps commanding officer of a peacetime Scottish battalion. A lifetime military man, Sinclair expects respect and loyalty from his men. But when Basil Barrow (John Mills) -- an educated, by-the-book scion of a military family-enters the scene as Sinclair's replacement, the two men engage in a fierce struggle for control of both the battalion and the hearts and minds of its men. Based on the novel by James Kennaway and featuring flawless performances by Guinness and Mills, "Tunes of Glory" uses the rigid stratification of military life to comment on the institutional contradictions and class hierarchies of English society, making for an unexpectedly moving drama. New 4K digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Interview from 2003 with director Ronald Neame, audio interview from 2002 with actor John Mills, television interview from 1973 with actor Alec Guinness, trailer, an essay by film scholar Robert Murphy. (The Criterion Collection).
Old Joy(2006) Two old friends reunite for a quietly revelatory overnight camping trip in Kelly Reichardt's breakout feature, a microbudget study of character and masculinity that introduced many viewers to one of contemporary American cinema's most independent artists. As they drive from Portland into the woods in search of a secluded hot spring, expectant father Mark (Daniel London) and nomadic Kurt (Will Oldham) make fumbling attempts to reconnect, butting up against the limits of their friendship and coming to grips with just how much their paths have diverged since their shared youth. Adapted from a short story by Jonathan Raymond and accompanied by an atmospheric Yo La Tengo score, "Old Joy" is a contemplative, wryly observed triumph whose modest scale belies the richness of its insight. New 2K digital restoration, approved by director Kelly Reichardt and cinematographer Peter Sillen, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New interviews with Reichardt, Sillen, and author Jonathan Raymond; new conversation between actors Daniel London and Will Oldham; trailer; an essay by film critic Ed Halter and (Blu-ray only) the short story by Raymond on which the film is based. (The Criterion Collection).
Until The End of the World(1991) Conceived as the ultimate road movie, this decades-in-the-making science-fiction epic from Wim Wenders follows the restless Claire Tourneur (Solveig Dommartin) across continents as she pursues a mysterious stranger (William Hurt) in possession of a device that can make the blind see and bring dream images to waking life. With an eclectic soundtrack that gathers a host of the director's favorite musicians, along with gorgeous cinematography by Robby Müller, this breathless adventure in the shadow of Armageddon takes its heroes to the ends of the earth and into the oneiric depths of their own souls. Presented here in its 287-minute director's cut, "Until the End of the World" assumes its rightful place as Wenders' magnum opus, a cosmic ode to the pleasures and perils of the image and a prescient meditation on cinema's digital future. New 4K digital restoration, commissioned by the Wim Wenders Foundation and supervised by director Wimrround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New introduction by Wenders; new interview with Wenders about the film's soundtrack; new conversation between Wenders and musician David Byrne; behind-the-scenes program detailing the creation of the film's high-definition sequences; interview with Wenders from 2001; "Up Down Under Roma," a 1993 interview with Wenders on his experiences in Australia; "The Song," a short film by Uli M Schueppel detailing the recording of "(I'll Love You) Till the End of the World" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; deleted scenes; trailer; essays by critics Bilge Ebiri and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky on the film and its soundtrack. (The Criterion Collection).
Silver Bullet(1985) Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim. Collector’s Edition. Adaptation of Stephen King's novelette, "Cycle of the Werewolf." A peaceful town is suddenly terrorized by a maniacal killer. The townsfolk think a madman is on the loose, but a wheelchair-bound 13-year-old (Haim) knows the truth ... a werewolf is on the hunt. With the help of his Uncle Red (Busey), young Marty Coslaw sets out to stop the half-man/half-beast before he sinks his teeth into another innocent victim. Extras: Commentary, featurettes, trailers, TV spot, radio spot, still gallery. (Scream Factory).
Holiday(1938) Two years before stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant and director George Cukor would collaborate on "The Philadelphia Story," they brought their timeless talents to this delectable slice of 1930s romantic-comedy perfection, the second film adaptation of a hit 1928 play by Philip Barry. Grant is at his charismatic best as the acrobatically inclined free spirit who, following a whirlwind engagement, literally tumbles into the lives of his fiancée’s aristocratic family — setting up a clash of values with her staid father while firing the rebellious imagination of her brash, black-sheep sister (Hepburn). With a sparkling surface and an undercurrent of melancholy, Holiday is an enchanting ode to nonconformists and pie-in-the-sky dreamers everywhere, as well as a thoughtful reflection on what it truly means to live well. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "Holiday" (1930), a previous adaptation of Philip Barry’s play, directed by Edward H. Griffith; conversation between filmmaker and distributor Michael Schlesinger and film critic Michael Sragow; excerpts from an American Film Institute oral history with director George Cukor, recorded in 1970 and 71; costume gallery; an essay by critic Dana Stevens. (The Criterion Collection).
The Fugitive Kind(1960) Four Oscar-winning actors — Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward, and Maureen Stapleton — shine in this enthralling film, which also brings together the legendary talents of director Sidney Lumet and writer Tennessee Williams. A smoldering, snakeskin-jacketed Brando is Val Xavier, a drifter trying to go straight. He finds work and solace in a small-town southern variety store run by the married, sexually frustrated Lady Torrance (Magnani), who proves as much a temptation for Val as does local wild child Carol Cutrere (Woodward). Lumet captures the intense, fearless performances and Williams’s hot-blooded storytelling and social critique with his customary restraint, resulting in a drama of uncommon sophistication and craft. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with high-definition digital restoration, approved by director Sidney Lumet, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: "Three Plays by Tennessee Williams," an hour-long 1958 television presentation of one-act plays, directed by Lumet and starring Ben Gazzara and Lee Grant, among others; program from 2010 discussing Williams’s work in Hollywood and "The Fugitive Kind"; an essay by film critic David Thomson. (The Criterion Collection).
Le petit soldat(1963 -- France) Before his convention-shattering debut, "Breathless," had even premiered, Jean-Luc Godard leapt into the making of his second feature, a thriller that would tackle the most controversial subject in France: the use of torture in the Algerian War. Despite his lack of political convictions, photojournalist Bruno Forestier (Michel Subor) is roped into a paramilitary group waging a shadow war in Geneva against the Algerian independence movement. Anna Karina (in her first collaboration with Godard, whose camera is visibly besotted with her) is beguiling as the mysterious woman with whom Forestier becomes infatuated. Banned for two and a half years by French censors for its depiction of brutal tactics on the part of the French government and the Algerian fighters alike, "Le petit soldat" finds the young Godard already retooling cinema as a vehicle for existential inquiry, political argument, and ephemeral portraiture -- in other words, as a medium for delivering “truth twenty-four times per second.” Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with high-definition digital restoration, approved by cinematographer Raoul Coutard, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Interview with Godard from 1965, interview with actor Michel Subor from 1963, audio interview with Godard from 1961, an essay by critic Nicholas Elliott. (The Criterion Collection).
Fail Safe(1964) This unnerving procedural thriller painstakingly details an all-too-plausible nightmare scenario in which a mechanical failure jams the United States military’s chain of command and sends the country hurtling toward nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Working from a contemporary best seller, screenwriter Walter Bernstein and director Sidney Lumet wrench harrowing suspense from the doomsday fears of the Cold War era, making the most of a modest budget and limited sets to create an atmosphere of clammy claustrophobia and astronomically high stakes. Starring Henry Fonda as a coolheaded U.S. president and Walter Matthau as a trigger-happy political theorist, "Fail Safe" is a long-underappreciated alarm bell of a film, sounding an urgent warning about the deadly logic of mutually assured destruction. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary from 2000 featuring Lumet, new interview with film critic J. Hoberman on 1960s nuclear paranoia and Cold War films, “Fail Safe Revisited," a short documentary from 2000 including interviews with Lumet, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, and actor Dan O’Herlihy; an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri. (The Criterion Collection).
All About My Mother(1999) This Oscar-winning melodrama, one of Pedro Almodóvar’s most beloved films, provides a dizzying, moving exploration of the meaning of motherhood. In an instant, nurse Manuela (Cecilia Roth) loses the teenage son she raised on her own. Grief-stricken, she sets out to search for the boy’s long-lost father in Barcelona, where she reawakens into a new maternal role, at the head of a surrogate family that includes a pregnant, HIV-positive nun (Penélope Cruz); an illustrious star of the stage (Marisa Paredes); and a transgender sex worker (Antonia San Juan). Beautifully performed and bursting with cinematic references, "All About My Mother" is a vibrant tribute to female fortitude, a one-of-a-kind family portrait, and a work of boundless compassion. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 2K digital restoration, supervised by executive producer Agustín Almodóvar and approved by director Pedro Almodóvar, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Documentary from 2012 on the making of the film, featuring interviews with Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, actors Penélope Cruz, Marisa Paredes, Cecilia Roth, and Antonia San Juan, production manager Esther García; and author Didier Eribon; television program from 1999 featuring Almodóvar and his mother, Francisca Caballero, along with Cruz, San Juan, Paredes, and Roth; 48-minute post-screening Q&A in Madrid from 2019, featuring Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, and Paredes; an essay by film scholar Emma Wilson, along with (Blu-ray only) an interview with Pedro Almodóvar and a tribute he wrote to his mother, both from 1999. (The Criterion Collection).
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