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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
February 18:
Night and Day, Season 2: A dark, complex psychological suspense story. The series is set in Barcelona where Sara Gradom, a forensic pathologist, is determined to find out the details behind the death of a judge who died under bizarre circumstances. (PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video)
February 19:
American Masters: Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me: The first major film documentary to examine the performer’s vast career and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America. (DVD release: Day & date)
Ben Is Back: A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve. Stars Julia Roberts as the boy's mother. (DVD, Blu-ray release: March 5)
Green Book: A film inspired by a true friendship that transcended race, class, and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line. When Tony Lip (Vigo Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on The Green Book to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. (DVD, Blu-ray release: March 12)
Iceman: The Time Traveler: During the Ming Dynasty, a palace guard, Ying (Donnie Yen), is buried and frozen in time by an avalanche during a fierce battle. Brought back to life in the present day, Ying embarks on a quest for the only thing that can correct the wrongs of history – The Golden Wheel of Time. (DVD, Blu-ray release: Day & date)
Instant Family: A couple ((Mark Wahlberg Rose Byrne) find themselves in over their heads when they decide to start a family and foster three children. (DVD, Blu-ray release: March 5)
The Possession of Hannah Grace: Shay Mitchell stars as a cop just out of rehab, who takes the graveyard shift in a city hospital morgue where she faces a series of bizarre, violent events caused by an evil entity in one of the corpses. (DVD, Blu-ray release: February 26)
Rise of the Footsoldier Trilogy: The collection of all three features from the series follows the escalating criminal life of a football hooligan from small-time illegal activity to an expanding drug scene and the world of the criminal elite. (Digital only)
February 25:
Rest in Peace: A young journalist stumbles upon a prison cemetery full of mysteries and painfully discover that for the dead to rest in peace, the living must pay a high price. (PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video)
True Detective: The Complete Third Season: Playing out in three separate time periods, the third season tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades. (DVD, Blu-ray release: TBA)
American Masters: Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me
(2019) The first major film documentary to examine the performer’s vast career and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America. Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, vast in scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was a veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions and worked tirelessly to stay relevant, even as he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America. Davis was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to that of another persecuted minority. In Duke Ellington’s words, he was “beyond category.” Features interviews with Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Kim Novak. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. (PBS Distribution).
Backbeat BLU-RAY DEBUT
(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).
Backtrace
(2018) Ryan Guzman, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew Modine, Christopher McDonald. After suffering a brain injury from a bank heist gone wrong, Macdonald (Modine) develops amnesia and is put into a prison psychiatric ward. Following his seventh year of evaluation, he is coerced by an inmate (Guzman) and a ward doctor to break out of prison and injected with a serum that forces him to relive the life he’s forgotten. Macdonald must now elude a local detective (Stallone), a tough FBI agent (McDonald), and the drug’s dangerous side effects in order to recover the stolen money, all while confronting his past. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: “Making Backtrace,” cast/crew interviews. (Lionsgate).
Color Me Blood Red
(1965) Gordon Oas-Heim, Candi Conder, Elyn Warner. For the third and final instalment in his infamous "Blood Trilogy," splatter movie pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis turned to the world of fine art for this tortured tale of a troubled artist turned homicidal maniac. Painter Adam Sorge has found himself in a bit of a creative lull. But when his girlfriend accidentally cuts her finger, he realizes
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
Iceman: The Time Traveler
(2018 -- Hong Kong) Donnie Yen, Baoqiang Wang, Shengyi Huang, Kang Yu, Simon Yam, Yasuaki Kurata. During the Ming Dynasty, a palace guard, Ying (Yen), is buried and frozen in time by an avalanche during a fierce battle. Brought back to life in the present day, Ying embarks on a quest for the only thing that can correct the
The Last Race
(2018) An intimate portrait of a small-town stock car racetrack -- the Riverhead Raceway on Long island, NY -- and the tribe of passionate blue-collar drivers that call it home, struggling to hold onto an American racing tradition as real estate development threatens its survival. Michael Dweck’s stirring imagery takes you inside the world of grassroots racing and eye to eye with the cars’ snarling grills and white roll bars that protrude like bones out of scarred metal. The racetrack is tied to a deep sense of identity in its community, but it's on the only piece of undeveloped land in the area -- worth millions -- and the only thing keeping the bulldozers at bay is track owners Barbara and Jim Cromarty’s love of the track and its community. Formats: DVD, Digital. (Magnolia Home Entertainment).
The Midnight Man
(1974) Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Quarry, Ed Lauter, Catherine Bach, Harris Yulin, Lawrence Dobkin, Mills Watson, Charles Tyner. Screen legend Burt Lancaster stars as Jim Slade, a former Chicago policeman who has just been released from prison for shooting his wife's lover. He's offered and takes a job as a campus night watchman at Jordon College. When a coed, the daughter of a prominent senator, is murdered and the local sheriff (Harris Yulin) tries to pin the crime on a creepy night janitor (Charles Tyner), Slade decides to start his own unauthorized investigation that takes the lid off the hornets' nest. Lancaster and Roland Kibbee co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed this top-notch murder mystery. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. (Kino Lorber).
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).
Robin Hood
(2018) Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Jamie Dornan. A war-
Sgt. Will Gardner
(2019) Max Martini, Omari Hardwick, Lily Rabe, Dermot Mulroney, Robert Patrick. A forgotten Iraq war veteran with severe PTSD is trying to pick up the pieces of his life. After a series of set backs he decides to steal a motorcycle and embarks on a cross-country road trip to reunite with his wife and son. Along the way he tries to pick up the pieces of the life he lost since returning from combat, experiencing frequent flashbacks to the Iraq War and having conversations with his best friend and war buddy. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. (Cinedigm).
A Star Is Born
(2018) Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron,
A Star Is Born
Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers -- and falls in love with -- struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer -- until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. Third remake of the classic film. Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut, and also stars alongside multiple award-winning, Oscar-nominated music superstar Gaga in her first leading role in a major motion picture.
Vitals: Director: Bradley Cooper. Stars: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron, Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle, Alec Baldwin, Marlon Williams, Brandi Carlile, Ron Rifkin..
2018, CC, MPAA rating: R, 136 min., Drama, Music, Box office gross: $197.300 million, Warner.
Extras: Ten minutes of never-before-seen musical performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, including “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” “Midnight Special” and “Is That Alright”; “The Road to Stardom: Making A Star Is Born”; music videos for “Shallow,” “Always Remember Us This Way,” “Look What I Found” and “I’ll Never Love Again.” 
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) made her living in the 1970's and 80's profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception -- forging letters from famous celebrities and selling them on the collectibles market -- abetted by her loyal friend Jack (Richard E. Grant). An adaptation of the memoir "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" relays the true story of the best-selling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats).
Vitals: Director: Marielle Heller. Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella.
2018, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Drama, Box office gross: $8.046 million, Fox.
Extras: Deleted scenes with commentary by director Marielle Heller; four promotional featurettes; audio commentary by Marielle Heller and Melissa McCarthy; Lee Israel letter gallery; unit photography gallery. 
Overlord
On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers drop behind enemy lines to penetrate the walls of a fortified church and destroy a radio transmitter. As the soldiers approach their target, they soon begin to realize that there's more going on in the Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation. Making their way to an underground lab, the outnumbered men stumble upon a sinister experiment that forces them into a vicious battle against an army of the undead.
Vitals: Director: Julius Avery. Stars: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou Asbæk, John Magaro, Bokeem Woodbine.
2018, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Horror, Box office gross: $21.704 million, Paramount."
Extras: "The Horrors of War" six-part featurette: "Creation," "Death Above," "Death on the Ground," "Death Below," "Death No More," "Brothers in Arms."
Robin Hood
The Robin Hood saga brought to life for today’s audiences using stunning special effects, thrilling battle sequences, and mind-blowing fight choreography. Returning home from the Crusades, Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) finds his country oppressed by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn). With the help of Moorish warrior Little John (Jamie Foxx), Robin transforms into the heroic outlaw Robin Hood, taking up arms to fight the sheriff and win the heart of his love, Maid Marian (Eve Hewson).
Vitals: Director: Otto Bathurst. Stars: Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Jamie Dornan.
2018, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 116 min., Action Adventure, Box office gross: $30.824 million, Lionsgate.
Extras: “Outlaws and Auteurs: Reshaping Robin Hood” (seven-part documentary), outtakes, deleted scenes.
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
(2018) Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella. Melissa McCarthy is masterful in the captivating account, based on a true story, of Lee Israel, a best-selling celebrity biographer in the 1970s and ’80s. When Lee (McCarthy) comes to the realization that she’s no longer en vogue, she spins her art form into a perilous web of lies, deceit and outright crime -- by forging letters -- to get back on top. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes with commentary by director Marielle Heller; four promotional featurettes; audio commentary by Marielle Heller and Melissa McCarthy; Lee Israel letter gallery; unit photography gallery. (Fox).
what his work has been missing all this time -- human blood. With pressure mounting from local gallery owner Farnsworth to deliver his next masterpiece, Adam sets about procuring as much glorious haemoglobin as he can muster -- first from himself, and then from anyone unfortunate enough to pass by his sickening studio of slaughter. The final filmic collaboration between H.G. Lewis and producer/master exploiteer David F. Friedman, who collectively delivered the equally demented ""Blood Feast"" and "Two Thousand Maniacs!" Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Bonus feature: 1967’s "Something Weird"; introductions to the films by H.G. Lewis; audio commentary on "Color Me Blood Red" with H.G. Lewis and David Friedman; audio commentary on "Something Weird" with Lewis and Friedman; "The Art of Madness" video essay on the recurring motif of mad artists as killers in horror films; "Weirdsville": film scholar Jeffrey Sconce on "Something Weird"; "H.G. Lewis on Jimmy, The Boy Wonder"; "A Hot Night at the Go Go Lounge!" 1966 dance short; "Color Me Blood Red" outtakes; "Color Me Blood Red" trailer; "Something Weird" trailer; "Jimmy, The Boy Wonder" trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
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).
Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask
(1995) This innovative film biography explores the preeminent theorist of the 20th century anti-colonial movement, and a man whom Jean-Paul Sartre recognized as the figure "through whose voice the Third World finds and speaks for itself." Starring British actor Colin Salmon, the film undertakes an intellectual and poetic exploration of Fanon's life, influence and legacy, weaving together interviews with family members and friends, documentary footage, readings from Fanon's work and dramatizations of crucial moments in the theorist's life. And, cultural critics Stuart Hall and Françoise Verges position Fanon's work in his own time and draw out its implications for our own, restoring the theorist to his rightful place at the center of contemporary discussions around post-colonial identity. From his early years in Martinique (then a colony of France) to his professional life as a psychiatric doctor and revolutionary in Algeria during the bloody war of independence with France, the brief, though remarkable life of Fanon, the influential author of "Black Skin, White Masks" and "The Wretched of the Earth," comes to rich life in this film being released to Blu-ray for the very first time in North American featuring a new 2K digital restoration. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: Booklet with essays by filmmakers Isaac Julien and Mark Nash. (Film Movement).
wrongs of history – The Golden Wheel of Time. Ying sets out on his dangerous journey, never knowing every step he takes is leading him closer to a deadly trap.Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital. (Well Go USA).
My Name Is Julia Ross
(1945) Nina Foch, May Whitty, George Macready. After a promising start on Poverty Row quickies, Joseph H. Lewis ("Gun Crazy") made his first film at Columbia and established himself as a director to watch with this Gothic-tinged Hitchcockian breakout hit, which later proved so popular that Columbia promoted it to A-feature status. The morning after Julia Ross (Nina Foch) takes a job in London as secretary to wealthy widow Mrs. Williamson Hughes (May Whitty), she wakes up in a windswept Cornish mansion, having been drugged. Mrs. Hughes and her volatile son, Ralph (George Macready), attempt to gaslight Julia into believing she is Ralph's wife, Marion. Her belongings have been destroyed, the windows barred and the locals believe that she is mad. Will Julia be able to escape before she falls prey to the Hughes' sinister charade? And what happened to the real Marion Hughes? A briskly paced and brilliantly stylized mystery. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Commentary by noir expert Alan K. Rode; "Identity Crisis: Joseph H. Lewis at Columbia" featurette; trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Adrian Martin. (Arrow Academy/MVD Entertainment).
(2018) Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou Asbæk, John Magaro, Bokeem Woodbine. Twisted thrill ride about a team of American paratroopers who come face-to-face with Nazi super-soldiers unlike the world has ever seen. Formats: DVD,Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: "The Horrors of War" six-part featurette: "Creation," "Death Above," "Death on the Ground," "Death Below," "Death No More," "Brothers in Arms." (Paramount).
hardened Crusader and his Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in this retelling of the Robin Hood legend. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo,VOD, Digital. Extras: “Outlaws and Auteurs: Reshaping Robin Hood” (seven-part documentary), outtakes, deleted scenes.
(Lionsgate).
So Dark the Night
(1946) Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden. Like his contemporaries Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder, Joseph H. Lewis ("Gun Crazy") dabbled in many genres, but excelled in the film noir tradition. A Hitchcockian tale of mystery and intrigue, "So Dark the Night" was one of his finest pictures. Inspector Cassin, a renowned Paris detective, departs to the country for a much-needed break. There he falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter, Nanette, who is already betrothed to a local farmer. On the evening of their engagement party, Nanette and the farmer both disappear. Cassin takes up the case immediately to discover what happened to them and who is responsible. Lewis elevates the twisty, pulpy material with some of the finest noir touches the genre has to offer, beautifully shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Burnett Guffey ("Bonnie and Clyde"). Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary by critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme; "So Dark ... Joseph H. Lewis at Columbia" featurette; theatrical trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tonci Zonjic; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Cairns. (Arrow Academy/MVD Entertainment).
Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle, Alec Baldwin, Marlon Williams, Brandi Carlile, Ron Rifkin. Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut, and also stars alongside multiple award-winning, Oscar-nominated music superstar Gaga in her first leading role in a major motion picture. Cooper portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally. She has given up on her dream to become a successful singer until she meets Jack, who immediately sees her natural talent. But as Ally's star rises, Maine has his own demons to battle. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: Ten minutes of never-before-seen musical performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, including “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” “Midnight Special” and “Is That Alright”; “The Road to Stardom: Making A Star Is Born”; music videos for “Shallow,” “Always Remember Us This Way,” “Look What I Found” and “I’ll Never Love Again.” (Warner).
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February 18, 2019
(ISSN 1094-3676).
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