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Blu-ray Releases
OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
May 30:
Chapter & Verse: A Harlam Story: A reformed gang leader struggles to adapt to a changed Harlem
after his return from serving a 10-year prison sentence. (DVD release: June 13)
Before I Fall
(2017) Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Elena Kampouris. February 12 is just another day in Sam's charmed life, until it turns out to be her last. Stuck reliving her last day over one inexplicable week, Sam untangles the mystery around her death and discovers everything she's losing. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). (Universal).
The Blackcoat’s Daughter
(2017) Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, Kiernan Shipka. Beautiful and haunted Joan (Roberts) makes a bloody and determined pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all-girls prep school, where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. As Joan gets closer, Rose watches in horror while Kat suffers terrifying visions and becomes possessed by an unseen force.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Audio commentary with writer-director Osgood Perkins, “The Dead of Winter: Making The Blackcoat’s Daughter” featurette. (Lionsgate).
Blackenstein
(1972) John Hart, Ivory Stone, Joe De Sue. Two restored versions: Theatrical release (78 Minutes) and video release (87 Minutes). You may have heard of this infamous Blaxploitation/Horror hybrid, but the real story is even more bizarre: In 1973, criminal-lawyer-turned-wannabe-monster-movie-mogul Frank R. Saletri wrote and produced this grindhouse hit about a Black soldier mortally wounded in Vietnam transformed into a rampaging monster by an L.A. mad scientist. Almost a decade later, Saletri himself would be murdered gangland-style in a crime that remains debated -- and unsolved -- to this day. John Hart (TV's "The Lone Ranger"), '40s Hollywood starlet Andrea King ("The Beast With Five Fingers") and even former mob moll/stripper Liz Renay ("Desperate Living") star in this jaw-dropper directed by William A. Levey ("The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington").
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: "Monster Kid": Interview with writer-producer Frank R. Saletri's Sister, June Kirk; archive news broadcast o the murder of Saletri; producers-directors-actors Ken Osborne and Robert Dix remember Saletri; "Bill Created Blackenstein": interview with creature designer Bill Munns; theatrical trailer.
(Severin Films).
Code of a Killer
(2015) The three-part British miniseries -- from the director of "Broadchurch" and the producers of "Line of Duty" -- tells the extraordinary true story of how a brilliant scientist and a progressive police detective united to create the biggest advance in modern criminal investigation. David Threlfall stars as tenacious detective David Baker, who heads up the investigation into the brutal murders of two Leicestershire schoolgirls during the 1980s. Only a few miles away, Dr. Alec Jeffreys (John Simm) a scientist at Leicester University, invents a remarkable technique to read each individual's unique DNA fingerprint. Together they attempt what has never been done before – to solve a crime through DNA profiling. Formats: DVD. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast, crew, and the real-life Dr. Alec Jeffreys and Detective David Baker. (Acorn Media).
Decoy
(1957-1958) Three-disc set with all 39 episodes of the TV series that was not only the first in American television to explore the life of a New York City policewoman, it was also the first series to feature an actress as the star protagonist in a full-season,
Fist Fight
(2017) Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Christina Hendricks, Dennis Haysbert, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Kumail Nanjian. When one school teacher unwittingly causes another teacher's dismissal, he's challenged to an after-school fight on the last day of the school year. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Deleted scenes. Blu-ray adds Georgia Film Commission. (Warner).
Golden Years
(2016) After five decades of law-abiding, tax-paying citizenship, retired couple Martha (Virginia McKenna) and Arthur (Bernard Hill) are forced into an unexpected life of crime. The financial industry has stolen their hard-earned pensions, so they’re going to steal them back, at the same time helping friends who are down on their luck, and saving their social club from becoming a supermarket. Formats: DVD. Extras: Cast and crew interviews. (Acorn Media).
The Last Kingdom: Season Two
(2017) Two-disc set with eight episodes. In 872, many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Danes, leaving the great kingdom of Wessex standing alone and defiant. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Universal).
Major Crimes: The Complete Fifth Season
(2016-17) Five-disc set with all 21 episodes. In Season Five, the squad continues to work some of the most challenging murders in the City of Angels. From searching for a missing teenage girl who vanished while helping the homeless, to hunting down the killer of a potentially dirty cop and following up on a beheading in an isolated corner of Los Angeles, the major crime investigators work to arrest and deal out a succession of criminals and killers. Outside of their work, each member of the team must balance their work and personal lives. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes, gag reel. (Warner).
Queen Sugar: The Complete First Season
(2016) All 13 episodes. From award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay and executive producer Oprah Winfrey, the series tells the story of the Bordelon family, as three estranged siblings return home after a family tragedy forces them back together. Based on Natalie Baszile’s best-selling book, "Queen Sugar." The series follows the life of three siblings--brother Ralph-Angel (trying to rebuild his life after jail) and sisters, Nova Bordelon (social activist, root woman, and herbalist) and Charley Bordelon (L.A. basketball wife), who, with her teenage son Micah, moves to the heart of Louisiana to claim an inheritance from their recently departed father -- an 800-acre sugarcane farm.
Formats: DVD, Digital. Extras: "Extraordinary in the Ordinary: Making Queen Sugar" featurette, Oprah Winfrey and the cast Q&A, "Inside Queen Sugar: Origins," deleted scenes. (Warner).
Staying Vertical
(2016 -- France) Damien Bonnard, India Hair, Raphaël Thiéry. The follow-up to visionary filmmaker Alain Guiraudie’s "Stranger by the Lake," the adventurous film follows filmmaker Leo, whose amorous encounter with a free-spirited shepherdess results in a baby he’s forced to raise. Through a series of unexpected and unusual encounters, while simultaneously struggling to find inspiration for his next film, Leo will do whatever it takes to stay standing. Formats: DVD. (Strand Releasing).
Strawberry Shortcake: Dance Berry Dance
(2017) Kids can dance along with Strawberry Shortcake and her friends' adventures: Apple causes “The Berry Bitty Dance Disaster” when she invents groove booties to keep up with her pals’ moves. Strawberry and Plum use the booties to teach puppies ballet, but one will become a “Doggie Dance No-Show.” And Cherry Jam must find a solution when she can’t escape the popularity of her “Dance Puppy Dance” song. Formats: DVD, Digital. (Fox).
Suits: Season Six
(2016-17) Four-disc set with all 16 episodes. Formats: DVD. Extras: Gag reel, "Suits: Anatomy of an Episode," "Goodbye, Jessica Pearson." (Universal).
The Shack
Based on the worldwide best-selling novel and inspirational story of faith and love -- with over 22 million copies in print -- about a father’s experience learning the ultimate truth about love, loss, and forgiveness. After a family tragedy, Mack (Worthington) spirals into a crisis of faith and questions God’s existence and life’s purpose. He's unable to move on, until he gets a mysterious invitation to an abandoned shack. There, God reveals Himself in the form of three strangers led by Papa (Spencer). The film has been awarded the Dove Faith Friendly Seal of Approval.
Vitals: Director: Stuart Hazeldine. Stars: Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw.
2017, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 132 min., Drama, Box office gross: $43.073 million, Company.
Extras: Commentary with director Stuart Hazeldine; “Touched by God: A Writer’s Journey” featurette; "God’s Heart for Humanity” featurette; ”Heaven Knows: The Power of Song with Hillsong United” featurette; “Something Bigger than Ourselves: The Making of The Shack” featurette; “Premiere Night: A Blessed Evening” featurette; deleted scene.
Before I Fall
Samantha Kingston has it all: the perfect friends, the perfect guy, and a seemingly perfect future. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, Sam wakes up with no future at all. Trapped reliving the same day over and over she begins to question just how perfect her life really was. And as she begins to untangle the mystery of a life
suddenly derailed, she must also unwind the secrets of the people closest to her, and discover the power of a single day to make a difference, not just in her own life, but in the lives of those around her -- before she runs out of time for good.
Vitals: Director: Ry Russo-Young. Stars: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Elena Kampouris.
2017, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 98 min., Mystery Drama, Box office gross: $12.045
million, Universal.
Fist Fight
On the last day of the school year, mild-mannered high school English teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) is trying his best to keep it together amidst outrageous senior pranks, a dysfunctional administration and budget cuts that are putting his job on the line just as his wife is expecting their second baby. But things go from bad to worse when Campbell crosses the school’s toughest and most feared teacher, Ron Strickland (Ice Cube), causing Strickland to be fired. To Campbell’s shock -- not to mention utter terror -- Strickland responds by challenging him to a fist fight after school. News of the fight spreads like wildfire as Campbell takes ever more desperate measures to avoid getting the crap beaten out of him. But if he actually shows up and throws down, it may end up being the very thing this school, and Andy Campbell, needed.
Vitals: Director: Richie Keen. Stars: Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Tracy Morgan, Jillian Bell, Dean Norris, Christina Hendricks, Dennis Haysbert, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Kumail Nanjiani.
2017, CC, MPAA rating: R, 91 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $32.026 million, Warner.
Extras: Deleted scenes.
Blu-ray adds Georgia Film
Commission.
Beauty & the Beast: The Complete Series
(2012-16) Twenty-disc set with all 70 episodes. Starring Kristen Kreuk as NYPD detective Catherine "Cat" Chandler and Jay Ryan as the mysterious Vincent Keller, the series follows the pair as they work to uncover the curse behind Jay's unnatural abilities, all while risking their lives. When Cat, a smart, no-nonsense homicide detective with a troubled past, falls in love with Vincent, a handsome doctor who was reportedly killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2002, it becomes anything but a fairy tale romance. While investigating a new case, Cat and Tess (Nina Lisandrello) discover fingerprints, which prove that Vincent is still alive. For mysterious reasons, Vincent has been in hiding for the past 10 years. With the help of his childhood friend J.T. Forbes (Austin Basis), Vincent has been able to guard his dark secret -- when he is enraged he becomes a terrifying beast, unable to control his superstrength and heightened senses.
Formats: DVD. Extras: Deleted scenes, commentary, gag reels, "Seasos in Review" featurettes, "A Day in the Life Of the Writers' Room" featurettes, "From Script to Screen," more. (Paramount).
Collide
(2017) Nicholas Hoult, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley, Felicity Jones. After a heist goes terribly wrong, Casey Stein (Hoult) finds himself on the run from a ruthless gang headed by mob boss Hagen (Hopkins). Left with no choice, Casey calls his former employer and drug smuggler Geran (Ben Kingsley) to protect his long-time girlfriend Juliette before Hagen gets his hands on her, and sets out on an adrenaline-fueled car chase on the German highways. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital,
UltraViolet (cloud). (Universal).
dramatic series. The show follows Detective Casey Jones, played by the talented Beverly Garland ("My Three Sons," "Swamp Woman," "Airport 1975"), as she walks the streets of New York City, solving a new case each week. Case narratives were based on experiences told to Garland by the show’s technical director, Margaret Leonard, a former NYPD detective herself. The significance of her role was at a time when the “female detective” had virtually disappeared from film and created a strong new archetype that would set the standard for years to come. "Decoy" was filmed on location throughout the stunning backdrop of 1950s New York City, with sweeping shots of the Manhattan Bridge, Beat-era Greenwich Village, Penn Station and many other iconic NYC landmarks. In addition to its on-location shots, "Decoy" was unique for its time due to a documentary style of shooting; beautifully framed, noir shots; and an extremely brave approach to its gritty subject matter, with performances influenced by the method school.
Formats: DVD. (Film Chest).
such as "The Evil Dead," "Re-animator" and the early splatter classics of Peter Jackson, "Evil Ed"S is a veritable smorgasbord of flying limbs, exploding heads, busty babes and creepy creatures. Three-disc limited edition: DISCS 1 & 2 (Blu-ray + Dvd) The Special EDition Cut: World premiere of the newly-extended version of the feature [95 min]; "Keep 'Em Heads Rollin'" making-of documentary; "Reconstructing Edward" featurette on the creation of the Special EDition cut; deleted scenes; bloopers; teasers and trailers; still gallery. DISC 3 (Blu-ray) The Original Cut [Limited Edition Exclusive]: original cut [93 mins]; "Lost in Brainland" never-before-seen extended three-hour version of the making-of documentary. Includes reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys and a collector's booklet with new writing on the film. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
Ghost World
(2001) Terry Zwigoff's first fiction film, adapted from a cult-classic comic by Daniel Clowes, is an idiosyncratic portrait of adolescent alienation that's at once bleakly comic and wholly endearing. Set during the malaise-filled months following high-school graduation, "Ghost World" follows the proud misfit Enid (Thora Birch), who confronts an uncertain future amid the cultural wasteland of consumerist suburbia. As her cynicism becomes too much to bear even for her best friend, Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), Enid finds herself drawn to an unlikely kindred spirit: a sad-sack record collector many years her senior (Steve Buscemi). With its parade of oddball characters, quotable, Oscar-nominated script, and eclectic soundtrack of vintage obscurities, "Ghost World" is one of the 21st century's most fiercely beloved comedies. New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by writer-director Terry Zwigoff, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Audio commentary featuring Zwigoff, comic-book creator and screenwriter Daniel Clowes, and producer Lianne Halfon; new interviews with actors Thora Birch and Illeana Douglas; extended excerpt from "Gumnaam" (1965) featuring the Bollywood musical number that appears in "Ghost World'"s opening title sequence; deleted scenes; trailer; an essay by critic Howard Hampton. (The Criterion Collection).
Hart to Hart: The Complete Series
(1979-94) Twenty-nine disc set featuring the original pilot and all 110 episodes from the original series. Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers take you on a jet-setting mystery tour in the charming and elegant "Hart to Hart" mystery series. Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy and glamorous couple, always manage to find themselves caught up in intrigue and adventure. Along with their loyal and gravel-voiced servant Max (Lionel Stander), these stylish sleuths delighted audiences throughout "Hart to Hart’s" five-season run on network television. Created by Sidney Sheldon, both a bestselling novelist ("Master of the Game," "The Other Side of Midnight") and hit television producer ("I Dream of Jeannie," "The Patty Duke Show"), "Hart to Hart" is a smart and sexy detective drama featuring sparkling and witty dialogue, gorgeous costumes, and the sort of thrilling exploits that are never out of style. Formats: DVD. Extras: "The Hart of Season One" featurette, commentary on the 97 minute long pilot with Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers and writer-director Tom Mankiewicz. (Shout! Factory).
The Shack
(2017) Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw. Based on the worldwide best-selling novel and inspirational story of faith and love -- with over 22 million copies in print. A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called "The Shack." The film has been awarded the Dove Faith Friendly Seal of Approval. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Commentary with director Stuart Hazeldine; “Touched by God: A Writer’s Journey” featurette; "God’s Heart for Humanity” featurette; ”Heaven Knows: The Power of Song with Hillsong United” featurette; “Something Bigger than Ourselves: The Making of The Shack” featurette; “Premiere Night: A Blessed Evening” featurette; deleted scene. (Lionsgate).
Spotlight on a Murderer
(1961) When the terminally ill Count Hervé de Kerloquen (Pierre Brasseur) vanishes without trace, his heirs are told that they have to wait five years before he can be declared legally dead, forcing them to devise ways of paying for the upkeep of the vast family château in the meantime. While they set about transforming the place into an elaborate son et lumière tourist attraction, they are beset by a series of tragic accidents -- if that's really what they are ... . The little-known third feature by the great French maverick Georges Franju ("Eyes Without a Face," "Judex") is a delightfully playful romp through Agatha Christie territory, whose script (written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac of "Les Diaboliques" and "Vertigo" fame) is mischievously aware of the hoariest old murder-mystery clichés and gleefully exploits as many of them as possible. They're equally aware of the detective story's antecedents in the Gothic novel, a connection that Franju is only too happy to emphasize visually at every opportunity thanks to his magnificent main location. A young Jean-Louis Trintignant ("The Conformist," "Amour") is amongst the Kerloquen heirs. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo with High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the feature, restored by Gaumont, with uncompressed French Mono 1.0 PCM Audio. Extras: Vintage production featurette from 1960, shot on location and including interviews with Georges Franju and actors Pascale Audret, Pierre Brasseur, Marianne Koch, Dany Saval and Jean-Louis Trintignant; original theatrical trailer reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain. (Arrow Academy/MVD Entertainment).
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May 29, 2017
(ISSN 1094-3676).
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