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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
Andre Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3 Films
When Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn -- theater directors, writers, actors, and longtime friends -- sat down for a stimulating meal in 1981's "My Dinner With Andre," they not only ended up with one of cinema's unlikeliest iconic scenarios but launched a film collaboration that would continue to pay creative dividends for decades. The subsequent projects they made together for the screen -- 1994's "Vanya on 42nd Street," a passionate read-through of Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," and 2014's striking Henrik Ibsen interpretation "A Master Builder" -- are penetrating works that exist on the edge of theater and film, and that both emerged out of many years of rehearsals with loyal troupes of actors. Gregory and Shawn's unique contributions to the cinematic landscape are shape-shifting, challenging, and entertaining works about the process of creation. This three-film set -- available in DVD and Blu-ray editions -- contains "My Dinner With Andre," "Vanya on 42nd Street" and "A Master Builder." Features a high-definition digital restoration of "My Dinner with Andre", with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; restored high-definition digital transfer of "Vanya on 42nd Street," supervised by director of photography Declan Quinn, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray; and high-definition digital master of "A Master Builder," supervised by Quinn, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Interview from 2009 with Gregory and Shawn about "My Dinner With Andre," conducted by their friend the filmmaker Noah Baumbach; "My Dinner With Louis," a 1982 episode of the BBC program "Arena" in which Shawn interviews director Louis Malle; documentary from 2012 about "Vanya on 42nd Street," featuring interviews with Gregory, actors Lynn Cohen, George Gaynes, Julianne Moore, Larry Pine, Shawn, and Brooke Smith, and producer Fred Berner; new interviews about "A Master Builder" with Gregory, Shawn, director Jonathan Demme, and actors Julie Hagerty and Lisa Joyce; new program featuring Gregory, Shawn, and their friend the author Fran Lebowitz in conversation; tailers for "Vanya on 42nd Street" and "A Master Builder"; essays on the films by critics Amy Taubin, Steve Vineberg, and Michael Sragow; the prefaces written by Gregory and Shawn for the 1981 publication of "My Dinner with Andre's" screenplay; and a 1994 report by Taubin from the set of "Vanya on 42nd Street." Both the three-disc Blu-Ray and five-disc DVD editions sell for $99.95; "A Master Builder" will also be available separately as a single-disc Blu-ray for $39.95 and as a two-disc DVD set for $29.95 each; "My Dinner With Andre" will also be available separately as a single-disc Blu-ray for $39.95. (The Criterion Collection).
Beyond the Reach
(2015) Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Ronny Cox. A cocky businessman (Douglas) spends his spare time big-game hunting. But when he hires an earnest young guide (Irvine) to take him deep into the Mojave Desert in search of prey, things quickly go awry when he shoots and kills an innocent man by mistake. When the guide refuses to be drawn into the dishonest cover-up, a deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues across a barren and brutal desert pitting hunter against prey. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Commentary with actor-producer Michael Douglas, producer Robert Mitas and director Jean-Baptiste Leonetti; "The Making of Beyond the Reach" featurette; "Six Wheeling: Inside and Outside the Ultimate Ride" featurette. (Lionsgate).
The Cat Returns BLU-RAY DEBUT
(2002) Voices of Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle, Elliott Gould, Andy Richter, Rene Auberjonois, Tim Curry, Judy Greer, Andrew Bevis, Kristen Bell, Kristine Sutherland, Katia Coe. Extras: Original Japanese storyboards, original Japanese trailers, TV spots,
"The Making of The Cat Returns," "Behind the Microphone. (Studio Ghibli/Disney).
Chappie
(2015) Dir.: Neill Blomkamp; Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver, Sharlto Copley (voice), Yo-Landi Visser, Ninja. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "We Are Tetravaal" featurette in which Weaver, Jackman and Patel discuss their characters and on-set experiences. Blu-ray adds alternate ending; extended scene "A Very Bad Man"; eight featurettes: "Chappie: The Streetwise Professor," an inside look at Chappie and casting Copley to play the robot and his performance via motion capture, "Arms Race: The Weapons and Robots," offers deeper look at the real-world firepower tech and the design of the "Scout" robots and "Moose," "Bringing Chappie to Life: The Visual Effects," "From Tetra Vaal to Chappie," an in-depth exploration of the scriptwriting process, the early concept design work and other aspects of pre-production, "Keep It Gangster," a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating an authentic South African gangster world, "The Reality of Robotics," "Jozi: Real City and a Sci-Fi Setting," "Rogue Robot: Deconstructing the Stunts and Special Effects"; "The Art of Chappie" photo gallery. (Sony).
Happiness of the Katakuris
(2001) From Takashi Miike, the prolific director of such shocking hits as "Audition" and "Ichi the Killer" comes "The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead"! The Katakuris are a family trying to run a peaceful country inn but with a lack of guests there is much excitement for their first visitor, until he winds up dead. As each new guest in turn dies under strange circumstances, the family agree to hide the bodies ... but will the coverups come back to haunt them. In this horror-comedy-musical scenes of grotesque stop motion animation, surreal musical numbers and zombies combine to make one of the finest genre outings ever made. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo. Original uncompressed Stereo PCM audio. Extras: Audio commentary by director Takashi Miike; "The Making of the Katakuris": An original documentary from the film's production featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with the cast and crew; interviews with Katakuris cast members Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida, Tetsuro Tanba and Miike; "Animating the Katakuris": A look at the creation of the film's stop motion effects with animation director Hideki Kimura and Miike; trailer and TV spots; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil; booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Johnny Mains and a re-printed interview with Miike conducted by Sean Axmaker, illustrated with original stills. (Arrow Video/MVD).
Laverne & Shirley: The Complete Series
(1976-1983) Twenty-eight disc set with all eight seasons, $79.99. Starting as a spin-off from TV's "Happy Days," Laverne De Fazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), now joined by Lenny (Michael McKean), Squiggy (David L. Lander), Carmine (Eddie Mekka) and the rest of the Milwaukee gang, soon became a hit sitcom in its own right. The series revolved around the friendship between bright-eyed, naive and demure Shirley and brassy, tough-talking and street-smart Laverne. The duo date an array of questionable men, tolerate their looney neighbors and forever try to "make all their dreams come true." Formats: DVD. Extras: Gag reel, more. (CBS/Paramount).
The Newsroom: The Complete Third Season
(1970-75) Two-disc set with six episodes. Final season. The third and final season of "The Newsroom" finds Will, Mac (Emily Mortimer) and the staff of "News Night" facing two explosive situations: the possibility of a hostile takeover of the network, and leaked classified government documents that unleash a legal fire storm threatening to topple more than one professional career. Going beyond the headlines, the six-part season turns its attention inward, focusing on a series of internal events at ACN that rock the very foundation of the network, and tackles such topics as privacy issues, the influence of social media on traditional news gathering and corporate takeover. The men and women of "News Night" are faced with personal and professional dilemmas that will forever determine their futures. Set against the backdrop of the Boston Marathon bombing, "The Newsroom" kicks off the season with a highly charged look at the core issue of maintaining journalistic integrity in the era of 24-hour news cycles, while crowd-sourcing and "citizen journalism" result in the dissemination of misinformation. The all-star cast is headlined by Emmy Award winner Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer. Also starring are Academy Award nominee Sam Waterston; Tony Award Winner John Gallagher, Jr.; Alison Pill; Thomas Sadoski; Dev Patel and Olivia Munn. Returning guest stars include two-time Academy Award winner Jane Fonda, who won the 2013 Emmy Award for her role, Chris Messina, David Harbour and Marcia Gay Harden. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (HBO).
The Odd Couple: The Complete Series
(2014) Twenty-disc set with all five seasons, $59.98. Based on the play by Neil Simon, this Emmy-nominated series features the antics of two divorced men living together in a New York City apartment. Felix Unger (Tony Randall) is an uptight photographer, continually at odds with his unkempt sportswriter roommate, Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman). This classic comedy series provides plenty of laughs and plenty of trouble when two unlikely friends share one small space.
Formats: DVD. Extras: Commentaries on select epiosdes, gag reel, more. (CBS/Paramount).
Run All Night
(2015) Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bruce McGill, Genesis Rodriguez, Boyd Holbrook, Holt McCallany, Common, Ed Harris. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Deleted scenes. Blu-ray adds "Shoot All Night" behind-the-scenes featurette, "Action All Night" Liam Neeson featurette. (Warner).
Spider Baby
(1967) The credits dub this "the maddest story ever told," a promise that's well on the way to being fulfilled in the opening scene alone, when Virginia traps and kills a hapless deliveryman in her makeshift web. She's one of three siblings who suffer from a unique genetic disorder that causes them to regress back to childhood, while retaining the physical strength and sexual maturity of adults. Lon Chaney Jr. gave one of his most memorable late performances as Bruno, their guardian and protector, who has managed to cover up their crimes until two distant relatives lay claim to their house. When they insist on moving in, Bruno has to cross his fingers and hope that the "children" behave towards their new guests ... . This was the first solo feature by Jack Hill ("Coffy," "Foxy Brown"), whom Quentin Tarantino dubbed "the Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking," and it remains one of his wildest and weirdest. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo. High definition transfer of the feature supervised and approved by director Jack Hill with original 2.0 mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray). Extras: Audio commentary featuring Jack Hill and star Sid Haig; panel discussion from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences FILM-TO-FILM Festival, recorded September 2012, featuring Jack Hill and stars Quinn K. Redeker and Beverly Washburn; "The Hatching of Spider Baby" interviews with Jack Hill, Sid Haig, star Mary Mitchel, fan Joe Dante and more on the making of the film' "Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein": the composer of "The Terror" and "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman: among others is remembered by Harlene Stein, Jack Hill, American Cinematheque's Chris D. and others; "The Merrye House Revisited": Jack Hill revisits the original house that was used as the main location in the film; alternate opening title sequence; extended scene; original trailer; gallery of behind-the-scenes images; "The Host" (1960): Jack Hill's early short film featuring Sid Haig in his first starring role [30 mins]; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys; collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by artist and writer Stephen R. Bissette, and an extensive article re-printed from "FilmFax: The Magazine of Unusual Film and Television" featuring interviews with the cast and crew, illustrated with origi. (Arrow Video/MVD).
Spirited Away BLU-RAY DEBUT
(2001) Voices of Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, Lauren Holly, Michael Chiklis, John Ratzenberger, Tara Strong, Bob Bergen. Extras: Introduction by John Lasseter, "The Art of Spirited Away," "Behind the Microphone," original Japanese storyboards, Nippon television special, original Japanese trailers, TV spots. (Studio Ghibli/Disney).
Tentacles & Reptilicus
Blu-ray double feature. "Tentacles" (1977): It's angry. It's hungry. It's extremely well- armed and it's descending on a small seaside town to sample the local cuisine. John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins and Henry Fonda do all they can to keep a giant marine menace from turning their sleepy village into a one-stop snack-shop. "Reptilicus" (1961): Discover the true meaning of survival of the fittest as a terrifying 90-foot creature from the past brings the future to its knees. Directed by Sidney W. Pink (writer and producer of the cult films "The Angry Red Planet," "Pyro"). Formats: Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Trailers and photo galleries. (Scream Factory).
Time Lapse
(2014) Danielle Panabaker, Matt O'Leary, George Finn. Sci-fi thriller explores the possibilities of time travel via a camera that takes pictures 24 hours into the future. When three friends discover this mysterious machine, they conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop and tear their relationship apart.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette, two commentaries, deleted scenes. (XLrator Media).
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Twelfth and Final Season
(2014-15) Two-disc set with all 12 episodes, $29.98. Formats: DVD. Extras: Gag reel. (Warner).
Unfinished Business
(2015) Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, James Marsden, Nick Frost. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Show Me Your Business" behind-the-scenes featurette, photo gallery. Blu-ray adds Deleted and alternate scenes. (Fox).
Wild Tales
(2015 -- Argentina) Ricardo Darin, Oscar Martinez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Erica Rivas, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg, Darío Grandinetti. Six short stories involving distressed people. Inequality, injustice and the demands of the world we live in cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Wild Shooting: Creating the Film" behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Oscar-nominated film, "An Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival With Damian Szifron." (Sony).
The Wrecking Crew
(2015) From The Beach Boys to The Byrds, Nancy Sinatra to The Monkees, the ensemble known as "The Wrecking Crew" -- a loose group of from 20 to 30 hard core professional rock studio musicians -- was responsible for the influential West Coast sound that echoes through some of the most enduring pop and rock hits of all time. Six years in a row in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Grammy for "Record of the Year" went to Wrecking Crew recordings. It didn't matter if it was Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, The Byrds or The Beach Boys, these dedicated musicians brought flair and musicianship and a "West Coast Sound" to American music. "The Wrecking Crew" tells the story of the unsung musicians that provided the backbeat, the bottom and the swinging melody that drove many of the number one hits of the 1960s. Unfortunately, "The Wrecking Crew" deserve better, since this documentary is not nearly as smooth and strong as the music. Much like many recent music documentaries ("Jingle Bell Rocks!" and "Frank Zappa: Freak Jazz, Movie Madness & Another Mothers") it lacks a coherent narrative text to keep the story on track. It's great to see and hear "The Wrecking Crew" then and now, but director Denny Tedesco (the son of "Wrecking Crew" member Tommy Tedesco) has no voice for the proceedings: the film definitely needed a omnipotent narrator and better time line for the proceedings. I got lost. Still, the music is a killer. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes. (Magnolia Home Entertainment).
June 15, 2015 (ISSN 1094-3676). |
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