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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1979 -- TV) Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Ian Holm, Patricia Neal. Richard Thomas stars in a powerful and dramatic adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's acclaimed novel. At the rise of World War I, German patriot Paul Baumer (Thomas) and his friends enlist in the Imperial German Army. In search of adventure and eager to assert the superiority of their nation, the young men endure a brutal training camp and soon find themselves face to face with the full horrors of war when they are sent to the front lines to fight ... and likely die. As the conflict rages, Paul grows from an eager boy to a disillusioned man who bears the scars of war on both his body and his soul. Uncut. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Timeless Media).
Batman: The Second Season, Part 2
(1966-67) Four-disc set with the final 30 episodes from the second season of the 1966 original Batman series starring Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Cesar Romero and more; $39.98. Formats: DVD. (Warner).
Black Beauty
(2015) Luke Perry, Bruce Davison, Jennifer McKenzie. Based on the classic international best-selling novel. An overprotective father (Perry) agrees to let his teenage daughter (McKenzie) spend the summer in the country with her grandfather (Davison) rehabilitating an injured horse. Soon, they'll realize that Black Beauty has brought them closer, and taught them each enduring lessons in love and trust. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Behind-the-Scenes With Cast and Crew Interviews on the Making of Black Beauty" featurette. (Lionsgate).
The Black Stallion
(1979) This remarkable adaptation of Walter Farley's classic children's novel by Carroll Ballard -- in which an American boy is rescued after a shipwreck off the coast of North Africa by a seemingly untamable wild horse -- is a cinematic tour de force. From the crystalline shores of a deserted island in the Arabian Sea to the green grass and dusty roads of 1930s suburban New York, Ballard and director of photography Caleb Deschanel ("The Right Stuff") create a film of consistent visual invention and purity, also featuring a winning supporting performance by Mickey Rooney as a retired jockey and a gorgeous score by Carmine Coppola. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. New 4K digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Caleb Deschanel, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Five short films by Carroll Ballard, with introductions by the director: "Pigs!" (1965), "The Perils of Priscilla"(1969), "Rodeo" (1969), "Seems Like Only Yesterday" (1971) and "Crystallization" (1974); new conversation between Ballard and film critic Scott Foundas; new interview with Deschanel; new piece featuring photographer Mary Ellen Mark discussing her images from the film's set; trailer; essay by film critic Michael Sragow. (The Criterion Collection).
Borderline
(1980) Charles Bronson, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris, Bruno Kirby. Charles Bronson stars as Jeb Maynard, a tough-as-nails U.S. Border Patrol officer stationed between San Diego and Tijuana. When his best friend and partner (Brimley) is murdered by a notorious smuggler of illegal immigrants known as "The Marine," Maynard begins a relentless manhunt to bring stability to the border and justice for his fallen comrade. Formats: DVD. (Timeless Media Group).
Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police
(2012) Based on the acclaimed memoir "One Train Later" by rock guitarist Andy Summers, "Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police" follows Summers' journey from his early days in the psychedelic '60s music scene, when he played with The Animals, to chance encounters with drummer Stewart Copeland and bassist Sting, which led to the formation of a new wave trio, The Police. During the band’s phenomenal rise and its dissolution at the height of their popularity in the mid-80s, Summers captured history with his candid photographs. Using rare archival footage and insights from the guitarist’s side of the stage, "Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police" brings together past and present as the band members reunite, more than two decades later, for a global reunion tour in 2007. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: "Andy Summers on Egos & Brotherhood," "Andy Summers on Reuniting with The Police," audio commentary with Andy Summers and producer Norman Golightly, photo galleries. (Cinema Libre Studio).
Clouds of Sils Maria
(2014) Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloe Grace Moretz. When renowned actress Maria Enders (Binoche) is cast opposite a young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Moretz), tensions rise as she must come to terms with what it means to be an actress in a youth-obsessed industry. As she prepares with her assistant (Stewart) for the most challenging role of her life, Maria must confront her own personal demons. Formats: DVD, Digital. (Paramount).
Committed
(1984) Sheila McLaughlin, Victoria Boothby, Lee Breuer. Now digitally restored, "Committed" is the story of movie star and leftist iconoclast Frances Farmer. In 1935, Farmer was an overnight Hollywood sensation; within 10 years she was in a state mental hospital. This highly stylized film offers a multi-layered look at the life of this culturally defiant woman, going beyond the personal story to explore the political and social attitudes of the time. Formats: DVD. (First Run Features).
Ex Machina
(2015) Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Corey Johnson, Deborah Rosan. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company's brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), where he will be the human component in a Turing Test -- charged with evaluating the capabilities of Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated -- and more deceptive -- than the two men could have imagined. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Through the Looking Glass: Creating Ex Machina" five-part featurette, SXSW Q&A with cast and crew, eight behind-the-scenes vignettes. The Blu-ray features DTS:X immersive audio technology, which replicates and conveys the fluid movement of sound to create a richer soundscape than previously possible by moving sound to precisely where the mixer placed it. (Lionsgate).
Gangs of Wasseypur Blu-ray
(2012 -- India) Jaideep Ahlawat, Nawazuddin Siddiqu, Manoj Bajpayee, Piyush Mishra, Jameel Khan, Richa Chadda, Reemma Sen, Tigmanshu Dhulia. "Gangs of Wasseypur" is director-writer-producer Anurag Kashyap's ambitious and extraordinary blood-and-bullets fueled crime saga that charts 70 years in the lives -- and spectacular deaths -- of two mafia-like families fighting for control of the coal-mining town of Wasseypur, India. Inspired by the real-life exploits of local gangs and beginning with the bandit-like career of Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat) in the 1940s, the film follows the ruthless rise of his son Sardar (a brilliant Manoj Bajpayee) and his offspring, the surreally-named Danish, Perpendicular and Definitive Khans and their numerous wives and girlfriends. "Gangs of Wasseypur" mirrors the tumultuous and explosive growth of modern India with ferocious cinematic intensity. Don't expect Bollywood-style dance numbers: this is a movie that up-ends every expectation of what great Indian cinema should look (and sound) like. In Hindi with English Subtitles. Formats: Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Commentary with director Anurag Kashyap, actors Huma Qureshi and Richa Chaddha, composer Sneha Khanwalkar, lyricist Varun Grover, associate director Anubhuti Kashyap, and assistant director Neeraj Ghaywan; trailer. (Cinelicious Pics).
Goodbye to All That
(2014) Paul Schneider, Anna Camp, Heather Graham, Amy Sedaris, Melanie Lynskey, Ashley Hinshaw. When his wife unexpectedly informs him that she wants a divorce, well-meaning but oblivious husband Otto Wall finds himself thrust back into bachelorhood. Cue a sequence of romantic encounters -- from reconnecting with a former crush to online dating -- where he searches for the real thing amidst a string of one night stands. Formats: DVD. (IFC Films).
Here Is Your Life
(1966) This mesmerizing debut by the great Swedish director Jan Troell ("The Emigrants," "The New Land") is an epic bildungsroman and a multilayered representation of early 20th century Sweden. Based on a series of semi-autobiographical novels by Nobel Prize winner Eyvind Johnson, "Here Is Your Life" follows a working-class boy's development, from naive teenager to intellectually curious young adult, from logger to movie projectionist to politically engaged man of the people -- all set against the backdrop of a slowly industrializing rural landscape. With its mix of modernist visual ingenuity and elegantly structured storytelling, this enchanting film -- presented here in its original nearly three-hour cut -- is a reminder that Troell is one of European cinema's greatest and most sensitive illuminators of the human condition. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. New 2K digital restoration approved by the director, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New introduction by filmmaker Mike Leigh; new conversation between director Jan Troell and film historian Peter Cowie; new interviews with actor Eddie Axberg and producer and screenwriter Bengt Forslund; "Interlude in Marshland," a 1965 short film by Troell, starring Max von Sydow; essay by film scholar Mark Le Fanu. (The Criterion Collection).
Hiroshima mon amour
(1959) A cornerstone of the French New Wave, the first feature from Alain Resnais is one of the most influential films of all time. A French actress ("Amour's" Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect ("Woman in the Dunes'" Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, intense affair in postwar Hiroshima, their consuming mutual fascination impelling them to exorcise their own scarred memories of love and suffering. With an innovative flashback structure and an Academy Award–nominated screenplay by novelist Marguerite Duras ("India Song"), "Hiroshima mon amour" is a moody masterwork that delicately weaves past and present, personal pain and public anguish. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary by film historian Peter Cowie; interviews with Resnais from 1961 and 1980; interviews with actor Emmanuelle Riva from 1959 and 2003; new interview with film scholar Francois Thomas, author of "L'atelier d'Alain Resnais"; new interview with music scholar Tim Page about the film's score; "Revoir Hiroshima ...," a 2013 program about the film’s restoration; essay by critic Kent Jones and excerpts from a 1959 "Cahiers du cinema" roundtable discussion about the film. (The Criterion Collection).
Howling II BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1985) Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Reb Brown. After newscaster Karen White's shocking on-screen transformation and violent death (in the original "Howling"), her brother Ben (Brown) is approached by Stefan Crosscoe (Lee), a mysterious man who claims that Karen has, in fact, become a werewolf. But this is the least of their worries: To save humankind, Stefan and Ben must travel to Transylvania to battle and destroy Stirba (Danning), the immortal queen of all werewolves, before she is restored to her full powers. Extras: Audio commentary with director Philippe Mora, audio commentary with composer Steve Parsons and editor Charles Bornstein, "Leading Man" interview with Reb Brown, "Queen of the Werewolves" interview with Danning, "A Monkey Phase interviews with special make-up effects artists Steve Johnson and Scott Wheeler, behind-the-scenes footage (from Philippe Mora’s archive), alternate opening and alternate ending (from Philippe Mora’s archive), theatrical trailer, still gallery. (Scream Factory).
It Follows
(2015) Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi, Loren Bass, Bailey Spry, Daniel Zovatto. A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after getting involved in a sexual encounter. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Critics' commentary hosted by Nerdist's Scott Weinberg and featuring Eric D. Snider (MovieBS), Britt Hayes (Screencrush), Samuel D. Zimmerman (Shock Till You Drop), Alison Nastasi (Flavorwire) and Eric Vespe (Ain't It Cool News); "A Conversation With Film Composer Disasterpeace" featurette, poster art gallery. (Radius-TWC/Anchor Bay).
Little House on the Prairie: Season Six Deluxe Remastered Edition
(1979-80) Five-disc set with all 24 newly restored, remastered and uncut broadcast length episodes. When Almanzo Wilder and his sister Eliza Jane move to Walnut Grove in the sixth season of this series, life will never be the same for Laura Ingalls. Highlights include Mary's stagecoach accident, Albert's challenging adoption, Nels' reunion with his circus sideshow sister, Laura and Mary's captivity by escaped convicts, the fatal fire at the school for the blind, Almanzo's unrequited marriage proposal to Laura and countless more must-see moments. Formats: DVD: $21.98, Blu-ray: $24.99. Extras: "The Little House Phenomenon - Part Six: "A Lasting Legacy." (Lionsgate).
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
(2015) Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Eduardo Verastegui, Daniella Alonso, Neal McDonough, David Henrie, Shirley Knight. Paul Blart heads off to Las Vegas to attend a Security Guard Expo with his teenage daughter before she departs for college but he inadvertently discovers a heist and it's up to him to apprehend the criminals. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Security Force: The Cast of Paul Blart 2" featurette, "How to Make a Movie" featurette. Blu-ray adds photo gallery, six deleted scenes, gag reel, six additional featurettes: "Action Adventure," "Back in the Saddle," "Le Reve" behind the scenes, "No Animals Were Harmed," "Sales Tactics," "Real Cops." (Sony).
Poltergeists: Real-Life Hauntings
(1996-2008) Step into the paranormal world with this set of six HISTORY specials that explore the history of poltergeists, hauntings, exorcisms and other supernatural phenomena: "Poltergeist," "Hauntings," "Exorcism: Driving out the Devil," "Voodoo Secrets," "Ghosts" and "Salem Witch Trials." Two-disc set, $14.98. Formats: DVD. (Lionsgate).
Red Knot
(2014) Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Thirlby, Billy Campbell. A modern exploration of love, isolation and the inescapable vastness of the natural world. A stunningly shot meditation on love and loss, New York newlyweds Peter (Kartheiser) and Chloe (Thirlby) fall into marital crisis while on a research vessel en route to Antarctica. As romantic bliss sours, Chloe takes comfort in the company of the ship's captain (Campbell), a man who has good reason for setting himself adrift. As they sail towards the end of the Earth, filmmaker Scott Cohen's astonishingly assured, elegantly shot debut passes into troubled, Polanski-indebted waters. Formats: DVD. Extras: Extra scenes. (Icarus Films).
The Salt of the Earth
(2014) A captivating exploration of the life and work of world-renowned photographer Sebastiao Salgado, directed by Academy Award-nominee Wim Wenders and Salgado's son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. For the last 40 years, Salgado has been travelling through the continents in the footsteps of an ever-changing humanity. He has witnessed some of the major events of our recent history: international conflicts, starvation and exodus. He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of wild fauna and flora, and of grandiose landscapes as part of a huge photographic project, which is a tribute to the planet's beauty. Salgado's life and work are revealed to us by his son, Juliano, who went with him during his last travels, and by Wenders, himself a photographer. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes, commentary with Wenders and Salgado,
"Looking Back" featurette on the making of the film. (Sony).
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
(2015) Dir.: John Madden; Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere, David Strathairn, Tina Desai, Ronald Pickup, Diana Hardcastle, Tamsin Greig, Celia Imrie. Now that his first venture has proven successful, ever-confident Sonny (Dev Patel) is busy juggling plans for a second resort, but it's making more claims on his time than he has available, considering his imminent marriage to the love of his life, Sunaina (Tina Desai). Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Story," "Cast," "Returning to the Marigold Hotel," "Blossoming Relationships," "The Marigold Wedding," "Filming in India" featurettes; gallery. (Fox).
Stray Cat Rock Limited Edition
(1970-71 -- Japan) The "Stray Cat Rock" series stars Meiko Kaji who, with these five films, began her reign as the bad-ass action queen of the era. In these five tales of rebellious youth she stars alongside the gorgeous Bunjaku Han and Tatsuya Fuji. In "Delinquent Girl Boss," a girl gang goes up against the Seiyu Group criminal organization. In "Wild Jumbo," Kaji and the gang get involved in a kidnapping and the robbery of a religious organization. In "Sex Hunter," Kaji's girl gang goes up against The Eagles, a group led by Fuji where sex and violence erupt over the treatment of "half-breeds." In "Machine Animal," gang rivalry is once again the focus with two gangs pursuing some LSD pushers looking to move a big score. The series swansong, "Beat '71," sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend's father. Directed by genre veterans Yasuharu Hasebe ("Massacre Gun," "Retaliation") and Toshiya Fujita ("Lady Snowblood"), the films feature a psychedelic mix of girl gangs, bikers, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll with plenty of ass-kicking to boot, all captured in a delirious mash-up of pop aesthetics including split screens, freeze frames, injections of color, frenetic editing and dizzying angles, making these films a riotous joy from beginning to end. Five-disc set, $69.95. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo. Extras: Interview with Yasuharu Hasebe (director of "Delinquent Girl Boss," "Sex Hunter" and "Machine Animal"), interview with actor Tatsuya Fuji, star of all five films, interview with actor Yoshio Harada, star of "Beat '71," original trailers, collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
WKRP In Cincinnati: Season Three
(1980-81) Three-disc set with 21 episodes. The crew of Cincinnati's iconic radio station WKRP is back to bring you the hits you love, from rock 'n' roll to soul with Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) and Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid). Throw in quirky newsman Les Nessman (Richard Sanders), his ingenue Bailey (Jan Smithers), incompetent station manager Carlson (Gordon Jump), long-suffering program director Andy (Gary Sandy), slimeball ad man Herb (Frank Bonner) and bombshell receptionist Jennifer (Loni Anderson) and you have yourself a winning combination of classic tunes and laughter. Formats: DVD. (Shout! Factory).
July 12, 2015 (ISSN 1094-3676). |
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