Join the
Sixties generation
DVD
Blu-ray Releases
OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
November 8:
Band of Robbers
(2015) Kyle Gallner, Adam Nee, Matthew Gray Gubler, Melissa Benoist. A modern-day adventure that imagines Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as grown men, still searching for the hidden treasure that has eluded them since childhood. Formats: DVD. (Filmrise/MVD Visual).
Being Evel
(2015) Documentary tells the real story behind the myth of American iconic stunt driver and daredevil Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy. Formats: DVD. (Filmrise/MVD Visual).
Boonville Redemption
Capital
(2015) One day, a street’s residents all receive an anonymous postcard through their front doors bearing a simple message: “We want what you have.” Who is behind the anonymous hate campaign? And what do they want? As the mystery of the postcards deepens, interweaving stories reveal lives filled with love and loss, fear and greed, fortune and envy, and at its heart, family and home. Based on John Lanchester’s best-selling novel, the series stars Toby Jones, Gemma Jones and Rachael Stirling. Formats: DVD, four episodes. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurettes. (Acorn Media).
Halloweed
(2016) Simon Rex, Shannon Brown, Jim O'Heir, Michelle Mueller, Jayson Bernard, Ray Wise, Jason Mewes, Deje Dee, Lester Speight, Danny Trejo, Tom Sizemore. Trent Modine and his goof-ball step brother Joey try to escape the infamy that comes from having a serial killer, The Candy Corn Killer, for a father (Tom Sizemore). Seeking a new start, they find refuge in the small town of Mooseheart. It doesn't take long before the besmirched family name catches up to them. Joey, a free spirited stoner, and Trent, a love sick pessimist, look like the main suspects after a string of murders, similar to a rash of killings 20 years earlier, coincidentally begins just as they arrive in town. It is a race against time because a slash-happy killer clown on the loose and the bodies begin piling up.
Formats: DVD, VOD. Extras: (Screen Media Films).
Indignation
(2016) Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Ben Rosenfield, Linda Emond. In 1951, Marcus, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with sexual repression and cultural disaffection, amid the ongoing Korean War. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Timeless: Connecting the Past to the Present" featurette, "Perceptions: Bringing Philip Roth to the Screen" featurette. (Lionsgate).
Kickboxer: Vengeance
(2016) David Bautista, Gina Carano, Cain Velasquez, Fabricio Werdum, Sara Malakul Lane, Alain Moussi, Georges St-Pierre, Jean-Claude Van Damme. When a ruthless and undefeated fighter brutally ends a modern-day warrior's life in a no-holds-barred match in Thailand, his brother devotes himself to training with a master (Jean-Claude Van Damme) in a quest for redemption ... and revenge. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (RLJ Entertainment).
Lone Wolf and Cub
(1972-74) Based on the best-selling manga series, the six intensely kinetic Lone Wolf and Cub films elevated chanbara to bloody, new heights. The shogun's executioner, Itto Ogami (Tomisaburo Wakayama), takes to wandering the countryside as an assassin -- along with his
Sausage Party
(2016) Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Salma Hayek, Edward Norton, David Krumholtz, Michael Cera, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Danny McBride. R-rated animated film follows Frank, a hot dog who leads a group of supermarket products on an existential journey to discover the truth about their own existence and what happens when they become "chosen" to leave the grocery store. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Animation Imaginatorium," three featurettes: "The Booth," ""The Great Beyond" and "The Pitch." Blu-ray adds an additional featurette, "Shock and Awe: How Did This Get Made?", "Good Food" gag reel, Line-O-Rama. (Sony).
TURN: Washington's Spies – The Complete Third Season
(2016) Three-disc set with all 10 episodes of AMC's critically acclaimed Revolutionary War drama. Jamie Bell stars as Abraham Woodhull, a farmer living in British-occupied Long Island during the Revolutionary War, who bands together with a disparate group of childhood friends to form the Culper Ring – America's first spy ring. This season builds toward one of the most notorious moments in American history -- the treasonous defection of Benedict Arnold. Formats: DVD. Extras: Deleted scenes. (Anchor Bay).
Indignation
"Indignation" is filmic storytelling at its best. It doesn't hurt that the film is based on a 2008 novel of the same name by Phillip Roth ("Goodbye, Columbus"), or that the director and screenwriter is James Schamus, who wrote the screenplays for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Ice Storm," "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "The Wedding Banquet." "Indignation" takes place in 1951, as Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman), a brilliant, idealistic, working-class Jewish boy from Newark, New Jersey, travels on scholarship to a small, conservative college in Ohio, thus exempting him from being drafted into the Korean War. But once there, Marcus has to deal with anti-Semitism and sexual repression; he develops a growing infatuation with his beautiful classmate Olivia Hutton (Sarah Gadon), and he clashes with the college's imposing Dean, Hawes Caudwell (Tracy Letts). Despite all that, Marcus rises above the oppression of the bleak time -- until his mother's decision to divorce his father triggers off a series of events that shapes and alters everyone's lives forever. This movie is cinematic perfection -- the directing, dialogue, acting, production design, music and cinematography are top notch. And the centerpiece of the film -- a lengthy conversation between Marcus and the Dean -- is a masterpiece of dialogue and pacing. All in all, one of the best films of the year. Vitals: Director: James Schamus. Stars: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Ben Rosenfield, Linda Emond.
2016, CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.216 million, Lionsgate.
Extras: "Timeless: Connecting the Past to the Present" featurette, "Perceptions: Bringing Philip Roth to the Screen" featurette. 
Sausage Party
One sausage leads a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery store. Vitals: Director: Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon. Stars: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Salma Hayek, Edward Norton, David Krumholtz, Michael Cera, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Danny McBride.
2016, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Animated Comedy, Box office gross: $97.576 million, Sony.
Extras: "Animation Imaginatorium," three featurettes: "The Booth," "The Great Beyond" and "The Pitch." Blu-ray adds an additional featurette, "Shock and Awe: How Did This Get Made?", "Good Food" gag reel, Line-O-Rama. 
Call of Heroes (DVD, Blu-ray release: December 6)
Don't Breathe (DVD, Blu-ray release: November 29)
Hell or High Water (DVD, Blu-ray release: November 22)
Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers' Guild Strike
Taxi Driver (1976)
Read more.
(2016) Emily Hoffman, Pat Boone, Edward Asner, Diane Ladd, Richard Tyson. Faith-based Western. It's 1906 and 13 year-old Melinda is unhappy with the hand that life has dealt her. Born out of wedlock and scorned by many, Melinda desperately wants to know what happened to her real father, but no one will tell her. Determined to do all within her power to find her father, Melinda's bravery compels some of the townspeople to reveal the dark secrets that they have kept to themselves for years. Formats: DVD. (Engine 15/MVD Visual).
The Initiation
(1984) Vera Miles, Clu Gulager, Daphne Zuniga. Marking TV star Daphne Zuniga's debut in a leading role, "The Initiation" ranks amongst the finest of the college-based stalk-and-slash flicks -- now finally restored in High-Definition. Kelly's new sorority has a special initiation ritual in store for her -- an after-hours break-in of her father's department store. But what begins as a night of harmless college fun turns sour when, once inside the enormous mall, Kelly and her fellow pledges find themselves locked in for the night ... with a deadly intruder stalking the corridors. Arriving in 1984, "The Initiation" might have been late to the slasher party, but, alongside the likes of "The House on Sorority Row" and "The Mutilator," it remains one of the stronger entries to emerge in the latter days of the slice-and-dice boom. Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative with uncompressed PCM Mono Audio. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary by The Hysteria Continues, "Sorority Saga" new interview with writer Charles Pratt, Jr., "Pledge Night" new interview with actor Christopher Bradley, "Dream Job" new interview with actress Joy Jones, extended scene, original theatrical trailer, original screenplay & production schedule (BD -ROM Content), reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn, first pressing only: collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic James Oliver. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
infant son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) and an infinitely weaponized perambulator -- helping those he encounters while seeking vengeance for his murdered wife. Delivering stylish thrills and a body count that defies belief, Lone Wolf and Cub is beloved for its brilliantly choreographed and unbelievably violent action sequences as well as for its tender depiction of the bonds between parent and child. New 2K digital restorations of all six films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: High-definition presentation of "Shogun Assassin," the 1980 English-dubbed reedit of the first two "Lone Wolf and Cub" films; new interview with Kazuo Koike, writer of the "Lone Wolf and Cub" manga series and screenwriter on five of the films' "Lame d'un père, l'âme d'un sabre," a 2005 documentary about the making of the series; new interview in which Sensei Yoshimitsu Katsuse discusses and demonstrates the real Suio-ryu sword techniques that inspired those in the manga and films; new interview with biographer Kazuma Nozawa about filmmaker Kenji Misumi, director of four of the six "Lone Wolf and Cub" films; silent documentary from 1937 about the making of samurai swords, with an optional new ambient score by Ryan Francis; trailers; a booklet featuring an essay and film synopses by Japanese pop culture writer Patrick Macias. (The Criterion Collection).
Morris From America
(2016) Craig Robinson, Markees Christmas, Lina Keller. Coming-of-age comedy with a unique spin centers on Morris Gentry (Christmas) a 13-year-old who has just relocated with his single father, Curtis (Robinson) to Heidelberg, Germany. Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water -- a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his cool, rebellious, 15-year-old classmate Katrin. Morris sets out against all odds to take the hip-hop world by storm and win the girl of his dreams. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: “Making Morris from America” featurette, bloopers, deleted scenes, casting tapes, audio commentary with director Chad Hartigan and actors Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas. (Lionsgate).
Snowtime!
(2016) Voices of Ross Lynch, Sandra Oh, Angela Galuppo, Lucinda Davis, Sonja Ball, Don Shepherd, Jenna Wheeler, Heidi Lynne Weeks, Elisabeth MacRae and Holly Gauthier. Features songs by Celine Dion, Simple Plan, Walk Off The Earth, Marie-Mai and Groenland. To amuse themselves during the winter school break, the kids in a small village decide to have a massive snowball fight. Luke and Sophie, both 11 years old, become the leaders of the opposing sides. Sophie and her cohorts defend an elaborate snow fort against the assault of Luke's horde. Whichever side occupies the fort at the end of the winter break, wins! But what starts out as pure youthful fun and enthusiasm deteriorates into a more serious conflict. Can joy and peace be restored, or will the kids' friendships fall in a flurry of ice and snow? Formats: DVD, 3D Blu-ray/Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: Interviews with Sandra Oh, Ross Lynch, producer Marie-Claude Beauchamp, Celine Dion, Simple Plan, and Walk Off The Earth; Theatrical teasers and trailers. (Shout! Factory Kids).
Taxi Driver
(1976) 40th anniversary 4K restoration of one of the greatest films of all time. Robert De Niro stars in Martin Scorsese's unforgettable tale of a psychotic New York cabbie driven to violence by loneliness and desperation. The acclaimed cast also includes Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle and Cybill Shepherd.
Formats: Two-disc Blu-ray, Digital. Extras: Disc One: New 40-Minute "Taxi Driver" Q&A featuring Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster and many more. Recorded live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival; original 1986 commentary with Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader recorded by The Criterion Collection; commentaries by Schrader and by Professor Robert Kolker; "Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver"; "Producing Taxi Driver"; "God's Lonely Man" "Taxi Driver Stories"; "Travis' New York"; "Travis' New York Locations"; theatrical trailer. Disc Two: Making-of documentary, storyboard to film comparisons with Martin Scorsese introduction, animated photo galleries. (Sony).
© 1996 -- 2016 OnVideo. All rights reserved
November 7, 2016
(ISSN 1094-3676).
|
|
