New DVD Releases for the Week of April 7

From the Big Screen:

“”A Most Violent Year”,” “The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death” and “The Immigrant.” For more information on these and other releases this week, see the Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases.

From TV to DVD:

“The Book of Negroes” (2015), starring Aunjanue Ellis, Louis Gossett Jr., Cuba Gooding Jr., Lyriq Bent, Jane Alexander, Ben Chaplin, Allan Hawco, is a dramatic adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel by Lawrence Hill that depicts the extraordinary life of Aminata Diallo (Ellis) — an indomitable African woman who survives against all odds in a world that forever photo for The Book of Negroes underestimates her. Kidnapped by slave traders in West Africa and subsequently enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata must navigate her way through the American Revolution in New York, the isolated refuge of Nova Scotia and the treacherous jungles of Sierra Leone, before ultimately securing her freedom in England at the dawn of the 19th century. BET’s top-rated original mini-series. From Entertainment One … “Manhattan: Season One” (2014) features all 13 episodes of the series that’s set against the backdrop of the mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb, and follows the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families as they attempt to coexist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives. On photo for Manhattan: Season Onefour-disc DVD: $49.97, three-disc Blu-ray: $49.98; extras include “Ground Zero: Bringing the Bomb to Screen” featurette, “P.O. Box 1663: Creating a City that Didn’t Exist” featurette, “‘Now I Am Become Death’: J. Robert Oppenheimer” featurette, “Recreating an Era: Manhattan Costume Design” featurette, select episode commentaries with cast and crew. From Lionsgate … In “Masterpiece Mystery!: Grantchester” (2014), the handsome, jazz-loving vicar Reverend Sidney Chambers gets to the bottom of another baffling murder around the placid village of Grantchester during a simpler England, when World War II had just ended, Elizabeth II was the new queen, and the local vicar was the pillar of the community. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from PBS Distribution.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

In “Home Sweet Hell” (2014), starring Katherine Heigl, Patrick Wilson, Jordana Brewster, James Belushi and Kevin McKidd, Don Champagne (Wilson) seems to have it all: a successful business, a perfect house, perfect kids and a perfect wife. Unfortunately, when his wife, Mona (Heigl), learns of Don’s affair with a pretty new salesgirl (Brewster), this suburban slice of heaven spirals out of control. Don soon realizes that Mona will stop at nothing, including murder, to maintain their storybook life where “perception is everything.” On DVD, Blu-ray Disc photo for from Sony … In “The Voices” (2014), starring Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick and Jacki Weaver, a simple, likeable guy trying to do the right thing with the help of his talking pets accidentally winds up as a serial killer. Jerry works nine-to-five at a bathtub factory, with the offbeat charm of anyone who could use a few friends. With the help of his court-appointed psychiatrist, he pursues his office crush but the relationship takes a sudden, murderous turn after she stands him up for a date. Guided by his evil talking cat and benevolent talking dog, Jerry must decide whether to keep striving for normalcy, or indulge in a much more sinister path. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from Lionsgate … In “Killers” (2014 — Indonesia/Japan), a series of horrific murders have just gone viral, posted anonymously by the handsome and seductive Nomura (Kazuki Kitamura) with a taste for torture. Thousands of miles away, disgraced journalist Bayu (Oka Antarra) can’t stop watching and in a reckless moment discovers he, too, can kill. One man in Tokyo. One in Jakarta. A serial killer and a vigilante. As the posts multiply and the body count rises, a bizarre and psychotic rivalry begins and the photo for Massacre Gun face-to-face showdown that’s coming will paint the city in blood. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from Well Go USA … Genre icon Jo Shishido stars in “Massacre Gun” (1967 — Japan), a tense and violent yakuza yarn from genre stalwart and Seijun Suzuki’s former assistant, Yasuharu Hasebe. Shishido stars as Kuroda, a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers, hot-headed Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji) and aspiring boxer Sabura (Jira Okazaki), the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war where no one will stop until one faction emerges victorious. Strikingly violent for the period and gorgeously photographed in monochrome like genre siblings “Branded to Kill” and “A Colt is My Passport” (Shishido’s other films from 1967), “Massacre Gun” is a bold iteration on the genre featuring some stunning compositions and the assured direction of Hasebe. In a Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment.

For the Family:

In “Yellowbird” (2014), with the voices of Seth Green, Dakota Fanning and Danny Glover, a tiny orphaned bird that has never left the nest and has no family is inadvertently chosen to lead a flock on their migration to Africa. From Lionsgate.

Special Interest:

“The Simon Wiesenthal Collection” is a boxed set of documentaries exploring Jewish history: “Genocide” (Academy Award Winner, Best Documentary Feature), “Long Way Home” (Academy Award Winner, Best Documentary Feature), “Liberation,” “Echoes That Remain,” “Unlikely Heroes,” “In Search of Peace,” “Ever Again,” “I Have Never Forgotten You,” “Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny,” “It Is No Dream,” “The Prime Ministers: Part I and II.” $49.98 from Cinedigm.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

OnVideo News via Email

Get our free new-release newsletter every week in your inbox:

Subscribe to our weekly new-release newsletter. Join here.

Want more? Keep up-to-date with OnVideo's Breaking News, sent straight into your email box. Subscribe here.

Subscribe to OnVideo's Email News