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January 10

Dragons Forever

(1988 — Hong Kong) Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Pauline Yeung. Hotshot lawyer Jackie Lung (Jackie Chan) is hired to defend the owner of a factory which, unbeknownst to him, is the center of a clandestine narcotics syndicate. He enlists resourceful acquaintances Wong Fei-Hung (Sammo Hung) and Dung Dak-Biu (Yuen Biao) to assist in the case, but loyalties begin to falter when romance blossoms between both sides. Extras: Hong Kong Version – 4K restoration of the original Hong Kong version; audio commentary; English Version – 4K restoration of the English versionr, which was commissioned by Golden Harvest for international audiences outside Asia with the classic English dub; Japanese Version – 4K restoration of the Japanese version, which features two extra scenes and an ending with outtakes, with English subtitles; original Hong Kong trailer; original English trailer; outtakes and behind the scenes; deleted scenes; “The Legacy of Dragons Forever”; “The Breaker” featurette on the acting and fighting careers of Billy Chow, who has a memorable role in the film; “Kick Fighter” featurette; more. (88 Films/MVD Entertainment).

The Executioner Collection

Fists flurry and blood flows as legendary cult director Teruo Ishii joins forces with martial arts legend Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba in this bone-crunching double whammy of classic karate exploitation from Toei. In “The Executioner” (1974) Ryuichi Koga (Chiba) is a descendent of the Koga Ninja school, now earning his living through more nefarious means as a gun for hire. When he is enlisted to take down a drug cartel alongside Hayabusa (Makoto Sato), a disgraced former narcotics detective now operating within the criminal underworld, and renegade Aikido master Sakura (Eiji Go), tensions grow among this three-man team of ne’er-do-wells as each come to question each other’s motives. Koga returns in the even more gung-ho follow up, “Karate Inferno” (1974), as the ringmaster of a gang of thieves plotting to steal a priceless jewel from a master criminal. Making its High Definition home-video debut, The Executioner is presented in both its original Japanese-language version and with the English dub track from the 1970s North American release. Extras: Brand new audio commentary by Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow; “Sonny Chiba, Karate King,” a 30-minute featurette on the legendary Sonny Chiba, featuring Grady Hendrix, Tom Mes, Chris Poggiali, Marco Joachim and Seiji Anno, from the band Guitar Wolf; original trailers; image galleries; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Lucas Peverill; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by by Mark Schilling. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

The Gang of Four

(1988 — France) Intimations of conspiracy hover over a group of actors in this underrated but decidedly major work from New Wave master and former Cahiers du Cinema editor-in-chief Jacques Rivette. Four young women share a house on the outskirts of Paris and study acting under a demanding teacher (Bulle Ogier). Outside class, each is questioned by a mysterious investigator on the trail of a former roommate who may be involved in a criminal enterprise. Rivette’s characteristic preoccupation with the intersections between daily life and performativity creep into every corner of this wholly engrossing mystery, which eventually expands beyond the confines of the film itself. Shot by DP Caroline Champetier (“Holy Motors”) in a glorious late-‘80s palette of deep reds, golden yellows, and dark teals, this playful revisiting of his debut “Paris Belongs to Us” launched the second phase of Rivette’s career. (Cohen Film Collection).

January 17

Lars Von Trier’s Europe Trilogy

With his dazzling first three features, Lars von Trier sought nothing less than to map the soul of Europe — its troubled past, anxious present, and uncertain future. Linked by a fascination with hypnotic states and the mesmeric possibilities of cinema, the films that make up the “Europe Trilogy” — “The Element of Crime” (1984), “Epidemic” (1987), and “Europa” (1991) — filter the continent’s turbulent history, guilt, and traumas through the Danish provocateur’s audacious deconstructions of genres including film noir, melodrama, horror, and science fiction. Above all, they are bravura showcases for von Trier’s hallucinatory visuals, with each shot a tour de force of technical invention and dark imagination. Three-Blu-ray special edition features 4K digital restoration of “Europa,” with uncompressed stereo soundtrack, and 3K digital restorations of “The Element of Crime” and “Epidemic,” with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Lady Whirlwind & Hapkido

(1972 — Hong Kong) When director Huang Feng jumped ship from Shaw Brothers to their upstart rivals Golden Harvest, he swiftly launched the career of a Taiwanese ingenue barely out of Beijing opera school named Angela Mao, who despite her fresh-faced femininity became one of Hong Kong’s toughest action icons of the 1970s. “Lady Whirlwind,” directed by Huang in 1972, sees Mao dead set on avenging the death of her sister, only to find herself fighting a common enemy alongside the man she wants revenge on. “Hapkido,” made the same year, sees her once more pitted against a gang of Japanese thugs, alongside fellow soon-to-be kung fu legends Sammo Hung and Carter Wong as disciples of the titular Korean fighting style, studying under real-life hapkido grandmasters Ji Han-jae (“Game of Death”) and Hwang In-shik (“The Way of the Dragon”). Originally released in the US as “Deep Thrust” and “Lady Kung Fu” respectively, these two restored martial arts classics show Mao at her mightiest – every bit as formidable as the great Bruce Lee, whose sister she played in “Enter the Dragon” the following year. Brand new 2K restorations by Fortune Star. Extras: Commentaries, interviews, Hong Kong theatrical trailers, image galleries, vintage featurette; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the films by critic James Oliver. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

 

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February 7

.com for Murder

(2002) In cyberspace, no one can hear you scream. This turn-of-the-millennium cyber psycho-thriller from Nico Mastorakis (“Island of Death,” “Nightmare at Noon”) showcases the usual gleeful eye for excess and inspired casting (including rock stars Roger Daltrey and Huey Lewis) one has come to expect from the cult director. Nastassja Kinski stars as Sondra Brummel, a young woman confined to a wheelchair following a skiing accident, who decides to have a bit of fun on an internet dating site with her friend Misty (Nicollette Sheridan) while her architect boyfriend Ben (Daltrey) leaves her alone for the weekend in the high-tech intelligent mansion he has built for them. Online anonymity works both ways, however, as they discover when they invoke the ire of a young man going by the handle of “Werther” and find the virtual world violently intruding upon the real, knife in hand. Nico Mastorakis takes us to the dark side of the web. Extras: “The Making of .com for Murder,” a featurette on the making of the film; “.com for Murder: The Unknown Story,” a new featurette in which producer-director Nico Mastorakis revisits the production; archive interviews with Roger Daltrey and Huey Lewis; original trailer; image gallery; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by David Flint. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here

The Return of Swamp Thing

(1989) After her mother’s mysterious death, Abigail Arcane (Heather Locklear) travels to the Florida swamps to confront her resurrected evil stepfather Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan). In an attempt to stave off the effects of aging, Dr. Arcane, assisted by Dr. Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas), combines genes from various swamp animals and human beings, creating an army of monsters known as Un-Men. When Abby arrives, Dr. Arcane is hell-bent on taking his own stepdaughter’s life in the name of science … that is until she is rescued by Swamp Thing in this must-see sequel to the original cult classic and based on the award-winning DC Comics series. Making its debut on 4K Ultra HD, “The Return of Swamp Thing” boasts a brand new 4K restoration from the original interpositive featuring Dolby Vision / HDR mastering. 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo. Extras: Brand new “Reflections on Swamp Thing 35 Years Later” by Michael Uslan, producer of both “Swamp Thing” movies and exec producer of all the Batman movies; music video by the RiffTones: “Your Ever-Loving Swamp Thing”; commentary from director Jim Wynorski, composer Chuck Cirino and editor Leslie Rosenthal; commentary from director Jim Wynorski; interview with editor Leslie Rosenthal; interview with composer Chuck Cirino; interview with director Jim Wynorski; interview with Lightyear Entertainment executive Arnie Holland; 1989 promo reel; photo gallery; original theatrical trailer; two TV spots; six promotional TV clips; two Greenpeace public service announcements. (Lightyear Entertainment).

A Woman Kills

(1968 — France) A series of prostitute murders disturbs the public with the thought of a serial killer on the loose. Hélène Picard, a prostitute, is sentenced and executed for the murders, but shortly thereafter similar crimes continue. Executioner Louis Guilbeau meanwhile develops a relationship with the investigating officer, Solange, who soon learns Louis may not be who he says he is. Filmed in the tumultuous events of May 1968, Jean-Denis Bonan’s “A Woman Kills” never found distribution due to controversy around the director’s first film and producer Anatole Dauman (“The Beast,” “Hiroshima mon amour”) was unable to find distribution for the film for 45 years until Luna Park Films brought it back to life in a new restoration. Now released on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere, audiences outside of France can finally experience this utterly singular film, a new wave-influenced serial killer film that presents its narrative in an almost true crime approach yet focuses more on the psychological aspect with echoes of German Expressionism and Franju, set to a discordant, jazzy score. Extras: Audio commentary by critics Kat Ellinger and Virginie Sélavy; introduction by Virginie Sélavy; “On the Margin: The Cursed Films of Jean-Denis Bonan,” a newly updated documentary program featuring director Jean-Denis Bonan, cinematographer Gérard de Battista, editor Mireille Abramovici, musician Daniel Laloux, and actress Jackie Rynal; short films by Jean-Denis Bonan; trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm; limited edition booklet. (Radiance Films). Read more here

February 21

Magnificent Warriors

(1987) International sensation Michelle Yeoh stars in this incredible adventure set against the backdrop of World War II. Yeoh portrays a wisecracking mercenary pilot with a leather jacket, gun, and bullwhip who sets aside personal greed to defend a small town and free its leader from the clutches of the invading Japanese army. Filled with spectacular action sequences, “Magnificent Warriors” seamlessly blends sly humor with thrills. Yeoh’s martial arts prowess, comedic flair, and dramatic skills are fully brought to bear in this incredible follow-up to the classic “Royal Warriors.” The finale, in which the town, armed only with spears and stones, rises up against the heavily fortified Japanese forces is not to be missed. Extras: Audio commentary with Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng, interview with Michelle Yeoh, interview with Tung Wai. (88 Films).

February 28

B’Twixt Now and Sunrise: The Authentic Cut

(2011) New director’s cut and on Blu-ray for the first time of “Twixt.” When struggling supernatural fiction writer Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) arrives in an isolated small town as part of his book tour, he hears about the local lore of vampires and an infamous mass murder. Eager for inspiration, Baltimore is swept into a surreal fever dream of eccentric characters — from the oddball sheriff (Bruce Dern) to the ghost of a young girl (Elle Fanning) to visions of Edgar Allan Poe (Ben Chaplin) — that forces him to confront his own troubled past.
Blu-ray + Digital Code. Extras: “Twixt: A Documentary by Gia Coppola. (Lionsgate).

Hollywood Shuffle

(1987) This debut feature by Robert Townsend is an ingenious guerrilla satire that takes riotous aim at the typecasting of Black actors in 1980s Hollywood. The writer-director-star’s megawatt charisma propels “Hollywood Shuffle,” the hilarious tale of a struggling actor attempting to break into an industry where the only roles available to Black performers seem to be hustlers, butlers, slaves, and “Eddie Murphy types” — forcing him to choose between selling out and maintaining his self-respect. Lampooning everything from film noir to zombie flicks to Siskel and Ebert, Townsend and co-writer Keenen Ivory Wayans cannily turn the frustrations of the Black artist into a subversively funny pop-culture critique. New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by writer-director-actor Robert Townsend, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Millionaires’ Express [Limited Edition]

(1986 — Hong Kong) Martial arts maestro Sammo Hung brings East and West crashing spectacularly together in “Millionaires’ Express.” Sammo himself plays Ching Foon-tin, a former outlaw with a wild scheme to make amends with the citizens of his struggling hometown of Hanshui: explosively derail a brand new luxury express train en route from Shanghai so that its super-rich passengers will have no choice but to spend money in the town. He’s not the only one with eyes on the passengers’ deep pockets, however; a gang of ruthless bank-robbing bandits are on the way, looking for a priceless map being guarded by a trio of Japanese samurai. Bullets and fists will fill the air in equal measure, but will Hanshui be left standing? Working at the height of his powers alongside regular collaborator Yuen Biao, Sammo makes room for a dizzying line-up of guest appearances from many of the top talents in Hong Kong action cinema, from Shaw Brothers trailblazers like Jimmy Wang Yu to fresh-faced newcomers like Cynthia Rothrock. Extras: Read more here. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).

 

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March 14

Last Hurrah for Chivalry

(1979 — Hong Kong) Before he became known as the master of the bullet-riddled heroic tragedy, John Woo sharpened his trademark themes and kinetic action choreography with this whirlwind wuxia spectacle. Unaware they are caught in a deadly game of deception, a pair of rambunctious swordsmen (Wai Pak and Damian Lau) join forces to help a nobleman (Lau Kong) in his quest for vengeance. Paying thrilling homage to his mentor, martial-arts innovator Chang Cheh, Woo delivers both bravura swordplay set pieces and a bloodstained interrogation of the meaning of brotherhood and honor in a world in which loyalty is bought and sold. Blu-ray, with 2K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Alternate English-dubbed tracks. Extras: Audio interview with director John Woo; new interview with Grady Hendrix, author of “These Fists Break Bricks”; trailer; an essay by scholar Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Secret Defense

(1997 — France) Jacques Rivette; Sandrine Bonnaire, Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Gregoire Colin, Francoise Fabian. When a brilliant scientist (Bonnaire) discovers that her father did not die accidentally but was murdered by a family friend, she swears vengeance. However, she soon finds herself deeply embroiled in a mystery of lust and intrigue. And when she discovers the truth about her father, it threatens to shake her very foundations in this fascinating thriller. Extras: Commentary by director emeritus, New York Film Festival & Professor of Film and Media Studies, Columbia University Richard Peña. (Cohen Film Collection).

March 28

Knockabout

(1979 — Hong Kong) Having established himself as Hong Kong’s premier action choreographer throughout the 1970s, Sammo Hung ended the decade by directing a non-stop assault of kung fu classics for Golden Harvest, starting with the brutal “Iron-Fisted Monk.” But it would be his 1979 directorial effort that would finally give his Peking Opera brother-in-arms, acrobatic ace Yuen Biao, his first chance at leading man status. Brothers and partners-in-crime, Yipao (Biao) and Taipao (Leung Kar-Yan), have made an up-and-down career out of being hustlers, conning everyone from bank tellers to casino dealers. One day, they push their luck with the wrong man, martial arts master Chia Wu Dao (legendary Shaw Brothers fight choreographer Lau Kar-Wing), but convince him to reluctantly become their teacher in hand-to-hand combat. But upon learning Chia’s dangerous true nature, Yipao turns to another master: a portly blinking beggar (Hung) trained in the ways of the monkey fist. Will this new skill defeat Chia’s secret snake style? Combining Hung’s hard-hitting choreography with the Mo Lei Tau style of humor that was increasing in popularity at the time, “Knockabout” is a thrill-a-minute action spectacular that would pave the way for later masterpieces such as Hung and Biao’s subsequent collaboration, the Wing Chun tour-de-force “The Prodigal Son.” 2K restorations from the original elements by Fortune Star of both the original HK Theatrical Cut and the shorter Export Cut. Original lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for the HK Theatrical Cut, plus lossless English mono for both cuts. Two choices of English dubbed audio for the HK Theatrical Cut: the original export dub mono and the newer 5.1 dub created for international DVD presentations. Extras: Read more here. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment)
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April 11

AmnesiA

(2001 — Dutch) Fedja van Huêt, Carice van Houten, Theo Maasen, Sacha Bulthuis. A psychological mystery thriller in which a photographer, Alex, (van Huêt) receives word from his twin brother Aram (also van Huêt) that their mother (Bulthuis) is gravely ill and will not survive much longer. Alex returns home to AmnesiA, the family estate, to in some way ease the panic and dread that continues to plague him and his photography. As he confronts the past he left behind, his deep-rooted psychological turmoil is laid bare. Restored in 4K from the original camera negative. Extras: Introduction by director Martin Koolhoven; commentary by Martin Koolhoven, Fedja van Huet, moderated by Peter Verstraten; “A Conversation with Martin Koolhoven & Carice van Houten” (2022); “Making of AmnesiA” (2001); “Behind-the-Scenes with Carice van Houten” (2001); theatrical trailer. (Cult Epics).

Heart of Dragon

(1985 — Hong Kong) Lifelong friends since they met as boys at Peking Opera school, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung conquered the Hong Kong film industry side-by-side in the 1970s and 1980s. One of their greatest collaborations sees the two “brothers” playing actual brothers for a change: 1985’s “Heart of Dragon,” a film that combines heart-rending drama with pulse-pounding action. Tat (Chan) is a hotshot cop with more stresses than he can bear: if he’s not on the verge of getting beaten up on his day job, he’s looking out for his mentally handicapped brother Dodo (Hung), who needs constant supervision in case his naïve, kind nature gets taken advantage of. Tat wants nothing more than to escape his obligations and see the world; but when Dodo accidentally winds up in the line of fire, Tat must run into danger and make the ultimate sacrifice to save his brother. More serious and emotionally driven than many of their prior films, Hung and Chan made sure not to skimp on jaw-dropping stunts and high-velocity violence while showing a broader depth to their talents than audiences had seen before. The result is one of the jewels of 80’s Hong Kong action cinema, now restored with additional fight scenes filmed especially for the Japanese market. 2K restoration from the original negative by Fortune Star. High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the 91-minute Hong Kong Theatrical Cut and the 99-minute Extended Japanese Cut via seamless branching. Original lossless Cantonese and English mono audio on both cuts, plus Mandarin on the Theatrical Cut and Cantonese with alternate score on the Extended Cut. Extras: Read more here. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).

Up, Down, Fragile

(1995 — France) Director: Jacques Rivette; Nathalie Richard, Marianne Denicourt, Laurence Côte, Anna Karina. Inspired by the backstage Hollywood musicals of the 1930s, this later period Rivette recounts the adventures of three young women (Nathalie Richard, Marianne Denicourt, and Laurence Côte) in Paris, each at a turning point in her life – and with a musical number (or two). Extras: Audio commentary by Richard Peña, Director Emeritus, New York Film Festival & Professor of Film and Media Studies, Columbia University; re-release trailer. (Cohen Film Collection).

April 18

The Haunting of Julia

(1977) Keir Dullea, Mia Farrow, Sophie Ward, Tom Conti. Based on the novel “Julia” by Peter Straub, the atmospheric supernatural thriller “The Haunting of Julia” (aka Full Circle) has developed a cult following amongst film fans for its intelligent yet deeply chilling take on a modern ghost story. Never before available on DVD or Blu-ray in the US, this long-sought after film will be available on physical media for the first time in decades. 4K restoration from the original negative. Magnus and Julia Lofting (Dullea and Farrow) suffer a tremendous shock one morning when their daughter Kate (Ward) begins choking. Unsure what to do, Julia attempts a tracheotomy, inadvertently causing Kate’s death. The tragedy sends Julia to a hospital to recover, but when Magnus asks that she come home, she prefers to buy a new house in London to live alone. Magnus begins pondering Julia’s fragile sanity, while Julia becomes convinced that her house is haunted by the spirit of a little girl. 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo. Extras: Audio commentary by director Richard Loncraine and film historian Simon Fitzjohn; introdfeaturette; “Coming Full Circle” interview with actor Tom Conti; “The Fear of Growing Up” interview with actress Samantha Gates; “A Haunting Retrospective” featurette on this underrated ghost story. (Shout! Factory). Read more here

April 25

The Assassination Bureau

(1969) Anarchy reigns as Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed go head to head in a blackly comic caper that plays out against the colorful backdrop of Europe on the cusp of World War One. London, 1908. When feisty journalist and women’s rights campaigner Sonia Winter (Rigg) uncovers the headquarters of the Assassination Bureau Limited, a clandestine enterprise that has existed for decades by bumping off the rich and powerful – but only if there’s a good moral reason for it – she sets on a path of putting an end to its activities. Bankrolled by her press baron boss, Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas), she commissions the organization to undertake the assassination of its very own chairman, Ivan Dragomiloff (Reed). Being the gentleman that he is, Dragomiloff responds to the assignment with glee, challenging his fellow board members to complete the contract. Only they’ll have to catch him first. “The Assassination Bureau” is based on an unfinished novel by Jack London published posthumously in 1963. Shot in glorious Technicolor by Geoffrey Unsworth (“2001: A Space Odyssey”), this penultimate work from the esteemed directing-producing team of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph (“Sapphire,” “Victim”) is a rip-roaring slice of Edwardian-set action-adventure fashioned with the same Swinging-Sixties blend of irony, stylishness and humour as “The Avengers” and the James Bond films. Extras: Brand new audio commentary with authors Sean Hogan and Kim Newman; “Right Film, Wrong Time,” a 30-minute appreciation by critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet; original trailer; image gallery; reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork choices; FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Katherine McLaughlin and a set of six reproduction lobby cards from the original release. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

Calamity of Snakes

(1982 — China) Yun-Peng Hsiang (Wan-Pang Heung), Yuen Kao, Ping-Ou Wei. A developer discovers a snake pit full of thousands of deadly serpents on the construction site of a new apartment building. To avoid any construction delays, the developer brutally exterminates the snakes. Believing the problem has been solved, he allows the new tenants to move into the building. However, not all the snakes have been killed and the many survivors and their kin are out to avenge their murdered brothers and sisters. Soon, all hell breaks loose, and the building’s new tenants come under vicious attack by a squirming army of angry and vengeful serpents. Extras: Original English dub; commentary with Nathan Hamilton and Brad Slaton; cruelty-free version; gallery; trailers. Blu-ray adds “From Shaw to Snakes: The Venom and Violence of Early Chinese Language Horror Cinema”; “Reptilian Recollections: Lin Kuang-Yung In Conversation With Chui-Yi Chung”; alternate version; alternate credits. (Unearthed Films).

Lovers Lane

(1999) Matt Riedy, Erin J. Dean, Riley Smith, Anna Faris. Passions are aroused and old wounds reopened in this sassy post-“Scream” teen slasher based on the urban legend of “The Hook.” A steamy secret tryst that was brutally cut short on Valentine’s Day an unlucky thirteen years ago comes back to haunt the teens who linger around the lovers lane where the double slaying took place. County Sheriff Tom Anderson has just about come to terms with the fact that it was his wife who died in another man’s car on that fateful night. His daughter Mandy, who as a four-year-old saw her mother’s corpse carried away from the scene, has a different take on things. It doesn’t help that her classmate Michael lost his father to the same hook-handed homicidal maniac in that night’s incident. To cap it all off, as another Valentine’s Day comes round, reports come through that the man arrested as “The Hook” has just bust out of his asylum. Prepare yourself for the ultimate hook up in a scream-a-minute rollercoaster that marked the film debut of Anna Faris (the “Scary Movie” series; “Lost in Translation”). Brand new 2K restoration from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. Two versions of the film: the widescreen 1.85:1 version and the full-frame 1.33:1 version. Extras: Read more here. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).

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May 9

Hand of Death

(1976 — Hong Kong) When Golden Harvest first released “Hand of Death” in 1976, no-one paid much attention to the names of writer-director Wu Yu-sheng, third-billed actor Chen Yuen-lung or fight choreographer Hung Chin-pao in the opening credits. Within a decade, however, each of those men had changed the course of Hong Kong action filmmaking forever, under the names they are best known under to this day: John Woo, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. After a traitor of the Shaolin temple, Shih Shao-Feng (James Tien), has eliminated thousands of his former colleagues in exchange for power from the Manchus under the Qing dynasty, a surviving master of Shaolin, Yun Fei (Tan Tao-Liang), is tasked with the mission of bringing Shih to justice. In order to defeat Shih’s overwhelmingly large army — led by the ruthless Tu Qing (Sammo Hung) — Yun Fei will need to team up with a skilled blacksmith (Jackie Chan) and a reluctant swordsman to beat the odds and avenge his fallen brothers. With early signs of John Woo’s affinity for brotherly bonding amidst heroic bloodshed, and featuring one of Jackie Chan’s earliest speaking roles after proving his mettle as a stuntman, “Hand of Death” is an old school hard-hitting kung fu gem (with a dash of wuxia) that any fan of classic Hong Kong cinema needs in their collection. Extras: New feature commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth; “From Hong Kong to Hollywood,” an archive featurette on John Woo’s early career, including interviews with Woo, Chow Yun-fat and Peter Lau; never-before-seen archive interview with star Tan Tao-Liang, filmed by his former student Michael Worth; archive interview with co-star Sammo Hung; alternate credits sequence, as “Countdown to Kung Fu”; trailer gallery; image gallery; double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch; illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by film programmer William Blaik. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

May 16

Convoy Busters

(1978 — Italy) After brandishing his gun and badge too many times in front of powerful people, Maurizio Merli is busted down from Homicide to Emergency Squad. Despite his demotion, he is not content with letting Rome’s criminal element run rampant and his violent nature soon finds him the target of both the press and the local mob. After a bloody attempt on his life, he is transferred to a quiet coastal town to run a local department but, never one to leave things alone, he quickly finds a dangerous smuggling ring is using the cover of the sea and darkness to run their operations in his sleepy district. With it’s daring stunt work, violent shoot-outs, and split storyline, “Convoy Busters” ranks highly among the 70s Italian Crime Genre. Italian audio w/ English subtitles and English dubbed. Extras: “Maurizio Merli: A Lethal Hunter of Subtle Variation” with tough-guy film expert Mike Malloy; “My Father, the Cop” interview with Maurizio Matteo Merli; “The Massi Touch” interview with Danilo Massi about director Stelvio Massi; Stelvio Massi video tribute by Danilo Massi; Stelvio Massi image gallery; commentary by Mike Malloy & Mike Martinez. (Cauldron Films).

In the Line of Duty I – IV

Four-disc set of the legendary series starring Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock and Donnie Yen. These four classic police stories from the Golden Age of Hong Kong action broke new ground showing women kicking butt as hard as any man. Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock and Cynthia Kahn star as the toughest cops on the streets, using fists, feet and guns to take down triads, thieves and international criminals. Easily the equal of any American action movies from the same era, the “In the Line of Duty” series are enduring proof of the genius (and recklessness) of Hong Kong filmmakers. 2K restorations of all four films: “Royal Warriors” (1986), “Yes, Madam!” (1985), “In the Line of Duty III” (1988) and “In the Line of Duty IV” (1989). Extras: New artwork by Sean Longmore; reversible sleeves featuring original artwork; a double-sided foldout poster; 100-page book by Matthew Edwards featuring interviews with Shan Tam, Michael Parker, Stephan Berwick & Michael Woods; archive stills; production imagery; posters; more. (88 Films). Read more here.

L.A. Wars [Collector’s Edition]

(1994) When power crazed drug lord Raul Guzman (Rodrigo Obregón) moves in on the mafia L.A. cocaine trade and steals the mob boss Carlo Giovani’s (A.J. Stephans) money and drugs, the streets explode in violence. Featuring Vince Murdoco as undercover cop, Jake Quinn, he infiltrates the mafia as the bodyguard for Giovani’s beautiful daughter, Carla (Mary E. Zilba). Jake must use his martial arts and all the weaponry he can carry to defend Carla from Guzman’s hit men. Giovani’s ruthless right hand man Vinny (Johnny Venokur) betrays him and tries to assault Carla but is stopped by Quinn. Vinny is humiliated and booted from the family. He then teams up with Guzman to seek revenge on Giovani. In a final showdown, Quinn must stop Vinny in his rampage for revenge and power. Extras: New audio commentary with producer, co-writer and co-director Tony Kandah moderated by “Cereal at Midnight” host Heath Holland; new video commentary with producer, co-writer and co-director Tony Kandah & Heath Holland; “Starting a War conversation with “L.A. Wars” producer, co-writer and co-director Tony Kandah; “Shoot First” interview with “L.A. Wars” cinematographer Mark Morris; photo gallery; original theatrical trailer; collectible mini poster; reversible artwork; limited run slipcover (first pressing only). (MVD Rewind Collection).

Targets

(1968) Old Hollywood collides with New Hollywood, and screen horror with real-life horror, in the startling debut feature from Peter Bogdanovich. Produced by Roger Corman, this chillingly prescient vision of American-made carnage casts Boris Karloff as a version of himself: an aging horror-movie icon whose fate intersects with that of a seemingly ordinary young man (Tim O’Kelly) on a psychotic shooting spree around Los Angeles. Charged with provocative ideas about the relationship between mass media and mass violence, “Targets” is a model of maximally effective filmmaking on a minimal budget and a potent first statement from one of the defining voices of the American New Wave. Blu-ray, with new 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Peter Bogdanovich, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Yakuza Graveyard (Limited Edition)

(1978 — Japan) When he falls for the beautiful wife of the jailed boss of the Nishida gang, things start to spiral out of control for detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari). In a world where the line between police and organised crime is vague, he finds himself on the wrong side of a yakuza war when his superiors favor Nishida’s rivals, the Yamashiro gang. Co-starring the iconic Meiko Kaji and featuring Nagisa Oshima as chief of police, “Yakuza Graveyard” sees director Kinji Fukasaku (“Battles without Honour and Humanity”) at the peak of his powers. Extras: Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi (2022); “The Rage and the Passion” visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku’s collaborations (2022); gallery of promotional imagery; Easter Egg; trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow; limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mika Ko on the representations of Koreans in the yakuza film, and newly translated re-prints of a contemporary review and writing by screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara; limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings. (Radiance).

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June 6

Warriors Two [Limited Edition]

(1978 — Hong Kong) After making his directorial debut with the intense “The Iron-Fisted Monk” and firmly solidifying his worth at Golden Harvest, Sammo Hung would be given more creative control behind the camera. Now able to inject more of his own personality, Hung would bring to life the more upbeat (yet only slightly less violent) Wing Chun cult classic: “Warriors Two.” Cashier Hua (Casanova Wong) leads a simple life working for a local bank, the only complications resulting from trying to give life advice to his friend Fat Chun (Hung). When Hua discovers a murderous plot to overthrow the mayor and is left for dead, Chun urges him to protect himself by learning the formidable style of Wing Chun from master Leung Tsan (“Beardy” Leung Kar-Yan). As Hua’s skill set grows, his proximity to Leung unknowingly lands him in the crosshairs of the treacherous scoundrels who previously sought to kill him… Predating the Ip Man tetralogy by three decades – as well as Hung’s own “The Prodigal Son” (starring Yuen Biao as the younger incarnation of Leung Tsan) by a few years -” Warriors Two” is one of the earliest films to authentically portray the teachings of Wing Chun while also delivering the kind of kinetic and pulse-pounding fights synonymous with the name Sammo Hung. 2K restorations from the original elements by Fortune Star of both the original HK Theatrical Cut and the shorter Export Cut. High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation. Extras: Commentary on the HK Theatrical Cut by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng & actor Bobby Samuels; commentary on the Export Cut by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema; archival documentary “The Way of the Warrior: The Making of Warriors Two,” featuring interviews with stars Sammo Hung, Bryan “Beardy” Leung Kar-Yan, Feng Hak-An, Casanova Wong and Wing Chun master Guy Lai; archival interview with Bryan “Beardy” Leung Kar-Yan; original theatrical trailers; double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Kim; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Kim; illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Jonathan Clements and original press materials. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

June 13

Dr. Caligari

(1989) Madeleine Reynal, Fox Harris, Laura Albert, Jennifer Balgobin, John Durbin, Gene Zerna, David Parry, Barry Phillips. As sexually deranged as it is stylistically unhinged, this is a psychedelic surrealist neo-noir reworking of the 1920 German expressionist classic. Dr. Caligari (Reynal) is the granddaughter of the original Doctor, whose own experiments in psychosexual therapy have led her to the brink of a radical treatment involving hormonal exchange. Having drugged and imprisoned Mrs. Van Houten’s sexually repressed husband, Caligari sets out to extract the brain fluid of an incurably nymphomaniac Mrs. Van Houten and inject it into the head of a cannibalistic serial killer (Durbin) addicted to electroconvulsive therapy. What could possibly go wrong? Extras: Commentary with writer, director Stephen Sayadian; interview with Stephen Sayadian; interview with Madeleine Reynal; interview with Laura Albert; interview with Jerry Stahl (co-writer); original theatrical trailer; isolated Music and effects track; “Going on a Radiation Vacation: Stephen Sayadian’s Dr. Caligari”; booklet by Heather Drain. (Mondo Macabro).

Shaw Brothers Classics Vol. 1

Jam-packed with epic kung-fu tales from the legendary Hong Kong studio ,featuring 11 films from the influential filmmakers never before available on Blu-ray in North America. Showcasing classic tales of battles between good and evil fought by fabled heroes and larger than life villains, the set contains 11 films released from 1967-1969 including: “The Assassin,” “The Thundering Sword,” “The Golden Swallow,” “The Jade Raksha,” “The Bells of Death,” “The Sword of Swords,” “Killer Darts,” “The Invincible Fist,” “Dragon Swamp,” “The Flying Dagger” and “The Golden Sword.” The box set also comes loaded with new bonus features, including new audio commentaries from critics, authors and experts including David West, Gilbert Po, Brian Bankston, Frank Djeng and James Mudge; new interviews with author Leon Hunt, author and critic Kim Newman, actress Cheng Pei-Pei, critic Tony Rayns, dubber Peter Boczar, and more.
(Shout! Factory). Read more here

The Witches Mountain

(1973 — Spain) John (Cihangir) Gaffari, Patty Shepard, Victor Israel, Monica Randall, Ana Farra. After a bitter breakup with his girlfriend, a photojournalist takes an assignment to an area in the Pyrenees Mountains in northern Spain. On his way, he meets a beautiful freelance writer and convinces her to join him. They stop at an ancient hotel where they hear rumors that the nearby mountain is haunted by a coven of dangerous witches — but they proceed to go there anyway. Until now “The Witches Mountain” has been a difficult film to see in anything approaching the way its makers intended. For complicated reasons, fully explored in the extras on the disc, the film was banned in Spain. This led to a kind of urban legend that it was a violent and misogynistic film full of scenes of sex and depravity. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it’s one of the most unique films of the 1970s Spanish horror boom. It’s atmospheric, mystical and elusive – a film that lingers in your mind long after you’ve seen it. Extras: Two interviews with actor John (Cihangir) Gaffari; audio commentary; trailer; full color booklet about them film and director Raúl Artigot, written by Ismael Fernandez; newly commissioned cover art from Justin Coffee. (Mondo Macabro).

June 20

Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero In Three Mafia Tales By Damiano Damiani

Three classic Italian crime films presented in this three-disc collector’s Blu-ray boxset, presented from new restorations. “The Day of the Owl” (1968), “The Case is Closed” (1971) and “How to Kill a Judge” (1975). Extras: New interviews with the cast and crew, including Franco Nero on each disc, extras with experts on the films and more. (Radiance). Read more here.

Game Trilogy [Limited Edition]

(1978 — Japan) Made at the end of the 1970s, Toru Murakawa’s “Game Trilogy” launched actor Yusaku Matsuda as the Toei tough guy for a new generation. Matsuda was the definitive screen icon of 1980s until his career was tragically cut short by cancer at the age of 40, following his Hollywood debut in Ridley Scott’s “Black Rain.” In this career-defining triptych, Matsuda is Shohei Narumi, an ice cool hitman of few words, a steely trigger finger, and a heart of stone, hired in “The Most Dangerous Game” by a company bidding for a lucrative government air defense contract to take out the competition. In “The Killing Game,” Narumi finds himself caught in the midst of violent yakuza gang warfare, while his own brutal past catches up with him in the form of two beautiful women still bearing the emotional scars of his past assignments. In “The Execution Game,” Narumi falls for a mysterious saloon bar chanteuse who may or may not be part of the same, shadowy underworld organization as the rival hitmen he is employed to rub out. Released for the very first time outside Japan, with their cool blue cinematography by Nagisa Oshima collaborator Seizo Sengen and a sultry score by jazz legend Yuji Ohno, Murakawa’s masterful set of films raised the bar for the Japanese action movie to new heights. Extras: Commentaries; interviews; trailers; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella; double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella; illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Hayley Scanlon and Dimitri Ianni; more. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

Medicine for Melancholy

(2008) One of the great debut features of the 21 century, Barry Jenkins’s captivating, lo-fi romance “Medicine for Melancholy” unfolds against the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco, where a one-night stand between two young bohemians, Micah (Wyatt Cenac) and Jo’ (Tracey Heggins), spins off into a woozy daylong affair marked by moments of tenderness, friction, joy, and intellectual sparring as they explore their relationships to each other, the city, and their own Blackness. Shooting on desaturated video, Jenkins crafts an intimate exploration of alienation and connection graced with the evocative visual palette and empathetic emotional charge that has come to define his work. Blu-ray, with new high-definition digital master, approved by director Barry Jenkins and director of photography James Laxton, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Red Sun

(1970 — Germany) Thomas (Marquard Bohm) gets a ride to Munich where he finds his ex-girlfriend Peggy (counter culture activist and model Uschi Obermaier) who takes him in. In her flat he finds Peggy and her roommates have a commune-like lifestyle where they kill the men in their lives after five days, but will Thomas realize in time? High-definition digital transfer overseen by director Rudolf Thome. Extras: Select scene commentary with Thome and Rainer Langhans, Obermaier’s boyfriend and Kommune 1 member who served as inspiration for the film and was on set for the shoot; “Rote Sonne between Pop Sensibility and Social Critique” newly produced visual essay by scholar Johannes von Moltke that looks at the social and cultural influences on the film and provides context for the era in which it was made; “From Oberhausen to the Fall of the Wall” visual essay by academic and programmer Margaret Deriaz tracing the development of the New German Cinema from the Oberhausen Manifesto to the fall of the Berlin wall; reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters; limited edition 52-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Samm Deighan, newly translated archival letters by Wim Wenders, critic Enno Patalas and the German Film Evaluation Office on the film’s official submission, newly translated archival interview with Rudolf Thome; limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of logos and markings. (Radiance).

The Servant

(1963) The prolific, ever provocative Joseph Losey, blacklisted from Hollywood and living in England, delivered a coolly modernist shock to the system of that nation’s cinema with this mesmerizing dissection of class, sexuality, and power. A dissolute scion of the upper crust (James Fox) finds the seemingly perfect manservant (a diabolical Dirk Bogarde, during his transition from matinee idol to art-house icon) to oversee his new London town house. But not all is as it seems, as traditional social hierarchies are gradually, disturbingly destabilized. Lustrously disorienting cinematography and a masterful script by playwright Harold Pinter merge in”The Servant,” a tour de force of mounting psychosexual menace. Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

June 27

Angel Face

(1953) Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons star in this film noir thriller about a man trapped in the web of an alluring, deadly, remorseless woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants and who conceals the evil within behind her beautiful Angel Face. Heiress Diane Tremayne (Simmons) arranges for an ambulance driver to whom she’s attracted, Frank Jessup (Mitchum), to be hired as her family’s chauffeur. And Diane lures Frank away from his girlfriend even as she becomes increasingly jealous of her stepmother. When Diane’s parents die in an automobile accident — and the police find evidence of tampering to the car – -Diane and Frank are arrested as prime suspects. After Diane convinces Frank to marry her in jail, the two are both acquitted of murder. Now, as Diane realizes that she may have been able to seduce Frank but cannot make him truly love her, she decides she would rather kill again than lose him. Extras: Audio Commentary by Eddie Muller; original theatrical trailer. (Warner Archive).

Caged!

(1950) Eleanor Parker delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as a girl swept into a petty crime — and a life behind bars — in this dramatic and realistic look at the effect that life inside prison has on a young woman. Marie Allen (Parker) becomes hardened by life inside a corrupt and dehumanizing penitentiary … until she reaches the point that she will do anything to survive the place and the life inside. Extras: Screen Director’s Playhouse radio broadcast (8/2/51);
classic Warner Bros. cartoon “Big House Bunny”; original theatrical trailer. (Warner Archive).

The Damned Don’t Cry

(1950) Oscar-winner Joan Crawford stars as a woman who uses and abandons men — clawing her way from poverty to wealth and social status. Crawford gives one of her best performances as Ethel Whitehead, an empowered woman who leaves her laborer husband and squalid factory town behind to find a new, better life. She uses a quiet accountant who adores her to meet a rich gangster, learns to carry herself as a socialite and leads a life of wealth and luxury as the kept woman of the mobster. But her ambition doesn’t stop there, and she engineers a rivalry between the city’s two leading underworld kingpins — a rivalry that will lead to the ruin of everything she has fought to gain. Extras: Audio commentary by director Vincent Sherman; “The Crawford Formula – Real and Reel” featurette; Screen Director’s Playhouse radio broadcast (4/5/1951); original theatrical trailer. (Warner Archive).

Dangerous When Wet

(1953) Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas star in this musical, romantic aquacade — Williams as a girl from Arkansas who has vowed to swim the English Channel to raise the money to save her family farm; and Lamas as the rich man who wins her heart and almost blocks her from reaching her goal. Featuring a delightful original music score written by Johnny Mercer and Arthur Schwartz, the film is best remembered for Esther’s famous swim with M-G-M’s beloved animated characters Tom & Jerry. Extras: Audio-only interview with Esther Williams and Dick Simmons; “C’est La Guerre ” unused musical outtake with Darcel and Lamas; audio-only demo recordings by lyricist Johnny Mercer; classic Tom & Jerry cartoon “The Cat and the Mermouse”; classic Pete Smith specialty short “This Is a Living?”; original theatrical trailer. (Warner Archive).

Land of the Pharaohs

(1955) Director Howard Hawks, who worked brilliantly in virtually every genre, shows his mastery of the large-scale epic with this gigantic production filmed on location in Egypt. Thousands of extras (9,787 in one scene alone!), magnificently detailed sets (including the pyramid’s inner labyrinth, booby-trapped so no one can learn its secrets and live) and vast desert vistas fill the screen and astonish the eye. There are also human-scaled stories. Of the Pharaoh (Jack Hawkins) who orders the pyramid as his tomb, dooming untold numbers to unending toil. Of the architect (James Robertson Justice) designing it to earn his people’s freedom. Of the slaves constructing it of blood and sinew. And a beautiful queen (Joan Collins) whose greed leads to murder — and a stunning revenge. Extras: Audio commentary by director Peter Bogdanovich (with archival interview comments by Howard Hawks); classic Warner Bros. cartoon “Sahara Hare”; original theatrical trailer. (Warner Archive).

The Old Man and the Sea

(1958) Ernest Hemingway’s choice for the lead in the film version of his “The Old Man and the Sea” was the right one: Spencer Tracy’s performance brought him the sixth of his nine Academy Award nominations, and the film won the National Board of Review’s 1958 Best Picture and Best Actor awards. Alone in a small skiff, an aging Cuban fisherman catches a huge marlin — and must defy the sea, marauding sharks, and his own flagging strength to bring his great catch home. Beautifully filmed in part on sun-drenched Cuban locales by master director John Sturges, and graced by Dimitri Tiomkin’s Oscar-winning score. Extras: “Hemingway: The Legend and the Sea” behind the scenes featurette; original theatrical trailer. (Warner Archive).

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July 4

Fighting Back [Limited Edition]

(1982) The streets of Philadelphia are unsafe, but John D’Angelo has a solution. Thieves, pimps, and pushers beware: he’s declaring a personal war on crime. From the director of Alligator and the producer of Death Wish comes “Fighting Back!” Tom Skerritt stars as John D’Angelo, a proud husband and father fed up with the crime and fear his family endures everyday. When his wife, Lisa (Patti LuPone) and elderly mother are both victims of violent attacks, he organizes a team of locals to operate as a neighborhood patrol group. But when the patrol resorts to vigilante tactics, the lines between protection and personal vendetta become blurred, resulting in violence and corruption. Directed by Lewis Teague from a script by Thomas Hedley Jr. (“Flashdance”) and David Z. Goodman (“Straw Dogs”), featuring a supporting cast that includes Michael Sarrazin and Yaphet Kotto and with a score by celebrated Italian composer Piero Piccioni. Extras: (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

July 11

The Watermelon Woman

(1996) The wry, incisive debut feature by Cheryl Dunye gave cinema something bracingly new and groundbreaking: a vibrant representation of Black lesbian identity by a Black lesbian filmmaker. Dunye stars as Cheryl, a video-store clerk and aspiring director whose interest in forgotten Black actresses leads her to investigate an obscure 1930s performer known as the Watermelon Woman, whose story proves to have surprising resonances with Cheryl’s own life as she navigates a new relationship with a white girlfriend (Guinevere Turner). Balancing breezy romantic comedy with a serious inquiry into the history of Black and queer women in Hollywood, “The Watermelon Woman” slyly rewrites long-standing constructions of race and sexuality on-screen, introducing an important voice in American cinema. Blu-ray, with 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Cheryl Dunye, cinematographer Michelle Crenshaw, and producer Alexandra Juhasz, in collaboration with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, with 3.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: New interview with Dunye; new conversation between Dunye and artist-filmmaker Martine Syms; new conversation between Juhasz and filmmaker and film scholar Thomas Allen Harris; six early short films by Dunye; an essay by critic Cassie da Costa. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

July 18

The Ranown Westerns: Five Films Directed By Budd Boetticher

Six-disc 4k UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition. The five briskly entertaining, vividly performed westerns made by director Budd Boetticher and strapping star Randolph Scott in the second half of the 1950s transcend their B-movie origins to become rich, unexpectedly profound explorations of loyalty, greed, honor, and revenge. Often grouped under the name Ranown (after producer Harry Joe Brown and Scott’s production company) and colorfully scripted by Burt Kennedy and Charles Lang, these films seem to unfold in a world unto themselves, staking a claim between traditional westerns and the subversive genre revisionism of the 1960s — and representing the crowning achievement of the underappreciated auteur Boetticher. “The Tall T” (1957), “Decision at Sundown” (1957), “Buchanan Rides Alone” (1958), “Ride Lonesome” (1959),”
Comanche Station” (1960). 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo with new 4K digital restorations by Sony Pictures Entertainment, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Three 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and three Blu-rays with the films and special features. Extras: Introductions to the films by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Taylor Hackford; new introduction by film critic Farran Smith Nehme on actor Randolph Scott; three audio commentaries, featuring film scholar Jeanine Basinger on “The Tall T,” film critic Jeremy Arnold on “Ride Lonesome” and Hackford on “Comanche Station”; archival programs featuring interviews with Boetticher; audio conversation with Boetticher and film scholar Jim Kitses; Super 8 home-movie version of “Comanche Station”; trailers; an essay by film scholar Tom Gunning. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

July 25

The Broadway Melody

(1929) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made every effort to impress with its first talking motion picture, setting a new standard for big-budget films and establishing an archetype for decades of movie musicals to follow. The Great White Way truly becomes the Street of Broken Dreams when sisters Queenie and Hank Mahoney (Anita Page and Bessie Love) follow Hank’s boyfriend, Eddie Kearns (Charles King), to Manhattan with visions of stardom. In New York, Eddie and Queenie are attracted to each other, but unwilling to betray her sister, Queenie dates a feckless cad. Now, Hank must sort out the tangle of aspirations and emotions that form this tragic love triangle. Filled with a memorable score of unforgettable songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, this was the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (1929-30). New 4K Restoration from the best preservation elements. (Warner Archive).

Cimarron

(1931) 1898. The Oklahoma Land Rush. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land, Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his property by Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, and Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Always in love, frequently apart and destined for greatness, Yancey and Sabra lead lives as tempestuous as the land they have chosen for their home in this epic Western classic. New 4K restoration from the best preservation elements. (Warner Archive).

Du Barry Was a Lady

(1943) Hapless nightclub hatcheck boy Red Skelton loves glamorous chanteuse Lucille Ball. Handsome hoofer Gene Kelly loves her too. And Lucy? Lucy loves money. Then Red mistakenly gulps down a Mickey Finn and dreams he’s in 18th-century France. Before you can powder your wig, a throng of suitors — Red, Gene, King Louis XV, a dashing rebel, a sinister duke and just about everybody — loves Lucy! This glittery, tune-filled bonbon features a supporting cast of wags and wits (including the inimitable Zero Mostel) and three Cole Porter songs from the original Broadway smash: “Friendship,” “Katie Went to Haiti” and “Do I Love You?” Cherchez la Lucy for comedy, music and star power from Hollywood’s golden era. New 4K restoration from the original Technicolor camera negatives. (Warner Archive).

The Fastest Gun Alive

(1956) Glenn Ford stars in this action-packed Western featuring a star-powered cast. Ford stars as a gunman gone good named George Temple, who with his wife Dora (Jeanne Crain) are trying to live a peaceful life. But George’s gunslinging ways are legendary – and attract the attention of other gunmen who feel up for a challenge. The couple moves to a new town in the hopes of finally finding a normal life. When George gets drunk and spills the beans, can he and Dora trust the townfolk to keep their secret? A Western with a message that the whole family can enjoy. New 4K restoration from the original camera negative. (Warner Archive).

Helen of Troy

(1956) 1100 BCE. King Priam (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) of Troy sends his son, Paris (Jack Sernas), to Sparta to negotiate a treaty to ensure peace between the two Greek city-states. But Paris falls in love with Spartan King Menelaus’ (Niall MacGinnis) wife, Helen (Rossana Podesta). Paris kidnaps the willing Helen and her servant (Brigitte Bardot), starting a war that will kill thousands of brave warriors and spell the end of the city of Troy. Homer’s Iliad provides the basis for this epic from the ’50s heyday of big-screen blockbusters. Robert Wise (“West Side Story,” “The Sound of Music”) directs this lavish epic capturing more than 30,000 people on screen at a then-huge production cost of $6 million. New 4K restoration from the original camera negative. (Warner Archive).

The Last Time I Saw Paris

(1954) Academy Award winners Elizabeth Taylor and Donna Reed star with Van Johnson in this sweeping romance loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited,” a story of love and dreams found and lost in The City of Lights. When reporter Charles Wills (Johnson) travels to Paris to cover the Allies’ victory in World War II, he falls in love with and marries the stunningly beautiful Helen Ellswirth (Taylor). The young newlyweds choose to stay in Paris, where Charles tries to make his way as a writer. But years of struggle, rejection and poverty take their toll on the Wills’ marriage, and the two drift into affairs with others as their love and dreams fade. Now, after years of disillusion and tragedy, Charles returns to Paris. But can he rediscover the passion and dreams that once came so easily? New 4K restoration from the original Technicolor camera negatives. (Warner Archive).

My Best Friend Is a Vampire

(1987) Robert Sean Leonard, Cheryl Pollak, Rene Auberjonois, David Warner. Return to Milton High School in this beloved ’80s teen comedy now available on Blu-ray for the first time. Shortly after high school student Jeremy Capello (Robert Sean Leonard) goes on a hot date, he finds he can’t stand garlic and can’t see his reflection in mirrors, but he can make a delicious raw-steak shake. As maniac vampire hunter Professor McCarthy (David Warner) stakes him out, Jeremy just wants to pursue his high school crush. Blu-ray + Digital Code. Extras: Audio commentary with director Jimmy Huston and film historian Nathaniel Thompson; “A Most Alternative Lifestyle” conversation with writer & associate producer Tab Murphy and production executive Ken Aguado; “Gabbing with Grimsdyke” interview with actor Paul Willson; theatrical trailer; teaser trailer; still gallery. (Lionsgate).

One False Move

(1992) A small-town police chief (Bill Paxton) concealing an explosive secret. A pair of ruthless drug dealers (co-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Beach) who leave a bloody trail in their wake as they make their way from Los Angeles to Arkansas. And an enigmatic woman (Cynda Williams) caught in the middle. The way these desperate lives converge becomes a masterclass in slow-burn tension thanks to the nuanced direction of Carl Franklin, whose haunting debut feature travels a crooked road across America’s most fraught divisions — urban and rural, Black and white — while imbuing noir conventions with a wrenching emotional depth. 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Carl Franklin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Audio commentary from 1999 featuring Franklin; new conversation between Franklin and co-writer-actor Billy Bob Thornton; trailer; an essay by author William Boyle. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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August 15

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart

(1985) Wayne Wang’s follow-up to his watershed indie “Chan Is Missing” is a family portrait that gracefully combines the director’s signature gentle humanism and eye for poignant detail. Offering another fresh perspective on San Francisco’s Chinese American community, Wang takes a bittersweet look at the generational pas de deux between an aging immigrant widow and her devoted daughter, torn between filial duty and her own desires. Soulfully performed by an ensemble including real-life mother and daughter Kim and Laureen Chew and Victor Wong, the Yasujiro Ozu–inspired Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is as lovingly made as the home-cooked cuisine it celebrates. Blu-ray, with high-definition digital master of a new director’s cut, supervised by director Wayne Wang, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

August 22

Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema

Driven by a desire to forge a socially conscious Swedish cinema — one that broke with the inward-looking psychodrama of Ingmar Bergman to give dynamic expression to the everyday experiences of working-class Swedes — writer Bo Widerberg turned to filmmaking in the early 1960s, realizing his ambition in politically committed yet poetic works that merge social-realist themes with a refined, often breathtakingly beautiful visual sensibility. Dramatizing the struggles of ordinary people fighting to chart their own destiny, these four acclaimed, popular, and pivotal films from Widerberg’s most prolific period live and breathe with a rare vitality—and helped launch a new Swedish cinema. “The Baby Carriage” (1963), “Raven’s End” (1963), “Elvira Madigan” (1967) And “Ådalen 31” (1969). Blu-ray, with new restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Extras: New introduction to director Bo Widerberg by filmmaker Ruben Östlund; new interviews with actor Tommy Berggren and cinematographer Jörgen Persson; “The Boy and the Kite” (1962), a short film by Widerberg and Jan Troell, with an introduction by Troell; Swedish television interviews with Widerberg from the 1960s; behind-the-scenes footage from the making of “Elvira Madigan”; essay by film historian Peter Cowie and excerpts by Widerberg from his 1962 book Vision in Swedish Film. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

August 29

Drylongso

(1998) A rediscovered treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s “Drylongso” embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/romance. Alarmed by the rate at which the young Black men around her are dying, brash Oakland art student Pica (Toby Smith) attempts to preserve their existence in Polaroid snapshots, along the way forging a friendship with a woman in an abusive relationship (April Barnett) and experiencing love, heartbreak, and the everyday threat of violence. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men. Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Cauleen Smith, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New conversation between Smith and film scholar Michael B. Gillespie; short films by Smith, including “Chronicles of a Lying Spirit by Kelly Gabron,” “Songs for Earth & Folk,” “Lessons in Semaphore,” “Egungun (Ancestor Can’t Find Me),” “Remote Viewing,” and “Suffolk,” with a new introduction by Smith; trailer; an essay by film scholar Yasmina Price. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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September 5

Black Circle

(2018 — Sweden) Christina Lindberg, Felice Jankell, Erica Midfjall, Hanna Asp, Inger Nilsson. Two sisters, Celeste and Isa, fall under the terrifying spell of a mysterious vinyl record from the 1970s. Used to help with stress and bring the listener to a state of calming self-hypnosis, the recording has the unfortunate side-effect of manifesting a doppelganger of the listener into our world. This “double” then grows stronger by the day to copy and take over the life of the person who played the vinyl. Seeking the help of the woman who originally created the recording, hypnotist Lena Carlsson (Christina Lindberg), Celeste and Isa try to banish the doppelgangers back to their own world before their lives are lost forever. Extras: Original motion picture soundtrack on included Compact Disc; audio commentary with director Adrian Garcia Bogliano; original teaser trailer; “Don’t Open Your Eyes” original short film; interview with Adrian Garcia Bogliano and Christina Lindberg; “Inside Black Circle” behind-the-scenes featurette; still gallery. Read more here (Synapse Films).

Borsalino [Limited Edition]

(1970 — France) Two years before “The Godfather” and three years before “The Sting,” there was “Borsalino,” a wildly entertaining period-set gangster movie that brought together two icons of French cinema, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon. In 1930 Marseille, small-time gangster Roch Siffredi (Delon) is released from prison and finds his former girlfriend Lola (Catherine Rouvel) has moved on and is now with Francois Capella (Belmondo), another petty crook. Initially at odds, the two men form a partnership that will see them rise through the ranks of organized crime in Marseille. But how far will they go in their pursuit of power and what price will they be forced to pay? Directed by Jacques Deray (“La Piscine”), written by Jean-Claude Carriere (“Belle Du Jour”), with a score by French Jazz pianist Claude Bolling, and costumes by Jacques Fonteray (“Barbarella”), “Borsalino” is a gallic gangster classic! Extras: Read more here. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).

September 19

The Trial

(1962) A feverishly inspired take on Franz Kafka’s novel, Orson Welles’s “The Trial” casts Anthony Perkins as the bewildered office drone Josef K., whose arrest for an unspecified crime plunges him into a menacing bureaucratic labyrinth of guilt, corruption, and paranoia. Exiled from Hollywood and creatively unchained, Welles poured his ire at the studio system, McCarthyism, and all forms of totalitarian oppression into this cinematic statement — one of his boldest and most personal, and the film that he himself considered his greatest. Dizzying camera angles, expressionistic lighting, increasingly surreal locations — Welles unleashed the full force of his visual brilliance to convey the nightmarish disorientation of a world gone mad. Blu-ray, 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo edition, with New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

September 26

The Giant Gila Monster/The Killer Shrews Double Feature

(1959) The classic era of drive-in schlock was near its end in 1959, but there was still time for “The Giant Gila Monster” and “The Killer Shrews,” a pair of no-budget howlers from producer Gordon McLendon. In “The Giant Gila Monster,” a lizard takes on a small town. If that’s not enough for you, there are plenty of cool cars and some ersatz rock ‘n’ roll sung by the movie’s star, Don Sullivan. “The Killer Shrews” stars James Best as a riverboat pilot stuck on an island where the shrews are the size of German Shepherds. These two features were originally released on a double-bill. Extras: “Ray Kellogg-An Unsung Master” documentary written by film historian C. Courtney Joyner and narrated by Larry Blamire; commentary of “The Giant Gila Monster” by Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan, and Matt Weinhold from The Monster Party Podcast; commentary of “The Killer Shrews” by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney; full color inserted booklet with essays by Don Stradley and Jason A. Ney; both films are also offered in 4×3, in additional to the theatrical 16×9; collection of original radio spots for each film. (Film Masters).

The Girl From Rio

(1969) The only thing super-villain vixen Sumuru (Shirley Eaton) lusts for above all else is the power to control men. Her plan to dominate the male species – and the world – with an army of superhuman women is foolproof. Or so one thinks. Sumuru didn’t count on Jeff Sutton (Richard Wyler) and the $10 million he stole from crime boss Sir Masius (George Sanders) as being the perfect recipe for disaster. In the tradition of “Danger Diabolik,” “Our Man Flint,” “The Wrecking Crew” and other Swinging 60’s Mod classics, “The Girl From Rio” is everything you’d expect from notorious director Jess Franco – the sex, the adventure, the fun. 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo. Extras: New audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth; new “Rocking in Rio” interview with Stephen Thrower, author of “Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco”; “Rolling in Rio” interviews with director Jess Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers and Shirley Eaton; new additional scenes from German version; trim reel; poster & still gallery.(Blue Underground). Read more here

La Bamba

(1987) The brief but incandescent life of rock-and-roll trailblazer Ritchie Valens is immortalized in this enthralling biopic from another Mexican American icon, Luis Valdez, the father of Chicano cinema. With sweetness and swagger, Lou Diamond Phillips embodies the 1950s California teenager who, forged by his fiercely supportive mother (Rosanna DeSoto) and rebellious brother (Esai Morales), rises from his farm-working roots to chart-topping fame in the early days of rock — until one fateful night that haunts music history. Propelled by a hip-shaking soundtrack featuring Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, “La Bamba” captures the electric vitality of an artist who bridged cultures to create his own American dream. Blu-ray special edition features new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Luis Valdez, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Le Mépris (Contempt)

(1963) Celebrate the 60th anniversary of Jean-Luc Godard’s landmark movie with this first-ever 4K release. Weaving provocative storylines with a stunning visual style, “Le Mépris” is a movie within a movie. On the surface, the film is about a director (Michel Piccoli) whose wife Camille (screen legend Brigitte Bardot) falls out of love with him while he rewrites an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey for an American producer (Jack Palance). But underneath this tale of a doomed romance lies Godard’s true subject: the commercial film industry, which he skewers in an unforgettable tour de force that is subversive, darkly comic, and completely original. A 4k UHD edition was released September 12. Extras: Special introduction by Colin MacCabe, an academic, film producer, and author of “Godard: A Portrait of the Artist at Seventy.” (Lionsgate).

Westward the Women

(1951) Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel, Julie Bishop, Beverly Dennis They are rugged pioneers and brave trailblazers who tame the wild west. These are the women of the great frontier. Based on historical record, this wagon-train saga details a 2,000-mile journey from Chicago to California. The men seek gold; the women seek matrimony. Both strike pay dirt. Buck Wyatt (Taylor) is a tough, experienced scout who leads a wagon train comprised of two ex-showgirls (DDarcel and Bishop), a hearty widow (Dennis) and fifteen men who act as guides. When one of the men disobeys Buck’s orders not to fraternize with the ladies, Buck shoots him, causing the others to desert. Instead of turning back, the determined women insist on going on, learning to ride, shoot, and drive mules. Although treacherous terrain and a deadly ambush lay ahead, these tough ladies are filled with the American frontier spirit, and nothing will stop them. Based on a story by Frank Capra, and directed with signature gusto by the masterful William Wellman, “Westward the Women” is a cinematic masterpiece. (Warner Archive).

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October 17

The Desperate Hours

(1955) Director William Wyler pairs up two Hollywood legends – Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March – for their only appearance together. The result is an electrifying tour de force pitting two giants of the silver screen against each other. Three escaped cons, led by the ruthless Glenn Griffin (Bogart), force their way into a suburban home, intending to hide out while they await the arrival of an all-important package. But what should have been an overnight stay extends into a protracted hostage situation, pitting Glenn against the embattled family patriarch, Daniel Hilliard (March) – a man with everything to lose. Adapted by Joseph Hayes from his own novel and stage play and inspired by actual events, “The Desperate Hours” is a classic tale of suspense from a master filmmaker at the height of his creative powers, now fully restored from the original VistaVision negative. Also stars Martha Scott, Arthur Kennedy, Gig Young, Alan Reed, Bert Freed, Dewey Martin.Extras: New audio commentary by film historian Daniel Kremer; “Trouble in Suburbia” brand new appreciation of the film by José Arroyo, Associate Professor in Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick; “The Lonely Man” new visual essay by Eloise Ross, co-curator of the Melbourne Cinémathèque; “Scaled Down and Ratcheted Up” new audio interview with Catherine Wyler, daughter of director William Wyler; lobby cards gallery; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio; illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Philip Kemp and Neil Sinyard. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

October 24

Beast From Haunted Cave

(1959) Director: Monte Hellman; Michael Forest, Sheila Noonan, Frank Wolff. Roger Corman’s cult classic, newly restored from a 4K scan of 35mm archival materials. Cut-throat gangsters hatch a plan to rob a bank in Deadwood, South Dakota, but when one of the henchmen sets off an explosion in a nearby gold mine to act as a diversion for the heist, he awakens a blood-sucking, spider-like creature that isn’t happy about the intrusion. When a violent snowstorm delays the gang’s escape, things rapidly progress from bad to blood-curdling worse. BONUS FEATURE: “Ski Troop Attack” (1960) — Upon wrapping “Beast From Haunted Cave,” Corman directed this World War II drama using the same location and much of the same cast and crew. For Corman, economy was key. “Beast From Haunted Cave” is presented in its original theatrical 1.85:1, 65-minute format and extended, 72-minute 4×3 TV version. “Ski Troop Attack” is presented as a newly restored HD print in 4×3 aspect ratio. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: “Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story: Part One,” a Ballyhoo Motion Pictures documentary; full-color booklet with essays by authors C. Courtney Joyner and Tom Weaver with the man behind the beast, Chris Robinson; commentary for “Beast From Haunted Cave” by author and film historian Tom Weaver and filmmaker Larry Blamire; ; commentary for Ski Troop Attack by author C. Courtney Joyner and filmmaker Howard S. Berger; gallery of rare stills from camera negatives taken during the filming of “Beast From Haunted Cave,” courtesy of Tom Weaver; original, 35mm-restored theatrical trailer for “Beast From Haunted Cave” and new, recut trailers for both films using restored film elements. (Film Masters). Read more here

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November 7

Blue Steel

1990) Classic ’90s thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow stars Jamie Lee Curtis as newly minted NYPD officer Megan Turner, who responds to a grocery store robbery – and kills the perpetrator – her first day on the job. But Megan’s uncorroborated story of the shooting gets her suspended from active duty when the stickup gun mysteriously vanishes. Enter a charming-but-disturbed commodities trader (Ron Silver), whose obsession with Megan threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, pushing her into a desperate fight to salvage her reputation … and save her own life. Extras: Audio commentary with film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; “A Hired Gun with editor Lee Percy; “The Phallic Woman: Deconstructing Blue Steel” with film historian professor Jennifer Moorman; “Staring Down the Barrel” with production designer Toby Corbett; “A Profound Emotional Response” video essay by film historian Chris O’Neill; theatrical trailer; TV spots; vintage promo; still gallery. (Lionsgate).

November 14

For All Mankind: Season One

(2019) Four-disc set with all 10 episodes. Imagine a world where the global space race never ended. This thrilling “what if” take on history spotlights the high-stakes lives of NASA astronauts and their families. In an alternative version of 1969, the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, and the space race continues on for decades with still grander challenges and goals. (Sony).

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December 5

Blast of Silence

(1961) Swift, brutal, and blackhearted, Allen Baron’s New York City noir is a sensational surprise. This low-budget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in Manhattan during Christmastime follows its stripped-down narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball details of urban living and the imposing beauty of the city. At once visually ragged and artfully composed, and featuring rough, poetic narration performed by Lionel Stander and written by Waldo Salt (both uncredited), “Blast of Silence” is a stylish triumph. Director-approved edition, with new 4K digital restoration presented in two aspect ratios, 1.85:1 (widescreen) and 1.33:1 (full-screen), with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: “Requiem for a Killer: The Making of Blast of Silence”; rare on-set Polaroids; photos of locations from the film in 2008; trailer; an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty and a graphic-novel adaptation of the film by acclaimed artist Sean Phillips. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

The Day of the Locust

(1975) Academy Award-winner John Schlesinger reunites with “Midnight Cowboy” screenwriter Waldo Salt, a victim of the 1950s McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist, to adapt Nathanael West’s acid satire of Hollywood decadence and broken dreams. Painter Tod Hackett (William Atheron), working in the art department of a movie studio during the 1930s “golden age” of Hollywood, falls in unrequited love with aspiring starlet Faye Greener (Karen Black). He competes for her affections against other men: a pair of cowboys (Bo Hopkins and Pepe Serna), and a forlorn accountant (Donald Sutherland). As Faye’s career fails to take her beyond roles as an extra, her life becomes increasingly desperate and her relationships with men take a darker turn, reaching fever pitch at a red-carpet movie premiere that explodes into barbaric chaos. A bitter critique of Tinseltown’s empty promises and the lost souls cheated by them, featuring lush, dreamlike cinematography by Conrad Hall and stunning performances by its talented cast, “The Day of the Locust” remains a relevant and shattering experience. Brand new 2K remaster by Arrow Films from the original negative. High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation. Original restored lossless mono audio. Optional restored lossless 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio options. Formats: Blu-ray debut. Extras: Brand new oral history audio commentary conducted by writer and film historian Lee Gambin, featuring assistant directors Leslie Asplund and Charles Ziarko, production associate Michael Childers, actors Grainger Hines and Pepe Serna among others; “Welcome to West Hollywood” new appreciation of the film by critic Glenn Kenny; “Days of the Golden Age” costume historian and film historian Elissa Rose discusses the film’s costumes in this brand new visual essay; “Jeepers Creepers, Where’d You Get Those Peepers?” new visual essay on the film and its themes by writer and film historian Lee Gambin; image galleries, including exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs from the archives of production associate Michael Childers and assistant camera operator Ron Vidor; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch; illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Pamela Hutchinson. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

December 26

Last Man Standing

(1996) Director: Walter Hill; stars Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, Christopher Walken, Leslie Mann, William Sanderson. Bruce Willis goes up against two rival crime families in this super-charged action thriller. Willis is John Smith, a mysterious stranger who is drawn into a vicious war between the two gangs. In a dangerous game, he switches allegiances between them, offering his services to the highest bidder. As the death toll mounts, he takes the law into his own hands in a deadly race to remain the “Last Man Standing.” A remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo.” (Shout! Studios).

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January 16

Lone Star

(1996) A keen observer of America’s social fabric, writer-director John Sayles uncovers the haunted past buried beneath a small Texas border town in this sprawling neowestern mystery. When a skeleton is discovered in the desert, lawman Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), son of a legendary local sheriff, begins an investigation that will have profound implications both for him personally and for all of Rio County, a place still reckoning with its history of racial violence. Sayles’s masterful film — novelistic in its intricacy and featuring a brilliant ensemble cast, including Joe Morton, Elizabeth Peña, and Kris Kristofferson — quietly subverts national mythmaking and lays bare the fault lines of life at the border. Formats: Blu-ray, 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo edition. New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Sayles and director of photography Stuart Dryburgh, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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February 13

Eric Rohmer’s Tales of Four Seasons

The seasons may change, but the follies of the heart are constant in this ineffably lovely quartet of films by Eric Rohmer, one of cinema’s most perceptive chroniclers of the pangs and perils of romance. Set throughout France, “Tales of the Four Seasons” is a cycle to stand alongside the director’s two earlier acclaimed film series, “Six Moral Tales” and “Comedies and Proverbs.” By turns comic and melancholic, breezy and richly philosophical, these bittersweet tales of love, longing, and the inevitable misunderstandings that shape human relationships probe the most complex of emotions with the utmost grace. “A Tale of Springtime” (1990, “A Tale of Winter” (1992), “A Tale of Summer” (1996), “A Tale of Autumn” {1998). Formats: 4K UHD + Blu-ray special edition; one 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: <Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Fear Is the Key

(1972) From bestselling author Alistair MacLean (“The Guns of Navarone,” “Where Eagles Dare”) comes a pulse pounding, rip-roaring rampage of revenge starring Barry Newman, the king of existential cool who had previously put the pedal to the metal in “Vanishing Point.” Mysterious drifter John Talbot (Newman) arrives in a small Louisiana town, picks a fight with local police and gets arrested. In court it is revealed he’s wanted for a number of violent crimes, but nothing is quite what it seems. Staging a daring escape, Talbot abducts seemingly random spectator Sarah Ruthven (Suzy Kendall) and hits the road at high speed for a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns: a crashed airplane, a sleazy private investigator, criminal enforcers, and an oil millionaire. It’s a journey toward truth and vengeance and Talbot won’t hit the brakes until he gets there. Director Michael Tuchner (“Villain”) delivers a crackerjack crime-thriller packed with great performances (including Ben Kingsley in his first movie role), an unforgettable score by Roy Budd (“Get Carter”), and stunt sequences coordinated by the legendary Carey Loftin (“Bullit,” “The French Connection”). “Fear Is the Key” is a white-knuckle winner that demands to be seen. Formats: Blu-ray debut. Extras: New audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Howard S. Berger; “A Different Kind of Spy Game,” a new visual essay by film critic and author Scout Tafoya; “Fear in the Key of Budd,” a new appreciation of composer Roy Budd and his score for “Fear Is the Key” by film and music historian Neil Brand; “Bayou to Bray,” an archive featurette in which crew members look back on the making of the film; “Producing the Action,” an archive interview with associate producer Gavrik Losey; theatrical trailer; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh; double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh; illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing by filmmaker and critic Sean Hogan. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment). Read more here.

February 20

The Heroic Trio/Executioners

(1993 — Hong Kong). The star power of cinema icons Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh fuels these gloriously unrestrained action joyrides from auteur Johnnie To and action choreographer Ching Siu-tung. “The Heroic Trio” and its sequel, “Executioners,” follow a new kind of justice league: a team of blade-throwing, shotgun-toting, kung fu–fighting heroines who join forces to battle evildoers in a dystopian, noirish city. Blending dazzling martial-arts mayhem with exhilarating blasts of comic-book lunacy, these beloved superhero movies reimagine the genre through the giddy genius of the Hong Kong film industry at its height. Formats: Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo. 4K digital restorations with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the films and two Blu-rays with the films and special features. Extras: New interview with actor Anthony Wong; new interview with film critic Samm Deighan (co-host of the podcast Twitch of the Death Nerve); trailers; an essay by critic Beatrice Loayza. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Nothing But a Man

(1964) Michael Roemer’s groundbreaking first feature, sensitively shot by his close collaborator Robert M. Young, is a still-resonant expression of humanity in the face of virulent prejudice. Made at the height of the civil rights movement, “Nothing But a Man” reveals the toll of systemic racism through its honest portrait of a southern Black railroad worker (Ivan Dixon) confronting the daily challenges of discrimination and economic precarity, as he attempts to settle down with his new wife (jazz great Abbey Lincoln) and track down his father (Julius Harris). Admired by Malcolm X and now recognized as a landmark of American cinema, this tender film grounds its social critique in characters of unforgettable complexity and truth. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, with new, restored 4K digital master, approved by director Michael Roemer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: “An Introduction to Michael Roemer,” a new interview program featuring Roemer; conversation from 2004 between Roemer and co-producer and cinematographer Robert M. Young; program featuring archival interviews with actors Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, and Julius Harris; an essay by critic Gene Seymour. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

February 27

The Roaring Twenties

(1939) Ripped from the headlines of the turbulent era between the Great War and the Great Depression, this dynamic, nostalgia-tinged crime drama balances tommy-gun action with epic historical sweep. Legends James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart star as army buddies whose fortunes rise and fall as their fates intersect, first in a foxhole on the front lines of World War I, then in Manhattan’s Prohibition-era underworld. Directed by Hollywood master Raoul Walsh, and based on a story by prolific journalist turned screenwriter and producer Mark Hellinger, The Roaring Twenties brought to a close the celebrated Warner Bros. gangster cycle of the 1930s, and it remains one of the greatest and most influential crime films of all time. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, 4k UHD/Blu-ray combo with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Audio commentary with film historian Lincoln Hurst; new interview with critic Gary Giddins; excerpt from a 1973 interview with director Raoul Walsh; trailer; an essay by film critic Mark Asch. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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March 12

The Shootist

(1976) Legendary director Don Siegel (“Dirty Harry”) directs the iconic John Wayne as an ageing gunfighter dying of cancer in his final screen appearance, a superb adaptation of Glendon Swarthout’s classic western novel, “The Shootist.” John Bernard Books is the stuff of legend, a renowned “shootist” whose reputation looms large. But it’s 1901, and like the old west, John is dying and a reputation like his draws trouble like an outhouse draws flies. As word spreads that the famous gunfighter is on his last legs, the vultures begin to gather; old enemies, the marshal, newspaper men, an undertaker, all eager to see him dead. Other men might die quietly in bed or take their own lives, but J. B. Books will choose his executioner and face down death with a pistol in each hand. With an outstanding cast that features not only Wayne, but James Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Scatman Crothers, Ron Howard and John Carradine, “The Shootist” is an elegiac ode to a monumental screen presence and to the Western genre itself. New 2K remaster by Arrow Films from the original 35mm camera negative. Extras: Read more here. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).

March 26

Amélie

(2001 — France) Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta, Serge Merlin, Jamel Debbouze, Claire Maurier. Bursting with imagination and having seen her share of tragedy and fantasy, Amélie is not like the other girls. When she grows up, she becomes a waitress in a Montmartre bar run by a former dancer. Amélie enjoys simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal in life is to help others. To that end, she invents all sorts of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including an imbibing concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor. But Amélie’s most difficult case turns out to be Nino Quicampoix, a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin-operated photobooths. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Steelbook. Extras: Commentary with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet; “The Look of Amélie”; Q&A With the Director”; Q&A With the Director and the Cast”; “An Intimate Chat With Jean-Pierre Jeunet”; “Fantasies of Audrey Tautou”; cast auditions; “Home Movie: Inside the Making of Amélie”; storyboard comparisons; “The Amélie Scrapbook”; trailer. Blu-ray adds All-new “Jean-Pierre Jeunet Looks Back.” (Sony).

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April 30

Dogfight

(1991) An ineffably bittersweet portrait of youth in the 1960s, Nancy Savoca’s funny, sensitive tale of love and war etches two vividly alive characters: aspiring San Francisco folk singer Rose (Lili Taylor) and hotheaded, Vietnam-bound marine Eddie (River Phoenix), who meet on the occasion of a cruelly misogynistic party where men compete to bring the most unattractive dates they can find. But what begins as a night to forget unexpectedly develops into something far more meaningful. Featuring music by folk legends Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Pete Seeger, “Dogfight” captures the miracle of human connection while gracefully subverting ideas surrounding machismo, patriotic duty, and the very meaning of America itself. Formats: Blu-ray. New 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Nancy Savoca, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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May 7

A Story of Floating Weeds / Floating Weeds: Two Films By Yasujiro Ozu

(1934/1959) In 1959, Yasujiro Ozu remade his 1934 silent classic “A Story of Floating Weeds” in color with celebrated cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Setting his later version in a seaside location, Ozu otherwise preserves the details of his elegantly simple plot wherein an aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and their son, a scenario that enrages his current mistress and results in heartbreak for all. Together, the films offer a unique glimpse into the evolution of one of cinema’s greatest directors. “A Story of Floating Weeds” finds Ozu in the midst of developing his mode of expression; “Floating Weeds” reveals his distinct style at its pinnacle. In each, the director captures the joy and sadness of everyday life. 4K digital master of “Floating Weeds,” with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

May 14

Three Revolutionary Films By Ousmane Sembène

Having blazed a trail for African filmmakers to tell their own stories on-screen, Senegalese auteur Ousmane Sembène took his career-long project — to unlock cinema’s potential as a vehicle for social change — in increasingly urgent and provocative directions in the 1970s. Searing critiques of colonialism, political corruption, patriarchal arrogance, and religious indoctrination, his three features from this decade — the radical call to resistance “Emitaï” (1971), the wickedly subversive satire “Xala” (1975), and the controversial historical epic “Ceddo” (1977) — confirmed his standing as a fearless truth-teller for whom the camera was the ultimate weapon in the fight against oppression in all its forms. New 4K digital restorations of all three films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Peeping Tom

(1960) Having brought British cinema into exalted realms of fantasy and imagination, Michael Powell took a dark detour into obsession, voyeurism, and violence with this groundbreaking metacinematic investigation into the mechanics of fear. Armed with his killer camera, photographer and filmmaker Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) unleashes the traumas of his childhood by murdering women and recording their deaths — until he falls for his downstairs neighbor, and finds himself struggling against his dark compulsions. Received with revulsion upon its release only to be reclaimed as a masterpiece, the endlessly analyzed, still-shocking “Peeping Tom” dares viewers to confront their own relationship to the violence on-screen. Formats: 4K UHD, Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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May 28

Girlfight

(2000) Bullied by her father at home and feeling adrift at school, Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez) finds refuge in an unexpected pocket of her native Brooklyn — a timeworn boxing gym, where she learns to channel her strength, discovers a sense of community, and falls for a rival fighter. In Karyn Kusama’s raw, understated feature debut, Rodriguez commands the screen with both tightly coiled intensity and deep wells of vulnerability as a young woman hitting back at society’s expectations and her own personal demons. Capturing the full emotional weight of Diana’s journey and the kinetic thrill of bodies in motion, Kusama crafts a singularly uncompromising story of self-realization.
Formats: Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Karyn Kusama and director of photography Patrick Cady, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Read more here. (The Criterion Collection)

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June 11

Querelle

(1982 — Germany, France) Conjured from the unholy meeting of two iconoclastic queer artists, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final film audaciously raises Jean Genet’s controversial novel to the level of myth. In an expressionistic soundstage vision of a French seaport town—bathed in fiery reds and complete with phallic spires — a strapping sailor and unrepentant criminal (Brad Davis) comes ashore to arouse passion, rivalry, and violence among the libidinal denizens drawn into his orbit. Enacted with dreamlike stylization by a cast of international stars, including Jeanne Moreau and Franco Nero, “Querelle” finds Fassbinder pushing his taboo-shattering depiction of gay desire to delirious extremes. Formats: Blu-ray, with restored high-definition digital master, approved by director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New interview with critic Michael Koresky on director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s aesthetics and visual storytelling; “Rainer Werner Fassbinder — Last Works” a 1982 documentary by Wolf Gremm; trailer; an essay by critic Nathan Lee. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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July 2

Who’s That Girl

(1987) Madonna, Griffin Dunne. Loudon Trott (Dunne) is a straight-laced lawyer assigned by his boss and prospective father-in-law to pick up free-spirited parolee Nikki Finn (Madonna) from jail and make sure she gets on the first bus out of town. However, Nikki forces Loudon to take a detour so she can find evidence that will clear her name. As he accompanies Nikki on her quest, joined by a South American panther he has picked up for another client, Loudon finds himself falling in love with the kind-hearted Nikki. 2K Scan of the 35mm Interpositive. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary by film historian Russell Dyball; theatrical trailer. (Shout! Studios).

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August 27

Real Life

(1979) Decades before reality television reigned supreme, there was Albert Brooks’s debut feature, “Real Life,” a brilliantly deadpan, stylistically innovative satire about the perils and pitfalls of trying to capture the truth on film. The writer-director plays “Albert Brooks,” a narcissistic Hollywood filmmaker who plans to spend the year in Phoenix embedded with Warren and Jeanette Yeager (Charles Grodin and Frances Lee McCain) and their two children, deploying an arsenal of cutting-edge equipment (including the over-the-head Ettinaur 226XL camera) to capture an American family’s ordinary day-to-day. Chronicling the project’s disastrous fallout, as the meddlesome Albert can’t help getting too close to his subjects, this pioneering mockumentary is more relevant than ever amid today’s media landscape. Formats: 4K UHD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Albert Brooks, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: New interview with Brooks; new interview with actor Frances Lee McCain; 3D trailer directed by Brooks. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

Mother

(1996) Reeling after his second divorce and struggling with writer’s block, sci-fi novelist John Henderson (Albert Brooks) resolves to figure out where his life went wrong, and hits on an unorthodox solution: moving back in with his relentlessly disapproving, cheerfully passive-aggressive mother (Debbie Reynolds), whose favorite son has always been John’s younger brother, Jeff (Rob Morrow). It’s an experiment that, however harebrained, delivers surprising results. Brooks’s film perfectly blends the writer-director-star’s biting wit with insight and inviting warmth, while giving him a formidable foil in the delightful Reynolds, triumphant in a comeback role that’s equal parts caustic and charming.
Formats: 4K UHD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Albert Brooks, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: New interview with Brooks; new interview with actor Rob Morrow; teaser directed by Brooks; essay by critic Carrie Rickey. Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).

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