From the Big Screen:

2073

(2024) Inspired by Chris Marker’s iconic 1962 featurette “La Jetée”; the year is 2073 — a not-so-distant dystopian future — and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated. It’s the year 2073, and the worst fears of modern life have been realized. Surveillance drones fill the burnt orange skies and militarized police roam the wrecked streets, while survivors hide away underground, struggling to remember a free and hopeful existence. In this ingenious mixture of visionary science fiction and speculative nonfiction, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) transports us to a future foreshadowed by the terrifying realities of our present moment. Two-time Academy Award-nominee Samantha Morton plays a survivor besieged by nightmare visions of the past—a past that happens to be our present, visualized through contemporary footage interconnecting today’s global crises of authoritarianism, unchecked big tech, inequality, and global climate change. “2073” is an urgent, unshakable vision of a dystopic future that could very well be our own. Vitals: Director: Asif Kapadia. Stars: Samantha Morton, Naomi Ackie, Hector Hewer, Maria Ressa, Carole Cadwalladr. CC, MPAA rating: NR, 85 min., Documentary Thriller, Theatrical release date: December 27, 2024, Decal Releasing. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Read more here.

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This Week’s Highlights:

The grimy criminal underworld and hedonistic rock-and-roll counterculture of late-1960s London collide in the mind-scrambling, kaleidoscopic freak-out “Performance” (1970). On the run from his vengeful boss, a ruthless gangster (James Fox) hides out in the Notting Hill home of a reclusive rock star (Mick Jagger) and his companions (Anita Pallenberg and Michele Breton), who open the doors of his perception as the lines between reality and fantasy, male and female, persona and self, dissolve in a hallucinogenic haze. Built around Jagger’s most magnetic narrative-film performance, this visionary collaboration between enigmatic artist Donald Cammell and first-time director Nicolas Roeg is a daringly transgressive, endlessly influential journey to the dark side of bohemia. In a 4K UHD + Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by producer Sandy Lieberson, with uncompressed monaural original-UK-version 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. Read more here. From The Criterion Collection … Guillermo del Toro made an auspicious and audacious feature debut with “Cronos” (1993), a highly unorthodox tale about the seductiveness of the idea of immortality. Kindly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) happens upon an ancient golden device in the shape of a scarab, and soon finds himself the possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious American named Angel (a delightfully crude and deranged Ron Perlman). Featuring marvelous makeup effects and the haunting imagery for which del Toro has become world-renowned, Cronos is a dark, visually rich, and emotionally captivating fantasy. In a 4K UHD + Blu-ray Combo, with new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Guillermo del Toro, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Read more here. From The Criterion Collection.

“Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

In a dystopian society where the state has the power to determine who can and cannot father children, four men attend a government sanctioned retreat in the remote mountains of California in “Daddy” (2023), starring Jono Sherman, Yuriy Sardarov, Neal Kelley and Pomme Koch. When they show up at the site, they find there is no guide or instructions waiting for them, and they are left to their own devices and must prove to themselves — and each other — that they have what it takes to become fathers. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Anchor Bay/MVD Entertainment … In “Cruising” (1980), legendary director William Friedkin brings together Al Pacino, the 70s New York gay scene and a searing punk-rock soundtrack in this one-of-a-kind serial killer thriller, finally restored to its long-unavailable original theatrical version in 4K. New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who is preying on the patrons of the city’s underground gay scene. Young rookie cop Steve Burns (Pacino) is tasked with infiltrating the S&M subculture to try and lure the killer out of the shadows … but as he immerses himself deeper and deeper into the underworld, Steve risks losing his own identity in the process. Taking the premise and title from reporter Gerald Walker’s novel, “Cruising” was the subject of great controversy at the time of its release and remains a challenging and remarkable movie to this day, with Pacino’s haunted lead performance as its magnetic centerpiece. With hours of brand-new bonus features, including never-before-seen material from the deepest recesses of the studio archives, you’ve never seen “Cruising” like this. Co-stars Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen and Don Scardino. Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films. 120-page perfect-bound collector’s book featuring articles from The Village Voice and The New York Times, essays from the film’s extras cast, an introduction from William Friedkin, and an archive interview with Al Pacino. In a two-disc 4K UHD from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here.

Foreign Films:

In “The Cat” (1988 — Germany), two robbers hold up a bank and its employees demanding 3 million marks for their ransom. The police plot to storm the bank but are unaware the robbers have an accomplice on the outside, anticipating their every move. Genre master Dominik Graf specialized in crime films and “The Cat” is one of his greatest. A heist film of the highest order, it grabs you from its opening scenes and doesn’t let go. Winner of Best Direction at the German Film Awards, “The Cat” is an undiscovered treasure and Radiance Films is proud to present it on Blu-ray for the first time outside Germany … In “Project Silence” (2023 — South Korea), starring Kim Tae-gon, Kim Yong-hwa and Park Joo-suk, Jung-won and his daughter are on their way to Incheon Airport when a thick fog causes a massive chain-reaction crash on the airport bridge. They get stuck in the chaos with a group of people, stranded with nowhere to go. Things take a turn for the worse when mutated military dogs that were secretly being transported escape from their cages and the survivors on the bridge become targets of these deadly animals. As the bridge is shut down and in danger of collapsing, it is now up to Jun-won and the others to figure out a way to survive the night while uncovering the conspiracy behind the dogs. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Dark Sky Films/Capelight Pictures … Based on the shocking true story of the former Soviet Union’s most notorious serial killer, the riveting, haunting “Evilenko”(2003 — Italy), starring Malcolm McDowell, Marton Csokas, Ronald Pickup, Ruby Kammer, John Benfield and Evgeniya Gladiy, explores the mind of a true monster; a man who mutilated and devoured more than 50 children. For years, Andrei Evilenko (McDowell) eluded the obsessive Detective Lesiev (Csokas) and the psychiatric profiler Aron Richter (Pickup). Spurred on by his rabid fury at the gradual crumbling of his precious Soviet Union, Evilenko is a man who will live, die and kill as a communist. The haunting melodies of composer Angelo Badalamenti (“Twin Peaks”, “Mulholland Drive”) and writer-director David Grieco’s stark imagination have created a portrait of a serial killer that will resound in the psyches of us all. On 4K UHD/Blu-ray in a 2-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition & Blu-ray Collector’s Edition. Read more here From Unearthed Films … In “Hokuriku Proxy War” (1977 — Japan), loose-cannon gangster Kawada rebels when his two-timing boss forms an alliance with a major crime syndicate. The syndicate’s main rivals see Kawada as their perfect proxy, but his furious temper quickly rubs them the wrong way, leaving Kawada to face overwhelming forces. Kinji Fukasaku’s final yakuza film features some of the strongest women’s roles in his career, plus a raucous central performance from Hiroki Matsukata (“Cops vs Thugs”) and support from the legendary Sonny Chiba. On Blu-ray from Radiance Films/MVD Entertainment.

All DVDs and Blu-rays are screened on a reference system consisting of an Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio, a Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center), and 50 (rear) speakers, and Power 10 subwoofer.