New DVD and Blu-ray Releases for the Week of September 12
From the Big Screen:
Air
(2023) The unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.Vitals: Director: Ben Affleck. Stars: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Chris Messina, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Damian Delano Young, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, Gustaf Skarsgard, Barbara Sukowa, Jay Mohr, Joel Gretsch, Michael O’Neill, Marlon Wayans. CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Drama, North American box office gross: $52.460 million, worldwide $89.960 million, Amazon. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. 
Joy Ride
(2023) Unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are. Vitals: Director: Adele Lim. Stars: Ashley Park, Lennon Yee, Isla Rose Hall, Sherry Cola, Chloe Pun, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ronny Chieng, Meredith Hagner, David Denman. CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy, North American box office gross: $12.897 million, worldwide $15.717 million, Lionsgate. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: “A Grand Adventure: Making Joy Ride”; “Adele Lim, Director: A Siren Call to Hollywood”; “A Place of Joy: R Is for Representation”; “Never Too Much: A Comedic Lovefest”; “WAP Sing-along”; “WAP Solo Cast Choreography”; deleted scene; theatrical trailer.
This Week’s Best Bets
A young sister and brother are abandoned in the harsh Australian outback and must learn to cope in the natural world, without their usual comforts, in “Walkabout” (1971 — Australia), a hypnotic masterpiece from Nicolas Roeg. Along the way, they meet an Aboriginal youth on his walkabout, a rite of passage in which adolescent boys are initiated into manhood by journeying into the wilderness alone. “Walkabout” is a thrilling adventure as well as a provocative 
</a rumination on time and civilization. On 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo, with new 4K digital master, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. From The Criterion Collection. Read more here … In 1978, actor-director Sammo Hung gave Hong Kong audiences the Wing Chun crash course of “Warriors Two,” while his next directorial effort, 1979’s “Knockabout,” gave Yuen Biao the chance to shine as its lead star. But it would be in 1981 that he would combine Biao’s newfound screen presence and the legacy of “Warriors Two’s” Leung Tsan into what is still considered one of his best directorial efforts. In “The Prodigal Son” (1981 — Hong Kong) Leung Tsan (Biao) is a wealthy young man living the dream, thinking he’s the “Kung Fu King” of the town of Foshan. However, his dream is about to become a nightmare when he is easily beaten in a fight by ![photo for The Prodigal Son [Limited Edition]](https://www.onvideo.org/photos23/prodigal-son-box.jpg)
the star of a traveling opera troupe, Leung Yee-Tai (Lam Ching-Ying). It is at this low point that the truth is revealed to Tsan – all of his “victories” have been nothing but paid-for set-ups by his family out of a misguided act of protection. With this revelation, Tsan pleads with Yee-Tai to train him in the form of combat that led to his defeat: Wing Chun. Yee-Tai, with the help of fellow Wing Chun master Wong Wah-Bo (Hung), will train Tsan to not only be as skilled as he once thought he was, but even better. Though a mysterious challenger (Frankie Chan) and his ruthless Manchu bodyguards may end the journey before it can even begin. Winning the award for Best Action Choreography at the inaugural Hong Kong Film Awards in 1982, “The Prodigal Son” is considered by many to be not only one of the best films to showcase the style of Wing Chun, but also one of the best martial arts films of all time, with some of the most tightly choreographed and fast paced fight scenes that remain just as jaw-dropping over four decades later. 2K restorations from the original elements by Fortune Star of both the original HK “Theatrical Release Presentation” and the “Home Release Presentation.” In a Limited Edition Blu-ray from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here.
Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:
In “Aporia” (2023), starring Judy Greer, Edi Gathegi, Faithe Herman and Payman Maadi, since losing her husband Mal in a drunk-driving incident, Sophie (Greer) has struggled to manage crippling grief, a full-time job, and the demands of parenting her devastated teenage daughter. When her husband’s best friend Jabir, a former physicist, reveals that he has been building a time-bending machine that could restore her former life, Sophie will be faced with an 
impossible choice —- and unforeseeable consequences. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Well Go USA. Read more here … In “Cobweb” (2023), starring Lizzy Caplan, Woody Norman, Cleopatra Coleman and Antony Starr, eight-year-old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall – a tapping that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter’s fear intensifies, he believes that his parents (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trust. And for a child, what could be more frightening than that? On DVD, Blu-ray, from Lionsgate … In “Death Game” (1977), starring Seymour Cassel, Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp, Cassel stars as George Manning, a family man whose perfect life is turned into a nightmare of sex and torture when he allows himself to be seduced by two nubile young strangers (Locke and Camp) who show up at his door on a rainy night. Considered lost for many decades, “Death Game” is being presented for the first time on home video in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, meticulously restored in 4K from the original camera negative. On Blu-ray with a bonus CD of original soundtrack by Jimmie Haskell – newly discovered and remastered in 24bit/192Khz sound. From Grindhouse Releasing … 
“The Last House on the Left” (2009) is a vicious and efficient updating of the 1972 controversial graphic shocker of the same name, produced by its original director-producer pairing of Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham. When athletic teen Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family’s remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget. The two girls wind up in the company of escaped convict Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and his makeshift family of vile career criminals, who kidnap and brutally assault them before leaving them for dead. Fleeing from the scene of their violent crime during a storm, the thugs inadvertently seek refuge with Mari’s parents, anxious as to why their daughter hasn’t come home yet and primed to unleash the full forces of hell on anyone who would dare to touch so much as a hair on her head. Energetically directed by Dennis Iliadis from a new script by Carl Ellsworth (“Red Eye,” “Disturbia”), this remake of horror cinema’s seminal tale of bloody revenge has been described by Stephen King as “the best horror movie of the new century.” Co-stars Aaron Paul, Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn. In a 4K UHD + Blu-ray set. Features two versions of the film: the original Theatrical Version (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray) and the Unrated Version (Blu-ray). A single Blu-ray version of the film was released August 29. Read more here. From Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment … The seven-film set “Irwin Allen: Master of Disaster Collection” includes both television and theatrical films from director-writer-producer Irwin Allen, the master of the disaster film. From an overturned cruise liner and a bursting dam to collapsing caves, bridges and more, all seven white-knuckle thrillers are presented with a new 2K scan from the Interpositive. The films feature incredible all-star casts including Michael Caine, Paul Newman, Sally Field, Leslie Nielsen, Telly Savalas, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Shirley Jones, Roddy McDowall and a huge roster of supporting screaming actors and actresses. The films: “Flood” (1976-TV), “Fire” (1977-TV), “Hanging By a Tread” (1979-TV), “Beyond the Poseidon Adventure” (1979), “When Time Ran Out” (1980), “The Night the Bridge Fell Down” (1980-TV), “Cave In!” (1983-TV). On Blu-ray from Shout! Studios.
On the Indie Front:
“The Latent Image” (2023), starring Joshua Tonks and Jay Clift, mixes elements of fear, excitement, sexuality and danger as gay writer Ben (Tonks) has his solitude in the woods invaded by a mysterious stranger (Clift). Both threatened by and attracted to the attractive man, has Ben found the perfect inspiration for his new book or are his darkest and most dangerous fantasies about to come to life? On DVD from Cinephobia Releasing. Read more here.
Foreign Films:
In “Between Two Worlds” (2023 — France) Famed author Marianne Winckler (Juliette Binoche) goes undercover to investigate the exploitation of the working class in Northern France. She eventually lands a job as a cleaner on the cross-channel ferry and develops close connections with the other cleaning women, many of whom have extremely limited resources and income opportunities. As she learns more about the plight of these workers, Marianne struggles 
with her deception toward them and tries to rationalize that it’s for the greater good. A longtime passion project for star and Academy Award-Winning Actress Juliette Binoche, “Between Two Worlds” is adapted from Florence Aubenas’ bestselling non-fiction work “Le Quai de Ouistreham (The Night Cleaner)” and marks Emmanuel Carrère’s return to directing for the first time since “The Moustache” in 2008. Carrère has achieved world renown and acclaim as an author and has been described by The New Yorker as “France’s best-known writer of literary nonfiction.” On DVD, Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group … In “The Pilot” (2023 — French), starring Hugo Becker, Eye Haidara, Grégory Fitoussi and Kahina Carina, a drone pilot in Mali conducts a military operation in which he is tracking down the head of a jihadist network with his team. But he finds himself in the middle of a terrible dilemma when he needs to make a choice between his duty, the protection of his men in the field, and his family, taken as hostages by terrorists and who might get executed if he refuses to cooperate. From Freestyle Digital Media.
From TV to Disc:
“Cobra Kai Season 5” (2022) is a two-disc set with all 10 episodes of the aeries that takes place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament with the continuation of the inescapable conflict between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Following the shocking results of the All Valley Tournament, Season 5 finds Terry Silver expanding the Cobra Kai empire and trying to make his “No Mercy” style of karate the only game in town. With Kreese behind bars and Johnny Lawrence setting karate aside to focus on repairing the damage he’s caused, Daniel LaRusso must call on an old friend for help. From Sony … “George & Tammy” (2022-23) is a two-disc set with six episodes. Nominated for four Emmy awards, “George & Tammy” chronicles the country music power couple, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, whose complicated-but-enduring relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time. Starring Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain and Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon. From Paramount … “Poker Face: Season One” (2023) is a three-disc set with all 10 episodes of the mystery-of-the-week series that follows Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, who has an 
extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve. Co-stars Adrien Brody, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Paramount … “Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-6” (2013-22) is a six-disc set with all 61 episodes plus extras. “Rick and Morty” is the critically acclaimed, Emmy-award-winning half-hour animated comedy series on Adult Swim that follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Rick Sanchez is living with his daughter Beth’s family and constantly bringing her, his son-in-law Jerry, granddaughter Summer, and grandson Morty into intergalactic escapades. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Adult Swim/Warner … “Succession: The Complete Series” (2018-23) is a 12-disc set with all 39 episodes. Power, politics, money … it’s all in the family in this Emmy-winning drama series. When the head of one of the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerates considers retiring, a bitter corporate battle threatens to turn into a family civil war as each of his four grown children scheme for control of the company. Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Alan Ruck star. From HBO/Warner … “The Walking Dead – Dead City: The Complete First Season” (2023) is a two-disc set with all six episodes. “The Walking Dead” regulars Maggie and Negan travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland in this spin-off series. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror. On DVD, Blu-ray, from RLJ Entertainment.
