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Annie Hall BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1977) Dir.: Woody Allen; Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts. (MGM).
The Apartment: Collector's Edition BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1960) Dir.: Billy Wilder; Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston. (MGM).
Beginning of the Great Revival
(2011 -- China) Chow Yun-Fat, Andy Lau, Liu Ye. Details the historic events surrounding the Chinese Revolution -- the period from 1911 to 1921 when Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty and planted the roots of what has become modern-day China's Communist government. Formats: DVD, VOD. (China Lion/New Video).
Beware the Gonzo
(2011) Ezra Miller, Jesse McCartney, Zoe Kravitz, Amy Sedaris, Campbell Scott. Teen-angst comedy about a wild-eyed rebel journalist ousted from his prep school's newspaper who starts an underground paper, The Gonzo Files, to give voice to all the school's misfits. Formats: DVD. (Tribeca Film/New Video).
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Season One
(1979-80) Six-disc set with all 21 episodes, $24.98. (Universal).
The Confession
(2011) Keifer Sutherland, John Hurt. On Christmas Eve, a hit man enters a church to confess his sins. Through a series of flashbacks, the Confessor's journey is revealed, laying out what has brought him to this moment and leading to a climax where his chance at ultimate redemption hangs in the balance. Formats: DVD, VOD. (Flatiron Film/New Video).
Dirty Little Trick
(2011) Michael Madsen, Dean Cain, Christie Burson. An innocent man goes for the ride of his life after picking up a beautiful hitchhiker, ending up entangled in a web of love, lies and deceit. (Maya Entertainment).
Essential Killing
(2010) Dir.: Jerzy Skolimowski; Vincent Gallo, Emmanuelle Seigner. Vincent Gallo gives an award-winning performance as Mohammed, a Taliban fighter captured by the U.S. military in Afghanistan after a violent desert attack goes awry. While being transported to a secret detention center in Europe, the vehicle crashes and he suddenly finds himself free. But his newfound freedom quickly disappears as he is relentlessly pursued in a snow-blanketed forest by an army that does not "officially" exist. Formats: DVD. (Tribeca Film/New Video).
50/50
(2011) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Commentary with the filmmakers, deleted scenes, "The Story of 50/50," more. (Summit Entertainment).
George Gently, Series 1 BLU-RAY DEBUT
(2007) Three feature-length mysteries based on the long-running series of novels by Alan Hunter. (Acorn Media).
Godzilla
(1954) Ishiro Honda's "Godzilla" is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It's also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population's fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than 20 sequels and spinoffs. This first thrilling, tactile spectacle continues to be a cult phenomenon; here, we present the original 1954 Japanese version, along with "Godzilla: King of the Monsters!", the 1956 American reworking starring Raymond Burr. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Commentary by David Kalat ("A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series"); new high-definition digital restoration of "Godzilla: King of the Monsters!", Terry Morse's 1956 reworking of the original, starring Raymond Burr; commentary for" Godzilla: King of the Monsters!" by Kalat; new interviews with actor Akira Takarada, "Godzilla" performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai; interview with legendary" Godzilla" score composer Akira Ifukube; featurette detailing "Godzilla's" photographic effects; new interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato; "The Unluckiest Dragon," an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo fukuryu maru, a real-life event that inspired "Godzilla"; theatrical trailers; booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman. (The Criterion Collection).
Happy Happy
(2010 -- Norway) Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Joachim Rafaelsen. Family is the most important thing in the world to Kaja. She's an eternal optimist in spite of living with a man who would rather go hunting with the boys, and who refuses to have sex with her because she "isn't particularly attractive" anymore." But when "the perfect couple" moves in next door, Kaja struggles to keep her emotions in check: Not only do these successful, beautiful, exciting people sing in a choir, they have also adopted a child -- from Ethiopia! These new neighbors open a new world to Kaja, with consequences for everyone involved. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Magnolia Home Entertainment).
Manhattan BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1979) Dir.: Woody Allen; Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep. (MGM).
Mannix: The Sixth Season
(1972-73) Six-disc set with 24 episodes, $54.99. (CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment).
Memphis
(2012) Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical, with the original cast, recorded at the Shubert Theatre in New York. The play takes place in the smoky halls and underground clubs of the segregated 50s where a young white DJ falls in love with and electrifying black singer and how the pair changed music forever. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Shout! Factory).
The Moment of Truth
(1964) "The Moment of Truth," from director Francesco Rosi ("Salvatore Giuliano") is a visceral plunge into the life of a famous torero -- played by real-life bullfighting legend Miguel Mateo, known as Miguelin. Charting his rise and fall with a single-minded focus on the bloody business at hand, the film is at once gritty and operatic, placing the viewer right in the thick of the ring's action, as close to death as possible. Like all of the great Italian truth seeker's films, this is a not just an electrifying drama but also a profound and moving inquiry into a violent world -- and perhaps the greatest bullfighting movie ever made. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Interview with director Francesco Rosi from 2004; booklet featuring an essay by critic Peter Matthews. (The Criterion Collection).
Notorious BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1946) Dir.: Alfred Hitchcock; Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains. (MGM).
Paranormal Activity 3
(2011) Christopher Nicholas Smith, Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Dustin Ingram, Maria Olsen. Extended and theatrical versions. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital Download, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Lost Tapes. (Paramount).
Punished
(2011 -- Hong Kong) Anthony Wong, Richie Jen, Janice Man, Maggie Cheung. When a tycoon's daughter is found dead of a cocaine overdose after being rescued from abduction, he stops at nothing to avenge her death, turning to his trusted bodyguard to seek out the perpetrators and exact revenge. Extras: Two behind-the-scenes featurettes, photo gallery, international trailer, exclusive QR code for additional bonus material. (Indomina Releasing)
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?
(2011) Documentary about one of the most urgent and crucial environmental issues of our time: The disappearance of honeybees from their hives with no clear single explanation, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. It's also a chronicle of man's historic and sacred relationship with bees and the integral role that the honey-fueled insects hold around the world. According to a reported Albert Einstein quote, "If bees disappear from the earth, then man will only have four years of life left." (Music Box Films).
Real Steel
(2011) Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, James Rebhorn. Available as a single-disc DVD, two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and three-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo. Extras: "Making of Metal Valley" and "Building the Bots" featurettes, bloopers. Blu-ray adds "Countdown to the Fight: The Charlie Kenton Story," "Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman's Champ," deleted and extended scenes. (DreamWorks).
Rebecca BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1940) Dir.: Alfred Hitchcock; Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson. (MGM).
Restless
(2011) Dir.: Gus Van Sant; Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Jane Adams, Ryo Kase. Available as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. Extras: Gus Van Sant's Silent version of "Restless," deleted scenes, "Enoch & Annabel: One Love," "Enoch & Hiroshi: The Best of Friends," "Gus Van Sant: Independent Voice," "Being Restless," "Coming to Life: This Is Restless. "(Sony).
Spellbound BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1945) Dir.: Alfred Hitchcock; Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll. (MGM).
Tales of an Ancient Empire
(2011) Kevin Sorbo, Michael Pare, Melissa Ordway, Whitney Able, Sarah Ann Schultz. The world's greatest warriors are summoned to save the peaceful kingdom of Abelar, which is threatened by a demon sorceress and an army of vampires. Extras: Behind-the-scenes footage with cast interviews. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital Download. (Lionsgate).
Timmy Time: Timmy Needs a Bath
(2012) Five episodes with the barnyard preschoolers, $14.98. (HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate).
Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns: Season 4
(2011) Three-disc set with 20 episodes, $29.98. (Lionsgate).
WWII In 3D
(2011) Tells the epic story of the war from the rise of the Nazis, their sweep across Europe, the Allied counterattack and the fall of Nazi Germany. Presents for the first time dramatic moments of WWII that were captured in 3D with stereographs and then shuttered away in secret archives and attics until now. A stunning collection of color 3D photos includes Allied reconnaissance photos, a trove of images that documents the rise and fall of the Third Reich, and photos secretly taken by a civilian in occupied France. Also features an actual 3D motion picture film shot by the Nazis in 1943 to create a fully immersive, three dimensional portrait of history's largest and bloodiest conflict. Formats: Blu-ray. (A&E).
The Woman
(2011) When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital Download. Extras: "The Making of The Woman," deleted scenes, "Mi Burro," a short film; music track "Distracted" by Sean Spillane. (The Bloody Disgusting Selects/Vivendi Entertainment).
The Whistleblower
(2011) Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn, Benedict Cumberbatch, Monica Bellucci, David Hewlett. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Cast and crew interviews. (Fox).
Wings BLU-RAY DEBUT
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom
(2011) Macha Grenon, Gil Bellows, Julia Stone. It's 1976 and Elizabeth is just your average suburban 11-year-old praying for adolescence to arrive when she discovers her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, Elizabeth runs away in search of her true identity. Her adoptive mother Marion is then forced to break out of the carefully constructed "truth" she's been clinging to and go after her daughter. This leads to a cathartic cross-country trek by a mother searching for a daughter who's searching for a mother. (Osiris Entertainment).
Real Steel
A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech. Hugh Jackman stars as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.
Vitals: Director: Shawn Levy. Stars: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, James Rebhorn.
2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 127 min., Sci-Fi Action, Box office gross: $82.557 million, DreamWorks.
The Whistleblower
Based on a true story, Whistleblower chronicles the trials of a female cop who serves as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and exposes a United Nations cover-up of a sex trafficking scandal. When Nebraska cop Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) accepts a U.N. peacekeeper position in post-war Bosnia, she uncovers a deadly sex trafficking ring. After learning that fellow peacekeepers and military contractors are involved in the ghastly practice and its cover-up, Bolkovac risks her own life to save the lives of others and expose the corruption.
Vitals: Director: Larysa Kondracki. Stars: Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn, Benedict Cumberbatch, Monica Bellucci, David Hewlett.
2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $58.000 million, Fox.
50/50
Diagnosed with a rare spinal cancer, 27-year-old Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) navigates the road to recovery with the sometimes overbearing support of his crude best friend (Seth Rogen), his smothering mother (Anjelica Huston) and an inexperienced therapist (Anna Kendrick). Inspired by a true story.
Vitals: Director: Jonathan Levine. Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston.
2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $34.963 million, Summit Entertainment.
Paranormal Activity 3
Second sequel in the popular series of films that document paranormal activity. Here it's 1988, and young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.
Vitals: Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman. Stars: Christopher Nicholas Smith, Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Dustin Ingram, Maria Olsen. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 83 min., Horror, Box office gross: $103.783 million, Paramount.
Restless
Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikowska) is a charming terminal cancer patient with a deep felt love of life and the natural world. Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper) is a young man who has dropped out of the business of living after an accident claimed the life of his parents. When these two outsiders chance to meet at a funeral, they find an unexpected common ground in their unique experiences of the world. For Enoch, it includes his best friend Hiroshi (Ryo Kase), who happens to be the ghost of a Kamikaze fighter pilot. For Annabel, it involves an admiration of Charles Darwin and an interest in how other creatures live. Upon learning of Annabel's imminent early passing, Enoch offers to help her face her last days with an irreverent abandon, tempting fate, tradition and even death itself. As their unique love for each other grows, so do the realities of the world that they have felt closing in on them. Daring, childlike, and distinctly rare -- these two bravely face what life has in store for them. Fighting pain, anger and loss with youth, playfulness and originality, these two misfits turn the tables on life and play by their own rules. Their journey begins to collide with the unstoppable march of time, as the natural cycle of life comes to claim Annabel. Vitals: Director: Gus Van Sant. Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Jane Adams, Ryo Kase.
2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 92 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.159 million, Sony.
Annie Hall
(1977)
The Apartment
(1960)
Manhattan
(1979)
Notorious
(1946)
Rebecca
(1940)
Spellbound
(1945)
Read more.
(1927) Dir.: William Wellman; The inaugural Best Picture Academy Award-winner. Meticulously restored, this World War I drama explores the devastating effects of war through the story of two men who go off to battle and the woman they both leave behind. Featuring groundbreaking aerial dogfights and epic battle sequences, "Wings" is both a cinematic spectacle and a compelling story of love and sacrifice that effectively dramatizes the bitter wages of war. Because the original negative was lost decades ago, contemporary audiences have only seen "Wings" in a compromised form. The restoration process used a duplicate negative housed in the Paramount archive, but despite this being the best element available, the negative was beset by damage, including entire reels that were strafed with scratches and printed-in nitrate deterioration that was literally eating into the edges of the frames. Using state-of-the-art digital tools normally used to create special effects, the film was meticulously restored frame-by-frame. Original tints and effects, such as colors that were embossed onto the film strip to give flames and explosions a fiery look, were also digitally recreated based on a detailed continuity script that still existed and tinting/toning guides from the period. For this release, the film's original paper score was procured from the Library of Congress and recorded with a full orchestra. Like many silent film scores, the music was a combination of original composition, popular songs of the period and themes from classical music. Extras: New documentaries: "Wings: Grandeur in the Sky," which gives perspective on the remarkable cinematic achievements of William Wellman and his team of filmmakers; "Dogfight," which explores the history of early aeronautics; and "Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings," which details the painstaking process of returning this monumental epic to its original glory. Also available on DVD. Read the complete press release. (Paramount).
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January 23, 2012
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