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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
This Week's Top Pick:
Bonekickers
(2008) BBC action-adventure series follows a motley team of archaeologists as they unearth secrets from the past. Six-disc set, $39.99. (Acorn Media).
The Boys Are Back
(2009) Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, Emma Booth, George MacKay, Nicholas McAnulty. Story of an irreverent and independent sportswriter who suddenly faces single fatherhood. Extras: "The Boys Are Back: A Photographic Journey," "A Father and Two Sons, On Set." (Miramax).
Brave New Films 5th Anniversary Activist Collection
For the past five years, Robert Greenwald and his production company, Brave New Films, have been at the forefront of the fight to create a just America. Using new media and Internet video campaigns, Brave New Films has created a quick-strike capability that informs the public, challenges corporate media with truth, and motivates people to take action on social issues worldwide. Now, the team at Brave New Films has compiled virtually everything they've produced to date into a colossal, 10-disc box set. Titles include: "Rethink Afghanistan," "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War," "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," "Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers," more, plus all the related shorts and extras for each title, $59.99. (The Disinformation Company).
Bright Star
(2009) Dir.: Jane Campion; Stars: Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Thomas Sangster, Paul Schneider, Samuel Barnett, Kerry Fox, Roger Ashton-Griffiths.
Extras: Deleted scene, "Becoming Keats and Fanny" featurette, "Setting the Scene" featurette; "An Inspiring Romance" featurette. (Sony).
Callan, Set 2
Two-disc set with 13 episodes, $59.99. Edward Woodward stars as Callan, a brooding, conscience-stricken assassin for a shadowy British intelligence service so secret it doesn't have a name. Marking esteemed British actor Edward Woodward's first major television role, Callan aired from 1967-72 and earned a rabid following, spawning five novels and a feature film. Extras: Commentary by Woodward. (Acorn Media).
Carnera: The Walking Mountain
(2008) Andrea Laia, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Sorvino, Burt Young. Biodrama about the Italian fighting champ Primo Carnera, who won the World heaveyweight Championship in 1933. (Monarch Home Video).
Copyright Criminals: This Is a Sampling Sport
(2009) Documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than 30 years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a "borrowed melody" became a "copyright infringement." As artists find ever more inventive ways to insert old influences into new material, this documentary asks a critical question, on behalf of an entire creative community: Can you own a sound? (Indiepix Films).
Cowboys & Outlaws
(2009) Two-disc set of the History Channel series, $24.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Dominick Dunne: After the Party
(2009) Candid and poignant journey through Dunne's roller coaster life, as told through the pictures, films, and unforgettable stories of the man himself and those that knew him best. Vanity Fair Special Correspondent Dunne became known the world over for his vociferous championing of the rights of the victim in high-profile murder cases. His powerful commentaries have made compelling reading in Vanity Fair for a quarter of a century. In the documentary, Dunne is covering his last murder trial for Vanity Fair -- the trial of music producer Phil Spector -- and he reflects upon his past as a decorated WWII Veteran, his rise and spectacular collapse as a Hollywood producer, and his rebirth as the writer we know today. (Indiepix Films).
The Escapist
(2008) Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes, Seu Jorge, Liam Cunningham, Dominic Cooper. A tough convict serving a life sentence puts together a hardcore crew to bust out of a London penitentiary to see his terminally ill daughter. A BAFTA award-winner. (IFC Films).
Fireball
(2009 - Thailand) Preeti Barameeanant, Khanutra Chuchuaysuwan, 9 Million Sam, Phutharit Prombundarn. Thai martial arts actioner. A young man comes home from jail to find his twin brother in a coma and assumes his identity to find out why. His investigation leads him to an underground ultra-violent game based on Muay Thai and Basketball principles, hosted by criminal drug lords, and he risks his life to avenge his brother on a court where murder is legal, there's no rules and no mercy, and only the strongest will survive. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette. (Lionsgate).
Frontier of Dawn
(2008 -- France) Louis Garrel, Laura Smet. A handsome photographer begins a passionate affair with one of his subjects, a gorgeous rising star whose new husband is always away in Hollywood. (IFC Films).
Fuel
(2009) Michael Esparza, C. Thomas Howell. A young man, stuck working at his stepfather's gas station, struggles to change his life and save his girlfriend from an abusive life. But a tragic flaw -- a violent streak he possesses, induced by exposure to gasoline vapors -- all but destroys his best-laid plans. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Vanguard Cinema).
Give 'em Hell Malone
(2009) Thomas Jane, Ving Rhames, Doug Hutchison, Elsa Pataky. A tough as nails private investigator squares off with gangsters and thugs to protect a valuable and mysterious suitcase that purportedly contains the "meaning of love." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (National Entertainment Media)
The Higher Force
(2008 -- Iceland) Petur Johann Sigfusson, Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson, Eggert Borleifsson, Michael Imperioli. A low-life debt collector becomes the top dog in his paranoid gang by pretending to know a renowned crime lord, a neighbor of his who happens to be a lonely school teacher with illusions of grandeur and troubles at work. Naturally, things get out of hand when the gang wants him to move on the "crime lord." (Vanguard Cinema).
I Heart Jonas
(2009) Single-disc with seven episodes, $19.99. Extras: "You've Just Been Jo Bro'd: Surprising Jordin Sparks," premium magnets featuring each of the Jonas Brothers on the package. (Disney).
In a Day
(2006) Lorraine Pilkington, Finlay Robertson. An aspiring musician who makes ends meet by working as a waitress in London is swept off her feet by a stranger who frequents her deli. (IFC Films).
The Inspector Lewis Complete Set
Eight-disc set with 11 Masterpiece Mystery! Inspector Lewis mysteries, including "Whom the Gods Would Destroy," "Old School Ties," "Expiation," An"d the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea," "Music to Die For," "Life Born of Fire," "The Great and the Good," "Allegory of Love", "The Quality of Mercy," and "The Point of Vanishing." $69.99. (PBS).
Jackie Chan Presents Wushu
(2008) Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Fengchao Liu, Wenjie Wang, Fei Wang. Martial arts legend and executive producer Jackie Chan introduces a new generation of fans to the art of combat in this new action film. Upon arrival at an elite martial arts conservatory, a group of young boys swear an allegiance to each other and form a gang. A decade later at graduation, they unexpectedly cross paths with an evil martial arts master and foil his kidnapping plan, using their combat skills to defeat the enemy and save their brotherhood. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette, Cannes world Premiere footage with Jackie Chan. (Lionsgate).
JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America
(2009) Strips away years of confusion to allow for a fresh and clear-eyed view of that historic day in November 1963, when a gunman pulled a trigger and forever changed the world. This four-hour special relies heavily on evidence and facts, exploiting the vast archive of recorded film and photography and presenting it alongside the testimony of eyewitnesses, and is shown as a countdown clock re-creation, ticking inevitably toward Zero Hour -- the moment rifle shots ring out in Dealy Plaza. Single-disc, $19.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After
(2009) Near real-time account of this pivotal day in history told from the point-of-view of Vice President Lyndon Johnson that uses stunning details uncovered in newly public documents to reveal a vice president thrust into the role of commander-in-chief, forced to make critical decisions with limited information. Single-disc, $19.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Little Ashes
(2009) Dir.: Paul Morrison; Javier Beltran, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell. Docudrama about the life and loves of artist Salvador Dali, filmmaker Luis Bunuel and writer Federico Garcia Lorca. Madrid in 1922 is a city wavering on the edge of change as traditional values are challenged by the dangerous new influences of Jazz, Freud and the avant-garde. Eighteen-year-old Salvador Dali (Pattinson) arrives at the university determined to become a great artist. With a bizarre blend of shyness and rampant exhibitionism, he attracts the attention of two of the university's social elite -- Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltran) and Luis Bunuel (Matthew McNulty). But as the three explore the art world together, a forbidden attraction develops which changes their lives forever. Extras: Interviews with the cast and director, making-of featurette. (E1 Entertainment).
MI-5 Volume 7
(2009) Four-disc set with eight episodes of the British spy series, Extras: Commentary, behind the scenes documentary, more. (Warner).
Mermaid
(2008 -- Russia) Russia's entry in the 2009 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Five-year-old Alisa has taken a rebellious vow of silence and when she's shipped off to a special-needs school, she channels her emotional turmoil into magical telekinetic powers. Years later, she meets a man who inspires her to speak again. (IFC Films).
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Mr. Vincent
(1997) Frank John Hughes, Lisa Locicero, Mimi Scott, Robert Bruzio. A struggling songwriter and high school teacher, who obsesses over the women in his life, gets involved with a female drifter who drags him down with lies, threats and betrayal. (Vanguard Cinema).
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein
Hosted by Alastair Cooke, "Omnibus" was the Golden Age of Television's most distinguished production, a multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series delivering sophistication, refinement, and sparkling intelligence to a national audience. Its eight seasons, broadcast nationwide from 1952 to 1961, featured the most accomplished luminaries of the day. In collaboration with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, E1 Entertainment will bring the heralded series to a new generation; the first release in the series is "Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein," featuring seven newly-restored programs featuring Leonard Bernstein in a four-DVD set. Includes "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony" (1955), "The World of Jazz" (1955), "The Art of Conducting" (1955), "American Musical Comedy" (1956), "Introduction to Modern Music" (1957), "The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach" (1957) and "What Makes Opera Grand?" (1958). $49.98. Extras: Rare performance of Handel's Messiah, with Bernstein conducting from the harpsichord. (E1 Entertainment).
On the Line
(1987) David Carradine, Scott Wilson, Victoria Abril. A Border Patrol agent is determined to catch his old nemesis, an American criminal who successfully smuggles illegal aliens across the border from Mexico. (Vanguard Cinema).
Paris, Texas
(1984) Dir.: Wim Wenders; Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell. German New Wave pioneer Wim Wenders brings his keen eye for landscape to the American Southwest in "Paris, Texas," a profoundly moving character study written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard. "Paris, Texas" follows the efforts of the mysterious, nearly mute drifter Travis (a magnificent Harry Dean Stanton, whose face is a landscape of its own) to reconnect with his young son, living with his brother (Dean Stockwell) in Los Angeles, and his missing
wife (Nastassja Kinski). From this simple setup, Wenders and Shepard produce a powerful statement on codes of masculinity and the myth of the American family,
as well as an exquisite visual exploration of a vast, crumbling world of canyons
and neon. Extras: Commentary featuring Wenders; interview with Wenders by German journalist Roger Willemsen; excerpts from the 1990 film "Motion and Emotion," featuring interviews with Wenders, actor Harry Dean Stanton, composer Ry Cooder, cinematographer Robby Muller, Samuel Fuller, Dennis Hopper, and Peter Falk; new interviews with filmmakers Allison Anders and Claire Denis; Cinema cinemas: "Wim Wenders Hollywood April '84," with Wenders and Cooder working on the score; deleted scenes and Super 8 home movies; gallery of Wenders's location-scouting photos; behind-the-scenes photos by Robin Holland; booklet featuring an essay by film critic Nick Roddick and interviews with Stanton, writer Sam Shepard, and actors Nastassja Kinski and Dean Stockwell.
Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).
Pawn Stars: Season One
(2009) Two-disc set, $19.95. Extras: "Meet the Pawn Stars" and "Real or Fake" featurettes, additional footage. (A&E Home Entertainment).
The People Speak
(2009) Presenting history through speeches, letters and music performed by today’s most talented voices, this stirring History program pays homage to ordinary citizens whose words and actions commanded extraordinary change in America. Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, this documentary gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice. Based on historian Howard Zinn's best-selling books, including "The People’s History of the United States" and "Voices of a People’s History," it features Matt Damon reading from The Declaration of Independence; Bruce Springsteen performing Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" with voiceovers by Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tomei, Josh Brolin, Viggo Mortensen, Kerry Washington, Bob Dylan and Eddie Vedder. Extras:
Never-before-aired footage, additional performances, photo gallery and more. $19.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Ponypool
(2008) Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly, Rick Roberts. Cult psychological horror thriller about a radio shock-jock who discovers that a deadly virus -- which turns people into murderers -- is being spread through language and has infected his small Canadian town. (IFC Films).
Prom Night in Mississippi
(2008) Documentary about a small-town in Mississippi as it prepares for its first integrated senior prom. In 1970, the town of Charleston, Mississippi, allowed black students into their white high school, but refused to integrate the senior prom. Twenty-seven years later, Charleston resident and Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman offered to finance the prom -- under one condition: it had to be integrated. His offer was ignored. In 2008, Freeman made the offer again. This time the school board accepted, and history was made. Extras: Conversation with the director and producers, deleted and extended scenes, filmmaker biography. (Docurama Films).
Quiet Chaos
(2008 -- Italy) Nanni Moretti, Valeria Golino, Alessandro Gassman, Isabella Ferrari. A stressed-out business executive loses his wife and then struggles to raise his 10-year-old daughter by himself, waiting for the pain to arrive every day but instead taking on the pain and difficulties of his friends, relatives and co-workers. Winner of three David di Donatella Awards (Italy's Oscars).(IFC Films).
Re:Frame -- Scanning Time/Documenting Change
(2009) A selection of seven films from a contemporary Indian cinema far removed from Bollywood. Oscillating between documentary, video art, experimental film, and animation, this compilation explores the means with which the texture of memory is incorporated within post-colonial Indian society's individual journeys as well as the national psyche; within private circles as well as public spaces. It allows for contrasting points of view regarding the country's situation and its unanswered question: When the past has yet to catch up with the present, is it a threat or an alternative to the present? (Microcinema International).
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy
Roberto Rossellini is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. And it was with his trilogy of films made during and after World War II -- "Rome Open City," "Paisan" and "Germany Year Zero" -- that he left his first transformative mark on cinema. With their stripped-down aesthetic, largely nonprofessional casts, and unorthodox approaches to storytelling, these intensely emotional works were international sensations and effectively launched the neorealist movement. Shot in battle-ravaged Italy and Germany, these three films are some of our most lasting, humane documents of devastated postwar Europe, containing universal images that encompass both tragedy and hope. In a three -disc set loaded with features, $79.95. (The Criterion Collection).
St. Trinian's
(2008) Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Lena Headey, Russell Brand, Mischa Barton. Extras: "The Official School Diary" making-of featurette, blooper reel, deleted scenes, Girls Aloud music video. (Sony).
Saw VI
(2009) Costas Mandylor, Mark Rolston, Betsy Russell, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Peter Outerbridge. In theatrical and unrated standard DVD and Blu-ray editions. (Lionsgate).
SpongeBob SquarePants: Viking-Sized Adventure
(2009) SpongeBob and his pals go on a Viking-Sized Adventure, weather a storm, fill in for super heroes Mermaidman and Barnacleboy and meet Mr. Krab's grandpappy the pirate in this feature length adventure. Guest stars Dennis Quaid and Ian McShane. $16.99. (Paramount).
Southland: The Complete First Season
(2009) Two-disc set with seven episodes, $29.98. (Warner).
Surrogates
(2009) Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Francis Ginty, Michael Cudlitz with James Cromwell, Ving Rhames. Extras: Commentary by director Jonathan Mostow, "I Will Not Bow" Music video by Breaking Benjamin. Blu-ray Disc adds "A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates," "Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life" visual exploration of the evolution of "Surrogates" from graphic novel film, deleted scenes. (Disney).
Tennessee
(2009) Mariah Carey, Adam Rothenberg, Ethan Peck. Two brothers on a cross-country search for their estranged father are joined by an aspiring singer fleeing her troubled marriage. Extras: "Road to Tennessee" behind-the-scenes featurette. (Vivendi Entertainment).
3 Americas
(2008) Kristen Gonzalez. A young girl -- America -- spends her summer in Boston shoplifting, hanging out with friends and avoiding her aunt's alcoholic husband. But a tragedy sends her to Buenos Aires, Argentina to live with her reclusive and anti-American grandmother, and America must struggle to find her place. (Vanguard Cinema).
Touched By An Angel: Inspiration Collection -- Faith
Four thematic episodes. (CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount).
Touched By An Angel: Inspiration Collection -- Love
Four thematic episodes. (CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount).
Tru Loved
(2008) Najarra Townsend, Jake Abel, Matthew Thompson, Alexandra Paul. A 16-year-old girl is uprooted by her lesbian moms from her gay-friendly home in San Francisco and moved to a conservative suburban community in Southern California, where her life is life complicated by sexual politics, closed minds and closeted friends. (E1 Entertainment).
The Waltons: The Movie Collection
Six Walton telefilms that aired between 1982-1997 on CBS: "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain," "Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain," "A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain," "A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion," "A Walton Wedding" and "A Walton Easter"; $39.98. (Warner).
Whip It
(2009) Dir.: Drew Barrymore; Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Zoe Bell, Juliette Lewis, Daniel Stern, Jimmy Fallon, and cameo appearances by real life derby girls Rachel Piplica and Kristen Adolfi, better known as "Iron Maiven" and "Krissy Krash" of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls. Extras: Deleted scenes, alternate opening, extended scenes. Blu-ray Disc adds digital copy. (Fox).
The Whitest Kids U'know: The Complete Second Season -- Uncut and Uncensored
(2008) Two-disc set with 10 episodes, $24.98. (E1 Entertainment).
WWII in HD
(2009) Visually astonishing landmark series presents the story of World War II through the eyes of 12 Americans who experienced the war firsthand, using color footage never before seen by most Americans -- converted to HD. Extras: Character profiles, Behind-the-scenes featurettes: "Finding the Footage", "Preserving the Footage." Three-disc Blu-ray, $39.95. Also available on DVD. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Worlds Apart
(2008 -- Denmark) Jend Jorn Spottag, Sarah Boberg. A proud Jehovah's Witness falls in love with a non-Witness and, torn between her conscience, faith and passion, is confronted with the most difficult choice in her life: she must choose between her love and her family that are worlds apart. Denmark's selection for the 2009 Academy Awards. (IFC Films).
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
(1985) Remastered deluxe edition. Extras: "Animating a Charlie Brown Musical." $19.98. (Warner).
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