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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts
(2014) New DC Comics Original Movie. When Gotham City is plagued by a slew of bizarre crimes committed by the animal-inspired villain squad, known as the Animilitia – made up of Silverback, Cheetah, Killer Croc and Man-Bat – Batman must swing into action to investigate. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Exclusive Firebat figurine, while supplies last. (Warner).
Beloved Sisters
(2014 -- Germany) Hannah Herzsprung, Florian Stetter, Henriette Confurius. Intimate romantic drama that illuminates the storied lives of two bold young women, Weimar-era sisters Caroline and Charlotte von Lengefeld and the celebrated German poet Friedrich Schiller. It's a surprisingly contemporary story of women who dared to flaunt convention as they approached love, marriage, sexuality and society on their own terms. Defying the mores of their time, the sisters decide to share their love for Schiller, with Charlotte and Schiller marrying so that the three lovers may pursue their menage a trois under the guise of convention. But as Caroline reveals herself to be a talented author in her own right, the trio's fragile balance is threatened and the sisters' once unbreakable connection is irrevocably changed. Germany's official submission to the Academy Awards. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD. (Music Box Films).
Battlestar Galactica: The Definitive Collection Blu-ray
(2014) Both original "Battlestar Galactica" TV series remastered for the first time in 16:9 widescreen presentation, plus the theatrical version of the premiere episode "Saga of a Star World" presented in 1.85:1 widescreen. The set includes widescreen and 4:3 full screen (TV) presentations of all 24 episodes of "Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series," widescreen and 4:3 full screen (TV) presentations of all 10 episodes of the spin-off "Galactica 1980: The Complete Series," and "Battlestar Galactica," the 125-minute theatrical edit of the premiere episode "Saga of a Star World."
Extras: More than three hours of deleted scenes; "Remembering Battlestar Galactica," a 45-minute retrospective documentary featuring cast and crew on the making of the ground-breaking series; episode commentary with Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Herbert Jefferson Jr.; show creator Glen Larson on the "Creation of Battlestar Galactica"; "Stu Phillips: Composing the Score"; more. $149.98. (Universal).
Battlestar Galactica: The Remastered Collection Blu-ray
For the less ambitious collector of all-things "Battlestar Galactica," this set contains just the remastered widescreen versions of "Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series" and "Galactica 1980: The Complete Series" as well as all the extras mentioned above. $119.98. (Universal).
The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show
Culled from over 1,000 hours of classic television from 1948 to 1971, this new, six-disc collection ($59.95) delivers unforgettable performances and rare appearances from the biggest
The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show: Unforgettable Performances
Single disc hosted by Carol Burnett. Features the very best of the sensational talent that Sullivan gathered over the years, including Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, influential performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, James Brown and Sammy Davis Jr, comedy legends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, rare performances from Barbra Streisand and Bobby Darin and more. $12.99. Formats: DVD. (StarVista Entertainment/Time Life).
Blackhat
The Cobbler
(2014) Adam Sandler, Cliff "Method Man" Smith, Ellen Barkin, Melonie Diaz, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi, Dascha Polanco. Max Simkin has had enough of working in his little New York shoe repair shop where he quietly envies people with more interesting lives. So when he discovers an old family heirloom with the magical ability to change his appearance and transform into any of his customers, the temptation is too good to pass up. However, his newfound ability to become someone else proves to be as troublesome as it is fun. When a ruthless real estate developer
The Colbys: The Complete Series
(1985-87) Twelve-disc set with all 49 episodes from two seasons, $119.00. A spin-off from the television phenomenon "Dynasty," "The Colbys" explored the lives and loves of a fabulously wealthy California family as they confront challenges from both outsiders and within their own lineage. To maintain power and control over their empire, the Colbys would stop at nothing ... including juicy schemes and shocking betrayals. Featuring an all-star cast, including Charlton Heston, John James, Katharine Ross, Emma Samms, Maxwell Caulfield, Tracy Scoggins, Ricardo Montalban, and Barbara Stanwyck, "The Colbys" is a glittering saga of the power and passion that drove the dreams of the 80s. Formats: DVD. Extras: New cast interviews with John James (Jeff), Maxwell Caulfield (Miles) and Stephanie Beacham (Sable). (Shout! Factory).
The Drownsman
(2014) Michelle Mylett, Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson, Sydney Kondruss, Clare Bastable, Ry Barrett. After almost drowning in a lake accident, Madison (Michelle Mylett) develops hydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. After shutting the world and her friends out for over a year, her friends attempt an intervention. But, instead of curbing Madison's fear, they unknowingly unleash something far worse: The vision of serial-killer–turned-supernatural psychopath Sebastian Donner -- known as "The Drownsman" -- who begins to stalk the women one by one, dragging them into a lair of submerged torment from which there is no escape. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Anchor Bay).
Jamaica Inn BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1939) Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Marie Ney, Leslie Banks, Robert Newton. Alfred Hitchcock's visually inventive film, seen for years in substandard prints and home video releases, has been fully restored in 4K in collaboration with the British Film Institute from an archival picture negative. "Jamaica Inn" was Hitchcock's last prewar film and the last from his great English period before he went to Hollywood. It was his first of three films based on the work of Daphne du Maurier, to be followed by "Rebecca" and "The Birds." Also available on DVD. Extras: Commentary by critic Jeremy Arnold, new video essay by Alfred Hitchcock biographer Donald Spoto, 2014 re-release trailer. (Cohen Film Collection).
Lilith, A Vampire Who Comes Back
(2008) Cinzia Susino, Tanino Golino, Emanuele Giammusso, Denise Uccello, Giuliana Accolla. Lusilla Helm has to marry against her will baron Ludwig Von Reder. But her honeymoon doesn't last very long. The poor girl dies and is buried inside the family tomb. After a short while, another girl announces herself at the doors of the baron's mansion. Her looks recall Lusilla's but in a disturbing way. As soon as the mysterious girl sets foot in the rooms where the baron's former wife used to live, strange noises and happenings start to haunt the silent halls of the house. Formats: DVD. Extras: Photo gallery, trailer. (One 7 Movies).
The Magic School Bus: Season Two
(1995) Two-disc set with all 13 episodes, $19.97. Ms. Frizzle and her class journey inside a volcano, take flight high in the sky and go back in time to visit the dinosaurs.
Formats: DVD. (Scholastic/Cinedigm).
Make Way for Tomorrow Blu-ray Debut
(1937) "Make Way for Tomorrow," by Leo McCarey ("An Affair to Remember"), is one of the great unsung Hollywood masterpieces, an enormously moving Depression-era depiction of the frustrations of family, aging, and the generation gap. Beulah Bondi and Victor Moore headline a cast of incomparable character actors, starring as an elderly couple who must move in with their grown children after the bank takes their home, yet end up separated and subject to their offspring's selfish whims. An inspiration for Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story," this is among American cinema's purest tearjerkers, all the way to its unflinching ending, which McCarey refused to change despite studio pressure. High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: "Tomorrow, Yesterday, and Today," an interview from 2009 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich discussing the career of McCarey and "Make Way for Tomorrow"; video interview from 2009 with critic Gary Giddins, in which he talks about McCarey's artistry and the political and social context of the film; a booklet featuring essays by critic Tag Gallagher and filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, and an excerpt from film scholar Robin Wood's 1998 piece "Leo McCarey and Family Values." (The Criterion Collection).
The Midnight Special
Three-disc set with more than four hours of classic performances from the 1970s groundbreaking late-night live TV show. A cultural phenomenon and visual spectacle, "The Midnight Special" was the show to watch for incredible live performances by the biggest music acts of the 70s. From
Mortdecai
(2015) Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany, Olivia Munn, Oliver Platt, Aubrey Plaza, Jeff Goldblum. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Stolen Moments: On the Set of Mortdecai" featurette, "The Art of Noise: Making Music for Mortdecai" featurette. (Lionsgate).
Retaliation
(1969 -- Japan) In 1969 future sexploitation specialist Yasuharu Hasebe ("Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter") teamed up with the inimitable Jo Shishido for a follow up to their yakuza hit "Massacre Gun." A tale of gang warfare that features a raft of the period's most iconic stars, Akira Kobayashi is a yakuza lieutenant who emerges from jail to find his gang dispersed and his aging boss in his sickbed. Shishido is the rival waiting to kill him and a young Meiko Kaji is the girl caught in the crossfire. Gritty and cynical, "Retaliation" is a hardboiled precursor to Kinji Fukasaku's revisionist yakuza pictures of the 1970s. In a limited edition of 3,000 copies. Restored High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation, on Blu-ray for the first time in the world!, with original uncompressed mono PCM audio. Newly translated English subtitles. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo. Extras: New interview with star Jo Shishido, interview with critic and historian Tony Rayns, original theatrical trailer, gallery featuring rare promotional images, reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan, booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, newly illustrated by Ian MacEwan and featuring original archive stills. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
The Sleepwalker
(2014) Gitte Witt, Christopher Abbott, Stephanie Ellis, Brady Corbet. Young couple Kaia and Andrew are restoring her family's sprawling and secluded rural estate when their peace is upended with the unexpected arrival of Kaia's emotionally disturbed sister Christine and her distraught boyfriend Ira. As Christine's behavior grows increasingly unhinged-including an unsettling incident of sleepwalking-long-buried traumas resurface and Kaia is forced to confront Christine's increasingly tangled perception of reality, which in turn may have begun to alter her own. Formats: DVD. (IFC Films).
Still Alice
(2014) Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Alec Baldwin, Victoria Cartagena, Hunter Parrish. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Three deleted scenes; three featurettes: "Directing Alice," "Finding Alice" in which the cast, filmmakers and Alzheimer's experts discuss what went into creating an accurate depiction of Alice Howland's disease, "Interview With Composer Ilan Eshkeri." (Sony).
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne
(1981 -- France) It's the engagement party for brilliant young Dr Henry Jekyll (Udo Kier) and his fiance, the beautiful Fanny Osbourne (Marina Pierro), attended by various pillars of Victorian society, including the astonishing Patrick Magee in one of his final roles. But when people are found raped and murdered outside and ultimately inside the house, it becomes clear that a madman has broken in to disrupt the festivities -- but who is he? And why does Dr Jekyll keep sneaking off to his laboratory? We know the answer, of course, but Walerian Borowczyk's visually stunning adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's much-filmed tale is crammed with wildly imaginative and outrageously perverse touches characteristic of the man who scandalized audiences with "Immoral Tales" and "The Beast," not least the explicitly sexualized nature of Mr Hyde's primal urges. Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
Texas Rangers: The Real Stories
(2015) Three complete HISTORY specials chronicling the adventures of the legendary Texas Rangers. Just in time for the HISTORY broadcast premiere on Memorial Day of "Texas Rising," an eight-hour miniseries event starring Bill Paxton, Olivier Martinez, Ray Liotta and Brendan Fraser. Formats: DVD. (Lionsgate).
Two Men in Town
(2014) Forest Whitaker, Brenda Blethyn, Luis Guzman, Harvey Keitel, Ellen Burstyn. After a troubled youth and 18 years in prison in New Mexico for killing a sheriff's deputy, William Garnett (Forest Whitaker) is being released. With the help of an idealistic but hard-nosed parole agent (Brenda Blethyn) and his newfound Islamic faith, Garnett struggles to rebuild his life and overcome the violent impulses that possess him. But an old friend (Luis Guzman) shows up and tries to drag him back into a world of crime while the local sheriff (Harvey Keitel) is convinced that he's an unredeemable threat to the public. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Cohen Media Group).
Wet Hot American Summer BLU-RAY DEBUT
(2001) Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Molly Shannon, Janeane
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May 10, 2015 (ISSN 1094-3676). |
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