A Cinderella Story: Starstruck: Finley Tremaine, a small-town farm girl, longs to spread her wings and soar as an aspiring performer. When a Hollywood film crew arrives in her sleepy town, she's determined to land a role in the production. Unfortunately, a botched audition forces her to change course. She disguises herself as cowboy “Huck” to get her big break and outwit her evil stepmother and devious step-siblings. Sixth installment in the "A Cinderella Story" movie series. (DVD release: July 13)
In Treatment: Season 4: Uzo Aduba plays the lead role of the therapist at the center of the season, as the observant, empathetic Dr. Brooke Taylor. The reimagining of the series is set in present-day Los Angeles and brings a diverse trio of patients in session with Brooke to help navigate a variety of modern concerns. (Digital)
The Perfect Candidate: When Maryam, a hardworking young doctor in a small-town clinic, is prevented from flying to Dubai for a conference without a male guardian’s approval, she seeks help from a politically connected cousin but inadvertently registers as a candidate for the municipal council. Maryam sees the election as a way to fix the muddy road in front of her clinic, but her campaign slowly garners broader appeal. (AppleTV, Amazon, GooglePlay, Vudu, YouTube, Music Box Direct and more; DVD release: Day & date)
Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement: When punk rock erupted in Washington DC, it was a mighty convergence of powerful music, friendships, and clear minds. This film explores the incredible challenges that this subculture faced when it took root in the Nation’s Capital in the late 1970s. (VOD)
Separation: A young girl finds solace in her artist father and the ghost of her dead mother. (DVD release: July 13)
Wrath of Man: Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard for a cash truck surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman’s ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score. (DVD, Blu-ray release: July 13)
July 2
Scenes From an Empty Church: In a locked-down NYC, two priests open their church doors to those seeking salvation during the most isolating of times. From the commonplace to the truly metaphysical, their visitors reflect the full spectrum of personal crises of spirituality. Throughout their encounters with the city’s sweetest, wildest and weirdest, the two priests learn the importance of connection, empathy and open-mindedness. (Digital, VOD)
Those Who Wish Me Dead: A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him -- and a forest fire threatening to consume them all. (DVD, Blu-ray release: August 3)
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All DVD Releases
Here Are the Young Men
(2020 - Ireland) Dean-Charles Chapman, Finn Cole, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Travis Fimmel, Conleth Hill. Based on the acclaimed novel by Rob Doyle, the film catalogs the last hurrah of three high school graduates intent on celebrating their newfound freedom with an epic, debaucherous bender. However, when a horrible accident sends them spiraling, the trio must grapple with the most daunting challenge of their lives: facing their own inner demons. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. (Well Go USA). Read more here.
His Dark Materials: The Complete Second Season
(2020) Two-disc set with all seven episodes of the HBO series that follows young orphan Lyra (Dafne Keen) on a journey through a parallel world where a human’s soul exists outside one’s body -- in the form of a talking animal called a daemon. Season Two begins as Lyra, distraught over the death of her best friend, embarks upon a journey in a strange and mysterious abandoned city. There she meets Will (Amir Wilson), a boy from our world who is also running from a troubled past. Lyra and Will learn their destinies are tied to reuniting Will with his father but find their path is constantly thwarted as a war begins to brew around them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) searches for Lyra, determined to bring her home by any means necessary. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. Extras: "Noble Rogue: The Legend of Lee Scoresby," "Exploring His Dark Materials: Panserbjørne," "Exploring His Dark Materials: Daemons," "Exploring His Dark Materials: Portals & The Multiverse," "Exploring His Dark Materials: Witches," "His Dark Materials: Bringing Daemons and Bears to Life," "His Dark Materials: Exploring Cittagazze," "His Dark Materials: Worlds Collide," "The Powerful Mrs. Coulter," "Lyra," "The Subtle Knife." (Warner).
Just a Gigolo
(1978) David Bowie, Sydne Rome, Kim Novak, David Hemmings, Maria Schell, Curd Jürgens. After World War I, a war hero returns to Berlin to find that there's no place for him -- he has no skills other than what he learned in the army, and can only find menial, low-paying jobs. He decides to become a gigolo to lonely women. Extras: "The Making of Gigolo," commentary. (Shout! Factory).
Madame Curie BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1943) In an era when women were allowed to be ornaments, mothers or drudges, young Marie Sklodowska of Poland dreamed of something more. She defied convention to study physics and mathematics at the Sorbonne and – with Pierre Curie, the professor who became her husband – to make one of the greatest breakthroughs in 20th-century science. Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon reunite (after "Mrs. Miniver") to portray the courageous couple who won the 1903 Nobel Prize for their discovery of radium. (Warner Archive).
Major Dundee [2-Disc Limited Edition]
(1965) After making his first bonafide classic in "Ride the High Country," director Sam Peckinpah took a step towards the epic with "Major Dundee." The film would, in many ways, define the rest of his career both on screen and off, as the drama behind the camera matched the action in front of it. Charlton Heston stars as Major Amos Dundee, a vainglorious Union Cavalry officer, who mounts an expedition to hunt down Apache war chief Sierra Charriba. Building his own army of criminals, ex-slaves and Confederate POWs -- among them one Captain Ben Tyreen (Richard Harris), whose intense former friendship with Dundee is tainted with a sense of betrayal on both sides -- Dundee heads into Mexico, his eye fixed firmly on a last shot at greatness. Legendarily acerbic, "Major Dundee" would be the first time that Peckinpah had a movie taken away from him. While a director's cut may be lost to us, this Limited Edition shows us the thrilling, morally complex epic that Peckinpah was aiming for. Beautifully shot and with a stellar supporting cast including James Coburn, Warren Oates, and L.Q. Jones, it remains a stunning achievement and an essential experience for anyone interested in the life and cinema of "Bloody Sam." Includes the 136-minute Extended Version of the film from a 4K scan, as well as the original 122-minute Theatrical Version. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: 60-page booklet featuring new writing by Farran Nehme, Roderick Heath and Jeremy Carr plus select archive material; limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella; fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella; commentaries, "Moby Dick on Horseback,": a new visual essay by David Cairns; "Passion & Poetry: The Dundee Odyssey" feature length documentary; extensive stills galleries; trailers; outtakes; extended and deleted scenes; more. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
Pariah
(2011) The path to living as one’s authentic self is paved with trials and tribulations in this revelatory, assured feature debut by Dee Rees -- the all-too-rare coming-of-age tale to honestly represent the experiences of queer Black women. Grounded in the fine-grained specificity and deft characterizations of Rees’s script and built around a beautifully layered performance from Adepero Oduye, "Pariah" follows Brooklyn teenager Alike, who is dealing with the emotional minefields of both first love and heartache and the disapproval of her family as she navigates the expression of her gender and sexual identities within a system that does not make space for them. Achieving an aching intimacy with its subject through the expressive cinematography of Bradford Young, this deeply felt portrait finds strength in vulnerability and liberation in letting go. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, with 2K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New conversation between director Dee Rees and filmmaker and scholar Michelle Parkerson; new cast reunion featuring Rees, Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, and Aasha Davis, moderated by scholar Jacqueline Stewart; new program on the making of the film, featuring Rees, cinematographer Bradford Young, production designer Inbal Weinberg, producer Nekisa Cooper, and editor Mako Kamitsuna, moderated by Stewart; new interview with film scholar Kara Keeling, author of "Queer Times, Black Futures"; an essay by critic Cassie da Costa. (The Criterion Collection).
The Perfect Candidate
(2019 -- Saudi Arabia) Mila Alzahrani, Dhay, Khalid Abdulrhim, Shafi Al Harthy. When Maryam, a hardworking young doctor in a small-town clinic, is prevented from flying to Dubai for a conference without a male guardian’s approval, she seeks help from a politically connected cousin but inadvertently registers as a candidate for the municipal council. Maryam sees the election as a way to fix the muddy road in front of her clinic, but her campaign slowly garners broader appeal. Maryam’s creative and ambitious campaign builds momentum, becoming a symbol for a larger movement. Formats: DVD, VOD. Extras: Commentary with director Haifaa Al Mansour, "Making of The Perfect Candidate" featurette, Cinema Cafe discussion with Haifaa Al Mansour and Bassem Youssef from Sundance. (Music Box Films). Read more here.
Pickup On South Street Blu-ray Debut
(1953) Petty crook Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) has his eyes fixed on the big score. When the cocky three-time convict picks the pocketbook of unsuspecting Candy (Jean Peters), he finds a more spectacular haul than he could have imagined: a strip of microfilm bearing confidential U.S. information. Tailed by manipulative Feds and the unwitting courier’s Communist puppeteers, Skip and Candy find themselves in a precarious gambit that pits greed against redemption, right against Red, and passion against self-preservation. With its dazzling cast and writer-director Samuel Fuller’s signature hard-boiled repartee and raw energy, "Pickup on South Street" is a true film noir classic by one of America’s most passionate cinematic craftspeople. Formats: Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: New interview with critic Imogen Sara Smith, author of "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City"; interview from 1989 with director Samuel Fuller, conducted by film critic Richard Schickel; "Cinéma cinémas: Fuller," a 1982 French television program in which the director discusses the making of the film; trailers; an essay by critic Angelica Jade Bastién and a chapter from Fuller’s posthumously published 2002 autobiography, "A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking." (The Criterion Collection).
Poison
(1991) The second feature directed by Todd Haynes, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker of "Far from Heaven" and "Carol." It is a groundbreaking American Indie and a trailblazing landmark of queer cinema. A work of immense visual invention, Haynes’ spectacular follow-up to his legendary "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story" is audacious, disturbing and thrillingly cinematic. Inspired by the writings of Jean Genet, "Poison" deftly interweaves a trio of transgressive tales -- “Hero,” “Horror” and “Homo” -- that build toward a devastating climax. “Hero,” shot in mock TV-documentary style, tells a bizarre story of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice; “Horror,” filmed like a delirious ’50s B-movie melodrama, is a gothic tale of a mad sex experiment which unleashes a disfiguring plague; while “Homo” explores the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New introduction by director Todd Haynes; Sundance Q&A with Todd Haynes, producer Christine Vachon and executive producer James Schamus, for the 20th Anniversary of the film’s Grand Jury Prize; archival 1999 audio commentary by Haynes, Vachon, and star/editor James Lyons; booklet essay by Dennis Lim, director of programming at Film at Lincoln Center; "Last Address," a short film by Ira Sachs (2010); original 1991 U.S. theatrical trailer. (Zeitgeist).
Stardust
(2020) Johnny Flynn, Marc Maron, Jena Malone. Bio-drama offers a glimpse into the moments that inspired the creation of David Bowie’s first and most memorable alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust, illuminating the turning point in 1971 that cemented his legacy as one of the world’s greatest cultural icons. Stateside, Bowie is quickly met with an audience that’s not yet ready for him. During the tumultuous journey, Bowie slowly begins to realize a need to reinvent himself; it’s with that realization that his iconic, celestial alter-ego Ziggy Stardust is born. Made against the wishes of the Bowie family and thus does not include any of his music. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. (IFC/Shout! Factory).
Wildcat
(2021) Georgina Campbell, Luke Benward, Ibrahim Renno, Mido Hamada, Ali Olomi, Maz Siam. An ambitious reporter (Georgina Campbell) stationed in the Middle East is taken captive after a militant group ambushes her convoy. Convinced that the young woman is hiding her true identity, they’ll stop at nothing to extract information crucial to the success of their upcoming terrorist attack. With time running out, she must find a way to survive and turn the tables on her assailants. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. (Paramount). Read more here.