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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
July 2Scenes 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) Read more.
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).
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.
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