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An American Family: Anniversary Edition
(2011) On Thursday evening, January 11, 1973 at 9 p.m., American television viewers stepped into the home of the William C. Loud family of Santa Barbara, California, in the ground breaking WNET documentary series "An American Family." Chronicling the lives of its seven members, the television series made parents Pat and Bill Loud and their five children instant celebrities. Over 12 episodes, viewers watched dramatic life events unfold during the seven months the family lived in front of the camera -- including Pat asking for a separation from Bill, and the Bohemian New York life of their gay son Lance. Unlike most documentaries of its day, "An American Family" had no host, no interviews, and almost no voice-over narration. Producer Craig Gilbert presented the family's daily life -- as captured by filmmakers Alan Raymond behind the camera, and Susan Raymond covering sound -- in the style of cinema verite. It was the most controversial and talked-about television program of its era. Now, 40 years later, WNET has brought all 12 hours out of its archives and, working with the original filmmakers, edited them into this two-hour feature-length special capturing the most memorable and compelling moments of the landmark series. $24.99. (PBS Distribution).
Angelina Ballerina: The Shining Star Trophy -- The Movie
(2011) Angelina Ballerina's first full-length feature. Angelina and friends enter the talent show at Camembert Academy to vie for the Shining Star Trophy; $14.98. Extras: "Talent Show" trivia game. (HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate).
BKO: Bangkok Knockout
(2010) Tony Ja, Dan Chupong, Jija Yanin. A group of ex-marital arts students attend a reunion party to reminisce about their old "fight club," but the reunion is cut short when some of the members are kidnapped by a group of deadly assassins, leaving the remaining men to save their friends in the ultimate battle for survival. (Magnolia Home Entertainment).
Blood Simple BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1984) Dir.: Joel and Ethan Coen. John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh. In the Coen brothers classic first outing, a rich but jealous man hires a private investigator to kill his cheating wife and her new man but, when blood is involved, nothing is simple. (MGM).
Castle Farm Vol. 1 and 2
(2011) An animated preschool series set in an idyllic but busy English country farm based on the grounds of a castle. The series follows the two main characters, Farm Girl and her best friend, Piggy, and their friends, as they embark on a series of quests to find out about the world around them to learn lessons about friendship and responsibility. $14.95 each. (Organa Kids).
The Complete Jean Vigo
Even among cinema's greatest legends, Jean Vigo stands alone. The son of a notorious anarchist, Vigo had a brief but brilliant career making poetic, lightly surrealist films before his life was cut tragically short by tuberculosis at age 29. Like the daring early works of his contemporaries Jean Cocteau and Luis Bunuel, Vigo's films refused to play by the rules. This set includes all of Vigo's titles: "A propos de Nice" (1930), an absurdist, rhythmic slice of life from the bustling coastal city of the title; "Taris" (1931), an inventive short portrait of a swimming champion; "Zero de conduite" (1933), a radical, delightful tale of boarding-school rebellion that has influenced countless filmmakers; and, of course, "L'Atalante" (1934), widely regarded as one of cinema's finest achievements, about newlyweds beginning their life together on a canal barge. These are the endlessly witty, visually adventurous works of a pivotal film artist. New high-definition digital restorations of all of the films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Commentaries featuring Michael Temple, author of "Jean Vigo"; alternate shots from "A propos de Nice," featuring footage Vigo cut from the film; animated tribute to Vigo by filmmaker Michel Gondry ; Ninety-minute 1964 episode of the French television series "Cineastes de notre temps" on Vigo, directed by Jacques Rozier; conversation from 1968 between filmmakers Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer on "L'Atalante";
"Les voyages de L'Atalante," Bernard Eisenschitz's 2001 documentary tracking the history of the film; video interview from 2007 with director Otar Iosseliani on Vigo; booklet featuring essays by film writers Michael Almereyda, Robert Polito, B. Kite and Luc Sante. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).
Cougar Town: The Complete Second Season
(2010-11) Three-disc set with 21, $34.99. (Disney).
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Seventh Season
(2010-11) Five-disc set with 23 episodes, $45.99. (Disney).
Detroit 1-8-7: Season One
(2011) Four-disc set with 18 episodes, $29.98. (Lionsgate).
Doc Martin: The Movies
The two full-length TV movies that inspired the huge hit dramedy; currently airing on public television stations across the U.S. Proving there's more than one way to tell a good story, BAFTA-winner Martin Clunes stars as the kinder, gentler -- but still slightly grouchy -- Dr. Martin Bamford in the made-for-TV movies that introduced the misanthropic doctor and the picturesque Cornish fishing village of Port Isaac before the television series' launch in 2004. (Acorn Media).
Dora the Explorer: Dora's Halloween Parade
(2011) Four Halloween-themed episodes, $16.99. (Nickelodeon/Paramount).
The 5th Quarter
(2010) Aidan Quinn, Andie MacDowell, Ryan Merriman. An inspiring true story of family, faith and football in which the brother of a football star killed in a tragic accident leads his football team to last minute victories. Extras: Making-of-featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Fox).
Happy Valley, Vol. 1 & 2
(2011) New pre-school series from England for children aged two to five years, set in a beautiful countryside by the sea. Using traditional and contemporary nursery rhymes and songs, each episode tells a story about the children who live in the valley, in which they go about their daily lives and learn about the world around them, whether it's the seasons, the weather or the animals. The series focuses on experiences familiar to young viewers, such as a school trip to the farm, a visit to grandma to look at old photos, a shopping expedition with mother or a walk in the woods to see the falling leaves. $14.95 each. (Organa Kids).
House Season Seven
(2010-11) Five-disc set with 23 episodes, $59.98. Extras: "Meet Martha Masters" featurette, "Huddy Dissected" featurette, "Anatomy of an Episode: Bombshells," "Thirteen Returns" featurette, commentary on select episodes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which adds "U-Control: A Beginner's Guide to Diagnostic Medicine." (Universal).
The Ideal Husband
(2008) Darrin Henson, Shanti Lowry, Jackee Harry, Erica Hubbard. A couple is joyously expecting their first child, but a secret from the husband's past threatens to destroy their happiness. Extras: Behind the scenes; photo gallery; deleted scenes. (Image Entertainment)
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
(2011) A rare behind-the-curtain look at the Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmental group that the FBI called America's "number one domestic terrorist threat." With unprecedented access and a nuanced point of view, the documentary tells the story of Daniel McGowan, an ELF member arrested in 2005 who faced life in prison for two multi-million dollar arsons against Oregon timber companies. The film employs McGowan's story to examine larger questions about environmentalism, activism, and terrorism. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, extended interviews. (Oscilloscope Laboratories).
In a Better World
(2010 -- Denmark) Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Johnk Nielsen. Available as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack. Extras: Commentary by director Susanne Bier and editor Pernille Bech Christensen, deleted scenes, interview with Susanne Bier. (Sony).
The Incredible Shrinking Man
(1957) Dir.: Jack Arnold; written by Richard Matheson. Featuring groundbreaking special effects, "The Incredible Shrinking Man" is considered one of the most innovative and thought-provoking films ever made. When Scott Carey (Grant Williams) encounters a mysterious radioactive mist on a boating trip, he soon finds his life taking on a bizarre and frightening twist. His physical size begins to diminish as he shrinks to a mere two inches. Suddenly, ordinary household situations loom over him with lethal intensity, a playful cat becomes a demon and a spider is a gargantuan monster. Carey finds he must rely on his wits to survive in his new oversized world in this sci-fi classic that remains as terrifying today as it did over 50 years ago. (Universal).
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers ... and More Inspiring Tales
(2011) Narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal, this is an animated adaptation of the lyrical Caldecott Award-winning book by Mordecai Gerstein about Philippe Petit, the French man who walked a tightrope between the massive World Trade Towers in 1974. Includes three other tales: "Miss Rumphius," "Crow Boy" and "The Dinosaurs of Warehouse Hawkins," $14.95. (Scholastic Storybook Treasures).
Murphy's Law Complete Collection
BBC's hit undercover cop series offers a gritty and compelling character study of a man with nothing left to lose. This contemporary series stars acclaimed, award-winning actor James Nesbitt. (Acorn Media).
Nikita: The Complete First Season
(2010-11) Five-disc set with 22 episodes, $69.97. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Warner).
90210: The Third Season
(2010-11) Six-disc set with 22 episodes, $47.99. Extras: Commentaries, deleted scenes, more. (CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount).
Norwegian Ninja
(2010 -- Norway) In 1984, high-ranking Norwegian diplomat Arne Treholt was tried and convicted of acting as a spy on behalf of the Soviet Union. But what if the case against him was a sham and Treholt was not a spy at all but a patriot of the highest order and the leader of a secret ninja force created by King Olav? This fictionalized account of the most notorious political scandal in Norwegian history is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of the Cold War spy movie, with added ninja action, blending historical events and actual newsreel footage of the Treholt affair. (Dark Sky Films/MPI Media Group).
Only in America With Larry The Cable Guy: Volume One
(2011) The blue collar comedian crisscrosses the nation, going totally off the beaten path to find the people, places and things that define this nation's unique history. Two-disc set with 10 episodes, $19.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Orpheus
(1950) This 1950 update of the Orphic myth by Jean Cocteau depicts a famous poet (Jean Marais) scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife Eurydice (Marie Dea) and a mysterious princess (Maria Casares). Seeking inspiration, the poet follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead through Cocteau's famous mirrored portal. "Orpheus" represents the legendary Cocteau at the height of his abilities for peerless visual poetry and dreamlike storytelling. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Commentary by French film scholar James Williams; "Jean Cocteau: Autobiography of an Unknown," a 1984 feature-length documentary; video piece from 2008 featuring assistant director Claude Pinoteau on the special effects in the film; "40 Minutes With Jean Cocteau," an interview with the director from 1957; "In Search of Jazz," a 1956 interview with Cocteau on the use of jazz in the film; "La villa Santo-Sospir," a 16mm color Cocteau film from 1951; gallery of images by French film portrait photographer Roger Corbeau; raw newsreel footage of the Saint-Cyr military academy ruins, a location used in the film; theatrical trailer; a booklet featuring an essay by author Mark Polizzotti, selected Cocteau writings on the film, and an essay on La villa Santo-Sospir by Williams. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).
Paranormal State: The Complete Season Five
(2011) Three-disc set with six episodes, $24.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Parenthood: Season 2
(2010-11) Five-disc set with 22 episodes. (Universal).
Phantom Pain
(2009 -- Germany) Til Schweiger, Jana Pallaske. Marc Summer (Til Schweiger) is a passionate cyclist and urban slacker -- good looking, charming, but always broke, a constant heartbreaker and an unreliable drunkard refusing to take responsibility for anything -- whose life changes in an instant when he loses his left leg in a hit-and-run accident. When he falls in love with Nika (Jana Pallaske), he realizes he can either wallow in self-pity -- or tackle the beast called life with the help of love, willpower and his own two feet. Extras: Cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes footage. (Entertainment One).
Prom
(2011) Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, DeVaughn Nixon, Danielle Campbell, Yin Chang Extras: TBA. Available as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and DVD. (Disney).
Running Wilde: Season One
(2011) Two-disc set with 13 episodes, $29.98. (Lionsgate).
September 11th Memorial Edition
A comprehensive presentation of definitive documentaries, the two-disc collection, timed to the broadcast of a brand new History special, "Voices from the Towers," includes the Emmy-Award winning program "102 Minutes That Changed America," an intensely personal perspective of the tragedy as it was experienced by people around New York; "Hotel Ground Zero," the incredible tale of the 940 tourists, visitors and staff in the Marriott WTC Hotel, located beneath and between the Twin Towers; "The Miracle of Stairway B," the story of 12 fire fighters, three office workers, and a Port Authority police officer who survived the collapse of the North Tower; and "The Day the Towers Fell," a riveting special that reveals the never-before-told stories of eyewitnesses, including amateur and professional photographers, caught in the horror of the World Trade Center tragedy. $24.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Sinbad and the Minotaur
(2011) Manu Bennett, Steven Grives. Syfy Channel original movie. (Entertainment One).
Skateland
(2010) Ashley Greene, Shiloh Fernandez. Coming of age tale in the early 1980s about a 19-year-old boy whose life revolves around the skating rink in a small Texas town. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which includes deleted scenes. (Fox).
Sons of Anarchy Season Three
(2010) Thirteen episodes. Extras: All-new scenes shot exclusively for the Blu-ray and DVD that bridge Season 3 to Season 4, extended creator's cut episodes, a writer's roundtable featurette, gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, commentaries, a table read with the cast, a bike customizer feature, more. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Fox).
Storage Wars: The Complete Season One
(2010) Three-disc set with 19 episodes, $19.95. (A&E Home Entertainment).
Strawberry Shortcake: Growing Up Dreams
(2011) Strawberry and her friends use their imagination to visualize what careers they will have when they grow up. Extras: Printable coloring pages, music video. (Fox).
True Adolescents
(2011) Mark Duplass, Bret Loehr, Carr Thompson, Melissa Leo. Sam Bryant (Mark Duplass) is an aging Seattle rocker with no job, no record deal, and no place to stay until he finds some room at his aunt's house in the suburbs. He's also the last guy anyone would pick to take two teens camping for some quality dude time in the rugged Pacific Northwest, where unforeseen revelations and transformations force them to face adulthood in this coming-of-age story set to an indie rock soundtrack featuring Band of Horses, The Black Keys and Devendra Banhart. Extras: Commentary by writer-director Craig Johnson, producer Thomas Woodrow and co-producer/editor Jennifer Lee; commentary by Mark Duplass; deleted scenes.(New Video/Flatiron Film Company).
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
(2011) Tyler Perry, Loretta Devine, Cassi Davis, Isaiah Mustafa, Bow Wow, Natalie Desselle, Rodney Perry, David Mann, Shannon Kane, Lauren London, Nicholas Milton. Extras: TBA. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Lionsgate).
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season
(2010-11) Five-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98. Extras: Three featurettes, deleted scenes, commentaries, gag reel. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Warner).
Vera
(2011) U.S. debut of the U.K. series. Based on the award-winning novels by Ann Cleeves, the ITV series stars Brenda Blethyn as cantankerous but brilliant detective DCI Vera Stanhope. Includes four feature-length mysteries that explore the untamed evil that lurks below the surface and exposes the demons that plague even those who dedicate their lives to good, Four-disc set, $59.99. (Acorn Media).
Wrecked
(2011) Adrien Brody, Caroline Dhavernas, Ryan Robbins, Adrian Holmes. Brody stars as an unnamed man who wakes trapped in a car in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by two dead passengers, a pile of cash and a gun. He has no recollection of who he is or how he got there. Is he an innocent victim? A dangerous criminal? All he knows is he's fighting for his life and his sanity in the middle of the deep woods. But as he attempts to free himself from the carnage and escape an impossible situation, a darker side is revealed. Even if he manages to survive, the tormented man may have to face the horrible consequences of an earlier, forgotten life. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (IFC Entertainment).
X
(2011) Viva Bianca, Hanna Mangan Lawrence. Two call girls -- one just leaving the profession, one just starting out -- become hunted prey after witnessing a murder. (IFC Films).
In a Better World
Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that lead them to difficult choices between revenge and forgiveness. Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, 10-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian's mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death. Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy. Winner of this year's Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Foreign-language Film. In Danish with English subtitles.
Vitals: Director: Susanne Bier. Stars: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Johnk Nielsen.
2010, CC, MPAA rating: R, 116 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.882 million, Sony.
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
When Madea's niece, Shirley, receives distressing news about her health, all she wants is to gather her three adult children around her and share the news as a family. But Tammy, Kimberly and Byron are too distracted by their own problems: Tammy can't manage her unruly children or her broken marriage; Kimberly is gripped with anger and takes it out on her husband; and Byron, after spending two years in jail, is under pressure to deal drugs again. It's up to Madea, with the help of the equally rambunctious Aunt Bam, to gather the clan together and make things right the only way she knows how: With a lot of tough love, laughter -- and the revelation of a long-buried family secret.
Vitals: Director: Tyler Perry. Stars: Tyler Perry, Loretta Devine, Cassi Davis, Isaiah Mustafa, Bow Wow, Natalie Desselle, Rodney Perry, David Mann, Shannon Kane, Lauren London, Nicholas Milton.
2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 105 min., Comedy-Drama, Box office gross: $52.8 million, Lionsgate.
Prom
At the prom, every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. Several intersecting stories unfold at one high school as the big dance approaches; the film portrays the precarious passage from high school to independence as some relationships unravel and others ignite. For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it's a battle of wills as she finds herself drawn to the guy (Thomas McDonell) who gets in the way of her perfect prom. Fellow seniors Mei (Yin Chang) and Tyler (DeVaughn Nixon) harbor secrets, while others face all the insecurity and anticipation that surrounds one of high school's most seminal events. There are hundreds of nights in high school, but there's only one prom.
Vitals: Director: Joe Nussbaum. Stars: Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, DeVaughn Nixon, Danielle Campbell, Yin Chang. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 103 min., Teen Comedy, Box office gross: $10.019 million, Disney.
Blood Simple
(1984)
Good Will Hunting
(1997)
Top Gun
(1986)
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August 29, 2011
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