Well Go U.S.A. Selects Feb. 11 As The Domestic DVD And Blu-ray Debut Date For Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon

On DVD and Blu-ray this coming Feb. 11 be on the lookout for Well Go U.S.A.’s Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, the big-budget, CGI-loaded prequel to the international hit from 2010, Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame. 

The ARR comes in at 137 days, with a domestic box office take from the film’s limited theatrical break currently at $81,983.

The first film brought our hero detective/martial arts expert Dee out of exile to solve a crime before the coronation of the 7^th Century (during the transition from the Tang to Zhou Dynasties) Empress Wu Zetian. 

Rise of the Sea Dragon takes us back to Dee’s (played this time around by Mark Chao — So Young, Caught in the Web) very first case as part of the Imperial police force, with a sea monster causing havoc, and the Imperial family involved in a plot to kidnap a gorgeous courtesan. 

Director Tsui Hark long ago made his mark in cinema with Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Double Team and Knock Off, producing John Woo's A Better Tomorrow, Jet Li’s Once Upon a Time in China series and the epic multimedia production Seven Swords.    

However, the Detective Dee films mark a new mix of genres for the long-time filmmaker, combining Chinese martial arts, suspense, mystery, history and comedy, all in a visually impressive form — even lavish — from start to finish.

The film earned a Golden Lion nomination at the Venice International Film Festival this year.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Isle Of Dogs From Green Apple Entertainment On Jan. 21

At first glance director Tammi Sutton’s Isle of Dogs looks to be something of a blend between a London-based update of The Most Dangerous Game and those gritty Brit mob flicks like Layer Cake, Snatch or a Sexy Beast.   Sort of a hunt-and-kill Brit gangster flick … but first looks can be deceiving.

Also, Isle of Dogs is an important lesson for indie filmmakers.  Don’t be afraid to take some well-deserved criticism … you can get too close to the forest to see the trees when it comes to a film project that you have lived with since its inception.   Such was the case with the first cut of Isle of Dogs, which was screened in 2010 and was nearly laughed out of the cinema (Fright Fest in London).

What Sutton was going for didn’t come across to the audience.  The timing was all off.  Rather than just ignore the visceral reaction to her film, she elected to rework the finished product.   We say “finished” because the actors and crew were gone … the film had already gone through post-production and was indeed, finished. 

That didn’t stop her.  She literally took the film apart, tightened it, fixed the flow and ended up with a “finished” product that was entirely different than what the first version that “test” audiences had to sit through!   It was an award-winner and not a laughingstock on the second festival run the following year!

The version that Green Apple Entertainment will be releasing in the domestic market on DVD this coming Jan. 21 is Isle of Dogs … without the fleas!   This version proves that it can be done and that’s why they give out Oscars to craftsmen who work with sound and film editing; their work can make all the difference in the world!

Actress-turned-filmmaker Tammi Sutton (Sutures, Killjoy 2: Deliverance from Evil, etc.) has taken the Brit gangster formula and layered horror elements, with a dash of noir, over it to come up with this nasty (nasty in a very good sense) tale of rage, revenge and jealousy. 

Darius (Andrew Howard — Blood River, I Spit on Your Grave, Limitless) is a ruthless London-based mob boss who discovers that his Russian-born trophy bride, Nadia (Barbara Nedeljakova — as Natalya in Hostel and Hostel: Part II and Raven in Jonathan Glendening’s Strippers vs. Werewolves), has grown tired of the violence and has taken a new, softer, more-gentle lover from within Darius’ crime family.

What she doesn’t seem to understand is that “possessions” don’t get a say in the choices they make.  And Riley (Edward Hogg — The Borgias, White Lightnin'), while more than eager to please the alluring Nadia, is now faced with a death sentence from a psychopath who enjoys both the thrill of the hunt and the smell (fear), taste and bloodlust of the kill.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

FilmWorks Entertainment's Spirit Of The Marathon II Runs To DVD On Feb. 11

The 2007 documentary Spirit of the Marathon took home awards and praise as it gave viewers an incredible story about the experiences of six marathon runners as they trained and competed in the 2005 Chicago Marathon.

To top that, Spirit of the Marathon II follows even more runners in an even more competitive locale: the 2012 Rome Marathon.  FilmWorks Entertainment releases the film on DVD on Feb. 11.

The filmmakers went international with this follow-up due to the increasing number of people running competitively worldwide, and approached the filming  with the goal of relaying the stories of how lives are changed — both emotionally and physically — by taking on the daunting task of running a competitive marathon.

The runners documented in the film include a two-time Olympian, an Olympic hopeful, a few veteran and full-time marathon runners and a first-time runner, with interviews with marathon greats Stefano Baldini, Paula Radcliffe, Frank Shorter and others — including those featured in the first film — also incorporated into the narrative. 

In the bonuses section, FilmWorks includes a behind-the-scenes featurette, a trailer and a photo gallery.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

 

 

Warner Home Video Adds Animated Series To Q1'14 Release Calendar

While we wait for release news on Warner Home Video’s mega-theatrical hit, Gravity, the studio was busy doing what studios do before the big monsters make their splash.   They do long-lead fill-ins, you know, products that would be crushed with street date news for a film that has grossed a quarter of a billion dollars — so you get them out early for their target audiences to make their plans.

This week we have Feb. 25 as the street date for the Blu-ray and DVD editions of the Cartoon Network production of Adventure Time: The Complete Third Season — all 26 episodes are featured, including the double-helping of “Holly Jolly Secrets.”

The following week we have DVD (double-disc) and Blu-ray helpings of The Venture Bros. The Fantastic Fifth Season.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Selects Feb. 11 As The Street Date For All Is Lost

Robert Redford sets politics aside for a return to the screen in an action/dramatic role and absolutely nails it.   He has virtually no dialog, but as with Robert Ryan’s survival masterpiece from 1953, Inferno, dialog is not a necessity in writer/director J.C. Chandor’s All is Lost.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has selected Feb. 11 (clearly with an eye towards the Oscar-awards season) as the street date for DVD and Blu-ray SKUs (with UltraViolet).

The ARR works out to 116 days and the box office tally thus far stands at $4.9 million (that should grow as theatre-goers discover this film gem).  

It makes you wonder why such a well-received film — from both audiences and critics alike — got such a limited theatrical release (under 400 screens).   Is it Redford’s age — fear that younger audiences don’t know who he is?  Is it his left-leaning politics — has that turned half the potential audience off to anything he might be in?   It is a sad state of affairs … everything is politics these days.

Regardless of the negatives relating to age and politics, Robert Redford’s eight-day edge-of-your-set adventure in the Indian Ocean is clearly one of the best films of 2013!   

Bonus features include commentary from Oscar-nominee J.C. Chandor (Best Original Screenplay for Margin Call), who is joined by producers Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb (they previously teamed for Margin Call), and three featurettes, two of which are multi-segment presentations.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment On Jan. 21

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has moved on to 2014 with news this week that two of its recent theatrical hits will be ready for the home entertainment market place in January.

First up, on Jan. 21, is auteur filmmaker Woody Allen’s latest, Blue Jasmine … Blu-ray and DVD editions are planned, with the Blu-ray SKU featuring UltraViolet.   The ARR for this bittersweet drama starring Cate Blanchett is 179 days and the box office gross (mainly generated by word-of-mouth) currently sits at $32.7 million.

The only bonus features are “Notes from the Red Carpet” and a press conference featuring Cate Blanchett, Peter Saarsgard and Andrew Dice Clay.

The following week, Jan. 28, look for the animated smash, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.   Slated for retail delivery are a three-SKU array — a 3D/2D Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and a stand-alone DVD (all three selections feature UltraViolet).

The ARR is 123 days and the box office haul was $114.2 million.

Bonus features include commentary from co-directors Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, seven featurettes and two mini-movies — “Attack of the 50-Foot Gummi Bear” and “Steve’s First Bath.”   Exclusive to the Blu-ray SKUs are two additional mini-movies and deleted scenes.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Says Jan. 28 For Ron Howard's Rush

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has tabbed Jan. 28 as the street date for director Ron Howard’s throwback Formula One racing drama, Rush.   There will be two viewing options — a stand alone DVD or a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (with UltraViolet).

The ARR is 130 days and the domestic box take was $26.9 million.  No word at this time as to bonus goodies.

Streeting on Jan. 21 with same SKU configuration is director Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills.  The ARR is 102 days and domestic ticket sales were a lackluster $7.9 million.  Bonus features include deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report