Monday, October 20, 2014

Paramount Home Media Distribution Selects Jan. 6 For The DVD And Blu-ray Debut Of Writer/Director Richard Linklater's Boyhood


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Paramount Home Media Distribution opens its 2015 home entertainment release campaign with one of the sure-to-be Best Picture candidates from writer/director Richard Linklater.   

Boyhood, which is certain to earn Linklater his third Oscar nomination for Best Writing (2004, Before Sunset; 2013 Before Midnight), will be available as both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (with UltraViolet) product offerings on Jan. 6, 2015.   The nominations will be announced on Jan. 16 … so the timing is absolutely spot-on.

The ARR is a leisurely 179 days, which makes absolutely no difference because the ultimate success of Boyhood (financially-speaking) will be driven by the Oscar nominations that it is likely to receive.   There was no reason to rush this film home.

The box office tally currently stands at $23.6 million, which has been driven largely driven by word of mouth.  This will change dramatically as we move into the Oscar season … even with the availability of DVD and Blu-ray editions for home viewing.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
This indie — and it had to be an indie film production for obvious reasons — is one of the boldest attempts at a non-documentary dramatic film production that one can remember.   The story takes place over a 12-year period, with the same actors, but it is not a documentary like the Up film series begun by filmmaker Paul Almond (and joined by Michael Apted) back in 1964 … that series, produced every seven years, tracks the lives of a group of British school children as they’ve grown over the years to become adults (it is fascinating in its own right).

The protagonist here is Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane – aka: Ellar Salmon), whom we first meet at age six in 2002.   Seriously, 2002 is when the filming commenced … this is not some sort of a CGI-gimmick, the actor is actually a six-year old kid.   

We will follow him — through jumps in time periods — as he grows (and matures) from a child to a young man of 18.   It is through his eyes, and growth, that the story of his childhood unfolds.
DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey


Mason’s mother is played by Patricia Arquette (Olivia) … and she too ages like any adult would over a 12-year period.   During the course of the filming of Boyhood she appeared in six additional feature films and was active in not one, but two major television series — Medium and Broadwalk Empire.  

The same holds true for Mason’s father, also named Mason (played by Ethan Hawke — he has worked with Linklater on an on-going basis since 1995), and his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), while the other actors in the production came and went over the years depending on the roles they played … lovers, new friends, school mates, new husband, new wife, etc.   Much like life itself, people come and go.

 
Bonus features are limited to the Blu-ray SKU and these consist of a featurette titled “The 12 Year Project” and question and answer session with filmmaker Richard Linklater and members of the cast.

Also heading to the home entertainment market place during early January are two TV-on-DVD series that are getting full season updates.

Don Cheadele (as Marty Kaan) and his “consultants” are back for more deal-closings on Jan. 13 with the double-disc release of House of Lies: Season Three.

On same street-date Tuesday (Jan. 13), Episodes: The Third Season (also a double-disc set) — starring Matt LeBlanc — will be available at retail for fans to enjoy.


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