Thursday, September 24, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Paramount Home Media's Under The Dome: Season 3 On DVD And Blu-ray On Dec. 08
Paramount Home Media Distribution made it official this past
week that Stephen King-inspired television sci-fi series, Under the Dome: Season Three,
will be available as four-disc DVD and Blu-ray product offerings on Dec. 8.
Internecine conflicts, the “dawn” of a new era for Earth and
the future of the alien Dome are in the hands of those willing to make the
greatest sacrifices as this third season progresses. Will it come down? And if it does, is that the end of this
other-world incursion?
For a novel-to-TV program adaptation that was envisioned as
just a mini-series, Under the Dome surprised everyone with its multi-season
run.
No word just yet as to bonus goodies included with the third
season release.
Ariztical Entertainment Targets Oct. 27 As The DVD Debut Date For Director Hernando Bansuelo's A Reunion
It’s not the destination, but the getting there; the
journey, that is often the most important part of any road trip. In the case of director Hernando Bansuelo's A
Reunion, due out on DVD from Ariztical Entertainment on Oct. 27, the
destination is a ten-year college reunion in Chicago, but that only serves as
the rationale for a cross-country jaunt from Los Angeles.
Josh (played by Josh Watson — Last Look, Cutthroat
Alley) and Michael (Michael Lovan) are in their early-30s, not yet
fully engaged in careers and relationships and, if not overtly spoken, it is
nevertheless fairly clear that both (for their own reasons) would like to
retreat to happier times.
They are Millennials being Millennials and therefore
somewhat suspicious of an uncertain future.
So it’s a road trip for old college chums and the destination is not “Chicago,”
but the carefree days of their past.
Michael, after college, abandoned his friend without so much
as a nod and disappeared into doing this or that in Japan … it’s a little unclear
as to exactly what. Josh, on the other
hand, settled in Los Angeles and is more than willing to reconnect with
Michael.
Is their trip going to be a time to catch up? A time for competition; an emotional game of
one-upsmanship? Or something else?
The Bat And A Bucket Of Blood Debut On Blu-ray On Oct. 20 Courtesy Of The Film Detective
When the bat flies, someone dies. That was the catch-line for director Crane
Wilbur’s The Bat, the iconic 1959 film adaptation of Mary Roberts Rinehart
and Avery Hopwood’s long-forgotten Broadway play from the 1920s.
The movie — basically, a whodunit — was elevated to
horror/mystery status with a clever script that keeps you guessing right up to
the end and over the top performances by Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price (who
is a villain that get’s one-upped)!
Any film buff worth their salt has a copy of The
Bat in their home library. But
it is time to upgrade, as those copies will be replaced on Oct. 20.
News arrived this past week that The Film
Detective
will be delivering a hi-def restoration from 35MM archival film
elements and releasing it on that date as a Blu-ray product offering.
Also getting the Blu-ray treatment for the first time on
Oct. 20 is director Roger Corman’s 1959 film gem, A Bucket of Blood,
starring cult screen legend Dick Miller as a wannabe artist who gets fame by
accident … and has to go on a murder rampage to maintain it.
Mill Creek Entertainment Adds Three Christmas-Themed DVDs To Its Nov. 03 Release Calendar
With the massive 18 disc Blu-ray collection of That
‘70s Show: The Complete Series already in place for delivery to
retailers on Nov. 3, Mill Creek Entertainment moved this past week to expand
product options on this key street date on the run up to prime holiday gift-giving
season.
Three Christmas-themed DVD releases were added to the
calendar this past week beginning with the double-disc collection titled 10
Christmas Classics: Spirit of the Season. Included in this priced-to-own collection
(the SRP is just $9.98) are eight short films — A Thieves Christmas, The Gift,
Johann's Gift to Christmas, The Little Crooked Christmas Tree, Benji's Very Own
Christmas Story, The Nutcracker and Magic Gift of the Snowman — plus
two classic animated treats, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and
The Night Before Christmas.
Rounding-out the Nov. 3 DVD selections are director Harvey
Frost’s All I Want for Christmas, starring Gail O’Grady as a single mom
who finds herself in the national spotlight when her son (Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak)
enters a very strange contest and writer/director Preston A. Whitmore II’s 2007
theatrical hit, This Christmas.
Wolfe's In The Grayscale Arrives On DVD On Nov. 3
Wolfe has targeted Nov. 3 as the domestic DVD debut date for
Chilean filmmaker Claudio Marcone's award-winning slice-of-life drama, In
the Grayscale.
Bruno (Francisco Celhay) is a thirty-something architect
living in Santiago with his wife, Soledad (Daniela Ramírez), and their pre-teen
son. As the film begins he is having
something of a mid-life crisis, which has two elements to it. The first, he’s unsure of his 11-year-old
marriage; it has grown stale — Soledad was the first to stray, but she’s
back.
And second, he wants more freedom in his design work … all
the projects are starting to look alike.
Bored in love, frustrated in career, it is not a winning combination.
The second of his frustrations, the professional part, is
resolved when he lands a dream commission to design a new monument in the heart
of the city from a important developer by the name of Germán (Marcial Tagle).
The emotional element of his frustration — his crisis — is
complicated even further when “Fer” Contreras, a local historian, is recruited
by Germán to help Bruno to better understand the history of the city. It is like a bolt of lightning as the
younger man’s energy quickly captivates and seduces Bruno.
In The Grayscale doesn’t offer a clear-cut resolution as Bruno
can never commit to either his past — family and career — or a to a future that
is, however exciting, unclear to him.
Presented in Spanish with English subtitles.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Tabs Nov. 3 For DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions Of Vacation
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment relives the feel of the open
road and family-bonding with the Nov. 3 DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (with
UltraViolet) release of the writing and direction team of John Francis Daley
and Jonathan M. Goldstein’s Vacation.
The ARR is 95 days and the box office take during its summer
multiplex run tallied $57.8 million.
The next generation of Griswold’s take to the road as Ed
Helms, who knows all about road trips from hell as Stu in the three Hangover
movies, plays Rusty (the adult version of Anthony Michael Hall), with Christina
Applegate drawing the short straw as his wife Debbie. Skyler Gisondo (Night at the Museum: Secret of
the Tomb, The Amazing Spider-Man, etc.) and Steele Stebbins (A
Haunted House 2) play sons James and Kevin respectively.
There is trouble in the Griswold clan, Ed and Debbie’s
marriage is in on the rocks and to add that — which is to be expected when you
put Griswold’s in a car for an extended period — everything that can possibly
go wrong, goes wrong on this return trip to Wally World. In the end, such calamities prove to be a
marriage-saver, but it is the getting there that proved to be the most fun.
In a nice touch, Leslie Mann, Beverly D’Angelo and Chevy
Chase reprise their roles from the original Vacation, but sadly
Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) is a no-show.
Bonus goodies include a gag reel, deleted scenes and a trio
of featurettes — “Return to Wally World,” “The Griswold Odyssey” and “Georgia.”
Well Go USA Picks Nov. 3 As The Domestic Release Date For DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Director Ifa Isfansyah’s The Golden Cane Warrior
Well Go USA has carved out Nov. 3 for the DVD and Blu-ray
release of Indonesian filmmaker Ifa Isfansyah’s martial arts (Silat-style)
thriller, The Golden Cane Warrior.
The mysterious Golden Cane, a deadly weapon with unique
powers, has been handed down over time from one master to the next. It is imperative that this closely guarded
treasure not fall into the hands of someone who would use it for evil
purposes.
So there is quite a bit riding on the decision that is to be
made by current keeper of the Golden Cane, Cempaka (Christine Hakim — Eat
Pray Love, Leaf on a Pillow, etc.).
There are four candidates, but when Cempaka picks the least likely of
the group all hell breaks loose.
Dara (Eva Celia) is the chosen one, but the two with
superior skills, Biru (Reza Rahardian) and Gerhana (Tata Basro) resent their
teacher’s choice and murder soon follows.
Dara takes it on the lam with the Golden Cane and with only her sister,
Angin (Aria Kusumah), as an ally she must seek out a mysterious warrior called
The White Dragon (Naga Putih), who can instruct her in the use of the Golden
Cane. Of course Biru and Gerhana have
plans of their own.
The cinematography is gorgeous, the locations are
breathtaking and the choreography is top notch. The Golden Cane Warrior is a classic
“throwback” martial arts film that will more than please genre affectionados. Presented in Indonesian with English
subtitles.
The Criterion Collection Announces Its December Blu-ray And DVD Release Calendar
The Criterion Collection closes out 2015 with the
announcement this past week of its December DVD and Blu-ray release calendar.
If you are fan of filmmaker David Cronenberg, then the DVD
and Blu-ray release of documentary filmmaker Howard Brookner’s 1983 film, Burroughs:
The Movie, on Dec. 15 will be of particular interest.
In 1991 Cronenberg adapted William S. Burroughs’ landmark
novel, The Naked Lunch (aka: Naked Lunch) for the screen and it
proved to be one of those iconic films that has stood the test of time.
Burroughs: The Movie was thought to have been lost, but a print
was discovered in 2011 and has been given an hi-def transfer. Bonus features include newly prepared video
sessions with filmmakers Jim Jarmusch, Aaron Brookner, and Tom DiCillo, plus
Burroughs’ contemporaries, James Grauerholz and Stewart Meyer, outtakes and an
alternate early cut of the film by Robert
E. Fulton Jr.
Elsewhere
on the December release schedule from Criterion we have a newly-prepared
restoration of director Michael Ritchie’s 1969 film, Downhill Racer, which
followed closely on the heels of, and was overshadowed by, his breakout
performance as The Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The
street date for the Blu-ray edition is Dec. 1 (the DVD version was released in
2009 by The Criterion Collection).
Included as bonus nuggets are vintage
interviews with filmmaker Michael Ritchie (audio-only, 1977) and actor Robert
Redford, screenwriter and novelist James Salter, film editor Richard Harris,
production manager Walter Coblenz and technical adviser Joe Jay Jalbert
(all from the 2009 DVD release) and the 1969 short film titled How
Fast?
The following week, Dec. 8, look for a new 4K restoration of
Speedy,
the 1928 silent comedy starring Harold Lloyd.
Direction was by Ted Wilde (who died at just 40 years of age the
following year of a sudden stroke) … he also directed Harold Lloyd in The
Kid Brother in 1927.
Bonus features on the DVD and Blu-ray SKUs include
commentary from the Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein, who is joined by TCM’s
director of program production Scott McGee, a new short documentary titled In
the Footsteps of Speedy, home movies from Harold Lloyd, a 1919 silent
short film, Bumping Into Broadway and snippets from Hearst Newsreels
featuring Babe Ruth (he appears as himself in Speedy).
Also streeting on Dec. 8 are DVD and Blu-ray editions of
renown Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s first attempt as a filmmaker with the
fantasy film release of Jellyfish Eyes.
A limited domestic theatrical run generated ticket sales of
$8,176 and the ARR for this Japanese-language import (with English subtitles)
works out to 144 days.
In post-Fukushima Japan, a young boy is relocated to a small
town (having lost his father in the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami)
where he discovers a magical creature and makes friends with it.
At school he soon learns that all of the other students have
creatures of their own … but instead of enjoying the companionship of these
strange visitors, the boys have taken to pitting them against each other in
battle. Something magical, yet perhaps
sinister is going on that leads to his uncle’s research company.
Bonus goodies include a video session with Takashi Murakami
and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
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