Paramount Home Media Announces A TV-On-DVD Blitz For September

Paramount Home Media unleashed a flurry of new TV-on-DVD product announcements for the delivery to fans during the post-Labor Day period.

These collections are in addition to those already announced — Sept. 6 brings Friday the 13th: The Series - The Complete Series (a 17 disc monster), Limitless: Season One (a five-disc set), South Park: The Complete Nineteenth Season (on both DVD and Blu-ray as double-disc sets) and Tales of the Dark Side: The Complete Series (a dozen discs); and, on Sept. 13 Madam Secretary: Season Two (a six-disc set).

Announced this week for delivery on Sept. 13 is the six-disc DVD collection of Scorpion: Season Two.  Bonus features here include selected episode commentaries, a gag reel and six featurettes — “Unlikely Heroes: Scorpion Season 2,” “Location, Location, Location,” “Breaking Brilliance,” “Creating Reality: Visual Effects,” “Geeky Gadgets” and “Scorpion: The Comic Book.”

Also streeting on Sept. 13 is the next set of cases from paradise featuring detectives Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin), Danno Williams (Scott Caan) and their crack crew, Hawaii Five-O: The Sixth Season (a six-disc set featuring all 25 episodes).

Bonus nuggets include selected episode commentaries, a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes and a quartet of featurettes.

Sept. 20 brings five new TV-on-DVD collections to retail.   You read that right, FIVE!

Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) and the rest of the Reagan clan (Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Amy Carlson, Sami Gayle  and Len Cariou) lead the way in the six-disc, 22-episode DVD release of Blue Bloods: The Sixth Season.  

Bonus features include selected episode commentaries, a gag reel, deleted scenes and four featurettes.

Also with a six-disc array on Sept. 13 is Julianna Margulies farewell season of The Good Wife: The Final Season.

Bonus goodies include a gag reel and at least two featurettes — “All Good Things: Farewell Alicia Florrick” and “Final Score: The Music of The Good Wife.”

As one series exits, another one makes its DVD debut on Sept. 20 and that would be the four-disc collection of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders - The First Season.

Gary Sinise leads a team of international specialists — Alana de la Garza, Daniel Henney, Tyler James Williams and Annie Funke — whose job it is to crack crimes committed against Americans abroad.

Bonus features include deleted scenes, a gag reel and three production featurettes.

Rounding out the Sept. 20 TV-on-DVD selections are Gunsmoke: The Twelfth Season, Volume One and Gunsmoke: The Twelfth Season, Volume Two (both are four-disc collections).

And last, but not least, is news from Paramount Home Media that Oct. 4 will be the DVD release date for The Andy Griffith Show: Colorized Christmas Special.  This is the Christmas of 1960 special, featuring veteran character actor Will Wright as a less than pleasant businessman named Ben Weaver who succumbs to the charms of Andy, Opie, Barney and Aunt Bee.

Mill Creek Entertainment Adds Priced-To-Own Ten-Film DVD Collections To Its Sept. 6 Release Calendar

Mill Creek Entertainment expanded its post-Labor Day release calendar this past week with the addition of two new priced-to-own ten-film collections on DVD … the street date is Sept. 6.   And the SRP for each of these double-disc collections is an eye-popping $9.98 each — that’s just a buck a film, and that’s before any discounts being offered up at retail.

10 Horror Films: Pretty Dead features writer/director Benjamin Wilkins’ ultra creepy tale titled Pretty Dead, starring Carly Oates as a medical student who has developed a taste for human flesh.   Her uncontrollable “munchies,” as it turns out, are the results of her exposure to the newly-found Cordyceps fungus … will she be the first of many flesh-eating zombies or will a cure be found before the apocalypse is upon us!

Other chillers in this ten-title, double-disc horror collection are writer/director Carl Lindbergh’s 2011 film release of Bunnyman, which a group of college-age kids (aka: victim pool) being stalked in the desert by a crazed killer dressed as a rabbit; and, speaking of “victim pools,” that’s what writer/director DeShon Hardy has in store for genre fans with The Lake on Clinton Road — a half dozen college friends who have an end-of-the-semester celebration at a remote cabin (by a lake) only to be stalked and murdered one … by one … by one!!!

The Lights, directed by John Sjogren, is another “victim pool” thriller featuring four friends who head out to the remote backwoods — away from city lights — so that they can see one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” meteor showers.   Their arrival just happens to coincide with Jack Carter (Kerry Wallum) going off his rocker when his trophy bride tells him bye-bye … kill, kill, kill, that’s all that he has on his mind this particular night!

Writer/director Jason Horton’s Monsters in the Woods serves up a filmmaking nightmare as a filmmaker named Jayson (Glenn Plummer) has the film of his dreams rejected for distribution — not sexy enough, not violent enough, etc. — so he decides to re-shoot some extra footage in the nearby mountains.   

So he throws together a student crew and wannabe actors (he’s out of money) to film the “inserts,” but soon discovers that it’s a devious trap laid by his producer, who needs “12 souls” to satiate the appetite of a demon who has unleashed creatures from hell to gather the souls (aka: film crew).

Other films in the 10 Horror Films: Pretty Dead collection are: The Sacred (2009, directed by Jose Zambrano Cassella — the swamps of Florida hide deadly secrets), Backwater (2013, writer/director Christopher Schrack — a couple get more than they bargain for on a camping trip), Pelt (2010, writer/director Richard Swindell — Ashley Watkins and Amber Bollinger star as “babes in the woods” who are stalked by a demented local) Sparrow (2010, directed by Shaun Troke — Cindy (Faye Sewell) and five of her friends defy the “urban legend” of Ranger Sparrow, a crazed killer who stalks the nearby woods … the problem is: the legend is true) and Occupied (2011, written and directed by Mollie Binkley — Sarah (Liza Binkley) is off to babysit her younger cousin in a cabin in the woods … what could possibly go wrong?).

10 Killer Thrillers: Dangerous Attractions is headlined by director Michael Lohmann’s true-life chiller, Dangerous Attraction (aka: Shadow of Fear), which stars Amanda Righetti (as Madeline in the Colony television series and as Grace in The Mentalist series) as a woman who is stalked incessantly by an unbalanced co-worker (Will Estes — Blue Bloods).

Other thrillers in this ten-title mix includes director John Stimpson’s hostage siege drama, A Deadly Obsession, starring Katee Sackhoff (perhaps best known as Victoria Moretti in the Longmire TV series) as a college professor who is trapped in a deadly siege when one of her former students begins shooting up the campus … and she’s the target of his rage!

Writer/director Raj Reddy’s No One Will Know, is a twisted suspense thriller, starring Ben Bledsoe and Jesse Draper as a seemingly “perfect” couple — at their own engagement party — who have to hold it together or be found out for a murder that they are involved in.   

Absolute Fear teams Stephanie Lemelin (voice actress in one her infrequent live screen appearances) as Jessie with Matthew Alan (Red Tales) as Dale, a young couple who venture off to the remote reaches of the Philippines to search for Dale’s father.   As it turns out, he doesn’t want to be found … and he’s involved in deadly research for the CIA that will likely see both Jessie and Dale in a shallow grave by film’s end.

Director Clint Lien’s Behind Your Eyes is a taut hostage/kidnapping horror tale that finds Erika (Frida Farrell) and Steven (Tom Sandoval) on their way to the mountains to meet his parents, but are carjacked at a remote gas station by a sadistic creep.   Nothing is at it seems … even when Erika escapes, she ends up running from the “frying pan to the fire!”   

Rounding the selections in 10 Killer Thrillers: Dangerous Attractions are Suspicion (2012, writer/director David Dilley, starring Brad Blaisdell and Suzanne May), Bad Behavior (2013, from the writing and directing team of Nicholas Brandt and Lisa Hamil; starring Hallee Hirsh), A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011, directed by Dana Lustig; starring Jodie Whittaker, David Warner and Dougray Scott), Wages of Sin (2011, directed by Doug Burch and starring Katharine Everett, Lauren Martin and Travis Quentin Young) and Murder in Miami (2014, written and directed by Will Vázquez … beautiful models are being stalked and murdered by a crazed killer).

Wild Eye Releasing Will Release Director Torey Haas' The Neon Dead On DVD On Sept. 13

Wild Eye Releasing announced this past week that F/X wizard Torey Haas will be making the move to feature length direction with the DVD debut on Sept. 13 of The Neon Dead.   

The film played to positive buzz at various genre festivals during the past year under the title Invasion of the Undead.   Frankly, it’s a smart move to revision the release as The Neon Dead … a few too many zombie flicks out there these days.

Haas, who supplied F/X work for the likes of V/H/S Viral and Transmigration, also provided the script here, which is something of an homage to late ‘80s and early ‘90s horror flicks, especially Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness.  He goes old school with some terrific stop-motion and puppet work, plus a plot that is more along the lines of a supernatural thriller — with a terrific sense of humor — than your typical zombie plague tale.

The gist of the story finds the lovely Allison (Marie Barker) moving into a creepy old house that she has inherited and if she’s going to hang onto the place she’s going to have to land a job.   

Which brings us to the day of the big job interview and the “thing” that she finds in her bathroom — think: Ghostbusters.   She locks “it” in and heads out, only to discover a Girl Scout at her front door, which conveniently saves her a trip into town (seriously, you have a demon locked in the bathroom and your sending a little tyke named Ashley, who is eerily familiar with such things, to town to get demon hunters).   

Soon Jake (Dylan Schettina) and Dedmond (Greg Garrison) arrive and quickly deduce that poor Allison has opened some sort portal to the realm of damned — it’s a family thing, which we only discover as the plot unfolds.   If order is to be restored, the trio must defeat a distant relative named Drake (Nathan DeRussy), who is now a demon that commands a voodoo army.

The Neon Dead is a cut above what one might expect from a low-budget indie release, which is related to Haas’s F/X work, a fun script and his cast that clearly enjoys their work.

Bonus goodies include by Wild Eye Releasing are commentary from filmmaker Torey Haas, bonus, deleted and alternate scenes and a “behind-the-scenes” featurette.

Arrow Video To Release A 4K Restoration Of director Duccio Tessari’s The Bloodstained Butterfly As A Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack On Aug. 23

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has selected Aug. 23 as the street date for a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack 4K restoration (from the film’s original camera negative) of director Duccio Tessari’s 1971 quasi-giallo whodunit, The Bloodstained Butterfly.

Françoise (Carole André — Death in Venice, Dirty Weekend, etc.), a beautiful young woman, is brutally murdered in a park in the film’s opening sequence.   There are witnesses.

The police, specifically Inspector Berardi (Silvano Tranquilli), follow the clues and they lead straight to Alessandro (Giancarlo Sbragia — Death Rage, Nest of Vipers), a sports broadcaster who just so happens to be having an affair with Françoise, a student friend of his daughter, Sarah [Wendy D’Olive — Catch-22, The Dead are Alive).

The evidence is overwhelming … and there were witnesses in the park that day!

His defense attorney, Gulilio (Günther Stoll), begins to pick apart the prosecution’s case — and we discover in the process that he is having an affair with Alessandro’s wife, Maria (Evelyn Stewart, aka: Ida Galli — Maniac Mansion, The Psychic, etc.) — but when two more young women are murdered in the same park in similar fashion, the case unravels.

In the meantime, Sarah, has taken up with Giorgio (Helmut Berger — Ludwig, The Damned, etc.), whose connection to Françoise, coupled with his ever-increasing bizarre behavior — including some rough sex — leads Sarah (and us) to suspect that Inspector Berardi might be chasing the wrong killer.

Oh, if only it was that simple!   The Bloodstained Butterfly could easily have been titled “The Bloodstained Red-Herring” … it will keep you guessing right up until the end.

As to bonus goodies, Arrow Video has both the original Italian-language track and the English-dubbed audio track, with newly translated English subtitles for the Italian version.   Film critics Alan Jones (author of such books as: “Dario Argento: the Man, the Myths, the Magic” and “The Rough Guide to Horror Movies”) and Kim Newman provide commentary, the featurette titled, “Murder in B-Flat Minor,” and a retrospective on the work of director Duccio Tessari.

Artsploitation Films Will Release DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of German Filmmaker Nikias Chryssos’ Surreal Der Bunker On Aug. 23

David Lynch’s Eraserhead and David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch are close cousins to German filmmaker Nikias Chryssos’ debut feature-film effort, Der Bunker, which will be making its way to both DVD and Blu-ray on Aug. 23 courtesy of Artsploitation Films.

If you want strange, then join “Student” (played by Pit Bukowski — Der Samurai, As We Were Dreaming), who is working on an important research paper and needs a secluded place to stay to complete the task.   So it is almost too good to be true when he answers an ad for a quiet, “lake view” apartment.   

Instead, he finds a home in the woods and the apartment is without windows in the basement.   It is quiet and it is secluded so he takes it anyway.

That should have been the first tip off that living with Mother (Oona von Maydell), Father (David Scheller) and their eight-year old son — who actually has a name — Klaus (Daniel Fripan), would have its “challenges.”   Klaus, is not only odd, but he looks to be in his mid-twenties.

Pretty soon Student not only has the task of completing his research paper, but he somehow lets himself be talked into tutoring “little” Klaus … who is not much of a student, but his parents have high hopes.   

 

Oh, and did we mention that Mother has what appears to be an infected, swollen leg, which    

could — and we are being serious here (you gotta think: Lynch; you gotta think: Cronenberg) — be home to an extraterrestrial who goes by the name of Heinrich.

What other mysteries lurk in this “cabin in the woods!!!”

Der Bunker is presented in German with English subtitles.

Vinegar Syndrome Restores Rudy Ray Moore's Disco Godfather For Release As A Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack On Aug. 30

First it was Dolemite from Vinegar Syndrome in April, and then it was Human Tornado at the end of May.   Next came the news about Petey Wheatstraw being restored and ready to rip as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on July 26.    Wow, three-for-three for screen legend Rudy Ray Moore!

So what could be better than the aforementioned Rudy Ray Moore trifecta?   How about a Rudy Ray Moore four-film parlay!!!

That’s what Vinegar Syndrome has in store for fans on Aug. 30 with a new 2K restoration of writer/director J. Robert Wagoner’s 1979 Blaxploitation film, Disco Godfather.   This last great Blaxploitation entry from the cycle that began in the early ‘70s is being restored from the thought-to-be-lost 35mm original film negative.

Bonus nuggets include a commentary track featuring Rudy Ray Moore’s biographer, Mark Jason Murray, Rudy Ray Moore, writer/director J. Robert Wagoner and co-writer Cliff Roquemore, part IV of “I, Dolemite” documentary an extensive still and promotional gallery.

Also getting a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack release on Aug. 30 is writer/director Mardi Rustam's 1985 sci-fi film erotica, Evils of the Night, which includes a cast that includes porn stars Amber Lynn and Jerry Butler, plus such screen legends as John Carradine, Julie Newmar, Aldo Ray, Neville Brand and Gilligan’s Island very own Ginger, Tina Louise.

OK, let’s all agree that Evils of the Night is not Alien, or Aliens, or even, dare we say, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, but any film that has John Carradine, Julie Newmar and Tina Louise as alien invaders and Aldo Ray and Neville Brand as their loyal servants — their day job is that of auto mechanics — who are charged with abducting beautiful teenage girls so that they can be drained of their blood is a damn good film!   

Bonus goodies include a video session with filmmaker Mardi Rustam that is titled “Alien Blood Transfusion,” 25-minutes worth of outtakes, and two alternate viewing options — a television edit (some the steamy sex scenes just had to go) and a work-in-progress theatrical presentation.

With these two releases — Rudy Ray Moore’ Disco Godfather and the sci-fi classics, Evils of the Night — Vinegar Syndrome could call it a wrap and take victory lap.   But wait!   There’s more!

Aug. 30 also sees a new 2K restoration (from original 35mm vault elements) of director Kirdy Stevens’ 1980 adult film classic, Taboo.   This film is from the golden era of adult cinema (when they were shot on 35mm — see Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights for an understanding of this period).

Kay Parker stars as a frustrated housewife whose husband bails on her … and the swinger sexcapades that her friends offer her for fulfillment are not to her liking.   But there is something — a forbidden something — closer to home that does spark her interest.

Bonus features include two newly-prepared commentary options — one with Kay Parker and one featuring writer/producer Helene Terrie.   There are also two vintage commentary options, one featuring Kay Parker and the other teaming director Kirdy Stevens and Helene Terrie, and a vintage video session featuring the film’s star, Kay Parker.

Rounding the Aug. 30 selections from Vinegar Syndrome are two new DVD releases.  These are: Director Anthony Spinelli’s 1972 adult film, Sex in the Comics (a new 2K restoration from film vault elements) — which features the 1975 film release of Sextoons and The Funky World of Adult Cartoons as bonus features — and the next installment in Vinegar Syndrome’s popular “Peekarama” double-feature library, Peekarama: Body Girls and Let’s Get Physical (both are new 2K restorations from the original 35mm film prints).

108 Media Group Tabs July 26 For The DVD Debut Of Director Neil Huber's Let's Rap

Canadian filmmaker Neil Huber will see his hilarious comedy, Let’s Rap, make its domestic DVD rollout on July 26 courtesy of 108 Media … sales and distribution expertise will be provided by MVD Entertainment Group.

Writers Samantha and Jesse Herman are real-life sister and brother, who are natural comedians in their steam-of- consciousness banter, who came up with a short film back in 2013 that was based on their lives … it was titled, Let’s Rap.  

Now skip ahead two years, add Neil Huber as the director and flesh out the script (again, provided by Sam and Jesse) and bingo, Let’s Rap the feature-length comedy.   

Rachel Wilson (who reprises her role from the short) and Brendan Gall star as sister and brother — Melanie and Bo Schnurr — who stumble into a hit televison show by simply being their very own dysfunctional selves.   

She’s out of a job (she wasn’t much good at what she did anyway) and he’s never really had one, but when their friend Ethan (Randal Edwards), a TV producer — who is under some pressure to find the next big thing — puts them on air its comedy gold!

20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment Selects Oct. 4 For 4K Ultra HD, DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Director Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse

20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment made its first post-Labor Day product moves this past week.   From Labor Day to Christmas is where the big summer films get street dates … as well as important TV series and catalog promotions.

Arriving on Oct. 4 as a three-SKU product array will be director Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse.   Ticket sales were a robust $154.5 million and the ARR works out to 130 days.

Planned for release are DVD, Blu-ray (a double-disc set featuring 2D and 3D viewing options) and 4K Ultra HD editions of the film.

Bonus features, which are exclusive to the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD SKUs, include commentary by filmmaker Bryan Singer and writer Simon Kinberg (Oscar nominated as a producer of The Martian), a feature-length documentary titled X-Men: Apocalypse Unearthed, a wrap party video session and a gag reel.

In other release news this week, 20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment has tabbed Sept. 13 for the next DVD edition of the internecine corporate struggles of Lucious Lyon’s Empire Entertainment with the release of Empire: The Complete Second Season.

Murder, betrayal, music and corporate intrigue, with a heavy dose of sex, mark this second season starring Terrence Howard as Lucious and Golden Globe-winner Taraji P. Henson as “Cookie.”

Bonus goodies include a half-dozen Studio Sessions, the four-part featurette titled “The Look of Empire” and four un-cut music performances.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Targets Sept. 27 For DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Stephen King's Cell

Stephen King’s 2006 novel, Cell, took a long and winding road to film with King himself ultimately providing the screenplay (along with Adam Alleca — who provided the script for the remake of The Last House on the Left in 2009 and then dropped of sight).   

With Stephen King in the mix, and the casting of John Cusack as Clay Riddell and Samuel L. Jackson as Tom McCourt, you would have thought that Cell — a mocking sci-fi tale about cell phone users being turned into zombie-like killers (like that could happen) — would be golden for a summer theatrical release.   

The trailer for the film, when first posted, looked sensational … instead, it went straight to VOD on June 10.  That has to be read as nothing short of a disappointment — it must have been the best two minutes of the film.

In any case, word arrived this past week from Lionsgate Home Entertainment that Blu-ray and DVD editions of Cell will be available on Sept. 27.   Will anyone really care after its been in the digital domain for over three months?   

As to bonus goodies, Lionsgate reports that director Tod Williams (Paranormal Activity 2) will provide commentary and there will be a featurette titled “To Cell and Back.”

The Criterion Collection Announces Its October Of 2016 DVD And Blu-ray Release Calendar

The Criterion Collection announced its October release slate this past week, and, as always, there is something to be found among the DVD and Blu-ray selections that will appeal to a broad array of film buffs and film fans.

In chronological order we kick off the proceedings with the 2006 Best Foreign Language Oscar nominee, writer/director Guillermo del Toro’s Pan's Labyrinth.  Both DVD (a double-disc set) and Blu-ray product offerings will be available of this new 2K restoration (supervised by Guillermo del Toro).

Bonus features include a vintage commentary track from filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (circa 2007), newly-prepared video sessions featuring Guillermo del Toro (interviewed by novelist Cornelia Funke) and actor Doug Jones (the Pale Man), four vintage featurettes, animated comics and audition footage of actor Ivana Baquero (Ofelia).

The following week, Oct. 18, director Richard Linklater’s 2014 Best Picture nominee, Boyhood, will be released as both Blu-ray and double-disc DVD product offerings — a new 2K supervised by Linklater.

Bonus features include a new commentary option from Linklater, who is joined by members of the cast and crew, a newly-minted video sessions featuring Linklater, Patricia Arquette and Ellar Coltrane (title character), with moderation by producer John Pierson, and Ellar Coltrane with Ethan Hawke.

Also streeting on Oct. 18 is a new 4K restoration of auteur filmmaker Robert Altman’s 1993 release of Short Cuts — Blu-ray and a double-disc DVD SKUs will be available.

Bonus features include a vintage video session (circa 2004) with filmmaker Robert Altman and actor Tim Robbins, the 1992 documentary titled “To Write and Keep Kind,” deleted scenes and more.

Rounding out the month on Oct. 25 are director Luis García Berlanga’s 1963 film release of The Executioner (Blu-ray and double-disc DVD editions) and filmmaker Ermanno Olmi’s 1978 film, The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Blu-ray and double-disc DVD editions will also be available).

Director Jeffrey Bell's Sons Of Ben On DVD From Gravitas Ventures On July 22

Director Jeffrey Bell’s documentary, Sons of Ben, will be heading to DVD on July 22 courtesy of Gravitas Ventures.

No, no, no to a Major League Soccer franchise for the City of Philadelphia, but fans of the sport had other ideas — they called themselves “Sons of Ben” and their motto is “Ad Finem Fidelis” — and through their efforts the MLS relented and the Philadelphia Union was born in the winter of 2008.  This is their story.

The film has played in festivals worldwide and will now be available domestically on DVD for fans to enjoy!