Monday, February 5, 2018

For the period ending February 02, 2018 ... New DVD and Blu-ray selections added to the DVD & Blu-ray Release Report's database

For the period ending February 02, 2018 ... New DVD and Blu-ray selections added to the DVD & Blu-ray Release Report's database.

 

DVD Releases: 

 

Big Blind Media
01/30/18 — Released John Carey: Impossible Location Card Tricks

Blue Fox Entertainment (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Truth About Lies

CBS Home Entertainment (MOD)
01/23/18 — Released Losing Chase, Roswell and Varian's War

Championship Productions
01/30/18 — Released Attacking the Offensive Ground Ball, Bob Huggins: Full & Half Court Pressure Defense, Geno Auriemma's Complete Defensive System, Geno Auriemma's Complete Offensive System, Geno Auriemma's Complete Skill Development Program and Matt Painter: Building a Championship Defense

Discovery Hourse
01/23/18 — Released Men Make Men, Volume 1: God Made Man (2 disc set)

DreamScape Media, LLC
01/30/18 — Released Iggy Peck, Architect and Princess Cora and the Crocodile

Dynamic
01/30/18 — Released Meyerbeer: Margherita d'Anjou

Eagle Rock Entertainment
01/30/18 — Released Bee Gees: One For All Tour - Live in Australia 1989

Eastern Star
01/30/18 — Released Project Arms (8 disc set)

Eric Norcross/Norcross Media (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Eric Norcross Experimental Films, Volume 1 (5 short films: Steinway Street, Brush Strokes, Walk of the City, Storm King, Witch's Ladder) and Lipstick Lies

Film Movement
01/30/18 — Released My Art (ARR of 18 days; box office: $11,126)

First Run Features
01/30/18 — Released It Takes from Within

Frolic Pictures (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Amethyst, Big Hair, Long Lashes, Black Cobra Woman, Calamity of Snakes (Mandarin), Centipede Horror (Cantonese), Double Feature (2 film set: Atom Age Vampire, Murder on Flight 502), Double Feature (2 film set: Attack from Space, The Fast and the Furious), Double Feature (2 film set: Blood Tide, The Legend of Boggy Creek), Double Feature (2 film set: Cold Sweat, The Street Fighter), Double Feature (2 film set: Dementia 13, Plan Nine from Outer Space), Double Feature (2 film set: Devil Times Five, Undertaker and His Pals), Double Feature (2 film set: Dr. Sex, Lady Frankenstein), Double Feature (2 film set: Dracula, Freaks), Double Feature (2 film set: I Drink Your Blood, Keep My Grave Open), Double Feature (2 film set: McLintock!, The Magic Sword), Double Feature (2 film set: Monstroid, Moon of the Wolf), Double Feature (2 film set: Naked Massacre, Horror Express), Double Feature (2 film set: Night of the Living Dead, How Awful About Allan), Double Feature (2 film set: Prisoners of the Lost Universe, The Beach Girls and the Monster), Double Feature (2 film set: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Silent Night, Bloody Night), Double Feature (2 film set: Slashed Dreams (aka: Sunburst), Flight 412), Double Feature (2 film set: The Doomsday Machine, End of the World), Hearse Life, Last Stop on 13th Street (aka: Alien Zone; aka: Five Faces of Terror; aka: The House of the Dead), Law Rides Again, Night of Bloody Horror, Pleasure Girl Gang, Ratman (Italian), Two Crippled Heroes (Mandarin) and White Slaves of K-Town

Gallo Enterprises (MOD)
01/23/18 — Released Teresa

GirlFightMovie.com, LLC (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Girlfight: Fight to the Death - Vegas Edition, Girlfight: Fight to the Death - Vegas Edition – Party,  Girlfight: Fight to the Death - Vegas Edition - Seduction and Girlfight: Fight to the Death - Vegas Edition – Tease

Gunpower & SKY (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Tragedy Girls (ARR of 102 days; box office: $61,899)

Hallmark Channel (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Dash of Love

Hen’s Tooth
01/30/18 — Released Flame Trees of Thika (2 disc set)

Homespun Video
01/30/18 — Released Putting the Blues into Bluegrass

Hurwitz Media (MOD)
01/23/18 — Released 8 Broken Hearts

I-Cine
01/30/18 — Released Duyen Dinh Kim Tien (12 disc set), Nguoi Mot Nha, Part 1 (12 disc set), Nguoi Mot Nha, Part 2 (12 disc set), Song Gio Gia Toc 1 (16 disc set) and Song Gio Gia Toc 2 (14 disc set)

Icarus Films
03/20/18 — Sets Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth (Spanish/Maya) and Miss Kiet's Children (Dutch)

Ignatius Press
01/30/18 — Released Grace, Saint Maria Soledad: Foundress of the Sister Servants of Mary, Saint Pedro Poveda: Priest, Educator, Martyr and The Woman

Imagination Worldwide (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Light of the Moon

Indie Rights, Inc. (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Confused … by Love and Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel

Kino Lorber
01/30/18 — Released Bugs (2 disc set), Old Stone (Mandarin) (ARR of 424 days; box office: $7,476) and Savage Attraction (aka: Hostage)

Level 33 Entertainment (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Bad Blood: The Movie

Lionsgate Home Entertainment
01/30/18 — Released Last Flag Flying (ARR of 88 days; box office: $960,320)

Magnolia Home Entertainment
01/30/18 — Released Square (Swedish/Danish) (ARR of 95 days; box office: $1,384,256)

Mill Creek Entertainment
04/03/18 — Sets Charles Bronson 4 Movie Collection (4 film set: The Valachi Papers, The Stone Killer, Breakout, Hard Times) (2 disc set)

National Geographic Video (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released National Geographic: Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist and National Geographic: Dr. Oakley Yuko Vet: Season Five (3 disc set)

Naxos
01/30/18 — Released Mahler: Symphony No 1

Olive Films
01/30/18 — Released Belle Epoque (Spanish), Jamon Jamon (Spanish), Preexisting Conditions, Red Squirrel (Spanish), Terra (Spanish) and Vacas (Spanish)

On-Demand Publishing, LLC (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Colorado, Heart of Arizona, Grand Canyon Trail, Guilty of Treason, Law of the Lash, Local Bad Man, Mystery Man, Mystery of the Hooded Horseman, Paradise Canyon, Range Busters, Rhythm and Blues Revue, Riders of Destiny, Roll Along, Cowboy, Romance on the Range, Rustler's Paradise, Saddle Mountain Roundup, Stagecoach to Denver, Texas Terror, Tol'able David (silent-1921), Trailin' Trouble, Trouble in Texas and Zis Boom Bah

Oscilloscope Laboratories
03/13/18 — Adds Bobbi Jene (ARR of 172 days; box office: $18,579) and Song of Granite (Gaelic) (ARR of 116 days; box office: $12,408)

PBS Direct
01/30/18 — Released Black Wings, Christopher Kimball's Milk Street: Season 1 (3 disc set), NOVA: Bird Brain, NOVA: Killer Floods, Putin's Revenge, Slavery and the Making of America and Victoria: The Complete Second Season (3 disc set)

Paramount Home Media
03/20/18 — Sets Downsizing (ARR of 88 days; box office: $24,449,754)

Passion River
01/30/18 — Released Celtic Soul

ProAudioDVDs.com (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Midas M32 Training Tutorial

Random Media (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Life Not to Follow

Rarefilmsandmore.com (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Banditen der Autobahn (German), Carl Peters (German), Der Gouverneur (German), Der Weisse Traum (German), Die Affare Rodern (German), Die Goldene Pest (German), Die Unschuld Vom Lande (German), Ein Madchen Geht an Land (German), Heideschulmeister Uwe Karsten (German), L'Atlantide (silent-1921), Liebling der Matrosen (German), Sergeant Berry (German), Waldwinter (German), Wenn Manner Verreisen (German), Zwei Frauen (German) and Zwischen Den Eltern (German)

Samuel Goldwyn Films
01/30/18 — Released God’s Own Country (ARR of 95 days; box office: $326,549)

Sentai FilmWorks
01/30/18 — Released Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless: The Complete Collection (3 disc set)

Serpent Video (MOD)
01/23/18 — Released Classic Sci-Fi & Horror: Two Retro Classics (2 film set: Devil Bat, Invisible Ghost), Classic Sci-Fi & Horror: Two Retro Classics (2 film set: He Walked by Night, Daughter of Horror (aka: Dementia)), Classic Sci-Fi & Horror: Two Retro Classics (2 film set: House on Haunted Hill, Nightmare Castle), Two Great Western Classics (2 film set: Call of the Wilderness (aka: Trailing the Killer), Caryl of the Mountains), Two Great Western Classics (2 film set: Cavalcade of the West, Code of the Cactus), Two Great Western Classics (2 film set: Nevada City, Outlaw's Paradise) and Two Great Western Classics (2 film set: Trouble at Melody Mesa, Underground Rustlers)

Shemaroo Entertainment
01/30/18 — Released Ram Ratan (Hindi)

Shout! Factory
01/30/18 — Released Littlest Pet Shop: Best Pet Friends, Rendel: Dark Vengeance (Finnish), Super Sentai: Seijuu Sentai Gingaman: The Complete Series (8 disc set) and Transformers Rescue Bots: Outdoor Adventures

Silent Hall of Fame (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Endless Slapstick. Larry Semon: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 7 (5 silent short films: Whistles And Windows (1918), Dull Care (1919), The Fly Cop (1920), The Counter Jumper (1922), The Cloudhopper (1925)) 

Sony Pictures Home Ent.
03/13/18 — Sets Call Me by Your Name (with UltraViolet Digital Copy) (ARR of 109 days; box office: $11,300,179)

The Orchard
01/30/18 — Released Thousand Junkies

The Teaching Company, LLC
01/30/18 — Released American Military History: From Colonials to Counterinsurgents (4 Disc set), Life in the World's Oceans (5 disc set) and Why You are Who You are: Investigations into Human Personality (4 disc set)

20th Century-Fox Home Ent.
02/27/18 — Adds Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (ARR of 109 days; box office: $37,251,635)

Universal Pictures Home Ent.
04/10/18 — Sets Molly's Game (ARR of 106 days; box office: $25,902,410)

Vanishing, Inc.
01/23/18 — Released Paul Gertner: Unshuffled Kicker
01/30/18 — Released Roberto Giobbi: Favorites

Vision Films (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Remake

Warner Bros. Home Ent.
01/30/18 — Released Steven Universe: The Complete First Season (4 disc set)
02/06/18 — Adds 5 Film Collection: Survival (5 film set: San Andreas, Poseidon, Into the Storm, In the Heart of the Sea, The Perfect Storm) (3 disc set), Silver Screen Icons: Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, Volume 2 (4 film set: Tarzan's Secret Treasure, Tarzan's New York Adventure, Tarzan and the Amazons, Tarzan and the Leopard Woman) (2 disc set) and Silver Screen Icons: Sci-Fi Adventures (4 film set: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them!, Satellite in the Sky, World Without End) (2 disc set)
02/13/18 — Sets Ben 10: Season 1, Volume 1

Well Go U.S.A.
01/30/18 — Released Legend of the Naga Pearls (Mandarin) (ARR of 158 days; box office: $12,995)

Zondervan
01/30/18 — Released Life-Changing Prayer

Blu-ray Releases: 

 

Arrow Video
04/17/18 — Sets Sleeping Dogs

Eagle Rock Entertainment
01/30/18 — Released Bee Gees: One For All Tour - Live in Australia 1989

Gunpowder & Sky  (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Tragedy Girls

Indie Rights, Inc.  (MOD)
01/30/18 — Released Confused … by Love and Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel

Kino Lorber
01/30/18 — Released Old Stone (Mandarin) and Pink Panther Cartoon Collection, Volume 1 (20 theatrical cartoons)

Kitty Media
01/30/18 — Released Aki Sora

Lionsgate Home Entertainment
01/30/18 — Released Class of 1999, Gothic and Last Flag Flying (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Massacre Video
01/30/18 — Released Hack-O-Lantern (aka: Halloween Night) - Restored

Mill Creek Entertainment
04/03/18 — Sets Charles Bronson 4 Movie Collection (4 film set: The Valachi Papers, The Stone Killer, Breakout, Hard Times) (2 disc set)

Naxos
01/30/18 — Released Mahler: Symphony No 1

Olive Films
01/30/18 — Released Belle Epoque (Spanish), Jamon Jamon (Spanish), Preexisting Conditions, Red Squirrel (Spanish), Terra (Spanish) and Vacas (Spanish)

Oscilloscope Laboratories
03/13/18 — Adds Bobbi Jene and Song of Granite (Gaelic)

PBS Direct
01/30/18 — Released Victoria: The Complete Second Season (3 disc set)

Paramount Home Media
03/20/18 — Sets Downsizing (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)
04/10/18 — Sets Still Smokin' (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with UltraViolet Digital Copy) and Up in Smoke: 40th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)

SPV/Napalm Records
01/30/18 — Released W.A.S.P.: Re-Idolized (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, with 2 bonus CDs)

Sentai FilmWorks
01/30/18 — Released Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless: The Complete Collection (2 disc set)

Severin Films
01/30/18 — Released Threads

Shout! Factory
01/30/18 — Released Napping Princess (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (Japanese), Projected Man and Rendel: Dark Vengeance (Finnish)

Sony Pictures Home Ent.
03/13/18 — Sets Call Me by Your Name (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)

20th Century-Fox Home Ent.
02/27/18 — Adds Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Universal Pictures Home Ent.
04/10/18 — Sets Molly's Game (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Warner Bros. Home Ent.
04/17/18 — Sets Deep Blue Sea 2 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with UltraViolet Digital Copy)

Well Go U.S.A.
01/30/18 — Released Legend of the Naga Pearls (Mandarin)


 

 

Paramount Home Media Preps Director Alexander Payne's Downsizing For A Home Entertainment Launch On Mar. 20


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
The next generation of auteur filmmakers officially has a new member — it takes a body of work over a number of years to get there.   Alexander Payne is the next generation auteur.

All of this — about a new member and all — is totally meaningless if you don’t at least acknowledge the auteur film theory, which arose from the French New Wave during the late 40s and early 50s.  If I simply say “Truffaut” and a light goes on, then you can embrace the concept of auteur as an element of filmmaking.   

Who is an auteur can, however, be very subjective.  One film does not make an auteur … it is a body of work.   There is a consensus that Scorsese, Altman and Allen are all auteur filmmakers — but what of Spike Lee, as an example … his films of late have lost their touch; the passion that marked his earlier work seems missing.   Does he just go from being an auteur to not being an auteur … it’s subjective.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
So what does all of this have to do with what Paramount Home Media announcement this past week with respect to the release of Alexander Payne’s latest film on Mar. 20 as a three-SKU home entertainment product offering?   With Downsizing, a case can be made that he has enough of a track record to be a full-fledged member of the auteur school of filmmaking.

Election with Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon was amazing, Sideways teaming Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church was genius and Nebraska brought out the best of Bruce Dern.  There’s an unmistakable melancholy to the lives of Jim McAllister, Miles Raymond and Woody Grant (the characters played by Broderick, Giamatti and Dern respectively) in all of these Payne films … and so too is the character that Matt Damon plays in Downsizing.  There’s an incredible sadness to him; Paul Safranek (Damon) is a man defeated, who surrenders to his fate; his lot — his small lot — in life, only to discover that it’s all a big con.   He lives the life of luxury in a glass cage.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyDownsizing didn’t do the business that it should have done as an Alexander Payne film, pulling in just $24.4 million in domestic ticket sales.   Take one look at the trailer and you can see that Paramount’s theatrical marketing had a difficult time telling audiences what it was about in just three minutes.   The sad truth of theatrical marketing is that you have to have the maximum number of bodies possible in seats on the first Friday and Saturday nights for a film to succeed.   

Is Downsizing a comedy?    No.   Is it an amusing sci-fi film?   No.   A satire?   That’s closer to the mark … it’s actually a dramatic science fiction satire with a touch of humor to it.  That’s a tough sell in three minutes.  It’s also dark and challenging.   Downsizing makes you think.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
For the record, the ARR comes in at 88 days and Paramount will be giving consumers DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack editions to select from on Mar. 20.  

As to bonus features, which are exclusive to the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD editions, there are six production featurettes — “Working with Alexander,” “The Cast,” “A Visual Journey,” “A Matter of Perspective,” “That Smile” and “A Global Concern.”

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyAlso added to the release calendar this past week from Paramount Home Media is a 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray edition of Grammy-winner-turned-director Lou Adler’s Up in Smoke, which served as a theatrical showcase for the comedy talents of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, but turned into a cultural event.   Needless to say, it was a smash, not only as a theatrical release, but as the launch vehicle for the four-decade long film careers (acting, directing, producing, etc.) of both Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong.   The street date is Apr. 10.

Bonus features are still in the works, but published reports indicate that there will be a commentary track featuring Cheech Marin and Lou Adler.

Also streeting on Apr. 10 is director Tommy Chong’s 1983 comedy, Still Smokin’, teaming Cheech and himself on an “Amsterdam” adventure.


Mill Creek Entertainments Opens April (Apr. 04) With Blu-ray And DVD Collections Of Charles Bronson 4 Movie Collection


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Mill Creek Entertainment gave consumers a pick of what is coming in April in the price-to-collection DVD and Blu-ray release category.   Just a tease … one collection on both DVD and Blu-ray, with more, much more, to follow!

Available on Apr. 4 as both double-disc DVD and Blu-ray product offerings from Mill Creek Entertainment is the four-film collection titled Charles Bronson 4 Movie Collection.

Included in this collection are four action classics starring Bronson!   This kicks off with director Terence Young’s 1972 film adaptation of Peter Maas’ 1969 crime tell-all novel, The Valachi Papers.

Bronson stars as Joe Valachi, a member of the infamous Genovese Mafia “family,” who went before the U.S. Senate in 1963 (just prior to Kennedy’s assassination) to testify as to the inner-workings of the Mafia — a direct violation of the Omertà, which earned him a death sentence by Vito Genovese!

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyNext up is director Michael Winner’s 1973 film adaptation of John Gardner’s novel, “A Complete State of Death,” which was re-titled for the screen as The Stone Killer.   This time Bronson is on the right side of the law as detective Lou Torrey, who stumbles upon a Mafia revenge plot — “The Night of Sicilian Vespers” — dating back to the early 1930s.

The third film title in this all-action collection is director Tom Gries’ 1975 thriller, Breakout, where Bronson stars as a helicopter pilot who is hired to break an innocent man (Robert Duvall) out of a high-security Mexican prison.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
And lastly we have auteur filmmaker Walter Hill’s 1975 Depression-era fight drama, Hard Times.   Bronson is a brawler and James Coburn is a shifty promoter … together they work their magic on the streets of New Orleans.

Of note, Charles Bronson’s wife, Jill Ireland co-stars in The Valachi Papers, Breakout and Hard Times.

Arrow Video Targets Apr. 17 For A Blu-ray Release Of Director Roger Donaldson’s Sleeping Dogs


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, looks to Apr. 17 for a newly-prepared Blu-ray edition of director Roger Donaldson’s 1977 (released theatrically in the domestic market in 1982) film adapation of C.K. Stead's novel, “Smith’s Dreams,” which was re-titled for the screen as Sleeping Dogs.

Parallels in Hitler’s rise to power in Germany are used by Donaldson (No Way Out, White Sands, Dante’s Peak, Thirteen Days, etc.) to create a frightening narrative about martial law being declared in New Zealand … with the United States unwittingly coming to the aid of the newly formed totalitarian government to help “put down” the rebels.  
 
This was Sam Neill’s first starring performance (My Brilliant Career was to follow two years later) and he plays a father in the middle of a custody battle who is innocent of any involvement with “the rebels,” but nevertheless become a man on the run and eventually comes around to joining those in opposition to the government.

Bonus features included with this Blu-ray release from Arrow Video include commentary by writer-director Roger Donaldson, who is joined by Sam Neill and actor-writer Ian Mune and documentary filmmaker John Reid’s 2004 feature-length film titled The Making of 'Sleeping Dogs.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey



Oscilloscope To Release DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Bobbi Jene And Song of Granite On Mar. 13


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Bobbi Jene Smith, dance legend with the Batsheva Dance Company, is the subject of documentary filmmaker Elvira Lind’s award-winning documentary, Bobbi Jene, which will be making its way to the home entertainment marketplace on Mar. 13 courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories as both DVD and Blu-ray product offerings.

The film made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival last April, where it won the prestigious Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature, as well as Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature and Best Editing in a Documentary Feature.   It continues to work the festival circuit, both domestically and internationally, and Bobbi Jene got an ever-so-brief arthouse run right after Labor Day (just three venues).   

For the record, the ARR comes in at 172 and box office receipts from the film’s limited showcase are $18,579.   

Oscilloscope’s Blu-ray and DVD release on Mar. 13 will afford fans — and curious — an opportunity to view Lind’s film (that wider audience that is not conveniently near one of the country’s major metro arthouse cinemas).

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
The film gives us a glimpse into her work with choreographer Ohad Naharin of the Batsheva Dance Company and the harsh reality that after ten years it is time to move on … Bobbi Jene needs to explore the world beyond “her” dance, to that of choreographer; of creating.

Through interviews with her contemporaries, intimate scenes with fellow dancer, Or Schraiber and a showcase of a provocative performance piece that she developed with the Jewish Museum, filmmaker Elvira Lind gives us a rare glimpse into Bobbi Jene’s world, where dedication to dance is everything!

Bonus features include director Derrick Belcham’s feature-length film, A Study on Effort (featuring Bobbi Jene Smith’s interpretative performance accompanied by violinist Keir GoGwilt), a dance performance title “Arrow,” with Bobbi Jene Smith and Oscar Issic, and a video session with Bobbi Jene Smith and filmmaker Elvira Lind titled “Onstage.”

Also being released on Mar. 13 as both DVD and Blu-ray editions is writer/director Pat Collins’ Song of Granite, a dramatic presentation of the life of famed “sean-nós” artist Joe Heaney.
DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey


The film opened at the South by Southwest Film Festival last March and worked the festival circuit both here and abroad until just before Thanksgiving, when it got a very limited domestic arthouse run.   The ARR is 116 days and box office receipts stand at $16,182.

As a young boy I would listen to my grandmother speak in Gaelic to her friend, Violet.   It was a mysterious language that I could not make heads or tails of, but it was so, so beautiful in its lyrical nature.   To hear the songs — the “old style” songs — of Joe Heaney (aka: Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) is to be, for me, whisked back to those days of Gaelic spoken among friends.

Collins’ has taken an interesting approach to the telling of Heaney’s career, he does this by blending documentary film techniques with a dramatic presentation of Heaney’s journey from Ireland to the Unites States … three different actors portray the artist at various points in his life.  The film is also bold in its presentation as it is filmed in stark black and white … there’s a melancholy nature to all of it; the songs; the visuals.

Writer/director Pat Collins’ Song of Granite is presented in Gaelic and English, with English subtitles.   There is also a “Behind the Scenes” featurette included.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey