For the period ending November 29, 2019 ... New DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD selections added to the DVD & Blu-ray Release Report's database

 

DVD New Additions

 

Bayview Entertainment

01/07/20 — Sets 30 Minutes to Fitness: Strong and Lean, 30 Minutes To Fitness: Cardio Sculpt Overload One on One, Good Old Boys (Spanish), Growing Op, Guardian of the Highlands, Heyday!, Hidden Moon/Luna Escondida, How You Look To Me and I am Not Lorena (Spanish)

Cinema Libre

01/07/20 — Sets Imprisoned (ARR of 116 days; box office: $12.050)

ClassicFlix

12/10/19 — Sets Out of the Blue

EWTN

11/26/19 — Released @ Home with Jim & Joy: Jim and Joy Pinto Answer Viewer Calls, Questions, And E-Mails Live From the Pinto House, Called to Communion, EWTN Live: Dr. Dan Jacob - Founder of the New Orleans Medical Mission Series, Journey Home: Jonathan Bading - Former Calvinist and Sunday Best: Father Benedict Groeschel - Does Your Personality Type Affect Your Religion?

Filmlab Showcase Pictures (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Beast from Beyond

Get Digital World (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Affiliate Marketing Excellence, Happiness Starts With You, How to Turn Your Computer Into an ATM Machine (3 disc set), Inkscape Tutorials: Become A Expert Graphic Designer With ZERO Experience And ZERO Cost Learn How to Set Up a Cash System That Pays You $197 Again and Again (3 disc set), Making Money From Your Website Made Easy and TypeScript Programming: A Hands On Complete Training Course

Grapevine Video (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Funniest Man in the World, Ghost of Zorro, Grapevine Video Presents (2 film set: Santa Fe Stampede, Wyoming Outlaw) and Poppy Is Also a Flower

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Another Version of You, Christmas Survival, Tin City, Use Me and We Stand Corrected: Dannemora

Icarus Films

01/21/20 — Sets Anthropocene and The Freshmen (French)

Image Entertainment

11/26/19 — Released Mary

Kino Lorber

11/26/19 — Released Aya of Yop City (French), Coincoin and the Extra-Humans (French), Holly and the Ivy and Mr. Wrong

Level 33 Entertainment (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Christmas Jars

Movie Detective (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Cielo Negro (Spanish), Crime et Chatiment (French), De Rode Enge (Danish), La 317eme Section (French), Lady Paname (French), Unfinished Story (Russian) and White Lady (Czech)

Music Box Films

12/17/19 — Sets Gags the Clown

Oscilloscope Laboratories

01/21/20 — Sets Ms. Purple (ARR of 144 days; box office: $80,657) and Midnight Traveler (ARR of 130 days; box office: $40,103)

PCN Productions (MOW)

11/26/19 — Released PA Books: Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken, PCN Tours: Bluett Violins and PCN Tours: Cunningham Pianos

Rarefilmsandmore.com (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Artistenblut (German) and Eine Hubscher Als Die Andere (German)

Retrosploitation Releasing (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Blood Desert: Unearthed and Uncut, City of the Dream Demons, Deatherman: Cloudy with a Chance of Blood, Grizzly 2: The Predator, I Eat Your Skin, Memorial Valley Massacre: Prehistoric Edition, Occult Holocaust, Shadow's Edge, Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival and Sisters of Death

SM Productionz

11/26/19 — Released Blink Vanish

Smart Mark Video (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Absolute Intense Wrestling: 200th Showcase - Akron, OH, Black Label Pro: BLP TurboGaps 16, Show 1 - Summit, IL, Black Label Pro: BLP TurboGaps 16, Show 2 - Summit, IL, Black Label Pro: Slamilton 2 - Crown Point, IN, Destructo Pro: Destructo Spooktacular - Jeffersonville, IN, Game Changer Wrestling: Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 2 - Jersey City, NJ, Horror Slam Pro Wrestling: Death Proof - Lincoln Park, MI, IWA Mid-South: Double Jeopardy - Jeffersonville, IN and On Point Wrestling: Blood From Above - Williamstown, NJ

Sony Music

11/26/19 — Released Victor Manuelle: Memorias de Navidad

The High School Sports Network (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released 2019 AIA 2A Football Semifinals #2 Thatcher vs Phoenix Christian, 2019 AIA 3A Football Semifinals #1 Snowflake vs Benjamin Franklin, 2019 AIA 3A Football Semifinals #2 Northwest Christian vs American Leadership, 2019 AIA Open Division Semifinal Hamilton vs. Saguaro, 2019 CIAC L Boys Soccer Championship Wilton vs Daniel Hand, 2019 CIAC L Girls Soccer Championship East Lyme vs Guilford, 2019 CIAC L Girls Volleyball Championship Guilford vs Avon, 2019 CIAC LL Boys Soccer Championship Greenwich vs Hall, 2019 CIAC LL Girls Soccer Championship Glastonbury vs Southington, 2019 CIAC LL Girls Volleyball Championship Trumbull vs Westhill, 2019 CIAC M Boys Soccer Championship Stonington vs Ellington, 2019 CIAC M Girls Soccer Championship Plainfield vs Granby Memorial, 2019 CIAC M Girls Volleyball Championship Waterford vs Seymour, 2019 CIAC S Boys Soccer Championship Old Saybrook vs Holy Cross, 2019 CIAC S Girls Soccer Championship Old Lyme vs Holy Cross, 2019 CIAC S Girls Volleyball Championship Hale Ray vs Lyman Memorial, 2019 CIF-LACS: 8-Man Division Football Championship North Valley Military Institute vs. Animo Robinson, 2019 CIF-NCS: Div. I Football Semifinals Liberty vs. Pittsburg, 2019 CIF-NCS: Div. VII Football Semifinals St. Helena vs. Salesian, 2019 CIF-NS: Div. 4 Football Championship Pierce vs. East Nicolaus, 2019 CIF-San Francisco Section: Football Championship Balboa vs. Lincoln, 2019 CIF-SDS: Div. IV Football Championship Serra vs. Santana, 2019 CIF-SDS: Open Division Football Championship Carlsbad vs. Helix, 2019 DCSAA Class A Football Semifinals Maret vs KIPP, 2019 IHSA 1A Football Championship Lena-Winslow vs Central A&M, 2019 IHSA 2A Football Championship Newman Central vs Nashville, 2019 IHSA 3A Football Championship Byron vs Williamsville, 2019 IHSAA 1A DII 8-Man Football Championship Lighthose Christain vs Carey, 2019 IHSAA 2A Football Championship West Side vs McCall-Donnelly, 2019 IHSAA 3A Football Championship Homedale vs Sugar-Salem, 2019 IHSAA 4A Football Championship Kuna vs Blackfoot, 2019 IHSAA 5A Football Championship Rigby vs Coeur d'Alene, 2019 MHSA 6-Man Football Championship Wibaux vs Garfield Co., 2019 MHSA 8-Man Football Championship Superior-Alberton vs Fairview, 2019 MHSA Class A Football Championship Laurel vs Custer Co., 2019 MHSA Class B Football Championship Lincoln Co. vs Manhattan-MCHS, 2019 MHSAA Div 1 Volleyball Championship Lowell vs Mercy, 2019 MHSAA Div 2 Football Championship Mona Shores vs MLK Detroit, 2019 MHSAA Div 2 Volleyball Championship Lakewood v. Grand Rapids Christian, 2019 MHSAA Div 3 Volleyball Championship Schoolcraft v. Monroe SMCC, 2019 MHSAA Div 4 Volleyball Championship Mendon vs Leland, 2019 MHSAA Div 6 Football Championship Glen Lake vs St. Mary's, 2019 MHSAA Div 8 Football Championship Beal City vs Reading, 2019 MIAA Div 1 Boys Soccer Championship Needham vs Longmeadow, 2019 MIAA Div 1 Girls Soccer Championship Bishop Feehan vs Westfield, 2019 MIAA Div 2 Boys Soccer Championship Winchester vs Milford, 2019 MIAA Div 2 Girls Soccer Championship Winchester vs Holliston, 2019 MIAA Div 3 Boys Soccer Championship Medway vs Belchertown, 2019 MIAA Div 3 Girls Soccer Championship Stoneham vs South Hadley, 2019 MIAA Div 4 Boys Soccer Championship Burke vs Bromfield, 2019 MIAA Div 4 Football Semifinals Plymouth South vs Tantasqua, 2019 MIAA Div 4 Girls Soccer Championship Millis vs Millbury, 2019 MIAA Div 5 Football Semifinals Northbridge vs. Amherst, 2019 MIAA Div 7 Football Semifinals Greater Lawrence Tech vs Abington, 2019 MIAA Div 8 Football Semifinals KIPP vs West Bridgewater, 2019 MIAA Div 8 Football Semifinals St. Bernards vs Lee, 2019 NHIAA Div I Football Championship Exeter vs Londonderry, 2019 NHIAA Div II Football Championship Plymouth vs Hollis-Brookline, 2019 NHIAA Div III Football Championship Trinity vs Lebanon, 2019 NIAA 2A Football State Championship Lincoln County vs. Yerington, 2019 NIAA 3A Football State Championship Fernley vs. Churchill County, 2019 NJSIAA Group 1 Sectional Football Finals Paulsboro vs Penns Grove, 2019 NJSIAA TOC Volleyball Championship Mendham vs Immaculate Heart Academy, 2019 NJSIAA TOC Volleyball Semifinals #1 Mendham vs Williamstown, 2019 NJSIAA TOC Volleyball Semifinals #2 Immaculate Heart vs Bogata, 2019 NMAA 2A Football Championship Texico vs Eunice, 2019 NMAA 6A Football Semifinals Rio Rancho vs. Volcano Vista, 2019 NYPSHAA B Girls Volleyball Championship Westhill vs Ardsley, 2019 NYPSHSAA C Girls Volleyball Championship Portville vs Valhalla, 2019 NYSPHSAA A Football Championship Cornwall vs Carthage, 2019 NYSPHSAA A Girls Volleyball Championship West Irondequoit vs Burnt Hills, 2019 NYSPHSAA AA Football Semifinals #1 Shenendehowa vs New Rochelle, 2019 NYSPHSAA AA Football Semifinals #2 McQuaid Jesuit vs Cicero-North, 2019 NYSPHSAA AA Girls Volleyball Championship Connetquot vs Baldwinsville, 2019 NYSPHSAA B Football Semifinals #1 Port Jervis vs Schuylerville, 2019 NYSPHSAA B Football Semifinals #2 W. NY Maritime vs Chenango Forks, 2019 NYSPHSAA C Football Championship Gouverneur vs Susquehanna Valley, 2019 NYSPHSAA C Football Semifinals #1 Gouverneur vs Valhalla, 2019 NYSPHSAA C Football Semifinals #2 Southwestern vs Susquehanna Valley, 2019 NYSPHSAA D Football Championship Moriah vs Clymer, 2019 NYSPHSAA D Girls Volleyball Championship Panama vs Candor, 2019 NYSPHSAA Div 1 Boys Volleyball Pool Play #1 McQuaid Jesuit vs Shenendehowa, 2019 NYSPHSAA Div 1 Boys Volleyball Pool Play #2 McQuaid Jesuit vs Massapequa/Sachem North, 2019 NYSPHSAA Div 1 Boys Volleyball Pool Play #3 Shenendehowa vs Sachem North, 2019 NYSPHSAA Div 2 Boys Volleyball Pool Play #1 Grand Island vs Westhampton Beach, 2019 NYSPHSAA Div 2 Boys Volleyball Pool Play #2 Jamesville-Dewitt vs Westhamption Beach, 2019 OSAA 1A Football Semifinals Camas Valley vs. St. Paul, 2019 OSAA 1A Football Semifinals Crane vs. Adrian, 2019 OSAA 2A Football Semifinals Knappa vs. Heppner, 2019 OSAA 2A Football Semifinals Monroe vs. Kennedy, 2019 OSAA 3A Football Semifinals Burns vs. Santiam Christian, 2019 OSAA 3A Football Semifinals Rainier vs. Hidden Valley, 2019 OSAA 4A Football Semifinals Marist vs. Banks, 2019 OSAA 4A Football Semifinals The Dalles vs. La Grande, 2019 OSAA 5A Football Semifinals Silverton vs. Thurston, 2019 OSAA 5A Football Semifinals West Albany vs. Crater, 2019 OSAA 5A Football Semifinals West Albany vs. Crater, 2019 RIIL Div 1 Football Championship North Kingstown vs Cranston West, 2019 RIIL Div 2 Football Championship Woonsocket vs Mt. Pleasant, 2019 RIIL Div 3 Football Championship Pilgrim vs Tolman, 2019 RIIL Div 4 Football Championship North Smithfield/MSC vs Tiverton, 2019 UIL 3A Volleyball Championship Industrial vs Van Alstyne, 2019 UIL 4A Volleyball Championship Hereford vs Fulshear, 2019 UIL 5A Volleyball Championship Randall vs Lovejoy, 2019 UIL 6A Volleyball Championship Northwest Nelson vs Plano West, 2019 VHSL Class 1 Girls Volleyball Championship Auburn vs Riverheads, 2019 VHSL Class 2 Girls Volleyball Championship Radford vs Poquoson, 2019 VHSL Class 3 Girls Volleyball Championship Lord Botetourt vs Tabb, 2019 WIAA 1A Football Quarterfinals Lynden Christian vs. La Salle, 2019 WIAA 2A Football Quarterfinals Lakewood vs. Hockinson, 2019 WIAA 2A Football Quarterfinals Tumwater vs. Archbishop Murphy, 2019 WIAA 2B Football Quarterfinals Adna vs. Chewelah, 2019 WIAA 2B Football Quarterfinals Toledo vs. Napavine, 2019 WIAA 2B Football Quarterfinals Tri-Cities Prep vs. Onalaska, 2019 WIAA 3A Football Quarterfinals Kennewick vs. Bethel, 2019 WIAA 3A Girls Volleyball Tournament Consolation & Semifinals, 2019 WIAA 3A Girls Volleyball Tournament Trophy Round, 2019 WIAA 3A Volleyball State Championship Mount Spokane vs. Capital, 2019 WIAA 4A Football Quarterfinals Bothell vs. Graham-Kapowsin, 2019 WIAA 4A Girls Volleyball Tournament Consolation & Semifinals and 2019 WIAA 4A Volleyball State Championship Tahoma vs. Lake Stevens

Warner Bros. Home Ent.

01/07/20 — Sets Joker (ARR of 95 days; box office: $326,857,842)

Wild Eye Releasing

02/11/20 — Sets Spirits in the Dark

Blu-ray New Additions

 

Acorn Media

11/26/19 — Released London Kills: Series 2 (2 disc set)

Aniplex of America

11/26/19 — Released Natsume Yujin-cho The Movie Ephemeral Bond

Arrow Video

02/04/20 — Sets Brain Damage

Cinema Guild

11/26/19 — Released Hotel by the River (Korean)

Cinema Libre

01/07/20 — Sets Imprisoned

ClassicFlix

11/26/19 — Released Out of the Blue

ERA Home Entertainment (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Space Princess

Eastern Star

11/26/19 — Released 07-Ghost (4 disc set), Kyo Kara Maoh! R: The Complete OVA Collection and Nutcracker Fantasy

FUNimation

11/26/19 — Released Conception: The Complete Series (2 disc set) (with Digital Copy), Juni Taisen: Zodiac War - Season One (2 disc set), My Roommate is a Cat: The Complete Series (2 disc set) (with Digital Copy), One Piece Episode of Skypiea (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy) and Zillion: The Complete Series + OVA (4 disc set)

Garagehouse Pictures (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Bloodstalkers

Grapevine Video (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Funniest Man in the World, Ghost of Zorro, Grapevine Video Presents (2 film set: Santa Fe Stampede, Wyoming Outlaw) and Poppy Is Also a Flower

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Another Version of You, Christmas Survival, Tin City, Use Me and We Stand Corrected: Dannemora

Image Entertainment

11/26/19 — Released Mary

Kino Lorber

11/26/19 — Released Aya of Yop City (French), Christmas in July, Coincoin and the Extra-Humans (French), Holly and the Ivy and Mr. Wrong

Kitty Media

11/26/19 — Released Hentai Heaven, Collection 9

Mill Creek Entertainment

02/11/20 — Sets Rosewood Lane/White Noise: The Light and Wild Child/Life Happens

Music Box Films

12/17/19 — Sets Gags the Clown

Olive Films

11/26/19 — Released Bells of St. Mary's

Oscilloscope Laboratories

01/21/20 — Sets Ms. Purple and Midnight Traveler

PCN Productions (MOW)

11/26/19 — Released PA Books: Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken, PCN Tours: Bluett Violins and PCN Tours: Cunningham Pianos

Paramount Home Media

02/18/20 — Sets Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Complete Series, 15th Anniversary Steelbook Collection (9 disc set)

Scorpion Releasing

11/26/19 — Released Assignment Terror (Spanish)

Sentai FilmWorks

11/26/19 — Released Haikyu!! 2rd Season - The Complete Series (2 disc set)

Shout! Factory

11/26/19 — Released Dracula: Collector's Edition, Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Season Twelve (3 disc set) and Prophecy

Smart Mark Video (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Black Label Pro: BLP TurboGaps 16, Show 1 - Summit, IL, Black Label Pro: BLP TurboGaps 16, Show 2 - Summit, IL and Black Label Pro: Slamilton 2 - Crown Point, IN

Universal Pictures Home Ent. (MOD)

11/26/19 — Released Amazing Grace

Vinegar Syndrome

11/26/19 — Released Angel Collection (3 film set: Angel, Avenging Angel, Angel III: The Final Chapter) (3 disc set) and Candy Snatchers (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

Warner Bros. Home Ent.

01/07/20 — Sets Joker (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Warner Bros. Home Ent. (MOD)

12/03/19 — Sets Teen Titans: The Complete Second Season, Teen Titans: The Complete Third Season, Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season, Teen Titans: The Complete Fifth Season and Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

4K Ultra HD New Additions

Discotek Media/Eastern Star

11/26/19 — Released Space Adventure Cobra: The Movie (Japanese)

Paramount Home Media

02/11/20 — Sets Shutter Island (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack)

Warner Bros. Home Ent.

01/07/20 — Sets Joker (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Mill Creek Entertainment Doubles Up With Double Feature Blu-ray Selections On Feb. 11

Mill Creek Entertainment doubles-down on Feb. 11 with two new Blu-ray double feature collections that are priced to collect … so let’s get to it.

First up is director Nick Moore’s 2008 comedy, Wild Child, starring Emma Roberts as Poppy, a Malibu brat with a nasty temper that simmers just below her “princess” exterior.    Gerry (Aidan Quinn) is her widowed father who has had his fill with her antics and decides to pack her off to her dead mother’s English prep-school, Abbey Mount … talk about a duck out of water!!!

Poppy has no say in the matter, but figures that she can continue in her wild ways and get sent packing in no time.   First lesson she learns, watch out for Mrs. Kingsley, the headmistress (played by Natasha Richardson), who has seen it all and dealt with the snottiest of royals, so none of your shenanigans here.

The next lesson Poppy learns is that England has “mean girls” too … and none meaner than Harriet (Georgia King — The Duchess, Kill Your Friends, Little Dorrit, etc.), who has her own little group of slave/minions to carry out any nasty plans that need to be executed.

Emma Roberts shines as Poppy, who undergoes total transformation and learns two things that she would have never discovered if left to her own devices in Malibu.   She is a natural at lacrosse and she learns a secret that her father kept from her … being at Abbey Mount is no accident!

Teamed with Wild Child in this Blu-ray double-feature is writer/director Kat Corio’s laugh-out-loud comedy, Life Happens, starring Krysten Ritter (27 Dresses, What Happens in Vegas, Vamps, Veronica Mars, etc.) as Kim, who had a one-night stand with an elite surfer (Rhys Coiro) by the name of Marc and the result was a little guy by the name of Max.

Kim, now a single mom, lives with two roommates Deena (Kate Bosworth) and Laura (Rachel Bilson), while the father has no interest in the child as he has a career of his own.   It’s a struggle, but this is a comedy, not a downer drama, so Kim and little Max have crazy adventures … until Nicolas (Geoff Stults) show an interest in her.  

Life Happens is a film built around Krysten Ritter (she co-produced), which allows her to shine … she has since gone on to star in the Netflix series The Defenders and Jessica Jones as Jessica Jones, private investigator.

The second Blu-ray double feature that Mill Creek Entertainment has lined up for delivery on Feb. 11 none other than writer/director Victor Salva’s creepy Rosewood Lane, starring Rose McGowan as Dr. Sonny Blake, a radio talk show therapist — with a terrible family secret — who moves back into her childhood to confront her own personal demons.   Big mistake, the old neighborhood is now the personal domain of Derek, the paperboy (played by Daniel Ross Owens — Banshee, True Detective), a sinister sociopath, who may have murdered Sonny’s father … and she could be next!!!

Joining Rosewood Lane in this Blu-ray double-bill is director Patrick Lussier’s White Noise: The Light, starring Nathan Fillion (Slither, Serenity) as a suicide survivor who now has visions of will soon die!  Can he save them in time?  And at what price!

Oscilloscope Preps Ms. Purple And Midnight Traveler For Blu-ray And DVD On Jan. 28

The New Year is rapidly approaching and Q1 announcements are arriving by the hour.   So we took notice when Oscilloscope Laboratories made their move this past week with two new DVD and Blu-ray releases heading home in January of 2020.

First up is the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee, Ms. Purple, from writer/director Justin Chon.   It is making the transition from the film festival and arthouse circuit to the home entertainment marketplace on Jan. 28 as both DVD and Blu-ray product offerings.

Following the Sundance premiere, it didn’t take long for Oscilloscope to take an active interest in Chon’s latest film (he won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award in 2017 for Gook) and within two months it was in-house at Oscilloscope for theatrical and home entertainment distribution.

As is typical for an upscale indie film like Ms. Purple, it worked the festival circuit and in early September of this year Oscilloscope took it out theatrically in selected venues.   It continues to play in arthouse venues (most recently in Norfolk, Virginia and Albquerque, New Mexico), which yields a leisurely ARR of 144 days.

In Ms. Purple, we are introduced to siblings Kasie (Tiffany Chu — her feature film debut … currently starring in the 96 Next internet-based interactive series, Artificial) and Carey (Teddy Lee), who are tasked with caring for their sick father.    It’s not easy … and as Chon fills in the backstory of how the current state of affairs has come to be, we find it all the more compelling as events unfold.

To keep her father out of a “home,” Kasie works as a “doumi girl,” which is a hostess at a karaoke club.   Her job is to get the businessmen in the mood, so to speak, by being bright and perky and ready to join in with a little singing and dancing.  It pays well, but with the alcohol and drugs (Ecstasy, etc.) — add in the repressed nature of the clientele — it is more like combat.

When the professional caregiver that Kasie has hired moves on, she turns to her estranged brother to help out.   The uneasy nature of their relationship often explodes into anger … and, as mentioned, the backstory of how the mother abandoned them to be raised by their father, who was not always equipped for the task, puts the pair in the position where they cannot abandon him despite their need to move on with their lives.

It is through this process — the anger, the love, the laughs and heartbreak — that Kasie and Carey slowly begin to reconnect, to form an even stronger bond as they are tested on a daily basis.   

Bonus features for Ms. Purple include the “Behind-the-Scenes of Ms. Purple” featurette.  

Also making its way to DVD and Blu-ray on Jan. 28 from Oscilloscope Laboratories is documentary filmmaker Hassan Fazili’s very personal film, Midnight Traveler.

We are going to guess that Oscilloscope had representatives at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in January.   Just about the same time that the Ms. Purple acquisition crossed the wires so did the news that Midnight Traveler, the Sundance winner for World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award, had also been picked up for theatrical and home entertainment distribution.

For the record, the ARR for Midnight Traveler works out to 130 days.

This true story was three full years in the making.   It began in Afghanistan when the Taliban issued a death warrant for Fazili because he had the temerity of running the Art Café and Restaurant in Kabul.   A mullah took exception to the type of clientele that frequent the place, so they pressured it to close down, which it did, but that wasn’t enough … the owner, Hassan Fazili had to die.

As the cinematographer for Jawed Taiman’s 2012 documentary, Voice of a Nation: My Journey Through Afghanistan, Fazili had the technical knowledge and understanding to film his plight.   His wife and two children fled Afghanistan and through whatever means necessary he put their story on film.  

We find them on the run in Tajikistan, where the asylum claim is eventually denied and they are sent back to Afghanistan, where they cannot remain, so once again they take flight.   To Turkey, then to Bulgaria and then into Serbia … none of these destinations are safe.  

With the help of fellow filmmaker, Emelie Mahdavian, Fazili and his wife were able to assemble Midnight Traveler.   It is a documentary, but it plays out as an edge-of-your-seat thriller with the outcome always in doubt.

Bonus features include a newly-minted video session with writer, producer and editor Emelie Mahdavian and producer Su Kim.

Anthropocene And The Freshmen On DVD From Icarus Films This Comping Jan. 21

Icarus Films will be teaming up with Bullfrog Films to celebrate the New Year with the Jan. 21 DVD debut of the documentary filmmaker Steve Bradshaw’s Anthropocene.

Coined by Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen (Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1995), the arrival of the term “Anthropocene” in scientific circles argues that our notion of nature is quickly becoming out of date.   They argue that humanity forms nature in this new epoch and that the Holocene period is now in transition.

Steve Bradshaw (The Real Life on Mars, The Perfect Famine) followed the 2013/2014 HKW studies with this documentary film.   For some 20 years Bradshaw had been working with the BBC as a reporter and frontline radio documentary producer with such far-ranging subjects as genocide in Rwanda, the UK’s health record, Parliamentary lobbying and the debate on global warming.   

Anthropocene examines the issue of the planet being influenced more by mankind than nature through a series of interviews and archival footage … is it a drama, a comedy or something surreal.   The debate is joined, the outcome is now, uncertain.   

Among the presenters are Prof. Will Steffen (Climate Change Institute, Australian National University), Prof. Erle Ellis (Geography & Environmental Systems, University of Maryland), Prof. Jan Zalasiewicz (Dept of Geology, University of Leicester), Dr. Monica Berger Gonzalez (Institute for Environmental Decisions, Zurich) and Prof. John McNeill (School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University).

Also heading home on DVD on Jan. 21 from Icarus Films is the Distrib Films release of director Thomas Lilti’s The Freshmen.

This is the third film in a trilogy of movies directed by doctor-turned-filmmaker Thomas Lilti … The Freshmen joins The Country Doctor (July 25, 2017) and Hippocrates (Jan. 15, 2019) on DVD from Icarus.

With a keen eye for detail (drawing from his own medical school experiences), Lilti introduces us to students Benjamin (William Lebghil — Kiss and Tell, (Girl)Friend, C'est la Vie!), a recent high school graduate and the son of a doctor, and Antoine (four-time César Awards nominee, Vincent Lacoste, who also starred in Lilti’s Hippocrate), who failed to pass the necessary exams not once, but twice … this is third and final attempt.

They bond, for very difference reasons, and help each other — their relative strengths and weaknesses — to facedown the intense competition (close to 400 fellow students) and the harsh and seemingly relentless class load.   This yields a film that becomes one part comedy (some really terrific bits) and one part a melancholy tale (a certain sadness creeps in … the recognition that this is just the first hurdle and more awaits once the examination is conquered).

A solid box office drama in France, The Freshmen will be a welcome arrival on DVD in the New Year for those cinephiles looking something beyond the noise the current crop of domestic theatrical blockbusters.

The Freshmen is presented in French with English subtitles.