Cinema Libre's Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home Debuts On DVD, Mar. 19

“There, but by the grace of God, go I,” is a familiar prayer … often uttered as the windows are rolled up and the doors locked as one encounters a group of homeless.  It is easy to forget that they are people, with names and faces, who once had hopes, families and dreams.

In documentary filmmaker Thomas Napper’s Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home, due out on DVD from Cinema Libre on Mar. 19, eight of the homeless who reside on the streets of Los Angeles have their names and stories put with those faces of despair.   Narration is by Catherine Keener.

Within this structure of introducing us to the broken (almost always by drugs or mental illness … or both) Napper weaves in a history of the long-standing area just to the east of downtown Los Angeles between 3^rd and 7^th and bounded by Main on the west and Alameda to the east.   

The film can serve as a call to action or as a reminder that these too are people.  Or simply as a history of what is past is future … economic pressures and social failings seem to create an endless stream of new Skid Row citizens regardless of today or 80 years ago. 

 

No matter what you take away from viewing Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home it does get you to thinking … and that’s a good first step.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report
 

Well Go U.S.A.'s Interview With A Hitman On DVD and Blu-ray Mar. 5

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Well Go U.S.A. has tabbed Mar. 5 as the street date for DVD and Blu-ray editions of writer/director Perry Bhandal’s debut flick, Interview With a Hitman.

One doesn’t normally get all that excited about indie filmmakers, working with a small budget and a tight shooting schedule, delivering their first feature film.   Unless there is studio backing or some other reason to sit up and take notice (for example, an A-list actor going behind the camera) these indie first-time efforts largely pass unnoticed. 

That’s not the case with Bhandal, who holds not one, but two master degrees in Film and Creative Writing and formed his own production company in 2009 — after an 18 year hiatus from the business.   It took two years of planning, but his under three week shooting schedule (England and Romania) for his own screenplay paid off in spades … Interview With a Hitman is one slick action flick.

It also doesn’t hurt to have Luke Goss (Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pressed, One Night with the King, Blade II, etc.) as your leading man/action star.   Here he plays Viktor, the son of a deadbeat gambler in debt to the mob … as a kid, rather than cringe in fear while dear old dad gets whacked, he goes over to the dark side and joins a Romanian mob.  Nasty boys … kill or be killed.

Growing up in Bucharest he quickly learned to follow orders.  "Kill that guy" and sure enough Viktor put a bullet in his head, no questions asked.   So when his “family” of killers turn on him, he’s smart enough to know that it’s time to get out of Dodge.   He fakes his own death and heads out to greener pastures in London. 

 

Look, make no mistake about it, Viktor isn’t a nice guy.  He’s a killer.  He’s the type of uber-professional that you would expect to see trading blows with 007 in a Bond thriller.  And sure enough, in no time he finds steady employment with some English chaps of the mob persuasion.   He's a pro ... the work is steady.

But when his old friends come looking for him (seems Viktor popped the boss on his way out of town) he has to go to his fallback position (the reset button, so to speak), which means … KILL or be killed and trust no one.

Interview With a Hitman is non-stop, pedal-to-the-metal action.   Slick and never out of control!   Well Go U.S.A. has a DVD and Blu-ray hit here … and we expect to see more out of Bhandal; this will not be a one-off fluke.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report
 

Warner Home Video Adds The Factory To The Feb. 19 Release Calendar

It makes you wonder how some films are released theatrically and others are not.  Have audiences for gore, murder and mayhem become so jaded that a thinking-man’s thriller no longer qualifies for the local multiplex?   

“Give us blood,” they chant.  “Give us gore,” they scream.   It is that twisted?  That simple?   Perhaps if the N-word was used 105 times it would be a hit.

On paper it seemed dead-certain that Aussie actor/filmmaker Morgan O’Neill’s The Factory, starring the always-interesting John Cusack and Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter would certainly get a theatrical break.    

But no, it has been sitting on the shelf for some time and only managed a couple of film fest screenings … now word comes from Warner Home Video that a DVD-only edition (with UltraViolet) will be heading home on Feb. 19.

Cusack and Carpenter are detectives in Buffalo — a dark and dreary Buffalo at that — investigating one sick and twisted case.   The Hooker-Killer (Dallas Roberts — The Walking Dead, The Good Wife, etc.) is a serial killer that specializes in the local ladies of the night … but there’s more going on than meets the eye with this bad boy.   And there are no bodies, they just disappear.

When he unwittingly selects a T-girl for an evening of fun, he does away with the “mistake” quickly and moves onto the next available target, which turns out to be an even bigger mistake for all concerned.   

It seems that the girl he snatched off the street was none other than Cusack’s daughter (Mae Whitman — The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Hope Floats, One Fine Day, etc.), who was looking a little too slutty on that particular street (she had just stepped out for a smoke ... a lesson learned the hard way that smoking is bad for your health).  A simple mistake, but that little slip-up drives Cusack right off the edge.   The clock is ticking and he has to cut corners to save his “baby.”  

So you got a crazed cop chasing a serial killer?   That’s only half of it.  It seems our Hooker-Killer has a little business on the side (no reveals here) and a partner (unwilling) who is complicating the search.  Which of course drives Cusack even crazier!  

Despite arriving on the same day from Warner Home Video as Argo, don’t overlook The Factory … a nice double-bill for the evening: Argo and The Factory, think about it!

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Breaking Glass Pictures Sets Gaël Morel's Our Paradise For a Feb. 19 Debut

Breaking Glass Pictures goes over to the dark side of love with Our Paradise on Feb. 19 with the French-language import from actor-turned-writer/director Gaël Morel.

Vassili (Stéphane Rideau — Wild Reeds, Come Undone, etc.) is a “male escort,” who prefers robbery and violence to giving any sort of satisfaction to his customers.  Those days have slipped away.   He’s heading towards 40 and the dark streets of Paris offer neither prospects of a bright future or romance.

Surprise, surprise … after dealing with his latest “conquest” he stumbles across an unconscious young stud and doesn’t something quite unexpected.  He takes him home and tends to his wounds — a possible beating victim.  He was certainly in the right neighborhood for it … the streets can be a dangerous place.

He says is name is Angelo (Dimitri Durdaine in his film debut) and Vassili’s tender mercies turn into a passionate love affair … one that gets him to thinking.   Paris holds no future, so they take to the road to find their “paradise” and escape the sex and violence that permeates their lives.   Their combined attempts at hustling — even a little hi-tech hustling — doesn’t provide the satisfaction that Vassili yearns for … or Angelo appears to need.

Old friends; old acquaintances and an idyllic countryside (filmed in and around Lyon) seems to offer the two a future, but the violence; the frustrations of Vassili’s fading lifestyle are always there, ready to surface and take control.   

Jealousy, sex, frustration, violence and the dark side of love are all on view in Gaël Morel’s in critically-praised Our Paradise.

 To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Kino Lorber Preps Busy March Release Package

Kino Lorber has set an interesting mix of DVD and Blu-ray product offerings for the month of March.   And counted among the listings is one film that is — by any standard — certainly more “interesting” than most.

It is listed as a documentary, but Kumaré — starring and directed by Vikram Gandhi (aka Sri Kumaré) — is more of a “performance” film than anything else.  The DVD streets on Mar. 12 … the ARR works out to 263 days and the box office take was $129,552.

We are in on the premise; the MacGuffin of the film — can’t really use the words “gag” or “joke” — from the get-go.   Vikram Gandhi is a New Jersey native with roots in India and for reasons that are a bit unclear, but seem to make some sense (within the context of the film itself), he sets out to make a documentary about yogis, mystics and gurus and their ability to building followings … cults.

He grows out his beard, adopts the mannerism, the accent and the attire of any self-respecting guru from India and descends upon the unsuspecting in Arizona (filmed in and around the Phoenix area) to gather his flock.   It’s a con job.  He tells the yoga classes that everything he is teaching them is an illusion, but still they come.

In terms of the film experience, Sri Kumaré the guru; the yogi is like Chance Gardner (Peter Sellars) in Being There … “Yes! There will be growth in the spring!”  They listen, they follow, they believe, because they need to believe in something.   

He’s like Forrest Gump, running and running and running and pretty soon he has a whole flock of people running behind him … they too needed to believe in something.  Harold Hill has arrived in River City!

The trick to the film, and you have to give Vikram Gandhi credit for pulling it off, is how he builds the tension as to when he will let the cat of the bag.   He’s not out to harm anyone, but his little film prank has earned him not so much followers, but friends, and hurting them is not what he ever intended.

Elsewhere on the Kino Lorber release schedule in March (in chronological order) are:  Mar. 5, DVD and Blu-ray editions of the 1927 Buster Keaton comedy classic, College: Ultimate Edition.  

Bonus nuggets include commentary from film historian Rob Farr, a 1966 short film, The Scribe (Keaton’s final film) and a “visual essay” on the filming locations for College.

Also streeting on Mar. 5 is documentary filmmaking team of Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson’s Radio Unnamable, a look at the life and times of free spirit and radio broadcast legend, Bob Fass.

The ARR is 165 days and the limited arthouse showcase generated $19,498 in ticket sales.

Shifting to Mar. 12, in addition to Kumaré, Kino Lorber has documentary filmmaker Pip Chodorov’s look at avant-garde cinema in Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film — ARR is 221 days.  

Mar. 12 also marks the DVD and Blu-ray arrival of writer/director Larry Wade Carrell’s Jacob, an indie horror flick about the Kell family, a dysfunctional small town clan with an oafish teen named Jacob (Dylan Horne) and his little sister Sissy (Grace Powell), whose soothing voice keeps him in check.

Now what good would a horror flick be with a Frankenstein-like creature waiting in the wings if little Sissy just says “no, Jacob … come, Jacob.”  You guessed it, some equally deviant inbred (filmmaker Larry Wade Carrell does double-duty in front of the camera as well) does away with the innocent young girl and the monster is loose.

On a side note, one would like to know the production backstory on this one as filmmaker Larry Wade Carrell was able to land sci-fi icon Michael Biehn for flashback sequences — excellently staged and photographed, belying the film’s micro budget — that give the audiences insights into the current state of affairs of the Kell family.        A nice touch.

Bonus features on Jacob include a Q&A session with Carrell, deleted scenes and a video interview with the aforementioned Michael Biehn.

Mar. 19 reveals an interesting mix from Kino Lorber.  There is the French-language import from writer/director Stéphane Robelin, featuring both Jane Fonda and Geraldine Chaplin.   Title for this bittersweet tale of old friends, a retirement home and a student’s project on the subject of aging is All Together. 

A minor arthouse showcase generated ticket sales of  $37,734 … the ARR is 151 days.   (ARR of 151 days; box office: $37,734).   Presented in French with English subtitles.

Also on the foreign-language front on Mar. 19 are DVD and Blu-ray editions of writer/director Luigi Batzella’s 1974 gothic horror tale, Nude for Satan: Remastered Edition.  Genre fans will have two viewing options — the original Italian (with English subtitles) or an English-dubbed version.

Also heading home on Mar. 19 is a Blu-ray presentation of director Michael Cort’s 1969 Brit “sci-fi” sexploitation film, Zeta One: Remastered Edition (aka: The Love Factor).  The plotline: Topless Amazonians from another planet and dimension (Angvia — try moving the letters around on that one) have arrived to kidnap strippers to repopulate their planet.  Un-huh, right … the film didn’t surface theatrically in the United States until 1975.  It worked in 1969.  It worked in 1975 … and it works today.  Some stories are just timeless!

And finally we come to the last street Tuesday of the month of March (Mar. 26) and find documentary filmmaker Scott Thurman’s The Revisionaries (the limited theatrical yielded ticket sales of $18,262 … the ARR is 172 days) and from the film vaults a Blu-ray edition of the 1953 cinéma vérité classic, Little Fugitives (Best Writing Oscar nominee … losing out to Dalton Trumbo’s Roman Holiday).

 To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

New Theatrical Announcements Heading To DVD and Blu-ray, Jan. 5 Update

E1 Entertainment

02/05/13 — Sets Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (ARR of 137 days; box office: $948,254) DVD only

Lionsgate Home Ent.

01/15/13 — Adds The Other Dream Team (ARR of 109 days; box office: $133,777) DVD only

01/29/13 — Sets Cold Light of Day (ARR of 144 days; box office: $3,749,061) DVD & Blu-ray

Lotus Five Star

12/25/12 — Released Thaandavam (Tamil) (ARR of 88 days; box office: $212,145) DVD only

MPI Home Video

02/05/12 — Sets Little White Lies (French) (ARR of 165 days; box office: $206,088) DVD only

03/19/13 — Sets Big Picture (French) (ARR of 158 days; box office: $158,411) DVD & Blu-ray

Music Box Pictures

03/19/13 — Sets Starlet (ARR of 130 days; box office: $78,816) DVD only

New Video Group

02/19/13 — Sets For Ellen (ARR of 165 days; box office: $12,396) DVD only

03/26/13 — Sets The Comedy (ARR of 137 days; box office: $41,113) DVD only

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

02/26/13 — Sets Chicken with Plums (French) (ARR of 193 days; box office: $253,705) DVD only

03/12/13 — Sets Smashed (ARR of 151 days; box office: $373,634) DVD & Blu-ray

UTV Motion Pictures

12/25/12 — Released Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (Hindi) (ARR of 53 days; box office: $140,056) DVD only

Universal Studios Home Ent.

02/12/13 — Sets Man with the Iron Fists (ARR of 102 days; box office: $15,634,090) DVD & Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

02/19/13 — Sets Anna Karenina (ARR of 95 days; box office: $11,173,609) DVD & Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

Zeitgeist Films

02/19/13 — Sets Bestiaire (ARR of 102 days; box office: $1,428) DVD only

* ARR - Asset Rollover Rate: The number of days between a film's initial theatrical debut and its subsequent release on DVD and/or Blu-ray.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report

Strange Frame From Wolfe Video On Mar. 19

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Whoa!  Wow!  That’s what is in store for the home entertainment market place on Mar. 19 when Wolfe Video unleashes writer/director/producer GB Hajim’s Strange Frame on DVD.

Not since René Laloux’s 1973 film, Fantastic Planet, has there been anything as surreal in this genre neighborhood … and we use the word “neighborhood” is the loosest possible sense imaginable. Strange Frame goes beyond the futuristic animated sci-fi milieu as Hajim’s other worldly adventure (the Jupiter moon of Ganymede 500 years in the future) includes sex (lesbian relationship), drugs (beyond “mood altering”) and rock ‘n’ roll (with a jazz riff) as the complimentary ingredients.

Add in the power of love, exploitation (drug-induced slavery), poverty and violence, plus a totally unique approach to the animation and you indeed have a one-of-a-kind film experience waiting in the home entertainment pipeline.    

With the days of repertory cinema long past (sadly), that leaves the film festival circuit and arthouse venues — which are pretty much limited to major metro areas and university communities — as the only viewing options for a film of this nature.  Wolfe Video’s DVD release therefore becomes the only viable viewing opportunity for most … they’ve given themselves two full months to work retail and the allied media outlets who have an interest in such things to raise both buyer interest and consumer awareness.  

The backstory on the making of the film, which features the voice talents of Tara Strong (a voice-talent resume that is unmatched … when does this woman find time to sleep?) as Naia and sci-fi veteran Claudia Black (Pitch Black, plus Farscape as Aeryn Sun and Stargate SG-1 as Vala) as sax player Parker (an homage there), is as fascinating as the film itself.

Claudia Black and Tara Strong as the voices of Parker and Naia

GB Hajim is an unlikely filmmaker.  His background is that of a volcanologist working for the U.S. Geological Survey on the Big Island in Hawaii.  With his writing partner, Shelley Doty, Hajim not only co-wrote, produced and directed the film, but recruited local high school and college art students to act as his animation department.   

Hajim trained his two-dozen “interns” in the various animation techniques he sought to employ in the film … the result is a stunning “studio-like” visual accomplishment.  This is a film where you come for the show, but can appreciate it all the more when you understand the creative process.

He also must have been quite persuasive in his pitch about the project since along the way he was able to recruit the likes of Tim Curry, the vampish Juliet Landau, Cree Summer and Star Trek veterans Michael Dorn and George Takei to lend their voices to various characters in this futuristic animated adventure.

Like we said at the top, “WOW” … this one is not to be missed when it arrives on DVD on Mar. 19.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report