Monday, June 16, 2014

Well Go U.S.A.'s I'll Follow You Down On DVD And Blu-ray Aug. 5


DVD and Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Writer/director Richie Mehta’s time-jumping tale, I’ll Follow You Down, will be getting a DVD and Blu-ray push from Well Go U.S.A. on Aug. 5.   This follows a selected-city theatrical launch in early June.

Gabriel Whyte (Rufus Sewell) is a researcher working on wormholes or time travel — or some such thing — who kisses his wife Marika (the X-Files Gillian Anderson) and young son goodbye one morning and heads off to Princeton for a three-day gathering of brainiacs … and promptly disappears.

That was back in 2000.   A dozen years have passed and his son, Erol (Haley Joel Osment), is now following in his father’s footsteps.  One day he is approached by his grandfather (played by Victor Garber) with an interesting proposition … your father, my son, is not dead, instead he solved the riddle of time travel and has gone back in time.   

DVD and Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyThat may sound farfetched, but he’s found his son’s detailed notes and needs his grandson to see if the theoretical work is actually possible.  He’s absolutely convinced that his son made the jump along a very specific timeline to meet one individual (and very famous at that) at a key point in time.

Challenged by the love of his life, Grace (Susanna Fournier), Erol must face her concerns, “Stop working on this … everyday I’m afraid that this will all disappear because you will succeed.”  It is a conundrum that will tax his very sanity.

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



Wolfe's Getting Go: The Go Doc Project Debuts On DVD This Coming Aug. 5


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Writer/director Cory Krueckeberg’s film within a film, Getting Go, The Go Doc Project, will be heading to DVD courtesy of Wolfe on Aug. 5.

Even for those not into gay cinema, Krueckeberg’s concept here is well worth a look on its merits solely for its structure.   

Consider this, Tanner Cohen is an actor, a real honest to goodness actor … the star of Krueckeberg’s award-winning Were the World Mine (released on DVD by Wolfe back in 2009) and the “Doc” of our story.    They have a history; a rapport.

Matthew Camp is a real-life go-go dancer who has a following (and since making this film has branched out into other ventures).   He works the club scene in New York as a dancer … he could easily be mistaken for a fashion model … lean, muscular and intelligent.   He is the “Go” of our story.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Now whether “Go” is in on the concept or not (he could easily google the people he is meeting in the film and see that they are actors, filmmakers, etc.) doesn’t really matter.   It still plays, which is pretty much like this … “Doc” is hot for “Go” and to get close to him he sets up a storyline about making a documentary on the New York club scene with dancers — specifically Matthew Camp — as the focal point.

His crew consists of himself and Krueckeberg (among others) filming their conversations (interviews) and interactions (which are progressive in nature).

In the end it does not matter if Cohen is in on the concept.   The film works as a study in relationships at one level and conceptual filmmaking on another level.

Bonus features for this award-winning festival entry (Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival … and more) include a filmmaker Q&A session.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyAlso on the DVD release calendar from Wolfe this week is the Aug. 12 DVD debut
writer/director Kit Williamson’s nine-episode web series Eastsiders, which has been transformed into a feature-length film for this home entertainment release.

When the wheels begin to come off Cal (Kit Williamson) and Thom’s (Van Hansis) relationship in Los Angeles’ picturesque Silverlake area drama abounds.   Drugs, sleeping around and love-love-hate relationship are all rip for the narrative.  

Cal’s best friend, Kathy (Constance Wu) also gets in on the action with romantic issues of her own … you almost have to feel for her boyfriend, Ian (John Halbach) because she’s not exactly firing on all cylinders.

Bonus features include a blooper reel and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

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


Ray Harryhausen Creature Double-Feature On Blu-ray From Mill Creek Entertainment On Aug. 19


DVD and Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Mill Creek Entertainment will have genre fans’ hearts all a flutter on Aug. 19 with the Blu-ray release of the Ray Harryhausen Creature Double-Feature.

For just $14.98 (before discounts at retail), you get hi-def versions of director Robert Gordon’s 1955 sci-fi thriller, It Came from Beneath the Sea and director Nathan Juran’s 1957 alien creature feature, 20 Million Miles to Earth.

It Came from Beneath the Sea teams Kenneth Tobey (The Thing from Another World, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Billy Jack, etc.) with Faith Domergue (who starred the same year in This Island Earth) and features Ray Harryhausen’s atomic age octopus and its attacks on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and the iconic Ferry Building on the Embarcadero.

The Ymir, an ever-growing creature from Venus, is center stage in 20 Million Miles to Earth, which starred William Hopper (perhaps best known as Paul Drake in the Perry Mason television series, plus such films as Rebel Without a Cause, The Deadly Mantis and The Bad Seed) and Joan Taylor (she starred in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers the previous year).   The big set piece here is the climatic battle at the Colosseum in Rome!

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


Out Of The Clear Blue Sky (Sept. 2) And Korengal (Sept. 9) From Virgil Films And Entertainment


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
There have been a number of documentaries related to the events of 9/11 … some good, some bad … even the bad ones tend to be chilling.    

On Sept. 2 (clearly timed for this year’s anniversary of the event), Virgil Films & Entertainment will deliver to DVD documentary filmmaker’s Danielle Gardner’s Out of the Clear Blue Sky, a one-of-a-kind story about the events of that day (and the aftermath) that is like none other.

The bond and equity trading firm of Cantor Fitzgerald (founded just after World War II) occupied floors 101 through 105 of One World Trade Center.  658 employees were just beginning their workday when American Airlines Flight 11 plowed into the floors just below them.   Trapped, they all died … the company was devastated in a heartbeat.

Gardner’s film not only looks at the events of that morning through the eyes of Howard Lutnick, the C.E.O. of the company — who only escaped the fate of his employees by taking his young son to his first day of school — but also details the survival and eventual resurrection of the company.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
In other release news this week from Virgil Films & Entertainment, Sept. 9 will be the DVD and Blu-ray debut date for documentary filmmaker Sebastian Junger’s Korengal,  a follow-up (or expansion of) to his award-winning Restrepo.

The ARR is 102 days and a brief showcase run has generated ticket sales of $14,630.
Using footage filmed by photojournalist Tim Hetherington during 2007 and 2008 (Hetherington was killed while on assignment in Libya in 2011), Junger shifts the focus of Restrepo from the battles and life on the line to the experiences and thought of the frontline soldiers in this remote area of Afghanistan.

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


Detour Is The Latest Film Restoration From The Film Chest As It Heads To DVD On July 22


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
The latest film restoration project from the Film Chest was announced this past week and it is none other than director Edgar G. Ulmer’s perfectly-pitched 1945 film noir masterpiece, Detour.   It will be available for collectors to savor on July 22.

Although a “poverty row” production, Detour magically rose above its humble roots over the years to be revered as one of the great film noirs … with Ann Savage gaining cult status as the predatory Vera.   Tom Neal, well, his star burned brightly during this period until the famous altercation with Franchot Tone over their mutual love affairs with actress Barbara Payton. 

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



Universal Studios Home Entertainment's A Haunted House 2 Heads Home As DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions On Aug. 12


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Universal Studios Home Entertainment will be bring DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions of director Michael Tiddes’ demonic possession comedy starring Marlon Waynes, A Haunted House 2, to market on Aug. 12.

The ARR comes in at 116 days and domestic ticket sales were a lackluster $17.3 million.
Bonus features included deleted and extended scenes as well as commentary from director Michael Tiddes (also A Haunted House last year) and writer/producer and star of the film, Marlon Wayans … they are joined by co-writer Rick Alvarez (who also co-scripted A Haunted House).

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





Shout! Factory And Anchor Bay Entertainment Team For Sept. 23 Blu-ray Release Of Halloween: The Complete Collection


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Anchor Bay Entertainment and Shout! Factory are teaming for two Blu-ray collections showcasing the Halloween film franchise.   Streeting on Sept. 23 are 15-disc “Deluxe Edition” and 10-disc presentations of Halloween: The Complete Collection.

Both SKUs feature all ten films in the series … the “Deluxe Edition” has five additional discs showcasing a never-before-released producer's cut of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers; the network TV presentation of the original Halloween; the network TV presentation of Halloween II and unrated versions of both Rob Zombie's Halloween and Rob Zombie's Halloween II.

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