Mill Creek Entertainment To Release The Partridge Family: The Complete Series On Sept. 1 As An Eight-Disc DVD Collection

Mill Creek Entertainment will not rest!  Yet another DVD collectible series has been added to its already very busy September release calendar!!

News arrived this past week that Sept. 1 will be the retail-ready date for the eight-disc, 96-episode collection of The Partridge Family: The Complete Series.

This early ‘70s sitcom, starring Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Susan Dey and Danny Bonaduce, blended music — Billboard Number 1 hit song in 1970 with “I Think I Love You”— with wholesome family entertainment.    

Musical guest stars included the likes of Johnny Cash, Bobby Sherman and legendary American Bandstand host, Dick Clark.

Well Go USA Will Release Both DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Director Jackie Wu's Wolf Warrior On Sept. 1

Well Go USA has tabbed Sept. 1 for DVD and Blu-ray editions of director Jackie Wu’s Wolf Warrior.

A generation ago, the film industry in China would have been incapable of making anything like Wolf Warrior.   Jackie Wu’s character (yes, he also stars), Sergeant Leng Feng, would have been a one-dimensional cardboard soldier — glorious to be sure — in the People’s Liberation Army.   His exploits would have been as difficult to watch as would have the predictability of the outcome of the a-to-b-to-c storyline.

Not so today.   Wolf Warrior is both slick — matching anything out of Hollywood in terms of production quality — and multi-faceted.   The film works as either a straight-up action thriller, and not surprisingly, also as a well-crafted propaganda piece that extols the glorious virtues of this modern Chinese warrior.

Sergeant Feng is a marksman every bit as skillful as U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, and in an extended opening sequence he displays his expertise with a near-impossible shot that was taken against explicit orders.   

That bit of pique lands him in hot water with his superiors and subsequent confinement where he is to ponder his transgression.   This initial set up allows filmmaker Jackie Wu to showcase Feng’s shooting skills and a chance at redemption when he is offered an opportunity to do just that, redeem himself, by joining the elite Wolf Warriors.

Training and comradeship follow and it is during one of these mock exercises — ironically against his former unit — that a band of foreign mercenaries (lead by Scott Adkins) suddenly emerge from the woods with specific orders to assassinate Feng.   Circle back to the opening sequence, his target was the brother of a ruthless drug lord and these invading killers are his revenge!

Well Go USA’s release of Wolf Warrior is in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Director Madellaine Paxson’s Blood Punch Receives Sept. 1 DVD Debut From Midnight Releasing

Nothing is what it seems in Midnight Releasing’s Sept. 1 DVD debut of director Madellaine Paxson’s mixed-genre film delight, Blood Punch.   

Part horror, part black comedy and part drug-dealing thriller all mixed together with a generous helping of film noir … and this doesn’t fully describe the fun to be had here with Blood Punch. 

The script is provided by Paxson’s husband, Eddie Guzelian, who have been prolific writers on such television series as Nickelodeon’s Peter Rabbit, Power Rangers R.P.M., Lilo & Stitch: The Series and The Penguins of Madagascar over the years and are stepping out for the first time on their own (they are also Executive Producers here).    

With those years of studio-level experience, Guzelian and Paxson have served up an indie film that doesn’t film feel like an indie film … and certainly doesn’t play like a low budget indie film.

The film opens with an impossible prologue, that only begins to makes sense much later in the proceedings.   There’s other mumbo-jumbo too, but that’s all there for a reason, which will become clear as Blood Punch unfolds.

The main body of the story begins with would-be tweaker Skyler (Olivia Tennet — as “Dr. Power Rangers R.P.M. series, plus small parts in such films as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Boogeyman), who is as cute as a button, in a drug rehab center.    Now don’t believe any of this — not the cute part, she’s a dangerous, manipulative vixen.   Nor, the tweaker-part either, she’s in lockdown because she wants to be there; she’s on a mission.

K” in the

Her target is a druggie named Milton (Milo Cawthorne — as Ziggy on the Power Rangers R.P.M. series — are you beginning to see the connection here between filmmakers and actors?), a nice enough college kid who has been tossed into this particular facility for cooking meth.   

Cute little Skyler quickly seduces him and sets up the nourish elements of our story … Milton, I have over a hundred pounds of pseudoephedrine and I need you to cook it for me!   How can he say no?

Once poor Milton is hooked, not on drugs, but on Skyler, she then lets him in on another piece of information (another piece of the puzzle) about this get-rich-quick drug deal.   She has a “boyfiend” named Russell (Ari Boyland — yes, another Power Rangers R.P.M. alumni), who is dangerously psychotic, but is part of the deal and — pay close attention to Tennet’s performance here — she’s afraid of Russell, so poor Milton is not only going to be her cook, but her protector … sucker!

Blood Punch is a great thrill ride that will keep you guessing right up until the final twist.  Think: film noir.  Think: drug deals gone bad.   Think: slasher film, yes slasher film!!  Now combine them all together and you have the delicious film mixture that is titled Blood Punch.

Bonus features include “test footage” and deleted scenes.

Artsploitation Films Tabs Sept. 29 For The DVD Debut Of Director Iván Noel's Children Of The Night

Globetrotting filmmaker Iván Noel will get a domestic DVD push for his different take on the subject of vampires this coming Sept. 29.   That’s the street date that Artsploitation Films has selected for Children of the Night (aka: Limbo).

When a child becomes the victim of a vampire — and is converted — their age is fixed.   They will always be of that form, that of a child.  

Such a “colony” of children are gathered together in a remote “orphanage” on the outskirts of the city of Córdoba in Argentina (the north-central part of the country, about 300 miles inland from Buenos Aries). 

They are segregated, or perhaps better stated, quarantined, from the overall population as they suffer from a “skin disease,” but that’s really a cover story to keep nosey neighbors away — they are literally the “children of the night.”

Filmmaker Iván Noel uses the arrival of Alicia (Sabrina Ramos), a reporter, at the facility lorded over by Erda (Ana María Giunta), a retired nurse who has taken on the trappings of a religious figure, to introduce us to the narrative that will unfold — think: Van Helsing arriving at Castle Dracula.   

Alicia thinks that she is onto a story about missing and exploited children, but soon learns that the brood of kids living there are of quite a different ilk!!!

Children of the Night is a neat blend of humor and horror, with a dash of social commentary.   The use of children as ageless vampires — and Alicia’s growing fondness for them (perhaps the aging Erda’s replacement) — works surprisingly well, especially with Lauro Veron as the grandson of Dracula (who knew!).  

Children of the Night is presented in Spanish with English subtitles.

20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment To Release An 18-Disc Blu-ray Collection Of Lost In Space: The Complete Adventures On Sept. 15

20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment has added an 18-disc Blu-ray edition of Lost in Space: The Complete Adventures to its Sept. 15 release calendar.

All 83 episodes, plus the unaired pilot episode titled “No Place to Hide” (two versions are being presented — long and short presentations) and a cast reading of the unproduced “Lost in Space: The Epilogue” episode are included in this remastered collectible set.

As to bonus nuggets, there are selected episode commentaries with cast and crew members, plus Fox is presenting six of the episodes in their original broadcast mode, complete with vintage commercials (these are: “The Reluctant Stowaway,” “The Derelict,” “The Magic Mirror,” “Follow the Leader,” “Blast Off Into Space” and “Target Earth”).   

There is also a vintage interview session with the show’s creator, Irwin Allen (recorded in 1985), a 1973 animated special, two Lost in Space documentaries and six different photo gallery collections.

In other new release announcements this week, 20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment has tabbed Sept. 8 as the street date for both DVD (a four-disc collection) and Blu-ray (three discs) editions of Homeland: The Complete Fourth Season.

Claire Danes returns as CIA operative Carrie Mathison in 12 thrill-packed (and very timely) episodes that take her to Kabul, Afghanistan and Islamabad, Pakistan.  No word just yet on bonus materials.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Selects Aug. 25 As The Street Date For Both DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Filmmaker Cameron Crowe's Aloha

Auteur filmmaker Cameron Crowe’s latest film, Aloha, will be making its way to DVD and Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on Aug. 25.  

This romantic comedy, starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams, failed to connect with audiences as an almost universally-panned and very muddled script — with way too much political nonsense for a light romantic comedy — undercutting the budding romantic vibes between Cooper and Stone at nearly every turn.  

Box office receipts were light at just $20.9 million … the ARR is a zippy 88 days and with that pre-Labor Day street date, Sony Pictures is making it fairly clear that it is time to move on and say aloha to Aloha.

Bonus features include the featurette titled “The Untitled Hawaii Project: The Making of Aloha” and a gag reel … exclusive to the Blu-ray SKU are commentary by filmmaker Cameron Crowe (perhaps he will offer insight into what he was thinking … he also produced and wrote the script), an alternated ending, deleted scenes and four additional featurettes.

The Criterion Collection Announces Its October Release Calendar For New DVD And Blu-ray Film Restorations

The Criterion Collection has staked out its release turf for the month of October with street dates for five restored film treasures destined for both Blu-ray and DVD.

Kicking off the month the month is the Oct. 6 Blu-ray debut of writer/director Gus Van Sant’s 1991 film, My Own Private Idaho, starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as two-bit street hustlers on a road trip of self-discovery.

This new 4K transfer features the vintage 2005 making-of documentary, deleted scenes and other material from the 2005 DVD release.

The following week, Oct. 13, cult filmmaker David Cronenberg gets the Criterion treatment with newly prepared DVD and Blu-ray editions of his 1979 creepy horror classic, The Brood.   Samantha Eggar stars as a woman with a terrifying genetic secret and Oliver Reed plays the role of her estranged husband who tries to protect their daughter and sort out the mysterious killings that seem to follow his wife’s wake.

Bonus features include a new documentary on the making of the film (and earlier works of the director), a restored presentation of Cronenberg’s ultra-creepy 1970 film, Crimes of the Future, and a pair of video sessions — one featuring Cronenberg with Fangoria editor Chris Alexander (2011) and the second with actors Art Hindle and Cindy Hinds (who played Oliver Reed’s daughter).

Next up, and also streeting on Oct. 13 as both DVD and Blu-ray product offerings, is Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola’s 1977 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, A Special Day, starring Marcello Mastroianni (nominated for Best Actor that year — losing out Richard Dreyfuss for his performance in The Goodbye Girl) and Sophia Loren.

Bonus features here include a new video session with Sophia Loren (who turned 80 last September) and director Ettore Scola (now 84) and two episodes from The Dick Cavett Show (1977) featuring Loren and Mastroianni.

Shifting to Oct. 20, the Criterion Collection has a new film restoration ready for Japanese filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi’s 1964 (1965, domestic) Best Foreign Language Oscar-nominee, Kwaidan.

Bonus features here include commentary from film historian, author and Professor of Cinema, Stephen Prince, a vintage interview with filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi (1993) and a newly-prepared video session with assistant director Kiyoshi Ogasawara.

The month of October closes out on the 27^th with Blu-ray and DVD (two discs) editions of auteur filmmaker David Lynch’s 2001 neo-noir thriller, Mulholland Drive, teaming Naomi Watts with Laura Harring (of note, David Lynch was nominated Best Director for his work here — his third; Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man were the other two).

This new 4K transfer includes newly-prepared video sessions with Lynch, actors Naomi Watts and Laura Harring, director of photography Peter Deming, composer Angelo Badalamenti and casting director Johanna Ray, plus there is also a vintage session with Lynch, cast members and footage from the film’s set.