Vinegar Syndrome's 4K Restoration Of Writer/Director Slava Tsukerman’s Liquid Sky Ready As A Double-Disc Blu-ray Edition On Apr. 24

Vinegar Syndrome has made it official, on Apr. 24 the promised 4K restoration (from the 35mm original negative) of writer/director Slava Tsukerman’s 1983 cult sci-fi masterpiece, Liquid Sky, will be available as a double-disc Blu-ray special edition release.

You could spend quite a bit of time trying to explain the plot developments of Liquid Sky and such explanations would still be left wanting.   Imagine a carnival barker standing outside the sideshow tent screaming, “Step inside and see the invisible alien feed off of the sexual arousal of (long pause) … well, equally alien denizens of the fashion world (another long pause) … oh, hell, just come inside and see it for yourself.”

The backstory on the film — which we suggest you track down and read for yourself — has Slava Tsukerman, his wife Nina Kerova and the then unknown Anne Carlisle (Desperately Seeking Susan, Crocodile Dundee, etc.) collaborating on a screenplay that would take adventage of Carlisle’s unique talents.   

The result was Liquid Sky, which has her playing not one, but two very distinct roles.   She’s Margaret, a fashion model living in Manhattan, who we first catch at something of an underground fashion show.   The late, great David Bowie and his Spiders from Mars would feel right at home.

She also plays Jimmy, a drug-addicted model as well, who is also in the same show.   Jimmy needs a fix and Margaret’s lesbian lover, Adrian (Paula E. Sheppard — Alice Sweet Alice), has the heroin stash, but won’t give it up to the flaky Jimmy on credit (show me the money!). 

Meanwhile, Margaret sees an opportunity to score with an attorney by the name of Vincent (Jack Adalist) who has stopped by the club.   She accepts an invitation to join him back at his nearby penthouse, leaving Jimmy and Adrian to sort things out.   Once there, Vincent drugs her and rapes her … it is just about this time that you are wondering to yourself where is this all going.

On cue, enter an astrophysicist named Johann (Otto von Wernherr), who explains that he has detected an alien presence (the little flying saucer that landed on top of a Manhattan building at the beginning), which just happens to be in Margaret’s apartment.   Now the fun can really begin!!!

Sex and drugs in the presence of the alien entity produces death (ashes to ashes; dust to dust) and Margaret seems to be channeling the unseen visitor.   This “invasion” reaches something of a “climax” one evening when Jimmy and a rather large group of “followers” (read that as an entourage) descend on Margaret’s place and a battle of the sexes takes place … literally, a BATTLE of the sexes.   

By the time the alien spacecraft takes off at the film’s end, Jimmy, Adrian and the nasty Vincent will all be consumed by their actions and Margaret will seemingly be whisked off to another dimension.    Whoa, Liquid Sky is one weird trip!!!

As to bonus goodies, there is a newly-prepared commentary track with filmmaker Slava Tsukerman (who has let it be known that a Liquid Sky sequel is in the works), plus there are video sessions with both Slava Tsukerman and Anne Carlisle, the feature-length documentary title Liquid Sky Revisited, a 2017 Q&A session with Slava Tsukerman, Anne Carlisle and Clive Smith (composer), outtakes, an alternate opening and rehearsal footage. 

Paramount Home Media Selects Apr. 3 For The DVD Debut Of 13 Reasons Why: Season 1

Paramount Home Media announced this past week that the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why: Season 1, will be making its DVD debut on Apr. 3 as a four-disc set featuring all 13 episodes.

Golden Globe nominee Katherine Langford plays Hannah Baker, a high school student who had committed suicide two weeks earlier, becomes the focus of an impromptu investigation when one of her fellow students, Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette — Don't Breathe, Let Me In, etc.), receives a mysterious box containing a series of audio cassettes from Hannah.    He begins to explore the reasons for her taking her own life, which are played out in a series of flashbacks.

Bonus features for this critically-acclaimed series (which has been renewed for a second season) include seven production featurettes — “Hannah & Clay: An Unfinished Love Story,” “Justin Foley: Not Your Typical Jock,” “Discovering Jessica Davis,” “Bringing the Book to Life,” “13 Things About Me: Dylan Minnette,” “13 Things About Me: Justin Prentice” and “Beyond the Reasons.”

Arrow Video Restores French-Language Version Of G.W. Pabst’s L'Atlantide For Blu-ray Release On Apr. 24

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, will be bringing to market a Blu-ray edition on Apr. 24 of the original French-language version of German filmmaker G.W. Pabst’s 1932 film adaptation of Pierre Benoît's 1919 novel, “Atlantida,” which was released theatrically in French-speaking territories as L'Atlantide.    

Filmed during the early days of sound, G.W. Pabst shot this sci-fi/fantasy/adventure tale in three different languages, with Brigitte Helm (known to American audiences as Maria from Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, Metropolis) in the starring role as Antinéa, the Queen of the lost civilization of Atlantis, in all three versions of the film — French, German and English.

If the English-language version, which features John Stuart (Number 17, The House of Trent, Mayfair Girl, etc.) as explorer Lieutenant Saint-Avit, could have found a domestic distributor, The Mistress of Atlantis (the English-language version) would have beaten King Kong to theatres by nearly nine months.   However, it didn’t wash up on these shores until 1939.

Arrow Video is presenting Pabst’ French-language version for its Blu-ray debut, which stars Pierre Blanchar as Capitaine de Saint-Avit (it appears our hero got a promotion in rank for the French-language presentation).   Of note, the German language version featured Heinz Klingenberg as Saint-Avit.

The bonus feature here is a newly prepared video session with film critic and author Kim Newman, who focuses on the work of French novelist Pierre Benoît and the various film-adaptions of his novel (in addition to the three Pabst versions discussed here, you have Siren of Atlantis, Journey Beneath the Desert and more).

L'Atlantide is presented in French with optional English subtitles.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Expands DVD And Blu-ray Film Library Selections In March

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has added a Blu-ray edition of director Fritz Lang’s 1956 film noir thriller, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine, to its Mar. 13 release calendar.

Also getting a Blu-ray push the following week, Mar. 20, is director Edward Ludwig’s 1957 sci-fi mutated monster tale, The Black Scorpion, with Richard Denning and Mara Corday (with f/x by none other than Willis H. O'Brien — The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young — who is teamed with Wah Chang — Kronos, The Time Machine, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, etc.).

And, the four Margaret Rutherford detective mysteries, with her starring as Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, will be getting single-disc releases on Mar. 27 (previously available as a four-film set release in 2006) … these are: Murder Most Foul, Murder Ahoy, Murder at the Gallop and Murder, She Said.

Writer/Director Christian Gudegast's Den Of Thieves Heads Home On Apr. 24 From Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced this past week that the STX Entertainment’s bank-heist thriller, Den of Thieves, will be heading home on Apr. 24 with DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions.

The ARR comes in at 95 days and domestic ticket sales were a solid $43.4 million.

Writer/director Christian Gudegast, who is making his directing debut here, has been something of a “script doctor” for a number of years in “Hollywood,” and does not usually get credit for his contributions.   That said, with Den of Thieves he clearly knows how to deliver a heist film … Michael Mann’s Heat, William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A. and Spike Lee’s Inside Man immediately come to mind as the standard for such films in this genre.   

Oh sure, you can dig back further into the film vaults and come up with the likes of director John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle and Kubrick’s The Killing, but with just this handful of examples you sort of get the idea of where Den of Thieves lives. 

It’s not just an A to B to C action film, it’s complicated, there is misdirection and backstory character development — although Gerard Butler’s character’s dysfunctional family life seemed a little much.   There’s a terrific twist at the end and each of the main characters — both good and bad — are deeply flawed and never, ever one-dimensional.   

So if you loved Heat, Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects (that’s another one) and To Live and Die in L.A., then Den of Thieves is a must-have addition to your library of “heist” films come Apr. 24.

As to bonus nuggets, Den of Thieves arrives with commentary from director/writer/producer Christian Gudegast (London has Fallen, A Man Apart), who is joined by producer Tucker Tooley (The Space Between Us, We’re the Millers, A Man Apart, etc.), an alternate ending, outtakes, and a trio of production featurettes — “Alpha Males,” “Into the Den” and “Alameda Corridor.”

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Tabs Apr. 3 For Director Adam Robitel’s Insidious: The Last Key

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced this past week that director Adam Robitel’s Insidious: The Last Key will be making the transition from its successful theatrical run to the home entertainment marketplace as DVD and Blu-ray product offerings on Apr. 3.

The ARR for this move is 88 days and ticket sales were a robust $67.2 million (which is pretty much where the first three films in the series averaged) … when the Saw film franchise ran its course, actor/writer Leigh Whannell simply conjured up this successful film franchise series — expect a fifth installment in 2019).

As to bonus nuggets, there is a franchise recap titled “Dive Into the Insidious Universe,” an alternate ending, eight deleted scenes and a trio of featurettes — “Becoming Elise,” “Going Into the Further” and “Unlocking Keyface.”

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Ho-Hums The Home Entertainment Launch Of Director Jaume Collet-Serra's The Commuter On Apr. 17

Lionsgate Home Entertainment appears to be in total meltdown mode when it comes to moving theatrical hits from their multiplex venues to the home entertainment marketplace.  The reasons are unclear, but something is definitely afoot.

Last December, Steve Beeks, the long-time guiding force behind the rise of Lionsgate from its days as the Vidmark and Trimark video labels to a major “Hollywood” studio force, announced his retirement.   It is not clear if his exit is a factor in the sudden inattentive nature of the home entertainment PR and marketing group of late, but you have to look for something of that magnitude to explain the breakdown.   

Indeed, it is hard to fathom the seemingly bungled home entertainment rollouts of both of the A24 Films’ Oscar contenders in the past couple of weeks.  Lady Bird, a Best Picture candidate (plus Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and acting nominations for both Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf), which is produced by nine-time Best Picture nominee, Scott Rudin, got its marching orders when Amazon.com started taking orders, not when Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s PR department made any sort of effort to announce it. 

And, Disaster Artist (Best Adapted Screenplay) received nothing more than the “royal wave” in its transition from theatrical venues to the home entertainment arena.  

Their home entertainment availability will be Mar. 6 on Mar. 13 respectively.  

Sure, there could be issues with talent, sign-offs on press releases, miscommunications … you name it, anything and everything has happened in this business more than once. 

  Unless Scott Rudin (and his “people”) are at the heart of the problem with Lady Bird and its home entertainment non-event launch, and producer, director and actor James Franco is guilty for having his finger in the pie on the inept Disaster Artist home entertainment push, there will be some explaining to do.   

Both of these films are connected to A24 Films (maybe A24 Films is the problem), but when things start happening in “threes,” you have to wonder about the underlying reasons.

The third “shoe to drop” was the sudden arrival — without fanfare — of director Jaume Collet-Serra action thriller, The Commuter, as DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs and 4K Ultra-HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack product offerings on the release calendar for delivery on Apr. 17.   It is not an A24 Film production, but rather The Commuter is a Lionsgate theatrical release!!

This Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Sam Neill, Elizabeth McGovern and Jonathan Banks mystery-on-a-train theatrical hit pulled in $36 million in domestic ticket sales … with those kind of numbers you don’t just sit back and watch retailers like Amazon.com start taking orders, you make a big deal about the home entertainment availability.   That didn’t happen.

For the record, the ARR for The Commuter is 95 days.

It’s not just Lionsgate that has its share of problems, so we are not picking on them exclusively.   Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, for example, has been spotty in their execution for sometime now, and earlier this month their president, Man Jit Singh, was shown the door!   

It’s a very competitive business, the windows are tight for moving theatrical releases from the big screen to the small screen, talent and producers can be a pain (in terms of getting things signed off), and there are “politics,” both external and internal, that play a factor in getting even simple things done … like getting a press release out in a timely fashion.   

All of the studios go through it from time to time — key management retirements, firings, etc.   It will get sorted out, or heads will roll (have rolled) … that much you can take to the bank.

As to bonus goodies for The Commuter, there are two featurettes — “End of the Line” and “Off the Rails.”