Icarus Films Selects Oct. 25 For The DVD Debut Of Documentary Filmmaker Chan Tze-Woon’s Blue Island

Icarus Films will be teaming up with dGenerate Films — the leading distributor of independent Chinese films in the domestic marketplace — on Oct. 25 for the DVD debut of documentary filmmaker Chan Tze-Woon’s award-winning, five-year labor of love, Blue Island.

On July 1, 1997, the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong was transferred to Communist China with the understanding that the “One Country, Two Systems” would be honored for a period of 50 years.   Simple, Hong Kong would be free of the tyranny of Mainland China.

By 2014 it was becoming apparent that China was not going to wait 50 years to exercise full control over the former British enclave and filmmaker Chan Tze-Woon sensed this and began documenting the events in Hong Kong as early as 2017 when pro-democracy advocates were being rounded up.  

In 2019, Tze-Woon was there when things erupted with massive protests, which continued for eight solid months.  Blue Island personalizes these events as experienced by various individuals … a blend of documentary storytelling and real-life drama.

With the arrival of the Covid pandemic in 2020, the Communist government used forced lock-downs to crush the resistance.  Chan Tze-Woon’s Blue Island is a living testament to the events; the struggle for freedom that have unfolded in Hong Kong over the past decade.

Blue Island is presented in Cantonese and Mandarin with English subtitles.

 

 

 

 

The Film Chest Sets The Lost World: The Complete Series • A 12-Disc Collection • For A DVD Launch On Sept. 27

Beginning in the summer of 1891, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle began writing about the cases of one Sherlock Holmes in The Strand Magazine.   This would continue for the next twenty years and in the process, Sherlock Holmes would become the world’s most famous detective.

Suddenly, in the spring of 1912 he began serializing the adventures of George Edward Challenger and his Amazonian discoveries in The Lost World in the same magazine (later published in book form).        

So popular were Challenger’s adventures, that director Harry O. Hoyt adapted Doyle’s 1912 novel for the 1925 silent film classic, The Lost World, starring Wallace Beery as Challenger … special effects were by King Kong’s Willis O'Brien.

In 1960, Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno) delivered his own version of The Lost World with Claude Rains as Challenger.

This brings us the very exciting news from The Film Chest this past week, the next production to take on Doyle’s The Lost World was in 1999 when Aussie filmmaker Richard Franklin, who had gained state-side notice with his film releases of Patrick and Road Games — working with producers Jeffery Hayes and Greg Coote — delivered The Lost World, starring Peter McCauley as Challenger.

The film was so good — instead of it being released theatrically as a one-off — it was shopped around as something of a “pilot” for a proposed television series.  Once that was secured, Franklin’s film was cut into two parts, which became the first two episodes in the series, The Lost World — “The Journey Begins” and “Stranded.”

On Sept. 27, The Film Chest will release Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World as a 12-disc collection featuring all 66 episodes in the series.   As a bonus, the two-part opening has been reassembled into the feature film that everyone raved about.

Professor George Challenger leads an expedition to a remote area in the Amazon, but the hot air balloon that they were using leaves them stranded on an isolated plateau.   It is here that they meet another stranded visitor, Veronica Layton (Jennifer O'Dell), who was lost there with her parents some ten years earlier.   Her knowledge of the place proves to be life-saving.

Other members of the expedition include Marguerite Krux (Rachel Blakely), Lord John Richard Roxton (William Snow), Professor Arthur Summerlee (Michael Sinelnikoff) and Ned Malone (David Orth).  During their adventures in this “Lost World” they encounter a race of lizard people, long extinct dinosaurs (including a T-Rex), warring tribes, a stranded World War I flyer (who doesn’t know the war is over) and more.

It’s one thrill-packed adventure after another … all 66 episodes, which ironically ends with a cliffhanger (a fourth season was envisioned, but financing fell through) … for all we know, Challenger and his group are still there!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Bayview Entertainment Readies The Blu-ray Debut Of Writer/Director Kevin Short's Tom And His Zombie Wife For Oct. 04

In something of an homage to Romero’s zombie classic, Night of the Living Dead, writer/director (and star) Kevin Short elected to film his latest, Tom and His Zombie Wife, in glorious black and white — cinematography by his co-producer Kathryn S. Kraus.

Bayview Entertainment announced this past week that Short’s zombie apocalypse film will be making its domestic Blu-ray debut on Oct. 4.  

A love story, bittersweet at that, stars Kevin Short (Reel Life, Speed Love, Punk Strut: The Movie) as Tom, the grieving widower, who has the love of his life, his zombie wife (Claire Lewis — Punk Strut: The Movie, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire, Undertaker’s Paradise), locked up … he just can’t let her go.   She has an insatiable hunger, which means that he has to venture out each day to hunt for “food” in the zombie-invested countryside.   What a life!

Tom and His Zombie Wife, a K4K Films production, opened at the ShockFest Film Festival in December of last year and then proceeded to work the festival circuit with stops at Beyond the Curve International Film Festival, Tagore International Film Festival, World Film Carnival … and more.

With the Halloween promotion season drawing near, Bayview has locked into the Oct. 4 street date for the Blu-ray rollout … genre film and love story.   A clever blend of Night of the Living Dead meets Romeo and Juliet (in a dead and rotting classic sense).

Also making its Blu-ray debut from Bayview Entertainment on Oct. 04 is the documentary filmmaking team of Mary Elizabeth Gentle and Alia Tarraf’s cathartic journey, A Hidden Star.

Mary Beth (Elizabeth) Gentle had her life ripped apart with the death of her friend Allison Wilke (aka: Allison W. Gryphon) in 2016 from a contracted battle with breast cancer.   Mary Beth and Allison had been in the film business in various capacities, so when Allison finally lost her battle, the grief was over-whelming.  

A “release” was needed, at least that’s what the initial plan was as Mary Beth and Alia Tarraf (also from the industry) were joined by a number of Allison’s friends for pilgrimage to the Cliff of Moher in Ireland to scatter their friend’s ashes.   It would be closure … they thought.

Their film was going to be a tribute film to Allison (incorporating her videos from her own film production work), but the final product, A Hidden Star, turned out to be so much more.   The closure didn’t end with the trip to Ireland, but lingered.  

The film deals with Allison’s death and the aftermath of the tragedy; the loss that was so much more difficult to get through … a journey that continues in their film work to this day.   Life is embraced, loss is recognized and love and kindness are the result … a celebration that opens A Hidden Star up to all.

 

 

 

Synapse Films Targets Oct. 25 For An Uncut Blu-ray Edition Of Writer/Director Jeff Lieberman's Satan's Little Helper

Nothing like a having a video-game playing, sister-obsessed nine-year-old becoming disconnected from reality as his new “friend,” a serial slasher, works the neighborhood.   That’s the storyline of writer/director Jeff Lieberman’s 2004 mixed-genre treat, Satan’s Little Helper.

Synapse Films, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a newly -inted, uncut Blu-ray edition of Satan’s Little Helper lined for Halloween-season enjoyment on Oct. 25.

Douglas (Alexander Brickel) is an obsessed video game player who is hooked on the game “Satan’s Little Helper,” but he’s willing to forego that pleasure for just a bit as his college-age sister, Jenna (Katheryn Winnick — as Lagertha in the Vikings television series), is coming home for a visit.   His excitement quickly turns to distain when he discovers that she’s brought home her boyfriend, Alex (Stephen Graham), with her!  

He storms off and before you can get the words “deranged serial killer” out of your mouth he bumps into exactly that, a deranged serial killer dressed in a cheesy Halloween costume.  The maniac is busy decorating a lawn display with his latest victim, but our boy Dougie conflates his video game obsession with his new found “Satan” friend and ends up recruiting him to get rid of his rival, Alex.

Being a serial killer — make that a deranged serial killer — “Satan” (played by Joshua Annex) likes the idea and goes along with the kid’s plan, sure why not kill Alex and anyone else that happens along.   Who would suspect a masked fiend being guided around town by a nine-year old kid?

It is a night of adventures for Satan and his little helper.   He’s a clever fellow, who confuses the hell out of everyone by switching out costume disguises with those he’s murdered.   His sister is fooled, so is his mom (played by Pulp Fiction’s “Honey Bunny,” Amanda Plummer) as the body count mounts, with little Dougie completely oblivious to the chaos he is causing!!

Who survives?   Who dies?   Does Dougie snap out it?   And, who is this crazed killer behind the mask … is it really Satan??

Bonus features include commentary from filmmaker Jeff Lieberman (Squirm, Blue Sunshine, Just Before Dawn) and three featurettes — “Behind-the-Scenes,” “The Devil and the Details: Making Satan’s Little Helper” and “Mister Satan’s Neighborhood.”

 

 

 

 

DC League Of Super-Pets Arrives Home From Warner Bros. Home Entertainment On Oct. 04

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced this past week that the directing team of Jared Stern and Sam J. Levine’s animated film release of DC League of Super-Pets will be arriving in the home entertainment package media marketplace on Oct. 4.

The domestic box office tally is $67.4 million and the ARR is lightning-quick turn of just 67 days.

Planned for distribution on Oct. 4 are Combo Pack editions for the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, as well as a stand-alone DVD buying option.

As to bonus features, common to all three SKUs is the featurette titled “Behind the Super Voices.”   Exclusive to the Combo Pack presentations are deleted scenes and four additional featurettes — “How to Draw Krypto,” “Super-Pets Animation 101,” “Find the Easter Eggs” and “The World of Super-Pets.”

 

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 40th Anniversary Edition From Universal Pictures Home Entertainment On Oct. 18

A 40^th Anniversary party is planned for a special guest on Oct. 18 … so says Universal Pictures Home Entertainment this past week.

The special guest is E.T., who was desperately trying to “phone home” in director Steven Spielberg’s 1982 Best Picture nominee, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 40^th Anniversary Edition.

Positioned for the birthday celebration on Oct. 18 are Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats.

Bonus features include the newly-prepared retrospective, “40 Years of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” deleted scenes, from earlier this year the “TCM Classic Film Festival: An Evening with Steve Spielberg,” and seven featurettes — “The E.T. Journals,” “Steven Spielberg & E.T.,” “A Look Back,” “The Evolution and Creation of E.T.,” “The E.T. Reunion,” “The 20^th Anniversary Premiere” and “The Music of E.T.”

 

 

 

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Moves Thor: Love And Thunder Quickly To The Home Entertainment Marketplace On Sept. 27

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has selected Sept. 27 for a three-SKU rollout of director Taika Waititi’s Marvel Comic’s superhero tale, Thor: Love and Thunder, the sequel to the 2017 film release of Thor: Ragnarok.

The ARR is a swift-to-market 81 days, which is a relatively new phenomenon for blockbuster theatrical releases with Thor: Love and Thunder’s level of box office performance — $332.1 million in the domestic market (add in over $400 million for foreign exhibition).   The accelerated speed is certainly driven by Disney+ streaming urgencies.

Planned for release are a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition, plus stand-alone Blu-ray and DVD purchasing options.

Bonus goodies include commentary from director Taika Waititi, a gag reel, deleted scenes and a trio of featurettes — “Hammer-worthy: Thor and the Mighty Thor,” “Shaping a Villain” and “Another Classic Taika Adventure.”