Arrow Video Readies 4K Ultra HD Edition Of John Hughes' Weird Science For Release On Aug. 22

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has tabbed Aug. 22 as the street date for a new 4K film restoration (from the original 35mm negative) of writer/director John Hughes’ summer of 1985 “sci-fi” comedy, Weird Science.

Anthony Michael Hall — who was Hughes go-to guy for geek roles during this period (Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club) — completes his nerdy geek comedy trilogy with his performance here as high school loser, Gary.     

His buddy, Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith — The Wild Life, The Chocolate War; as Andy in the Superboy TV series … and then moved on from an acting career to become a college professor) is in the same boat.   The two can only dream about the hot chicks and are the constant targets of humiliation by bullies Ian (played by none other than Robert Downey, Jr.) and Max (Robert Rusler — his film debut … followed by A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Vamp, Sometimes They Come Back).

What to do?   What do nerds do?   They come up with goofy ideas that somehow work.  

In this case, Wyatt’s parents leave for the weekend and put Wyatt’s semi-deranged brother, Chet (another future star, Bill Paxton) in charge.   With no parental supervision and a long weekend in front of them, they decide to invent their own dream girl!

Using ‘80s computer technology, very much in the spirit of director John Badham’s 1983 computer-themed hit, Wargames, starring Matthew Broderick (who would star in John Hughes next film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), the pair manage to hack into some secret government mega-computer and … magic!

Suddenly in Wyatt’s room is the woman of their dreams, who is very much like a genie from a lamp … your wish is but my command.   A nerd’s fantasy come true.

Played by Kelly LeBrock, who was not cast for the role originally … she was a model, doing photo-shoots, magazine cover work and high-end advertising; a glamour girl.   But she scored well as Charlotte, Gene Wilder’s dream girl, in The Woman in Red (her film debut) and she was recruited to fill in after shooting had already started.   As they say, the rest is history.

They name their creation Lisa, at first thinking she is just a shared-dream, but soon discover that she really is magical, and very hot.  She also turns out to be something of a spirit-guide for these two loser nerds and sets the stage for the pair to win the hearts of their nemesis’ girlfriends, Deb (Suzanne Snyder — Night of the Creeps, Return of the Living Dead II, Killer Klowns from Outer Space) and Hilly (Judie Aronson — Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, American Ninja). 

Bonus goodies included with this 4K Ultra HD release begin with two viewing options — the original theatrical cut and an “extended” cut of the film (clocking in at three minutes of extra footage) — the 17-minute mini-documentary titled It’s Alive! Resurrecting Weird Science and four featurettes — “Dino the Greek,” “Chet Happens,” “Fantasy and Microchips” and “Ira Newborn Makes the Score.”

 

 

 

Writer/Director Jim Strouse's Love Again Arrives On July 18 As Both DVD And Blu-ray Product Offerings From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced this past week that writer/director Jim Strouse’s film adaptation of the Sofie Cramer’s 2009 novel, Love Again, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas (The White Tiger, The Sky is Pink, Mary Kom … as Nadia in the Citadel series) and Sam Heughan (as Jamie in the Outlander television series), will be making the transition from theatrical venues to the home entertainment packaged media marketplace on July 18.

Both stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray editions will be available.

The ARR works out to 74 days … the domestic box take currently stands at $6.2 million.

Mira Ray (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), a children’s book author, is trying to cope with the death of her fiancé and in doing so continues to send text messages to his phone.  What she is unaware of is that his number has been reassigned (OK … a leap here, suspension of disbelief to make the romcom work) to Rob Burns (Heughan), who is a music critic by trade.   It is better therapy than what her grief counselor is dishing out!

As luck would have it, Burns is working on a story about Celine Dion (who plays herself here) and she publicly chides him on his lack of understanding about love when he questions the sincerity of her music.  OK, tell me more about love!!

He now has a “love counselor” in the form of superstar Celine Dion, who provides him the necessary insights when he decides to meet the mysterious sender of text messages.

Bonus features include a half-dozen deleted scenes and the featurette titled “Finding Love Again.”

 

 

Mill Creek Entertainment Selects Aug. 29 As The Street Date For The Release Of A Six-Film Blu-ray Collection Titled Music & Romance: 6 Movie Collection

Mill Creek Entertainment has circle Aug. 29 on the release calendar for the release of a six-film Blu-ray collection titled Music & Romance: 6 Movie Collection.

Five of the six films in the collection are being released for the first time on Blu-ray … how sweet is that!   Let’s unwrap this gift in chronological order of theatrical release and see what cinematic joys are included in Music & Romance: 6 Movie Collection.

We begin with director John Schlesinger’s 1988 film adaptation of Bernice Rubens’ 1962 novel (based on her brother’s experiences), Madame Sousatzka, starring Shirley MacLaine as the title character, a gifted piano teacher who never quite made it professionally (she was pushed too fast as a child) and now teaches for a living.

Into her world comes Manek (Navin Chowdhry in his film debut — Teachers, as Nish Panesar in the EastEnders TV series), a literary stand-in for Rubens’ brother Harold, who was something of a child prodigy.   She immediately recognizes his skills and devotes herself to him, going beyond just music lessons but how to present himself and avoid the temptations of his teenage years.

Next up in this collection is director Jeffrey Hornaday’s fall of 1991 release of Shout, starring John Travolta as Jack Cabe, a musician with a checkered past who takes a job as the music teacher at the Benedict Boys Home in Texas, run by the ever so strict Eugene Benedict (Richard Jordan).  

It’s 1955 and the teenagers living there, including Jesse Tucker (Jamie Walters), need the discipline of the school, where the motto is “Hard Work … Works!”   Music, in theory, is something that the “boys” need as well … in the words of Congreve, “music hath charms to sooth a savage breast.”  However, there’s this little thing called “rock ‘n roll” that is causing all sorts of social problems.

One other little detail, Benedict has a teenage daughter, Sara (Heather Graham — Drugstore Cowboy, Boogie Nights, Sidewalks of New York, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) and the nasty little lads have a bet on who will bed her first.

Rock ‘n roll, teenage bad boys, headmaster’s daughter and a music teacher with a checkered past, that’s the explosive set-up for Shout, which actually becomes something of a coming-of-age romantic tale!

The next film in this end-of-August Blu-ray collection from Mill Creek Entertainment is filmmaker Kasi Lemmons’ 2001 Sundance Film Festival surprise and follow-up to her success with Eve’s Bayou, The Caveman’s Valentine, toplining of Samuel L. Jackson as homeless Central Park “cave dweller” Romulus Ledbetter.

Romulus was once a gifted pianist who studied at the famed The Juilliard School in New York City.   Now, his days are spent with periodic schizophrenic breaks and delusional rants about evil living atop the nearby Chrysler Building … he clearly needs help.

Literally dropping into Romulus’ world is the body of a young man, whom the police believe to be the victim of exposure.   An accidental death, nothing more.   Romulus has other ideas and sets about to solve the case during his lucid moments … of course, being crazy, no one believes him, including his estranged daughter Lulu (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor — Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress last year for her performance as Brandy in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Lear), and she’s a cop.

Our fourth selection is writer/director Sally Potter’s 2001 offbeat tale, The Man Who Cried, which is actually an episodic adventure about a young woman (played by Christina Ricci), who is separated from her father and spends the entire film searching for him.  

Being a Russian Jew, her village is burned, but she escapes.  Arrives in England, where she is raised in foster care as something of an outcast.   She grows, becomes a dancer moves to Paris and is attracted to a gypsy (played by Johnny Depp), but the Nazis invade and her life is once again in jeopardy.

As fortune would have it, she is able to escape on one of the last passenger ships leaving Europe … but the ship is torpedoed!    Does she survive?   Does she ever find her father, who left so many years before to find fame and fortune in America?  

You’ll need to pick up a copy of Music & Romance: 6 Movie Collection on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment on Aug. 29 to find the answers to these questions … and more!

Rounding out the collection are director John Madden’s 2001 film release of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, starring Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz, and director Michael Lembeck’s screwball comedy, Connie and Carla, teaming Nia Vardalos with Toni Collette as “drag queens” hiding out in Los Angeles (they were witnesses to a mob hit), but their dreadful musical act suddenly becomes a big hit … which could be their undoing!!

 

 

Ignite Media Distribution Targets July 11 For A Full-Spread Home Entertainment Packaged Media Celebration Of Director William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders From Mars

Ignite Media Distribution Services, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has selected July 11 as the street date for a three-SKU helping of director William Cameron Menzies’ 1953 sci-fi classic, Invaders from Mars.         

Genre fans, film buffs, collectors and the curious will be able to choose between DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD editions of this new 4K film restoration, which is something of a 70^th Anniversary Edition.

Jimmy Hunt (Pitfall, Sorry, Wrong Number, She Couldn’t Say No) stars as grade school kid David MacLean, an astronomy buff and scientist in the making (following in dear old’s footsteps), who awakes one night to see a flying saucer land and suddenly disappear into the nearby sand dunes.   Did he imagine it?  Was it a dream?

Upset, he wakes up his parents, George (Leif Erickson — Night Monster, Johnny Stool Pigeon, The Cimarron Kid … as Big John Cannon in The High Chaparral television series) and Mary (Hillary Brooke — The Woman in Green, The Fuller Brush Man, Lost Continent, The Maze, The Man Who Knew Too Much), who find his behavior quite out of character. 

We will soon discover that David was not dreaming.   His father goes to investigate and doesn’t return.   David’s mom calls the cops and soon officers Jackson (Douglas Kennedy) and Blaine (Charles Cane) show up and go off to investigate.

Whew!   David’s father suddenly returns, but there is something that is very wrong.  Come on, his little brat son woke him up in the middle of the night to rant and cry about flying saucers, so naturally he’s a tad put off.   Smack that kid (oops, he does). 

Jackson and Blaine return … are they zombies?   What’s going on?   Did David just see his neighbor Kathy Wilson (Janine Perreau — The Shanghai Story) get swallowed-up in the sand dunes?  Get help!  

The more David tells people that something is terribly wrong, the more his family and neighbors think he is demented … Kathy returns, nothing wrong, pay no attention to her zombie-like state!!

We all know — as the audience to this classic sci-fi tale — where this is going.  David is doomed, the Martians will take over … unless he can find someone, anyone, to believe his crazy story!!  

Check it out on July 11 with the 70^th Anniversary celebration of director William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars.  

Bonus features include video sessions with Jimmy Hunt (be sure to check out the Cereal at Midnight podcast interview with Hunt — linked here: https://www.cerealatmidnight.com/2023/03/jimmy-hunt-former-child-actor-on.html), William Cameron Menzies’ biographer James Curtis and Menzies’ eldest granddaughter Pamela Lauesen, a featurette featuring John Landis, Joe Dante, Mark Goldblatt, Robert Skotak and Scott MacQueen and before and after restoration clips.

Additionally, there is a 2K restoration of the “alternate international cut” of the film, an alternate ending and an extended Planetarium scene.

 

 

The Criterion Collection Announces Its September 2023 Film Restoration Slate

Impressive!!  

That’s the word for the Criterion Collection’s September line-up of new film restorations.

There will be a new 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition heading home on each of the four street-date Tuesday during the month … so let’s get to it.

Sept. 5 kicks off the proceedings with a new 4K digital restoration of director Rob Reiner’s post-Labor Day of 1987 romantic comedy-adventure gem, The Princess Bride, starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Andre the Giant and Wallace Shawn, with Chris Sarandon and Christopher Guest (and, of course, some surprise guests alone the way).

William Goldman completed his novel, “The Princess Bride,” sometime in 1973 and it was already optioned for a film adaptation, but nothing came of it.   A decade later the rights were back in his hands, he adapted his own novel, Reiner was brought on board to direct and the rest is, as they say, history.   It only took 14 years to move this classic from the page to the screen!!

Bonus goodies include commentary featuring Reiner and Goldman, who are joined by producer Andrew Scheinman and cast members Billy Crystal and Peter Falk, various video sessions with Reiner, Goldman, and Crystal, plus Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Fred Savage and Robin Wright.

There is also an on-set video diary narrated by Cary Elwes, five behind-the-scene videos with narration by Reiner, Scheinman and Crystal, plus several featurettes and more.

The next street-date Tuesday, Sept. 12, marks the 4K Ultra HD debut of auteur filmmaker Nicolas Roeg’s 1971 outback adventure, Walkabout, starring Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run, The Eagle has Landed, An American Werewolf in London … and as Sister Julienne in the long-running Call the Midwife dramatic series), David Gulpilil and Luc Roeg.

Bonus features included with the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack presentation of Walkabout begin with commentary by Nicolas Roeg and Jenny Agutter, video sessions with Agutter and Luc Roeg and documentary filmmaker Darlene Johnson’s 2002 film titled Gulpilil: One Red Blood.

That’s two.   Criterion could call it quits right there for the month and it would still be impressive, but there are two more street-date Tuesdays still to go!

Arriving on Sept. 19 is filmmaker Orson Welles’ 1962 film adaptation of Franz Kafka’s 1925 novel, The Trial, starring Anthony Perkins (as Josef K), Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider and Orson Welles.

Film historian Joseph McBride (“Orson Welles,” “Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success,” “Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge” … and more) provides a newly-minted commentary, plus there are archival video sessins with Welles, Jeanne Moreau and the director of photography Edmond Richard, plus Orson Welles’ 1981 feature-length documentary titled Filming The Trial.

Criterion’s 4K Ultra HD hit parade for the month of September concludes on Sept. 26 with writer/director/producer Brett Morgen’s 2022 theatrical biopic/documentary tribute to David Bowie, Moonage Daydream.

This new 4K film restoration includes commentary from Brett Morgen (Oscar nominated for his On the Ropes documentary, plus the Emmy-winning Jane … plus films as Cobain: Montage of Heck, Chicago 10 and The Kid Stays in the Picture), a Q&A session and a video session with rerecording mixers David Giammarco and Paul Massey.

And, last but certainly not least, is the Sept. 26 Blu-ray release of director Luis Valdez’s 1987 biopic, La Bamba.

This is a new 4K digital restoration.   Bonus features include commentary, video session, audition footage and a making-of featurette.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Looks To July 11 For The Release Of DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions Of Writer/Director Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid

Writer/Director Ari Aster’s surreal — and very epic — journey of Beau Wassermann (played by Joaquin Phoenix), Beau is Afraid, arrives as both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack product offerings from Lionsgate Home Entertainment on July 11.

With a production budget in the neighborhood of $35 million, Beau is Afraid becomes A24 Films most ambitious effort to date.   However, the domestic box office results have been disappointing with just $8.2 million hauled in thus far. 

For the record, the ARR is 88 days from the film’s theatrical opening to its subsequent arrival as home entertainment packaged media product offerings.

The light box office result comes as a bit of a surprise on two levels.  First, coming off the Best Picture win for Everything Everywhere All at Once (and its nice word-of-mouth run in theatres) it appeared that A24 was hot-wired for success with this high-profile (and very ambitious) production. 

Couple that with Aster’s track record with both Hereditary ($44.1 million in 2018; against a $10 million budget) and Midsommar ($27.4 million in 2019; with a $9 million production budget) and you can appreciate how Beau is Afraid has not lived up to expectations.

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance here makes him an early Oscar contender — that could help — and there’s home entertainment, which could cut into the red ink as well.  Beau is Afraid could end up being one of those films that gains a following … only time will tell.

As to bonus features, there is the featurette titled “Finally Home: Making Beau is Afraid.”

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Moves Director George Tillman Jr.’s Big George Foreman In Just 60 Days To The Home Entertainment Packaged Media Marketplace With The June 27 Street Date

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has moved director George Tillman Jr.’s biopic, Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World, quickly to the home entertainment packaged media marketplace with a June 27 street-date.

The ARR is a swiftly paced transition from theatrical venues that works out to just 60 days for both the DVD and Blu-ray product offerings. 

Critics were so-so on the film, while audiences — who attended theatrical venues — were pleased with Khris Davis (Judas and the Black Messiah, Summer Night) performance as Foreman.   The ticket-buying public was, however, limited with domestic box office receipts coming in at just $5.4 million.  

Sony Pictures kept moving the film around … first a September of 2022 opening was cancelled and then the March 24 date was shifted to April 28, which could have confused audiences.

The film got a VOD/streaming window of May 17 and was immediately pirated by at least two “helper”/”void-filler” sources as Blu-ray editions.  We’ve often made the case that this interim step should be as least day/date with the Blu-ray and DVD rollout to cut down on “unauthorized” releases.

Bonus features include a gag reel, deleted scenes and two featurettes — “Big George Foreman: A Look at the Making of the Film” and “Toe to Toe: Foreman & Ali.”