MVD Entertainment Group Tabs Mar. 12 For The Release Of Both DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Writer/Director Nicanor Loreti's Punto Rojo

From time to time you have step outside of your comfort zone and see what is going on in the world of independent filmmaking in other parts of the world.   There are some real surprises to be found out there.

 None better than MVD Entertainment Group’s Mar. 12 import from Argentina, Punto Rojo, written and directed by Nicanor Loreti.  Both DVD and Blu-ray editions will be available. 

We find Diego (Demian Salomon — Satanic Hispanics, When Evil Lurks, Terrified, etc.) sitting in his car — in the middle of literally nowhere — listening to his radio.   We quickly discover that he is thief, a criminal and a beyond-reason fan of the Racing Club soccer team … it’s an obsession. 

There’s also a little something in the trunk his car (which will be revealed over time), but Diego’s focus right at the moment is what’s on the radio.   So imagine how irritated he becomes when a dead body lands on the hood of his car!   WHAM!

Soon, Paula (Mariana Anghileri — La Corporacion, Buena Vida), who was responsible for the dead body, parachutes in and all hell breaks loose.   The why of it you will have to discover for yourself, but let’s just say that Diego is on a mission — when not distracted by Racing Club news — and even the assassin skills of a secret agent will not stand in his way.

Nicanor Loreti’s Punto Rojo is a delightful tongue-in-cheek thriller — minimalist in nature — that is presented in Spanish with English subtitles.

Bonus features include commentary by filmmaker Nicanor Loreti and the short film titled Pinball.

 

 

Writer/Director William Lee's Bulletproof Jesus Will Be Making Its Blu-ray Debut Courtesy Of Bayview Entertainment On Feb. 27

The legendary William Lee, filmmaker, actor, producer and writer burst upon the world of cinema with his back-to-back “martial arts” gems, Dragon vs. Ninja in 1984, followed by Treasure of the Ninja in 1987.   

William Lee, independent filmmaker extraordinaire, is back with his latest from Bayview Entertainment on Blu-ray this coming Feb. 27.   A superhero film, loaded with action and a sense of both humor and style.

This would be — are you ready? — none other than the long-await debut of Bulletproof Jesus, which is written by, directed by and starring William Lee (he was Tarantino before Reservoir Dogs) as Jesus.   

No, it’s not a faith-based film, but rather a superhero adventure with Jesus as the ultimate good guy — and one bad ass — pitted against Satan himself (played by William Lee regular, Donald Smith — 6 Feet Below Hell, Black Mamba, Black Wolf).

Oh, but there’s more, Jesus has been sort of sitting on the sidelines, but when Satan puts together the ultimate army — the Four Warlords of the Apocalypse — he has to step up and put his martial arts skills (along with some of his friends) to the ultimate test in this world-defining battle of good versus evil!!

If you are a William Lee (Edge of Tolerance, Soulripperz, A Cold Day in Hell, Gangsters Incorporated, Black Mama, 6 Feet Below Hell, etc.) fan — and who isn’t — then his latest is going to be a real crowd-pleaser.   The Blu-ray debut of Bulletproof Jesus from Bayview Entertainment on Feb. 27 … be sure to check it out!!

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Moves Trolls Band Together Quickly To Market On Jan. 16 With A Full Spread Of Physical Media Purchasing Selections

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is making a quick-to-market move for the animated hit theatrical release of Trolls Band Together with news this past week that Jan. 16 will be the street date for a full spread of physical media product offerings.

The ARR is a swift-to-market 60 days and domestic box office receipts were an impressive $97.6 million.

Consumers will be able to choose between Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD selection.

Bonus goodies include a tag-team commentary with co-director Tim Heitz, producer Gina Shay, head of story Colin Jack, production designer Ruben Perez Reynoso and visual effects supervisor Marc J. Scott.   Plus, there are deleted scenes, a short film titled It Takes Three and a collection of featurettes — “Hi, Hi, Hi,” “Building the Band,” “Together Again,” “Animated Trolls” — and two interactive features, “How to Draw” and “How To: Hug Time Bracelets.”

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Tabs Feb. 13 For The Release Of DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions Of Director Sofia Coppola's Priscilla

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has tabbed Feb. 13 as the street date for DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions of writer/director Sofia Coppola’s film adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 book “Elvis and Me,” which was retitled for the screen as simply Priscilla.

The ARR is 109 days and domestic box office receipts currently stand at $20.8 million.

Bonus features for this biopic include the featurettes titled “Brushed with Beauty: Creating Priscilla's Story” and “The Making of Priscilla: A Film by Liv McNeil.”

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment To Release A 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Director Steven Soderbergh's Contagion On Feb. 27

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has tabbed Feb. 27 as the street date for the release of a 4K Ultra HD edition of director Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic thriller, Contagion.

While the surface story is about the rapid spread of the MEV-1 virus (bats in a Chinese rainforest as the source — really, does that sound familiar or what?), there is a more sinister story about government involvement (DHS, CDC, etc. and that all has an uncanny “mirror image” to the manufactured Covid terrors that unfolded in 2020.   Clearly filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns were ahead of their time!!!

Bonus features include a trio of featurettes — “The Reality of Contagion,” “The Contagion Detectives” and “Contagion: How Virus Changed the World.”

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Announces A Full Spread Physical Media Launch Of Director Nia DaCosta's The Marvels On Feb. 13

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment opened the New Year with a pair of February street-date announcements.

 First up, and arriving on Feb. 13 as a full-spread of physical media product offerings is director Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels.

 The ARR works out to 95 days and the domestic box haul currently stands at $84.5 million.

Planned for distribution are stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray editions, plus a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack purchasing option.

Bonus delights kick off with commentary from filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Candyman, Little Woods), who is joined by VFX supervisor Tara DeMarco (WandaVision), plus there are deleted scenes, a gag reel and two featurettes — “Entangled” and “The Production Diaries.” 

Also heading home in February is writer/director Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, which will be available as stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray product offerings on Feb. 27.

The ARR comes in at 102 days and the domestic box office tally was light at just $6.7 million.

Bonus features are limited to a deleted scene and the featurette titled “Creating the Pitch of Life.”

2023 Was A Record Release Year For The Blu-ray Format Driven By Three Factors

There is no question that 2023 was a record year for the Blu-ray format.   No other year comes close … in short, a blowout!

The preliminary count (which will continue to expand in the week’s ahead as below the radar entries are added to the various databases) is that there were 8,044 new Blu-ray SKUs entering the marketplace during the course of the year.   

To put that number into context, in 2022 the number was 6,034 and the previous year, 2021, the final count was 4,813.  In 2020 (during the pandemic, when theatres were forced to shutdown) the total number of Blu-ray new releases was 3,333.

Why the explosion in new Blu-ray titles?

There are several factors, which makes it a bit complicated to say “Oh, it’s because of (pick something).”

First, let’s start with the mega-trend that is not only driving the title explosion, but causing fundamental changes to the distribution and retail community.   In a word, MOD (manufacturing on demand), which pushed Ingram out as a distributor and is driving Best Buy out of the market.  

 In short, traditional distribution (retail and wholesale) is simply not equipped to handle a MOD environment.   How do you meet consumer demand on a title-by-title basis without stocking the SKUs?   Are you going to set up little Blu-ray title manufacturing stations in thousands of retail outlets (is that even possible) to meet consumer demand?

In 2020, there were 1,918 traditionally replicated Blu-ray titles and 1,415 MOD releases.   By 2023 the numbers had dramatically shifted, with 1,720 replicated titles on Blu-ray and a staggering 6,324 new MOD arrivals.

Within this shift, there is also the use of the Blu-ray format as a storage medium — cramming an entire eight to ten episode season of a new series on a single Blu-ray disc.  

That was not the intention when Blu-ray was launch in 2006.

The second factor that is driving the unprecedented expansion of new Blu-ray releases is the source of the material … the source of the masters.   Namely, streaming and the alphabet soup of VOD … no longer does someone have to used a shaky handheld recording device in a darkened theatre to get the latest hit movie.   Nope, you just capture the feed on this streaming platform or that streaming platform, or shell out a couple of bucks for a 48 hour VOD “rental” and you have your master (security is a myth for these pros). 

The latest hit theatrical release, mega-budget direct-to-streaming film (think: Extraction 2, The Killer, Leave the World Behind, etc.) or the latest series will usually be announced for delivery on Blu-ray the same day.

A whopping 1,587 series hit Blu-ray from “Helper” sources in 2023, while legitimate sources — both studio and boutique labels combined — managed to street 110 series, or roughly two per week on average during 2023.

That doesn’t mean there were 1,587 unique series, no, a popular series will often have competing “Helper” releases — consumers have to sort out who does the best job, with the best “transfers” and packaging.   It is quite insane.

One, consumer acceptance of MOD Blu-ray (that’s important — capacity over HD), now couple that with the delivery of pristine masters, for not only new theatrical and series, but “old movies” (pre-1997, the launch year of DVD), music and more and the result is a new release pace on steroids.

There is one other factor driving the runaway horror show, which becomes obvious when you look at the numbers.   The right’s owners — namely the studios and streaming services (Netflix, Apple TV, etc.) — have given up on enforcing copyright protections.   

It’s just a cost of doing business, why play whack-a-mole … it’s not that they don’t care, it’s that they don’t understand the changing nature of the business, which they are driving with their inept management of assets.

Hello, Ingram closed up shop and Best Buy is exiting the physical media marketplace because of the rapid shift in the marketplace.

It’s as easy as One (MOD), Two (Masters) and Three (Asset Management) to see what is going on in the world of Blu-ray these days.