Oscilloscope Laboratories Has Tabbed June 18 As The Street Date For The Domestic DVD And Blu-ray Launch For Writer/Director Ann Oren's Piaffe

Oscilloscope Laboratories wasted no time in acquiring the distribution rights to first-time writer/director Ann Oren’s Piaffe.   The film made its debut at the Locarno Film Festival in August of 2022 and before the screenings finished the deal was done.

Piaffe then began a year-long journey, working the international festival circuit, taking honors and awards at Locarno, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Achtung Berlin Film Festival (a sweep — Best Director, Best Production), Gérardmer Film Festival and more.   An impressive list to be sure!

Oscilloscope opened the film domestically in August of last year … an ever so brief arthouse run.   The ARR works out to a leisurely 298 days.

And now the wait is over with news this past week that both DVD and Blu-ray editions of filmmaker Ann Oren’s Piaffe will be available on June 18.

So what do we have here?   If we reference David Lynch as a starring point, perhaps throw in a mention of Fellini or David Cronenberg, then you might be prepared for what is to come.

The film opens with our protagonist, Eva (Simone Bucio — The Untamed, Anna’s Desires), receiving a phone call.   It is her sister Tara’s employer wanting to know where his sound effects are.   

We quickly learn a couple of important story points.   First, Zara is a foley artist (sound effects) and she has been working on a project for a big pharmaceutical company.   Second, Zara (played by actor/director Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau — The Whisper of the Jaguar) has had a nervous breakdown and is now institutionalized.   

And lastly, and perhaps of the most importance with respect to how the story unfolds, Eva is a mousy doormat with no foley artist skills … but she’s willing to give it a go for her sister.
The apartment is all set up with sound recording equipment and the expected sound-creating set, which in this case (that pesky commercial) is a sandbox and the props necessary to created the sound of a horse’s hoofs prancing (the film’s title, “Piaffe,” is a dressage term for trotting in place).

That phone call sets everything in motion and takes us down a “Lynchian” rabbit hole that includes such bizarre stopping points as the nut house where Zara resides — a surreal establishment run by what can be described as a neo-Nazi — and Eva learning the ins and outs of foley work.

This leads us to her obsession with a horse (the focal point of the drug commercial), where she begins to grow a horse’s tail, a trip to the doctor to confirm the new appendage (complete with X-Rays), which leads to an erotic sexual encounter with a botanist (or is he a pteridologist?) named Novak (Sebastian Rudolph — A Voluntary Year).  He takes delight in stroking Eva’s tail.  

If you are having a difficult time with these plot points, might we suggest a look-see at either the DVD or Blu-ray editions from Oscilloscope on June 18.   Filmmaker Ann Oren’s Piaffe is certainly a visual delight (on so many levels) … you will not be disappointed.

Bonus features include a video session with Oren and “video journals” of the film’s production.

Piaffe is presented in German with English subtitles.

Dark Force Entertainment Has A New 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Writer/Director Marina Sagenti's Mirror Mirror Set For Distribution On Aug. 13

Dark Force Entertainment, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new 4K Ultra HD edition of writer/director Marina Sagenti’s 1990 supernatural thriller, Mirror Mirror — starring Karen Black and Rainbow Harvest — set for release on Aug. 13.

This is a new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative.

When Susan (Karen Black), and her daughter, Megan (Rainbow Harvest) settle into their new digs in Los Angeles they soon discover that the place is possessed.   Not the house itself, but they mirror that Megan finds in the corner of her room.

We know from the film’s opening that one sister murdered the other (played by Traci Lee and Michelle Gold) in a ritual sacrifice in front of the very same mirror some 40 years earlier that Megan — a “goth girl” outcast — has found in her room.   What can possibly go wrong with this bit of good fortune?

Meanwhile, Enelin (played by none other than Yvonne De Carlo), the woman who was in charge of selling off the contents of the house, discovers some dusty documents that detail the power of the mirror.

Megan, however, needs no such documents as she too learns of the wish-granting powers that the mirror possesses.   She gets GOTH for real and anyone who gets in her way meets a gruesome end.   Let me repeat that, get in Megan’s way and you are dead.

Megan’s only friend at school, Nikki (Kristin Dattilo), also learns of the mirror’s secret (from Enelin) and tries desperately to help Megan free herself from the spell.  A satisfying twist ending makes filmmaker Marina Sagenti’s Mirror Mirror a keeper!

Demon Dave and Joe’s “Savage Tracks” provide commentary.

 

 

Battle Kaiju Series 03: Ultraman Vs. Gomora Arrives On Blu-ray This Coming June 11 From Mill Creek Entertainment

The next Blu-ray collection in Mill Creek Entertainment’s popular Ultraman franchise series (launched on DVD and Blu-ray in October of 2019) will arrive on June 11 in the form of the double-disc release of Battle Kaiju Series 03: Ultraman vs. Gomora.  

This series includes 16 episodes featuring encounters with the fearsome kaiju Gomora — an “ancient” monster discovered by Prof. Nakaya in the Johnson Islands (more like a dinosaur in appearance) — that holds the distinction of being the first kaiju to actually defeat Ultraman in battle.

In addition to the 16 hand-picked episodes, there is a bonus movie, the directing team of Koichi Sakamoto and William Winckler’s 2009 release titled Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends. 

Presented in Japanese with English subtitles.

Cleopatra Entertainment Preps DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Director Mark Polonia's Cocaine Werewolf For Delivery To Eager Genre Fans On Aug. 13

Cleopatra Entertainment, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has tabbed Aug. 13 as the eagerly anticipated release date for director Mark Polonia’s latest genre fan horror flick, Cocaine Werewolf.

Both DVD and Blu-ray editions will be available.

Maybe it was some long forgotten folklore — for all we know, there might actually be such creatures living among us — but certainly the Universal Pictures creature features of the 1930s and 40s kicked off the cinematic werewolf cycle with the Werewolf of London in 1935 and especially with Lone Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man in the 1941 film release of the same name, followed by a cycle of four more films that featured Chaney as the "Wolf Man” (Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein).

Then there was I was a Teenage Werewolf in 1957 (among others) … 1981 was an especially good year with the release of auteur filmmaker John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London and legendary producer Steven A. Lane’s launch of the venerable The Howling series of werewolf films.

Indeed, one could spend countless hours enjoying the horror subgenre of werewolf-themed movies.

Polonia’s Cocaine Werewolf owes as much to that as it does the surprise theatrical hit of director Elizabeth Banks’ 2023 film release of Cocaine Bear.   Polonia’s Cocaine Shark followed in 2023, as did writer/director Chuck Magee’s Cocaine Crabs from Outer Space and now the cycle continues with the logical inclusion of a werewolf and that white powdery substance, cocaine.

Drugs, a werewolf and a rock solid soundtrack (courtesy of Cleopatra Records) makes filmmaker Mark Polonia’s Cocaine Werewolf a must-see for genre fans on Aug. 13!   Pick you poison … DVD or Blu-ray!!

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment To Handle Challengers (July 9) And Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Out 4K Collection (July 16) For Amazon MGM Studios

Following in the recent footsteps of The Boys in the Boat and American Fiction, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment will also be shepherding the Amazon MGM Studios’ theatrical release (through United Artists Releasing) of director Luca Guadagnino’s sports-themed drama, Challengers, home on July 9 as stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray product offerings.

The ARR is 74 days and the domestic box office take for this Pro Tennis tale starring recording artist Zendala (Dune, Spider-Man: Far from Home, The Greatest Showman), Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor currently stands at $37.8 million (against a reported production budget of $55 million).

A premium VOD window opened just 21 days into the film’s theatrical run, which was immediately seized upon by the “Helper” community — thanks to the pristine digital master — for the release of their own DVD and Blu-ray versions of Guadagnino’s film.   This yields  a period of 53 days for pre-market illicit physical media sales.

There are no bonus features included with these DVD and Blu-ray editions being released through Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

In other release news from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment this past week, July 16 will be the street date for the Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Collection film series on 4K Ultra HD.

Included here are director John G. Avildsen’s 1976 Oscar-winner, Rocky, the 1979 sequel Rocky II and the three additional films that followed (Rocky III, Rocky IV and Rocky V), plus the 2006 re-visit/legacy film, Rocky Balboa.

This will be a six-disc 4K Ultra HD/five-disc Blu-ray collection, with both Rocky V and Rocky Balboa also being released as stand-alone SteelBook selections on July 16 as well.

Bonus goodies include two viewing options for Rocky Balboa (theatrical and director’s cut) and commentary by Sylvester Stallone, four featurettes and a making-of documentary.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Looks To July 9 For The Full Spread Physical Media Launch Of Writer/Director Alex Garland's Civil War • Rebel "Helpers" Get 46 Day Window To Peddle Illicit Products

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has selected July 9 as the delivery date for a full-spread of physical media editions of writer/director Alex Garland’s Civil War.

The ARR comes in at 88 days and the domestic box office tally currently stands at $68.1 million.

Planned for distribution on July 9 are Combo Pack selections for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD SKU.

This A24 film production is already being pitched as Blu-ray product offerings from the “Helper” community courtesy of a premium VOD window inserted 42 days into the film’s theatrical run (May 24).

This gives the bootleggers 46 days, or roughly seven and half weeks, to sell copies of the film (thanks to the pristine master digitally transferred to them) to unsuspecting consumers.  These pre-street consumers of physical media have likely made similar purchases in the past from these same sources and have been satisfied with the quality of the Blu-ray and/or DVD editions.

Slickly produced and well-marketed, Garland’s Civil War ultimately comes across as a dystopian bit of fiction (think: Hunger Games) and is only remotely connected to anything bordering on reality.   Having the heroes of the piece being intrepid “journalists” headed by Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny is perhaps Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) signally just how silly the entire storyline is.

The only bonus feature included is the six-part making-of documentary titled “Torn Asunder: Waging Alex Garland’s Civil War.”

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Targets Aug. 27 For The 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack Debut Of Director Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be delivering a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition of director Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 heist caper, Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, for adrenaline-charge action fans to enjoy on Aug 27.

Bonus features include the newly-minted featurette titled “Back in the Driver’s Seat.”

The companion Blu-ray disc includes the archived making-of documentary, Drive Without a Driver, and four featurettes — “I Drive: The Driver,” “Driver and Irene: The Relationship,” “Under the Hood: Story” and “Cut to the Chase: Stunts.”