Mill Creek Entertainment Sets Aug. 16 For The Blu-ray And DVD Debut Of Sean Patrick Flanery's Frank & Penelope

Mill Creek Entertainment has tabbed Aug. 16 as the Blu-ray and DVD debut date for actor-turned-filmmaker Sean Patrick Flanery’s mixed-genre thriller, Frank & Penelope.

Texas-based indie distributor, Redbud Studios, founded by Allen Gilmer and Scott Dolezal (who also produced), launched Frank & Penelope at the Riviera International Film Festival in May of this year, which was followed on June 3 by a limited theatrical break … that yields an ARR of 74 days.

Frank (played by Billy Budinich in his film debut) is having a bad day.  He walks in on his wife with another man and that’s the end of that relationship.  You kind of suspect that it was coming, after all, when you think about it, who drives a Prius in Texas.

So, what does a doormat do?   Slink off and cry himself a river, woe is me … woe is me.   Not our boy Frank, nope, he wanders into one of the sketchiest strip clubs on the planet and immediately falls in love with the pole dancer on the wobbly pole.   Her name is Penelope (Caylee Cowan — Sunrise in Heaven, Willy’s Wonderland, Geo) and she works for a conman (played by Flanery), who immediately recognizes Frank as an easy mark.

It has been a bad day.   Cheated on, robbed … and then the unthinkable, he trades the Prius in for a classic Dodge Coronet Super Bee muscle car and hits the road … but here is the big surprise, the bimbo who just sucker him, Penelope, has decided she’s had enough with the hustle and joins Frank for this ride to nowhere.

Where is this going?   It is an odd beginning, that doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Maybe Penelope just wants a ticket out of town and Frank, at some point, will be kicked to curb.   It is what you have, two strangers rolling along endless stretches of West Texas highways.

It is at this point that Flanery’s film kicks into high gear (he wrote and directed).   Our mismatched couple end up in the dusty ruins of Quicksilver (an actual abandoned mercury mining town … Terlingua, Texas), where they inquire about renting a room at the local motel.  

Everything about this place screams GET BACK ON THE ROAD, NOW!!   The residents, some of which seem to be afflicted (mercury poisoning), including the cherub-looking Mabel (Donna D'Errico, former Playboy Playmate of the Month … Escape from Area 51, Survive the Game, and as Donna in the Baywatch television series) sort of shuffle around, wander the streets.   But it is when they meet Chisos (Johnathon Schaech — Prom Night, That Thing You Do!, Quarantine), who runs the town, but comes off as more of a cult leader than a small town mayor … by the way, if you picked cult leader as your first impression, you nailed it!

The motel room is wired, Chisos gets an eye-full, and then softly tells our young lovers about the history of the town … and, well, it goes downhill from there.  A cannibal cult, a charismatic leader … and there is fresh meat in town!

Frank & Penelope starts off as one thing — a road movie — and ends up as a survival thriller, with a wicked twist at the end.   You are going to want to mark Aug. 16 on your viewing calendar … on Blu-ray and/or DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment.

 

 

 

Synapse Films Targets Oct. 25 For Special Edition Blu-ray Release Of The Kindred

Synapse Films, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has looked far over the release horizon and tabbed Oct. 25 — allowing plenty of time to bang the promotional drums for this one — as the Special Edition Blu-ray street date for the 1987 creature feature, The Kindred.

Three UCLA students — Jeffrey Obrow, Stephen Carpenter and Stacy Giachino — produced a short film and begin shopping it around (like a calling card).   Newly formed FM Entertainment (Joel Freeman, who would serve as executive producer) agreed to finance it and the trio would work their own short film into a feature-length version (Carpenter and Obrow co-directing, with Giachino onboard as producer).

An eclectic cast was assembled, with two Oscar winners, Rod Steiger (Best Actor for In the Heat of the Night) and Kim Hunter (Best Supporting Actress for A Streetcar Named Desire), as the marquee names, and David Allen Brooks (Manhunter, Cast Away), Amanda Pays (Leviathan) and Talia Balsam (Crawlspace, No Strings Attached) recruited to do most of the heavy lifting in the acting department.

The real star of The Kindred, however, is the creature, or should we say, “Anthony,” the “other son” of Dr. Amanda Hollins (Kim Hunter).

Mad science experiment (with all of the best of intentions) gone awry, the good son is assigned the task of destroying the research (not knowing exactly what it is), a mysterious beauty arrives “to help” (that is code for “hidden agenda), a family friend who wants the research for himself (murder is certainly an option), the sexy girlfriend and various members of the “victim pool” … a classic mix of horror and/or sci-fi elements … the result, a genre-fan favorite.

Bonus delights included with the Blu-ray debut of The Kindred from Synapse Films on Oct. 25 include commentary with filmmakers Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter, with moderation by horror expert Steve Barton, the newly prepared feature-length documentary titled Inhuman Experiments, on-set footage of the creature effects, storyboards and an extensive stills gallery.

 

 

 

 

Liberation Hall Locks Into Aug. 05 For The DVD Release Of Sha Na Na - Woodstock: 20 Years After

Liberation Hall, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, will be doing the doo-wop 23 times on Aug. 5 with the release of the DVD collection titled Sha Na Na - Woodstock: 20 Years After.

Filmed in August of 1989, during the “Woodstock: 20 Years After” concert held at (of all places) Cal-State Dominguez Hills, the magic of Sha Na Na was captured perfectly with this 23-song set … the motherlode of doo-wop tunes.

Included in the mix are such rock ‘n roll classics as “Rock Around the Clock,” “Tossin' and Turnin',” “Chantilly Lace,” “Get a Job,” “In the Still of the Night” … and topped off by “Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite.”  

In the immortal words of the Big Bopper, “Hello Baby … You Know What I Like” … and that would be Sha Na Na - Woodstock: 20 Years After on DVD come Aug. 5 from Liberation Hall!!

 

 

 

Vinegar Syndrome Has A New 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Thriller: A Cruel PIcture Set For Release On July 26

Vinegar Syndrome will be delivering a two-SKU selection of Swedish filmmaker Bo Arne Vibenius’ 1973 sexploitation gem, Thriller: A Cruel Picture, on July 26.

This new 4K film restoration is sourced from the original uncensored 16mm camera negative — the film was picked by American International Pictures in 1974 for domestic theatrical distribution, blown-up to 35mm, dubbed in English, heavily censored (something on the order of 22-minutes worth of footage was trimmed) and then released as They Call Her One Eye.  

Poor Madeleine (Christina Lindberg — Swedish Wildcats, Maid in Sweden, The Swinging Co-eds), she was sexually assaulted as a young girl, which rendered her mute.   On a promising day (a visit to a specialist who might be able to help her regain her speech), she accepts a ride from a stranger (Heinz Hopf), is kidnapped, hooked on heroine, enslaved into a life of prostitution and just when you thought it could not possibly get any worse for her, her vicious pimp blinds her in one eye … cross him again and you will lose the other one!!

That’s her limit, she starts to train, prepare and then have her revenge.   Her weapon of choice, a shotgun (messy, of course)!!

Vinegar Syndrome has the real deal here, which can be viewed with the original Swedish language track or with the English dubbed audio track for both the uncut and domestic theatrical censored version.

They will be two buying options.  A double-disc Blu-ray selection, or a 4K Ultra HD/2 Blu-ray Combo Pack.

Bonus features include a vintage commentary track with author and film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, the feature-length documentary titled Thriller - A Cruel Documentary, alternated and extended footage, the 2017 Q&A session with Christina Lindberg and featurette titled “Christina Lindberg: The Paris Interview.”

 

 

 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment Prepares "Paramount Presents" Blu-ray Edition Of Director Hugh Wilson's The First Wives Club For Release On June 28

Paramount Home Entertainment’s newest entry into its popular “Paramount Presents” line of Blu-ray releases will be the new 4K film restoration of director Hugh Wilson’s 1996 film adaptation of writer Olivia Goldsmith’s 1992 novel, The First Wives Club.

Fans of this all-star black comedy, starring Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn, will have their chance to enjoy the fun on June 28.   Other cast members include Maggie Smith, Sarah Jessica Parker, Timothy Olyphant, Dan Hedaya, Stockard Channing, Eileen Heckard, Marcia Gay Harden and Stephen Collins.

Bonus goodies include the “Filmmaker Focus” featurette with screenwriter Robert Harling (perhaps best known for his 1989 screenplay, Steel Magnolias).

In other release news this past week from Paramount Home Entertainment, director Brian Robbins’ summer of 1997 comedy, Good Burger, starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, will be celebrating its 25^th Anniversary with a new SteelBook Blu-ray release on July 19.

 

Director Keith Thomas' Reboot Of Firestarter Gets June 28 Release Date From Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced this past week that director Keith Thomas’ reboot of the Stephen King supernatural tale, Firestarter —originally adapted for the screen in 1984 by filmmaker Mark L. Lester, with Drew Barrymore starring as the kinetic Charlie McGee — will be making the transition from theatrical venues to the home entertainment packed media marketplace on June 28.

In what appears to be the studio’s new distribution strategy, films open theatrically and then are available for streaming and packaged media on a day/date basis 46 days after the theatrical opening.   This was the same window for The Northman.

Box office results were a bit disappointing with just $8.4 million recorded thus far.

Planned for release are DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions.

Bonus features, which will be available for both formats, include commentary from director Keith Thomas (The Vigil), an alternate ending, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel and a quartet of featurettes — “A Kinetic Energy,” “Spark a Fire,” “Igniting Firestarter” and “Power Struggle.”

 

 

Director Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness From Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment On July 26

Director Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness got assigned a home entertainment packaged media street date by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment this past week.   A three-SKU product launch will take place on July 26.

The ARR of 81 days matches the current industry average for new theatrical releases grossing in the two-top tiers ($25 million plus; $100 million plus).   Clearly, Raimi’s film fits that profile with a hefty box office take of $388.6 million.

Planned for release are single-disc editions for the DVD and Blu-ray formats, plus a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack buying option.

Bonus features, which are limited to the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD SKUs, include commentary by director Sam Raimi, who is joined by producer Richie Palmer and screenwriter Michael Waldron, a gag reel, deleted scenes and three featurettes — “Method to the Madness,” “Introducing America Chavez” and “Constructing the Multiverse.”