New to View: April 11

By Bob Bloom
The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, April 11, unless otherwise noted:
Toni Erdmann
Details: 2016, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, nudity, sexual content, language, drug use
The lowdown: This comedy-drama centers on an eccentric father with a flair for outlandish pranks who uses some quirky tactics to get closer to the daughter he rarely sees.
Winfried (Peter Simonischek) wants to be involved in the life of his high-powered daughter, Ines (Sandra Hiller), but when Winfried visits Ines, things go wrong as the two do nothing but clash.
Winfried departs, but later returns — badly disguised, including an ill-fitting wig — as Toni Erdmann, an over-the-top life coach who begins to turn his daughter’s career plans topsy-turvy.
In the end, Winfried and Ines discover they may have more in common than both originally thought.
The movie, which earned a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign language film, runs 163 minutes and, at times, seems too long for its own good. Overall, though, it is a pleasing experience.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; German 5.1 Dolby digital and English 5.1 Dolby digital audio description track; English SDH, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track and a featurette on the movie at the AFI Fest, including a question—and-answer session comprise the major bonus components.

The Bye Bye Man: Unrated (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2017, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: Unrated and PG-13, terror and horror violence, bloody images, sexual content, partial nudity, mature elements, language, teen drinking
The lowdown: Another urban myth horror feature, this one involving an evil entity called the Bye Bye Man.
Three college students stumble upon the ghastly origins of the Bye Bye Man, they discover the only way to avoid his curse is not think it or say it.
The trouble is that once Bye Bye Man gets inside their heads, he takes control, making the person he controls do the most horrific and unspeakable acts.
Critics were not impressed with the movie, giving it a 23 percent positive rating at Rottentomatoes.com, with most calling it cliché-ridden and banal.
The set contains the theatrical and unrated versions of the movie; the unrated version has an additional three minutes of footage.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English 2.0 Dolby digital DVS; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and 2.0 Dolby digital DVS; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

Veep: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2016, HBO Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-MA, language
The lowdown: This two-disc set features all 10 fifth-season episodes of the highly-acclaimed hit HBO political satire series.
With recent events, however, the antics of “Veep” do not seem so far-fetched as they once did.
In season five, now-President Selina Meyer finds herself in a tie in the Electoral College.
Even with that challenge, Meyer and her staff continue their mission to make her look presidential, even though she holds the office.
At the same time, Meyer must keep an eye on her ambitious vice president who, through an obscure constitutional procedure, could take her place in the Oval Office.
The laughs and sharp wit are plentiful. Washington has never been this funny.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS digital surround and Spanish 2.0 DTS digital surround; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes and commentary tracks comprise the major bonus elements.

Silicon Valley: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2016, HBO Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-MA, language
The lowdown: The high-tech world is spoofed in this two-disc set featuring all 10 third-season episodes of this popular, Emmy-nominated HBO series.
The series looks at the high stakes and big egos of those in Silicon Valley, where a new CEO takes over for Richard at Pied Piper.
Now Richard, offered the lesser role as CTO, and the rest of his team, face questions of loyalty as they face the constant battle of Art vs. Commerce.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1,78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS digital surround and Spanish 2.0 DTS digital surround; English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes comprise the major bonus offerings.

Daughters of the Dust (Blu-ray)
Details: 1991, Cohen Film Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Blu-ray features the 25th anniversary of edition of this landmark feature directed by Julie Dash.
Set during the dawn of the 20th century in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina — where many former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions, struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while eyeing a migration to the mainland, thus moving even further from their roots.
The movie, which has undergone a restoration that has improved its color grading, is the first by an African-American woman director.
The impact of the film continues to be felt, including having an influence on Beyonce’s “Lemonade.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Dash and Dr. Stephanie Dunn, director of Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies at Morehouse College; a question-and-answer session with Dash and actress Cheryl Bruce at the Chicago International Film Festival; a commentary track; and an interview with cinematographer Arthur Jafa.

The Good Wife: The Complete Series
Release date: April 4
Details: 2009-16, CBS DVD-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This 42-disc set contains all 156 episodes of this popular CBS series stars Juliana Margulies as Alicia Florrick, the disgraced wife of an imprisoned politician, played by Chris Noth, who restarts her legal career.
The series follows Florrick as she reinvents herself, joins a prestigious law firm and navigates the double-dealing world of politics.
The supporting cast includes Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Alan Cumming, Matt Czuchry and Archie Panjabi.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital, English stereo and French stereo (seasons 1 & 2) and English stereo surround (seasons 3-7); English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include deleted scenes and several behind-the-scenes featurettes from individual seasons that look at those seasons and characters.

Legend of Bruce Lee: Volume Two
Release date: April 4
Details: 2006, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This three-disc set features all 10 action-packed episodes of the series that explores the life of Bruce Lee.
In this season, Lee travels to the United States and begins his career revolutionizing and teaching martial arts.
The episodes detail how Lee, through battling various opponents and different styles, slowly envisions a new way of kung fu that will change the world of martial arts.
Danny Chan stars as Lee, with support from Michelle Lang, Mark Dacascos, Wang Luoyang, Tim Storms, Ray Park and Michael Jai White.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.

House: Two Stories Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1986-87, Arrow Video
Rated: PG-13 & R, violence, language
The lowdown: A two-disc set featuring the cult horror features, “House” and “House II: The Second Story.”
William Katt (“The Great American Hero”) stars in “House” as Roger Cobb, a horror novelist with writer’s block.
Cobb inherits his aunt’s creepy old mansion and moves in, figuring he has found the perfect place for inspiration and to get some writing done.
Of course, the house’s supernatural residents have other ideas.
“House II: The Second Story” finds young Jesse (Arye Gross) moving into an old family mansion where his parents were mysteriously murdered years earlier — which begs the question, why would he  move in there?
Jesse’s plans to turn the old homestead into a big party pad are frustrated by the appearance of his mummified great-great-grandfather, his mystical crystal ball skull and a zombie cowboy who wants nothing more but to gain possession of the skull.
The filmmakers behind “Friday the 13th,” are responsible for these little gems.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 LPCM and English 1.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include commentary tracks and making of featurettes on both films and a booklet with writings about the two movies.

Ludwig (Blu-ray)
Details: 1973, Arrow Video
Rated: R, sexual content
The lowdown: The great Italian director Luchino Visconti directed this movie about the life and death King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who ruled in the 19th century, and lived a life of excess and decadence.
Helmut Berger stars as Ludwig, with Romy Schneider as Elisabeth of Austria and Trevor Howard as Richard Wagner.
The Blu-ray features the theatrical and director’s versions of the movie, which features Academy Award-nominated costume design by Piero Tosi and an English-language soundtrack.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Italian and English LPCM monaural; English SDH and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an interview with screenwriter Suso Cecchi d’Arnico, a profile of actress Silvana Mangano, an interview with Berger and a documentary about Visconti.

War on Everyone (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2016, Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, nudity, sexual situations, drug use
The lowdown: Michael Pena and Alexander Skarsgard star as a pair of crooked cops whose modus operendi is to frame and blackmail criminals.
However, when they try to extort a club owner and his junkie boss, they bite off more than they can chew because their scheme uncovers a bigger web of secrets than they expected.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A featurette focusing on members of the cast is the main bonus offering.

“Dead or Alive” Trilogy (Blu-ray)
Details: 1999-2002, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Director Takashi Miike cemented his outrageous reputation with this trilogy loaded with sex, violence, science fiction fantasy and over-the-top visuals.
In “Dead or Alive” (1999), gangster Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his Chinese gang seek to take over the drug trade in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. They do so by massacring the competition.
However, a stalwart detective, Jojima (Show Aikawa), will do anything to stop Ryuichi and his mobsters.
“Dead or Alive: Birds” features Takeuchi and Aikawa, but as new characters. They play rival yakuza assassins who turn out to be childhood friends.
After a hit that goes wrong, the two flee to the island where they grew up, deciding to devote their skills to more humanitarian endeavors.
“Dead or Alive: Final” finds the two actors transplanted into a future Yokohama ruled by multilingual gangs and cyborg soldiers, where they butt heads with those in charge.
The movies are fascinating to watch, enjoyable and strange.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 and 1.78:1 widescreen pictures; Japanese LPCM; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include making of featurettes for “Birds” and “Final,” cast and crew interviews, new interviews with Aikawa and Takeuchi and a commentary on the first film.

World Without End (Blu-ray)
Release date: March 28
Details: 1956, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This is one of those 1950s B-science fiction movies about a post-apocalyptic, nuclear war-devastated Earth, which were popular during the era into the 1960s.
This movie, billed as the first Cinemascope science fiction thriller, follows four astronauts returning from mankind’s first mission to Mars.
En route to Earth they hit some sort of massive disturbance that throws their ship centuries into the future.
Crashing landing, they find an Earth shattered by nuclear war. The brave quartet find that the surface is dominated by mutants, while a society of the vestiges of mankind live underground.
The astronauts help the reluctant underground dwellers reclaim the surface to save humanity and help it propagate.
The film is a bit campy, but features some dazzling female costuming and OK special effects.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.

Ladies of the Jury (DVD-R)
Release date: March 28
Details: 1932, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: That wonderful character actor, Edna May Oliver, takes center stage in this courtroom comedy-drama.
Oliver, whose presence uplifted such 1930s classics as “A Tale of Two Cities,” “David Copperfield” and “Drums Along the Mohawk,” stars as Mrs. Livingston Baldwin Crane, a society matron who is the lone holdout on a jury deciding the fate of former chorus girl Yvette Gordon (Jill Esmond), who is accused of fatally shooting her sugar daddy husband.
Mrs. Crane persuades the rest of the jury to re-enact the night of the killing and solve the murder mystery.
This breezy, 64-minute feature, an RKO Radio Picture, was directed by former actor Lowell Sherman.
This is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.

Sword Master (Blu-ray + DVD)
Details: 2016, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A historical martial arts costume drama from producer Tsui Hark and director Derek Yee about a great swordsman who is haunted by the deadly havoc created by his talent with a blade.
Tired of his old life, he banishes himself, becoming a vagrant who wanders the fringes of society.
His deadly past, however, is hard to shake. He must again pick up the sword and fight those disrupting the peace he so desperately seeks.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Mandarin and English DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS X; English subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Mandarin and English 7.1.4 Dolby digital HD surround sound; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A “Mastering the Sword” featurette is the major bonus component.

The Richest Girl in the World (DVD-R)
Release date: March 28
Details: 1934, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea and Fay Wray star in this romantic comedy about a young woman, Dorothy Hunter (Hopkins) who, orphaned by the sinking of the Titanic, is the richest debutante in the world.
Dorothy is so rich that her whereabouts and appearance are a closely guarded secret. To perpetuate the charade, she uses her secretary, Sylvia (Wray), as a stand-in.
Dorothy experiences several failed romances, all because of her wealth. She then decides to find true love by taking on Sylvia’s identity full-time.
As Sylvia, Dorothy meets Tony (McCrea). She puts him to the test by creating a love triangle with herself! Yes, the story does get a little convoluted.
At the same time the real Sylvia’s husband, Philip (Reginald Denny), is losing patience with his wife’s masquerade.
Of course, by the fade-out, everything is resolved and everyone lives happily ever after.
The feature is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.

Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Chupacabra Territory (Maltauro Entertainment) (DVD + digital download)
OVUM (Random Media-Boheme Films (DVD + digital download)
Walking With the Enemy (Fox Home Entertainment)
The Bounce Back (Fox Home Entertainment, April 4)
Tank 432 (Blu-ray) (IFC Midnight-Scream Factory, April 4)

FOR KIDS
Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir: It’s Ladybug! (Shout! Kids)

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS and STREAMING
Asylum of Darkness
(Wild Eye Releasing)
Robot Wars (Breaking Glass Pictures)
Underworld: Blood Wars (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Genius of the Modern World (Acorn TV, April 17)
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 10, Episode 17 (Acorn TV, April 17)
Parents (Acorn TV, April 17)
Phillips (Acorn TV, April 17)

Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow Bloom on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.