New to View: Aug. 3
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Aug. 3, unless otherwise noted:
Luca (4K + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment-Pixar
Rated: PG, rude humor, language, brief violence, thematic elements
The lowdown: “Luca” is a fish-out-of-water fairy tale with a definite Mediterrean flavor.
Pixar’s latest animated feature is actually more youthful “sea monster”-out-of-water than fish, but nothing in any way is monstrous about Luca, a young boy-creature whose curiosity about the surface world gets the better of him.
He rises above the water while chasing another young sea creature, Alberto, who introduces Luca to the wonders of the surface world.
Luca’s first shock is seeing how being on land transforms Alberto and him into humans. How that works is never explained, so you accept that it’s some sort of magic.
Like many of Pixar’s animated features, “Luca” is about the underdogs; those who are looked down upon because they appear weaker or different from the rest.
In its storytelling, it also provides of echoes of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
And, like several other movies aimed at younger audiences, it offers lessons in friendship, cooperation, courage and perseverance, which are woven into the story with humor and heart.
“Luca” is a splash of fresh air, a feature that reminds us that despite outward appearances, we all are the same inside.
Critics embraced the movie, awarding it a 91 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p Ultra high definition and Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French, Italian and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French, Italian and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include deleted scenes, a featurette on the film’s Italian inspiration, a behind-the-scenes look at Luca’s transformation from sea creature to human, a featurette on cast and crew members telling how their best friends influenced their lives.
A Quiet Place: Part II (4K + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: July 27
Details: 2021, Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, bloody and disturbing images, terror, violence
The lowdown: This sequel is as nerve wracking and tension filled as its predecessor. But, it’s more creature feature than family-survival story.
Like the original, “Part II” is directed by John Krasinski, who also has a cameo at the beginning of the movie, and returns Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe as the Abbotts — mother, Evelyn; daughter, Regan; and son, Marcus. There is also little baby boy Abbott.
As in the original, the Abbotts must walk quietly. They must communicate — like the deaf Regan — through sign language or whispers.
The family must leave their sanctuary after a deadly encounter with an alien. They find shelter in what appears to be a deserted factory. It is where another survivor, their neighbor, Emmett (Cillian Murphy) has taken refuge.
“A Quiet Place: Part II” contains more creature encounters than the original. And we see a fuller picture of their looks and capabilities. The film’s use of silence and sound effects create suspense, with kudos to supervising sound editor Erik Aadahl and his team.
Everyday objects are viewed as potential menaces because of the slightest sounds they could make. Also making your heart pound — as it did in the first movie — is Marco Beltrami’s intense score.
Like the first movie, critics responded to this sequel, awarding it a 91 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K; 2160p ultra high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, English audio description, and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, English audio description, and French, Portuguese and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include Krasinski’s director diaries, a behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects, sound design and a look at the making of the movie.
Coogan’s Bluff (Blu-ray)
Details: 1968, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Coogan, an Arizona deputy sheriff sent to New York City to extradite a captured killer, James Ringerman (Don Stroud) in director Don Siegel’s cop-out-of-water story.
Things don’t go well for Coogan, as Ringerman escapes, and the lawman’s unorthodox techniques do not sit well with NYPD Lt. McElroy (Lee J. Cobb).
The movie helped cement Eastwood’s persona as a no-nonsense, strong, silent type.
The film offers some comic elements as Coogan must deal with various counterculture types he meets in his hunt through the Big Apple.
The movie was rated at 94 percent fresh at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an interview with Stroud and commentary tracks by filmmaker Alex Cox and “Sledge Hammer” creator Alan Spencer.
Union Pacific (Blu-ray)
Details: 1939, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Another sprawling Cecil B. DeMille Western, this one centering on the struggle to build the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.
Brooklyn-born Barbara Stanwyck, using an Irish brogue thicker than an Irish stew plays postmistress Mollie Monahan whose father, Monahan (J.M. Kerrigan) is the engineer of the train used to move supplies and men forward as track is laid.
Joel McCrea is Jeff Butler, in charge of construction, who must battle plots to sabotage the line and its progress. The bad guys are led by Brian Donlevy’s Sid Campeau, whose gang includes Butler’s best friend, Dick Allen (Robert Preston) as well as Jack Cordray (Anthony Quinn).
Beside train wrecks and Indian attacks, a romantic triangle subplot involving Butler, Mollie Monahan and Allen is included.
The movie may not be that historically accurate, but it does contain a lot of action and thrills.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track is the major extra.
Transformers: The Movie: 35th Anniversary Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1986, Shout! Factory-E One
Rated: PG, fantasy violence, language
The lowdown: A top-flight vocal cast, including Orson Welles, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Robert Stack and Judd Nelson lend their talents to this animated feature that tells of the millennia-long war between the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the Decepticons headed by Megatron for control of their home planet of Cybertron.
Now, a great menace endangers them all as Unicron, a colossal converting planet that devours everything in its path, is heading toward Cybertron.
The planet’s only hope is the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Time is running out as the Autobots work feverishly to save themselves and their planet.
This family-friendly feature earned a 60 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary, a documentary looking back at the movie with filmmakers and cast members, various behind-the-scenes featurettes, new storyboards that include deleted, alternate and extended sequences, archival storyboards and a Fathom Events 30th anniversary featurette that includes an acoustic performance by Stan Bush.
Arise, My Love (Blu-ray)
Details: 1940, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland star in this comedy with a screenplay by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett under the direction of Mitchell Leisen.
Colbert plays Augusta “Gusto” Nash, an ace reporter, who, to get a scoop, flies to Spain and poses as the wife of imprisoned American pilot Tom Martin (Milland) to save him from execution by Spanish fascists.
Nash also helps Martin escape. Martin soon tries to romance “Gusto,” but she puts her career first. Martin, admittedly, enjoys freedom fighting and does not look forward to settling down.
Soon comedy turns to drama as World War II erupts, changing both their perspectives on life and each other.
The movie costars Walter Abel, Dennis O’Keefe, George Zucco and Dick Purcell.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film historian Kat Ellinger is the main bonus feature.
No Time for Love (Blu-ray)
Details: 1943, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Claudette Colbert stars with Fred MacMurray in this romantic comedy about Katherine Grant (Colbert), a high-class fashion photographer, who is assigned to snap the tough “sandhog” construction workers at a tunnel project site.
When she shoots cocky, well-built Jim Ryan (MacMurray), during a fight, he is suspended from his job. Feeling responsible, Grant hires him as her assistant. They are total opposites: she is elegant and sophisticated, while he is plain-spoken and down-to-earth.
Of course, they fall in love, but that should not keep you from enjoying this feature, which costars Ilka Chase, Richard Haydn, June Havoc and Paul McGrath, all under the direction of the stylish Mitchell Leisen.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film critic Nick Pinkerton is the main extra.
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, Code Red
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: A horror outing with a perverse, Oedipal-like subtext about Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol), a high school student and basketball star, who is being framed for murder by a bigoted police detective, Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson).
However, the teen’s maniacal aunt, Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell), is very possessive of her nephew and will do anything to protect him and keep him with her forever — even murder.
Cheryl is the actual knife-wielding killer, and her obsession to keep him is about the create a new wave of carnage.
The performances by Tyrrell and Svenson are delightfully over-the-top.
The movie, originally titled “Night Warning,” also features Julia Duffy and Bill Paxton.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English audio.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks, interviews with McNichol, Tyrrell, co-star Steven Easton, make-up artist Allan A. Alpone and producer Steve Breimer.
The Valdez Horses (Blu-ray)
Details: 1973, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Charles Bronson stars as a half-Indian rancher in this Western, originally titled “Chino.”
Bronson’s Chino Valdez is a horse breeder who lives alone and by his own rules. He is shunned because of his Native American blood.
Valdez takes in a young runaway, played by Vincent Van Patten, and teaches him about ranching and horses.
Valdez soon begins a romance with Catherine (Bronson’s wife, Jill Ireland), who lives with her brother on a neighboring ranch.
The brother, a nasty cattle baron, begins violent attacks against Valdez.
This Italian-Spanish-French production was directed by John Sturges, who had directed Bronson in “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Great Escape.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include an interview with Van Patten, a commentary track with film historian-author Paul Talbot and alternate “Chino” opening credits.
The Phantom (DVD)
Details: 2021, Greenwich Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This documentary looks at a miscarriage of justice in which an innocent man was executed while a serial killer remained on the loose.
The movie looks at the case of Carlos DeLuna, arrested in 1993, for the killing of Wanda Lopez.
DeLuna continually proclaimed his innocence, saying another Carlos was the real perpetrator.
His protests went unheeded, and he was later executed.
The film looks at the case as well as corruption in the law enforcement community that allowed an alleged innocent man to be put to death.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Willow (DVD)
Details: 2019, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A Macedonian feature comprised of three stories about women during three periods of time.
A medieval couple in Macedonia cannot conceive. An old woman offers help — but only if they give her their firstborn child.
A year after they have a baby, she returns.
In the second story, a taxi driver hits a man in the street. An ambulance and neighbors come and go, but the driver sits alone of the curb in the rain, awaiting the police.
A woman, taken with the driver’s honesty, brings him an umbrella. Three years later, they are married — but they cannot conceive until they try in-vitro.
The woman becomes pregnant with twins. However, the couple learns one of the babies is deformed. Knowing her husband opposes abortion, the wife is faced with a very difficult decision.
In the last story, the sister of the compassionate woman had adopted a 5-year-old boy. He is intelligent but does not say a word. One day, he goes missing.
The film is a well-acted, poignant and stunning examination of motherhood throughout the ages.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Macedonian 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The director’s cut of the movie, which is about 20 minutes longer than the theatrical release, is the main extra.
Four Frightened People (Blu-ray)
Details: 1934, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This movie is one of Cecil B. DeMille’s lesser works. It centers on four people who steal a lifeboat and escape from a steamer ship when a deadly bubonic plague breaks out.
They land on a remote Malayan island and, as time goes on, they slowly shed all the trappings of their former lives. They later find themselves at the mercy of hostile islanders and must use their newly acquired survival skills to escape.
The movie stars Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, Mary Boland, William Gargan and Leo Carrillo.
This is the 78-minute version of the movie. A 96-minute test version was screened for an audience, which gave it a cold reception, so it was trimmed to the running time on this Blu-ray.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film critic Nick Pinkerton is the main extra.
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos (DVD)
Details: 2020, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An experience that combines fun and education as Emily Levine’s live performance is interweaved with animation, appearances by scientists and animated characters.
She is aided by an all-star cast — John Lithgow as Sir Isaac Newton, Leonard Nimoy as Sigmund Freud, Richard Lewis as Aristotle, Lily Tomlin as Ayn Rand and Matt Groening as Aldo Leopold.
The movie uses physics to explain our metaphysics — our values, humor, provocation and interactions.
Levine uses her own experiences and insight while sharing her personal story and offering social commentary.
Levine, who died in 2019, was a television writer, stand-up performer and unique thinker, whose TED talks have been seen by millions.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Beats (Blu-ray) (Vinegar Syndrome)
Death Alley (DVD & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Lucky (DVD & digital & VOD) (RLJE Films)
Righteous Blood (DVD & digital) (Distribution Solutions)
The Wiggles: Nursery Rhymes 2 (DVD) (Kino Lorber)
DIGIITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
A Crime on the Bayou (Shout! Studios)
About Endlessness (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
On the Trail of UFOs: Dark Skies (Small Town Monsters)
Resurgence (Gravitas Ventures)
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (www.netflix.com/cocainecowboys) (Netflix, Aug. 4)
Schmigadoon! Episode 5 (Apple TV+, Aug. 5)
John and the Hole (IFC Films, Aug. 6)
Mr. Corman (Apple TV+, Aug. 6)
Night Drive (Dark Sky Films, Aug. 6)
Notorious Nick (Lionsgate, Aug. 6)
Val (Amazon Prime, Aug. 6)
Vivo (Netflix, Aug. 6)
Whirlybird (Greenwich Entertainment, Aug. 6)
Coming next week: Profile
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 2
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.