New to View: Feb. 21
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Feb. 21, unless otherwise noted:
Empire of Light (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2022, Disney-Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Rated: R, sexual content, language, brief violence
The lowdown: Olivia Colman stars in this drama set in a coastal town in the early 1980s’ England of Margaret Thatcher.
The movie, written and directed by Sam Mendes, centers on Colman’s Hilary, the manager of the Empire Cinema. Hilary, who lives alone, struggles with bipolar disorder and takes lithium to deal with it.
A new employee, Stephen (Michael Ward), who is black and lives with his mother, Delia (Tanya Moodie), begins work at the cinema. Soon, he and Hilary drift into a relationship.
The pair must deal with such challenges as the racism of some townspeople toward Stephen and Hilary’s past relationships, which include her boss, Donald Ellis (Colin Firth).
The movie received a mixed reception upon its release, receiving a 44 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 descriptive audio track; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a look at the creation of the movie.
The Magnificent Seven (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1960, Shout! Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Western remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “The Seven Samurai” has become a landmark because of its top-flight cast — Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughn — as well as for Elmer Bernstein’s memorable score.
Residents of a small Mexican village continually ravaged by a bandit, played by Wallach, and his men, finally reach a breaking point and hire seven American gunfighters to deal with the bandits.
It’s the characters more than the plot that ignites the movie. The supporting gunfighters — Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter, Bronson, Coburn and Vaughn — all have back stories. McQueen emits cool, while Brynner is the level-headed and smart leader.
Today, at times, the movie may appear politically incorrect with its depiction of Mexican peons and bandidos, but put that aside and simply enjoy the movie, which received an 89 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie also makes a nice gateway for watching Kurosawa’s original conception.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DTS-HD monaural; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DTS-HD monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include two commentaries, one with Wallach, Coburn and executive producer Walter Mirisch and the other with film historian Sir Christopher Frayling; a making of featurette; a featurette on Bernstein’s score; Frayling’s overview of the movie; and lost images from the movie.
The Hunter (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence, language
The lowdown: In his final film role, Steve McQueen stars as modern-day bounty hunter Ralph “Papa” Thorson, who goes after fugitives who have skipped bail.
The movie sort of goes full circle for McQueen who came to prominence as bounty hunter Josh Randall on the Western TV series “Wanted: Dead or Alive.”
In “The Hunter,” Thorson’s hunter becomes the hunted when a vengeful psychopath comes after him.
The movie costars Eli Wallach, Tracey Walter, LeVar Burton, Kathryn Harrold and Ben Johnson. Behind the camera was Buzz Kulik (“Brian’s Song”).
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson is the main bonus component.
Magnificent Warriors (Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated, violence
The lowdown: Michelle Yeoh stars in this action-adventure movie as a daredevil pilot-spy who battles occupying Japanese forces in World War II China.
Her latest mission is to rescue the ruler of the city of Kayi from a ruthless (is there any other kind?) Japanese general and his army.
The movie is filled with humor, action and stunts, including Yeoh’s use of a bullwhip a la Indiana Jones.
The film includes aerial battles, gunfights, hand-to-hand combat sequences and a rousing finale in which the city residents, armed with only spears and stones, rise up against heavily fortified Japanese forces.
The Blu-ray features the original theatrical cut including its original finale.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese and English (dubbed) 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a fold-out poster, a collector’s book, a commentary track, archival interviews with Yeoh and stunt coordinator Tung Wai and the English opening credit sequence.
The Werewolf of Washington (Blu-ray)
Details: 1973, Kino Classics
Rated: PG, not rated, violence
The lowdown: The government corruption of the Watergate era was the inspiration for this horror movie from writer-director Milton Moses Ginsberg.
The movie is an uneven blend of horror and satire that attacks beltway politics, while paying tribute to the werewolf movies of yesteryear.
Dean Stockwell stars as a presidential aide whose rise to power is aggravated by the bite of a wolf. As is genre tradition, he is transformed into a bloodthirsty beast with the rising of the full moon.
The Blu-ray features the original 89-minute release as well as a much shorter 74-minute version prepared by Ginsberg in 2021 shortly before his death.
The cast also includes Biff McGuire, Jane House, Clifton James, Nancy Andrews and Michael Dunn.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include an interview with Ginsberg and a discussion of the movie with Simon Abrams and Sheila O’Malley.
Marquis de Sade’s Justine (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1969, Blue Underground
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The cast for this movie, based on the Marquis de Sade’s tale of bondage, branding, sex and sadism is eclectic to say the least — past and future Academy Award-winners and the daughter of a 1940s’ matinee idol in the title role.
Romina Power was the 18-year-old daughter of swashbuckling star Tyrone Power when starred in this feature directed by the notorious Jess Franco.
Power is Justine, a young virgin cast out of a French orphanage and thrust into a depraved world of prostitution, predatory lesbians, a fugitive murderess (Oscar-winner Mercedes McCambridge) and a sadistic monk (an outrageous performance by future Oscar-winner Jack Palance).
The movie is a twisted story of desires, perverse pleasures and the corruption of the innocent.
The cast also includes Klaus Kinski, Akim Tamiroff and Sylvia Koscina.
The two-disc set features the bonus options on a Blu-ray disc.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth on both discs; interviews with Franco and writer-producer Harry Alan Towers; an interview about the movie with writer Stephen Thrower, author of “Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco”; an on-set interview with cast member Rosalba Neri; and the shorter 96-minute version of the movie, entitled “Deadly Sanctuary.”
Eugenie … The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1970, Blue Underground
Rated: Not rated, sexual situations
The lowdown: Jess Franco directed this erotic tale about Eugenie (Maria Liljedahl), an innocent young woman taken to an island paradise where she is initiated into a world of pleasure and pain controlled by Dolmance, a sinister figure portrayed by Christopher Lee.
When Eugenie succumbs to her own forbidden fantasies, she becomes ensnared in a whirlwind of drugs, sadomasochism and murder.
The movie is based on the Marquis de Sade’s notorious “Philosophy in the Boudoir.”
The release is an uncut restoration from the original camera negative.
The movie is on the 4K UHD disc and the bonus materials are on the Blu-ray disc.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English and French 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track on both discs with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth; interviews with Franco, writer-producer Harry Alan Towers, actors Jack Taylor, Liljedahl and Lee and author Stephen Thrower.
Calendar Girls (DVD)
Details: 2022, Greenwich Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A sweet documentary that focuses on Florida’s most dedicated dance team for women over 60.
The Calendar Girls, recognized for their wild and crazy costumes, perform at more than 100 events annually.
The movie includes conversations with members and looks at their choreographed dance sequences that help reveal the balance these women maintain between family, home and dance.
How the women care for each other is another aspect of this charming, affectionate and inspiring feature, which chronicles how through their dancing and enthusiasm these women spread joy wherever they perform.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Giovanni’s Island (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, Shout! Factory-GKids
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This award-winning Japanese anime feature is a historical drama set on Shikotan, a tiny fishing island that was spared most of the devastation of World War II.
The movie centers on brothers Junpei and Kanta, named after the characters Giovanni and Campanella from their late mother’s favorite book, “Night of the Galactic Railroad,” which becomes a source of comfort for the brothers after Japan’s defeat.
When Soviet forces arrive with their families to settle on the island, Junpei meets Tanya, the daughter of the commander.
Despite their language barrier and growing tensions between the new residents and the island residents, the children soon form an unlikely friendship.
The movie is charming and bittersweet, earning a 71 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; Japanese and English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplementals include a making of featurette, an interview with actor Polina Ilyushenko, who voices Tanya, and a music video.
Belle and Sebastian: The Adventure Continues (DVD)
Details: 2015, Film Movement
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The story, set in September 1945, finds Sebastian impatiently awaiting the return of his cousin, Angelina, who was fighting abroad with the Resistance.
But after hearing that her plane had crashed deep in the forest, Sebastian and his adoptive grandfather, César, refuse to give up hope.
Convinced that Angelina survived, Sebastian sets out on a dangerous journey with his mountain dog, Belle, to find her and bring her home.
The movie, aimed mainly for children, is predictable, but warmhearted, earning a 78 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
The Long Dark Trail (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Cleopatra Entertainment)
The Old Way (Blu-ray + digital & DVD & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
The Retaliators (Blu-ray) (Quiver Distribution-Better Noise Films)
Salvatore: Shoemaker of the Stars (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Station Eleven (4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
A House Made of Splinters (Giant Pictures)
Bordello (Level 33 Entertainment)
The Crimson Rivers (Kino Lorber)
La Femme Anjola (Indican Pictures)
The First Fallen (Dark Star Pictures)
Framing Agnes (Kino Lorber)
Heart of a Champion (Saban Films)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
FEB. 22
Wu Tang: An American Saga: Season 3, Episode 4 (Hulu)
FEB. 23
Nana’s Boys (Breaking Glass Pictures)
Outer Banks: Season 3 (www.netflix.com/outerbanks) (Netflix)
FEB. 24
Dear Edward: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Devil’s Peak (Screen Media)
Hello Tomorrow!: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Liaison: Episode 1 (Apple TV+)
Make or Break: Episodes 5-8 (Apple TV+)
M3GAN (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Pretzel and the Puppies (Apple TV+)
The Reluctant Traveler (Apple TV+)
Servant: Season 4, Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Shrinking: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Truth Be Told: Season 3, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
We Have a Ghost (www.netflix.com/WeHaveAGhost) (Netflix)
The Welder (Terror Films)
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.