New to View: July 25
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, July 25, unless otherwise noted:
Robot Monster 3-D (Blu-ray)
Details: 1953, Bayview Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: As a child growing up in New York, it seems that the city’s independent television stations aired two movies very frequently — “One Million B.C.” and “Robot Monster.”
I watched both as often as I could but had a special affinity for “Robot Monster.” Even at an early age, I knew it was hokey — an alien dressed in a gorilla suit with what looked like a diving helmet with antennas on his head. Plus, his headquarters was in a cave that includes a communication device that blows bubbles when the alien, Ro-Man, talks with his leader, the Great Guidance, on their home planet.
What kid could ask for anything more?
Thanks to the 3-D Film Archive, sci-fi fans who have fond or humorous memories of the film, like myself, and younger audiences who have never seen it in its full glory have the opportunity to experience this campy opus.
An alien race has destroyed humanity; only six people survive — a scientist, his wife, their eldest daughter, their two younger children and the scientist’s young assistant.
The movie was filmed over four days mostly in Bronson Canyon. It basically is told from the point of view of Johnny (Gregory Moffett), the young science-fiction-comic-book obsessed son of the professor.
The film, which contains “dinosaur” stock footage from “One Million B.C.,” “Rocketship X-M”, “Flight to Mars” and “The Lost Continent,” features a score by Elmer Bernstein who, at the time, was “greylisted,” and who later composed memorable scores for such movies as “The Ten Commandments,” “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Great Escape.”
I attended a screening of the digital transfer of the movie in late May at the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, and it was pristine. Plus, the audience really enjoyed it.
This 70th anniversary restoration Blu-ray offers 3-D and standard 2-D versions of the movie.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include the movie’s original prologue with nightclub comic Slick Slaven, aka Trustin Howard; a featurette with Moffett sharing his memories about the filming on location; a vintage slide presentation; a Golden Age 3-D comic book; a short featurette about Slaven; a “Trailers from Hell” episode with filmmaker Joe Dante; a featurette with 3-D Archives Bob Furmanek describing the original day-for-night footage and director Phil Tucker, who was 25 when he made the movie, use of “Double Film,” also known as “3-D Blinkey”; a short documentary about how an accidental discovery of two forgotten 35mm prints in 1990 saved the only complete 3-D footage of the movie; a commentary track with Moffett and others; a memorabilia gallery with original newspaper ads, posters, lobby cards and publicity photos; a 1953 appearance by Bela Lugosi and the TV show “You Asked for It”; and a new song played over the post-feature restoration credits and memorabilia gallery.
“Soundies: The Ultimate Collection” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1940-46, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Soundies were short musical performances produced for coin-operated jukeboxes in neighborhood taverns and bars that were popular during the World War II era.
They featured big-band icons such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, the Nat King Cole Trio, Stan Kenton and His Orchestra with Helen Huntley, Gene Krupa and His Orchestra and The Dixieland Jazz Band; singers such as Dorothy Dandridge, “Fats” Waller, Jimmie Dodd, Johnny Downs and Gale Storm; as well as up-and-coming singers such as Doris Day and Ricardo Montalban. These were performers who traveled the nightclub circuit; thus, most people could not afford to see them in person.
The musical numbers also revealed what many Americans were thinking on such topics they were not discussed openly: sexuality, ethnicity and race, among them.
This four-disc collection, curated by Susan Delson, author of “Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time,” features a diverse selection of 200 shorts — jazz, country-western, folk and the boogie-woogie roots of rock ‘n’ roll.
They have been restored from materials preserved by the Library of Congress and other archives.
Fans of music and film will be educated and entertained by the performances spotlighted in this collection.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental offerings include introductions by Delson and Ina Archer, media conservationist at the National Museum of African American History and Culture; an interview with Mark Cantor, author of “The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s”; interviews with Matthew Barton, curator of recorded sound at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress, and Mike Mashon, head of the moving image section of the Library of Congress; and a 44-page booklet with essays about the Soundies.
Land of the Pharaohs (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 18
Details: 1955, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In his long career behind the camera, director Howard Hawks has tackled mostly every genre: crime (the original “Scarface”), war (the original “The Dawn Patrol” and “Air Force”), screwball comedy (“Bringing Up Baby” and “His Girl Friday”), Americana (“Sergeant York”), adventure (“Only Angels Have Wings”), Westerns (“Red River” and “Rio Bravo) and even musicals (“A Song Is Born” and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”).
“Land of the Pharaohs” was a departure for Hawks. It was a semi-biblical epic, set in ancient Egypt that Hawks shot in that nation.
The story centers on a pharaoh, played by Jack Hawkins, who orders a captured, brilliant architect (James Robertson Justice), to build him an impregnable pyramid as his tomb. In exchange, he will free the architect’s people when the work is done.
A secondary plot, deals with a young queen, played by Joan Collins, who becomes the pharaoh’s second wife. Her greed and ambition lead to the death of pharaoh’s first wife and son. In the end, though, she gets her comeuppance.
The movie was one of Hawks’ most ambitious projects, employing thousands of extras, and featuring a memorable score by Dmitri Tiomkin.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.55:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary by the late filmmaker-historian Peter Bogdanovich that include interview excerpts of Hawks, and a classic Warner Bros. cartoon, “Sahara Hare.”
Justice League: Warworld (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2023, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: R, bloody violence
The lowdown: In this DC animated feature, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman find themselves on the planet Warworld. How they got there is a mystery to them as is a vague memory of who they are.
The hostile planet is a place of unending gladiatorial battles in which Earth’s superheroes, along with others, must unite to create a formidable resistance to lead a planet to freedom.
On the planet, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman discover a mysterious gunfighter with a golden lasso, a barbaric warrior with a dark knight’s helmet and a mild-mannered, bespectacled government man.
The voice talent includes Jensen Ackles as Batman, Darren Criss as Superman and Stana Katic as Wonder Woman. The trio also voices their Warworld counterparts.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition and 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 5.1 French and Spanish Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include a featurette showing the creation of three individual genres for the Justice League to inhabit the strange world and a featurette showing in-depth origins and histories of Warworld’s key players and see how filmmakers brought them to life.
Magic Cop (Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A thriller that mixes the supernatural with crime. Someone is using the living dead to smuggle drugs into Hong Kong and Lam Ching-ying’s Officer Feng — policeman and Taoist master — is tasked with stopping them.
In the process, he will prove the power of traditional Chinese magic.
The head villain is an evil Japanese sorceress, who also is a Taoist magician.
The movie mixes action, comedy and esoteric lore.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and home video mix, 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio English (dubbed).
Don’t miss: A commentary track with Hong Kong film experts Frank Djeng and Marc Walkow, a Taiwanese cut with an alternate score, an interview with actor Tung Wei and a foldout poster comprise the extras.
Revoir Paris (DVD)
Details: 2022, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Mia (Virginia Efira) is dining alone in a Parisian bistro on a Saturday night when she is caught in a terrorist attack.
Three months later, she is still struggling to regain a sense of normalcy and only remembering fragments about the night of the attack.
Mia decides to investigate the gaps in her memories and seeks to connect with fellow survivors, including Thomas (Benoit Magimel), who was injured.
As she forges new relationships and begins to recall details of that evening, she sets out to re-establish her priorities in search of new, happier and more meaningful life.
This sensitive drama earned a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Efira, Magimel and director Alice Winoccur and a filmmaker question-and-answer session.
To Live and Die in L.A. (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: July 18
Details: 1985, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: William Friedkin directed and co-wrote the screenplay for this action-thriller starring William Petersen and Willem Dafoe.
It’s a story of corruption and revenge featuring Petersen as Secret Service agent Richard Chance obsessed with taking down murderous counterfeiter Eric Masters (Dafoe).
Chance’s partner has been killed, so he is assigned a new one, straight-laced John Vukovich (John Pankow), who becomes concerned with Chance’s lack of adhering to the rules.
The question is whether Chance’s thirst for revenge will destroy him?
The cast also includes John Turturro, Debra Feuer, Darlanne Fluegel and Dean Stockwell. The film earned an 86 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 subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with Friedkin on both discs; interviews with Petersen, Feuer, actor Dwier Brown, composers Wang Chung and stunt coordinator Bobby Joe Hooker; a making of documentary; and a deleted scene and alternate ending.
Blood Money: Four Western Classics Vol. 2 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1967-70, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A set with four movies trying to capitalize on the spaghetti Western craze are featured in this set. Honestly, to call these movies Western classics is hyperbole, but for those who enjoy the genre the movies are entertaining.
The titles are: “$10,000 Blood Money” (1967), “Vengeance Is Mine (“$100,000 for a Killing”) (1967), “Find a Place to Die” (1968) and “Matalo!” (“Kill Him”) (1970).
The stars include Gianni Garko, who plays Django in “$10,000 Blood Money” and costars with Claudio Camaso, his antagonist in “Blood Money,” in “Vengeance Is Mine.” Jeffrey Hunter is the star of “Find a Place to Die,” while “Matalo!” has a hero who uses boomerangs to thwart a gang of outlaws.
The films feature European actors who are familiar to fans of the genre.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture (“10,000 Blood Money,” “Vengeance Is Mine”) and 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Find a Place to Die,” Matalo”); Italian and English (dubbed) LPCM monaural; English SDH and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include introductions to each film, commentary tracks on each film and featurettes with each movie.
Cimarron (Blu-ray)
Details: 1931, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This expansive Western, based on the novel by Edna Ferber, received an Academy Award for best picture — the first of four movies in that genre to do so.
The movie, which takes place from 1889 to 1929, stars Richard Dix and Irene Dunne as Yancey and Sabra Cravat. Yancey Cravat is an adventurer who, with Sabra, joins the Oklahoma Land Rush and, with plans to claim a piece of land for ranching, moves into the town of Osage and establishes a newspaper.
After killing a young friend who turned outlaw, guilt causes Cravat to leave Osage and begin wandering. Sabra takes over the newspaper. Five years later, Yancey returns.
Over the next several years, Cravat returns and disappears as he continues to seek new frontiers and adventures.
By today’s standards, the movie, which runs 124 minutes, is a bit slow. It did, however, make a star of Dunne.
The Blu-ray can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.20:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two vintage cartoons and a short subject.
The Broadway Melody (Blu-ray)
Details: 1929, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This MGM musical was the first talkie to win a best picture Academy Award. Watching it today, you can be a bit puzzled, so you have to put yourself in the shoes of a 1929 audience member viewing a movie with singing and dancing.
The plot is a typical backstage, show-biz story about the Mahoney sisters, “Hank” (Bessie Love) and Queenie (Anita Page), who have taken their act from vaudeville to Broadway, where song-and-dance man Eddie Kearns (Charles King) invites the girls to join his show.
Eddie is dating Hank, but soon switches his affections to Queenie. By the end, of course, everything is settled; the rift between the sisters is healed and all ends well.
The song-and-dance numbers are not as elaborate as they would be in future musicals, but the use of sound was still being tested and improved.
The Blu-ray can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a series of musical shorts.
T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (DVD & digital)
Details: 2022, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Ralph Fiennes one-man performance of T.S. Eliot’s masterful poetic piece is transferred from stage to screen by director Sophie Fiennes, a sister of the actor.
To pass the time during the early days of the COVID pandemic, Ralph Fiennes set himself a challenge of committing Eliot’s “Four Quartets” to memory. In 2021, he began performing it on stage in London.
The work was written by the Nobel Prize-winner in the shadow of World War II. The poem is a searching examination of who — and what — we are. It is a cerebral mediation on the human experience, time and offers up questions, imagery and emotions that continue to ring true today.
The movie adaptation of the stage presentation garnered a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 full-screen and 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track by Sophie Fiennes moderated by writer Hari Kunzru.
Gloria (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 18
Details: 1980, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Gena Rowlands stars as a former ex-gun moll and showgirl forced to protect a 6-year-old boy.
Rowlands, directed by her husband, John Cassavetes, received an Academy Award nomination for her performance.
The boy comes to Gloria after his father, an accountant in possession of a ledger that could put several mob bosses in prison for a long time, entrusts the boy and the ledger with Gloria before he is killed.
Gloria reluctantly takes the boy and goes on the run with the ledger.
Soon, the gun-toting Gloria is tired of running and decides to confront the mobsters head on.
Rowlands masterful performance help garner the movie a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
The Anderson Tapes (Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Sean Connery headlines a front-line cast in this caper film directed by Sidney Lumet.
Connery stars as Duke Anderson who, after 10 years in prison, heads to the luxurious apartment of his former girlfriend, Ingrid Everleigh (Dyan Cannon), where he concocts an elaborate scheme to rob the entire building.
His plot, financed by an underworld boss, played by Alan King, allows Anderson to recruit the best burglars in the city, including an antiques dealer, played by Martin Balsam, and a young safecracker, The Kid (Christopher Walken).
What Anderson does not know is that the entire building is filled with electronic bugs, which are secretly recording details of his plan.
The movie’s mix of comedy and suspense is a bit uneven, though, overall, the movie is entertaining.
The cast also includes Ralph Meeker, Val Avery, Dick Anthony Williams and Margaret Hamilton. The film, which features a memorable score by Quincy Jones, received a 74 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
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 by film historian Glenn Kenny is the main extra.
Needful Things (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1993, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Not all Stephen King works are transferred successfully to the big screen. Unfortunately, “Needful Things” is one of them.
The story, like many King novels, is set in Castle Rock, Maine, involves Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow), who sets up an antiques shop in town and has the remarkable ability of selling customers exactly what they want most. But his purchases come with a price that involves more than money.
Soon, the town residents begin turning on each other, causing Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) to try to contain the violence and figure out its source.
The cast also includes Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer, J.T. Walsh and Ray McKinnon. The movie, directed by Fraser C. Heston with a script by W.D. Richter, received a 31 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
This two-disc set features the 120-minute theatrical version on the 4K disc and the 191-minute television cut on the Blu-ray disc.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track with Heston on the 4K disc and an interview with Richter on the Blu-ray disc.
Helen of Troy (Blu-ray)
Details: 1955, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Robert Wise (“The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “The Sound of Music”) directed this Italian-British-American co-production based on Homer’s “The Iliad.”
The movie tells the story of the beautiful Helen, played by Italian actor Rosanna Podesta, wife of Menelaus (Niall MacGinnis), king of Sparta.
When Helen runs off with Paris (Jacques Sernas), son of Priam (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), king of Troy, the various Greek city-states unite to sail to Troy, lay siege to the city and get Helen back.
Events do not transpire as planned, as divisions and betrayals surface as the war drags on for years.
The cast also includes Stanley Baker as Achilles, Robert Douglas Agamemnon, Torin Thatcher as Ulysses, Harry Andrews as Hector and, in a small role, a young Brigette Bardot as Andraste.
The movie, which used thousands of extras, features a score by the legendary Max Steiner.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.55:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include three making of behind-the-camera vignettes from the “Warner Brothers Presents” television series.
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: James Coburn stars in this comical crime caper that, today, is best remembered as the film debut of Harrison Ford in a very minor role as a bellhop.
That should tell you something about this movie’s staying power.
Coburn stars as con man Eli Kotch, who gets paroled by seducing the prison’s female psychologist. Once on the outside, Kotch uses various disguises and accents to seduce several women and steal their money.
He devises a scheme to rob the Los Angeles International Airport bank on the day the Soviet Union premier is scheduled to arrive.
The one hitch in his plan is his marriage to Inger Knudsen (Camilla Sparv), the secretary to a millionaire. He recruits various Eddie Hart (Aldo Ray) to work the airport disguised as a police officer.
The cast also includes Nina Wayne and Robert Webber.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
A Dandy in Aspic (Blu-ray)
Details: 1968, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: A dated Cold War thriller starring Laurence Harvey as Eberlin, a British spy tasked with finding and assassinating the deadly KGB agent Krasnevin, who has killed many undercover British agents.
That is a difficult assignment for Eberlin, who, it turns out, is Krasnevin. Making matters more difficult is Eberlin’s new boss, portrayed by Tom Courtenay, with whom he must travel to East Berlin to find and kill Krasnevin.
Eberlin-Krasnevin, feeling like a man without a country, wishes to return home, but his request is denied.
He soon comes to realize he has no way out and no allies.
The cast also includes Mia Farrow as Eberlin’s lover, Lionel Stander as his Soviet superior, Harry Andrews and Peter Cook.
Director Anthony Mann died during filming and Harvey took over directorial duties. This was one of several cold and bleak spy dramas made during this period.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a featurette with members of the crew recalling various aspects of the movie’s production, a discussion about the film’s opening credit title design sequence that used puppets and an appreciation of Mann.
The Fastest Gun Alive (Blu-ray)
Details: 1956, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Glenn Ford stars in this black-and-white Western as Cross Creek storekeeper George Temple who, with his wife, Dora, has settled in the small town.
Unknown to anyone, Temple is really George Kelby Jr., son of a famous quick-draw lawman killed in an ambush.
After news that outlaw Vinnie Harold (Broderick Crawford) has gunned down a man reputed to be the fastest draw in the West, the townsmen begin talking about other fast guns.
When Temple chimes in, the townsmen ridicule him as a simple “ribbon clerk.”
His pride stung, Temple puts on a demonstration of skill with a six-gun. Later, everyone in town takes an oath not to reveal Temple’s prowess with a gun.
But the situation changes when Harold and his two cohorts come to town and a young boy reveals Temple’s skills to Harold.
Even though a posse is on his trail, Harold, who wants to be the fastest gun in the West, stays in town and demands that Temple come out of the church and face him.
When he refuses, Harold says that he and his men will burn down the town. It is then that Temple reveals his true identity and secret. He tells his fellow townspeople that he is no gunman, has never been in a gunfight and is actually terrified on facing another gunman.
But when his friend, Lou Glover (Leif Erickson), volunteers to pretend to be Temple, George gathers his nerve and faces Harold.
The outcome is most satisfying in this oater, which genre fans will enjoy.
The Blu-ray can be found at www.moviezyng.com and other Internet sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Two Tom & Jerry cartoons comprise the extras.
Number One with a Bullet (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 18
Details: 1987, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Billy Dee Williams and Robert Carradine star in this “Lethal Weapon”-lite cop thriller as detective partners out to bust a drug ring.
Williams Hazeltine is the smooth and sophisticated detective, and Carradine’s Barzak is the hot-tempered and not-so-suave partner.
Their narcotics investigation is stopped cold without a decent explanation, so they decide to continue on their own. When a key witness escapes while in their custody, the two are put on desk jobs.
The detectives scour dark alleys, seedy nightclubs and luxurious mansions to find their culprit, and finally learn that the police department has a mole.
The movie was co-written by James Belushi, one of four people receiving screenwriter credit.
The film costars Valerie Bertinelli, Peter Graves and Doris Roberts.
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 is the main extra.
Aber Bergen: Complete Series (DVD)
Details: 2016-18, MHz Choice-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This nine-disc set features the three seasons of a Norwegian legal drama about two of that country’s shrewdest defense lawyers, Erik and Elea.
He is sharp, successful and high flying, while she is sensible with a formidable inner strength. She also is the love of Erik’s life until she kicks him out.
After their divorce and failed attempts at reconciliation, the company they built is deadlocked. Its unorthodox team of attorneys must juggle the morals and ethics of politics and law in the middle of a storm between two people who think they have stopped loving each other.
In this character-driven drama, Erik and Elea learn they cannot live with each other yet they also can’t live without each other.
Technical aspects: 16:9 anamorphic widescreen picture; Norwegian 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
52 Pick-Up (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 18
Details: 1986, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret star in this drama directed by John Frankenheimer and based on a novel by Elmore Leonard.
Scheider is Harry Mitchell, a successful businessman, who believes he will land a seat on the city council. His life, however, spins out of control when a trio of pornographers, led by ruthless Alan Raimy (John Glover), appears with a videotape of Harry in bed with his mistress, Cini (Kelly Preston).
Harry decides to go on the offensive and tries to pit the blackmailers against each other, continually raising tenson and the possibility of murder.
Adding to Harry’s pressure is the political aspirations of his wife, Barbera (Ann-Margret). The cast also includes Vanity and Clarence Williams III.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an isolated music track by Gary Chang and a commentary track.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Ancient Aliens: Season 17 (DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
My Best Friend Is a Vampire (Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Resident Evil: Death Island: Steelbook (4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray + digital & VOD) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
So I Married an Axe Murderer: 30th Anniversary Edition (4K Ultra HD + digital) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
About My Father (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Close to Vermeer (Kino Lorber)
Douglas Fairbanks double feature: Robin Hood / The Black Pirate (Cohen Film Collection-Kino Now)
Holistay (Breaking Glass Pictures)
The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)
Once Upon a Time in Uganda (Yellow Veil Pictures-Drafthouse Films)
Ouija Shark 2 (Wild Eye Releasing)
Soundies: The Ultimate Collection (Kino Now)
Sparkle: A Unicorn Tale (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
JULY 26
The Afterparty: Season 2, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
The Hardy Boys: Third and Final Season (Hulu)
Hijack: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
JULY 27
Happiness for Beginners (Netflix)
Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat (Vignette Production)
JULY 28
August at Twenty-Two (Gravitas Ventures)
The Beanie Bubble (Apple TV+)
The Crowded Room: Episode 10 (Apple TV+)
For the Animals (Routte)
Foundation: Season 2, Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (www.netflix.com/miraculous) (Netflix)
Shrapnel (Saban Films)
Site 13 (Terror Films)
Sons of Summer (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Swagger: Season 2, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
This Fool: Season Two (Hulu)
War Pony (Momentum Pictures)
JULY 31
Party Down: Season 3 (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Party Down: The Complete Series (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
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.