A new, exciting ‘Dawn’ rises in Apes franchise
By Bob Bloom
A scene from “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”
The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, Dec. 2, unless otherwise indicated:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, language
The lowdown: Caesar returns in this sequel that finds mankind nearly extinct because of a deadly virus.
A group of survivors, seeking a new source of power, travel to the woods outside San Francisco where they find Caesar and his fellow intelligent apes have established a viable community.
The two species form a fragile peace, which later shatters.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master audio, English 5.1 descriptive audio and Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: More than two hours of bonus offerings include deleted scenes, a profile of star Andy Serkis, a scene breakdown, a featurette on a new generation of apes, a featurette on the newest technology in motion capture, a look at great apes, a featurette on the mythology of the apes, a behind-the-scenes look at composer Patrick Doyle at work and commentaries.
The Hundred-Food Journey (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Touchstone Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, adult themes, violence, language, sensuality
The lowdown: A delightful and delicious feature about cultural clashes and the power of good food.
The story centers on the similarities that unite people, even if their cultures, languages and appetites differ.
It is a heartwarming and flavorful drama.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio, English 2.0 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the bonus materials are a discussion with producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey about their collaboration on the film; featurettes on the making of the film, the locations, cast and food; an on-set visit with Winfrey; and a look at the making of the Indian dish coconut chicken.
Justified: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Timothy Olyphant returns as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in the fifth season of this popular FX series.
The three-disc set features intense action, fast-moving storylines and much intrigue.
The series, set in Harlan County, Ky., follows Givens, who harbors a secret that threatens his career and puts other marshals in danger, as he battles the criminal activities of the Crowe family as well as his nemesis Boyd Crowder (the wonderful Walton Goggins).
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English SDH, English and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a tour of the prison set, “The Onion’s” eulogy for Elmore Leonard, deleted scenes, commentaries on two episodes, an overview of the season, a featurette on Givens, the season’s body count and more.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 1939, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Director Frank Capra’s classic about an idealistic young man who is sent to the Senate in Washington, D.C., where he battles cynicism, corruption and the entrenched forces out to destroy him.
The film earned star James Stewart an Academy Award nomination.
And in these times when the American people are disgusted with the antics in Washington, the film is an entertaining reminder of what we would like our leaders to be.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 1.0 DTS-HD Master audio and French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Castilian and Latin American Spanish Dolby digital audio; English SDH, English, traditional Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian and Portugal Portuguese, Spanish and Thai subtitles.
Don’t miss: The documentary, “Frank Capra’s American Dream,” a commentary by Frank Capra Jr., and featurettes and discussions with Capra Jr. about his father, family and films comprise the major bonus offerings.
Sons of Anarchy: The Collector’s Set (Blu-ray)
Release date: Nov. 11
Details: 2008-13, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, violence, language
The lowdown: This 19-disc set features the first six seasons of this popular and intense FX series.
The drama centers on a biker club, the family that rules it and its members.
Love, death, betrayal and hard-hitting action are the hallmarks of this series.
The set also features room to add discs from the seventh and final season, when it is released in early 2015.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: The set includes a recreation of the SAMCRO Reaper clubhouse table as well as extras included in the sets from earlier seasons.
World Series Champions 2014: San Francisco Giants (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 2014, Lionsgate
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: From Major League Baseball productions comes this Blu-ray with highlights of the 2014 World Series and the road taken by the San Francisco Giants to once again reign as the team supreme.
Game highlights and interviews help tell the story of the Giants season.
Technical aspects: 720p high definition, 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio.
Don’t miss: Extras include regular season highlights and milestones, clinching moments, World Series highlights, the World Series parade, a look at the Giants’ Michael Morse and a Giants rookie prank.
Nymphomaniac Vol. I & Vol. II: Extended Director’s Cut
Release date: Nov. 25
Details: 2014, Magnolia Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, nudity, strong sexual content, violence, language
The lowdown: Director Lars Von Trier’s cut of his controversial and graphic examination of a woman whose sexual appetites dominate her life offers more about Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her life.
If you didn’t get enough with the film’s original release, this new version features additional footage Von Trier’s added back to the film.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a look at the characters, an AXS TV featurette on the movie, a profile of Von Trier and a featurette on the film’s sexual content.
Penance
Release date: Nov. 18
Details: 2012, Doppleganger Releasing
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This suspenseful Japanese five-part miniseries begins with the murder of a school girl, then follows the lives of the four girls who were at the scene of the crime.
The series is a psychological thriller as the four girls carrying their guilt and grief into adulthood.
The mother of the victim compounds their lives by demanding a “penance” on each survivor — a self-punishment that each must experience.
Fifteen years after the killing, the mother confronts each of the young women, triggering a series of telling and shocking events.
Technical aspects: 16×9 widescreen picture; Japanese 2.0 Dolby digital audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with cast members and filmmakers and a booklet with essays about the miniseries.
Tales From the Crypt/Vault of Horror double feature (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 1972, 1973, Scream-Shout! Factory
Rated: PG, Unrated
The lowdown: A pair of British anthology horror films that feature scary short stories headlined by all-star casts.
In “Tales From the Crypt,” five travelers stumble into a cavern with no way out.
There, a mysterious figure, played by Sir Ralph Richardson, reveals how each will die.
In “Vault of Horror,” an elevator transports five hotel guests to a vault where they are trapped as they share gruesome tales of encounters with death.
The casts of the two movies include Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Richard Greene, Terry-Thomas, Patrick Magee, Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott and Curt Jurgens.
The set features the original theatrical version of “Vault” as well as the unrated version.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master audio monaural sound.
Don’t miss: No bonus features.
The Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection: Volume One and Volume Two
Release date: Nov. 11
Details: 1949-56, Warner Home Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: From 1949 to 1956, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ignited movie screens with free wheeling antics that made them hits in nightclubs and on television.
These two sets contain the vast majority of features that combined song, dance, music and comedy.
The first two movies in the set, “My Friend Irma” (1949) and “My Friend Irma Goes West” (1950), included Martin & Lewis as secondary players.
Beginning with “At War With the Army,” which is not included in the set, the duo was given star billing.
The four-disc volume one set also includes “That’s My Boy” (1951), “Sailor Beware” (1951), “Jumping Jacks” (1952), “The Stooge” (1951), “Scared Stiff” (1952) and “The Caddy” (1953).
The three-disc volume two set includes “Pardners” (1956), “Hollywood or Bust” (1956), “Living It Up” (1954), “You’re Never Too Young” (1955) and “Artists and Models” (1955).
Many of the Martin & Lewis films, which were produced by Paramount Pictures were adapted from earlier studio releases.
For example, “Scared Stiff” was a remake of Bob Hope’s “The Ghost Breakers,” while “You’re Never Too Young” was a reworking of “The Major and the Minor.”
The sets are being released as part of the Warner Archives Collection and can be found at www.warnerarchives.com, www.wbshop.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen and 1.85:1 widescreen pictures; English and French Dolby digital monaural audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: No extras.
Fagbug Nation
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 2014, Garden Thieves Pictures
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that follow filmmaker Erin Davies, whose VW Beetle was vandalized with a homophobic slur in 2007.
The art teacher-turned-activist drove around with the word on her car for a year. She then had it remodeled into the rainbow colored Fagbug, and went on the road to raise awareness of LGBT rights.
This film follows Davies as she works to fulfill her goal of getting her car to all 50 states. Her Beetle serves as a catalyst to broaden the discussion about rights and equality.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English audio.
Don’t miss: A music video and trailer comprise the major extras.
Cantinflas (DVD + Ultraviolet)
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 2014, Lionsgate
Rated: PG, adult themes, language, smoking, suggestive material
The lowdown: A biopic about Mexico’s most famous comic film star and his rise from the small stage to his appearances in such Hollywood movies as the Academy Award-winning “Around the World in 80 Days.”
Cantinflas, whose real name was Mario Moreno, was nicknamed “the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico.” He was an improvisational comic whose talent earned him worldwide recognition.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English and Spanish subtitles.
Sands of Iwo Jima (Blu-ray)
Release date: Nov. 11
Details: 1949, Olive Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: John Wayne received his first best actor Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Sgt. John Stryker in this action-packed tribute to the Marines.
Stryker, a man beset by personal demons, drives his recruits to the point where they loathe him. But, they come to realize he is making them into better men and top-flight Marines.
The movie, directed by the veteran Allan Dwan, features the great special effects that were the forte of Republic Pictures.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master audio monaural sound.
Don’t miss: No bonus features.
The Paradise: Season Two
Release date: Nov. 18
Details: 2013, BBC Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The second season of this BBC period drama finds John Moray fighting to regain control of his department store as he again becomes entangled in a love triangle between Denise Lovett and the newly married Katherine Glendenning.
The season is a combination of drama, intrigue, adventure, romance and high passion.
Technical aspects: 16:9 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital stereo audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: No bonus offerings are included.
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Blu-ray)
Release date: Nov. 18
Details: 1982, Olive Films
Rated: PG, adult themes
The lowdown: Sandy Dennis, Cher and Karen Black star in this film adaptation of the stage production about a trio of James Dean devotees who hold a reunion at the rural Texas teenage hangout 20 years after the death of their movie idol.
The gathering, of course, allows them to reveal secrets, expose wounds and resentments and reconcile the feelings that have been festering for decades.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master audio monaural sound.
Don’t miss: An interview with playwright and screenwriter Ed Graczyk is the major bonus feature.
Legends of the Knight
Release date: Nov. 18
Details: 2014, Virgil Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An uplifting documentary that looks at the influence of Batman and how the Caped Crusader has helped individuals overcome obstacles as well as help their communities by performing unselfish deeds.
The movie looks at how anyone can become a hero simply by helping others.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital stereo; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes and a featurette on charity screenings of the movie.
Dr. Gillespie Movie Collection
Release date: Nov. 11
Details: 1942-47, Warner Home Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: When Lew Ayres’ Dr. Kildare left the medical series, MGM decided to carry on, shifting the focus of the movies to Lionel Barrymore’s Dr. Gillespie and throwing new faces, such as Van Johnson, into the series to gauge their popularity with audiences.
This set, from the Warner Archives Collection, features the six Gillespie movies: “Calling Dr. Gillespie” (1942), “Dr. Gillespie’s New Assistant” (1942), “Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case” (1943), “Three Men in White” (1944), “Between Two Women” (1945) and “Dark Delusion” (1947).
Besides Johnson, other young faces who popped up in these movies included Ava Gardner, Margaret O’Brien, Donna Reed, Gloria DeHaven, Key Luke and Susan Peters.
The three-disc set can be found at www.warnerarchives.com, www.wbshop.com or other online DVD dealers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural audio.
Don’t miss: No extras.
Martial Arts Double Feature: Kung Fu Girl/Whiplash
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 1973, 1974, Shout! Factory
Rated: Not rated,
The lowdown: Action star Pei-Pei Cheng is featured in these two martial arts adventures.
In “Kung Fu Girl,” Cheng plays Tigress, who must protect her village from bandits who are seeking to steal a treasure found by the villagers.
The release features the U.S. debut of the complete 119-minute version of the film.
In “Whiplash,” Cheng plays the younger sister of a revolutionary who devises a plan to rescue her brother after the minions of a general who declares himself the new emperor of China arrest him.
Technical aspects: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; Mandarin 2.0 Dolby digital audio. English subtitles.
Don’t miss: No extras.
Orchids to You
Release date: Nov. 18
Details: 1935, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: John Boles and Jean Muir star in this romantic drama about a flower shop owner who falls for the lawyer of a company that wants to tear down her building and put her out of business.
Being the mid-1930s, you know everything will work out for the best in the Fox Cinema Archives release.
The film can be found at www.foxconnect.com or other online DVD dealers.
Technical aspects: 4×3 full-screen picture.
Don’t miss: No extras.
Pay 2 Play: Democracy’s High Stakes
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 2014, TDC Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that looks at our political system and how money has corrupted the democratic process.
The film follows political newcomers and uncovers shady dealings that connect Big Money and the election process.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital audio; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Featurettes that look at various people and institutions involved in the political and lobbying worlds.
Snails in the Rain
Release date: Nov. 11
Details: 2014, TLA Releasing
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An Israeli film that centers a young linguistics student, in a committed relationship with a young woman, who begins receiving love letters from another man.
The letters expose the mind of the writer as well as rekindling the student’s past attraction to other men.
Paranoia soon sets in as the student begins suspecting nearly everyone around him as the writer. Finally, his world begins to unravel as he battles his inner demons in order to accept his true self.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; Hebrew Dolby digital audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: No extras.
The Definitive WWI & WWII Collection:
Release date: Nov. 25
Details: 2001-14, Lionsgate
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A 20-disc set that includes more than 44 hours of programming from HISTORY that looks at warfare in the 20th century.
The set looks at various aspects of “the war to end all wars” as well as the technological inventions that both global conflicts spurred.
The discs look at the personalities and decisive battles that shaped the wars as well.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: The set includes extras featured on earlier releases of some of the titles in the set.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Be Fit in 30 Extreme (Lionsgate)
Gutshot Straight (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
Speak No Evil (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
WWE Official Workout Fit Series (Lionsgate)
WWE Official Workout Power Series: Triple H (Lionsgate)
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas: The Movie (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate, Nov. 25)
Tyler Perry’s Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned: The Play (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate, Nov. 25)
When Calls the Heart: Television Movie Collection (Millennium Entertainment, Nov. 25)
Rx Murder (Fox Home Entertainment-Fox Cinema Archives, Nov. 18)
The Third One (TLA Releasing, Nov. 18)
FOR KIDS
Drawing With Mark: Take Flight, As the Wheels Turn & Fire Station (TDC Entertainment)
The Hero of Color City (Blu-ray) (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
Julius Jr.: Snow Monkey Adventures (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
Lalaloopsy Girls: Welcome to the L.A.L.A. Prep School (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs at Reel Bob (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.
Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.