‘Birdman’ takes flight for home viewers
By Bob Bloom
The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, Feb. 17:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language, drug use, sexual situations, violence
The lowdown: Michael Keaton’s bravura performance and the direction of Alejandro González Inárritu are the highlights of this critically acclaimed film that received nine Academy Award nominations.
The story centers of an actor famous for portraying a superhero working feverishly to stage a comeback by mounting a Broadway play based on a Raymond Carver work.
The film is loaded with strong performances from Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watt, Amy Ryan and Zach Galifianakis.
Available at Redbox.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English Dolby Digital 5.1 descriptive audio; French 5.1 DTS and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a conversation with Keaton and Inárritu and on-set photos.
The Theory of Everything (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Outstanding performances by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones propel this story about Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane.
The film shows the sacrifices made by Jane after Hawking’s devastating diagnosis of a disease that robbed him the use of his body, but not his mind.
Available at Redbox.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes look at Redmayne and Jones as they prepare to portray the Hawkings, deleted scenes and a commentary track comprise the major bonus features.
Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, HBO Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-MA, violence, sexual situations
The lowdown: The fourth season of this popular HBO series, based on the books by George R.R. Martin, finds the Lannisters’ firmly controlling the Iron Throne.
The question is whether they can control family infighting while dealing with outside threats, including a new enemy arising in the south.
A lot is going on in this four-disc set as the intrigue, betrayals and battles continue.
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, Polish and Czech 2.0 Digital surround; English SDH, French, Spanish, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Greek and Swedish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Hours of bonus offerings including in-episode guides, history and lore, a look at characters killed off during the season, a look back at the third season, deleted scenes, a discussion of the role of bastards in the series, a behind-the-scenes look at the battle for the wall, commentaries, a blooper reel and a featurette on new characters, cultures and societies introduced during the season.
Life Itself (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, Magnolia Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language, nudity, sexual images
The lowdown: One of the most glaring omissions from the 2014 Academy Award nominations was the failure to recognize this documentary celebrating the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert.
Director Steven James (“Hoop Dreams”) looks at Ebert’s life, his battle with the illnesses that ravaged his last years, his legacy and his constant optimism even in the face of death.
While mostly a flattering portrait of Ebert, James does show some of the man’s imperfections, which makes for a more rounded feature.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16×9 widescreen picture); English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes, an interview with James, a Sundance Film Festival tribute to Ebert and an AXS TV look at the film comprise the bonus offerings.
Force Majeure (Blu-ray)
Release date: Feb. 10
Details: 2014, Magnolia Home Entertainment
Rated: R, brief nudity, language
The lowdown: A dark comedy about a Swedish family vacationing in the French Alps, whose lives are disrupted when an avalanche bears down on the mountainside restaurant where they are dining.
The husband, Tomas, makes a decision that will upend his marriage and make him struggle to reclaim his title as family patriarch.
The film has a bite to it that most viewers will appreciate.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; Swedish, French and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include an interview with writer-director Ruben Ostlund and actor Johannes Bah Kuhnkie and an AXS TV look at the making of the film.
The Homesman (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Lionsgate
Rated: R, violence, sexual content, language, disturbing behavior, nudity
The lowdown: A Western that looks at the harshness of frontier life and its impact on people — especially the women who traveled West to start new lives.
Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones star in this story about a drifter saved from hanging by a determined young woman who is driving three other women driven mad by the live on the plains to the home of a minister’s wife who has offered to take them in.
The film follows the journey as the group deals with outlaws, Indians and their own demons.
Available at Redbox.
Technical aspect: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the bonus featurettes are a look at the origins of the film, a behind-the-scenes of the shooting and a look at 19th century life.
Don’t Look Now: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Feb. 10
Details: 1973, The Criterion Collection
Rated: R, nudity, sexual content, language, violence
The lowdown: Director Nicolas Roeg created this disturbing supernatural thriller starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as a British couple on an extended trip to Venice in the aftermath of a family tragedy.
In the city, they experience a series of terrifying and strange occurrences.
The film features Sutherland and Christie in one of the most erotic sequences in a mainstream film.
The finale is one of the most frightening in the horror genre.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the extras are a conversation between film editor Graeme Clifford and film historian Bobbie O’Steen; a 2002 short documentary on the making of the film; a 2006 interview with film composer Pino Donaggio, a new documentary on the writing and making of the film, including interviews with Sutherland and Christie, a featurette about Roeg, a 2003 question-and-answer session with the director and a booklet with an essay by film critic David Thompson.
An Autumn Afternoon: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1962, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The last film by famed Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu is a gentle story of an elderly man’s resignation to changes in society.
For many years a widower has been living with his unmarried daughter. A series of events leads him to encourage her to accept a proposal and leave his home.
This is a tender and aching tale about the modernization of Japan and its impact on an older generation, told with dignity and restraint.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; Japanese LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track, an episode of a 1978 French TV show that looks at Ozu’s career and a booklet with essays about the film and Ozu comprise the major bonus featurettes.
The Phantom of the Opera (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Scream-Shout! Factory
Rated: R, graphic violence
The lowdown: With Robert Englund donning the mask of the Phantom, you know that this film will emphasize blood and grisly murders.
The setting has been shifted from Paris to Victorian-era England where an aspiring opera singer finds herself under the sway of a reclusive, disfigured musical genius.
She soon comes to realize that he has been committing unspeakable murders in her honor in order to complete his masterpiece.
You won’t find any “Music of the Night” in this adaptation of the classic story.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette that includes interview with principal cast members and filmmakers and a commentary track are the main bonus offerings.
Every Man For Himself: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Feb. 3
Details: 1980, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jean-Luc Godard returned to commercial filmmaking with this look at the lives of three people — a television director, his former girlfriend and a prostitute — to examine relationships, work and freedom.
The film was Godard’s first mainstream feature after a decade of avant-garde movies and video experimentation.
The movie features new English subtitle translations.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; French LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A short film Godard used to gain financing for the film; a video essay by critic Colin MacCabe; new and archival interviews with cast members Isabelle Huppert and Nathalie Baye as well as the producer, cinematographer and composer; Godard’s back-to-back appearances on “The Dick Cavett Show”; a short film about Godard; and a booklet with an essay about the film comprise the major bonus features.
Dying of the Light (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Lionsgate
Rated: R, graphic violence, language
The lowdown: Paul Schrader wrote and directed this thriller about a veteran CIA agent who, after being ordered to retire, is told by this protégé that his terrorist nemesis has resurfaced.
The agent, played by Nicolas Cage, takes it upon himself to hunt down his enemy and terminate him with extreme prejudice.
Available at Redbox.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, cast and crew interviews and deleted and extended scenes.
No Tears for the Dead (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, CJ Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A Korean boy abandoned by his mother is raised by an American crime syndicate and trained as a hitman.
When he mistakenly kills a young girl, he flees to South Korea where he is assigned his last target — the mother of the girl he killed.
The hitman reaches a crossroads, knowing he can neither kill nor spare the woman.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 widescreen picture; Korean and English (dubbed) 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette and commentary track comprise the major bonus offerings.
The World Made Straight (Blu-ray)
Details: 2015, Millennium Entertainment
Rated: R, language, violence, sexual references, drug content
The lowdown: A troubled youth from a rural community that remains haunted by a Civil War massacre, tries to escape his surroundings and make his way in the world.
His biggest struggle is escaping his past and finding the wherewithal to move forward.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16×9 widescreen picture; English Dolby TrueHD; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: No extras.
V/H/S: Viral (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, Magnolia Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic and bloody violence and gore, sexual content, drug use, language
The lowdown: Another entry in the long line of found footage horror offerings.
This one follows four stories set in Los Angeles that begins with police chasing a deranged ice cream truck driver. Dozens of teens run to the streets to capture the action on their video cameras and cellphones.
But soon the amateur videographers turn up as the stars of the next big viral video in which they face their own deaths.
If you’ve seen one of these films, you likely will not find any surprises in this one.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A series of behind-the-scene featurettes, a commentary track, cast and crew interviews and an AXS TV look at the film comprise the bulk of the supplemental materials.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Animal (Blu-ray) (Scream-Shout! Factory)
Wahlburgers: The Complete Second Season (Lionsgate)
A Day in the Country: Special Edition (Blu-ray) (The Criterion Collection, Feb. 10)
FOR KIDS
Blaze and the Monster Machines: Blaze of Glory (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
Easter Family Fun Pack — 6 Classic Favorites (Cinedigm)
Max & Ruby: Sweet Siblings (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
Nickelodeon Favorites: Springtime Adventures (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
Stella and Sam: Bunny Hop (Cinedigm)
Super Sentai Zyuranger: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
20 Stories for Spring (Cinedigm-Scholastic Storybook Treasures, Feb. 10)
Coming next week: Big Hero 6
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for 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.
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