New to View: July 6
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, July 6, unless otherwise noted:
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (DVD)
Details: 2019, Greenwich Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This historical drama is based on the British author Judith Kerr’s childhood memories about her family’s escape from 1933 Berlin as Hitler and the Nazi regime came to power.
The movie is told from the perspective of 9-year-old Anna, who is too busy with schoolwork and friends to realize what is going on around her.
Her world is upended when her father, based on the prominent German theater critic Alfred Kerr, inexplicably vanishes. Anna and the rest of her family are secretly rushed out of Germany.
Slowly, Anna begins to realize that life will never be the same. She must begin navigating strange lands and the challenges of being refugees.
The movie, directed by Academy Award-winning director Caroline Link (“Nowhere in Africa”) is a moving story that is given a bit of gloss to make it more palatable.
The film earned a 74 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; German 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Silat Warriors: Deed of Death (Blu-ray)
Details: 2019, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, violence
The lowdown: A young man fails to come home with the grant of their inherited land.
It seems he has fallen in with the wrong crowd and become a reckless gambler, betting on drag racing and brutal street fights.
His luck runs out when he comes up against a ruthless criminal gang.
When the gang shows up at his home to collect on his debts, the young man and his brothers must fight to save their land and their lives.
The characterizations and the story is rather weak, but the martial arts action compensates for the script’s shortcomings.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 (enhanced) widescreen picture; Malaysian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
The Black Marble (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Former police officer-turned-author Joseph Wambaugh adapted his own best-seller about two police detectives who fall in love while investigating a dognapping.
Sgt. A.M. Valnikov (Robert Foxworth) is a hard-drinking homicide detective transferred to Hollywood’s robbery division. His new partner is Natalie Zimmerman (Paula Prentiss), a tough divorcee with no patience for burnt-out cops.
When Philo Skinner (Harry Dean Stanton), a desperate dog groomer kidnaps a champion schnauzer and demands a $84,000 ransom, the two are assigned to the case.
While tracking down leads, the two detectives begin a romantic relationship.
The movie costars Barbara Babcock and Judy Landers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by director Harold Becker is the major extra.
Drunk History: The Complete Series (DVD)
Release date: June 29
Details: 2013-19, Comedy Central-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, language
The lowdown: An 11-disc set featuring all 72 episodes of this Comedy Central series during which host Derek Waters listens to actors and comedians talk about history’s most riveting and pivotal moments, through the lens of a few drinks.
These probably are not stories you will find in textbooks and this re-enactments, some silly and others sobering, demonstrate.
The series was executive produced by Waters, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Jeremy Konner.
Guests include Tiffany Haddish, Bill Hader, David Harbour, Bob Odenkirk, who were featured with cast regulars Bennie Arthur, Tim Baltz, Aasha Davis, J.T. Palmer and others.
History was never like this.
Technical aspects: widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include extended drunk narrator moments, deleted scenes, drunk outtakes and sober reveals.
Mr. Jealousy (Blu-ray)
Details: 1997, MVD Marquee Collection
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: Eric Stoltz stars in director Noah Baumbach’s sophomore outing behind the camera.
Stoltz plays Lester, an aspiring writer, who was devastated at 15 when his first date ended with his girl making out with someone else at a party.
Since then, he has treated all his girlfriends with suspicion and jealousy.
When Lester meets and begins dating Ramona (Annabella Sciorra), his paranoia shifts into high gear after he learns she once dated famous writer Dashiell Frank (Chris Eigeman).
The discovery sends Lester over the edge and he devises many subterfuges to learn more, including attending Frank’s group therapy sessions to learn more about his relationship with Ramona.
The movie serves as a showcase for Baumbach’s growing talent.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a featurette looking back at the movie, including new and vintage interviews with cast members and filmmakers, including Baumbach.
The Last Time I Committed Suicide (Blu-ray)
Details: 1997, MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: R, sexual content
The lowdown: This rather humdrum drama, set in 1950s’ post-World War II America, centers on Neal Cassady (Thomas Jane) who is a conflicted soul, torn between the security of a wife and home and his desire to lead the life of a drifter.
Cassady has the soul of a poet and the heart of a dreamer. He is forced to re-evaluate his life when a former girlfriend attempts suicide.
The movie costars Keanu Reeves, Adrien Brody, John Doe, Claire Forlani, Marg Helgenberger and Gretchen Mol.
Considering the subject matter, the film is slow going.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM stereo; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Threshold (Blu-ray)
Details: 2020, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An estranged brother and sister, Leo and Virginia, reunite after a frantic phone call and the later discovery that the sister, who for years was abusing drugs, is in the midst of an overdose.
When she recovers, Virginia tells Leo that she did not overdose, but that she had participated in a sinister ritual conducted by a cult that took her in months earlier when she was at her emotional lowest.
The ritual placed a curse on Virginia. She is now bound to the emotions and physical sensations of a man she never met.
Leo, whose own marriage is in crisis, is persuaded by Virginia to take a cross-country trip to track down this stranger. She promises Leo that if the man is not found and all this is just a figment of her imagination, she will go to rehab.
As they travel, Leo slowly comes to believe that Virginia’s story may have some substance.
This psychological thriller was shot on two iPhones over a 12-day road trip.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks, a featurette on the making of the movie and two roundtable discussions about low-budget, independent filmmaking.
42nd Street: The Musical (Blu-ray)
Details: 2019, Liberator Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This is a filmed version of the 1980 Broadway musical, which in turn, is based on the classic 1933 Warner Bros. musical that starred Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels, with choreography by the legendary Busby Berkeley.
The story is basically the same: small-town girl Peggy Sawyer, with big dreams of Broadway stardom, gets her chance when leading lady Dorothy Brock is injured.
“42nd Street” features the now-familiar line of director Julian Marsh telling Brock’s young replacement, “Sawyer, you’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!”
The Broadway show, which won Tony Awards for best musical and, in 2001, for best musical revival.
This Blu-ray features London’s West End 2017 revival of the musical.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
A Nightmare Wakes (DVD & digital & VOD) (RLJE Films-Shudder)
Dark Spell (Blu-ray & DVD & digital & VOD) (Shout! Studios-Scream Factory)
Medusa (DVD & digital) (New Era Entertainment)
Miranda Veil (DVD) (Indican Pictures)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Boycie in Belgrade (Wolf Entertainment)
The Blackout Experiment (Archstone Entertainment)
Marathon (Gravitas Ventures)
Rock, Paper & Scissors (Dark Star Pictures)
Cat People (Netflix, July 7)
Dogs: Season 2 (Netflix, July 7)
Fear Street Trilogy Part 2: 1978 (Netflix, July 9)
Lillith (Terror Films, July 9)
Virgin River: Season 3 (Netflix, July 9)
Jack Irish: Season 3, Episode 1 (Acorn TV, July 12)
Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries: Season 2, Episode 7 (Acorn TV, July 12)
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.