New to View: July 19
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, July 19, unless otherwise noted:
The Bob’s Burgers Movie (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2022, Disney-Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, rude & suggestive material, language
The lowdown: An animated feature film based on the long-running Emmy Award-winning Fox TV series.
The Belchers’ plans for the summer are disrupted after a water main break creates a sinkhole in front of Bob’s Burgers and blocks the entrance.
Bob and Linda struggle to keep the business viable while the kids try to solve a mystery that could save the restaurant.
Fans of the series will definitely enjoy the movie, which is sweet, fast and witty. And even filmgoers who have never seen the show, will find the movie amusing and entertaining.
The film earned an 87 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a making of featurette, a commentary track, deleted scenes, storyboards with animatics, a look at animating a scene and a short film.
Drive My Car: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated, sexual content, nudity, language
The lowdown: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour meditation on acceptance and forgiveness is built around a solemn performance by Hidetoshi Nishajima as a famous stage actor and director who, two years after the death of his wife, agrees to direct a production of Chekov’s “Uncle Vanya” at a theater festival in Hiroshima.
In the city, Nishajima’s Yûsuke Kafuku is assigned a driver for his beloved car, which he reluctantly accepts.
Tensions mount during rehearsals as well as between Kafuku and a young actor, with shares an unwelcome connection with Kafuku’s late wife.
The movie deals with confronting painful truths and loss.
The 179-minute movie, which received a 97 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes as well as four Academy Award nominations, won the Oscar for best international feature (formerly known as best foreign language film). Do not let the nearly three-hour running time deter you; this is a beautiful and unforgettable masterpiece.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Japanese, English, Korean sign language, German, Mandarin, Tagalog, Indonesian and Malay 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an interview with Hamaguchi, a look at the making of the movie that includes interviews with cast members, press conference footage from the movie’s premiere and an essay about the film.
Yellowjackets: Season One (DVD)
Details: 2022, Showtime-CBS DVD-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A four-disc set featuring all 10 first-season episodes of this Showtime series about a high school girls soccer squad stranded in the northern wilderness after a plane crash.
The girls soon devolve into savage clans in which survival trumps team.
The episodes traces their descent into savagery and their attempts 25 years later to piece together their shattered lives.
Their actions as adults chronicle how the past never dies and how what began in the wilderness still holds sway.
The cast includes Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a look at the making of the series featuring interviews with cast and crew members and a look at the most memorable episodes from the first season.
Devil in a Blue Dress: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1995, The Criterion Collection
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Denzel Washington stars as World War II veteran Easy Rawlins in this postwar film noir adapted from the hard-boiled novel by Walter Mosley.
The movie, set in Los Angeles, explores the racism of the era as the jobless Rawlins is recruited to find the missing lover of a wealthy mayoral candidate. The job becomes complicated as Rawlins finds himself embroiled in murder, political intrigue and a scandal that crosses the color lines of a segregated society.
Jennifer Beals plays the missing woman, while Don Cheadle gives a memorable performance as Rawlins’ good friend, Mouse, a cheerful, trigger-happy killer-sidekick.
The cast also includes Tom Sizemore, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney and Lisa Nicole Carson.
The movie, which, unfortunately, did not lead to any sequels, received a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track with director Carl Franklin; conversations between Franklin and Cheadle, between Mosley and screenwriter Attica Locke and between Mosley and film historian Eddie Muller at the 2018 Noir City Film Festival in Chicago; Cheadle’s screen test; and an essay about the movie.
Adventures of Don Juan (Blu-ray)
Details: 1948, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This swashbuckler is considered by many — me included — as Errol Flynn’s last classic film in the genre that he dominated for close to 15 years.
The movie had been planned at Warner Bros. on and off since 1939 but was delayed several times. Shooting finally began in October 1947, with the movie released the next year.
Unfortunately, Flynn is starting to show the ravages of a lifestyle that included copious amounts of alcohol as well as some drug use.
Still, Flynn continues to command the screen as the Spanish nobleman Don Juan de Maraña, who is repatriated to Spain after a diplomatic scandal in England.
There, he wins the favor of Queen Margaret, the kind of compassionate wife of the weak King Phillip III. Phillip is influenced by the evil Duke de Lorca, who wants to overthrow the king, take the throne and start a war with England.
Of course, Don Juan saves the day, kills de Lorca and sacrifices his happiness for the sake of his country.
The movie features the notable stunt in which Jock Mahoney, doubling for Flynn, leaps from the head of a long staircase onto de Lorca (his stunt double, actually).
About 30 years ago, I met Mahoney and asked him about that stunt. The trick wasn’t the jump, he said, but the athleticism of the stuntman for Robert Douglas’ de Lorca who basically had to catch Mahoney without injuring either man.
The film also features a memorable score by Max Steiner.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at the WAC store at Amazon or at 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: Extras include a commentary track with director Vincent Sherman and film historian-author Rudy Behlmer; a “Warner Night at the Movies” package that includes a newsreel, travel short, cartoon and “Joe McDoakes” comedy short.
Native Son (Blu-ray)
Details: 1951, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This movie is based on Richard Wright’s then-controversial 1940 novel about racism and the injustices of urban African American life.
The movie’s protagonist is Bigger Thomas (played by Wright), whose violent tendencies and moral confusion were the results of a lifetime of poverty.
Thomas is hired as a chauffeur for a progressive, affluent Chicago white family. He drives their teenage daughter, Mary, to meet some left-wing sympathizers. Their attempts to befriend Bigger baffle him as he has never known kindness from a white person.
Mary gets very drunk and, after taking her home, Bigger carries her to bed. Mary makes advances to Bigger, who kisses her. Bigger accidentally smothers Mary when her blind mother opens the door.
He puts Mary’s body in the basement furnace to cover up the crime. A group of reporters discover her remains and Bigger flees.
He is eventually captured, tried and sentenced to death.
The movie was filmed in Argentina and was cut by about 30 minutes when released in the United States.
This Kino restoration is comprised of footage from a complete 16mm Argentinian release and an incomplete 35mm duplicate negative of the uncensored cuts.
The film has been remade twice — in 1986 and 2019.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A 32-page booklet that details the movie’s production history is the main extra.
Men in Black: 25th Anniversary Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 1997, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, science fiction violence, language
The lowdown: Agents Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) and new recruit Jay (Will Smith) are members of a top-secret organization that monitors alien activity on Earth.
In this initial outing the MIB agents find themselves searching for an intergalactic terrorist bug, played with relish and physicality by Vincent D’Onofrio, who has come to Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.
Kay and Jay must track him down, retrieve the object he has sought or Earth will be destroyed.
The movie is a fun combination of action, humor and in-jokes that, smartly, does not take itself very seriously. The chemistry between Jones and Smith adds to the enjoyment.
The movie, which received a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, also features Linda Fiorentino and Rip Torn, with alien makeup by Rick Baker, a complementary score by Danny Elfman and breezy direction by Barry Sonnenfeld.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos (Dolby 7.1 TrueHD compatible) and English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Turkish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Notes from the director’s chair, a designing “Men in Black” featurette, a commentary track with Sonnenfeld and Jones, a technical commentary track with Sonnenfeld, Baker and the special effects team from Industrial Light & Magic, extended and alternate scenes; a “Metamorphosis of ‘Men in Black’ ” documentary, an original featurette, a scene editing workshop, a visual effects scene deconstructions with commentary, character animation studies, a music video and storyboard comparisons comprise the many extras.
God Told Me To (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Blue Underground-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, graphic and bloody violence, language
The lowdown: Writer-director Larry Cohen’s feature is an amalgamation of horror, police procedural and alien, religious and supernatural thriller.
Tony Lo Bianco plays New York City police lieutenant-detective Peter Nicholas who is investigating a series of seemingly unrelated mass killings. After each one, the perpetrator makes the same dying confession, “God told me to.”
Nicholas’ investigation finally leads him to Bernard Phillips (Richard Lynch), a long-haired young man who, it turns out, has a strange connection to Nicholas.
I don’t want to spoil the film for those who have never seen it. So, let’s just say it is a very strange feature that, depending on your outlook, is entertaining or blasphemous.
The cast also includes Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney, Mike Kellen and, in his feature film debut, Andy Kaufman.
The film received a 73 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and French 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with Cohen and another with film historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth; interviews with Lo Bianco and special effects artist Steve Neill; and two question-and-answer sessions with Cohen.
Marty (Blu-ray)
Details: 1955, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: For the early part of his career, Ernest Borgnine portrayed villains or psychopaths in such movies as “From Here to Eternity” and “Bad Day at Black Rock.”
The perception of his abilities changed after he won a best actor Academy Award for portraying a lonely Bronx butcher in “Marty.”
The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from his 1953 television play in which Rod Steiger had played the title role, and directed by Delbert Mann, who had directed the TV version.
Marty is a decent guy who, like the rest of us, is simply looking for companionship and love. Every Saturday night, he attends social events and returns home frustrated and as lonely as ever.
His life changes when he meets Clara (Betsy Blair), a schoolteacher who is as lonely as Marty. The two find a connection.
But everyone around Marty — notably, his mother and best friend — continually finds fault with Clara, forcing Marty to question his own choice.
He soon finds the courage and strength to follow his heart and gain a measure of happiness.
The movie was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Besides Borgnine, the film won best picture, Mann won for best director and Chayefsky won for best screenplay.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture and 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track.
JFK Revisited: The Complete Collection (Blu-ray + DVD)
Details: 2021, Shout! Factory
Rated: TV-14, violence
The lowdown: This set contains the feature film, “JFK Revisited: Though the Looking Glass” and the miniseries “JFK: Destiny Betrayed.”
“JFK Revisited” presents an updated look at the mammoth archive of material that has been recently placed into public record.
Thirty years after filmmaker Oliver Stone’s movie about JFK’s assassination, He takes a fresh look at the tragic event that shaped a generation. Stone uses newly declassified and re-examined documents, presenting a thought-provoking documentary about the events of Nov. 22, 1963.
The miniseries, “JFK: Destiny Betrayed,” includes a look at the early formation of Kennedy’s foreign policy worldview, his travels to Vietnam as a senator, his support of new democracies in Africa as well as his anti-colonial beliefs that put him in opposition to the Eisenhower administration, the CIA and the Pentagon.
The series also offers behind-the-scenes looks into the post-assassination actions and initial suspicions of Kennedy’s brother, Robert, as well as his opinion of the official Warren Commission investigation.
The series also goes into greater detail of the forensic and ballistic evidence covered in “JFK Revisited.”
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio stereo; English SDH subtitles; DVD: 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English Dolby digital stereo; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track on “JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass” is the main bonus component.
“Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1943-45, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In the first half of the 1940s, Maria Montez and Jon Hall were dubbed by their studio, Universal Pictures, as “the king and queen of Technicolor.”
The pair starred in six lavish costume dramas for the studio, beginning with “Arabian Nights” in 1942 and followed by “White Savage” (1943), “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” (1944), “Cobra Woman” (1944), “Gypsy Wildcat” (1944) and “Sudan” (1945).
This set contains three of those movies — “White Savage,” “Gypsy Wildcat” and “Sudan.”
“White Savage” features Montez as Princess Tahia, ruler of Temple Island. Hall is Kaloe, a shark hunter, and Sabu plays his friend, Orano.
The story finds Tahia and Kaloe falling in love and greedy scoundrels disturbing the island’s peace as they seek a hidden treasure in Tahia’s palace pool. The supporting cast includes Turhan Bey, Sidney Toler, Don Terry, Thomas Gomez and Paul Guilfoyle.
The script was written by future Oscar-winner Richard Brooks (“Elmer Gantry,” “In Cold Blood,” “Blackboard Jungle”), and the movie was directed by Arthur Lubin, who later directed “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”
“Gypsy Wildcat” is set in an unspecified kingdom where, after the murder of nobleman near a village ruled by the evil Baron Tovar, the baron imprisons all the gypsies from a nearby settlement in his castle.
Montez is Carla, the gypsy woman whose heart belongs to a mystery man on a white horse (Hall). The baron also takes a liking to Carla, especially after he notices a heraldic pendant she is wearing.
Among the supporting players are Douglas Dumbrille, Peter Coe, Leo Carrillo, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard and Curt Bois. Roy William Neill, who directed many of Universal’s “Sherlock Holmes” entries during this era, was behind the camera.
“Sudan” is Montez and Hall’s final pairing. She plays the vengeful Naila, ruler of the Egyptian city of Khemis. Disguised as a peasant girl, she combs the desert for those responsible for the death of her father during a slave revolt.
After a series of captures and escapes, Naila finds herself being helped by the pickpocket Merab (Hall) and his partner-in-crime Nebka (Andy Devine).
Supporting the trio are Turhan Bey, George Zucco and Robert Warwick. John Rawlins was the director.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Commentaries are included on all three movies; film historian David Del Valle focuses on “Gypsy Wildcat,” while film historian Phillipa Berry looks at “White Savage” and “Sudan.”
Miami Blues (Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, MVD Rewind Collection
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Alec Baldwin portrays ex-con Junior Frenger in this comedy-thriller.
Shortly after his release from prison, Junior decides to start a new life in Miami. But when he arrives at the airport, he kills a Hare Krishna, robs a pickpocket then steals the gun and badge of veteran detective Sgt. Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward).
Junior begins running around the streets of Miami posing as a police officer. He assaults people and makes arrests.
He also becomes romantically involved with Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a sweet prostitute seeking stability.
All the while, Junior is trying to convince Susie that he’s the perfect man for her, he is embarking on a one-man crime spree throughout the city with Moseley searching for him.
This quirky feature earned an 82 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English and French 2.0 LPCM stereo and Spanish LPCM monaural; English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Baldwin and Leigh and a collectible mini-poster.
“Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema VIII” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1942-46, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Merle Oberon, Claire Trevor, Burgess Meredith and George Brent are among the actors appearing in this trio of dark dramas.
First up is “Street of Chance” (1942) starring Meredith as Frank Thompson, an amnesiac who, while trying to reconstruct his old life, discovers an ugly truth. Thompson, who awakens in the middle of the street, clueless of where he is, how he got there or why his cigarette case and hat have the initials “D.N.” on them.
Trevor plays a mysterious stranger more interested in learning about Frank’s past than his wife, played by Louise Platt.
The plot also involves a murder that Thompson cannot remember committing.
Secondly is “Enter Arsene Lupin” (1944), in which the famed French jewel thief steals a priceless emerald from beautiful English heiress Stacie Kanares, played by Ella Raines, while enroute to Paris on the Orient Express.
Lupin, having become infatuated with Stacie, follows her to England to return the jewel.
The movie also features Gale Sondergaard, as Stacie’s cousin Bessie, who schemes to kill her so she can claim her inheritance. Lupin acts to save Stacie’s life, even though the police are on his trail.
The movie, which also features J. Carrol Naish, was directed by Ford Beebe, better known for his action films and serials such as “Buck Rogers” and “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.”
The Victorian-era drama “Temptation” (1946) completes the set. In this film noir, Oberon portrays Ruby, the wife of Nigel (Brent), a wealthy archaeologist. Ruby has an infamous past that includes several divorces and extramarital affairs.
And while her husband is digging up an ancient nummy, Ruby takes up with a shady Egyptian opportunist who, tells Ruby if she wants him to stay, she must get rid of Nigel. Ruby decides to poison him, setting up a strong revenge-and-retribution finale.
The film, directed by Irving Pichel, also features Paul Lukas.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Commentary tracks for each film comprise the major bonus features.
Steele Justice: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 12
Details: 1987, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Martin Kove stars as emotionally scarred Vietnam veteran John Steele who has been unable to hold a job, including that of a police officer.
When his best friend, Lee, who served in Vietnam with him and also became a cop, is murdered by drug dealers, leaving behind a young daughter who, along with Steele, saw one of the shooters.
Later, when Steele discovers the man is the son of General Kwan, a corrupt Vietnamese official who is now a respected member of the community. On the side, however, Kwan runs the Vietnamese Mafia in southern California.
Bennett (Ronny Cox), Steele’s former boss, is slow to investigate because an investigation reveals that Lee may have been a dirty cop. Steele takes matters in his own hands to avenge his friend, clear his name and get Kwan.
The movie is formulaic and adds nothing new to the troubled Vietnam vet genre of post-war action movies.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The major extra is a commentary track with Kove and writer-director Robert Boris that is moderated by film historian Alan Van Dyne, manager of Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee store.
They Call Me Mister Tibbs! / The Organization double feature (Blu-ray)
Details: 1970-71, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, PG-13, violence, nudity, drug-related material
The lowdown: Sidney Poitier reprises his role as police Lt. Virgil Tibbs in these two follow-ups to his masterful “In the Heat of the Night.”
In “They Call Me Mister Tibbs!,” a prostitute is murdered in San Francisco’s ritzy Nob Hill district. An anonymous tip implicates minister and political crusader the Rev. Logan Sharpe (Martin Landau), a longtime friend of Tibbs.
“The Organization” finds Tibbs helping six vigilantes who steal a million-dollar cache of heroin from a supposed respectable furniture factory.
The six are a band of former users who, frustrated by the law’s inaction, decide to battle the city’s drug problem on their own.
Tibbs, working outside the law, finds himself at odds with his own department as well as becoming a target of a ruthless drug syndicate.
Both films have decent supporting casts: Barbara McNair, Ed Asner, Jeff Corey, Beverly Todd and Anthony Zerbe in “… Mr. Tibbs” and McNair, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Daniel J. Travanti, Raul Julia, Ron O’Neal, Allen Garfield and Sheree North in “The Organization.
Neither movie is as memorable as Poitier’s first outing as Tibbs. “… Mister Tibbs” received a 50 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, while “The Organization” garnered a 29 percent rating.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Martial Club (Blu-ray)
Details: 1981, 88 Films-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This is another offering from the Hong Kong-based Shaw Brothers film library.
The story involves rival fight schools, an old master, exciting martial arts set pieces and plenty of action.
The film is more lighthearted, even though the martial arts combat is plentiful.
The movie, directed by Lau Kar Leung, stars Gordon Liu (“The 36th Chamber of Shaolin”), Kara Hui, Wang Lung Wei and Hsiao Ho.
Wang Lung Wei, who usually portrays villains in the genre, here has a rare heroic character.
The English dubbed track comes from the American release of the film, which was retitled “Instructors of Death.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese, Mandarin and English 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks, a grindhouse presentation of “Instructors of Death,” interviews with actors Robert Mak, Johnny Wang, stuntmen Hung Sun-Nam and Tony Tam and producer Lawrence Wong and a limited edition collector’s booklet.
Salt & Pepper / One More Time double feature (Blu-ray)
Details: 1968, 1970, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, PG, sexual content, drug use, language, violence
The lowdown: Pals and former Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford star as nightclub owners Charles Salt and Christopher Pepper in this pair of features set in swinging London.
In “Salt & Pepper” (PG-13, 1968), Salt and Pepper discover a dead sexy spy in their nightclub. They are then recruited by the British Secret Service to help solve the killing.
They end up discovering a plot to overthrow the government. Unfortunately, no one believes them, so they must solve the case and save England themselves.
The movie was directed by Richard Donner, who went on to bigger and better features such as “Superman: The Movie” and “Lethal Weapon.
Salt and Pepper return in “One More Time” (PG, 1970), in which Pepper’s twin brother is found dead. It turns out he was murdered. Pepper, to help save the pair’s struggling nightclub, assumes his brother’s identity. He also learns that his brother was a diamond smuggler and his associates are still after him.
The movie, directed by Jerry Lewis, features cameos from Hammer Films horror icons Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A “Trailers From Hell” episode spotlighting “Salt & Pepper” is the main extra.
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (DVD)
Details: 1997, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Filmmaker-critic Mark Rappaport returns with another cinematic essay on the gay undercurrents of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The moderator, Dan Butler, looks at scenes that convey a squeamish fascination with gay eroticism and camp in Hollywood movies.
The documentary has a definite gay slant and may make some people uncomfortable. Notable performers featured in archival footage include Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, Eric Blore, James Dean and Bette Davis.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the extras are three bonus films by Rappaport — “The Vanity Tables of Douglas Sirk,” “The Double Life of Paul Henreid” and “Martin and Hans.”
Desperate Hours (Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, MVD Rewind Collection
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: An escaped convict and his two partners invade the home of a bickering couple to await the arrival of the convict’s lawyer.
Mickey Rourke plays Michael Bosworth, who uses his charm to wheedle his way into the home of Tim and Nora Cornell (Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers) and their two children.
While awaiting his lawyer, Nancy Breyers (Kelly Lynch), Bosworth shows his true, homicidal nature. He holds the family at gunpoint and begins to pit the Cornells against each other.
The cast also includes David Morse, Elias Koteas and Lindsay Crouse. The film, a remake of 1955’s “The Desperate Hours,” which starred Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Martha Scott, Gig Young and Arthur Kennedy, was directed by Michael Cimino. The great William Wyler directed the original.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French stereo; English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes featurette is the main extra.
Wolf Hound (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: July 12
Details: 2022, Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence
The lowdown: A World War II action-drama about an American pilot, David Holden, on a recon mission over Nazi-occupied France.
Holden is shot down, along with a B-17 bomber. He lands his crippled plane near an airfield, where he learns that Germans are loading the U.S.-marked bomber with a city-destroying superbomb that could help the Axis win the war.
Holden must evade capture as well as a vengeful Nazi soldier to rescue the plane’s captured crew and foil the plot.
The film has a tenuous connection to actual events, in this case that Germans managed to scavenge Allied aircraft, repair them, fly them into formations of other Allied planes and use them as “Trojan Horses” to shoot down enemy aircraft.
Historical or not, fans of World War II films may find this drama appealing.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette, a commentary track, deleted and extended scenes and a look at the creation of the visual effects.
The Sacred Spirit (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This multi-textured Spanish feature deals with a missing girl, a group of enthusiastic ufologists, organ harvesting and Egyptian symbology.
How it all comes together can be credited with first-time director Chema Garcia Ibarra, who blends horror and science fiction elements with thriller aspects.
The central character is Jose Manuel (Nacho Fernández), whose niece is the missing girl. The movie also features Manuel’s mother, sister and other niece, who is the twin of the missing girl.
How it all plays out in the movie’s 97 minutes is interesting to view.
The movie features some audacious imagery and interesting and disturbing cinematography that often give you a sense of unease.
The two-disc set is loaded with extras. The film impressed the small group of critics who reviewed it, awarding it a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.59:1 picture; Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a pair of visual essays; an interview with Garcia Ibarra; four short behind-the-scenes looks at the cast, director, production design, the production and cinematographer; six “Elche Vision” episodes; a series of snippets about the major characters; unedited versions of elements seen on various screens throughout the movie; six short films by Garcia Ibarra; and an insert booklet and mini-poster.
The Righteous (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This dark thriller from writer-director Mark O’Brien is a good-vs.-evil feature that, though more talkative than action, contains a few horror elements.
This black-and-white feature stars Henry Czerny as Frederic Mason, a former priest still suffering a crisis of faith. He and his wife, Ethel (Mimi Kuzyk), continue to mourn the loss of their young daughter.
Events are triggered by the arrival of Aaron Smith (O’Brien), who, injured, stumbles onto the Masons’ rural property.
Against his better judgment, Mason takes in the young man.
Smith, as the movie proceeds, is not really who he says he is, as supernatural elements begin to creep into the film.
Performances by Czerny and Kuzyk helped elevate the film, which received a 92 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 LPCM; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include cast and crew interviews, a commentary track, a question-and-answer session with O’Brien at the film’s United Kingdom premiere and another with O’Brien and Czerny at the film’s world premiere in Montreal, a “Radio Silent Roundtable” with O’Brien and others, a booklet and the movie’s soundtrack played over a series of stills.
The Rose Maker (DVD)
Release date: June 28
Details: 2020, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This French comedy centers on Eve Vernet (Catherine Frot), an artisanal horticulturist who honors her father by continuing the family legacy of breeding unique roses that are showcased throughout the country.
Eve, however, is struggling. Her company, Vernet Roses, is facing bankruptcy. Simultaneously, she is trying to compete with a corporate rival with more resources.
In a desperate attempt to save the beloved business, Eve’s faithful secretary, Vera (Olivia Côte), hires three new workers from a prison rehabilitation program. They are outcasts with a strong work ethic, but no gardening experience.
Eve and her new helpers soon discover unexpected sources of inspiration and connection that help Eve’s cherished business.
The film garnered a 95 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with the film’s director Pierre Pinaud, interviews with Frot and Pinaud, deleted scenes and a featurette on being a rose breeder.
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Blu-ray + DVD)
Details: 2021, GKids-Shout! Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This touching anime comedy-drama centers on the mother-daughter relationship between Nikuko, a single mom, and her pensive, yet imaginative daughter, Kikuko.
Kikuko’s main focus is fitting in with the other students in her middle school. But Kikuko’s life is upended when a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot their relationship.
The film is a charming, joyous and eccentric experience about self-discovery that is filled with tenderness and laughs.
The movie rated a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; Japanese 5.1 Dolby digital; English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a making of featurette, a film completion press conference, a look at the movie’s premiere event, a birthday event for comedian Sanma Akashiya, the film’s planner and producer, and a guest speaker event.
Terror Circus (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 12
Details: 1974, Code Red-Kino Lorber
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Three beautiful young women on their way to Las Vegas to become showgirls are stranded when their car breaks down in the middle of the Nevada desert.
They later are rescued by Andre (Andrew Prine) who offers them a lift to his place and a tow truck. I guess the young women have not seen many movies, because, as you can surmise, Andre takes them prisoner, putting them in his barn with other women.
Andre sees himself as a ringmaster and the girls he holds are trained and whipped like circus animals.
The movie also is known as “Barn of the Naked Dead,” which basically sums up the movie. It was an early directorial effort by Alan Rudolph, who went on to direct such films as “Choose Me, “The Moderns” and “Trouble in Mind.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main bonus feature consists of interviews with cast and crew members.
Hell High (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: When a group of high school students play a prank on an emotionally unhinged teacher (played by Maureen Mooney), all hell breaks loose in this horror outing.
The film features a sociopath high school punk and a not-so-bad student (Christopher Cousins).
Once the teacher begins her quest for revenge on the students mayhem, some of which is quite graphic begins.
Frankly, the movie is not much different from other slasher-horror features, but should offer some appeal to fans of the genre.
In some areas, the film was released under the title of “Raging Fury.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Three commentary tracks; interviews with writer-director Douglas Grossman, cinematographer Steven Fierberg, cast members Mooney and Cousins, composers Rich Macar and Christopher Hyams-Hart and archival interviews with Grossman and co-writer Leo Evans; a tour of filming locations; a deleted scene; alternate opening titles; an introduction by critic Joe Bob Briggs; and an insert booklet.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Seventh and Final Season (Blu-ray & DVD) (Warner Home Entertainment)
Dual (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Aftershock (Hulu)
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Warner Home Entertainment)
JULY 21
He’s Watching (XYZ Films)
Mr. Malcolm’s List (Bleecker Street)
You Are Not My Mother (Hulu)
JULY 22
All My Friends Hate Me (Hulu)
Anything’s Possible (Amazon Prime)
Black Bird: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Boston George: Famous Without the Fortune (Fandor)
The Enormity of Life (Bayview Entertainment)
The Gray Man (www.netflix.com/thegrayman) (Netflix)
Infrared (Terror Films)
Trying: Season 3, Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
The Wheel (Quiver Distribution)
Coming next week: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
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.