New to View: May 2
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, May 2, unless otherwise noted:
Champions (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2023, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, language, crude sexual references
The lowdown: Woody Harrelson stars in this endearing sports feature about a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities.
The movie, directed by Bobby Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary”) mixes sassiness and sentimentality, and treats the disabled community respectfully.
The story is somewhat formulaic but that should not deter you from checking out this heartwarming feature.
The cast also features Kaitlin Olson, Ernie Hudson and Cheech Marin.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary track with Farrelly, deleted scenes, a featurette on how Farrelly, Harrelson and others cast members became involved in the movie, a look at how Harrelson filled the role of a team leader and a casting the friends featurette.
The Sunday Woman (Blu-ray)
Details: 1975, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A very disliked architect is beaten to death, with a high-society wife and her gay friend soon the focus of the police investigation in this Italian thriller.
Adding to the suspicions of their involvement is a discarded letter implicating them.
Commissioner Santamaria is assigned to the case and tries to uncover the murder suspect among the rich and powerful in Turin.
Besides being a murder mystery, the movie is a critique of Turin’s elite.
The movie features a strong cast, including Jacqueline Bisset as the wife, Jean-Louis Trintigent as the gay friend and the great Marcello Mastroianni as Santamaria.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 full-screen picture; Italian 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a look at the movie with Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer, an interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, a reminiscence with the son of co-screenwriter Furio Scarpelli, a snippet from a 1976 French TV interview with Trintigent and an insert booklet with essays about the movie.
Search for Beauty (Blu-ray)
Release date: April 18
Details: 1934, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Larry “Buster” Crabbe, best known for his serial roles as Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers and Tarzan, as well as his long-running B-Western series with Al “Fuzzy” St. John at low-budget PRC, stars with Ida Lupino in this pre-Code romantic comedy as two Olympic champions duped by a trio of con artists.
Crabbe and Lupino portray Don Jackson and Barbara Hilton, who are hired by the con artists to endorse what they believe to be a fitness magazine.
They stage an international publicity stunt to find the healthiest young bodies in the Western world. While Don and Barbara are scouting for the candidates, the trio — played by Robert Armstrong, James Gleason and Gertrude Michael — transform the magazine into a cheesecake publication filled with salacious photos.
They then use the magazine’s popularity to open a health farm, which they transform into something much darker.
The dialogue and situations are, as expected in a pre-Code feature, rather risqué with many innuendoes and double entendres.
In the end, of course, good triumphs. The movie was directed by Erle C. Kenton who, in the 1940s at Universal, directed “The Ghost of Frankenstein,” “House of Frankenstein” and “House of Dracula,” as well as Abbott and Costello’s “It Ain’t Hay” and “Who Done It?”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with film historians Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood is the main extra.
Rawhead Rex (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: March 28
Details: 1986, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Unrated
The lowdown: A horror feature, based on a short story by Clive Barker — who also wrote the screenplay — set in Ireland about a murderous pagan deity known as Rawhead.
The movie stars David Dukes as Howard Hallenbeck, an American historian, travels to Ireland with his wife and children to research items of religious significance.
Meanwhile, a local farmer decides to plow a field his ancestors have not touched for hundreds of years because supposedly it houses an ancient seal that keeps Rawhead trapped in Hell. The farmer, of course, breaks the seal, unleashes Rawhead and bodies begin to pile up, including Hallenbeck’s son.
Barker was not very pleased with the movie, especially the cheap and ill-fitting monster mask donned by Rawhead actor Heinrich von Bünau.
As the body count mounts, Hallenbeck finally finds the artifact needed to send Rawhead back to Hell. The movie was not very well received, but fans of creature features should get a thrill or two while watching.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS lossless stereo; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS lossless stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with director George Pavlou and interviews with von Bünau, Hugh O’Conor and Cora Venus Lunny, who portray the Hallenbeck children, actor Ronan Wilmot, composer Colin Towns, artist Stephen R. Bissette and various crew members.
Flaming Ears (Blu-ray)
Release date: March 21
Details: 1991, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This movie is strange; it is a pop, sci-fi lesbian feature set in the year 2700 in the burned-out city of Asche.
It revolves around three people — Spy, a comic book artist whose printing press is burned down by Volley, a sexed-up pyromaniac.
Seeking revenge, Spy is wounded and given shelter by Nun, an amoral alien in a red plastic suit. Nun has a thing for reptiles and also is Volley’s lover.
It is going to take a lot of patience to get through this story of obsession and revenge. The film is a different kind of animal, that’s for sure.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; German audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental offerings include three short films.
The Hunters: Complete Seasons 1 & 2 (DVD)
Release date: March 28
Details: 2018, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Rolf Lassgård (“A Man Called Ove”) stars as retired detective Erik Bäckström investigating mysteries in Sweden’s north country in this television series.
In season one of this four-disc set, Bäckström agrees to help a local mining entrepreneur with security after violence erupts between environmentalists and local residents of a small town who would benefit from the nearby mine.
Bäckström enlists the aid of his nephew, Peter, fresh out of the police academy, to help with his investigation. But when a mysterious death occurs, Bäckström is torn between his sense of justice and loyalty to the town and its people.
In season two, Bäckström’s world is shaken when a man who was convicted of murder 15 years earlier reappears in his life. The killing still haunts the tight-knit community, which has Bäckström to again investigate the case — causing conflict with his former colleagues, including his nephew who is now a full-fledged officer.
Bäckström’s investigation again causes him to choose between justice and family loyalty.
Fans of noir-like shows will find this series intriguing with sharp acting and a storyline that keeps you on your toes.
Technical aspects: 16:9 anamorphic widescreen picture; Swedish Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Baby Ruby (DVD & VOD) (Magnet Releasing)
On the Edge (Blu-ray & VOD) (Kino Lorber)
MAY 5
Space Wars: The Quest for the Deepstar (DVD & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Beyond Human Nature (Screen Media)
I’ll Be Watching (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Moving On (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Riceboy Sleeps (Screen Media)
Space Wars: The Quest for the Deepstar (Uncork’d Entertainment)
MAY 3
The Big Door Prize: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Jewish Matchmaking (www.netflix.com/JewishMatchmaking) (Netflix)
Saint X: Episode 4 (Hulu)
Schmigadoon: Season 2, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Ted Lasso: Season 3, Episode 9 (Apple TV+)
MAY 4
Bupkis (Peacock)
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies: Episode 6 (Paramount+)
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (www.netflix.com/queencharlotte) (Netflix)
MAY 5
Harriet the Spy: Season 2 (Apple TV+)
Johnny & Clyde (Verdi Entertainment)
The Last Thing He Told Me: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Silo: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
Slava Ukraini (Cohen Media Group)
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshni: Season 2 (Hulu)
The Third Saturday in October: Part V & Part I (Dark Sky Films)
You Can Live Forever (GDE)
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.