New to View: Sept. 26
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Sept. 26, unless otherwise noted:
Elemental (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2023, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment-Pixar-Buena Vista
Rated: PG, some peril, thematic elements, language
The lowdown: This Pixar animated feature is set in Element City, where Fire, Water, Earth and Air residents live together.
And, as we all know, fire and water do not mix; that is until Ember, a fiery young woman, and Wade, a sappy, but happy-go-lucky guy, develop a friendship that challenges the beliefs of the world they live in.
The movie, while fun and energetic, lacks in its storytelling, which, at times, becomes a bit heavy handed about the benefits of accepting different kinds of people.
This family-friendly, surreal feature, which garnered a 74 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, offers lessons about the values of community and cooperation.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby digital and descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 Dolby digital and descriptive audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a behind-the-scenes of how Ember and Wade were brought to life, a look at how Element City was built, deleted scenes, a commentary track and an animated short, “Carl’s Date.”
Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2023, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, action, rude humor, thematic elements
The lowdown: Ruby, a shy, high school teenager, discovers that she is part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens and that her destiny is in the depths of the ocean.
Ruby finds that learning to be an all-powerful sea creature while hiding among people is difficult, but to make her life more complicated Ruby learns that her super popular new best friend, Chelsea, is secretly a mermaid. And mermaids have been fighting krakens for eons to see who rules the ocean.
Chelsea, though, has come to land to end the long conflict, but when she betrays Ruby, will the young kraken finally embrace who she is so as to protect those she loves most?
The kids should enjoy this animated feature, which received a 65 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, English 2.0 DVS, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles: DVD: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 DVS; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes, a make your own aquarium featurette and a featurette on “Super Sea Girl Besties” comprise the major bonus components.
Loki: The Complete First Season: Collector’s Edition Steelbook (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Marvel Studios-Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-14, violence, language
The lowdown: The events in this six-episode Disney+ series takes place after “Avengers: Endgame” and features an alternate version of Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is brought to the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that monitors the timeline.
Loki is given a choice: he can cease to exist for being a “time variant,” or he can help fix the timeline to thwart a much-greater threat.
The episodes chronicle the efforts and missteps of Loki and Owen Wilson’s Morbius M. Morbius to repair the timeline, while hunting Sylvie, a female version of Loki.
The Blu-ray is being released a few weeks before the debut on the second season on Disney+.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a gag reel, deleted scenes, “The Official TVA Orientation Video” and a making of featurette.
Clerk (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Mercantile Instinct
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that chronicles the life and career of filmmaker Kevin Smith.
Smith has become iconic in indie film circles for basically going his own way and allowing his geekiness and love for movies show through in his productions.
The documentary from filmmaker Malcolm Ingram interviews Smith, his friends, family, peers as well as comedy and comic-book world legends.
Among those interviewed are Joey Lauren Adams, Penn Jillette, Jason Mewes, Richard Linklater, Scott Mosier, Justin Long, Brian O’Halloran and Judd Nelson.
Fans of Smith will embrace the movie as Smith talks about his films and tries to make sense of how — and why — his career has endured for so long.
The movie garnered an 82 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It can be purchased at www.mercantileinstinct.com.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with Ingram and Smith and another featuring The Stanley Bros., extended scenes, an alternate ending and uncut interviews.
Carlito’s Way: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1993, Arrow Films
Rated: R, language, violence, sexual situations
The lowdown: Al Pacino and director Brian De Palma reunite for this thriller about gangster Carlito Brigante (Pacino), who is newly released from prison thanks to the efforts of his friend and lawyer Dave Kleinfeld (Sean Penn).
Brigante vows to give up his criminal ways and works towards redeeming himself. But outside forces, mainly Kleinfeld’s corruption and cocaine habit, puts Brigante in the crosshairs of the mob, whom Kleinfeld had crossed.
Brigante must make the hard choice of remaining loyal to his friend or protect his new life with Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), the woman he loves.
When enemies begin closing in on all sides, Brigante tries to find a way out before it is too late.
The movie, which costars John Leguizamo, Luis Guzman and Viggo Mortensen, earned an 81 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS X and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include two commentary tracks, deleted scenes, an original promotional featurette, an archival making of featurette, an archival interview with De Palma, a look at the movie’s New York locations, a new interview with film editors Bill Pankow and Kristina Boden, a new appreciation of by film critic David Edelstein, an interview with Judge Edwin Torres, author of the novels on which the screenplay was based, seven double-sided postcard reproductions, a booklet with writings about the movie.
Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon: Steelbook (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Sept. 19
Details: 1985, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, language
The lowdown: This flamboyant feature is a sometime-uneven mixture of martial arts, Motown and romantic comedy.
The movie is about the journey of Leroy Green (Taimak), a young martial artist in New York City, who trains tirelessly to reach the same level of mastery as his idol, Bruce Lee.
One night, Leroy saves television personality Laura Charles (Vanity) from an evil businessman, Eddie Arkadian (Chris Murney). Leroy’s courage impresses Laura, who falls for the young man.
But to keep her safe, Leroy will have to defeat gang leader Sho’nuff (Julius J. Carry III), the self-styled Shogun of Harlem.
“The Last Dragon,” despite its sequences of martial arts combat, is a sweet, slick movie that mainly falters when it returns to its gangster subplot.
Still, the movie earned a 59 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos (7.1 TrueHD compatible) and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio 2-channel surround; 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 monaural; English SHD, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a fan commentary track with comedian Amber Ruffin and author Lacey Lamar on the 4K Ultra HD disc, a commentary with director Michael Schultz on the Blu-ray disc and a Return of the Dragon featurette on the Blu-ray disc.
Natural Born Killers: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1994, Shout! Studios
Rated: Not rated and R, extreme violence, graphic carnage, shocking images, strong language, sexual content
The lowdown: Oliver Stone directed and was one of the writers of this brutal satire of the press and how it transforms two young serial killers into media stars.
The movie is provocative with Stone praised for his vision and derided for the movie’s excesses.
Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis star as Mickey and Mallory whose killing spree and its coverage by the media make them celebrities.
The cast also includes Robert Downey Jr. as a leading member of the press helping to sensationalize Mickey and Mallory, as well as Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore and Rodney Dangerfield.
The three-disc set features Stone’s 122-minute director’s cut on the 4K and one of the Blu-ray discs and the theatrical version on the second Blu-ray.
“Natural Born Killers” is a movie with no middle ground. You will either embrace it or it will repulse you.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by Stone on both director’s cut discs and the theatrical version disc, interviews with co-editor Hank Corwin and producer Clayton Townsend on the director’s cut Blu-ray, a featurette about the movie, a look at how the movie would be received today, a documentary on the making of the movie, deleted scenes and an alternate ending, all of the theatrical released Blu-ray disc.
Westward the Women (Blu-ray)
Details: 1951, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Robert Taylor stars in this Western, based on a story by Frank Capra and directed by William A. Wellman, about a wagon train taking a group of women on a 2,000-mile journey from Chicago to California as potential brides for love-starved miners out west.
Denise Darcel costars as a sassy former showgirl who cons herself onto the wagon train and, of course, eventually becomes the romantic interest for Taylor’s Buck Wyatt.
The movie chronicles the hardships and sacrifices faced by the women, who include a widowed Italian immigrant, a sea-hardened widow and various other types.
The cast also includes John McIntire, Hope Emerson and Julie Bishop.
The Blu-ray can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
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: Supplemental materials include a commentary track by film historian-author Scott Eyman, a vintage MGM featurette on the making of the movie, a 1952 “Lux Radio Theater” adaptation of the movie and two MGM cartoons — “Texas Tom” and “The Duck Doctor.”
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1974, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: This crime thriller marked the directorial debut of Michael Cimino, who also wrote the screenplay.
Clint Eastwood stars as Thunderbolt, a legendary master thief, and Jeff Bridges is Lightfoot, a brash young drifter who gives the veteran criminal a new outlook on life when he becomes his partner.
Together the two, along with Thunderbolt’s former partners, Red Leary (George Kennedy) and Eddie Goody (Geoffrey Lewis), devise a scheme to rob the seemingly impenetrable Montana Armored Depository.
The scheme will test their endurance as well as the limits of their friendship.
The movie, which garnered an 88 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, costars Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, Jack Dodson, Burton Gilliam, Roy Jensen, Bill McKinney, Vic Tayback, Dub Taylor and Gregory Walcott.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DTS-Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary track with film historian Nick Pinkerton on both discs and a “For the Love of Characters” featurette with Cimino on the Blu-ray disc.
Saratoga (Blu-ray)
Details: 1937, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This romantic comedy basically is a cookie-cutter feature off the MGM assembly line.
It marked the sixth teaming of Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. But the movie was touched by tragedy as Harlow died just as filming was about to be completed. She was 26. Stand-ins were used to complete her scenes.
The movie, written by Anita Loos and Robert Hopkins and directed by Jack Conwy, features Gable as a hot-shot gambler Duke Bradley and Harlow as Carol Clayton, the daughter and granddaughter of horse breeders.
Carol intends to marry wealthy Hartley Madison (Walter Pidgeon) to help pay off debts at the stud farm.
Instead Duke convinces Carol’s father, Frank (Jonathan Hale) and Grandpa (Lionel Barrymore), to give him the deed to cover their gambling debts.
In the end, everything works out of course, as Duke and Carol find true love.
The cast also includes Frank Morgan, Una Merkel, Hattie McDaniel, Cliff Edwards, George Zucco and Frankie Darro.
The Blu-ray can be found at www.moviezyng.com or 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: The main extra is an MGM short, “The Romance of Celluloid.”
Piccadilly (Blu-ray)
Details: 1929, Milestone Film & Video-Kino Lorber|
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Anna May Wong was a fine actress, but prejudice and racism prevented her in supporting roles in Hollywood during the 1920s.
So, she traveled to Europe to find better parts. One of those she found was in this 1929 British drama, a silent film that, in some areas, was released with a “talkie” prologue.
In “Piccadilly,” Wong plays Shosho, a Chinese dishwasher who is vaulted to fame when she becomes the featured dancer at Valentine Wilmot’s (Jameson Thomas) Piccadilly Circus nightclub and restaurant. Shosho replaces the popular dance team of Mabel and Vic, played by Gilda Gray and Cyril Ritchard.
Later, Vic quits to go to Hollywood. Business at the club falls off dramatically because, much to Wilmot’s chagrin, he discovers the customers were flocking to see Vic, not Mabel.
Desperate, Wilmot hires Shosho, whom he had fired for distracting the kitchen staff dishwashers with her dancing, to perform a Chinese dance. Shosho also forces Wilmot to hire her boyfriend, Jim, as her musical accompanist.
Shosho is an immediate hit. As time passes, Mabel and Jim become jealous of the attraction between Wilmot and Shosho.
This triangle eventually leads to murder and tragedy. The movie was directed by German filmmaker E.A. Dupont, who emigrated to the United States in the early 1930s, where he continued his directorial career.
“Piccadilly” is Wong’s film; the camera adores her. Her performance is dazzling, complemented by Dupont’s fluid, ballet-like camera movements.
A dissatisfied club customer early in the film is played by Charles Laughton in his feature movie debut. The movie garnered a 79 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition,, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English intertitles and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio musical score.
Don’t miss: Extras include the sound prologue, a commentary track, composer Neil Brand discusses the movie’s score and a discussion panel at the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, “Dangerous to Know: The Career and Legacy of Anna May Wong,” moderated by B. Ruby Rich.
The Train (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1964, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Actor Burt Lancaster and director John Frankenheimer quickly reteamed after the success of their “Seven Days in May” collaboration for this World War II action-thriller set in 1944 France.
Lancaster plays Labiche, a member of the Resistance, who learns that an art fanatic Nazi, Col. Franz Von Waldheim (Paul Scofield), has decided to steal a large collection of rare French paintings and load them onto a train bound for Berlin.
Labiche vows to stop the train at any cost, calling upon his vast array of skills. He loosens rails, shatters tracks and causes head-on collisions.
The movie includes a mostly French cast, including Jeanne Moreau, Suzanne Flon and Michel Simon.
The film received a 94 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural;; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, , 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural;; English SDH subtitles
Don’t miss: Bonus options include two commentary tracks on both discs, a making of featurette, an isolated track of Maurice Jarre’s score and a “Trailers From Hell” episode, all on the Blu-ray disc.
Pretty Baby (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 22
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, sexual situations, nudity
The lowdown: French director Louis Malle caused a firestorm with this movie, set in 1917 New Orleans, about Violet (Brooke Shields), a 12-year-old girl who lives in a brothel with her prostitute mother, played by Susan Sarandon.
Keith Carradine costars as photographer E.J. Bellocq, a photographer obsessed with the city’s prostitutes.
Malle’s good taste keeps the movie from becoming too exploitive or salacious.
The performances by the three main actors are very strong, with Brooks depth, curiosity and coquettishness, standing out.
The movie caused controversy because of its taboo subject matter, being accused of child pornography, even before it was released.
However, the results prove otherwise; the movie is warm and sentimental.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include a commentary track by film historian Kat Ellinger, a featurette with Brooks discussing the movie, another with film historian Leon Maltin talking about the film and a video essay by filmmaker-historian Daniel Kremer.
The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1959, Film Masters
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: As a kid, I was a fan of schlocky creature feature-horror films. Even at that young age, I could recognize fake miniatures, models and animals substituting for rampaging monsters.
Still, these Saturday matinee-drive-in features had a certain campy charm to them.
“The Giant Gila Monster” and “The Killer Shrews” were released on a double feature. “Gila Monster” runs 74 minutes and “Shrews” is 69 minutes.
“The Giant Gila Monster” is an awkward blend of teenagers, an adult’s idea of rock ‘n’ roll music and a silly slow-moving lizard destroying patently faked sets.
The movie stars Don Sullivan (I know, who?), Lisa Simone, Shug Fisher, Gay McLendon and one-time ace Republic Pictures heavy and stuntman Fred Graham.
Graham plays the small-town sheriff who turns to Sullivan’s Chase Winstead, a garage mechanic and hot-rod gang leader, for help in solving the disappearance of local teenagers as well as tragic road accidents.
The monster, of course, gets its comeuppance, thus allowing Chase to again warble some unmemorable tunes.
“The Killer Shrews” stars James Best and “Gunsmoke’s” Festus Ken Curtis, who also produced the movie.
The film is set on an isolated island on which a group of people are stranded after a hurricane. Best is the ship captain who lands his craft to unload supplies, only to discover that a mad scientist is experimenting on shrews in an attempt to shrink them.
The opposite happens, the shrews continue to get hungrier and hungrier and humans are now on the menu.
The special effects basically consist of puppets and dogs covered in fur.
Neither movie can be considered classic, even by the standards of low-budget fare. But they do offer some nostalgic appeal for those of us who have fond memories of our early forays into Saturday matinee or drive-in viewings.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 full-screen on both pictures; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include commentary tracks on both movies, an archival interview with Sullivan and a documentary on director Ray Kellogg, who helmed both movies.
After Dark, My Sweet (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 12
Details: 1990, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, language, sexual content, violence
The lowdown: Jason Patric gives a pulsating performance in this neo-noir thriller about Collie (Patric), a former boxer who appears to be the perfect full guy to pull off a kidnapping planned by a sexy widow (Rachel Ward) and a cop-turned-con man (Bruce Dern).
What the pair do not know is that Collie is an escapee from a mental institution. And when he realizes the woman he loves has been manipulating him, Collie turns the tables — playing a dangerous game that ends in tragedy.
The movie was based on a hardboiled book by Jim Thompson and was directed by James Foley.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Patric and Dern and a commentary track by Foley.
Sisters With Transistors (DVD)
Details: 2020, Metrograph Pictures-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary, narrated by multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, that chronicles the music with female electronic pioneers.
The film features interviews and showcases the music of such artists as Clara Rockmore, Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Orman, Laurie Spiegel, Wendy Carlos and others.
These women, many of whom are classically trained musicians, brilliant mathematicians or both, relish the freedom of electronic music documentary, while at the same time battling discrimination because of their gender and chosen medium.
Writer-director Lisa Rovner shows how the inventiveness and rebellion by these trailblazing pioneers have gone on to influence musicians working in several genres.
The movie was highly acclaimed, earning a 97 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A question-and-answer session with Rovner, a conversation about women in technology and “Electronic Music: The Sound of Liberation Panel” comprise the major extras.
Gangnam Zombie (Blu-ray)
Details: 2023, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A strange outbreak that turns residents of the upscale neighborhood of Gangnam outside of Seoul into zombie-like creatures who begin to attack other people begins to spread throughout the region.
A young man who was forced to quit the nation’s taekwondo team after an injury is offered a chance to use his talent on behalf of his country as he begins to battle multiple hordes of the undead.
He is aided by a fearless young woman with whom he was earlier trapped in an office building.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Korean 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Tenebrae (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, Synapse Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Dario Argento cowrote and directed this murder-mystery giallo feature about an American author, Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa), who comes to Rome to promote his newest novel, “Tenebrae.”
Soon, a razor-wielding psychopath begins taunting Neal and murdering people in gruesome manners just like the character in Neal’s book.
The mystery surrounding the reasons for the killings begin to spiral out of control, while the identity of the killer remains a mystery.
Neal begins to investigate the crimes that, as in many Argento films, leads to a genre-twisting finale. The movie, which garnered a 79 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, features several violent killings before the murderer is revealed.
The cast includes John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, Guiliano Gemma and Carola Stagnaro.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English and Italian 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH and English for the Italian version.
Don’t miss: Among the extras on both discs are an alternate opening credit sequence; an archival introduction by Nicolodi; an archival interview with Steiner; three commentary tracks, one by Maitland McDonagh, author of “Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento,” another with Argento expert Thomas Rostock and a third by authors and critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman; an archival interview with McDonagh; an archival featurette about the movie that includes interviews with filmmakers and cast members; and feature-length documentary about the giallo genre.
“Audie Murphy Collection III” (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 15
Details: 1960-63, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A trio of late-career Westerns starring Medal of Honor-winner-turned-actor Audie Murphy.
The set is comprised of “Hell Bent for Leather” (1960), “Posse From Hell” (1961) and “Showdown” (1963).
In “Hell Bent for Leather,” Murphy portrays Clay Santell, who stops in the town of Sutterville after having his horse stolen. Unfortunately, the townspeople believe that Santell is actually a murderer named Travers.
Santell flees with a hostage, played by Felicia Farr, until he can prove his innocence.
The movie co-stars Stephen McNally and Robert Middleton, and was directed by Western veteran George Sherman.
“Posse From Hell” deals with the hunt for four escaped death row inmates who ride into the town of Paradise, enter the town saloon and shoot it up, take a woman hostage and flee.
Murphy’s gunfighter, Banner Cole, is deputized to lead a posse and take down the killers. The supporting cast includes John Saxon, Vic Morrow, Royal Dano and Zohra Lampert.
Longtime Western director R.G. Springsteen helmed “Showdown,” which finds Murphy’s Chris Foster and his pal, Bert Pickett (Charles Drake), riding into a town to cash paychecks.
When they go to the saloon, Bert gets into a brawl and Chris gets involved. Both are arrested and put in iron collars chained to a killer, LaValle (Harold J. Stone).
Chris and Bert manage to escape with LaValle’s gang. In the meantime, Bert had picked up some negotiable bonds and when LaValle finds out, he forces Chris to go to another town to cash them or see Bert killed.
The cast also includes Kathleen Crowley, Skip Homeier, L.Q. Jones and Strother Martin.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture (“Hell Bent for Leather”), 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Posse From Hell” and “Showdown”); English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks on “Hell Bent for Leather” and “Posse From Hell.”
Suburra (Blu-ray)
Details: 2015, Unearthed Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An Italian crime drama about a gigantic real estate project that would transform the harbor of Ancient Rome into the Las Vegas of Italy.
But the area soon becomes a battlefield as criminals and politicians fight among themselves and with each other to gain control.
During the seven days of fighting, the death toll continues to mount.
The film also shows the impact on the lower-class, forgotten residents who live in the district.
This slick, energetic feature garnered a 91 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Italian 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a two-hour documentary that looks at the making of the movie and an extensive production gallery.
The Beasts (DVD)
Details: 2022, Greenwich Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A film parable about cultural differences, fueled by a dispute between an immigrant couple and rural locals.
An expatriate French couple, played by Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs, operate an organic farm in the Spanish countryside.
To the handful of “hill people” who have toiled the land for generations, though, their earnest enthusiasm reeks of patronizing privilege.
Tensions begin to mount and escalate between the two factions. The film, which garnered an impressive 98 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, trades on the current strains between immigrants and those who feel threatened by them.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; French and Spanish 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
The Beast (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 12
Details: 1988, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: A drama set in 1981 during the war in Afghanistan, when mujahideen guerrillas were battling the Soviet Union.
Jason Patric stars as a soldier in an inner battle between his conscience and his country. Separated from their patrol, the crew of a Russian tank engages in a deadly game of cat and mouse with local insurgents.
The tyrannical tank commander, Daskal (George Dzunda), wreaks havoc on a peaceful Afghan village, pushing the boundaries of Patric’s Koverchenko, the tank driver.
Sensing mutiny, Daskal abandons the crew to die in the desert at the hands of the rebels, only to discover he has sealed his own fate.
The cast also includes Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin and Don Harvey. The movie was directed by Kevin Reynolds (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Waterworld.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (Blu-ray)
Death Wish V: The Face of Death (Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, 1994, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: By the time of these two sequels, the “Death Wish” franchise has run its course.
In “Death Wish 4,” Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey struggles to forget the brutal killings of his loved ones — and his obsessive battle to avenge their murders.
What sets Kersey off in this film is the death of his girlfriend’s daughter from a crack overdose. He goes after the city’s drug lords, using his wits to ignite a bloody war between rival drug factions.
What he does not know is that there is a behind-the-scenes force manipulating him. The cast also includes Kay Lenz, John P. Ryan, Perry Lopez, Soon-Teck Oh and George Dickerson.
The director was J. Lee Thompson, who had directed much better features such as “The Guns of Navarone” and the original “Cape Fear.”
Seven years later, “Death Wish V” finds Kersey back in New York. But, again, tragedy strikes when his fiancée, Olivia (Lesley-Anne Down), is killed and her daughter is kidnapped by an underworld boss.
When he learns his fiancée was the victim of a protection racket run by her former husband, played by Michael Parks, Kersey begins hunting down the criminals.
The movies basically are blood-soaked potboilers and pale imitations of the original.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture (both films); English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio (both films); English SDH subtitles (both films).
Don’t miss: Both movies feature commentary tracks by film historian Paul Talbot, author of the “Bronson’s Loose” books.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Blu-ray)
Details: 2022, Shout! Factory-GKids
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Kokoro is a shy outcast who has been avoiding school for weeks. When she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror, Kokoro finds herself transported to an enchanted castle where she is joined by six other students.
Soon after, a girl in a wolf mask appears, explaining that they have been invited to play a game in which the teens must work together to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them.
However, anyone who breaks the rules will be eaten by a wolf.
The movie is an anime feature about the pains of growing up and the unlikely bond that can bring people together.
The film’s plot is rather thin and uninspired adaptation of a best-selling novel by Mizuki Tsujimura.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; Japanese and English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: An art gallery is the main extra.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
The Abomination (Blu-ray) (Visual Vengeance)
The Curse of Willow Creek (DVD & digital) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season Three (Blu-ray & DVD) (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Le Mépris (Contempt) (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Repligator (Visual Vengeance)
Speed Is Expensive: Philip Vincent and the Million Dollar Motorcycle (DVD & digital) (Comet Films)
FOR KIDS
Scooby-Doo and Krypto, Too! (DVD & digital) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Beasts (Kino Now)
The D’Amelio Show: Season 3, Episodes 3 & 4 (Hulu)
Dreamin’ Wild (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Megalomaniac (Dark Star Pictures)
Mending the Line (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Only Murders in the Building: Season 3, Episode 9 (Hulu)
Piccadilly (Kino Now)
Sisters With Transistors (Kino Now)
Sniper: G.R.I.T. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
SEPT. 27
Invasion: Season 2, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
The Morning Show: Season 3, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Strange Planet: Episode 10 (Apple TV+)
SEPT. 28
The Beach Hotel: Season 2 (Viaplay)
The Kardashians: Season Four (Hulu)
SEPT. 29
10/31: Part III (Terror Films)
The Changeling: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Dancing in the Dust (Film Movement Classics)
Flora and Son (Apple TV+)
Head Count (Shout! Studios)
Kill Room (Shout! Studios)
The Re-education of Molly Singer (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Still Up: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
OCT. 2
Blindspotting: Season 2 (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Power Book II: Ghost: Season 3 (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
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.