New to View: Jan. 30

By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 30, unless otherwise noted:
Conan the Barbarian: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, Arrow Films
Rated: R, graphic violence, nudity, sexual content
The lowdown: Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Robert E. Howard’s pulp-fiction character, first introduced in 1932, in a series of stories in “Weird Tales” magazine.
This adaptation, directed by John Milius and cowritten by Milius, Oliver Stone and Edward Summer, chronicles Conan’s origin and his search for Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones, leader an evil snake cult who killed his parents.
The movie helped popularize the sword-and-sorcery genre and began Schwarzenegger’s climb from bodybuilder to international action star.
Conan begins as a slave, but uses his fighting skills to become a fearsome warrior.
This set features three versions of the movie — the 127-minute theatrical cut, the 129-minute international version and the 130-minute extended version.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 7.1 TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio music track on the extended cut. English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options, most of which are featured on the Blu-ray disc, include outtakes, including a deleted cameo by Milius; a split-screen Valeria battles spirits visual effects comparison; a 1982 electronic press kit with more than 30 minutes of on-set footage and cast and crew interviews; a tribute to composer Basil Poledouris; an archival interview with sword master Kiyoshi Yamasaki; an archival compilation of cast and crew interviews; an archival featurette on the film’s literary and comic book roots; an interview with Alfio Leotta, author of “The Cinema of John Milius”; an interview with filmmaker Robert Eggers on the movie’s influence on his film, “The Northman”; interviews with visual effects and special effects crew members, actor Jack Taylor, assistant editor Peck Prior, actor Jorge Sanz, costume designer John Bloomfield and production artist William Stout; an archival 2000 making of featurette; two commentary tracks on the extended cut; a “Conan the Barbarian: The Musical,” a loving comic tribute to the movie; six double-sided collectable postcards; and a double-sided fold-out poster.

Conan the Destroyer: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1984, Arrow Films
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: This vastly inferior sequel finds Conan on a quest to find a mythical horn while also protecting a young princess.
Director Richard Fleischer fails to offer any zest to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s second foray as the fearsome warrior. The movie is more lightweight and sillier than its predecessor, with cheap-looking sets and special effects.
The cast, which includes Sarah Douglas, Wilt Chamberlain, Olivia d’Abo, Grace Jones and Mako, finds Conan battling wizards, evil beasts and cannibals.
The movie also features another blaring Basil Poledouris score that makes the movie sound more thrilling than it actually is.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio monaural and music track 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include archival interviews with Poledouris, writers Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway, John Walsh, author of “Conan the Barbarian: The Official History of the Film,” stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, costume designer John Bloomfield, art director Kevin Phipps and casting director Johanna Ray; a new and three archival commentary tracks; a double-sided fold-out poster, six double-sided collectable postcards; and a booklet about the movie.

Joan Baez: I Am Noise (DVD)
Release date: Jan. 16
Details: 2023, Magnolia Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that chronicles the life and career of folk singer and activist Joan Baez.
The movie looks at her lifelong emotional struggles, her civil rights work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and her doomed romance with Bob Dylan.
The movie is frank and intimate filled with home movies, diaries, artwork, therapy tapes and audio recordings as Baez reveals details about her life as a performer and as a private individual dealing with issues such as many of us do on a daily basis.
The film earned a 98 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes as Baez is candid about her pain and triumphs.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles.

A Day at the Races (Blu-ray)
Details: 1937, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx combine medicine and the racetrack in this hilarious comedy that features some of their funniest exchanges — especially the tootsie-footsie ice cream banter between Groucho and Chico.
Groucho is Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a horse doctor brought to a struggling sanitarium to save it by taking care of the rich hypochondriac, Mrs. Emily Upjohn, played by Margaret Dumont.
The sanitarium is owned by Maureen O’Sullivan with her well-meaning boyfriend, played by Allan Jones, trying to help her as best he can.
The racetrack sequences are wild and funny, with Groucho and Chico doing all they can to disrupt a race so jockey Harpo can ride the long-shot horse to victory.
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: Extras include a commentary track, a making of featurette, a classic MGM short with Robert Benchley, three MGM cartoons, an audio radio performance by Groucho as Hackenbush that was unused in the movie, “A Message From the Man in the Moon” outtake and a “Leo Is on the Air” radio air trailer.

Cabin in the Sky (Blu-ray)
Details: 1943, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Vincente Minnelli directed and Arthur Freed produced this adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about a compulsive gambler, Little Joe Jackson (Eddie “Rochester” Anderson), who is killed in a drunken fight and finds himself in purgatory.
He learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing.
Jackson struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia (Ethel Waters), but temptation, in the shapely form of Lena Horne’s Georgia Brown, Satan’s emissary charged with bringing Jackson down, challenges his efforts.
Rex Ingram portrays Lucius and Lucifer Jr., who aims to corrupt Jackson, while Kenneth Spencer plays the Rev. Greene and The General, the angel sent to help save Jackson’s soul.
The movie features Waters singing “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe” and “Taking a Chance on Love.”
The cast also includes Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra and The Hall Johnson Choir.
At Rotten Tomatoes, the movie garnered an 81 percent fresh rating.
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: Extras include a commentary track with the wife and daughter of Anderson, Fayard Nicholas and Black culture scholar Todd Boyd; interview excerpts with Horne by film historian Drew Casper; a vintage Pete Smith Specialty short, “Studio Visit”; and an audio-only Armstrong outtake “Ain’t It the Truth.”

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part One (4K Ultra HD + digital)
Release date: Jan. 23
Details: 2024, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, language
The lowdown: This DC animation feature, the first in a trilogy, is based on the iconic 1985-86 12-issue comic book crossover series that basically rebooted the DC Universe.
An anti-matter force is basically destroying the universe. The mysterious Monitor has gathered superheroes from various Earths — including Superman, Batman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter and Aquaman — to try to find a way to stop the force and save the remaining Earths and the remainder of the universe.
The Flash is the main focus of this movie as he traverses time and various Earths, trying to figure out what is happening and who is behind the calamity.
The movie ends on a cliffhanger setting the stage for the second movie, which does not as yet have a release date.
Technical aspect: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a featurette on the development and making of the movie, a “Crisis Prime” featurette and featurette on The Flash and his role in the movie.

The Prince and the Pauper (Blu-ray)
Details: 1937, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This adaptation of Mark Twain’s novel was Errol Flynn’s fourth starring role at Warner Bros. It also marked the first of 13 movies in which Flynn and Alan Hale worked together.
The real star ­— or stars — of this movie are the Mauch twins, Billy and Bobby, who play the beggar and prince who switch places as a joke. But when the boys’ plan backfires, it is up to soldier of fortune Miles Hendon (Flynn) to help resolve the situation and turn the tables on the conspirators, headed by the always-dependable Claude Rains, the first of his three movies with Flynn.
Billy Mauch portrays poor boy Tom Canty, while Bobby portrays Prince Edward. When Edward’s father, King Henry VIII, dies during the boys’ masquerade, Rains’ Earl of Hertford decides to take advantage of the situation and force Tom to do his bidding.
The swashbuckling Hendon, who has befriended the disguised Edward, helps set things right, earning the privilege of sitting before the newly-crowned king.
The Blu-ray can be ordered at www.moviezying.con 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: Extras include three classic Warner Bros. cartoons.

The Sting of Death (Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Japanese feature, set in the 1950s, deals with the consequences of infidelity.
A writer’s love affair with another woman has driven his wife mad with distrust.
The husband, regretting his mistake, tries all he can to save his wife from losing her mind. He decides to isolate himself and his family from the outside world in an attempt to salvage his marriage.
The movie won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and its stars, Ittoku Kishibe and Keiko Matsuzaka, received many awards for their performances.
The slow-paced film is heavy on symbolism, but it never is boring.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; Japanese LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a documentary on the Japanese film renaissance of the 1990s and an interview with Japanese film scholar Hideki Maeda and a booklet about the movie.

Goodbye & Amen (Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Tony Musante stars as a CIA agent in Rome planning to overthrow an African government.
But his plan is disrupted when a corrupt colleague begins shooting people from the roof of a hotel and taking an innocent couple hostage.
This is a tension-filled espionage thriller with many twists and turns that build to a strong finale.
The movie also features Claudia Cardinale, John Forsythe, John Steiner and Wolfgango Soldati.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, widescreen picture; Italian and English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include interviews with Soldati and editor Antonio Siciliano and a commentary track.

Murphy’s War: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, Arrow Films
Rated: PG-13, violence
The lowdown: Peter Yates directed this World War II feature starring Peter O’Toole as Murphy, a sailor on a merchant ship sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Venezuela during the last days of the war.
The sailors shipmates are machine-gunned in the water, with Murphy being the lone survivor.
He makes it to shore when he is nursed by Dr. Hayden (Sian Phillips), a pacifist Quaker who runs a missionary settlement near the mouth of a river.
When Murphy learns that the U-boat is hiding up the river using the jungle as cover, he becomes obsessed with avenging his fellow crewmen.
He then begins his own private war to sink the U-boat, no matter what it costs. He is aided by Louis Brezan (Philippe Noiret), the island’s government administrator.
The script is by Stirling Silliphant (“In the Heat of the Night”). The cast also includes Horst Janson (“Captain Kronos — Vampire Hunter”) as the submarine commander.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with assistant director John Glen, focus puller Robin Vidgeon and film critic Sheldon Hall; a visual essay by film critic David Caims and a booklet about the movie.

Faithless (Blu-ray)
Details: 1932, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In this pre-Code MGM feature Tallulah Bankhead stars as Carol Morgan, a spoiled, head-strong and arrogant heiress who ignores the Great Depression around her until she loses everything.
Morgan even spurns the affection of advertising executive Bill Wade, played by Robert Montgomery, breaking up with him because he only earns $20,000 a year (which was pretty good money in 1932).
Even after losing her fortune, she continues to rebuff Wade. Instead, she becomes the mistress of a still-wealthy, but abusive man she does not love.
Her life continues to spiral until she is forced to turn to prostitution. But she is “saved” when her first customer is an understanding policeman who takes her to Wade who, because it’s the movies, still loves Morgan.
The release can be ordered 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: A trio of vintage shorts — “Rambling Round Radio Row #18,” “The Trans-Atlantic Mystery” and “The Symphonic Murder Mystery” — comprises the extras.

Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
My Sailor, My Love (BD & DVD) (Music Box Films)
Silent Night (4K UHD + BD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Death and Other Details: Episode 4 (Hulu)
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Loaded Guns (Kino Now)
Ransomed (Well Go USA Entertainment)
JAN. 31
Criminal Record: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
FEB. 2
Dario Argento Panico (Shudder)
Departing Seniors (Dark Sky Films)
Masters of the Air: Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
The Tiger’s Apprentice (Paramount+)

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.