New to View: July 16
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, July 16, unless otherwise noted:
Brokeback Mountain (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 2005, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, sexual situations, language, nudity, violence
The lowdown: One of the biggest disgraces in the history of the Academy Awards was the snub of “Brokeback Mountain” as best picture of 2005, losing to the good, but not great, “Crash.”
The movie’s director, Ang Lee, was awarded an Oscar, as were Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for best adapted screenplay and best original score for Gustavo Santaolalla.
Heath Ledger is Ennis, a ranch hand, and Jake Gyllenhaal is Jack, a rodeo cowboy in this story of two young men, hired as sheep herders in Wyoming. Soon, the two develop an intimate relationship that evolves into a strong and loving bond, despite the two marrying and, outwardly, living conventional lives.
The movie is a heartbreaking story of repressed love, elevated by the brave and sensitive performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal.
“Brokeback Mountain” is a powerful today and as it was on its initial release. The movie costars Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris and Randy Quaid.
It garnered an 88 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Both discs feature a commentary track by film historian-writer Julie Kirgo. Other extras, found on the Blu-ray disc, include a making of featurette; interviews with McMurtry and Ossana; a featurette on Lee; “A Groundbreaking Success” featurette, that looks at the movie’s impact; and featurettes on being a cowboy and the movie’s music with Santaolalla.
The Boy and the Heron (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: July 9
Details: 2023, Studio Ghibli-GKids-Shout! Studios
Rated: PG-13, violence, bloody images, smoking
The lowdown: Hayao Miyazaki’s latest anime feature, winner of an Academy Award for best animated feature, is a fantasy about a boy, Mahito, who lost his mother during the war.
Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. Soon after his arrival, a series of strange events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, which is home to a mischievous gray heron.
When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the heron into a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead.
He begins an epic journey to uncover the secrets of this strange world and, in the process, learn the truth about himself.
Miyazaki came out of retirement to make this soulful, thought-provoking feature, providing stunningly beautiful animation that will delight viewers.
Critics were impressed, awarding the moving a 97 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The set offers the movie in its original Japanese and an English audio track, featuring the voices of Christian Bale, David Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Mark Hamill, Karen Fukuhara, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Japanese and English Dolby Atmos, English AD 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Japanese and English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English AD 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include interviews with composer Joe Hisaishi, producer Toshio Suzuki and supervising animator Takeshi Honda; a drawing with Honda featurette; a music video; and feature-length storyboards.
Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 2
Details: 2023, Cohen Media Group-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A horrifying story, based on true events, about a 7-year-old Jewish boy living with his family in Bologna, Italy, in 1858, who is forcibly taken from his family by soldiers of the pope to be raised Catholic.
Supposedly, the baby Edgardo was secretly baptized by his nurse and, according to unquestionable Catholic law, he must receive a Catholic education.
Edgardo’s devastated parents want their son returned. Public opinion and the international Jewish community support them. The struggle soon takes on political overtones as the church and the pope refuse to return the boy, giving rise to a call for democracy and Italian unification throughout Italy.
Director Marco Bellocchio’s viewpoint lies with the Mortara family but many aspects of the movie are oversimplified.
The movie, which received an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, is an honorable, but flawed effort.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Italian 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: An introduction to the film and an interview with Bellocchio are the major extras.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1956, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A science-fiction classic that, though remade and copied many times, remains not only one of the greatest sci-fi features of the 1950s, but in cinema history.
The story is a perfect fit for the Cold War fear, paranoia, mass hysteria and dangers of conformity that dominated the decade.
Kevin McCarthy gives a memorable performance as small-town California doctor Miles Bennell, whose patients are becoming increasingly overwrought, claiming their loved ones are emotionless imposters.
That is because plant-like extraterrestrials have invaded Earth, taking possession of humans as they sleep and replicating them in giant seed pods.
Bennell, finding proof of the pods, finally is convinced of the danger and begins a terrifying race for his life so he can warn others before it is too late.
The cast also includes Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Wiles and Ralph Dumke. Don Siegel’s expert direction heightened the suspense of Jack Finney’s story.
And the movie’s memorable ending in which a hysterical McCarthy runs through traffic shouting, “They’re here already! You’re next!” is one of the most chilling screen finales.
The movie garnered an impressive 98 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The two-disc set features the film in two widescreen formats.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 and 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 and 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include four commentary tracks on both discs — one with McCarthy and Wynter, moderated by filmmaker Joe Dante, one with film historian Richard Harland Smith, one with film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson and the last with professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney; and of the Blu-ray disc, a “Fear Is Real” featurette with Dante and filmmaker Larry Cohen; a featurette entitled “The Stranger in Your Lover’s Eyes” and “I No Longer Belong — The Rise and Fall of Walter Wanger,” the producer of the movie.
Monk: Season Eight (Blu-ray)
Details: 2009, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This four-disc set features the final 16 episodes of this beloved series starring Tony Shalhoub as private investigator Adrian Monk.
The episodes are filled with guest stars from Monk’s past as well as the resolution of many mysteries, including the death of Monk’s wife, Trudy.
The season also finds Monk helping a small-town Nevada sheriff investigate the killing of a woman on a hiking trail linked to several UFO sightings; working as a bodyguard for the now-adult woman who was the star of his favorite childhood TV series; helping a Nigerian man solve the hit-and-run death of his wife; and joining a group therapy in which the members are being killed off.
Regulars returning for the final season include Traylor Howard as Natalie, Ted Levine as Capt. Stottlemeyer and Jason Gray-Stanford as Lt. Disher.
Other returnees include Hector Elizondo and Emmy Clarke, while guest stars include Virginia Madsen, Craig T. Nelson, Brooke Adams, Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, Meat Loaf, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan Baker, Ed Begley Jr., Daniel Stern, Teri Polo, Carol Kane, John Carroll Lynch, Rena Sofer, Jay Mohr and Reed Diamond.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include interviews with Shalhoub, Howard, Gray-Stanford and show runner Andy Breckman; a commentary track on “Mr. Monk and the End” with Shalhoub, Breckman and episode director Randall Zisk; a “Mr. Monk Says Goodbye” featurette with comments by Shalhoub, Howard, Stanford and the makers of the series; and a making of the final season set tours with co-producer Doug Nabors.
Come Back, Little Sheba (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 9
Details: 1952, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Shirley Booth won a best actress Academy Award in reprising her role as slovenly housewife, Lola, in this film adaptation of William Inge’s play.
Lola and her husband, Doc Delaney (Burt Lancaster), a recovering alcoholic, life a dull, routine existence. Lola and Doc married in haste after Lola became pregnant, forcing Doc to drop out of medical school. Lola has never recovered from the miscarriage she suffered shortly after the wedding.
She also mourns the loss of her beloved dog, Sheba.
Life for Delaneys take a sharp turn after the couple take in a charming boarder, Marie (Terry Moore), who soon becomes the daughter the couple never had.
But when Marie starts going out with the boorish Turk (Richard Jaeckel), Doc becomes very jealous, spiraling to the point of again being tempted by the bottle.
Lancaster’s performance is one of the best of his early career, while Moore received a supporting actress Oscar nomination.
The film was directed by Daniel Mann and photographed by the legendary James Wong Howe.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film historian Scott Harrison is the main bonus component.
Columbo: The Return (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989-2003, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The initial run of Peter Falk’s Lt. Columbo ended in 1978, but you can’t keep a good detective in mothballs forever.
In 1989, Falk again donned the trench coat and returned as the wily police investigator, appearing in 24 episodes from 1989 to 2003.
These episodes aired as specials instead of a weekly series, but for the most part they followed the same format as the original series.
The highlight, of course, is delighting in Columbo’s matching wits with the various murder suspects who underestimate his wiliness because of his demeanor.
Guest stars who appeared as the killer include Patrick McGoohan, Faye Dunaway, Rip Torn, William Shatner, Tyne Daley, George Hamilton,, Dabney Coleman, Helen Shaver, Andrew Stevens, Ed Begley Jr. and George Wendt. Among those playing murder victims were Fionnula Flanagan, Louis Zorich, Janet Margolin, Steve Forrest, Burt Young and Rue McClanahan.
The episodes, as in the original series, are delightful, strung together by Falk’s sly performance.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: An episode guide booklet is the major extra.
The Last Stop in Yuma County (Blu-ray)
Details: 2023, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: A smart crime thriller in which a traveling knife salesman awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop becomes involved in a hostage situation after two stranded bank robbers with no qualms about killing anyone to protect their ill-gotten loot.
The movie, which runs 90 minutes, is filled with twists and surprises that will keep you on your toes — so pay attention. The film, written and directed by Francis Galluppi, takes its sweet time building tension. The film is a well-crafted neo-noir thriller with splashes of humor.
It garnered a 96 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 (enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a making of featurette and a three commentary tracks.
When Eight Bells Toll: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Anthony Hopkins stars as a British agent Philip Calvert in this adaptation of another of author Alistair MacLean’s adventure thrillers.
Calvert is assigned to stop the pirating of millions of dollars of gold bullion in the Irish seas. His investigation takes him to a small port in the Hebrides where many fishing boats, yachts and people have been disappearing.
The movie, which also features Nathalie Delon, Robert Morley, Jack Hawkins and Corin Redgrave, is not up to the standards of a MacLean adaptation such as “The Guns of Navarone,” but it is a passable James Bond-style spy story.
The movie was meant as the first in a series of films with the Calvert character, but its low box office returns sunk that idea.
Hopkins gives a likable, no-nonsense performance with a touch of rebellion.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with filmmaker-historian Steve Mitchell and screenwriter-producer Cyrus Voris is the main extra.
Phantoms: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1998, Scream Factory-Shout! Studios
Rated: R, sci-fi violence, gore, language
The lowdown: An evil entity has wiped out most of the population of the resort town of Snowfield, Colorado. No one, not Sheriff Bryce Affleck; his deputy, Stuart Wargle (Liev Schreiber); scientist-turned-journalist Dr. Timothy Flyte (Peter O’Toole), nor scientist Dr. Jennifer Pailey (Joanna Going) or her sister, Lisa (Rose McGowan), knows what they are fighting to survive.
The movie, based on a book by Dean Koontz — who also wrote the screenplay, is underwhelming, with so-so special effects and muddled explanations.
And the more the story unfolds, the dumber the movie gets. Flyte’s explanation of an “Ancient Enemy,” an entity that has wiped out civilizations over the centuries, seems dubious. After all, why would it choose a little down in Colorado instead of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles — even Denver.
This is not a highlight reel for any of those involved in the production.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a making of featurette with an interview with producer Joel Soisson and a “Chaos in the Flesh: Filming ‘Phantoms’ ” featurette with director of photography Richard Clabaugh.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Valleyheart (DVD & VOD) (Indican Pictures)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Dead Don’t Hurt (Shout! Studios)
The Fortress (Viaplay)
Just the Two of Us (Music Box Films)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part 3 (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
The Strangers — Chapter 1 (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Taking Venice (Kino Film Collection)
Yvonne’s Perfume (Kino Film Collection)
JULY 17
Land of Women: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Presumed Innocent: Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Sunny: Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
UnPrisoned: Season 2 (Hulu)
JULY 18
Diary of a Chambermaid (Prime Video-Kino Film Collection)
How I Caught My Killer: Season 2 (Hulu)
The Nun (Prime Video-Kino Film Collection)
Those Who Are About to Die (Peacock)
JULY 19
Before Dawn (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Clear Cut (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Find Me Falling (Netflix)
Lady in the Lake: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
Omnivore (Apple TV+)
Skywalkers: A Love Story (Netflix)
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