New to View: April 1

By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, April 1, unless otherwise noted:
A Complete Unknown (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2024, Disney-Buena Vista
Rated: R, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Timothée Chalamet gives a stellar performance chronicling the early career of Bob Dylan in this acclaimed biopic.
Set between 1961 and 1965 the movie, directed by James Mangold — who also guided Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line” — follows the rise of Dylan from an unknown singer-songwriter from Minnesota to a modern folk troubadour who, to the dismay and anger of many, abandoned his folk roots and acoustic guitar and sold out by “going electric.”
Dylan, as portrayed by Chalamet, is a true rebel, uncaring about what people think or defiant by those who try to tell him what kind of music to compose. His voice was the only one that mattered and staying true to the lyrics inside his head was his sole purpose as a musician.
Dylan disdained labels, feeling very uncomfortable about being hailed the voice of a generation. His words and music were his priority, taking precedence over accolades, friendships and relationships.
Chalamet’s accomplishment dominates “A Complete Unknown” so much so that the other major characters merely languish in his shadow. It’s not that Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo or Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez don’t acquit themselves, but it’s as if they are sketches while Chalamet’s Dylan is a portrait.
“A Complete Unknown” is not a historical document. Like other biopics of artists, it contains inaccuracies as it takes dramatic license with Dylan’s life and career.
The film’s third act, dealing with the uproar over Dylan’s decision to go electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, captures the singer’s defiance about himself and his music being pigeonholed.
Dylan fans will embrace the movie as Chalamet humanizes this living legend, which makes him more accessible and hopefully will allow more people to discover and embrace an iconic musical genius.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 Dolby digital, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a making of featurette, a look at the story, a featurette on Chalamet’s transformation into Dylan, a featurette on the supporting cast, a look at the design of the movie and a commentary track by Mangold.

Mufasa: The Lion King (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2024, Disney-Buena Vista
Rated: PG, action, violence, thematic elements
The lowdown: A disappointing CGI-driven prequel that chronicles how the majestic Mufasa became the lion king and how he earned the hatred of his brother Scar.
The movie is very unoriginal as we learn how Mufasa as a cub is separated from his family and was taken in by Taka, a prince of a distant pride of lions.
The major problem is that, from the outset, Mufasa is presented as a paragon of virtue not because of deeds, but because everyone reacts that way around him.
Of course, this creates tension and problems between Mufasa and Taka, especially after Mufasa assumes a leadership role, causing a very resentful Taka to change his name.
A framing device that harkens back to the original “Lion King” is more of a distraction and really does nothing to further the story.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English Dolby digital descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a making of featurette, a full-length sing-along, a discussion with director Barry Jenkins and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda about the movie’s music, a behind-the-scenes look with Timon and Pumbaa revealing fun facts and some of the hidden references in the movie, deleted scenes, outtakes, a music video song selections and a featurette on how Disney and The Lion Recovery Fund are working to protect the pride and conserve lions in the wild.

Love Hurts: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2025, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic bloody violence, language
The lowdown: Academy Award-winner Ke Huy Quan stars as Marvin, who left behind a violent life to lay low in suburban Milwaukee as a mild-mannered real estate agent.
He also left behind Rose (Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose), his former partner in his other life.
Rose, however, has returned and needs Marvin’s help to exact revenge against his crime lord brother, Knuckles (Daniel Wu).
Reluctantly, Marvin finds himself back in the violent world that he believed he had left behind forever.
“Love Hurts” bares similarities to “Nobody” — a seemingly ordinary guy living a peaceful life is drawn back in to a situation in which he must use his former “skills.”
The movie fails to deliver on all fronts, being more a mediocre mash-up than an exciting action thriller.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, French 7.1 Dolby digital plus and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, English Dolby Atmos and DVS, French 7.1 Dolby digital plus and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include an alternate ending, deleted and extended scenes, behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the movie with comments from cast members and Ke Huy Quan’s training regimen for his character and a look at the creation of the movie’s stunts.

Dog Man: Collector’s Edition 2000 (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2025, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, action, rude humor
The lowdown: An animated DreamWorks feature adaptation of Dav Pikley’s popular literary work.
When a faithful police dog and his human police officer are badly injured on the job, a harebrained surgery fuses them together, creating Dog Man.
As Dog Man embraces his new identity and works to impress his chief of police, he must stop the villainous Petey the Cat from cloning himself and creating an evil kitten.
The twist involves the new forging an unexpected bond with Dog Man and in the process, they discover the power of family, which brings the most aggressive enemies together.
The vocal talent includes Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher Lil Rel Howery and Poppy Liu.
The movie garnered an 80 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition,, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, 2.0 DVS and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include deleted and extended scenes, a behind-the-scenes at the recording sessions, a making of featurette, howl–to-draw flip-o-rama style and how to make doughnuts for dogs featurettes and a commentary track with writer-director Peter Hastings.

“Mabuse Lives! Dr. Mabuse at CCC 1960-1964)” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1960-64, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A four-disc set that features six German movies centered on the iconic master criminal Dr. Mabuse, popularized in two movies made by Fritz Lang in the 1920s and ’30s.
Lang was hired in 1960 by CCC Film to make a third Mabuse movie. “The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse” (1960) stars Wolfgang Priess, who would portray Mabuse in all six movies. In this outing, Mabuse uses various disguises and surveillance equipment of a Nazi-era bugged hotel in an attempt to steal nuclear secrets.
The cast also includes Gert Fröbe (“Goldfinger”) as a police official as well as Dawn Addams and Peter van Eyck.
This was the last film directed by Lang in his long, interesting career.
“The Return of Dr. Mabuse” (1961) finds the evil mastermind using hypnotized underlings to carry out his crimes. Mabuse’s aim is to sabotage a nuclear reactor in his scheme to dominate the world. Fröbe returns, this time playing Mabuse’s traditional adversary Inspector Lohmann. The cast also includes former Tarzan Lex Barker and Daliah Lavi.
In 1962’s “The Invisible Dr. Mabuse,” is a weird concoction — part “The Phantom of the Opera” and part “The Invisible Man” as Mabuse seeks a secret invention that makes a person invisible.
Lex Barker returns and Karin Dor joins the cast.
“The Testament of Dr. Mabuse” (1962) — also known as “The Terror of Dr. Mabuse” — is a remake of Lang’s 1933 original sequel. The premise revolves around Mabuse continuing his wave of terror from inside a mental asylum, not knowing that the arch-criminal is using his mind to control the head of the asylum.
Fröbe returns as Inspector Lohmann in the one, which also features Senta Berger and Helmut Schmid.
“Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse” (1963) — also known as “Dr. Mabuse vs. Scotland Yard” — finds the spirit of the evil genius taking over the body of a famous professor, than beginning a crime wave that he hopes will eventually topple the English government.
By this time, the movies were getting more and more fantastic, with the spirit of the dead Mabuse seemingly taking over one new body to another.
The final film in the series, “The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse” (1964), finds Mabuse inventing a death ray in which he can threaten the world. It is more of a James Bond-type thriller, with the odd occurrence that Priess’s Mabuse does not appear in the movie.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture, German and English (dubbed) 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an archival commentary track on “The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse” by film historian-author David Kalat; new commentaries by Kalat on the five other movies; a “Mabuse Lives at CCC” interview with producer and managing director Alice Brauner, daughter of CCC founder Artur Brauner; new introductions to each film by genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas; a “Kriminolgy” video essay by David Caims and Fiona Watson; a 2002 interview with Priess; alternate endings for “The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse” and “The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse”; and a 60-page collector’s booklet with notes on each film.

Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Flight Risk (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital & Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Harbin (4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Well Go USA Entertainment)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
APRIL 2
Good American Family: Episode 4 (Hulu)
The Studio: Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
APRIL 3
The Street Where I Live (Viaplay)
APRIL 4
825 Forest Road (Shudder)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Dope Thief: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Dying for Sex (Hulu)
The Oldest Profession (Film Movement Plus)
Surface: Season 2, Episode 7 (Apple TV+)

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 X @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.