New to View: May 27
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, May 27, unless otherwise noted:
Yellowstone: Season 5, Part 2 (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, Paramount Pictures
Rated: TV-MA, language, violence
The lowdown: This three-disc set features the final six episodes of this popular Paramount+ streaming series that already has spawned two prequels — “1883” and “1923.”
The fifth season features the death of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton as the remaining episodes wrap up loose ends dealing with the fate of other characters.
An investigation is opened in the supposed “suicide” of Dutton, with the finger pointing at various suspects, including Dutton family members.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include an overview of the season, a “Moments of Time with Photographer Emerson Miller” featurette, a featurette with Chief Joseph Ranch on “The Heartbreak of Yellowstone” and a “Stories from the Bunkhouse” featurette.
Being Maria (Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The story of actress Maria Schneider and her experience with director Bernardo Bertolucci and actor Marlon Brando during the shooting of the controversial “Last Tango in Paris” has been well documented.
Now, director Jessica Palud, working from a script by Palud and Laurette Polmanss, who, according to the credits, “freely adapted from the book” by Vanessa Schneider, “Tu Appelais Maria Schneider,” about her cousin.
Schneider was 19 when she was filming “Last Tango,” and supposedly had a warm rapport with her director and costar, both of whom worked diligently to bring out the best in the young actor.
That changed when Bertolucci and Brando conspired to shoot a crucial sex scene as a traumatic assault without letting Schneider know in advance.
And while the movie received accolades, for Schneider it was the beginning of a living hell.
Palud’s movie tells Schneider’s story from her perspective.
“Being Maria” stars Anamaria Vartolomei as Schneider, Matt Dillon as Brando and Giuseppe Maggio as Bertolucci.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a question-and-answer session with Vartolomei and Dillon and an interview with Vanessa Schneider and producer Marielle Duigo.
Scent of a Woman: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1992, Shout! Studios
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: Al Pacino won a best actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Frank Slade, an overbearing and bitter retired lieutenant colonel.
Slade, who is blind, hires prep school student Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell) as his assistant. What Charlie believed would be an easy Thanksgiving holiday weekend, turns into an adventure when Slade decides to go to New York.
There, among other events, the suicidal Slade drives a Ferrari, walks through traffic and decides to kill himself with his service revolver.
Charlie talks him out of it and, in the process, relates his own problems at his school. On their return, Slade sits with Charlie at a disciplinary hearing, makes a rousing speech and helps his young friend clear his name.
The movie, directed by Martin Brest, also received Oscar nominations for best picture, best director and adapted screenplay. It garnered an 83 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: Bonus materials, on the Blu-ray disc, include a retrospective interview with Brest and an interview with co-editor Michael Tronick.
The Cinema Within (DVD)
Release date: May 20
Details: 2024, First Run Features-Unicorn Stencil
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: We seem to take film editing for granted. As a movie progresses, most of us know that a movie is comprised of snippets of pictures placed together to — hopefully — make a seamless whole.
This documentary, directed by Chad Freidrichs, examines the psychology of film editing and the mystery of how and why an edited movie so easily makes sense.
The movie uses the work of film editor Walter Murch, scholar David Bordwell and a wide group of psychologists, which suggests that in the earliest days of cinema, basic film edits were shaped by the mechanisms of human perception.
To test that theory, a researcher traveled to the remote mountains of Turkey — visiting a group of people who had never before seen a movie — to put these ideas to the test.
This inventive feature, shot over a four-year period, explores the basic grammar of film and how it helps shape how people perceive reality.
Technical aspects: 1:85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital.
Starman: Steelbook (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 1984, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Over his iconic career, Jeff Bridges has portrayed a varied arrays of characters from “The Dude” in “The Big Lebowski,” to the quirky criminal opposite Clint Eastwood in “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” to the plane crash survivor in “Fearless.”
One of his most beloved roles is as the gentle alien in the romantic science-fiction feature “Starman,” for which he received a best actor Academy Award nomination.
The craft carrying Bridges alien is shot down over Wisconsin. It passenger, who is called Starman, makes his way to the remote cabin of recently widowed Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). To blend in on Earth, the alien clones himself as Hayden’s late husband — which, of course, freaks her out.
The benign Starman convinces her to drive him to Arizona so he can be picked up by his mother ship. If he is not rescued in three days, he will die.
Hayden reluctantly agrees, and on their odyssey, the two begin to bond with Starman demonstrating the power of universal love and learning about human emotions.
Hayden, as well, begins to heal as they travel and she begins to see the compassion within her companion.
The movie, directed by John Carpenter, received an 84 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos (7.1 TrueHD compatible), 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2-Channel DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish Dolby digital monaural; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; ; English Dolby Atmos (7.1 TrueHD compatible), 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2-Channel DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish Dolby digital monaural; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a commentary track with Carpenter and Bridges, 21 deleted scenes, behind-the-scene time lapses, a remembering “Starman” featurette, a making of featurette and a music video.
Prophecy (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: May 20
Details: 1979, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence, language
The lowdown: In terms of its theme, this “monster movie,” directed by John Frankenheimer, is a warning about ecological abuse and the dangers and consequences of polluting our environment that is years ahead of its time.
Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire star as a doctor and his wife who, at the request of a concerned friend, travel to Maine to research the impact of the lumber industry on the local environment.
Their investigation uncovers a series of strange and terrifying events such as ecological freaks of nature — including fish that grow many times their normal size — as well as bizarre and gruesome human deaths.
Frankenheimer, directing a script by David Seltzer, creates not just a creature feature, but a suspenseful exercise about the deadly forces that result from the pollution of our planet.
The movie costars Armand Assante and Richard Dysart.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with entertainment journalists-authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry on the 4K UHD disc and, on the Blu-ray disc, interviews with Foxworth, Shire, Seltzer, makeup effects designer Tom Burman, makeup effects artist Allan Apone and mime artist Tom McLoughlin.
“Terror in the Fog: The Wallace Krimi at CCC” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1963-64, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A four-disc set that spotlights “krimis,” which were very popular with West German audiences in the 1960s.
The majority of them were based on works by British crime writer Edgar Wallace and his son, Bryan Edgar Wallace.
These features combined murder mystery with some horror components, with perplexing killers stalking victims through various foggy English landscapes — from the streets of London to isolated rural mansions.
The set features five movies, beginning with “The Curse of the Yellow Snake” (1963), in which a mysterious cult desires to get an ancient artifact that has been brought to London from Hong Kong.
“The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle” (1963) centers on a masked murderer stalking the grounds of a vast British estate. The killer brands his victims’ foreheads with an “M.”
London is the setting of “The Mad Executioners” (1963) as a gang of hooded vigilantes roam the streets while a sadistic serial killer is on the loose.
Jack the Ripper is the subject of “The Monster of London City” (1964), as a series of vicious murders bring chaos and panic to the British capital.
The final movie in the set is “The Racetrack Murders (aka “The Seventh Victim”), in which several victims are dying in and around a stately home — with the killings possibly linked to the owner’s racehorse.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.2:1 widescreen and full-screen pictures; German LPCM monaural and English (dubbed) on “The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle,” “The Mad Executioners,” “The Monster of London City” and, the bonus feature, “The Phantom of Soho”; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include “The Phantom of Soho” (1964), introductions to each film by Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas; commentaries by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw on “The Curse of the Yellow Snake” and “The Phantom of Soho,” and by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby on “The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle,” “The Mad Executioners” and “The Racetrack Murders”; a commentary by Newman and Stephen Jones on “The Monster of London City”; an interview with Alice Brauner, producer and managing director at CCC, and the daughter of screenwriter Artur Brauner on the Bryan Edgar Wallace era at CCC; a video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas exploring the influence of the Wallace krimi on the Italian giallo and the American slasher film; and a 60-page book featuring a new introduction to the Wallace krimi cycle, an essay on the Wallaces and new notes on each movie.
Wayne’s World 2 (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1993, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, ribald humor
The lowdown: Mike Myers and Dana Carvey return as their late-night TV personalities, Wayne and Garth, is this sequel to the earlier hit about the characters they introduced on “Saturday Night Live.”
Their success from the first movie has given Wayne cult status. So, what can he do next?
Wayne’s answer comes in a dream in which a famous — and very dead — rock star says, “Put on a rock concert, and they will come.”
Easier said than done. But Wayne, along with Garth, move forward and present “Waynestock.”
First, though, Wayne must save his girlfriend Cassandra (Tia Carrere) from a sinister record producer, played by Christopher Walken, while Garth must deal with the advances of a mega-babe Honey Hornée (Kim Basinger).
The sequel features appearances from Aerosmith, Drew Barrymore, Chris Farley, Charlton Heston, James Hong, Heather Locklear, Tim Meadows, Ed O’Neill and Kevin Pollak.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with director Stephen Surjik on both discs and, on the Blu-ray disc, an extreme close-up featurette.
“Audie Murphy Collection IV” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1950-54, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: World War II hero Audie Murphy became one of Hollywood’s most popular Western stars during the 1950s. This set features three of those films.
First up is “The Kid from Texas” (1950), another version of the Billy the Kid saga, with Murphy portraying William H. Bonney, aka, Billy the Kid.
The movie covers the familiar ground of Billy’s involvement in the Lincoln County land wars after gunmen working for a rival rancher kills the kindly rancher who gave Billy a job and believed in him.
The film costars Gale Storm, Albert Decker, Will Geer, William Talman and Frank Wilcox.
“The Cimarron Kid” (1952) finds the Kid accused of a payroll robbery. He flees to the high country where he joins a band of outlaws, who are later killed during a bank robbery.
The Kid flees to a local ranch, where he falls in love with the rancher’s daughter, who tries to reform him.
Beverly Tyler, Leif Erickson, James Best and Hugh O’Brian costar with Murphy.
In “Drums Along the River” (1954), a desperate party of miners who have fallen on hard times, decide to dig for gold in Ute territory, despite a peace treaty that forbids trespassing on Ute land.
They are led by greedy Frank Walker (Lyle Bettger), despite the warnings of even-tempered Sam Brannon (Walter Brennan), who advises against starting a war against the Utes. Brannon’s son, Gary (Murphy), is conflicted between his father’s moral code and his disdain for the Utes.
The cast also includes Hugh O’Brian, Lisa Gaye, Jay Silverheels and Regis Toomey.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1full-screen (“The Kid from Texas,” “The Cimarron Kid”) and 2.00:1 widescreen pictures (“Drums Across the River”); English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks on all three movies.
Body Odyssey (DVD)
Details: 2023, IndiePix Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Mona (Jacqueline “Jay” Fuchs) is a contender to become Miss Body Universe. She is a 45-year-old champion bodybuilder whose whole life is a quest for perfection and beauty.
Her daily schedule is carefully followed by her obsessive coach Kurt (Julian Sands), who monitors every action of her life — from her sleep, her eating habits, her training, her doping, her psychology and even her sex life.
Mona’s demanding regimen is disrupted, however, when a brief romantic encounter with a young man impacts her discipline and her will.
The film’s sensory experience is akin to a David Cronenberg-like feature that balances body horror and emotional sweetness.
Technical aspects: 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital.
Kingpin (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1996, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13 & R, crude sex-related humor, drug use
The lowdown: Peter and Bobby Farrelly directed this sometimes-crude farce starring Woody Harrelson as Roy Munson, a pro bowler who seems destined for greatness, until a confrontation with angry competitors cost him his bowling hand.
Years later, Munson meets the naïve Ishmael (Randy Quaid), an Amish bowling genius. Munson convinces Ishmael to join him and together they set their sights on a million-dollar tournament in Reno.
Along the way, they pick up Claudia (Vanessa Angel), a sexy young woman with brains, attitude and big ideas. With her help Munson and Ishmael make it to the tournament. The big question is, can they go all the way and win the event?
You will have to check out the money to find the answer. The cast also includes Bill Murray and Chris Elliott.
The set contains the theatrical and extended, R-rated cut of the movie.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by journalists-authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry on the theatrical cut on both discs and, on the Blu-ray, a commentary track with the Farrelly brothers on the extended cut and a featurette about the movie with the brothers.
The Prosecutor (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Donnie Yen stars as Fok Chi-ho, a former police officer-turned prosecutor, who discovers that an innocent man has been framed for drug trafficking.
Despite a forced confession, Fok sees the truth and begins his own investigation, which exposes corruption within the legal system. As Fok fights for justice, he risks his career — and his life — to battle the dangerous forces determined to keep their secrets buried.
Yen is the main attraction here, mixing martial-arts action with drama, and still being able to show off his action-star abilities.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Cantonese and English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Steppenwolf (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A disturbing movie in which a mother, Tamara, will use any means to find her missing son, including teaming up with an amoral former police investigator whose methods are often cruel and sadistic.
Tamara, however, decides to complete her quest with the detective despite his bloody actions as they undertake a bullet-ridden road trip to find Tamara’s son as well as their salvation.
The movie is an odd combination of savagery and dark comedy from director Adilkhan Yerzhanov.
The Blu-ray also includes Yerzhanov’s 2022 movie, Goliath, in which a man provides housing and jobs, yet executes anyone who opposes him.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; “Steppenwolf”: Kazakh and Russian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and Spanish subtitles; “Goliath”: Russian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary on “Steppenwolf” with pop culture historian David Flint; a visual essay on the movie by film historian and academic Lee Broughton, exploring the use of American and Italian Western tropes in “Steppenwolf” and other movies around the world; a making of featurette; and a booklet featuring interviews with cast and crew members.
Wan Pipel (Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Cult Epics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This joint American-Netherlands production is a love story between Roy, a Suriname man; Karina, his Dutch girlfriend; and Rubia, an Indian girl, that breaks all color, race and religious barriers.
Roy is studying in Amsterdam when he has to hurriedly leave to see his dying mother. Once back in his homeland, Roy becomes obsessed with its country and its culture.
He also falls for Rubia, a Hindu nurse, creating tensions in the Black and Hindu communities.
To complicate matters even more, Karina also travels to Surinam, which creates more tension for not only Roy, but the community at large, especially since Roy and Rubia defied their fathers — who object to the relationship over religious differences — and elope.
The 112-minute movie advances its story at a leisurely pace, but keeps you interested throughout.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; Dutch and Suriname 2.0 LPCM monaural and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental features include a commentary track by film historian Lex Veerkamp and Bodil de la Parra; an introduction by director Pim de la Parra; a making of featurette; an interview with actor Willeke van Ammelrooy, who played Karina; and a bonus short film.
The following titles are being released on Tuesday unless otherwise indicated:
The Quiet Ones (Blu-ray & DVD & VOD) (Magnet Releasing-Magnolia Home Entertainment)
FOR KIDS
The Colors Within (Blu-ray + DVD) (GKids-Shout! Studios)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
A Hard Place (Apple TV+ & Prime Video)
Asian Persuasion (Scatena & Rosner Films)
Ba (Ethos Releasing)
The Final Play (Cineverse)
The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 6, Episode 10 (Hulu)
Pretty Boy (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Stand Your Ground (Epic Pictures)
MAY 28
Captain America: Brave New World (Disney+)
Carême: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Government Cheese: Episode 10 (Apple TV+)
The Mill and the Cross (Kino Film Collection)
Nine Perfect Strangers: Season 2, Episode 3 (Hulu)
MAY 30
Bono: Stories of Surrender (Apple TV+)
Love Is a Celebration (Paris, Pigalle) (Film Movement Plus)
Lulu Is a Rhinoceros (Apple TV+)
Murderbot: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
The New Boy (Vertical Entertainment)
Your Friends & Neighbors: Episode 9 (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.