New to View: Aug. 5
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Aug. 5, unless otherwise noted:
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: Steelbook (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2003, Buena Vista-Disney-20th Century Fox
Rated: PG-13, intense battle sequences, related images, language
The lowdown: Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany reteam after their success in “A Beautiful Mind” for this adaptation of the 10th book in Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey/Maturin” historical naval series.
Crowe portrays ship’s commander Capt. “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, who, in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, has sailed to the waters off South America where his ship, the HMS Surprise, is ambushed by a French privateer Acheron off the coast of Brazil.
The Surprise suffers heavy damage, but escapes in a fog bank. Aubrey refuses to head to land and insists that repairs be made at sea. Shortly thereafter the Acheron again surprises and attacks Aubrey’s vessel, which uses a decoy raft to escape.
The cat-and-mouse game continue between the two ships. Aubrey finally stops at the Galápagos Islands after Bettany’s Dr. Stephen Maturin is accidentally wounded. While recovering, Maturin goes exploring on the island and discovers the Acheron in a cove on the other side of the island.
The Acheron is finally captured, but not without the loss of many lives.
The movie, directed by Peter Weir, earned 10 Academy Award nominations, winning for best cinematography and best sound editing. The film earned an 85 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include deleted scenes, a historical and geographical trivia track and a pop-up map.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 8
Details: 1993-97, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A 20-disc set that adds a ’90s spin adding romance to the action and adventure centering on Superman/Clark Kent (Dean Cain) and tenacious reporter Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher).
The series, which aired for four seasons, features all 87 episodes and focuses on the developing relationship between Clark and Lois. In this iteration of the series, Clark Kent is the true personality and Superman is the disguise.
For the first season, Superman’s traditional foe, Lex Luthor (John Shea), was the main antagonist but, beginning in season two, a variety of villains linked to Intergang created chaos in Metropolis.
The series also featured Lane Smith as Perry White, Michael Landes, who was replaced by Justin Whalen, as Jimmy Olsen and Tracy Scoggins as Kat Grant, whose character was cut after the first season.
K Callan and Eddie Jones played Martha and Jonathan Kent.
The Blu-ray set can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen with side mattes; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a making of featurette, the presentation of the pilot episode, a commentary track on the pilot episode, a featurette on making Superman fly, a secrets of season two, a look at Metropolis, the fans of the series and a history of the romance between Lois and Clark featurettes, and a “Man of Steel” trivia challenge.
Convoy (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Hollywood, seeing the success of “Smokey and the Bandit” following its release in May of 1977, immediately began trying to cash in on the high-speed outlaws of the highway vs. cops genre.
“Convoy,” which starred Kris Kristofferson and Ali MacGraw, was one of the better features, mainly because it was directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah. It also had a built-in audience because of the runaway hit song of the same title by C.W. McCall.
Kristofferson, who played William H. Bonney in Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” portrays Martin “Rubber Duck” Penwald, a trucker who is constantly feuding with Sheriff Dirty Lyle “Cottonmouth” Wallace (Ernest Borgnine, who had worked with Peckinpah in “The Wild Bunch”).
Penwald, using his Citizen Band radio, unites scores of his fellow drivers to create a gigantic mile-long convoy which, powered by pent-up frustration and resentments as much as by diesel fuel, rolls along the Arizona highways towards the freedom of the Mexican border.
The cast also includes Burt Young, Seymour Cassel, Madge Sinclair, Franklin Ajaye and Cassie Yates.
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: Extras include a commentary track by critic Steve Mitchell, a second by Peckinpah and film historians Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and Nick Redman and a third by Peckinpah film scholar Mike Siegel on both discs; and, on the Blu-ray disc, a “Sam’s Trucker Movie” documentary; “The Lost Convoy,” a 2024 video essay by Siegel; deleted scenes; an “Injokes, Friends & Cameos” featurette; a short 2013 interview with Norwegian trucker expert Anders Loefaldli; a “The Duck Trucks” featurette; and selections of posters, lobby cards and stills promoting the movie.
Knight Rider: The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
Release date: July 22
Details: 1982-91, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: David Hasselhoff stars as crimefighter Michael Knight who, with the help of his high-tech talking car, K.I.T.T., thwarts crooks, criminals and those seeking to use K.I.T.T.’s technology for their own selfish ends.
The series aired from 1982 to 1986, and was followed by two made-for-TV movies and a spinoff series, “Team Knight Rider.”
Hasselhoff’s character was a former undercover police detective who was severely wounded in the face, which was reconstructed through plastic surgery financed by billionaire Wilton Knight, who gave the detective the new name of Michael Knight.
Knight is aided by Wilton Knight’s associate, Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare), after the billionaire is killed in the first episode. Richard Basehart portrayed Wilton Knight and also remained the series’ narrator. William Daniels provided the voice of K.I.T.T. throughout the series.
The 21-disc set can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include behind-the-scenes interviews, commentary tracks with Hasselhoff, a “Knight Rider: Behind the Wheel” featurette and the “Knight Rider 2000” made-for-TV movie.
They Died with Their Boots On (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 29
Details: 1941, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Errol Flynn stars in this romanticized and mostly fictionalized story of the life and career Gen. George Armstrong Custer.
The movie traces Custer’s life from his entrance to West Point to his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Flynn portrays Custer as a fun-loving, dashing individual who chooses honor and glory over money and corruption.
Under the direction of Raoul Walsh, the Little Bighorn massacre was engineered by Custer who was willing to sacrifice his command to expose the corruption and broken promises of the government concerning the Black Hills, which were sacred to the Native American tribes, but wanted because gold had been discovered in the area.
Flynn’s Custer is a charismatic leader who was more an action hero than tactician. He believed in galloping headlong into where the fighting was fiercest.
The movie co-stars Flynn’s frequent costar, Olivia de Havilland as his wife, Elizbeth “Libbie” Bacon Custer. It was the last of their eight movies together.
Others in the cast included Arthur Kennedy, Sydney Greenstreet, Gene Lockhart, Anthony Quinn, Charley Grapevine, Stanley Ridges and George P. Huntley.
The Blu-ray can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com or other Internet sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture with side mattes; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a “Warner Night at the Movies” program, hosted by Leonard Maltin, that includes a newsreel, military short, “Soldiers in White,” a “Tale of Two Kitties” cartoon; and a featurette, “They Died with Their Boots On” To Hell or Glory.”
The Prisoner of Zenda (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 29
Details: 1952, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Stewart Granger stars in this virtual shot-by-shot remake of the 1937 adaptation of the Anthony Hope novel that starred Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll.
Like Colman, Granger plays the dual role Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll and King Rudolf V. When the king is kidnapped the night before his coronation by henchmen of his jealous half-brother, Michael, Duke of Streslau (Robert Douglas), Rassendyll is persuaded by the king’s loyal aide, Colonel Zapt (Louis Calhern), to masquerade as the monarch.
When the king is carried off by Michael’s ally, Rupert of Hentzau (James Mason), Rassendyll is forced to continue his charade. Complicating matters is his romantic feelings for Princess Flavia (Deborah Kerr), the betrothed of the king.
Keeping the secret of the king’s disappearance and his own actions, Rudolf sets out to save the monarch and help restore him to the throne.
Granger, while not as good an actor as Colman, excels in his athleticism and carries off his double duties with aplomb. The sharp Technicolor cinematography adds to the setting.
The Blu-ray 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 with side mattes; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include the 1922 silent version of the story starring Lewis Stone and Alice Terry, a “Lux Radio Theater” adaptation of the 1937 movie with Colman and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and a “Screen Director’s Playhouse” radio adaptation with Colman filmmaker John Cromwell.
Knights of the Round Table (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 29
Details: 1953, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Ah, the magic of movies. Where else can a young man from Nebraska, with the wieldy name of Spangler Arlington Brugh, come to Hollywood, have his name changed to Robert Taylor and become a matinee idol who plays romantic leads opposite such luminaries as Greta Garbo, Margaret Sullivan and Ava Gardner.
Taylor’s popularity was such that this all-American male could also portray the French Sir Lancelot in this all-star MGM medieval feature.
Taylor’s Lancelot is the right-hand knight of the noble and wise King Arthur (Mel Ferrer), who has united England and brought peace to the land.
But turmoil bubbles when the heroic Lancelot and the beautiful Queen Guinevere (Gardner) lock eyes and fall in love.
The film, shot in England, was the studio’s first widescreen Cinemascope release, capturing castles and other picturesque landmarks of the English countryside.
The film, directed by Richard Thorpe, also features Stanley Baker, Anne Crawford, Felix Aylmer and Niall MacGinnis:
The Blu-ray is available at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.55:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an introduction to the movie by Ferrer, newsreel footage of the movie’s premiere, an MGM short, “Jubilee Overture” and a Cinemascope cartoon, “One Droopy Knight.”
The Canary Murder Case (DVD)
Release date: May 20
Details: 1929, Alpha Home Entertainment-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: William Powell began his film career in silent features in the 1920s, where he usually appeared as villains or scoundrels.
With the advent of sound, Powell’s career trajectory began to rise. He seemed to specialize in playing debonair personalities and detectives, such as Nick Charles in six “Thin Man” movies at MGM and, prior to that, portrayed Philo Vance at Paramount and Warner Bros.
His first sound feature was as Vance in “The Canary Murder Case,” in which the private eye works to solve the murder of burlesque star Margaret O’Dell, known as “The Canary.”
Vance becomes involved in the case because Jimmy Spottswoode (James Hall), the son of Vance’s friend, Charles Spottswoode (Charles Lane), was involved with “The Canary” before her death and his father fears he will be implicated.
During his investigation, Vance finds a number of suspects with motive to kill “The Canary” before clearing young Spottswoode.
The movie damaged Brooks’ career because, since it was shot as both a silent and sound feature, she refused to participate the sound reshoots and her voice was dubbed by Margaret Livingston.
The made-on-demand DVD can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1.20:1 full-screen picture; English Dolby digital.
Don’t miss: A 1931 two-reeler, “Windy Riley Goes Hollywood,” co-starring Brooks, is the main bonus component.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Wolf Children (4K Ultra HD) (GKids-Shout Studios)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
A Chinese Ghost Story (Shout! Studios)
A Chinese Ghost Story II (Shout! Studios)
A Chinese Ghost Story III (Shout! Studios)
The A-Frame (Dark Star Pictures)
AUG. 6
Acapulco: Season 4, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
The Buccaneers: Season 2, Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
It’s All Gonna Break (Cargo Film)
The Pickup (Prime Video)
Platonic: Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
AUG. 7
The Congregation: Bride of Christ: Episodes 5 & 6 (Viaplay)
The Forger (Kino Film Collection)
Mademoiselle Chambon (Kino Film Collection)
AUG. 8
Animale (Film Movement)
Chief of War: Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
Ebony & Ivory (Drafthouse Films)
Foundation: Season 3, Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
The Girls Are Alright (Film Movement Plus)
Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos (Lightyear Entertainment)
Ralph Barbosa: Planet Bosa (Hulu)
Shaman (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Sister Midnight (Magnet Releasing)
Smoke: Episode 8 (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.