New to View: Jan. 13

By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 13, unless otherwise indicated:
The Pink Panther (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
A Shot in the Dark (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Revenge of the Pink Panther (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1963-78, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: not rated, PG
The lowdown: Filmmaker Blake Edwards and the gifted Peter Sellers collaborated on these four hilarious movies that feature Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, who clumsiness and lack of self-awareness create havoc wherever he goes.
In “The Pink Panther” (1963, not rated), Clouseau travels to Rome to capture a notorious jewel thief known as The Phantom, who is determined to steal the fabulous and priceless Pink Panther diamond. The Phantom is actually the urbane and charming British playboy Sir Charles (David Niven).
Claudia Cardinale is Princess Dala, owner of the diamond. The cast also includes Robert Wagner as Sir Charles’ sly nephew George and Capucine as Clouseau’s unfaithful wife.
The movie created a sensation with its animated opening credits that introduced Henry Mancini’s classic theme music and the animated title cartoon character who eventually earned an animated series of his own.
The film earned an 89 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
“A Shot in the Dark” (1964, PG) finds Clouseau accidentally assigned to a high-profile murder case at a wealthy estate, where the befuddled detective falls madly in love with the prime suspect, Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), whom he strongly believes is innocent and goes to great lengths to prove so.
This film introduces Clouseau’s constantly furious boss, Dreyfus (Herbert Lom); Kato (Burt Kwouk), Clouseau’s manservant; and Hercule LaJoy (Graham Stark), Clouseau’s detective underling. The cast also includes George Sanders, Douglas Wilmer, Tracy Reed, Moira Redmond and Vanda Godsell.
The sequel earned a 94 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
In “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” (1976, PG), Clouseau has been promoted to chief inspector. However, he remains his same clumsy, inept self.
Former chief inspector Dreyfus (Lom, again) has escaped from an insane asylum to a sinister lair and commissioned a doomsday device. Holding the world to ransom, he places a bounty on Clouseau’s head, which encourages a bevy of international assassins setting off to kill the oblivious detective as he stumbles around the globe searching for Dreyfus.
The movie, with also features Kwouk, Lesley-Anne Down and Colin Blakely,, is filled with slapstick gags and while not as funny as previous films, it did good enough to receive a 72 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Clouseau is the target of a crime syndicate in “Revenge of the Pink Panther” (1978, PG). When the syndicate believes they have succeeded, Clouseau goes undercover, wearing a series of outlandish disguises and enlisting his man Kato for fieldwork.
Meanwhile, the high-strung Dreyfus tries to figure out what is going on. Dyan Cannon plays a crime-ring whistleblower with an explosive finale set in Hong Kong. The cast also includes Robert Webber, Robert Loggia, Paul Stewart and Douglas Wilmer.
The movie garnered an 84 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture on all four movies; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio on all four movies; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture on all four movies; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio on all four movies; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include commentary tracks on both “Pink Panther” discs with Blake Edwards, on “A Shot in the Dark” and “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” with Jason Simos of The Peter Sellers Appreciation Society and by film historian William Patrick Maynard on “Revenge of the Pink Panther. Other extras, on the Blu-ray discs, include interviews with Wagner and Cardinale, a conversation with former jewel thief Bill Mason and a “Diamonds — Beyond the Sparkle” featurette on “The Pink Panther”; a featurette on “A Shot in the Dark” on the origin of The Pink Panther and Edwards and his wife, Julie Andrews, on “The Dick Cavett Show”; and featurettes on Down, film editor Alan Jones and a “Clouseau, the Greatest Fumbler in the World” on “The Pink Panther Strikes Again.

TRON: Ares (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Jan. 6
Details: 2025, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment-Buena Vista
Rated: PG-13, violence, action
The lowdown: Jared Leto stars as Ares, a highly sophisticated program, sent from the digital world on a dangerous mission, marking humanity’s first encounter with an A.I. being.
Most of kudos to the movie center on its visuals and effects, with criticism aimed at its thin storyline, which lacks depth, and cardboard characters.
The movie offers some nods to its two predecessors as well as the return of Jeff Bridges — which always is welcome.
Critical evaluation was nearly divided, with the movie earning a 53 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 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.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include an in-depth look at the making of the movie with the cast and filmmakers; a behind-the-scenes look at one of the film’s most action-packed sequences; deleted scenes; a look at the creation of the movie; conversations with cast members; and a featurette on a legacy of the series.

Evil Dead Rise: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 2023, Arrow Video
Rated: R, bloody violence, gore, language
The lowdown: In this fifth movie in the series, the setting shifts from the woods to the big city, where we find Beth surprising her sister, Ellie, with a visit.
Their reunion, however, is interrupted by an earthquake that shakes the foundation of Ellie’s apartment building.
In the rubble, Ellie’s children find a secret vault in the basement. Inside, they find an ancient book bound in flesh and inked with human blood — the Necronomicon.
As the building’s residents become possessed, and the evil rises from floor to floor, Beth, Ellie and her children must fight to survive.
The film earned an impressive 85 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 7.1 Dolby TrueHD and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and audio descriptive track; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with director Lee Cronin and actors Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan; interviews with Sullivan, Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols, Anna-Maree Thomas, special effects designer Luke Polti, editor Bryan Shaw, sound designer Peter Albrechtsen and composer Stephen McKeon; a 2023 interview with Cronin and Albrechtsen conducted by Glenn Kiser director of the Dolby Institute; a featurette on the making of the movie; “Ghost Train,” a 2013 short film directed by Cronin; behind-the-scenes video clips; a double-sided fold-out poster; and a booklet.

Hanna K. (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 30
Details: 1983, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, mature themes, language
The lowdown: Jill Clayburgh stars as Israeli attorney Hanna Kaufman, who has her beliefs challenged when she is appointed to defend Selim Bakri (Mohammad Bakri), a dispossessed Palestinian facing serious criminal charges.
The movie, directed by Costa-Gavras, leans toward the Palestinian point of view as it details Bakri’s efforts to reclaim his family home.
Kaufman, born in the United States to Holocaust survivors, always has accepted Israel’s right to exist. But through this experience, she bears witness to some of the costs of her nation’s sovereignty.
The movie, which was not very successful theatrically, does not dig as deep as it could in spotlighting the Israeli-Palestinian tensions that often erupted into violence.
The cast also includes Gabriel Byrne and David Clennon.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio;; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include an interview with Clennon and a commentary track with film critics Alain Silver and James Ursini.

The Godless Girl (Blu-ray)
Details: 1928, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This sanctimonious feature was the last silent movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille and contains his usual blend of the self-righteous and the lurid.
Judy (Lina Basquette), a naïve high-school student, leads a Godless Society at her school and encourages her fellow students to “Kill the Bible.”
Bob Hathaway (George Duryea, who would late gain fame as cowboy star Tom Keene), is a pious classmate who organizes a group to wreck the society’s clubhouse, which leads to the death of Judy’s friend, played by Mary June Irving.
Judy, Bob and Bob’s friend, class clown Samuel “Bozo” Johnson (Eddie Quillan), are held responsible and sentenced to a brutal reform school in which they suffer institutionalized cruelty and are victimized by an especially barbaric guard, played by Noah Beery.
DeMille, of course, makes the reformatory experience a hellscape for Judy and, especially Bob.
The movie is a prime example of DeMille’s adroitness of mixing the pious and the profane.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; silent with English intertitles and a 5.1 and 2.0 musical soundtrack.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film historian Anthony Slide is the main extra.

Other titles being released in the upcoming week include:
Mystery Team (Blu-ray & digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Thunderheart (4K Ultra HD + digital) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Rental Family (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment-Searchlight Pictures)
Tell Me Lies: Season 3, Episodes 1 & 2 (Hulu)
This Thing of Ours (Breaking Glass Pictures)

JAN. 14
Hijack: Season 2, Episode 1 (Apple TV+)
Made in Korea: Episode 5 (Hulu)
Palm Royale: Season 2, Episode 10 (Apple TV+)

JAN. 15
On the Edge (Kino Film Collection)
The Oscar (Kino Film Collection)
Stayer: Episodes 1 & 2 (Viaplay)

JAN. 16
The Confession (Quiver Distribution)
The Fever (Film Movement+)
Killer Whale (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Maldorer (Film Movement+)
The RIP (Netflix)
Tehran: Season 3, Episode 2 (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, on Facebook at ReelBob and on Bluesky at @bobbloom1948@bsky.social or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.