New to View: June 30
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, June 30, unless otherwise noted:
Kiss of the Spider Woman (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, language, sexual content, violence
The lowdown: Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls”) directed this colorful and splashy adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, which in turn, was based on the 1985 movie that was nominated for four Academy Awards and for which William Hurt received the Oscar for best actor in a leading role.
The musical basically follows the same story as the original — with Valentin (played by Diego Luna), a political prisoner, thrown into a cell with Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay window dresser arrested for public indecency.
The two form an unlikely bond as Molina passes the time by telling Valentin the plot of a Hollywood movie starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).
The biggest difference between the two movies is the screen time allotted Lopez for several song-and-dance numbers. Also, the setting was moved from Brazil in the 1985 movie to Argentina.
The other major difference is that while Condon’s musical received a respectable 75 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, the non-musical movie earned an 87 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by Condon is featured on both discs and a deleted scene appears on the Blu-ray disc.
You, Me and Tuscany (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: June 16
Details: 2026, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, strong language, sexual material
The lowdown: A rom-com starring Haillie Bailey, Regé-Jean Page and scenic Italian landscapes.
Bailey’s Anna lies to crash her way into spending time at an empty Italian villa by posing as the owner’s fiancée. Complications arise, however, when she meets Michael (Page), the owner’s cousin.
And before you can say “buonasera,” sparks begin to ignite between the two.
The movie is inoffensive and lighthearted, built upon the appeal of its lead performers. Like “Eat Pray Love,” it’s a feel-good, formulaic excursion, filled with fine foods, lovely sunsets and colorful scenery.
“You, Me and Tuscany” will mostly appeal to the romantics among you.
The film garnered a 66 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 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: Supplemental options include a commentary track with director Kat Coiro and producer Will Packer; a behind-the-scenes featurette with Bailey and Page as they develop their characters; a featurette on the tradition of barrel racing; a featurette on the movie’s lively and bighearted Italian ensemble; a featurette on Italian culture and the beauty of Tuscany that helped define the movie; and the steps the cast and filmmakers took to keep up the sustainability of Italy.
A Yard of Jackals (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, IndiePix Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A Chilean suspense-thriller set in the 1970s during the rule of that nation’s military regime. The movie centers on Raúl Peralta, a lonely, disabled architectural model maker who leads a quiet life, caring for his sick mother and pet canary.
The arrival of new neighbors, whose sinister activities seem to hide dark secrets, upend his routine.
As Peralta desperately holds tight to the last remnants of his reasoning, his life becomes increasingly entwined with Guillermo, a mysterious man in dark glasses.
Peralta, caught between personal loss and political terror, must confront the wounds of repression and survival. “A Yard of Jackals” is a haunting, psychological film about isolation, moral decay and mind-breaking authoritarian rule.
“A Yard of Jackals” is disturbing as Peralta tries to cope with the dark activities surrounding him.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 widescreen picture; Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital surround and 2.0 stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a picture-in-picture video commentary with writer-director-editor Diego Figueroa and filmmaker Inti Carrizo-Ortiz and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (Blu-ray)
Details: 1944, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This adaptation of Capt. Ted W. Lawson’s book about the famed Doolittle raid over Tokyo on April 18, 1942, stars Van Johnson as Lawson, Phyllis Thaxter as his wife, Ellen, with a special appearance by Spencer Tracy as Lt. Col. (later Gen.) James Doolittle, planner of America’s first retaliatory air strike against Japan.
The 138-minute feature follows the selection, training, bombing of Tokyo and the aftermath of the forced landings by many of the planes in China and their dangerous journeys to safety.
The bombing raid itself comprises very little of the movie’s runtime; mostly in concerns itself with the training for the mission by the crews of 16 B-25 medium bombers, including learning how to take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, their rescues by Chinese partisans after crash-landings in China and their ultimate return back to the United States.
Lawson himself lost a leg, which also is shown in the movie. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” is not one of those gung-ho war films. Rather, it is a sober and understated story about brave men doing a job that needed to be done; to help rebuild American morale four-plus months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and deliver a blow to the people and military leaders of Japan.
Others in the cast include Robert Mitchum, Robert Walker, Tim Murdock, Don DeFore, Stephen McNally, Donald Curtis and Leon Ames.
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: Bonus materials include two MGM shorts, “Ode to Victory” and “A Lady Fights Back” and a Tom and Jerry cartoon, “Mouse Trouble.”
“Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits” Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1994-98, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence
The lowdown: A 10-disc set that spotlights six features starring the legendary Jackie Chan. The set features six movies that propelled Chan into international stardom.
The movies included in the set are 1994’s “Drunken Master II,” “Rumble in the Bronx” (1995), “Thunderbolt” (1995), “First Strike,” aka “Police Story 4” (1996), “Mr. Nice Guy” (1997) and “Who Am I?” (1998).
The set features Hong Kong and international versions of “Rumble in the Bronx,” “First Strike,” “Mr. Nice Guy” and “Who Am I?”
The movies’ storylines also spotlight Chan’s breathtaking stunt work and his comedic timing.
“Drunken Master” finds Chan reprising his role as Wong Fei-hung in a Shaw Brothers classic kung fun outing. “Rumble in the Bronx” has him in New York visiting family and friends, whom he must defend against vicious street gangs and heartless smugglers.
In “Thunderbolt,” Chan must compete against a criminal street racer who has kidnapped his sister. “First Strike,” the fourth entry in Chan’s “Police Story” series, finds him on a globe-trotting mission to procure a stolen nuclear warhead. Sammo Hung directs “Mr. Nice Guy,” in which Chan portrays a TV chef in Australia forced to battle the mob.
In “Who Am I,” Chan is a martial arts amnesiac on the trail of a new mysterious power source as well as his own identity.
The set will delight fans of Chan and his stunning martial arts work.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese, Mandarin, English LPCM monaural (“Drunken Master II”), Cantonese 2.0 LPCM and English LPCM (“Rumble in the Bronx”), Cantonese and English 2.0 LPCM and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (“Thunderbolt”), Cantonese, Mandarin and English 2.0 LPCM and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (“First Strike”/”Police Story 4”) and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM monaural (“Mr. Nice Guy” and “Who Am I?”); English SDH and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a 160-page bound book featuring an archival interview with Chan and writings about the actor, his career and movies; each movie includes commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes and footage, appreciations, archival and new interviews, featurettes on individual movies or alternate English credits.
Letty Lynton (Blu-ray)
Details: 1932, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Joan Crawford fans have good news to cheer about with the release of this drama, which, because of legal issues, has been largely unseen for many decades.
The newly-restored movie premiered on May 1 at the TCM Classic Film Festival and now is available for movie aficionados.
Crawford in Letty, a New York socialite, who has been living in Montevideo, Uruguay. She finally wants to end her toxic affair with Emile Renaul (Nils Asther) and decides the only way to do is leave the country.
She boards a steamship for New York. On board, she meets wealthy American Jerry Darrow (Robert Montgomery) and the two eventually fall in love.
When they arrive in New York, Renaul is there to meet Letty,, who is shocked and distraught when he tells her he plans to bring her back home with him.
Eventually, Letty is suspected of killing Renaul, who died after drinking a glass of champagne that contained poison Letty meant for herself.
In the end everyone vouches for Letty, including her disapproving mother, played by May Robson.
“Letty Lynton,” directed by Clarence Brown, features some classic gowns by MGM’s famed designer, Adrian. It also increased Crawford’s standing at MGM as one of the studio’s major stars.
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: Supplemental features include the documentary, “Irving Thalberg: Prince of Hollywood”; and five of Crawford’s radio appearances — “Good News of 1938” (1938), “A Doll’s House” (1938), “Good News of 1939” (1938), “The Train Ride” (1939) and “None Shall Part Us” (1939).
Maurice (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, Kino Lorber
Rated: R, thematic elements
The lowdown: This Merchant-Ivory production, based on the novel by E.M. Forster, is set against the suffocating conformity of pre-World War I English society.
Forster’s book was a daring novel for its time, centering on coming to terms with one’s sexuality and identity against a tide of disapproval, misunderstanding and legal consequences.
The movie centers on Maurice Hall (James Wilby) and Clive Dunham (Hugh Grant), who meet and fall in love at Cambridge. But because it is a time when homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, the two must keep their feelings for one another a well-guarded secret.
After a friend is arrested and disgraced, Clive abandons Maurice and marries a young woman. Maurice, however, continues to struggle with his identity and self-confidence seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his urges.
But while staying with Clive and his shallow wife, Anne (Phoebe Nicholls), Maurice is seduced by the affectionate servant Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves), which brings about profound changes in Maurice’s life and outlook.
This is a beautiful 4K restoration from the original negative overseen and produced by director James Ivory and cinematographer Pierre Lhomme.
At Rotten Tomatoes, the movie garnered an 82 percent fresh rating on 14 reviews.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by film critic Wade Major and Joseph Bristow, distinguished professor of English at ULCA on the 4K UHD disc and, on the Blu-ray disc, a featurette on the making of “Maurice” and a question and answer session with Ivory and Lhomme; a story of “Maurice” featurette; a conversation with the filmmakers; and deleted scenes and alternate takes with commentary by Ivory.
Magnificent Bodyguards (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: So, you want to see Jackie Chan perform his martial arts magic and stunts in 3D? Here’s your opportunity.
This set of “Magnificent Bodyguards” offers the movie in Blu-ray 3D, Anaglyph 3D and standard flat 2D, the first 3D offering from a Hong Kong studio.
Chan stars as the leader of a team of guards escorting an ill man across a dangerous land known as Stormy Hills.
Death always is in the air as Chan’s Lord Ting Chung and his men protect their mysterious charge — who may not be as he seems.
The movie has several twists and turns before a surprise revelation that is not much of a surprise.
The three-disc set is interesting, providing glimpse of Chan’s work during the early stages of his career.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Mandarin 2.0, Cantonese and English monaural on all three discs; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a booklet by Jackie Chan historian Thorsten Boose, a commentary by Hong Kong cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J/ DeSanto, two overviews of the movie, one by James Mudge, the other by Steve Lawson.
“Brit Noir: Collection II” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1952-56, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jack Hawkins is featured in a trio of British noir movies in this second collection of offerings from across the pond.
In “Home at Seven” (1952), starring and directed by Ralph Richardson, who reprises his role from the R.C. Sherriff play, the noted actor plays a bank clerk whose inexplicable amnesia leaves him without an alibi after a murder-robbery. Hawkins plays the doctor who tries to help Richardson’s character sort out his missing day.
The movie is a psychological mystery that keeps you interested.
“The Intruder” (1953) stars Hawkins as a former World War II colonel revisited by the horrors of war when an armed man, who once fought bravely under his command, breaks into his home.
The compelling movie, directed by Guy Hamilton, features Michael Medwin as the former soldier under his command, Hugh Williams, George Cole and Dennis Price.
The third film in the set is “The Long Arm” (1956), in which Hawkins leads a Scotland Yard investigation into a series of safe-cracking crimes across England, with the latest heist taking place in London.
The movie, also known as “The Third Key,” was directed by Charles Frend (“The Cruel Sea”). It costars John Stratton, Dorothy Alison, Michael Brooke and Sam Kydd.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture (“Home at Seven”) and 1.33:1 full-screen picture (“The Intruder,” “The Long Arm”); English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks for all three movies.
Come Live With Me (Blu-ray)
Details: 1941, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Vienna native Johnny Jones (Hedy Lamarr), who fled Austria after it was annexed by Nazi Germany, is having an affair with married publisher Barton Kendrick (Ian Hunter).
One night an official from the Department of Immigration finds her, telling her she will be deported because her temporary passport expired months earlier. He also tells her that if she can be married within a week to an American citizen she can stay.
During a rain storm, Johnny runs into Bill Smith (Jimmy Stewart), a down-on-his-luck writer who after hearing about her situation, agrees to marry Johnny. She pays Smith $17.80 a week in exchange for marrying her.
Two months later, Smith begins writing a fictional book based on the odd circumstances of his marriage. He also becomes curious about his wife, whom he only sees once a week when she gives him his check.
Complications arise, as they usually do in such romantic comedies, when Kendrick tells Johnny that he wants to marry her and is leaving his wife within a couple of months.
Meanwhile, Smith’s nearly-completed manuscript winds up at Kendrick’s publishing company where his wife, Diane, explains the book to her husband. Kendrick, who pays Smith $500 for the book’s publishing rights, realizes Smith is Johnny’s husband.
When Diane sees her husband’s reaction to the book, she realizes it is not fiction and offers her husband a divorce.
Of course, all works out by the fade-out as Johnny realizes she really loves Smith and decides to stay with him.
You can order the movie at www.moviezyng.com or other online 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: Extras include two MGM shorts and an MGM cartoon.
Matinee (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Kino Lorber-Kino Cult #51
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A Canadian slasher film in which a small-town movie house, the Paramount Theatre, closed after a savage stabbing, reopens two years later. In that time, however, the case has gone cold.
Now, as the theater darkens, tension rises and the Halston Horror Film Festival once again becomes the stalking ground for a deranged killer.
A tough cop leads a desperate search among a theater filled with red herrings. The suspects are many, including the local bad boy, his girlfriend, the theater manager or the creepy filmmaker.
“Matinee,” also known as “Midnight Matinee,” is formulaic, that is saved by its surprise ending.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main supplemental option is a commentary track by film historians Jason Pichonsky and Paul Corupe.
Wake in Fright: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1971, Arrow Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: John Grant (Gary Bond), a bored schoolteacher working in the remote outback, stops overnight in the frontier mining town of Bundanyabba on his way back to Sydney for the Christmas holidays.
After Grant loses all his savings in a bad gambling bet, he finds himself marooned and swept up in a whirlwind of a succession of hard-drinking, hard-living and crude men led by Doc, who threatens to transform Grant just like the rest of them — crazy, drunk and violent.
Grant is even forced to participate in a gruesome kangaroo hunt. His situation continues to sink to a level that he contemplates suicide.
“Wake in Fright,” which earned a 96 percent fresh rating on 57 reviews, is recognized as one of Australia’s most legendary, unique and scary contributions to movie history.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks — one with director Ted Kotcheff and editor Anthony Buckley, the other with Peter Galvin, author of “The Making of Wake in Fright; a featurette tracking the movie’s Broken Hill locations; interviews with director of photography Brian West and sound editors Keith Palmer and Eddy Joseph; an appreciation of Donald Pleasance by film historian-author Kim Newman; a discussion about the movie between Phillippe Mora and Paul Harris; archival interviews with Kotcheff and actor Jack Thompson; a question-and-answer session with Kotcheff at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival; an audio interview with Kotcheff conducted by Paul Harris; an audio interview with composer John Scott conducted by music historian Daniel Schweiger; alternate scenes from “Outback”; a 2009 TV report on the rediscovery and restoration of “Wake in Fright”; a 1971 TV segment with behind-the-scenes footage; a Chips Rafferty obituary by Ken G. Hall; a trailer reel of Australian movies directed by overseas filmmakers; and a collectors’ booklet.
Other titles being released in the upcoming week include:
Primal: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray & DVD) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Amityville Shark House (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert (Well Go USA Entertainment)
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney-20th Century Fox)
Jacked (Indican Pictures)
Pitfall (Cineverse)
She’s the He (Obscured Pictures)
JULY 1
Maximum Please Guaranteed: Episode 8 (Apple TV)
JULY 2
Save Me: Episodes 5 & 6 (Viaplay)
JULY 3
Cape Fear: Episode 6 (Apple TV)
Fancy Dance (Film Movement+)
How I Learned to Fly (Film Movement+)
Man of War (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Silo: Season 3, Episode 1 (Apple TV)
Star City: Episode 7 (Apple TV)
Sugar: Season 2, Episode 3 (Apple TV)
Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t (Film Movement+)
This Is America, Charlie Brown (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 Twitter @ReelBobBloom, on Facebook at ReelBob.com 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.