New to View: Oct. 20
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 20, unless otherwise noted:
One Night Only: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2026, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, sexual material, language, brief nudity
The lowdown: The outlandish premise of this movie submerges the rom-com viability of the movie.
Will Gluck directs Travis Braun’s script set in an alternate future New York City in which single people are only allowed to have sex one night a year.
The dystopian world presented in the movie is illogical and unrealistic, undercutting the charming performances by Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner and the overall appeal of the movie.
Turner’s Owen and Barbaro’s Allie are roaming the Big Apple searching for real connections. They find each other and, in true rom-com fashion, face a series of events that make their night fraught with misadventures and misunderstandings.
If the movie was meant to be a satire about puritanical overreach and sexual politics, it fails in those categories.
Despite all its shortcomings, the chemistry between Barbaro and Turner keep the movie above water. The cast also includes Maya Hawke, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton and Flavor Flav.
“One Night Only” received a 44 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 DVS and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a behind-the-scenes look showing how with Barbaro, Turner and Gluck brought the movies to life; a featurette on Turner’s pizza making; a look at the various cameo appearances throughout the movie; and a making of featurette.
“Eclipse Series 5: The First Films of Samuel Fuller” (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 13
Details: 1949-51, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The movies of Samuel Fuller were outrageous, raw, singular, sensational and daring. Over four decades, Fuller directed 37 movies including “The Naked Kiss,” “The Big Red One,” The Crimson Kimono” and “Shock Corridor.”
Fuller examined U.S. history and mythmaking in Westerns, film noir and men at war.
This set, though, focuses on three of his earliest movies — “I Shot Jesse James” (1949), “The Baron of Arizona” (1950) and “The Steel Helmet” (1951) — which were all uncompromising, independent films.
“I Shot Jesse James” stars John Ireland as Bob Ford, who killed the outlaw. The movie is more of a psychological character study rather than a traditional Western. It also takes a few liberties with history.
The cast also includes Reed Hadley as Jesse James, veteran B-Western and serial star Tom Tyler as Frank James as well as Barbara Britton, J. Edward Bromberg, Victor Kilian, Tommy Noonan, Eddie Dunn and Bryan Foulger.
Vincent Price stars as James Addison Reavis in “The Baron of Arizona.” Reavis is a swindler who spent many years forging documents and land grants that will make himself and his wife, Sofia de Peralta-Reavis (Ellen Drew), the undisputed owners of the entire territory of Arizona.
Supporting players include Vladimir Sokoloff, Beulah Bondi, Robert Barrat, Reed Hadley and B-Western regulars Fred Kohler Jr., I. Stanford Jolley and Tristram Coffin.
Fuller got himself in hot water with the government and the FBI over “The Steel Helmet,” because of his critique of racial discrimination and internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II, Jim Crow in the South and unheroic depiction of soldiers.
The movie, made during the height of the Red Scare and rise of McCarthyism, was the first American movie to depict the Korean War. The film tells of a group of American stragglers who take shelter in an abandoned Buddhist temple to battle Communist troops who greatly outnumber them.
The cast is headed by Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards, Richard Loo and Sid Melton.
Fuller’s direction is gritty as he depicts complex and flawed characters.
Technical aspect: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is an essay by film critic Nick Pinkerton.
Franz (Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, Cohen Media Group-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Director Agnieszka Holland (“Europa, Europa,” “The Secret Garden”) directed this biopic of 20th-century Czech writer Franz Kafka, whose works emphasize absurdity, alienation and jabs at bureaucracy including “The Trial” and “The Metamorphosis.”
Rather than a traditional film biography, “Franz” follows the imprint Kafka left on the world from his birth in 19th-century Prague to his death in post-World War II Vienna.
Holland’s work allows audience to gain a new perspective on the life of the man behind the famed author. It also, unfortunately, is demanding to audiences as it moves back and forth through Kafka’s life.
For some filmgoers “Franz” may be too artistic and fragmented.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; German, Czech, Yiddish, English and French 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is an interview with Holland moderated by filmmaker Jeremy Kagan.
Death on the Nile (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence, language
The lowdown: Peter Ustinov made his first appearance as Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this lavish murder-mystery set aboard a paddle steamer cruising down the Nile.
Those on board include a honeymooning couple, Simon Doyle (Simon MacCorkindale) and Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle (Lois Chiles), Jackie de Bellefort (Mia Farrow), a onetime friend of Linnet who was jilted by Doyle, to whom she was engaged, and a motley gathering of fellow passengers, many of whom had motive to kill the bride.
Following several twists and turns — and a few more murders — Poirot unravels the case, which leads to one final and tragic twist.
The all-star cast also includes Bette Davis, Olivia Hussey, Angela Lansbury, Jane Birkin, David Niven, Jon Finch, Maggie Smith, George Kennedy, Jack Warden, Harry Andrews and Sam Wanamaker. Five of the cast members — Ustinov, Davis, Niven, Smith and Kennedy — were all Academy Award winners.
The film, directed by John Guillermin (“The Towering Inferno”) received an 80 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, a making of featurette and interviews with Ustinov and Birkin.
The Pirates of Penzance (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1983, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: G
The lowdown: An all-star cast, including Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, Angela Lansbury and George Rose are featured in this film adaptation of the Broadway show that garnered Kline a Tony Award for his portrayal of the Pirate King.
The story centers on the roguish pirate and his adventure-seeking young charge, Frederic (Smith), exploring the coastal regions seeking treasure and romance.
The filmmakers have subtly modernized this Gilbert & Sullivan classic, keeping it theatrical, while featuring some wonderful physical comedy.
The vocals by Ronstadt’s Mabel are appealing with Lansbury and Rose contributing some musical comedy flair.
“The Pirates of Penzance,” one of the most popular of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas, still holds up today.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by film historian-writer Julie Kirgo and writer-filmmaker Peter Hankoff on both discs and, on the Blu-ray, an interview with Smith.
Jewel Robbery (Blu-ray)
Details: 1932, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: William Powell and Kay Francis star in this pre-Code feature about a gentleman jewel thief and the bored Baroness Teri.
Francis’ Teri is beautiful, rich and totally bored, mostly because of her elderly, gout-ridden husband.
The setting is Vienna, where the baroness spends her afternoons luxuriating in her diamonds and longing for some thrills in her life that her high-society lovers cannot provide.
Powell, the dapper, well-mannered bandit, treats a jewelry heist with elegance. When his equally charming companions interrupt Teri’s afternoon shopping spree, it is not simply her 28-carat Excelsior diamond he walks away with.
This romantic robber also steals Teri’s heart. She willing becomes an accomplice to her own abduction, discovering that some grand larceny is the perfect cure for marital tedium.
The movie, directed by William Dieterle, also features Helen Vinson, Hardie Albright, Alan Mowbray, Henry Kolker and André Luguet.
“Jewel Robbery,” which can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com, is a racy with the usual kind of innuendo and illicit fun that Warner Bros. produced prior to the enforcement of the Production Code.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 with side mattes (16:9) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Two cartoons, “You’re Too Careless with Your Kisses” and “Bosko’s Store,” comprise the extras.
Resistance: They Fought Back (DVD)
Release date: Sept. 29
Details: 2024, PBS-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This documentary highlights the Jewish resistance to the Nazi barbarism during World War II.
The widely held belief is that “Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter.” This program shows the fallacy of that conception.
The documentary, filmed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel and the United States, showcases a much-needed corrective to the myth of Jewish passivity.
Many uprisings in large and small ghettos — the most known being the Warsaw Ghetto revolt — took place not only in cities and villages but in death camps themselves. Also, thousands of Jews fought the Nazis in forests and throughout Eastern Europe. Jews also waged non-violent resistance.
This PBS show, which can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers, highlights the courage of the Jews who battled for their existence.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital stereo; English SDH subtitles.
Futureworld: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1976, Arrow Video
Rated: PG, violence, sexual situations
The lowdown: This tepid sequel to “Westworld” is set a few years after the deadly events at the Delos “virtual reality” amusement park.
Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner star as reporters Chuck Browning and Tracy Ballard, invited to cover the reopening of Delos.
Browning, who broke the story about the tragedy at the park, is skeptical about the revamped park.
The new facility features some new attractions such as Spa World and Future World.
The sequel is more ominous than the original, and I will not divulge any of it in case you have not seen it.
Also returning to the feature is Yul Brynner’s Gunfighter. The cast also features Arthur Hill and John P. Ryan as the men who run the updated park, as well as Stuart Margolin, Allen Ludden, Robert Cornthwaite and Angela Greene.
The sequel earned a 31 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 83 percent for “Westworld.”
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary by filmmaker-film historian Daniel Kremer, a new interview with producer Paul N. Lazarus III, a 1976 behind-the-scenes short film spotlighting filming at the Johnson Space Center; and a collectors’ booklet.
Olmo (DVD)
Release date: Oct. 6
Details: 2025, Greenwich Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This coming-of-age story centers on Olmo, a 14-year-old, and his struggling family.
The movie, set in 1979 New Mexico, details the responsibilities of the family because of an illness that confines Olmo’s father, Nestor, to his bed.
Olmo’s mother, Cecilia, and sister, Ana, all contribute to the daily caretaking responsibilities of Nestor.
But Olmo is a teenager; at that stage of selfish adolescence where he would rather be hanging out with his best friend Miguel and trying to impress Nina, his beautiful next-door neighbor, instead of taking care of his father.
When Nina finally invites Olmo to a party on the day he has been left with his dad, the teen will do whatever he can to get out of his duties, thus embarking on a journey of mischief and chaos.
In his desperate attempts to escape his home life, Olmo will finally realize that the place of his deepest pain is also where he will find peace with this family.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 (16::9) widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English and Spanish subtitles.
Bluebeard (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1972, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, sexual references
The lowdown: Between the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, Richard Burton was a premier international performer, starring in such movies as “Look Back in Anger,” “Becket,” “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,” “Hamlet” (a film adaptation of his 1964 theatrical portrayal) and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” in which he co-starred with his wife, Elizabeth Taylor.
It was the Burton-Taylor tabloid romance and marriages that kept them in the headlines. They met during the filming of the ill-fated “Cleopatra,” marrying in 1964. They divorced in 1974, remarried in 1975 and divorced in 1976.
Burton’s consumption of alcohol also impacted his movie career.
From the late 1960s through the late 1970s he appeared in such movies as “The Klansman,” “Massacre in Rome,” “Exorcist II: The Heretic,” “Candy” and “The Medusa Touch.”
It was during this period that he starred in “Bluebeard” as Baron von Sepper, a World War I German ace who also is a literal lady killer.
Portraying von Sepper’s wives are Raquel Welch, Nathalie Delon, Virna Lisi , Karin Schubert, Marilu Toto, Agostina Belli and Joey Heatherton.
The movie was co-directed by Edward Dymtryk (“The Caine Mutiny,” Back to Bataan” and “Warlock”) and Luciano Sacripanti.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD monaural; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson is included on both discs and, on the Blu-ray disc, an interview with Jean Porter-Dmytryk about her husband; and an interview with author-critic Anna Bogutskaya.
Visitor Q (Blu-ray)
Details: 2001, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A very dysfunctional family is at the centerpiece of this Japanese feature by filmmaker Takashi Miike.
The family members include a violent teenager who can’t control his violent urges, a mother to turns to heroin and then prostitution to afford her habit, a daughter who has gone missing and a father who records it all on his video camera.
In the midst of all this turmoil and perversion comes Q, a house guest, witness, judge and executioner.
Q has the knack of knowing what each family member needs most — whether it is a rock to the head, a sexual reawakening or even some murder.
Miike’s movie is unflinching, disturbing and darkly humorous. The identity of Q is never explained, but his presence transforms the family.
“Visitor Q” is an acquired taste that can be a shock to the system.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; Japanese Dolby stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes; interview Miike and actors Kenichi Endo and Showko Nakahara; a visual essay by Kat Ellinger; and a booklet.
Dead Souls (Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Filmmaker Alex Cox co-wrote, directed and stars in this Western set in 1890 Arizona. Cox portrays Strindler, who rides into a town and offers to pay for the names of dead Mexican laborers to add to his list.
It is the year of the U.S. Census and as Strindler wanders from saloons to ranches, he encounters corrupt officials and must defend himself.
This off-kilter, dark satire is very strange as townspeople see nothing out of the ordinary as Strindler collects names.
The movie, the last by Cox, is a tribute to the spaghetti Western and a thorn into today’s political climate.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary by Cox, a documentary featurette and a behind-the-scenes VFX creation at Tippett Studio.
The Monster (Blu-ray)
Details: 1977, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A struggling reporter finds his circumstances changing when he receives a letter from a serial killer who announces — and then carries out — a series of horrific murders.
The reporter takes advantage of these killings to better his position and standing, but will his actions bring him too close to the killer?
This Italian giallo feature from director Luigi Zampa is a critical commentary on the nature of the press in society.
The identity of the killer can be discerned nearly halfway through the picture which, despite its subject matter, is more dark comedy than slasher movie.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Italian LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary by giallo experts Rachel Nisbet and Peter Jilmstad; interviews with actors Sydne Rome, Renato Scarpa, Enzo Santaniello, makeup artist Pierantonio Mecacci and Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer; and a booklet.
Other titles being released in the upcoming week include:
Abbott Elementary: The Complete Fifth Season (DVD) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Capturing Bigfoot (Prime Video)
I See the Demon (Castle Pictures)
The Long Way Home: Remastered and Expanded (Apple TV-Prime Vide)
Phony: Episode 1 (Hulu)
OCT. 21
Brothers: Episode 6 (Apple TV)
Slow Horses: Season 6, Episode 6 (Apple TV)
Small Prophets: Episode 3 (Apple TV)
VisionQuest: Episode 2 (Disney+)
Where’s Wanda: Season 2, Episode 1 (Apple TV)
OCT. 22
Crystal Lake: Episode 2 (Peacock)
Detention (Antenna)
Swipe Right on the Devil: Episodes 1-3 (Hulu)
OCT. 23
Animale (Film Movement+)
The Cycle (Shudder)
Crossing a Dawn (Omnibus Entertainment)
Dark Matter: Season 2, Episode 9 (Apple TV)
The Heart (Omnibus Entertainment)
Human (Dark Sky Films)
Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars: Season 2, Episode 6 (Apple TV)
Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story (Netflix)
Poetry (Film Movement+)
Traces of Home (Watermelon Pictures)
Valley of the Shadow of Death (Film Movement+)
OCT. 25
Sticky (One Tree Entertainment)
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs at 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.