New to View: Oct. 27

By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 27, unless otherwise noted:
Blackboard Jungle (Blu-ray)
Details: 1955, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This mid-1950s MGM feature is looked upon as setting the template for all the subsequent cinematic examinations of juvenile delinquency, violence and educational challenges for school-based dramas that followed in its wake.
Glenn Ford stars as Richard Dadier, who is eager to make a difference. He is a teacher at inner-city North Manual High, a facility rife with racial and sexual tensions, which is not helped by a core of apathetic and burned-out teachers who are too afraid or unconcerned to better the situation.
The teen misfits are led by Vic Morrow’s Artie West, who was 26 at the time, and in a star-making performance, Sidney Poitier as fellow student Gregory W. Miller was 27 when filming started and 28 when the movie was released. Even in 1955, the two looked a bit too old to play high school students, but their performances compensated for the age discrepancy.
Today, the movie, though aging well, looks rather quaint when compared with later movies in the genre such as “To Sir With Love” (also with Poitier), “Dangerous Minds” with Michelle Pfeiffer, “The Principle” starring Jim Belushi, “Stand and Deliver” with Edward James Olmos and “Freedom Writers” with Hilary Swank.
“Blackboard Jungle,” directed by Richard Brooks and remembered for introducing rock ‘n’ roll to the movies with its use of Bill Haley and the Comets “Rock Around the Clock,” earned a 78 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews. The cast also includes Annea Francis, Louis Calhern, Margaret Hayes, Richard Kiley, John Hoyt, future director Paul Mazurski and future “M*A*S*H* co-star Jamie Farr.
The movie can be ordered at www.moviezyng.comor other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.75:1 (16:9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary with Mazurski, Farr, Ford’s son, Peter, and assistant director Joel Freeman and a Droopy cartoon, “Blackboard Rumble.”

DTF St. Louis (DVD)
Release date: Oct. 13
Details: 2026, HBO-Studio Distribution Services
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardinelli star in this HBO limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age discontent, which leads to one of them ending up dead.
Bateman portrays Clark Forrest, a weatherman; Harbour plays Floyd Smernitch, an American Sign Language interpreter and Cardinelli is Carol, Smernitch’s wife.
The title refers to a app for married people to have affairs.
Forrest and Smernitch become friends after the latter saves Forrest from being injured during a televised storm report.
Over the series’ seven episodes, the series, told in flashback, looks at the trio’s relationship, which eventually has fatal consequences.
Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday play the detectives assigned to investigate the death.
Technical aspects: 200:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.

Duplicity (4K UHD + Blu-ray)
Details: 2009, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, language, sexual content
The lowdown: Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as a pair of former spies turned corporate operatives. They are in a secret love affair but soon find themselves on either side of an all-out corporate war.
Soon, love takes a back seat as they use any means necessary to remain one double-cross ahead in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse.
The movie, written and directed by Tony Gilroy, is a clever caper-comedy that features strong supporting performances by Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti.
The confusing plot and non-linear structure of the movie frustrated many viewers despite the chemistry between Roberts and Owen.
At Rotten Tomatoes, “Duplicity” garnered a 65 percent fresh rating.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras on both discs include a commentary track by Gilroy and editor-co-producer John Gilroy. The Blu-ray also features an interview with cast member Dan Daily.

The Frighteners: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1996, Arrow Video
Rated: R, graphic violence, terror, disturbing images
The lowdown: Before their “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson co-wrote and Jackson directed this supernatural horror and dark comedy combo starring Michael J. Fox as Frank Bannister, a small-town psychic who uses his ghostly friends to con unsuspecting locals.
But a series of mysterious deaths soon point to a far more sinister force. Bannister, racing to uncover the truth, soon realizes he is the only person capable of stopping a malevolent spirit from killing more victims — even if it means he must face his own haunted past.
The film, which garnered a 65 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes on 43 reviews, at times seems to lack focus as it bounces from situation to situation with an ending that tends to disappoint.
This set features the theatrical version and Jackson’s director’s cut.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.78:1 and 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos remix (directors cut), 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (theatrical cut), 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio (both cuts) and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio home video mix (both cuts); English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a collector’s booklet featuring Jackson’s 1998 introduction to the Laserdisc release and two articles from “American Cinematographer”; a commentary by Jackson on the director’s cut only; Jackson’s 10^th anniversary introduction to the movie; a 2022 documentary featuring interviews with Dee Wallace Stone, Jake Busey, cinematographer John Blick, production designer Grant Major, creature and miniature effects supervisor Richard Taylor, visual effects supervisor Wes Takahashi, and producer/editor Jamie Selkirk; a 225-minute making of documentary exploring every aspect of the film’s production from script development to post-production and release; and a conversation with Taylor and Alexandre Poncet.

Bunker Heights (Blu-ray)
Details: 2026, Bellini Industries-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Unrated
The lowdown: A burned-out homicide detective, Derek Tucker (Derek Fortier), begins what he believes is a routine investigation. But as he digs, his case spirals into a nightmare involving a bungled bank robbery, political assassination and a terrifying secret beneath the city streets.
The movie, which blends comedy and horror, offers nods to such cult favorites as “C.H.U.D.,” “Tremors” and “The Return of the Living Dead.”
“Bunker Heights,” shot on a $30,000 budget,  mixes practical creature effects, outrageous humor, monster mayhem and some offbeat charm that is reminiscent of the creature features and horror-comedies of the 1980 and ’90s. And the exciting urban mystery also helps sell the movie.
The two-disc set offers the 106-minute theatrical cut, the 121-minute exclusive extended cut and the 80-minute documentary, “Amateur Hacks: Making Bunker Heights.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Besides the “Amateur Hacks” documentary is the main extra.

Manhunt (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 20
Details: 1976, Toy Robot Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Ken Takakura stars and Junya Sato directs this furious crime thriller in which Takakura’s Fuyuto Morioka, chief prosecutor for the Ministry of Justice, is arrested for a crime he did not commit, and later escapes from custody.
He is chased by a detective and two shadowy men armed with shotguns. Morioka, digging for the truth to see who wants him locked away, discovers a dark web of government and corporate corruption involving a dangerous mind-controlling drug developed by a sinister pharmaceutical company.
The movie is in the same realm as “The Fugitive” and other falsely-accused, man-on-the-run features.
“Manhunt’s” main drawback is its 151-minute runtime.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Japanese 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by Jasper Sharp and Amber T.; a new introduction to the movie by Japanese film specialist Mark Schilling; a discussion about the film by two of Sato’s biographers; a text essay by James Marsh; and a text essay about Takakura by Earl Jackson.

The Clown Murders (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Kino Lorber-Kino Cult #54
Rated: Not rated, violence, language
The lowdown: On the eve of Halloween, four college friends formulate a plan to dress up as clowns and kidnap a businessman’s wife as a bargaining chip to halt a big land deal.
What starts as a practical joke descends into a terrifying arc of violence and murder.
This Canadian feature is cited as the grandfather of “slasher” and “evil clown” cinema — with the movie detailing that not all clowns are funny and that some may have a real ax to grind.
The movie is probably best remembered for one of its cast members — John Candy, in one of his earliest screen roles.
Otherwise, the movie is rather unevenly paced.
Technical aspects: 4IK: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks — one by writer-director Martyn Burke and executive producer J. Stephen Stohn, and the other by film historians Paul Corupe and Jason Pichonsky.

Watchers (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 20
Details: 1988, Toy Robot Video
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Corey Haim stars in this briskly paced, suspenseful movie adapted from a Dean Koontz horror novel.
Haim is Travis, who finds a dog; but not just any mutt, this is a super-smart canine on the run.
Soon, a super-secret government agency — and its monster-like creature, who is killing most anything that crosses its patch — is searching for the dog.
Michael Ironside is featured as the evil government agent seeking the Travis’ smart, new friend.
The cast also includes Christopher Cary, Dan O’Dowd and Lala Sloatman.
Fans of Koontz’s book will find major plot deviations that they may not appreciate.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with director Jon Hess and cast members, Ironside, Sloatman and Barbara Williams.

“Enter the Video Store: Video Vengeance”: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1987-93, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Five lesser-seen, mostly direct-to-video action flicks that feature such actors as Dolph Lundgren, John Schnieder, Yaphet Kotto, John Saxon, David Hasselhoff and Ned Beatty.
In “Ministry of Vengeance” (1989) Schneider portrays David Miller, a Vietnam veteran who renounced violence and became a minister.
Years later, after Miller’s wife, Gail, and daughter, Kim, are killed by terrorists led by Ali Aboud, during a massacre at an airport in Rome, Miller is determined to seek revenge after the State Department’s Mr. Whiteside (Kotto) ignores his pleas for justice.
Miller takes matters in his own hands, arming himself and traveling to Lebanon to hunt down Ali Aboud. Ned Beatty as another minister also is in the cast.
Hasselhoff stars in “The Final Alliance” (1990) as former Marine Will Colton who returns — with his pet puma — to his small hometown to battle a corrupt sheriff (Bo Hopkins) and a gang of bikers led by an albino names Ghost (Saxon).
Plenty of explosions and fights compensate for the formulaic story and rather wooden acting.
“R.O.T.O.R.” (1987) is a “RoboCop”-“Terminator”-type ripoff about a crime-fighting robotic cop that goes rogue and begins killing innocent people on the streets of Dallas.
The only one who can stop him is his creator, Barret Coldyron (Richard Gesswein). This is one of those it’s so-bad-so-good movies that will either make you laugh or just shake your head.
An escaped group of convicts holding a sheriff’s wife hostage is the premise of “Hangfire” (1991). Brad Davis is Sheriff Ike Slayton who teams up with his old army pal, Billy (Ken Foree) on a mission to rescue his wife, played by Kim Delaney. The cast also includes Jan-Michael Vincent, Kotto, George Kennedy and Lou Ferrigno.
Finally, there is “Joshua Tree” (1993), featuring Lundgren, George Segal, Geoffrey Lewis and Michelle Phillips. Lundgren is on the run and seeking revenge against Segal’s Lt. Frank Severence, a corrupt cop, who framed him and put him in prison. Famed second-unit director-stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong was behind the camera.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Ministry of Vengeance,” ‘The Final Alliance,” “R.O.T.O.R.” and “Hangfire”) and 2.38:1 widescreen picture (“Joshua Tree”); English LPCM monaural (“Ministry of Vengeance,” “R.O.T.O.R.”), 2.0 LPCM monaural (“The Final Alliance,” “Hangfire” and “Joshua Tree”); English SDH subtitles on all movies.
Don’t miss: A plethora of extras include a booklet about the movies; commentaries on all five films; interviews on “Ministry of Vengeance” with Schneider and director of photography Mark Morris, and an appreciation of the Vietnam veteran genre by Douglas E. Winter; an interview with “The Final Alliance” co-writer/co-producer Harel Goldstein and a look at the history of and the rise of direct-to-video features by Dave Wain from “The Schlock Pit”; an interview with actor Bill Blair about “R.O.T.O.R.”, a visual essay about Robot Schlock by “The Shlock Pit’s Wain and Matty Budrewicz and, “Interzone” a 1989 feature film starring Bruce Abbott and Beatrice Ring; interviews with Ken Foree and Mark Morris on “Hangfire”; an interview with Armstrong about “Joshua Tree,” two archival featurettes about the movie and archival interviews with Vic and Andy Armstrong about their careers.

“Hot Rods and Hot Chicks” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1977-78, VCI Entertainment-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: A double feature of Southern exploitation fare featuring beautiful women, custom vans, pick-up trucks, moonshine and sex.
First up is “Bad Georgia Road” (1977) in which New York socialite Molly Golden leaves her fashion magazine career to claim an inheritance in the Deep South.
Instead of money, she has received a struggling moonshine operation. Golden, with no money to return home, joins forces with her eccentric new partners to defend their business against a persistent revenue agent and a ruthless crime syndicate determined to control the region’s moonshine trade.
The cast includes Carol Lynley, Gary Lockwood and Royal Dano.
In “Mag Wheels,” Steve, a popular custom van enthusiast, is attracted to Anita, the mysterious new girl in town, which flames the jealousy of his possessive girlfriend, Donna.
As payback, Donna secretly tips off police that Steve is dealing cocaine and lets it be known that Anita was the informant. This makes Anita the target of Steve’s angry van-driving friends, which pits them against a band of beautiful women in tricked-out pick-up trucks who come to Anita’s aid.
Both movies are typical regional drive-in fare.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra consists of commentaries on both movies by Rob Kelly.

Surf Nazis Must Die (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, Troma Entertainment
Rated: R, bloody violence, nudity, sex, language
The lowdown: This reissue of one of Troma’s most popular releases, is a post-apocalyptic story of motherly love and revenge.
After a devastating earthquake, the beaches of California have been taken over by neo-Nazis, led by Adolf. They begin a reign of terror to seize power and the beaches.
But when the Nazis kill Leroy, an African-American oil worker jogging on the beach, his mother, Eleanor “Mama” Washington takes a handgun and some grenades and sets out to settle the score.
At 87 minutes, the movie combines violent action, outrageous satire, exploitation cinema and Troma’s brand of irreverence with Nazi characters having such obvious names as Adolf, Eva and Mengele. The movie is violent and bloody, but with an underlying sense of dark humor.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.33:1 (16:9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English stereo; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English stereo.
Don’t miss: Extras include an introduction by Lloyd Kaufman; interviews with director Peter George and producer Robin Tinnell; deleted scenes; scenes from the Tromaville Café and The Soul of Troma featurettes; a Projection Booth Podcast with George; an Independent Artists vs. Corrupt Cartels featurette;  a music video; and promos for other Troma features.

Other titles being released in the upcoming week include:
The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (Blu-ray) (Film Masters-Allied Vaughn)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Dog Stars (Fox Home Entertainment)
Ever After (Level 33 Entertainment)
Ghost in the Cell (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant (XYZ Films)
Phony: Episode 2 (Hulu)
The Stunt Driver (IFC Films)
The Weird Kidz (Antenna Releasing-ZP Studios)

OCT. 28
Blind AF (Apple TV-Prime Video)
Brothers: Episode 7 (Apple TV)
Small Prophets: Episode 4 (Apple TV)
VisionQuest: Episode 3 (Disney+)
Where’s Wanda: Season 2, Episode 2 (Apple TV)

OCT. 29
Crystal Lake: Episode 3 (Peacock)

OCT. 30
Dark Matter: Season 2, Episode 10 (Apple TV)
The Deflowering of Eva Van End (Film Movement+)
Fly Me to the Moon (Film Movement+)
Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars: Season 2, Episode 7 (Apple TV)
Last Stop Rocafort St. (Film Movement+)
Love Kills (Film Movement+)
Nocturne: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV)
SCTV: The Greatest Show You Never Heard of (Netflix)

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.