Welcome back for another look at highlights coming your way on Blu-ray and DVD. Be sure to click on any links to read more about them. There’s plenty of new films as well as some impressive and out-of-print older catalog releases. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try.
Big New Releases!
The Finest Hours – This adaptation tells the true story of a 1952 Coast Guard rescue operation off of the coast of Cape Cod. They’re called into action when a blizzard damages an oil tanker and leaves its crew in mortal danger. Reviews were mostly positive. While several admitted the approach was old-fashioned and didn’t provide as much character depth as they would have liked, the majority felt that the action scenes were tense and exciting. The movie stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Josh Stewart and Holliday Granger. To read a detailed review, just click here.
How to Be Single – A young woman and her single friends struggle to survive the dating scene in Manhattan. Outrageous events follow as the group get themselves into embarrassingly comic situations. This rom-com clearly takes a page from the likes of Bridesmaids, but the final product garnered mixed notices from critics. Some found the cast likable enough to overlook a substandard script, while others found the writing too crude and blunt to impress. You can read a full-length write-up of the movie here.
Risen – This religious feature tells the story of the Resurrection of Christ through the eyes of an agnostic Roman Centurion. He’s tasked with finding the body of Jesus after it disappears following the crucifixion. The press were mixed on the final result. They felt that the production value was impressive, the approach to the story as a police procedural was interesting and that it was better than others of its ilk, but several still suggested that elements came off as hokey and kitschy. It stars Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth and Cliff Curtis.
Rise of the Legend – Also known as Huang feihong zhi yingxiong you meng, kung-fu fans may be interested in this foreign-language flick from Hong Kong. It’s a period piece about an orphan whose father was killed by an evil force. Many years later, the hero returns home as an adult to set things right. While a few wrote that the narrative was a little too traditional in its approach, more believed that the impressive action resulted in a fun action picture. The cast includes martial arts movie legend Sammo Hung and Eddie Peng.
Blasts From the Past!
As mentioned, it’s an incredibly busy week for older titles making their Blu-ray debuts. Olive Films have a great assortment. First up is the Frankie Muniz kids flick Agent Cody Banks (2003). In it, the Malcolm in the Middle star plays a young secret government operative with awkward social skills who must manage to stop a villainous plot. The cast includes Hilary Duff, Keith David, Ian McShane. If you want to complete the collection, you can also pick up the sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004). The plot is pretty self-explanatory and features Anthony Anderson.
French Postcards (1979) is a comedy about college foreign exchange students who spend a year in Paris and chronicles all of their bizarre misadventures. For the first time on video, it features the original soundtrack. It’s an interesting little movie with fantastic locations and features Debra Winger and Mandy Patinkin in supporting roles. To read a full review of the Blu-ray, just click here.
They also have the critically praised Greek drama, Iphigenia (1977). Based on the ancient play, this Oscar-nominated effort involves a commander who struggles with an order to sacrifice his daughter to the Gods. Clark Gable stars in the western/comedy The King and Four Queens (1956) as a con man who tries to turn on the charm with the ladies in order to find gold. Legend of the Lost (1957) features John Wayne and Sofia Loren on an treasure hunting journey across the Sahara.
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947) is another well regarded drama. This one features George Sanders as a womanizer who uses his lures to climb the social ladder of high society.
Rich Kids (1979) is a comedy/drama told from the point of view of two sharp 12 year olds who form a friendship and eventually a romance. The boy attempts to help the girl deal with her parent’s imminent divorce after going through it himself and the struggling pair find a connection. The Sum of Us (1994) is an Australian drama about a widowed father and his gay son who are both looking for love. It features an early performance from Russell Crowe in the son role.
Finally, Olive have a couple of cult comedies arriving in high definition. The Whoopee Boys (1986) features two obnoxious pals who travel to Florida and attend charm school in an attempt to pull off a scheme among the well-to-do in high society. It stars Michael O’Keefe and Paul Rodriguez. You can read a full review of the Blu-ray right here. If you were a kid in the early 80s, you probably remember Zapped! That one starred Scott Baio from Happy Days as a teenager who develops psychokinetic powers and uses them to make life at his high school… a bit more interesting. You can revisit those old memories with a Blu-ray review of the film here.
Not to be outdone, Shout! Factory have some cult titles making their high definition debuts. Bad Influence (1990) is a dark little thriller starring James Spader as a mousy financial analyst whose life is turned upside down after befriending a mysterious stranger played by Rob Lowe. If memory serves, it’s a little better than you might expect.
They’ve also got a TV-movie adaptation of Great Expectations (1974) with Michael York and Sarah Miles. Finally, Shout! are releasing a Collector’s Edition of Manhunter (1986) from Michael Mann (Thief, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Collateral, Miami Vice). It’s a great little thriller starring William Petersen that is based on the Thomas Harris book. This feature also marks the first appearance of the Hannibal Lector character on celluloid. The two disc Blu-ray includes the theatrical cut with new cast and crew interviews and then a director’s cut with audio commentary from Mann as well as more featurettes on the film.
But that’s not all. Criterion are delivering a Blu-ray of Robert Altman’s highly regarded Hollywood satire, The Player (1992). Tim Robbins plays a studio executive who begins to receive death threats from an angry screenwriter. Unfortunately, he’s treated so many writers so poorly that it’s difficult for him to determine who is threatening his life. The movie has been given a 4K restoration, and extras on the disc include a 1992 audio commentary with the filmmaker, interviews with the director, footage from the Cannes Film Festival, a documentary about the making of the film, new interviews with cast and crew and many others.
Kino Lorber also have several noteworthy Blu-rays. Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917 – 1923 is exactly as advertised, collecting a series of short films from the famous silent movie star. They also have The Chase (1946), a very well-regarded B-movie film nor starring Robert Cummings and Peter Lorre. It’s about an unemployed man who finds a lost wallet and returns it – he gets more than he bargained for when the person he returns it to looks to be some sort of underworld figure.
If you want more films in that vein, you can also pick up the Blu-ray set, Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema. It contains five features, including Big House U.S.A. (1955), A Bullet for Joey (1955), He Ran All the Way (1951), Storm Fear (1955) and Witness to Murder (1954).
On a more science-fiction bent, The People That Time Forgot (1977) is a goofy low-budget sequel to the equally silly The Land That Time Forgot (1975). They’re both based on the work of famous author Edgar Rice Burroughs. This time out, the story involves an Antarctic exposition that uncovers giant mammoths and ancient warriors. For some strange reason, it appears to involve all mannner of creatures except penguins.
Cinema Epoch have the comedy Private Lessons (1981) arriving on Blu-ray. This one is about a teenage who falls for a French maid and gets himself ensnared in an elaborate scheme – the cast includes Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman and Ed Begley Jr.
And finally, on a completely different tact, Cohen Media Group are releasing the Jean-Luc Godard arthouse film, A Married Woman (1964) on Blu-ray.
You Know, For Kids!
Here are some of the options for youngsters.
Devlin (Warner Archive)
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Sport-Y-Thon
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond the Known Universe
On the Tube!
And here’s what available in the TV category. If you haven’t seen American Gothic (1995 – 96), it was a really good show featuring Gary Cole that sadly never found a following. Unfortunately, it also kind of fell apart after a co-star (Jake Weber) was replaced half-way through the season. Regardless, the brief series was still an really interesting show and one worth checking out. It was also produced by Sam Raimi (of The Evil Dead series fame). Also included are some trailers from features listed in the Blasts From the Past! section. Enjoy!
American Gothic: The Complete Series
Call the Midwife: Season 5
Devlin (Warner Archive)
David Holt’s State of Music (PBS)
Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace
Eleventh Hour (ITV)
A French Village: Season 4
A French Village: Season 5
Great Expectations (1974 TV-movie)
Lou Grant: Season 1
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. II (Angel’s Revenge, Cave Dwellers, Pod People, Shorts Vol. 1)
Outsiders: Season 1
The Rifleman: Season 3, Vol. 1
The Wonder Years: Season 5