The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE.
NEW ON 4K/BLU-RAY/DVD IN JULY: PERFECT DAYS, RISKY BUSINESS, TED LASSO, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
Perfect Days (The Criterion Collection): It’s zen and the art of cleaning toilets in Wim Wenders’ latest understated masterpiece. Japanese superstar Kôji Yakusho stars as a man who has found peace in his simple life, cleaning up Tokyo’s public restrooms (which are all architectural marvels) and enjoying cultural pursuits in his off hours (reading, taking photographs, listening to vintage cassettes). It’s a gorgeous tale of life and how to live it, but it also offers the unspoken subtext that human beings deserve jobs that not only offer time to rest but also a salary that allows one food, shelter, and a little extra for hobbies.
Also available:
Abigail (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment): A seemingly easy kidnapping goes off the rails when the young hostage turns out to be a vampire in this horror-comedy.
Back to Black (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment): Like most rock biopics, this one falls short of doing justice to its subject, but actress Marisa Abela throws herself into the tragic life of Amy Winehouse with commitment.
The Boy and the Heron (Studio Ghibli/GKIDS): Hayao Miyazaki’s “final” (he’s fooled us before), Oscar-winning feature is a gorgeous coming-of-age tale set during World War II.
Civil War (Lionsgate): Alex Garland’s action movie divided audiences over whether it was committed to exploring the zeitgeist of divided politics or merely exploiting it.
Ezra (Decal/Bleecker): A comedian (Bobby Cannavale) takes his autistic son on a cross-country road trip that will change both their lives. The impressive ensemble also includes Rose Byrne, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, and Vera Farmiga.
The Fall Guy (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment): Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are charming as hell in this reboot of the old action series; it’s a film that pays homage to the craft of stunt artistry, and to filmmaking itself, without getting too lost in the meta-weeds.
The First Omen (20th Century Studios): Were you dying to know the backstory of Damien’s mom? You’re in luck.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three (DC/WBD): Closes out the animated trilogy based on the expansive DC limited series that changed comics narrative forever.
The Zone of Interest (A24): Close the shutters and turn off your phone if you’re going to watch Jonathan Glazer’s intense Oscar-winner at home; it’s a movie that demands your attention, particularly its extraordinary sound design.
NEW INDIE
Go Down Death (Factory 25): Writer-director Aaron Schimberg spins a series of yarns, blending Americana and surrealism. From a haunted Brooklyn factory to a creepy forest where soldiers are lost and found, Schimberg’s gorgeous, black-and-white folktales offer a challenging storytime for daring adult viewers.
Also available:
In Her Name (Tribeca Films): Two sisters address their tortured family past while dealing with the decline of their father, a once-prominent artist.
The Last Stop in Yuma County (Well Go USA Entertainment): A traveling salesman becomes a hostage when he crosses paths with a pair of desperate bank robbers.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara(Cohen Media Group): Legendary Italian director Marco Bellochio (Fists in the Pocket) is still killing it in his 80s with this festival and critical favorite that’s a provocative challenge to his home nation’s most powerful religion. Telling a true story from the 19thcentury — in which a young Jewish boy was baptized into Catholicism by his teenaged babysitter, and authorities threatened to relocate the child to a Catholic household unless the rest of his family converted – Bellochio turns a tragedy about unchecked power and family trauma into a film that’s both grand and precise, even-handed and damning.
Also available:
All Your Faces (Distrib/Icarus): This all-star French drama (Adèle Exarchopoulos, Miou Miou, and Élodie Bouchez, to name a few) examines the nation’s Restorative Justice program, in which victims of crime are able to confront their oppressors face to face.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Taking Venice (Zeitgeist Films): Modern art meets the Cold War in this fascinating look at the 1964 Venice Biennale, where getting a win for the United States became about more than just artistic recognition. This new documentary from Amei Wallach (Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine) does a sprightly job of introducing the many larger-than-life characters of the early-60s international art scene, but the film is also must viewing for anyone who looks at the works of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg and thinks, “My kid could do that” – Wallach’s approach to explaining the revolution in the era’s fine arts resembles a scintillating lecture from a very knowledgeable and patient professor.
Also available:
Anselm (Janus Contemporaries): Wim Wenders returns to the 3-D documentary space with this exploration of the work of sculptor Anselm Kiefer. (And this Blu-ray offers a 3-D option for home theaters equipped for such.)
Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg(Magnolia Home Entertainment): Rocker, muse, and actress (Barbarella), this ’60s icon gets her flowers in this celebratory doc, featuring segments from her unpublished memoirs (read by Scarlett Johansson).
Food, Inc. 2 (Magnolia Home Entertainment): A second examination of the contemporary food chain, guided by authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation).
Have You Got It Yet?: The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd (Mercury Studios): A rare look at the life of the mysterious and reclusive Barrett, one of the most influential figures in 1960s rock.
Icons Unearthed: The Simpsons (Mill Creek Entertainment): A deep dive into the history and influence of one of TV’s longest-running hits.
Kindred (IndiePix Films): Filmmakers and friends Adrian Russell Wills and Gillian Moody explore their lives as Australian aborigines who were adopted and raised by white families in the Sydney suburbs.
Queendom (Greenwich Entertainment): A queer Russian artist defies her nation’s anti-queer laws by staging politically provocative performances around Moscow in outrageously surreal costumes.
Revival 69: The Concert That Rocked the World(Greenwich Entertainment): A look back at the 1969 Toronto Rock & Roll Revival Festival, which features Little Richard, The Doors, Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper, and, perhaps most importantly, John Lennon’s debut appearance with the Plastic Ono Band, spelling the beginning of the end for The Beatles.
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill (Decal Partners): The iconic actor looks back at his legendary career.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
The Crippled Masters (Film Masters): One of the most unusual and unforgettable kung fu movies of the grindhouse era comes to Blu-ray with a new 4K restoration. In this 1979 epic, real-life disabled martial artists Sung-Chuan Shen and Chao-Ming Kang play an interconnected pair of fighters – one without arms, one without legs – who team up and train together to seek revenge on the cruel master who dismembered them both. This collection features a new documentary and commentary track, before/after examples of the restoration process, kung-fu trailers, and more.
Also available:
Alienoid: Return to the Future (Well Go USA Entertainment): This Korean sequel offers more sci-fi, action, and time travel.
Angel Has Fallen (Lionsgate): The very Scottish Gerard Butler continues to ply his trade as a Secret Service agent in this action thriller, now in steelbook format.
Bwana Devil (KL Studio Classics): This Robert Stack jungle adventure is to 3-D what The Jazz Singer was to talkies. (And if your home theater has a 3-D set up, this Blu-ray will put, to quote the original ads, “A lion in your lap! A lover in your arms!”)
Cannibal Apocalypse (Kino Cult): A new 4K version of the 1980 people-eatin’ thriller starring John Saxon as a Vietnam vet drawn back into combat when a plague of cannibals invades Atlanta.
Cocaine Fiends / The Pace That Kills (Something Weird/Kino Classics): More drug-hysteria of the Reefer Madness variety.
Danza Macabra, Volume Three: The Spanish Gothic Collection (Severin) A quarter of Iberian horror classics — Necrophagous, Cake of Blood, Cross of the Devil, The Night of the Walking Dead – from the Franco era.
Deer Camp ’86 (Mill Creek Entertainment): A sextet of Detroiters go hunting deep in the Michigan woods and, wouldn’t you know it, unleash an ancient evil.
Diary of the Dead (Lionsgate): New steelbook release of this 2007 horror fave, the fifth in George A. Romero’s legendary series.
The Double Crossers (Eureka Entertainment): Sammo Hung co-stars in one of many attempts to find a “new” Bruce Lee in the year’s following the superstar’s untimely death; South Korean martial artist Shin Il-ryong gets the spotlight here.
Escape Plan Triple Feature (Lionsgate): Stallone and Schwarzenegger teamed up to break out of prison in the first installment; the second one features Stallone and Dave Bautista, who both returned for Escape Plan: The Extractors.
Fata Morgana (Mondo Macabro): Vicente Aranda’s 1966 psychological thriller is set in a nearly-abandoned Barcelona, plagued by a serial killer.
Hatchet: The Complete Collection (Dark Sky Selects): This new limited-edition steelbook features all four grisly chapters of the swamp-killer saga, along with a bonus disc loaded with exclusive content.
The Nico Mastorakis Collection (Arrow): This salute to the gloriously oddball B-movie master features The Time Traveller, Sky High, Terminal Exposure, Glitch!, Ninja Academy, and The Naked Truth, as well as lots of celebratory extras.
Nightmare Beach (Kino Cult): John Saxon, in a 4K Italian horror movie again, this time playing a Miami detective trying to solve a gory series of murders committed by a mysterious figure in a motorcycle helmet; co-stars Michael Parks and features a score by Claudio Simonetti of Goblin.
Peril & Distress (KL Studio Classics): A double feature of And Soon the Darkness & Sudden Terror, both from 1970 and both in 4K.
Phantoms (Scream Factory): Ben Affleck was the bomb in this, yo, and it’s now available in 4K.
Sex Apocalypse (Mondo Macabro): A cadre of kinky criminals and their supposedly “virginal” hostage play an elaborate game of cat and mouse in this late-70s Spanish thriller.
Sting (Well Go USA Entertainment): A pet spider goes rogue, turning into a giant monster and threatening the lives of a family in this wild Australian creature feature.
Tarot (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): A bunch of dummies violate the one big rule of tarot – never use someone else’s deck – and they pay for their transgressions.
Turbulence (KL Studio Classics): Lauren Holly is the flight attendant who has to land the plane, and Ray Liotta is the armed wild card with an agenda of his own in this old-school disaster thriller, now in 4K.
Underground Aces (KL Studio Classics): A crew of parking-lot attendants, led by OG Battlestar Galactica star Dirk Benedict, are up to no good in this 1981 comedy.
Uncle’s Paradise (Sacrament/Redemption): Not your usual Japanese erotica, what with the spiders, snakes, giant squids, and a love hotel that might be Hell itself.
NEW CLASSIC
Risky Business (The Criterion Collection): So many 1980s comedies have become what the kids call “problematic” in the ensuing decades, so it’s a relief that writer-director Paul Brickman’s adolescent comedy still holds up. Tom Cruise made an early impression as Joel, a high-school senior equally nervous about college applications and losing his virginity. Then he meets Lana (Rebecca DeMornay), who might be a sex worker with a heart of gold or might be working another agenda entirely. Sharply written, brilliantly cast (the ensemble also includes Joe Pantoliano, Bronson Pinchot, Curtis Armstrong, and Raphael Sbarge), and pointedly satirical about the Reagan years, this is one of the decade’s smartest and sharpest films, finally getting the full Criterion treatment.
Also available:
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy(Paramount Home Entertainment): Still classy after 20 years, this beloved comedy celebrates its anniversary with a new 4K release.
Black God, White Devil (The Criterion Collection): Glauber Rocha’s 1964 Brazilian new-wave Western is a blistering indictment of exploitation of the masses by the wealthy and by religion.
Bless Their Little Hearts (The Milestone Cinematheque): Part of the influential LA Rebellion alongside Charles Burnett and Julie Dash, Billy Woodberry made his feature debut with this beautiful, low-key 1983 drama (written by Burnett) about a family in Watts.
Blown Away (KL Studio Classics): IRA bomber Tommy Lee Jones seeks revenge against Boston cop Jeff Bridges in this 1994 thriller, now available in 4K.
Brokeback Mountain (KL Studio Classics): A 4K debut for Ang Lee’s heartbreaking queer romance, featuring unforgettable performances from Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, and Anne Hathaway, and Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry’s Oscar-winning adaptation of the E. Annie Proulx novella.
Can’t Stop the Music (KL Studio Classics): Did you know that this legendary disco flop is adored in Australia? And that, as disco flops go, it’s one of the most entertaining ones ever made? And that you can now get it in 4K?
Captain Phillips (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi give searing performances in this 2013 true-crime thriller, now in 4K.
Carmen (Kino Classics): Legendary director Ernst Lubitsch’s silent take on Prosper Mérimée’s romantic tragedy, starring screen siren Pola Negri.
Come Back, Little Sheba / The Rose Tattoo (both KL Studio Classics): Shirley Booth and Anna Magnani, respectively, won Oscars by co-starring opposite Burt Lancaster in screen adaptations of acclaimed American plays (Sheba from William Inge, Tattoo from Tennessee Williams). Don’t feel bad for Lancaster – he eventually got one of his own for Elmer Gantry.
The Country Girl (KL Studio Classics): Grace Kelly won an Oscar (one that, let’s face it, really belonged to Judy Garland in A Star Is Born) for playing the long-suffering wife of an alcoholic actor (played by Bing Crosby).
Double the Romance (Mill Creek Entertainment): Big fan of the Holly Hunter-Richard Dreyfuss rom-com Once Around, featured alongside the all-star Evening.
Eighteen Years in Prison (Radiance): This searing 1967 Japanese prison drama examines crime in the bleak years following World War II and puts two former partners on opposing sides of the law.
Farewell My Concubine (The Criterion Collection): The iconic Leslie Cheung scored one of his greatest roles in Chen Kaige’s sweeping look at passion and art during five tumultuous decades of 20th century Chinese history. This new Criterion set features a 4K restoration of Chen’s original director’s cut, which was not released to US theaters during its original 1993 run.
The Hairdresser’s Husband / Yvonne’s Perfume / Girl on the Bridge / Patrice Leconte Collection (all Kino Classics): A real bounty of films from the acclaimed French filmmaker, with new Blu-ray releases of three of his films (Hairdresser’s Husbandis a personal favorite) and a DVD box set featuring all three titles plus 1998’s Half a Chance, starring legends Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon.
In & Out (KL Studio Classics): Paul Rudnick wrote this groundbreaking studio LGBTQ+ comedy, brilliantly acted by Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, and Matt Dillon (leading an extraordinary ensemble) and released for the first time in 4K.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (KL Studio Classics): The original, and still great, pod-people classic gets a new 4K release.
The Lady from Shanghai (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): For 4K enthusiasts, watch Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in a hall of mirrors with all-new clarity.
Lilies (Strand Releasing Home Entertainment): One of several masterpieces from Canadian queer filmmaker John Greyson is this haunting saga of revenge and redemption, performed by schoolboys in flashback as a bishop arrives to hear the confession of a condemned inmate.
The Linguini Incident (MVD Entertainment): One of the loopier comedies of the 1990s finally gets a Blu-ray release, and a director’s cut to boot. David Bowie leads a wonderfully eccentric ensemble that features Buck Henry, Andre Gregory, Marlee Matlin, Viveca Lindfors, Kathy Kinney, Andrea King, Iman, Julian Lennon and, in her feature debut, Maura Tierney. But Rosanna Arquette and Eszter Balint (Stranger Than Paradise) steal this caper with best-friend chemistry that should have gotten the two their own buddy comedy. (Great early score from Thomas Newman, too.)
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Arrow): One of my favorite Guy Ritchie movies is, natch, one that didn’t make money, but Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer gracefully step into the shoes (and suits, and cufflinks) of their TV forebears. This stylish ’60s-set spy thriller looks even more glorious in 4K.
Narrow Margin (KL Studio Classics): Gene Hackman and Anne Archer star in the rare noir remake that’s as beloved as the original, now in 4K.
No Way Out (KL Studio Classics): Kevin Costner was at peak sexy when he played a naval officer who gets tied up in political skullduggery in this thriller, available in 4K for the first time.
Ozon’s Transgressive Triple (Altered Innocence): Queer French filmmaker François Ozon has tackled a dizzying array of genres over the course of his still-in-progress career; this box set spotlights three of his earliest, and most audacious films: Sitcom, Criminal Lovers, and Water Drops on Burning Rocks.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (The Criterion Collection): Time has been kind to this often-misunderstood Sam Peckinpah Western, now available in 4K and boasting new restorations of two different versions of the film, new commentaries, interviews, documentaries, and more.
Paternity (KL Studio Classics): Amidst a string of good-old-boy movies, Burt Reynolds made the occasional urban and urbane comedy, like this one, where he plays a successful single aching to be a dad.
Red Line 7000 (Arrow): One of legendary director Howard Hawks’ final films – and one of actor James Caan’s first – was this auto-racing saga, co-starring a pre-Sulu George Takei.
Rocky I-VI Film Collection (Warner Bros. Discovery): Sylvester Stallone’s pugilism saga flies again with this new set that features all six features in 4K for the very first time.
Run Lola Run (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): One of 1999’s game-changing movies gets a 4K release after a theatrical reissue earlier this year.
Le Samouraï (The Criterion Collection): Jean-Pierre Melville’s acclaimed neo-noir gets a 4K reissue; among the many extras is an appreciation from John Woo, who often cites the film as a major influence.
Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace(Severin): Christopher Lee’s one and only turn as the sleuth from Baker Street.
Six in Paris (Icarus Films Home Video): A collection of early short works from half a dozen of the French New Wave’s essential filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Jean Rouch, and Claude Chabrol.
The Story of G.I. Joe (Ignite Films): Journalist Ernie Pyle (Burgess Meredith) travels with an Army company (led by Robert Mitchum) to the liberation of Italy in William Wellman’s celebration of the legendary WWII newsman.
Taxi Driver (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): This gritty New Hollywood classics gets a 4K steelbook release.
Tchao Pantin (Radiance): Claude Berri’s influential 1983 neo-noir traces the doomed friendship between a drug dealer and the night manager of a gas station; this release marks the first Blu-ray outside of France, from a new 4K restoration overseen by cinematographer Bruno Nyutten (Possession).
Twisted (KL Studio Classics): Ashley Judd, queen of the 1990s crime thriller, teams up with legendary filmmaker Philip Kaufman.
Twister (Warner Bros. Discovery): The cow flies in 4K!
UHF (Shout Studios): If ever there was a reason to invest in a full-on 4K home-theater system, surely it’s for this 35th anniversary release of the iconic “Weird” Al Yankovic comedy.
When Eight Bells Toll (KL Studio Classics): Anthony Hopkins plays a British secret agent on the hunt for a ship that’s gone missing in this Alistair MacLean–scripted thriller.
Who’s That Girl (Shout Studios): Madonna tells a knock-knock joke and makes it funny in this comedy that is better than most people might think (even as it borrows heavily from Bringing Up Baby and What’s Up, Doc?).
NEW TV
Ted Lasso (Warner Bros. Discovery): Finally, a physical-media release of one of this decade’s most miraculous shows – a feel-good comedy that isn’t afraid to acknowledge genuine pain and brokenness, but one that also affirms the power of people being their best selves. Who would have expected all that from a sitcom based on a character created for TV commercials?
Also available:
Columbo: The Return (KL Studio Classics): A rebooted Columbo is nonetheless a fun Columbo, with Peter Falk playing the legendary rumpled detective in a series of TV movies that allowed him to cross-examine a whole new generation of stars, including Faye Dunaway, William Shatner, George Wendt, and Tyne Daly, to name just a few.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 (Anime Ltd): This CG-animated series, based on the beloved 1980s manga, makes its North American debut with a stunning three-disc Blu-ray set.
Masterpiece Mystery!: Grantchester, Season 9(PBS): Put on a pot of tea and settle in for more cozy mysteries.
Monk: Season Eight (KL Studio Classics): Giving Columbo a run for his money in the longevity department is Tony Shalhoub’s neurotic gumshoe.
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon: Season 1 (Crunchyroll): I mean, you read that title and you either don’t want to watch this, or you want to watch it IMMEDIATELY.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes(Severin): The surviving episodes of the BBC series, with Peter Cushing tackling the legendary detective, are all collected in this new set.
True Detective: Night Country (Warner Bros. Discovery): Fourth time was definitely the charm for this HBO anthology series, with Jodie Foster and Kali Reis teaming up to solve a bizarre murder in the dark and frozen Alaskan tundra.
Ultraman Taiga: The Complete Series + Movie(Mill Creek Entertainment): Mill Creek continues its ambitious release of all the episodes and movies featuring this beloved kaiju-fighter.
Unit One: The Complete Series (MHz): Mads Mikkelsen stars in this acclaimed Danish policier, assembled in its entirety for the first time.
