THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE ALONSO DURALDE. LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM HERE.
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU/4K IN DECEMBER: BUGONIA, BEAU GESTE, THE HANDMAID’S TALE, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
Bugonia (Universal): Nobody would have guessed that the actress from Easy A and the director of Dogtooth would become a potent moviemaking duo, but Emma Stone’s box-office clout and Yorgos Lanthimos’ uniquely dark take on the human condition have given us a string of complex movies that get under your skin. They’re at it again with this unnerving tale of a conspiracy theorist (Jesse Plemons, reteaming with this duo after Kinds of Kindness) who’s convinced that a successful CEO (Stone) is actually an alien bent on destroying mankind. It’s another Lanthimos movie that’s both an over-the-top freakout and a recognizably human portrait of pain.
Also available:
Anemone (Universal): Ronan Day-Lewis directs his father Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to the screen in this drama about fathers and sons.
Animal Tales of Christmas Magic (Icarus): An international collection of holiday-themed animation featuring adventurous animals and, of course, Santa Claus.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie walk through a series of doors to their mutual pasts in this fantasy about love and regret.
Beast of War (Well Go USA): It’s World War II, and Australian troops have to deal with their boat sinking and the arrival of a giant shark in this action thriller.
Black Phone 2 (Universal): Bells are ringing, and it’s The Grabber again.
David Byrne’s American Utopia (The Criterion Collection): Talking Heads’ frontman’s deliriously joyful Broadway show, now available for your home collection, courtesy of director Spike Lee.
Eleanor the Great (Sony): June Squibb stars as a woman whose life spirals out of control after she tells a serious lie in Scarlett Johansson’s debut feature.
Good Fortune (Lionsgate): Keanu Reeves is an inept angel whose plan to swap the lives of a poor man (Aziz Ansari) and a rich venture capitalist (Seth Rogen) goes sideways.
Good Night, and Good Luck (Magnolia Home Entertainment): The live stage-capture of the play based on George Clooney’s 2005 film about Edward R. Murrow during the McCarthy years.
Robin and the Hoods (Radial Entertainment): In this family film, a young girl and her fantasy game–loving friends must fight to save their favorite play space from developers. Starring Naomie Harris (Moonlight) and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones)
NEW INDIE
No Sleep Till (Factory 25): From the people who brought you Eephus and Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point comes this acclaimed dreamlike drama about people who stay behind during a Florida hurricane evacuation.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
A Few Feet Away (Cinephobia): A gay twink in Spain learns that hookup apps, while fun, are not a longterm solution to loneliness.
Kill the Jockey (Music Box Films): A jockey on the run from the mob adopts a new identity in this stylish queer Argentine comedy.
The Milky Way (Greenwich): Dark Israeli comedy about a woman who goes to work for a factory that produces gourmet breast milk.
A World Apart (Icarus): This feel-good drama about a teacher in rural, snow-covered Italy explores culture clash and community.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Chain Reactions (Dark Sky Films): Documentary filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe (Lynch/Ox) examines the essential indie nightmare The Texas Chain Saw Massacre through the distinct viewpoints of comedian Patton Oswalt, critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author Stephen King, and filmmakers Takashi Miike and Karyn Kusama, and the results offer revealing insights into both the subjects of this film and Tobe Hooper’s horror classic. This limited edition Blu-ray mediabook with accompanying booklet, three discs, and eight rare versions of the original film (including the washed-out version, heavy on the yellows, that Heller-Nicholas grew up watching in Australia, where Hooper’s film was banned for decades).
Also available:
Hearts of Darkness (Lionsgate): Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper’s jaw-dropping 1991 documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now honors the perseverance of the recently-departed Eleanor Coppola as much as it does her husband’s vision; 4K debut.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 (Icarus): This expansive, densely-informative documentary is a must-see for anyone interested in how the media covers global conflict.
Italia – Fire and Ashes (Kino Classics): A deep dive into the origins of Italian silent cinema, narrated by Isabella Rossellini.
Monk in Pieces (Kino Lorber): David Byrne and Björk lend their support to this doc about legendary 83-year-old avant-garde composer and performer Meredith Monk.
Nuremberg – The Real Story (Rising Sun Media): A documentary companion to the current theatrical drama Nuremberg.
A Savage Art (Magnolia): Bill Banowsky’s documentary pays tribute to the incisive and hilarious poltical cartoons of legendary artist Patrick Oliphant.
Wild Style (Arrow): New 4K of this legendary 1982 landmark of docufiction chronicles the rise of hip-hop and showcases artists like Grandmaster Flash and Fab 5 Freddy.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
Shawscope: Volume 4 (Arrow): The Shaw Brothers Studios were, essentially, the MGM of late-20th-century martial-arts cinema, and this Blu-ray collection features 16 vault titles that lean into magic, ghosts, and the supernatural: Super Inframan, Oily Maniac, Battle Wizard, Black Magic, Black Magic Part 2, Hex, Bewitched, Hex Vs. Witchcraft, Hex After Hex, Bats Without Wings, Bloody Parrot, The Fake Ghost Catchers, Demon of the Lute, Seeding of a Ghost, Portrait In Crystal, andTwinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Also available:
Delinquent School Girls (VCI Retro Elite): Three escaped sex maniacs find their way to an all-girls school; they have evil on their minds, but these girls know karate. It was 1975.
The House with Laughing Windows (Arrow): Giallo fans, this Italian suspense cult classic is now in 4K, in a special package with hours of extras.
Rosa (88 Films): This 1986 martial arts rom-com, produced by Sammo Hung, comes in a limited edition box with collectible postcards, a 40-page book, and lots of commentary tracks.
Saga of the Phoenix (88 Films): A cult classic of the Hong Kong fantasy genre, this 1989 gem features malevolent demons, bizarre supernatural creatures, slapstick comedy, and gravity-defying martial arts.
Scars of Dracula (KL Studio Classics): Hammer Horror entered the groovy ’70s with this Christopher Lee outing.
Splendid Outing (Radiance): In this haunting feminist parable, a successful executive heads to a seaside town to get away from her unpleasant dreams, only to be kidnapped by a fisherman who insists she’s his long-gong wife – and the rest of the town backs him up.
Young, Violent, Dangerous (Raro): They are what the title says, as three young Italian men go on a murderous robbery spree in this 1976 crime jam.
NEW CLASSIC
Beau Geste (Artcraft Pictures): It’s the 100thanniversary of this legendary film, a sweeping epic starring Ronald Colman (and keep an eye peeled for Neil Hamilton, Commissioner Gordon on the 1960s Batman show). This classic has been meticulously restored for this special package, which includes a commentary from historian Frank Thompson, a Beau Geste radio play from Orson Welles, a new score, a gallery of behind-the-scenes images, a booklet of liner notes, a gallery of the original premiere program, and a restoration demonstration. As we start rolling into the centenaries of legendary films, here’s a great place to start.
Also available:
Airplane! and Top Secret! (Paramount): New 4Ks of these gut-busters from Zucker Abrahams Zucker, with the former (celebrating its 45th anniversary) tweaking the disaster-movie genre while the latter (featuring the late Val Kilmer in a role that makes you wish he’d made more comedies) has its way with Elvis movies and spy capers.
Anaconda (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): Just in time for the new comedy with Jack Black comes the original version with Jennifer Lopez, in a limited edition 4K steelbook.
Awakenings (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment): The 35th anniversary 4K release of this Penny Marshall–directed drama starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, based on the non-fiction book by Oliver Sacks.
Babe and Babe: Pig in the City (both KL Studio Classics): Two enduring 90s family classics arrive in both separate and double-feature Blu-ray editions.
Boogie Nights (WBD): Paul Thomas Anderson’s 90s breakthrough now in 4K with a barrage of commentaries and additional material.
Breakdown (Paramount): Kurt Russell has to find his wife after she’s kidnapped by a truck driver; Jonathan Mostow’s genre fave makes its 4K debut.
Catch Me If You Can (Paramount): Leonardo DiCaprio plays a con man who successfully passes himself off as a pilot, lawyer, and doctor; 4K debut for this Spielberg dramedy.
Cloud Atlas (Shout Select): The wild Wachowski fantasy is here in a three-disc 4K set with tons of extras and a brand new documentary.
Dead of Night (KL Studio Classics): This 1945 anthology thriller is a classic of British haunted-house horror, influential for decades to come.
Dogma (Lionsgate): Long out of print, Kevin Smith’s wild religious comedy gets a 4K remaster in a two-disc set with lots of special features.
French Noir Collection II (KL Studio Classics): 1950s and 60s collection featuring legends like Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jean Desailly; included are Rhine Virgin, The Beast is Loose, Trapped by Fear, and The Passion of Slow Fire.
Hanna K. (KL Studio Classics): Jill Clayburgh stars in this 1983 Costa-Gavras drama about an Israeli lawyer who’s been court-appointed to represent a Palestinian defendant.
His Girl Friday (The Criterion Collection): The Platonic ideal of the screwball comedy stars Rosalind Russell as an ace reporter who thinks she wants to retire and Cary Grant as her editor and ex-husband who knows she loves a good story even more than she loves him. Perfection.
I Know Where I’m Going! (The Criterion Collection): Powell and Pressburger’s sparkling comedy about a very determined woman (the sublime Wendy Hiller) who rethinks her priorities when fog keeps her from her wedding to a wealthy plutocrat; finally available in 4K.
The Killer (Shout! Studios): The classic 1989 John Woo action film, now in 4K, in a three-disc box set with tons of bonus material and a 52-page booklet.
Minority Report (Paramount): In this dystopian thriller, Tom Cruise is a cop on the run for future-crimes he hasn’t committed. (But the stealth MVP is the great Lois Smith.)
Nacho Libre (KL Studio Classics): Jack Black wears tights and a cape. And 4K.
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (The Criterion Collection): This classic American comedy gets the full Criterion treatment, from a 4K restoration to a new essay by cultural icon Jesse Thorn.
The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Revenge of the Pink Panther, and A Shot in The Dark (all KL Studio Classics): Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards were an unstoppable comedy collaboration, and now four Inspector Clouseau capers arrive in separate 4K/Blu-ray editions.
Pulp Fiction (Paramount): If you missed it the first time around, this ’90s indie classic’s Steelbook 4K Blu-ray edition gets a reissue.
Return to Reason: Four Films by Man Ray (The Criterion Collection): Relive the bold experimentation of the 1920s avant-garde with four works by this American master, newly scored to music from Jim Jarmusch’s band SQÜRL.
Salaam Bombay! (The Criterion Collection): New 4K release of the gorgeous and harrowing look at life on the poverty line in India’s biggest city; the breakthrough film for Mira Nair (who has, since then, become the mom of the mayor of New York City).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy (Arrow): Now in 4K, all three of the earliest live-action TMNT films, along with hours of special features, collectible packaging and newly commissioned extra material.
Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology, 1940 – 1958 (WBD): Five discs, 114 cartoon shorts, 20 commentaries by animation experts, and warning on the label that it “may not be suitable for children.” Perfect.
Triple Threat: Three Films with Sammo Hung(Eureka!): Three titles from the legendary martial arts filmmaker and actor: The Manchu Boxer, Paper Marriage, and Shanghai, Shanghai.
Walking Tall (KL Studio Classics): Dwayne Johnson is a one-man vigilante wrecking crew in this remake of the 70s drive-in classic; we’ll just overlook the fact that the Buford Pusser legend turns out to be pure PR.
The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount): Scorsese’s darkly funny financial-industry epic with Leonardo DiCaprio, now in 4K.
NEW TV
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Complete Series (MGM): The fact that Margaret Atwood’s novel about a post-apocalyptic theocracy remains one of the most banned books in American school system speaks to its ongoing relevance to our world, and the TV series adaptation also felt uncomfortably close to the zeitgeist during its Hulu run. (On the plus side, the show depicted an active and successful revolutionary underground, which was nice.) This 20-disc set contains all six seasons of the Elisabeth Moss–led series, along with lots of bonus content. If you missed this one, it’s a great year-end binge.
Also available:
Alef (MHz): The popular Turkish crime drama–murder mystery series in a two-DVD set.
Dan Curtis’ Gothic Tales (Kino Cult): From long-lost episodes of ABC’s late-night series Wide World Mystery, this packages two early-70s TV movie adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Turn of The Screw
The Gilded Age: The Complete Third Season (HBO Home Video): More robber barons and society goings-on. Will the opera wars ever end? (If you bailed on this Julian Fellowes joint earlier on, rest assured that this season stands as the best of the three so far, so maybe give it another shot.)
Hazbin Hotel (A24): Go to hell with these misfit demons in the R-rated adult musical comedy animated series.
Law & Order – The Complete Original Series(Universal): Over 100 discs, over 20,000 minutes long. It weighs 13 pounds. Get watching.
Ultraman Yuletide Collection (Mill Creek Entertainment): Get into the Santa spirit with these holiday-themed Ultraman episodes that do, in fact, somehow include Santa Claus.
