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 JUNE: THE WEDDING BANQUET, EEPHUS, MIDNIGHT, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
The Wedding Banquet (Decal Bleecker): It’s no easy feat to remake an Ang Lee movie, but writer-director Andrew Ahn, working with the original’s screenwriter James Schamus, has brought the material into the 21st century, crafting a queer film that’s shaped like a farce but winds up being moving and true (and yes, also funny). Ahn (Driveways, Fire Island) is one the great cinematic humanists of this generation, and gives his ensemble of characters (played by the dynamite combo of Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-jung) the room they need to get messy, break hearts, and find grace. This marital comedy of errors is one of 2025’s best to date.
Also available:
The Annihilation of Fish (Milestone Cinematheque): An all-but-lost Charles Burnett movie, starring James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave, got a second chance at life this year with a nationwide theatrical release and, now, its home-video debut.
A Different Man (A24): Sebastian Stan’s Oscar-nominated turn as an actor who changes his appearance but retains his inner weaknesses is just part of what makes this drama so compelling.
Drop (Universal): Meghann Fahy gets sinister messages dropped into her phone on an already-awkward first date in this goofy but suspenseful thriller.
The Friend (Decal Bleecker): An enormous, scene-stealing dog acts as a metaphor for Manhattanite Naomi Watts’ grief in this charming comedy-drama.
Limbo (Brainstorm): Simon Baker arrives in a small Australian town to investigate a cold case regarding the 20-year-old homicide of an indigenous girl in this acclaimed neo-noir.
A Minecraft Movie (WBD): One of the big surprises of the year so far is how they managed to turn what could have been a blatant IP cash-grab into a charming and offbeat comedy.
The Monkey (Decal Neon): Osgood Perkins mines the Stephen King short story for outrageous kills and gruesome laughs.
Novocaine (Paramount): Jack Quaid plays a nerd who is unable to feel pain but who tries to be the hero after his girlfriend is kidnapped in this action-comedy.
Snow White (Disney): Not that one; the new one. You know the one.
NEW INDIE
Eephus (Music Box Films): Two baseball teams comprised mostly of middle-aged men meet up for one last game at a local ballpark that’s about to be demolished to make way for a school. The game takes up the entire movie, but this indie gem – like the recent Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, which was shot by Eephus director Carson Lund – is one of those “nothing happens” movies where there’s a lot going on if you’re willing to pay attention. It’s a poignant end-of-an-era movie where futures will be contemplated and where all the characters know deep down that summers just won’t be the same again; each moment is packed with detail and wit and empathetic observation. Whether or not you love baseball, this one’s must viewing.
Also available:
Cash Cow (Cartuna): A struggling actor awaits the debut of his nationally-televised commercial.
Dandelion (IFC): A romance leads a singer-songwriter closer to discovering her own voice.
Sour Party (Anchor Bay): Two women at loose ends drive around L.A. in the hopes of scraping together enough money for a baby-shower gift in this new comedy.
Trail of Vengeance (Shout Studios): This Western stars Rumer Willis as a widow determined to solve her husband’s murder, with the help of her late spouse’s friend, the first Black Pinkerton agent.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
Men of Deeds (Dekanolog): When corrupt officials cover up the murder of a local, it sets a complacent small-town sheriff (in a village near the Moldovan and Bulgarian borders) against corrupt forces in pursuit of justice.
The President’s Wife (Cohen): Catherine Deneuve makes the most out of a rare chance to play comedy in this fanciful film about France’s former First Lady Bernadette Chirac.
Holy Cow (Zeitgeist): A teenage farmer enters a cheese-making competition to provide for his little sister in this acclaimed French import.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Beware of Mr. Baker (Kino Lorber): Manager Ginger Baker looks back (from his fortified South African compound) on a wild life working with the likes of Eric Clapton and Fela Kuti.
The Blues Under the Skin (Kino Classics): This hybrid narrative-documentary from 1973 examines the roots of blues music, with testimony from experts like B.B. King, Mance Lipscomb, and Sinners co-star Buddy Guy.
Concert from My Place: Wynonna (Mercury): Ms. Judd invites you to her home to hear her (and special guest Brandi Carlisle) play some country classics.
The Devil at Your Heels (Canadian International): This beloved 1981 documentary tracks Canadian stunt driver Ken Carter and his attempt to craft the car jump to beat all car jumps.
Marcella (Greenwich): The tasty life story of cookbook author and Italian-cuisine advocate Marcella Hazan.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
The House of the Devil (Dark Sky Selects): Ti West’s breakthrough feature – featuring a brief appearance from Greta Gerwig – put the auteur on the map as a horror filmmaker who wasn’t afraid of a slow burn, of quiet tension, or even of occasional bursts of humor. And now The House of the Devil is available in a new steelcase Blu-ray edition bursting with brand-new extras alongside vintage ones, including two commentary tracks.
Also available:
11 Rebels (Well Go USA Entertainment): The titular squad of criminals and samurai find themselves betrayed by their superiors and forced to fight for their own survival.
Alien Terror (Raro): A spaceship lands bearing aliens who can make people’s bodies explode in this 1980 cult fave.
Automatons (Glass Eye): The sole survivor of one side of a future war fights on with a little help from her robot friends.
DeepStar Six (KL Studio Classics): New 4K of the undersea thriller that raced to beat The Abyss to the big screen.
Destroy All Neighbors (Shudder): Jonah Ray Rodrigues leads an all-star comedy ensemble in this gory farce about the pursuit of art and the annoying people next door who get in the way.
Exact Revenge (Eureka): Double-feature disc featuring The Eunuch and The Deadly Knives, two Shaw Brothers classics making their global Blu-ray debut.
Final Cut (Umbrella): A wealthy entrepreneur plays deadly games of cat-and-mouse in this 1980 cult fave.
I, Madman (Kino Cult): Bookstore clerk Jenny Wright can’t convince anyone that the disfigured serial killer from 1950s pulp novels is real and wreaking havoc in 1980s Los Angeles.
The Invisible Swordsman (Arrow): A young fencer gets an edge over his opponents when a pill turns him invisible in this 1970 action saga.
The Killing Tide (VHSHitfest): Home-video debut for this nearly-lost-to-obscurity 1997 thriller about a corrupt sheriff and his homicidal agenda on the Fourth of July.
Longlegs (Decal Neon): New 4K release of Osgood Perkins’ horror hit, starring Nicolas Cage and Alicia Witt.
The Magnificent 7 Deadly Sins (Kino Cult): This British anthology comedy, directed by Blake Edwards regular Graham Stark, offers a septet of tales based on the titular trespasses.
Rad (Mill Creek): Cultists for Hal Needham’s BMX-bike saga will want to scoop up this Amazon-exclusive collector’s edition.
Rock, Pretty Baby! (KL Studio Classics): Sal Mineo and John Saxon are would-be rock-and-rollers in this vintage exploitation title, with a supporting cast that includes Fay Wray, Shelley Fabares, and Rod McKuen. Music by Henry Mancini!
Sugar Hill (Kino Cult): A woman whose boyfriend was murdered by mobsters turns to a voodoo priestess to seek revenge.
The Way of the Gun (Lionsgate Limited): Now that Christopher McQuarrie has established himself as the Mission: Impossible director of choice, it’s a great time to return to his directorial debut with this special collector’s edition.
NEW CLASSIC
Midnight (The Criterion Collection): Often called “the greatest year in Hollywood history,” 1939 abounded with so many cinematic gems bursting forth from the studios that it was inevitable some of them would get lost by the wayside. That’s generally been the fate of this dazzling screwball comedy from director Mitchell Leisen (working from a screenplay by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett), but after years of being available intermittently at best via streaming or on physical media, this Criterion release gives this delightful film the pedestal it deserves. Claudette Colbert is a down-on-her-luck showgirl who’s given the Cinderella treatment by wealthy John Barrymore, so that Colbert can seduce away the younger man with whom Barrymore’s wife Mary Astor has become smitten. Throw in Don Ameche as a lovestruck cab driver and Rex O’Malley as a telephone-obsessed gossip queen (plus appearances by Hedda Hopper and Monty Woolley) and you have a divine confection.
Also available:
Audie Murphy Collection V (KL Studio Classics): Three more beloved Westerns from the legendary leading man: Walk the Proud Land, Seven Ways from Sundown, and Bullet for a Badman.
Brazil (The Criterion Collection): New 4K edition of the contemporary classic from Terry Gilliam; Criterion’s exceptional package includes the legendary TV edit, the one that Universal wanted to release theatrically, with a commentary track that catalogs the cuts and shows how they undo much of what Gilliam was trying to say.
Dark City (Arrow): 4K release of the sci-fi fave features new essays, commentaries, and artwork.
Edward II (Film Movement Classics): Director Derek Jarman was a seasoned vet by the early 1990s, but this sexy, angry, visionary take on Christopher Marlowe nonetheless made him an essential player in the New Queer Cinema.
Enter the Void (IFC): Gaspar Noé’s legendary 2009 freakout gets a Blu-ray release that includes a new audio commentary and video essay along with other illuminating extras.
Handsome Harry (Kino Lorber): Bette Gordon (Variety) directs this drama featuring an ensemble of indie-film who’s-
whos, including Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Karen Young, Titus Welliver, Campbell Scott, and Bill Sage.
Hong Kong 1941 (Eureka): Chow Yun-fat stars in this acclaimed drama about three Hong Kong citizens coping with life under the Japanese occupation; this Blu-ray debuts the new 4K restoration.
Jaws (Universal): If they close the beaches, you can stay entertained this Fourth of July with a 50thanniversary 4K of the summer movie that invented summer movies, loaded with extras.
Kill the Moonlight (Factory 25): This ’90s comedy pays homage to ’70s drive-in movies with its tale of a would-be race-car driver whose life is undone by toxic waste.
Kingdom of Heaven (20th Century): One of the prime examples of a “director’s cut” that far outshines the theatrical version is Ridley Scott’s Crusades saga, now available in a steelbook 4K edition.
Law and Order (KL Studio Classics): Not the gung-gung one; this is the 1932 Western starring Walter Huston as a lawman who sets out to tame the mean streets of Tombstone, Arizona.
Lethal Weapon (WBD): The Rosetta Stone of buddy-cop movies – and a Christmas movie, to boot – gets a new 4K release.
Made in New Jersey: Films from Fort Lee, America’s First Film Town (Milestone Cinematheque): Before the nascent movie industry decamped to the warmer climes of Southern California, they started out on the east coast, and this new collection captures a pre-turnpike Garden State.
Ma Mère (KimStim): Isabelle Huppert and Louis Garrel are far closer than any mother and son should be in Christophe Honoré’s scandalous 2004 drama.
Mishima (The Criterion Collection): Paul Schrader’s appropriately lurid and luscious biopic of the Japanese author makes its 4K debut.
MouseHunt (KL Studio Classics): 4K release of the Nathan-Lane-and-Lee-Evans-versus-rodent comedy.
Murder by Decree (KL Studio Classics): Canadian auteur Bob Clark’s oeuvre ran the gamut from Black Christmas to She-Man: A Story of Fixation to A Christmas Story to Porky’s to this acclaimed Sherlock Holmes adventure.
The Peacemaker (KL Studio Classics): Nicole Kidman and George Clooney take on terrorists, now in 4K.
Promise Her Anything (KL Studio Classics): Warren Beatty woos Leslie Caron, and between him and a Burt Bacharach theme song, how can she resist?
Road Trip (KL Studio Classics): The Tom Green collegiate comedy makes it 4K debut.
Rustlers’ Rhapsody (KL Studio Classics): Tom Berenger dons the whitest cowboy hat ever in this Western spoof.
Sabrina (KL Studio Classics): The legendary love triangle of Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden has three sides and, now, 4K.
Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (AGFA): Holly Woodlawn stars in this outrageous 1972 musical, thought to have been lost but recently restored and making its Blu-ray debut.
Sorcerer (The Criterion Collection): Initially a box-office disappointment, William Friedkin’s remake of The Wages of Fear has a growing cult of admirers, and their numbers will no doubt grow with the release of this Criterion edition.
Swordfish (Arrow): The folks at Mr. Skin are no doubt thrilled that this cyber-thriller (Hugh Jackman’s hacker types real fast) is getting a 4K edition.
The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost (Radiance): Imagine A Place in the Sun as a samurai ghost story, and you’ll get a feel for this acclaimed supernatural thriller.
Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (The Criterion Collection): Acclaimed doc about the legendary jazz genius gets new life on Blu-ray.
Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (The Criterion Collection): One of the best films ever made about another art form – in this case, music and musicians and how they perceive the world and form their creations – gets a Criterion release.
Two Political Thrillers from Henri Verneuil (KL Studio Classics): The French nail-biters I…for Icarusand Mille Milliards de Dollars share a Blu-ray.
The Wiz (The Criterion Collection): Sidney Lumet’s adaptation of the Broadway show that updated The Wizard of Oz and set it in a New York City Black milieu has its champions and detractors, but this new Criterion release confirms the movie’s iconic status.
NEW TV
Dan Da Dan: Season One (GKIDS): High schoolers explore the paranormal and the supernatural in this beloved anime series, and this Blu-ray release comes loaded with extras.
Dexter: Original Sin – Season 1 (Paramount): This prequel series takes us inside the making and molding of a serial killer.
