THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE ALONSO DURALDE. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM HERE.
WHAT’S NEW ON 4K/BLU/DVD IN JANUARY: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, CAUGHT BY THE TIDES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE FABULOUS STAINS, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
One Battle After Another (WBD): One of this year’s Oscar front-runners is also one of the year’s best films, and those two match less often than you might think. Loosely adapting a novel by Thomas Pynchon (whom he previously brought to the screen more faithfully with Inherent Vice), writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson weaves a multi-generational tale of revolution and restriction, examining ongoing political divides in this country while also delving into the specifics of father-daughter relationships. Oh, and he kinda redefines the car chase, as well. Not to be missed.
Also available:
Altered (Well Go USA): Tom Felton stars in a sci-fi time-travel adventure from the director of Iron Sky.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (Magnolia): This acclaimed music documentary examines the all-too-brief life of the beloved singer-songwriter.
Keeper (Decal NEON): Osgood Perkins’ elegantly unsettling chamber piece about a nefarious cabin in the woods features another memorable turn from Tatiana Maslany.
Roofman (Paramount): Channing Tatum’s well-meaning but somewhat incompetent burglar hides out in a Toys R Us for months, falling for single mom Kirsten Dunst along the way – and it’s all based on a true story.
Shelby Oaks (Decal NEON): Film critic Chris Stuckmann makes his feature directorial debut with this found-footage horror tale.
The Smashing Machine (A24): The Safdie brothers each went their own way this year, with Josh making Marty Supreme and Benny directing this sports biopic featuring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (20th Century): The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White steps into the Boss’ jeans for this look behind the scenes at the creation of Springsteen’s stripped-down Nebraskaalbum.
TRON: Ares (Disney): Most of the whiz-bang thrills of this sequel will get lost between the IMAX screen and your home theater, but you can still enjoy Nine Inch Nails’ propulsive score and Greta Lee’s game-for-anything leap from arthouse fare to studio franchise movies.
Wicked: For Good (Universal): The rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say, with Glinda and Elphaba finding their destinies, as well as that of the land of Oz.
NEW INDIE
Doomsdays (Factory 25): Everything changes for a pair of vagrants, looting unoccupied vacation homes in the Catskills, when a young woman and a runaway teen join their ranks in Eddie Mullins’ critically acclaimed feature debut.
Home Free (Virgil): A family gathering takes a turn when the patriarch reveals to his wife and three daughters that he’s terminally ill and wants to die on his own terms.
ReEntry (Virgil): Traveling through time and space takes its toll on a married couple (Sam Trammell, Emily Deschanel).
NEW INTERNATIONAL
Caught by the Tides (Criterion Premieres): Faced with the challenge of making a film during COVID-19 lockdown, legendary director Jia Zhang-Ke (Ash Is Purest White, A Touch of Sin) compiled footage from other films that he had shot over the last two decades featuring actors Zhao Tao and Li Zhubin, crafting a tale of lovers separated by time and distance and culminating in an unforgettable finale. Intensely moving and, as always, insightful about contemporary China, this ranks among the great films of the decade.
Also available:
Come Closer (Greenwich): After the death of her brother, a woman bonds with his secret girlfriend in this Israeli Oscar entry.
Infinite Summer (IndiePix): A wellness app turns out to be something far more sinister in this Estonian cyberthriller.
Köln 75 (Zeitgeist): An 18-year-old jazz fan mounts a German concert featuring American jazz legend Keith Jarrett (played by John Magaro) in this uplifting true story.
Trifole (Cohen): A young woman hopes to learn her grandfather’s foraging skills so that she can find a legendary truffle that will allow him to keep his home.
A World Apart (Icarus): A teacher from the city tries to keep a small rural school open in this Italian charmer.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Naked Ambition (Music Box Films): Director Kareem Tabsch (Mucho Mucho Amor) returns with another documentary portrait of a one-of-a-kind artist. He and Dennis Scholl have crafted a celebration of Bunny Yeager, a pin-up photographer who was a pin-up herself. Behind the camera, she had a massive impact on popular culture, from helping to discover legendary model Bettie Page to playing a role in the creation of Playboy magazine.
Also available:
The Nude (IndiePix): A figure model explores freedom and control with a still photographer in this experimental doc.
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Decal): The director of I Am Not Your Negro takes a provocative look at George Orwell’s writings about authoritarianism and misinformation, finding them still disturbingly relevant to the contemporary world.
Put Your Soul and Your Hand and Walk (Kino Lorber): Filmmaker Sepideh Farsi connects with Fatma, a Palestinian in Gaza who documents life under bombardment.
Yes: Symphonic Live (Mercury): The legendary art-rock band performs with the European Festival Orchestra; this 2001 concert is featured in a combo CD/Blu-ray set.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
Exorcismo: Defying a Dictator & Raising Hell in Post-Franco Spain (Severin): The death of Franco in 1975 opened the floodgates, removing censorship restrictions on films and leading to the creation of the “S” classification for adults-only movies. This new box set sheds a spotlight on 18 horror features that represented the new freedoms of Spanish cinema; also included are a documentary about the phenomenon (narrated by Iggy Pop) and a 168-page booklet.
Also available:
Cabin Fever (Lionsgate): Eli Roth’s breakthrough chiller, now in 4K.
Evil Dead Rise (Arrow): If you saw Warner Bros.’ recent announcement of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and immediately asked yourself, “Who the hell is Lee Cronin?”, get familiar with the Irish horror auteur via this 2023 sequel.
The Films of Hisayasu Satô: Volume 3 (Pink Line): More from the legendary Japanese director of “pink” sagas; included here are Kyrie Eleison, Rafureshia, and Turtle Vision.
The Flesh & Blood Show (Kino Cult): This 1972 horror fave sees a troupe of stage actors in a mysterious seaside theater getting picked off one by one by a mysterious killer.
Frightmare (Troma): After the corpse of a legendary horror star is stolen by a group of drama students, the actor’s ghosts haunts the body snatchers in this 1974 psychotronic cult classic.
King of Beggars (Eureka): Stephen Chow sets out to become a legendary kung fu master to win the heart of his beloved.
Luther the Geek (Troma): A serial killer gets paroled from prison and discovers that old habits die hard.
Made in Hong Kong, Vol. 2 (Vinegar Syndrome): A second collection of acclaimed rarities from the ’80s and ’90s, featuring New York Chinatown, Best of the Best, and Final Justice.
On the Run (88 Films): In this Hong Kong take on The Fugitive, cop Yuen Biao must find his wife’s murderer, even as his colleagues pursue him, thinking he was responsible.
Ozone: Attack of the Redneck Mutants (Visual Vengeance): This low-budget Texas oddity makes its Blu-ray debut.
The Phantom of the Opera (Vinegar Syndrome): Dario Argento’s take at the legendary horror tale that has for so long enchanted film and theater fans alike.
Snakes on a Plane (Arrow): Finally, a 4K of Samuel L. Jackson fighting what the TV dub called “these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane.”
The Snow Creature (Vinegar Syndrome Labs): This 1950s creature-feature follows the King Kong formula, with a scientist encountering a Yeti in the Himalayas and then bringing it back to Los Angeles, where it promptly wreaks havoc.
Terror Firmer (Vinegar Syndrome): Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman pays tribute to his own brand of gonzo low-budget filmmaking with this tale of murders on a movie set.
Vampire Zombies from Space! (Cleopatra): One of those cases where the title really says it all.
NEW CLASSIC
Ladies and Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains (Fun City): A genuine cult classic – all but disowned by Paramount Pictures on its original release, discovered by fans thanks to USA Network’s Night Flight – this look at a young woman leaving behind her go-nowhere town to become a punk-rock star has rightfully come into its own. Featuring a searing performance from Diane Lane (and one of Laura Dern’s earliest screen appearances), the film sagely predicted the rise of both Madonna and the Riot Grrl movement. This extras-bedecked new 4K release features a 64-page booklet of essays and articles, Sarah Jacobson and Sam Green’s essential making-of documentary, and two new commentaries from expert and Stains devotee Marc Edward Heuck, among others.
Also available:
Birth (The Criterion Collection): Nicole Kidman delivers one of the greatest close-ups since the silent era in Jonathan Glazer’s haunting drama about a young boy who claims to be the reincarnation of a woman’s dead husband.
Blood of Revenge (Radiance): Assassination and retribution erupt among warring Yakuza clans in early-20th-century Osaka.
Captain Blood (The Criterion Collection): Michael Curtiz directs Errol Flynn in this classic of swashbuckling derring-do.
Cheap Thrills (Arrow): In this wildly dark comedy, a series of wagers and challenges get more bizarre over the course of one night.
Dante’s Peak (KL Studio Classics): Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton fight a treacherous volcano in peak 90s disaster cinema.
The Dead (The Criterion Collection): John Huston’s final film ranks among his finest, as it poignantly captures the haunting short story by James Joyce.
Dead of Night (KL Studio Classics): One of the great horror anthologies of all time is this British classic from 1945.
Death on the Nile, The Mirror Crack’d, and Evil Under the Sun (all KL Studio Classics): Three Agatha Christie favorites make their 4K debuts – Death and Evil mark two of Peter Ustinov’s best turns as mustachioed sleuth Hercule Poirot, and Mirror gave Angela Lansbury her one crack at playing Miss Marple. (And also, in the long run, helped convince the actress to play the Marple-esque Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote.)
Diva (KL Studio Classics): This cool, chic early-’80s thriller makes its way to Blu-ray following a remaster and theatrical reissue.
The Door in the Floor and K-Pax (both KL Studio Classics): For the Jeff Bridges completists out there.
End of Watch (Shout Studios): David Ayer’s body-cam cop thriller remains relevant as ever, 14 years later.
The Gambler (Cinématographe): James Caan delivers one of his most memorable performances in Karel Reisz’s 1974 thriller about a literature professor who can’t overcome his compulsion to gamble. This 4K edition includes new essays, a new commentary by Glenn Kenny, and a video essay comparing this original version with the 2014 remake starring Mark Wahlberg.
The Godless Girl (Kino Classics): A great silent film to show to people who think they won’t like a silent film, Cecil B. DeMille’s melodrama finds a Christian boy and atheist girl falling in love at a brutal reformatory.
Heaven (Lightyear): Pay tribute to the late, great Diane Keaton with a new Blu-ray of her directorial debut, a witty documentary about the afterlife.
Hold That Blonde! (KL Studio Classics): In this 1945 comedy, Eddie Bracken falls for Veronica Lake (and who could blame him) without knowing that she belongs to a gang of jewel robbers.
Illustrious Corpses (Radiance): Lino Ventura stars in this underrated crime thriller about a corrupt judge and political assassinations.
Kiss of the Spider Woman (The Criterion Collection): The excellent musical remake didn’t get enough love from audiences or awards-giving bodies, but while we wait for that film to get its due in the home-video market, here’s a new Criterion of Hector Babenco’s long-unavailable original take on the Mario Vargas Llosa novel, featuring an Oscar-winning turn by William Hurt.
Let’s Spend the Night Together (KL Studio Classics): Hal Ashby directs this 1982 Rolling Stones concert film.
Man in a Cocked Hat (KL Studio Classics): Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas face off in this political satire about an overlooked British colony that tries to get more love from the UK by cozying up to the Soviets.
Married to the Mob (Cinématographe): Jonathan Demme’s mafia comedy, featuring one of Michelle Pfeiffer’s most sparkling performances, grows in estimation with each passing year. This new 4K features essays, interviews, and a new commentary track from co-star Matthew Modine.
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 5 (The Criterion Collection): The filmmaker continues his pursuit of making lesser-known films from around the globe accessible to home-video audiences; this latest collection includes Chronicles of the Year of Fire, Yam Daabo, Kummatty, and The Fall of Otrar.
The Mechanic (KL Studio Classics): Charles Bronson has a specific set of skills, and only a few of them are automotive-related, in this classic crime thriller.
Mystery Team (Lionsgate): Donald Glover leads a squad of aging kid detectives in this comedy whodunit.
Sabrina (KL Studio Classics): Not that one – it’s the Sydney Pollack–directed remake with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, and Greg Kinnear.
The Second Woman (Film Masters): Betsy Drake gets involved with man of mystery Robert Young in this Hitchcockian thriller.
Tank Girl (Vinegar Syndrome Ultra): Lori Petty stars in this 1990s oddball cult oddity and comic-book adaptation making its 4K debut in an extras-packed edition, including a commentary from critic Kristen Lopez.
Under Siege (Arrow): Navy cook Steven Seagal faces off with terrorist Tommy Lee Jones on an aircraft carrier in one of the very best of the 1990s Die Hardknockoffs.
NEW TV
Assassination Classroom: The Complete Series(Crunchyroll): Schoolmates band together to eliminate their tentacled teacher in this anime favorite.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (Iconoscope): Remade decades later as a theatrical feature, this 1973 TV-movie has a fervent cult (including Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the remake).
Lucifer: The Complete Series (WBD): Lucifer relocates from Hell to Los Angeles, and contrary to popular belief, those are two separate places.
The Veil (Iconoscope): Long considered lost, this never-aired anthology of stories surrounding ESP and other paranormal phenomena was hosted by Boris Karloff and featured early work from up-and-coming actors and directors; this 1950s hidden gem makes its Blu-ray debut.
