The following article was written by my friend and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can learn more about him HERE.
WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU/4K IN APRIL: ANORA, LIZA, RE-ANIMATOR, SUMMER WARS, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
Anora (The Criterion Collection): Writer-director Sean Baker has been an indie fave for years – not coincidentally, Criterion is also releasing of his early films, Prince of Broadway, this month – but this heartfelt tale of a sex worker and the spoiled son of oligarchs blew up in a big way, starting with a Palme d’Or following a well-received premiere at Cannes and culminating in a sweep at the Oscars, including Best Picture. But if you’ve been paying attention to Baker’s work, his latest succeeds where all his films do, by understanding subcultures (of which Baker is not a member) and portraying members of those subcultures with grace and understanding. Led by Mikey Madison’s acclaimed turn in the title role, this genre-straddling, tone-hopping comedy-drama shows an empathetic auteur working at the top of his game.
Also available:
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (WBD): The Dark Knight goes anime in another DC animated superhero saga that goes hard.
The Brutalist (A24): While Lol Crawley’s dazzling VistaVision cinematography will be a bit lost in translation, the powerful writing and performances of Brady Corbet’s post-WWII drama remain intact. (Not to mention the breathtaking production design, befitting a film about an architectural visionary.)
Companion (WBD): A film enjoyed most by those who know the least going in, this twisty horror-comedy offers chills and delights around every corner.
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight): Just when you thought you never wanted to see another rock biopic, along comes James Mangold’s sensitive and incisive portrait of Bob Dylan’s early career, anchored by a gobsmacking lead performance from Timothee Chalamet.
Dog Man (Universal): The kids’ books about the half-human, half-canine cop hit the screen with this charming feature adaptation.
Flight Risk (Lionsgate): Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace overcome a lunatic in the hopes of safely landing their plane.
Heart Eyes (Sony): The director of Werewolves Within returns with a clever melding of the rom-com and slasher genres.
Last Breath (Universal): Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu are part of an undersea crew whose deep-dive expedition goes frighteningly wrong in this based-on-a-true-story thriller.
Love Hurts (Universal): Oscar-winners Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose team up for this comic action-fest.
Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney): Barry Jenkins makes a one-for-them with this CG-animated prequel.
One of Them Days (Sony): Keke Palmer and SZA make a hilarious buddy duo in this comedy about two women in L.A. trying desperately to put together the rent before midnight.
Paddington in Peru (Sony): Everyone’s favorite marmalade-eating bear is back, contending with the villainy of both Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas in this delightful threequel.
Queer (A24): Luca Guadagnino’s other 2024 masterpiece was this bold adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novel, which allowed Daniel Craig to explore a whole other side of his screen acting (and provided scene-stealing supporting roles for Drew Droege and Jason Schwartzman.
Seneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes(Freestyle): John Malkovich stars as the titular philosopher in a campy comedy from the director of Red and The Captain.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount): The saga continues.
NEW INDIE
Good Bad Things (Music Box Films): A young entrepreneur with muscular dystrophy looks for love online in this acclaimed indie rom-com.
Green and Gold (Mill Creek Entertainment): Craig T. Nelson stars as a dairyman who literally bets the farm on his beloved Green Bay Packers; co-stars M. Emmet Walsh and Brandon Sklenar (Drop).
NEW INTERNATIONAL
The Art of Nothing (Distrib): Benoit Poelvoorde and Camille Cottin (Call My Agent!, A Haunting in Venice) co-star in this comedy about a professor who retires to a small town to give himself one last shot at being an artist.
Harbin (Well Go USA): This action drama focuses on Korean soldiers fighting back against impending Japanese annexation in 1909.
Invasion (Well Go USA): Three rookie Dutch marines find themselves called to duty when a rogue nation attempts an invasion in the Caribbean.
There’s Still Tomorrow (Greenwich): The end of WWII gives an Italian housewife hope for a better life beyond her stifling marriage.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story(Zeitgeist): It’s something of a given that current documentaries about living pop-culture figures are going to be glossy and celebratory – but honestly, would you want a movie about Liza Minnelli to be anything else? Writer-director Bruce David Klein shrewdly focuses on the many mentors that the one-of-a-kind singer-actress-dancer has learned from over the course of her life, from Kay Thompson to Halston to Bob Fosse to Charles Aznavour, and looking at these influences elicits moving and memorable commentary from his ebullient subject.
Also available:
Aum: The Cult at the End of the World(Greenwich): Meet the Japanese cult that unleased deadly nerve gas in Tokyo’s subway system in 1995 in this chilling portrait.
The Bermuda Triangle (KL Studio Classics): If you weren’t at some point concerned about the Bermuda Triangle, were you really even alive in the 1970s? This 1979 documentary unpacks all the reasons we were once worried.
Final Vows (First Run Features): Meet the dedicated nuns who have chosen to live in a secluded cloister in the Arizona desert.
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence (Greenwich): The iconic queer singer-songwriter tells all.
Marley (Tuff Gong): If last year’s biopic of reggae legend Bob Marley left you wanting more, Kevin McDonald’s acclaimed 2012 documentary gets a reissue for the singer’s 80th birthday.
UnBroken (Greenwich): Seven siblings do what it takes to escape the Holocaust, even if it means declaring themselves as orphans at the U.S. border.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
Re-Animator (Ignite Films): Director Stuart Gordon’s brilliantly unhinged H.P. Lovecraft adaptation ranks among the greatest (and wittiest) horror films of the 1980s. For the film’s 40thanniversary, Ignite Films celebrates with multiple new versions, including a new 4K remastering that comes in a standard or deluxe edition box set. (The latter format includes a new hardcover book with interviews and essays, along with collectable art cards.)
Also available:
The Beyond (Grindhouse Releasing): New deluxe 4K edition of Lucio Fulci’s squishy giallo masterpiece.
Burke & Hare (KL Studio Classics): A grimly hilarious portrait of two real-life grave-robbers.
Cannibal Mukbang (Jackrabbit Media): Food, sex, and revenge intertwine in this gory horror tale.
Devil Doll / Curse of the Voodoo (Vinegar Syndrome): A pair of British cult-fave horrors directed by Canadian low-budget filmmaker Lindsay Shonteff.
Igor and the Lunatics (Vinegar Syndrome Archive): This new Blu-ray features the original cut of this Manson-like cult saga, plus the bloodier version that Troma insisted the director create.
Juice/Daddy Dearest (Altered Innocence): Two gay-adult classics from legendary filmmaker Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., whose work spanned everything from documentary to dramatic narrative to explicit (but celebratory) movies about queer life.
The Magnificent Chang Cheh (Eureka): The Magnificent Trio and Magnificent Wanderers, two films from the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema,” are featured in this new set.
MotorPsycho (Severin): Russ Meyer’s hot-rod saga, now in 4K.
Murderock (Vinegar Syndrome): Lucio Fulci decided to make his own dance-academy giallo (shades of Suspiria), and it makes its 4K debut on home video.
The Nesting (Vinegar Syndrome): Gloria Grahame makes her final screen appearance in this supernatural, small-town slasher.
Plane (Lionsgate): Gerard Butler’s prosaically-titled but nonetheless thrilling hijack drama gets a 4K steelbook release.
Short Night of Glass Dolls (Celluloid Dreams): New 4K release for this 1971 giallo favorite, Aldo Lado’s debut film.
The Sidewalks of Bangkok (Redemption): Cult director Jean Rollin tackles the spy genre without keeping women-in-danger too far from his camera eye.
Striking Rescue (Well Go USA): Master fighter Tony Jaa plays a man seeking vengeance after his wife and children are murdered, so you can just imagine.
Up! (Severin): This bosomy Russ Meyer sexcapade (anonymously written by Roger Ebert), gets a new 4K release featuring a commentary by genre expert Elizabeth Purchell.
V-Cinema Essentials (Arrow): A five-disc, nine-film set paying tribute to the extreme Japanese crime films produced for VHS release in the 1990s, skirting the ratings board and given freedom to go to wilder places.
NEW CLASSIC
Summer Wars (GKIDS): What does the pending implosion of the online world have to do with a family visit and a baseball game? Find out in Mamoru Hosoda’s modern classic anime feature, which combines the trippy visuals of cyberspace attacks with beautifully naturalistic renditions of country homes and extended families. The new 4K of this beloved 2009 feature comes loaded with interviews and other extras, and GKIDS plans to reissue the film theatrically in July.
Also available:
The Adventurers (Eureka): Vengeance fuels this thrilling action-drama, the sole collaboration between star Andy Lau and director Ringo Lam.
Baby It’s You (Fun City Editions): Writer-director John Sayles made his studio debut with this nostalgic look back at a nice girl (Rosanna Arquette) falling for a bad boy (Vincent Spano) in 1966 New Jersey.
Basquiat (The Criterion Collection): Jeffrey Wright impressively brings the influential street artist to life in this biopic from its subject art-world peer Julian Schnabel; the notable supporting cast includes David Bowie, Parker Posey, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Courtney Love, Willem Dafoe, Tatum O’Neal, and Benicio del Toro.
Borderline (Kino Classics): This 1930 Paul Robeson drama – filmed in Europe, far from the repressive Hollywood studio system – gets a Blu-ray release featuring a new score by DJ Spooky.
Career Opportunities (KL Studio Classics): Jennifer Connelly and Frank Whaley meet cute at a Target overnight – and ward off would-be crooks – in this John Hughes–scripted romantic comedy, now available in 4K.
Chungking Express (The Criterion Collection): Wong Kar-wai’s quirky and haunting romantic anthology film makes its 4K debut.
The Cruel Sea (KL Studio Classics): British sailors risk their lives finding and destroying German U-boats in this war-movie classic.
Dirty Harry / The Outlaw Josey Wales / Pale Rider(all WBD): A troika of Clint Eastwood favorites make their 4K debuts – and hey, Father’s Day will be here before you know it.
Donovan’s Reef / Sands of Iwo Jima (both KL Studio Classics): A pair of John Wayne favorites make their 4K debuts – and hey, Father’s Day will be here before you know it.
Drop Zone (Cinématographe): The 1994 Wesley Snipes action saga gets the full treatment, including a 4K remaster as well as new commentaries, interviews, and essays.
The Eel (Radiance): In Shôhei Imamura’s drama, a businessman who murders his unfaithful wife goes to prison; upon release, he opens a barber shop but speaks to no one but the titular companion he kept with him behind bars.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXV (KL Studio Classics): This latest box-set in the series includes Hell’s Half Acre, City That Never Sleeps, and The Flame.
Foul Play (KL Studio Classics): This charming Hitchcock spoof marked the first of several successful team-ups for Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase, with memorable supporting turns by Dudley Moore, Burgess Meredith, Marilyn Sokol, and Rachel Roberts, not to mention an all-timer theme song by Barry Manilow; now in 4K.
Gandhi (Sony): Richard Attenborough’s Best Picture–winning biopic gets the 4K steelbook treatment.
Girl with a Suitcase (Radiance): Claudia Cardinale stars as the luggage-encumbered young lady, who finds herself in a love triangle with a pair of brothers.
Heavens Above! / I’m All Right, Jack (both KL Studio Classics): Two 1950s comedies that marked early triumphs for up-and-comer Peter Sellers.
Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring: Two Films by Claude Berri (The Criterion Collection): Here’s a pair of movies that merit a binge – Gerard Depardieu stars as a city guy who wants to embrace agrarian life, only to be undone by the machinations of cruel farmer Yves Montand and his son Daniel Auteuil; in the sequel Depardieu’s grown-up daughter Emmanuelle Béart gets her revenge.
Last Tango in Paris (Distribpix): Bernardo Bertolucci’s still-controversial classic, now available in a new 4K release.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (Arrow): Geena Davis creates another indelible character as a cozy housewife who realizes she’s an amnesiac assassin in Renny Harlin’s action classic; this new 4K release features new interviews, commentaries, and video essays, alongside deleted scenes and other goodies.
Mabuse Lives! Dr. Mabuse at CCC: 1960-1964(Eureka): Fritz Lang revived his legendary Dr. Mabuse character for his final film, and the movie was such a hit that the studio brought back the character for two more adventures.
Posse (KL Studio Classics): The Kirk Douglas Western (he directed, as well as starred), and not the Mario Van Peebles Western.
Purple Rain (NPG Records/Paisley Park): Prince’s knockout 1984 screen debut gets a Dolby Atmos reissue for all you audiophiles out there.
Sneakers (KL Studio Classics): Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier lead an all-star cast in this sprightly caper making its 4K debut.
Some Like It Hot (The Criterion Collection): Billy Wilder’s legendary cross-dressing comedy makes its way to 4K.
Stripes(Sony): Bill Murray and Harold Ramis snark up the army, now in 4K.
Swept Away (Raro): A new 4K release for Lina Wertmuller’s legendary class-conscious comedy.
A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (Radiance): Seijun Suzuki’s relatively (but only relatively) restrained portrait of a female golf pro dealing with the men in her life – as well as her stalker.
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (KL Studio Classics): New 4K of the post–Pulp Fictionall-star thriller.
Tombstone (Disney): Celebrate the career of the late Val Kilmer with this 4K steelbook edition of the Western containing of his many indelible performances.
Ugetsu (The Criterion Collection): The legendary Japanese ghost story gets its first North American 4K release.
NEW TV
The Art of Crime: Seasons 6-7 (MHz): A cop and an art historian make strange but effective crime-solving partners in this popular French series.
A Place Further than the Universe: The Complete Series (Shout Studios): Four girls travel to Antarctica in this beloved anime series, featuring both Japanese- and English-language soundtracks.
Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Complete Series(Paramount): The animated series about starship crew members working far, far from the bridge, all in one place.
Star Trek: Section 31 (Paramount): Michelle Yeoh reprises her Discovery character in this stand-alone feature.
Ultraman Z: The Complete Series (Mill Creek Entertainment): More of the complete run of the quintessential robots-vs.-monsters TV series.
