Menu

WHAT’S NEW ON DVD/BLU/4K IN JANUARY

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 JANUARY: THE SUBSTANCE, HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS, NO HOME MOVIE, INCUBUS, AND MORE!


NEW RELEASE WALL



The Substance (Mubi): One of the most talked-about films of 2024, Coralie Fargeat’s sophomore feature (following the blistering feminist action saga Revenge) brilliantly mixes together show-biz satire, body horror, and female-gaze drama before blowing the whole thing up in a gloriously Grand Guignol finale. Demi Moore stars as a TV fitness star who’s being aged out of the biz; when she turns to a mysterious drug known as The Substance, it unleashes her younger self (played by Margaret Qualley), but when the Substance rules aren’t followed, all Hell breaks loose. A rare horror film to enter the highest echelons of the Oscar race.



Also available:


Here (Sony): Robert Zemeckis’ let’s-call-it-ambitious adaptation of the graphic novel shows the passing of the eons, with the camera fixed in one position throughout.

Venom: The Last Dance (Sony): Tom Hardy and his alien alter ego finish off their superhero saga, and none too soon.

We Live in Time (A24): Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield star as a couple whose love and loss is portrayed achronologically.



NEW INDIE



Hundreds of Beavers (Cartuna): My favorite movie of 2024, director Mike Cheslik’s outrageous low-budget comedy suggests a particularly inspired between Canadian aesthete Guy Maddin and the anarchists behind the Looney Tunes. Co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews gives an inspired performance as an orchard-owner who seeks revenge on the toothy rodents who destroyed his trees. That the beavers are played by adults in mascot costumes is just the beginning of the lunacy on display, as Cheslike and Tews’ inventive screenplay offers one elaborate set-up and payoff after another. This new Blu-ray features more than ten hours of bonus features, including deleted scenes, a look at the filmmakers’ DIY road-show release, three separate audio commentaries, and much more.


Also available:



Armor (Lionsgate): Father and son armored-truck drivers fend off would-be thieves in this action saga starring Jason Patrick Sylvester Stallone, and Dash Mihok.



NEW INTERNATIONAL



Endless Summer Syndrome (Altered Innocence): A French wife and mother hears a shocking allegation regarding her husband and one of their adopted children; her strategy is to hang back and observe, kicking off a dark comedy of manners set among an upper-class family in Kaveh Danishmand’s acclaimed directorial debut.

Sisterhood (Icarus): Three womens’ friendship is tested when one of them turns to social media after being harassed by her brother’s best friend in Nora El Hourch’s provocative debut feature.



NEW DOCUMENTARY 



No Home Movie (Icarus): Over the career of acclaimed filmmaker Chantal Akerman (whose film Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles recently topped the Sight & Sound list of the greatest films ever made), the director’s mother Natalia was an essential influence and source of support. In her final feature documentary before taking her own life in 2015, Chantal pointed her camera at Natalia; their conversations, in person and over Skype, about Natalia’s life (which included surviving Auschwitz) are contrasted with shots of the desert (and kitchen moments that play like a shout-out to Jeanne Dielman). This Blu-ray also includes Marianne Lambert’s short film I Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman.


Also available:



The Cowboy and the Queen (Greenwich Entertainment): A horse-trainer known for his gentler methods becomes unlikely friends with Queen Elizabeth II.

My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock (Cohen Media Group): Documentarian Mark Cousins examines the life and work of the legendary filmmaker.

Separated (Greenwich Entertainment): Errol Morris’ all-too-timely examination of the government’s policy of breaking up families at the border.

Soundtrack to a Coup d’État (Kino Lorber): African politics and American jazz collide in the 1960s, as the CIA attempts to distract from American colonialism by exporting beloved musicians to political hot-spots in this Oscar-nominated documentary.

Tito, Margot and Me (IndiePix): This Panamanian Oscar submission recounts the star-crossed love affair between prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn and diplomat Roberto “Tito” Arias against the backdrop of international turmoil.

To Dye For (Virgil Films): Parents and first-time filmmakers Brandon and Whitney Cawood set out to uncover the usages and dangers of synthetic dyes after realize their child’s sensitivity to them.

Touristic Intents (First Run Features): Can a mammoth structure originally created as a Nazi resort be repurposed for contemporary usage, or does architecture carry the sins of the past? Director Mat Rappaport examines the implications of Prora, built on the shores of the Baltic Sea.



NEW GRINDHOUSE



Incubus (Arrow): All but lost for decades, this legendary cult film makes its 4K debut. The only feature film shot entirely in Esperanto, this creepy tale concerns a fountain of youth that’s actually a one-way ticket to Hell – unless a wounded soldier (William Shatner) and his pure soul can defeat the titular demon. This one-of-a-kind curiosity come with three audio commentaries (including one with Shatner), archival interviews, and more.


Also available:



April Fool’s Day (KL Studio Classics): Fans of the Knives Out movies should rediscover this 1980s horror-comedy whodunnit, making its 4K debut.

Body Parts (KL Studio Classics): Jeff Fahey gets an arm transplant in Eric Red’s cult horror fave, only to discover that the new limb has a murderous mind of its own; first time in 4K.

Deranged (Vinegar Syndrome): Alfred Hitchcock’s take on Ed Gein in Psycho was positively restrained next to this 1974 gutbucket classic.

Invasion of the Bee Girls (Kino Cult): A mysterious cosmic force turns everyday women into voracious sexual beasts who kill men with their insatiability. Just another Tuesday.

Orca (KL Studio Classics): One of the biggest (at least in terms of mass) ripoffs of Jaws was this killer-whale movie starring Richard Harris and an up-and-coming Bo Derek.

Rampo Noir (Arrow): This anthology of four creepy tales adapted from the works of legendary Japanese author Edogawa Rampo makes its global debut outside of Japan.

Running on Karma (Eureka): Andy Lau stars in this crime thriller from Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai.

The Seventh Curse / Witch from Nepal (Vinegar Syndrome): A double feature of horror classics from legendary Hong Kong studio Golden Harvest.

NEW CLASSIC



The Mother and the Whore (Criterion Collection): Winner of the Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, Jean Eustache’s still-controversial examination of polyamory and radical politics gets the full Criterion treatment (in 4K and Blu-ray), examining the film as a cultural artifact of France after the New Wave and after May 1968. Jean-Pierre Léaud, already a veteran of Truffaut and Godard’s films of the previous decade, stars as a pseudo-intellectual blowhard who vacillates between his girlfriend (Bernadette Lafont) and a new lover (Françoise Lebrun) before the three of them tumble tentatively into an uneasy relationship à trois. A film whose reputation has only grown and deepened with the passing of the decades.


Also available:



The Cell (Arrow): Tarsem Singh’s visually stunning and trippy procedural makes its 4K debut.

Fade-In (KL Studio Classics): This cinematic footnote – it was shelved by Paramount and eventually premiered on The CBS Late Movie – gets its moment in the spotlight. Barbara Loden and Burt Reynolds star as an editor and a rancher (respectively) who get caught up in an on-set romance during a location shoot.

The Grifters (Criterion Collection): Stephen Frears’ scorching neo-noir features a troika of indelible performances from Angelica Houston, Annette Bening, and John Cusack.

Horrible History: Four Historical Epics by Chang Cheh (Eureka): Often called “the godfather of Hong Kong cinema,” Chang Cheh specialized in martial-arts sagas and historical dramas; the latter are celebrated in this box set, which includes Marco Polo, The Pirate, Boxer Rebellion, and Four Riders.

Houseboat (KL Studio Classics): Widower Cary Grant falls for his kids’ new nanny Sophia Loren as they all attempt to remain afloat.

Inglourious Basterds (Arrow): Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist World War II epic, now in 4K.

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (Criterion Collection): Richard Pryor’s sole directorial effort (apart from one of his concert films) was this autobiographical tale of a stand-up comedian (Pryor playing, essentially, Pryor) who rises to stardom only to face addiction.

Let’s Get Lost (Kino Lorber): This Blu-ray features a new 4K restoration of Bruce Weber’s achingly beautiful celebration of the life and work of Chet Baker.

Murder by Decree (KL Studio Classics): Christopher Plummer makes a most memorable Sherlock Holmes in this sprightly adventure from director Bob Clark.

Reindeer Games (KL Studio Classics): Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron get roped into a holiday heist in John Frankenheimer’s final feature.

Sea of Love (KL Studio Classics): Al Pacino scored a career comeback in this scorching romantic thriller opposite Ellen Barkin.

Seven (Warner Bros. Discovery): Celebrate the 30thanniversary of David Fincher’s supremely creepy policier with this new 4K (what’s in the) box set.

Shelf Life (Liberation Hall): Nearly impossible to see for decades, Paul Bartel’s final comedy, about a trio of bunker-dwelling siblings, makes its Blu-ray debut.

Shout at the Devil (KL Studio Classics): A pair of poachers (Lee Marvin and Roger Moore) in East Africa during WWI find themselves pressed into service to take out a German battleship.

The Spiral Road (KL Studio Classics): This one’s ostensibly about idealistic doctor Rock Hudson traveling to the West Indies to find a cure for leprosy, but if you’ve watched Mark Rappaport’s Rock Hudson’s Home Movies, the real tension here is between Hudson and the paternalistic Burl Ives, who seems awfully resentful of the younger doctor’s relationship with Gena Rowlands.

Teacher’s Pet (KL Studio Classics): The once-in-a-lifetime combo of Clark Gable, Doris Day, and Mamie Van Doren star in this collegiate comedy.

That Funny Feeling (KL Studio Classics): Sandra Dee is a housekeeper who pretend to live in a swanky apartment to impress new beau Bobby Darin – not knowing that the apartment is Darin’s – in the third on-screen pairing of then-married Dee and Darin.

Virtuosity (Vinegar Syndrome): One of those movies that set us up to expect too much from virtual reality, as cop Denzel Washington faces off with cyber-killer Russell Crowe; now in 4K.

Winchester ’73 (Criterion Collection): James Stewart stars in the first (and arguably best) of the eight Westerns he made with director Anthony Mann.

Yojiro / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (Criterion Collection): Two legendary action sagas from one of the best to ever make them.



NEW TV



Nine Perfect Strangers: Season 1 (Fifth Season): This tale of a group of strangers who gather at a wellness retreat run by Nicole Kidman strains credulity around every turn, but it’s addictively dopey TV, made during the lockdown. (You can tell by the isolation of it all.) The draw was the all-star cast, which includes Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Michael Shannon, Samara Weaving, Luke Evans, and Murray Bartlett, but the real draw is Manny Jacinto, completely unrecognizable from The Acolyte (where he was, in turn, completely unrecognizable from The Good Place). So many actors establish a recognizable brand early on, so it’s thrilling to watch someone disappear into each role.


Also available:



The Apothecary Diaries: Season One, Part One(Crunchyroll): Servant Maomao proves herself to be an indispensable solver of medical mysteries in this anime fave.

Master Crimes (MHz Choice): A police captain and a criminology professor – two women who also happen to be married to each other – solve a series of Paris murders and get on each other’s nerves in this acclaimed series.

Ultraman: Ultra Galaxy Fight 1-3 / Ultraman Regulos/First Mission (Mill Creek Entertainment): The complete run of this kaiju legend continues with another packed collection.

Subscribe to our newsletter

MERCH

Maltin tee on TeePublic

PODCAST

Maltin on Movies podcast

PAST MALTIN ON MOVIES PODCASTS

Past podcasts

PATREON

Maltin On Movies Patreon

APPEARANCES/BOOKING

Leonard Maltin appearances and booking

CALENDAR

February 2025
S M T W T F S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728