{"id":24447,"date":"2022-03-15T00:05:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T07:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=24447"},"modified":"2022-03-15T00:05:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T07:05:05","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-march-15th-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=24447","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for March 15th, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s time for another look at new releases coming your way\non Blu-ray and DVD. Once again, there is an interesting mix of big Hollywood\nreleases and independent fare. So, if you can\u2019t or shouldn\u2019t be heading out to\nthe movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIG NEW RELEASES!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR \u2013 This chiller follows a 12-year-old\nand his best friend who are abducted on their way home from school. After\nbreaking free from his confinement, one of the youngsters gets into the\nhallways and tries to find a way to locate and rescue his pal. He soon\ndiscovers that this kidnapper also has a cohort, making it even harder to avoid\ncapture, get out and find help. Response towards this horror picture was very\nstrong. One or two were frustrated by the choices made by the main characters,\nsaying their bad decisions only occurred to keep everyone in peril. However,\nall others called the protagonists likable and the movie remarkably tense,\nnoting that genre fans would undoubtedly be impressed. It stars Lonnie Chavis,\nEzra Dewey, Kristin Bauer, Scott Michael Foster and Micah A. Hauptman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ENEMIES OF THE STATE – Matt DeHart and his family is the\nsubject of this documentary. The young man came from a family in the US\nmilitary and took a position as an intelligence analyst, eventually making\nclaims that he had found documents implicating the CIA in a horrific hoax. He\nwas discharged from his job and later arrested for receiving child pornography.\nThe filmmakers talk with DeHart and tell his bizarre story. It involves\nespionage, corporate secrets and how the US government targeted his family.\nReviews were good but not exceptional for this feature. Those who disliked the\nfilm said that it was impossibly difficult to discern truth from fiction and\nthat the ends result was confusing. The majority said that while the film was\nmuddled with contradictory conspiracy theories, it was fascinating to watch and\nwould leave viewers questioning everything they saw.  This is a DVD-only release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JOHN AND THE HOLE \u2013 A creepy 13-year-old gets a nasty idea\nafter discovering a large unfinished bunker in the woods near his home. He\ndecides to drug his well-to-do parents and older sister and hold them hostage\ninside the area. They awaken confused, trying to convince their son to let them\nout. In the meantime, he attempts to divert suspicion as various people drop by\nto visit family members. This arthouse thriller received slightly more\nrecommendations from critics than it did pans. A number of write-ups did\nsuggest that the feature was pretentious and too low-key, lacking any suspense and\ntension. However, more complimented the performances and stated that the movie\nwas an eerie and, at times, darkly funny coming-of-age picture. It features\nCharlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Taissa Farmiga and Jennifer Ehle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PROJECT \u2018GEMINI\u2019 \u2013 After a virus wipes out most of the human\npopulation, a group of survivors are launched into the deepest regions of outer\nspace in the hopes of terraforming a new world. As it turns out, they have been\nled to this planet after recovering a secret ancient alien artifact. The\njourney goes badly and the crew find themselves trapped on a hostile world where\nthey begin dying mysteriously. Currently, there aren\u2019t a great many write-ups\nfor this Russian film (which apparently was shot years ago and was extensively\nreshot) and the ones that have appeared have been less-than-complementary. They\nmake the case that the movie looks very slick and has decent special effects,\nbut that the story and acting are wooden. They also commented that the plot\nborrows heavily from films like Alien<\/em> and Prometheus<\/em>, but isn\u2019t nearly\nas effective. The cast includes Egor Koreshkov, Dmitriy Frid and Alyona\nKonstantinova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RED ROCKET\u2013 This dark comedy from the writer\/director of the\naward-winning indie films Tangerine<\/em> and The Florida Project<\/em> tells\nthe story of an ex-adult film star and con man who returns to his hometown in\nTexas after losing everything. His old friends and neighbors can barely\ntolerate him after hearing about his exploits for many years, but he does make\na connection with a high school student. Their relationship creates further\ntension within his circle of acquaintances. The press gave this effort high\nmarks. A small contingent thought the movie was overlong and that story\nmeandered too much. Still, the consensus was that the characters were nefarious\nbut that the performances were charming. They ultimately found the grimly comic\nride amusing. Simon Rex, Suzanna Son, Bree Elrod and Brenda Deiss headline the\nfeature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RIFKIN\u2019S FESTIVAL \u2013 A retired ex-film professor, movie snob and hypochondriac travels with his publicist wife to the San Sebastian Film Festival in Portugal. Once there, he teases and makes fun of the moviemaker whom his spouse represents, causing tension in his already strained marriage. He wanders around town and meets a friendly young doctor, causing him to question his relationship and the choices he has made in life. The latest from Woody Allen split critics, with slightly more giving the movie negative reviews than positive ones. Close to half suggested that while it wasn\u2019t the best title in the filmmaker\u2019s catalog, this was a beautifully shot and likable homage to classic cinema with a few interesting observations about aging. Alas, more complained that the film wasn\u2019t sharp or edgy enough and felt like a very average effort. \u00a0It features Wallace Shawn, Gina Gershon, Louis Garrel and Christoph Waltz. To read a full review of the movie, click here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SIGNAL: THE MOVIE \u2013 Signal <\/em>was a hit 2018 Japanese TV\nseries (which itself was a remake of a 2016 South Korean TV show) that\nincorporates science-fiction elements into its crime story. The show is about a\ntwo police officers from different eras who help each other with unsolved cases\nusing walkie-talkies that can communicate through time. This feature picks up\nwhere the show left off. In the present day, one cop investigates a highway\naccident resulting in the death of a high-level government official. The case\nrequires assistance from the other officer living 15 years in the past. The\nmovie and TV show haven\u2019t been seen by many in North America, so there aren\u2019t\nmany write-ups available. One that has popped up online says the movie isn\u2019t as\neffective as the series, but another calls the feature a fun mystery. Kentar\u00f4\nSakaguchi, Kazuki Kitamura and Michiko\nKichise headline the feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WEST SIDE STORY \u2013 This remake of the 1957 stage musical and\nthe Best Picture Oscar-winning 1961 feature film comes from Steven Spielberg (Jaws<\/em>,\nClose Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em>, Schindler\u2019s List<\/em>, Jurassic\nPark<\/em>, Saving Private Ryan<\/em>, Lincoln<\/em>). It details the rivalry\nbetween two teenage gangs of different ethnic backgrounds and a love affair\nthat blooms among two members with connections to the separate groups. Critics\nwere impressed with the feature and it has been nominated for 7 Academy Awards.\nA small handful critiqued the movie for being a nostalgic copy of the original\nmovie that didn\u2019t update the themes and felt rather unnecessary. Still, the\nconsensus was that the picture was a technical marvel with great music and\nperformances and that it would ultimately wow viewers. It stars Ansel Elgort, Rachel\nZegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian d’Arcy James and Corey\nStoll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are a ton of older titles arriving in high definition as well. Arrow Video put out a wonderful Blu-ray Special Edition of the great horror\/comedy An American Werewolf in London<\/em> (1981) a year or so ago. Now they are rereleasing it as a Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD. If you already have the Blu-ray then you\u2019re fine, but if you have a 4K set-up you can now see the picture and all of the bonuses with even sharper picture quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shout! Factory are delivering two titles as well. The first is a Collector\u2019s Edition of Nightmare<\/em> (1964). Pictured above and to the left, it’s a British chiller from Hammer Productions about a boarding school student haunted by nightmares of her deranged mother. The movie is a well-reviewed cult item and the Blu-ray includes a new 2K scan of the picture, a film historian audio commentary, interviews with genre critics about the movie, discussions with various cast and crew members, a making-of, as well as plenty of publicity materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If fantasy films are more to your liking, the distributor\nalso have The Sword and the Sorcerer<\/em> (1982) in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray\nset. It\u2019s a fantasy picture in the mold of Conan the Barbarian<\/em> (which\nhad just arrived at theaters and was a big hit). The 4K Ultra HD disc includes\nthe movie with a director commentary track. The Blu-ray contains the same scan\nof the picture at a slightly lower resolution, plus the commentary, interviews\nwith the director, the co-writer\/co-producer, the editor, various make-up and\nspecial effects artists and a tribute to one of the stuntmen who worked on the\nfeature. You\u2019ll also received trailers and a TV spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Code Red are delivering the kinky cop movie Dirty O\u2019Neil<\/em>\n(1974) aka The Love Life of a Cop<\/em> with a 2K restoration and a trailer.\nThey also have the cheesy, all-star disaster picture Starflight: The Plane\nThat Couldn\u2019t Land<\/em> (1983) aka Starflight One<\/em>, which originally aired\non TV. In the latter title, a hypersonic commercial jet makes its maiden voyage.\nAn accident sends it into orbit and the pilots have to figure out how to get\nthe plane and passengers back to Earth. It stars Lee Majors, Hal Linden, Lauren\nHutton, Ray Milland, Tess Harper and Terry Kiser. The disc promises a 2K\ntransfer of the film and the theatrical trailer for international markets where\nit played in cinemas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criterion has Le Cercle Rouge<\/em> (1970), a well-regarded\nFrench heist flick starring Alain Delon. This release includes a 4K Ultra HD disc\nand a Blu-ray. It comes with segments from a 1971 TV episode featuring the\ndirector, interviews with the assistant director and an expert on the\nfilmmaker, on-set and archival footage from the shoot and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Whistle at Eaton Falls<\/em> (1951) is also arriving on\nBlu-ray courtesy of Flicker Alley. The story involves a newly appointed manager\nof a factory who is immediately told to lay off a large number of employees\n(who happen to be friends and associates). He has to find a way to fix the\nfinances of the company and save as many jobs as he can. Directed by Robert\nSiodmak (The Spiral Staircase<\/em>, The Killers<\/em>), this little-seen film\nreceived plenty of positive reviews among those who managed to find it. It\nstars Lloyd Bridges, Ernest Borgnine, Murray Hamilton and Dorothy Gish. Besides\na 2K restoration of the picture, the Blu-ray includes a film historian\ncommentary, a personal reminiscence from the grandson of the director, a\ndemonstration of the restoration process, a track with the motion picture\nscore, recordings of a couple of songs from the movie, an image gallery, a\ntrailer and a booklet essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kino have some interesting Blu-rays too. Farewell<\/em>\n(1930) aka Abschied <\/em>is an early, silent comedy\/drama feature also from\nRobert Siodmak about a man who receives a job offer in another city and worries\nthat telling his fianc\u00e9e about it will complicate and ruin their relationship. But\ngossip and rumors from others cause even more friction between them. The Blu-ray\npresents a restored picture, a film critic commentary and an alternate \u201chappy\u201d\nending.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They also have the David Carradine motorcycle race flick, Fast\nCharlie, The Moonbeam Rider<\/em> (1979). The picture has received a 2K\nrestoration and the disc also includes a film critic commentary and a trailer. Man\u2019s\nFavorite Sport?<\/em> (1964) is Rock Hudson romantic comedy about a lure and\ntackle salesman who hates the sport, but is forced by his employers to\nparticipate in a fishing tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distributor is also rereleasing the Orson Welles\nclassic, Touch of Evil<\/em> (1958) as a Special Edition. It comes with new\nand impressive 4K restorations of three different cuts of the movie (on three\nseparate discs) presented in the highest possible quality on Blu-ray. Each version\ncomes with a film expert commentary track as well as featurettes on the\nproduction. They also have the musical\/drama Zoot Suit<\/em> (1981), a tale\nabout a Los Angeles gang who are tried and sentences for a murder they did not\ncommit. Besides the movie, you\u2019ll get an interview with the writer\/director, a\nhistorian commentary and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lionsgate are presenting another title in their popular\nVestron Collector\u2019s Series Blu-ray line. This week, it\u2019s the comedy Dream a\nLittle Dream<\/em> (1989) with Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Jason Robards, Piper\nLaurie, Meredith Salenger and Harry Dean Stanton. The plot synopsis states that\nan accident puts the consciousness of an elderly dream researcher into the body\nof a bratty teenager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paramount have plenty of Blu-rays as well. They include the\ndrama The Accused<\/em> (1988) with Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis, the\naction flick Aeon Flux<\/em> (2006) starring Charlize Theron and the drama,\nBabel<\/em> (2006). They also are putting out the two animated Peanuts<\/em>\nmovies Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don\u2019t Come Back!)<\/em> (1980) and Race\nfor Your Life, Charlie Brown<\/em> (1977). If you\u2019d like the two other titles, a\nbox set containing all four flicks came out some time ago and can still be\npurchased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are also delivering Shooter<\/em> (2007) in a 15th<\/sup>\nAnniversary Steelbook package that presents the film exclusively in 4K Ultra HD\n(no Blu-ray is present). You can also pick up Sonic the Hedgehog<\/em> (2020)\nin a Steelbook Bonus Stage Edition pack. This includes a 4K Ultra HD disc and a\nBlu-ray of the hit flick. And the studio is also rereleasing a DVD of Eddie\nMurphy: Raw<\/em> (1987), the hit stand-up comedy feature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sandpiper Pictures are presenting Blu-rays of the Hughes\nbrothers\u2019 documentary American Pimp<\/em> (1999) and the drama It\u2019s My\nParty<\/em> (1996) with Eric Roberts and Gregory Harrison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sony have been upgrading a few sets of movies for the 4K\nformat. The latest is The Amazing Spider-Man Collection<\/em>, which contains The\nAmazing Spider-Man<\/em> (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2<\/em> (2014), with\nAndrew Garfield in the title role. This is 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray set. But if\nyou don\u2019t want both versions, you can also just pick up a Blu-ray only set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love<\/em>\n(1995) is arriving on Blu-ray courtesy of Strand Releasing. It\u2019s a love story\nof two young women from very different social and economic backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Universal are putting out bare-bones editions of\nseveral of their catalog titles. They include 12 Monkeys<\/em> (1995), Anna\nKarenina<\/em> (2012), Brazil <\/em>(1985), By the Sea<\/em> (2015), Crimson\nPeak<\/em> (2015), Dallas Buyers Club<\/em> (2013), Dawn of the Dead<\/em>\n(2004), Death Race 2050<\/em> (2016), Elizabeth<\/em> (2007), Flipper<\/em>\n(1996), For a Good Time, Call\u2026<\/em> (2012) (which includes 2 cuts of the\nfilm), I Am Ali<\/em> (2014) and The Ottoman Lieutenant<\/em> (2017).<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nYOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few titles that may appeal to kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood: Playtime with Daniel!<\/em> (PBS) DVD
Pokemon: The Series: Black & White Rival Destinies<\/em>: The Complete Season
The Proud Family<\/em>: The Complete Series & Movie DVD <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON THE TUBE!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here are all the TV-themed releases coming your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American Experience: Riveted: The History of Jeans<\/em> (PBS) DVD
Daniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood: Playtime with Daniel! <\/em>(PBS) DVD
Head of the Class<\/em>: Season 4 DVD
Hearts Down Under<\/em> (Hallmark Channel) DVD
Pokemon: The Series: Black & White Rival Destinies<\/em>: The Complete Season
The Proud Family<\/em>: The Complete Series & Movie DVD
Vikings<\/em>: The Complete Series Blu-ray
Vikings<\/em>: Season 6, Volume 2 Blu-ray or DVD <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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