{"id":27765,"date":"2024-01-03T02:35:13","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T10:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27765"},"modified":"2024-01-03T02:35:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T10:35:13","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-january-2nd-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27765","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for January 2nd, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to 2024 and a look at the highlights arriving on\nBlu-ray and DVD. Due to the holiday, this is a quiet week with only a handful\nof releases. However, one of them is a big one and major awards contender. So,\nif you can\u2019t make it out to the movies or need to stay indoors for a little\nwhile, be sure to check one of these titles out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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THE HOLDOVERS \u2013 This comedy\/drama follows a curmudgeonly prep school teacher. After irritating his superior, he is left at the site over the holidays to take care of students who aren\u2019t returning home. The stern instructor and one of his troubled students butt heads and struggle to get along. As time passes, they begin spending more time together and, along with the institute\u2019s cook, try to find common ground. Reaction was extremely positive towards this feature. A few lone voices didn\u2019t like the movie\u2019s tone and found the plight of the leads manufactured. However, everyone else thought it was a witty and wonderful homage to character-based films of the 1970s with award-worthy performances, many memorable moments and, by the close, a strong emotional payoff. It stars Paul Giamatti, Da Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston, Andrew Garman and Tate Donovan. Read a full review of the film by clicking this link.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER \u2013 Based on a hit 2017 novel by\nKaren Dionne, this thriller involves a woman being forced to face her horrible\npast. As a youngster, she and her mother were held captive in the marshes by\nher cruel father. After being caught and imprisoned, the protagonist grows up\nand tries to live a normal life with her own daughter. One day, she hears that\nher dad has escaped from prison. In order to protect her child from his\nclutches, the lead attempts to hunt her father down. The press was largely\nnegative towards this effort. Slightly more than one-third commented that they\nhad issues with the story, but that the cast were talented enough to earn the\npicture a recommendation. All others stated that it was poorly paced and didn\u2019t\ntake advantage of the interesting themes, resorting to bland and unbelievable\naction by the climax. The cast includes Daisy Ridley, Ben Mendelsohn, Garrett\nHedlund, Caren Pistorius and Brooklyn Prince.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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

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If you\u2019re looking for something older, a few interesting options are coming your way. The Facts of Murder<\/em> (1959) is arriving on Blu-ray from Radiance Films. This is an award-winning Italian crime\/drama from Pietro Germi (Divorce Italian Style<\/em>) is about a police detective tasked with solving a robbery and a murder that occur within a day of each other on the same apartment floor. The acclaimed film arrives on Blu-ray with a 4K restoration from the original camera negative. Additionally, the disc contains an interview with an expert on the movie\u2019s director, a documentary about Pietri and a visual essay on Italian film noir and its evolution over several decades. Read a complete review of this Blu-ray here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criterion is giving The Apu Trilogy<\/em> a grand upgrade.\nThis edition contains 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray editions of the classic Indian\nfilms Pather Panchali<\/em> (1955), Aparajito <\/em>(1956)) and Apur\nSansar<\/em> (1959). The trilogy follows the life of a young boy as he matures\ninto a man of the world. It also includes extras like audio recordings of\ndirector Satyajit Ray reading an essay on the movies and talking about them\nwith a film critic. There are also cast and crew interviews, a making-of video\nessay on the series, a program with a movie maker, producer and teacher talking\nabout the titles. Additionally, it also comes with excerpts from a 2003\ndocumentary about the movie\u2019s composer, a 1967 documentary on the movies\nfeaturing interviews with Ray, the cast, and the creative team, footage of Ray\nreceiving an honorary Oscar in 1992 and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you enjoy purchasing Blu-ray imports from other parts of\nthe world. Imprint is an Australian distributor that has announced a couple of\ninteresting region-free Blu-rays. The first is for the George C. Scott stars in\nIslands in the Stream<\/em> (1977), an adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway\nnovel. It\u2019s about a sculptor living in the Bahamas whose life is turned upside\ndown after his estranged son appears on the brink of World War II. This title\nis limited to 1500 copies and comes with a film historian commentary and a\nvideo essay on the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also pick up the Dustin Hoffman biopic Lenny<\/em> (1974) from Imprint. Pictured above, this film was directed by Bob Fosse (Cabaret, All That Jazz<\/em>) and follows the rise and fall of comedian Lenny Bruce. It was nominated for six Academy Awards. This edition includes two movie historian commentaries, a featurette about Lenny Bruce on film, a video essay on the career of co-star Valerie Perrine, an interview with the feature\u2019s editor on his multiple collaborations with Fosse, trailers and more extras. This region-free Blu-ray is also limited to 1500 copies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please, Not Now!<\/em> (1961) is arriving on Blu-ray from\nKino. It\u2019s a French title starring Brigitte Bardot as a flighty young model who\nlearns that her boyfriend is planning to leave her for another woman. Sophie\nresolves to either win him back or assassinate her rival. This romantic comedy\nis from director Roger Vadim (Barbarella, …And God Created Woman) and arrives\nwith a film historian commentary and a US trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re a fan of the title and aren\u2019t able to pick up or\nview the 2022 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray edition, Lionsgate is reissuing the\nPatrick Swayze\/Jennifer Grey period romance Dirty Dancing<\/em> (1987) in\nBlu-ray and DVD combo package. It is a repackaging of the 30th<\/sup>\nanniversary edition that came out 6 years ago and the contents will be\nidentical to that edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MGM is also releasing a pair of notable Blu-rays from\ndirector Arthur Hiller (The Out-of-Towners, Plaza Suite, Silver Streak<\/em>).\nPopi<\/em> (1969) is a comedy\/drama starring Alan Arkin and Rita Moreno. Arkin\nplays a lower-class man struggling to raise three sons in New York. He hatches\na ridiculous plan involving a hoax he hopes will save his family from financial\nruin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romantic Comedy<\/em> (1983) is a rom-com with Dudley Moore\nand Mary Steenburgen. It\u2019s about a man and woman who decide to work together as\nplaywrights and keep their personal lives separate. As time passes, both\nexperience relationship troubles and begin to fall for each other in the\nprocess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Shout! Factory is giving action fans a Blu-ray of\nthe Chuck Norris feature Forced Vengeance<\/em> (1982). The performer plays a\nHong Kong casino security guard who is forced into violence when a local mob\nthreatens his friends. The disc includes a trailer for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

It\u2019s a slow week for youngsters, but the following editions\nwill contain more kid-friendly titles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Here are all of the week\u2019s TV-released releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds<\/em>: Season 2 (Paramount)\n4K Ultra HD only<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wedding Cottage<\/em> (Hallmark) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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