Rufus Sewell stars as a man who can’t remember his name and is plagued by apparent memories of a life that might have included the murder of several prostitutes. Meanwhile, the world in which he lives is a setting that vaguely incorporates elements from disparate times and places, from the ’40s through a bleak future that recalls “Blade Runner” and “Metropolis.” After Sewell are a group of otherworldly “strangers,” led by Richard O’Brien, bald and clad in “Hellraiser”-style black costumes, and detective William Hurt, who follows Sewell’s (former?) wife Jennifer Connelly around, trying to find out the truth about what’s going on.

Kiefer Sutherland also appears as a scientist who may just hold the key to the puzzling city surrounding the characters, while Patrick Tatopoulos’ design of “Dark City”’s cityscapes and the amazing cinematography by Dariusz Wolski are nothing short of breathtaking. “Dark City” is a mood piece, an intricate puzzle along the lines of classic film-noir thrillers, but it’s also a sci-fi yarn whose imagination is singularly unique.

As he did with “The Crow,” Proyas fills each scene of his movie with stunning visual effects, setting his film in a compelling, strange yet enthralling world. The lighting, photography, effects, production design, and comic-book styled editing all combine to produce a movie where you often feel that you’re watching something truly special. Trevor Jones’s serviceable musical score backs the drama, while the cast provides uniformly excellent performances across the board. Particular standouts include Sewell, Hurt, and particularly Sutherland, in a finely hued “character actor” type of performance.

The film’s denouement is fully satisfying as well, and while it doesn’t give you all the answers, it provides enough of an explanation so that you don’t need to know any more.

As I wrote back in 1998, “‘Dark City’ is a sci-fi film that undoubtedly will be discussed among devotees for years, long after many of its era’s pre-fab “blockbusters” are but a distant memory (try rewatching “Independence Day” as I did with our 5^th grader last weekend!). Even if Proyas hasn’t followed through on his potential after making this movie (at least to date), he’s at least given us a bona-fide classic with “Dark City.”

Arrow’s 4K UHD Limited Edition offers a dazzling new transfer of “Dark City” from the original 35mm OCN (2.39) that makes great use of Dolby Vision HDR. This is an example of how HDR can enhance dark movies like this, providing additional texture and detail to shadows and contrasts, making the image more impressive and easier for the home viewer to soak in and appreciate. Certainly it’s superior to any DVD or standard-def transfer, and makes immediate gains over the movie’s previous Blu-Ray release a decade ago.

Both the theatrical version and the Director’s Cut are included in similarly remastered 4K presentations. The latter restores about eight minutes of unseen footage and, most importantly, dumps the studio-mandated, completely unnecessary Sutherland monologue which opened the theatrical release and spoiled the entire film right at the start.

When the movie originally opened in theaters, I had the good fortune of walking into the theater late — when Sewell first wakes up in a bath tub — and seeing the picture as the filmmakers originally intended it to unfold, which is something that can be duplicated with the Director’s Cut. If you’ve never seen the film before, this expanded cut is the only way to go. Arrow has also included a fresh Dolby Atmos mix to complement original 5.1 and 2.0 DTS MA tracks, while enhancing the film with brand-new special features and deluxe, hardbound packaging.

For supplements, there’s a new and engaging commentary with Alex Proyas, along with a commentary with members of the “Film Versus Film” podcast. An hour-long retrospective doc, “Return to Dark City,” offers a comprehensive look at the long gestation of the production, sporting new interviews with Proyas, producer Andrew Mason, Rufus Sewell and many others. It touches upon the project jumping from one studio to another, and also the difficulty the picture had going through post-production as it repeatedly fared poorly with mall-dwelling teens who attended test screenings. There are also visual essays by Alexandra West and Josh Nelson on the picture as well.

The theatrical cut is also on-hand on its own disc, along with numerous legacy extras from New Line’s old DVD and Blu-Ray: commentaries from Proyas and his co-writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer, plus Patrick Tatopoulus and Dariuz Wolski, in addition to Roger Ebert’s commentary also from the original release; featurettes recounting the production; and the trailer. It’s all wrapped up in Arrow’s hardbound book-styled packaging sporting a double-sided fold-out poster, a 60-page booklet with historian essays, three postcard sized art cards, a Shell Beach postcard, and (why not) business card for Dr. Schreber.

A spellbinding sci-fi mystery thriller, “Dark City” is unique, potent, splendidly performed and masterfully told. Don’t miss it.

SWORDFISH 4K UHD (99 mins., 2001, R; Arrow): Expensive Silver Pictures action outing whisks hacker Hugh Jackman away from the “X-Men” long enough to serve as a conduit for shady John Travolta and his band of scuzzy covert ops (including a sizzling Halle Berry) who offer him $10 million for a job involving a convoluted web of shady government agencies and terrorists. Dominic Sena’s movie is slickly made but dated and heavily cynical, opening up with a ridiculously pompous opening speech about Hollywood’s declining standards and moving on to an unappealing assortment of genre cliches only made palatable by the superb cast “Swordfish” somehow assembled (to the tune of an over-the-top $100 million budget at the time as well).

An okay box-office performer – not taking into consideration its cost – “Swordfish” makes its 4K UHD (2.39) debut from Arrow in a limited-edition set. The package includes a great looking Dolby Vision HDR transfer with 5.1/2.0 DTS MA sound options and new interviews with co-composer Paul Oakenfold (who splits the billing with Christopher Young) and production designer Jeff Mann. Sena’s commentary is reprieved from the previous Warner video releases along with additional legacy extras (promo featurette, two alternate endings), booklet notes, a double-sided foldout poster and the trailer.

THE INVISIBLE SWORDSMAN Blu-Ray (78 mins., 1978; Arrow): Superbly lensed, widescreen period adventure finds a samurai’s hapless son gaining the power of invisibility after meeting a being along the shores of the Sanzu River, a place that separates the living from the dead. Yoshiuuki Kuroda’s picture features a finely detailed Edo-era setting to go along with superb fight sequences and a mix of fantasy and martial arts, presented here in a 1080p (2.35) Arrow Blu-Ray transfer with English subtitles. A commentary by Jonathan Clements looks at this Kadokawa production with Kim Newman and Jasper Sharp also appearing in interviews alongside the trailer, an image gallery, and Jack Davisson’s booklet notes.

Radiance New Releases: The films of director Todd Solondz are best described as an acquired taste, and that certainly holds true for the shrill PALINDROMES (96 mins., 2004). This follow-up to Solondz’s art-house hit “Welcome to the Dollhouse” wants to make a social commentary out of empty “post-9/11” platitudes but what it serves up instead is a weird black comic odyssey involving the teen cousin of “Dollhouse”’s (now deceased) protagonist, who takes to America in the hopes of having a baby…but runs into a series of misadventures with the ultimate realization that people can’t change and are predestined for their fate.

Solondz uses a number of different actresses to play the lead role in “Palindromes,” which met with mostly negative reviews and has vanished from circulation for some time. Radiance’s 4K UHD here provides a remastered 4K transfer from the Museum of Modern Art (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA) with extras including interviews with Solodz and Alexander Brickel; a video essay by Lillian Crawford and the trailer. Extensive booklet notes include writing by Bence Bardos and original press book excerpts and interviews.

Also out this month from Radiance, THE TALE OF OIWA’S GHOST (94 mins., 1961) is a moody, starkly-shot B&W thriller involving a conniving samurai (Tomisaburo Wakayama) who murders his wife in order to move up and marry into a wealthy nearby family – only for her to return as a spirit, haunting him on his wedding night. The scope cinematography is marvelous in this leisurely paced, strong Japanese production from director Tai Kato that Radiance here offers in a 1080p (2.39) Blu-Ray presentation. Supplements offer an introduction and interview with Mari Asato and a visual essay by Lindsay Nelson. Tom Mes’ booklet notes put the cap on another Radiance limited-edition.

SOUR PARTY Blu-Ray (84 mins., 2025; Anchor Bay): Gwen and James, a pair of 30-something female buddies, take to the road in order to scrounge up enough “debt money” from their friends in order to pay for a baby shower gift for Gwen’s sister. Samantha Westervelt and Amanda Drexton star in this black comedy from “The Drextons,” i.e. Amanda and husband Michael. Anchor Bay’s Blu-Ray includes a 1080p transfer, a “Video Yearbook,” and commentary from the stars and directors.

Also New & Noteworthy

RAD Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray (93 mins., 1986, PG; Mill Creek): A Hal Needham-helmed teen drama from star/producer Talia Shire and her late husband, producer Jack Schwartzman, “Rad” has somehow developed a massive cult following over the years. Maybe it’s the rockin’ ’80s soundtrack, the loud fashions, saturated colors or the setting of a BMX competition that draws young Bill Allen to compete against the best – whatever it may be, “Rad” is formulaic fun that attracted many an interested eye amongst Blu-Ray and 4K owners when Vinegar Syndrome’s collectible 4K UHD/Blu-Ray became an instant sell-out a few years ago.

This is Mill Creek’s second go-around for the title on Blu-Ray, and big draw is a brand new, feature-length doc “A Rad Documentary!” which features a loving look back at the movie’s production with fresh interviews and anecdotes fans will love. Other extras, back from the earlier, out-of-print release include a Q&A session with Bill Allen, Talia Shire, co-star (and two-time Olympic gold medalist) Bart Conner, archival cast/crew interviews, the original featurette, and “Break the Ice” music video. You also get three new extras with Bill Allen, co-writer Sam Bernard and a featurette on Hal Needham in the ‘80s also on tap.

DAN DA DAN: Season 1 Blu-Ray (286 mins., 2024; Shout): A pair of high schoolers – a girl from a family of mediums, a boy into the occult – tackle a series of supernatural occurrences (and possibly otherworldly as well) in this adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s magna of the same name. An amusing mix of teen “X-Files” and angsty, romantic-tinged youth drama, “Dan Da Dan”’s first season is new to Blu-Ray this week from Shout. The 1080p (1.78) transfers are graced with both Japanese audio (2.0 DTS MA) plus an English dub, English subtitles, filmmaker interviews, a talk with composer kensuke ushio, additional interviews, and more.

NEXT TIME: Kino Lorber New Releases on UHD, from DEEPSTAR SIX to ROAD TRIP! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

In terms of what’s here, let’s get right down to it, seeing as most of us know these pictures inside and out, and have owned them many times over the years, including multiple releases on formats as ancient as VHS and laserdisc.

Connery’s initial three James Bond movies offer a general grounding and faithfulness to Ian Fleming’s original novels that would diminish as the franchise took off for the box-office stratosphere of the mid to late ‘60s. DR. NO (109 mins., 1962), FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (115 mins., 1963) and GOLDFINGER (110 mins., 1964) are all hugely entertaining in their own way, and even the more modest trappings of the first Bond adventure remain engaging when viewed today. “From Russia…” brings composer John Barry fully aboard but I’ve never been a huge fan of the picture compared to “Dr. No” and especially “Goldfinger,” which remains the veritable prototype for the Eon series and all the globe-trotting adventures that followed it.

Each of these movies was shot “flat” and is presented here in what looks like a 1.7:1 aspect ratio (between the 1.66 of the previous Blu-Ray and 1.85 of other transfers) with Dolby Vision HDR. In terms of the overall transfers in this set, these pictures benefit from a more balanced, warmer color timing that appears more accurate (and it’s certainly more satisfying) than the more limited color pallet of the Blu-Rays from over a decade ago. Certainly the compression is also far better on UHD (there are no jaggies to be found like in “Dr. No”’s Blu-Ray opening) but in terms of overall detail, there’s not a whole lot of difference between these three transfers and the Blu-Rays that came before. And, if you’re looking for one of these movies to “pop” in terms of HDR, the deployment of Dolby Vision is quite reserved here, as is sometimes the case with Warner’s 4K UHD catalog releases.

The remaster benefits are more evident, however, once we get to the three widescreen pictures, starting with THUNDERBALL (130 mins., 1965). This first anamorphic Bond adventure really served as the launching pad for the series’ international success, ushering with it a tendency for the series to embrace bigger and wilder plots with budgets to match.

The 4K UHD of “Thunderball” is a fascinating one since the audio options are vast. While each film offers a Dolby Atmos remix (comparable to the 5.1 remixes from the older Blu-Rays) as well as its original mono sound, “Thunderball” also throws in an alternate sound mix that fans have talked about for years. This alternate track includes a few differently edited lines, a couple of alternately edited music cues, and even its own end title music arrangement – and for the first time, this track is included along with the original release mix in both Atmos and mono. (For a full list of the differences between the mixes, check out this Youtube video which does a great job breaking it down).

In terms of color, “Thunderball” offers immediate gains over its earlier Blu-Ray with a wider pallet and warmer saturation to go along with a more detailed rendering of its scope visuals. There is a tendency for the image to favor a greenish color but, otherwise, it looks superior to the previous BD transfer. That also pertains to Connery’s subsequent Bond sojourns, the offbeat yet mildly disappointing YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (117 mins., 1967) and Connery’s unexpected return to the role in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (120 mins., 1971), which was a check-cashing venture for the star after George Lazenby fizzled out (for a myriad of reasons) in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” These transfers similarly look more impressive than the HD masters that Lowry Digital worked on some 20 years ago, with a wider color gamut and occasional HDR splashes (minus “Thunderball”‘s teal push) that seem to be more obviously applied than the first three Bond remasters.

Warner’s menus obviously lack the snazzy effects that MGM’s 007 Blu-Rays contained, but they do seem to house all the special features from those releases (a myriad of documentaries and featurettes, trailers and vintage TV specials), all encoded in their proper frame-rate at that. Digital HD codes also adorn the package, which uses some modern “throwback” styled cover art that I’m not crazy about, but would never put me off from buying this set.

On balance, this is a highly pleasing package for Bond fans, who have had to patiently (or not so patiently) wait for this belated debut of the classic 007 series entries to appear on 4K UHD. Here’s hoping Warner and MGM get to the Roger Moore entries next, and don’t forget about the Dalton and Lazenby pictures (plus “Never Say Never Again”) along the way. The audience is ready and willing!

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New on Blu-Ray

2025 is shaping up to be a terrific year for TV on Disc releases with several long-running series debuting on DVD and Blu-Ray for the first time. Among the latter is MURDER, SHE WROTE (1984-96; Universal), the CBS staple which aired after “60 Minutes” on Sunday nights at 8pm for nearly the entire duration of its 12-season run, comprising much of the ‘80s and ‘90s in the process.

Angela Lansbury starred here, of course, as Jessica Fletcher – a Maine widow not unlike Miss Marple, whose talents writing mystery thrillers were only outdone by her actual ability to solve crimes. And that, of course, Jessica did throughout “Murder, She Wrote,” a series created by Peter S. Fischer and the “Columbo” team of Richard Levinson and William Link which laid down its formula fast and never really tinkered with it. That obviously was a good thing, because this tightly-written series followed “Columbo,” “Ellery Queen” and other shows like it, but with Lansbury’s engaging performance as an amateur sleuth making its sometimes complicated plots a pleasure to piece together.

Having grown up back at the time of its original broadcast, “Murder, She Wrote” – along with “Matlock” – was one of those series my Nana always had on, and I remember enjoying watching some of the episodes with her before she passed in 1994. In addition to an array of guest stars familiar to anyone who lived through the era (Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Rooney, Cyd Charrise), the series did mix up its infrequent supporting cast at times, with Tom Bosley essaying the local police chief (“Amos Tupper”) for four years before he took off for “The Father Dowling Mysteries,” while Jessica began teaching criminology in New York City for a time beginning in the 1991-92 season. However, for most of its run, viewers could count on little alterations from the show’s structure, and loved guessing “whoduneit?” as Jessica pieced together the culprit at the center of each episode’s crime.

Universal has brought several shows to Blu-Ray over the years and this 62-disc package offers all 12 seasons of “Murder, She Wrote” in attractive, genuine 1080p (1.37) transfers. Having been shot on film, these transfers show off more detail than you’d ever have seen on broadcast TV back then, and the package is configured with each season being housed in its own separate case. That also holds true for the 4-movie collection of “Murder, She Wrote” follow-up mysteries Lansbury appeared in that were produced between 1997 and 2003, and are also included in Universal’s now-available box-set, along with a number of extras.

Among the latter are interviews with Angela Lansbury and assorted crew/cast, carried over from the previous DVD releases, along with a look at “America’s Top Sleuths” (from the now-defunct Sleuth Channel) and the crossover with Tom Selleck’s CBS primetime hit “Magnum, P.I.”

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Another series that enjoyed a decades-plus run – basically from the time “Murder She Wrote” ended in the mid ‘90s and into the mid 2000’s – was THE DREW CAREY SHOW (1995-2004, Warner), a terrific sitcom anchored by comic Drew Carey leading an ensemble of four buddies (along with Diedrich Bader, Ryan Stiles and Christa Miller) working at a Cleveland department store managed for much of its run by future “Late Late Show” host Craig Ferguson.

“The Drew Carey Show” was a breezy, easy watch for so much of its duration. You could easily drop in and out of the comedy and not miss a beat, and the ensemble – along with the writing – was especially strong for its genre as well. While the quality eventually waned in its later years, in its prime, this was one of ABC’s best comedies from the latter end of its network’s genre heyday.

Warner’s Complete Series DVD includes Dolby Digital stereo sound and 1.33 transfers. Fans should note the series did offer a number of musical bits and because of licensing, some alterations had to be made with four whole episodes discarded altogether (Drew’s Dance Party Special; Drew Carey’s Back-to-School Rock ‘n’ Roll Comedy Hour Parts 1 & 2, and the karaoke-centered What’s Love Got To Do With It).

A WORKING MAN 4K UHD (116 mins., 2025, R; MGM/Warner): Jason Statham scored one of his biggest career hits with “The Beekeeper” a year ago, and he’s back with director David Ayer again for this Sylvester Stallone co-written/produced affair that mostly pales in comparison. The formula is straightforward and familiar, with Statham’s Levon Cade a former black ops specialist now working under the radar in construction. Once he finds out his boss’ (Michael Pena) daughter has been kidnapped, he leaps into action and, naturally, turns the tables on vile human traffickers. Statham fans will likely be satisfied but “A Working Man” lacks the humor and energy of “The Beekeeper,” despite having been shot in England apparently right afterwards. MGM’s 4K UHD (2.39) is a no-frills affair featuring HDR10, Dolby Atmos audio and a digital code.

NEXT TIME: Arrow’s DARK CITY on 4K UHD! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

Universal’s big color sci-fi spectacular of the mid ‘50s, THIS ISLAND EARTH (86 mins., 1955), will be the most familiar for aficionados here – a memorable genre trip with its giant bug-eyed creature serving as an iconic image of the era. Imprint’s Blu-Ray includes both 1.33 and 1.85 aspect ratios plus the original mono sound, though it does not offer the 4K remaster Shout previously released or the original “Perspecta” stereo sound which the 3-D Film Archive restored for that edition. Included is a new commentary by podcaster/Youtuber Heath Holland and the “Trailers From Hell” segment featuring Joe Dante.

Paired together on a single disc are a pair of compelling, if little-seen, Columbia productions from the era: THE 27TH DAY (76 mins., 1957) offers “War of the Worlds” star Gene Barry in the story of an alien that challenges the human race not to use a series of capsules for 27 days (1.78 B&W, 2.0 PCM mono) while THE NIGHT THE WORLD EXPLODED! (64 mins., 1957) plays like the other half of its drive-in double-bill, sporting a more grounded story of scientists who produce a device that can predict an earthquake striking within 24 hours (1.78 B&W, 2.0 PCM mono). Neither film includes supplements.

Hugh McDermott and Roger Corman fave Hazel Court star in the memorably-titled DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS (77 mins., 1954), an entertaining affair about a Martian woman (Patricia Laffan) who heads to Earth in an effort to find a breeding mate since men are losing the Red Planet’s Battle for the Sexes. This British production was shot at Shepperton Studios and offers an enjoyable alteration of the typical sci-fi formula being utilized in the USA around that time; certainly its extras are by far the most substantive and enjoyable on this set also. Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw’s commentary is highly amusing, with other extras including a Newman interview, talk with writer Jon Towlson, and another commentary with Phillipa Barry. The Studio Canal restoration (1.37 B&W, PCM mono) is also top notch.

Last but not least is another Columbia licensed title, THE GAMMA PEOPLE (79 mins., 1956), the story of a reporter (Paul Douglas) who latches onto an explosive story when he finds out an Iron Curtain dictator has used gamma rays to create brainwashed henchmen. The 1080p (1.78 B&W, PCM mono) transfer on this B-effort is fine and the Columbia-produced, Eastmancolor-shot film “The Underwater City” (78 mins., 1962) is provided as a standard-def bonus, capping this latest “Tales Of Adventure” box.

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Warner Archive New Releases

ELIZABETH TAYLOR 4-FILM COLLECTION Blu-Ray (Warner): Kicking off the latest Warner Archive releases are a pair of affordably-priced, four-movie sets featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Gary Cooper, respectively, each comprised of previously-released (individual) Archive releases. The ELIZABETH TAYLOR package is the most agreeable of the lot, representing Taylor from her MGM stardom to challenging later ‘60s roles and the height of her on-screen (and off-screen) collaboration with Richard Burton.

FATHER OF THE BRIDE (93 mins., 1950) offers Taylor as the Bride with Spencer Tracy as dear o’l Father, who finds out the process of modern-day marriage (circa 1950) isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This irresistible comedy, directed by Vincente Minnelli and scripted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, boasts charming performances from Tracy, Taylor and Joan Bennett (as the family matriarch) in a perfect slice of MGM studio gloss. In addition to a crisp 1080p (1.37) B&W transfer, Warner’s Blu boasts 2.0 DTS MA mono audio and a pair of archival newsreels.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited” was adapted by MGM and director Richard Brooks as THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS (116 mins., 1954), a glossy soaper with a great cast, led by Taylor as the sister who weds an American serviceman (Van Johnson) in post-WWII Paris. Donna Reed is “the other sister” with Eva Gabor and Walter Pidgeon co-starring along with a young Roger Moore. Another sparkling Archive remaster (1.75, mono) awaits viewers here with extras including the trailer and a Tom & Jerry cartoon “Touche Pussycat.”

A far different Taylor vehicle is on-hand in the daring 1966 filming of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (131 mins.), a searing adaptation of Edward Albee’s play from writer-producer Ernest Lehman. Under the direction of Mike Nichols, Taylor and then-husband Richard Burton give stellar performances as the drunken, broken couple who air out their dirty laundry – and then some – in front of a younger couple, played by Sandy Dennis (who, like Taylor, won an Oscar) and George Segal. An important, groundbreaking film that aided in the dissolution of the Hays Code, “Virginia Woolf” has been packaged in a superb Warner Archive Blu-Ray with extras from its prior DVD Special Edition: commentaries from Nichols and Steven Soderbergh, plus another track featuring cinematographer Haskell Wexler; featurettes, screen tests, vintage clips and more. The 1080p (1.85) transfer and DTS MA mono sound are both exemplary, with Wexler’s B&W cinematography benefitting from a high bit-rate.

Author Carson McCullers’ works didn’t really translate to the screen, with “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” remembered today primarily for Dave Grusin’s heartfelt score and REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE (109 mins., 1967) having served as a footnote in the careers of Brando, co-star Elizabeth Taylor and director John Huston for many years since its 1967 release.

Warner Archive’s two-disc Blu-Ray edition may help rectify that, at least partially, as this sordid tale of repressed sexuality in the deep south offers some bonkers moments and over-the-top performances from its stars — not to mention a bizarre, gold-tinted color scheme which Huston insisted upon. Warner-Seven Arts, however, felt differently at the time, and the movie went into general release with its original Technicolor hues intact.

Huston’s “golden” visual intentions are included in this Archive Blu-Ray, though one may grow tired eventually of the bland visuals. Warner has also included the full color version on a separate disc, allowing viewers to choose whichever color scheme they desire. Both transfers look superb in these high bit-rate AVC encoded (2.35) transfers, while on the supplemental side, some 20 minutes of extensive, silent black-and-white behind the scenes footage is available. The clear DTS MA mono sound offers an eclectic, not altogether satisfying score by Toshiro Mayuzumi.

GARY COOPER: 4-FILM COLLECTION presents a quartet of Cooper classics: or at least a pair of them, highlighted by Warner Archive’s sterling release of “Sergeant York.”

Golden Age fans widely acclaimed that SERGEANT YORK (134 mins., 1941) restoration, which first premiered in a 2020 Archive Blu-Ray. Howard Hawks’ classic needs little introduction as this stirring slice of patriotic big-screen Hollywood – based on the life of Tennessee farmer Alvin York, who became a WWI hero – earned Gary Cooper his first Best Actor Oscar and served as a motivator for legions of Americans who enlisted in WWII thereafter. Warner Archive’s detailed, vividly rendered 1080p (1.37) transfer is superlative with extras including a Making Of, “Porky’s Preview” classic WB cartoon, the short “Lions For Sale,” and Jeanine Basinger’s academic commentary. The DTS MA mono sound does justice to Max Steiner’s score.

THE HANGING TREE Blu-Ray (107 mins., 1959): Interestingly if not completely successful late ‘50s western offers Gary Cooper as a doctor who settles into practice near a Montana gold camp, where he counters types ranging from a shady miner (Karl Malden) to an overzealous preacher (George C. Scott), as well as an immigrant (Maria Schell) blinded in a stagecoach accident. There’s also the issue of Cooper’s own past which comes into play in this Wendell Mayes-Halsted Welles script, effectively directed by Delmer Daves but trapped somewhere between the traditional studio films that preceded it and the more explicit genre exercises that followed. Max Steiner’s score and some lovely cinematography help, not to mention the performances, with Scott hysterically chewing up the scenery and character actor Ben Piazza in an impressive “introductory” role. Warner’s Archive Blu-Ray offers a sterling 1080p (1.78) color transfer and 2.0 DTS MA mono sound.

The package is rounded out with Blu-Rays of Cooper’s 1957 teaming with Audrey Hepburn in Billy Wilder’s disappointing LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (130 mins., 1957), as well as FRIENDLY PERSUASION (137 mins., 1956), William Wyler’s classic about an Indiana Quaker family in the Civil War, which is debuting on Blu-Ray for the first time (and is also available individually, as are all the films in these sets). This moving and sensitive drama, adapted by Michael Wilson from Jessamyn West’s book, follows family man Cooper as he tries to maintain his religious values in a time of war; Warner’s Blu-Ray sports a beautiful 1080p (1.85, 2.0 mono) transfer and clear mono sound representing Dimitri Tiomkin’s memorable score. Special features are limited to a vintage NBC promotional segment with Dave Garroway and the trailer.

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Also new from Warner Archive: Over 12 minutes of footage, cut before the film went into general release, has been restored to RHAPSODY IN BLUE (161 mins., 1945), Warner Bros.’ lavish biopic – largely fictional in nature – of composer George Gershwin. All the pertinent Gershwin tunes make their way into the film, with Robert Alda playing opposite Herbert Ridley (as his brother Ira), Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith and a who’s who of Gershwin collaborators including Oscar Levant, George White, Anne Brown and Al Jolson himself. An entertaining studio concoction with Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.37 B&W, 2.0 DTS MA mono) also including a long-lost overture which only played in NY and Hollywood premiere showings.

Ricardo Montalban stars in John Sturges’ directorial outing MYSTERY STREET (93 mins., 1950), a compelling mystery with Montalban a Cape Cod detective (!) who needs the help of a Harvard forsenic criminologist (Bruce Bennett) in order to catch a killer. The setting is a little unusual for the genre and the plot plays out like CSI’s great-great-grandfather, with Montalaban foreceful, and effective, in the lead. Warner Archive’s remastered Blu-Ray (1.37 B&W, mono) boasts a commentary from Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward, the featurette “Murder at Havard,” two classic MGM cartoons and the trailer.

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Robert Taylor, Robert Young and Franchot Tone essay a trio of German soldiers who open a repair shop post WWI in THREE COMRADES (98 mins., 1938), an MGM production adapting Erich Maria Remarque’s book that became noteworthy for being one of the few screenwriting credits of F. Scott Fitzgerald (who shared credit with Edward Paramore). Margaret Sullavan is the dying girl who touches them all in a well-regarded tragic love story from the late ‘30s, presented on Blu-Ray in another superb looking Warner Archive remaster (1.37 B&W, 2.0 DTS MA mono) with two bonus MGM shorts and the trailer included for good measure.

The classic Looney Tunes vault has been reopened once again for LOONEY TUNES COLLECTOR’S VAULT: VOLUME 1, a double-disc compilation of fan-requested titles that’s due out on June 17^th.

Disc 1 offers 25 shorts unavailable on DVD and Blu-Ray previously: Bars and Stripes Forever, Beauty and the Beast, A Day at the Zoo, The Dixie Fryer, Double or Mutton, Each Dawn I Crow, Easy Peckin’s, Feather Dusted, A Fox in a Fix, Good Night Elmer, The Goofy Gophers, I’d Love to Take Orders From You, A Kiddies Kitty, Let It Be Me, Of Fox and Hounds, Quackodile Tears, Randy Wollen & Able, Robin Hood Makes Good, The Squakin’ Hawk, Terrier-Stricken, Tweet and Lovely, Tweety’s Circus, Two’s a Crowd, Wild About Hurry and Zip n’Short.

Disc 2 rolls out shorts making their Blu-Ray (HD) premieres: Aint She Tweet, Banty Raids, Birth of a Nation, Bye Bye Bluebeard, Cat-Tails For Two, Daffy Dilly, Daffy Duck & Egghead, Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z, Gonzales’ Tomales, Hare Conditioned, Hare Trigger, Hare Trimmed, Horton Hatches The Egg, Little Boy Boo, Much Ado About Nothing, Odor-able Kitty, Past Performance, Porky’s Duck Hunt, Rabbit Punch, Red Riding Hoodwinked, Rhapsody Rabbit, Show Business, Tom Tuck & Daffy, Two Crows From Tacos, and Zoom and Bored.

The HD remastered transfers (1.37, DTS MA mono) are all top-notch, all in color with a single B&W short (“Porky’s Duck Hunt”) the sole exception.

LEAN ON ME Blu-Ray (109 mins., 1989, PG-13; Warner): One of a handful of late ‘80s/early ‘90s films where tough school principals crack down on crime and other elements in their underperforming, urban-set classrooms, “Lean On Me” was one of the best of the lot. Certainly it’s one of the more entertaining, providing Morgan Freeman a showcase playing larger-than-life New Jersey principal Joe Clark, whose unorthodox – and unbending – methods of cleaning up Paterson, NJ’s Eastdale High generated national headlines. How effective Clark actually was is open for debate – the school ended up struggling as much once he left as it was seemingly when he got there – but his attempts to provide every kid an opportunity to learn, and drive crime and drugs out of the classroom, was certainly admirable if nothing else.

Director John G. Avildsen brings an appropriately “Rocky”-esque “rising up” type of tone to this WB Spring ‘89 release, with Michael Schiffer’s script incorporating a few moving moments (Clark visiting the single mother of one of his stronger students) to counterbalance some of the material’s more theatrical passages – like a shouting match between Clark and the district superintendent (Robert Guillaume). Yet it’s Freeman’s standout performance that remains a compelling reason to watch “Lean On Me” – that, and another spectacularly detailed Warner Archive remaster (1.85, 2.0 DTS MA), just released on disc.

Also New & Noteworthy

Carol Reed’s filming of Lionel Bart’s musical OLIVER! (153 mins., 1968, G; Sony) is one of the best stage-to-screen adaptations of all-time: a faithful, emotional and well-acted filming with outstanding cinematography by Oswald Morris and production design by John Box. Mark Lester makes for an ideal Oliver with Ron Moody recreating his award-winning stage performance as Fagin, Harry Secombe as Mr. Bumble and Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes. While it’s certainly not the grittiest Dickens ever committed to film, as a musical, “Oliver!” works extremely well and Reed’s direction captures what made the original production such a smash on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Oliver” was previously released in one of Sony’s “Columbia Classics” limited-edition UHD box sets, and this month makes its debut as a standalone 4K UHD title, complete with original theatrical artwork adorning its slipcover. The 4K remaster (2.35) is just outstanding here, as Sony’s restorations typically are, with Dolby Vision HDR enhancing Oswald Morris’ beautifully atmospheric scope cinematography. A full array of sound options are also included: a new Dolby Atmos mix plus previously available 5.1 DTS MA and two-channel, original 2.0 stereo tracks. Extras include Steven C. Smith’s commentary plus Jack Wild’s screen test, archival featurettes, the Blu-Ray and a Digital HD copy.

BLACK BAG 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (94 mins., 2025, R; Universal): David Koepp-written spy thriller pits Michael Fassbender’s intelligence agent against his wife and fellow spook Cate Blanchett after she’s accused of treason; alas, all is not what it seems in director Steven Soderbergh’s movie, one which was aimed at the flailing theatrical marketplace for “adult movies” but came up snake eyes in terms of finding an audience. Perhaps it’s no surprise since this talky, plodding affair manages to be slow-going – even with an abbreviated 94-minute run time! Universal’s UHD does offer a superior HDR10 experience (2.39, 5.1 Dolby TrueHD) in 4K compared to the standard Blu-Ray, which is also included here, along with two featurettes, deleted scenes, and a Digital HD copy.

BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY Blu-Ray (125 mins., 2025, R; Universal): Fourth (and maybe final?) go-around for Helen Fielding’s harried heroine bypassed a U.S. theatrical window, perhaps no surprise with each of its two immediate predecessors playing to diminishing domestic box-office returns. Here, Renee Zellweger’s heroine has become a widow who’s lost her beloved (Colin Firth) and tries to move forward with a new man (Chiwetel Ejofor) while raising two older kids. Fielding co-wrote the script for “Mad About the Boy” with Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan, which is a little less hectic than the previous three series entries but perhaps too much so – director Michael Morris’ film suffers from slack pacing (with an excessive run time) and a lack of energy compared to its predecessors. Fans still should enjoy it, I’d imagine, with Universal’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 7.1 Dolby TrueHD) offering deleted scenes, three featurettes and a Digital HD copy.

OUTLANDER: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-Ray (933 mins., 2023-2025; Sony): Sprawling seventh season of “Outlander” aired in separate parts on Starz but has been collected into one release from Sony. This time out the series turns its attention to the American Revolution with Jamie, Claire and the Fraser family caught up in the battle for Independence, leading them out of their North Carolina home and into the fray with the British. Exceptional production values and capable performances continue to work with a welcome new historical era in this latest go-round for “Outlander,” and Sony’s Blu-Ray once again features superb 1080p (1.78) transfers with 5.1 DTS MA sound, a Digital HD code, deleted scenes and a blooper reel.

NEXT TIME: MURDER, SHE WROTE and more TV on Disc! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

Snipes plays a US marshal who loses his brother (Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Theo from “The Cosby Show”), also a marshal, in a plane accident where the duo are transporting a computer hacker prisoner (Michael Jeter). While the authorities believe Snipes’ brother was trigger happy and caused their 747 to be ripped open, losing some of its passengers (Jeter among them) in a harrowing early set-piece, Snipes knows the real truth: that a group of criminals (led by Gary Busey) extracted Jeter from the plane, needing his talents to help them break into the DEA database and expose undercover agents around the globe, which the group plans to carry out right before the 4^th of July. Striking out on his own after being suspended, Snipes seeks vengeance with the help of a skydiver (Yancy Butler) and her team, just in time to stop Busey and his crew from executing their nefarious plans.

Badham came into the project having gravitated towards action movies in his ‘90s output, mostly to diminishing returns. In fact, “Drop Zone” followed series of star-driven disappointments, including “Bird on a Wire” (the ill-fated teaming of Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson), “The Hard Way” (Michael J. Fox and James Woods), and the tepid “La Femme Nikita” remake “Point of No Return” (which failed to sell Bridget Fonda as an action heroine). Even the sequel “Another Stakeout” was a bust, and Badham’s big-screen output would soon come to an end right after “Drop Zone” following the horrendous Johnny Depp affair “Nick of Time” and barely-released caper flick “Incognito” in 1997.

“Drop Zone” went into production right around the same time as the Charlie Sheen skydiving thriller “Terminal Velocity,” and while neither became a big hit, each has their positive elements: with “Drop Zone,” it comes via a brisk pace and Snipes anchoring a workmanlike if agreeably formulaic “action movie” script by Peter Barsocchini and John Bishop. The movie lacks the humor and romance of “Terminal Velocity” (which is, by and large, a much better film), but in terms of Badham’s output from this time, it’s superior stuff. The skydiving scenes are superbly shot and edited, Snipes is engaged, and Busey is fine in one of his last “serious,” heavy parts.

Taken on its own terms, and even with its shortcomings (the supporting cast opposite Snipes and Busey is pretty bland; Hans Zimmer’s score comes off as overstated), “Drop Zone” is pretty much the highpoint for Badham’s work in the decade, and the kind of efficient, old-school genre exercise we don’t get enough of these days. More over, the picture certainly benefits from Cinematographe’s new remastered 4K UHD, which comes alongside a remastered Blu-Ray with additional special features.

Anchored by a new restoration from the OCN (2.39), “Drop Zone” looks spectacular. In fact, thanks to Dolby Vision HDR enhancements, it’s hard to envision how this bright, colorful looking film ever had an issue with being too dark (to the point cinematographer Roy Wagner’s job was threatened!). Details are crisp and the colors are just magnificent. The 5.1 DTS MA track is superb too, offering a Zimmer score with a few notes presaging his “Pirates of the Caribbean” work on-hand.

Supplements include a well-rounded commentary with Badham and Wagner, as moderated by producer Justin LaLiberty. Other extras include producer Wallis Nicita talking about the film plus a segment on the music with Daniel Schweiger, a Daniel Kremer video essay on the evolution (or de-evolution) of Badham’s filmography, and another commentary from Max Evry. The hardbound, 5000-copy limited edition also includes a number of text essays from Simon Abrams, Bilge Ebiri, Marki Edward Heuck and LaLiberty among them.

Cinematographe, as part of Vinegar Syndrome’s big “Halfway to Black Friday” sale, has also just released a brand-new 4K UHD edition of Jim McBride’s BREATHLESS (100 mins., 1983, R), the Americanization of Godard’s new-wave classic of the same name. This Orion remake stars Richard Gere, coming off “American Gigolo” and the success of “An Officer and a Gentleman,” as a hood who meets and beds a French exchange student (Valerie Kaprisky) in Vegas. After accidentally shooting a cop, he heads to L.A. to meet up with Kaprisky, risking his life in the process.

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of this particular film, but it’s at least a slick and stylish effort from McBride and co-writer L.M. “Kit” Carson, with Richard H. Kline’s assured cinematography – along with Gere’s performance – being its strong suit. Cinematographe’s 4K UHD offers a fresh, new 4K scan of the OCN that surpasses Fun City’s 2023 Blu-Ray (which offered its own 2K presentation) and features Dolby Vision support. Given that visuals in the movie and Kline’s cinematography especially are its strongest suit, the HDR enhancement makes “Breathless” that much more watchable now on UHD (a remastered Blu-Ray is also included, quite welcome since Fun City’s prior release is out of print).

Cinematographe has also added in some brand-new extras, including commentaries with McBride and Justin LaLiberty, plus another fresh track with writer Travis Woods. New interviews include McBride and casting director Jane Jenkins, while Daniel Kremer (the guy is everywhere I tell you) is on-hand to provide one of his video essays. The trailer and some legacy extras (deleted scenes, alternate ending) are also on-tap plus booklet notes featuring essays by LaLiberty, Justine Peres Smith and critic Kristen Yoonsoo Kim alongside original production notes.

Finally, Cinematographe is premiering a new 2K restoration on Blu-Ray of Spalding Gray’s SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA (85 mins., 1987, R). This acclaimed 1987 picture from director Jonathan Demme showcases the late writer/actor in a one-man show, recounting his work in Cambodia as part of the cast of Roland Joffe’s sensational 1984 film “The Killing Fields.”

I remember Siskel & Ebert especially championing this indie effort which utilizes John Bailey’s cinematography to good effect, giving the material a bit of “breathing room,” but Gray’s storytelling is center stage and he’s a captivating listen here – especially if you’ve seen “The Killing Fields” as a point of reference.

A new 2K transfer from the OCN (1.85, mono), licensed through MGM, comprises Cinematographe’s technical package with extras including a commentary by Scout Tafoya; a welcome interview with Roland Joffe; additional interviews with executive producer Ira Deutchman and producer Edward Saxon; two episodes on Demme and Gray from the “Pure Nonfiction” podcast; and text essays by Marya E. Gates, Chris Shields, Keith Uhlich and David M. Stewart.

All titles are available to order now, direct from Vinegar Syndrome’s site.

New from Film Movement: Kicking off Film Movement’s latest is ARTIE SHAW: TIME IS ALL YOU’VE GOT (116 mins., 1985), a look at the Big Band era clarinet player who hired Billie Holiday among others – opening up the door for black artists. Off stage, multiple marriages and professional problems compounded his turbulent life and times, all before his passing in 2004 at the age of 94. Mel Torme and Buddy Rich are among the greats who appear in Brigitte Berman’s 1985 Oscar-nominated documentary feature, newly remastered in 4K for Film Movement’s Blu-Ray (1.28, mono), presented with Berman’s commentary and notes from jazz writer Bill Mikowski.

Also new from Film Movement, Laura Wandel’s PLAYGROUND (72 mins., 2025) was Belgium’s 2022 entry into the Best Foreign Film Oscar category – a difficult drama about a young boy being bullied at school with only his younger sister being effective at serving as his surrogate. Strong messages universal to the childhood experience are brought forward in Wandel’s disturbing, effective piece, new on Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1/2.0 French with English subtitles) with the director’s short “Les Corps Etrangers” as a special feature….Eric Rohmer’s THE MARQUISE OF O… (113 mins., 1976, PG) also joins the Film Movement catalog this month. Rohmer’s film follows a widow (Edith Clever) who decides she will marry the father of her unborn child, provided he comes forward. Set in 1799 during Russia’s invasion of Italy, this period piece and comic drama co-stars Bruno Ganz and comes to Blu-Ray with what’s billed as a new “HD digital restoration” (1.33, mono, German with English subs) and supplements including archival interviews featuring Rohmer and Ganz.

Coming in June from Film Movement is Robin Campillo’s RED ISLAND (117 mins., 2023), a French import about a young boy living among locals and French military forces in 1970s Madagascar. Campillo’s commentary is included plus an essay from critic Sam Cohen in Film Movement’s Blu-Ray (1.37, 5.1/2.0)…THE WAIT (99 mins., 2023) is another contemporary release, this one a Spanish horror thriller with Victor Clavijo playing a groundskeeper whose life spirals after he takes a bribe from a local hunter. Guiterrez provides a commentary along with a VFX reel and a critical essay from Rob Hunter in Film Movement’s forthcoming Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1/2.0 Spanish with English subtitles).

Jorge Martinez de Hoyos, a veteran of “The Magnificent Seven,” finds himself trying to start over with his old girlfriend in TIME TO DIE (89 mins., 1966), a vintage Mexican western from a young (21 in fact) Arturo Ripstein. Film Movement presents this flavorful, character-driven piece (1.37, Spanish with English subtitles) with extras including a video intro from Alex Cox, commentary by Ripstein and co-star Enrique Rocha, and a 20-page booklet featuring essays by Carlos Guiterrez and Erica Shultz…Fans of classic softcore and the “adult movie”’s eventual transition to hardcore will find Wiktor Ericsson’s documentary A LIFE IN DIRTY MOVIES (82 mins., 2025) worthwhile. This profile of legendary sexploitation director Joe Sarno and his wife Peggy comes to Blu-Ray (1.78, 5.1/2.0) with bonus interview clips later in June.

ACTION: THE OCTOBER CRISIS OF 1970 (87 mins., 1973) is the latest from Canadian International Pictures. This explosive documentary by Robin Spry captures the tension between French and English Canada and the worldwide attention that followed after Quebec separatists kidnapped a pair of political figures and issued a manifesto – leading PM Pierre Trudeau to issue the country’s War Measure Act. A dizzying array of archival materials, news footage and interviews create a you-are-there doc remastered in 2K by the National Film Board of Canada (1.33, mono). CIP’s Blu-Ray, available June 24^th, also features an alternate French language track; new commentary by Justine Smith; a commentary comprised of archival interviews with Robin Spry; interviews with NFB curator Mac St-Pierre and professor Zoe Druick; and an additional Spry documentary, “Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis” (58 mins., 1973).

LOVE CRIME (106 mins., 2010) pairs up Ludivine Sagnier with Kristin Scott Thomas in Alain Corneau’s film, a thriller about a cutthroat exec (Thomas) who gets more than she bargained for after hiring a seemingly naive assistant (Sagnier) who gets her revenge after Thomas takes one of her ideas and doesn’t credit her. Commentary from Travis Woods is included in IFC’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA French with English subs) plus a video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Katie Rife’s liner notes…Also coming next month from IFC, SLEEPING BEAUTY (101 mins., 2011) is Julia Leigh’s revisionist, modernized take on the classic fairy tale with Emily Browning in the lead role, one that’s reconfigured as a sex worker in the contemporary age. Commentary from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and a booklet with notes by Esther Rosenfield are on-tap in IFC’s upcoming Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA).

Yellow Veil Pictures New Releases: Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansy’s way, way offbeat RATS! (85 mins., 2022) comes to Blu-Ray in a features-packed special edition. Multiple commentaries, a music video, featurettes, deleted scenes, and an essay from Justine Smith try to put this nearly inexplicable tale of an emo guy dealing with all kinds of crises – not of his own doing – into proper context (1.66)…HEAVIER TRIP (96 mins., 2025; Music Box Selects) is the sequel to the Finnish comedy “Heavy Trip,” here with the returning band members needing to get out of a Norwegian prison in order to save a “family-run reindeer slaughterhouse.” This Finnish/Belgian co-production debuts on Blu-Ray from Doppelganger (2.39, 5.1) with an English dub, Finnish subtitles, several featurettes, trailers and teasers.

Shudder releases Jenna Cato Bass’ GOOD MAMA (92 mins., 2021) on Blu-Ray this moth as well – the story of a black single mother who moves in with her domestic worker mom while the latter cares for a white “Madam” that’s harboring a secret. Commentary, interviews, notes from Jourdain Searles and a 1080p (2.39, 5.1 DTS MA) transfer are included in Shudder’s new Blu-Ray…Due out June 24^th from Shudder, BLOOD QUANTUM (98 mins., 2019) offers a twist on the usual zombie formula as an outbreak of the undead doesn’t include members of the Red Crow’s Mi’gmaq reservation, who find themselves taking on white corpses in Jeff Barnaby’s 2019 movie. Shudder’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1 DTS MA) features a new commentary by Scout Tafoya plus behind-the-scenes footage, still gallery, and Barnaby’s short film “File Under Miscellaneous.”

WHAT WE LEFT UNFINISHED (71 mins., 2019) is a documentary examining the struggle for art and state-funded movie-making during Afghanistan’s Communist period. Mariam Ghani’s picture is a compelling piece offering restored footage from a handful of unfinished movies, shot between 1978-91, that stopped production due to government interference. An introduction from the director, interviews, and a 32-page booklet with Ghani’s writing are included in Dekanalog’s now-available Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA)…Coming from Big World Pictures late next month is a Double Feature pairing of documentaries THE MONOPOLY OF VIOLENCE (86 mins., 2020) by director David Dufrense, combined with Jean-Gabriel Periot’s A GERMAN YOUTH (93 mins., 2015), a look at West Germany’s student movement in the mid 60s and its impact on the country’s future. Both are presented in 1080p (1.78/1.85) with Dolby Digital mono sound, trailers, two additional shorts by Periot, and booklet notes by critic Filipe Furtado.

ETR Media brings viewers the 2022 “mokumentary” UNDERDEVELOPED (107 mins.), an “Office”-styled look at a failing production company. “Office” vet David Koechner is on-hand plus Thomas Ian Nicholas, Samm Levine and Tom Arnold with ETR’s Blu (1.78, 5.1 DTS MA) including commentary, extended interviews and the trailer…Due out June 24^th from ETR is SATAN WANTS YOU (90 mins., 2023), a documentary about the 1980s “Satanic Panic” that swept the nation after a bestselling book named “Michelle Remembers” was released, telling the story of a Satanist-raised woman named Michelle Smith, who recounted her (allegedly) horrendous upbringing to psychiatrist Larry Pazder. ETR’s Blu-Ray (1.78, DTS MA) is out later next month.

New from Cartuna, WHEN YOU GET TO THE FOREST (72 mins., 2022) is an animated feature about an overwhelmed young woman trying to get away from it all when she takes a trip into the forest – where she hits her head and wakes up in a fantastical setting, complete with a talking cat. Cartuna’s Blu-Ray offers a 2:1 transfer, 2.0 stereo sound, a Making Of, production diaries, and director/writer commentary…Brainstorm Media’s upcoming release of CONSUMED (89 mins., 2024) profiles a young married couple who run into a crazed hunter trying to take out a Wendingo. Mitchell Altieri helmed this 2024 indie with Courtney Halverson, Mark Famigiletti and Devon Sawa, with Brainstorm’s Blu-Ray (2.35, 5.1 DTS MA) including over an hour of SFX and behind-the-scenes footage, a video interview with creator creator Jim Ojala, and commentary with Altieri and writer David Calbert.

PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF (78 mins., 2023) hails from Memory and Telus, presenting a documentary portrait of Gabor Mate, the “celebrated expert” on addiction, stress, and trauma. Asher Penn directed this feature-length portrait of Mate, on Blu-Ray this week (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA) with bonus scenes and a Live Q&A included with Mate and Penn…Kani Releasing brings the longest movie ever produced by a South Asian director at the time of its release to Blu-Ray: BATANG WEST SIDE (301 mins., 2001), a sprawling study of Filipino immigration to Jersey City and its wintry confines. Interviews with director Lav Diaz, actor Joel Torre, actress Gloria Diaz and others power Kani’s upcoming disc (1.85, 2.0).

Factory 25 new releases include LOUDER THAN YOU THINK (90 mins., 2023), a portrait of the group Pavement and especially its drummer, Gary Young, who helped re-establish “low fi” as a sound aesthetic while offering bombastic, often drug-induced antics on-stage. Deleted scenes, interviews with Young, a commentary with director Jed. I Rosenberg, and a 32-page booklet are included in Factory 25’s Blu-Ray (1.78)…The music of Crass is detailed in CRASS: THE SOUND OF FREE SPEECH – THE STORY OF REALITY ASYLUM (95 mins., 2023), a documentary by Brandon Spivey about the “confrontational” group and its role in the genesis of the punk music movement. Deleted scenes, extended interviews and a 28-page booklet comprise Factory 25’s upcoming Blu-Ray (1.78).

Icarus Films’ Blu-Ray of THE HUMAN PYRAMID (93 mins., 1961) is included in a new release alongside director Jean Rouch’s follow-up, THE PUNISHMENT (64 mins., 1963), each in new 2K transfers (1.33, French mono with English subtitles)…Finally, Magnolia’s Blu-Ray of SEVERANCE (96 mins., 2006, R) shouldn’t be confused with the hit Showtime series as this British indie follows a group of employees at an international weapons manufacturer whose getaway weekend at their President’s posh new digs results in murder and mayhem. A new commentary with director Christopher Smith and co-writer James Moran is moderated by Kim Newman and is included here alongside a long line of archival extras (commentary, deleted scenes, interviews, featurettes, EPK materials) in Magnolia’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA).

Also New & Noteworthy

THE ALTO KNIGHTS Blu-Ray (123 mins., 2024, R; Warner): Raise your hand if you knew “Goodfellas” writer Nicholas Pileggi reunited with star Robert DeNiro last year. Turns out few people were aware of the very existence of “The Alto Knights,” a not inexpensive Warner production that finds DeNiro playing both crime boss Frank Costello and associate Vito Genovese, the latter failing to believe Costello’s overtures that he wants to leave the family business so to speak. A gang war ensues, but the good intentions are undone by pedestrian direction from Barry Levinson, who hasn’t turned out a decent movie in forever, and a tired DeNiro performance. Maybe with an infusion of energy in its star and director this might’ve worked 20, 30 years ago, but “The Alto Knights” looks and plays like a museum exhibit instead of a movie. Warner’s Blu-Ray (2.39) includes a Dolby Atmos soundtrack and a Digital HD code.

THE WOMAN IN THE YARD Blu-Ray (88 mins., 2025, PG-13; Universal): Better acted than most, this intriguing yet fundamentally undernourished supernatural (or is it) thriller offers a determined performance from Danielle Deadwyler as a Mom whose family is tormented by a black-clad spirit out in their farmhouse. Sam Stefanak’s script was likely aiming much higher than where this feature ultimately goes, with director Jaume Collet-Serra favoring atmosphere and mood over heavy shocks – but it’s all for naught, the picture preferring to remain a mystery until a heavy-handed ending complete with a tag for the suicide prevention hotline. Universal’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 7.1 Dolby TrueHD) includes two featurettes and a Digital HD copy.

A BETTER PLACE Blu-Ray (86 mins., 1997; Smodcastle/MVD): Kevin Smith “presented” this acclaimed, low-budget indie drama about a young high schooler (Robert DiPatri) who’s saved from a first-day confrontation with a bully by a troubled classmate (Eion Bailey). Their turbulent relationship hits upon issues of bullying, mental health, teen suicide and firearms – among other elements – in Pereira’s 1997 picture, now restored by MVD in a Director’s Cut 2K transfer (1.5, 5.1 DTS MA) with ample extras. These include a new intro by Pereira; archival commentary; the “2001 version” of the movie, in standard def (85 mins); vintage intros from Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier; deleted scenes, outtakes and bloopers, and other extras from its previous DVD release.

NEXT TIME: Warner Archive new releases! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

Written by “Omen” scribe David Seltzer, “Prophecy” attempts to seriously preach about the environment at the same time it serves up a monster-on-the-rampage epic a la “Jaws,” except with a giant, bloody mutated bear wreaking havoc in the Maine woods instead of Bruce the Mechanical Shark.

Robert Foxworth stars as a righteous EPA employee who ventures up north to attempt to settle a land dispute between the local Native Americans (lead, inappropriately enough, by Armand Assante, he of Irish-Italian descent) and the giant paper mill, run by Richard Dysart. They’re cutting down trees, while the Indians continue to stammer and fall down — not because of alcoholism, according to Assante, but because something in the water is contaminating the system.

Of course, that’s not all: salmon are growing to shark-like proportions, while Foxworth and pregnant wife Talia Shire (top-billed in a thankless role she took while taking a break from the “Rocky” series) find a mutated baby bear that they attempt to bring back home to prove that mercury run-off from the paper bill is responsible for ruining the environment.

Unfortunately, after arguing over the legalities of population growth and the housing shortage worldwide, the ‘lil mutant bites Shire in the neck as the group attempts to flee from the giant monster bear, which has already disposed of a family of campers (including a teenager who memorably attempts to escape in his sleeping bag).

“Prophecy” has all the makings of a good “bad” movie, and unsurprisingly, it delivers: Seltzer’s script enlightens about the plight of urban decay, over-population, and environmental contamination, while presenting more contextually sound arguments about the natives’ concerns over the destruction of their land and the paper mill owner’s arguments about how much paper Foxworth is going to take to write up his report (which is going to be quite a lot, judging from his continual ranting about the evils of having a child in today’s world).

But after all of the build-up, what we have here is a very, very silly monster movie, with the man-in-the-suit bear running through the woods, ripping the heads off its victims in a fashion that still managed to attain a PG rating, and a hilarious ending where the monster destroys a log cabin situated in the middle of a lake. Fortunately, Assante’s bow-and-arrow comes in quite handy, and there’s a doozy of a final shot that will leave you in stitches – all of it matched to an over-the-top score by none other than Leonard Rosenman.

While “Prophecy” has gained fame in everything from the “Golden Turkey Awards” to its distinction as being one of Frankenheimer’s worst films, it’s still compulsively watchable. The Panavision cinematography by Harry Stradling, Jr. is often breathtaking (at least the scenes that weren’t shot on a backlot stage), and you get an educational tour of a real-life paper mill at work, that kind that would almost make “Prophecy” a decent “Read More About It” book project for grade-school students.

While the movie is laugh-out-loud funny at certain spots, Frankenheimer still manages to make a scene where the characters hide in an underground tunnel from the giant bear creature quite unnerving and effective. Alas, scenes like that are few and far between, with the regulatory “Jaws”-inspired shocks comprising the rest of the action, and the director using herky-jerky camera work to draw attention away from the ridiculous-looking monster.

Kino Lorber’s premiere 4K UHD of “Prophecy” offers a new Dolby Vision HDR (2.35) transfer on UHD, derived from a new 4K scan of the 35mm OCN; the outdoor shots looked excellent in Paramount’s previous HD master and they’re just as impressive here with a touch of added detail thrown into the mix. The early Dolby Stereo (2.0) DTS MA soundtrack is fine though the 5.1 DTS MA mix here is even better, offering substantially more low end.

Kino Lorber added their own commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry but mostly has carried over copious extras from preceding label releases. These include an interview with David Seltzer, who’s honest enough to hammer Frankenheimer’s lackluster direction. Seltzer bemoans the director’s approach to the film and the fact his complaints over the poor special effects fell on deaf ears, making for a funny and candid talk. Lengthy but less frank conversations are also included with Talia Shire and Robert Foxworth, who praise the film’s ecological concerns, along wth FX artists Tom Burman, Allan Apone and Tom McLoughlin. The trailer and radio spots are also included for a prime “Guilty Pleasure” pick for genre fans.

Also included among Kino Lorber’s latest releases is a 4K UHD of VICE SQUAD (97 mins., 1982, R; Kino Lorber), a cable cult-favorite restored here in a 4K scan of original film elements. I had never seen “Vice Squad” before Shout’s Blu-Ray, which makes it hard to fully gauge the movie’s initial impact – these days this film plays like a grittier episode of “Law & Order: SVU,” but back in the early ‘80s, the picture’s frank depiction of Hollywood street walkers, pimps and assorted lowlifes had to have been far more shocking.

Season Hubley stars as a hooker whose pimp (Wings Hauser) is a psychotic who brutally assaults one of his “girls” early on; determined cop Gary Swanson is on the case, trying to stop the physically imposing “Ramrod” from causing further damage, but as Hubley tells him in the movie’s concluding moments, cleaning up the streets is a pointless endeavor.

Gary Sherman helmed this Sandy Howard production, which Howard co-wrote with Kenneth Peters and Robert Vincent O’Neil. The performances are all convincing and the mood is mostly humorless (save for two of Swanson’s fellow cops being beaten up by an elderly Asian man), making “Vice Squad” a particularly glum, downbeat affair. This isn’t an exploitation cheapie with unintentional humor (think “Savage Streets”), but rather the kind of hard-edged B-movie that relies on sexual frankness and violence for its overall impact.

Though I found the film somewhat off-putting and slow-going, fans of “Vice Squad” should still appreciate Kino’s new 4K UHD master (SDR, 1.85) from Studio Canal featuring mono sound. The UHD more capably captures all the nuances of John Alcott’s cinematography (yes, Stanley Kubrick’s Oscar-winning cinematographer who was relegated to pictures like this once he worked in the U.S.) with extras including a fresh commentary with Steve Mitchell and assorted supplements reprieved from the Shout Blu-Ray. These include a commentary by Sherman and producer Brian Frankish; interviews with Swanson, fellow actors Pepe Serna, Beverly Todd and Michael Ensign, plus Sherman (a lengthy, hour-plus talk) and Frankish; trailers, TV spots, and a locations featurette. A Blu-Ray is also included.

KINGPIN 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (114 mins., 1996, PG-13; Kino Lorber): The Farrelly Brothers’ 1996 comedy has a modest cult following these days, but truthfully, this is a mixed outing from the duo that failed to match the commercial heights of “Dumb & Dumber.” Woody Harrelson plays a former bowling champ who recognizes big potential in a big Amish guy (Randy Quaid) and hits the road with him for a wacky series of misadventures. Vanessa Angel and a barely-advertised Bill Murray (his under-the-title credit must’ve been part of his contract) co-star in a film that just doesn’t consistently hit the laugh quotient of the Farrellys’ best work, and drags on for nearly two full hours. Kino Lorber’s UHD includes a new Dolby Vision HDR (1.85) master of the PG-13 theatrical cut, while the 117-minute, R rated extended cut is on-hand in a Blu-Ray presentation. Extras include a featurette, trailer/TV spots, and commentaries by the Farrellys on the R-rated cut and Bryan Reesman and Max Evry on the theatrical version.

THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF MOLL FLANDERS Blu-Ray (131 mins., 1965; Kino Lorber): One of the many “bawdy period adventures” that followed in the wake of “Tom Jones,” this all-star cast adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s book sports Kim Novak as Moll, the ever-scheming, 18^th century independent British heroine whose trials and tribulations are heavily sanitized in Denis Cannan and Roland Kibbee’s script. That said, Terence Young’s film (he went from “Thunderball” to this) was still the subject of extensive cuts in the U.S., making Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray the first-ever North American release of its unexpurgated 131 minute version. The 2.35 transfer (a 4K scan of the 35mm OCN) is terrific and so is the supporting cast – Angela Lansbury, Leo McKern, George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Vittorio DeSica – but “Moll Flanders” certainly isn’t “Tom Jones” from a dramatic perspective, with the movie coming off as rather shrill, one-note and bombastic throughout (the same goes for John Addison’s score, which is not helped by a limited mono soundtrack). A commentary from David Del Valle and Daniel Kremer is included here plus the trailer.

AUDIE MURPHY COLLECTION IV Blu-Ray (Kino Lorber): A trio of Universal-produced, Technicolor westerns starring prolific genre hero Audie Murphy reach Blu-Ray in Kino Lorber’s latest box-set. In THE KID FROM TEXAS (78 mins., 1950), Murphy plays Billy the Kid, who gets himself into trouble during the infamous Lincoln County land wars with Sheriff Pat Garrett eventually put on his tail. Murphy worked with western great Budd Boetticher for what was the director’s first color foray in the genre, THE CIMARRON KID (84 mins., 1952), with the star essaying a bad guy trying to go straight following the break-up of the Dalton gang. Finally, DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER (78 mins., 1954) finds Murphy in the midst of a squabble between desperate miners digging in Indian land and the natives protecting their turf. Nathan Juran directed with Walter Brennan co-starring.

All three pictures (1,.37, “Drums” in 2:1) are included here in their own individual Blu-Ray cases with trailers and extras including commentaries by Gary Gerani on “The Kid From Texas” and C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke on the other two pictures.

New From Shout! Factory

SCENT OF A WOMAN 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (157 mins., 1992, R; Shout!): Brilliantly acted showcase for Al Pacino, who deservedly copped an Oscar for his role of a blind, bitter army colonel who hires a prep school student (Chris O’Donnell) to cart him around New York City, nets a most welcome 4K remaster courtesy of Shout!

Martin Brest’s acclaimed film allows Pacino to open up with one of his most memorable performances, perfectly balancing the comedic and dramatic requirements of Bo Goldman’s terrific script. Even the formulaic “court room” finale works splendidly, with Pacino taking on the administration of the stuffy “Baa-rd School.” Strong support is also turned in by James Rebhorn (the stuffy school principal), a young Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of O’Donnell’s snobby classmates, and, of course, the lovely Gabrielle Anwar as the latest muse for Pacino in his escapades.

Though a box-office hit and Oscar winner for its star, “Scent of a Woman” has never enjoyed a bona-fide Special Edition release until now. Shout’s 4K UHD (1.85) not only includes a highly attractive new Dolby Vision HDR presentation but also a pair of welcome interviews with both director Martin Brest, recounting the production of the film, as well as editor Michael Tronick. On the audio side, the original Dolby Stereo (2.0 DTS MA) track comes off much better than a comparatively subdued 5.1 mix, providing a more robust blend of dialogue and Thomas Newman’s lovely score.

“Scent of a Woman” is a great movie, a splendid coming-of-age tale and vehicle for Pacino all at the same time, making this new UHD an easy recommend.

Severin New Releases

TOTAL EXTERMINATION: THE PETER CUSHING DOCTOR WHO COLLECTION 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (Severin): Though not beloved necessarily by Dr. Who purists, there’s still an inherent nostalgia built into Peter Cushing’s two feature outings as the Timelord, DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS (83 mins., 1965) as well as its sequel DALEKS’ INVASION EARTH 2050 A.D. (84 mins., 1966). These are low-budget but breezy, “condensed” versions of story cycles from the Terry Nation-authored BBC series from Amicus’ Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg, both directed by Gordon Flemyng with clearly economical budgets – even with the wide Techniscope (2.35) frame employed in both movies. Yet the “Saturday Matinee” feel gives these colorful fantasies a lasting, mid ’60s appeal, perfectly captured here in Studiocanal-licensed 4K UHD restorations with Dolby Vision HDR that have been brought over in a UHD/Blu-Ray combo pack from Severin.

Now shipping from Severin’s website and available later in June from traditional retailers, the “Total Extermination” double-pack includes both UHD and BD’s and loads of extras. On “Dr. Who and the Daleks,” that means three commentaries: one featuring Barry Forshaw, Stephen Jones and Kim Newman, with two other tracks sporting co-stars Jennie Linden, Roberta Tobey and moderator Jonathan Sothcott, and a reprise of Kino Lorber’s commentary with Newman, actor Mark Gatiss and screenwriter/historian Robert Shearman. We also get a 1992 interview with director Gordon Flemyng; interviews with Milton Subotsky, Dr. Who expert Kara Dennison, historian Gareth Owen, a 1995 “Dalekmania” documentary, “The Dalek Legacy: Destination Skaro” crew featurette, the trailer, and a still galleries. The Dolby Vision HDR is solid and the mono sound is clear.

For “Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.,” another new commentary with Forshaw, Jones and Newman is on-hand, plus an older track with Newman, Shearman and Gatiss. There are also interviews with historian Stephen Thrower, producer Milton Subotsky, actor Bernard Cribbins, Gareth Owen, the doc “The Dalek Legacy: Invasion Earth,” plus featurette “Restoring Dr. Who in 4K,” the trailer and a still gallery. The comic strip action is nicely rendered again in a Dolby Vision HDR (2.35) UHD with mono sound, and Severin’s 4K UHD/BD combo includes a collectible slipcover as well.

HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN VOL. 2 Blu-Ray (Severin): Second box-set from Severin continues producer Kier-La Janisse’s curated tour of world cinema titles centering around seemingly fractured female protagonists in a variety of settings.

Amanda Plummer, who’s essayed more than one “psychotic woman” in her on-screen performances, kicks things off with director Michael Winterbottom’s BUTTERFLY KISS (88 mins., 1994). The Czech melodrama MORGIANA (101 mins., 1972) is next, with Iva Janzurova playing dual roles. Ben Maddow, Sidney Meyers and Joseph Strick’s quasi-doc THE SAVAGE EYE (67 mins., 1959) features Barbara Baxley as a divorcee in L.A.’s underbelly, before things finish up with Carmen Sevilla headlining Eloy de la Iglesia’s THE GLASS CEILING (95 mins., 1971).

Each of the four films was newly scanned from the OCN in 1.85 (except for “Morgiana”s 1.37) and debut on Blu for the first time ever here. An insightful array of supplements include introductions from Janisse, commentaries from the likes of Kat Ellinger, Briony Kidd & Cerise Howard, Elizabeth Purchell, and Shelagh Rowan-Legg & Alexandra West; interviews with Michael Winterbottom, Amanda Plummer, Saskia Reeves, Julie Baines and Seamus McGarvey (Butterfly Kiss); Iva Janzurova (Morgiana); Joseph Strick (The Savage Eye, archival); and Patty Shepard (The Glass Ceiling). A number of additional features are also on-hand including Rachel Amodeo’s “Rest in Peace” and Juraj Herz’ vampire “rock musical” “Nightmares” plus deleted TV scenes from “The Glass Ceiling” and much more.

Available separately – though not at all out of place in a discussion with the “House of Psychotic Women” set – is Marina De Van’s IN MY SKIN (93 mins., 2002; Severin),a controversial, disturbing look at a Parisian woman (also De Van) who psychologically breaks down and self-mutilates herself after suffering a minor injury. Severin’s 4K UHD presentation offers two commentaries: one with De Van and another featuring critic Justine Smith; a “Faculty of Horror” episode on the production; an introduction from Kier-La Janisse; interviews with De Van and author Barbara Creed; a video essay from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; and trailers. A number of De Van’s student shorts are included plus two bonus short films from other directors, along with a 4K UHD (1.85) Dolby Vision remastering, in French (5.1/2.0) with English subtitles.

Finally, ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE (94 mins., 1970), the British black cult comedy hit from author Joe Orton, as adapted by writer Clive Exton and director Douglas Hickox, debuts on Blu-Ray in a new remastered edition from Severin. Beryl Reid and Harry Andrews are the siblings stirred up by the arrival of Peter McEnery’s title drifter in a scandalously biting character study that receives a new 2K scan (1.85, mono) from Severin on Blu-Ray with extras including a commentary with Nathaniel Thompson and Dr. Emma Parker; an archival interview with McEnery; “All My Sloanes,” a 60-year retrospective of the film featuring interviewees like Malcolm McDowell and Maxwell Caulfield; an interview with Joe Orton biographer John Lahr; an archival interview with Leonie Orton remembering her brother; a talk with screenwriter David McGillivray on Orton’s legacy; Rosie White on Reid; an archival locations featurette with Richard Dacre; a video essay from Elissa Rose and the trailer round out Severin’s new BD.

Also New & Noteworthy

FALLING IN LOVE Blu-Ray (106 mins., 1984, R; Fun City Editions): There’s not a lot of dramatic urgency in this Christmas ‘84 Paramount release, yet movie buffs who fondly recall the days when studios would turn out star-powered “adult dramas” like “Falling in Love” should find much to enjoy within it.

The original script from Michael Cristofer (“The Witches of Eastwick”) finds unhappily married Meryl Streep and equally bored Robert DeNiro venturing out of their respective marriages after they meet, and mix up, books at NYC’s Rizzoli Bookstore one Christmas. A tentative affair follows and there isn’t much more, narratively speaking, to Ulu Grosbard’s film – a reunion between the director and DeNiro after 1981’s “True Confessions.”

While the latter was critically praised, that wasn’t the case with “Falling in Love,” which admittedly I initially confused with another “unhappy Meryl Streep marriage film,” “Heartburn,” produced at Paramount a short time later. In fact, I’m not sure I had ever seen this picture before, and while the picture’s one-note story didn’t pull me in, the technical component of the picture does: Grosbard’s assured, leisurely direction soaks up the atmosphere of New York City in the early ‘80s and it’s beautifully shot by Peter Suschitzky (“Empire Strikes Back”).

Even better is Fun City’s Blu-Ray transfer, a 4K scan of the 35mm OCN (1.85), which is as wonderfully detailed and natural as FCE’s prior releases, with the movie serving as a memorable, welcome trip back to another time and place – a time when a movie like this could be released nationwide by a major studio, appealing to a demographic older than today’s target of “Minecraft”-playing teenagers.

FCE’s Blu also contains a clear mono soundtrack sporting a lively Dave Grusin score, an image gallery, and a commentary by Jim Hemphill.

THE COLORS WITHIN Blu-Ray (101 mins., 2024; Gkids/Shout): Lovely coming-of-age anime from director Naoko Yamada looks at a young woman who is able to see auras around people – except herself. Things change when she finds herself growing closer to a theremin-playing classmate, with the group about to form a unique band in an offbeat animated feature sporting music by Kensuke Ushio. The short “Garden of Remembrance” is included in Shout’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA in Japanese or English) with numerous additional featurettes and interviews with both Yamada and Ushio.

STEPPENWOLF Blu-Ray (102/93 mins., 2024; Arrow): Arrow brings viewers a Special Edition of Adikhan Yerzhanov’s “Steppenwolf,” a 2024 drama about a young woman who teams up with a no-nonsense, brutal former cop (Berik Atizhanov) in order to find her son in a ravaged town beset by violence. Highly stylized, Yerzhanov’s picture was well-received on the festival circuit last year, and comes to Blu-Ray from Arrow alongside the director’s 2022 feature “Goliath,” available in the U.S. for the first time. Extras include a new commentary by historian David Flint; a visual essay by Lee Broughton that details American/Italian western tropes that influenced the picture; a 15-minute Making Of; an illustrated collector’s booklet and reversible sleeve artwork. The 1080p (1.78, 5.1 DTS MA) transfer is fine with English subtitles on-hand for the original Kazakhstan/Russian soundtracks.

NEXT TIME: OCN May wrap! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

With its offbeat Gil Melle score and low-wattage cast, “The Andromeda Strain” may have flown under the radar for some buffs over the years – even with Wise and Crichton’s involvement. However, its realistic depiction of how a team of experts rushes in to save the day and the overall “clinical” feel of the movie have held up remarkably well, making for a tasty treat for genre fans. Best of all is Richard Kline’s elegant widescreen lensing, often taking great advantage of the Panavision frame in a visual presentation similar to his later collaboration with the director on “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.”

Arrow released a Blu-Ray of its 4K scan of “The Andromeda Strain” as one of its first U.S. releases back in 2019: a huge upgrade on the older Universal HD master, which was doused with far too much noise reduction. This Dolby Vision HDR (2.35, mono) upgrade offers a refinement of that Blu-Ray with a slightly darker hue, more detail and grain, and the occasional use of HDR that heightens the color spectrum for viewers. As with before, while most of the extras are carried over from the older Universal release (archival Laurent Bouzereau segments on the film and Crichton himself), the disc also includes Arrow’s exclusive commentary from critic Bryan Reesman and an appreciation of the film by Kim Newman. There’s also a Cinescript gallery of Nelson Gidding’s screenplay plus trailers, TV spots and PCM mono audio.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS/THE FOUR MUSKETEERS 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (107/106 mins., 1973-74, PG; Criterion): Making its U.S. Blu-Ray and 4K UHD debut simultaneously from Criterion is producer Alexander Salkind’s ‘70s cinematic double-bill of Dumas’ swashbuckling novels, brought to the screen with a lot of comic invention by director Richard Lester, writer George MacDonald Fraser and a sensational cast.

It goes without saying, for movie buffs, this release has been long overdue. Studio Canal restored both movies (the same restoration being used here) years back but Lionsgate apparently had scant interest in releasing them in the U.S. market. That left an Anchor Bay DVD from some 15 years ago as the last release of these pictures here, one that followed a particularly bad Fox Lorber (pre-Kino Lorber) package from years prior. In that DVD release, in addition to a poorly cropped aspect ratio, the only “Four Musketeers” print Fox Lorber apparently had access to was a French one, resulting in all the credits being — you guessed it — in French!

There are no such issues to be found here, as Criterion’s double-disc UHD/BD combo set offers Studio Canal’s superb, Dolby Vision-enhanced HDR (1.85) remasters that breathe new life into the 17^th century French world Lester and his crew evoke here. The mono sound is clear as well across both pictures, enabling the audience to truly gain a fresh appreciation of the top artistic and technical attributes on-hand throughout both movies.

Lester’s films represent a wonderfully balanced mix of swashbuckling action and slapstick comedy. The cast is outstanding and remains one of the chief assets of both pictures: Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Oliver Reed, and Frank Finlay are superb as the Musketeers, while appropriate menace is served up memorably by Charlton Heston and Faye Dunaway. We also get Raquel Welch as York’s love interest, Christopher Lee as the villainous Count de Rochefort, and comedic antics from Spike Milligan among others.

Much has been discussed about how Alexander Salkind “divided” what was originally conceived as one long script by George MacDonald Fraser into two separate films during post-production. The end result was an adaptation that provides rollicking entertainment during its first half, and a notably more somber and less energetic concluding portion. Either way, the movies are still best viewed in close proximity to one another, with everything behind-the-scenes being similar outside of the film scores: Michel Legrand provided one of his better scores for the first film, while Lalo Schifrin filled in with a serviceable, if somewhat less memorable, work for the sequel. (One note about the latter: the “Frozen Pond Fight” cue in “The Four Musketeers” sounds suspiciously like the work of frequent Lester collaborator Ken Thorne. Adding more curiosity is that the cue Schifrin included for this sequence on his soundtrack album is an entirely different piece altogether!)

Criterion’s supplements include David Cairns’ new doc “Two For One,” a sprawling, four-part look at the production which draws upon archival interviews, plus a 1973 archival featurette, trailers, and the 2002-shot “Saga of the Musketeers” documentary. Then-recent interviews in the latter run the gamut from Michael York and Raquel Welch to Christopher Lee and Charlton Heston, along with producer Pierre Spengler and executive producer Ilya Salkind. An overview of the production covers the sweltering location shooting in Spain, the deaths of Oliver Reed and Roy Kinnear, and even the controversy — and lawsuits — that ensued once Salkind opted to cut the film into two halves (no mention is made of the belated, ill-fated, and yet still mildly enjoyable, “Return of the Musketeers”). It’s a superb package for one of the year’s must-have releases to date.

Also debuting on 4K UHD from Criterion is THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (92 mins., 1964), the “French New Wave” musical from writer-director Jacques Demy which became an international sensation in the mid to late ‘60s.

This brightly colored musical, entirely sung without spoken dialogue, is actually a sequel of sorts to Demy’s “Lola,” as it brings back Marc Michel’s character – older and perhaps a bit wiser – in a secondary role to the starstruck, yet ill-fated, lovers played by Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo. Despite their best efforts, the young couple fail to keep their love for one another burning against the wages of time apart from one another, leading to a devastatingly beautiful ending that’s aptly described in Criterion’s booklet notes as “the happiest sad ending” in cinema history.

Legrand’s music is grandly dramatic in places, jazzy and wistful in others; it’s also repetitious at times, though yielded a pair of commercial hits in melodies that became the standards “Watch What Happens” and “I Will Wait For You.”

Criterion’s 4K UHD/Blu-Ray combo (1.66) hails from a 2013 restoration approved by Demy’s son Mathieu, with a 5.0 stereo soundtrack mostly derived from an early three-channel mix featuring pleasing channel separation (the familiar original mono sound is also included). The image is superb, warm yet not overpowering in SDR, while supplements include a 2008 documentary; interview with scholar Rodney Hill; a 1964 TV interview featuring Demy and Legrand; archival audio interviews with Legrand and Deneuve from London’s National Fim Theatre; and a look at the restoration.

Also New From Arrow

After the surprisingly serviceable (but financially disappointing) 1988 series entry “Jason Takes Manhattan,” Paramount opted to cast off the “Friday the 13^th” franchise” and its masked villain who had served them so well during the ’80s.

Fortunately for fans, New Line was interested in picking up the Jason franchise, and JASON GOES TO HELL (88/91 mins., 1993, R/Unrated; Arrow) was billed as the final “Friday” upon its release in late summer ‘93.

Writers Dean Lorey and John Hughley concocted a “Body Snatchers”-like send-off for Jason, having his spirit possess various victims and cause them to commit a rash of murders. In the process, the two — along with director Adam Marcus — throw in references to other genre flicks and have a bloody good time playing around with some of the conventions of the series. At least you have to give points to the filmmakers for trying to inject a little life into the series, though the picture’s paltry box-office returns put the kibosh on any future installments for nearly a decade.

When “Jason” resurfaced, it wasn’t initially with the teased ending that promised a battle between Jason and Freddy Kruger – but rather a silly, ultra low-budget outing from series producer Sean S. Cunningham named JASON X (91 mins., R, 2002; Arrow).

It must have sounded like a good idea at the time: Jason Voorhees running around on a 25th century spaceship, hacking away at teenagers every bit as idiotic as the ones in the 1980s, but this cheapjack and often tedious 2002 outing is one of those instances where all the best lines were present in the trailer. Moreover, if you’re going to incorporate camp, at least go all the way with it (like Don Mancini did in his outrageous “Bride of Chucky”) and don’t do what director Jim Isaac did here: basically put Jason in a pedestrian “Alien” rip-off with a halfhearted attempt at self-parody. Sure, there are a couple of funny lines, but suspense-wise, the movie falls completely flat, with most of the movie shot in what seems to be one or two rooms. Even Harry Manfredini’s score is a dud, performed entirely on synthesizers. “Jason X” may be worth a look for die-hard fans after downing a few brews, but stay far away from it in any other circumstance.

Arrow has brought both New Line “Jason” entries to remastered 4K UHD form this month and fans should correspondingly have a field day with them.

“Jason Goes to Hell” offers both Dolby Vision HDR (1.85, 2.0/5.1 DTS MA) presentations of its theatrical and unrated versions, plus extras including Marcus’ brief intro to the film; new interviews with make-up great Robert Kurtzman, actress Julie Michaels, and Harry Manfredini, along with archival conversations with Adam Marcus and Kane Hodder. There’s also a look at the discarded footage seen in the TV version with Marcus’ optional commentary, the usual run of trailers and TV spots, and a brand-new commentary on the Unrated version with Michael Felsher and Steve Barton to compliment a pair of archival commentary chats sporting Marcus, screenwriter Dean Lorey and writer/”Friday” enthusiast Peter Bracke.

“Jason X,” meanwhile, also sports a good-looking new Dolby Vision HDR transfer on UHD (1.85, 2.0/5.1 DTS MA), supported by a new Felsher/Barton commentary plus archival commentaries sporting the likes of writer Todd Farmer, Peter Bracke again, and director Jim Isaac. There are also new interviews featuring Manfredini; an archival documentary on the production; archival interviews with Todd Farmer, actress Kristi Angus, and producer Sean S. Cunningham; EPK materials, trailers, still galleries and extensive booklet notes on both movies by JA Kerswell and Matt Donato. All of it makes for deluxe deliciousness for the ‘80s slasher fan in your life (for me personally, though, I’m eagerly awaiting the inevitable 4K UHD of “Freddy Vs. Jason” instead).

4K UHD New Releases

The box-office failure of Paramount’s BETTER MAN (135 mins., 2024, R; Paramount) could be seen coming from the day its premise was divulged.

For starters, the tumultuous life and times of British singer Robbie Williams, who started off in the boy group Take That before embarking on a solo career, didn’t seem entirely well-suited to American audiences or others around the world not necessarily familiar with Williams and his music. To address that, director Michael Gracey and Williams opted to have its title subject portrayed as an ape…yes, a CGI, motion-capture simian…in the hopes that somehow this oddball SFX tactic would net some commercial interest.

The result is “Planet of the Singing Ape,” wherein Williams charts his battles with mental health and a fluctuating career, set to his music – not all of which is that great to be honest – and all of it in the form of an animated monkey as its protagonist.

Sadly – but quite unsurprisingly – “Better Man” found few takers in most corners of the globe, with Gracey’s film coming off as one of the bona-fide flops of last year. You’d have to be both a Williams fan and someone who could accept the movie’s oddball premise to get much mileage out of this project, which Paramount has leveraged on 4K UHD by releasing it as part of their “Paramount Presents” limited-edition line with collectible fold-out packaging. The two-disc set, which also includes a Blu-Ray, sports well mixed Dolby Atmos sound along with a Dolby Vision HDR transfer (2.39) and two featurettes.

RE-ANIMATOR 4K UHD (86/105 mins., 1985, Unrated; Ignite Films/Eagle Rock): 1985 Empire Pictures release, inspired by H.P.Lovecraft’s story “Herbert West, Re-Animator,” was and still is a certified B-movie favorite about a mad scientist (Jeffrey Combs) driven to bring the dead back to life. Filled with black humor and gory effects, “Re-Animator” – directed by Stuart Gordon from a script by Dennis Paoli, William J. Norris and the director – was one of those rare horror movies that was embraced by both genre fans and critics, making the movie into a bona-fide cult classic over the years since its initial theatrical and video premieres.

Still as much fun today as it was back then, “Re-Animator” has been treated to the kind of expert restoration its label, Ignite Films, brought to their dazzling presentation of ‘50s cult movie fave “Invaders From Mars.” This new presentation on 4K UHD offers both its 86-minute theatrical cut in Dolby Vision HDR (1.85) plus a slew of audio options, from PCM mono to 2.0/5.1 stereo mixes and a music only 2.0 track as well for Richard Band enthusiasts. The even longer, 105-minute “Integral” version, meanwhile, is included in a well-encoded 1080p Blu-Ray.

The movie looks great and includes brand-new bonus features, including “Re-Animator at 40” with fresh interviews with Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Brian Yuza; a talk with editor Lee Percy; an interview with Carolyn Purdy-Gordon; a 4K restoration segment; a look at the “Legacy and Impact” of the film; a 1977 documentary on the Organic Theater Company of Chicago, which Stuart Gordon was a member of; and a 40th Anniversary trailer.

Carried over from previous releases are a trio of commentary tracks to a retrospective documentary, interviews with Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, conversations with Dennis Paoli and composer Richard Band, an additional segment with Band, interview with Frangoria editor Tony Timpone, Alan Jones’ career-spanning chat with Barbara Crampton, deleted/extended scenes, the trailer and TV spots; and more. Highly recommended!

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MICKEY 17 4K UHD (137 mins., 2025, R; Warner): “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho wrote and directed this adaptation of Edward Ashton’s novel – a wacko futuristic black comedy wherein Pattinson’s “disposable” human is printed, and reprinted, while serving out assorted government tasks for a corrupt conservative (of course) politician played by Mark Ruffalo. The political commentary skews (predictably) far left in this heavy-handed effort, staking out obvious targets while failing to provide the kind of entertainment something like “Edge of Tomorrow” offered a while back along somewhat similar thematic terrain. A box-office bust due to its big budget, “Mickey 17” is technically well-crafted and looks nifty in Warner’s Dolby Vision HDR (2.39) presentation on UHD, with extras including three featurettes, trailers, and a Digital HD code.

DUNE: PROPHECY – The Complete First Season 4K UHD (392 mins., 2024; HBO/Warner): Fans who can’t get enough of the Frank Herbert universe, and don’t want to wait for Denis Villeneuve’s third “Dune” movie, will be the most receptive to “Dune: Prophecy.” This HBO series follows a pair of Harkonnen sisters (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) who will one day establish the “Bene Gesserit” sect in an adaptation of the book “Sisterhood of Dune” from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Throughout its six episodes, “Dune: Prophecy” does an excellent technical job fitting into the world of Villeneuve’s features, but its languid pacing renders it mostly for the devoted “Dune” buff. There’s no questioning HBO’s superb 4K UHD with its HDR10 transfers, at least, throbbing Dolby Atmos sound, and over 90 minutes of extras (five extended featurettes, the exclusive featurette “Building Worlds”).

Warner Archive New Releases

Warner Archive’s latest releases include a high-def remastering of one of Hanna-Barbera’s more memorable series, WACKY RACES (408 mins., 1968). Even though the show produced some 17 episodes, they aired – and re-aired – in different configurations for years after their initial broadcasts, as Dick Dastardly and Muttley take on Peter Perfect, Blubber Bear, the Ant Hill Mob, and lovely Penelope Pitstop in fast-paced automotive hyjinks that riff on some of the big-screen period epics (“Those Magnificent Men…,” “The Great Race,” etc.) that preceded it earlier in the ‘60s. Fondly recalled by Hanna-Barbera buffs of all ages, Warner Archive brings the complete, original 1968 series to Blu-Ray with solidly remastered 1080p (1.33) transfers and mono sound. Extras here include the featurettes “Rearview Mirror: A Look Back at Wacky Races” as well as “Spin Out Spin-Offs,” commentaries on four key segments from Hanna-Barbera vets, and “Wacky Facts Trivia Track.”

Right before heading out almost exclusively to the Old West, director Anthony Mann completed his run of film noirs with the superb MGM outing SIDE STREET (83 mins., 1949). This B&W shot thriller offers Farley Granger as a postal worker whose impulsive theft of $30,000 from a corrupt lawyer gets him embroiled in a full-on mob war. The movie is a bit slow-going until its memorable car chase finale, shot in and around New York City locations which provide an enormous amount of period atmosphere to Sydney Boehm’s original script. Warner Archive’s crisply detailed 1080p (1.37) transfer is aces with supplements including a commentary by Richard Schickel, two classic MGM cartoons, the “Crime Does Not Pay” MGM short “The Luckiest Guy in The World,” the trailer, and featurette “Where Temptation Lurks.”

Gary Cooper followed his triumph on “High Noon” with the full-color Warner western SPRINGFIELD RIFLE (93 mins., 1952), starring as a U.S. army major looking for Union rustlers while going undercover as a Confederate spy. Veteran studio hand Andre De Toth helmed this satisfying if formulaic piece co-written by Charles Marquis Warren, the creator of “Gunsmoke,” with Phyliss Thaxter co-starring and Max Steiner providing a solid score. Two cartoons, a Joe McDoakes comedy short and the trailer are included in Warner Archive’s attractive new Blu-Ray (1.37, mono).

MGM’s romantic fable LILI (81 mins., 1953) offers Leslie Caron as an orphaned teen who joins a carnival where she’s torn between magician Jean Pierre Aumont and the more withdrawn puppeteer (Mel Ferrer) with the heart of gold who comes to love her. Paul Gallico’s story was reworked by Helen Deutsch for this unusually atmospheric MGM musical with the hit “Hi Lili, Hi Lo” a standout in Bronislau Kaper’s Oscar-winning score. A trio of cartoons is included with the trailer in another great-looking Warner Archive (1.37, mono) Blu-Ray remaster.

One of the most entertaining of the Blaxploitation films of the ‘70s, THREE THE HARD WAY (97 mins., 1974, R) teams up genre faves Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly as a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude that tries to stop white supremacists (led by Jay “The Robe” Robinson!) from poisoning the water supply of three major cities with a contaminant that only targets blacks. Gordon Parks, Jr. helmed this superior action outing with some entertaining one-liners and the stars injecting the picture with their own respective forms of charisma. Even better, Warner Archive’s no-frills Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) sports the first presentation of the movie’s original 97-minute theatrical cut for the first time in years, as previous releases of the Allied Artists release were derived from a cut-down 89-minute version (to be fair, the movie is a little pokey in terms of pacing, which is its weakest component).

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A mostly standard-issue romantic comedy spiced up by the comic energy of Ryan Reynolds (though Anna Faris is pretty funny here also), JUST FRIENDS (94 mins., 2005, PG-13) makes its overdue U.S. Blu-Ray debut from Warner Archive this month. Adam “Tex” Davis’ script offers Reynolds as a formerly overweight high schooler who returns home as a music executive – with diva client Faris in tow – to show off and, possibly, win back the crush (Amy Smart) he harbored years before. Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette also appear in Roger Kumble’s film, which performed adequately at the box-office back in 2005 before taking off for a larger audience on home video. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA) includes a commentary and archival features (deleted scenes, music videos, etc.) from New Line’s old DVD release.

Finally, Michael Keaton’s dramatic chops were shown off in CLEAN AND SOBER (124 mins., 1988, R), a look at a real estate broker trying to kick his cocaine habit. Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment produced Tod Carroll’s original script, which under the direction of “Moonlighting” creator Glenn Gordon Caron, became a showcase for Keaton as a man struggling to get it together. To that end, this late ‘80s film was one of several (including “The Boost”) Hollywood studio releases that addressed addiction, and it comes off today as somewhat predictable in its structure, with a not always convincing “gritty” tone that’s played with an occasional heavy hand. Keaton is still superb here, as is Kathy Baker as a fellow addict; Morgan Freeman, fresh off a career turn in “Street Smart,” co-stars and Gabriel Yared provides one of his first U.S. scores. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) includes just the trailer.

Eureka New Releases

THE MAGNIFICENT CHANG CHEH Bu-Ray (108/98 mins., 1966-77; Eureka): Double-feature Blu-Ray houses a pair of vintage efforts from the great Hong Kong martial arts director Chang Cheh. Included here is THE MAGNIFICENT TRIO (108 mins., 1966), a beautiful widescreen affair from the height of the wuxia genre’s popularity, starring Jimmy Wang Yu in an early role, along with MAGNIFICENT WANDERERS (98 mins., 1977), a lighter, more comedic affair from the apex of the kung fu craze a decade later. Fans should take to both movies, paired here on a single Blu-Ray platter.

Eureka’s deluxe package here includes an O-card slipcase and Celestial Pictures-provided 1080p (2.35) transfers with mono audio and an English dub also included on “Wanderers”. There’s also a new commentary on “Trio” by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth, plus “Wanderers” by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. A video essay from Gary Bettinson is on tap plus a collector’s booklet with writing by critic James Oliver and new English subtitles for both pictures.

Coming May 27^th from Eureka is another outstanding Limited Edition entry in their staple “Masters of Cinema” series.

TERROR IN THE FOG: THE WALLACE KRIMI AT CCC houses five German-produced adaptations of mystery novels from British writer Edgar Wallace (along with his son Bryan Edgar Wallace). Produced in West Germany in the ‘60s, these pictures became hugely popular at the box-office, kicking off a run of efforts in the genre from producer Artur Brauner. If you enjoyed Eureka’s recent release of the “Dr. Mabuse” films produced at CCC during this time, you’ll likely get a kick out of these pictures drawn from Brauner’s studio as well.

Included here are THE CURSE OF THE YELLOW SNAKE, THE STRANGLER OF BLACKMOOR CASTLE, THE MAD EXECUTIONERS, THE MONSTER OF LONDON CITY and THE RACETRACK MURDERS. All of these were shot in B&W (in varying 1.33/1.66/2.35 aspect ratios) and are heavy on atmosphere: thick fog, stark shadows, and moody contrasts are omnipresent throughout the productions, with murder and mayhem pointing to the more explicit thrills that gaillo pictures would generate a short time later.

The movies are presented on four discs with a welcome array of insightful, engaging supplements. In addition to 2K restorations derived from “original film element” scans by CCC, the set includes a bonus film, THE PHANTOM OF SOHO, in standard definition; German audio and English dubs; new introductions from Tim Lucas; commentaries on “Yellow Snake” and “Soho” from Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw; a commentary by Newman and Stephen Jones on “London City” with Kevin Lyons/Jonathan Rigby commentaries on the other three pictures; a new interview with producer Alice Brauner (Artur’s daughter); a video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas tracing these films to the gaillo and American slasher genres; a limited-edition 60-page book sporting writing by Howard Hughes, Barry Forshaw and Holger Haase; and deluxe, hardbound packaging sporting appropriate new artwork by Poochamin.

New & Upcoming

88 Films New Releases: Hideo Gosha’s GATE OF FLESH (119 mins., 1988) explores a post-WWII Tokyo and a group of prostitutes who form analliance with the hopes of starting a dance hall. Writer Kazuo Kasahara looks at a rebuilding Japan from the point of view of these fractured women, hoping to build a better existence while being threatened by gangsters, occupying U.S. forces, and circumstances – like an unexploded bomb – that are out of their control. 88’s Blu-Ray includes a 1080p (1.85) transfer, 2.0 stereo audio with English subtitles, a commentary from Amber T. and Jasper Sharp, an interview with tattoo artist Seiji Mouri, still gallery, booklet notes by Robin Gatto and Irene Gonzalez-Lopez, and an introduction by Earl Jackson.

Available this month from 88, LADY OF THE LAW (90 mins., 1975) serves up some classic ‘70s kung fu with Shih Szu starring as a most resourceful swordswoman taking on a dangerous criminal who may not be guilty of the crimes he’s been targeted for. Lo Lieh co-stars in this robust widescreen affair from director Shen Chiang debuting on Blu-Ray May 20^th from 88. The disc features a transfer from the OCN (2.35) with Mandarin mono audio and English subtitles. There’s also a commentary from David West, a reversible sleeve and a double-sided foldout poster.

Radiance New Releases: Coming May 20^th from Radiance are two new worldwide Blu-Ray premieres.

Sadao Nakajima’s THE RAPACIOUS JAILBREAKER (97 mins., 1974) stars Hiroki Matsukata as a black marketeer who’s sentenced to prison, gets out, goes back and yet somehow manages to escape again in a mid ‘70s Japanese crime drama based on an actual seven time prion escapee! Violent and sharply shot in widescreen, “Rapacious Jailbreaker” should be a must-view for Japanese genre fans, with Radiance’s limited edition offering a commentary by Nathan Stuart; visual essay from Tom Mes; new English subs and booklet notes sporting Earl Jackson liner notes and an archival review of the movie. Visually, the 1080p (2.39) transfer superbly captures the anamorphic frame and the mono Japanese audio is crisply delivered.

Michel Piccoli stars as THEMROC (109 mins., 1973), an offbeat story of a house painter who lives with his mother before, one day, deciding to turn his existence upside down. Some French social commentary is clearly on-hand in Claude Faraldo’s picture, restored in 4K by Radiance (1.66, French mono) in a new limited-edition Blu-Ray also out May 20^th. New extras include an interview with critic David Thompson; archival conversation between Piccoli and Faraldo; a talk with critic Manuela Lazic on Piccoli; the trailer, still gallery, and booklet notes by Alison Smith.

MVD Rewind New Releases: Growing up, “Kentucky Fried Movie” and “The Groove Tube” were two of my favorite comedy video rentals – occasionally uproarious, if uneven, sketch comedy films that satirized a whole slew of movies, TV shows, and the ‘70s pop culture of their time.

A movie that was much harder to find – and, as it turns out, not nearly as funny – was Neal Israel and Brad Swirnoff’s TUNNELVISION (70 mins., 1976, Not Rated), another fragmented comic anthology that may be “in their tradition” but feels out of their league. This despite a cast that recruited Chevy Chase, John Candy, Al Franken, Joe Flaherty, Laraine Newman, Howard Hesseman, Ron Silver and Betty Thomas amongst many others – alas, the big stars fleetingly appear with Michael Mislove and Israel’s script often straining to be funny, even as expected satirical riffs appear throughout.

MVD Rewind has unearthed “Tunnelvision” in a new 4K transfer (presented in both 1.33 and 1.66, 2.0 mono) with extras including an interview with Israel conducted by producer Stuart Shapiro; a commentary by historian Marc Edward Heuck; a continuity script and photo gallery; and MVD’s appealing nostalgia-laced home video artwork, fold-out poster and slipcover.

Joining “Tunnelvision” in the Rewind Collection this month is THE BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY I & II, a pair of low-budget, shot-on-video efforts which became “Cinemax After Dark” type staples. Beautiful girls, low-brow comedy and guilty pleasure amusement abound with MVD Rewind’s Blu-Ray offering AI-enhanced, 1080p upconverted (1.33) transfers along with (for purists) the original standard-def video tape masters for good measure. Extras include commentary from Jim Wynorski on the first movie and a collectible mini-poster.

Quick Takes

BLACK BAG Blu-Ray (94 mins., 2025, R; Universal): David Koepp-written spy thriller pits Michael Fassbender’s intelligence agent against his wife and fellow spook Cate Blanchett after she’s accused of treason; alas, all is not what it seems in director Steven Soderbergh’s movie, one which was aimed at the flailing theatrical marketplace for “adult movies” but came up snake eyes in terms of finding an audience. Perhaps it’s no surprise since this talky, plodding affair manages to be slow-going – even with an abbreviated 94-minute run time! Universal’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1 Dolby TrueHD) includes two featurettes, deleted scenes and a Digital HD code.

BEN 10: The Complete Collection DVD (2006-14; Warner): Long-running Cartoon Network series follows the life of a 10-year-old, regular human boy who uncovers a wristband dubbed the “Omnitrix” in the rubble of a crashed meteorite. The device enables mild-mannered Ben Tennyson to change into a variety of extraterrestrial super-heroes, which he uses to fight evil and, occasionally, just get into trouble. This free-wheeling, kid-centric series offers colorful action for youngsters, lasting over several different incarnations with a couple of feature-length movies thrown in for good measure.

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Warner’s definitive new DVD box set of “Ben 10” includes all four series: the original “Ben 10” (2006-08), “Ben 10 Alien Force” (2008-10), “Ben 10 Ultimate Alien” (2010-12), and “Ben 10 Omniverse” (2012-14) in 16:9 transfers and 2.0 Dolby Digital sound. Also included, along with a smattering of supplements carried over from the previous DVD releases, are the two movies “Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix” and “Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens.” A must for buffs!

RICK AND MORTY – THE ANIME Blu-Ray (207 mins., 2024; Warner): Director Takashi Sano takes the omnipresent Cartoon Network heroes on his own stylized anime adventure in “Rick and Morty – The Anime.” This 10-episode series followed Sano’s previous shorts which presented the title duo in anime form, building upon their digital success and fan approval. Warner’s Blu-Ray of the series is now included with 5.1 DTS MA sound and 1080p transfers (1.85) on-hand.

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MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE REVELATION/REVOLUTION Steelbook Blu-Ray (2021-24; Mill Creek): The resurrection of the beloved ‘80s toy line is about to get a big push with a new movie coming in 2026; in the meantime, Mattel fans can get their fix with this welcome physical release of Netflix’s two animated revivals of He-Man and friends, which met with mixed results under the guidance of producer Kevin Smith.

“Revelation” (2021) sends He-Man off to the sidelines following a fight with Skeletor, bringing Teela and Andra to absorb most of the screen time while they try and restore magic to an ailing Eternia. Fans were divided with the series, but generally liked its 2024 follow-up, “Revolution,” better, with He-Man resurrected, just in time to take on Skeletor and equally vile villain Hordak.

Both shows are presented here in 1080p (1.78) transfers with 5.1 DTS MA sound and paired in Mill Creek’s attractive Steelbook housing.

Also new from Mill Creek is their latest Ultraman Blu-Ray release, ULTRAMAN TRIGGER (12 hours, Mill Creek), which includes all 25 episodes from the series along with “Ultraman Trigger Episode Z.” Good-looking 1080p (1.78) transfers, original Japanese audio tracks, a collectible slipcover, and a free playable card from the Ultraman card game are included in Mill Creek’s newest, now-available Blu-Ray.

ROCK BOTTOM DVD (90 mins., 2025; Cleopatra): Rotoscoped animated movie from director Maria Trenor uses Robert Wyatt’s music to tell the ‘70s set-story of a pair of hippies involved in what becomes a problematic relationship overflowing with art – and drugs. An interesting visual design permeates this offbeat feature, on DVD from Cleopatra with Dolby Digital sound and a 16:9 transfer in mid-May.

NEXT TIME: Severin dials in with vintage DR.WHO on 4K UHD and more! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

Wayne plays Donovan, a WWII vet spending his days on the fictional, beautiful French Polynesian island of Haleakaloha, running the local saloon and playing de facto uncle to the young children of his service buddy Jack Warden, the island’s doctor. No sooner than another ex-pat colleague of theirs, Gilhooley (Marvin), literally washes ashore does Warden take off for several weeks of work, leaving Donovan to deal with the unexpected arrival of Warden’s estranged, much older daughter Elizabeth Allen – fresh from Boston and hoping that her father has violated a clause that will enable her to take full control of the “Dedham Shipping Company” back home.

Longtime Wayne/Ford veterans Frank Nugent and James Edward Grant’s original script provides Wayne with an ideal comic foil in Marvin’s Gilhooley, a romantic lead in Allen, and several cute kids that he pretends to be the father of – a plot element that leads to Allen’s mounting suspicion that all may not be what it seems. Yet the story plays secondary to the overriding genial tone of the piece, seasoned with broad supporting performances from Cesar Romero as the island’s Governor, Dorothy Lamour as Gilhooley’s long-suffering girlfriend, and Marcel Dalio as the local French priest. Ford’s bawdy humor is on full display during the saloon sequences, yet there’s a strong heart beating here through its sensitive elements (the eldest of Warden’s three young children worries that the charade over her real father is due to her being only “half white”) that are handled in a low key, effective manner. Cyril Mockridge’s score, heavily incorporating the Hawaiian tune “Pearly Shells,” is likewise tuneful and moving, no more so than during the movie’s lovely, understated final shot.

“Donovan’s Reef” wasn’t deemed a classic film for Wayne or Ford, but I’d bet it made many “personal favorite” lists amongst older viewers during the ‘60s and ‘70s, where it routinely played on TV. My Dad loved this movie, and enjoyed watching it around Christmas time particularly (the film has a cute seasonal scene of yuletide being enjoyed in the South Seas).

He would have especially gone crazy over Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD, which sports a beautiful, pinpoint-detailed Dolby Vision HDR (1.85) master that features all of the movie’s Hawaii locations and warm colors in a spectacular new transfer. Everything about this new master blows away the previous HD presentation you could see via streaming (“Donovan’s Reef” incredibly never made it to Blu-Ray before now also), which was blurry in places and much less satisfying. The mono sound is clear and robust also.

In addition to the movie debuting here on Blu-Ray as well, there are two commentary tracks, one featuring author Joseph McBride, who provides a focus on Ford/Wayne, and Dwayne Epstein, a biographer of Marvin. Ford’s 1957 short ‘The Growler Story” is also included along with the trailer in Kino’s two-disc package. Highly, and warmly, recommended!

After turning out a number of teen movie classics in the 1980s, John Hughes essentially bid adieu to the genre with the 1991 comedy CAREER OPPORTUNITIES (83 mins., PG-13; Kino Lorber). This Universal release was mostly disposed of by the studio, opening in March 1991 after months of delays, and generating scant box-office – especially compared to the juggernaut of Hughes’ production “Home Alone,” which was still playing in theaters at the time. While Hughes himself was about to continue down a path of increasingly family-friendly big-screen fare, “Career Opportunities” is nevertheless worth seeking out as an attractively lensed widescreen effort that features the especially attractive Jennifer Connelly at the height of her on-screen appeal.

Hughes produced and penned this original script, which is assembled out of bits and pieces from other, better films of his. The slender 83-minute feature focuses on the relationship between two young high school grads – the fast-talking BS-artist Jim Dodge (Frank Whaley) and uber-popular town beauty Josie McClellan (Connelly) – who become acquainted at the local Target one night after hours. He’s just trying to hold down a steady job as the “night clean up boy” – she’s trying to get away from the town and her rich father. A few montages of them rummaging through Target (including a nice shot of soundtrack cassette tapes circa ’89, when the movie was filmed) and a couple of incisive conversations lead to them developing an improbable bond – one that gets challenged when a pair of robber brothers (played by actual siblings Durmot and Kieran Mulroney) break in.

Yes, it’s “The Breakfast Club” meets “Home Alone” – sort of – though the presence of the robbers is relegated to the final third – as a crude means of providing a dramatic resolution to the story – and apparently was further diminished in the editing room before release. Most of “Career Opportunities” deals with the very Hughesian connection between its two leads, and both Whaley and Connelly do a nice job in those scenes conveying believable dialogue that makes both characters appealing – at least in the short time they spend together. Alas, due to the film’s brevity and lack of overall narrative development, first-time feature director Bryan Gordon (who would go on to a long career in TV) isn’t able to make much of an impression with the finished product – one that Hughes reportedly was unhappy with, right down to him allegedly asking to have his credit removed from.

Despite its obvious shortcomings, “Career Opportunities” is still a likeable little film that’s long resided on many a Hughes or Connelly buff’s Blu-Ray wish list – and while it took years, fans in 2021 were able to finally cross the movie off from the roster of “absent-in-HD” titles. Now Kino Lorber is back with a fresh new scan that’s an appreciable enhancement on its previous Blu-Ray, thanks to a new 4K scan of the OCN (2.35) along with a new 2.0 stereo track that’s notably superior to the previous BD’s soundtrack offerings (which sounded like they suffered from volume normalization). Still, one element that does not help the film is Thomas Newman’s score, which is often noisy and offers little support to the material.

Extras include the 1990 theatrical trailer (which notably doesn’t mention the yet-to-be-released “Home Alone”), which houses numerous bits not used in the film, plus a commentary by Chicago film festival programmer Erik Childress, who astutely dissects the picture’s strengths and weaknesses plus Hughes’ problems with the picture (and the studio as well). All-new to the UHD and its accompanying Blu-Ray are a commentary by Bryan Gordon and interviews with both cinematographer Donald McAlpine plus Dermot and Kieran Mulroney.

SNEAKERS 4K UHD (126 mins., 1993, PG-13; Kino Lorber): “High concept” thriller from “WarGames” scribes Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker became Phil Alden Robinson’s follow-up to his 1989 hit “Field of Dreams.” Robert Redford leads a top-notch ensemble cast (Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Mary McDonnell, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn) through a breezy but overlong tale of hackers blackmailed by nefarious government types into obtaining a secret “black box.” James Horner’s score is terrific and the performances are engaging, though the sluggishly-paced film never becomes much more than moderately entertaining, and is saddled with a good amount of Clinton-era lefty political preachiness as well (no surprise perhaps since the movie opened a few weeks ahead of the ‘92 election).

Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD (1.85) offers a new 4K scan of the 35mm OCN and Dolby Vision HDR grading that looks a whole lot more contemporary than the old HD master seen on HD-DVD. Extras include archival extras (Robinson, Lasker/Parkes commentary; Making Of) plus another commentary by Robinson and DP John Lindley and the trailer. The Blu-Ray is likewise remastered from the same 4K scan.

Also new from Kino on 4K UHD, Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn have a ball in Colin Higgins’ entertaining 1978 comedic thriller FOUL PLAY (116 mins., PG), with Chevy as a ‘Frisco detective who aids librarian Goldie Hawn in preventing a plot to assassinate the Pope.

TV producers Thomas L. Miller and Edward K. Miklis produced this amiable, albeit overlong, farce, with Dudley Moore offering able support as “Stanley Tibbets” and Burgess Meredith also popping up as one of Hawn’s neighbors. The Charles Fox score is standard fare, though it did yield a Barry Manilow smash, “Ready To Take A Chance Again,” which is performed over the movie’s prolonged opening and end credits sequences.

Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD boasts another fresh 4K scan of the 35mm OCN (1.85) with Dolby Vision HDR, nicely capturing the picture’s strong location cinematography. On the audio side, the movie’s original mono soundtrack was re-mixed to 5.1 and, presented here in DTS MA, it sounds terrific (the 2.0 track is a fold-down of this remix). Extras include a featurette tribute to Colin Higgins and a new commentary by Bryan Reesman and Max Evry.

Also New on 4K UHD

DIRTY HARRY 4K UHD (102 mins., 1971, R; Warner)/THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES 4K UHD (136 mins., 1976, PG; Warner)/PALE RIDER 4K UHD (115 mins., 1985, R; Warner): A trio of Clint Eastwood favorites premiere in 4K UHD from Warner this month, offering the first HDR-enhanced presentations of titles that have been well-traveled in home video history, though never looking as good as they all do here.

The original DIRTY HARRY kicks off the batch, with Don Siegel’s 1971 classic looking nifty in a dazzling new remaster (2.39) with HDR10 that adds detail and heightened contrasts to Warner’s previous HD presentation. The movie introduced Eastwood’s “Dirty” Harry Callahan to the masses with a decidedly un-P.C. protagonist that packs a punch even today; it’s a genre benchwork in every facet from Lalo Schifrin’s score to Siegel’s pacing and staging of the movie’s action sequences.

Warner’s UHD includes two Eastwood documentaries (“The Man From Malpaso” and “A Cinematic Legacy: Fighting For Justice”), five featurettes, commentary by Richard Schickel, and a Digital HD code. On the sonic side, Warner’s Dolby Atmos remix offers a reworking of a previous 5.1 remix while the original 2.0 mono is included in a DTS MA track.

In the late ‘60s, Clint Eastwood stepped out of his association with the great Sergio Leone and starred in several westerns of his own: “Hang ‘Em High” was followed by “High Plains Drifter” and one of his finest westerns, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, an exciting “revisionist” take on the genre that expanded its star’s emotional range beyond “The Man With No Name.”

Eastwood’s title character is a Missouri farmer who sees his wife and son murdered by pro-Union renegades. After joining a Confederate militia, and seeing his fellow soldiers wiped out by the same Kansas “Redlegs” who killed his family, Wales refuses to surrender and carries on his personal quest for revenge while picking up a number of travelers (including Chief Dan George’s Cherokee and Sondra Locke as the granddaughter of Paula Trueman’s Yankee widow) en route to Texas.

“Wales” was steeped in behind-the-scenes controversy since writer Phil(ip) Kaufman guided the film through pre-production and began directing the picture before Eastwood himself took over after sparring with Kaufman on set. Despite the bickering between the two, the resulting film is one of Eastwood’s most satisfying exercises in the western genre, offering a more varied tone than his iconic Leone pictures, a dash of humor, exciting set-pieces and splendid Bruce Surtees cinematography.

A superb Blu-Ray becomes an (unsurprisingly) even more impressive UHD here thanks to Warner’s HDR10 (2.39) presentation of the movie, “Josey Wales” benefiting from Surtees’ location work throughout. In addition to a new Dolby Atmos remix (and the original 2.0 DTS MA mono) and Digital HD code, supplements include a commentary by Richard Schickel; the featurette “Eastwood’s West” with Oliver Stone, Morgan Freeman and James Mangold on-hand; the prior retrospective Making Of; a vintage production featurette; and the trailer. New to this package are the doc “Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing Westerns” and featurettes “The Cinematography of an Outlaw: Crafting Josey Wales” and “An Outlaw and an Antihero.”

Eastwood’s penultimate western, PALE RIDER, has never enjoyed the cult status that “Josey Wales” has carried, nor the box-office and critical achievements Clint’s 1992 genre swan song, “Unforgiven,” generated. Still, that this Summer of ‘85 release – along with “Silverado,” one of several pictures that comprised a short-lived “western revival” that year – has debuted on 4K UHD this month is likely a sign the movie has remained popular with fans over the years.

Eastwood’s effective reworking of “Shane” and even elements from his own “High Plains Drifter” is a superior film to the latter, offering Clint as a mysterious hero dubbed “Preacher” caught between a feud between a mining company and prospectors trying to make it in a small California gold-rush town. Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack’s script was criticized for being overly familiar, but Eastwood’s utilization of well-worn genre components is effective throughout, with more appealing characters than “High Plains Drifter” and a stronger supporting cast (Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Sydney Penny) to match. The movie is also low-key, particularly in its handling of its arguably supernatural elements, which makes repeat viewing all the more rewarding.

Another superb new HDR10 (2.39) transfer adorns Warner’s UHD here, and in terms of the three discs, “Pale Rider”’s upgrade is the most substantial from Blu-Ray of the lot, with dp Bruce Surtees’ images looking healthier and more consistent than ever before. The disc also includes two new featurettes: “The Diary of Sydney Penny” is a brief but welcome new interview with the actress while “Painting the Preacher” examines Surtees’ fine work on the movie. Given that “Pale Rider” never had any extras produced for any previous home video release, these inclusions, along with a trio of docs (“The Eastwood Factor,” “Eastwood Directs – The Untold Story” and the same “Reinventing Westerns” doc as seen in the “Josey Wales” disc), makes for a highly recommended UHD all told.

Western fans will also want to check out The Complete Series Blu-Ray box of CHEYENNE (5560 mins., 1955-62; Warner Archive), a long-running, classic TV western created by Roy Huggins (“The Fugitive”) and starring Clint Walker. Shot in black-and-white, the ABC series starred Walker as “Cheyenne Bodie,” a cowboy searching for peace of mind following the Civil War. Into his travels come an array of guest stars, including L.Q. Jones, James Garner (in the opening episode, prior to him playing another western TV hero, “Maverick”), Dan Blocker and Lorne Greene (future “Bonanza” stars), Lee Van Cleef, Michael Landon, Angie Dickinson, Connie Stevens, Ellen Burstyn, and Alan Hale, Jr.

“Cheyenne” was all Walker’s show as the series never held any supporting, regular characters, even of the quasi-recurring variety. This kept the series in a fresh framework from episode to episode, each story a standalone effort with the good-hearted Cheyenne doing his best to help whoever needed his assistance.

Behind the scenes, “Cheyenne” endured a great deal of turmoil through Walker’s contractual issues with Warner, which lead to him leaving the series for a time midway through its run. Ty Hardin’s character Bronco Layne became a de facto replacement, and when Walker did return, “Bronco” was spun off into a hit series of his own. Walker, meanwhile, reportedly continued to be unhappy despite the series’ consistently high ratings whenever it did air.

Warner’s gorgeous Blu-Ray box-set sports seven specifically packaged seasons of the series, all remastered in crisp B&W 4K scans from the original negatives. Detail and grain are superlative across the package, with clear 2.0 DTS MA mono sound in a highly recommended release for classic western fans.

WHAT LIES BENEATH 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (130 mins., 2000, PG-13; Shout!): Widely dismissed by some critics back in its day for its cliched components and over-reliance on red herrings, this agreeable homage to Alfred Hitchcock by director Robert Zemeckis – arguably the last decent movie he directed in a career that’s mostly gone off the rails since – makes for a serviceable thriller, filled with stylish sequences and a strong performance by Michelle Pfeiffer as a Vermont housewife tormented by visions of spirits.

As soon as her daughter heads off to college, Pfeiffer begins spying on a couple adjacent to her and scientist husband Harrison Ford’s scenic lakeside home. After watching what she believes to be a murder next door (shades of “Rear Window”), Pfeiffer begins seeing what she believes to be the presumed dead woman’s ghost walking through her home — and what follows thereafter, following a slow start, becomes increasingly spooky and entertaining thanks to Zemeckis’s direction.

Not that it doesn’t take a while for “What Lies Beneath” to get there, however. The screenplay — credited to Clark Gregg and Sarah Kernochan — offers up a slow pace and a collection of under-developed supporting players who prevent the movie’s sluggish first half from becoming fully suspenseful. Zemeckis and company attempt to infuse the material with a few laughs and several references to Hitchcock (right down to a moody, Bernard Herrmann-like score from Alan Silvestri), but it’s pretty much padding until the film comes to life in the second half.

At that point, “What Lies Beneath” does become an engaging, loopy supernatural thriller with a climax that fortunately doesn’t degrade into a special effects show (a la “Poltergeist”), and instead attempts to keep things along an even, thriller-like keel — albeit with a frantic finale that recalls many of Zemeckis’s past efforts. Pfeiffer and Ford turn in some of their best work of that era (especially Ford in an atypical career role) and the director has fun staging several set-pieces, the likes of which eluded much of his work over the years since.

Though a solid box-office hit, “What Lies Beneath” made little noise on home video, with its Blu-Ray premiere coming in a features-less Paramount disc just a few years ago. This Shout UHD sports a majorly enhanced new 4K scan (2.35) with Dolby Vision HDR and both 5.1/2.0 DTS MA sound. This is on all fronts a solid upgrade from that release, the movie appearing darker but also more textured, while Shout has also included a brand-new, feature-length retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Zemeckis, the writers, producer Steve Starkey, Alan Silvestri and many other crew members. A remastered Blu-Ray is also on-hand for this often overlooked picture which represents its director and stars at their best from some 25 years ago – a peak in the director’s case that he’s been hard-pressed to match.

Also New on Blu-Ray From Kino Lorber

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE Blu-Ray (94 mins., 1979, G; Kino Lorber): Nostalgic, mildly enjoyable Sunn Classic documentary adapts Charles Berlitz’s non-fiction bestseller about the mysterious cases – shipwrecks, lost aircraft, etc. — in and around the “Bermuda Triangle.” The “docudrama” approach from producers James Conway and Charles Sellier is little more than a feature-length “In Search Of…” episode but this is pretty amusing and quite watchable, especially in an HD master (1.85, mono) from Paramount that’s far better than any unfocused old VHS tape you might have previously seen of this seldom-circulated title. Kino’s Blu-Ray also sports a new commentary featuring Conway and moderator Howard S. Berger.

Choppy waves are also part of THE CRUEL SEA (126 mins., 1953), a sturdy and well-acted film following the HMS Compass Rose, a British Royal Navy vessel charged with taking down German U-boats. Stark B&W cinematography, a measured yet compelling pace, and performances from Jack Hawkins, Denholm Elliott, Donald Sinden and Virgnia McKenna make this one of the more beloved British WWII films of its era, presented in a good-looking B&W (1.37) Studio Canal master from Kino Lorber on Blu-Ray. Extras include an interview with Sinden, commentary by critic Simon Abrams, and the trailer.

FILM NOIR: THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA XXV Blu-Ray (Kino Lorber): A trio of noir efforts from Republic Pictures – presented by Paramount in new 4K scans – comprise Kino Lorber’s 25^th Blu-Ray box-set of genre thrillers. THE FLAME (97 mins., 1947) finds John Carroll as a scheming low-life who wants his hands on the fortune of his half-brother (Robert Paige), and uses his girlfriend (Vera Ralston) as a pawn to get at it – unknowing that she’s going to fall for him instead! Gig Young, Edward Arnold, Mala Powers and Marie Windsor lead a cast of familiar faces in CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS (90 mins., 1953), a gritty, Chicago-lensed tale of a handful of characters hovering in and around a police precinct; while Hawaii is the setting for HELL’S HALF ACRE (90 mins., 1954), starring Wendell Corey as a former racketeer being blackmailed and taking the rap after his girlfriend (Nancy Gates) kills one of the crooks sent to set him straight. Supplements across the three discs include new commentaries by podcaster Heath Holland on “Hell’s Half Acre” and “The Flame” plus Imogen Sara Smith on “City That Never Sleeps.”

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Warner Archive New Releases

THE INFORMANT! 4K UHD (108 mins., 2009, R; Warner): Oddball Steven Soderbergh film takes a true story about a corporate whistleblower (here portrayed by Matt Damon) and turns it into a serio-comic rendition of “The Insider.”

Damon gives an amusing, on-target performance as Mark Whitacre, who decides to help out the FBI by informing them about the price-fixing of food additives – all the while digging himself into a hole with a scheme of his own that’s only revealed as the film moves forward. A terrific, breezy score by Marvin Hamlisch sets the mood of Soderbergh’s playful film, which offers character turns from Scott Bakula and Joel McHale (as the FBI agents assigned to the case) plus Clancy Brown, Tom Wilson (“Back to the Future”) and even Tom Smothers. It’s not uproariously funny but “The Informant!” is consistently entertaining and just a bit eccentric at the same time.

Warner debuts “The Informant!” on 4K UHD (1.78, 5.1 DTS MA) in a new Dolby Vision HDR presentation that offers modest gains over its previous, and already good-looking, Blu-Ray edition. Extras include a few deleted scenes plus commentary by Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns.

“The Informant!” is one of those movies that some viewers aren’t going to necessarily “get,” and Soderbergh’s directorial touches are admittedly a bit unusual given the material (for some reason the on-screen graphics and some of Hamlisch’s score reference the ‘70s when the film is set in the early ‘90s). It doesn’t always work but the film, on balance, is still worth a viewing for its offbeat elements and Hamlisch’s score.

Also debuting on 4K UHD this month from Warner is the picture Soderbergh produced that preceded it, THE GOOD GERMAN (108 mins., 2008, R; Warner), an overly stylized, B&W shot adaptation of a Joseph Kanon novel from screenwriter Paul Attanasio. Soderbergh’s picture offers the triangle of George Clooney as an American journalist, Cate Blanchett as his former lover, and Tobey Maguire who’s Blanchett’s current flame in a tale of murder and conspiracy in post-WWII Berlin. Despite the compelling subject and cast, there’s just not a lot of dramatic pull to this stoic affair, though the cinematography in Soderbergh’s film makes for a good-looking Dolby Vision HDR remaster (1.33, 5.1 DTS MA). The trailer is the sole extra in the UHD/Blu-Ray combo pack.

CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS: The Complete Franchise Blu-Ray (1990-96; Warner): Younger viewers who grew up in the ’90s may well recall “Captain Planet & The Planeteers.” This Turner TV animated cartoon was one of the first “environmentally conscious” kid shows of its kind, finding five diverse children from around the globe brought together by Captain Planet himself (a green-mulleted super-hero) to help save the world. Very heavy-handed at times, “Captain Planet” was still a beloved show for certain kids of that era, and Warner’s Blu-Ray provides a new high-def edition of a “Complete Franchise” release that first premiered on DVD a year ago. This box sports both the original “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” (1990-92) plus “The New Adventures of Captain Planet” (1993-94) in 4:3 transfers with mono (seasons 1-3) and 2.0 stereo (season 4 onward) soundtracks, all in attractive 1080p (1.37) transfers.

Quick Takes

LAST BREATH Blu-Ray (93 mins., 2025, PG-13; Universal): Dramatization of a 2012 true story involving a group of North Sea divers who risked everything to save one of their crew members, trapped below during an ocean storm. Alex Parkinson made a documentary on this back in 2019, and was the right man to helm “Last Breath,” a workable big-screen dramatization starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole and Cliff Curtis, which is unsurprising since we know how the story is going to turn out, yet boasts solid performances and keeps you watching throughout. Universal’s Blu-Ray (2.39) includes 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio, a Making Of, commentary, and a digital HD code.

A PLACE FURTHER THAN THE UNIVERSE – The Complete Series Blu-Ray (325 mins., Shout Factory): Complete Series of the Madhouse anime “A Place Further Than The Universe” receives a double-disc Blu-Ray edition this week from Shout Factory. Atsuko Ishizuka’s effort includes all 13 episodes from the series in 1080p (1.78) transfers with DTS MA sound in either the original Japanese mix with English subtitles, or an English dub. Special features include a “clean opening” and “clean ending” along with a “Making of the English Dub” featurette detailing the soundtrack recording for the English speaking market.

BATMAN NINJA VS. YAKUZA LEAGUE 4K UHD (89 mins., 2025, PG-13; Warner): Sequel to the 2018 “Batman Ninja” brings back an anime-styled Batman, here doing battle with a group of Justice League-looking villains, the Yakuza League, who’ve invaded Gotham. If you enjoyed the previous installment you might enjoy this original story from writer Kazuki Nakashima and directors Jumpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi, utilizing Takashi Okazaki’s character design for a uniquely animated Dark Knight story. Warner’s 4K UHD includes Dolby Vision HDR and 5.1 DTS MA audio, a digital HD code, and two featurettes (“Bringing the League to Japan,” “Anime Action: Choreographing the Fights”).

NEXT TIME: Arrow injects THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN on 4K UHD! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

Pagnol’s story is set in Provence after WWI and spans 10 years chronicling the pursuit of Cesar Soubeyran (Yves Montand), a “gentleman farmer” who conspires to take over a neighboring farm for his pathetic nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil), a war vet who envisions carnations flowing from its fertile soil. The area is particularly lush because of a spring – one that Soubeyran and Ugolin cover up so that the property’s new owner, Jean Cadoret (Gerard Depardieu), won’t ever find it.

Instead, Jean, a hard-working hunchback who represents modern “city folk” to the suspicious locals, struggles to keep things afloat for his wife and his young daughter, hoping for rain that never comes and attempting to create a cistern to provide more water for his ailing crops. All the while, Ugolin tries to put forth the appearance of being helpful while Soubeyran stands on the sidelines, waiting and watching for the opportune moment when he can kindly offer his charity to buy the land out from under him.

“Jean De Florette” is both gorgeous to look at and thoroughly compelling from start to finish. It’s a film that’s leisurely told by Berri – who adapted Pagnol’s novel with Gerard Brach – but is never anything less than enthralling as the story unfolds. The gorgeous French locations are so spectacularly shot by Bruno Nyutten that you can virtually feel the warmth of the land, the scent of its flowers and breezes cascading through the hills right off the screen. Reportedly the most expensive French production ever mounted at the time of its release, “Jean De Florette” is a memorably rendered work of art for its aesthetic attributes alone.

However, the movie’s opening part is just a teaser for “Manon of the Spring,” which was shot along with its predecessor and released six months following “Jean De Florette”’s theatrical run both in France and a year later in the United States. The story so carefully laid out in “Jean De Florette” comes to a dramatic breaking point in this worthy sequel, one that’s even more delicious than its predecessor. Here, Manon (Emmanuelle Beart), the now-grown (and quite fetching), free-spirited daughter of Jean, finally figures out what the Soubeyans did to her father and goes about exacting revenge on both of the men responsible for their provincial passive-aggressiveness.

It’s a searing second half that shows how beautifully Berri established the groundwork in the movie’s opening portion, as seemingly innocuous scenes in “Jean De Florette” connect with powerhouse dramatic confrontations in “Manon of the Spring.”

Shout Factory previously brought both movies to Blu-Ray in the U.S., carrying MGM-licensed transfers due to Orion’s theatrical distribution back in the ‘80s. Now that the MGM license has expired, Criterion has been able to utilize Pathe’s 4K restorations which were released a decade ago in France on Blu-Ray, and these transfers are beautiful to behold. Even without HDR, the 4K UHD (2.35) has gorgeous detail, ravishing color and perfectly balanced contrasts, while the remastered Blu-Ray likewise benefits from the restoration, surpassing the previously-issued MGM master. On the audio side, the 5.0 DTS MA soundtrack features a superb score from Jean-Claude Petit and is finely engineered.

Extras include the 2018 documentary “Claude Berri: The Card Dealer,” a profile of the filmmaker/actor/writer, plus “The Force of Destiny,” a 2017 look at the production of the films. New subtitle translations and an essay from Sue Harris make for a delectable release that’s unquestonably one of the best of the year to date.

Also New & Noteworthy

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 4K Ultra HD/Blu-Ray Steelbook (110 mins., 2024, PG; Paramount): The tide has turned for the videogame-to-movie adaptation genre, thanks to the Universal/Illumination take on “Super Mario Bros.” and Paramount’s successful trio of movies (I didn’t say trilogy, since there are more to come) based on Sega’s nearly-as-long-running video game hero Sonic the Hedgehog. This third entry moves the action away from Sonic’s adoptive parents James Marsden and Tika Sumpter and towards Sonic and friends’ meeting with Shadow, a suspicious new character who’s voiced by Keanu Reeves and has been under government control since the ‘70s.

Lots of action and laughs mix with a by-now entrenched formula established by the previous two films in the series, with Jim Carrey now signed up for dual roles in support of the manic goings-on. It’s a bit much, especially in the second half, but director Jeff Fowler still has a decent command of it all, enabling “Sonic 3” to entertain kids and nostalgic adults in equal measure.

Paramount’s UHD Steelbook houses a gorgeous Dolby Vision HDR (2.39) grading of the film with Dolby Atmos sound, a Blu-Ray copy, Digital HD code, and extras including commentary from Fowler and Sonic’s voice, Ben Schwartz; a whole slew of behind-the-scenes/VFX featurettes; a gag reel and deleted scenes as well in its attractive, hardbound limited-edition packaging.

New Russ Meyer Releases From Severin: Two additional titles in Severin’s line of Russ Meyer Blu-Ray retrospectives are new to the format this month. Debuting April 29^th is RUSS MEYER’S UP! (80 mins., 1976), the director’s penultimate feature with Fellini-esque surrealism sprinkled on top of Meyer’s patented blend of T&A. Roger Ebert once again wrote (under a pseudonym) this effort starring Marie Winchester, and is brought to disc by Severin sporting a new commentary by critic Elizabeth Purchell; a talk with star Raven De La Croix; a radio spot; a 1080p (1.85) transfer and mono sound, newly scanned in 4K from the OCN.

Also freshly mastered in 4K from the OCN is an earlier, comparatively tamer (yet pretty wild by mid ‘60s standards) Meyer effort MOTORPSYCHO (74 mins., 1965), featuring Alex Rocco as a town veterinarian who teams up with a local vixen (Haji) to take on a trio of psycho bikers in a taut and nasty little 74-minute programmer. Purchell and Zach Clark provide the commentary in Severin’s Blu-Ray (1.66, mono), which also includes a talk with Haji and Rocco and the trailer.

JAMES BOND: ICONS UNEARTHED Blu-Ray (aprx. 12 hours, 2024; Mill Creek): Brian Volk-Weiss’ excellent “Icons Unearthed” documentary tackles the James Bond franchise – at least, all the way up to its most recent developments with the Broccois bowing out and AmazonMGM taking over – making this a breezy, if sometimes overly condensed, look at the history of the proper “Eon” series.

A number of talking heads along with veteran cast members like George Lazenby, Caroline Munro (misspelled “Munroe”), and Gloria Hendry – plus director John Glen and writer Jeffrey Caine among others – dive into the long history of Ian Fleming’s creation and the rocky road of 007 reaching the screen. Salient points are made, the Kevin McClory legal wrangling is detailed, and the show is entertaining, but in trying to fit so much history and movies into one series, numerous elements (like the whole issue over who wrote the Bond theme) are either given a casual mention or aren’t raised at all.

The result is worthwhile for fans and casual viewers, but a little more depth beyond the six episodes of the show would’ve made for a more comprehensive and satisfying effort. Mill Creek’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 2.0 DTS MA) includes the complete series on two discs with bonus interviews that are just as illuminating – if not more so – than the doc itself.

ULTRAMAN: Ultraman Z Complete Series Blu-Ray (12 hours, 2020; Mill Creek): All 25 episodes from the 2020 series finds an ancient devil and its assorted splinters being resurrected by a mysterious force moving through the galaxy with eventual designs on Earth. Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Z stand in its way, in another mix of big effects and colorful action for “Ultraman” fans. Mill Creek’s Blu-Ray offers the complete “Z” series with 1080p (1.85) transfers and either the original Japanese audio or an English dub. There’s also a free playcable card from the “Ultraman” card game included in the package.

NEXT TIME: DONOVAN’S REEF in 4K and more Kino Lorber releases! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

Black’s script offers Davis as a Pennsylvania housewife whose memory dates back a mere eight years. Unable to remember any of her existence before then, Davis’ Samantha Caine looks to be the perfect schoolteacher mom, yet when assassins converge on her domestic bliss, Samantha begins to piece together her previous identity: a sleek, sexy CIA operative named “Charly Baltimore,” a Bourne-like agent with an impeccable special set of skills. To the rescue comes a down-on-his-luck private eye (Samuel L. Jackson) who accompanies Samantha/Charly in an effort to stop the bad guys and piece together both of her identities, all the while saving her young daughter.

“The Long Kiss Goodnight” likely read better than it plays here, the dialogue boasting some funny lines and the script enabling Davis and Jackson to generate decent chemistry together. What’s surprising is that the direction and action set-pieces are barely more than pedestrian, despite Harlin’s genre expertise and a budget that ran upwards of $65 million. It’s hard to see where the money went, because the staging of its physical action scenes is no more than serviceable at best and the overall look of the film only a notch or above your typical (and far thriftier) Van Damme film from the era. DP Guillermo Navarro later won an Oscar for his work on Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” but there’s little to comment on this movie’s ordinary, unremarkable appearance, some of the stunts augmented with mediocre digital FX and one shoot-out in the picture being interchangeable from the next. It’s a vanilla looking thriller without a whole lot of style.

In terms of performances, Jackson in particular has a good time here in one of his most appealing roles, yet dramatically, the movie only works in fits and starts, and Davis’ narration at the outset seems to have been added in an effort to get the action to kick into gear faster – at a cost to the viewer gaining a fuller appreciation of her character’s domestic side. While Davis still fares much better here than she did as a female Jack Sparrow, this picture, while watchable, never really gels into what it could have been – something confirmed by a nondescript supporting cast (save an under-utilized Brian Cox) that fails to generate much interest.

Nevertheless a cult fave amongst some viewers, “The Long Kiss Goodnight” has been remastered for its 4K UHD by Arrow in another of the label’s superb Dolby Vision HDR (2.39) transfers. Immediate enhancements over Warner’s old Blu-Ray are evident from the start, including warmer, more saturated colors and a nice, if somewhat inconsistent, layer of grain (some shots look softer than others). The original 5.1 and 2.0 DTS MA mixes house a formulaic Alan Silvestri score with a new Dolby Atmos mix included for overhead audio users.

On the supplemental end, Arrow has included new interviews with stunt coordinator Steve Davidson, make-up artist Gordon Smith and actress Yvonne Zima. There are also “visual essays” by Josh Nelson, Howard S. Berger and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, along with archive extras from previous releases (deleted scenes, promo interviews, Making Of). Two new commentaries have also been recorded with critics Walter Chaw, and another track with Drusilla Adeline and Joshua Conkel.

BLUE SUNSHINE 4K UHD/Blu-Ray/CD Limited Edition (95 mins., 1977, R; Synapse): Jeff Lieberman didn’t helm a ton of features but the few that he turned out mostly hit cult status: “Squirm,” “Just Before Dawn,” “Remote Control” and, of course, “Blue Sunshine.” This odd picture stars future soft-core producer Zalman King as the target of a series of brutal killings at a party where one of the guests goes nuts, loses their hair and becomes the most violent member of Blue Man Group ever envisioned. From there, King uncovers a conspiracy involving a drug now causing its users to become psychotic killers years after the fact, along with its dealer who’s now running for Congress.

Lieberman’s independent film is one of his best, well-written and suspenseful despite being, technically, a little rough around the edges. Synapse’s Limited Edition offers a chipboard slipcase and tons of extras, in addition to a new Dolby Vision HDR transfer (1.85) with 5.1/2.0 sound (remixed stereo/mono). On tap for supplements are two commentaries with the director; a new intro from Lieberman plus two additional conversations with the director; a recent 4K premiere Q&A; anti-drug scare movies from the late ‘60s; two versions of Lieberman’s debut film, “The Ringer,” with optional commentary from Lieberman and Howard S. Berger; trailers; a still gallery; booklet notes; a fold-out poster; plus a Blu-Ray and a CD soundtrack. Highly recommended for buffs.

New on Blu-Ray

Upcoming from Arrow on April 29^th, V CINEMA ESSENTIALS – BULLETS AND BETRAYAL features no less than nine titles from Japan’s Toei studio which were shot expressly for the home video market during the late 1980s. These pictures offer ample action and often straightforward revenge plots which genre fans should take to, even though these pictures were very rarely shown, for many years (if ever), outside their native Japan.

Included here, all in 1080p (1.33, mostly 2.0 stereo) transfers are, each in a double-feature disc configuration, CRIME HUNTER: BULLETS OF RAGE and NEO CHINPIRA: ZOOM GOES THE BULLET; STRANGER and CARLOS; BURNING DOG and the sequel FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: DEATH THREAT; THE HITMAN: BLOOD SMELLS LIKE ROSES and DANGER POINT: THE ROAD TO HELL.

The limited-edition package includes introductions on each film by critic Masaki Tanioka; interviews with directors Shundo Okawa, Banmei Takahashi, Shunichi Nagasaki, and Kazuhiro Kiuchi; video essay appreciations on the films and genre from historians like Tom Mes, Jonathan Clements, Mark Schilling, Samm Deighan, Frankie Balboa and James Balmont; trailers; English subtitles; nine postcard sized artcards; and, of course, Arrow’s trademark booklet with writing from Earl Jackson, Daisuke Miyao, and Hayley Scanlon.

MABUSE LIVES! DR. MABUSE AT CCC: 1960-64 Blu-Ray (Eureka): Fritz Lang returned to the world of the diabolical criminal mastermind, Dr. Mabuse, by helming THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE, a late-career triumph in his native Germany. Widely regarded as a solid reworking of his earlier Mabuse classics (“Dr. Mabuse The Gambler” and “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse”), the picture actually stirred up a series of new Mabuse pictures in Germany, produced without Lang, that are also fascinating as they continue the misadventures of the dastardly villain whose mind-control efforts coerce violent attacks and killings, in addition to other deeds of the Big Bad variety. The sequels include THE RETURN OF DR. MABUSE, THE INVISIBLE DR. MABUSE, THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE, SCOTLAND YARD HUNTS DR. MABUSE, and the final picture, THE DEATH RAY OF DR. MABUSE, and while they lack the urgency of Lang’s works, directors Harald Reinl, Werner Klingler, Paul May and Hugo Fregonese are still able to produce worthy B-follow-ups which mostly serve as intriguing riffs on Lang’s predecessors.

All six films have been newly remastered in 2K restorations (1.66/1.37 B&W) from original film elements courtesy of CCC Film, the original German distributor, with both the original German audio as well as dubbed English tracks available for fans. There are commentaries by historian David Kalat on all six films (five of them newly recorded), while Tim Lucas provides insightful introductions on each picture as well. We also get a new interview with producer Alice Brauner, whose father Artur started CCC; video essays by David Cairns and Fiona Watson; an archival talk with actor Wolfgang Preiss; an alternate Italian cut of “Death Ray” with an alternate ending on “Thousand Eyes”; trailers; a 60-page booklet with extensive liner notes and history on the series, along with a limited edition, hardbound slipcase.

Coming April 29th from Eureka is the only collaboration between Hong Kong star Andy Lau and prolific director Ringo Lam: THE ADVENTURERS (110 mins., 1995), the story of a Thai Air Force colonel who finds out the man responsible for his CIA-employed father’s death in Cambodia years prior is now a wealthy, U.S.-based arms dealer. Globe-trotting adventure with gun fights popping all over the place, “The Adventurers” has been restored in 2K (1.85) by Eureka with extras including the original Cantonese stereo audio (2.0/5.1); a new commentary by critic David West and interview with HK cinema expert Gary Bettinson; an archival interview with writer-producer Sandy Shaw; the trailer; and a collector’s booklet with writing by genre schlar Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park.

88 Films New Releases: A trio of vintage Shaw Brothers productions are new to Blu-Ray this month from 88 Films. The difference here is that all three hail from the early 1980s, towards the end of the venerable Hong Kong studio’s run, and offer a variety of genre content for fans.

Widely hailed as one of the best Shaw efforts from this era, AN AMOROUS WOMAN OF TANG DYNASTY (101 mins., 1984) is a period piece that breaks from conventional martial arts to tell the story of a female poet (Patricia Ha) who has difficulty fitting into the conservative confines of the era she’s living in. Sensitively directed beyond its still-copious nudity by Eddie Fong, this is a strongly acted and beautifully mounted production that some critics rank with the best of the later efforts of Hong Kong cinema’s “Golden Age.” A 1080p transfer (1.85) is included with Cantonese audio and English subtitles, with extras including a commentary by writer David West, a featurette “Alex Man on An Amorous Woman…,” the trailer, a stills gallery, double-sided poster, reversible sleeve and slipcover with new cover art by Justin Coffee.

From period drama to a culture clash comedy, THE LADY IS THE BOSS (97 mins., 1983) stars Kara Hui as a young, Americanized Chinese woman who returns to Hong Kong, bringing her own ideas to her father’s conventional martial arts studio. Widescreen action and comedy mix in this fresh, enjoyable early ‘80s effort from veteran genre director Lau Kar-leung. 88’s Blu-Ray features a good looking 1080p (2.35) transfer with Cantonese audio and English subtitles, and extras including a Frank Djeng commentary, the Fred Ambroisine featurette “Sam Ho on Lau Kar-leung,” a trailer, stills gallery, and reversible cover art to go along with Lucas Peverill’s new cover design.

Finally, HONG KONG HONG KONG (97 mins., 1983) offers a contemporary love story between an illegal immigrant from mainland China (Cherie Chung) who strikes up a relationship with an aspiring kickboxer (Alex Man) in Hong Kong. This well-reviewed film from director Clifford Choi debuts on Blu-Ray (1.85) with Cantonese audio and English subtitles, a commentary by David West, Fred Ambroisine’s “Alex Man on Hong Kong, Hong Kong”, the trailer, a stills gallery, reversible sleeve, and new slipcover art by James Neal.

More traditional Shaw Brothers fare can be found in LADY WITH A SWORD (89 mins., 1971), a period martial arts drama about a swordswoman (Lily Ho) who finds out the latest target in her quest to avenge her sister’s murder is the man her parents have arranged for her to marry. Family intrigue mixes with genre conventions in this 1971 effort from director Kao Pao-shu, with 88’s Blu-Ray (2.35) featuring Cantonese mono audio, English subtitles, a David West commentary, and a stills gallery.

Two Limited Edition releases in 88 Films’ “Japanarchy” Blu-Ray imprint are out this month for fans. Both releases include numbered OBI strips and archival artwork, along with new, reversible covers from Sean Longmore, introductions by Mark Schilling, and bonus supplements.

Kinji Fukasaku’s JAKOMAN AND TETSU (99 mins., 1964) is an early effort from the prolific director, here adapting a script by Akira Kurosawa. The great Ken Takakura plays Tetsu, a WWII veteran who returns to his small coastal village in Hokkaido and deals with a one-eyed madman (Tetsuro Tamba) who holds a grudge against the father of Takakura’s character. Slick B&W widescreen cinematography (2.35, Japanese mono with English subtitles) graces 88’s Blu-Ray along with a commentary from critics Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp and a stills gallery…Hideo Gosha’s YAKUZA WIVES (119 mins., 1986) looks at life for the women associated with the Japanese criminal underworld, in particular a spouse (Shima Iwashita) who has to take over her clan after her husband goes to jail. Things are further complicated when her sister becomes involved with a man from a rival gang in Gosha’s 1986 dramatic thriller, on Blu-Ray here (1.85, Japanese mono with English subtitles) featuring an interview with tattoo artist Seiji Mouri.

HARDBOILED: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau Blu-Ray (Radiance): Modern French noir with a dash of ‘70s American crime thrillers can be felt in a trio of films by director Alain Corneau, all new to Blu-Ray this month in a Radiance box-set anthology.

POLICE PYTHON 357 (125 mins., 1976) kicks things off with the great Yves Montand playing a grizzled veteran cop who has to clear his name after a rival, corrupt colleague implicates him in a murder. A definite touch of the “Dirty Harry” films – as well as various ‘70s paranoia-infused American thrillers – permeates this entertaining Corneau effort with a Georges Delerue score. Patrick Dewaere stars in SERIE NOIRE (116 mins., 1979), an adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel that’s much darker in tone as Dewaere’s hapless character tries to escape an unhappy marriage by taking up with a teen prostitute. Predictably, things don’t end well in this “edgy” character study with a more “realistic” tone meant to evoke Scorsese’s ‘70s period (“Mean Streets”). Finally, big star power courtesy of Yves Montand, Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve fuel LE CHOIX DE ARMES (136 mins., 1981), a well-done mix of character drama and crime thriller with an especially good score by Philippe Sarde.

All three movies include 1080p transfers (1.66/2.35) licensed from Studio Canal with special features including commentary on “Police Python” by Mike White; a featurette by Maxim Jakubowski on “Python”; archival interviews with the stars and filmmakers on each picture; a documentary, “Serie Noire”; a visual essay about various Jim Thompson adaptations; an intro from documentarian Jerome Wybon; an interview with Manuela Lazic on Montand’s ‘70s output; trailers; French audio and English subtitles; a reversible sleeve; and an 80-page booklet sporting liner notes by Andrew Male, Nick Pinkerton, Charlie Brigden and archival pieces, all newly translated into English.

Also new from Radiance is THE EEL (117/134 mins.), Shohei Imamura’s 1997 film about a man, released from prison for murdering his philandering wife, who strikes up a relationship with a troubled woman recovering from a failed suicide attempt. Their relationship and respective attempts to reconcile their pasts make for an introspective and sensitive film from Imamura, presented here in two cuts including a longer Director’s Cut with Japanese mono audio and English subtitles. The digital restoration (1.85) is superb and extras include new interviews with Daisuke Tengan and Tony Rayns plus a visual essay by Tom Mes, a limited edition booklet and reversible cover art.

Coming later this month from Radiance is Seijun Suzuki’s A TALE OF SORROW AND SADNESS (93 mins., 1977), a fascinating Japanese drama about a model-turned-pro golfer who ends up in a blackmail scheme, among other tawdry entanglements. Suzuki adapted a manga for this 1977 film, but the directorial flourishes, from its widescreen lensing to its editing and avant-garde storytelling techniques, are unmistakably his work, resulting in a very odd and compelling picture best appreciated by the director’s devotees. Radiance’s Blu-Ray (2.35, Japanese mono with English subtitles) boasts a new commentary by Samm Deighan and an interview with editor Kunihiko Ukai plus Jasper Sharp’s essay on the movie…Also available April 29th from Radiance is director Valerio Zurlini’s GIRL WITH A SUITCASE (121 mins., 1961), a black-and-white Italian drama starring the luminous Claudia Cardinale as a woman, shunned by an aristocratic young man, who takes up with his more caring, younger brother instead. Class divisions play out along with a coming-of-age drama in Zurlini’s film, new on Blu-Ray with a 4K restoration (1.85) and extras including 2006 interviews with assistant director Piero Schivazappa and screenwriter Piero De Bernardi; an interview with critic Bruno Torri, also from 2006; a new visual essay from Kat Ellinger; and liner notes from Giuliana Minghelli.

BABY, IT’S YOU Blu-Ray (105 mins., 1982, R; Fun City): One of indie filmmaker John Sayles’ few forays into studio filmmaking receives a remastered Blu-Ray from Fun City Editions.

“Baby, It’s You” is a surprisingly tart coming-of-age story that charts the relationship between a Jewish-American princess (Rosanna Arquette) and a would-be Italian Sinatra wannabe, “The Sheik” (Vincent Spano), in mid ‘60s New Jersey.

The early portions of Sayles’ film – which he directed and scripted from a story by Amy Robinson – work best in terms of its atmosphere and the relationship between Arquette and Spano, but the second half turns bitter and downbeat, leading to a particularly sad conclusion. At least there’s a snappy period soundtrack and early appearances from Matthew Modine, Fisher Stevens, Robert Downey, Jr. and Tracy Pollan among others, making for a thoughtful if uneven film with superb cinematography by Michael Ballhaus convincingly rendering the era.

A box-office disappointment, the commercial failure of “Baby, It’s You” kept Sayles away from too many subsequent studio-backed pictures, but the film has managed to develop a modest cult following over time. Fun City’s Blu-Ray offers a superlative 4K remaster (1.85, mono) of the Paramount release that’s a nice, appreciable upgrade from Olive’s earlier Blu-Ray of a decade ago. Insightful supplements are also on-tap courtesy of video interviews featuring Sayles, Dunne, Arquette, Spano, Modine and Amy Robinson. There’s also a new commentary by Bill Ackerman and the usual accoutrements (liner notes) in Fun City’s latest release.

HEART EYES Blu-Ray (97 mins., 2025, R; Sony): Attempt to mix up the standard hack ‘n slash genre affair with rom-com aspirations had a hard time finding an audience at the box-office earlier this year, though there are some cute elements in “Heart Eyes” which the movie’s marketing failed to really hit. Josh Ruben’s movie follows a serial killer, preying on Valentine’s Day couples, who sets its sights on a young couple (Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding) who have yet to actually have a date. “Bates Motel” vet Holt deserves better than this kind of thing but she does her part to make “Heart Eyes” worthwhile, and it’s at least a cut above genre norms. Sony’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1 DTS MA) includes a gag reel, deleted scenes, commentary and a featurette.

Warner Archive New Releases

EARTH II Blu-Ray (97 mins., 1971, Not Rated): After “2001” cinematic sci-fi enjoyed a resurgence that carried it through the years leading up to “Star Wars,” resulting in some “thoughtful” if pretentious efforts that retained some of the influences of Stanley Kubrick’s groundbreaking ‘68 classic. That holds true for “Earth II,” a busted pilot for a prospective series that MGM released with a couple of extra minutes in overseas theaters. That long version makes its debut on Blu-Ray this month from Warner Archive, the picture offering some fairly good FX, a Lalo Schifrin score, and the appearance of “2001”’s Gary Lockwood in this story of an orbiting space colony and its involvement in land-based global politics. Tom Gries helmed with “guest stars” Mariette Hartley and Tony Franciosa playing out a slow-paced effort that understandably didn’t make it to a weekly series. Yet, as a standalone feature, it’s still an engagingly dated piece of genre work from its era, with pleasing cover artwork resembling some of the lovely designs that adorned early Atari 2600 cartridges from the later ‘70s. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray features a beautifully detailed 1080p (1.85, mono) transfer with an international trailer included on the supplemental end.

HIT MAN Blu-Ray (91 mins., 1972, R): A year after Michael Caine strutted to the cool vibe of Roy Budd’s score for “Get Carter,” MGM tried their own, Americanized, “Blackploitation” version of its source material – Ted Lewis’ book “Jack’s Return Home” – for “Hit Man.” The result is this minor picture starring Bernie Casey as Carter, here renamed “Tyrone Tackett,” who hits the streets of L.A. trying to find out who killed his brother. A young “Pamela” Grier co-stars in George Armitage’s functional movie, which is watchable but certainly makes less of an impression than its British crime classic predecessor. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) features a perfectly acceptable new transfer and the trailer.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE Blu-Ray (134 mins., 1921): One of the great silent epics receives a new remaster from Warner Archive. MGM’s 1921 adaptation of the Ibanez novel provides matinee idol Rudolph Valentino with one of his most popular roles, in addition to offering a massive scope, plenty of tragedy and tears to go along with it. This restoration of “Four Horsemen” is based on the 1993 Channel Four reconstruction of the film by David Gill, Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury, with Carl Davis’ rousing orchestral score being a key element to its success. The brand new master (1.33 with side mattes, 2.0 DTS MA stereo) is in B&W with color tinted sequences.

SADIE McKEE Blu-Ray (93 mins., 1934): Early Joan Crawford, pre-Code melodrama sports the ingenue as the title maid, who maneuvers through a Great Depression-era drama as she chooses between no less than three male leads: Edward Arnold’s alcoholic millionaire, Gene Raymond’s aspiring crooner, and Franchot Tone’s sympathetic lawyer. Warner Archive’s fresh transfer (1.85, mono) brings a new look to this vintage MGM production helmed by Clarence Brown, making its Blu-Ray debut here alongside three bonus cartoons and the trailer.

MONOGRAM MATINEE Volume 1 Blu-Ray (54/68/54 mins., 1949): Saddle up for a trio of low-budget Monogram westerns with this single-disc anthology of enjoyable programmers from the late ‘40s. Offered here for viewers looking for a nostalgic trip back to the Saturday Matinees of its day are MISSISSIPPI RHYTHM featuring Jimmie Davis, along with Johnny Mack Brown in WESTERN RENEGADES and Whip Wilson in CRASHING THRU. Sturdy old-fashioned fun for audiences who’ll remember when they used to call it the “Bijou,” and all three pictures are presented in solid new 1080p (1.33 B&W) transfers and mono sound.

MAGILLA GORILLA: The Complete Series Blu-Ray (Warner Archive): Good-looking Blu-Ray houses the complete run of the short-lived (albeit fondly remembered) Hanna-Barbera Saturday Morning cartoon in a remastered, new HD restoration with several fun, archival special features to boot.

Though he didn’t have the lasting impact of Yogi Bear, “Magilla Gorilla” first aired in the mid ‘60s and the Blu-Ray offers all 23 episodes from the beloved (if short-lived) series, which also sports stories featuring Ricochet Rabbit, Deputy Droop-a-long, and Puss and Mushmouse. Warner’s set also includes rare archival footage of composer Hoyt Curtin with Bill Hanna at the piano, introduced by animator Jerry Eisenberg; an interactive interview gallery with voice artist Allan Melvin, Eisenberg and animation history guru Jerry Beck; and an archival TV special, “Here Comes a Star,” which offers an introduction to Magilla.

Sony Pictures Classics New Releases: A terrific cast has a good time in Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s underrated French gem BON VOYAGE (115 mins., 2003, PG-13; Sony), the story of a number of disparate Parisians with one thing in common – getting out of Paris before the Nazi occupation. Getting the recipe for “heavy water” is among the goals of this ensemble, which ranges from Isabel Adjani and Gerard Depardieu to Virginie Ledoyen and Peter Coyote. A good mix of humor and unusual WWII goings-on make for a memorable import shot by Theirry Arbogast and scored by Gabriel Yared. Sony’s Blu-Ray (2.35, 5.1 DTS MA French with English subtitles) include an archival commentary by Rappeneau and the trailer…A superb performance from Omar Sharif is the most memorable component in Francois Dupeyron’s 2003 film MONSIEUR IBRAHIM (95 mins., R; Sony), a character study involving Sharif’s Turkish grocery store owner in Paris and his relationship with a young teenage boy. Dupeyron tugs at the heart strings here with a winning, if sad, little film worth catching for its veteran star’s late career turn. Sony’s Blu-Ray (1.66, 5.1 DTS MA French with English subs) includes Sharif’s archival commentary and the trailer.

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Quick Takes

THE UFOs OF SOESTERBERG Blu-Ray (78 mins., 2025; Leomark): While we eagerly await the declassification of UFO government files here in the U.S., Bram Roza’s straightforward documentary confirms that the phenomena of UFOs flying over military bases is indeed a worldwide happening. This look at a widely viewed UFO appearance over a Dutch airbase in 1979 is by the book and well laid out, with a dozen (credible) witnesses detailing the incident. Leomark’s Blu-Ray includes both a subtitled presentation as well as a version with English speakers dubbing over the Dutch audio track (I preferred the former). The transfer (2.39) is fine as well.

THE BEAST HAND Blu-Ray (77 mins., 2025; Cleopatra): Low-rent Japanese horror about a guy who has his hand amputated and gets an underground transplant, only to end up in an even worse spot once said hand has its own agenda. Grizzly stuff for J-horror addicts only. Cleopatra’s Blu-Ray features a 1080p transfer, Dolby Digital sound, alternate promo clips and trailers.

NEXT TIME: DONOVAN’S REEF Remastered in 4K and more Kino releases! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!

On the surface, “The Joy of Sex” – which takes its title from a ‘70s non-fiction bestseller Paramount paid a fortune for – provides its target audience with the trappings of traditional genre fare: a somewhat hapless high school girl (Michelle Meyrink) mistakenly believes she’s going to die and sets out to lose her virginity, something that’s complicated by the on-campus presence of her gym-teacher father (Christopher Lloyd). At the same time, one of her classmates (Cameron Dye), likewise on a journey to “do it,” runs into comical circumstances which preclude him from also doing so.

Like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” a number of adult roles are included to spice up the youth element, including Lloyd plus a bald Ernie Hudson as the school principal and Colleen Camp, undercover as a student. Unlike that 1982 genre classic, however, “The Joy of Sex” is a ramshackle mess of a movie – shot quickly for reasons I’ll shortly mention, and hampered by heavy studio interference, this charmless picture is all over the place in terms of its intentions. Coolidge, a last-minute fill-in on the movie, was mostly unable to exert much (if any) creative control here, with her efforts to infuse some genuine warmth into the story off-set by leering sexual/comical elements brought in by the studio. These low-brow moments weren’t in the movie’s script or part of the director’s plan; instead, execs hoping for the next “Porky’s” tossed them in, only to have some of the movie’s nudity excised in the editing room after it (ironically) tested poorly.

Speaking of that, there’s no rhythm or consistent tone present in “The Joy of Sex,” with the finished product bearing only a dash of Coolidge’s directorial sensibility. In hindsight, she may have been better off removing her name from the picture, as this doesn’t fit in with either of the pictures that bookend it. Only the movie’s ending and some sequences with Meyrink ring true – yet the picture’s sweet finish seems to come out of a different movie altogether than the one we’ve sat through.

The project’s fascinating production history was one reason for its issues. In fact, Paramount tried to get “The Joy of Sex” off the ground several times previously, first in the late ‘70s when Charles Grodin wrote a script Paramount passed on (Grodin ended up making his script, shortly after this movie’s release, as the little-seen 1985 MGM comedy “Movers and Shakers”). “Joy of Sex” was then reconfigured under the National Lampoon umbrella, with John Hughes authoring a new script comprised of self-contained vignettes intended to star John Belushi. Penny Marshall was even onboard the project, only to have that, too, go by the wayside once Belushi tragically died (National Lampoon later sued to have their name removed from the production – which says something, considering they retained it on the grossly unfunny “Movie Madness” and “Class Reunion”!).

With time running out on their option, Paramount ultimately pressed “The Joy of Sex” into production with a small budget and a new script from Kathleen Rowell (“The Outsiders”) and “J.J. Salter,” a pseudonym for Rowell’s sister Joyce (Salter) and Joyce’s husband John. With all of these elements going against it, the movie understandably bears the hallmarks of a movie with too many cooks in the kitchen, and yet it’s still lightly amusing, even while coming off best viewed with the kind of “how did this get made?” curiosity some of us movie buffs employ, especially for films of this vintage.

Cinematographe’s super Blu-Ray addresses all the production issues with fascinating new supplements. These are highlighted by an interview with Coolidge, who candidly discusses the movie’s shortcomings along with the writers, who are gracious and honest about the picture’s failings. There are also interviews with Colleen Camp and fellow co-star Lisa Langlois, a video essay on Coolidge’s work by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, plus assorted text essays which stage a stronger defense of the movie than the filmmakers themselves do. Visually the 4K-remaster (1.85) looks superb and the original mono sound is clearly rendered (the back cover indicates stereo but this does not seem to have been a film intended for Dolby Stereo).

Comedy of the Neil Simon variety is included in Cinematographe’s Blu-Ray premiere of LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS (98 mins., 1972, PG), one of the many adaptations of Simon’s Broadway works to reach the screen. This one – produced at Paramount where the bulk of them were concentrated during the post-”Odd Couple” period of the late ‘60s to early ‘70s – is a certainly a claustrophobic affair, in keeping with its four-character situated play.

Alan Arkin stars as a restaurant owner in a stagnant marriage who envisions himself as a middle-aged casanova, and his attempts to seduce a trio of very different women – Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss and Renee Taylor – prove to be hapless in one of Simon’s patented takes on modern relationships with a focus on marriage and fidelity.

Though most of Simon’s works are obviously “stagy,” this particular film comes across as more set-bound than most. Simon and director Gene Saks attempt to open up the material by adding a bit of location work and very brief peripheral characters, but they’re very limited in scope, leaving most of the movie to be anchored to the apartment of Arkin’s mother, where he hopes to stage his afternoon meet-ups (predictably, he never gets very far). The result is a stuffy piece that feels more like a filmed play than a fully realized movie, and the joke wears thin faster than usual for Simon, with the source material feeling like it must’ve been buoyed on stage by whatever cast was involved.

Here, Arkin lacks the edgy – but still likeable – comic tension of Jack Lemmon, and Prentiss and Taylor aren’t overly compelling. Only Kellerman’s performance feels on target, with her section, encompassing both comedic and dramatic components, coming off the best – alas, it also comprises only the first third of the movie, and the rest of the picture sags as a result.

With several Simon screen comedies absent from Blu-Ray, this welcome Cinematographe remaster comes recommended for fans, with the Blu-Ray offering a new 4K restoration (1.85, mono) of the original 35mm camera negative. The mono sound houses a score by “Odd Couple” composer Neal Hefti that feels Bacharach-inspired (the movie even has quotes of “Alfie” and “What the World Needs Now”) while extras include a commentary between Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger; an interview with Renee Taylor; a video essay from Matthew Zoller Seitz; and text essays in Cinematographe’s booklet from Drew McWeeny, Chris Shields and Justine Smith.

Finally, Cinematographe has also released a Special Limited Edition of Susan Streitfeld’s FEMALE PERVERSIONS (115 mins., 1996, R). This breakout American role for Tilda Swinton finds the offbeat actress playing a L.A. lawyer working relationships with both sexes (Clancy Brown, Karen Silas) as well as dealing with a troubled sister (Amy Madigan) and a career seeing her possibly being appointed as a judge. Streitfeld co-wrote, with Julie Hebert, this interesting character study, co-produced by soft-core specialist Zalman King of “Wild Orchid/9½ Weeks” fame (or is it infamy), making its format debut here on Blu-Ray. Cinematographe’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 2.0) features a 4K restoration from the 35mm OCN with extras including a commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; new interviews with Streitfeld, Hebert, actresses Karen Silas, Frances Fisher and Dale Shuger, plus cinematographer Teresa Medina. There are also text essays by Kate Hagen, Philippa Snow and Madelyn Sutton within the label’s trademark, book-styled hardbound limited-edition case.

Debuting on 4K UHD from Canadian International Pictures, HOOKERS ON DAVIE (89 mins., 1984) made noise on the art-house circuit not just in Canada but in the U.S. as well. Janis Cole and Holly Dale’s documentary looks at sex workers in the “prostitution capital of Canada,” taking viewers behind the curtain in Vancouver’s Davie Street neighborhood – meeting not just the assorted personalities of their subjects but also utilizing hidden cameras to capture day to day life for those who work there. The result is honest and compassionate given its subject matter, and Canadian International Pictures’ 4K UHD includes a detailed HDR (1.37) presentation, straight in 4K from the original 16mm A/B negatives. We also get two commentaries, one featuring Cole and Dale, with a new intro from Cole; interviews with Cole; archival news reports and assorted media coverage of the film; new 2K scans of Cole and Dale’s earliest shorts; an archival press gallery and more.

Coming on Blu-Ray from CIP is Ivan Reitman’s (very) early Canuxploitation favorite CANNIBAL GIRLS (83 mins., 1973). This one pairs together future SCTV stars Eugene Levy (with an afro and handlebar moustache!) and Andrea Martin as a couple who end up in a snowy, small Ontario town, hoping for a romantic getaway at a bed-and-breakfast with…cannibal girls residing nearby? Yep, believe it or not, “Cannibal Girls” is something unexpected from this director and cast, and Canadian International Pictures’ Blu-Ray (1.85, mono) offers a new 2K restoration “with a new color grade” and dirt clean-up, and new extras including a commentary by historians Paul Corupe and Jason Pichonsky, a new interview with historian Chris Alexander, French opening credits, booklet notes, trailers, and extras from Shout’s 2010 DVD. The latter included interviews with Reitman, writer Daniel Goldberg and Levy, while American-International’s “The Warning Bell” alternate soundtrack is also on-hand, which was used in theatrical screenings to give a heads-up to viewers that something gory was about to be glimpsed. Bizarre, and not that much fun, but still worth seeing for curious viewers.

Film Movement New Releases: A legendary documentary that’s virtually been unseen and stashed away for decades, TARPON (54 mins., 1973) offers a fascinating look at Florida Keys fishing circa the early ‘70s, where local guides and pop culture luminaries like Richard Brautigan, Tom McGuane and Jim Harrison intermingle. Jimmy Buffet provided the score for “Tarpon,” which was produced by French filmmaker Christian Odasso but subsequently buried for years – even an effort to screen it on PBS was squashed when the network wanted graphic footage of sharks being clubbed on a tourist boat edited out. This Film Movement 4K Blu-Ray restoration offers the complete documentary in a gorgeous transfer, preserving a fascinating time in the Keys’ history and promoting catch-and-release fishing that predated modern conservation efforts. Video intros from Diana Odasso and Ianthe Brautigan-Swensen, a video essay from Hunter Whaley, and a booklet with an essay by David N. Meyer are included in Film Movement’s Blu-Ray (1.37, 2.0).

Niclas Larsson’s MOTHER, COUCH (96 mins., 2023) offers Ellen Burstyn as a matriarch who refuses to get up from a display couch, trapping her three estranged, dysfunctional kids (Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans, Lara Flynn Boyle) and setting them on a reflective odyssey along with the store managers (F. Murray Abraham, Taylor Russell) of a strange antiques store. Larsson’s odd picture is new to Blu (2.40, 5.1/2.0) with extras including a commentary and featurette…Also now available on Blu-Ray, TWO FACES OF TAI KATO features the Japanese director’s debut picture, “By a Man’s Face Shall you Know Him” (1966) along with “I, The Executioner” (1968). Essays by Patrick Macias, a tribute to Sanae Nakahara from Kenta Fukasaku (who also contributes separate featurettes on both movies) and a 16-page booklet comprise Film Movement’s dazzling looking Blu-Ray with stark widescreen (2.45/2.40) transfers in Japanese with English subtitles…Noboru Tanaka’s THE OLDEST PROFESSION (83 mins., 1974) receives a 4K restoration (2.39) that comes to Blu-Ray in late April from Film Movement. In addition to an impressively detailed new remaster, the disc includes a video essay by Jasper Sharp and 16-page booklet with an essay by scholar Alexander Fee…MAPANTSULA (104 mins., 1988) provides a remastering of the late ‘80s South African import starring Thomas Mogotlane in Oliver Schmitz’s anti-Apartheid drama which was shot, and banned, in its native country. Schmitz’s commentary, archival cast/crew interviews, and a 16-page booklet are included alongside a new 4K transfer (1.85, 5.1/2.0).

The second directorial outing from Tsai Ming-Liang. VIVE L’AMOUR (118 mis., 1994), receives a new 2K restoration from Film Movement this month. This slice of life picture about a trio of disparate types holing up in a Taipei apartment offers memorable performances and scenes, as well as offbeat comic observations. A featurette with the director looking at the movie is among the extras in Film Movement’s Blu-Ray (1.85, mono Mandarin with English subtitles)…Natalie Cisarovska’s HER BODY (111 mins., 2023) stars Natalia Germani as a Czech would-be Olympian high diver who, after being injured in competition, decides to get involved in nude modeling and porn instead. A strong lead performance and compelling subject matter define this well-reviewed Czech import, on Blu from Film Movement (1.85) sporting a music video (with deleted scenes), and 5.1/2.0 audio with English subtitles.

Coming later in April, Bruce LaBruce’s SAINT-NARCISSE (101 mins., 2021, Not Rated) stars Felix-Antoine Duval as a young man who uncovers long-buried secrets about his family’s sordid past in the director’s tribute to psychosexual thrillers of the ’70s. A ride recommended only for adventurous viewers with Film Movement’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1/2.0) offering LaBruce’s commentary and deleted scenes. LaBruce’s latest film, THE VISITOR (101 mins., 2024), is also coming soon from OCN, this 2024 film offering LaBruce’s own reworking of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s worldwide arthouse hit “Teorema.” The Collective’s Blu-Ray includes a featurette, video essay by Samm Deighan, an introduction from the director and more (1.78, 5.1).

IFC New Releases: Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh find that the apocalypse isn’t so much fun in 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH (82 mins., 2011, Not Rated), the 2011 film from director Abel Ferrera that ends up doing as much (which isn’t much) for its actors as the Steve Carell misfire “Seeking a Friend For the End of the World” did around the same time. This is a Special Edition Blu-Ray reissue (1.85, 5.1) of a 2012 E One Blu-Ray, adding in a wealth of new extras including a commentary with Chris O’Neil and Bill Ackerman; a Ferrara interview; a video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; and a booklet with a Justin LaLiberty essay…Adam Wingard (future “Godzilla V Kong” auteur) and Joe Swanberg’s AUTOEROTIC (72 mins., 2011) is an edgy indie comedy from 2011 now receiving a Blu-Ray release. The Blu (1.78, 2.0) features a new commentary from the directorial duo; a 2008 short from Swanberg and Kent Osborne; and a booklet sporting an essay by film professor Whitney Strub.

Quick Takes: IN FLAMES (98 mins., 2023; Yellow Veil Pictures) offers Karachi horrors of both the real and supernatural variety in Zarrar Kahn’s import. Yellow Veil’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1) includes two commentaries; an interview with Kahn; a behind-the-scenes-featurette; a short; and the trailer…ETR Media’s release of HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER: CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION (142 mins., 2023) is a documentary on “Street Fighter II,” its origins, impact on arcades worldwide and the fighting genre, plus the people around the world who still play it. Commentaries, featurettes and deleted scenes are on-hand in a jam-packed ETR Blu-Ray (1.78)…also new from ETR is AMERICAN EXPENDABLES (61 mins., 2024), a short but sweet ride through the world of B-grade, direct-to-video action flicks starring the likes of Cynthia Rothrock and Billy Blanks that populated cable and rental shelves during the 80s and 90s. Loads of interviews, commentary from director Thomas Edward Seymour, an extra 24-minute documentary and an 80-minute 2006 action film “Fountain of Death” are all included in ETR’s upcoming Blu release.

Coming in late April from Music Box is Alison Bagnall’s THE DISH AND THE SPOON (91 mins., 2011), a quirky indie featuring Greta Gerwig as a woman who strikes up a relationship with a British teen (Olly Alexander) after she uncovers her husband’s infidelity. Music Box’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 2.0) features deleted scenes and outtakes; a location scouting featurette; Alexander’s “The Whale”; and Gerwig and Alexander talking about the picture…Cartuna’s NOVA SEED (64 mins., 2017) presents a Blu-Ray of the 2017 animated feature by director Nick Diliberto, who hand-drew all of its frames over a painstaking, multi-year process (1.78).

Utopia’s release of NOT AN ARTIST (97 mins., 2021) features an eclectic cast (Haley Joel Osment, Alexi Pappas, Rosalind Chao, Matt Walsh and Bobby “The RZA” Diggs) in Pappas and Jeremy Teicher’s 2021 film festival fave. Cast interviews, a still gallery and the trailer are included in the now-available Blu-Ray (1.78, 5.1/2.0)…Big World Pictures brings viewers a double-feature Blu-Ray pairing of films by Romanian director Radu June: SCARRED HEARTS (141 mins., 2016), a period piece set in 1937, and UPPERCASE PRINT (128 mins., 2020), a film set in the early ‘80s, both of which comment on Romanian socio-political issues of their respective eras. Bonus short films are included in Big World’s release (Romanian with English subs, 5.1, 1.85/1.33).

Brainstorm Media’s release of Hannah Pearl Utt’s CORA BORA (92 mins., 2023) stars Meg Stalter as a young woman who tries to win back her girlfriend, but finds herself in need of general saving, in an offbeat character study. Brainstorm’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1) contains a filmmaker commentary and booklet with an essay from critic Sara Clements…Coming in late April from Kani Releasing is a Blu-Ray of Mike de Leon’s Filipino psychological thriller KISAPMATA (99 mins., 1981). In addition to a 4K restoration of the picture (1.85, mono), the disc includes interviews with actor Charo Santos, screenwriters Raquel Villavicencio and Clodualdo “Doy” Del Mundo Jr., an intro and commentary by director Isabel Sandoval, another intro from Raymond Red, a 1985 look at actor Vic Silaayan, behind-the-scenes material and more.

Shudder brings viewers a Blu-Ray of THE STRINGS (94 mins., 2020), Ryan Glover’s offbeat film about a musician who ends up in an abandoned farmhouse where some strange goings-on affect her creative process. Teagan Johnston and Jenna Schaefer star with Shudder’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1) including a commentary with Glover and Johnston; an interview featurette with the duo; deleted/alternate scenes; behind the scenes content; and a booklet with writing by critic Mary Beth McAndrews…Coming late April from Shudder, BIRTH/REBIRTH (101 mins., 2023) is Laura Moss’ thriller about a single mother and morgue tech who help reanimate a girl from the dead. Shudder’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1) includes commentary with Moss and cast/crew; a 40-minute documentary; the trailer; and an essay from critic Katie Walsh…Also in late April, Shudder’s original SPOONFUL OF SUGAR (94 mins., 2002) finds a disturbed babysitter providing LSD to an apparently “sick” kid while experiencing a sexual awakening in Mercedes Bruce Morgan’s film starring Morgan Saylor. Commentary, two featurettes, the trailer, and a BJ Colangelo essay are included in Shudder’s Blu-Ray (1.66, 5.1).

Dekanalog’s Blu-Ray release of Carmen Jaquier’s THUNDER (92 mins., 2022) follows a 17-year-old girl, living in a Swiss valley circa the turn of the 20^th century, when her sister mysteriously perishes. The young woman puts her vows on hold to probe what happened in a beautifully shot picture presented on Blu with a 1080p (1.85) transfer, 5.1 DTS MA French audio with English subs, an interview with Jaquier and a trio of her previous shorts, and a booklet featuring conversations with Jaquier, cinematographer Marine Atlan, and composer Nicolas Rabaeus…Coming in a few weeks from Dekanalog is the 2024 Netherlands submission for the Oscars, SWEET DREAMS (102 mins., 2023), a well-reviewed portrait of fading Dutch colonialism from director Ena Sendijarevic. Dekanalog’s Blu-Ray (1.33, 5.1) features an interview with Senijarevic, the trailer, and a booklet essay.

Factory 25’s latest releases include AMATEUR ON PLASTIC (73 mins., 2020), Mark Robinson’s documentary about Butch Willis, a Maryland-raised rock and roller whose band, Butch Willis & The Rocks, became big on the local scene circa the 1980s. Robinson’s portrait of Willis’ life and times includes interview outtakes, a series of live performances culled from 1985-2005, along with a 32-page booklet and 1985 concert performance, “Live at the 9:30 Club”…Coming from Darkstar are a pair of erotic dramas from writer-director Deborah Twiss in a double-feature Blu-Ray: SAPIOSEXUAL and TABOO: FAMILY SECRETS (195 mins., 2024), with extras including a podcast interview with Twiss, trailers, and interviews with stars Nick Hardin and David Williams.

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Also New & Noteworthy

COMPANION 4K UHD (97 mins., 2025, R; Warner): Sharply written concoction of sci-fi thriller, character drama, and crime thriller serves up a convincing near future where young couple Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid hit the woods for a weekend with friends. Alas, it turns out Thatcher’s really a robot with an implanted affection for “love-bot” owner Quaid, and once the party host (Rupert Friend) ends up dead at Thatcher’s hands in an act of self-defense, things get spicy – just as they do for the other reason they’re gathered there.

Drew Hancock wrote and directed “Companion,” which has obvious thematic similarities to other, recent entries in the “crazed-female-automaton” genre, notably “M3gan” and “Ex Machina.” However, “Companion” proves to be a lot smarter than the former and much less depressing than the latter, serving up dry humor and an engaging tone with just enough fresh plot elements for the picture to work. Thatcher, a standout on the Showtime series “Yellowjackets,” proves appealing here while Quaid manages to be enough of a sufficiently likeable jerk for the material to effectively straddle the line between black comedy and thriller. It’s not a classic but “Companion” satisfyingly stays within its lane from start to end, working especially well if you haven’t bothered to watch any of its trailers.

Warner’s good-looking UHD (2.39) includes just a few short featurettes, a Digital HD code, HDR10 and Dolby Atmos sound – I admit also I was a sucker for the movie’s soundtrack, as any film that finishes with the great Samantha Sang/Barry Gibb hit “Emotion” can’t be all bad.

LOVE HURTS 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (83 mins., 2025, R; Universal): Low-rent effort attempts to put Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan into the “unlikely action hero” biz, playing a suburban real estate agent in Milwaukee whose former partner (Ariana DeBose) comes back into his life, hoping he can join her in taking revenge against his crime lord brother (Daniel Wu). Quan’s Oscar win on “Everything Everywhere All at Once” made for a great story but his acting skills are, honestly, fairly limited in range, with this Universal box-office dud trying to mix his persona with sub-Wickian action scenes, raunchy humor and violence like other recent, low-grossing affairs they’ve churned out lately (“Violent Night,” “Renfield,” etc.). With an 83-minute running time (that includes credits!), that should tell you how successful “Love Hurts” is in achieving its decidedly limited ambitions. Universal’s 4K UHD (2:1) does include Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos sound, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, featurettes, the Blu-Ray and a Digital HD copy.

FLIGHT RISK 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (91 mins., 2025, R; Lionsgate): Mel Gibson returned to the director’s chair for the first time since “Hacksaw Ridge” nearly a decade ago, and the rust is evident by this cheapjack – if watchably goofy – thriller involving an air marshal (a miscast Michelle Dockery from “Downton Abbey”) transporting a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial in a small plane whose pilot (Mark Wahlberg) who clearly knows more than he’s letting on. Barely 90 minutes and obviously made on the thrifty side as it’s loaded with mediocre green-screen work and animation, “Flight Risk” likely would’ve fared better as a passable direct-to-demand programmer instead of a theatrical release, where it struggled to find an audience earlier this winter. The picture’s suspense is marginal at best and the claustrophobic setting is more tedious than thrilling, though Grace and Wahlberg do become more unhinged, and entertaining, in their bombastic performances as the picture progresses. A single featurette is included in Lionsgate’s 4K UHD (2.39) with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, the Blu-Ray and a Digital HD copy also on-hand.

DOG MAN Blu-Ray (89 mins., 2025, PG; Dreamworks/Universal): Dav Pilkey’s hugely popular books becomes a decent, if overly “active,” animated feature that recounts the origin of its title hero: a human police officer who’s fused, after an accident, with his canine counterpart, becoming a super-hero of sorts in order to combat the villainy of Petey the Cat (voiced by Pete Davidson). Peter Hastings wrote and directed this nicely animated Dreamworks release which faithfully captures the designs of Pilkey’s source material – it’s just a little much over the course of its near 90 minute running time, pausing only here and there for sufficient “feels” or moments that aren’t overly manic. Universal’s attractive 1080p (1.85, 7.1 TrueHD) Blu-Ray offers deleted/extended scenes, a featurette, “Howl to Draw” segment, and a Digital HD code.

GOOD BAD THINGS Blu-Ray (96 mins., 2024; Music Box): Highly appealing, unpretentious indie stars Danny Kurtzman as a man with muscular dystrophy who’s drawn into a new relationship after signing up for a dating app. His new relationship with an understanding photographer (Jessica Parker Kennedy) makes for a unique love story and realistic portrait of living with a disability captured by Kurtzman, who also scripted alongside director Shane D. Stanger. Music Box’s Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA) is now available featuring interviews with Kurtzman and Steve Way; filmmaker panels with Ramy Youssef and Sian Heder; and an interview with Stanger and cinematographer Nathan Haugaard.

ONE OF THEM DAYS Blu-Ray (97 mins., 2025, R; Sony): Comedy pairs Keke Palmer and SZA as roommates who team up to avoid being evicted after SZA’s boyfriend motors through their rent money. Lawrence Lamont’s fast-paced film is up and down in terms of laughs but at least Syreeta Singleton’s script and Lamont’s direction are attempting a straight comedy and there’s no pretension here but to serve up a good time for the movie’s target audience. A gag reel, featurettes, and a Digital HD copy are included in Sony’s Blu-Ray (2.39, 5.1 DTS MA).

Cohen New Releases: Two films from director Ismail Merchant comprise a new Double Feature Blu-Ray from Cohen. Om Puri stars as a university scholar asked to interview an aging poet (Shashi Kapoor), only to find him to be a combative subject, in Merchant’s 1994 drama IN CUSTODY (126 mins., PG). Merchant followed that film with THE PROPRIETOR (113 mins., 1996, R), the study of a French writer, living in NYC, who has to come to terms with her childhood, growing up during WWII, after her family home goes up for sale. Sean Young and Sam Waterston co-star in this little-seen 1996 release. Both movies include 1080p (1.85) transfers with extras including a “Proprietor” commentary by Wade Major; archival interviews from “In Custody”‘s EPK; a featurette with James Ivory and Nasheed Qamar Faruqi discussing the latter film; and Merchant’s 1974 short “Mahatma and the Mad Boy”…also new from Cohen is Aurelie Saada’s ROSE (103 mins., 2021), starring Francoise Fabian as an elderly woman who, after losing her loving husband, finds a new verve for living. A Q&A with Saada is included plus the trailer and a 2.37 transfer (5.1/2.0, French with English subtitles) in Cohen’s now-available Blu-Ray.

SUMMER WARS Blu-Ray (114 mins., 2009, PG; Shout/Gkids): Mamoru Hosoda’s 2009 anime hit has been remastered for Blu-Ray by Shout. This fanciful modern fantasy incorporates virtual reality as well as offbeat characters and a dash of romance, and became a big fan favorite amongst genre buffs upon its original release. Out this week, Shout’s Blu-Ray (1.78, 5.1 Japanese/English) offers a new transfer with interviews featuring the original cast; a talk with Hosoda; and teasers/trailers.

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY: Complete Third Season DVD (302 mins., 2024-25; Warner): Janine takes charge by implementing growth initiatives for Abbott Elemenatry while Gregory decides to embrace being the beloved “cool” teacher in this third season of the popular ABC comedy. The writing is stronger and more consistent in Season 3 as well, with Warner’s DVD (1.85, 5.1) available this week.

NEXT TIME: Warner Archive’s latest, including EARTH II and more! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!