It's New Release Tuesday! Classic animation, tons of catalog Blu-rays, and more!
ADALEN 31 (1969) (CRITERION)
One of Bo Widerberg’s most explicitly political works imbues the true story of a 1931 labor strike with a powerful contemporary resonance. In the industrial district of Ådalen, in the north of Sweden, a peaceful demonstration takes a tragic turn, leading to a historic general strike. Amid these events, the teenage Kjell (Peter Schildt) experiences sacrifice and strife, love and loss, and the consequences of this shocking violence. Working once again with Elvira Madigan cinematographer Jörgen Persson—who captures shimmering, light-filled images in graceful widescreen—Widerberg entwines a stirring portrait of resistance with an intimate coming-of-age journey for a vision of history that feels vibrantly, urgently alive. (BLU-RAY)
AMERICAN POP (1980)
This animated trek across the musical landscape of the 20th century begins with young immigrant Zalmie (Jeffrey Lippa) arriving in New York City. He's addicted to show business, but an accident ruins his voice. He marries a stripper (Lisa Jane Persky) and their son, Benny (Richard Singer), becomes a jazz pianist. Although Benny is killed in World War II, his son, Tony (Ron Thompson), goes on to great success as a songwriter during the '60s, as does Tony's son, Pete (also Thompson), in the '80s. (BLU-RAY)
BABY CARRIAGE (1963) (CRITERION)
Infused with a jazzy, nouvelle vague–inspired energy, Bo Widerberg’s feature debut has the freshness of youth. Building on his film criticism’s call for a socially relevant Swedish cinema, the writer turned director offers a vivid portrait of a young factory worker (Inger Taube) finding her way toward independence as she weathers unexpected pregnancy, learns hard lessons from relationships with two very different men, and leaves behind the only home she has ever known. Abetted by fellow filmmaker Jan Troell’s coolly beautiful monochrome cinematography, Widerberg takes a bold first step in his mission to create a cinema that is both engaged and engaging. (BLU-RAY)
BACK TO LIFE: SEASONS 1 & 2 (2019)
In Miri Matteson's first few weeks out after an eighteen-year stint behind bars for murder, the mystery of her past looms large in her insular small home town. It's clear that life post-prison is not going to be easy. Her attempts to kickstart a new life fall flat, and while her parents try to be supportive, they are having troubles of their own. Will Miri find redemption, or is she doomed to be a middle-aged screw-up? (DVD-R)
BELLMAN & TRUE (1987) (INDICATOR SERIES )(2 VERSIONS) (CODE B)
Adapted by Desmond Lowden from his novel of the same name, Bellman & True is a tense heist thriller starring Bernard Hill (Boys from the Blackstuff, The Lord of the Rings) as a computer programmer blackmailed by gangsters into hacking a bank security system. (BLU-RAY)
BLACKENING, THE (2023)
The Blackening centers around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain't no motherf****** game. Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Barbershop) and screenplay and screen story by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) & Dewayne Perkins (The Amber Ruffin Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), The Blackening skewers genre tropes and poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first? (BLU-RAY and DVD)
BLUE STEEL (1990)
Rookie cop Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) orders a burglar to drop his gun. He whirls to shoot. Too late. Turner fires, killing him instantly. But she doesn’t know that someone has been watching. And when that someone lifts the assailant’s gun from the crime scene, carves Turner’s name into the bullets and uses them in a series of murders, Turner is drawn into a deadly game of wits with a psychopath who’s always one step ahead and much closer than she thinks! (BLU-RAY)
BRIGHTWOOD (2022)
At times both surreal and frightening, this American Indie sci-fi/horror film follows a bickering couple who find themselves trapped in a confusing and dangerous time loop. The marriage of Jen (Dana Berger, “Orange Is the New Black”, “Elementary”) and Dan (Max Woertendyke) has seen better times, with Jen now barely tolerating her whiny husband. While out on a daytime jog around a lake the thirtysomething couple begin to talk about their failing marriage but soon find themselves lost as the hiking trail seem not to have an exit and they repeatedly return to the same spot. And if that is not bad enough, a silent hooded killer is tracking them down. This debut feature film from writer/director/cinematographer Dane Elcar (based on his award winning short The Pond, 2018) presents a twisting, understated film which culminates in a disturbing conclusion. (DVD)
CITY RATS (2009) (PAL/CODE 2)
Eight lost souls search for solutions to problems ranging from finding a better suicide method, to defeating creative block, to losing their virginity. (DVD)
COMA (1978) (SPECIAL EDITION)
Ten cases. Now 12. Why are young, healthy patients admitted for minor surgery at Boston Memorial Hospital ending up on life support? Dr. Susan Wheeler wants to know. Somebody else wants her dead. (BLU-RAY)
CRIMSON RIVERS (2001)
When Commissaire Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno), France’s leading serial killer investigator, is called to investigate a grisly murder, he enters a world of secrets, lies and unthinkable horrors. The dead, whose hands and eyes have been removed, are clues to a terrible tradition the killer can no longer bear. Each murder means something more; each victim, a guilty conspirator in a grand immoral experiment. Filled with blood-chilling suspense, twisted turns and breathtaking locations, this tense thriller has the style, action and intelligence to keep you wondering what’s really happening right up until the shocking conclusion. (BLU-RAY)
DAY AND THE HOUR (1963)
In Nazi-occupied France during WWII, a French woman helps two downed Allied airmen to evade capture by the Germans and make their way into neutral Spain. (BLU-RAY)
DESTRY (1954)
Dishonest mayor Hiram J. Sellers (Edgar Buchanan) and powerful criminal Phil Decker (Lyle Bettger) dominate a small western town. But when the town's sheriff dies under mysterious circumstances, Tom Destry (Audie Murphy), son of a famed gunman, is called in to put an end to the corruption. Destry surprises the townsfolk, however, by preaching pacifism -- until he begins investigating the death of the previous sheriff and realizes that his words may not be enough. (BLU-RAY)
DOLL, THE / I DON'T WANT TO BE A MAN (1920)
Presaging such playful sex comedies as Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise and Design for Living, The Doll follows the misadventures of an effete young man who must wed in order to inherit a fortune. He opts to purchase a remarkably lifelike doll and marry it instead, not realizing that the doll is actually the puppet-maker’s flesh-and-blood daughter, in disguise. In I Don’t Want to Be a Man (1918), a teenaged tomboy, tired of being bossed around by her strict guardian, impersonates a man so she can have more fun, but discovers that being the opposite sex has its share of complications. What ensues is a gender-bending comedy that was decades ahead of its time. Both films star Ossi Oswalda, a gifted comedic actress who headlined several other silent films for Lubitsch, notably The Oyster Princess. But the real star is the director and his unmatched gift for sexual innuendo and deliciously subversive comedy. (BLU-RAY)
DOS ESTACIONES (2022)
Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Dos Estaciones follows iron-willed businesswoman María García (Teresa Sánchez), the owner of Dos Estaciones, a once-majestic tequila factory now struggling to stay afloat. The factory is the final holdover from generations of Mexican-owned tequila plants in the highlands of Jalisco, the rest having folded to foreign corporations. Once one of the wealthiest people in town, María knows her current financial situation is untenable. When a persistent plague and an unexpected flood cause irreversible damage, she is forced to do everything she can to save her community's primary economy and source of pride. (BLU-RAY and DVD)
ELVIRA MADIGAN (1967) (CRITERION)
Bo Widerberg reached new heights of visual lyricism with this sublime retelling of a real-life nineteenth-century romantic tragedy. Bound by their all-consuming desire, a young circus tightrope walker (Pia Degermark, winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress prize) and a lieutenant (Tommy Berggren) with a wife and children forsake everything to be together and escape to the countryside—only to see their lovers’ idyll gradually give way to poverty and desperation. With its painterly, sun-dappled images and indelible use of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 21, this 1960s art-house sensation is the most ravishing expression of Widerberg’s recurring theme of the tension between individual freedom and social responsibility. (BLU-RAY)
HACKERS (1995) (SHOUT SELECT) (COLLECTOR'S EDITION)
While practicing the tricks of the trade, a neophyte hacker accomplishes the nearly impossible: he hacks the highly secured computer at the Ellingson Mineral Corporation. But in doing so, he unknowingly taps into a high-tech embezzling scheme masked by a computer virus with the potential to destroy the world's ecosystem! (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
INTERNAL AFFAIRS (1990)
Dennis Peck knows his way around the law. He can launder money, run a scam, fix a bad rap. He can even, for the right price, arrange a murder. “Trust me,” he says, “I’m a cop.” Richard Gere is Peck and Andy Garcia is Raymond Avila, the investigator determined to bring Peck to justice in this supercharged police thriller. Peck isn’t going down without a fight. (BLU-RAY)
IS PARIS BURNING? (1966)
Near the end of World War II, Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz (Jean-Paul Belmondo) receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he cannot maintain control of the city. After much contemplation Choltitz decides to ignore his orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, along with Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling (Leslie Caron), helps a resistance leader (Alain Delon) organize his forces. (BLU-RAY)
KANSAS RAIDERS (1950)
After their parents are killed by Union soldiers, Jesse James (Audie Murphy) and his brother Frank (Richard Long), along with the rest of their gang, ride into Kansas looking for William Quantrill (Brian Donlevy). Seeking revenge against the Union, Jesse wants to join Quantrill's Raiders, who are plotting to claim Kansas for the Confederacy. The more time Jesse spends with Quantrill, however, the more he realizes that Quantrill isn't a hero fighting for the South, but a murderous madman. (BLU-RAY)
MIDWICH CUCKOOS (2022) (COMPLETE MINI-SERIES)
One evening everyone in a part of the English town of Midwich falls unconscious, and upon waking, every woman has fallen pregnant. The spawn of these pregnancies are The Midwich Cuckoos, a group of strange children who will change the town forever. (DVD)
MOMENT OF ROMANCE (1990) (LIMITED EDITION)
Small-time hood Wah Dee (Andy Lau, Infernal Affairs) is enlisted by Triad boss Trumpet (Tommy Wong, The Killer) as a getaway driver for a daring heist that goes wrong. Thinking fast Dee takes Jo Jo (Jacklyn Chien-Lien Wu, The Barefooted Kid) hostage to save his skin, but the bosses order her to be killed. They escape and begin a forbidden relationship while being chased by both sides of the law. Produced by Johnnie To (Throwdown) and Ringo Lam (City on Fire) the film is sensationally directed by Benny Chan in his feature debut. With a breakneck pace and violence reminiscent of To and Takashi Miike and the beautiful and emotive sensibility of Wong Kar-wai, the film features stunning performances from Lau, and Wu in her debut work. A Moment of Romance is a classic of Hong Kong cinema that has been much imitated but rarely bettered. (BLU-RAY)
NARC (2002)
Narc tells the story of suspended undercover narcotics officer, Nick Tellis (Patric), who is reluctantly drawn back onto the force to find the truth behind the murder of a young police officer killed in the line of duty. He is teamed with Henry Oak (Liotta), the slain officer’s partner, a rogue cop who will stop at nothing to avenge his friend’s death. As Tellis and Oak unravel the case, the dark underbelly of the narcotics world reveals itself in surprising ways that are more twisted than either officer has ever seen before and threatens to destroy them both. (BLU-RAY)
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) (ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION)
When the king of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, gets bored of his job preparing for Halloween every year, he discovers Christmas Town and is inspired to take control of Christmas season for a change. Unfortunately his ghoulish subjects have difficulty getting the festive holiday quite right. Meanwhile, Sally, a pretty maid who takes care of her creator, Dr. Finklestein, is trying to escape from her confines. She worries for Jack and foresees his plans will end in ruin. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
OUTRAGE (1950)
Directed by pioneering actress/filmmaker Ida Lupino (The Hitch-Hiker, The Bigamist), the controversial classic Outrage was one of the first Hollywood films of its era to deal with the subject of rape. Mala Powers (Cyrano de Bergerac, City That Never Sleeps) stars as Ann Walton, a young bookkeeper freshly engaged to her boyfriend, Jim Owens (Robert Clarke, The Man from Planet X). But her promising life unravels completely when, on her way home from work one evening, she is raped. The trauma of the attack shatters her sense of identity and forces her to flee from home in shame. Praised by Martin Scorsese as “a subdued behavioral study that captures the banality of evil in an ordinary small town,” Outrage is a unique and vital film noir that addresses the widespread and unquestioned violence that women face with remarkable sensitivity. In 2020, Lupino’s landmark achievement was deemed a “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” work of art and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. (DVD)
RAVEN'S END (1963) (CRITERION)
A period piece that forgoes nostalgia in favor of a stark examination of working-class struggle, Bo Widerberg’s second feature unfolds in 1936 in the director’s hometown of Malmö. It’s there, in the poor district of Raven’s End, that young Anders (Widerberg’s regular collaborator Tommy Berggren) chases his dream of becoming a writer while growing increasingly disillusioned with the dead-end world that surrounds him: an alcoholic father, a toiling mother, and the ominous specter of Nazism. Delivering a bracing jolt of kitchen-sink realism to Swedish cinema, Widerberg paints an unsparing portrait of youthful idealism bumping up against economic despair. (BLU-RAY)
SIERRA (1950)
Ring Hassard (Audie Murphy) and his father Jeff (Dean Jagger) live in a hidden valley in the mountains where they capture and tame wild horses. When Ring comes to the rescue of Riley Martin (Wanda Hendrix), a woman lawyer who has lost her way on the trail, it leads to a romance between them but also opens an investigation into Jeff's shadowy past and accusations of murder. The Hassards encounter more trouble when a gang of horse thieves led by Big Matt Ringo (Richard Rober) who steal from them and then plot to kill them before justice is served. Directed by Alfred E. Green. (BLU-RAY)
STRANGERS IN THE HOUSE (1942)
Legendary actor Raimu (Pagnol's Marseille trilogy) is brilliant as the alcoholic ex-attorney Hector Loursat, disillusioned with life and living with his daughter, Nicole (Juliette Faber, Simenon's Picpus), in a vast and shabby mansion. One night, they hear gunshots echoing from upstairs and discover a dead man lying on an old bed in the attic. This ghastly scene sets the stage for a sharp and scathing film noir written by Europe's most acclaimed craftsmen of suspense and directed by the great Henri Decoin (One Step to Eternity, Razzia sur la Chnouf). (BLU-RAY)
SWORD, THE (1980)
Li Mak-Jan is a swordsman who has wandered for a number of years searching for the reclusive master swordsman Hua. After encountering two fellow swordsmen, Li comes across his old love, who tells him that not only has their town fallen on hard times (the temple is in ruins) but, worst of all, in the time he has been away she has moved on and married another man. Turns out, her husband is quite evil, of course, and just a little bit insanely jealous as well as very interested in swords, particularly those belonging to masters. The husband sends his henchman to kill Li, but Li escapes. (BLU-RAY)
THAT DAY ON THE BEACH (1983) (LIMITED EDITION)
Two friends who haven’t seen each other for thirteen years reunite. One is a successful concert pianist just back from a European tour and the other has just started a new business. (DVD)
THREE INTO TWO WON'T GO (1969)
In this searing story of infidelity, Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night) and Claire Bloom (Charly) star as middle-aged couple Steve and Frances Howard of Middlesex, England. While away on business, Steve begins an affair with a 19-year-old hitchhiker (Judy Geeson, Brannigan). He thinks he's in control of his philanderous situation—until the free-spirited teenager insists upon moving in with him and his wife. Dame Peggy Ashcroft (Secret Ceremony) also stars as Frances' mother, whose neurotic interference only makes things messier. Directed by film and theater great Peter Hall (Perfect Friday, The Homecoming), this cult '60s gem features brilliant performances and a powerful script by Edna O'Brien (Girl with Green Eyes) from Andrea Newman's novel. (BLU-RAY)
TWO TICKETS TO GREECE (2022)
When childhood friends Magalie (Call My Agent!’s Laure Calamy) and Blandine (Olivia Côte) cross paths after many years, they decide to finally take their dream vacation to Greece. A wildly entertaining tale of female camaraderie. (DVD)
UNMAN, WITTERING AND ZIGO (1971) (LIMITED EDITION)
John Ebony is the idealistic young schoolmaster who arrives at Chantrey School for Boys on his first assignment, employed to fill the shoes of his predecessor Pelham who has recently been found dead at the bottom of a nearby cliff. Taking up residence in a cottage in the school's grounds with his restless young wife Sylvia (Carolyn Seymour), Ebony is eager to make a good impression, but immediately gets off on the wrong foot with his assigned pupils, discovering the boys of class Lower 5b, minus the perpetually absent Zigo, to be unruly and defiant. However, they might possibly know more about Pelham's demise than the school's headmaster and his fellow staff are letting on.
(BLU-RAY)
WAY OF THE GUN (2000)
Longtime partners Parker and Longbaugh are hoping for a quick and nonviolent payoff when they abduct Robin, a young woman pregnant with the child of a wealthy Southwestern couple. But kidnapping proves to be much more complicated, logistically and psychologically, than other felonies they’ve committed. Parker is increasingly drawn to the mysterious Robin, whose imminent delivery date awakens strong feelings in him. Tensions rise between Parker and Longbaugh, a ruthlessly decisive man who knows Parker’s sentimental impulses could land them in big trouble. As the moment for the ransom exchange approaches, Parker and Longbaugh must battle not only well-armed opponents, but also their own conflicted emotions. (BLU-RAY)
WEST IS WEST (2010) (CODE B)
Sequel to the internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning EAST IS EAST, WEST IS WEST takes the Khan family on a journey from Salford, England, to rural Pakistan.WEST IS WEST is the coming of age story of both 13 year old Sajid and also of his father, 60 year old George (‘Ghengis’) Khan. Sajid, the youngest Khan has been misbehaving so his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 30 years earlier. Resolved to teach Sajid a lesson, the tables are turned on George as he realizes that it is he himself who has much to learn. (BLU-RAY)
YARDS, THE (2000) (2 VERSIONS) (2 DISKS)
Released from prison after taking the fall for a group of his friends, Leo Handler (Mark Wahlberg) just wants to get his life back on track. But when he takes a job with his powerfully influential Uncle Frank (James Caan) and reconnects with his old friend Willie (Joaquin Phoenix), Leo finds himself unwittingly drawn into a world of sabotage, high-stakes payoffs, and even murder! Then, he discovers a secret that makes him the target of the city’s most ruthless family, his own! (BLU-RAY)
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS (2023)
A novelist's longstanding marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband giving his honest reaction to her latest book. (BLU-RAY and DVD)
