It's New Release Tuesday! More Kurosawa on Criterion, tons of catalog 4Ks, and more!
1923: SEASON 1 (2022)
1923, a Yellowstone origin story, introduces a new generation of the Dutton family as they explore the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home. (DVD)
3 GEEZERS! (2013)
It’s Cocoon meets The Hangover in this hilarious romp through the golden years. Hollywood actor J Kimball takes up residence at The Coconuts convalescent home to research what it’s like to be old for an upcoming movie role. But when he meets the other residents, he quickly discovers that his perceptions of the elderly may be far different from reality. After being on the wrong end of some pranks, J enlists the help of his Hollywood friends to turn the tides … and mayhem ensues. (DVD)
AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DREAMS (1990) (CRITERION)
Unfolding in a series of eight mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa was inspired by the beloved director’s own nighttime visions, along with stories from Japanese folklore. In a visually sumptuous journey through the master’s imagination, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic apparitions: a young boy stumbles on a fox wedding in a forest; a soldier confronts the ghosts of the war dead; a power-plant meltdown smothers a seaside landscape in radioactive fumes. Interspersed with reflections on the redemptive power of creation, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh (who is played by Martin Scorsese), Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams is both a showcase for its maker’s artistry at its most unbridled and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
BROADWAY MELODY (1929) (WARNER ARCHIVE)
The Great White Way truly becomes the Street of Broken Dreams when sisters Queenie and Hank Mahoney (Anita Page and Bessie Love) follow Hank's boyfriend, Eddie Kearns (Charles King), to Manhattan with visions of stardom. In New York, Eddie and Queenie are attracted to each other, but unwilling to betray her sister, Queenie dates a feckless cad. Now, Hank must sort out the tangle of aspirations and emotions that form this tragic love triangle. Filled with a memorable score of unforgettable songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, this was the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (1929-30). (BLU-RAY)
BROKEN MIRROR / UNQUIET DEATH (1970)
Broken Mirror
Anne Lawrence lives in Brussels, where she works as a restorer of rare paintings. When Anne becomes pregnant, her widowed mother visits her, which brings back memories from Anne's past. Her mother asks Anne about the time she went missing and was found, lost in the city, clutching a strange painting with no knowledge of where it came from. Anne is fascinated by the painting but also scared of it. She becomes determined to discover why it now seems so important to her.
Unquiet Death
Three sisters come from France to visit their wealthy uncle who lives on a remote island off the coast of Tunisia. The only other inhabitant of the island is the uncle's manservant. The uncle dies in mysterious circumstances and the girls are left at the mercy of the servant. Initially he seems cooperative but then, as the radio broadcasts disturbing reports of trouble and unrest on the mainland, he rebels, refusing to obey the girls' orders. Imprisoning them in the uncle's house, he sets them various bizarre tasks, challenges their sense of superiority and even tries to teach them a new form of language. (BLU-RAY)
BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES: SERIES 9 (2014)
In the quaint but killer town of Brokenwood, Detectives Shepherd, Sims , and Chalmers set out to solve an onstage electrocution, the murder of a nun whose sisters have taken a vow of silence, and more. (DVD)
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017)
Amid the summer splendor of 1980's Italy, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire that will alter their lives forever. (4K ULTRA HD)
CELLULOID CLOSET (1996)
Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this exuberant, eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of gay men and women on the silver screen. (4K ULTRA HD)
CIMARRON (1931) (WARNER ARCHIVE)
1898. The Oklahoma Land Rush. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land, Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his property by Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, and Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Always in love, frequently apart and destined for greatness, Yancey and Sabra lead lives as tempestuous as the land they have chosen for their home in this epic Western classic. (BLU-RAY)
CITY OF JOY (1992)
In the best performance of his career, Patrick Swayze stars as Max Lowe, a disillusioned surgeon who travels to India after a young patient dies on the operating table. But Lowe’s determination to quit medicine is challenged when he meets a committed British nurse who runs a free clinic in Calcutta’s most dangerous neighbourhood. And when her clinic – and the livelihood of her neighbours – is threatened by the brutal local “godfather”, Max teaches the impoverished Indians the strength of their own unity. (BLU-RAY)
CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (1995)
From Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of AMELIE and DELICATESSEN, comes a fantastically twisted fairy tale chock-full of curious characters, spectacular stunts and unforgettable visuals. (4K ULTRA HD)
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000)
An epic set against the breathtaking landscapes of ancient China, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon combines the exhilarating martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo-Ping (The Matrix) with the sensitivity and classical storytelling of an Ang Lee film. The result is something truly unexpected: romantic, emotionally powerful entertainment. (4K ULTRA HD)
DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY-GO-ROUND (1966)
Con artist Eli Kotch (James Coburn) schemes his way to parole by seducing the prison's female psychologist. Once free, he seduces many women, sometimes using disguises and accents to steal what he wants from them. With a hefty sum of stolen finances set up, he begins planning his biggest heist yet: robbing the Los Angeles International Airport bank when the Soviet Union premier arrives. But his sham marriage to the secretary (Camilla Sparv) of a millionaire may put a wrench in his plan. (BLU-RAY)
DEVIL'S BACKBONE (2001)
His father killed in the brutal fighting of the Spanish Civil War, ten-year-old Carlos is sent to live at the desolate Santa Lucia School, now a makeshift shelter for war orphans. Soon after his arrival, Carlos has a series of seemingly supernatural encounters: strange shadows, voices and, most frightening of all, the apparition of a brutalized young boy. Turns out that Carlos is not alone in seeing these strange phenomena, many other children have experienced the "One Who Sighs," as the entity has come to be called. (4K ULTRA HD)
DU BARRY WAS A LADY (1943) (WARNER ARCHIVE)
Hapless nightclub hatcheck boy Red Skelton loves glamorous chanteuse Lucille Ball. Handsome hoofer Gene Kelly loves her too. And Lucy? Lucy loves money. Then Red mistakenly gulps down a Mickey Finn and dreams he's in 18th-century France. Before you can powder your wig, a throng of suitors -- Red, Gene, King Louis XV, a dashing rebel, a sinister duke and just about everybody -- loves Lucy! (BLU-RAY)
ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) (2 VERSIONS)
Five decades following his untimely death, Bruce Lee remains the movies' supreme martial arts star. His masterful final film, Enter The Dragon, stands the test of time as the most beloved martial arts epic in film history. This box office hit takes Lee to the island fortress of criminal warlord Han, whose martial arts academy covers up opium smuggling and prostitution activities. To avenge the death of his sister, Lee infiltrates the stronghold and enters Han's brutal tournament-a breathtaking visual feast of competitions fusing skills in karate, judo, tae kwon do, tai chi chuan and hapkido, staged by Lee himself. What a kick! (4K ULTRA HD)
FAST X (2023)
Ever since their saga started on the streets of L.A.'s underground racing scene, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have overcome impossible odds to outsmart, out-nerve and outdrive every foe. Yet when the team took down a nefarious kingpin back in Brazil, they had no idea his son Dante (Jason Momoa) was watching from the shadows. More lethal than any other enemy they've faced, Dante now rises as a terrifying new nemesis who's fueled by revenge and determined to shatter their family and destroy everything and everyone that Dom loves. From London and Brazil to Antarctica and Rome, new alliances are forged and old enemies resurface. But everything changes after Dom discovers his eight-year-old son is Dante's ultimate target. (BLU-RAY and DVD)
FASTEST GUN ALIVE (1956) (WARNER ARCHIVE)
Glenn Ford stars in this action-packed Western featuring a star-powered cast. Ford stars as a gunman gone good named George Temple, who with his wife Dora (Jeanne Crain) are trying to live a peaceful life. But George's gunslinging ways are legendary - and attract the attention of other gunmen who feel up for a challenge. The couple moves to a new town in the hopes of finally finding a normal life. When George gets drunk and spills the beans, can he and Dora trust the townfolk to keep their secret? A Western with a message that the whole family can enjoy. (BLU-RAY)
FAT MAN & LITTLE BOY (1989)
In the remote desert of New Mexico, “The Manhattan Project” is materializing — the World War II effort to build the atomic bomb. Oscar-winner Paul Newman (Hud, Nobody’s Fool) stars as General Leslie Groves, the military man in charge of a massive project that will produce two weapons: “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”. Dwight Schultz (The Temp, Star Trek: First Contact) is J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant scientist attempting to bring the startling mission to fruition. (BLU-RAY)
FEAR, THE (1966)
Anna, a young female student living in Athens, returns to her family's large farm in the remote Greek countryside. She starts to feel the tensions that lie, repressed, under the apparently tranquil rural setting. Her father and mother are trapped in a loveless marriage and her half-brother, Anestis, seems even more of a brooding and dangerous figure than ever before. Anna's only real friend is the mute servant girl, Hrysa, who many of the local villagers see as some kind of saint due to her alleged sightings of the Virgin Mary in the lonely corn fields that surround the farm. (BLU-RAY)
FRANKENSTEIN '80 (1972)
When Professor Schwarz invents a new serum that helps transplant patients better accept their new organs, Dr. Frankenstein quickly steals it to bring to life his greatest creation... Mosaic! Once alive, Mosaic is uncontrollable and escapes from the lab nightly to solicit prostitutes and leave a trail of corpses across the city that only seems to baffle the police and create a wave of fear. Mario Mancini's (camera operator on Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace and Black Sunday) only film as director is a stylish, gory, and sleazy take on the Frankenstein story in true Italian exploitation fashion. (BLU-RAY)
HELEN OF TROY (1955) (WARNER ARCHIVE)
1100 BCE. King Priam (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) of Troy, sends his son, Paris (Jack Sernas), to Sparta to negotiate a treaty to ensure peace between the two Greek city-states. But Paris falls in love with Spartan King Menelaus' (Niall MacGinnis) wife, Helen (Rossana Podesta). Paris kidnaps the willing Helen and her servant (Brigitte Bardot), starting a war that will kill thousands of brave warriors and spell the end of the city of Troy. Homer's Iliad provides the basis for this epic from the '50s heyday of big-screen blockbusters. Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Sound Of Music) directs this lavish epic capturing more than 30,000 people on screen at a then-huge production cost of $6 million. (BLU-RAY)
INVALUABLE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN EPIC ARTIST (2014)
A feature length documentary about the life and art of Tom Sullivan and his involvement with the EVIL DEAD film series. Assembled with amazing archival Super 8mm film footage, Hi8, VHS, and vintage audio tapes and photographs, it's a unique and sentimental portrait of a man who helped make one of the greatest horror franchises of all time. (BLU-RAY)
KARATE KID (1984)
Daniel arrives in Los Angeles from the east coast and faces the difficult task of making new friends. However, he becomes the object of bullying by the Cobras, a menacing gang of karate students, when he strikes up a relationship with Ali, the Cobra leader's ex-girlfriend. Eager to fight back and impress his new girlfriend but afraid to confront the dangerous gang, Daniel asks his handyman Miyagi, whom he learns is a master of the martial arts, to teach him karate. Miyagi teaches Daniel that karate is a mastery over the self, mind, and body and that fighting is always the last answer to a problem. Under Miyagi's guidance, Daniel develops not only physical skills but also the faith and self-confidence to compete despite tremendous odds. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
KARATE KID PART II (1986)
Daniel accompanies his wise and whimsical teacher, Mr. Miyagi, to his ancestral home in Okinawa. For the boy, it's a journey to an exotic new world offering new clues to his mentor's secret past. For Miyagi, it's an opportunity to see his father one last time and rekindle a romance with his childhood sweetheart. But Miyagi's return also re-ignites a bitter feud with long-time enemy, Sato - a feud that involves young Daniel in a brilliant collision of cultures and combat. Now, far away from the tournaments, the cheering crowds and the safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when teacher becomes student and the price of honor is life itself. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
KARATE KID PART III (1989)
When Daniel Larusso decides not to compete in the upcoming karate championship, he becomes the target of vicious Cobra Kai student, Mike Barnes, who's determined to win the title back. Standing firm, Daniel's mentorand trainer, Mr. Miyagi, instructs him to ignore Mike's threats - and stay away from the tournament. But when Mike's relentless abuse escalates into blackmail, Daniel finds himself forced into competition - and at serious odds with Miyagi, the one person he cherishes most. Desperate, Daniel turns to another karate instructor, Terry Silver, whose violent combat techniques are directly opposed to Miyagi's wise instruction. But when Daniel realizes that Terry and Mike are allied with Mr Miyagi's old nemesis, Kreese, in an elaborate set-up for revenge, he also knows he has alienated the only person who can help him. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
KILL BUTTERFLY KILL (1987)
Years after being assaulted, a young woman (Juliet Chan) seeks bloody revenge on the five men responsible. She is aided by a retired hitman sympathetic to her plight (“Tattooer Ma” Sha) and a group of like-minded girlfriends. One by one, each of the creeps are caught in a trap and done away with, but her final quarry has a few tricks up his sleeve, leading to a violent climactic confrontation. KILL BUTTERFLY KILL (aka UNDERGROUND WIFE) is a prime example of the so-called ‘Black Movie’, an exploitation sub-genre popular during the early 1980s in Taiwan. Though cheaply made, these were stylish and potent action films with often socially conscious aims and two feet planted firmly in the gutter. (BLU-RAY)
KILLING FIELDS (1984)
The true story of journalist Sidney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) who is a New York Times journalist assigned to Cambodia, and assisted in his efforts by local representative Dith Pran (Dr. Haing S. Ngor). When Phnom Penh falls to the Khmer Rouge two years later, Dith Pran helps Schanberg escape but must himself remain behind. When the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in 1975, many thought the killing would end. Instead, it started a long nightmare in which three million Cambodians would die in the "killing fields." Back in New York, Schanberg begins to draw up plans for how he might rescue his friend. (BLU-RAY)
LAST TIME I SAW PARIS (1954) (WARNER ARCHIVE)
When reporter Charles Wills (Johnson) travels to Paris to cover the Allies' victory in World War II, he falls in love with and marries the stunningly beautiful Helen Ellswirth (Taylor). The young newlyweds choose to stay in Paris, where Charles tries to make his way as a writer. But years of struggle, rejection and poverty take their toll on the Wills' marriage, and the two drift into affairs with others as their love and dreams fade. Now, after years of disillusion and tragedy, Charles returns to Paris. But can he rediscover the passion and dreams that once came so easily? (BLU-RAY)
LEAVE (2022)
Adopted by the cop who found her abandoned as an infant in a Boston cemetery, Hunter White (Alicia von Rittberg) was understandably curious about her origins-and she traced them to a Norwegian black metal band on a concert stop. Journeying to Bergen to confront the group's vocalist (Ellen Dorrit Petersen), she might profoundly regret questing for the truth. (DVD)
MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001)
A stylish and seductive submersion into the techno-scored neon nightlife of Taipei, Hou's much-misunderstood marvel stars Shu Qi (The Assassin) as an aimless bar hostess drifting away from her blowhard boyfriend and towards Jack Kao's suave, sensitive gangster. Structured as a flashback to the then-present from the then-future of 2011, it's a transfixing trance-out of a movie, drenched in club lights, ecstatic endorphin-rush exhilaration, and a nagging undercurrent of ennui. (BLU-RAY)
MISSION, THE (1986)
Sweeping and visually resplendent, The Mission is a powerful action epic about a man of the sword (Robert DeNiro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons) who unite to shield a South American Indian tribe from brutal subjugation by 18th-century colonial empires. (BLU-RAY)
NEEDFUL THINGS (1993) (2 VERSIONS)
When a creepy older man named Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) moves to a small town in Maine and sets up an antique shop, bad things soon follow. Gaunt has the remarkable ability of selling people exactly what they want most, but his ideal purchases come at a price that involves more than just money. Through Gaunt's manipulation, the citizens of the town gradually turn on one another, resulting in violence that Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) struggles to contain. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
NIGHT OF THE EXECUTIONER (1992)
Dr. Hugo Arranz (Paul Naschy) is commemorating his 50th birthday with his wife and daughter. As the celebrations reach their height, the family are terrorized by a gang of violent street thugs who have broken into their home. Initially, the gang are after jewels and cash. But once they have their helpless victims tied up and defenseless, their thoughts turn to violence. They rape Arranz's wife and daughter and then, annoyed by the doctor's protests, they cut out his tongue and leave him for dead.
Arranz survives the attack and recovers after a stay in the hospital. Abandoning his medical practice, he seeks vengeance on the men and women who destroyed his life. He embarks on a strenuous course of physical training, involving knives, guns and punishing bouts of weight lifting. Finally, he is ready to go in pursuit of his prey. But to track them down, he must enter the sleazy underworld that his potential victims inhabit. In the process, Dr Arranz begins to learn much, not only about his targets but also about himself.(BLU-RAY)
ORLANDO (1992)
Tilda Swinton and Billy Zane star in this hip, sexy and wickedly funny look at an English nobleman who defies the laws of nature and comes back to life as an English noblewoman. (4K ULTRA HD)
RAVISHING DANY (1972)
Surely one of the weirdest "sex comedies" ever, the story concerns Danielle ('Dany to my friends'), a freelance fashion model in early 1970s France, played here by Sandra Julien of SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES fame. She wants to buy a car and so is saving the travel portion of her fee for that purpose. To get from gig to gig she hitchhikes. This puts her into numerous dangerous and bizarre situations, including being picked up by a hearse driver who wants to have sex with her UNDERNEATH his hearse, as there's a corpse in the back; an escaped loony who mistakes sheep for women; a horny Italian countess who's looking for some kinky sex and flagellation; a hippy who sings rather than talks (and has a big surprise in store for Dany); a crucifix-obsessed butterfly collector; a Byzantine prince in a Rolls Royce; and more... (BLU-RAY)
RUN LOLA RUN (1998)
A thrilling post-MTV, roller-coaster ride! Time is running out for Lola (Franka Potente). She's just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn't replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences. (4K ULTRA HD)
SCARLET (2022)
Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiery) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower, and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the child Juliette (Juliette Jouan) grows into a lonely young woman who dreams of greater possibilities. She seeks refuge in the nearby woods, where she meets a witch who promises scarlet sails will one day take her away from her village. Reckoning with her future and swept away by a rakish young pilot (Louis Garrel) who literally falls from the sky, Juliette never stops believing in the witch’s prophecy. Tracing Juliette’s journey throughout the 20 years of great invention between the world wars, Scarlet delicately weaves together music and fantasy, history and folklore, realist drama and ethereal romance, to craft a timeless story of a young woman’s emancipation. (DVD)
SLC PUNK (1999)
It's 1985 and Stevo is that rare animal: a punk rocker in the Mormon stronghold of Salt Lake City, Utah. He just graduated from college with honors and now his life is a nutty roller coaster ride of rock shows, stealing cars, beating up rednecks and non-stop partying with his buddy, Heroin Bob, and his girlfriend. But with the scene getting lame and Stevo going nowhere fast, he has to put his punk ideals to the test. (4K ULTRA HD)
STILL ALICE (2014)
Alice Howland (Julianne Moore), happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a diagnosis of Early-Onset Alzheimer's disease, Alice and her family find their bonds thoroughly tested. Her struggle stay connected to who she once was is frightening, heartbreaking, and inspiring. (4K ULTRA HD)
SWAMP THING (1982) (2 VERSIONS)
On the verge of a breakthrough in his quest to wipe out world hunger, altruistic botanist Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) is placed under the protection of special government agent Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau). Mad outlaw scientist Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) wants to steal Holland's research for his own nefarious ends, but an unforeseen accident during the heist turns Holland into the Swamp Thing, an enormous plant-like creature that fights back against Arcane's henchmen to save Cable. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (2008)
From Charlie Kaufman comes a visual and philosophic adventure. Theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is mounting a new play. His life catering to suburban blue-hairs at the local regional theater in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele (Catherine Keener) has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. His therapist, Madeleine Gravis (Hope Davis), is better at plugging her best-seller than she is at counseling him. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel (Samantha Morton) has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his autonomic functions, one by one. Worried about the transience of his life, he leaves his home behind. He gathers an ensemble cast into a warehouse in New York City, hoping to create a work of brutal honesty. He directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives in a growing mockup of the city outside. (4K ULTRA HD)
TROOP BEVERLY HILLS (1989) (30TH ANNIVERSARY)
Flamboyantly wealthy Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) has everything money can buy – a Beverly Hills mansion, a classic Rolls, furs, jewelry and designer gowns. The one thing she doesn't have is her husband Freddy (Craig T. Nelson), who's leaving her for good. Maybe. Determined to prove she's still the creative, energetic woman Freddy once loved, Phyllis throws luxury to the wind and becomes the leader of her daughter's Wilderness Girls troop. But how much can this chic cookie take before she crumbles? (BLU-RAY)
VOLVER (2006)
A luminous Penélope Cruz leads an ensemble of gifted actresses, including Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). Raimunda (Cruz) and her sister Sole lost their parents in a tragic fire years ago...or did they? Superstitious villagers claim that the girls' departed mother, Irene (Maura), has been seen wandering around their Aunt Paula's home. When Irene appears to Sole, she explains that she has returned to set right her daughters' troubled lives and reveal shocking secrets that will impact everyone! (4K ULTRA HD)
WHAT HAPPENED WAS... (1994)
Jackie and Michael are coworkers at a large law firm, who decide to meet at Jackie's for dinner one night. As this 'first date' plays out, the audience is guided through a mental minefield of disappointment. (BLU-RAY)
WRATH OF BECKY (2023)
Two years after escaping an attack on her family, Becky is attempting to rebuild her life. But when her home is broken into by a group called the Noble Men and they take her beloved dog Diego, she returns to her old ways to protect herself. (DVD)
