This week, we’ve got some titanic titles making their way to DVD and Blu-ray. Yes, there are a number of big blockbusters making their physical media debuts, but the new titles also include everything from TV season sets to classics from the Warner Archives to cult hits out on home video for the first time ever. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a film fan, so be sure to take a look at these monster hits that are now available!
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
In an ancient subterranean world deep inside the Earth lies a power source sought by a cybernetics company to combat Godzilla…and only King Kong can acquire it. The two mammoth monsters are soon going head to head, wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting Hong Kong. But they may need to combine their colossal strength when metal menace Mechagodzilla rages out of control. Fourth entry in the combined “MonsterVerse” series stars Brian Tyree Henry, Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, and Kyle Chandler.
Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Enchanting M-G-M musical treat has late, great showman Florenz Ziegfeld (William Powell) looking down from heaven and envisioning an assortment of the greatest song-and-dance spectaculars ever committed to film. Selections include “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Look for the Silver Lining,” “Ol’ Man River,” and many more. With Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Esther Williams, more; co-directed by Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney, Roy Del Ruth, Lemuel Ayers, and Robert Lewis.
Last Train from Gun Hill (1959)
Exciting western saga stars Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn as friends who wind up on opposites of the law. A U.S. marshal (Douglas) tracks his wife’s killer to Gun Hill, a town run by his old pal (Quinn) who’s become a wealthy cattle baron. But when the culprit turns out to be his buddy’s son (Earl Holliman), the lawman finds he’ll have to take on the entire town if he wants to see justice served. Carolyn Jones co-stars; directed by John Sturges (“The Magnificent Seven”).
Guns for San Sebastian (1968)
In 1740s Mexico, Spanish deserter Leon Astray (Anthony Quinn) was given sanctuary by kindly Father Jose (Sam Jaffee)…and the Church reassigned the padre to the remote town of San Sebastian as a result. Guiltily providing escort, Astray couldn’t stop Jose’s murder by outlaws–and then went along with the villagers’ mistaken belief that he was their new priest. He may prove their salvation from the vaqueros and Yaquis terrorizing them, in this long-sought western actioner. Charles Bronson, Anjanette Comer co-star.
Take This Job and Shove It (1981)
Wacky comedy, based on the hit song by Johnny Paycheck, stars Robert Hays as Frank Macklin, an executive sent to his small hometown to restructure the financially strapped local brewery. Frank soon finds himself caught in the middle between the employees–many of whom are his old buddies–and the conglomerate he works for. Can he get the suds flowing and save everyone’s jobs? With Art Carney, Barbara Hershey, David Keith, Martin Mull, Tim Thomerson.
SAS: Red Notice (2021)
After a mostly successful mission to terminate a squad of black ops contractors, well-off Special Air Service operator Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan) hopped a train for Paris to meet his lady (Hannah John-Kamen). Unfortunately, the killers that slipped through his fingers have also boarded…and they’re ready to embarrass the crown–by blowing up the Chunnel–if he can’t stop them. Thriller from the Andy McNab novel also stars Ruby Rose, Andy Serkis, Tom Wilkinson, Tom Hopper.
The Crystal Ball (ClassicFlix Silver Series)(1943)
For the first time on home video comes a delightful romantic comedy about a fake medium who uses her “powers” to land the man of her dreams. After placing second in a beauty contest she had hoped to win, penniless Toni Gerard (Paulette Goddard) finds herself homeless and alone in New York City, with no bus ticket back home to Highwater, Texas. Wanting to divine her future, she asks advice from fortune-teller Madame Zenobia, who quickly gets her a job shilling for a shooting gallery next door.
While performing her duties, Toni becomes smitten with handsome attorney Brad Cavanaugh (Ray Milland) whom she eyes while he is escorting girlfriend Jo Ainsley (Virginia Field) on her way to an appointment with the clairvoyant. Soon after, Toni is asked to impersonate the soothsayer when the medium injures herself in a fall. This not only allows the Texan to scotch the budding romance between Brad and Jo, but also allows Toni some creative ways to get the attention of the man she adores.
Night Walk (2019)
Framed by the police for his girlfriend’s murder while on a visit to her Middle Eastern home country, Frank (Sean Stone) is sent back to the States and thrown in prison. Now, he’ll have to ally himself with a powerful fellow inmate (Mickey Rourke) as he plans to break out of jail in order to prove his innocence and settle his score with the corrupt American judge (Eric Roberts) who helped put him behind bars. With Sarah Alami, Laouni Mouhid, Louis Mandylor, Patrick Kilpatrick.
One Potato, Two Potato (1964)
Powerful, heartfelt drama details the relationship between white divorcée Julie Cullen (Barbara Barrie) and her black co-worker, Frank Richards (Bernie Hamilton). The couple marries and has a son, overcoming the initial disapproval of Franks’ parents. But their lives are thrown into turmoil when Julie’s deadbeat first husband (Richard Mulligan) turns up and tries to win custody of their daughter (Marti Mericka) in an ignorant attempt to keep her out of an interracial family.
Chain Lightning (1950)
Onetime hotshot WWII pilot Matt Brennan (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by aircraft factory owner Leland Willis (Raymond Massey) to fly a new, experimental jet plane from Alaska to Washington, D.C., in a bid to wow the Pentagon. Is the jet sound enough for the journey, and will Brennan live to know the answer? Gripping drama, boasting exciting aerial footage, co-stars Eleanor Parker, Richard Whorf.
Voyagers (2021)
To man a multigenerational space mission in search of a new habitable planet, a crew of 30 boys and girls were raised from birth in sterile, routine isolation as preparation for the long journey. Once underway, however, some of the young people become wise to the dietary supplement given them to suppress their baser impulses–leaving the orderly odyssey destined for violence and chaos. Neil Burger’s sci-fi stunner stars Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead, and Colin Farrell.
French Exit (2020)
Having managed to burn through the fortune her late husband left her, aging Manhattan socialite Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) packed off with adult son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) for a new existence sponging at the Paris apartment of old friend Joan (Susan Coyne). Their misadventures abroad, and the odd truth about the family cat, fuel Azazel Jacobs’ disarming dramedy; Imogen Poots, Valerie Mahaffey, Danielle Macdonald, Isaach De Bankolé co-star. Patrick DeWitt adapted his novel for the screen.
Body Slam (1986)
A down-and-out music promoter (Dirk Benedict) ventures into the world of professional wrestling when he takes on a pair of grapplers (“Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Sam Fatu) as clients. And when he books a band to play at the matches, he mixes rock and roll and wrestling into a wildly successful new genre of entertainment. Outrageous comedy also stars Tanya Roberts, Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Barty, and Captain Lou Albano, with Freddie Blassie, Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino, and other pro wrestlers appearing as themselves.
Smart People (2008)
After suffering a brain injury, self-centered English professor and widower Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is prohibited from driving for six months. His adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) volunteers as chauffeur, but his irresponsible nature frequently leaves Lawrence stranded. Will a lift offered by an attractive doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) lead to romance or will the prof’s massive ego get in the way? Elliot Page, Christine Lahti co-star in this offbeat seriocomedy.
Godzilla Vs. Kong/Godzilla: King of the Monsters/Kong: Skull Island
Three MonsterVerse hits are included in this three-disc set.
The Railway Children (1970)
After their diplomat father was arrested on suspicion of espionage, the Waterbury children (Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren) left their privileged London lives for a tumbledown house in Yorkshire. Their kind and heroic interactions with the local community as they keep faith for their dad’s exoneration propel this touching and humble family drama, adapted from the E. Nesbit staple by writer-director Lionel Jeffries. Dinah Sheridan, Bernard Cribbins, Iain Cuthbertson co-star.
The Awakening (1980)
Charlton Heston stars as Matthew Corbeck, an archeologist who breaks into an Egyptian tomb and accidentally releases a vengeful spirit that possesses his newborn baby daughter. Will Corbeck be able to sacrifice his child before she can unleash her deadly powers and destroy all of mankind? Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist also star in this spine-tingling thriller based on Bram Stoker’s “The Jewel of Seven Stars.”
Gattaca (4K Ultra HD)(1997)
In an all-too-possible future, genetic engineering has divided the world into lab-created perfect humans and naturally-born “invalids,” who are doomed to menial tasks and an early death. Ethan Hawke is a young “invalid” who resorts to deceit in order to fulfill his dream of taking part in a manned space mission, but is soon caught up in a murder mystery that could rock the foundations of his repressive society. Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Alan Arkin, Ernest Borgnine, and Gore Vidal also star in this intriguing sci-fi thriller.
The Being (1983)
In a small Idaho community, a young boy mutates after coming into contact with toxic waste and starts killing the townspeople. The police chief and a government scientist investigate the killings, but when they learn of the monster behind the madness, can they stop him before they become his next victims? Fun and frightening horror tale stars Martin Landau, José Ferrer, Ruth Buzzi, Rexx Coltrane, and “The Unknown Comic” Murray Langston.
Anything for Jackson (2020)
Aging obstetrician Henry Walsh (Julian Richings) and his wife Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) were devastated by the accidental loss of their only daughter, and their young grandson Jackson. So much so that they connived the kidnapping of a pregnant and vulnerable patient (Konstantina Mantelos)…and the aid of a Satanist cult in transferring Jackson’s lost soul into the unborn’s body. Unnerving effort also stars Josh Cruddas, Yannick Bisson, Kaitlyn Leeb.
Streetwise/Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell (Criterion Collection)
First, Streetwise (1984) features interviews with nine runaway teenagers living on the streets of Seattle paint a disturbing picture of poverty, petty theft, prostitution, and drugs, and cast a revealing light on the unique sub-society in which these young throwaways exist. Director Martin Bell’s graphic and unforgettable documentary followed up on a Life magazine spread by the filmmaker’s wife, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall. Then, ome 30 years after the completion of “Streetwise,” documentarians Martin Bell and Mary Ellen Mark caught up with one of their surviving subjects, ex-teen hooker Erin Blackwell, a now-married mother of 10, settled but struggling with addiction and her kids’ own skirmishes with the authorities, in “Tiny: The Life Of Erin Blackwell” (2016).
In the Line of Fire (4K Ultra HD)(1993)
Knockout suspenser with Clint Eastwood as Frank Horrigan, a veteran Secret Service agent entwined in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a brilliant psychotic, Mitch Leary (John Malkovich), plotting to kill the president. While racing to stop the would-be assassin, Horrigan must overcome the demons haunting him from his days as JFK’s bodyguard in Dallas. Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott co-star; Wolfgang Petersen directs.
Kindred (2020)
Pregnant Charlotte (Tamara Lawrance) accompanied her boyfriend Ben (Edward Holcroft) to his remote family estate, where he informed his controlling mom Margaret (Fiona Shaw) and dominated stepbrother Thomas (Jack Lowden) that they’d be raising their child in Australia. After Ben’s abrupt death, though, the isolated Charlotte was left with his overly solicitous kin…and growing dread over whether she was free to leave. Moody effort co-stars Anton Lesser, Chloe Pirrie.
Sphinx (1981)
Strong-willed Egyptologist Erica Baron (Lesley-Anne Down) struggles to solve an ancient riddle which would unlock the secret treasures hidden within a sealed crypt. But she’s soon up to her neck in trouble, as black marketeers are also after the loot, and have no qualms about killing Erica to get it. Based on the novel by Robin Cook, this exciting thriller co-stars Frank Langella, John Gielgud, Maurice Ronet, and John Rhys-Davies; directed by Franklin Schaffner.
Your Honor (2021)
Well-respected New Orleans judge Michael Desiato’s (Bryan Cranston) teenaged son Adam (Hunter Doohan) is responsible for a hit-and-run accident that leaves a young man dead. And when he discovers the victim’s father is a powerful mob boss, Desiato will face the ultimate crisis of conscience as he attempts to cover up Adam’s involvement in the incident. Riveting 10-part Showtime limited series also stars Hope Davis, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Isiah Whitlock, Jr. 10 episodes on 3 discs.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond: Season One (2020)
Set 10 years into the zombie outbreak, this “Walking Dead” spin-off focuses on four Nebraska teens with the barest recollection of the world before–sibs Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope Bennett (Alexa Mansour), Silas Plaskett (Hal Cumpston), and Elton Ortiz (Nicolas Cantu)–as they must deal with survival outside their Omaha encampment when they escape to free the Bennetts’ imprisoned father (Joe Holt). Julia Ormond, Nico Tortorella, Annet Mahendru also star. All 10 episodes from the debut season are featured in this three-disc set.
Click here for a complete rundown of all of this week’s new releases.