If you’re suffering from post-summer depression, you can find some solace in the fact that with the arrival of fall comes fantastic movies from the season past that are now hitting Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD. See for yourself the incredible variety of titles that you can enjoy right now!
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
It was the early ’70s, and the Minions (voiced by Pierre Coffin) were in the market for a new master–so they glommed on to Gru (Steve Carell), then just a 12-year-old fanboy of the criminal crew called the Vicious 6. When the 6 jumped out ex-honcho Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), Gru offered to replace him…and after getting laughed off, his vengeful attempts to show up the cabal got their attention in the worst way. Fun franchise entry co-stars the voices of Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Lawless, Julie Andrews.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)
Based on the novel by Paul Gallico, this charming comedy/drama follows Ada Harris (Lesley Manville), a widowed housecleaner living in 1950s London, who heads to Paris in search of a Christian Dior gown that’s caught her eye. But she might be in for more than just a swanky frock, as the trip proves to be a wonderful excursion that may wind up giving Mrs. Harris’ humdrum life the jolt of excitement it desperately needs. With Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Lambert Wilson.
The Funhouse (Collector’s Edition)(1981)
Directed by Tobe Hooper (“Poltergeist”), this non-stop thrill ride of frights and chills follows a group of four fun-loving teenagers who decide to spend the night in a travelling carnival’s funhouse. When a deformed man wearing a Frankenstein mask begins brutally murdering the friends, they find themselves in a desperate struggle for survival. Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee star.
Young Sheldon: The Complete Fifth Season (2021)
The adventures of Sheldon Cooper when he was a boy? That’s what you get with CBS’s hit “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff/prequel, which looks back at the socially inept physicist when he was a 9-year-old prodigy (Iain Armitage) attending high school in late-‘80s East Texas, and presenting upbringing challenges for his protective mom (Zoe Perry) and football coach dad (Lance Barber). Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord, and Annie Potts co-star, with narration from grown “Sheldon” Jim Parsons. 22 episodes on 2 discs.
Chicago P.D.: Season Nine (2021)
In this spin-off of “Chicago Fire,” two distinct groups of the Windy City’s finest law enforcement officials each battle a different level of criminal. While the uniformed beat cops take on the street-based crimes, the members of the Intelligence Unit deal with major offenses such as organized crime, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Sophia Bush, Jesse Lee Soffer, and Elias Koteas star. 22 episodes on 5 discs.
Twice Told Tales (1963)
The prose of Nathaniel Hawthorne provided the chilling fodder for this awesome anthology anchored by Vincent Price. A scientist (Sebastian Cabot) learns the price of eternal youth in “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”; a botanist (Price) takes heinous measures to keep his offspring (Joyce Taylor) by his side in “Rappaccini’s Daughter”; and an heir (Price) tossing his ancestral home for the family fortune has shocks awaiting in “The House of the Seven Gables.” Brett Halsey co-stars.
He Who Must Die (1957)
In Turkish-occupied Greece of the early 1920s, a small village’s eager preparation of a Passion Play was interrupted as refugees from a ravaged neighboring town came asking for assistance. While a faction of locals wanted to help, the reticence of the community’s collaborationist political leaders ensured that the divide would come with tragic consequences. Jules Dassin’s sobering allegory stars Jean Servais, Gert Fröbe, Melina Mercouri, Pierre Vaneck.
The Oblong Box (Special Edition)(1969)
Fright greats Vincent Price and Christopher Lee team up in this telling of the Edgar Allan Poe tale. Price is English aristocrat Julian Markham, who locks his brother Edward (Alister Williamson) in the attic of their home after Edward is cruelly disfigured during an African voodoo rite. Faking his death in a bid to escape, the now-mad captive is nearly buried alive before grave robbers deliver his coffin to Dr. Newhartt, who then assists his thirst for revenge. With Rupert Davies, Sally Gleeson. AKA: “Dance, Mephisto.”
The Nan Movie (2022)
Catherine Tate’s iconic character Nan hits the big screen as she goes on a wild road trip from London to Ireland with her grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne) to make amends with her estranged sister Nell (Katherine Parkinson).
Baxter! (1973)
Based on the 1968 novel “The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear,” Baxter! follows the story of a young American boy who has a speech impediment. When his parents get a divorce, he moves to London with his mother. Although he does make some friends, he feels quite alone in the strange city and he struggles emotionally to navigate this new life and discord between his parents. Patricia Neal, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Britt Ekland star.
Peacemaker: The Complete First Season (2021)
In this outrageous HBO Max “Suicide Squad” spin-off from James Gunn, John Cena returns as silver-helmeted sociopath Christopher Smith–the man who loves peace enough to kill for it–now doing his time for a black-ops cadre tasked with finding and eliminating strange mind-controlling alien parasites infesting human hosts planetwide. Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick also star. 8 episodes on 2 discs.
The Essential Jacques Demy (Criterion Collection)
Jacques Demy’s directing debut “Lola” (1961) stars Anouk Aimée as a singer who rebuffs a young man, while longing for the return of her baby’s father. “Bay of Angels” (1963) details the romance between gambler Jeanne Moreau and clerk Claude Mann. With Henri Nassiet. “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1963), unique for its sung-through dialogue, stars Catherine Deneuve as a widowed shopkeeper’s daughter who learns she’s pregnant by her soldier boyfriend. With Nino Castelnuovo; music by Michel Legrand. “The Young Girls of Rochefort” (1967) tells of twin sisters (real siblings Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac) longing for love. Gene Kelly, Michel Piccoli co-star. “Donkey Skin” (1970) stars Deneuve as a princess who flees marriage to her widowed father by donning a magical animal skin. With Jean Marais. Michel Colombier’s musical score highlights “Une Chambre en Ville” (1982), in which a woman’s (Dominique Sanda) poor treatment by her fiancé (Piccoli) leads her to love a steelworker (Richard Berry). With Danielle Darrieux.
Happening (2021)
France, 1963: Working-class college student Anne Duchesne (Anamaria Vartolomei) found the future prospects she worked so hard for slipping away upon the discovery she was pregnant. As friends and health care providers turned their backs, she’d have no avenues available except the most extreme of measures. Director Audrey Diwan’s harrowing take on the 2000 Annie Ernaux memoir also stars Kacey Mottet Klein, Luàna Bajrami, Louise Orry-Diquéro, Pio Marmaï.
The Cop (1970)
Just-reinstated inspector Favenin (Michel Bouquet) was assigned to shadow a local drug lord…but vengeful rivals got to him first, and the subsequent police shoot-out with those assassins cost the life of Favenin’s partner (Bernard Fresson). The bitter Favenin dispenses with the book as he goes on a brutal pursuit of the killers, in this controversial-in-its-day crime drama; Françoise Fabian, Gianni Garko, Michel Constantin, Adolfo Celi also star.
Blow Out (Criterion Collection)(4K Ultra HD)(1981)
Brian DePalma’s suspenseful take on the 1966 film “Blow Up” stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound-effects expert who inadvertently records an important clue that leads him to believe that the supposed accidental death of a prominent politician was actually an assassination. Jack’s attempt to piece together what really happened puts him in the middle of a deadly conspiracy. With Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz; filmed in Philadelphia.
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Paul Newman’s directorial debut stars wife Joanne Woodward as Rachel Cameron, a shy, 35-year-old small-town schoolteacher who yearns to break away from her mother’s influence. Rachel gets her chance when she finds romance with a big-city high school teacher (James Olson), but must now deal with the problems that accompany the decision to take control of her own life. With Estelle Parsons, Kate Harrington, Donald Moffat; based on Margaret Laurence’s novel “A Jest of God.”
Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture 6-Movie Collection
The six feature films starring the original Star Trek cast are showcased in this 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray set!
Click here for a complete overview of all of this week’s new releases.