With the holidays just around the corner (I know, I know) the studios are beginning to release their heavy hitters that will result in some of the season’s most-demanded titles. And so this latest batch of new releases includes several deluxe sets as well as recent releases and collector’s editions that you’ll want to give and get. All this and Halloween isn’t even here yet! Anyway, here’s a rundown of the great new Blu-ray and DVD releases that are now available!
Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy
Three-disc set includes Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, and a treasure trove of bonus materials.
The Gunfighter (Criterion Collection)(1950)
One of the first of the ’50s “adult westerns,” this classic stars Gregory Peck as Jimmy Ringo, a weary gunslinger who, after killing a man in self-defense, attempts to convince his estranged wife (Helen Wescott) to reunite with him. Along the way, Ringo discovers that he can’t escape his notorious reputation as the “fastest draw in the land.” With Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, and Karl Malden.
Catlow (1971)
Thrilling sagebrush drama mixed with comedy stars Yul Brynner as a drifter who tries to pull off a $2,000,000 heist. While plotting the daring robbery, his plans are complicated when he is hunted by his lawman friend (Richard Crenna) and a sinister outlaw (Leonard Nimoy). Based on the Louis L’Amour novel; Daliah Lavi, Jo Ann Pflug co-star.
Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
Latter-day Warners swashbuckler for Errol Flynn casts him as the legendary swordsman and seducer, ejected by scandal from Elizabethan England and seeking personal redemption from the Spanish Crown. Can he resist his forbidden affection for Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors), and foil the treacherous designs on the throne of a devious duke (Robert Douglas)? Ann Rutherford, Alan Hale, Robert Warwick also star.
Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)
If Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) thought his “graboid”-battling days were behind him, he’d better think again. Grudgingly recruited to help the staff of a remote island research station that’s under attack from the mammoth monsters, Gummer finds himself up against graboids that have been genetically modified by rich big game hunters looking for the perfect prey. Jon Heder, Jackie Cruz, Caroline Langrishe also star in the thrilling seventh chapter in the “Tremors” saga.
Five-disc set includes Tremors, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, Tremors 5: Bloodlines, Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell, and Tremors: Shrieker Island.
Sunrise at Campobello (1960)
Ralph Bellamy and Greer Garson are Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in this acclaimed drama of the 39-year-old defeated vice presidential candidate’s heroic struggle with polio and his attempts to re-enter politics in the early ‘20s after a crippling attack. Hume Cronyn plays Louis Howe, the political adviser who guides the future president through his inspiring journey. Dore Schary adapted his Tony Award-winning Broadway play for the screen; Jean Hagen, Lyle Talbot also star.
Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace (2019)
Almost as lost to history as the dominance of the Hollywood studio system is its most glorious byproduct–the massive and magnificent theaters they constructed in the hearts of America’s cities. The story of how film exhibition evolved from nickelodeons to the heyday of the movie palaces, and a look at the handful that have survived industry-shaking advents from TV to the cineplexes to the digital age, receive a warm and nostalgic overview here.
The Hit (Criterion Collection)(1984)
For world-weary contract killer Mitchell (John Hurt) and his fidgety apprentice Myron (Tim Roth, in his screen debut), the job sounded simple–go to Spain, abduct expatriate gangster Willie (Terence Stamp), and deliver him to the cronies he flipped on a decade earlier, awaiting in Paris. Their surprisingly resigned target, however, will play the hit men off each other…with the resulting carnage attracting the cops. Early thriller from Stephen Frears co-stars Laura del Sol, Fernando Rey, Bill Hunter.
Bram Stoker’s Shadowbuilder (1998)
From the rich imagination of “Dracula” author Bram Stoker comes this terrifying tale of a teenage boy (Kevin Zegers) who is next in line marked for certain death by an evil supernatural force that grows with each kill and has been summoned to Earth to bring about the end of the world. Michael Rooker co-stars as the determined priest who stands in the way of the “Shadowbuilder”; with Leslie Hope, Shawn Thompson, Andrew Jackson.
The Secrets We Keep (2020)
In the suburbs of ‘50s America, Romani émigré Maja (Noomi Rapace) only wanted to build a normal life with her husband Lewis (Chris Messina) and leave the trauma of her life in wartime Europe behind. However, when she’s seized by the certainty that their new neighbor (Joel Kinnaman) is actually the German soldier who brutalized her years earlier, she makes the shattering choice to kidnap him and torture out a confession. Stunning study co-stars Amy Seimetz, Lucy Faust.
The Vanished (2020)
For Wendy and Paul Michaelson (Anne Heche, Thomas Jane), their plan for an enjoyable RV weekend in the Alabama backwoods went horribly awry when their 10-year-old daughter abruptly vanished from the campground. Getting little help from the sodden local sheriff (Jason Patric), the couple embarks on their own investigation…and stumbles into more than a few surprising twists. Intriguing thriller co-stars Aleksei Archer, Kristopher Wente, and Peter Facinelli (who wrote and directed). AKA: “House of Lead.”
Adaptation. (2002)
From director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich”) comes a tricky, self-reflective romp. Nicolas Cage stars as both the real-life Kaufman–struggling to adapt author Susan Orlean’s (Meryl Streep) novel “The Orchid Thief,” about a roguish Everglades flower lover (Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner Chris Cooper), into a movie–and as Donald, Charlie’s (fictitious) twin brother and a neophyte film writer. With Tilda Swinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brian Cox.
Cut Throat City (2020)
New Orleans native Blink (Shameik Moore) and three lifelong friends are left with nothing in Hurricane Katrina’s devastating wake but desperation. A chance to work for dangerous local crime boss “Cousin” Bass (T.I.) leads to a bungled job and puts Blink and his crew, not only in their employer’s crosshairs, but also those of a tough rookie detective (Eiza González). Hard-hitting, timely actioner also stars Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, and Ethan Hawke; RZA directs.
The Great: Season One (2020)
Sly, comically audacious take on the life of Catherine the Great from screenwriter Tony McNamara offers Elle Fanning in the title role as the 18th-century Prussian royal sent to Russia as prospective bride to the future Peter III (Nicholas Hoult). However, as she comes to recognize the depths of her husband’s cruelty–and stupidity–she angles amongst court for alliances in search of the coup to come. Sacha Dhawan, Phoebe Fox, Charity Wakefield, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Belinda Bromilow also star. All 10 episodes are featured in this four-disc set.
Quiz (2020)
By the fall of 2001, the new game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” was a smash hit on British airwaves–and army major Charles Ingram (Matthew Macfadyen) became its second-ever contestant to claim the grand prize. Lingering suspicions that he’d received external prompting from his spouse (Sian Clifford) and brother-in-law (Trystan Gravelle), however, culminated in a stunning fraud trial for all three. ITV adaptation of the James Graham play co-stars Michael Sheen; Stephen Frears directs.
The Owners (2020)
In ‘90s rural Britain, teenager Mary (Maisie Williams) felt compelled to tag along after failing to talk her boyfriend (Ian Kenny) and his cronies out of their get-rich-quick scheme–breaking into the house of the elderly village doctor (Sylvester McCoy) while he and his wife (Rita Tushingham) were away. Of course, the couple returns home at an inopportune time…but the situation will go south in unanticipated ways. Riveting thriller also stars Jake Curran, Andrew Ellis, Stacha Hicks.
Spree (2020)
Isolated, twentysomething ride-share driver Kurt Kunkle (Joe Keery) badly wanted to become the next hot social influencer. Unfortunately for his unsuspecting clientele, that’s exactly how he went about it–as he fit out his car interior with cameras, and proceeded to live-stream their murders in hopes of going viral. Pitch-dark contemporary satirical thriller also stars David Arquette, Sasheer Zamata, Kyle Mooney, Mischa Barton.
Amulet (2020)
In London, homeless, PTSD-wracked veteran Tomaz (Alec Secareanu) was steered by a kindly nun (Imelda Staunton) toward a beneficial situation–live-in handyman at the dilapidated home of painfully shy Magda (Carla Juri) and her unseen, attic-bound mother. As he settles in, however, he comes to learn that the link between his landladies is anything but normal…or even earthly. Chilling feature writing/directing bow for Romola Garai co-stars Angeliki Papoulia, Paul O’Kelly.
Killdozer (1974)
When the construction crew signed on to clear an airstrip on a remote Pacific island, the blueprints didn’t indicate that the local ruins were home to a malevolent energy being…or that the formless fiend would possess their heavy equipment and bring it to lethal life! Cult favorite made-for-TV sci-fi shocker stars Clint Walker, Robert Urich, Neville Brand, Carl Betz.
Scarecrow and Mrs. King: The Complete First Season (1983)
Divorced mom Amanda King (Kate Jackson) finds her dull life turned upside down when dashing secret agent Lee Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner), codenamed “Scarecrow,” hands her a mysterious package. Drawn into a world of excitement and intrigue, Mrs. King soon has a new career as an amateur spy, working with the seasoned Scarecrow while keeping her job a secret from her family. Beverly Garland co-starred in this 1983-87 CBS series. All 21 episodes from the first season are featured in this five-disc set.
This trio of rarely seen TV dramas includes “The Advance Man” (1951), about a traveling circus caught up in a counterfeit cash operation. Preston Foster, Martha Vickers star. Then, the unsold pilot “Chicago 2-1-2” (1957) focuses on a Windy City fire investigator (Frank Lovejoy) on the trail of an arsonist. Roy Thinnes co-stars. Finally, Peter Graves, Walter Pidgeon, and Ina Balin star in “Mr. Kingston” (1964), an unsold pilot for a show chronicling the goings-on aboard a swanky cruise ship.
Masterpiece: Flesh and Blood (2020)
Under two years after her husband’s passing, Sussex widow Vivien (Francesca Annis) blindsided her three grown kids (Claudie Blakley, Russell Tovey, Lydia Leonard) by declaring she’d found new love with retired surgeon Mark (Stephen Rea). Their concerns about Mark’s motives, their own designs on their dad’s substantial legacy, and the agenda of Vivien’s eccentrically meddlesome neighbor Mary (Imelda Staunton) make for a combustible brew. Sharon Small, Vincent Regan co-star.
For a complete overview of all of this week’s new releases, click here.