From hit musicals to schlocky horror picture shows, September arrives with an impressive batch of new releases. Dive right in to what you’ll be watching as summer fades into memory! We think you’ll love this assortment of new DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles that are now available.
In the Heights (2021)
The hit Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes is brought to the screen in this vivid and energetic adaptation. In the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights, the members of a tightly-knit Latin American community experience the highs and lows of everyday while always keeping one eye on the hope of a brighter future. Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Jimmy Smits star; songs include the title tune, “Breathe,” “Home All Summer,” and more.
Bugsy Malone (Limited Edition)(1976)
Writer/director Alan Parker’s (“Fame”) debut is one of the most original film musical comedies ever made. An all-juvenile cast led by Scott Baio and Jodie Foster, acting in scaled-down sets and shooting whipped-cream weapons, illustrates the tale of boxer-turned-gangster Bugsy Malone’s (Baio) climb to the top of the criminal monkey bars in “Roaring Twenties” New York City. Co-stars Florrie Dugger, John Cassisi, and Martin Lev; music by Paul Williams.
Beasts of No Nation (Criterion Collection)(2015)
Separated from his family as the government of his West African nation fell, young Agu (Abraham Attah) fled into the clutches of a rebel militia headed up by the brutal Commandant (Idris Elba). Assimilated into the battalion and indoctrinated in their violent and ruthless tactics, the boy soldier finds his comrades paying the price of their leader’s overreach–and himself grasping for innocence lost. Gripping read on the Uzodinma Iweala novel co-stars Jude Akuwudike, Emmanuel Nii.
The Comedy of Terrors (1963)
In this mix of laughs and scares, unsuccessful mortician Waldo Trumbull (Vincent Price) and sleazy assistant Felix Gillie (Peter Lorre) resort to murder in order to drum up some much-needed business. But the joke may be on them when it turns out their latest victim (Basil Rathbone) has a medical condition that makes it appear as though he won’t stay dead. Boris Karloff, Joyce Jameson, Beverly Powers, and Joe E. Brown also star; Jacques Tourneur directs from a script by Richard Matheson.
Master of the World (1961)
Elements of the Jules Verne novels “Master of the World” and “Robur, The Conqueror” are combined in this marvelous science-fiction thriller. Vincent Price stars as Captain Robur, a 19th-century scientist who builds a gigantic airship and sets out to eliminate the world’s weapons in an effort to abolish war. With Charles Bronson, Henry Hull, Mary Webster.
The Devil’s 8 (1969)
Federal agent Ray Faulkner (Christopher George) had to think outside the box if he wanted to bring down a moonshiner (Ralph Meeker) who had the local authorities bought and paid for. So he and his partner (Ron Rifkin) sprung a half-dozen hardcases from a chain gang–promised them parole for their cooperation–and turned them into a strike force ready to blow the bad guys’ operation to hell. Long-demanded actioner co-stars Fabian, Leslie Parrish, Tom Nardini, Ross Hagen.
Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020)
Director Burhan Qurbani’s challenging contemporary take on the Alfred Döblin literary classic casts Welket Bungué as Francis, a struggling undocumented émigré from Guinea-Bissau whose earnest bid to carve out an honest living in modern Berlin founders time and again, as much upon his poor choices in comrades as the cruelty of fate. Albrecht Schuch, Jella Haase, Annabelle Mandeng, Joachim Król also star.
Dune (4K Ultra HD)(1984)
Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi story is faithfully brought to the screen by director David Lynch. In the distant future, two rival interplanetary clans find their ultimate battlefield on the desert planet of Arrakis, a/k/a “Dune,” where young nobleman Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan, in his film debut) must face his mystical destiny. Francesca Annis, Jürgen Prochnow, José Ferrer, Patrick Stewart, Sting, Silvana Mangano, and Sean Young star.
Spirit Untamed (2021)
Raised out east by her aunt (voiced by Julianne Moore) after her mom’s passing, rebellious Lucky Prescott (Isabella Merced) wasn’t looking forward to rejoining her dad (Jake Gyllenhaal) in his sleepy frontier town. That would all change after forming a bond with a wild mustang who’s just as fiercely independent as she. Lively theatrical return for Spirit, spun out of the animated series “Spirit Running Free,” also features the voices of Walton Goggins, Eiza Gonzalez, Andre Braugher.
Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season (2020)
This companion series to “The Walking Dead” is set in Los Angeles and chronicles the early days of the zombie outbreak. High school guidance counselor Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) and her boyfriend, English teacher Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis), must fight for the survival of their blended, dysfunctional family as the dead begin to rise and feed on the living. Frank Dillane, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Ruben Blades also star. 16 episodes on 4 discs.
The Boxtrolls (Laika Studio Edition)(2014)
Beneath the tiny, curd-obsessed town of Cheesebridge dwells a race of carton-clad trolls who scavenge everything–and who’ve raised the human foundling they named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright) as one of their own. When exterminator Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) vows to rid the community of the blight, Eggs has to bridge the gap between his worlds. Stop motion-animated charmer also stars Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Tracy Morgan.
The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)
Underrated horror gem is set in a small desert town in the American Southwest where several children have disappeared, a string of murders has occurred, and the residents seem to be trapped. Turns out, a group of aging Satan worshippers is abducting the local kids as part of a sinister supernatural scheme to ensure their evil souls survive even if their bodies can’t. Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Charles Bateman, Ahna Capri, Charles Robinson, Alvy Moore star.
Love Rites (1987)
Director Walerian Borowczyk’s final feature is an erotic thriller centering on fashion buyer Hugo (Mathieu Carrière), who becomes enamored with a beautiful prostitute (Marina Pierro) he meets in the Paris subway. Accompanying her back to her apartment, Hugo realizes that his insatiable passion has led him down a dangerous path when she asserts her dominance in stunning fashion. Josy Bernard, Isabelle Tinard also star.
Romeo & Juliet (2021)
Conceived as a National Theatre stage revival, but scuttled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast assembled without audience at the Lyttleton Theatre to capture the production for television. Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley lead the ensemble as the star-crossed lovers in this modern-dress interpretation set against a Verona evoking contemporary Naples; Tamsin Grieg, Lucian Msamati, Colin Tierney, Fisayo Akinade, David Judge also star.
Ma Barker’s Killer Brood (1959)
Before “Big Bad Mama,” there was this energetic gangster flick about the meanest Mama of them all. Follow Ma’s rise to outlaw legend status, as she leads her sons in bank robberies and dispenses wisdom to John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. With Lurene Tuttle, Tris Coffin, and Paul Dubov.
Beyond the Time Barrier (1959)
A supersonic test pilot exploits gray areas in the Theory of Relativity to travel to and from mankind’s bleak post-Apocalyptic future, encountering mutants, girls with names like petroleum by-products, and the decline of manly men. Edgar G. Ulmer (“The Man from Planet X”) directs Robert Clarke, Arianne Arden, Vladimir Sokoloff, and Stephen Bekassy.
Back: Series 2 (2021)
With the passing of his Gloucestershire barkeep father, schlubby Stephen Nichols (David Mitchell) was determined to take the helm of the family business and prove to all he isn’t a loser. However, the funeral also sparked the return of his charismatic, long-unseen foster brother Andrew Donnelly (Robert Webb)–and a very unwanted re-insinuation into Stephen’s existence. Engaging Mitchell and Webb vehicle co-stars Penny Downie, Louise Brealey, Geoffrey McGivern, Olivia Poulet. 6 episodes on 1 disc.
Rancho Deluxe (1975)
Restless oddball cowpokes Jack (Jeff Bridges) and Cecil (Sam Waterston) turned to cattle rustling just to get by, and they’d become a thorn in the side of Montana rancher Brown (Clifton James). It looks like the thievery will continue when the best Brown can do is send a crotchety stock detective (Slim Pickens) after them…but the last round-up might be coming. Frank Perry’s contemporary sagebrush comedy co-stars Elizabeth Ashley, Harry Dean Stanton; script by Thomas McGuane.
She Freak (1967)
Conniving small-town waitress Jade Cochran (Claire Brennen) marries the wealthy owner (Bill McKinney) of a travelling carnival that features a freak show. When hubby is murdered by Jade’s Ferris wheel operator boyfriend, she inherits the carnival and has new plans for the sideshow…but the freaks have a plan for her. A liberal reworking of “Freaks,” this David F. Friedman production co-stars Lee Raymond, Lynn Courtney.
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Vincent Price stars as the title character, Dr. Robert Morgan, the one human unaffected by a mysterious plague that’s turned the world’s population into diseased vampires. His solitary existence is upended when he finds an infected woman (Franca Bettoia) who hasn’t fully turned, but what is she really after? The first screen version of Richard Matheson’s novel “I Am Legend,” this chilling Italian-made sci-fi/horror tale co-stars Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Emma Danieli.
The Raven (1963)
There’s little to do with Poe’s poem in this classic horror spoof written by Richard Matheson and directed by Roger Corman. The story concerns Dr. Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price), a sorcerer who agrees to aid a fellow magic man (Peter Lorre) who’s been turned into a raven, leading to a duel of wizardry against the sinister Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff). And just what is Craven’s believed-to-be-dead wife (Hazel Court) doing in Scarabus’ castle anyway? With Jack Nicholson, Olive Sturgess.
The Good Doctor: Season Four (2020)
Having achieved a medical degree through his extraordinary recall and observational skills, young autistic savant Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) embarked upon his surgical residency at a major San Jose Hospital. His dealings with supporters and skeptics amongst colleagues and administration, as well as grateful patients, fuel this popular ABC doctor drama based on a South Korean series. Nicholas Gonzalez, Antonia Thomas, Beau Garrett, Tamlyn Tomita, Hill Harper, and Richard Schiff also star. 20 episodes on 5 discs.
NCIS: New Orleans: The Complete Series
The third entry in the popular “NCIS” television franchise stars Scott Bakula as Dwayne Cassius “King” Pride, a seasoned NCIS agent who oversees a team that investigates cases from the Mississippi River to the Texas Panhandle. In addition to fellow agents Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black) and Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan), Pride is also assisted by local medical examiner Dr. Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) and forensic scientist Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich). 155 episodes on 39 discs.
Click here for a complete overview of all of this week’s new releases!