Fall is finally upon us, and with it comes a brand new season of great Blu-rays, DVDs and 4K Ultra HD releases. Take a look at the new offerings that will put you in the driver’s seat for amazing physical media entertainment!
F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
While Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew might have had their eyes on anonymous retirement, he hadn’t counted on the determination that thwarted terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) had for vengeance, or the stunning alliance she’d strike to get it–with Toretto’s long-embittered assassin kid brother Jakob (John Cena). Ninth installment in the high-endurance action franchise co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, and Helen Mirren.
Cruella (2021)
The origins of the fashionista fatale from “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” receive an expectedly stylish recounting in this live-action Disney opus, as orphaned London street criminal Estella Miller (Emma Stone) won a coveted position with the design house of the ruthless Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson)–and upon discovering how her new mentor had ruined her life, vowed to destroy her under the nom du guerre “Cruella De Vil.” Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Mark Strong co-star.
The Window (1949)
n the New York tenements, young Tommy Woodry (Bobby Driscoll)–whose penchant for telling tall tales is famous around the block–looks out and witnesses a murder in a neighboring apartment. Neither his exasperated parents nor the police will believe his story…but, unfortunately, the killers do! Popular suspense classic based on a Cornell Woolrich short story also stars Arthur Kennedy, Barbara Hale, Paul Stewart, and Ruth Roman.
Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy: Complete Season One (1987)
Woozy from his latest regeneration and separated from companion Mel Bush (Bonnie Langford), the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy, making his series debut) becomes an unwitting assistant to a wicked Time Lord (Kate O’Mara) as she carries out her evil scheme, in “Time and the Rani.” The Doctor and Mel find horror in the high-rise when the TARDIS arrives in the run-down computerized apartment complex “Paradise Towers,” whose remaining tenants are terrorized by a mysterious enemy. Then, what was supposed to be an interplanetary “bus trip” to Earth and Disneyland, circa 1959, instead lands the Doctor and Mel in a Welsh vacation camp where alien warriors have pursued a fugitive queen. Ken Dodd and Stubby Kaye guest star in “Delta and the Bannermen.” Finally, it’s up to the Doctor and Mel, with the aid of a feisty teenage girl named Ace (Sophie Aldred), to put out a mercenary’s plan to recover the mystic “Dragonfire” from the planet Svartos and use it for revenge. 14 episodes on 8 discs.
The Blacklist: The Complete Eighth Season (2020)
In this addictive crime drama, fugitive ex-government agent Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader) emerges from hiding and makes his FBI captors an offer they cannot refuse, by offering his expert help in helping them nab the most elusive terrorists on his “blacklist.” His single condition is that he be partnered with rookie agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone)–for reasons the darkly enigmatic antihero might eventually reveal. With Diego Klattenhoff, Harry Lennix. 15 episodes on 5 discs.
International Lady (ClassicFlix Silver Series)(1941)
With Britain in the thick of World War II, and America on the verge, air power is vital to the cause of freedom. But when a ring of saboteurs is thought to be interfering with the flow of American airplanes to the U.K., FBI agent Tim Hanley (George Brent) and his Scotland Yard counterpart Reggie Oliver (Basil Rathbone) are called upon to work together to expose the Nazi threat to liberty. Hanley and Oliver’s suspicions soon fall upon Carla Nillson (Ilona Massey), a stunningly beautiful singer who is believed to be the principal agent responsible for passing along vital Allied secrets to the Axis “higher-ups”. As he trails Carla from London to Lisbon, and then to New York, Tim desperately wants to believe in her innocence… particularly since he’s fallen in love!
The Equalizer: Season One (2021)
The classic ’80s crime drama that sparked a film franchise gets another riveting re-imagining for the small screen, anchored by Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, NYC single mother and onetime black ops contractor who uses her devastating skills package and covert contacts to deliver vigilante justice for those the system has left behind. Thrilling series that bowed on CBS also stars Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Lorraine Toussaint, and Chris Noth. 10 episodes on 3 discs.
I Carry You With Me (2020)
Divorced, closeted, and struggling in his aspirations as a chef in early-’90s Mexico, Iván (Armando Espitia) managed to find the love of his life in out professor Gerardo (Christian Vázquez). The call of career forced Iván to leave him for Manhattan–and a different brand of hidden life as an illegal. Fact-inspired romance, the narrative feature bow for documentarian Heidi Ewing, co-stars Michelle Rodríguez, Ángeles Cruz, Raúl Briones.
Doctor Syn (1937)
George Arliss stars as Doctor Syn, a kindly 18th-century English parson who was once a feared pirate and now leads a band of costumed smugglers fighting unjust taxes in the village of Dymchurch. When Royal Navy officer Captain Collyer (Roy Emerton) arrives, he threatens to bring Syn’s operation down for good. Fine adventure drama, based on the Russell Thorndike novel, also stars Margaret Lockwood and John Loder.
The Vigil (2019)
Yakov Ronen (Dave Davis) was finding his efforts to leave his Orthodox Jewish leanings and community behind fitful…and his sympathetic rabbi (Menashe Lustig) offered him a simple paying gig as a ritual shomer, spending a night watching over the body of a recently deceased neighbor. However, the evening–thanks to the dead man’s dabbling with a folkloric demon–will prove to be anything but easy money. Singular stunner also stars Malky Goldman, Lynn Cohen, Fred Melamed.
Nancy Drew: Season Two (2021)
After her mother’s untimely passing, Nancy Drew (Kennedy McMann) had to put college on hold and turn to waiting tables back in Horseshoe Bay, Maine. She’d find herself leaning on her high school sleuthing skills after a local socialite is found murdered–and she, along with members of her circle, wind up on the suspect list. Contemporary read on kidlit’s durable detective from The CW also stars Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Tunji Kasim, Alex Saxon, Riley Smith, Alvina August, and Scott Wolf. 18 episodes on 4 discs.
Last Call (2021)
Back home in the Philly outskirts for a funeral, successful real estate developer Mick McDougal (Jeremy Piven) decided to take the neighborhood’s pulse about getting a casino. Between the blowback he gets from the locals and the reluctant reconnections with family and old friends, he might be rethinking his priorities. Engaging ensemble farce also stars Taryn Manning, Zach McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Cheri Oteri, Cathy Moriarty, and Bruce Dern; don’t forget the hoagies and wooder ice.
Batwoman: The Complete Second Season (2021)
With neither Batman nor Bruce Wayne having surfaced for three years, the Dark Knight’s cousin–outspoken (and out) heiress Kate Kane (Ruby Rose)–combined her military training and his array of gadgetry to assume his role as Gotham’s masked defender. Acclaimed addition to the CW’s Arrowverse also stars Rachel Skarsten, Camrus Johnson, Megan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Dougray Scott, and, beginning in the second season, Javicia Leslie as new Batwoman, Ryan Wilder. 17 episodes on 3 discs.
Dementia 13 (Director’s Cut)(Vestron Video Collector’s Edition)(1961)
Rather than come clean about her husband’s abrupt death, a gold digger (Luana Anders) heads to his Irish ancestral family castle to make sure that her spot in the will of his eccentric noblewoman mother (Eithne Dunne) is secure. As she becomes steeped in the strange obsessions of her dysfunctional in-laws, the homestead finds itself stalked by an ax-wielding killer. Moody early career effort from Francis Ford Coppola co-stars William Campbell, Patrick Magee, Mary Mitchel.
Violation (2020)
Miriam (Madeleine Sims-Fewer) thought it might give some balm to her rocky marriage with Caleb (Obi Abili) if they weekended at the family cabin in Quebec with her kid sister Greta (Anna Maguire) and her husband Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe). What came of the visit was a shocking betrayal–and an equally brutal response. Challenging nonlinear vengeance opus from co-writers/co-directors Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli co-stars Jasman Geljo, Cynthia Ashperger.
Boys from County Hell (2020)
As young road crew laborer Eugene Moffat (Jack Rowan) and his cronies would tell any tourist over a pint, the legends of their small Irish village inspired Bram Stoker to write “Dracula.” However, when they were hired to clear off an ancient cairn, they unleashed the bloodthirsty monstrosity behind the myths–and turned to the Gothic classic as a manual for getting rid of it! Distinctive horror-comedy also stars Nigel O’Neill, Michael Hough, Louisa Harland, Fra Fee, Emma Paetz.
The Power (2021)
East London, 1974: Earnest albeit damaged young nurse Val (Rose Williams) wanted to make good with her new employ at a low-end hospital. There’d be her share of challenges–abusive and indifferent colleagues, miners’ strike-induced mandatory blackouts–and a restless spectral presence seeking to make her a vessel for vengeance. Writer-director Corinna Faith’s unnerving opus also stars Diveen Henry, Charlie Carrick, Emma Rigby, Nuala McGowan.
The Evil Next Door (Andra Sidan)
Not long after recent widower Fredrik (Linus Wahlgren) moved into a suburban duplex with his girlfriend Shirin (Dilan Gwyn) and 5-year-old son Lukas (Eddie Eriksson Dominguez), business called him out of town. The pair’s discomfort as being left with one another will soon pale, however, as the haunted history of the conjoined dwellings starts to manifest itself in unholy ways. Shocker from Sweden also stars Henrik Norlén, Niklas Jarneheim. AKA: “Andra Sidan,” “The Other Side.”
A Dark Foe (2020)
As a boy, Tony Cruz (Oscar Cardenas) hid helplessly in the night as his mother was killed and sister abducted. Though the incident gave him the resolve to join the FBI, it also left him with a paralyzing fear of the dark. Suspended because of a botched assignment, the bodyguarding gig he took would bring him into fateful contact with the psychopath who ruined his life…but will his phobia let him take vengeance? Stylish thriller also stars Selma Blair, Graham Greene, Bill Bellamy, Kenzie Dalton.
Gaia (2021)
Injured on a routine venture into the Tsitsikamma Forest, park ranger Gabi (Monique Rockman) counted herself fortunate to have been found and nursed by the survivalist father-and-son duo of Barend (Carel Nel) and Stefan (Alex van Wyk). That, however, only lasted until she learned of her hosts’ unshakable belief in a supernatural force permeating the wild…and encountered uncanny evidence they might be right. Eerie eco-chiller from South Africa also stars Anthony Oseyemi.
The Proud Rebel (1958)
Alan Ladd plays tough, fists-a-flying former Confederate soldier John Chandler, who sets out for a small Illinois town to find a doctor who can help his 10-year-old mute son (portrayed by Alan’s real-life son, David). Michael Curtiz directs this exciting, heartfelt drama, based on a 1947 short story by James Edward Grant, co-starring Olivia de Havilland as the woman who tries to help them; with Dean Jagger, Cecil Kellaway, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Carradine
Lady of the Manor (2021)
Aimless, drug-addicted loser Hannah (Melanie Lynskey) finally lucked into a job she might be able to hang on to, as docent at an antebellum Savannah mansion. Unfortunately, one party didn’t sign off on her hiring–and that’s the imperious ghost of Lady Wadsworth (Judy Greer), the former mistress of the household! The question’s who’ll scare off whom in this spooky farce also starring Ryan Phillippe, Luis Guzmán, and co-writer/co-director Justin Long.
From Up on Poppy Hill (2021)
As the city of Yokohama prepares to host the 1963 Olympics, students Umi (voiced by Sarah Bolger) and Shun (Anton Yelchin) become friends. When a local clubhouse is threatened with demolition to make room for the games, and past secrets cause conflict for Umi and Shun, their relationship looks like it might also be wrecked. Charming Studio Ghibli animated film also stars the voices of Masami Nagasawa and Jun’ichi Okada in the original Japanese version.
Resident Alien: Season One (2021)
Having crashed outside a rural Colorado town, an extraterrestrial sent to wipe out mankind took the form and identity of vacationing pathologist Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk), his unfortunate first contact. As he took the locals up on their request to sub for their abruptly deceased town doctor, and got to know humans, “Vanderspeigle” found himself questioning his mission. Semi-comedic take on the Peter Hogan/Steve Parkhouse comics series co-stars Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund. 10 episodes on 3 discs.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero: The Complete First Series (1983)
From the toy store to the TV screen, here are the exciting, animated adventures of the top secret defense force code-named “G.I. Joe.” Fighting for freedom wherever there’s trouble, Joe team members Duke, Flint, Scarlett, Shipwreck, Roadblock, Lady Jaye, and Snake Eyes protect the world from the sinister schemes of Cobra Commander and his evil army of terrorists. Yo Joe! Voiced by Michael Bell, Bill Ratner, B.J. Ward, Frank Welker. 95 episodes on 16 discs.
Dolly: The Ultimate Collection
From the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to international super-stardom – Dolly Parton has spent the last 50 years singing and laughing her way into our hearts. We know her name, we know her songs, and we’ll always love her. And now, for the first time ever, all the greatest video highlights from Dolly’s dazzling career are together in one incredible collection. In this 6-DVD set you’ll see footage from her own spectacular variety show in the ‘80s, sold-out concerts, interviews, television appearances, blockbuster collaborations with her closest friends, the new BBC documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am and so much more.
Click here for a complete overview of all of this week’s new releases.