New Release Tuesday! Vintage anime, tons of obscure exploitation and horror, Argento and a monkey in 4K, and more!

A CHIARA (2021)

The story of 15-year-old Chiara whose close-knit family falls apart after her father abandons them in Calabria. (DVD)

ASTRO BOY (1980) (COMPLETE 1980 SERIES)

The first ever Astro Boy series created in full color takes viewers on an amazing journey showcasing the true meaning of being a hero, as Astro Boy himself learns the importance of kindness, compassion and selflessness in the face of life’s obstacles. Children and adults alike will enjoy this very influential animated joy ride and cherish its timeless message of hope. When a brilliant robot engineer named Doctor Boynton loses his son Toby in a tragic accident, the dedicated but heart-broken scientist uses his technical skills to construct a robot in the boy’s image. But hope was lost when he realized the robot could never fill the void left in his heart. This complete collection includes all 52 episodes of the 1980 TV series in 1080p high definition! It includes the original Japanese language with English subtitles, and the US English dub! (BLU-RAY)

CATCH THE HEAT (1987)

Tiana Alexandra (The Killer Elite) is Checkers Goldberg. She’s tough and she’s deadly. Like a one-woman strike force, she punches, kicks and shoots her way from the streets of San Francisco to the underbelly of South America in the sizzling, action-packed thrill-ride, Catch the Heat. Following a grisly trail of violence to Buenos Aires, Checkers masquerades as exotic dancer Cinderella Pu and discovers that kingpin Jason Hannibal—deviously played by screen great Rod Steiger (A Fistful of Dynamite)—is smuggling heroin out of the country by surgically implanting the contraband inside the bodies of unsuspecting young women. Pretending to submit to Hannibal’s gruesome operation, Checkers is suddenly plunged into the ultimate confrontation where only her wits and blazing martial arts savvy can save her. Co-starring David Dukes (Rawhead Rex), Professor Toru Tanaka (The Perfect Weapon) and Brian Thompson (Cobra), this explosive ’80s actioner features direction by Joel Silberg (Breakin’, Rappin’, Lambada) from a script by award-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night, Charly, The Towering Inferno). (BLU-RAY)

CHANEY, LON: BEFORE THE THOUSAND FACES V.2 (1917)

COW (2021)

DON’T LET THE ANGELS FALL (1969)

Haunted by memories of a recent affair, securities advisor Robert Harrison (The Andromeda Strain’s Arthur Hill) feels a growing sense of alienation from his wife Myrna (Last Night’s Charmion King) and their sons Michael (John Kastner) and Guy (Jon Michaelson). As Michael embraces radical politics and Guy becomes dangerously isolated from his peers, Robert remains largely oblivious, distracted by visions of his recent mistress (Point Blank’s Sharon Acker) and other infidelities. As confidence in Robert fades, the family spirals out of control, which paves the way for a shocking, perception-shifting discovery.

The first Canadian film to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, this remarkable feature directorial debut from George Kaczender (In Praise of Older Women, Agency) builds on the experiments of Michelangelo Antonioni and Alain Resnais to deliver an impressively modern, unsentimental look at family dysfunction and midlife malaise. The only original screenplay by celebrated novelist Timothy Findley (The Wars), Don’t Let the Angels Fall taps into the existential currents of ’60s literary icons John Updike (Rabbit, Run) and John Cheever (The Swimmer) to deliver a haunting, evocative, occasionally psychedelic experience. (BLU-RAY)

DUKE, THE (2020)

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)

From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and visionary director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) comes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a sci-fi love story starring Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon) and Kate Winslet (Titanic). Joel is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine, has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, to get the same treatment. But as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her. Co-starring Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicides), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Eternal Sunshine takes you on a surreal journey through breakups, breakdowns and breakthroughs, with captivating performances (including Best Actress Oscar nominee Winslet) and dazzling creativity (which earned the Best Original Screenplay Oscar). (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)

FARMER, THE (1977)

World War II is over and Kyle Martin returns to Georgia to try his hand at farm life. With no money to save his failing farm from foreclosure, Kyle finds himself in dire straits. A local gambler offers Kyle $50,000 to kill some mobsters who blinded him with acid but Kyle refuses. Meantime, Kyle falls in love with the gamblers girlfriend Betty. Soon the gangsters catch wind of the offer and burn down Kyle’s farm, killing Kyle’s friend Gumshoe in the process. One of the gangsters even goes so far as to brutally rape and sodomize Betty. Seething with anger, Kyle now willingly takes the gambler up on his offer and embarks on a violent, blood-soaked trail of revenge. (BLU-RAY)

FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS (2021)

In northern India, a breathtakingly beautiful Himalayan community attracts tourists by commingling South Asian and Swiss Alps aesthetics. Debut filmmaker Ajitpal Singh tells an unconventional story of feminist strength while “accentuating the [region’s] spectacular exteriors and wide-canvas nature shots” (Variety). One local woman competes with her neighbors for business while battling the strictures of patriarchy, a local infrastructure from hell, and religious superstitions. She saves money, uses feminine wiles to subvert the corrupt powers-that- be, and piggy-backs her son up and down the mountainside to medical appointments with condescending doctors. In the end, our heroine’s tightly wound grit must find release… in triumph, or madness, or both. (Sonya Chung, Film Forum) (DVD)

FLATLINERS (1990)

Known for his impressively eclectic filmography and for helping to launch the careers of several young Hollywood stars of the 80s and 90s, Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, St. Elmo’s Fire) tackles the existential question that, at one time or another, haunts us all: what awaits us after we die?

At the University Hospital School of Medicine, five ambitious students subject themselves to a daring experiment: to temporarily induce their own deaths, hoping to glimpse the afterlife before being brought back to life. But as competition within the group intensifies and their visions of the world beyond increasingly bleed into their waking lives, they’re about to learn that the greatest threat comes not from the spirit world but from the long-suppressed secrets of their own pasts…

Stylishly photographed by Jan de Bont (Basic Instinct) and featuring a cast of Hollywood’s hottest talent – including Kiefer Sutherland (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me), Julia Roberts (Secret in their Eyes) and Kevin Bacon (Wild Things) – Flatliners is the ultimate life-and-death thrill ride. (BLU-RAY)

GET A JOB (2016)

GREAT CONQUEST: THE ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS (1992)

The true story of Liu Bei, the father of historical China, Great Conquest: The Romance of Three Kingdoms is a spectacular animated motion picture filled with breathtaking action and captivating intrigue. Set in what was to become Imperial China, circa 169 A. D., the story – adapted from the well known historical epic – follows the key characters who would come together to forge a brave new nation out of the flames of chaos and the unrelenting sufferings of the oppressed. Released for the first time on DVD, this new release includes the edited English language dubbed version with narration by Pat Morita. It also includes the original Japanese language version with English subtitles! (DVD)

HEARTBREAKERS (1984)

Los Angeles painter Arthur Blue (Peter Coyote, E.T. and Bitter Moon) and businessman Eli Kahn (Nick Mancuso, Ticket to Heaven and Nightwing) are the best of friends, commiserating and competing always, whether on the racquetball court or in the singles bar. When Blue’s long-term girlfriend Cyd (Kathryn Harrold, Modern Romance and The Sender) leaves him for a more successful artist (Barney Miller’s Max Gail) and Eli’s father (George Morfogen, They All Laughed and V) passes away, they each fall for a beguiling French art gallery manager (Carole Laure, Sweet Movie and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs), and their fragmented bromance enters crisis mode. The late Carol Wayne (The Tonight Show and Surf II) co-stars and leaves a lasting impression as Blue’s sad artistic muse and sometime lover.

Filmmaker Bobby Roth (The Boss’ Son and Circle of Power/Brainwash) based his screenplay on his experiences growing up and working in Los Angeles, and the film reflects his insider’s view of the city and deep personal connection to the characters. Although filmed in Hollywood, Heartbreakers refreshingly and effectively evokes the mood of European relationship dramas. To this end, the film employs two of Germany’s most revered exports to world cinema: director of photography Michael Ballhaus (the longtime cinematographer for Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Martin Scorsese) and pioneering electronic musicians Tangerine Dream (Sorcerer, Thief and Risky Business), who contribute one of their most emotional and evocative scores. Out of print on home video since the tape era, this critically-acclaimed festival favorite has been restored in 2K from its original 35mm interpositive and is poised to wow and surprise audiences anew. (BLU-RAY)

HELP, HELP, THE GLOBOLINKS! (1969)

Attention, attention! Unknown flying objects from another planet and creatures identified so far only as Globolinks have landed on Planet Earth. All citizens are asked to remain calm. Be on your guard. Stay tuned for further broadcasts. (DVD)

HIGH DESERT KILL (1989)

Marc Singer (The Beastmaster), Anthony Geary (UHF) and Micah Grant (Waxwork) star as three hunters who become the hunted in this riveting sci-fi/horror adventure set in the Badlands of New Mexico. Three friends embark on a hunting expedition and meet a grizzled mountain man (the great Chuck Connors, TV’s The Rifleman and Branded) who tells them that something has scared away all the animals in the region. As they find themselves reverting to primitive and bizarre behavior, the men soon discover they are being manipulated in cruel experiments for a bloodthirsty alien force. Their only hope for survival is to unite against the extraterrestrial in this haunting made-for-cable chiller. (BLU-RAY)

JACK BE NIMBLE (1994)

Jack and Dora, abandoned by their parents as babies, are desperate to find each other after years of adoption. Jack’s young life has been spent with a sadistic family. Dora, whose life has been somewhat better, has developed extra-sensory powers which tell her that Jack’s in danger and drives her to search for him. (BLU-RAY)

KARATE MASTER (1973) 

Also known as Ichidai the Karate Fool, Karate Master the Complete Collection contains all 47 episodes of the anime directed by Osamu Dezaki in a boxed set.

Ken Asuka was prepared to die, but even that privilege was taken from him. In the aftermath of the Great War, Japan was a confusing place, one that didn’t seem to have a place for a suicide pilot like Ken, his plan having broken down before he could complete his mission. Frustrated over losing his way in life, struggling with feelings of guilt that his friends died yet he alone carried on living, Ken knew no peace.

However, after a run-in with some American soldiers, Ken rediscovered feelings he’d carried since his youth. A practitioner of martial arts form a young age, he had abandoned that path for the war. But now, it might just be his ticket to a new purpose in life! Though not everyone will seek to use his power for good. (DVD)

OREGONIAN, THE (2011)

There is a place. A place where the skies are wide and the forests are thick and strange. You can lose yourself forever in these woods. You’ll meet truckers with problems and old women with strange powers. You may even make a furry friend. Just be sure to stay quiet. Spend some time with a woman from Oregon who is lost on the road and running away from her past. Now she has a chance to experience everything the grotesque Northwest has to offer, whether she likes it or not.  (BLU-RAY)

RAW NERVE (1991)

Race car driver Jimmy Clayton is having mind-shattering visions. Over and over, he sees young women ruthlessly murdered. He tries to go to the police as a witness to the latest murder, but they think he’s crazy. An investigative reporter catches wind of Jimmy’s tale and tries to help him put the blood-soaked pieces together. But when Jimmy’s little sister appears in one of his visions, Jimmy’s world comes violently crashing down. (BLU-RAY)

REQUIEM FOR A VILLAGE (1975) (INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION)

The idyllic, rural past of a Suffolk village comes to life through the memories of an old man who tends a country graveyard, in this extraordinary, little-seen film from David Gladwell. Although best known for his celebrated work as editor on Lindsay Anderson’s If…. and O Lucky Man!, Gladwell has, until now, rarely been recognised as the director of a number of ground-breaking films. (BLU-RAY)

ROSARY MURDERS (1987)

A renegade priest-turned-detective is faced with the mysterious serial killings of priests and nuns where the trademark of the murderer is the black rosary he leaves behind. (BLU-RAY)

SAMPO (1959)

Based on the Finnish national epic “Kalevala,” director Aleksandr Ptushko’s ravishing, mystical fantasy tells the story of a sinister witch Louhi (Anna Orochko) who covets the Sampo, a magical, rainbow-colored mill that can produce endless salt, grain, and gold. When the hero Lemminkäinen (Andris Oshin) attempts to stop her, Louhi steals the sun, plunging the world into eternal darkness. A Finnish/Soviet co-production and shot like its predecessor ILYA MUROMETS in gorgeous CinemaScope, SAMPO features some of Ptushko’s most surreal and fantastical imagery: a glowing red horse plowing a field of vipers; a boat of fire with a stag’s head; a weeping mother literally walking across the sea to find her lost son. With its witch’s incantations and repeated scenes of forging magical items – “Give me fire for the furnace from the nave of the sky!” – there is a Macbeth-like occult force to the film as well, underscored by the raging blue-gray seas and rock-strewn landscapes. (BLU-RAY)

SATAN’S CHILDREN (1975)

Made by one-and-done filmmakers in the shadows of Tampa, SATAN’S CHILDREN feels like an Afterschool Special from depths of hell . . . literally. Bobby is a troubled teen with problems. After deflecting his father’s insults and his stepsister’s come-ons, Bobby unknowingly ends up at a gay bar. Before long, he’s assaulted by four guys in the back seat of a car. With nowhere else to turn, Bobby joins a cult of Satanists to enact his murderous revenge. A truly deranged gut-punch, this is a gritty and baffling horror experience that could have only happened in Florida. AGFA + Something Weird are thrilled to present a 2K preservation of SATAN’S CHILDREN from the only known 35mm theatrical print in existence. (BLU-RAY)

SHORTBUS (2006)

Numerous New York City-dwellers come to the exclusive club Shortbus to work out problems in their sexual relationships. Rob and Sophia are a happily married couple, except for the fact that she has never experienced sexual climax. This irony follows her to work, because she is a couples counselor who frequently has to deal with the sexual issues other couples have. Two of her patients are Jamie and James, a gay couple who have been monogamous for five years and counting. James wants to bring other men in to the relationship, and his own history with depression may hint at an ulterior motive. Ceth (Pronounced like Seth) may be the perfect addition to their family, but Caleb, a voyeur from across the street, may have his own ideas about that. Sophia visits Severin, a dominatrix with secrets of her own to reveal. (BLU-RAY and DVD)

SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED (1974)

Anthropology professor, Dr. Prell, has invited his class to a remote cabin in the mountains to research the mythical Abominable Snowman. Soon after they arrive, strange events begin to befall the students, including sightings of a huge, white, furry creature. When several members of the group go missing, only to be discovered dead; their bodies horribly mangled, fears mount that the legendary monster is very real and out for blood…but is everything as simple as it appears?

Low-rent gore, bizarre twists, and one of the strangest looking versions of Bigfoot in cinema history, Michael Findlay’s (The Touch of Her Flesh, Snuff) SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED has earned, and lives up to, its reputation as one of the quintessential pieces of early 70s drive-in filmmaking. Produced and co-written by Ed Adlum (Invasion of the Blood Farmers) and photographed by Roberta Findlay (Tenement), Vinegar Syndrome is excited to bring this 42nd St classic to Blu-ray, in its fully uncensored and un-tampered with, original version, newly restored in 4K from its recently unearthed 35mm camera negative. (BLU-RAY)

SPACE ADVENTURE COBRA (1982)

In a universe swarming with inhabited planets and bizarre aliens, corrupt governments operate in the pay of star-spanning criminal syndicates and the Justice Federation of United Galaxies places a price on the heads of hardened criminals. The highest bounty of all rests with the infamous space pirate Cobra, an unstoppable rogue whose left arm conceals a devastating psycho-gun.

Presumed dead for two years, Cobra comes out retirement after an encounter with the beautiful bounty hunter Jane – a decision which leads him into direct conflict with the sinister Galaxy Pirates, a vast criminal organization led by Crystal Boy, the personification of death itself. (BLU-RAY)

SPACE ADVENTURE COBRA (COMPLETE TV SERIES) (1982)

Seeking reprieve from a painfully ordinary 9-to-5 existence, mild-mannered office worker Johnson visits the TM corporation, a company that sells virtual dreams. In Johnson’s dream adventure, he’s the notorious space pirate Cobra! Accompanied by his android partner Lady Armaroid, Cobra fights the lowlife scum of the Pirate Guild by day and saves sultry sirens of space by night.

After the journey is over, events unfold that bring reality into focus. His experience wasn’t a dream at all – it was a reawakening of his buried past! With the most feared weapon in the universe, the Psycho Gun, Cobra sets out into the galaxy in pursuit of love, fortune and fame. (BLU-RAY)

TENEBRE (1982) (LIMITED EDITION)

Italian horror master Dario Argento elevates the giallo genre to new heights with 1982’s Tenebrae, a darkly humorous and notoriously grisly murder-mystery that many consider to be one of his finest works. Now, Synapse Films, in conjunction with Arrow Video, makes this gory suspense classic available for the first time on 4K Blu-ray in a new 4K restoration for Tenebrae’s 40th anniversary!

American mystery author Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa, Death Wish II) comes to Rome to promote his newest novel, Tenebrae. A razor-wielding psychopath is on the loose, taunting Neal and murdering those around him in gruesome fashion just like the character in his novel. As the mystery surrounding the killings spirals out of control, Neal investigates the crimes on his own, leading to a mind-bending, genre-twisting conclusion that will leave you breathless!

Co-starring John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Daria Nicolodi (Phenomena), John Steiner (Caligula) and featuring beautiful cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria), this stunning all-new 4K restoration includes hours of extras and, for the first time ever, the alternate U.S. theatrical cut, Unsane. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)

TREMBLE ALL YOU WANT (2017)

Virgin twenty-something girl is neat, talented and professional, although almost too much of all these. She is an office lady who still romanticizes a school-mate, but has the opportunity to move on and forward with a man at an after-work get-together. She hesitates yearning for the man she loved at school and happens to meet him again soon enough. Will she choose option A, B or something else we can call C? (BLU-RAY)

TWO UNDERCOVER ANGELS/KISS ME MONSTER (1969)

TWO UNDERCOVER ANGELS (aka SADIST EROTICA and RED LIPS): Diana and Regina are The Red Lips, a duo of sexy sleuths who take on only the most intriguing cases. After stumbling upon the strange disappearances of several pretty young women and realizing a connection exists between several of the missing and an enigmatic artist, whose identity is shrouded in mystery, they begin an intense undercover investigation which takes them on an unexpected trail of monsters, murder, and striptease!

KISS ME MONSTER: In their second adventure, Diana and Regina have been tasked with locating a mysterious red box but quickly discover that they’re not the only ones after its contents and find themselves at odds with a secret sect, which controls a small zombie army, and who are hoping to harness the power of human cloning — the formula to which is contained within the box. As bodies (some nude, some dead) pile up, Diana and Regina race against time to stop the diabolical organization! (BLU-RAY)

VIKTORIA (2014)

Maya Vitkova’s stunning debut feature VIKTORIA follows three generations of women in the final years of communist Bulgaria, focusing on reluctant mother Boryana and her daughter Viktoria. Born without an umbilical cord, Viktoria is heralded as a medical marvel and named the country’s Baby of the Decade. Although Viktoria is showered with gifts and attention by the communist regime, she is still unwanted by her own mother. But with the disintegration of the East bloc, Viktoria and Boryana’s lives are thrown off balance, forcing them to confront each other. Equal parts a political allegory and a moving familial drama, VIKTORIA is deeply personal yet universal story of finding reconciliation amidst turbulent times. (BLU-RAY)

WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR (2021)

Alone in her attic bedroom, teenager Casey becomes immersed in an online role-playing horror game, wherein she begins to document the changes that may or may not be happening to her. (BLU-RAY)

WHITE ELEPHANT (2022)