by Malakie Peters

New Release Tuesday! This week we’ve got a Hungarian master, treasure hunting Tom Holland, a whole mess of Hitchcock in 4K, and more.

A-HA: THE MOVIE (2021) (DVD)

A-ha: The Movie follows the band over their entire career, telling the full story of how three young men followed their impossible dream of becoming worldwide pop stars and what happened after that.

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK CLASSICS COLLECTION: VOLUME 2 (4K + BLU-RAY)

Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, directed some of the most exciting and memorable films in cinema history. The second volume of The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection features five films from the acclaimed director’s illustrious career.

• SABOTEUR (1942) 
• Factory worker Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) is accused of setting a deadly fire at an airplane plant in an apparent act of sabotage. Kane believes that the fire was set by another worker (Norman Lloyd), and he travels across the country to find the mysterious saboteur. Along the way he is forced to take Patricia Martin (Priscilla Lane) hostage, but as he begins to earn her trust, she turns from an unwilling captive to a willing accomplice in his quest to clear his name.
• SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)
• Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) visits his relatives in Santa Rosa. He is a very charming man, but his niece slowly realizes that he is wanted for murder and he soon recognizes her suspicions. Although one of the suspected murderers is killed and the case is considered closed, she still has her doubts.
• THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955)
• The trouble with Harry is that he is dead and, while no one really minds, everyone feels responsible. After Harry’s body is found in the woods, several locals must determine not only how and why he was killed but what to do with the body.
• MARNIE (1964)
• Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) is a customer of one Mr. Strutt, whose business was robbed by his secretary, the mysterious Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedren). When Marnie applies for a job with Mark, with the intention of stealing from him, Mark — who is obsessively in love with her — blackmails her into marrying him. However, he soon discovers that she has severe psychological issues and resolves to help her come to terms with her past trauma.
• FAMILY PLOT (1976)
• A phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/actor boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.

ASKING FOR IT (2021) (DVD)

After a small town waitress (Kiersey Clemons) is sexually assaulted on a date, she meets Regina (Alexandra Shipp) and Beatrice (Vanessa Hudgens) and is recruited into their vigilante group of badass women. Together they strive to take down a society overpowered by gangs of corrupt men and seek the ultimate revenge while getting their own version of justice.

BEHIND THE MONSTERS: SEASON ONE (2021) (BLU-RAY)

Each episode of Shudder’s docuseries examines a horror icon who has broken free of the confines of the film from which it was born and become the stuff of legend.

THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S (1945) (BLU-RAY)

A carefree singing priest clashes with a no-nonsense nun at a school in a struggling parish.

THE BETA TEST (2021) (DVD)

A married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, murder and infidelity in this scintillating satire.

THE CAREY TREATMENT (1972) (BLU-RAY)

Pathologist Peter Carey (James Coburn) accepts a staff position at a staid Boston hospital, under the direction of Dr. J.D. Randall (Dan O’Herlihy). When Dr. Randall’s daughter Karen dies following an illegal abortion, Carey’s colleague David Tao (James Hong) is accused of the crime and Carey sets out to prove his innocence. Along the way, Carey finds time to romance Boston beauty Georgia Hightower (Jennifer O’Neill), chase red herrings down blind alleys of comic satire, and confront “The Establishment”.

CINDERELLA (1977) (BLU-RAY)

Perpetually abused by her incestuous stepsisters and wicked stepmother, poor Cinderella finally cuts loose when she gets the chance to attend the Prince’s gala orgiastic ball in this early Charles Band classic. After the sexually frustrated Prince beds every young woman at the party, he’s about to give up on love until he couples up with our enchanted heroine. But when the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella flees, leaving the smitten sovereign feeling blue. Will the prince find true happiness between the legs of his lady love and live lustfully ever after? 

CLEAN (2021) (DVD)

A tormented rubbish man named Clean tries to live a quiet life of redemption, but when his good intentions make him the target of a local crime boss, he must soon reconcile with the violence of his past.

THE CTHULHU TRILOGY (DVD)

This set contains three features centered around everyone’s favorite tentacled cosmic entity!

• WHY HANS WAGNER HATES THE STARRY SKY (2013)
• Hans Wagner lives in a small apartment, taking pills and drinking whiskey to fight his anxiety disorders. When he runs out of both his drugs one day, he has no choice but to travel to the supermarket sober. That’s when an unexpected adventure begins. 
• CORDELIA’S CHILDREN (2015)
• Cordelia has recently killed her hapless husband to stay in charge of her familial empire of crime. Bummer: Now, he haunts her. Meanwhile, her 16-year-old son falls in love with one of the young callboys working for his mother, shortly after discovering a strange door to a nightmare dimension in the basement. Cordelia’s older daughter couldn’t care less about all this. She’s plotting revenge against the murderers of her beloved father – and she definitely suspects her mother to be the culprit. 
• ZECKENKOMMANDO VS. CTHULHU (2015)
• Lower Saxony’s most hardcore punk band faces off against the forces of evil summoned by their small town’s elites in a found footage extravaganza!

CURSED (2005) (BLU-RAY)

A werewolf loose in Los Angeles changes the lives of three young adults who, after being mauled by the beast, learn that the only way to break the curse put upon them is to kill the one who started it all. 

DOG (2022) (BLU-RAY)

A movie about a filthy animal unfit for human company… and a dog. With a dog named Lulu by his side, Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) races down the Pacific Coast to make it to a soldier’s funeral on time. Along the way, Briggs and Lulu drive each other completely crazy, break a handful of laws, narrowly evade death, and learn to let down their guards to have a fighting chance of finding happiness.

THE ENORMITY OF LIFE (2021) (DVD)

After a failed suicide attempt, a man receives a substantial inheritance from a long lost relative and meets a struggling single mom with an eccentric young daughter. Together they embark on a journey of self discovery and healing.

THE FALLOUT (2021) (DVD)

Bolstered by new friendships forged under sudden and tragic circumstances, high school student Vada begins to reinvent herself while reevaluating her relationships and her view of the world. 

THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS (1996) (BLU-RAY)

Sir Robert Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson) is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Everything seems great after he enlists noted engineer John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer) to right the ship, until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project’s foreman (Henry Cele), seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas), who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

INDEMNITY (2021) (DVD)

Theo, an ex-firefighter suffering from severe trauma after a failed rescue attempt, wakes up next to his wife’s lifeless body with no recollection of what happened. Labeled as the prime suspect, he quickly finds himself hunted by sinister forces and a ruthless deputy chief of police and embarks on a breakneck mission to uncover the truth behind his wife’s death.

JULIETTA (1953) (DVD)

A romantic young girl meets the man of her dreams and hopes that he will give her a way out of her engagement to a fifty-year-old playboy, the prince of Alpen. Unfortunately, the man she sets her heart on is already engaged himself.

KIN: SEASON ONE (2021) (DVD)

A boy is killed and his family embark on a gangland war with an international cartel – a war that is impossible to win. But the Kinsellas have something the cartel does not: the unbreakable bonds of blood and family.

LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER (1955) (DVD) 

In WWI, Lady Chatterley feels a loss of intimacy between her husband and herself, and decides to have an affair with the gamekeeper, a man of a lower class. First banned in New York when released because of its subject matter, it took a Supreme Court ruling to allow the film to be seen in theaters. 

LET THE WRONG ONE IN (2021) (DVD) 

Let the Wrong One In follows young supermarket worker Matt, who is a little too nice for his own good. When he discovers that his older, estranged brother Deco has turned into a vampire, he’s faced with a dilemma: Will he risk his own life to help his sibling, with blood being thicker than water? Or will he stake him before he spreads the infection further? 

MASTERPIECE: SANDITON: SEASON 2 (2022) (DVD) 

High-spirited heroine Charlotte Heywood returns to the picturesque coastal resort of Sanditon and the companionship of her friend Georgiana Lambe. What adventures, scandals, intrigue and above all else – romance – await Miss Heywood this season? 

MEGAZONE 23 (1985) (BLU-RAY) 

Yahagi Shōgo is a young man living in Tokyo in the mid-80s, enjoying life during a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Or so he thinks… In reality he, and everyone he knows, are living in a carefully maintained illusion. Almost all are blissfully unaware that they are aboard a massive spaceship: Megazone 23. Only a few of the inhabitants of Megazone 23 know the truth — that not only is the city a ship, but that it is controlled by Bahamut, an AI, and is in danger of attack from the mysterious Dezalg. When Shōgo stumbles upon the secret of Megazone 23, the military decides that he and his friends need to be silenced before they can interfere with their plans to hack Bahamut. Shōgo only has two things going for him – a motorcycle that is much more than it seems, and an acquaintance who is much less so! Contains all 3 Megazone 23 films with both English and Japanese soundtracks and subtitles, the Streamline Pictures dub of Part 1, and the special Megazone 23 Part 2 International edition, commentary tracks, and more.

MIKLOS JANCSO COLLECTION (1966-74) (BLU-RAY) 

Screenwriter and director Miklós Jancsó was the creator of a unique film language centered around his mastery of the tracking shot. The first internationally recognized representative of modern Hungarian filmmaking, his extraordinary works examined oppressive authority and the mechanics of power. Kino Lorber is proud to present six of his classic features restored in 4K from their original camera negatives by the National Film Institute Hungary. 

• THE ROUND-UP (1966)
• The film depicts a prison camp in the aftermath of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution. A true classic of world cinema. 
• THE RED AND THE WHITE (1967)
• A haunting, powerful film about the absurdity and evil of war set in Central Russia during the Civil War of 1918. 
• THE CONFRONTATION (1968)
• A story of protest and rebellion set in 1947 Hungary, when the Communist Party has just taken power. 
• WINTER WIND (1969) 
• The film consists of twelve fluid long takes that capture a mid-1930s group of Croatian anarchists. 
• RED PSALM (1971)
• This film follows a group of farm workers who go on strike in 1890s Hungary, for which Jancsó won the best director prize at Cannes. 
• ELECTRA, MY LOVE (1974)
• A richly inventive adaptation of the Greek myth that consists of 12 single take, intricately choreographed set pieces.

 

MR. KLEIN (1976) (BLU-RAY) 

Alain Delon delivers a standout performance as Robert Klein, a decadent art dealer in Paris during World War II who makes a tidy profit buying up paintings from his desperate Jewish clients. As Klein searches for a Jewish man with the same name for whom he has been mistaken, he finds himself plunged into a Kafkaesque nightmare in which his identity seems to dissolve and the forces of history close in on him. Met with considerable controversy on its release for its portrayal of the real-life wrongdoings of the Vichy government, this haunting, disturbingly beautiful film shivers with existential dread as it traces a society’s descent into fascistic fear and inhumanity.

MUTANT BLAST (2018) (BLU-RAY) 

Maria, a fearless soldier, and TS-347, a man with superhuman strength, are being pursued by a military cell responsible for scientific experiments that have resulted in a zombie apocalypse. On the way, they meet Pedro, a man with few ambitions and a great hangover. Together, they try to escape to a safe place, but complications cross their paths in the form of a nuclear bomb.

PLAYGROUND (2021) (DVD) 

In this debut feature by writer-director Laura Wandel, the everyday reality of grade school is seen from a child’s-eye-view as an obstacle course of degradation and abuse. Following 7-year-old Nora and her big brother Abel, we see Nora struggling to fit in before finding her place on the schoolyard. One day, she notices Abel being bullied by other kids, and though she rushes to protect him by warning their father, Abel forces her to remain silent, while he endures more humiliation and harassment by his peers. Transposing the gritty realism of such filmmakers as Jacques Audiard and the Dardennes Brothers to the inner world of kids, Wandel crafts an empathetic and visceral portrait of the cruelty of children, and the failure of adults to protect them.

PUSHING HANDS (BLU-RAY, DVD) 

Having just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex. Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha, a writer who seems to blame him for her own paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways. 

SERPENT’S BREATH/REQUIEM FOR A WHORE/BOUGHT AND SOLD (DVD) 

• BOUGHT AND SOLD (1988)
• The story of a sexually abused runaway, who after a life of drugs and sex work on the streets, finds redemption with the help of a kindly street vendor… only to be killed by the forces of corruption that grip the city. Shot entirely on the streets of New York City with an original score by noted composer, Bobby Previte.
• SERPENT’S BREATH (1999)
• Four stories of love on the edge are woven together by one uncontrollable emotion: desire. The lives of a gangster looking for love in all the wrong places, an aging porn-queen breaking from the hustler who salvaged her career, a militant lesbian leaving her lover for a man, and a desperate loner killing for company, converge in a series of violent crescendos. Ending with a shattering climax inside a high security prison cell that only the laws of desire could determine.
• REQUIEM FOR A WHORE (1989) 
• Chronicles the last day in the life of a street walker named Pearl. Bouncing back and forth between her heartless, manipulative pimp and her loving but ineffective boyfriend, Pearl’s only solace is the company of her fellow street walkers. But when destiny appears in the form of a kinky producer of religious TV programming, Pearl’s fate is sealed. Shot entirely in the meatpacking district of Manhattan, the dark, gritty images, elegant hand-held camerawork, austere organ score, and unflinching point-of-view combine to create a hard-hitting, hyper-realistic drama. 

 

SKIN: A HISTORY OF NUDITY IN THE MOVIES (2020) (DVD) 

A definitive documentary on the history of nudity in the movies from the early silent days to the present, examining the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped this rich history. Skin delves into the gender bias concerning nudity in motion pictures and follows the revolution that has pushed for gender equality in feature films today. A deep discussion of pre-code Hollywood and its amoral roots, the censorship that “cleaned up” Hollywood, and how the MPAA was formed leads into a discussion of how nudity changed cinematic culture through the decades. It culminates in a discussion of “what are nude scenes like in the age of the #METOO movement?” Featuring interviews with Malcolm McDowell, Pam Grier, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Smith, Sean Young, Traci Lords and more.

SON OF SAMSON AKA MACISTE NELLA VALLE DEI RE (1960) (DVD) 

During the Persian rule over Egypt, the mighty Maciste (bodybuilder Mark Forest) travels to the city of Tanis where the evil Queen Smedes (Folies Bergère dancer Chelo Alonso) rules with an iron fist and spreads misery across the land. Possessing legendary brawn and courage, Maciste leads a mass revolt against the queen and her tyrannical reign of terror. 

STRAIGHT TO VHS (2021) (DVD) 

The film attempts to trace the story of Act of Violence Upon a Young Journalist, a 1988 Uruguayan cult film created by enigmatic filmmaker Manuel Lamas. The documentary sets out to unveil the enigma that exists about Lamas and his work, chasing the traces of a ghost through his lost VHS cassettes. Along the way, the director becomes involved in a spiral that dissolves the boundaries between reality and fiction.

SUNNYSIDE (1979) (DVD) 

New York City 1979. Every Jungle Needs a King. Joey Travolta makes his feature film debut as Nick Martin, a young tough guy from Sunnyside, Queens. He aspires to move his mother and two brothers to a better way of life, but he’s entangled in the politics of the street as the leader of the Nightcrawlers gang. When vendors at a local carnival swindle Sunnyside residents, the Nightcrawlers join forces with rival hooligans, the Warlocks and the Deathmakers, to rob the amusement park. But when violence erupts, Nick is forced to wage a turf war and choose between his family and the street. 

THEY SAY NOTHING STAYS THE SAME (2019) (DVD) 

In the debut directorial feature by actor Joe Odagiri, They Say Nothing Stays the Same follows an old ferryman in a remote Meiji-era community. His life is a peaceful, cyclical existence, given meaning by the essential role he plays in transporting people, livestock, and goods across the water, connecting villages and lives. When news arrives that a bridge is being built, it’s clear that his services will no longer be needed. Meanwhile, his life will be equally transformed by the appearance of a mysterious young woman whom he saves from drowning. 

TWO FOR THE MONEY (2005) (BLU-RAY) 

Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey star in this adrenaline-charged thriller about the sexy, high-stakes world of sports betting, where fortunes can be made or lost with a flip of a coin. When Brandon Lang is tapped to be the protégé of sports gambling’s power player, Walter Abrams, he swiftly becomes the golden boy of the high rollers for consistently picking football winners. Now, with millions on the line, Brandon finds himself in a deadly game of con-versus-con with his mentor. 

UNCHARTED (2022) (BLU-RAY, DVD) 

In Uncharted, street-smart thief Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan to recover a fortune lost by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world’s oldest mysteries, they stand to find five billion dollars in treasure and perhaps even Nate’s long-lost brother…but only if they can learn to work together.

VIRGIN STRIPPED BARE BY HER BACHELORS (2000) (BLU-RAY, DVD) 

Wealthy Jae-hoon meets attractive writer Soo-jung through their mutual friend, filmmaker Young-soo. While Jae-hoon tries to pursue a romance with Soo-jung, things get complicated when it becomes apparent that Young-soo also has feelings for the young woman. Jae-hoon grows jealous, but eventually convinces Soo-jung to meet him at a lavish hotel for a tryst; however, when she mysteriously phones to cancel, the love triangle takes a bitter turn.

 

OTHER NEW ADDITIONS

BINGO (1991) (BLU-RAY)

CARE BEARS MOVIE II: A NEW GENERATION (1986) (BLU-RAY)

HARVIE AND THE MAGIC MUSEUM (2017) (DVD)

VIC THE VIKING AND THE MAGIC SWORD (2019) (DVD)

6 THUGS (2006) (DVD)

AMERICAN BRAWLER (2013) (DVD)

BRAVETOWN (2015) (DVD)

BULLETFIGHTER (2005) (DVD)

THE COMMON DENOMINATORS (2007) (DVD)

COSMIC BLAST (2018) (DVD)

THE DRUNK (2014) (DVD)

EX$PENDABLE (2010) (DVD)

GET PONY BOY (2007) (DVD)

GOLOKA (2003) (DVD)

HARVEST OF FEAR (2004) (DVD)

HUNTING OF MAN (2003) (DVD)

THE LITTLE MATCHMAKERS (2011) (DVD)

PHANTOM HALO (2014) (DVD)

PLATINUM PLAYAZ (2003) (DVD)

RENT CONTROL (2003) (DVD)

SANTA’S SUMMER HOUSE (2012) (DVD)

SAVING CHRISTMAS (2014) (DVD)

THE TELL-TALE HEART (2007) (DVD)

THIS WOODS IS CURSED (2015) (DVD)

TURF WAR (2017) (DVD)

TV FREE BURNING MAN 07 (2007) (DVD)

WHO’S WATCHING THE KIDS (2012) (DVD)

WRONG CASA (2003) (DVD)

YOU CAN’T CATCH DIABETES FROM A FRIEND (2008) (DVD)

THE DEADLY BEES (1967) (BLU-RAY)

THE GRASS IS GREENER (1960) (BLU-RAY)

THE HANGMAN (1959) (BLU-RAY)

KING MIDAS (2003) (DVD)

LITTLE FAUSS AND BIG HALSY (1970) (BLU-RAY)

MAGIC TOWN (1947) (BLU-RAY)

ZAPPED! (1982) (BLU-RAY)

HISTORICAL ROASTS WITH JEFF ROSS (2019) (DVD)