New Release Tuesday! Minions, De Palma on Criterion, Star Trek in 4K, and tons more!

61ST STREET: SEASON 1 (2022)

ALL OR NOTHING (2002)

With films like SECRETS & LIES, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY and NAKED, writer/director Mike Leigh has been called ”the unsparing poet of the British working class” (Rolling Stone). And with this overlooked classic – made between his Oscar-winning TOPSY-TURVY and Oscar-nominated VERA DRAKE – Leigh explores the anger, alienation and broken dreams that define the everyday lives of three families in a low-income London housing project. Timothy Spall (SWEENEY TODD, the HARRY POTTER movies), Oscar nominees Lesley Manville (2017: Actress in a Supporting Role, PHANTOM THREAD) and Sally Hawkins (2017: Actress in a Leading Role, THE SHAPE OF WATER), Ruth Sheen (ANOTHER YEAR), Daniel Mays (1917, DES) and Emmy winner James Corden star in ”Mike Leigh’s masterpiece” (Taste Of Cinema) – winner of two 2003 London Critics Circle Awards including British Film Of The Year – newly scanned from the original negative (DVD)

AMIRA (2021)

Amira is a vivacious 17-year-old who has grown-up believing she was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her incarcerated father (Ali Suliman). Proud to be the daughter of a man she considers a political prisoner and a hero to her Palestinian neighborhood, Amira adores her father with a fierce zeal. Her sense of identity is shattered when another attempt to conceive a child with her father’s smuggled sperm reveals he is infertile. As her family and community react with suspicion and disbelief, the teenager, angry and feeling betrayed, doggedly sets out to uncover the truth, no matter where it might lead her. Inspired by true stories of children conceived in secret by Palestinian prisoners in Israel, Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab crafts a family drama as gripping as any political thriller. (DVD)

ANNE AT 13,000 FT (2019)

BECAUSE OF HIM (1946)

After appearing in a Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac, actor John Sheridan (Charles Laughton) informs playwright Paul Taylor (Franchot Tone) that he wants a young, unknown actress to star opposite him in their next production, Strange Laughter. When waitress Kim Walker (Deanna Durbin) learns of Sheridans request, she tries to pass herself off as an experienced actress and even succeeds in winning the coveted role. That’s when the real problems begin. The score by Academy Award-winning composer Miklos Rozsa includes Good Bye, Danny Boy, and the Rodgers and Hart tune, Lover. (BLU-RAY)

BIRDS II: LANDS END (1994)

Ted and Mary have just moved, with their two young daughters, to the sleepy coastal town of Gull Island so that Ted can complete work on his thesis. Everything couldn’t seem more picturesque about their new, seaside home…that is, except for the increasing number of aggressively behaving birds. After surviving an unprovoked nighttime avian invasion, Ted becomes determined to figure out the cause of their unusual behavior; an investigation which leads him to uncover the sinister goings on in the nearby waters. All the while, the birds increase their now deadly attacks, moving up from family pets to human victims… (BLU-RAY)

BLISS (2021)

BLOW OUT (1981) (CRITERION)

BULLETPROOF (2020)

The film explores the fearful culture that has developed at schools as a response to the perceived threat of school shootings and the industry that has developed to market products to secure schools. (DVD)

COMING APART (1969)

Rip Torn gives one of the great screen performances as a psychiatrist secretly filming his own mental breakdown in Milton Moses Ginsberg’s classic exploration of dark eroticism and self-referential cinematic form. Anticipating the camcorder-driven diary films of today, the entire film is shot into a mirror from a single camera angle in a one-room apartment.

Joe becomes a voyeur of his own reflection with the camera his only means of communication. Until finally encased in his reflection, Joe ends up filming his own disintegration. Although entirely scripted, this fierce, frank and explicit film seems improvised. The acting is so explosive it seems uncontrolled and the sex scenes have been described as real and pornographic.

In dramatic opposition to Hollywood’s narrative filmmaking aesthetic, Ginsberg calls attention to the presence of the camera, abandoning cinema’s “omniscent eye” for a deliberately conscious “camera eye.” Truly ahead of its time, Coming Apart remains a visionary and transformative piece of American cinema.(BLU-RAY)

THE COP (1970)

Michel Bouquet (La Femme Infidèle) is judge, jury and executioner in The Cop (Un Condé), a nerve-twisting crime thriller from director Yves Boisset (Dog Day). When a crackdown on drugs leads to his partner’s killing, Inspector Favenin (Bouquet), once an honest cop, decides to take the law into his own hands. Armed with a revolver and a furious desire for revenge, he uses morally questionable methods of blackmail and torture to track down the assassins. (BLU-RAY and DVD)

CORNSHUKKER (1997)

The Cornshukker is a mythical creature who has lived simply and peacefully with Nature. But now he is besieged by urban sprawl. With nowhere else to go, he is forced to deal with varmints and outlandishly- odd townsfolk. As his food supply diminishes, The Cornshukker is confronted by the bigoted Old Man Thomas. In an act of desperation, The Cornshukker is forced to do the unthinkable. His existence is in peril, and the mysterious world he inhabits could be destroyed. Only Nature and the townsfolk will decide his fate. (BLU-RAY)

DEAD NORTH (1991)

When three couples escape to the woods together for a weekend camping trip, their idyllic vacation quickly becomes a desperate struggle for survival when a deranged, axe-wielding psychopath begins murdering them one by one. An impossible web of marital infidelities leads to a meandering mosaic of endless red herrings, deranged Nam vets, bitter office rivalries, perilous punji pits, and puffy brown plaid couches. (BLU-RAY)

FOR THE LOVE OF MARY (1948)

When Mary Peppertree (Deanna Durbin), a White House telephone operator, breaks her engagement to marry Phillip Manning (Jeffrey Lynn), an attorney for the Justice Department, it causes a stir and encourages two new admirers, David (Don Taylor) and Tom (Edmond O’Brien), to pursue her. Mary’s romantic entanglements soon become the talk of the White House and even the President of the United States and four Supreme Court justices try to play Cupid for her in this screwball comedy which marked Durbin’s final screen appearance. The cinematography by four-time Academy Award nominee William H. Daniels (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ) and such songs as “Moonlight Bay” and “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” provide additional distinction. (BLU-RAY)

FUNHOUSE, THE (1981) (2 DISKS)

On her first date with Buzz (Cooper Huckabee, True Blood), Amy (Elizabeth Berridge, Amadeus) disobeys her father and goes to the carnival with Richie (Miles Chapin, Hair) and Liz (Largo Woodruff), but their first date may end up as their last. After witnessing a murder, the four terrified teens are trapped in the maze of the funhouse and stalked by a real monster, a horribly deformed killer who lurks among the freakish exhibits to butcher them one by one.  (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)

HE WHO MUST DIE (1957)

Set in a Turkish-occupied Greek village shortly after World War I, Jules Dassin’s stunning He Who Must Die tells the story of the townspeople’s efforts to stage their Passion Play, an event that occurs once every seven years. The leading citizens choose who will play the parts: a stuttering young shepherd is chosen as Jesus; the town butcher as Judas; the town prostitute as Mary Magdalene. But as the movie unfolds, the Passion becomes a reality, and the villagers actualize their biblical roles against the tragic backdrop of a country uprooted by war and poverty. (BLU-RAY)

INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN (1977) (2 DISKS)

While on the first-ever voyage to the rings of Saturn, an unexplained phenomenon takes hold of astronaut Steve West and his crew, burning all but Steve to a crisp. Somehow able to return to Earth, Steve awakens in a hospital bed, only to discover that his body is disintegrating. Worse, he begins to develop an instinctual urge to kill, learning that this is the only way to maintain his strength. After escaping from the hospital, Steve begins to ravage the nearby countryside; brutally murdering all who cross his path, and leaving behind a series of mangled bodies covered in his dripping flesh… (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)

MASKED MUTILATOR (2019)

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU (2022)

Long before he becomes the master of evil, Gru is just a 12-year-old boy in 1970s suburbia, plotting to take over the world from his basement. When the infamous supervillain group, the Vicious 6, ousts their leader, Gru attempts to join their ranks but soon finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. With Gru on the run, the Minions attempt to learn martial arts to help save him, and Gru discovers that even bad guys need a little help from their friends. Packed with the franchise’s signature subversive humor, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU features more thrilling action than any Despicable Me film ever before! (BLU-RAY and DVD)

MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS (2022)

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris tells a humorously heartwarming tale about a London housecleaner Ada Harris (Manville) who thinks her lonely life might turn around if she can become the owner of a Christian Dior gown. Saying goodbye to her friends like Archie (Isaacs) won’t be easy, and neither will be winning over elite people in Paris from Madame Colbert (Huppert) to idealistic accountant André (Bravo). But Ada’s irrepressible charm just might end up saving the whole House of Dior in this uplifting story of how an ordinary woman becomes an extraordinary inspiration by daring to follow her dreams.  (BLU-RAY and DVD)

NAN MOVIE (2022)

Catherine Tate’s iconic character Nan hits the big screen as she goes on a wild road trip from London to Ireland with her grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne) to make amends with her estranged sister Nell (Katherine Parkinson). (DVD)

NINE GUESTS FOR A CRIME (1977)

Nine members of an extremely rich and hateful family have decided to have a month-long reunion on a remote island in the Mediterranean. No sooner than their arrival, old grudges, resentments, and feuds make themselves known, along with allusions to some more macabre events in their past. But when their boats are torched, thus stranding them without any connection to the mainland, it becomes clear that someone is not willing to let old wounds heal, a fact made all the more clear as bodies start to pile up…  (BLU-RAY)

PARADISE HIGHWAY (2022)

RACHEL, RACHEL (1968)

New England schoolteacher Rachel Cameron’s life is small and safe. Too small and too safe for a warmhearted woman who wants to do something – anything – to keep from slipping into spinsterhood.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward joined their stellar talents on this powerfully human movie, he debuting as a director and she giving one of her hallmark screen performances. Both won New York Film Critics and Golden Globe awards for their work, and the film garnered four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. (BLU-RAY)

RADIUM GIRLS (2018)

In the 1920s a group of factory workers advocate for safer work conditions after some of their colleagues become ill from radium exposure. (DVD)

ROBINSON’S GARDEN (1987)

On a drunken walk home, bohemian drug-dealer Kumi (Kumiko Ota) discovers an abandoned building on the outskirts of Tokyo. Attracted by the vast and untapped space rampant with luxuriant vegetation, she promptly sells all of her belongings and retreats from the world. She carves an island out of the concrete squat and wiles her days away growing cabbage and expressing herself in any way she pleases.

Following his gonzo hachimiri (8mm) debut SAINT TERRORISM (1980) and the memorable CARNIVAL IN THE NIGHT (1981), Masashi Yamamoto offers his defining punk statement. Winner of a Special Mention at the 1987 Locarno International Film Festival, ROBINSON’S GARDEN is a rare, radical vision of a marginal, multicultural Tokyo. Think Punk Rock rather than City Pop (the soundtrack features Jagatara, Hamza El Din, and Yoichiro Yoshikawa), this film offers a stark contrast to the sights of financial prosperity brought forth by the films of the Economic Bubble era. Lensed by Tom DiCillo (LIVING IN OBLIVION, JOHNNY SUEDE), it instead shares much in common with the No Wave films the cinematographer pioneered alongside Jim Jarmusch (STRANGER THAN PARADISE). An unsung, anticapitalist masterwork. (BLU-RAY)

SOMETHING IN THE WIND (1947)

Deanna Durbin raises her voice in song and laughter in the musical romantic comedy Something in the Wind co-starring Donald O’Connor. When the wealthy head of Read Industries dies, his grandson Donald (John Dall) meets with Mary Collins (Durbin) in the mistaken belief the radio singer was his grandfather’s young mistress. Pressed to accept a settlement, an irate Mary decides to teach the pompous snob a lesson and demands a million-dollar payoff. Aided by Charlie (O’Connor), a distant Read cousin who is in love with Donald’s fiancee (Helena Carter), Mary agrees to try and break the engagement. (BLU-RAY)

SPIRITS OF DEATH (1972)

As a Child Mariale witnesses her father kill her mother. Years later, she spends her life with little contact from the outside world living in a gloomy castle. One day, however Mariale decides to invite some friends over the weekend, but as the decadent party turns into an unbridled orgy the first gruesome murder occurs. (BLU-RAY)

STAR TREK 01: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) (DIRECTOR’S EDITION)

STAR TREK 05: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989)

The crew of the Federation starship Enterprise is summoned to Nimbus III to negotiate a kidnapping from a renegade Vulcan, who turns out to be a relative of Spock. Soon, they’re set on a course for the center of the galaxy, exploring his obsessive search for a mysterious that could quite possibly be the source of all life.(BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)

STAR TREK 06: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)

The sixth STAR TREK movie, and the last to feature a group appearance of the original television series cast, comes to 4K UHD with HDR-10 and Dolby Vision, boldly remastered from the original film elements. After years of war, the Federation and the Klingon empire find themselves on the brink of a peace summit. Before negotiations even begin, a Klingon ship is nearly destroyed, and the apparent attack may be from the Enterprise. Now, the crew must brace for what may be their deadliest encounter. Both the original theatrical cut and the Director’s cut are included. (BLU-RAY + 4KULTRAHD)

STREETS OF DEATH (1987)

In dumpsters, in the gutters, and even hanging from hooks… the streets of Los Angeles are being littered with murdered sex workers. A sinister John with a sizable wallet is tempting desperate women into dangerous traps. If the police (Simon Di Soto, Lawrence Scott, and Susanne Smith from Night Ripper) cannot find the killer, then who will? Maybe it will be a former detective (Tommy Kirk, Babes in Toyland, Blood of Ghastly Horror). Or perhaps it will be a couple of guys (Larry Thomas, “Seinfeld,” Austin Powers and Guy Ecker, Night Terror, The Devil Wears White) shooting a documentary about prostitution. (BLU-RAY)

SUMMER OF BLOOD (2014)

Writer/director Onur Tukel turns in a hilarious performance as the monumentally lazy, socially oblivious and commitment-shy Erik Sparrow, who is dumped by his career-woman girlfriend (Anna Margaret Hollyman, White Reindeer) when he rejects her rather charitable marriage proposal. Feeling lost, he turns to a disastrous string of online dates that successively eat away at his already-deteriorating confidence until a lanky vampire turns him into an undead ladykiller, with a maniacal sex drive matched only by his frenzied need to feed on blood. A collision of absurd, self-deprecating wit and existential curiosity, Summer of Blood is a hilarious horror-comedy with a clever bite all its own. (BLU-RAY)

TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY (2020)

Narrated by Weird Al Yankovic, “Tiny Tim: King For A Day” is a biographical doc about a musician who is not only well known for hits such as :Tip Toe Through The Tulips” but for his trail blazing personae that paved the way for other rock stars such as David Bowie, Prince, Iggy Pop and Boy George. (DVD)

TROPIC OF CANCER (1972)

Fred and Grace Wright are vacationing in Haiti in the hope of repairing their failing marriage when they run into an old friend, Dr Williams. Excited to share the news of his latest work, Williams explains that he has developed a powerful aphrodisiac which doubles as a hallucinogen. Intrigued by their friend’s discovery, the couple quickly find themselves embroiled in a high stakes plot to steal the drug, all the while a mysterious killer (or killers) begins viciously doing away with anyone who gets too close to uncovering the truth about the formula.

One of the strangest gialli, both in terms of setting and storyline, to emerge from the genre’s golden age, co-directors Edoardo Mulargia (Escape From Hell) and Giampaolo Lomi’s (The Barons) TROPIC OF CANCER takes an unconventional approach to the black-gloved-killer structure, adding in elements of high concept crime film and Fellini-esque surrealism. (BLU-RAY)

WAITING: THE VAN DUREN STORY

WE ARE AS GODS (2021)

A deep dive into the life of Stewart Brand, a legendary pioneer of LSD, cyberspace, futurism, and modern environmentalism. Brand created the revolutionary do-it-yourself publication The Whole Earth Catalog, which Steve Jobs famously called “Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google existed.” (DVD)