For the week of April 5th, Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release Josh Greenbaum's comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, starring Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Jamie Dornan, Damon Wayans Jr., and Wendi McLendon-Covey. The film was shot in 2019 for a summer 2020 theatrical release, but that was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, Lionsgate cancelled a rescheduled summer 2021 theatrical release and opted instead to release the film via premium VOD in February 2021. In addition to the regular Blu-ray, a Target Exclusive version will also be available, which advertises lenticular packaging and bonus content.
In his review of the Blu-ray, Jeffrey Kauffman says of the picture quality: "This is an incredibly bright and colorful presentation that offers superb saturation for its almost neon infused aesthetic. Detail levels are generally excellent throughout, helped immeasurably by the sunny outdoor scenes where so much of the film takes place. Fine detail is also nice throughout". Lionsgate includes several extras on the Blu-ray, including an audio commentary with Greenbaum, Mumolo and Wiig, two featurettes, bloopers, deleted scenes and more.
Next this week, from Shout Factory and GKIDS is Studio Ghibli's latest film, Gorô Miyazaki's Earwig and the Witch. Synopsis: Growing up in an orphanage in the British countryside, Earwig has no idea that her mother had magical powers. Her life changes dramatically when a strange couple takes her in, and she is forced to live with a selfish witch. As the headstrong young girl sets out to uncover the secrets of her new guardians, she discovers a world of spells and potions, and a mysterious song that may be the key to finding the family she has always wanted.
Originally set to premiere at last year's Cannes Film Festival in May 2020, Earwig and the Witch eventually had its world premiere at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France in October 2020. A co-production between Studio Ghibli and Japan's public broadcaster NHK, the film premiered on NHK's main television network in Japan in December 2020 and is set to be released theatrically in Japan later this month. In the US, the film received a limited theatrical release in Febraury 2021. Available in both standard and Limited SteelBook editions, the Blu-ray of Earwig and the Witch contains several extras, including feature-length storyboards and interviews with the Japanese voice cast.
Finally for new releases this week, from RLJ Entertainment comes Neil Marshall's The Reckoning, starring Charlotte Kirk, Sean Pertwee, and Steven Waddington. Synopsis: After losing her husband during the Great Plague, Grace Haverstock (Charlotte Kirk) is unjustly accused of being a witch and placed in the custody of England's most ruthless witch-hunter, Judge Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee). Forced to endure physical and emotional torture while steadfastly maintaining her innocence, Grace must face her own inner demons as the Devil himself starts to work his way into her mind.
RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray of The Reckoning contains deleted scenes as an extra.
Catalog releases this week include Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series from Warner Archive Collection. The three-disc set features all 21 classic animated adventures, each newly remastered. Also included is the featurette "Lords of Light: The Story of Thundarr the Barbarian".
Also this week, Arrow Video presents the Blu-ray debut of Nico Mastorakis' first feature Death Has Blue Eyes. Description: Death Has Blue Eyes is a gripping paranormal action thriller with shades of giallo from the director of the cult classic video nasty Island of Death (1976). When local gigolo Chess (Chris Nomikos) greets his vacationing friend Bob Kovalski (Peter Winter) at Athens airport, the pair embark on a string of scams and erotic dalliances that eventually lead them into contact with an elegant wealthy woman, Geraldine Steinwetz (Jessica Dublin), and her glamorous daughter Christine (Maria Aliferi). Geraldine blackmails the two cheeky bachelor boys into acting as bodyguards for Christine, whom it transpires has telepathic abilities and has had her eye on them for some time. After fleeing from a series of assassination attempts, it soon becomes clear that Geraldine herself might not be quite whom she seems, as the two young men find themselves caught up in a political conspiracy of international dimensions. In his debut feature, maverick filmmaker Nico Mastorakis presents us with a generous meze of non-stop car, bike and helicopter chases, a bevy of beautiful girls with guns, sensational softcore sex scenes, psychic thrills and Cold War political intrigue set against the picturesque landscapes of 70s Greece, all presented for the very first time in a new HD master in both widescreen and full-frame versions.
Newly remastered from the original camera negative and approved by Mastoakis, Arrow presents the film with several extras beyond the choice of 1.85:1 widescreen or 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratios, including new interviews with Mastorakis and actress Maria Aliferi, as well as selections from the film's soundtrack, amongst other extras.
This week also sees four more catalog titles from Universal Studios. They are: Tap Roots (1948), starring Van Heflin and Susan Hayward, Little Miss Marker (1980), with Walter Matthau and Julie Andrews, the Oscar-winning documentary The Last Days (1998) and How High (2001), starring Method Man and Redman.
Finally this week, on Friday April 9th, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release on Blu-ray/CD Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live At Knebworth '76. Label description: Featuring the legendary line-up of Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Leon Wilkeson, Artimus Pyle, Billy Powell, and The Honkettes, this set was part of a daylong festival which also boasted the likes of Todd Rundgren's Utopia, 10cc, and headliners The Rolling Stones.
Reviewing the Blu-ray, Jeffrey Kauffman says: "The [DTS-HD MA 5.1] surround track nicely opens up the proceedings, and definitely provides added "oomph" to the low end...Both [stereo and surround] tracks offer excellent fidelity and surprisingly good prioritization given the live recording technologies prevalent in the day." In addition to the concert (which is also included on a CD), the Blu-ray also offers the 97-minute documentary If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd.