Posted December 26, 2021 08:57 PM by Sean Greenwood
For the week of December 27th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment and 20th Century Studios will release Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, starring Bill Murray, Léa Seydoux, Timothée Chalamet, Benicio del Toro, and Tilda Swinton. Studio description: Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in the fictional 20th-century French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. With an all-star cast that includes Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, this vibrant film is a funny, moving celebration of journalism.
New this week from Shout Factory is a Blu-ray for Castle Falls, starring Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins, Dave Halls, Luke Hawx, Kevin Wayne, and Scott Hunter. Description: After decades of neglect, Castle Heights Hospital, this symbol of the city's segregated past has been packed with dynamite and is ready to be demolished. No one knows that a gang leader, now in prison, hid the 3 million dollars in cash he stole from his rivals inside the abandoned building. Now, three desperate parties want the money - a blue collared ex-fighter (Adkins) who finds it while working as part of the demolition crew, a prison guard (Lundgren) willing to do anything to pay for his daughter's cancer treatment and a ruthless gang who claim to be the rightful owners. The demolition charges are set, everyone clears out and the Castle is set to fall in 90 minutes. The clock is ticking. Who will find the cash and: will they get out alive?
Magnolia Home Entertainment will release on Blu-ray Karen Cinorre's Mayday (2021), starring Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Soko, Théodore Pellerin, and Juliette Lewis. Synopsis: Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coast. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize that she's not the killer they want her to be.
In catalog title news, Arrow Video are set to release their massive twelve-film, eight-disc Blu-ray box set Shawscope Volume One (1972-1979). Here is their description of the set:
Description : After an undisputed reign at the peak of Hong Kong's film industry in the 1960s, Shaw Brothers (the studio founded by real-life brothers Run Run and Runme Shaw) found their dominance challenged by up-and-coming rivals in the early 1970s. They swiftly responded by producing hundreds of the most iconic action films ever made, revolutionizing the genre through the hard work of top-shelf talent on both sides of the camera as well as unbeatable widescreen production value, much of it shot at 'Movietown', their huge, privately-owned studio on the outskirts of Hong Kong.
This inaugural collection by Arrow Video presents twelve jewels from the Shaw crown, all released within the 1970s, kicking off in 1972 with Korean director Jeong Chang-hwa's King Boxer, the film that established kung fu cinema as an international box office powerhouse when it hit Stateside cinemas under the title Five Fingers of Death. From there we see Chang Cheh (arguably Shaw's most prolific director) helm the blood-soaked brutality of The Boxer from Shantung and two self-produced films in his 'Shaolin Cycle' series, Five Shaolin Masters and its prequel Shaolin Temple, before taking a detour into Ho Meng Hua's King Kong-inspired Mighty Peking Man, one of the most unmissably insane giant monster films ever made. Chang's action choreographer Lau Kar-leung then becomes a director in his own right, propelling his adoptive brother Gordon Liu to stardom in Challenge of the Masters and Executioners from Shaolin. Not to be outdone, Chang introduces some of Shaw's most famous faces to the screen, including Alexander Fu Sheng fighting on the streets of San Francisco in Chinatown Kid and, of course, the mighty Venom Mob in The Five Venoms and Crippled Avengers. Finally, Lau and Liu successfully meld high kicks with humor in two of their masterworks, Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho, both co-starring fan favorite Hsiao Hou.
From kickass kung fu killers to crazy kaiju knockoffs to culture clash comedies, this carefully curated and gorgeously presented selection of all-time Shaw Brothers classics merely represents the tip of the iceberg of the studio's rich output, making it both an ideal starting point for newcomers and a treat for hardcore fans alike.
Included below are three videos posted to Arrow's official YouTube channel. The first is a trailer reel, then an artwork reveal, followed by an unboxing video. For more information on this release, please refer to the full press release posted here
MVD Rewind this week marks the Blu-ray debut of Michael Cooney's Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman. Description: Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald), the chiller killer is back and he's mad as hell. An accidental lab experiment resurrected the evil snowman, but this time, the crystal killer can't be stopped by fire, bullets or even his worst enemy, chemical anti-freeze. With revenge on his mind, Jack sets out to finish off his nemesis, Sheriff Sam (Christopher Allport), who is vacationing on a Caribbean island. Sam's balmy paradise turns into a Winter Terrorland when Jack freezes the island and quickly ices everyone around him. No one can stop the chilling killing spree when Jack can travel as lethal liquid or fatal, frosty flakes. Just when you thawed it was safe to go back in the fridge!
Also releasing this week from MVD is a new edition of the original Jack Frost (1997), which was previously released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome and is sourced from their 2K master. MVD Rewind's Blu-rays for both films includes both archival new extras, such as audio commentaries and a two-part interview (spread over both discs) with Scott MacDonald.
Rounding out this last week of 2021, we have several new Blu-rays from Discotek Media. First up is a 4K UHD upgrade for the anime anthology film Robot Carnival (1987). Description: Crawling across a desiccated landscape, Robot Carnival comes barreling its way onto 4K Ultra HD for the first time! A visual treat for the eyes as well as the mind, Robot Carnival is an anthology collection of nine short films, many directed by Japan's top animators before they were famous. From funny to dramatic, artistic to entertaining, each story reaches towards the furthest corners of time and space to bring you a tale of robots and the people who make them. Whether you have a love for great hand-drawn animation, an appreciation for fine storytelling, or just like robots, this anthology is a must!
Discotek's single-disc 4K UHD release contains the film in both 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios, along with a selection of extras from their previously released Blu-ray, such as the documentary The Memory of Robot Carnival and the Japanese trailer in HD.
This week also sees Discotek release Samurai Troopers - The Complete Collection (1988-1991). Description: Long ago, there existed an evil spirit that waged a war to conquer the human world. Defeat drove him back to the realm of darkness, but not before vowing to return and exact his revenge. A thousand years later, the world has all but forgotten the name of Arago, Emperor of Doom. When black clouds smother the bright city lights of Shinjuku the people of the world plunge into terror, unprepared for the evil spirit's return! Five young men emerge, wearing mystical armor said to grant strength enough to defeat Arago once and for all! But despite the might of their armor, Ryo of the Wildfire, Toma of the Heavens, Shu of the Stone, Shin of the Torrent, and Seiji of the Nimbus will have to join together and learn to work as a team if they are to have any chance of defeating the armies of the Empire of Doom.
Discotek's Blu-ray release includes the complete series and all 3 OVA series on five discs. Extras include opening and ending collections, promos and trailers and DVD vs. Blu-ray comparisons.
Also from Discotek this week is the live-action TV series Cutie Honey: The Live (2007-2008). Description: Honey Kisaragi is the world's most cheerful, innocent girl. If she seems unreal, that's because she is! She's secretly an android who can transform into the crime-battling superhuman, Cutie Honey! With the help of her smitten sidekick Seiji Hayami, she fights the evil crime syndicate Panther Claw! But trouble is ahead for Honey and the gang! Miki and Yuki are cyborgs who can transform just like her... and they seem to be made by Honey's father too! Are they friends or foes? Check out the fast-flying action and ecchi comedy in this live-action adaptation of the classic series by Go Nagai!
Finally from Discotek is a Blu-ray for Girly Air Force (2019). Description: Mysterious flying creatures called Zai suddenly appear and over- whelm all of mankind's aerial combat forces. To fight them, mankind modifies existing aircraft frames to create mechanized soldiers called "Daughters," which are operated by automated piloting mechanisms called "Anima" that have the appearance of human girls. Narutani Kei, a boy who yearns to take to the skies, encounters a shining red aircraft and its pilot, an Anima named Gripen who has been named mankind's secret weapon.