For the week of July 18th, the Criterion Collection will release Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car (Japanese: ドライブ・マイ・カー), starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada, Perry Dizon and Soo-Young Park. One of the most acclaimed films of 2021, Drive My Car had its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won three awards, including Best Screenplay. Subsequently, the film was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture (a first for a Japanese film) and Best Director, while eventually winning for Best International Feature Film. The film has also collected a host of other awards around the globe.
Description: Only Ryusuke Hamaguchi—with his extraordinary sensitivity to the mysterious resonances of human interactions—could sweep up international awards and galvanize audiences everywhere with a pensive, three-hour movie about an experimental staging of an Anton Chekhov play, presented in nine languages and adapted from Haruki Murakami stories. With Drive My Car, the Japanese director has confirmed his place among contemporary cinema's most vital voices. Two years after his wife's unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) arrives in Hiroshima to direct a production of Uncle Vanya for a theater festival and, through relationships with an actor (Masaki Okada) with whom he shares a tangled history and a chauffeur (Toko Miura) with whom he develops a surprising rapport, finds himself confronting emotional scars. This quietly mesmerizing tale of love, art, grief, and healing is ultimately a cathartic exploration of what it means to go on living when there seems to be no road ahead.
Criterion's Blu-ray of Drive My Car is sourced from a director-approved 4K master and presented with a DTS-HD MA 5,1 soundtrack. Extras include a new interview with Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, a behind the scenes documentary and the film's press conference from the Cannes Film Festival. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's Blu-ray review.
Also coming from Criterion this week is a 4K UHD and remastered Blu-ray for Carl Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), starring Denzel Washington, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Lisa Nicole Carson, Tom Sizemore and Terry Kinney. Criterion's new discs are sourced from a new 4K master approved by Franklin, with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track, while the 4K UHD disc also contains Dolby Vision HDR. An archival audio commentary is on both discs, while the Blu-ray contains a new conversation between Franklin and Don Cheadle, a new conversation between author Walter Mosley and screenwriter Attica Locke, and archival extras, like Cheadle's screen test. For full disc breakdowns, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review and Blu-ray review.
New on 4K UHD and Blu-ray this week from Walt Disney Home Entertainment and 20th Century Studios is Bernard Derriman and Loren Bouchard's The Bob's Burgers Movie, starring the voices of H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal and David Wain.
Official description: The Bob's Burgers Movie is an animated, big-screen, musical comedy-mystery-adventure based on the long-running Emmy®-winning series. The story begins when a ruptured water main creates an enormous sinkhole right in front of Bob's Burgers, blocking the entrance indefinitely and ruining the Belchers' plans for a successful summer. While Bob and Linda struggle to keep the business afloat, the kids try to solve a mystery that could save their family's restaurant. As the dangers mount, these underdogs help each other find hope and fight to get back behind the counter, where they belong.
Disney's releases of The Bob's Burgers Movie contain DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, while the 4K UHD disc also includes HDR. Extras on the Blu-ray include a feature audio commentary, a making of featurette, a theatrical short film, and deleted scenes and animatics, many of which also have optional audio commentary. Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman has high praise for the Blu-ray, giving the picture quality a perfect 5/5 score. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey's Blu-ray review.
New this week from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray for DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Seventh and Final Season (2021-2022). The three-disc set will contain deleted scenes, a gag reel and the featurette Captain at the Helm: DC's Legends of Tomorrow 100th Episode.
And there's more TV on Blu-ray from Warner with Castlevania: Season Four (2021). The two-disc set will contain all 10 episodes from the animation's fourth and final season, along with voice actor interviews, storyboards, production animatics and art galleries as extras.
Finally from Warner this week is another entry in the Warner Archive Collection of Blu-rays, Vincent Sherman's Adventures of Don Juan (1948) starring Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Romney Brent and Ann Rutherford. As happens so often with WAC Blu-rays, reviewer Randy Miller is hugely impressed, saying in part: "Warner Archive's new 1080p transfer builds on...a recent 4K scan of the original Technicolor negatives and extensive dirt and debris cleanup, resulting in another purist-friendly presentation that balances a clean, pristine appearance with natural film grain and noticeable textures that likely surpass the overall effectiveness of original theatrical showings...All things considered, it's another beautiful restoration from Warner Archive that fans will absolutely adore". For a full disc breakdown, read Randy's Blu-ray review.
New this week from Showtime Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Yellowjackets: Season 1 (2021), starring Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Steven Krueger and Ella Purnell.
Description: Part survival epic, part psychological horror and part coming-of-age drama, this is the story of a team of wildly talented high school girls' soccer players who survive a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they've attempted to piece back together 25 years later. What began in the wilderness is far from over. Starring Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, with Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis.
Also coming this week from Showtime is a Blu-ray upgrade for The Good Lord Bird (2020), starring Ethan Hawke, Beau Knapp, Mo Brings Plenty, Daveed Diggs, and David Morse. The miniseries was originally released in 2020.
Finally for new releases this week, Shout Factiory and GKIDS have a Blu-ray for Ayumu Watanabe's Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko.
Official description: From acclaimed director Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea) and STUDIO4°C (Tekkonkinkreet, Mind Game) comes a heartwarming and moving comedy-drama with touches of magical realism. Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is about an unconventional family and the bonds that they share in their sleepy seaside town.
Brash single mother Nikuko is well-known for her bold spirit, much to the embarrassment of Kikuko, her pensive yet imaginative daughter. In contrast to her mother, Kikuko wants nothing more than to fit in as she navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school. Life in the harbor is peaceful until a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair's tender relationship.
Shout's Blu-ray for Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko contains a making of, press conference and more as extras.
Also coming this week from Shout are 4K UHD upgrades for two Moustapha Akkad films: The Message (1976), starring Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Michael Forest, Garrick Hagon and Damien Thomas, and Lion of the Desert (1980), starring Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Irene Papas, Rod Steiger, Raf Vallone and John Gielgud. Both films have been sourced from 4K masters, and are presented with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio tracks and Dolby Vision HDR. Each film also comes with English audio commentary by Moustapha Akkad, while on Blu-ray, each film has a new featurette on its remastering. Archival extras include making of featurettes, trailers and more. Both releases also contain a second Blu-ray, which contains Al-risâlah and Omar Mukhtar, the respective Arabic-language versions of the films, with optional Arabic audio commentary by Moustapha Akkad, trailers and a making of featurette for Omar Mukhtar, but unfortunately, all of this content is in Arabic and no English subtitles have been provided.
Turning to catalog titles, we have a 4K UHD upgrade for Larry Cohen's God Told Me To (1976), starring Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, and Sandy Dennis. Newly remastered from a 4K scanof the original camera negative, Blue Underground's 4K UHD and remastered Blu-ray discs of God Told Me To contain a new Dolby Atmos audio mix, in addition to lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 and DTS-HD MA Mono audio tracks, while the 4K UHD disc also features Dolby Vision HDR. Extras on the 4K UHD disc include two audio commentaries: an archival commentary with Cohen and a new commentary with critic and filmmaker Steve Mitchell and author and critic Troy Howarth, as well as trailers and TV spots. The remastered Blu-ray additionally contains over 50 minutes of interviews and a poster and stills gallery. Overall, reviewer Svet Atanasov recommends the disc, despite a few caveats. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet's 4K UHD review.
Coming this week from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a new 4K UHD disc for the 25th anniversary of Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black (1997), starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub. Released several times on Blu-ray and previously released on 4K UHD in 2017, this new standalone release--which is currently only available in limited edition SteelBook packaging--makes a few changes. The main feature now has Dolby Vision HDR, while the Dolby Atmos remixed audio has been supplemented with the original DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and the original theatrical subtitles have also been included. Further, Sony has included 30 minutes of new interviews with Sonnenfeld and production designer Bo Welch on the 4K UHD disc, while the included Blu-ray contains archival extras.
Also coming this week from Sony are two catalog titles debuting on Blu-ray: Norman Jewison's Only You (1994), starring Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Joaquim de Almeida, and Fisher Stevens, and Adam Shankman's The Wedding Planner (2001), starring Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Justin Chambers, Judy Greer, and Alex Rocco.
Finally this week, we have several catalog titles from Kino Lorber:
Delbert Mann's Marty (1955), starring Ernest Borgnine, Joe Mantell, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, and Betsy Blair. Previously released by Kino in 2014, this new Blu-ray of the Best Picture Oscar winner is sourced from a new 4K master. Both 1.37:1 and 1.85:1 presentations are offered and a new audio commentary with authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry has been included. Packaging includes a limited edition slipcover.
The box set Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema VIII (1942-1946), which contains the films Street of Chance (1942), Enter Arsène Lupin (1944) and Temptation (1946). All three films are sourced from new 2K scans and extras include original trailers and new audio commentaries for each film.
The Maria Montez and Jon Hall Collection (1943-1945), which contains the films White Savage (1943), Gypsy Wildcat (1944) and Sudan (1945). All three films are sourced from new 2K scans and extras include trailers for Gypsy Wildcat and Sudan, as well as new audio commentaries for each film.
Pierre Chenal's Native Son (1951), starring Richard Wright, Jean Wallace, Gloria Madison, Nicholas Joy, Charles Cane and George Rigaud.
The double-feature Salt and Pepper / One More Time (1968-1970), both starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford. Kino's release contains a new 2K scan for One More Time and a Trailers from Hell featurette for Salt and Pepper, as well as theatrical trailers.