This Week on Blu-ray: February 20-26

For the week of February 20th, Searchlight Pictures and Walt Disney Home Entertainment will release Sam Mendes' Empire of Light, starring Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tanya Moodie and Crystal Clarke.

Official description: From director and writer Sam Mendes ("1917" and "Skyfall"), "Empire of Light" is a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times. Set in and around a faded old cinema in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, it follows Hilary (Olivia Colman), a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new employee who longs to escape this provincial town in which he faces daily adversity. Both Hilary and Stephen find a sense of belonging through their unlikely and tender relationship and come to experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.

Disney's Blu-ray of Empire of Light contains a making of featurette. Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman awards the Blu-ray a perfect 5/5 score for picture quality, calling the disc "a frequently gorgeous looking presentation". For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey's Blu-ray review.

New this week on Blu-ray from Decal Releasing comes Hirokazu Kore-eda's Broker (브로커), starring Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Ji-eun Lee and Lee Joo-young.

Description: Five years after winning the Palme d'Or for SHOPLIFTERS, Academy Award nominated filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu returns with BROKER, starring Cannes Best Actor winner Song Kang Ho (PARASITE). The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can't have children of their own. After an infant's mother surprises the duo by returning to ensure her child finds a good home, the three embark on a journey to find the right couple, building an unlikely family of their own.

New on Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Brett Donowho's The Old Way, starring Nicolas Cage, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Boyd Kestner, Nick Searcy and Abraham Benrubi.

Description: Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is forced to take up arms with an unlikely partner — his 12-year-old daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) — in this action-filled film that builds toward its fateful showdown with pulse-pounding suspense.

Lionsgate's Blu-ray of The Old Way contains director's audio commentary, audio commentary with composer Andrew Morgan Smith, a behind-the-scenes featurette and more.

Also from Lionsgate is a Blu-ray for Elegance Bratton's The Inspection, starring Jeremy Pope, Gabrielle Union, Bokeem Woodbine, Raúl Castillo, McCaul Lombardi and Nicholas Logan.

Studio description: In Elegance Bratton's deeply moving film inspired by his own story, a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

Lionsgate's Blu-ray of The Old Way contains director's audio commentary, a making of featurette and deleted scenes.

Then from Lionsgate is a Blu-ray for Ryûhei Kitamura's The Price We Pay, starring Stephen Dorff, Emile Hirsch, Vernon Wells, Erika Ervin, and Gigi Zumbado.

Studio description: From the director of Midnight Meat Train comes this gripping thriller starring Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) and Stephen Dorff (Blade). After an intense holdup at a pawnshop, Grace is taken hostage by the thieves. Forced to take refuge at a remote farmhouse late at night, they discover a secret dungeon with evidence of sadistic violence—and when "Grandfather" comes home, all hell breaks loose. Can Grace muster the courage to escape the gut-wrenching fates that befall her criminal companions?

New this week from RLJE Films is a Blu-ray for Lorcan Finnegan's Nocebo, starring Eva Green, Mark Strong, Chai Fonacier, Billie Gadsdon and Cathy Belton.

Description: A fashion designer is suffering from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband, until help arrives in the form of a Filipino carer, who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.

New this week from Quiver Films is a Blu-ray for Michael Lombardi's The Retaliators, starring Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt, Katie Kelly, Jacoby Shaddix and Brian O'Halloran.

Label description: An upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder. A high-octane original soundtrack and cameos from some of the biggest names in rock music set the tone as this horror-thriller reveals a game of revenge played using a new set of rules.

Quiver Films' Blu-ray of The Retaliators contains exclusive cast interviews, multiple music videos and a theatrical trailer.

New this week from Cleopatra Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis' The Long Dark Trail. starring Trina Campbell, Brady O'Donnell, Carter O'Donnell, Nick Psinakis and Michael Thyer.

Label description: The Long Dark Trail is an independent horror film shot in the forests of northwestern Pennsylvania. It was inspired by indie teen graphic novels (such as Preacher and Hellblazer) and gritty horror films of the '70s (Deliverance and The Hills Have Eyes).

  Writer/director Kevin Ignatius and writer/director/star Nick Psinakis weave a tale about two brothers who fight and escape an abusive father. Hoping to find and reunite with their estranged mother, they embark on a dangerous trek deep into the unforgiving forest of the Pennsylvania Northwest. Both are unaware that their mother may be as dangerous as the abusive parent they left, as she has become a disciple of a deeply sadistic cult that resides deep in the nightmarish forest.

  Cleopatra's Blu-ray of The Long Dark Trail contains a slide show, trailers and more.

Finally for new releases this week, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has a Blu-ray for Luca Guadagnino's documentary Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams.

Official studio description: Growing up poor in Bonito, Italy, Salvatore Ferragamo began his career as a shoemaker before he was barely a teenager. Immigrating to America in 1915 at the age of 16, his work would soon help invent the glamour of Hollywood's silent era as he created shoes for iconic films including The Thief of Bagdad and The Ten Commandments and for stars including Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, many of whom became his friends. Overcoming a Depression-era setback, Ferragamo rebounded and would define mid-century elegance for performers including Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Rita Hayworth, and Ingrid Bergman — all while embarking on a love story and warm family life with his wife, Wanda, and their six children.

In Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Luca Guardano (A Bigger Splash, Call Me by Your Name) tracks Ferragamo's life from humble beginnings to California and to a storied studio in Florence, Italy. With Emmy-nominated actor Michael Stuhlbard (Call Me by Your Name, The Shape of Water) narrating Ferragamo's 1955 memoir; a trove of 100-year-old archival footage; an extraordinary "shoe ballet" created by stop-motion artist PES; and incisive commentary by MARTIN SCORSESE, MANOLO BLAHNIK, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, Vogue Creative Director GRACE CODDINGTON, Variety Film Critic TODD MCCARTHY, WANDA FERRAGAMO and Wanda and Salvatore's children and grandchildren, Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams is a portrait of a man whose vision, passion, and craftsmanship made him "shoemaker to the stars," an architect of Hollywood magic, and an enduring cultural, fashion, and artistic influence.

Sony's Blu-ray of Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams contains the film's theatrical trailer.

Also from Sony this week is a Blu-ray for Richard Lester's Ring-a-ding Rhythm (AKA It's Trad, Dad!) (1962), starring John Leyton, David Jacobs, Pete Murray, Alan Freeman and Arthur Mullard.

Description: Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night) directs this singular British musical extravaganza. The pop culture explosion reveals a generation gap in a small English town when the mayor (Felix Felton, Up in the Air, 1969) forces a teenage hangout to stop using its TV set and jukebox. A pair of crafty local teens, Helen (Helen Shapiro, Play It Cool) and Craig (Craig Douglas, Murder Can Be Deadly), counterattack by trying to put together a festival that will demonstrate the merits of traditional jazz and rock 'n' roll. While trying to enlist disc jockeys for the jazz show, they hear such talents as Del Shannon, The Dukes of Dixieland, Gary (U.S.) Bonds, the inimitable Chubby Checker, Gene Vincent and many others.

Then from Sony is a 4K UHD upgrade for James Ivory's The Remains of the Day (1993), starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve and Peter Vaughan. Sourced from a 4K master and with a Dolby Vision HDR grade approved by James Ivory, Sony presents The Remains of the Day with a choice of a new Dolby Atmos remix, or DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio options. Legacy extras include audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes with optional commentary and the film's theatrical trailer.

Staying with catalog titles, Shout Factory has three releases this week. First up is a 4K UHD upgrade for John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven (1960), starring Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughn. Sourced from a 4K master, Shout presents The Magnificent Seven with a new color grade and Dolby Vision HDR,along with lossless 2.0 Mono, 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo audio options. Legacy extras include two audio commentaries, while the included remastered Blu-ray also has a 47-minute making of documentary, several featurettes, original theatrical trailers and a stills gallery. For a full disc breakdown, including screenshot comparisons between Shout's release and the previous MGM Blu-ray, read Stephen Larson's 4K UHD review.

Also receiving a 4K UHD upgrade from Shout is a double feature of The Slumber Party Massacre / Slumber Party Massacre II (1982-1987). Both films have been newly remastered from 4K scans of their original camera negatives and are presented with Dolby Vision HDR and lossless mono audio. Legacy extras include audio commentaries, and on the included remastered Blu-rays, the unrated cut of Slumber Party Massacre II, making of featurettes, interviews, trailers and more.

Finally from Shout and GKIDS comes a Blu-ray for Mizuho Nishikubo's Giovanni's Island (ジョバンニの島) (2014), starring Yukie Nakama, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yûsuke Santamaria and Kaoru Yachigusa.

From Production I.G, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell, and director Mizuho Nishikubo comes the award-winning historical drama Giovanni's Island, winner of the Satoshi Kon Award at the Fantasia Film Festival.

Brothers Junpei and Kanta live in Shikotan, a tiny fishing island that has been spared from the devastations of World War II. The two children are named after Giovanni and Campanella from their late mother's favorite book, Night on the Galactic Railroad, which becomes a source of solace in the aftermath of Japan's defeat. When Soviet forces arrive with their families to settle in the island, Junpei meets Tanya, the daughter of the commander. Despite their language barrier and growing tension, the children soon form an unlikely friendship.

Shout's Blu-ray of Giovanni's Island contains both original Japanese (with English subtitles) and English dubbed DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio tracks. Extras include a 38-minute making of featurette, an art gallery, an interview with actress Polina Ilyushenko and a music video. For a full disc breakdown, read Brian Orndorf's Blu-ray review.

Also this week, Blue Underground have two Jesús Franco titles getting 4K UHD upgrades. First up is Marquis de Sade's Justine (1969), starring Klaus Kinski, Romina Power, Maria Rohm, Rosemary Dexter, Jack Palance and Akim Tamiroff. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative and presented with Dolby Vision HDR, Blue Underground presents Marquis de Sade's Justine with lossless DTS-HD MA Mono audio. New extras include Deadly Sanctuary, the shorter US version of the film (in 1080p with DTS-HD MA Mono audio), new interviews with actress Rosalba Neri and film historian Stephen Thrower, and new audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. Legacy extras include interviews with Franco and producer Harry Alan Towers, and more. Reviewer Svet Atanasov describes the 4K UHD disc as "gorgeous" and says "I think that Marquis de Sade's Justine looks absolutely incredible in native 4K". For a full disc breakdown, read Svet's 4K UHD review.

Then from Blue Underground is a 4K UHD upgrade for Jesús Franco's Eugenie (1970), starring Marie Liljedahl, Maria Rohm, Jack Taylor, Christopher Lee, Paul Muller and María Luisa Ponte. As with Marquis de Sade's Justine, Blue Underground presents Eugenie from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and lossless DTS-HD MA Mono audio. New extras include interviews with actor Jack Taylor and film historian Stephen Thrower, and new audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. Legacy extras include a featurette with Franco, producer Harry Alan Towers and actors Marie Liljedahl and Christopher Lee, and more. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.

Finally this week, the Criterion Collection has a 4K UHD upgrade for Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused (1993), starring Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Milla Jovovich, Shawn Andrews, Rory Cochrane and Adam Goldberg. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Criterion presents Dazed and Confused with Dolby Vision HDR approved by director Richard Linklater, along with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio. Extras include audio commentary, while the included Blu-ray is identical to Criterion's 2011 Blu-ray release and features extensive behind the scenes footage, cast and crew interviews, a making of featurette and much more. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.