For the week of April 15th, Paramount Home Media Distribution will release a Blu-ray for Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 4 (2023). The two-disc set contains all ten episodes, with audio commentaries as we;; as the featurettes Lower Decktionary: Setting Up Season 4 and Old Friends.
Also from Paramount is a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: The Final Season (2023), starring John Krasinski. The two-disc set contains all six episodes of the fourth and final season of the series, along with deleted scenes. The season will be available in separate 4K UHD or Blu-ray editions with Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. On the same day, Paramount will also release Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: The Complete Series (2018-2023) as an eight-disc box set, also in separate 4K UHD or Blu-ray editions.
New on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home entertainment is Michael Tiddes' Half Baked: Totally High, starring Dexter Darden, Moses Storm, David Koechner and Frankie Muniz.
Description: Ever since they first shared a joint as kids 10 years ago, JR, Miles, Cori and Bruce have been best buds. But their love of chronic kickstarts chaos after Bruce puffs on a fabled doobie containing 3 strains of weed that turns out to be fatal. Strapped for cash to send Bruce's body across the country for burial, the three remaining stoners stumble across an amazing strain of marijuana and blaze a trail across L.A.'s underground pot market, destroying the business of a ruthless and now very unhappy drug lord. This amps up the hilarious adventure that gets lit with outrageous antics, surprising suspense, and nonstop laughs.
Also from Universal is a Blu-ray for Edward Bazalgette's The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die, starring Alexander Dreymon, Harry Gilby, Mark Rowley, Arnas Fedaravicius, Cavan Clerkin and James Northcote.
Description: Alexander Dreymon reprises his lead role as the great warrior Uhtred of Bebbanburg, who must ride once more across a fractured kingdom with several of the series' much-loved returning characters, as they battle alongside, and against, new allies and enemies. Following the death of King Edward, a battle for the crown ensues, as rival heirs and invaders compete for power. And when an alliance comes seeking Uhtred's help in their plans, Uhtred faces a choice between those he cares for most, and the dream of forming a united England.
Universal's Blu-ray of The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die contains a making of featurette.
New on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is Hugh Welchman's The Peasants (Chłopi), starring Kamila Urzedowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Miroslaw Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Malgorzata Kozuchowska and Sonia Bohosiewicz.
Description: The Peasants tells the story of Jagna, a young woman determined to forge her own path within the confines of a late 19th century Polish village – a hotbed of gossip and on-going feuds, held together, rich and poor, by pride in their land, adherence to colourful traditions and deep-rooted patriarchy. When Jagna finds herself caught between the conflicting desires of the village's richest farmer, his eldest son, and other leading men of the community, her resistance puts her on a tragic collision course with the community around her.
Also coming from Sony are two catalog films: First is a re-release of Sidney Lanfield's You'll Never Get Rich (1941), starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, John Hubbard, Osa Massen and Frieda Inescort. The film was previously released on Blu-ray by Twilight Time in 2017.
Then from Sony comes John Sayles' City of Hope (1991), starring Vincent Spano, Chris Cooper, Stephen Mendillo, Tony Lo Bianco, Joe Morton and Angela Bassett. The film is making its worldwide debut on Blu-ray.
New on Blu-ray from Oscilloscope Laboratories is Saim Sadiq's Joyland (2022), starring Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq and Alina Khan.
Description: The debut feature from writer-director Saim Sadiq, JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his father, and his elder brother's family in Lahore, Pakistan. Following a long spell of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque, telling his family he is a theater manager, when in actuality, he is a backup dancer. The unusual position shakes up the steadfast traditional dynamics of his household and enables Haider to break out of his shell. As he acclimates to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba (Alina Khan) who runs the show—an unforeseen partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate.
Oscilloscope's Blu-ray of Joyland contains audio commentary, Saim Sadiq's short films Darling and Nice Talking to You, deleted scenes and the film's theatrical trailer.
New on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Rainer Sarnet's The Invisible Fight (Nähtamatu vőitlus), starring Ursel Tilk, Ester Kuntu, Indrek Sammul and Kaarel Pogga.
Description: USSR-China border, 1973: Young soldier Rafael is on guard duty when the border falls under attack from flying Chinese kung fu warriors, leaving him as the sole survivor. Utterly fascinated by the long-haired martial artists who easily dispatched his fellow guards, all while blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio, Rafael is struck by a revelation: he too wants to become a kung fu warrior. Looking for mentorship but with limited options, faith leads Rafael to seek martial arts teachers at the most unlikely of places: the local Eastern Orthodox monastery, where the black-clad monks begin his training. With a skeptical mother, a rival monk, and a budding love interest pulling him in different directions, Rafael finds that his journey to unlock the greatest martial art of all – the almighty power of humility – is long, winding, and full of kick-ass adventures.
Kino's Blu-ray of The Invisible Fight contains a theatrical trailer.
Coming to Blu-ray from Shout Factory is Paul Schrader's Affliction (1997), starring Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt and Marian Seldes. The film is presented from a 2K scan of original film elements.
Coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD from the Criterion Collection is Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky's Werckmeister Harmonies (Werckmeister harmóniák), starring Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, János Derzsi, Djoko Rossich and Tamás Wichmann. Sourced from a new 4K master (supervised and approved by Béla Tarr), Criterion presents Werckmeister Harmonies with LPCM Mono audio, optional, newly-trasnlated English subtitles and in SDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include Tarr's film Family Nest (Családi tüzfészek) (1979), a new interview with Tarr and a trailer for the main feature. Also included is "an essay by film programmer and critic Dennis Lim".