For the week of June 3rd, new releases on Blu-ray include Erik Bloomquist's Founders Day, starring Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin, Emilia McCarthy and Jayce Bartok.
Description: In this satirical political slasher, a small town is shaken by a series of ominous killings in the days leading up to a heated mayoral election. As accusations fly and the threat of a masked killer darkens every street corner, the residents must race to uncover the truth before fear consumes the town.
New on Blu-ray from Decal Releasing is Alice Rohrwacher's La chimera, starring Josh O'Connor, Carol Duarte, Vincenzo Nemolato, Alba Rohrwacher, Isabella Rossellini and Lou Roy-Lecollinet.
Description: Everyone has their own Chimera, something they try to achieve but never manage to find. For the band of tombaroli, thieves of ancient grave goods and archaeological wonders, the Chimera means redemption from work and the dream of easy wealth. For Arthur, the Chimera looks like the woman he lost, Beniamina. To find her, Arthur challenges the invisible, searches everywhere, goes inside the earth – in search of the door to the afterlife of which myths speak. In an adventurous journey between the living and the dead, between forests and cities, between celebrations and solitudes, the intertwined destinies of these characters unfold, all in search of the Chimera.
Coming to Blu-ray from Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber is Ken Loach's The Old Oak, starring Dave Turner, Ebla Mari, Claire Rodgerson, Trevor Fox, Chris McGlade and Amna Al Ali.
Description: The final film from British master Ken Loach (Sorry We Missed You, Kes), The Old Oak is a deeply moving drama about loss, fear, and the difficulty of finding hope. The Old Oak is the last pub standing in a once thriving mining village in northern England, a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. There is growing anger, resentment, and a lack of hope among the residents, but the pub and its proprietor TJ are a fond presence to their customers. When a group of Syrian refugees move into the floundering village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudices develops between the community and its newest inhabitants. The formation of an unexpected friendship between TJ and a young Syrian woman named Yara opens up new possibilities for the divided village.
Zeitgeist Films' Blu-ray of The Old Oak contains deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.
New on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Katherine Propper's Lost Soulz, starring Sauve Sidle, Krystall Poppin, Aarond "Seven" Melloul, Alexander Brackney, Micro TDH and Siyanda Stillwell.
Description: When aspiring rapper Sol is discovered by a group of Gen-Z musicians after performing at a house party, he joins their tour through the heart of Texas and embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip. Sol and his new collaborators bond over their shared pains and longings from the lives they left behind. Bold and brash, yet surprisingly sensitive and vulnerable, these young artists pour their souls into the music they create together. The novelty of Sol's newfound family fades as the demons Sol left behind come back to haunt him, including his guilt over abandoning his ailing friend. His sense of self is put to the ultimate test as he seeks refuge from the rootlessness and loss that has defined his existence. Set to a lo-fi, genre-bending hip-hop soundtrack, Katherine Propper's award-winning debut is suffused with a hazy and infectious energy and features virtuosic musical performances, from the tour van to the stage, that allow the ensemble's winning chemistry to shine.
Kino's Blu-ray of Lost Soulz contains audio commentary with Katherine Propper and Sauve Sidle, Propper's short films Street Flame (2019) and Birds (2021), deleted and extended scenes and a theatrical trailer.
Turning to catalog titles, once again Kino Lorber have several Blu-ray releases on offer. They are:
Frank Tuttle's The Hour Before the Dawn (1944), starring Veronica Lake, Franchot Tone, John Sutton, Binnie Barnes, Henry Stephenson and Philip Merivale. Sourced from a new 2K master (from a scan of a 35mm fine grain), Kino presents The Hour Before the Dawn with a new audio commentary by film historian Paul Talbot and a newly remastered theatrical trailer.
A special edition re-release of Arthur Ripley's The Chase (1946), starring Robert Cummings, Michèle Morgan, Steve Cochran, Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt and Don Wilson. Originally released by Kino in 2016, this special edition of The Chase is authored on a dual-layered BD-50 disc and adds optional English subtitles and a slipcover. Extras include audio commentary by filmmaker Guy Maddin and two radio adaptations.
A remastered Blu-ray for Raoul Walsh's Pursued (1947), starring Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger, Alan Hale and John Rodney. Sourced from a 2022 4K master by Paramount Pictures, Kino presents Pursued with a new audio commentary by film historian Imogen Sara Smith and an introduction by Martin Scorsese.
Leslie Fenton's Saigon (1947), starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Douglas Dick, Wally Cassell, Luther Adler and Morris Carnovsky. Sourced from a new 2K master (from a scan of a 35mm fine grain), Kino presents Saigon with a new audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and Elissa Rose, as well as a newly remastered theatrical trailer.
A remastered Blu-ray of Mark DiSalle's The Perfect Weapon (1991), starring Jeff Speakman, John Dye, Mako, Branscombe Richmond, James Hong and Mariska Hargitay. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents The Perfect Weapon with a new audio commentary by Mark DiSalle and action film historian Mike Leeder, a new interview with Jeff Speakman, deleted and extended scenes and a theatrical trailer.
A 4K UHD upgrade for Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant (1992), starring Harvey Keitel, Frankie Thorn, Zoe Tamerlis, Anthony Ruggiero, Victoria Bastel and Eddie Daniels. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Bad Lieutenant with DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 audio options and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new interview with cinematographer Ken Kelsch and a new locations featurette, as well as filmmaker commentary, a retrospective documentary and a theatrical trailer.
And finally from Kino is a Blu-ray for Stephen Norrington's Death Machine (1994), starring Brad Dourif, William Hootkins, Ely Pouget, John Sharian, Rachel Weisz and Martin McDougall. , Kino presents Death Machine as a two-disc set with three cuts of the film: The 100-minute US version (sourced from a new 2K scan of the interpositive), a newly-created 106-minute director's cut and a 2019 reconstruction of the 122-minute foreign version. New for this release are three audio commentaries: One by Horror-Fix.com's James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton (on the US version) and a second by Stephen Norrington and film historian Michael Felsher, along with a technical audio commentary featuring Norrington (both on the director's cut). Also included are interviews with composer Crispin Merrell, editor Paul Endacott, costume designer Stephanie Collier, producer Ray Burdis and co-producer Stuart St. Paul. Still galleries, trailers and a Japanese Laserdisc promo round out the release.
Coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Cinema Guild is Shinji Somai's Typhoon Club (台風クラブ) (1985), starring Yûki Kudô, Tomokazu Miura, Yuichi Mikami, Tomoko Aizawa, Saburô Date and Makoto Satô. Sourced from a new 4K master, Cinema Guild presents Typhoon Club with Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono audio and optional English subtitles, Extras include interviews with with filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa and actress Yuki Kudo, along with both the original Japanese theatrical trailer, the US trailer and a booklet with an essay by Chris Fujiwara.
Coming from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a new 4K UHD edition for Edward Zwick's Glory (1989), starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy and Andre Braugher. Originally released in 2019, this new edition of Glory adds Dolby Vision HDR while keeping the original DTS-HD MA 2.0, Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio options. Extras on the 4K UHD disc include PiP video commentary with Edward Zwick, Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman as well as the film's theatrical trailer, while an included legacy Blu-ray features audio commentary with Zwick, deleted scenes with commentary, a virtual Civil War battlefield map, the documentary The True Story of Glory Continues and two featurettes.
Note: As of this writing, this new 4K UHD edition of Glory is available only in SteelBook packaging.
Coming to 4K UHD from the Criterion Collection is Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), starring Johnny Depp, Benicio del Toro, Ellen Barkin, Craig Bierko, Gary Busey and Cameron Diaz. Sourced from a 4K master (supervised and approved by Terry Gilliam and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1), Criterion presents Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 audio options. Extras come from previous Criterion editions and include three audio commentaries, deleted scenes with optional commentary, correspondence between Hunter S. Thompson and Johnny Depp, the short documentary Hunter Goes to Hollywood and much more. For a full release breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.
Finally this week, Paramount Home Media Distribution has a 4K UHD upgrade for Gore Verbinski's Rango (2011), featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina and Bill Nighy. Paramount presents Rango with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and Dolby Vision HDR. An included Blu-ray also features the extended version of the film, along with filmmaker commentary, a making of documentary, deleted scenes and more.