Sidney Poitier, Safdie Brothers & More Coming to The Criterion Collection August 2022
May 16th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
This August, we invite you on a euphoric, hallucinatory Ethiopian odyssey with Jessica Beshir’s Faya dayi and a poetic-realist sojourn in 1930s Paris with Marcel Carné’s Hôtel du Nord. The creative trio behind Uncut Gems dig into their disorienting debut features, Josh and Benny Safdie’s Daddy Longlegs and Ronald Bronstein’s Frownland, and Sidney Poitier directs Sidney Poitier in a touchstone Black western, Buck and the Preacher.
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Deemed the debut Paramount+ Original film, Infinite seemed to originally be a movie that had a planned theatrical release. Pandemic notwithstanding, the film came and went on the service, leading me to believe Infinite to possibly be inferior. Read more on the film below, and at the end, be sure to click the paid link to secure your copy of Infinite at a great price!
Warner Archive Collection’s May output contains a pretty interesting release that feels surprisingly not in the Blu-ray catalog already despite such big names attached to it. Directed by Victor Fleming seems pretty notable enough. The fact that its his follow up to Gone With The Wind another. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde boasts the cast of Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. All of them playing against type. Two of them probably would be enough to push the needle. Nonetheless, its arriving on the format for the first time on May 17th. The disc features a new HD restoration from the best surviving elements and the original trailer comes with it. You can pre-order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associate’s link that follows the review.
Akeem and Semmi returning to America was a dream a lot of Coming to America fans dreamed of. From 1988 on, the original film became a cultural icon, showing a sweeter side of Eddie Murphy, and opening up the door for Murphy to become a multiple character innovator in many films to follow. So, how does this film stack up to the original? Do we want to run back to Zamunda, or stampede away in disappointment. More on that below, of course, and be sure to click the paid link at the end, for a surprisingly affordable pick up!
Hulu’s twelve-part original series, Conversations with Friends, is based on millennial author Sally Rooney’s debut novel. The story centers around two aimless Dublin college students who begin an unconventional relationship with an older married couple. Although leading cast member Alison Oliver is relatively unknown, Sasha Lane, Jemima Kirke, and Joe Alwyn have been in several high-profile indie films in the past decade. Kirke is probably the best known of the bunch playing Jessa on HBO’s Girls. However, stars aren’t the big draw of Hulu’s latest limited series. Viewers interested in a more grounded take on the ups and downs of Irish twenty-somethings will find much to discuss. With that in mind, speaking of Lena Dunham’s seminal show, Conversations with Friends is a kind of generational shift compared to that New York-centric series. This isn’t Euphoria, but the keyword for Gen Z’s as “aimless” certainly applies.
Paramount has had an interesting roll out here of the Beverly Hills Cop movies on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. About two and half years ago they rolled out the 3-Movie Collection with 4K restorations, but on standard Blu-ray. That following December, the original came out standalone on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray alongside a Coming To America 4K release, a remastered Trading Places on standard Blu-ray and the standard Blu-ray debut of The Golden Child. Now, a year and a half later, here’s Beverly Hills Cop II for its 35th Anniversary which has been ready to go for over 2 years now. The hold up certainly wasn’t new bonus materials, but its nice to finally have it here. Will anyone clamor for 3 now? Perhaps an update on the trilogy set in 4K can squeeze that one out. Beverly Hills Cop II: 35th Anniversary Edition arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on May 17th. You can pre-order it by using the paid Amazon Associates link after the review.
Everyone’s favorite Super Heroes need to get back to the future as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Seventh and Final Season on Blu-ray and DVD July 19, 2022. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Seventh and Final Season features all 13 epic episodes with special features including deleted scenes and a gag reel. The set is priced to own on DVD and Blu-ray and is also available to own on Digital via purchase from all major digital retailers.
Candyman took its sweet time coming to Blu-ray in the United Stats. The 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray debut on the other hand? Its coming sort of on the heels of the Collector’s Edition Scream Factory put out a few years ago. And they aren’t slouching with this double dip. A new transfer, and upgraded to Atmos audio track and a new interview filter in to the already stacked bonus features being ported over from the previous release. You can order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review. Candyman, the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray Collectors Edition from Scream Factory, will be hitting stores on May 24th.
When it was released 25 year ago, Trekkies was somewhat of a revelation and a look into a fan culture like you’ve never seen before. Things you’d only heard about “nerds” actually had bigger and better stories than you could’ve possibly imagined. Flash forward, their interests and convention lifestyle has now become the norm, though this film remains a time capsule and to see how far fandom and events have come. One might be more fond of a more genuine time when things felt like you were coming together for something special with a group of people you didn’t have in your regular life as opposed to just being sold things off the shelves. Shout Factory is celebrating the film at 25 years with its first Blu-ray release that has a 4K transfer, lossless audio and a new featurette with Denise Crosby and Roger Nygard looking back on it. It comes out on May 24th, but you can pre-order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
One of the greatest all time Westerns from one of the greatest all time visionaries of the genre, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is coming to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Not only that, it’ll mark the first 4K with the Paramount Presents label (Though, Almost Famous could be argued, it didn’t have that packaging). It’s a combo pack with a standard Blu-ray disc housing the extras and comes with a brand new Filmmaker Focus featurette that welcome back Leonard Maltin who is a regular on these. The film will hit stores (well, most likely those being just online ones) on May 17th. You can order yourself a copy for your collection by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Giant, the 1956 classic film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean in his final role, will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Digital on June 21, it was announced today by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. George Stevens, Sr. won his second Oscar® for directing the sweeping family saga set in Texas during the days of the oil boom. Based on Edna Ferber’s controversial novel, the movie’s release in 1956 was a massive box office hit and garnered 10 Academy Award® nominations. Considered by critics as ahead of its time, Giant is admired today for the breadth of its humanity more than its epic scale with its grand themes of generational conflict, racial tolerance, and social change. It exposed the marginalization and segregation of Mexican Americans for the first time on the big screen for audiences. At the center of the film, Elizabeth Taylor, as Leslie Benedict, portrays a strong and progressive woman who acts to stem the patterns of injustice. 
“American Flyers,” Rex Reed wrote, “is a fine mixture of romance, humor, and tears with action sequences among the most exciting ever captured on film. It’s guaranteed to increase the viewer’s adrenalin.” Two-time Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner and David Marshall Grant star in the film written by Breaking Away Oscar® winner Steve Tesich and directed by John Badham (Saturday Night Fever), American Flyers is a dazzling, spirit-soaring spectacle. Warner Archive Collection is brought it to Blu-ray for the very first time on April 12th. It includes the film’s trailer as a bonus feature. You can order the film now by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom.
