The Ballad of Narayama Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)
Welcome to February. Not much is happening yet in February for us Asian film buffs but we have a feeling that will change soon.
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Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 2/5/13:
ASIAN CINEMA
The Ballad of Narayama (Blu-ray/DVD) – the Criterion Collection presents a new 4K master for this haunting 1958 film based on a Japanese folk legend. From acclaimed director Keisuke Kinoshita (“Twenty-Four Eyes”)
Somewhere In Between (DVD) – this highly praised 2011 documentary takes a look at the experience of four young girls who were born in China but raised in the United States
FOREIGN
Little White Lies (Blu-ray/DVD) – a close-knit group of friends, including the lovely and talented Marion Cotillard (“Midnight in Paris”), embark on a yearly getaway when tensions arise in this 2012 dramatic French comedy from the director of “Tell No One”
The Pool (DVD) – Kino Films presents this 2007 Hindi-language film about a young hotel worker in India who dreams of the good life
My Worst Nightmare (DVD) – Isabelle Huppert stars in this 2011 French comedy as a woman who must deal with a roughneck man who is her ‘worst nightmare’ when he’s hired to remodel her apartment
MAINSTREAM
Flight (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2012 recovery drama follows Denzel Washington as an alcoholic pilot who becomes a media sensation
Alex Cross (Blu-ray/DVD) – Tyler Perry puts down his Aunt Madea drag and picks up a shotgun for this 2012 action/thriller
Deadfall (Blu-ray/DVD) – Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde headline this neo-noir as a brother and sister pair of outlaws who are caught unawares on their most recent getaway by a snow blizzard
A Late Quartet (Blu-ray/DVD) – a world renowned string quartet must face the music when one of their members is forced to retire. This 2012 drama stars Christopher Walken and Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Side by Side (Blu-ray/DVD) – none other than Keanu Reeves takes a look at the ‘film vs. digital’ cinematic debate by interviewing directors as famous as Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese in this 2012 documentary
Mafia (DVD) – this 1970’s set cops-and-gangsters direct-to-video thriller stars Robert Patrick (“Terminator 2: Judgment Day”) and Ving Rhames (“Dawn of the Dead” remake)
Hostage/Set Up (Blu-ray/DVD) – the underrated 2005 Bruce Willis actioner “Hostage” is paired up with one of Willis’ more recent direct-to-video excursions
NEW TO BLU-RAY
Laura (Blu-ray) – Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews star in this 1944 film, one of the most critically acclaimed and historically important film noirs of all time. Now in hi-def
Peter Pan (Blu-ray/DVD) – Disney’s 1953 animated classic is released in hi-def
Cabaret (Blu-ray/DVD) – the classic 1972 film, set in the Weimar Republic, arrives on Blu-ray
CLASSICS
Ambush At Tomahawk Gap (DVD) – this 1953 adventure film about a group of treasure seekers who must contend with a tribe of Apaches can be manufactured by demand on DVD-R by Amazon
Target Hong Kong (DVD) – a soldier of fortune is hired to keep Communist invaders from reaching Hong Kong in this 1953 action movie, manufactured on demand by Amazon
The Brigand (DVD) – a lookalike for the King is used to stop would-be overthrowers in this 1952 swashbuckling adventure, manufactured on demand by Amazon
Other films available on DVD-R this week from Amazon: Apache Ambush (1955), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Ghost of the China Sea (1958), There’s Always a Woman (1938), The Bamboo Prison (1954), Five Golden Hours (1961), A Matter of Wife and Death (1976)
HORROR
Bela Lugosi: Scared to Death Collection (DVD) – this collection features over 20 films starring Bela Lugosi on DVD, including “White Zombie” and “The Phantom Creeps”
Bigfoot: The Lost Tapes (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2012 feature is – you may have guessed by the title – a ‘found footage’ horror flick about the legendary Bigfoot
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