Blu-ray and DVD Releases for 7/10/12

Butterfly Swords DVD (Well Go USA)

It’s about time – we’ve finally got a week where there’s plenty of Asian cinema to choose from, no matter what your tastes happen to be. In fact, I dare say this is one of the best weeks we’ve had in awhile. So enjoy!

Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 7/10/12:

ASIAN CINEMA

Butterfly Swords (DVD) – Well Go USA offers a DVD re-release of this 1993 wuxia, also known as “Butterfly and Sword,” featuring a cast of Hong Kong heavy-hitters, including Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Michelle Yeoh, and Donnie Yen

Flowers of War (Blu-ray/DVD) – in 2011, director Zhang Yimou took a break from his usual costumed martial arts epics to tell this story of the Nanking Massacre, starring Christian Bale

Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (DVD) – in this documentary-like 2004 Japanese film, we follow the life of a yellow Labrador Retriever that becomes a seeing eye dog for a blind man

Zoom In: Sex Apartments (DVD) – this Japanese sexploitation thriller is posited as a homage to the work of director Dario Argento, as a black-gloved killer stalks and mutilates the inhabitants of a Japanese apartment complex

True Story of a Woman in Jail: Continues (DVD) – the second installment of this ‘women in prison’ Japanese sexploitation saga

Sophie’s Revenge (DVD) – Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi plays against type in this 2009 quirky romantic comedy, also starring Fan Bingbing

Good Morning President (DVD) – Pathfinder Home Entertainment offers this heartfelt 2009 political comedy from South Korea

FOREIGN CINEMA

Making Plans for Lena (DVD) – this 2009 French family saga arrives from acclaimed filmmaker Christophe Honore, the director behind “The Beautiful Person” and “Love Songs”

Seven Minutes in Heaven (DVD) – in this gripping 2009 Hebrew film, a young woman tries to piece her life and her memory back together after a terrorist attack

Fatso (DVD) – a 2008 Norwegian comedy about a socially awkward virgin who meets the woman of his dreams

Paraiso (DVD) – in this 2012 Spanish-language film, a Cuban refugee travels to Miami and soon finds himself turning to a life of crime just to survive

My House is Full of Mirrors (DVD) – actress Sophia Loren plays her own mother in this 2011 Italian film based on her sister’s memoir

Rakhtbeej (DVD) – a 2012 Hindi action/thriller about two men on opposite sides of the law who are forced to confront each other

MAINSTREAM

Spawn (Blu-ray) – born in darkness but chosen to be a hero, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn comes to life in this 1997 special FX-infused comic book movie starring Michael Jai White – and now in hi-def

Outland (Blu-ray) – Sean Connery headlines this underrated 1981 ‘Western in Space,’ directed by Peter Hyams (“Time Cop”)

Altered States (Blu-ray) – director Ken Russell’s 1980 cult favorite about William Hurt’s experience with a hallucinatory new drug receives the hi-def treatment

Brainstorm (Blu-ray) – Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood star in this 1983 speculative science-fiction film about a device that can beam your memories – even your emotions – into another person’s mind

The Astronaut’s Wife (Blu-ray) – before he became the box office king he is today, Johnny Depp finished 1999 with a trio of hardcore genre films, including this sci-fi spin on “Rosemary’s Baby” co-starring Charlize Theron

Coma (Blu-ray) – this 1978 medical thriller from novelist-turned-director Michael Crichton comes to hi-def

Royal Deceit (DVD) – this forgotten 1994 costumed drama with a plot similar to “Hamlet” features an all-star cast, including: Christian Bale, Helen Mirren, Gabriel Bryne, and Kate Beckinsale

Mercenary For Justice (Blu-ray) – the 2006 direct-to-video Steven Seagal action flick gets the hi-def treatment

Bitch Slap (Blu-ray) – this 2009 grindhouse-style thriller featuring a bevy of buxom ladies and fast cars now comes to Blu-ray

Cherry Bomb (Blu-ray/DVD) – in this 2010 ode to the sleazy action movies of the early 80’s, a stripper named Cherry goes after the men who have wronged her

INDIE

Margaret (Blu-ray + DVD combo) – in this 2011 drama, Anna Paquin plays a young woman torn with guilt after she accidentally causes the death of a pedestrian. Also starring Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon

On the Ice (DVD) – a 2011 thriller about two boys in a remote Alaskan town who find themselves perpetuating a murderous lie to save their own skin

HORROR

Blade II (Blu-ray) – finally on Blu! Arguably even better than the first film, director Guillermo Del Toro’s 2002 “Blade” sequel upped the ante by adding mutant vampires and Donnie Yen

Twins of Evil (Blu-ray + DVD combo) – your friends at Synapse Films bring this cult favorite 1971 Hammer Horror film to Blu-ray

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