Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
One of the most-requested Criterion releases finally arrives today. Edward Yang‘s four-hour coming-of-age/crime drama A Brighter Summer Day is now beautifully restored in 4K for one of the most essential Blu-rays of the year. Having recently had the chance to see it in a theatrical setting (for the first time), I was enthralled by the experience, as if genuinely getting wrapped up in a great novel, peppered with countless details that I look forward to revisiting. The release comes with audio commentary from Tony Rayns, an interview with Chen Chang, a feature-length documentary on New Taiwan Cinema, and more. – Jordan R.
Freaks and Geeks
Finally coming to Blu-ray, Paul Feig and Judd Apatow‘s short-lived, but monumental (if not just for launching the career of many of its stars) show Freaks and Geeks a must-watch. Featuring all 18 episodes in both the original aspect ratio of 1:33:1 and widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, it also comes with a mountain of extras (some of which were on the DVD), including a talk with Feig and Apatow, 28 different commentaries, deleted scenes, audition footage, outtakes and bloopers from each episode, and more. – Jordan R.
The Pearl Button (Patricio Guzmán)
Fitting more ideas into 80-or-so minutes than many films could even hope in twice that runtime, Patricio Guzmán’s The Pearl Button is alternately dense and breezy, an examination of the most common pieces of existence — from water to crime to pontificating the possibilities of outer space — that doesn’t pretend to have the answers. Guzmán instead “settles” for a mix and match of visual and aural materials, at once creating a unified vision of a world out of order while hoping (even reaching) for something better in the cosmos. What can be learned is up to you. – Nick N.
Undertow (David Gordon Green)
Following the death of his wife, John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) moves to Georgia with his two sons Chris (Jamie Bell) and Tim (Devon Alan) in hopes of making a new start for his family. Once there, rebellious Chris finds a kindred spirit in his Uncle Deel (Josh Lucas), who recently left prison and still holds a grudge against his brother for marrying the woman he loved. Resentments soon boil over with tragic consequences sending Uncle Deel in hot pursuit of his fleeing nephews in the dramatic thriller Undertow. – Olive Films
Also Arriving This Week
Bandits
Daddy’s Home
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (review)
Recommended Deals of the Week
The American (Blu-ray) – $7.03
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $8.99
The Assassin (Blu-ray) – $13.99
Attack the Block (Blu-ray) – $7.75
Beginners (Blu-ray) – $6.54
Brooklyn (Blu-ray) – $12.99
The Brothers Bloom (Blu-ray) – $10.30
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.64
Captain Phillips (Blu-ray) – $9.88
Casino (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Conformist (Blu-ray) – $14.64
A Dangerous Method (Blu-ray) – $7.56
Dear White People (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Eastern Promises (Blu-ray) – $8.00
Good Will Hunting (Blu-ray) – $4.49
A History of Violence (Blu-ray) – $9.69
Heat (Blu-ray) – $8.12
Holy Motors (Blu-ray) – $13.79
Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Jaws (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Blu-ray) – $9.69
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Lady From Shanghai (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Looper (Blu-ray) – $8.00
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Magic Mike (Blu-ray) – $7.73
Magnolia (Blu-ray) – $9.19
Margaret (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Blu-ray) – $6.48
The Martian (Blu-ray) – $13.00
Michael Clayton (Blu-ray) – $9.29
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (Blu-ray) – $13.00
Munich (Blu-ray) – $12.30
Never Let Me Go (Blu-ray) – $8.00
No Country For Old Men (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Obvious Child (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Paddington (Blu-ray) – $10.00
ParaNorman (Blu-ray) – $9.45
Pariah (Blu-ray) – $6.49
Persepolis (Blu-ray) – $6.23
Pulp Fiction (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Re-Animator (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Road to Perdition (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Seven (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Blu-ray) – $6.19
Short Term 12 (Blu-ray) – $9.83
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $7.35
A Separation (Blu-ray) – $5.83
A Serious Man (Blu-ray) – $6.20
A Single Man (Blu-ray) – $4.99
Snowpiercer (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Synecdoche, NY (Blu-ray) – $6.10
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $9.15
The Tree of Life (Blu-ray) – $5.99
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Blu-ray) – $5.40
Volver (Blu-ray) – $5.95
Where the Wild Things Are (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Whiplash (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Wrestler (Blu-ray) – $6.97
What are you picking up this week?