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.
Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
An energetic and invigorating exploration of the traps of art and commerce, Birdman connects in a way that Iñárritu’s previous films did not. There’s a playfulness and a passion in the one-take gimmick that draws the fraying edges of Michael Keaton’s Riggan Thompson together, and a previously absent wisdom in the way the marvelous supporting cast is used to populate the vibrating world that surrounds Birdman‘s harried actor. Much has been said about Keaton, and while it’s exciting to watch him stir to life, the film is nothing if not the sum of its parts, one of which is Emma Stone’s best performance to date. A beguiling treat that only grows with additional viewings, Birdman soars. – Nathan B.
Le Pont du Nord (Jacques Rivette)
The first Region 1 Blu-ray release of a Jacques Rivette film (naturally) has some big expectations to meet; Kino Lorber have not disappointed. Le Pont du Nord is great in its own right — opaque without being frustrating; luscious, but marked by a careful avoidance of glamour; fun, but with a termitic melancholy at its heart — and the disc enhances this experience. Along with a booklet containing the original press notes, writings from the filmmaker, and a fine essay by Dennis Lim, those purchasing this disc will have two video essays. The first, by Roland-François Lack, looks at the Paris streets Rivette explored decades prior, while the other, from Gina Telaroli, superimposes modern-day footage shot by the artist herself with some of Pont’s standout moments to reveal minute facets of an emotionally, narratively, and thematically complex work . Each component of this release impresses on its own; taken as a whole, they create one of 2015’s first essential home-video releases. – Nick N.
Life Itself (Steve James)
It’s only fitting that documentary filmmaker Steve James, of Hoop Dreams fame, was able to capture the iconic film critic Roger Ebert during the final months of his life. Ebert was one of the voices who championed Hoop Dreams and helped elevate it to a broader limelight, exposing it to audiences who very likely would have never heard of it — as he did with countless other films. It seems almost impossible for any film critic, filmmaker, or filmgoer not to have been in one way or another influenced by Ebert and his vocal opinions. Based loosely on his autobiography of the same name, Life Itself examines the man who was revered for his frank, direct, and articulate opinions on cinema. – Raffi A. (full review)
The Tale of Princess of Kaguya (Isao Takahata)
As one of the latest (and possibly last) Studio Ghibli releases, Isao Takahata‘s vision of an ancient Japanese folktale adds to a long list of distinguished anime triumphs. While computer-generated animation strives to look real, the hand-drawn Kaguya feels alive with its minimalist sound design and painterly style, which makes it all the more affecting and beautiful. – Amanda W.
Also Available This Week
An Autumn Afternoon
Dumb and Dumber To (review)
The Homesman (review)
The Interview (review)
St. Vincent
The Theory of Everything (review)
V/H/S: Viral (review)
Recommended Deals of the Week
(Note: new additions are in red)
12 Years a Slave (Blu-ray) – $11.99
21 Jump Street (Blu-ray) – $6.96
Alien Anthology (Blu-ray) – $24.96
The American (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $6.74
Atonement (Blu-ray) – $9.87
Beginners (Blu-ray) – $6.60
Black Swan (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Bronson (Blu-ray) – $10.91
Burn After Reading (Blu-ray) – $6.39
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Casino (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Contagion (Blu-ray) – $8.83
Dead Man (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Do the Right Thing (Blu-ray) – $8.10
The Fly (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Gangs of New York (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $5.99
Good Will Hunting (Blu-ray) – $6.99
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Blu-ray) – $11.99
Gravity (Blu-ray) – $4.99
The Grey (Blu-ray) – $6.96
Haywire (Blu-ray) – $9.29
Her (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Hot Fuzz (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Hugo (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) – $7.99
In the Loop (Blu-ray) – $7.93
Inside Llewyn Davis (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Jackie Brown (Blu-ray) – $8.12
Killing Them Softly (Blu-ray) – $9.74
L.A. Confidential (Blu-ray) – $8.64
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Margaret (Blu-ray) – $9.99
No Country For Old Men (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Observe & Report (Blu-ray) – $9.29
Office Space (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Persepolis (Blu-ray) – $7.26
Public Enemies (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Reality Bites (Blu-ray) – $9.47
The Rover (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Secret In Their Eyes (Blu-ray) – $8.17
A Serious Man (Blu-ray) – $8.52
Seven (Blu-ray) – $5.99
sex, lies, and videotape (Blu-ray) – $8.27
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $7.50
A Single Man (Blu-ray) – $8.87
Spring Breakers (Blu-ray) – $9.96
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $8.68
The Truman Show (Blu-ray) – $7.99
This is the End (Blu-ray) – $9.99
To the Wonder (Blu-ray) – $12.49
Vanilla Sky (Blu-ray pre-order) – $8.45
Volver (Blu-ray) – $6.56
We Own the Night (Blu-ray) – $6.91
The Wrestler (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Zero Dark Thirty (Blu-ray) – $9.99
What are you picking up this week?