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. If we were provided screener copies, we’ll have our own write-up, but if that’s not the case, one can find official descriptions from the distributors. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best 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.
All That Jazz (Bob Fosse)
Finally arriving on The Criterion Collection this week is Bob Fosse‘s finest film, the stunning, superb All That Jazz. Following Roy Scheider in an semi-autobiographical story as he attempts to mount a provocative play while editing a Hollywood stand-up film, juggling his family, love live, and drug habit, it’s an experience like none other. Courtesy of Criterion we have a new 4K restoration and special features including audio commentary with editor Alan Heim, various interviews with Fosse and the cast & crew, a pair of documentaries, and more. – Jordan R.
The Double (Richard Ayoade)
Richard Ayoade’s The Double is darkly comic, unsettling, and visually stunning, with a perfect performance from Jesse Eisenberg as Dostoyevsky’s protagonist. So winning are Eisenberg’s “performances” as the unlucky drone and his brash, winking doppelganger — as are Ayoade’s shadow-filled visuals — that The Double feels like one of 2014’s most gobsmackingly original films. As is often the case when a tricky-to-categorize film emerges (see also: Under the Skin), The Double was unfairly ignored by some and saddled with obvious comparisons by others. (Yes, there are some Terry Gilliam-esque elements. No, it is not a Gilliam rip-off.) If anything, the tone calls to mind Tenant-era Polanski. How interesting that Polanski himself once attempted to film an adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s novel. I imagine he would nod with approval at Richard Ayoade’s creation. – Chris S.
Rent:
Recommended Deals of the Week
(Note: new additions are in red)
The American (Blu-ray) – $6.00
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $6.94
The Big Lebowski (Blu-ray) – $9.96
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Casino (Blu-ray) – $9.68
The Counselor (Director’s Cut Blu-ray) – $9.99
Drag Me To Hell (Blu-ray) – $8.49
Gangs of New York (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $9.04
Gone Baby Gone (Blu-ray) – $6.00
The Grey (Blu-ray) – $9.13
Hanna (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Heat (Blu-ray) – $8.48
High Plains Drifter (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Hot Fuzz (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Hugo (Blu-ray) – $8.49
Inside Llewyn Davis (Blu-ray) – $12.98
Jackie Brown (Blu-ray) – $5.09
Killing Them Softly (Blu-ray) – $9.92
Knocked Up (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.50
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $9.68
Office Space (Blu-ray) – $9.99
On the Road (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Pain & Gain (Blu-ray) – $8.39
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Place Beyond the Pines (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Pineapple Express (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Public Enemies (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Pulp Fiction (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Reality Bites (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Blu-ray) – $10.99
Seven (Blu-ray) – $7.27
Shame (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Spectacular Now (Blu-ray) – $12.74
Spring Breakers (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Stoker (Blu-ray) – $9.98
Submarine (Blu-ray) – $9.49
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Vanilla Sky (Blu-ray pre-order) – $8.64
Zero Dark Thirty (Blu-ray) – $9.99
What are you picking up this week?