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.
The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles)
While studio interference in the editing room was sadly common for the films of Orson Welles, more often than not it didn’t temper the visual imagination on display. And this is perhaps best exemplified by his 1947 noir about a sailor lured into a web of murder and deceit by a dangerous beauty. While many still claim to not fully have a grasp on the plot, it doesn’t really matter by the time the picture reaches its iconic house-of-mirrors finale. – Ethan V.
Ride the Pink Horse (Robert Montgomery)
Robert Montgomery will always be remembered for his POV experiment in adapted Raymond Chandler’s Lady in the Lake, but this curiosity from a year earlier is a gem of unruly, almost incomprehensibly ecstatic elements. A film noir set in a border town, it follows Montgomery on a revenge tale, caught up in the local color of a Native American ingenue, a loyal drunkard, an inconspicuous cop, and a giant papier-mâché clown. More than any other noir, it feels like the stuff dreams are made of. – Peter L.
Song of the Sea (Tomm Moore)
Song of the Sea, the latest animated feature from The Secret of Kells director Tomm Moore, opens with a dreamlike sequence that quickly lays the foundation for most of what is to follow, both thematically and narratively. The traditional, handcrafted animation that Moore is again working with gives the movie a distinct, yet classically appealing aesthetic that visually distinguishes it from the variety of other animated offerings we’ve seen of late. The depth of the environments is truly remarkable, a layering of complex details and visual flourishes juxtaposed against the simpler design of the central characters. The nighttime sequences are somehow even more impressive as the images glow with such clarity as to almost create a 3D effect. – Brian P. (full review)
The Wild One (László Benedek)
The Wild One introduces Marlon Brando as a sex symbol. László Benedek‘s greaser film is a relic of another time, an action movie of the 1950s that loves it’s leather jackets as much as its motorcycles. At certain points, it looks like Brando’s even having fun!! Now available on Blu-ray for the first time, Mill Creek’s release unfortunately includes zero extras, but if you’re a fan of the film, you’ll certainly want to pick it up. – Dan M.
Also Available This Week
Exodus: Gods and Kings (review)
The Humbling (review)
Top Five
Son of a Gun (review)
Recommended Deals of the Week
(Note: new additions are in red)
The American (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $6.74
Beginners (Blu-ray) – $6.60
Black Swan (Blu-ray) – $6.59
Bronson (Blu-ray) – $10.91
Burn After Reading (Blu-ray) – $8.84
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Casino (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Captain Phillips (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Cloud Atlas (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Collateral (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Contagion (Blu-ray) – $8.83
Do the Right Thing (Blu-ray) – $10.00
Drive (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Fly (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Gangs of New York (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Gattaca (Blu-ray) – $9.86
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Good Will Hunting (Blu-ray) – $7.50
The Grandmaster (U.S. Cut Blu-ray) – $10.99
The Grey (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Haywire (Blu-ray) – $9.29
Hot Fuzz (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Hugo (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) – $9.96
In the Loop (Blu-ray) – $8.09
Jackie Brown (Blu-ray) – $8.12
Killing Them Softly (Blu-ray) – $10.00
L.A. Confidential (Blu-ray) – $8.60
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Margaret (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Blu-ray) – $7.69
No Country For Old Men (Blu-ray) – $7.18
Observe & Report (Blu-ray) – $9.29
Office Space (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Pariah (Blu-ray) – $5.27
Persepolis (Blu-ray) – $7.26
Public Enemies (Blu-ray) – $9.10
The Raid 2 (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Reality Bites (Blu-ray) – $9.49
The Rover (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Secret In Their Eyes (Blu-ray) – $8.17
A Serious Man (Blu-ray) – $8.53
Seven (Blu-ray) – $7.50
sex, lies, and videotape (Blu-ray) – $8.19
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $7.47
Spring Breakers (Blu-ray) – $7.99
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $8.69
The Tree of Life (Blu-ray) – $11.45
The Truman Show (Blu-ray) – $7.99
This is the End (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Usual Suspects (Blu-ray) – $4.00
Vanilla Sky (Blu-ray pre-order) – $8.42
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?