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 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.
Blancanieves (Pablo Berger)
Shifting the story made famous in 1937 by Walt Disney to 1920s Andalusia, Berger has crafted a romanticized vision of a culturally rich Seville in this Snow White update. Homage to European silent films of the era, his magnificently authentic aesthetic includes a bit of a hitch in frame rate, high contrast imagery, and spotlight vignettes to direct our eye through the compositions. There are some beautiful transitions through scenes—especially those designating the passage of time; austere and sparsely decorated title cards depicting the characters’ words; and a rousing score of orchestral melody driving emotion and plot forward through its music. And with the newly injected occupations of our heroine’s parents as matador and flamenco respectively, a couple gorgeously sung pieces help bolster the visuals as well. – Jared M.
From Up On Poppy Hill (Goro Miyazaki)
After premiering two summers ago in Japan, From Up on Poppy Hill finally got a U.S. theatrical release earlier this year and will now be arriving on Blu-ray. We saw it back at Toronto International Film Festival 2011, saying it includes lovely and delicate landscapes and backgrounds, but doesn’t “have the wow-factor such as other Studio Ghibli’s films of fantasy and magic,” despite it being a “thoughtful and reserved film with steady pacing.” As one Miyazaki sadly announced his retirement, we can hopefully find some solace in this latest release and it should make a good primer before seeing The Wind Rises. – Jordan R.
Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley)
Sarah Polley’s third film as a director is many things, all of them brilliant. It is a moving study of an atypical (to say the least) father-daughter relationship, a detective story, a treatise on the power of family secrecy, and an audacious commentary on “non-fiction” cinema. But above all else, it is a wildly entertaining quasi-soap opera. Watching Polley interview her siblings, share old films and photographs, and, ultimately, discover where she came from, is one of the most insightful cinematic experiences in recent memory. There is a specific moment near the film’s end that leaves the viewer confused, breathless, and exhilarated. That’s the power of Sarah Polley, and Stories We Tell. Note: we’re also giving this one away so enter here. – Christopher S.
Rent: The Iceman, The Lords of Salem, Now You See Me
Recommended Deals of the Weeks
(Note: new additions are in red)
21 Jump Street (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Airplane! (Blu-ray) – $8.49
The American (Blu-ray) – $4.99
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Carnage (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Cool Hand Luke (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Collateral (Blu-ray) – $6.32
Contact (Blu-ray) – $6.49
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Blu-ray) – $5.99
Dark City (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Fargo (Blu-ray) – $7.49
Fight Club (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Flight (Blu-ray) – $9.24
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Hugo (Blu-ray) – $9.56
Inception (Blu-ray) – $8.87
Memento (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Michael Clayton (Blu-ray) – $8.20
Moneyball (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Naked Gun (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Not Fade Away (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Pulp Fiction (Blu-ray) – $9.57
Raging Bull (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Seven (Blu-ray) – $10.36
Seven Psychopaths (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Sid & Nancy (Blu-ray) – $8.99
The Social NetworkSomewhere (Blu-ray) – $10.74
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Star Trek (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Blu-ray) – $5.00
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Thing (Blu-ray) – $8.99
The Truman Show (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Wanderlust (Blu-ray) – $8.40
Wayne’s World (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Young Frankenstein (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Zodiac (Blu-ray) – $7.99
What are you picking up this week?