Home Market Releases for November 19th, 2019

November 19, 2019

It is not a prime week on the home market with Dora and the Lost City of Gold being the biggest first run release. It is worth picking up, but not a contender for Pick of the Week. There were a lot of contenders for that title, including Cold War: The Criterion Collection, Fruits Basket: Season One, Part One, and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School: 40th Anniversary Edition. In the end, I went with Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, but all three will end up in my Blu-ray collection before long.

Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A 15-disc, 38-hour long box set featuring arguably the greatest comedic duo of all time. The asking price is a lot, but it is worth it. It is especially worth it as a Christmas gift.

Blinded by the Light - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film earned excellent reviews, but it was too similar to Yesterday to find an audience in theaters. The lack of box office success resulted in a small number of extras, just two featurettes and some deleted scenes. It is still worth picking up, but it is not a contender for Pick of the Week. If the film had a full selection of extras, then it would have been a contender.

Cold War: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film was nominated for the Best Foreign-language Oscar last year, so it truly deserves a great Criterion Collection release. It is a little weird that it took this long to get one. Extras include a making of documentary, interview featurette, press conference, and more. It is easily worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Video on Demand (4K Ultra HD)
A live-action adaptation of a cartoon aimed a preschoolers. You can’t maintain the same audience, because not enough of that audience goes to theaters regularly to justify even a midlevel movie budget. On the other hand, if you make the movie for teenagers, they might not show up, because the source material is for little kids. Did the filmmakers manage to thread the needle making a movie that pays tribute to the source material while making it entertaining for older audiences? Check out our review to find out.

Fruits Basket: Season One, Part One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This is a remake of the 2001 Anime, which was based on the Manga of the same name. It is about a poor high school student, Tohru Honda, who learns her classmate, one of the Soma clan, is cursed. He, and his twelve other family members, are cursed such that if they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they turn into their animal form, one of the Chinese zodiac. The original Anime was well-regarded, up till its ending, which most considered a disappointment. This one was better throughout its entire run. Additionally, the extras on the Blu-ray are better than most Anime releases, while the limited edition has many physical extras. It is worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Gwendoline - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A campy French action film based on a Bondage Fetish comic that is basically softcore porn with an action budget. Normally this wouldn’t be featured on the main list, but according to Amazon, this is in the top five best selling new releases of the week. I couldn’t not mention it, but I also don’t have a lot to say. It stars Tawny Kitaen as the titular Gwendoline, a woman trying to find a rare butterfly. The plot is silly and the real draw is the copious amounts of topless women on screen. The internet has made movies like this obsolete, so it has a bit of historical value as a result.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season Three - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This show started off really well, but it has been a little shaky lately. It could still have a strong ending, but some audience members might want to hold off buying this season until they know the ending will justify repeat viewings.

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School: 40th Anniversary Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I swear I reviewed this movie in the past. It is arguably my favorite Roger Corman with only Death Race 2000 as real competitor. There’s a new 40th anniversary retrospective, as well as tons of previous extras, including several audio commentary tracks. It is a must have if you don’t already own the movie and worth the upgrade if you don’t have it on Blu-ray yet.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon:
2nd Chance for Christmas - No Reviews - Video on Demand
André Rieu: Christmas Down Under - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Button: A Christmas Tale - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Classic Christmas Favorites - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Angela’s Christmas - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Down Home Christmas - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Elfette Saves Christmas - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Little Drummer Boy - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol - No Review - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
There are a couple of TV specials hitting Blu-ray this week, but nothing truly special coming out this week.

TV on DVD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Ancient Aliens: Season 12, Volume 1 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Catch-22: Mini-series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Charlie’s Angels: The Complete Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Deadline: The Complete Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Farscape: Complete Series: 20th Anniversary Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The King of Queens: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Kominsky Method: The Complete First Season - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Life From Above - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Taken Down: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Farscape is the TV on DVD release I’m most interested in, or at least I would be if I didn’t already own the show on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
3000 Miles to Graceland - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Bad and the Beautiful - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Betty Blue: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Boys Next Door - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Fan - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Un Flic - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Harukana Receive: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hitch Hike to Hell - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hyouka: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Jawbreaker: 20th Anniversary Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Liyana - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Memory: The Origins of Alien - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Toto: 40 Tours Around the Sun - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Recovery of an MMO Junkie: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Scarface - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Ultraman Geed - Series and Movie - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Ultraman Orb - Series & Movie - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Voltes V: Complete Japanese TV Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: SD on Blu-ray
The Whole Nine Yards - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
There are no secondary Blu-ray releases that jump out as must haves. I love Hyouka, but I own the two series separately. Liyana is worth picking up, as is Scarface, and Recovery of an MMO Junkie.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Another week with no 3D releases. There was a stretch where we had several releases tightly packed together, but that streak appears to be over.

4K Ultra HD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Suspiria - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
There is only one secondary 4K releases this week. It is a classic, but not one that needs to be seen in 4K Ultra HD.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Above the Law - Reviews - Video on Demand
Bennett’s War - Reviews - Video on Demand
Dear Walmart - No Reviews - Video on Demand
The Goldfinch - Reviews - Video on Demand
It: Chapter Two - Reviews - Video on Demand (Movie Only)
It: Chapter Two - Reviews - Video on Demand (With Extras)
Killerman - Reviews - Video on Demand
It: Chapter Two is the only secondary VOD release of the week that I’m interested in and even then I’m not excited about seeing it.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, 37º2 le matin, It: Chapter Two, The Goldfinch, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Yesterday, Killerman, Blinded by the Light, Memory: The Origins of Alien, Buttons, 2nd Chance for Christmas, Elfette Saves Christmas, The Bad and the Beautiful, Hitch Hike to Hell, Dear Walmart, Roger Corman, Tawny Kitaen