January 29, 2019: This Week on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD
The sophomore directorial effort from Joel Edgerton, the powerful drama Boy Erased kicks off this week’s new releases. Other key titles include the submarine actioner Hunter Killer, the lavish fantasy The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and director Luca Guadagnino’s dazzling reimagining of Dario Argento’s horror masterpiece, Suspiria.
Two major animation releases hit store shelves this week. Look for both the recent Japanese romantic comedy The Night is Short, Walk on Girl and the DC Comics feature-length Reign of the Supermen. The former adapts the novel by Tomihiko Morimi and Yusuke Nakamura and follows the misadventures of a young girl over the course of a single night. The latter, meanwhile, continues from the cliffhanger that was last year’s Death of Superman, introducing a new era of super powered individuals who seek to fill the void left by the dearly departed man of steel.
Out of print for several years, the high fantasy adventure that is Willow returns to Blu-ray this week! Warwick Davis stars alongside Val Kilmer and Joanna Whalley in Ron Howard adventure, based on a story by George Lucas.
Norman Jewison’s 1967 drama In the Heat of the Night took home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger headline the crime drama, which brings a black cop to a racially charged Mississippi town. The film joins the Criterion Collection this week with a new 4K digital restoration.
Warner Archive is celebrating Edgar Rice Burrough’s iconic jungle hero with two classic Tarzan adventures. Both 1962’s Tarzan Goes to India and its 1963 sequel, Tarzan’s Three Challenges, get upgraded to Blu-ray this week so that you can properly witness the CinemaScope spectacle on your home theater.
Shout! Factory has another diverse selection of vintage titles. Look for the 1983 crime thriller Deadly Force, the 1995 robot uprising tale Screamers and Penelope Spheeris’ feature film directorial debut, Suburbia. Released in 1983 and also scripted by Spheeris, Suburbia offers a punk rock coming of age story filmed in and around Southern California. Finally, Shout! delivers a rare treasure with the 1975 television movie Sarah T. Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic.
Not only does the drama star a post-Exorcist Linda Blair and a pre-Star Wars Mark Hamill, it’s directed by none other than Richard Donner, better known today for films like Superman, The Goonies, The Omen and Lethal Weapon.
Severin Films is wholly focused on giallo this week, debuting a new edition of Sergio Martino’s 1972 All the Colors of the Dark as well as the three-disc set All the Colors of Giallo. The latter release includes Federico Caddeo’s feature length genre documentary alongside more than five hours of vintage giallo trailers and additional bonus content.
It’s also a busy week for small screen releases. The Netflix mockumentary series American Vandal arrives on DVD only, as does the first season of Showtime’s Jim Carrey led comedy drama Kidding. HBO has a double helping of Blu-ray season sets with both the fourth season of the Dwayne Johnson led Ballers and the second season of the Pete Holmes comedy series Crashing. Rounding out the week is the 11th modern season of Doctor Who, which introduces Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor.
Silas Lesnick is the Senior Editor of Moviebill. He has been covering entertainment news out of Los Angeles for more than a decade. You can reach him via e-mail or on Twitter.
