A STar is Born

And another hi-def hello to all our fellow blu-ray geeks. Welcome to the weekly look at our most wanted titles coming to blu-ray and/or 4K Ultra HD for the week of February 19, 2019.

We have a fairly solid offering this week that features three new releases making home video debuts with all three getting blu-ray and 4K UtraHD editions.

First up is the WW2 zombie horror film Overlord, directed by Julius Avery and produced by J.J. Abrams, which gets a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD and a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD edition from Paramount Pictures.

Also making a home video debut this week with a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD, a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD, and a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy is Lionsgate's action-adventure film Robin Hood which stars Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx. {googleads}

Severin Films is putting out a blu-ray edition of the 1993 psychological thriller Skinner which will feature a new 4K remaster of the fully uncut version of the film. Also included are a handful of interviews and features ported over from previous release of the film.

1985's Michael Cimino-directed neo-noir crime film Year of the Dragon is getting a new remaster from the Warner Archive Collection that will be housed in a single-disc blu-ray edition along with an audio commentary from director Michael Cimino, and a trailer.

Next on our list is Criterion's release of the 1960 French film Le Vérité which stars Brigitte Bardot and will feature a brand new sparkling 4K restoration, a documentary, a couple of interviews and an English translation track.

Not to be outdone this week, Shout Factory steps up with a blu-ray release of the Lew Landers vampire film The Return of the Vampire which stars legendary actor Bela Lugosi in the title role. the blu-ray release will feature not one, not two, but three brand new audio commentaries from film historians. Also on the disc will be a silent 8mm presentation as well as a trailer and a stills gallery.

A STar is BornKino Lorber will be putting out a blu-ray edition of the 1993 crime-comedy drama Mad Dog and Glory, which stars Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, and Bill Murray. Kino always gives the love to its releases so we know this one will be a spectacular release. It will include a new audio commentary by Director John McNaughton, a "Making of" Doc, and a Theatrical Trailer

The 1983 Oliver Stone film called Talk Radio is getting a Limited Edition blu-ray release from Twilight Time which will limit the number of copies printed to just 3,000 and Troma is putting out a blu-ray release of the science fiction alien invasion flick Revenge of the Spacemen which is directed by Jay Summers and stars Beth Albrecht, Danny Bass, and Benny Benzino.

Universal Studios is re-releasing its Johnny Depp musical romantic comedy, Cry Baby directed by John Waters and Mill Creek is releasing a blu-ray edition of the science fiction action film, Barb Wire which stars Pamela Anderson as the titular character.

 

Our Most Wanted Release for This Week

From Warner Bros. comes the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD release of Bradley Cooper's musical romantic drama A Star is Born. The release features a Dolby Vision HDR presentation of the film with a Dolby Atmos track, a handful of Jam session and rare videos, a making-of featurette, and several music videos. We have reviewed this blu-ray release of A Star is Born and it is nothing short of spectacular.


Here is what is coming out on blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD This week

 

OverlordOverlord (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD)

Paramount Pictures

Street Date: February 19, 2019

With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission that’s crucial to the invasion's success. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen. From producer J.J. Abrams, Overlord is a thrilling, pulse-pounding action adventure with a twist.

Blu-ray Details:

The Horrors of War - Featurettes

  • Creation
  • Death Above
  • Death on the Ground
  • Death Below Death
  • No More Brothers in Arms

Robin HoodRobin Hood (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD)

Lionsgate Films

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Returning home from the Crusades, Robin of Loxley (Egerton) finds his country oppressed by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (Mendelsohn). With the help of Moorish warrior Little John (Foxx), Robin transforms into the heroic outlaw Robin Hood, taking up arms to fight the sheriff and win the heart of his love, Maid Marian (Hewson).

Blu-ray Details:

  • Outlaws and Auteurs: Reshaping Robin Hood - 7-Part Documentary
  • Outtakes
  • Deleted Scenes

SkinnerSkinner (Blu-ray)

Severin Films

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Whoever you are, whatever you know, nothing will prepare you for the horror of Heidi's (Traci Lords) nightmare. Stalking the backstreets & rivers of the city where he preys, psychopath Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi), wields a sickening assortment of blades & cleavers for his grotesque mission of murder. Heidi vows to stop him before he strikes again as he stalks unsuspecting hookers & his landlady (Ricky Lake).

Special Features:

  • New 4K remaster struck from original camera negative
  • Fully uncut presentation of the tune
  • A Touch of Scandal - Interview with Director Ivan Nagy
  • Under His Skin - Interview with Star Ted Raimi
  • Bargain Bin VHS For A Buck -- Interview with Screenwriter Paul Hart-Wilden
  • Cutting Skinner - Interview with Editor Jeremy Kasten
  • Flaying Sequence Out-takes & Extended Takes
  • Vintage Trailer

Year of the DragonYear of the Dragon (Blu-ray)

Warner Archive Collection

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Corruption. Extortion. Sometimes, even assassination. For the tradition-bound mob bosses of Manhattan's Chinatown, there are age-old ways of running things. And now there's police captain Stanley White's way. Mickey Rourke portrays White, a war veteran who has a Vietnam-sized chip on his shoulder when dealing with an emerging blood feud in Chinatown. John Lone plays the crime lord standing in the line of fire of White's relentless campaign. And Academy Award-winning director Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot), working from a screenplay based on the novel by Robert Daley (Prince of the City) and coscripted by Oliver Stone, fills the screen with adrenaline rushes of action and excitement.

Special Features:

  • Play in the masters of the film (2019)
  • Audio Commentary by Director Michael Cimino
  • Theatrical Trailer

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La VeriteLa Vérité (Blu-ray)

Criterion

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Beautiful, troubled Dominique Marceau (Brigitte Bardot) came to bohemian Paris to escape the suffocation of provincial life, only to wind up in a courtroom, accused of a terrible crime: the murder of her lover (Sami Frey). As the trial commences and the lawyers begin tangling over Dominique's fate, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Oscar-nominated La vérité delves into her past, reconstructing her struggle to find a foothold in the city. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of an impulsive young woman misunderstood and mistreated by those around her, and of her ultimately tragic affair with an up-and-coming conductor. With an astonishing performance by Bardot, Clouzot's affecting and intricately constructed film—a huge late-career success for the French master—renders a harsh verdict against a hypocritical and moralistic society.

Special Features:

  • Play 4K restoration of the film, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Le scandale Clouzot, a sixty-minute documentary from 2017 on director Henri-Georges Clouzot
  • Interview from 1960 with Clouzot
  • Interview with actor Brigitte Bardot from the 1982 documentary Brigitte Bardot telle qu'elle
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau

 The Return of the VampireThe Return of the Vampire (Blu-ray)

Shout Factory

Street Date: February 19, 2019

In 1918, Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi), a 200-year-old Hungarian Vampire, prowls the English countryside, feeding from the jugulars of the villagers. But Tesla's reign of terror is interrupted when a pair of scientists, Lady Jane (Frieda Inescort) and Sir John Ainsley (Roland Varno), drive a railroad spike through his heart. The "un-dead" Tesla remains safely entombed for two decades until the impact from a stray Nazi bomb accidentally releases him. Along with his werewolf servant Andreas Obry (Matt Willis), the resurrected vampire now plots vengeance on the family that put a halt to his nocturnal feasting.

Special Features:

  • New Audio Commentary with film historian Troy Howarth
  • New Audio Commentary with author/film historian Gary Don Rhodes
  • New Audio Commentary with film historian Lee Gambin
  • Silent 8mm presentation
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Still Gallery

 Mad Dog and GloryMad Dog and Glory (Blu-ray)

Kino Lorber

Street Date: February 19, 2019

The Haunted Castle (1921)

Wayne Dobie (Robert De Niro) is a shy cop whose low-key demeanor has earned him the affectionate nickname "Mad Dog." After Mad Dog saves the life of Frank Milo (Bill Murray), a crime boss and aspiring stand-up comedian, he's offered the company of an attractive young waitress named Glory (Uma Thurman) for a week. At first both are uneasy about the arrangement, but they eventually fall in love. However, the situation becomes complicated when Milo demands Glory back.

Special Features:

  • New Audio Commentary by Director John McNaughton
  • "Making of" Doc
  • Theatrical Trailer

 Talk RadioTalk Radio (Blu-ray)

Twilight Time

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Eric Bogosian stars in writer-director Oliver Stone’s adaptation of his play, Talk Radio (1988), as a venomous radio talk show host whose reckless, relentless stream of abuse and sarcasm both titillates and infuriates. Parading his own “honesty,” Bogosian’s shock jock grows increasingly bitter, his outrageous cynicism both an emblem of his self-loathing and a temptation to his more disturbed listeners.

Special features:

 


 Cry BabyCry Baby (Blu-ray)

Universal Pictures

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Synopsis: Here comes the fuzz! Starsky takes the wheel, Hutch rides shotgun, and comedy runs wild in this hilarious twist on the landmark buddy-cop TV show.

Special Features:

  • Isolated Music Track
  • Filming Rage: Oliver Stone on Talk Radio
  • Original Theatrical Trailer

 Revenge of the SpacemenRevenge of the Spacemen (Blu-ray - 3,000 copies)

Troma

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Revenge of the Spacemen descends onto earth in a flying saucer, to the disbelief of a few witnesses that spot the outer-space craft. Unable to convince other backwater locals that what they saw was more than an intoxicated hallucination, the witnesses embark on a mission to find proof of the extraterrestrial invasion. When the gang turns up a couple of missing backwater cretins who recount their tales of anal-probed alien abduction (compounded with a seriously out of this world case of gas), townspeople finally start to BELIEVE. The noxious gases go from unbelievable to unbearable, and it takes a boozy backyard standoff to eradicate the extraterrestrial BDSM terror! 

Special Features:


 Barb WireBarb Wire (Blu-ray)

Mill Creek

Street Date: February 19, 2019

Pamela Anderson is Barb Wire, the sexiest, toughest woman in Steel Harbor - a city marked by chaos and crime - providing a home for a new kind of mercenary. If you’ve got a problem, Barb Wire is the solution. She’ll use any dangerous weapon (including her body) to take what she wants, crossing the line for no man. When her ex-boyfriend, Axel Hood, hits town, Barb is the only one who can get him out alive. Will Barb help the man who once betrayed her? There’s only one thing you can be sure of…she can get anything you want, for a price. Are you ready to pay…?

Special Features:


And now for our MOST WANTED ON BLU-RAY AND 4K for the week of February 12, 2019

A Star is BornA Star is Born (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy)

20th Century Fox

Street Date: February 12, 2019

In "A Star Is Born," Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive.

Special Features:

Dolby Vision HDR presentation of the film

Dolby Atmos track

Jam Sessions and Rarities

  • "Baby What You Want Me To Do"
  • "Midnight Special"
  • "Is That Alright"

The Road to Stardom: Making A Star is Born

Music Videos

  • "Shallow"
  • "Always Remember Us This Way"
  • "Look What I Found"
  • "I'll Never Love Again"