DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 12th, 2020
May 13, 2020
It’s a good week for DVDs and Blu-rays with several that are worth picking up. This includes Birds of Prey, which is the biggest new release of the week and its DVD / Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD releases are loaded with extras. The Great Escape is a better movie and the Criterion Collection DVD / Blu-ray also has plenty of extras, but it is a double-dip. Both were in contention for the Pick of the Week title, but in the end, I went with The Great Escape.
Birds of Prey - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Fantasy Island - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Great Escape: Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Idle Hands: Collector’s Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Mystery of the Wax Museum - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Photograph - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Studio Ghibli Steelbook Double-Shot
TV on DVD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
4K Ultra HD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
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Video on Demand
This film had one of the most confusing box office runs of the year. On the one hand, it missed expectations by a huge margin. On the other hand, it did earn nearly $200 million worldwide on an $82 million production budget, so it could still break even. Furthermore, it was still in theaters when the Covid-19 pandemic starting shutting things down, so there’s mitigating circumstances regarding the its box office performance. I think Warner Bros. should be happy with the results, all things considered. They certainly gave the DVD / Blu-ray enough extras to be worth picking up. If they were really disappointed, they would have likely just cut their losses. If it were a busy week, then this wouldn’t quite be a Pick-of-the-Week contender, but there’s almost no competition for that title.
Video on Demand
There was a flood of low-budget horror films that bombed in theaters during the short box office year. This was one of the worst. Skip it.
I reviewed this movie seven years ago when it came out on a 50th Anniversary Edition and my only complaint was the video quality, which was good for a 50-year old film, but not good enough for the Blu-ray debut for an absolute classic movie. I haven’t seen this Blu-ray yet, but I have enough faith in Criterion Collection that I’m tempted to go for the double-dip here, just based on the assumed video upgrade due to the 4K restoration. There are also plenty of extras on the DVD / Blu-ray, some new, some old, so it is a clear Pick of the Week contender.
This is getting a Collector’s Edition release? Why? Don’t get me wrong, it’s better than its Tomatometer Score would indicate, but it is far from good and it bombed in theaters. There are a ton of extras on the Blu-ray, including plenty of new features, so if you are a fan of the movie, it is certainly worth picking up.
A horror film from the 1930s that was considered a lost film for a long, long time. It is import for that reason, but also because it includes an early role for Fay Wray. The movie was remade in the 1950s as House of Wax and if you’ve liked that movie, you will want to see the original.
Video on Demand
This film earned good, but not great, reviews. It bombed in theaters after opening well on Valentine’s Day and collapsing the week after that. Its collapse was so fast that at first I thought the film was affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, but it was already practically out of theaters before then. The DVD / Blu-ray has a trio of featurettes, which isn’t bad for this type of release, but it is also hardly anything special.
Howl’s Moving Castle - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Ponyo - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Two films from Studio Ghibli, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo, are being re-released this week, this time by Gkids. They are re-releases, which is the only thing keeping it from being a Pick of the Week contender. They are worth picking up if you don’t already own them.
Bubble Guppies: The Great Guppy Games! - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
H2O: The Molecule That Made Us - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Jack London And The Call Of The Wild - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Lucifer: The Complete Fourth Season - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Narcos: 4-Season Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Narcos: Mexico - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
NOVA: Cat and Dog Tales - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
PBS Kids: 15 Pet-Tastic Tails! - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Shameless: Season Ten - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Lucifer and Shameless are the only two significant TV on DVD releases. Both are worth picking up.
Barbara Stanwyck Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Dallas Connection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Dynamo - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Enemy Gold - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema II - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hollywood Story and New Orleans Uncensored William Castle Double Feature - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
An Ideal Place to Kill - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Inside Daisy Clover - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Lost Transmissions - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Man From the Alamo/They Came to Cordura - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Traitor - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray - Rent from Redbox: DVD
Vivarium - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
WWE: WrestleMania 36 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
There are few really good secondary releases this week. There are some that are good though, like Lost Transmissions, but none appear to be undiscovered gems.
Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
I really hope this isn’t the end of the Kelvin Timeline. They finally got it right with Star Trek Beyond, but I fear that’s the last movie we will see for years.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Fantasy Island, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), The Photograph, Vivarium, Il Traditore, Lost Transmissions, Mystery of the Wax Museum, Bu ze shou duan, Star Trek, Barbara Stanwyck, Fay Wray