New on Disc: A Treasure Map of Entertainment

September 1, 2020

The flood of TV-on-DVD releases has ended and we have no major first-run releases, which is no surprise. That said, there are a lot of catalog titles that are worth picking up coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week. Evil Under the Sun and two other Agatha Christie films will satisfy fans of mysteries. Horror buffs have Blood Quantum and Z. Fans of anime should check out Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Part One and Nichijou: My Ordinary Life. Meanwhile, if you have a 4K setup, Beetlejuice, Pitch Black, and The Goonies are all worth owning. In fact, The Goonies is this week’s Pick of the Week.

Highlights

Agatha Christie Special Edition Triple-Shot
Death on the Nile - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Evil Under the Sun - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Mirror Crack’d - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The new version of Death on the Nile hits theaters next month, so it makes sense to re-release special editions of other Agatha Christie adaptations. All three movies are worth owning, while the special edition Blu-rays each have a new audio commentary track, as well as archival footage. If I were to pick just one, it would be Evil Under the Sun, but I’m tempted to grab all three.

Beetlejuice Giftset - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
This 4K Ultra HD release is a must have. There are only three things keeping it from being a Pick of the Week contender. The first is the price, which is a lot to ask for a single movie, even with the physical extras that come with the Giftset. The secondly is that there are no extras on the 4K disc and the Blu-ray is just the 2010 Blu-ray release. And third, this movie has been released on Blu-ray more times than I can keep track of. That said, if you do have a 4K setup, and don’t own the movie already it is worth picking up.

Blood Quantum - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray - Rent from Redbox: DVD
A horror movie about a zombie apocalypse. Normally this would be a huge strike against the film, as that subgenre of horror is played out. However, this film does something different. In the movie, while the apocalypse happens, one First Nations tribe turns out to be naturally immune to the virus that causes it. The lack of extras hurts the overall value, but it is still worth picking up. There is another Shudder Original coming out this week, Z (DVD or Blu-ray - Rent from Redbox: DVD). It isn’t as good, but it is still worth checking out.

The Goonies - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack Giftset or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
This is one of my all-time favorite movies and the only part that I don’t like is how Richard Donner keeps teasing us about a potential sequel. This film hits 4K this week in two versions, including a $25 regular version and a $50 Giftset. I’m not sure the $50 giftset is worth twice as much as the regular 4K release, but that’s the one I bought. The regular edition is probably the better deal for most people, but either way, it is a Pick of the Week contender.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Part One - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The latest installment in this long-running anime franchise, which is one of the best out there. This one is easily worth picking up. The second installment, Stardust Crusaders, is getting a re-release this week at a slightly reduced price. If you don’t already own it, then it is worth picking up too.

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life - The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
A slice-of-life anime that mixes the mundane with the bizarre with incredible precision. It’s from Kyoto Animation, my favorite anime studio, and features work by some of the people who made K-On!, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!, Tamako Market, Hyouka, Sound! Euphonium and others, so it has an amazing pedigree. On the other hand, this isn’t the first time it has been released on Blu-ray, so many fans of this genre of anime likely already own the series.

Pitch Black - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
This is the third 4K release that is selling well this week. The movie hit theaters 20 years ago... I’ll just let that sink in for a while... It wasn’t a major hit when it first came out, but it has maintained a strong fanbase in the decades since. Decades. I feel so old. Anyhoo, the 4K release includes the previous extras, plus about 80 minutes of new featurettes. It is easily worth picking up, even if you own the previous Blu-ray release.

Other Movie Releases

The B-52's: Live At Us Festival - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Black Test Car + The Black Report - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Children of the Sea - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Clockwise - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Cut Off - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Denise Ho: Becoming the Song - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Dreamland - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Everyday Miracles - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Gilt - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Immortal Combat: The Code - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Irresistible - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Odd Man Rush - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Rogue - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Santiago, Italia - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Terrified - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Time Loop - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Toy Soldiers - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Widow’s Point - Buy from Amazon: DVD

There are some hidden gems in the list of smaller movies hitting DVD / Blu-ray this week. Clockwise is underappreciated, perhaps because it was a lot less manic than most John Cleese comedies. Denise Ho: Becoming the Song is a powerful documentary about a brave singer dealing with prejudices. Finally, the Japanese animated film Children of the Sea wowed most critics.

Christmas Releases

12 Days of Christmas - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Looney Tunes: Holiday Triple Feature - Buy from Amazon: DVD

It’s September, so of course we have Christmas releases. It’s a really weird year. The Canucks are still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup (I 100% expect them to be eliminated tonight) so I’m not going to complain about Christmas coming early. If anything, I could use the distraction. Maybe I will pretend it is already December and keep that up until January.

TV on DVD Releases

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest - Season One - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest - Season One - Limited Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Blue’s Clues & You! - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A Certain Scientific Accelerator: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Demon Girl Next Door - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Gigantosaurus: Season 1, Volume 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Gundam Build Divers - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hallmark 2-Movie Collection: Nature of Love & Pearl in Paradise - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Magnum P.I.: Season Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD
PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Prehistoric Road Trip - Buy from Amazon: DVD
SeaChange: Paradise Reclaimed - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Sesame Street: Monster Hits - Rock & Rhyme with Elmo - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Sonic Boom: Robot Uprising - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Young Sheldon: The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD

The Demon Girl Next Door is the best release on this list. That said, I really hope the Prehistoric Road Trip DVD does well, because I really like the host, Emily Graslie, who hosts The Brain Scoop YouTube channel.

4K Ultra HD Releases

Sherlock Holmes - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Buy from Amazon:4K Ultra HD Combo Pack

Both films in the Sherlock Holmes franchise make 4K debuts as we wait for the third film to come out.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Home Market Releases, DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Santiago, Italia, Irresistible, Abgeschnitten, Rogue, Kaijû no kodomo, Blood Quantum, Dreamland, Widow’s Point, Wu Xia 2 the Code, Z, Gilt, Everyday Miracles, Odd Man Rush, Time Loop, Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story, Sherlock Holmes, Magnum P.I., , John Cleese, Richard Donner, Agatha Christie