Friday, March 29, 2024

New Physical Media Releases: 6/1/2021

By Casey Lee Clark 

This week, we have some new 2021 releases receiving the home video treatment, plus some comedies and camp classics making their Blu-ray debuts.

Let’s take a dive and see what’s coming out this week!


​***ALL IMAGES SERVE AS DIRECT LINKS TO PURCHASE THE MOVIES THROUGH AMAZON***

One film from early 2021 receiving a Blu-ray this week is the spy thriller “The Courier.” Directed by Dominic Cooke, this stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan, and Jessie Buckley. This premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival under the title “Ironbark.” The Blu-ray includes a making-of featurette.

Another 2021 film coming to Blu-ray (this time from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, among several others) is “The World to Come.” Directed by Mona Fastvold, this film stars Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Casey Affleck, and Christopher Abbott.


One more 2021 film I wanted to highlight is the indie 80s throwback “Shoplifters of the World,” directed by Stephen Kijak and starring Helena Howard, Ellar Coltrane, Elena Kampouris, Nick Krause, James Bloor, Thomas Lennon, and Joe Manganiello.

There is only one major 4K upgrade this week, and that is the 1977 classic “Smokey and the Bandit.” Directed by Hal Needham, this stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Paul Williams, and Jackie Gleason. This includes the feature-length documentary “The Bandit” and a making-of feature, among other extras.

Making its debut on Blu-ray this week is the 1999 coming of age comedy “But I’m a Cheerleader.” Directed by Jamie Babbit, this features an all-star cast including Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, RuPaul, Cathay Moriarty, Michelle Williams, Bud Cort, and many more. This Blu-ray contains the recently released Director’s Cut of the film with a new restoration.


​From the Paramount Presents label comes the 1981 cult camp classic “Mommie Dearest,” directed by Frank Perry and starring Faye Dunaway, Steve Forrest, Diana Scarwid, Mara Hobel, and Howard Da Silva. This is newly remastered from a 4K film scan. Among the new and archival extras, it includes a new audio commentary track with drag queen Hedda Lettuce and a featurette with biographer Justin Bozung on Perry.

Finally, Paramount is releasing several 90s and 2000s comedies on Blu-ray for the first time. The first is the 1997 comedy “In & Out.” Directed by Frank Oz; this film stars Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds, and many more. Next comes the 2001 comedy “Rat Race,” directed by Jerry Zucker and starring Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Jon Lovitz, Breckin Meyer, and Amy Smart. Last, we have the 2004 remake of “The Stepford Wives,” also directed by Frank Oz. This film stars Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Faith Hill, and Glenn Close. 


​CASEY’S WEEKLY BLU-RAY RECOMMENDATION

Recently, I’ve been doing a deep dive into the films of David Lynch, and recently, I finally watched what I believe to be his best film: 2001’s “Mulholland Drive.” This film’s only Blu-ray release in the US comes from the Criterion Collection, and it is a top-notch release that I would highly recommend. The film stars Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, and many more. It is an indescribable film that I’ll just say you should seek out if you’re even a slight fan of David Lynch because it is an other-worldly experience that must be seen to be believed.

The Blu-ray from Criterion is beautiful, as are all of their releases of Lynch’s films, featuring gorgeous digipak packaging with images from the film with a pristine matte finish. This is a newly restored 4K digital transfer supervised by Lynch and cinematographer Peter Deming. It has a lot of the hallmark looks of Lynch’s films but on a grander scale. As far as supplemental features, it includes on-set footage, a deleted scene, and various new interviews with the cast and crew, including a delightful interview with Lynch and Watts together that will just warm your heart with their friendship and collaboration. I would honestly recommend all the Criterion Collection’s releases so far of David Lynch’s films (“Eraserhead,” “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet,” “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” and this). Still, if I had to suggest just one, it would be “Mulholland Drive.” 

Are there any releases you will be picking up this week? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.

You can follow Casey and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @CaseyLeeClark

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