New digital and streaming release highlights for week of August 29-September 4, 2022
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Playing a bit of catch up again and frankly there isn't much to catch up to. Digitally we have James Ponsoldt's "Summering," a film that I saw at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year; "The Gravedigger," a spin on the classic tale of Frankenstein's monster; and both TNT's "Animal Kingdom" and HBOMax's"The Flight Attendant" are now available on iTunes.
Things are a little more lively on the physical format side of things as the Yellowstone prequel "1883" arrives with bonus features; the 4K release of the fantastic anime film "Belle," and the highly recommended British comedy "The Phantom of the Open" featuring another great performance from the one and only Mark Rylance. Catalog releases include the noir film "Symphony for a Massacre;" the domestic debut of the Blu-ray release for the original Bionic Woman series; a new Blu-ray and a new 4K release for Paul Schrader's "Cat People" remake; and a new three-film Giallo collection from our friends at Arrow Films.
Digital to Own
Summering
Studio Synopsis: Summering is a drama film about four girls during their last days of summer and childhood -- the weekend before middle school begins -- they struggle with the harsh truths of growing up and embark on a mysterious adventure.
The Gravedigger
Studio Synopsis: Set in 1700s Bavaria, The Gravedigger follows Kurt Volkera (Paul Homza, 2 Fast 2 Furious), a lonely gravedigger whose life is forever changed when he stumbles upon a scared, violent man (Gisbert Heuer, American Cryptid) hiding in the graveyard. After taking him in, Volkera’s past comes back to haunt him after learning that the man is actually the creation of a young Victor Frankenstein (Tyler Charles Kane, A Life Untitled) for whom he had been collecting body parts a year earlier. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is on the hunt for his monster, who had murdered his entire family in a fit of rage and escaped. As Dr. Frankenstein gets closer to finding his prey and exacting revenge, the monster begins to find his humanity with the help of his new friend, the gravedigger.
Animal Kingdom Season 1-6
Studio Synopsis: Animal Kingdom is an adrenaline-charged drama starring Emmy and Tony winner Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love, This Boy's Life, Oceans 13) as the matriarch of a Southern California family whose excessive lifestyle is fueled by their criminal activities, with Scott Speedman (The Strangers, The Vow) as her second in command. Shawn Hatosy (Southland, Reckless), Ben Robson (Vikings, Dracula: The Dark Prince), Jake Weary (Pretty Little Liars, It Follows) and Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders, An Inspector Calls) also star.
The Flight Attendant Seasons 1 & 2
Studio Synopsis: The Flight Attendant is a story of how an entire life can change in one night. A flight attendant (Kaley Cuoco) wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man – and no idea what happened. The dark comedic thriller is based on the novel of the same name by New York Times best-selling author Chris Bohjalian.
Blu-ray & DVD
1883
Studio Synopsis: From Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of Yellowstone, 1883 follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. Staring Academy Award nominee Sam Elliott and country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.
Belle
Studio Synopsis: Suzu is a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters “U,” a virtual world of 5 billion members on the Internet. There, she is not Suzu anymore but Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest to become who they truly are.
Symphony for a Massacre
Studio Synopsis: In this stylish heist noir by director Jacques Deray, five men tied to businesses with varying degrees of legality pool their money to go in on one huge narcotics deal that can set them up for good - and test their loyalties. Starring Jean Rochefort, Michel Auclair, Claude Dauphin, José Giovanni, Michèle Mercier, Daniela Rocca.
The Phantom of the Open
Studio Synopsis: Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance), a dreamer and unrelenting optimist who managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship Qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.
The Bionic Woman: The Complete Series
Studio Synopsis: She can hear things undetectable to the human ear. She can crush steel in one hand. She can run faster than a sports car. She is The Bionic Woman: the world's first female cyborg ... and the role model who inspired an entire generation. Join Primetime Emmy Award winner Lindsay Wagner in all 58 action-packed episodes from the riveting, iconic series. From the early days honing her new abilities, to her changing relationship with Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man), to her increasingly dangerous role as a secret agent, Jaime Sommers' incredible, trailblazing journey is chronicled here, and it remains an indelible chapter in television history.
Cat People
Studio Synopsis: A remake of the 1942 Jacques Tourneur horror/noir classic, Cat People stars Nastassja Kinski as Irena, a beautiful young woman who discovers love for the first time only to find that the experience brings tragic consequences. The tremendous passion of this woman's first romantic love is so strong, however, it bypasses the chaos around her – including the extraordinary demands of her brother (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange) – as it pushes her on to her own bizarre destiny. Directed by Paul Schrader (Hardcore, American Gigolo, Affliction), this erotic fantasy about the passion and terror surrounding this first love also stars John Heard (Awakenings), Annette O'Toole (48 Hrs.), Ruby Dee (Do The Right Thing) and Lynn Lowry (Shivers).
Giallo Essentials: Black Edition
Box Set Contents: While the release of Dario Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage gave rise to a glut of imitators, there was more to the giallo than just shameless copycats setting out to ape a rigid formula. This volume of Giallo Essentials celebrates the range and breadth of the genre with three lesser-seen films from its early 1970s heyday.
Smile Before Death: In Silvio Amadio’s Smile Before Death, familicide with a sprinkling of Oedipal love is the order of the day when teenager Nancy (Jenny Tamburi, The Suspicious Death of a Minor) returns home to discover the apparent suicide of her mother, and quickly comes to suspect that her stepfather (Silvano Tranquilli, The Bloodstained Butterfly) and his mistress (Rosalba Neri, The French Sex Murders) are to blame.
The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive: Next, Horny priests and self-flagellating nuns abound in Francesco Mazzei’s The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive, as police commissioner Franco Boito (Renzo Montagnani, Massacre in Rome) investigates the brutal murder of a young clergyman, only to enter into an affair with the dead man’s lover (Bedy Moratti, Calling All Police Cars).
The Killer Reserved Nine Seats: Finally, in Giuseppe Bennati’s The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, an assortment of wealthy degenerates – including Italian cult mainstays Andrea Scotti (Django, Prepare a Coffin) and Howard Ross (The Pyjama Girl Case) – answer the summons of an eccentric nobleman (Chris Avram, A Bay of Blood) and assemble in the theatre attached to his ancestral home, only to find themselves trapped in the decaying building while a savage killer picks them off Agatha Christie-style!
