New to View: June 17
A stellar feature by acclaimed independent Charles Burnett leads off the nice selection of titles for home viewing in my latest New to View at ReelBob.
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, June 17, unless otherwise noted:
The Annihilation of Fish (Blu-ray)
Details: 1999, The Milestone Cinematheque-Kino Lorber
Rated: R, sexual content
The lowdown: Independent filmmaker Charles Burnett is one of cinema’s most important filmmakers and “The Annihilation of Fish,” which was believed lost, has been restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation in collaboration with Milestone Films.
Lynn Redgrave stars as Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined lover in the form of 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini.
Fleeing San Francisco, Poinsettia moves into a Los Angeles boarding house operated by the energetic Mrs. Muldroone (Margot Kidder). There Poinsettia meets a Jamaican widower, Obediah “Fish” Johnson (James Earl Jones), who was recently released from a mental hospital despite his continuing battles against an invisible demon named Hank.
This is a weird, funny and tender love story about two troubled souls who find each other and its discovery and release is well worth checking out.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary by Burnett, moderated by film scholar Maya Cade; a question-and-answer session with Burnett moderated by film scholar Racquel Gates; and “The Final Insult,” a 1997 movie by Burnett.
Drop: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: June 10
Details: 2025, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, suicide, sexual references, language
The lowdown: Meghann Fahy stars in this mystery-thriller for the social media society.
Fahy portrays Violet, a widowed mother, who, after many years, has decided to re-enter the dating pool.
She accepts a date from Henry (Brandon Sklenar), a charming photographer. As the date progresses and a chemistry seems to develop between the couple, the evening is interrupted by a series of anonymous drops in Violet’s phone showing a masked intruder entering her home and ordering her to follow a series of instructions.
Violet must do exactly as she is told or her loved one’s will die. Her final order from her unseen menace is to kill Henry.
Suspicion about the identity of the tormentor careens around the restaurant like a runaway freight train, until the actual culprit is unmasked.
The movie earned a decent 84 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 DVS and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette, a look at the creation of the restaurant set, a featurette with Fahy and Sklenar discussing their characters’ first date and a commentary track with director Christopher Landon are the main bonus options.
Midnight (Blu-ray)
Details: 1939, Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche star in this romantic comedy, directed by Mitchell Leisen and co-written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder.
Set in Paris, Colbert plays Eve Peabody, a penniless American chorus girl, who crashes Parisian society by posing as a wealthy Hungarian countess. In truth, Eve has been recruited by Georges Flammarion (John Barrymore) to win back his wife, Helene (Mary Astor), from gigolo Picot (Francis Lederer).
Meanwhile, cab driver Tibor Czerny (Ameche), who is smitten with Eve, sets out to find her.
The cast also includes Monty Woolley, Elaine Barrie (who, at the time, was married to Barrymore) and Hedda Hopper.
This Cinderella-type feature comes with a nice dose of cynicism — a trademark of Wilder and Brackett’s movies.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include a commentary track with author-film critic Michael Koresky, excerpts from a 1969 audio interview with Leisen, a 1940 “Lux Radio Theatre” adaptation of the movie and a booklet with an essay by film critic David Cairns.
Law and Order (Blu-ray)
Details: 1932, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Walter Huston stars in this adaptation of W. R. Burnett’s “Saint Johnson,” a thinly-veiled retelling of the Wyatt Earp myth and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
The script, adapted by John Huston, follows former peace officer Frame Johnson (Huston) and his three friends, Brandt (Western icon Harry Carey); Johnson’s younger brother, Luther (Russell Hopton); and Deadwood (Raymond Hatton), as, after a turn of a card to decide their next destination, arrive in Tombstone, Arizona, a lawless town run by the three Northrup brothers — Poe (Ralph Ince), Walt (Harry Woods, a well-known B-Western villain) and quick-on-the-trigger Kurt (Richard Alexander, Prince Barin in the original “Flash Gordon” serial).
Because of Johnson’s reputation, the town council offers him the job of marshal, despite his pleas that he will not wear a badge again. But after witnessing a murder by the Northrups — and having his courage called into question by Poe Northrup — he accepts the position.
The 72-minute movie features many killings on both sides before Tombstone is tamed.
“Law and Order” is almost a forgotten Western that has been meticulously restored by Universal Pictures in collaboration with The Film Foundation.
One of the bonus features is a solid B-Western, “Without Honor,” starring Harry Carey in one of his patented good, bad-guy roles.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Besides “Without Honor,” other bonus features include two commentary tracks, one by mystery writer-filmmaker Max Allen Collins and film historian and host of “Cereal at Midnight” podcast Heath Holland, and the other by Western film historian Toby Roan; and an in-depth conversation with filmmaker-film historian Bertrand Tavernier about the movie.
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Details: 1984-2003, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Angela Lansbury portrays mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, who lives in Cabot Cove, Maine, and always seems to outwit both criminals and the police in solving murders.
The 62-disc set features all 264 episodes as well as four made-for-TV movies. As the series progressed, Fletcher not only solved killings in Cabot Cove, but across the United States and overseas.
As the series evolved, so did Fletcher who, in season eight, moves to an apartment in New York City so she can teach criminology at a city university. Of course, murders follow her there.
Recurring characters in the series were portrayed by Tom Bosley, William Windom, Ron Masak, Will Nye and Louis Herthum.
Among the many guest stars were Julie Adams, Keith Michell, George Clooney, Cyd Charisse, Shirley Jones, Courtney Cox, Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Rooney, Tom Selleck (in a crossover episode), Dorothy Lamour, Richard Crenna and John Amos.
Fans of Lansbury and the series will be delighted with this comprehensive set, which can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen and 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a featurette on the origin of the series, “A Recipe for a Hit” featurette, a Sleuth Channel countdown of the top sleuths in television and film, “The Perils of Success” featurette and a “The Great ’80s Flashback” featurette.
Sabrina (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1954, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Audrey Hepburn is luminous in this romantic comedy directed and co-adapted by Billy Wilder.
Humphrey Bogart and William Holden portray the ultra-rich Larrabee brothers, who live on Long Island.
Bogart’s Linus Larrabee is all no-nonsense business, while Holden’s David is the playboy type.
Sabrina is the daughter of Thomas, the Larrabee chauffeur, whom her father has sent to Paris to study. She returns glamorous and all grown up, which sets the stage for fireworks as both brothers fall under her spell.
As a side note, when the movie was released, Hepburn was 25, Bogart was 55 and Holden was 38.
“Sabrina,” co-written by Samuel Taylor, on whose play the movie was based, and Ernest Lehman, earned six Academy Award nominations, including for Hepburn, Wilder for director, Wilder, Lehman and Taylor for screenplay and Edith Head, who one for her fabulous costumes.
The supporting cast includes John Williams, Martha Hyer, Joan Vohs, Walter Hampden and Marcel Dalio.
“Sabrina” garnered an 89 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.75:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.75:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks by film historian-author Joseph McBride and by film historian-author Julie Kirgo and writer-filmmaker Peter Hankoff on both discs and, on the Blu-ray, a featurette on Hepburn as a fashion icon, a look at Sabrina’s world, a featurette on the supporting cast, a look at Holden’s career at Paramount Pictures, a behind-the-gates featurette about Paramount and a documentary about the movie.
“Gary Cooper: 4-Film Collection” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1941-59, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Gary Cooper’s acting style consisted of doing more with less. Whether it be Westerns — of which he made more than 20 — comedy, drama or action, Cooper always made it look effortless.
This four-disc set highlights Cooper’s acting acumen and versatility, starting with this Academy Award-winning performance as World War I hero Alvin York in “Sergeant York” (1941).
That is followed by his gentle interpretation as a Quaker father in “Friendly Persuasion” (1956), his turn as Audrey Hepburn’s love interest in “Love in the Afternoon” (1957) and, in his final Western, as a doctor with a dark past in the “The Hanging Tree” (1959).
In all these movies Cooper is supported by a bevy of strong directors and wonderful supporting actors, including Walter Brennan, George Tobias and Margaret Wycherly, all under the direction of Raoul Walsh in “Sergeant York”; Anthony Perkins, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Middleton and Marjorie Main, with William Wyler directing, in “Friendly Persuasion”; Billy Wilder was behind the camera and Cooper and Hepburn were supported by Maurice Chevalier in “Love in the Afternoon”; and Delmer Daves directed Karl Malden, George C. Scott, Maria Schell and Karl Swenson in “”The Hanging Tree.”
The set can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (with side mattes) full-screen picture (“Sergeant York”), 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Friendly Persuasion,” “The Hanging Tree”) and 2.35:1 widescreen picture (“Love in the Afternoon”); English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Some classic shorts are the main extras.
“Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault: Volume 1” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1930-69, Warner Archive Collection-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A two-disc set featuring 50 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts featuring Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and first appearances by Daffy Duck (1937), Pepé Le Pew (1945) and Speedy Gonzales (1953).
The first disc spotlights 25 cartoons never released on DVD or Blu-ray. These titles include “Bars and Stripes Forever,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Double or Mutton,” “Each Dawn I Crow,” “I’d Love to Take Orders from You” (one of Tex Avery’s early Warner Bros. shorts), “Of Fox and Hounds,” “Robin Hood Makes Good,” “The Squawkin’ Hawk,” “Tweety’s Circus” and “Terrier-Stricken.”
The second disc includes “Ain’t She Tweet,” “Birth of a Notion,” “Cat-Tails for Two,” “Daffy Dilly,” “Daffy Duck & Egghead,” “Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z,” “Gonzales’ Tamales,” “Hare Trigger,” “Porky’s Duck Hunt,” “Horton Hatches the Egg,” “Hare Trimmed” “Odor-able Kitty,” “Two Crows from Tacos” and “Zoom and Bored.”
No matter how many times you’ve seen these animated antics, they never grow old.
The set can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (side matted) (16:9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Hong Kong 1941 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1984, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A romantic drama set in the time prior to the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong.
The story centers on Ha Yuk-nam (Cecilia Yip), a young woman involved in a love triangle with her close friends Yip Kim-fei (Chow Yun-fat) and Wong Hak-keung (Alex Man).
The attractive Nam is the daughter of a wealthy rice merchant who suffers painful disabling seizures. Keung, whose family lost its wealth, now works as a coolie. Entering Nam’s life is Fei, a cool and resourceful actor from the north, intent on getting to the United States or Australia to make his fortune.
The threesome’s plan to leave Hong Kong is stopped by the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong.
As the occupation begins, Keung is accused of collaborating with the Japanese and must be rescued by Fei. Nam falls in love with Fei, and they plan another escape attempt — which will be a dangerous venture.
“Hong Kong 1941” is the movie that launched Chow Yun-fat’s rise to stardom before his collaboration with John Woo.
The film, directed by British-Chinese filmmaker Po-Chih Leong, was nominated for eight Hong Kong Film Awards.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese and English (dubbed) LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with East Asian film expert Frank Djeng, a video essay by Tony Rayns on the contemporary impact of the movie, archival interviews with Yip and Yun-fat and a booklet with essays about the movie and Leong.
Swordfish: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Release date: June 10
Details: 2001, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence, language, nudity, sexuality
The lowdown: As the popularity of computers and the Internet grew in the 1990s, a series of action-thrillers based around both took hold in movies.
“Swordfish,” starring John Travolta, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman, was one of them. The story centers on Jackman’s Stanley Jobson, a former master hacker who is on parole after being caught infiltrating an FBI program.
The paroled Jobson must keep away from computers if he does not want to be returned from prison.
This causes problems for him when the mysterious Gabriel Shear (Travolta), offers him $10 million for one last hacking job.
Jobson, who misses computer screens, accepts and finds himself in the middle of a complicated web of intrigue involving several covert agencies and a $9 billion government slush fund.
Don Cheadle and Vinnie Jones costar in the movie, which is diminished by a weak plot and some illogical twists.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by director Dominic Sena; interviews with composer Paul Oakenfold and production designer Jeff Mann; a promotional behind-the-scenes featurette; a featurette on how the movie’s climatic scene was created; a music video by Oakenfold; interviews with Travolta, Berry, Cheadle, Sam Shepard, Sena and producer Joel Sliver; two alternate endings; a double-sided fold-out poster; and a collector’s booklet.
I, Madman (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Kino Lorber-Kino Cult #31
Rated: R, bloody violence, language
The lowdown: Virginia (Jenny Wright) is a bookstore clerk who enjoys losing herself in a good novel.
Horror ensues when she cracks the spine of a horror pulp called “I, Madman,” unleashing the book’s monstrous author-villain Malcolm Brand (Randall William Cook).
Grisly murders begin to occur around her, and Virginia finds it difficult to discern fact from fiction, and even more difficult to convince anyone that the hideous character is not only real, but the deranged killer.
What makes it even more challenging is that Brand reconstructs his disfigured face by carving away the flesh of his victims.
The film is bloody, shocking and suspenseful as well as offering some surprises.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with director Tiber Tokács and Cook; a visual essay by Chris O’Neill; a making of featurette with Tokács, Cook, screenwriter David Chaskin and actors Clayton Rohner and Stephanie Hodge interviews; and behind-the-scene footage with commentary by Cook.
“Exact Revenge: Limited Edition double feature” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, Eureka Entertainment-Eureka Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A double feature presenting two movies from the Shaw Brothers Studio that center on revenge.
In “The Eunuch,” the main character, Gui De-hai, survives an attempt on his life ordered by the Emperor. After killing the Emperor and his family, Gui notices that the Prince is missing — and sets out to complete his mission of revenge.
“The Deadly Knives” is a kung fu action film in which young lovers Guan Yue-hua and Yan Zi-fei, whose relationship is challenged when Yan’s family is threatened by Japanese thugs, led by Ogawa.
Yan is determined to avenge his family’s honor even if it means taking on Guan’s corrupt father.
Both movies are examples of the wuxia genre at a time those kinds of films were giving way to the kung fu features in the wake of Bruce Lee’s worldwide success.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Mandarin LPCM and English dubbed (“The Deadly Knives”) monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track on “The Eunuch” by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema and a commentary on “The Deadly Knives” by Frank Djeng.
DeepStar Six (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: An underwater sci-fi thriller about the crew of DeepStar Six, is exploring a forbidding and impenetrable world of darkness and unimaginable pressure.
Their mission is to establish a top-secret Navy base on the ocean floor. But the crew is about to discover something terrifying — they are not wanted and the creature at the bottom of the ocean begins to pick them off one at a time.
The crew must do everything it can to escape — and survive.
The cast of the movie, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, includes Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Greg Evigan, Miguel Ferrer, Matt McCoy, Nia Peeples, Cindy Pickett and Marius Weyers.
The film is rather formulaic with nothing to really make it stand out.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include three commentary tracks — one by James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton of HorrorFix.com, a second by Cunningham and visual effects supervisor James Isaac and a third by screenwriters Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller — as well as isolated score selections and an audio interview with composer Harry Manfredini, all on both discs. The Blu-ray disc features interviews with creature effects and special make-up designer Mark Shostrom, creature supervisor Greg Nictero and creature artist Robert Kurtzman, as well as interviews with Evigan, Everhard and stunt coordinator Kane Hodder; as well as vintage interview clips and behind-the-scenes footage.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
The Assessment (Blu-ray & DVD & VOD) (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Jeannette (Gravitas Ventures)
Laugh It Forward (Hideout Pictures-Wonderland)
Lavender Men (Entertainment Squad-Pride Flix)
Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-Shero (Amazon-DirecTV-Breaking Glass Pictures)
Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse (Firebook Entertainment)
Riptide (MHz Choice)
Sally (Disney+-Hulu)
Soul Reaper (Well Go USA Entertainment)
JUNE 18
The Buccaneers: Season 2, Episode 1 (Apple TV+)
Nine Perfect Strangers: Season 2, Episode 6 (Hulu)
Stick: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
JUNE 19
Coming Out Under Fire (Kino Film Collection)
Mafia (Viaplay)
Truman and Tennessee (Kino Film Collection)
JUNE 20
The Bravest Knight: Season 2 (Hulu)
Chambermaid (Film Movement Plus)
Don’t Tell Larry (Level 33 Entertainment)
The Extremists’ Opera (Film Movement Plus)
Eye for an Eye (Vertical Entertainment-Ley Line Entertainment)
Fall Is a Good Time to Die (Buffalo 8)
Kpop: Demon Hunters (www.netflix.com/kpopdemonhunters) (Netflix)
Murderbot: Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Oasis of Now (Film Movement Plus)
Coming next week: Snow White
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on X @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.