The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, May 9, unless otherwise noted:
Fifty Shades Darker: Unrated Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet) Details: 2017, Universal Studios Home Entertainment Rated: Not rated & R, sexual content, nudity, language The lowdown: Hooray! Jamie Dornan’s Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson’s Anastasia Steele get back together in this second book of the “Fifty Shades” series. Not only do they reunite, but fans can watch them kiss and make up twice — in the theatrical version of the movie and an unrated version with about 15 minutes of additional footage. So, as Christian and Anastasia slowly begin to rebuild their trust and relationship, figures from Christian’s past come out of the shadows and begin trying to destroy the couple’s happiness and future. Kim Basinger and Eric Johnson join the cast. Critics savaged the film, giving it a 9 percent positive rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English DTS X, DTS Headphone X and French and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 Dolby digital DVS: English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus materials include deleted scenes, a featurette on writing the script, another on reuniting the cast and a teaser peek at the next film, “Fifty Shades Freed.”
Divorce: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) Details: 2016, HBO Home Entertainment Rated: TV-MA, language, sexual situations The lowdown: Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church star in the first season of this HBO series about Frances and Robert, a couple whose marriage is in jeopardy. Frances has begun to reassess her life and her relationship with Robert. The couple, who have two children, have been married 10 years, and Frances discovers that ending a marriage and trying to make a new start in life is more difficult and complicated than she thought. The two-disc set features all 10 first-season episodes. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French and German 5.1 DTS digital surround and Spanish 2.0 DTS digital surround; English, French, German and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include commentaries.
Orange Is the New Black: Season Four (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) Details: 2016, Lionsgate Home Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A three-disc set featuring all 13 fourth-season episodes of this popular Netflix series set in the Litchfield Prison for women. During this season, racial and economic tensions increase as new inmates enter as well as inexperienced guards who must oversee the women. The series stars Taylor Schilling, supported by Natasha Lyonne and Uzo Aduba. Among the season four guest stars were Lori Petty, Blair Brown, Annie Golden and Matt McGorry. Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: The bonus offerings include a gag reel, a visit to the set and cast and crew commentaries.
Heat: Director’s Definitive Edition (Blu-ray + digital HD) Details: 1995, Fox Home Entertainment Rated: R, graphic violence, language The lowdown: This two-disc re-release of writer-director Michael Mann’s modern crime drama features a new restoration supervised by Mann of this powerful story. Al Pacino stars as obsessive detective Vincent Hanna who goes after master criminal Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley following a precision heist of an armored car. McCauley, a ruthless, detailed professional is aided by his crew, which includes Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore. As McCauley as his crew plan their most dangerous and complex job, Hanna and his fellow detectives begin to close in. The movie also features a strong supporting cast including Ashley Judd, Amy Brenneman, Diane Venora, Natalie Portman and Jon Voight. Technical aspects: 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French 5.1 DTS; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles. Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary track with Mann, a Toronto Internal Film Festival question-and-answer session with Mann and writer-director Christopher Nolan, a three-part making of documentary, a conversation with Pacino and De Niro and a “Return to the Scene of the Crime” featurette.
The Comedian Release date: May 2 Details: 2017, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated: R, crude sexual references, language The lowdown: Robert De Niro stars as Jackie, an aging comic legend whose career is on the decline. Jackie tries to reinvent himself, but audiences only seem to want the Jackie — and his iconic character — that he portrayed on television. After a rough night at a club, Jackie is sentenced to community service for accosting an audience member. During his community service, he meets the daughter of a lowlife Florida real estate mogul. The comedian and the daughter bond, which creates some surprising results. Supporting De Niro are Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito, Patti LuPone, Edie Falco, Harvey Keitel, Cloris Leachman, Charles Grodin and Billy Crystal. Taylor Hackford directed the movie. Technical aspects: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and audio description track; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a backstage peek at the movie, deleted scenes and an American Film Institute question-and-answer session with De Niro, Mann, DeVito and Hackford.
2016 World Series: The Complete Game 7: Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray) Details: 2016, Shout! Factory Rated: Not rated The lowdown: We are more than a month into the 2017 Major League Baseball season, but for those die-hard Chicago Cubs’ fans still flying high over the 2016 World Series win, here’s still another chance to relive that magic moment. This two-disc Blu-ray set features the complete, exciting seventh game of the series — with all its ups, downs, scares, rain delays and triumphs. All four hours and 28 minutes of tension, heartbreak and ultimate joy are packaged in this pitch-by-pitch recap of the game, which capped one of the greatest comebacks in World Series history. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio. Don’t miss: Four audio options to listen to the game are offered — original broadcast, Cubs radio, Cleveland Indians radio and a Spanish-language broadcast. Other extras include highlights from the Cubs’ postseason wins leading to the World Series finale and raw footage from the World Series parade in Chicago.
Things to Come (Blu-ray) Details: 2016, IFC Films Rated: PG-13, language, drug use The lowdown: Isabelle Huppert gives another stellar performance in this drama about Nathalie, a philosophy teacher with what she thinks is a wonderful life as she deftly balances career and family. But she is upended when her husband of 25 years announces that he is leaving her. Nathalie, at first devastated, slowly begins to redefine her life as she discovers a newfound sense of liberation and a fresh look at who she is. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
The Greasy Strangler (FilmRise) Justice Served (DVD + digital) (Breaking Glass Pictures) Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism: Limited Edition (Blu-ray + DVD) (Arrow Academy) Beyond the Gates (Blu-ray) (IFC Midnight-Scream Factory, May 2)
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS and STREAMING The Great Wall (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) Get Out (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) My Life as a Zucchini (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) Railroad Tigers (Well Go USA Entertainment) Rock Dog (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) Kedi (Oscilloscope Laboratories-You Tube Red, May 10) Urban Hymn (Level 33 Entertainment, May 12) Decline and Fall (Acorn TV, May 15) The Yorkshire Vet in Spring, Series 2 (Acorn TV, May 15)
Coming next week: The Space Between Us
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow Bloom on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.