What to Buy/Rent on DVD/Blu-ray This Week: ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Dead Man’s Burden,’ ‘Wrong’ & More
VOD is all the rage right now, and for good reason (check out of June VOD list). But while it’s gratifying to know that you can watch pretty much anything with the simple click of a button, there’s something comforting about tearing into a DVD/Blu-ray case and popping the disc into your player. That, and not even a VOD film in HD can rival the clarity a Blu-ray disc offers. To keep you up to date with the current goings-on in the home video marketplace, here are the new releases worth your time and money.
“House of Cards: The Complete First Season”
After premiering exclusively on Netflix this past February, “House of
Cards” makes its debut in the traditional home video market. An
adaptation of the BBC series of the same name, the thirteen-episode
political drama stars Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, a Democratic
Congressman who works to seek his revenge on those who betrayed him
after being snubbed the position of Secretary of State. The cast also
features Robin Wright as Frank’s wife, as well as Kate Mara as an
aspiring political journalist.
Extras: None
“The Newsroom: The Complete First Season”
screenwriting Oscar for “The Social Network,” “The Newsroom” is a
behind-the-scenes look at fictional news station Atlantic Cable News
(ACN), starring Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy, its right-leaning
television anchor. Also featured amongst the ensemble is Emily Mortimer
as the station’s returning executive producer and McAvoy’s former flame,
as well as Sam Waterston and Jane Fonda as the station’s division
president and CEO, respectively.
Sorkin, Daniels, Mortimer, and others; a conversation with Sorkin,
Daniels, Mortimer, Waterston, and executive producers Alan Poul and Greg
Mottola on their experience making the show; a behind-the-scenes tour
of the Atlantic Cable News sets with the cast and crew.
“Wild Strawberries (Criterion Collection)
The late Swedish master Ingmar Bergman’s 1957’s film features Victor Sjöström
in his last onscreen performance as Isak, an aging professor who takes a
road trip to receive an honorary degree. With death just around the
corner, this journey causes forces Isak to confront his past and
reevaluate his life along the way. Among the many accolades for “Wild
Strawberries” include the Golden Bear at the 1958 Berlin Film Festival
and an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
new Blu-ray edition of the film includes features extras not included
on the previous Criterion release, including an introduction by Ingmar
Bergman, behind-the-scenes footage, as well as an essay and audio
commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie, and a 90-minute documentary
entitled “Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work.”
“Wrong”
With total disregard for Hollywood convention, oddball
writer-director-musician Quentin Dupieux last made a mark with his gonzo
killer tire horror pic “Rubber.” The Frenchman is now back with
“Wrong,” an even more eccentric vision about one man’s
journey to find his missing dog that takes so many detours it plays like
several mind-bending shorts all strung together into one absurd whole.
The film premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival where
Indiewire’ Eric Kohn called it “‘Groundhog Day’ remade by Luis Buñuel.”
Extras: A making-of doc, some behind-the-scenes footage, theatrical trailers, and a 20-page booklet featuring an introduction by Eric Wareheim.
Western fans of all kinds should be pleased with Jared
Moshe’s directorial debut that premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in
2012. Set in the years following America’s Civil War, “Dead Man’s Burden”
focuses on a mining company trying to buy the land of a struggling New Mexican
family. While it’s not a shoot-em-up style western like the immortal “Tombstone,” Indiewire’s Eric Kohn said the film “maintains the Western
requisite that bullets must find their targets.” “Dead Man’s Burden” also
showcases newly minted country western star Clare Bowen — made so by the hit
television show “Nashville.” She may not be crooning along with Connie Britton,
but her cowboy boots carry just as much kick.
“How to Survive a Plague” (Blu-ray)
A chronicle of AIDS activism in New York, David France’s acclaimed doc
— which premiered to great acclaim at Sundance earlier this year —
shows how a group of men and women fought against a homophobic
establishment to help bring life-saving drugs to America. It’s a
remarkable part of American history that too few are aware of, and one
that comes to theaters exactly 25 years after ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To
Unleash Power) — the activist group at the core of “Plague” — held its
first demonstration.
