Tuesday Releases: The Beekeeper

4K ULTRA HD + BLU-RAY: $39.96
BLU-RAY: $31.96

I Am Cuba (#1214)

Criterion | 1964 | 142 min | Not Rated
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov

Both a landmark of radical political cinema and one of the most visually ravishing films ever made, this legendary hymn to revolution shimmers across the screen like a fever dream of rebellion. The result of an extraordinarily ambitious collaboration between the Soviet and Cuban film industries, director Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba unfolds in four explosive vignettes that capture Cuban life on the brink of transformation, as crushing economic exploitation and inequality give way to a working-class uprising. Backed by Carlos Fariñas’s stirring score, the dazzling camera work by Sergei Urusevsky—an inspiration for generations of filmmakers to follow—gives flight to the movie’s message of liberation.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• “I Am Cuba,” the Siberian Mammoth, a 2004 documentary on the making of the film featuring key participants
• Interview from 2003 with filmmaker Martin Scorsese
• New appreciation of the film by cinematographer Bradford Young
• Trailer
• Alternate Russian-dubbed soundtrack
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Juan Antonio García Borrero
  
  New cover by Century

8-DISC BLU-RAY SET: $79.99

Kamen Rider Geats: The Complete Series

Shout Factory | 2022-2023 | Season 33 | 1225 min | Not Rated
Directed by Shojiro Nakazawa and Teruaki Sugihara

All Kamen Riders, past and present, are set to battle against unknown enemies and compete with each other in Survival Games, getting scores on the Desire Grand Prix. Each participant transforms into a Kamen Rider and competes to win the game by defeating enemies, saving people, and surviving. Hugely popular in the online world, these games are unpredictable and thrilling. Only true heroes who win the competition will be granted the right to bring their ideal world to life!

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Not Listed

Drive-Away Dolls

Universal Studios | 2024 | 84 min | Rated R
Directed by Ethan Coen

Written by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, this comedy caper follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way. Directed by Ethan Coen.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• THE DRIVE-AWAY GANG – Sit down with the cast and filmmakers of DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS as they discuss their roles, getting into character, and the exciting cameo appearances.
• DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS: AN ETHAN AND TRICIA PROJECT – Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke discuss what inspired them to write this story, why they waited 20 years to bring it to life, and what it was like working together on a project from start to finish for the first time.
• ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS
• Optional English SDH, French Canadian, and Latin American Spanish subtitles for the main feature

LIMITED EDITION 4K ULTRA HD DIGIPAK: $39.99
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY DIGIPAK: $25.98

The Demoniacs

(INDICATOR SERIES #406)

Powerhouse Films | 1974 | 1 Movie, 3 Cuts | 100 min | Not Rated
Directed by Jean Rollin

The Demoniacs (Les Démoniaques) sees director Jean Rollin eschew his regular subject of vampirism for a brutal nautical tale of ritual horror and supernatural vengeance. A gang of ruthless pirates, known as ‘the wreckers’, rape two survivors of a shipwreck. The women, now mute, are guided by a mysterious clown to a ruined castle, where they receive magical powers with which to exact their revenge on the gang. Starring Joëlle Coeur (Schoolgirl Hitchhikers), John Rico (Blood Orgy of the She-Devils), Willy Braque (Lips of Blood), and Mireille Dargent (The Iron Rose), The Demoniacs is one of its director’s most shocking and violent tales of the fantastic.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Three presentations of the film: the original theatrical version; the longer, explicit export version; and Curse of the Living Dead, the alternative English-language cut
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film expert Tim Lucas (2024)
• Selected scenes commentary with Jean Rollin (2005)
• Jean Rollin Introduces ‘The Demoniacs’ (1998)
• One of the Demoniacs (2024): new presentation of an interview with regular Rollin collaborator Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
• Newly edited archival interview with actor Willy Braque (2024)
• Critical appreciation by author and musician Stephen Thrower (2024)
• Outtake footage
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material, and behind the scenes
• New and improved English translation subtitles
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for Curse of the Living Dead
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an archival piece on the making of the film by Jean Rollin, an archival interview with Rollin, an archival interview with actor Monica Swinn, and full film credits.
• REGION-FREE

The Departed

Warner Bros. | 2006 | 151 min | Rated R
Directed by Martin Scorsese

Rookie cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) grew up in crime. That makes him the perfect mole, the man on the inside of the mob run by boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). It’s his job to win Costello’s trust and help his detective handlers (Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen) bring Costello down. Meanwhile, SIU officer Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has everyone’s trust. No one suspects he’s Costello’s mole. How these covert lives cross, double-cross and collide is at the ferocious core of the widely acclaimed The Departed. Martin Scorsese directs, guiding a cast for the ages in a visceral tale of crime and consequences that’s searing, can’t-look away filmmaking.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• NEW 4K REMASTER OF THE FILM
• HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Guilt and Betrayal: Looking into The Departed – Fetaurette
• Stranger Than Fiction:
  • The True Story of Whitey Bulger
  • Southie and The Departed
  • Crossing Criminal Cultures
• Nine Additional Scenes with Introduction by Marty Scorsese
• Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature

Goodbye Uncle Tom

Blue Underground | 1971 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 123 min | Not Rated
Directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi

The film considered too shocking for the world! Written, edited, produced and directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi of MONDO CANE fame, this epic recreation of the American slave trade atrocities was both condemned as depraved exploitation and acclaimed as an unprecedented cry of Black anguish and rage. The Detroit Chronicle hailed it as “a graphic, moving, nerve-paralyzing film.” Legendary film critic Pauline Kael called it “the most specific and rabid incitement of the race war.” It became one of the most reviled and misunderstood films of its time. Five decades cannot diminish GOODBYE UNCLE TOM’s impact or quiet its controversy as it has become even more relevant TODAY!

In 1971, distributors forced the filmmakers to completely re-cut the film and radically re-write its extreme narration, removing more than 13 minute of race-war politics and inserting alternate scenes – creating what would become an entirely different film – before it could be released. Now more than 50 years later, both versions of GOODBYE UNCLE TOM can finally be seen in brand-new restorations, scanned in 4K 16-bit from their original negatives with newly restored DTS-HD Master Audio, and packed with over 5 hours of Extras!

SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K 16-BIT RESTORATION OF THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE FILM (123 MIN).
• English Trailer
• Subtitles: English SDH, Español

DISC TWO – 4K BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K 16-BIT RESTORATION OF THE ITALIAN VERSION OF THE FILM (136 MIN).
• Italian Trailer
• Subtitles: English and English SDH

DISC THREE – BLU-RAY

• THE IMPORTANCE OF SHOCKING: GUALTIERO JACOPETTI – A feature-length documentary by Director Andrea Bettinetti (94 Mins.)
• THE GODFATHERS OF MONDO – A feature-length documentary by Director David Gregory (89 Mins.)
• Goodbye Cruel Mondo – Interviews with Writers/Directors Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi, and Composer Riz Ortolani (20 Mins.)
• Behind-the-Scenes 8mm Footage with Audio Commentary by Production Manager Giampaolo Lomi (50 Mins.)
• Mondo Mercenaries – Interview with Author & Academic Mark Goodall (27 Mins.)
• Abjection Under Authoritarianism – Interview with Professor Matthew J. Smith (20 Mins.)
• Extensive Still Galleries, including Giampaolo Lomi’s Behind-the-Scenes Photos
• GOODBYE UNCLE TOM Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Riz Ortolani

DISC FOUR – CD DISC ADDITIONAL CONTENT AND SPECS

• Collectible Booklet with new essay by Dan Madigan
• Deluxe packaging includes embossed slipcover, reversible sleeve with alternate artwork, and collectible booklet
• REGION-FREE

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 2

Warner Bros. | 2024 | 94 min | Rated PG-13
Directed by Jeff Wamester

An endless army of SHADOW DEMONS bent on the destruction of all reality swarms over our world and all parallel Earths! The only thing opposing them is the mightiest team of metahumans ever assembled. But not even the combined power of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and all their fellow superheroes can slow down the onslaught of this invincible horde. What mysterious force is driving them? And how do the long-buried secrets of the Monitor and Supergirl threaten to crush our last defense?

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Voices in Crisis – Featurette
• The Bat-Family of the Multiverse – Featurette
• Part Three Sneak Peek
• Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles

7-DISC BLU-RAY DIGIPAK: $27.99

Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom Trilogy

(Riget / Riget II / Exodus)

MUBI | 1994-2022 | Seasons 1-3 | 920 min | Not Rated
Directed by Lars von Trier & Morten Arnfred

Filmmaker Lars von Trier’s internationally acclaimed, cult classic series tells the story of a hospital built on top of the old bleaching ponds in Copenhagen, where evil has taken root and medical science faces a daily struggle with itself; where the Swedes curse the Danes, and the mysterious and inexplicable blend together in a mixture of horror and humor. Featuring the original series THE KINGDOM I & II in stunningly restored, never-before-seen versions, as well as the long-awaited follow-up series THE KINGDOM EXODUS.

THE KINGDOM I

Strange things are happening in the underbelly of a Danish hospital in Lars von Trier’s long unavailable, cult TV phenomenon The Kingdom I – a wickedly funny supernatural mystery. Let the battle between good and evil commence!

THE KINGDOM II

Picking up in the immediate aftermath of the first season’s startling cliffhanger, The Kingdom II sees the troubled hospital plagued by the rise of a greater evil. Masterfully harmonizing mordant humor and poignant pathos, Lars von Trier’s TV phenomenon scales new heights of white-knuckle suspense.

THE KINGDOM EXODUS

Lars von Trier returns to the world of Denmark’s most famous haunted hospital with this dazzling limited event series. Set in the run-up to Christmas, The Kingdom Exodus serves an incomparable blend of the nightmarish and the absurd as it beats a compulsively entertaining path towards the promise of Armageddon.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Selected episode commentary by Lars von Trier, Niels Vørsel and Molly Stensgård
• In Lars von Trier’s Kingdom – Documentary
• Behind the Scenes – Interviews with Lars von Trier and cast
• TV commercial for the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet – Directed by Lars von Trier
• The Kingdom Trilogy – A Companion’ – 28-page booklet
• English subtitles

Nostalghia

Kino Lorber | 1983 | 125 min | Not Rated
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky explained that in Russian the word “nostalghia” conveys “the love for your homeland and the melancholy that arises from being far away.” This debilitating form of homesickness is embodied in the film by Andrei (Oleg Yankovsky, The Mirror), a Russian intellectual doing research in Italy. He becomes obsessed with the Botticelli-like beauty of his translator Eugenia (Domiziana Giordano), as well as with the apocalyptic ramblings of a self-destructive wanderer named Domenico (Erland Josephson, The Sacrifice). Written with frequent Michelangelo Antonioni collaborator Tonino Guerra (L’Avventura) and newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative, Nostalghia is a mystical and mysterious collision of East and West, shot with the tactile beauty that only Tarkovsky can provide. As J. Hoberman wrote, “Nostalghia is not so much a movie as a place to inhabit for two hours.”

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Voyage in Time (1983 behind-the-scenes documentary)
• Audio commentary by film historian Daniel Bird
• Interview with director of photography Giuseppe Lanci
• Re-Release Trailer

LIMITED EDITION 4K ULTRA HD DIGIPAK: $39.99
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY DIGIPAK: $25.98

The Nude Vampire

(INDICATOR SERIES #401)

Powerhouse Films | 1970 | 85 min | Not Rated
Directed by Jean Rollin

Jean Rollin’s second feature film, and his first in color, The Nude Vampire (La Vampire nue) finds the master of the fantastic combining his trademark erotic-vampire themes with an homage to the mystery serials of his youth. When Pierre (Olivier Martin), the son of a wealthy industrialist, witnesses a beautiful woman (Caroline Cartier) being pursued and captured by men in bizarre masks, he decides to investigate, uncovering a sinister vampire cult… Starring Caroline Cartier (Lumière), veteran French character actors Bernard Musson (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) and Paul Bisciglia (The Demoniacs), Lettrist artist Maurice Lemaître (co-writer of Rollin’s The Iron Rose), and Rollin regulars Olivier Martin (The Rape of the Vampire) and twins Cathy and Marie-Pierre Castel (Lips of Blood), The Nude Vampire is one of Jean Rollin’s most eccentric and effective works.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Original French and English mono soundtracks
• Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2024)
• Jean Rollin Introduces ‘The Nude Vampire’ (1998)
• Le Passage (2024): updated documentary on the making of The Nude Vampire by Rollin’s personal assistant, Daniel Gouyette, including interviews with key collaborators Natalie Perrey, Jean-Noël Delamarre, and Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
• Fragment d’un dialogue (2024): extracts from selected interviews with Rollin conducted by Gouyette between 1998 and 2003
• Interview with archivist Lucas Balbo exploring Rollin’s connection to the French anarchist union (2024)
• Critical appreciation by author and film historian Virginie Sélavy (2024)
• Original French and English theatrical trailers
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material, and behind the scenes
• New and improved English translation subtitles for the French soundtrack
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a selection of new and archival writing including a new essay by David Jenkins, an archival introduction by director Jean Rollin, an archival interview with Rollin, and full film credits.
• REGION-FREE

4K ULTRA HD + BLU-RAY: $32.99

Rolling Thunder

(Shout Select #159)

Shout Factory | 1977 | 100 min | Rated R
Directed by John Flynn

When Major Charles Rane (William Devane, Marathon Man, Interstellar) returns home to San Antonio, Texas, he is given a hero’s welcome. He and his friend John Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive) had endured eight years of physical and mental torture in a POW camp. Adjusting to his old life isn’t going to be easy for Rane. His wife Janet has fallen in love with another man, and his son doesn’t remember him. The publicity he receives as a returning hero has attracted the attention of a group of hoodlums. When the group kills Rane’s wife and son and leaves him for dead, he and Vohden team up to hunt them down.

SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

• NEW 4K Transfer From The 35mm Original Camera Negative
• In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible)
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
• NEW Audio Commentary With Screenwriter/Novelist Heywood Gould And Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner
• NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmakers Jackson Stewart And Francis Galluppi

DISC TWO (BLU-RAY)

• NEW 4K Transfer From The 35mm Original Camera Negative
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
• NEW Audio Commentary With Screenwriter/Novelist Heywood Gould And Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner
• NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmakers Jackson Stewart And Francis Galluppi
• NEW “Lean And Mean: The Early Films Of John Flynn” – An Interview With Author/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner
• NEW “Coming Home To War: Scoring Rolling Thunder” – An Interview With Composer Barry De Vorzon
• “The Making Of Rolling Thunder” – Featuring Interviews With Actors William Devane And Tommy Lee Jones And Writers Paul Schrader And Heywood Gould
• Trailers From Hell – Filmmaker Eli Roth On Rolling Thunder
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Radio Spots
• Still Gallery

35TH ANNIVERSARY 4K ULTRA HD + DIGITAL: $30.49

Steel Magnolias

Sony Pictures | 1989 | 117 min | Not Rated
Directed by Herbert Ross

Six divas of the silver screen – Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts – come together as bosom buddies in this hilarious and heartwarming story of life, love and loss in a small Louisiana parish. At the center of the group is Shelby Eatenton (Julia Roberts), newly married and joyfully pregnant, despite the fact that her diabetes could make childbirth life-threatening. Terrified and angry at the possibility of losing her only daughter, M’Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field) looks to her four closest friends for strength and laughter as she battles her deepest fear of death in order to join Shelby in celebrating the miracle of new life.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• NEW DOLBY ATMOS TRACK + 5.1 + 2-channel surround
• NEW Steel Magnolias 1990 TV Pilot
• Director’s Commentary
• In Full Bloom: Remembering Steel Magnolias
• 10 Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

BLU-RAY: $22.49

The Road To Ruin

Kino Lorber | 1928-1934 | 129 minutes | Not Rated
Directed by Dorothy Davenport Reid, Melville Shyer, & Norton S. Parker

One of the most popular films of the exploitation cinema was Willis Kent’s The Road to Ruin, about a group of wholesome high schoolers whose flirtations with vice launch them down a slippery moral slope to death and degradation. Unlike the genre’s more campy and hysterical scare films, such as Reefer Madness, The Road to Ruin is a finely crafted melodrama that is deceptively effective, building to an unexpectedly devastating climax. Filmed first as a silent in 1928 and then remade as a talkie in 1934 (both of which are featured in this edition), The Road to Ruin owes much of its success to actress Helen Foster, who stars in both versions as the love-hungry teen whose need for acceptance leads her to Jazz Age perdition. Newly restored from archival 35mm elements, The Road to Ruin is presented in cooperation with Something Weird, the Sonney Amusement Enterprises Film Collection, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Audio commentary for The Road to Ruin (1934) by Eric Schaefer, author of Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films
• Audio commentary for The Road to Ruin (1928) by film historian Anthony Slide
• Gallery of exploitation trailers

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY: $25.99

The Scarface Mob

Arrow | 1959 | 102 min | Not Rated
Directed by Phil Karlson

Originally conceived as a two-part TV pilot, The Scarface Mob is a gritty and thrilling dramatization of Eliot Ness’s account of his hunt for ruthless gangster Al Capone in Chicago during the prohibition. The film would go on to spawn The Untouchables, one of the most widely celebrated TV crime dramas of all time.

Chicago, 1929. Al Capone’s ruthless gang of thugs are dealing in bootleg booze in blatant defiance of Prohibition laws, and paying off corrupt cops and crooked politicians to stay out of their way. That is, until Federal Investigator Eliot Ness is tasked with bringing down Capone’s criminal empire. To aid him in this task, he assembles a crack team of men he is sure will be incorruptible, to identify and sabotage the Capone gang’s distilleries. But when Capone, Scarface himself, gets wind that his operation is under threat, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Tautly directed by film noir veteran Phil Karlson (The Phenix City Story) and featuring memorable performances by Robert Stack (Written on the Wind) as the righteous Eliot Ness and Neville Brand (The Tin Star) as the unhinged Al Capone, The Scarface Mob is a tense crime drama waiting to be rediscovered.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition presentation
• Original uncompressed dual mono 2.0 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Gang Busters, a brand new video essay on the film and the career of director Phil Karlson by film critic David Cairns
• Philip Kemp on The Scarface Mob, a brand new video essay on the career of Eliot Ness and his depictions on film, including The Scarface Mob, by film critic Philip Kemp
• Theatrical trailer
• Gallery of original posters, lobby cards and publicity photos provided by The Scarface Mob and The Untouchables archivist Kelly Lynch
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio
• Six postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and liner notes on The Untouchables by Dan Lynch and Kelly Lynch