Turn off the Lights

DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (3.19.13)

Three of 2012 biggest movies are being released on DVD and Blu-ray and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty won the battle to be our Recommendation of the Week. The DVD and Blu-ray of the spy-thriller contents a variety of documentaries about the making of the controversial movie.

First Release

- Zero Dark Thirty (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (DVD and Blu-ray)
- Les Misérables (2012) (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Mar. 22)
- Rust and Bone (DVD and Blu-ray)
- This is 40 (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Mar. 22)
- Bachelorette (DVD and Blu-ray)

Re-Release

- Badlands (DVD and Blu-ray)
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (DVD and Blu-ray)


Zero Dark Thirty
(DVD and Blu-ray) *Recommendation of the Week*

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Written by Mark Boal
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler

Zero Dark Thirty
was one of the biggest movies of 2012: it was met with near universal acclaim, earned five Academy Awards nominations, was the early award frontrunners and was one of Entertainment Fuse’s best movies of 2012.

Zero Dark Thirty was Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal’s follow up to The Hurt Locker and it focuses on one young CIA officer, Maya (Jessica Chastain) who over 10 years spends her career in Pakistan and Langley, determined to find Osama bin Laden as the rules on the War on Terror constantly change.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes:
93% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating:
95/100 (excellent)

Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.9/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: No Small Feat-Making Zero Dark Thirty; The Compound-Tour "The Film's Rebuilt Compound; Geared Up-Watch The Cast Train With Authentic SEAL Gear; Targeting Jessica Chastain-A Look At The Role Of Maya

Amazon Price:
$16.99 (DVD), $22.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 4 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 3.5 stars, Replay 4 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.


The other two big releases of the week of the return to Middle-Earth with the first part of The Hobbit Trilogy and the crowd pleasing musical Les Mis
érables. Also out is the French language movie Rust and Bone and the Criterion Collection offers us re-releases of two classic movies.


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), J.R.R. Tolkein (novel)
Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylverster McCoy, Andy Serkis,

After the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy The Hobbit was a highly anticipated movie: but it took nine years before it reached the big screen. Financial troubles at MGM delayed the project and the original director Guillermo del Toro stepped down before Peter Jackson returned to helm series, turning a short children’s novel into a new trilogy.

The mountain kingdom of Erebor was one of the richest in East of Middle-Earth; but the citizens are forced into exile when Smaug the dragon overruns the dwarfish army. Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage, the BBC’s Robin Hood) is determined to reclaim his birthright and with 12 other dwarfs and Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) recruit an unlikely fella, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman, Sherlock). But as well as their quest to The Lonely Mountain, Thorin is hunted by his own foe, Azog the White Orc and an old evil is starting to rise in Mirkwood Forest.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes:
65% (good)
Metacritic Rating:
58/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
7.8/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: New Zealand: Home of Middle Earth; Video Blogs, Start of Production, Location Scouting, Shooting Block One, Filming in 3D, Locations Part 1, Locations Part 2, Stone St. Studios Tour, Wrap of Principal Photography, Post-production Overview, Wellington World Premiere; Theatrical Trailers, Dwarves, Letter Opener, Bilbo Contract, Gandalf Wagers, Gollum Paths; Game Trailers, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth, Guardians of Middle Earth, Lego The Lord of the Rings

Amazon Price:
$14.99 (DVD), $25.99 (Blu-ray), $27.99 (3D Blu-ray)


Les Mis
érables (2012) (DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Mar. 22)

Directed by Tom Hooper
Written by William Nicholson (screenplay), Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg (musical), Victor Hugo (novel)
Starring: Hugh Jackson, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks

Les Mis
érables is one of the biggest musical in the world and the film adaptation was nominated for eight for Academy Awards, including a win for Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway. Director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) took the bold step to get all his actors to sing live instead of lip-syncing to a pre-recorded track.

Set between 1815 to 1832 Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is released from a 19 year sentence of hard labor. He breaks his parole and ends up being hunted by police inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). On his journey Valjean ends up adopting the daughter of the fallen woman Fantine (Hathaway) and becomes embroiled in the July Rebellion when his daughter, Costelle (Amanda Seyfried) falls for a student revolutionary Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne, My Week With Marilyn) as his best friend, Éponine (Samantha Barks) suffers from unrequited love.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
70% (good)
Metacritic Rating:
63/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
8.1/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
The Stars of Les Misérables; Creating the Perfect Paris; The Original Masterwork: Victor Hugo's Les Misérables; Feature Commentary with Director Tom Hooper

Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Les Misérables Singing Live; Battle at the Barricade; The West End Connection; Les Misérablse on Location

Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)


Rust and Bone (DVD and Blu-ray)

Directed by Jacques Audiard
Written by Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain (screenplay), Craig Davidson (short story)
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts

Rust and Bone
is French-Belgian co-production about Alain (Matthias Schoenaerts, Bullhead) a boxer who leaves Belgium for France to take care of his five year old son and he ends up befriending Stéphanie (Marion Cotillard), a whale trainer who suffers from a horrific accident.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
81% (very good)
Metacritic Rating: 73/100 (good)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
5.0/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: Commentary with Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain; Deleted scenes with Commentary ; Making Rust And Bone: A film by Antonin Peretjatko; VFX Breakdown by Mikros; On the Red Carpet: Toronto International Film Festival

Amazon Price:
$19.99 (DVD), $24.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 4.5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 4.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.


This is 40
(DVD and Blu-ray) (Release Date Mar. 20)

Written and directed by Judd Apatow
Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Albert Brooks

From Judd Apatow is his pseudo-sequel to Knocked Up, This is 40. This is 40 focuses on Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) as they turn 40 and struggle with romance, their careers and their children.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes:
52% (average)
Metacritic Rating:
59/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
5.5/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

Amazon Price: $19.86 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 4 stars, Replay 3.5 stars (out of 5). Highly Recommended.


Bachelorette (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Leslye Headland
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson

Bachelorette is a comedy about three women, Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Katie (Isla Fisher) and Gena (Lizzy Caplan, Hot Tub Time Machine) who are asked to be the bridesmaids for Becky (Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect), a girl they used to make fun of when at high school and now marvel how she is getting married before them.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes):
55% (average)
Metacritic Rating:
52/100 (average)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
5.0/10 (read our review)

DISC DETAILS

Amazon Price:
$12.96 (DVD), $16.99 (Blu-ray)


Badlands (1973) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Terrence Malick
Starring: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek

Terrrence Malick is one of the most celebrated directors in the world and his debut movie, Badlands is being re-released by the Criterion Collection. Set in 1950s South Dakota, 15-year-old Holly (Sissy Spacek) starts to form a relationship with a man 10 years her senior, Kit (Martin Sheen). But when their relationship is discovered, Kit murders Holly’s father, the pair go on the run in the wide wildness of the plain states.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 98% (excellent)
Metacritic Rating:
90/100 (excellent)
Entertainment Fuse Score:
7.8/10

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features: New 4K digital restoration; "Charles Starkweather," a 1993 episode of Great Crimes and Trials; Making "Badlands," a new documentary featuring the actors; New interview with editor Billy Weber; New interview with producer Edward Pressman; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda

Amazon Price: $23.99 (DVD), $26.86 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 4.5 stars, Video 5 stars, Audio 4.5 stars, Extras 3 stars, Replay 5 stars (out of 5). DVD Talk Collector Series.


The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) (DVD and Blu-ray)

Written and directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Starring: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook

The other re-release from the Criterion Collection is the British movie The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. From the directing duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is their first Technicolor movie as it focus on Major General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey), the leader of the British Home Guard and tells a story in flashbacks, looking at the Boer War, the First World War and Second World War. The movie explores Candy’s relationships with three women, his friendship with a German officer and how his ideas of nobility and honor conflict with the realities of total war.

Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 95% (excellent)

DISC DETAILS

DVD Special Features:
New 4K digital master from the 2012 Film Foundation restoration; Audio commentary featuring director Michael Powell and filmmaker Martin Scorsese; Video introduction by Scorsese; A Profile of “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp,” a twenty-four-minute documentary; Restoration demonstration, hosted by Scorsese; Interview with editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell’s widow; Gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production stills; Gallery tracing the history of David Low’s original Colonel Blimp cartoons; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Molly Haskell

Amazon Price:
$23.99 (DVD), $31.99 (Blu-ray)

Score (DVDTalk.com):
Content 5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 4.5 stars, Replay 5 stars (out of 5). DVD Talk Collector Series.

Comments

Meet the Author

Follow Us