Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of January 18

Something of a strange one this week. I’ve seen very few of the newly released Blu-ray titles I’m most intrigued by so the Top 5 list is mostly populated by movies I’m excited to check out. As always, clicking on the package artwork will take you to Amazon where you can learn more about and purchase the disc. The Blu-ray Blog gets a small percentage for every purchase you make through our links. And believe me, those clicks keep the site online. And we thank you for every one!

1. JUSTIFIED: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

Justified is one of the best new television shows of the past year. This stellar Elmore Leonard adaptation (the show springs from his short story “Fire in the Hole“) is the brainchild of writer/producer Graham Yost, the man responsible for Speed. So, you know you’re in for a something of a thrill-ride!

Justified follows US Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), a quick-draw deputy of the sort you’d find in the wild west, forced to return home to Harlan County, Kentucky when questions arise over his shooting of a Miami drug cartel hit-man. His past quickly surfaces to bite him on the ass in the guise of an ex-wife he still loves, former school-mates on the wrong side of the law and family members of an unsavory variety.

The 3-Blu-ray disc set from Sony features the entire 13-episodes series and whole whack of special features. The image presentation can appear somewhat inconsistent through the season with uneven blacks and occasional banding (most likely a weakness of the production source) but is highly detailed and generally pleasing throughout. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track is crisp, clear and full of kick.

Highly recommended!

Special Features:

• Commentaries:
  • “Fire in the Hole” with executive producer Graham Yost, actor Nick Searcy, Elmore Leonard expert Gregg Sutter and director Michael Dinner
  • “Blowback” with Graham Yost and writer Ben Cavell
  • “Hatless” with actors Tim Olyphant and Natalie Zea, and writer Dave Andron
  • “Bulletville” with Graham Yost and writer/producer Fred Golan
• What Would Elmore Do?
• The Story of Justified
• Justified: Meet the Characters
• Shooting for Kentucky
• The Marshals
• Music video: “Long Hard Times to Come”
• Season Two: A Look Ahead

AMAZON: $21.99

2. SHOCK CORRIDOR and THE NAKED KISS

This is the second week of double Criterion Blu-ray releases in a row! I’m going broke over here! Well, to be fair, I haven’t picked up these new high-def editions of the Samuel Fuller films yet but you better bet it’s right at the top of the list of things I need to do. Both films, classic examples of “slam-bang” pulp cinema of the sixties, were previously released on DVD by Criterion back in 1998 and are great choices for upgrade to Blu. I can’t wait to get my hands on them!!

Oh yeah, and did I mention that they both have brand new cover and booklet art by the incredible comic book writer/illustrator Dan Clowes, of Ghost World (the graphic novel) fame? Awesome!!

Shock Corridor Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis
• The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera, Adam Simon’s 1996 documentary on director Samuel Fuller
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: Illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World) and a booklet featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller’s autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking

The Naked Kiss Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis
• Excerpts from a 1983 episode of The South Bank Show dedicated to director Samuel Fuller
• Interview with Fuller from a 1967 episode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps
• Interview with Fuller from a 1987 episode of the French television series Cinéma cinémas
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: Illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes (Eightball, Ghost World) and a booklet featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller’s autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking

AMAZON: $27.99 each

3. ANIMAL KINGDOM

Animal Kingdom is reportedly the best film to come out of Australia in a long, long time. And the word on the street is that this crime drama from down under has been gifted with a fantastic presentation on Blu-ray.

“Welcome to the Melbourne underworld where tensions are building between dangerous criminals and equally dangerous police. Following the death of his mother J finds himself living with his estranged family under the watchful eye of his doting grandmother Smurf mother to the Cody boys. When tensions between family and police reach a bloody peak J finds himself at the center of a cold blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down. J comes to realize that in order to survive he must determine how the game is played he must somehow choose his place in this cunning and brutal animal kingdom. He must work out where he fits.”

AMAZON: $22.99

4. DOWN TERRACE

Down Terrace is a small-budget film out of the UK that’s been described as the type of crime film that Mike Leigh would no doubt make. If he ever cared to make a crime film, that is.

“Father and son Bill and Karl (real life father and son Bob and Robin Hill) have just been released from jail free and clear, but all is not well at Down Terrace. Patriarchs of a small crime family, their business is plagued with infighting. Karl has had more than he can take of his old man’s philosophizing and preaching, and Bill thinks Karl’s dedication to the family is seriously compromised when he takes up with an estranged girlfriend who claims to be carrying his baby. To make matters worse, there’s an unidentified informant in their midst that could send them all to prison for a very long time, and none of their associates can be trusted.”

AMAZON: $21.99

5. ARMY OF CRIME

Last week, we had Melville new on Blu with the 1969 Army of Shadows. This week Kino treats us to Robert Guediguian‘s 2010 film about the French resistance – Army of Crime is new on Blu-ray. Honesty, I can’t see this film besting Melville’s but since it stars the lovely Virginie Ledoyen I’m more than happy to give it a shot!

“In Paris, 1941, Armenian poet Missak Manouchian leads a motley crew of foreign-born resistance fighters in clandestine battle against the Nazi occupation. An initially reluctant Manouchian and his team must resort to guerilla tactics and radical measures in the name of liberty. News of their daring attacks, including the assassination of an SS general, eventually reaches Berlin, and the Manouchian group ultimately have to answer for their brutal role in defending France as the cradle of freedom”

AMAZON: $27.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

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