This week on home video, we’ve got a major blockbuster sequel from Marvel, a remake of a sleeper action hit from France, a slew of acclaimed indie films, some popular TV series, and a couple of notable rereleases, including a Mel Brooks classic. Read on for details:
Marvel’s been on a hot streak for a while now, and its most recent hit, Guardians of the Galaxy, has notched more than $580 million in the month it’s been out. Earlier this year, though, Captain America: The Winter Soldier kicked off the blockbuster season in style. Chris Evans reprises his role as the once-frozen super-soldier, who finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy involving S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a secret government project. On the run from a mysterious assassin, Cap teams up with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and a new ally to thwart a potentially deadly threat to the world’s population. Certified Fresh at 89 percent, Winter Soldier impressed critics and moviegoers alike with its spy-thriller plotting and impressive action sequences. The Blu-ray comes with a pretty entertaining commentary track with the film’s writers and directors, some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a couple of short featurettes.
2006 French action film District B13 could easily have been dismissed as a gimmick film; it starred David Belle, one of the founders of “parkour,” which figured heavily into its propulsive fight and chase scenes. This year, writer Luc Besson adapted his script for an American remake, bringing Belle back on board and pairing him with the late Paul Walker. The story was moved from Paris to a dystopian Detroit surrounded by walls, where an undercover cop (Walker) must team up with an acrobatic ex-con (Belle) in order to take down the ruling drug kingpin (RZA); little do they know that things aren’t exactly as they seem. While B13 earned a Certified Fresh 80 percent on the Tomatometer, Brick Mansions fared far worse at 22 percent; most critics found there was something lost in translation, and Mansions failed to capture the infectious, kinetic spirit of its predecessor. There are just a few extras on this release, including both a theatrical and unrated cut of the film, and a few making-of featurettes.
In 1974, comedy legend Mel Brooks followed up his iconic Western satire Blazing Saddles with a goof on the classic Universal Monster movies. As the story goes, Gene Wilder only agreed to work with Brooks on Saddles if Brooks agreed to helm Young Frankenstein — which Wilder had been writing — as his next film, and the result was Brooks’ second rousing success in a row. Featuring some of Gene Wilder’s finest work and filmed in black and white, the comedy is unabashedly silly and often hilarious, but its affection for the genre it’s parodying (and, specifically, for the original Frankenstein films) is never in doubt. In celebration of Young Frankenstein‘s 40th anniversary, Fox is releasing a new Blu-ray for those who missed out on the 2008 release. All the bonus features are the same, including a Mel Brooks commentary track, interviews with Wilder and costars Marty Feldman and Cloris Leachman, making-of featurettes, outtakes, and more. Side note: Just today, Brooks added his handprints and footprints to the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre (fka Grauman’s Chinese Theatre) in Hollywood.
