This week, we have what those in the business call an “embarrassment of riches”. If you can’t find anything you’d like this week, I dunno what to tell you. The big one is most likely the Coen brothers’ debut in the Criterion Collection, with the release of their 2013 masterpiece Inside Llewyn Davis, which comes with a massive supplemental package including info on the 60s folks scene, conversations with the Coens and Guillermo del Toro and T-Bone Burnett, a commentary featuring Robert Christgau, and 140 minutes worth of documentaries. And that’s not all from Criterion! They’re also releasing Gilda, the all-time classic noir featuring a star-is-born performance from Rita Hayworth. And to think, that’s just the tip of the iceberg this week.
For those living in the magical land known only as the Second Region, they can indulge in two Arrow limited editions; one giving Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls its long-deserved Blu-Ray debut alongside a DVD Meyer’s rare second 20th Century Fox film, The Seven Minutes, plus a collection of many of Jacques Rivette’s best works, namely the full-length and drastically-edited versions of Out 1. Back in the U.S., Olive Films releases a collection of John Huston’s wartime works, including Let There Be Light, a major influence on portions of The Master. Twilight Time gives a timely showcase for some of the late Haskell Wexler’s best cinematography with their Blu-Ray of Hal Ashby’s Bound for Glory, in addition to giving Ashby’s The Last Detail its Blu-Ray debut and bringing yet more of Conrad L. Hall’s cinematography to HD with their release of Richard Brooks’ The Happy Ending. And if you desperately want to see William Friedkin bottoming out, there’s Scream Factory’s release of The Guardian. And that’s just the catalog titles! As for new releases, there’s Diary of a Teenage Girl, Straight Outta Compton, Everest, and, uh, Jem and the Holograms. Guess you can’t win ’em all.
12 Monkeys: Season One (Universal)
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records (FilmRise)
American Gigolo (Warner Bros.)
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls w/ The Seven Minutes (Arrow, UK-only, Region B)
Bound for Glory (Limited Edition to 3000) (Twilight Time)
Christmas Eve (Olive Films)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony)
Everest (Universal)
From the Terrace (Limited Edition to 3000) (Twilight Time)
Gilda (Criterion)
The Guardian (Shout Factory)
The Happy Ending (Limited Edition to 3000) (Twilight Time)
Harlock: Space Pirate (Limited Edition to 3500) (Twilight Time)
Hawaii (Limited Edition to 3000) (Twilight Time)
I Am Thor (Dark Sky Films)
The Ice Pirates (Warner Archive Collection)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Criterion)
The Intern (Warner Bros.)
The Jacques Rivette Collection (Arrow, UK-only, Region B for the Out 1 discs, region-free for all other discs)
Jem and the Holograms (Universal)
The Last Detail (Limited Edition to 3000) (Twilight Time)
Let There Be Light: John Huston’s Wartime Documentaries (Olive Films)
Life Tracker (Olive Films)
Love 3D (Alchemy)
Of Mice and Men (Olive Films)
Straight Outta Compton (Universal)