Criterion’s box set of four films from legendary underground director Melvin Van Peebles (plus his son Mario’s account of the making of Sweet Sweetback, Baadasssss!) comes not even a week after Van Peebles’ death, a fortunate or unfortunate bit of timing depending on if you’re Criterion or Van Peebles. No such concerns for Criterion’s other title this week, Luchino Visconti’s grotesque portrait of Nazi Germany The Damned. Arrow’s bells-and-whistles-filled release of Ridley Scott’s Legend (also a grotesque portrait of Nazi Germany) comes very well-timed to an awards season with two Scott movies positioned as heavyweights. And Universal should be riding the current wave of affection, or at least attention, for Annette with their Blu-Ray of this year’s other Sparks movie, Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers, a solid two-hour-plus teaser trailer for the dizzying heights of Annette.

Beats (Music Box)
Blithe Spirit (Shout Factory)
Children of the Corn 4K (Arrow)
The Damned (Criterion)
The Forever Purge (Universal)
Legend (Arrow)
Lucky Luciano (Kino)
Masquerade (Kino)
Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films (Criterion)
A Night at the Opera (Warner Archive Collection)
Seven Days…Seven Nights (Kino)
The Sparks Brothers (Universal)
Tough Guys Don’t Dance (Vinegar Syndrome)
The Transformers: The Movie 4K (Shout Factory)
WNUF Halloween Special (Terror Vision)