If there’s not quite as much good stuff coming out this week as there was last week, you can still probably find something to enjoy in this week’s slate. Personally, I especially enjoyed Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, and especially the lead performance by Nina Hoss, which is now out on Criterion Blu-Ray alongside an unboxed version of their Blu-Ray of Brief Encounter and, more enticingly, four documentaries on John F. Kennedy from Robert Drew, D.A. Pennebaker, and others. Not to be outdone, Oscilloscope Pictures has restored Kelly Reichardt’s debut River of Grass and is releasing it on Blu-Ray, while Shout Factory finally gives Death Becomes Her a widescreen release (let alone a Blu-Ray special edition), Severin Films brings Roman Polanski’s notorious What? to the format, and Arrow releases a U.S. exclusive with their edition of John Milius’s Dillinger, starring Warren Oates as the title character. In terms of new releases, the acclaimed, harrowing Holocaust drama Son of Saul is probably the top priority, although it does critically lack Adam Scott, which the other big new release, Krampus, certainly does not hurt for. Is it too much to ask for a Holocaust movie where Adam Scott asks Hitler what his fuckstyle is? Actually, don’t answer that.
Alice in Wonderland (65th Anniversary Edition) (Disney)
The Ant and the Aardvark (The DePatie-Freleng Collection) (Kino Lorber)
Brief Encounter (Criterion)
Crazylegs Crane (Kino Lorber)
Death Becomes Her (Shout Factory)
Dillinger (Arrow)
Dolemite (Vinegar Syndrome)
Dumbo (75th Anniversary Edition) (Disney)
The Girl from Rio / The Million Eyes of Sumuru (Blue Underground)
The Inspector (Kino Lorber)
Jane Got a Gun (Anchor Bay)
The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates (Criterion)
Krampus (Universal)
Operation Dumbo Drop (Disney)
Phoenix (Criterion)
Ride Along 2 (Universal)
River of Grass (Oscilloscope)
Son of Saul (Sony)
Sorcerer (Warner, a rerelease of their 2014 Blu-Ray in a standard case)
Sssssss (Shout Factory)
That’s Sexploitation! (Severin)
Trashy Lady (Vinegar Syndrome)
What? (Severin)
The Zero Boys (Arrow)