Hail, Caesar! (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD, VOD), the Coen Bros.’s sly lampoon of 1950s Hollywood, is an affectionate and satirical tribute to studio filmmaking and cultural politics in early 1950s America, just before the decline of the studios.
Set around the fictional Capitol Pictures, an MGM-like studio, and centered on Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), the studio head of production who shares a name and a job but little else with the real-life MGM executive, the film stirs Hollywood gossip, studio politics, Tinseltown history and culture, and marvelous recreations of bygone moviemaking magic through 24 hours in the life of Mannix. The real life man was rumored to be a studio hitman who wasn’t above murder to kill a story. Brolin’s Mannix, by contrast, is a straight shooter, devoted family man, and good Catholic boy who hits confession twice a day to grapple with his guilt over what he does to look after his flock. He’s diplomat, stern father, public relations master, power brother, peacemaker, and hatchet man, keeping the dirty laundry of his stars from being aired in public by any means necessary. And where less savvy filmmakers might portray him as a crude businessman at war with the artistic ambitions of his filmmakers, the Joel and Ethan Coen show that he had good instincts when it comes to moviemaking in addition to practical solutions to production problems. This Mannix is Hollywood’s answer to a Messiah in the promised land of big screen dreams and tawdry lives, the tarnished angel in the land where there are more stars than in heavens.
There’s a biblical epic that runs into trouble when its lunkish star (George Clooney, nicely playing on his charisma) is kidnapped by “The Future,” an unmarried aquatic star (Scarlett Johansson) who is pregnant, a sweet, guileless singing cowboy (Alden Ehrenreich) assigned to a drawing room comedy (where his drawl stumbles over the cocktail dialogue), an all-American hoofer (Channing Tatum) in a singing sailor picture with a secret life, and twin sister gossip columnists (Tilda Swinton) on the trail of any and all of these stories. The Coen mix of subtle wit and broad slapstick is all over the film, which hopscotches across stories and soundstages at a snappy pace, and they poke fun at everything except the joy of movies. The glory of Hail, Caesar!, a Hollywood lampoon from a team of lifelong independents, is how it acknowledges the old studio system of the early 1950s as an effective and efficient way of making movies and sometimes making magic.
There are moments rooted in insider rumor and Hollywood lore between their marvelous recreations of movie genres that may confound some viewers but ultimately there is something for every lover of classic movies and moviemaking culture. Rarely has a satire embraced the object of its caricature with such love and affection. Rated PG-13.
Blu-ray and DVD with four featurettes: “Directing Hollywood” with the cast discussing the film (4 minutes), “The Stars Align” (meet the cast and their characters, 11 min), “An Era of Glamour” (on the production design, 6 mins), and “Magic of a Bygone Era” (a survey of key moments that recreate the era, 6 mins). These are pretty basic productions. The Blu-ray also features bonus DVD and Ultraviolet Digital HD copies of the film.
Also on Cable and Video On Demand.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Sony, Blu-ray, DVD, 4K UHD, VOD) delivers exactly what it promises, which may be why it flopped with audiences and critics. The wit and wiles and social manners of the Austen romantic drama meets bloody combat with Asian swords and martial arts prowess, often in the same scene. “I shall never relinquish my sword for a ring,” proclaims Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James), which veteran zombie killer Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) finds very attractive despite his social arrogance, especially when he sees her beheading the undead like a Chinese opera dervish. The comedy is too literary for gore-hounds and too gory for the Austenites, creating a Venn diagram with a sliver of an audience. Bella Heatchcote co-stars as Elizabeth’s sister Jane (who is equally adept with a sword), Jack Huston is the villainous Mr. Wickham, Charles Dance a sly Mr. Bennet, Douglas Booth as a boyishly charming Bingley, and Matt Smith as the toadying Parson Collins, and watch for Lena Heady’s turns as Lady Catherin de Bourgh, transformed into a Cerci-like aristocrat warrior with an eye-patch (which is not a fashion statement). Burr Steers directs.
Blu-ray and DVD with the featurettes “Courtship, Class and Carnage: Meet the Cast” and “From Austen to Zombies: Adapting a Classic.” The Blu-ray also includes additional featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and the ever-popular “Line-O-Rama” featuring Smith riffing as Collins, plus a bonus Ultraviolet Digital HD copy of the film.
Also on Cable and Video On Demand.
Also new and notable:
Anomalisa (Paramount, Blu-ray, DVD) continues Charlie Kaufman’s askew dark comedies of the misery of the human condition with the story of a man who cannot differentiate the faces or voices of the people around him, and then meets a women who jumps out as different. It’s a stop-motion animation production, with articulated dolls that, apart from Michael (voiced by David Thewlis) and Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), have identical faces and the dry, restrained voice of Tom Noonan. It’s not quite horrific but it is unnerving and suggests the kind of monotony that our protagonist, a motivational speaker for corporate customer service workers, lives with every day. It was an Oscar nominee in the Animated Feature category. The Blu-ray includes three featurettes plus bonus DVD and Ultraviolet Digital HD copies of the film.
No Home Movie (Icarus, DVD), the final film from Chantal Akerman, is a personal documentary on her mother, a Holocaust survivor sharing her memories with her daughter. Features a booklet with essays by Claire Atherton and Claire Jones.
The Martian: Extended Edition (Fox, Blu-ray) features both the theatrical version and the extended edition, which runs 10 minutes longer, of the Oscar-nominated movie, as well as new commentary by director Ridley Scott with screenwriter Drew Goddard and novel author Andy Weir, the new featurette “The Long Way Home: Making The Martian,” and additional featurettes, plus all the supplements from the previous disc release.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Director’s Cut (Paramount, Blu-ray) features the Blu-ray debut of the director’s cut, which is only a few minutes longer and mostly adds character beats, and new 4K restorations of both the theatrical and extended cuts, along with supplements.
Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy (Alice in the Cities / Wrong Move / Kings of the Road) (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD) offers the disc debut of all three films in the U.S., mastered from the recent restorations Wenders personally watched over. They double the number of Wenders movies released by Criterion and present his international breakthrough film (Alice) and his first unabashed masterpiece (Kings). With multiple commentary tracks, new interviews, and featurettes among the supplements, plus a booklet.
Federico Fellini’s City of Women (Cohen, Blu-ray, DVD) debuts on Blu-ray with a half-hour featurette, interviews with production director Dante Ferretti and Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass, and trailers.
Blood Bath (Arrow, Blu-ray+DVD) lavishes the special edition treatment on Corman production famed for its multiple versions. This set includes four (that’s FOUR!) different versions of the film: the original Operation Titian produced in Yugoslavia (reconstructed for this edition), the recut Portrait in Terror, Blood Bath featuring new scenes shot and edited by first Jack Hill and then Stephanie Rothman, and finally Track of the Vampire, which was the version prepared for TV, all mastered in HD for this unique box set. The three alternate cuts were mastered in 2K from original film materials, and the set include new and archival interviews, a new visual essay from Tim Lucas on the multiple versions, outtakes, and other supplements, plus a booklet.
The Chase (1946) (Kino Classics, Blu-ray, DVD), the nightmarish film noir recently restored by the Film Foundation, will be reviewed in an upcoming column. Suffice it to say for now that it is based on a story by Cornell Woolrich (the master of paranoia and madness) and is one of the great cult noirs.
Classics and Cult:
Le Amiche (Criterion, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Best Intentions (Film Movement, Blu-ray, DVD)
Chisum (Warner, Blu-ray)
McQ (Warner, Blu-ray)
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (Mill Creek, Blu-ray)
Venom (Blue Underground, Blu-ray+DVD)
Christina (1984) (Intervision, Blu-ray, DVD)
TV on disc:
Vinyl: The Complete First Season (HBO, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Shannara Chronicles: Season One (MTV, DVD)
Rizzoli & Isles: The Complete Sixth Season (Warner, DVD)
Detectorists: Series 2 (Acorn, DVD)
Moone Boy: The Complete Series (BBC, DVD)
The Spoils Before Dying (Anchor Bay, DVD)
Suits: Season Five (Universal, DVD)
The Last Panthers (Acorn, Blu-ray, DVD)
Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season – Limited Edition Steelbook (HBO, Blu-ray)
Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season – Limited Edition Steelbook (HBO, Blu-ray)
Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete Series (Paramount, Blu-ray)
Roots: The Complete Original Series (Warner, Blu-ray)
Rick and Morty: Season 2 (Warner, Blu-ray, DVD)
Steven Universe: The Return (Warner, DVD)
More new releases:
Zootopia (Disney, Blu-ray, DVD)
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD)
Gods of Egypt (Lionsgate, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD)
Triple 9 (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD)
Race (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD)
Mr. Right (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Confirmation (Lionsgate, Blu-ray, DVD)
Kill Your Friends (Well Go, Blu-ray, DVD)
Touched With Fire (Lionsgate, Blu-ray, DVD)
Everything Will Be Fine (MPI, Blu-ray, DVD)
One More Time (Anchor Bay, DVD)
A War (Magnolia, Blu-ray, DVD)
Horse Money (Cinema Guild, Blu-ray, DVD)
99 Homes (Broadgreen, Blu-ray)
IMAX: Journey to Space (Shout! Factory, Blu-ray, 4K UHD)
The Abandoned (Screak Factory, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Funhouse Massacre (Scream Factory, Blu-ray, DVD)
Jarhead 3: The Siege (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD)