Hi Bryan Here….

Playing catch up.  So this is a week late, but that’s better late than never right?  Well anyway, this is a pretty small week for releases so let us jump right in and get to all the goodies.  Some of the must own blu-rays include ‘Hobo With A Shotgun’, ‘Das Boot’, plus some other goodies.   As usual, in this article, you will get some info about the disc and the extras that come with the movie as well as a personal opinion about the movie and a link to purchase the film over at AMAZON where you can save quite a bit of money, and it will give a small percentage kick back to this site so we can continue bringing you excellent stories and sales.

Enjoy and Here We Go!!

GETTYSBURG/GODS AND GENERALS: LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET (BLURAY)

These films were released recently individually and now they are combined together in a box set with several booklets and gifts. Marking the 150th-anniversary commemoration of the Civil War, Ronald F. Maxwell’s acclaimed film now arrives in a Director’s Cut featuring 17 minutes of compelling additional footage. Filmed at actual battle locations and full of authentic details, this rousing and soulful movie plunges you into the heat of the bloodiest battle fought on American soil. History comes alive with intense and spirited battles as well as the dilemmas, motivations and fears of the leaders. Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen and Stephen Lang star in this magnificent epic based on Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels.  Reedited from beginning to end with amplified scenes and an added subplot, this all-new Extended Director’s Cut of Ronald F. Maxwell’s Gettysburg prequel restores his original vision of the fierce allegiances and combat of the early American Civil War. From Jeffrey M. Shaara’s bestseller, this commemorative release coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the North/South conflict incorporates an hour of footage never seen before. The story of actor and future Presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth (Chris Conner) is newly integrated throughout the narrative alongside the legendary heroism of Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), “Stonewall” Jackson (Stephen Lang) and Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall). And the battle of Antietam is now included along with the fateful clashes at Manassas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

EXTRAS

Includes Director’s Cut version of both films, hours of rich and insightful bonus content, photo book of Civil War artifacts, 32-Page booklet extracted from TIME The Civil War: An Illustrated History, Historical Battlefield Map and Commemorative Coin.

Gettysburg – Director’s Cut
Commentary by Director/Screenwriter Ronald F. Maxwell, Cinematographer Kees Van Oostrum, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author James M. McPherson and Military Historian Craig Symonds
2 Featurettes: Making Gettysburg and Vintage Oscar Nominee* The Battle of Gettysburg
Commentary by Director/Screenwriter Ronald F. Maxwell, Cinematographer Kees Van Oostrum, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author James M. McPherson and Military Historian Craig Symonds
Cast/Director Interview Gallery and Filmographies
Battlefield Maps
Theatrical Trailer & TV Spots

Gods & Generals – Extended Director’s Cut
All-New Introduction by Executive Producer Ted Turner and Director/Screenwriter Ronald F. Maxwell
All-New Commentary by Ronald F. Maxwell and Historical Advisors Col. Keith Gibson and James I. Robertson Jr.
3 Featurettes:

Journey to the Past: The African-American Slave Experience in the Film’s Era
The Life of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
The Authenticies of the Film
Music Video: Bob Dylan’s Cross the Green Mountain
Theatrical Trailer

13 ASSASSINS (BLURAY)

This film is all sorts of badass.  Very different film for Takashi Miike who is known for is uber violent and gory  films.  Not to mention sadistic and twisted.  No, this is a tale of old school samurai with Miike’s brand of filmmaking.  This might be his best film yet to date.  It looks amazing and is so well done.  Loved every minute of it.  So hardcore.  “Cult director Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition) delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era. 13 Assassins – a masterful exercise in cinematic butchery (New York Post) is centered around a group of elite samurai who are secretly enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord in order to prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war torn future.”

EXTRAS

BEYOND THE DARKNESS (BLURAY)

From director Joe D’Amato who directed 199 films in his lifespan comes one of his more popular works.  This is pure schlock, but there is something nostalgic about it, that makes you feel right at home with this fun and bad film.  “On a luxurious estate in the Italian countryside, Francesco mourns his deceased lover. Soon pain and loss turn to madness and violence, as this troubled young man decides he cannot part with his love just yet. Excavating her corpse, he preserves her body with excruciating attention to detail. That, however, is only the beginning.”

CRACK IN THE WORLD (BLURAY)

You know all those Michael Bay-ish apocalyptic world films where the Earth is going to explode in 5 minutes unless some serious shit happens???  Well this is one of those films, but without all the CG effects.  It is actually quite a fun film.  The acting and story is great.  See this.  “Dr. Steven Sorenson plans to tap the geothermal energy of the Earth’s interior by means of a thermonuclear device detonated deep within the Earth. Despite dire warnings by fellow scientist Ted Rampian, Dr Sorenson proceeds with the experiment after secretly learning that he is terminally ill. This experiment causes a crack to form and grow within the earth’s crust, which threatens to split the earth in two if it is not stopped in time.”

DAS BOOT: DIRECTOR’S CUT (BLURAY)

What a great and insane film.  One of the best if not the best submarine films ever made.  On this release you will get the standard 149 minute cut of the film as well as the 208 minute cut of the film on separate discs.  A very emotional film all the way through.  “Das Boot is one of the most gripping and authentic war movies ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain (Jurgen Prochnow) and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. There’s very little plot, so the movie’s power comes from both its riveting, epic battle scenes and its details of the boring hours spent waiting for orders or signs of the enemy. With the exception of one staunch Hitler Youth lieutenant, none of the crew is particularly loyal to the Nazis, and some are openly hostile toward their Fuhrer; this allows viewer sympathy with the men as they perform their laborious, monotonous duties in cramped, filthy quarters, or await death as depth charges explode all around the sub. Prochnow is excellent as the nerves-of-steel commander, and many of the supporting actors — all German — are solid as well, although the characterizations border on war movie clichés (the young crewman who has left behind his pregnant girlfriend, the Chief Engineer whose wife is seriously ill). The real star, however, is cinematographer Jost Vacano, who makes the sub’s grimy, claustrophobic interior come to vivid life, as his camera follows the crew through hatches, up ladders, into bunks, and under pipes, creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia while injecting it with movement. Originally edited by writer/directorWolfgang Petersen as both a two-and-a-half hour theatrical release and a six-hour German miniseries, Das Boot was re-released in a restored version in 1997 with nearly one hour of added footage which made it even more suspenseful than before.”

EXTRAS

Commentary with Director Wolfgang Peterson
Wolfgang Petersen – Back To The Boat
Maria’s Take
The Perfect Boat-The Director’s Cut
Rooms Overview
Entry Conning Tower
Torpedo Room and Crew’s Quarters
Captain’s & Officers’ Rooms
The Control Room
Petty Officers’ Room & Galley
Diesel & Electric Motor Rooms
Behind The Scenes (1981)
The Battle of The Atlantic (1983)

HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (BLURAY+DIGITAL COPY)

This movie is a belly full of non-stop exploitation fun that will keep you screaming “WOW” or “HOLY SHIT” throughout the film.  This will be best watched with tons of your friends late at night or at a midnight screening with the coolest of cool audiences at your local theatre.  I really hope this film becomes the cult classic it deserves to be.  This will hopefully be among the great midnight screenings with Rocky Horror Picture Show or Repo: The Genetic Opera, or Truck Turner.  I would also hope this movie paves the way for some young filmmakers to get their friends together and make some great splatter films.  Truly inspirational filmmaking!  This is a whole lot of fun and Rutger Hauer just owns every second of this film.

EXTRAS

WAKE WOOD (BLURAY)

This movie is really fucking creepy.  Never.  I repeat NEVER ever try to bring back a dead child.  Shit happens that will kill you.  Scary.  Scary as hell.  Get this movie!  “Still grieving the death of nine-year-old Alice their only child at the jaws of a crazed dog, vet Patrick and pharmacist Louise relocate to the remote town of Wake Wood where they learn of a pagan ritual that will allow them three more days with Alice. The couple find the idea disturbing and exciting in equal measure, but once they agree terms with Arthur, the village s leader, a far bigger question looms what will they do when it s time for Alice to go back?”

HANNIE CAULDER (BLURAY)

A cool as hell western with Raquel Welch and Ernest Borgnine, and Robert Culp.  It’s Kill Bill mixed with True Grit.  Pretty AWESOME.  Definitely give it a look.  “Hannie enlists the aid of bounty hunter Tom Price to teach her how to be a gunfighter so she can hunt down the 3 men who killed her husband and raped her.”

That’s it for the first week of July.  Up next….this week….the 2nd week of July.  Enjoy.