New on Disc: Orange is Back One Last Time
July 28, 2020
It is a deceptively slow week on the home market. On the one hand, there are no first-run releases to talk about. On the other hand, the TV on DVD season is starting in earnest and there are several intriguing titles worth checking out, both big and small. The release I’m looking forward to the most is O Maidens In Your Savage Season (Blu-ray). However, I will admit Orange is the New Black: The Final Season (DVD) will have a much wider appeal and it is the Pick of the Week. The third contender for that title is Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection (Blu-ray).
Hawaii Five-0: The Final Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
NCIS: Season 17 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
O Maidens In Your Savage Season - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Orange is the New Black: The Final Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Outsider: The First Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Thir13en Ghosts: Collector’s Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Those interested in the history of cinema should check out the 1916 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Blu-ray), while those who want something newer should grab Fisherman’s Friends (DVD).
7th Heaven: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
There are a lot of TV-on-DVD releases this week, including a metric ton of full series Megasets. There are some releases that stand out, but not all for good reasons. On the positive side, if you like British murder mystery shows, then Deadwater Fell will likely scratch that itch.
Highlights
You know your show is in trouble when the two leads have the worst chemistry on the show. I did like some of the supporting cast, who were fired when they asked for a well-deserved raise. I even like some of the new cast that came in to replace them. However, the two leads just killed the show for me.
I enjoyed this show for many years, but a lot of my favorite cast members left and then I learned some of the cast members were abusive jerks and now I have zero interest in watching it.
A slice-of-life / coming-of-age anime series set in a high school literary club. The series is based on a manga by Mari Okada, who also wrote the screenplay for the series. She’s been working in the industry for decades and has an impressive resumé, including Maquia, Gosick, and others. This was one of the best anime from 2019, deals with a subject that isn’t dealt with a lot, and does so in an emotionally powerful way without being exploitative. On the other hand, there are no real special features on the Blu-ray, just the clean opening and closing credits. Even so, it is a Pick-of-the-Week contender.
A lot of critically-acclaimed TV shows have ended in past few seasons and this is one of them that a lot of people will miss. The last couple of seasons were off its peak in terms of quality, but fortunately most agree that the show’s final season was a true high note. The only extras are a trio of featurettes, but that’s still enough to be a Pick of the Week contender.
This mini-series is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name and it has a star-packed cast. The reviews were excellent and its viewership doubled from its first to its last episode, so you know the word-of-mouth was just as good. Extras on the three-disc set are good, but not great. There are plenty of featurettes, but many of them are quite short. For example, every episode has a “Inside the Episode” featurette, but they are just two to three minutes per episode. That said, it is worth picking up, but it is not a Pick of the Week contender.
This movie is better than its reputation, but, and this is a big but, this is only because the movie has excellent production design. Also, Tony Shalhoub and the cast do the best they can with a very weak script, so it is not a total write-off. There are a ton of extras in this new edition, including a new audio commentary track and several new interview featurettes. If you like the movie, it is worth picking up. If you’ve never seen the movie, then maybe give it a rental, if you like horror films that are much more concerned with production value than basic plot.
Normally releases like this are relegated to the TV on DVD releases below, but I’m talking about this one for two reasons. Firstly, this ten-disc Blu-ray box set is selling better than expected. Secondly, I just really like this TV series. I grew up watching it, so I wanted to mention it up here. There are some extras on the Blu-ray. Four episodes have audio commentary tracks, including the pilot movie, as well as a trio of featurettes. That’s much better than a release like this would normally get. In fact, it is enough to be a Pick of the Week contender.
Other Movie Releases
An Accidental Studio - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Apocalypto - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Dead Dicks - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
End of Sentence - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Fisherman’s Friends - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Galaxy Express 999 TV Series Collection 2 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Graveyard Shift - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Gundala - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
InstaBAND - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Legacy of Lies - Buy from Amazon: DVD - Rent from Redbox: DVD
Lorenzo’s Oil - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Million Dollar Mermaid - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Opus of an Angel - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Other Lamb - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Raggedy Man - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Revenge of the Living Dead Girls - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Revue Starlight: Premium Box Set - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The River - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Run With The Hunted - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Shakedown - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Slave of the Cannibal God - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Tenant - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
When Icarus Fell - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
You Should Have Left - Buy from Amazon: DVD
TV on DVD Releases
American Experience: The Man Who Tried to Feed the World - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Blaze and the Monster Machines: Race for the Golden Treasure - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Blue Bloods: Seasons 1-4 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Californication: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
CSI: Miami: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Deadwater Fell: Series One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Invaders: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
MacGyver: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Mannix: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Numbers: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Somewhere South: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, The Tenant, Run With The Hunted, Fisherman's Friends, End of Sentence, You Should Have Left, Legacy of Lies, InstaBAND, An Accidental Studio, Gundala, Opus of an Angel, Dead Dicks, When Icarus Fell, The Shakedown, La revanche des mortes vivantes, NCIS, Hawaii Five-0 (2010), American Experience, Orange is the New Black, Wonder Woman, Deadwater Fell, Somewhere South, Tony Shalhoub, Mari Okada