—About Last Night ( already out; $19.96 ): This update on the 1986 Chicago-set romantic comedy now stars Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant. The movie follows two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom, and as their relationships are eventually put to the test in the real world. Bonus materials include four featurettes.
—The Blacklist: The Complete First Season ( Aug. 12 ): The Blacklist was NBC's top-rated drama series last season—and with good reason. Three-time Emmy winner James Spader is consistenly compelling in the crime drama, playing one of the world's most wanted fugitives. All 22 episodes of the show ( which co-stars Megan Boone, Harry Lennix and Ryan Eggold, among others ) are on five DVD and Blu-ray discs. One of the special features on both formats is "Beyond the Blacklist," a behind-the-scenes look at every episode.
—Boondocks: The Complete Series and Boondocks: The Fourth Season ( already out ): Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing the Peabody Award-winning comedy as a complete set for the first time. Airing on Adult Swim, the set has all 55 uncensored episodes in an 11-disc set, featuring hours of bonus material, including commentary, animatics, video introductions to episodes and all-new featurettes. Also available on June 24 will be a standalone DVD of the fourth season, which premiered on Adult Swim April 21 with the show's highest ratings ever.
—Breaking Bad: The Complete Series ( already out; $160.99 ): Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the complete series ( as a 16-disc or 21-DVD set ) that some have called the best show ever. The saga of high school chemistry teacher-turned-meth kingpin Walter White is available in its entirety, including all 62 uncut, uncensored episodes. Needless to say, there will be tons of extras as well ( especially on Blu-ray ), such as "No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad," a two-hour documentary.
—Breaking Through ( already out; $19.99 ): Breaking Glass Pictures and QC Cinema are behind this documentary that examines the elected men and women in Washington, D.C., and across the nation who have played a key role in advancing LGBT-rights progress. The Special Edition DVD of Breaking Through ( SRP $19.99 ) will include an extended director's cut of the feature, the festival cut, a music video and a featurette on the filmmakers' journey.
—Campaign of Hate: Russia and Gay Propaganda ( already out; $17.99 ): Lucas Documentaries and Breaking Glass Pictures have released adult-film entrepreneur, activist and political columnist Michael Lucas' documentary, which looks at anti-gay sentiment in his home country. This absorbing and ( at times ) hard-to-watch film features interviews with LGBT individuals, and even shows attacks on those same people.
—Community: The Complete Fifth Season ( Aug. 5 ): The comedy that refuses to die ( Yahoo! has ordered a sixth season ) will be out with all 13 episodes of the fifth season ( its last on NBC ). Aside from hunky Joel McHale, the series stars gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong and Jim Rash. This season finds Jeff ( McHale ) teaching at Greendale Community College one year after graduation, among other developments. Special features include a commentary on every single episode.
—Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II ( Sept. 16 ): Sony Pictures Entertainment will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its blockbuster franchise Ghostbusters with a series of special events and home-entertainment releases. ( In addition, the original 1984 film will be shown throughout the United States and Canada Aug. 29. ) The Blu-ray's special features include deleted scenes, featurettes and the option of seeing the movie in "Slimer Mode" ( picture-in-picture and trivia track ).
—Helix: The Complete First Season ( released July 1 ): This intriguing series stars the hunky Billy Campbell among a team of scientists from the CDC who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak—only to find themselves pulled into a life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind's salvation or total annihilation. The three-disc set includes cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes and four all-new featurettes.
—House of Cards: The Complete Second Season ( just out; $55.99 ): The highly acclaimed Netflix political series returns with two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey as the newly appointed Vice President of the United States Francis Underwood, along with Robin Wright, this year's Golden Globe winner for her role as his wife, Claire Underwood. Thirteen episodes will be available, complete with five bonus featurettes, including "Table Read" and "Line of Succession."
—I Am Divine ( already out; $24.95 ): Harris Glenn Milstead, a.k.a. Divine, comes to life in this documentary that traces his humble beginnings as an overweight, teased Baltimore youth to internationally-recognized drag superstar. The film includes interviews with many key figures from Divine's life, including legendary filmmaker John Waters ( Pink Flamingos, Hairspray ), co-stars Ricki Lake ( Hairspray ), Tab Hunter ( Polyester, Lust in the Dust ) and Mink Stole ( Female Trouble, Desperate Living ), and his mother. Bonus materials include more than 30 minutes of deleted footage.
—I Vinti ( July 8; $34.95 for Blu-ray ): Kino Lorber and RaroVideo are releasing Michelangelo Antonioni's three-episode I Vinti, which was screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1953. ( Antonioni would go on direct classics like Blow-Up and L'Avventura. ) This film features three murders, one taking place in Paris, another in Rome, and another in London; all of the perpetrators are affluent youths, each killing for dubious motives. The various bonus features include an interview with one of the protagonists, Franco Interlenghi.
—In the Name Of ( already out; $24.98 ): In this award-winning Polish film from the distributor Film Movement, a Catholic priest deals with his feelings for other men when he meets someone who poses a temptation. Confronted with his "forbidden" desires, the protagonist experiences both moments of bliss and utter despair ( and there are several demons he faces ). Also included on the DVD is the 22-minute Israeli short Summer Vacation.
—Masters of Sex: Season One ( June 24; $34.99 ): Witness the start of the sexual revolution when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases the first season of the hit Showtime drama that stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. Guest stars in the 12 series include Beau Bridges ( The Descendants ), Julianne Nicholson ( August: Osage County ) and Allison Janney ( TV's Mom and The West Wing ). The all-new featurettes explore the real Masters and Johnson, their contributions to the science of human sexual behavior, and the actors' process in developing their characters as well as the creative team's efforts in making the show.
—McCanick ( already out; $24.98 ): In one of Cory Monteith's last films, the late Glee star is the ex-con Simon Weeks, who works as a drug dealer/male prostitute. When narcotics detective Eugene "Mack" McCanick ( David Morse ) discovers that Weeks has been released from prison, he instigates a brutal manhunt without permission from the chief of police ( Ciaran Hinds )—and the movie takes a turn no one expects ( and that will surprise Windy City Times readers ). Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette as well as deleted and extended scenes. Also, the very hot Mike Vogel co-stars in this film.
—The Monuments Men ( already out; $15.98 ): Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter, this George Clooney action thriller pays tribute to the real men and women who risked their lives to recover and return thousands of cultural treasures the Nazis stole during World War II. Among the special features in the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack are "George Clooney's Mission" and "Marshaling the Cast." Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin are among the others in the film.
—Noah ( July 29; $29.99 ): Paramount Home Media is releasing this Russell Crowe movie that some Biblical purists found controversial, but which was commercially successful in theaters. Noah will debut on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and VOD. The Blu-ray Combo pack ( $39.99 ) includes more than an hour of in-depth, behind-the-scenes special features. Also, there is a NOAH Epic Journey Sweepstakes in which the grand-prize winner will receive a 10-day trip for two aboard the National Geographic Endeavour to the Galapagos Archipelago; see www.nationalgeographic.com/noahsweepstakes.
—Only Lovers Left Alive ( Aug. 19 ): This star-studded vampire film features Oscar winner Tilda Swinton ( Michael Clayton ) and Tom Hiddleston ( The Avengers ) alongside co-stars Mia Wasikowska ( Lawless ), Anton Yelchin ( Star Trek Into Darkness ) and John Hurt ( Harry Potter ). However, don't think Twilight: Jim Jarmusch's film has vampires who are mature and very cool. Among the special features of this critically acclaimed movie is "Traveling at Night with Jim Jarmusch."
—Orange Is the New Black: Season One ( out now; $27.99 ): Courtesy of Lionsgate, this TV series—a critical darling, especially among the LGBT community—will be out on Blu-Ray and DVD. Orange Is the New Black follows engaged Brooklynite Piper Chapman, whose wild past ( including a lesbian lover who gets her into trouble ) comes back to haunt her, and results in her arrest and detention in a federal penitentiary. Special features include several featurettes, a gag reel and episode commentaries—and don't forget to check out the second season, streaming on Netflix.
—Orphan Black: Season Two ( July 15; $29.98 ): This highly acclaimed series stars Golden Globe nominee Tatiana Maslany as Sarah—and a variety of clones. Among other things, this season rejoins Sarah's clone sisters Alison ( Maslany ) and Cosima ( Maslany ) as they struggle to keep their clone world a secret and pick up the pieces of their broken lives— all while dealing with the harsh reality that no one around them can be trusted. Special features include Orphan Black: "The Cloneversation" and character profiles.
—Pompeii ( already out; $30.99 ): Action, romance and the most famous volcanic event in recorded history collide in the epic adventure Pompeii—which stars, among others, an oiled-up, muscular Kit Harrington ( Jon Snow on TV's Game of Thrones ). Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ( Thor: The Dark World; TV's Oz ) and Carrie-Anne Moss ( Trinity in the Matrix trilogy ) provide more eye candy. Bonus features include a filmmakers' commentary and "The Volcanic Eruption," a special-effects-centered featurette.
—Ripper Street: Season Two ( already out; $29.98 ): Return to the meanest streets of East London with the Blu-ray and DVD release of BBC America's critically acclaimed crime drama Ripper Street, from BBC Home Entertainment. The long shadow of Jack the Ripper may be gone, but the job of protecting London's Whitechapel district has never been harder for Detective Inspector Edmund Reid ( played by Matthew Macfadyen ) and his loyal deputies Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake ( Jerome Flynn ) and Captain Homer Jackson ( Adam Rothenberg ). "Beneath Ripper Street" ( cast and crew interviews ) is a special feature.
—Test ( already out; $22.98 ): This movie is certainly entertaining, albeit a tad misleading. Set in 1985 San Francisco, this movie has young Frankie ( well acted by dancer Scott Marlowe ) confronting the challenges of being an understudy in a modern-dance company—and as he goes from encounter to encounter. The film discusses tests ( of HIV and monogamy ), but a better title—especially in light of the wonderful choreography—might have been Pas de Deux. Bonus features include deleted scenes.
—Tim's Vermeer ( already out; $40.99 on Blu-ray ): Discover the mystery behind Johannes Vermeer's photo-realistic paintings in this film, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Art aficionados will enjoy this documentary that follows inventor Tim Jenison as he tries to reveal the tools and techniques used by Vermeer to create his life-like works of art 150 years before the invention of photography. The magician duo Penn & Teller is heavily involved in this film, with Teller directing, and both contributing to a commentary.
—Truth ( already out; $24.95 ): Sean Paul Lockhart and Rob Moretti star in this gay-themed psychological thriller that finds Caleb ( Lockhart ) meeting and falling for Jeremy ( Moretti ), who—as movies of this genre usually dictate—has a darker side ( and, boy, is it dark ). Bonus features include deleted and extended scenes as well as a feature-length audio commentary by Moretti and Lockhart.
—Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? ( July 8 ): This second feature film from filmmaker Arvin Chen ( Au Revoir Taipei ) won the inaugural Gold Q Hugo Film Award at the 2013 Chicago Film Festival. In the film, introverted optometrist Weichung begins to question his marriage with his wife, Feng, upon learning of her desire to have another baby. He eventually meets married wedding photographer Stephen—and eventually goes on a quest for true romance and desire.
—Zalman King's Pleasure or Pain ( July 8; $26.95 ): The final film of the creator of Red Shoe Diaries ( a guilty pleasure, indeed ), Zalman King's Pleasure or Pain ( from Kino Lorber ) is an erotic tale about a beautiful young jewelry designer and her romance with a wealthy and powerful entrepreneur. Special features include a tribute to King as well as a photo gallery.
Prices are for DVDs, unless otherwise stated.
—By Andrew Davis
( Andrew@WindyCityMediaGroup.com )
