Hope begins at the end of the world in After Darkness, available on DVD, Digital, and On Demand January 15 from Lionsgate.
Natalia Dyer and Kyra Sedgwick highlight this sci-fi thriller about a family’s fight to survive a solar disaster. As skies darken and hopes grow dim, the Beatys try to stay sane in a lavish home with every possible comfort . . . except sunshine.
Raymond (portrayed by Tim Daly) plans to have his family transported to a secure underground bunker. But as he makes a gruesome discovery, the greatest threat to the Beatys’ survival may be near—or inside—their home.
When Nature comes a-calling, we go a-watching. PBS Distribution has released two new programs on DVD and digital from Nature. Both are must-sees!
Nature: A Squirrel’s Guide to Success The squirrel family is one of the most widespread on Earth. There are almost 300 species of squirrel, those that can glide through the air, outwit rattlesnakes, and survive the coldest temperatures of any mammal. In this new eye-opening program viewers learn about the extraordinary abilities and secrets to success of these nut lovers. Some of the species featured include: the fox squirrel which can remember the location of 9,000 nuts, the gray squirrel whose jumps are the basis for new designs in robotics, and the Arctic ground squirrel, who, to survive the frigid winters of Alaska, hibernates by dropping its heart rate, breathing and body temperature.
Every two to three weeks the squirrel will shiver to warm itself. Viewers also see the world through the eyes of an orphaned red squirrel named Billy, as he grows up and develops all the skills he needs to be released back into the wild.
Nature: Dogs in the Land of Lions Filmed over two-years, this program takes viewers into the heart of an African wild dog family, led by a mother called Puzzles. When her mate, Jigsaw is suddenly killed by lions, (the wild dogs’ ultimate enemy) she is suddenly left to raise two generations of pups on her own and without the help of a pack. In this deeply intimate portrayal of motherhood, viewers witness the loyalty and selflessness that sets wild dogs apart from other large, social carnivores.
Wild dogs have a willingness to sacrifice almost anything for their pack, a behavior wired into their DNA. As Puzzles’s young litter grows up, the pups provide some light-hearted moments while discovering the world around them, including new creatures, such as elephants, giraffes, and impala. Hopefully they will have the chance to encounter a hyena, their favorite form of entertainment – hounding and hazing hyenas whenever they get the chance. A year after Jigsaw’s passing, Puzzles and her young crew get a chance for revenge on the lions. Deciding to steal a fresh carcass that a few lions are feasting on, the pack stands their ground and enjoy a rare victory against their greatest enemy.
Jane Fonda is 81 years old and looks 55. Plastic surgery? Probably, but her doctor is really really good . . . not like the work done on Lily and Dolly, whose doctors worked way beyond 9 to 5.
Yet much of Fonda’s great looks and shape are the result of decades of working out, feeling the burn, sweating to the oldies. She was the first Big Name to make exercise tapes (remember those?), and now, Lightyear Entertainment, in partnership with Fonda, Inc., has released those workouts on DVD, released in the U.S. and Canada through MVD Distribution.
“Who knew that this many years later people would still be doing The Workout, but they are!,” coos Fonda.”
Arnie Holland, President of Lightyear, adds, “The five DVDs we released in 2015 and the Boxed Set have been selling extraordinarily well and steadily for the past three years. We are delighted that Jane Fonda and Warner Bros. have agreed to allow us to release more of these programs, which changed the face of the home video business when originally released. They set unheard of sales records, dominated the sell-through charts for more than a decade, and changed American culture.”
Even the closing of an era can be awfully tasty. In The Final Harvest (PBS Distribution), the series finale of A Chef’s Life, host and best-selling author Vivian Howard prepares a farewell feast of epic proportions. After five seasons of the Emmy and Peabody-winning series, only a handful of dishes remain on Vivian’s bucket list. She tackles them all with the help of some friends along the way in this spectacular series finale.
https://youtu.be/iizyBvbKfDk
The Final Harvest features some of the show’s most beloved personalities along with a series-worth of memorable flashbacks. Vivian’s parents, Mrs. Scarlett and Mr. John, share intimate moments and reveal how Vivian’s success has changed their family, and most importantly, made them proud. Vivian’s husband Ben reveals an unexpected tenderness when describing the impact of the series on his family and community. A fitting sign-off to the series, friends new and old take a seat at A Chef’s Life final harvest table, bringing to a close this extended love letter to eastern North Carolina.
The series, like no other, takes viewers on a heartwarming and compelling journey to meet unsung farmers, home cooks, and chefs, and simultaneously elevates quintessential Southern dishes to new modern classics.
Poetry in America(PBS Distribution)gathers personalities from all walks of life to interpret, explore and debate 12 unforgettable American poems. Show host and Harvard professor Elisa New meets with athletes, poets, politicians, musicians, architects, scientists, actors, and entrepreneurs to experience and share the power of poetry in this visually dazzling series.
The program follows Carl Sandburg to Chicago and Emily Dickinson to Amherst. Along the way notable personalities like actor Cynthia Nixon, former Vice President Joe Biden and world-famous architect Frank Gehry share their reflections on poems from Gwendolyn Brooks to Allen Ginsberg to Nas. Highlights include sports superstar Shaquille O’Neal reading “Fast Break” by Edward Hirsch and musician Herbie Hancock and former President Bill Clinton sharing their thoughts on Langston Hughes’ “Harlem.”
The 12 American poems explored in Season One show viewers the lasting power of poetry. The 12 poems explored are “I cannot dance opon my toes,” by Emily Dickinson; “Fast Break” by Edward Hirsch; “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden; “Hymmnn and Hum Bom!” by Allen Ginsberg; “Skyscraper” by Carl Sandburg; “Harlem” by Langston Hughes; “Musée des Beaux Arts” by W.H. Auden; “Shirt” by Robert Pinsky; “To Prisoners” by Gwendolyn Brooks; “The Gray Heron” by Galway Kinnell; “N.Y State of Mind” by Nas and “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus.
Britain’s ancient cathedrals and abbeys reflect the country’s turbulent history through their significant heritage and architectural grandeur. Fans of the hit and multi award-winning show Downton Abbey are sure to enjoy Secrets of Britain’s Great Cathedrals(PBS Distribution), an eight episode program that explores cathedrals and abbeys found throughout England and Wales showing their legendary facades and soaring interior spaces, revealing secrets many may not know.
In the eight episodes of the series viewers are given unprecedented access behind the walls of these spectacular buildings, and are given incredible insight into the most influential cathedrals, abbeys and bishop’s palaces in the country. Featuring interviews with historians and experts, this program” take viewers on a 1,500-mile journey from the north to the south, and across the length of Wales exploring these magnificent architectural structures.
https://youtu.be/to6Oem9CkS8
Secrets of Britain’s Great Cathedrals explores some of the greatest buildings in the U.K., including York Minster which isthe largest cathedral in Britain and Canterbury Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in England, and mother church of the worldwide Anglican communion. Two other buildings viewers get a rare glimpse at are St. Paul’s Cathedral, where they learn why cathedrals are called ‘fabric’ and explore the cathedral’s memorial book which includes the names of American soldiers who lost their lives in WWII, including legendary swing band leader, Glenn Miller. Westminster Abbey is also explored as viewers learn that it is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country and why it is called a Royal Peculiar. Many other magnificent buildings are explored throughout the eight episode series where secrets are revealed and important information is discussed.
We are based outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a mere eight minutes from Squirrel Hill, where the Tree of Life massacre shattered the peaceful community. It became the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.
Such horror and hate crosses the Atlantic. Over the last two decades, a rise in physical attacks and verbal assaults on Jews has been recorded in many countries across Europe. At the same time an increasingly fractured world has exposed deep political, social, and racial division, especially in France.
Laura Fairrie’s Spiral is the story of how a cycle of fear, hatred, and violence has taken hold. In portraying the resurgence of anti-Semitism in France and in the wider world, the film trains its gaze on individuals, witnesses on all sides of the conflicts that have fueled this escalation.
The Dark, the biggest hit of 2018 for Dark Sky Films, is now the horror DVD of the new year. On the outskirts of a small town lies Devil’s Den, a mysterious tract of woods where many have entered but no one has ever left. The local legend is that the spirit of a girl who was horrifically murdered there haunts (and hunts in) this dense forest, brutally slaying anyone who dares to step into her terrain.
When a young man with a dark past crosses her path, a series of events are set in motion that may lead to redemption for two tragically tortured souls. Part gothic fairytale and part chilling horror, director Justin P. Lange’s debut feature balances rich imagery with a brutal and bloody story of unlikely kindred spirits who must defend themselves against the villainous powers of the “normal” world.
Starring rising actors Nadia Alexander and Toby Nichols, The Darkhas been called “an ingenious reworking of the zombie genre” by Film Inquiry. Horror Society praised it as “one of the best horror films of the year: 10 out of 10.”
The lone surviving thief of a violent armored-car robbery is sprung from a high-security facility and administered an experimental drug in the action-thriller Backtrace, arriving on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD and Digital on February 19 from Lionsgate. This film is currently available On Demand.
Starring Ryan Guzman, Sylvester Stallone and Matthew Modine, the Backtrace Blu-ray and DVD includes the featurette “Making Backtrace” and cast/crew interviews.
PBS Distribution kicks the new year into high gear with the highly-anticipated release of Jamestown Season 1 & 2 on DVD on January 29. From the producers of Downton Abbey, this exciting and dramatic series follows the lives of three courageous, dynamic women who decide to leave their dark pasts behind in England, and make the journey of a lifetime across the ocean for a new life in 17th century America.
https://youtu.be/i7g7a37exIM
In Season 1 viewers are taken back to 1619 Jamestown, Virginia. For 12 years, it has been populated only by men, but the settlement is shaken up when the first women, including Alice (played Sophie Rundle), Verity (Niamh Walsh) and Jocelyn (Naomi Battrick), land in this breathtaking wilderness. The settlement is on the brink of change summoned by the arrival of a new governor who brings new laws that cause power struggles not only within the town, but also with the native inhabitants, the Pamunkey. While love triangles, bitter rivalries, and fierce competition cause conflict for the residents, ultimately, they are bound together by their resolute will to survive and thrive in their new lives.
Season 2 brings viewers back to Jamestown where Alice, Verity, and Jocelyn are continuing their lives. The colony is thriving and tobacco plantations are starting to provide the wealth they promised. As births, deaths, and broken marriages start to compound, the settlers find themselves again in the midst of new adventures, as a kidnapping, new rivalries, and a traitor threaten to disrupt the peace. New romantic connections are made, desires repressed, and even the purest of loves will be tested. The power of politics will impact the entire community, as the battle for supremacy continues.
