Carrie is dead. So is Debbie. The mother-daughter duo died just 24 hours apart. What better why for HBO to cash in than by airing the documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds? It debuts Saturday, January 7 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).
HBO calls Bright Lights “an intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty, in all its eccentricity.” Carrie and her mother, Debbi, lived in the same Beverly Hills compound. The 83-year-old grand dame still has a Las Vegas act, but performing was taking its toll.
Carrie’s response is both hilarious and heart-rending. “Mother and I live next door to each other, separated by one daunting hill,” Carrie explains. “I usually come to her. I always come to her.” Featuring vintage family films that bring iconic old-world Hollywood to life, as well as extensive vérité footage, the film has been directed by Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens.
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds has already received audience and critical acclaim at many prestigious film festivals, including the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. The documentary holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; The Hollywood Reporter called it “warmly engaging” and a “tender tribute to two iconic women”, and compared it favorably to the Maysles Bros classic 1975 mother-daughter portrait, Grey Gardens.
The film was reportedly Fisher’s idea, who wanted to document Reynolds’ final live performances in Las Vegas two years ago, aged 82.
Not enough?
HBO’s 2010 special Wishful Drinking will receive an encore presentation on January 1 at 9 (ET/PT). This feature-length adaptation of Fisher’s hit autobiographical stage production tells the intoxicating tale of her life, combining her raucous one-woman stage performance, interviews with family and friends, and archival footage.
We must have been spending too much time cat-walking through catacombs since we just learned thatLionsgate is exhuming classic horror films for the limited-editionVestron Video Collector’s Series. Hours of materials have been assembled for the Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray releases, starting with six horror cult classics. Lionsgate vows fan will “taste the fear and the flesh, in shocking high definition for the first time, as teenagers meet their untimely demise at the hands of cannibals, killer robots, horror icons, sewer-dwelling monsters and an army of the undead!” Just the way we like it.
Starting with Chopping MallandBlood Diner, and continuing withWaxwork andWaxwork II: Lost in Time Double Feature,Return of the Living Dead 3, andC.H.U.D. II: Bud the CHUD, these rereleases are for the collector and horror fan alike and will be available for a limited amount of time.
Other releases of grave matters . . .
Return of the Living Dead 3 Watch all of the terror in high definition when Curt transforms his girlfriend into a flesh-eating monster after her accidental death, in order to fulfill their pact to love each other forever.
The Lair of the White Worm(available onJanuary 31). We can’t wait to hear the audio commentary by director Ken Russell.
Parents (January 31) In this black-comedy horror classic, a young boy in ’50s suburbia suspects his parents are cannibalistic murderers.
The Gate (February 28)
When two suburban kids accidentally open a portal filled with pint-sized demons hell-bent on taking over the planet, it’s up to them to seal the gateway and save mankind!
Think of this as a no-holds-barred thriller that demands to be seen. American Violence follows one man’s path to execution and the strong-minded doctor brought in to take a deeper look at the violent circumstances that have doomed him.
Jackson Shea (portrayed by Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau) has lived a life of deceit, brutality and corruption. But when a series of chilling, violent events lands him on Death Row, psychologist Amanda Tyler (Denise Richards) must find whether his violent behavior is inherent in his soul, or if he will be rehabilitated.
As the interview commences, and Jack’s fate hangs in the balance, Amanda must decide whether a stay of execution will be granted.
“The goal was to create a film that was gripping and emotional, and that would leave an impact on the viewers while inviting them in for a closer look at the American justice system and the death penalty,” says Timothy Woodward Jr., the film’s director. “I wanted our audience to not only ask questions, but feel for the characters and the life altering circumstances they find themselves in.”
Save the date: American Violence premieres in theaters, and on Video on Demand and Digital HD on February 3.
We cannot tell a lie: Pinocchio is considered one of the greatest animated films ever made, with two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Original Song “When You Wish Upon a Star”) and a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Pinocchio (1940) was the second animated feature film produced by Walt Disney, made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs three years earlier.
Now, the Disney dazzler will delight a whole new generation of dreamers with its masterful animation, unforgettable characters and award-winning music when the flick arrives for the first time on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on January 10, and on Blu-ray and DVD on January 31.
The Walt Disney Signature Collection release includes hours of classic bonus material and exclusive features including a reinvented rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star” created and performed by music mavens from Disney’s Maker Studios; never-before-seen artwork from the film’s Pleasure Island sequence; archival recordings of Walt himself during Pinocchio production; and a recently restored and scored 1927 short featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Who voiced Pinocchio? It was Dick Jones, then known as Dickie
Pinocchio tells the tale of wood-carver Geppetto’s beloved puppet who embarks on a thrilling quest–with faithful friend Jiminy Cricket–that tests his bravery, loyalty and honesty, all virtues he must learn to fulfill his heart’s desire: to become a real boy.
Savor the bonus features: Walt’s Story Meetings: Pleasure Island The Pleasure Island scene in Pinocchio had much more development than what is seen in the film. Join Pixar’s Pete Docter and Disney historian and author J.B. Kaufman as they explore artwork recently discovered in Disney’s animation research library revealing some of the attractions, gags and games, which Disney animators created for this iconic location of the film, that never made it on screen.
In Walt’s Words Hear Walt Disney discuss the making of “Pinocchio” through archival recordings and interviews.
The Pinocchio Project: “When You Wish Upon a Star” Music influencers Alex G, Tanner Patrick and JR Aquino from Disney’s Maker Studios, a global leader in short-form videos, gather in a creative workspace to create their rendition of the film’s signature song, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and produce a fresh new music video.
Poor Papa This recently restored and scored 1927 short features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who gets multiple visits from the stork and is forced to attempt various methods to help stop the onslaught of baby deliveries.
Classic Bonus Features Offerings from prior home entertainment releases include hours of bonus material, such as the making of Pinocchio, deleted scenes, singalongs, storyboards and theatrical trailers.
A lone, mysterious drifter (and his dog Abbie) enters into the forgotten town of Denton, Texas–dubbed by locals as the “valley of violence”. There, he picks a fight with a wrong man named Gilly, the troublemaking son of the town’s unforgiving Marshal.
As tensions arise between Paul and Gilly, an inevitable act of violence starts a disastrous chain reaction that quickly drags the whole town into the bloody crosshairs of revenge. Only the world-weary Marshal struggles to stop the violent hysteria, but after a gruesome discovery about Paul’s past . . . there’s no stopping the escalation.
No, this is the edgy action film, In a Valley of Violence, on Digital HD and on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. From acclaimed director, Ti West and famed producer Jason Blum, the film stars Academy Award nominees; John Travolta and Ethan Hawke. The In a Valley of Violence Blu-ray and DVD include bonus content that takes viewers on a wild ride behind the scenes with an exciting inside look at the making of the film.
Leave it to Time Life to make the New Year the time of your life. And in color! And with such guests as Clem Kadiddlehopper and Freddie the Freeloader!
Welcome, with open arms, The Red Skelton Show in Color. Home audiences will be entertained by America’s Clown Prince with brilliant full-color episodes of The Red Skelton Hour, some of which have been unseen for more than 50 years.
After purchasing an old movie studio and converting it for TV productions, Skelton was the first CBS host to begin taping his weekly programs in color. And now Time Life brings viewers back to a simpler time, showcasing never-before-released shows as they were originally broadcast more than five decades ago.
One of the country’s most treasured comedians, Skelton kept TV audiences in stitches for 20 groundbreaking seasons on The Red Skelton Show. The son of a circus clown, Red always had a twinkle in his eye and a spring in his step (often accompanied by a cowbell sound effect); his heart was pure gold, his jokes were silly and his gifts for physical comedy remain priceless. And from his inimitable comic mind also came a memorable lineup of zany characters including the country bumpkin Clem Kadiddlehopper, the lovable hobo Freddie the Freeloader and Sheriff Deadeye.
The Red Skelton Show in Color is available in two configurations. The three-disc collector’s set features 12 never-before-released episodes, including best-loved sketches with Freddie the Freeloader joining a love-in with hippie Tim Conway; Sheriff Deadeye facing off with Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne); and Clem Kadiddlehopper being mistaken for a robot by mad scientists Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Other fan favorite sketches include classics such as “Dial M for Moron” with Phyllis Diller, “Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Dumb” with George Gobel, and “Eenie Meenie Minee Schmo” with Mickey Rooney. The single disc release includes 4 complete episodes. Additionally, both releases include exclusive new interviews with Bobby Rydell and Vicki Lawrence.
IFC has a trio of must-see films coming to DVD in January. We provide the info and teaser clips; you provide the DVD player.
Dancer(available January 17)
Ukrainian-born Bad Boy of Ballet Sergei Polunin became the Royal Ballets youngest-ever principal dancer when he was just 19. But two years later, at the height of his success, he walked away from it all, resolving to give up dance entirely.
Steven Cantor’s Dancer tracks the life of this iconoclastic virtuoso, from his prodigal beginnings in the Ukraine to his awe-inspiring performances in the U.K., Russia and the U.S., where he went viral after David LaChapelle filmed him dancing to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church”. Beyond celebrating the raw talent and wild ambition of Polunin, whose sights are now set on Hollywood, Dancer considers how wealth and success may not be enough when it comes to finding personal and professional identity.
The Free World (January 17)
How hard would you fight to be free? After spending two decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Mo (played by Boyd Holbrook) struggles to put his past behind him as he readjusts to a new life working in an animal shelter. Doris (Elisabeth Moss) is trapped in another sort of prison: an abusive marriage.
A dramatic encounter brings these two troubled souls together, and a possible murder connects them. Soon, Mo finds himself risking everything . . . including being locked up once again for someone else’s crime to protect the fragile Doris. Driven by explosive performances from Moss and Holbrook, the feature debut from director Jason Lew is a gripping, mood-drenched exploration of guilt, redemption, and what it means to be free. Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and Sung Kang co-star.
Passage to Mars (January 24)
Before humans make it to Mars, they must conquer the Arctic. Passage to Mars is the incredible true story of six men who embark on a treacherous, 2,000-mile journey across the forbidding sea-ice of the Northwest Passagean alien voyage on planet Earth designed to prepare NASA astronauts for an eventual mission to Mars.
But as an expedition that was supposed to take weeks stretches into a two-year odyssey, the crew must overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and life-threatening conditions if they hope to realize their dream of someday reaching the Red Planet. This breathtaking adventure features narration by Zachary Quinto and special guest voice appearances by Buzz Aldrin and Charlotte Rampling.
Blast off!
IndiePix Unlimited, the signature streaming subscription service from world cinema label IndiePix Films, has opened its highly-curated catalog of cinematic classics to Prime members through Amazon Channels. With the IndiePix video subscription from Amazon Channels, cinephiles will have access to a dazzling and daring world of exclusive, award-winning films from both international auteurs and visionary new voices alike for $5.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial.From 2009 Cannes Camera D’Or winner, Samson & Delilah; Iranian artist Shirin Neshat’s Golden Lion-nominated Women Without Men and the highly-acclaimed, Ryan Gosling-produced White Shadow, to Mouton, a Locarno Opera Prima Award-winner and the post-apocalyptic sci-fi fable, Crumbs, IndiePix Unlimited offers discriminating movie lovers some of the most acclaimed independent films of the past decade, as well as award-winners and festival favorites from Cannes, Tribeca, Venice, Sundance, SXSW and Rotterdam, popular indie classics and more.
And via Amazon Channels, these films will be available to Prime members anywhere and anytime through Amazon’s numerous streaming platforms including Playstation and Roku, the Amazon Video app, Amazon Fire TV, sticks and tablets and online at Amazon.com/channels.
“Since 2004, it’s been our mission to introduce cineastes to compelling independent cinema,” explains CEO Barnet Liberman. “Teaming with Amazon Channels opens up the IndiePix vaults to Prime members, and we’re excited to share some truly magnificent dramas, documentaries and shorts from around the world with them.”
Fiercely committed to sharing new cinematic voices and experiences from under-represented regions such as Africa, IndiePix will continue to add to its digital subscription service with gems from around the world each month. Being released shortly will be nearly 50 discarded classics of African cinema through a partnership with Retro Afrika Bioscope, an independent label of Gravel Road Entertainment dedicated to locating, acquiring, restoring and re-releasing retro South African films from the ’70s and ’80s.
You may not have heard of the award-winning film Dependent’s Day. Until now. The breakout indie film that received much acclaim during its festival circuit run earlier this year is (finally!) available on demand everywhere.
The breakout relationship comedy, which has been described as having “the feel of recent Judd Apatow films” was written, directed, produced and edited by Michael David Lynch. Whew!
After realizing that his girlfriend (played by Benita Robledo) is the breadwinner of their relationship, aspiring actor Cam (Joe Burke) subjects himself to a series of humiliating jobs and experiences to prove that he is not a dependent.. We found the film to be a hilarious and authentic comedy about the adventures and struggles of being in the midst of a relationship and making it work.
Dependent’s Day is now available on all major cable and satellite providers and to stream digitally on Amazon Instant Video US, Sling TV, iTunes, VUDU, Xbox, YouTube and other locations.
“I am elated that this film has resonated so well with audiences of all ages in the film festival circuit,” says Lynch. “You never know when you are making a movie how people are going to respond to it. It was incredible to have our limited theatrical release in October and I’m thrilled that now audiences across the North America will be able to enjoy this film because it is now available everywhere.”
The film is unlike most other Hollywood romantic comedies because it has a semblance of reality and strong female characters that are endearing throughout the movie. “I had lots of strong women in my life as I was growing up so I really couldn’t write this film without including that component,” adds Lynch. “I wanted to write something that reflected my experience and see if it resonated with the audiences. Apparently, the fans enjoy intelligent funny women in roles too.”
The new year is a a mere fast forward away, but PBS Distribution has already a list of upcoming DVDs they are releasing that demand you to write “Save the Date” on your new 2017 calendar . . . and spend the you found in your money found in stocking hanging from the mantle.
Secrets of the Dead: After Stonehenge (Available now) Three thousand years ago, the Egyptians were building the pyramids, but little is known about what was going on in Europe during this same time. Scholars have long believed that nothing nearly as advanced was happening in Britain. Could a new discovery prove historians wrong?
On the edge of Must Farm Quarry in an area southeast of Britain known as the Fens, archaeologists are uncovering the charred remains of a 3,000-year-old English settlement.
http://https://youtu.be/edt6Jd_1RLo
The program follows a team of archeologists, scientists, historians and specialists, as they shed new light on the ancient history of the western world. Perfectly preserved in mud, the prehistoric British Bronze Age Village–built at least one thousand years after Stonehenge–has been called the “British Pompeii.”
Because the site is so delicate, the experts have been working in secret inside the quarry. But now they are rushing to complete their work and map the site before the land is returned for its owner’s use. Have their findings forever changed what we know about life in Bronze Age Britain? What revelations about the villager’s lives can be gleaned from the cache of finds, unprecedented in number and quality, emerging from the marshy Fens?
NOVA: Treasures of the Earth (on sale January 3)
All around us is Earth’s bounty—spectacular mountains, Caribbean blue oceans and abundant, delicious food crops. But what we can see is only a part of the riches Earth provides. Its hidden assets are some of our most important natural resources and they have helped shape humankind.
The program is a three-part series that takes us on a journey deep inside the Earth to uncover the mysteries of how these treasures were created and explores how they have allowed humans to evolve and build great civilizations.
Projections of America (January 3) During the darkest hour of WWII, a team of idealistic filmmakers hoped the power of the movies could reshape the world. Led by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Riskin, the filmmakers created 26 short documentaries about American life shown to millions of people around the world. The films told stories of cowboys and oilmen, farmers and window washers, immigrants and school children, capturing the optimism and messiness of American democracy.
The gorgeously crafted films were idealized versions of what America could be, created by politically engaged filmmakers who while fighting tyranny abroad, wanted also to fundamentally change America itself. But 70 years later, the films have disappeared. John Lithgow narrates this story of war, idealism and the power of cinema. This emotionally charged story is told through rare and evocative archival materials, including pristine new transfers of the propaganda films themselves, interwoven with interviews with filmmakers, audience members, and film critics.
FRONTLINE: Confronting Isis (January 3) One of the biggest foreign policy challenges America’s next president will face is the battle against ISIS. Where does the U.S.-led fight against the terror group stand today?
In the special, FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith travels to five countries with key roles in the anti-ISIS fight—Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Turkey—to report on successes, failures and challenges as ISIS loses ground in the region but strikes out with attacks abroad. Beginning with the fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014, the program deeply examines two years of American-led efforts to defeat ISIS, taking viewers step-by-step through a number of initiatives involving different regional players. Smith gains rare access across the region and beyond. In the process, he finds a fundamental problem: At times, the White House’s narrow focus on defeating ISIS hasn’t always aligned with the top issues faced by America’s allies—om how to deal with Bashar al-Assad in Syria, to Saudi Arabia’s fears about Iran, to the war in Yemen, to the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.
Puppy Power (January 10) This fun-filled DVD includes four puppy-packed Super Why! adventures. Join Woofster and the Super Readers for exciting adventures where they save other troubled pets, explore a comic book that Whyatt created called “The Missing Princess of Pet City,” and learn to concentrate by overcoming distractions! This collection of stories features tons of new furry friends and will inspire kids to go on reading adventures. Super Why! helps kids learn the fundamentals of reading through interactive storybook adventures. The program features a team of superhero characters with reading powers who jump into books to find answers to everyday preschool challenges.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Command and Control (January 10) A cautionary tale of freak accidents, near misses, human fallibility and extraordinary heroism, the program exposes the terrifying truth about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal and shows what can happen when the weapons built to protect us threaten to destroy us.
The film recounts, in chilling, minute-by-minute detail, the story of a deadly 1980 accident at a Titan II missile complex in Damascus, Arkansas. Through the first-person accounts of Air Force personnel, weapon designers and first responders who were on the scene, the film reveals the unlikely chain of events that caused the accident and the feverish efforts to prevent the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States—600 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
On the evening of September 18, 1980, Airmen David F. Powell and Jeffrey L. Plumb were performing routine maintenance at the Titan II silo in Damascus, Arkansas. At the age of 21, Powell was considered a highly experienced missile technician; Plumb, who had just turned 19, was still in training. As the two stood on a platform near the top of the Titan II, a socket fell from Powell’s wrench, plummeted 70 feet and, shockingly, punctured the missile. A stream of highly explosive rocket fuel began pouring into the silo.
Nothing like this had ever happened to a Titan II before and the Air Force had no procedures in place to deal with the event. For the next eight hours, the leadership of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) frantically struggled to figure out how to prevent a massive explosion and retain control of the thermonuclear warhead—a weapon so powerful that it could destroy much of Arkansas and deposit lethal radioactive fallout across the East Coast.
A cautionary tale filmed in an abandoned Titan II missile silo in Arizona, Command and Control forces viewers to confront the great dilemma that the U.S. has faced since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do we manage weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them?
Odd Squad: The Movie(January 24) Odd indeed! This is the first-ever movie from the Emmy-winning live-action PBS KIDS series from The Fred Rogers Company. When a rival agency called Weird Team, led by Weird Tom, arrives on the scene with a gadget that fixes any odd problem, Odd Squad suddenly finds it doesn’t have any cases to solve and goes out of business.
The agents close shop and go back to their lives as regular kids. Using math and teamwork, they soon uncover that Weird Team’s gadget isn’t actually fixing the problems around town, but only covering them up. Olympia and Otis join forces with Olive and Otto to stop Weird Team–and save the world from destruction!
MASTERPIECE: Victoria (January 31) Jenna Coleman stars as the young Queen Victoria at the outset of her epic reign, which set the stage for an entire era that would be named in her honor. Scripted by bestselling novelist Daisy Goodwin, the series follows Victoria from her accession to the throne at age 18, through her education in politics, courtship and marriage, Victoria paints a portrait of a monarch who was raised to be the pawn of her powerful elders but who wasted no time in showing the empire who was in charge.
http://https://youtu.be/OS19gVw1Qbs
Goodwin imaginatively depicts what it was like for an ill-educated, emotionally deprived teenager to wake up one morning and find that she is the most powerful woman in the world. That it happened at all was practically a miracle. Victoria was queen only by virtue of ill luck and unfruitful marriages on the part of her uncles, who failed to produce legitimate heirs to the crown. Furthermore, her immediate predecessors were so disliked as kings that the institution of the monarchy seemed to be doomed.
Goodwin has been careful to stay faithful to the facts, while reading between the lines to fill in the gaps where the early Victorians were scrupulously silent. The result is a gripping historical pageant that reveals a side of Victoria that is at odds with her later reputation for prudery and a high moral tone.
and Clem Kadiddlehopper being mistaken for a robot by mad scientists Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Other fan favorite sketches include classics such as “Dial M for Moron” with Phyllis Diller, “Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Dumb” with George Gobel, and “Eenie Meenie Minee Schmo” with Mickey Rooney. The single disc release includes 4 complete episodes. Additionally, both releases include exclusive new interviews with Bobby Rydell and Vicki Lawrence.
From 2009 Cannes Camera D’Or winner, Samson & Delilah; Iranian artist Shirin Neshat’s Golden Lion-nominated Women Without Men and the highly-acclaimed, Ryan Gosling-produced White Shadow, to Mouton, a Locarno Opera Prima Award-winner and the post-apocalyptic sci-fi fable, Crumbs, IndiePix Unlimited offers discriminating movie lovers some of the most acclaimed independent films of the past decade, as well as award-winners and festival favorites from Cannes, Tribeca, Venice, Sundance, SXSW and Rotterdam, popular indie classics and more.
Super Why! helps kids learn the fundamentals of reading through interactive storybook adventures. The program features a team of superhero characters with reading powers who jump into books to find answers to everyday preschool challenges.