It’s 1959. The idyllic town of Suburbicon is the perfect place for Gardner Lodge to make a home. But beneath this tranquil surface lies a disturbing reality, where nothing is as it seems. When a break-in leads to the shocking murder of his wife, Gardner must navigate the town’s underbelly of deceit and violence to protect his family from further harm.
Welcome to Suburbicon. The film It is loosely inspired on a 1957 incident in Levittown, Pennsylvania, in which a black family moved into the previously all-white neighborhood, leading to racial-charged harassment and violence against the family. (It was filmed in Fullerton, California.)
Matt Damon stars as Gardener; Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac co-star. Director George Clooney’s suspenseful thriller arrives on Blu-ray and DVD February 6 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.
The Blu-ray is packed with more than 50 minutes of bonus content. Join Damon, Moore and Isaac as they dive into the making of Suburbicon and discuss everything from the script to casting and more. Plus, check out the film’s unique score and find out how the composer was inspired by the storyline. Also included is a commentary by writer/director Clooney and writer Grant Heslov.
We call it 90 minutes of good times. How else would you explain a PBS special–the first documentary about the television legend– celebrating the career of Norman Lear? Savor American Masters: Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You on Blu-ray and DVD. Enjoyed the special on PBS? Take note that the home releases include more than 12 minutes of bonus features.
Bea Arthur and Bill Macy in an episode of “Maude”.
Largely responsible for the explosion of bold American television in the ’70s, the writer/producer is synonymous with the sitcom. With unprecedented access to Lear, his work and his massive personal archives, the special combines stories from his turbulent childhood and early groundbreaking TV success (think All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude) and social activism.
The documentary also features colorful stories from Lear’s family, friends and collaborators, including John Amos, George Clooney, Alan Horn, Bill Moyers, Rob Reiner, Phil Rosenthal and Russell Simmons, as well as cinéma vérité moments with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler and Lena Dunham.
Rob Reiner and Carroll O’Connor bickering (as usual) in “All in the Family”.
Breaking down the fourth wall to create an evocative collage where past and present intermingle, Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady reveal a psychologically rich man whose extraordinary contributions emerge from both his personal story and his own self-professed childlike view of the world.
The documentary traces how a poor Jewish kid from Connecticut started writing for The Colgate Comedy Hour with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, created All in the Family and became one of TV’s most successful showrunners.
All character-driven, with theatrical sets and live audiences, Lear’s TV series changed not only the face of national television but the content of national discourse. Bringing provocative subjects like war, poverty and prejudice to 120 million viewers every week, Lear proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism–laughter–and created some of the greatest moments in television history.
Co-produced by Ewing and Grady’s Loki Films and THIRTEEN’s American Masters series, Just Another Version of You doesn’t shy away from the controversies Lear stirred with his TV series and advocacy organization People For the American Way (PFAW). The documentary also highlights his later years touring the country with the Declaration of Independence and promoting his memoir Even This I Get to Experience, spending time with his tight-knit family, and developing new productions.
