This week’s releases include great comedy taken to new heights; a quest for a cure; a journey back in time; a classic tale in which the show must go on; a vacation gone awry; and a realistic depiction of the oldest profession; and a magical enhancement.
A Discovery of Witches: Season 2 (Blu-ray)
After narrowly escaping the Congregation of vampires, witches, and daemons, Diana (Teresa Palmer) and Matthew (Matthew Goode) are hiding in time in the fascinating and treacherous world of Elizabethan London. Here, they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life. Enemies are everywhere, the threat to witches is growing, and Diana and Matthew’s romance faces a barrage of new threats — from within as much as without. They must overcome deep personal fears and jealousies, baring their darkest secrets to one another if they are to stay alive, stay together, and find a way back to the present day. In the meantime, back in present day, Diana’s beloved aunts, Sarah (Alex Kingston) and Em (Valarie Pettiford), must take shelter with notorious witch hunter Ysabeau de Clermont (Lindsay Duncan) at her ancestral home, Sept-Tours. Meanwhile, in Oxford, Marcus (Edward Bluemel) and Miriam (Aiysha Hart) take on Matthew’s mantle to protect daemons Nathaniel (Daniel Ezra) and Sophie (Aisling Loftus), whose pregnancy is advancing. And Gerbert (Trevor Eve), Knox (Owen Teale), Satu (Malin Buska) and Domenico (Gregg Chilingirian) are determined to hunt down every clue they can to Diana’s and Matthew’s disappearance, and the secrets their allies are keeping from them.
Diana and Matthew’s journey to the past certainly occupies most of this season’s narrative. As Matthew takes on the traits of the him from that era, Diana has trouble reconciling the man that he was with the man she knows. They both begin keeping secrets from each other, believing they’re doing what’s best in the long run to attain their goals of finding the Book. She enjoys meeting his old friends, but his family is less than welcoming with his father appearing to disapprove of their relationship and his sister going further than that. Watching Diana master her magic is a truly enchanting sight, though it would be better to know exactly what kinds of spells she’s weaving. Meanwhile, in the present, Marcus is certainly at the centre of the most interesting storyline as he questions his position in the family and tries to navigate a new relationship with a human.
Special features include: “The Story of A Discovery of Witches”; “Can Love Survive”; and “Creating Elizabethan London.” (AMC Networks)
The Greatest Show on Earth (Blu-ray)
A lavish tribute to circuses, featuring three intertwining plotlines concerning romance and rivalry beneath the big top.
Cecil B. DeMille’s masterpiece has very little in common with the recent The Greatest Showman other than the fact that it takes place at a travelling circus. The picture does an excellent job intersecting the big top shows with the performers’ personal lives and rivalries. At the centre of the story is the competition between the circus’ old and new trapeze artists, which they attempt to settle with increasingly dangerous acrobatics far above the ground. Then there’s the clown with a dark, secret past, played by James Stewart whose face is always hidden behind make-up. Charlton Heston portrays the boss, holding it all together even as they near bankruptcy and complicated love affairs cause rifts in the company. The final act involves a stunning train crash staged with miniatures and then followed by the practical carnage of overturned cars and injured passengers. Possibly the best part of this scene is the fact that Heston never stops giving orders, even though he should be more concerned with his own health.
Special features include: “Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on The Greatest Show on Earth.” (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (DVD)
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) learns on his 11th birthday that he is the son of two wizards and also has magical capabilities of his own. At Hogwarts School for of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he learns new spells, plays the popular wizarding sport Quidditch and, along with his best friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), works to once again face the dark wizard from his past.
It’s amazing to think that Radcliffe, Watson and Grint were introduced to the world 20 years ago, and then grew up before audience’s eyes over the next decade as they and the beloved characters they portrayed turned from children to young adults. This tale of wizardry, muggles and good vs. evil continues to intrigue and delight. Nothing compares to the awe of watching the students enter the Great Hall for the first time or the excitement of Harry’s inaugural Quidditch match. Their first attempts at spells and magic, and Hermione’s know-it-all attitude. Yet, this DVD release attempts to refresh the experience for fans by allowing them to discover filmmaking secrets, spell incantations, creatures, magical artifacts, trivia, and more in this collection of activities and curiosities.
Special features include: “Magical Movie Mode.” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
The world’s most lethal odd couple — bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hit man Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) — are back. Still unlicensed, Bryce is forced into action by Darius’s wife, the infamous international con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge by the volatile spouses, the trio get in over their heads in a global plot and soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful and powerful madman (Antonio Banderas).
Jackson and Reynolds already demonstrated their hilarious chemistry, but adding Hayek to the mix takes it to a whole other level. Sonia is crazier than the two men put together, which makes every encounter more explosive. Bryce, in the meantime, is in a funk that even his shrink is tired of hearing about, so when Sonia insists he help Darius, he sees it as an opportunity to try to prove his worth again. Unfortunately, he spends most of the picture auditioning to be a crash test dummy and being mistaken for dead. The three of them together makes the sequel worth watching as it brings a fresh take on this over-the-top relationship between killers. It would’ve been great to see more of Banderas, but he still fits well into the picture by being the not-quite-cartoonish villain.
Special features include: “Ryan, Sam, Salma: One F’d Up Family”; “Gone Soft: The New Michael Bryce”; “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard: #stuntlife”; “On the Set of Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard”; gag reel; and theatrical trailers. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
La piscine (Blu-ray)
Formerly one of European cinema’s most iconic real-life couples, Alain Delon and Romy Schneider reunited for this film, bringing a palpable erotic chemistry to their performances as the bronzed and beautiful vacationers whose summer holiday on the Côte d’Azur is interrupted by the arrival of an old acquaintance (Maurice Ronet) and his eighteen-year-old daughter (Jane Birkin) — unleashing a gathering wave of sexual tension, jealousy, and sudden violence.
Director Jacques Deray was known for thrillers, but this movie is more of a slow-burn as it allows audiences to get to know its lavish, self-indulgent characters before dropping the hammer. The couple appear to be on a romantic getaway, so it’s surprising she would invite their old friend to stay “as long as he likes” — and concerning to Delon’s character who’s long suspected they had a love affair and is not entirely convinced the embers are not still burning. The daughter, on the other hand, presents an unnecessary distraction for both the men at the villa, even though she spends much of her time being aloof and not eating. The sexual and hostile tensions steadily rise throughout the narrative until it reaches an unexpected boiling point, leaving the last act to deal with the consequences. They were forced to shoot an add-on to the ending for some markets who didn’t approve of the original conclusion, even though its ambiguity much better suits the narrative. This release also includes the English-language version of the film, which was shot simultaneously with the original actors.
Special features include: alternate ending; The Swimming Pool: “First Love Never Dies,” the English-language version of the film; “Fifty Years Later,” a 2019 documentary by Agnès Vincent-Deray; interview with scholar Nick Rees-Roberts on the film’s cinematic and aesthetic legacy; archival footage featuring Delon, Birkin, actors Romy Schneider and Maurice Ronet, and director Jacques Deray; trailers; and an essay by film critic Jessica Kiang. (Criterion Collection)
The Water Man (Blu-ray)
Gunner (Lonnie Chavis) sets out on a quest to save his ill mother (Rosario Dawson) by searching for a mythic figure who possesses the secret to immortality, the Water Man. After enlisting the help of a mysterious local girl, Jo (Amiah Miller), they journey together into the remote Wild Horse forest — but the deeper they venture, the stranger and more dangerous the forest becomes. Their only hope for rescue is Gunner’s father (David Oyelowo), who will stop at nothing to find them.
Gunner is in the midst of some major life changes, struggling with his father’s return home after being deployed for most of his life and his mother’s progressive illness, which is limiting her ability to care of him — and act as a buffer between him and his father. Therefore, Gunner is desperate to make his life go back to normal and the only way that can happen is if his mom gets better. After conducting very thorough research for such a young boy and having his medical advice ignored, he latches onto a mystical solution. Even though Jo is taking advantage of Gunner’s naivete, she also doesn’t grasp the importance of the quest to him and some part of her hopes they will find something that will help her too. Oyelowo’s feature directorial debut is a solid portrayal of the collision between fantasy and real-life as the kids chase a myth, only to discover the answers to their problems are closer to home.
Special features include: commentary with filmmakers; making-of featurette; animation behind-the-scenes; and Toronto International Film Festival Q&A. (RLJE Films)
Working Girls (Blu-ray)
Inspired by the experiences of the sex workers Lizzie Borden met while making her underground feminist landmark Born in Flames, Working Girls reveals the textures of a day in the life of Molly (Louise Smith), a photographer working part-time in a Manhattan brothel, as she juggles a steady stream of clients, balances nurturing relationships with her coworkers with the demands of an ambitious madam, and above all fights to maintain her sense of self in a business in which the line between the personal and the professional is all too easily blurred.
This is a work of fiction, but many thought it was or compared it to a documentary as it so plainly depicts what feels like a realistic day in the life of a sex worker. The film begins uncharacteristically in a very normal household with Molly’s partner and their daughter. After spending some time in her dark room, she hops on her bike and heads to work… as a middle-class sex worker. She and several other women work out of a two-story apartment. Men call to make appointments, are handed a drink when they arrive and then head upstairs to live out whatever fantasy they’re willing to pay for. In between Johns, the women sit around doing the same things most co-workers do when they’re not busy: gab about their personal lives, complain about their boss, gossip about people and grab lunch together. In the bedroom, nothing is sensationalized or overtly sexualized — sex is the job to these women and they play whatever role their client desires. Borden’s non-judgemental portrayal of prostitution is a statement that garners attention and appreciation, and remains timeless to some extent.
Special features include: commentary from 2007 featuring Borden, director of photography Judy Irola, and actor Amanda Goodwin; conversation between Borden and filmmaker Bette Gordon; conversation with Goodwin, actor Louise Smith, producer Andi Gladstone, and assistant director Vicky Funari; conversation with sex workers Antonia Crane, Daphne, Selena the Stripper, and Jo Weldon; and an essay by author So Mayer and excerpts from a 1987 interview with Borden by film critic Scott MacDonald. (Criterion Collection)
