Avant-Garde Films Vol. 3 – movie


Price:  $25.99


From the little theaters of the 1920s to the ad hoc film societies of the 50s, avant-garde cinema knew no established form and held no predictable position. The boundaries of its history are still hotly debated, but its rough sensibilities informed and permeated the city symphonies of Alberto Cavalcanti, the visual music of Mary Ellen Bute and John Whitney, the classroom films of Sidney Peterson, the confessional film poems of Willard Maas and John E. Schmitz, the Lettrist cinema of Marc O, and even marginal exploitation films and home movies. Drawn from the rich collections of Raymond Rohauer and the George Eastman House, Kino's third volume of experimental films continues to illuminate the degree to which cinema's evolution has been influenced by those filmmakers who occupy its periphery.

   


Bruno – movie


Price:  $25.99


Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Da Ali G Show and Talladega Nights) brings you the comedy that has started more conversations, generated more controversy and dared to go further than ever before! As brüno travels the world in search of fame, everyone he encounters — celebrities, politicians, Hasidic Jews, terrorists and cage fighters — becomes a stepping-stone to stardom, with hilarious results! So prepare yourself for nonstop laughs in the film Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says should be “Numero uno on your funny-time list!”

   


Downhill Racer (Criterion Collection directed by Michael Ritchie) – movie


Price:  $25.99


Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie’s visceral debut feature, Downhill Racer. In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing with an underdog American team in Europe for Olympic gold, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart’s narcissistic drive for glory. With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, Downhill Racer is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor.

   


Elvis Costello – Spectacle: Season 1


Price:  $37.99


Shot at the legendary Apollo Theater and 30 Rock’s 8H Studio in New York, Spectacle blends the best of talk and music television. Rock&Roll Hall of Fame member Elvis Costello conducts insightful interviews and participates in once-in-a-lifetime musical performances and collaborations with the likes of Elton John, The Police, Tony Bennett, Rufus Wainwright, Renée Fleming, Kris Kristofferson and James Taylor.

   


It’s A Very Sunny Christmas – movie


Price:  $23.99


Ho, ho, heyooo! Christmas is upon us and the Paddy's gang has got the spirit. Well, not really. For them, the holidays have always been a time of trickery, backstabbing, and disappointment. But this year things are going to be different as they are determined to rediscover the joy in Christmas. Join Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee and Frank as they embark on a holiday adventure filled with stolen toys, childhood videos, naked elves, and a bloody run in with Santa Claus that is guaranteed to blast Christmas spirit all over you!

   


Margaret Cho – Beautiful


Price:  $12.99


Learning to love her luscious self over the past forty years, comedian Margaret Cho realized that the eye of the beholder doesn't hold all the power when it comes to beauty. Our tastes may be groomed by the media, but how we feel about how we look brings our self-image into focus. Armed with something more potent than lip gloss -- a mouth so shocking and raunchy it should be stamped with a warning. Cho toured America with her manifesto: "This show is really about how we should feel beautiful,"" says Cho. When you feel beautiful, you're going to have more of a willingness to use your voice to speak. Shot at the Long Beach Terrace Theater, Cho's latest stand-up concert film, Beautiful, explores the good, bad, and downright ugly in beauty, and the unattractive politicians and marketers who shape our world.

   


Marty Balin – Live at the Hatch Shell


Price:  $14.99


Ultimate fan package feat. rare ’08 solo performance by founding member of Jefferson Airplane w/ extended versions of his hits, interview footage & rehearsal session.

   


Rush – Working Men


Price:  $13.99


Rush's Working Men is the first-ever "greatest hits" live performance DVD compilation from the legendary rock trio. Inspired by the classic "Working Man" from Rush's first album and culled from their three most recently filmed DVD releases - Rush in Rio, R30 and Snakes & Arrows Live - Working Men features dynamic live versions of Rush's best known songs including "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight," "The Spirit of Radio" and "Closer to the Heart." A previously unreleased performance of "One Little Victory" is included. See and hear virtuosos Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitars) and Neil Peart (drums) at their peak on the Working Men DVD and experience all of the excitement and power of Rush in concert!

   


Star Trek (2009) – movie


Price:  $25.99


The greatest adventure of all time begins with Star Trek, the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with action, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before.

   


The Limits of Control (directed by Jim Jarmusch) – movie


Price:  $25.99


Acclaimed filmmaker Jim Jarmusch delivers a stylish and sexy new thriller about a mysterious loner (De Bankolé) who arrives in Spain with instructions to meet various strangers, each one a part of his dangerous mission. Featuring an all-star international cast that includes Isaach De Bankolé, Gael García Bernal, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray, it’s a stunning journey in an exotic Spanish landscape that simmers with heat and suspense.

   


Thirst (directed by Park Chan-Wook) – movie


Price:  $25.99


From the acclaimed director of the global hit Old Boy comes a shockingly original vampire story with a chilling, erotic style. A blood transfusion saves the life of a priest, but also transforms him into a vampire. He struggles to control his insatiable thirst for blood until a love affair unleashes his darkest desires in deadly new ways. Hailed as “Daring, operatic, and bloody funny!” (Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly), Thirst is a truly wicked love story that takes classic vampire lore to twisted new heights.

   


More of this week's DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

Music/Stand-up comedy:
Beatles – Composing Outside the Beatles
Beherit – Satanas: Official Live Bootleg
Dane Cook – Isolated Incident
Dark Tranquility – Where Death Is Most Alive
?Drifter – Drifter
Billy Idol – In Super Overdrive Live
Indigo Girls – Live at the Roxy
Lil Wayne – The Carter
J. Massanet – Manon
W.A. Mozart - Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail
Robert Pollard – The Devil Went Home and Puked
Rolling Stones – In the 60’s
Tail Dragger & His Chicago Blues Band – Live at Rooster’s Lounge
Sid Vicious – Sid!
Voivod – Tatsumaki: Voivod in Japan 2008
The Who – The Mods and Quadrophenia
The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle 40th Anniversary

Movies/TV:
Betty Blue – movie
Drawn Together: Complete Series – TV show
Evangelion 1.01 – animation
Franklyn – movie
Girl Seeks Girl – movie
Gone With the Wind (70th Anniversary edition) – movie
Is Anybody There? – movie
Jerry Lewis Show: Vol. 1 – TV show (moved from 11/24)
Lola Falana Show – TV show
Open Road – movie
Rome: Complete Series – TV show
Star Trek: Best of Star Trek Original Series Vol. 2 – TV show
Star Trek: Best of Star Trek Next Generation Vol. 2 – TV show

Blu-Ray releases:
Bruno – movie
Clerks – movie
Elvis Costello – Spectacle: Season 1
Earth Wind and Fire – Live at Montreux 1997
?Fight Club – movie
Gone With the Wind (70th Anniversary edition) – movie
Billy Idol – In Super Overdrive Live
It’s A Very Sunny Christmas – TV show
Marilyn Manson – God Guns and Government
The Professional (1994) – movie
Rome: Complete Series – TV show
Various – Santana Presents Blues at Montreux
Sex Lies and Videotape – movie
Star Trek (2009) – movie

   


Upcoming DVD Releases:

11/24/09:

Music/Stand-up comedy:
Svend Asmussen – The Extraordinary Life and Music of a Jazz Legend
Beyonce – I Am Yours: An Intimate Performance
Black Crowes – Cabin Fever
Bill Engvall – Aged and Confused
Genesis – Movie Box 1981-2007
Hawkwind – Live 1989-1990
Spike Jones – Best of Collection
Larry the Cable Guy – Hula-Palooza
No-Man – Mixtaped
Madeleine Peyroux – Somethin’ Grand
Placebo – The Sun Also Rises
Tito Puente – Last Concert
Rammstein – Tanz Metal
Sting – Winter’s Night…Live
Various – All Tomorrow’s Parties
Various – Def Jam 25: VJ Bring That Video Back
Ben Webster – Tenor Sax Legend

Movies/TV:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 4 – TV show
Angels and Demons – movie
The Flower of My Secret (directed by Pedro Almodovar) – movie
Four Christmases – movie
Funny People – movie
The Golden Age of Television (Criterion Collection box set) – TV shows
Gomorrah (Criterion Collection directed by Matteo Garrone) – movie
Tony Jaa 2 film set (Battle Warrior/Hard Gun) – movie
Kobe Doin’ Work (directed by Spike Lee) – documentary
Life on Mars: Series 2 – TV show
Mad Dog Morgan (reissue) – movie
Meat Weed America (reissue) – movie
Phill Niblock: Six Films (1966-1969) – movie
Silent Scream (reissue) – movie
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – animation
Three Monkeys – movie
Tokyo 10 + 1 – movie
The Vengeance Trilogy (box set)(directed by Park Chan-Wook) – movie

Blu-Ray releases:
Angel Heart – movie
Angels and Demons – movie
Blood: The Last Vampire – animation
?Funny People – movie
Gomorrah (Criterion Collection directed by Matteo Garrone) – movie
Kansas – There’s No Place Like Home
Kings of Leon – Live at the O2 London England
Monster Squad – movie
My Bloody Valentine – movie
My Brilliant Career – movie
New Police Story (starring Jackie Chan) – movie
Sopranos: Season 1 – TV show