Finally some interesting feature films join the plethora of TV releases this week as Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods makes its long delayed DVD debut, while for the first time the “good” Indiana Jones movies will be available in the high-def Blu-ray format. Add in the dark swirling mini-series The Crimson Petal and the White that is set in the fog-shrouded brothels of Victorian London, and the anime science fiction survival thriller The King of Thorn, and it becomes clear that things are starting to get interesting in the home entertainment market once again.

 

 

After a couple of pretty dry weeks genre movie fans have something to cheer about this week with the release of Joss Whedon’s long-delayed The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate, “R,” $29.98, BD $34.99), which is pretty much about as “high-concept” as a horror film can be.  This variation on the commonplace horror movie meme of a group of young people who face unimaginable dangers at an isolated camp in the wilderness is one that connoisseurs of the modern horror film will definitely have to see. Critics, who are usually up for something new when it comes to genre films, loved Cabin in the Woods giving it a stellar 90% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Also due this week is Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (Paramount, “PG-13,” BD $99.98), the long-awaited debut of the Indiana Jones movies on Blu-ray. Unfortunately Paramount and Lucasfilm have not seen fit to release the early Indy films individually on Blu-ray, which means that fans will be forced to buy the “Fridge-Nuking” final Indy movie, the execrable Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

 

Art house fans will likely make the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Fox, “PG-13,” $29.98, BD $39.99) the same sort of cult hit on DVD that it was in theaters where it earned a very respectable $46.1 million in North America. This film, which has more than its share of long-in-the-tooth thespians, has been criticized for being a formulaic comedy romance, but it makes it clear that experience counts as it boasts strong ensemble performances that few films can match, and it is no surprise that, in spite of predictable plot, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel earned a solid 77% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Those who enjoy pop music documentaries will probably like the well-produced Katy Perry: Part of Me (Paramount, “PG,” $29.98, BD $39.99). Though at times this film looks and feels like an electronic press kit for the pop diva, her personality does manage to come through and her elaborate stage show is well presented. Basically it comes down to whether a viewer likes her music or not. Those who do will like this film.

 

 

The parade of top contemporary TV series releases continues with the popular single camera sitcom Modern Family: The Complete 3rd Season (Fox, $49.98, BD $59.98), the cult hit CW network series, Supernatural: The Complete 7th Season (Warner Bros., 900 min., $59.97, BD $69.97), the popular revived CBS series Hawaii Five-0: The Second Season (Paramount, 985 min., $64.99, BD $72.99), the underrated new sitcom Suburgatory: The Complete First Season (Disney, $44.98), the ABC medical examiner drama Body of Proof: The Complete 2nd Season (Disney, 840 min., $39.99), the Lifetime series Army Wives: The Complete Sixth Season, Part 1 (Disney, 559 min, $39.99), and the popular CBS police procedural The Mentalist: The Complete 4th Season (Warner Bros., 900 min., $59.98).

 

Vintage TV series debuting on DVD include the geek favorite slacker comedy Get a Life: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, 840 min., $59.97), the 1990-1992 Fox series that starred Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy, the classic western series starring Clint Eastwood, Rawhide: The 5th Season Vol.s 1&2 (Paramount, $69.98), and the British/Australian ‘western” from 1959, Whiplash: The Complete Series (Timeless Media, 850 min., $34.93).

 

Another interesting vintage TV release is Steve Martin: The Television Stuff (Shout Factory, not rated, $34.98), which contains six TV specials featuring the banjo-playing comedian in the ice cream suit that aired from 1976-1981, plus a selection of smaller bits including the short film, “The Absent-Minded Waiter”).

 

The best U.K. release is The Crimson Petal & The White (Acorn Media, 274 min., $39.99), a mini-series adaptation of the international bestseller by Michel Faber that is set in a hellish vision of Victorian England with its dense coal smoke-aided fogs, grinding poverty, and seamy sexual underworld that provided outlets for the repression brought on the middle class by the rigorous moral code of the era. Romola Garai plays Sugar, an ambitious prostitute who casts a spell over the feckless William Rackham (Chris Dowd), the ineffectual heir to a perfume fortune. X-Files fans will love the potent performance of Gillian Anderson as one of the nastiest madams in the history of brothels. While director Marc Munden does manage to make this dangerous excursion into the Victorian demi-monde thoroughly compelling, his penchant for shaky camerawork tends to erode the overall excellence of the mis-en-scene, which is characterized by well-constructed sets and evocative lighting.

 

Also out this week is Inspector Lewis: Series 5 (PBS, 360 min., $34.99, BD $39.99), a spin-off from the Inspector Morse series that stars Kevin Whatley and Laurence Fox and airs in the U.S. on Masterpiece Mystery.

 

 

The top release this week is King of Thorn (Funimation, “+17+,” 120 min., BD/Combo $24.98), an anime movie adaptation of Yuji Iwahara’s excellent manga series that was published here by Tokyopop. Now I haven’t read the manga, but friends who have assure me that the anime feature film, which was directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama and produced by Sunrise in 2010, makes major changes in this science fiction survival saga set in a future world where the Medusa virus threatens to turn humanity to stone. While it may not fully satisfy fans of the manga, this is a powerful work from the director of the Appleseed movie and The Big O anime series that fans of adult science fiction anime will definitely want to check out.

 

Also new to North America this week is the Persona 4: Collection 1 (Sentai Filmworks,“14+,” 300 min., $59.98), which collects the first 12 episodes of the anime series created in 2011 by AIC and based on the popular Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 video game. Sentai has indicated that the same voice cast used in the video game will provide the English dub track for the American release.

 

Re-priced releases include the Allison & Lillia: Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 650 min., $69.98), which collects all 26 episodes of the Madhouse series from 2008 that was based on the light novel series Allison & Lillia & Treize by Keiichi Sigsawa. This is the first price on this material, which was previously issued in two 13-episode sets at $49.98 per set. Then there is the S.A.V.E. edition of the 2008 Gonzo series The Tower of Druaga: Complete Series (Funimation, “14+,” 300 min. $29.98).

Tom Flinn

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.