This week’s home entertainment offerings include the latest season of the hottest epic fantasy series in the history of TV, a brilliant Blu-ray edition of Sam Raimi’s 1990 classic Darkman, a re-packaged edition of the out-of-print 1978 Battlestar Galactica, the first release from the new CGI Batman series, Beware the Batman, plus a host of new anime releases including the third (of 4) installments of the “rebuild” of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
 
TV on DVD
 
This week’s top release is Game of Thrones: The Complete 3rd Season (HBO, 550 min., $59.98, BD $79.98, Ltd. Ed. $129.98), which collects all ten episodes of the hit HBO series based on the epic fantasy novels of George R.R. Martin.  Season 3 of the TV series adapts the first half of Martin’s A Storm of Swords, the third novel in the author’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, and it set all sorts of new viewing records for the show.  Martin actually wrote one of Season 3’s episodes (#7 “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”), and the full complexity of the author’s grand design is becoming apparent in the far-flung action in this latest installment of the battle for the Iron Throne.  With a budget of more than $50 million, Game of Thrones is setting a new standard in the adaptation of epic fantasy for the small screen.   
 
The Limited Edition is a true collector’s item—it comes in a “sculpted” box that features Daenerys’s dragon from the season 3 poster art as well as both DVD and BD versions of the ten-episode third season.
 
Also of keen interest to geek viewers is Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series (Universal, 1166 min., $44.98), a re-packaged edition that includes all 24 episodes of the classic 1978 TV series that began the Battlestar Galactica franchise.  This classic 10-DVD set was last released in 2003-2004, and good condition copies are selling for a premium on eBay.
 
This week’s other main live-action release is Nurse Jackie: Season Five (Lionsgate, 280 min., $39.98, BD $39.98), which collects all ten episodes of Showtime’s gritty medical drama/dark comedy starring Eddie Falco as the fiercely iconoclastic, occasionally drug-addled and always strong-willed New York City nurse.
 
The most interesting of this week’s animated TV releases is Beware the Batman, Season 1, Part 1: Shadows of Gotham (Warner Bros., 286 min., $19.97, BD $19.95), which contains the first 13 episodes of the new computer-animated Batman series that debuted on the Cartoon Network in 2013 as part of the CN’s DC Nation block where it replaced Batman: The Brave and the Bold.   The series was put on hiatus in October of 2013 with new episodes supposed to return sometime in 2014.
 
Other animated TV offerings include The Garfield Show: Volume 11, Showtime (Gaiam, 72 min., $14.93), and the much more interesting Tom and Jerry: Mouse Trouble (Warner Bros., 210 min., $19.97), which collects 30 great classic Tom & Jerry theatrical cartoons by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in a very affordable package.
 
Vintage TV releases include the classic sci-fi series, The Six Million Dollar Man: Season 5 (Universal, 1110 min., $39.98) and the final season of the late 1960s series Gentle Ben: Season 2 (Paramount, 712 min., $29.98).
 
Classics on Blu-ray
 
Unable to get the rights to Superman or Batman, director Sam Raimi, who later went on to direct the first Spider-Man Trilogy, created his own superhero saga in Darkman Collector’s Edition (Shout Factory,”R” 96 min. $29.93), which can arguably be considered the best superhero film of the 1990s.  Actually the pulp magazines of the 1930s and the Warner Bros. horror film Doctor X (directed by Michael Curtiz) were also major influences on Darkman, which benefits from strong performances from Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand.   The film looks great in high-definition, and the Collector’s Edition comes with a boatload of extras including a new interview with Frances McDormand, audio commentary by cinematographer Bill Pope, plus interviews with production designers, make-up, and special effects experts, and much more.  No fan of superhero movies should be without this 1990 classic, and this is the best home entertainment version yet.
 
Anime
 
Lots of interesting releases this week including Evangelion: 333 You Can (Not) Redo (Funimation, “14+,” 96 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), the third film in the four-movie “rebuild” of the 1990s TV anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, the apotheosis of convoluted, symbol-rich mecha series.  The four “rebuild” films, which are being directed by Hideaki Anno, who presided over the original TV show, provide some embellishments on the classic NGE series, including new settings, some new characters, and supposedly a completely new ending in the fourth and final film, which is currently in production and has no current release date (though 2015 has been mentioned).   This film, which debuted in Japan in November of 2012, had its U.S. premiere at the New York Comic Con in October of 2013, and both the DVD and BD versions include an extra covering the North American premiere at the NYCC.  Like the version shown at the NYCC, this release includes a dubbed English soundtrack along with the original Japanese track.  Like many anime fans, I already have two previous versions of NGE in my collection, and in spite of my dislike of “double-dipping,” I have to make an exception for the “rebuild” of Evangelion, simply because this mecha franchise is the anime equivalent of crack in the powerful hold it maintains over its devotees.
 
Also new is Robotics;Notes Part 1 (Funimation, “14+,” 275 min., BD/DVD combo $64.98, Ltd. Ed. $69.98), which contains the first 11 episodes of the 22-episode anime TV series created by Production I.G. that aired in Japan in 2012 and 2013.  Robotics;Notes is based on the visual novel/game developed and published by 5pb.  Robotics;Notes is the third game in 5pb’s “Science Adventure” series that also includes Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate, each of which inspired anime adaptations.  These are “augmented science adventures” that mix elements of the romantic drama and the thriller with science fiction adventure.  The “Limited Edition” includes a set of five club member cards—4x6 cards for the Robot Research Club members, whose quest to build a giant fighting robot is at the heart of Robotics;Notes’ narrative.
 
Another release of interest is Jormungand: Season 2 Perfect Order (Funimation, “17+,” 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98), which collects all 12 episodes of the second season of the anime created by White Fox and based on Keitaro Takahashi’s seinen manga series (published here by Viz Media) about comely arms dealer who apparently has a very bloody plan to “install” world peace.   This is an interesting, if far-fetched series, that deals in very bloody fashion with some complicated moral issues.  Koko, the gorgeous arms dealer, is guarded by Jonah, a former child soldier who hates the “merchants of death” and has to decide where his loyalties lie when he discovers the bloody scope of Koko’s scheme to achieve world peace.
 
As if that weren’t enough there is also Naruto Shippuden Movie 5: Blood Prison (Viz Media, “16+,” $19.98, BD $24.98), an exciting adventure that finds the young ninja imprisoned for the attempted assassination of the lead of the Hidden Cloud Village.  This is no ordinary prison, and even Naruto is thwarted in his first escape attempts, but perhaps he should stay and destroy the mysterious Box of Enlightenment and all that it represents?
 
New on Blu-ray are the Hidamari Sketch Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “13+,” 350 min., $59.98), which was previously released here on DVD in 2010 and Time Bokan OVA: Royal Revival (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 60 min., $24.98, BD $29.98), which includes 2 1990s OVAs based on the classic 1970s Time Bokan anime.  These two OVAs were previously released on DVD by Central Park Media in 2005.
 
Theatrical Movies
 
The best of a very slim slate is On the Job (Well Go, “Not Rated,” 116 min., $24.98, BD $29.98), a bloody Filipino thriller that will remind viewers of The Departed, but which benefits its exotic rough-and-tumble locations and strong realistic performances throughout.  On the Job is not for the faint of heart, but those who like propulsive action thrillers will find plenty to like here.  But don’t take my word for it, On the Job has a perfect Tomatometer reading of 100% positive (based on just 13 reviews, but still a very strong rating for a film in the crime genre).
 
Another very interesting genre film is Fists of Legend (CJ Entertainment, “Not Rated,” 155 min., $24.98, BD $29.98), a Korean martial arts film about a trio of high school friends, legendary streetfighters, who square off in a TV fight contest with a $200,000 prize.  Though some might find the film overly long, its fight sequences are for the most part refreshingly direct and lacking the over-the-top bombast that undermines action set pieces in so many similar films.

Tom Flinn

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