DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (3.11.2014)

DISCussion's Recommendation of the Week is the Blu-ray re-release of the 1955 James Dean movie Rebel Without a Cause. The re-release features include a commentary, a behind the scene documentary and deleted scenes. First Release - Inside Llewyn Davis (DVD and Blu-ray) - The Book Thief (DVD and Blu-ray) - Out of the Furnace (DVD and Blu-ray) - Homefront (DVD and Blu-ray) - Commitment (DVD and Blu-ray) - The Hungover Games (DVD and Blu-ray) - The Broken Circle Breakdown (DVD) Re-Release - El Dorado (1966) (Blu-ray) - Hatari! (1962) (Blu-ray) - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) (Blu-ray) - Giant (1956) (Blu-ray) - Rebel Without a Cause (1955) (Blu-ray) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) (Blu-ray) Directed by Nicholas Ray Written by Stewart Stern (screenplay), Irving Shulman (adaptation), Nicholas Ray (story) Starring: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo One of James Dean's most iconic roles was in Rebel Without a Cause and was one of his last movies before his death. Dean stars as Jim Stark, a middle-class teenage and juvenile delinquent whose family move to Los Angeles to get away from his troubles with the law. But Jim is unable to stay out of trouble and falls for Judy (Natalie) who is the girlfriend of a local gang leader. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (excellent) Entertainment Fuse Score: 9.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Commentary by Douglas L. Rathgeb, author of The Making of Rebel Without a Cause; Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents documentary; Vintage documentary James Dean Remembered; New featurette: Dennis Hopper: Memories From the Warner Lot; Additional scenes (without sound); Theatrical trailer; And much more! Amazon Price: $14.96 (Blu-ray) Drama is the theme of the week with many of the big releases being from that genre, including The Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, the adaptation of The Book Thief, Out of the Furnace and the Oscar nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown. Whilst a couple of Westerns have earn Blu-ray re-releases. Inside Llewyn Davis (DVD and Blu-ray) Written and directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham The Coen Brothers have made many great movies in their career and their latest movie is set in the Folk music scene in 1961. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac, Sucker Punch) is a struggling folk singer in New York who sofa surfs around Greenwich Village and has an amazing ability to rub people the wrong way as he struggles to make a living in the music industry. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 94% (excellent) Metacritic Rating: 92/100 (excellent) Entertainment Fuse Score: 8.8/10 (read our review) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Inside Inside Llewyn Davis:; Discover how the acclaimed film was made with the filmmakers, cast, crew and musicians. Amazon Price: $19.99 (DVD), $22.99 (Blu-ray) The Book Thief (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Brian Percival Written by Michael Petroni (screenplay), Markus Zusak (novel) Starring: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer, Nico Liersch Based on the critically acclaimed novel The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), a illiterate a young girl in Nazi Germany who is forced into foster care because of her mother's communist briefs. With her foster father, Hans (Geoffrey Rush) she learns to read and after Kristallnacht her foster father and mother (Emily Watson) end up harboring a young Jewish man, Max (Ben Schnetzer). Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 46% (average) Metacritic Rating: 53/100 (average) Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features:  Closed Caption; Deleted scenes Additional Blu-ray Special Features: A hidden truth: bringing The Book Thief to Life; An inspirational history; Finding the thief and her family; Bringing the past to life; The legend and the music Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $19.99 (Blu-ray) Out of the Furnace (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Scott Cooper Written by Brad Ingelsby, Scott Cooper Starring: Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoe Saldana, Sam Shepard Out of the Furnace is writer/director Scott Cooper's follow up movie to his Oscar winning drama Crazy Heart. In the rust belt of America, Russell Baze (Christian Bale) is a steel mill worker and ex-prisoner who ends up having to find his war veteran brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) after he disappears when he gets involved in the underground boxing scene. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 53% (average) Metacritic Rating: 63/100 (good) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Closed Caption; Inpsiration: the stars of Out of the Furnace reveal what inspired them to become actors Additional Blu-ray Special Features: A conversation with co-writer/director Scott Cooper; Crafting the fight scenes; The music of Out of the Furnace Amazon Price: $14.99 (DVD), $17.99 (Blu-ray) Homefront (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Gary Fleder Written by Sylvester Stallone (screenplay), Chuck Logan (novel) Starring: Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Rachelle Lefevre, Frank Grillo, Clancy Brown, Izabela Vidovic Based on a novel by Chuck Logan Homefront is an action-thriller starring Jason Statham as Phil Broker, a ex-DEA agent who moves to a quiet small town with his daughter, but ends up crossing paths with a local meth dealer (James Franco). Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 42% (poor) Metacritic Rating: 39/100 (poor) Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Deleted Scenes; Standoff Additional Blu-ray Special Features: Digital Copy of Homefront; Includes UltraViolet Amazon Price: $17.99 (DVD), $22.99 (Blu-ray) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content 2.5 stars, Video 4.5 stars, Audio 4 stars, Extras 1 stars, Replay 1 stars (out of 5). Rent It. Commitment (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Park Hong-soo Written by Kim Soo-young Starring: Choi Seung-hyn, Han Ye-ri, kim Yoo-jung From South Korea is the spy thriller Commitment. Ri Myung-hoon (Choi Seung-hyun) is the son of a North Korean spy who is sent to a labor camp with his sister after a mission goes wrong. To save his sister Myung-hoon agrees to be a teenage spy to infiltrate South Korea. But he soon becomes the target of North Korean assassins as South Korean Intelligence closes in on him. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes: 33% (poor) Metacritic Rating: 36/100 (poor) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Making of; Trailer Amazon Price: $21.23 (DVD), $9.96 (Blu-ray) The Hungover Games (DVD and Blu-ray) Directed by Josh Stolberg Written by Kyle Barnett Anderson Starring: Ross Nathan, Sam Pancake, Ben Begley, Herbert Russell A few weeks 'Seltzberg' cursed us by releasing their 'parody' film The Starving Games and just when you thought the world has enough another 'parody' of The Hunger Games is being released onto DVD and Blu-ray, 'satirizing' everything from The Hangover, to Ted, to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Timely. DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Go deep inside The Hungover Games; Gag reel Amazon Price: $16.99 (DVD), $24.96 (Blu-ray) The Broken Circle Breakdown (DVD) Written and directed by Felix Van Groeningen Starring: Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh The Belgian romantic drama The Broken Circle Breakdown was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards. Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh star as Elise and Didier, two young people who end up in a whirlwind romance and have a family. But their relationship is put to the test when their daughter becomes seriously ill. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 79% (very good) Metacritic Rating: 71/100 (good) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Interview with Director Felix van Groeningen Amazon Price: $24.99 (DVD) El Dorado (1966) (Blu-ray) Directed by Howard Hawks Written by Leigh Brackett (screenplay), Harry Brown (novel 'The Stars in Their Courses') Starring: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix Director Howard Hawks and actors John Wayne and Robert Mitchum teamed up for the critically acclaimed Western El Dorado. Cole Thornton (Wayne) is a gunslinger for hire who works with his old friend Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Mitchum) to protect a rancher from a rival who is trying to steal his water. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (excellent) Entertainment Fuse Score: 6.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Commentary by Peter Bogdanovich; Commentary by film historian and critic Richard Schickel, actor Ed Asner and author Todd McCarthy; Ride, Boldly Ride: The Journey to El Dorado; The artist and the American west; Behind the gates: A.C. Lyles remembers John Wayne; Trailer Amazon Price: $14.96 (Blu-ray) Hatari! (1962) (Blu-ray) Directed by Howard Hawks Written by Harry Kurnitz, Leigh Brackett Starring: John Wayne, Else Martinelli, Hardy Krüger, Red Buttons The other Howard Hawks/John Wayne movie being re-release of Hatari! Wayne stars as Sean Mercer, an American man who captures wild animals in Africa and sells them to zoos. But wildlife photographer Anna D'Alessandro (Elsa Martinelli) joins his team and sets out to change his ways. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 68% (good) DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Trailer Amazon Price: $14.96 (Blu-ray) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) (Blu-ray) Directed by John Sturges Written by Leon Uris (screenplay), George Scullin (story) Starring: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland The 1957 Western Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is one of the most famous movies about the famous gun battle. Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) is a U.S. Marshal who plans to retire in Tombstone, Arizona with his brothers. Yet they end up in a feud with a clan of cattle thieves and Earp finds an unluckily ally, the outlaw Doc Holliday (Kirk Douglas). Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 82% (very good) DISC DETAILS Amazon Price: $14.96 (Blu-ray) Giant (1956) (Blu-ray) Directed by George Stevens Written by Fred Guiol, Ivan Moffat (screenplay), Edna Ferber (novel) Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Elsa Cardenas Giant is an epic-romance that was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning one for Best Director for George Stevens. Set from 1920 to 1950 Giant follows Jordan 'Bick' Benedict (Rock Hudson) and his wife Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) as they battle local ranchers and then oil tycoons in Texas as the economy and society changes. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 97% (excellent) Entertainment Fuse Score: 7.0/10 DISC DETAILS DVD Special Features: Introduction by George Stevens, Jr. Commentary by George Stevens, Jr., Ivan Moffat and Stephen Farber Documentary: George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey George Stevens: Filmmakers Who Knew Him, Memories of Giant and Return to Giant New York premiere TV special, Hollywood premiere featurette & behind the cameras segments Stills and documents galleries Original/reissue theatrical trailers And more! Amazon Price: $16.98 (Blu-ray)