DVD/Acquisition Update, 5 December

Here's a quick DVD update, as I haven't posted one in a little while... there's not a lot of surprises to speak of, unless you consider the re-release of a made-for-television movie starring Casper Van Dien as James Dean (and Diane Ladd as his mother!) a serendipitous blessing. Only two Blu-ray releases seemed worthy of mentioning, both from Warner on 2 March: Desmond Davis' Clash of the Titans and, one of my childhood favorites, Wolfgang Petersen's The NeverEnding Story. As I told my friend Mike, I bet Limahl's theme song will sound truly breathtaking in high-definition sound (fingers crossed that the music video is included!).

It appears as though Kino will be the official DVD studio for Lorber Films, with the first title being Kay Pollak's As It Is in Heaven [Så som i himmelen], a 2005 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film from Sweden.

In (exciting) acquisition news, Cinema Guild picked up two films in the past week: Maren Ade's Everyone Else [Alle Anderen] and Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's Sweetgrass. Both films screened at this year's New York Film Festival to some really positive notices. Look for them sometime in 2010.

Though I already posted about Strand picking up Catherine Breillat's Blue Beard [Barbe bleue], they informed me that the film, which also screened at the NYFF, will begin its limited run in NYC on 12 March, followed by a DVD release in June. And finally, the DVD release update is below, in descending order of release.

- The Invention of Lying, 2009, d. Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson, Warner, also on Blu-ray, 19 January
- Good Hair, 2009, d. Jeff Stilson, Lionsgate, 9 February
- The Sarah Silverman Program, Season 2, Volume 2, 2008, Comedy Central/Paramount, 9 February
- The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, 2009, d. Rebecca Miller, Screen Media, also on Blu-ray, 16 February
- The Damned United, 2009, d. Tom Hooper, Sony, also on Blu-ray, 23 February
- James Dean: Race with Destiny, 1997, d. Mardi Rustam, MPI, 23 February, w. Casper Van Dien, Diane Ladd
- The Last Hurrah, 2009, d. Jonathan W. Stokes, Cinema Libre, 23 February
- Mr. Right, 2006, d. David Morris, Jacqui Morris, Wolfe, 23 February
- The September Issue, 2009, d. R.J. Cutler, Lionsgate, 23 February
- Kiki's Delivery Service, 1989, d. Hayao Miyazaki, Disney, Special Edition, 2 March
- Ponyo, 2008, d. Hayao Miyazaki, Disney, also on Blu-ray, 2 March
- The Wedding Song [Le chant des mariées], 2008, d. Karin Albou, Strand Releasing, 9 March
- Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, 2009, d. Ti West, Lionsgate, 16 February
- Coco Before Chanel [Coco avant Chanel], 2009, d. Anne Fontaine, Sony, 16 February
- The Beaches of Agnès [Les plages d'Agnès], 2008, d. Agnès Varda, Cinema Guild, 23 February
- Drool, 2009, d. Nancy Kissam, Strand Releasing, 23 March, w. Laura Harring, Jill Marie Jones
- The Lark Farm [La masseria delle allodole], 2007, d. Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, Image Entertainment, 23 March, w. Paz Vega, Mortiz Bleibtreu, Ángela Molina, Arsinée Khanjian, Tchéky Karyo