Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing the new gripping and tender Tom Hanks-starring Western NEWS OF THE WORLD on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on March 23.
Fresh Fiction has some Blu-ray copies to give away! Information on how to get yours is below, along with information on the release.
CONTEST
The rules are simple:
Email preston@freshfiction.com with your NAME and MAILING ADDRESS that you’d like the code to be sent. (Note: U.S. addresses only and no PO boxes.)
Title your email subject: “NEWS Movie Giveaway.”
In the body of email, tell us the greatest news you’ve ever received in your life.
The giveaway is active now until next Thursday, March 25 @ 12 PM CT.
Preston Barta’s Synopsis/Review:
If ever John Krasinski had someone turn the feelings felt in his sanity-saving YouTube series, Some Good News, into a movie, this Paul Greengrass-directed Western would be pretty close to being it. These fine two hours of cinema capture the influential power that positive news and storytelling can have on people. It showcases another terrific Tom Hanks performance, an endearing father-daughter type of relationship, and a feel-good story about broken people coming together.
Set in the wake of the Civil War, New of the World sees Hanks as Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former infantryman who travels around Texas to read lively accounts of events that have happened nearby and far. A new task comes his way after he discovers 10-year-old Johanna (Helena Zengel) along his travels. Johanna is a German immigrant raised by the Kiowa people after her parents’ died six years earlier. Like a good Mandalorian would, Capt. Kidd accepts the duty of helping Johanna find her last remaining relatives.
News of the World is a classic journey that picks up so much beauty along the way. Other filmmakers would likely focus on the death and brutality of the times. But like the angle Capt. Kidd takes with his news readings, Greengrass keeps his own material in the light. It’s an unabashedly sincere drama that will put a lot of pep in your step. It’s lovely, and you’ll treasure the wisdom it imparts.
Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel in NEWS OF THE WORLD. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.
BONUS FEATURES ON 4K Ultra HD, BLU-RAYTM, DVD and Digital:
DELETED SCENES
PARTNERS: TOM HANKS & HELENA ZENGEL – Witness the successful (and very fun) working relationship of movie veteran Tom Hanks and newcomer Helena Zengel.
WESTERN ACTION – Explore the creation ofNEWS OF THE WORLD‘s most exciting and challenging scenes.
PAUL GREENGRASS MAKES NEWS OF THE WORLD– A look at how director Paul Greengrass assembled the very best filmmaking team to realize a lifelong ambition of making a western.
THE KIOWA – Filmmakers explain why the authentic representation of the Kiowa was so important to them.
FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR PAUL GREENGRASS
NEWS OF THE WORLD will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-rayTM, DVD and Digital.
4K Ultra HD is the ultimate movie watching experience. 4K Ultra HD features the combination of 4K resolution for four times sharper picture than HD, the color brilliance of High Dynamic Range (HDR) with immersive audio delivering a multidimensional sound experience.
Blu-rayTM unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
Digital lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.
MOVIES ANYWHERE is the digital app thatsimplifies and enhances the digital movie collection and viewing experience by allowing consumers to access their favorite digital movies in one place when purchased or redeemed through participating digital retailers. Consumers can also redeem digital copy codes found in eligible Blu-rayTM and DVD disc packages from participating studios and stream or download them through Movies Anywhere. MOVIES ANYWHERE is only available in the United States. For more information, visit https://moviesanywhere.com.
Rated R, 112 minutes. Director: Sam Peckinpah Cast: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, and Gig Young
Sam Peckinpah was a famously unhinged director who poured himself into his work, and the results never lived up to what the filmmaker saw in his mind, except for one film.
BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA, in Peckinpah’s eyes, was his masterpiece, a pure and unfiltered look into his mind. In this dusty and grimy road film, the director explores his passion for and relationship to women, the failure of masculinity, and Mexican culture. It’s a brilliant film–and its star, Warren Oates, operates on a level few actors have ever been able to channel.
Mexican crime lord, only known as El Jefe’s daughter, is pregnant, and the culprit is his right-hand man is the enigmatic Alfredo “Al” Garcia. The boss puts a million-dollar bounty on the head of Garcia, and the word spreads that a massive payday is up for grabs.
Bartender/piano player Bennie (Oates) is recruited by a couple of effeminate assassins (Gig Young and Robert Weber) to bring them the head for 10k, but he wants the whole tequila bottle, even the worm. Set across an increasingly feverish landscape, Oates and (a brilliant) Isela Vega tap into a neo-Western classic that pulsates with tension and expert storytelling.
RENT/BUY: BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA is perfect for repeat viewings. From Oates’s dynamic performance to Peckinpah’s observations on the parallels between the film and crime industry. This is the rare film that only gets riper with age. It’s a must-own.
Note: Kino Lorber recently announced that the wrong master from the UK label was used. A disc replacement program has been initiated by Kino Lorber for those who have purchased the o-card and reversible cover art of the film. Click here for the form>>
Grade: A-
RUNAWAY TRAIN
Rated R, 111 minutes. Director: Andrey Konchalovsky Cast: John Voight, Eric Roberts, and Rebecca DeMornay
RUNAWAY TRAIN may be the only tough-guy movie of the ’80s to receive multiple Academy Award nominations for acting and still somehow have a low profile in the modern film landscape.
The Andrey Konchalovsky-directed film starts as a prison drama, morphs into an action epic, and still has time to stop and build up its two leading characters (played by Eric Roberts and a never-better Jon Voight). (I was today years old when I discovered Eric Roberts was nominated for an Oscar.)
Aside from the two leading men in the film, Rebecca DeMornay comes in to bat clean up with a performance that doesn’t enter the (literal) picture until an hour into the film. The stage and character dynamics have been set, but DeMornay’s performance registers with hutzpah and pathos. This has to be one of the crown jewels of the storied 1980s film house Cannon Films.
Let’s keep it simple: Manny (Voight) is a legendary prisoner at a remote Alaskan prison where he’s been kept in solitary confinement for three years because he’s a known escape artist. Manny’s bravado is quiet, but don’t test him because his will to be free cannot be broken. One thing (a mangled hand from being stabbed) leads to another (swimming through a soiled sewer), and Manny has teamed up with Buck (Roberts) on a fast track to freedom.
RUNAWAY TRAIN is an awe-inspiring action flick no matter the decad. The Kino Lorber release is filled with commentary on masculinity and authority. It has the brains of a counterculture film with the Braun you’d come to expect from a Cannon action picture. This is one seemingly deep cut that will be tossed into heavy rotation.
RENT/BUY: This is one of the most exciting Kino Lorber Studio Classic releases in the spring crop. It comes with a sharp slipcover and a fascinating audio commentary with Eric Roberts and film historians. The features lack a little bit, but there are not many available 35 years later. However, my favorite thing to do before watching a Kino Lorber release is to watch the trailers on the disc before the film starts. Each one is thematically relevant to the main feature and sets a great mood like you’re back in your favorite repertory house. Keep em coming to Kino. RUNAWAY TRAIN is special.
Grade: B+
POSITIVE I.D.
Rated R, 95 minutes. Director: Andy Anderson Cast: Stephanie Rascoe Myers, and John S. Davies
Note: This review contains subject matter that may be triggering.
Texas is a place ripe with scenery, feeling, and aesthetics, but very few filmmakers can capture the state with earnest reverence for such a strange place. Filmmaker and academic Andy Anderson did just that, but with relevant commentary on sexual politics with his low-budget film POSITIVE I.D.
The film got a jump on major studio films like FATAL ATTRACTION (1987) and BASIC INSTINCT (1992), each of which took on a more suggestive tone that ignited audiences and broke down a barrier when it comes to sex on screen.
Anderson wasn’t attempting to get the same thrills from his small albeit potent audience. With POSITIVE I.D. It’s not about what we see but the effects sexual trauma has on women. His film takes a systematic approach to revenge, the little steps and sacrifices one woman makes to find some respite from the pain. We are kept guessing until the last heartbreaking moment.
Julie Kenner (Stephanie Rascoe) is removed from being attacked by a man released early from prison. She’s not doing well. Julie regularly breaks down crying and has not shared a bed with her husband (John Davies) since her assault. Friends frequently ask her if she enjoyed the experience and that she’s to blame. Julie has decided she’s had enough and jumps through incredibly ingenious hoops to assume a new identity and exact her revenge.
Anderson’s film is operating on a tiny budget, and while it’s not much to look at from a visual perspective, POSITIVE I.D. finds success thematically and with its plotting.
RENT/BUY: This is a Kino Lorber Studio Classic that’s worth purchasing for it being a rare film alone. It’s a lot to take in, but POSITIVE I.D. sets a mood.
Rated R, 140 minutes. Director: Edgar Wright Cast: Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Flea, and Fred Armisen
Playful yet profound, funny, and a little frivolous, this is the essence of genre filmmaker Edgar Wright’s documentary THE SPARKS BROTHERS. Taking the film from a fan’s perspective presents the cult pop duo Sparks with glee for those who loved the band throughout the decades of coming and going on the music scene.
Several famous talking heads pop up throughout the entirety of the film. People like Jason Schwartzman, Fred Armisen, Beck, and Flea discuss how they discovered and rediscovered Sparks over the years. Saying things to the effect of, “Oh, these guys are still around?” and then proceeding to tell a story about how the music of Ron and Russell Mael has been touchstones in their lives. (The best comes from Schwartzman.)
Wright pulls at several threads through the entirely too long 140-minute documentary. The idea of repeatedly reinventing yourself, celebrating outsider art, and not taking the work you do (creative or otherwise) too seriously are all touched upon but not gone into with any meaningful depth.
This documentary will be an introduction to the Sparks empire for many (including this reviewer) and a compendium for fans of Russel (vocals) and Ron Mael’s (keys) lengthy discography that runs the gamut of dates of the late 1960s to 2017. Wright presents the Mael brothers as strange and distant interview subjects. But with a curveball that immediately invites the audience into their peculiar headspace. Russell and Ron, now in their 70s, have an artsy and hip aesthetic that encapsulates the brothers’ need to keep progressing, stay moving. Through playful banter, Wright breaks down the barriers to get to the heart and charm behind Russell’s boyish good looks and Ron’s static look that’s somewhere between Charlie Chaplin and the STOP MAKING SENSE era of David Byrne.
Through personal anecdotes about childhood losses and seeing The Beatles live, Wright peels back the mystery and allows his signature fast-paced style to be a big open-hearted hug for fans and newbies alike. THE SPARKS BROTHERS focuses on pleasing existing fans. But thanks to Wright’s storytelling skills, he successfully invites viewers into the prolific brothers’ world. In the 1950s Los Angeles, the brothers occupied a version of American suburban life that they would come to satirize in their art. According to Wright, Russell and Ron have always known who they are but never knew who they were going to be–that notion has never changed.
From a revolving door of changing styles, the brothers never responded to the culture; they wanted to take a proactive approach to their music and art. The exciting thing about a director with a fervent fanbase like Edgar Wright taking on a subject close to his heart is seeing the curtain pullback on artists’ inspirations. While Wright’s film isn’t about the nature of fandom or outsider art, it directly links to him being a more relatable storyteller. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t go a little overboard with the runtime, as there are large pockets of the film that are repetitive as some of Sparks’s lyrics. The tonal rhythms of Wright’s work like music at times, but without a break from the constant onslaught of needle drops, the beat goes on too long (a problem that came up in BABY DRIVER as well).
THE SPARKS BROTHERS is unmistakably an Edgar Wright film with heart, groovy music pieces that come out like a never-ending firehose of art-pop. Ron and Russell Mael seem like nice enough guys and have managed to stay relevant with an upcoming screenplay, the musical ANNETTE (starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver and directed by French weirdo genius Leo Carax). These brothers are the forever evolving men, and at least for a couple of hours, it’s fun to hop into their orbit.
Grade: B
Focus Features has picked up the distribution for the film and will released it on June 18.
