BBC's The Tunnel announced for August 9 release

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing the critically acclaimed British crime drama “THE TUNNEL” on DVD and Blu-ray. “THE TUNNEL” from the makers of the Broadchurch series is set against the backdrop of Europe in crisis. When a prominent French politician is found dead in the middle of the Channel Tunnel, straddling the border between the UK and France, detectives Karl Roebuck, played by Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) and Elise Wassermann, played by Clémence Poésy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts I and II) are sent to investigate on behalf of their respective countries. The case takes a surreal turn when a shocking discovery is made at the crime scene, forcing the French and British police into an uneasy partnership. As the serial killer uses ever more elaborate and ingenious methods to highlight the moral bankruptcy of modern society, Karl and Elise are drawn deeper into his increasingly personal agenda.

“THE TUNNEL” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray August 9, 2016. The run time of this program is approximately 450 minutes on 3 discs. The DVD SRP is $49.99 and the Blu-ray SRP is $59.99. The DVD and Blu-ray also includes 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, cast interviews, and more. The program will also be available for digital download.

“THE TUNNEL” is based on the original hit Swedish series from Filmlance International “The Bridge,” created by Hans Rosenfeldt, Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, “THE TUNNEL” is a Sky Atlantic HD UK and CANAL+ France co-production from Kudos and Shine France Films in association with Filmlance and distributed by Endemol Shine International. Executive producers include Jane Featherstone, Manda Levin, Karen Wilson and Ben Richards alongside Nora Melhli, Director of Drama at Shine France Films and Lars Blomgren, Managing Director of Filmlance. The series is produced by Ruth Kenley-Letts.

PBS Readies Olympian "THE BOYS OF ' 36" DVD Release

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing “AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE BOYS OF ‘36” on DVD. Inspired by Daniel James Brown’s critically acclaimed nonfiction book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The thrilling true story of the American rowing team that triumphed against all odds in Nazi Germany, The Boys in the Boat is published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The book has been on The New York Times bestseller list for 95 weeks. 

“AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE BOYS OF ‘36” will be available on DVD August 16, 2016. The run time of the DVD is approximately 60 minutes and its SRP is $24.99.

“The Boys of ’36” is the story of nine working-class young men from the University of Washington who took the rowing world and the nation by storm when they captured the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. These sons of loggers, shipyard workers and farmers overcame tremendous hardships — psychological, physical and economic — to beat not only the Ivy League teams of the East Coast but Adolf Hitler’s elite German rowers. Their unexpected victory, and the obstacles they overcame to achieve it, gave hope to a nation struggling to emerge from the depths of the Depression.

"FRONTLINE: THE SECRET HISTORY OF ISIS” on DVD in August

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing “FRONTLINE: THE SECRET HISTORY OF ISIS” on DVD. “They came out of nowhere.” That was the common refrain when ISIS captured the world’s attention by seizing large swaths of Iraq, declaring an Islamic caliphate, and initiating a series of deadly terrorist attacks around the globe, including those in Paris and Brussels. But the program reveals in grim detail, the emergence of the brutal terrorist group should not have been a surprise — especially to the U.S. government.

“FRONTLINE: THE SECRET HISTORY OF ISIS ” will be available on DVD August 9, 2016. The run time of the program is approximately 60 minutes and the SRP is $24.99.

Going behind the headlines, the film shows how Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a one-time thug turned jihadi leader, was able to outmaneuver the American government for a time and build a brutal terrorist organization that would destabilize the Middle East and inflict violence around the world.

ROALD DAHL’S THE BFG on DVD July 5

Public Media Distribution, LLC announced today that it is re-releasing “ROALD DAHL’S THE

BFG” on DVD July 5, 2016. Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book comes to life in this classic animated feature, which debuted in 1989, about the amazing power of friendship between a little girl and a big-hearted giant.

This DVD includes the digitally restored version of the animated film along with two special features; a Never-before-seen Roald Dahl Documentary and Before/After Restoration Video. The documentary features an interview with Roald Dahl in which he talks about several of the well-known books he has written including “The BFG,” “The Witches,” and “Matilda.” In this video viewers gain insight into how some of these classics came to life.

“ROALD DAHL’S THE BFG” will be re-released on DVD July 5, 2016. The DVD run time is approximately 90 minutes and its SRP is $9.99.

NOVA: Wild Ways Out in July on DVD from PBS

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing “NOVA: WILD WAYS” on DVD. Four-lane highways may be a necessity to our modern society, but they can be death traps for millions of animals that try to cross them. Wildlife the world over need to roam for breeding, foraging, and to carry out their traditional migrations; but they are often blocked by ranches, farms, roads, and other human-made obstacles. While national parks and preserves offer some protection to wildlife, even the magnificent Serengeti and Yellowstone parks are too small to sustain healthy populations over generations.

But now comes new hope for wildlife through an approach called “connectivity conservation.” The program reveals through stunning cinematography how some of the world’s most beloved species; lions, bears, antelope and elephants, can be preserved by linking the world’s wildlife refuges with tunnels, overpasses, and protected land corridors.

“NOVA: WILD WAYS” will be available on DVD July 12, 2016. The run time of the DVD is approximately 60 minutes and its SRP is $24.99.

PRINCE PHILIP: THE PLOT TO MAKE A KING Set for June DVD Release

Public Media Distribution, LLC announced today it is releasing “PRINCE PHILIP: THE PLOT TO MAKE A KING” on DVD, produced by Blakeway Productions and internationally distributed by DRG. For the first time the inside story of the fierce dynastic tensions that were unleashed when the Queen fell in love with Prince Philip – tensions that would place huge strain on the royal marriage, and would shape the future of Elizabeth’s reign.

Young Philip, it was felt, was “rough, ill-mannered, uneducated and would probably not be faithful,” according to one courtier. The royal and political elite disliked his German roots – and they disliked his larger than life, ferociously ambitious uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten. Philips’s German links were a source of anxiety for Elizabeth’s parents. The present Queen’s mother is reported to have privately referred to Philip as ‘The Hun.’

“PRINCE PHILIP: THE PLOT TO MAKE A KING” will be available on DVD June 28, 2016. The run time of the series is approximately 60 minutes and the SRP is $24.99.

The film features an interview with Philip’s nephew, Prince Rainer von Hessen of Monaco, who shares the unpublished memoirs of his mother; Philip’s sister. In them she describes a private lunch with Hitler and her initial admiration for him. Her husband would become an SS colonel, and the head of one of the Nazi intelligence agencies; explaining much of the hostility Philip would suffer in Britain.

Mr Selfridge Closes Up Shop Soon!

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing the final season of the acclaimed MASTERPIECE series “MR. SELFRIDGE” on DVD and Blu-ray on May 17, 2016, nearly a week before it's TV airing. The clock nears closing time as mercantile genius Harry Selfridge faces creditors, swindlers, mob bosses, irate relatives, and spurned mistresses in the farewell season once again starring three-time Emmy winner Jeremy Piven (Entourage) as the man who revolutionized the world’s retail experience.

“MR. SELFRIDGE: THE FINAL SEASON” will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on May 17th, 2016. The run time of the program is approximately 420 minutes on 3 discs. The SRP for the DVD is $39.99 and $49.99 for Blu-ray.

Since the premiere season in 2013, Mr. Selfridge has wowed audiences and critics alike, much as the original Harry Gordon Selfridge did with his trend-setting, taboo-busting palace of commerce, Selfridge & Co., which opened in 1909 on London’s Oxford Street. Shopping has never been the same since.

 “A treasure box of tales about love, loss, ambition, and the spirit of a new age,” enthused The Wall Street Journal during Season 1; “lush and lovely,” murmured The Los Angeles Times about Season 2; “visually glorious,” gushed the New York Daily News for Season 3.

Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson on DVD and BD on April 12

PBS Distribution announced it is releasing KEN BURNS’S: “JACKIE ROBINSON” on DVD and Blu-ray April 12, 2016, coinciding with its PBS airing. This new four hour documentary, directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, tells the story of Jack Roosevelt Robinson, who rose from humble origins to break baseball’s color barrier. Robinson waged a fierce lifelong battle for first-class citizenship for all African Americans that transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements.

The run time of the program is approximately 240 minutes on 2 discs. The SRP for the DVD is $24.99 and $29.99 for Blu-ray.

“Jackie Robinson is the most important figure in our nation’s most important game,” said Ken Burns recently. “He gave us our first lasting progress in civil rights since the Civil War and, ever since I finished my BASEBALL series in 1994, I’ve been eager to make a stand-alone film about the life of this courageous American. There was so much more to say not only about Robinson’s barrier-breaking moment in 1947, but about how his upbringing shaped his intolerance for any form of discrimination and how after his baseball career, he spoke out tirelessly against racial injustice, even after his star had begun to dim.”

Ken Burn's JACKIE ROBINSON on DVD/BD on April 12

PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing KEN BURNS’S: “JACKIE ROBINSON” on DVD and Blu-ray April 12, 2016, coinciding with its PBS tv airing. This new four hour documentary, directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, tells the story of Jack Roosevelt Robinson, who rose from humble origins to break baseball’s color barrier. Robinson waged a fierce lifelong battle for first-class citizenship for all African Americans that transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements.

The run time of the program is approximately 240 minutes on 2 discs. The SRP for the DVD is $24.99 and $29.99 for Blu-ray. The program will also be available for digital download. 

"Jackie Robinson is the most important figure in our nation’s most important game,” said Ken Burns. “He gave us our first lasting progress in civil rights since the Civil War and, ever since I finished my BASEBALL series in 1994, I’ve been eager to make a stand-alone film about the life of this courageous American. There was so much more to say not only about Robinson’s barrier-breaking moment in 1947, but about how his upbringing shaped his intolerance for any form of discrimination and how after his baseball career, he spoke out tirelessly against racial injustice, even after his star had begun to dim.”