Top Video Rental Titles, w/e Dec 14

Top video loans (rental) titles for the week ending December 14, 2014, courtesy Rentrak

Rosewater to Release on DVD/ Blu-Ray

A journalist in Iran endures an unthinkable ordeal when he is falsely accused of spying in Rosewater, a political thriller coming to Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD on March 24, 2015 for lending to library patrons, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Based on the thrilling true-life story of Maziar Bahari, the film features first-rate performances from an international cast, as well as an impassioned script that infuses wit and humor into a terrifying and all-too-real situation. Available on DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack, Rosewater comes with bonus content that sheds additional light on this important story.

Rosewater marks the feature-film writing and directing debut of comedian and political "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart. Gael García Bernal (Cesar Chavez, The Loneliest Planet) stars as Baziar, turning in a performance described as "exceptional" by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, along with Oscarnominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (On the Inside, The Odd Life of Timothy Green). Rosewater has earned the prestigious Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review, as well praise from critics including Sasha Stone of Awards Daily who says "It's not only one of the best films I've seen this year, but one I will keep telling people to see." 

Based on Then They Came For Me: A Family's Story Of Love, Captivity, and Survival, the best-selling memoir by Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy, Rosewater follows the Tehran-born, Canada-based Bahari as the journalist returns to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the country's contentious 2009 presidential election. As Mousavi's supporters were protesting Ahmadinejad's victory declaration even before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC. For this, Bahari was arrested by police led by a man known only as "Rosewater." He was tortured and interrogated over the next 118 days, while his wife embarked on an international campaign to have her husband freed and media outlets kept the story alive.

 

The Blu-ray Combo Pack includes a Blu-ray, DVD and DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet. 

• Blu-ray 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.
• DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
• DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Bonus Features on Blu-ray and DVD

• Iran's Controversial Election
• The Story of Maziar Bahari
• Real Spies Have TV Shows
• What Happens in New Jersey...
• A Director's Perspective

 

Dumb and Dumber To Announced for DVD/Blu-ray Release

Two decades after Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels' endearingly dense pairing spun slapstick comedy into box office gold in Dumb and Dumber, the long-awaited sequel, Dumb and Dumber To, arrives on DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack for library patron loan on March 17, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber; There's Something about Mary; Me, Myself and Irene) the Dumb and Dumber To  Blu-ray Combo Pack offers hilarious extra belly laughs including an alternate opening, deleted and extended scenes, and a multi-part feature that takes viewers behind the scenes of the no-holds-barred comedy.
The side-splitting sequel also stars Rob Riggle (The Hangover, 21 Jump Street), Kathleen Turner (Marley & Me, Romancing the Stone), Laurie Holden ("The Walking Dead," Silent Hill), Rachel Melvin (My Funny Valentine, "Days of Our Lives"), and Steve Tom ("Major Crimes," Seven Pounds).

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their signature roles as Lloyd and Harry in the sequel to the smash hit that took the physical comedy and kicked it in the nuts: Dumb and Dumber To. The original film's directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, take Lloyd and Harry on a road trip to find a child Harry never knew he had and the responsibility neither should ever, ever be given. Along for the ride are co-stars Kathleen Turner, Laurie Holden, and Rob Riggle.

Criterion Announces March Releases

In March 2015, Criterion will highlight some of the most important nonfiction films ever made,

starting with the release on Blu-Ray and DVD of a trio of documentaries by Oscar winner Errol Morris. His first two films, Gates of Heaven (which Roger Ebert called “one of the ten greatest films ever made”) and Vernon, Florida, together in one set, are vivid peeks at off-the-beaten-path America; and his incredible The Thin Blue Line is a shocking true story of a miscarriage of justice. The popular Criterion title Hoop Dreams, the 1994 documentary landmark about two teen NBA hopefuls, is back in a new twentieth-anniversary restoration. Ingmar Bergman’s visually astonishing, Oscar-winning Cries and Whispers will be back in a supplement-packed new special edition, and available for the first time in the USA on Blu-ray. And make room on your shelf for two buried cinematic treasures: François Truffaut’s Hitchcock-inspired French New Wave drama The Soft Skin and Robert Montgomery’s gripping Hollywood noir Ride the Pink Horse, both making their American DVD and Blu-Ray debuts. 

 

Stay tuned for details.

Kill the Messenger Announced for February 10, 2015 DVD / Blu-Ray Release

A gutsy investigative journalist pursues the story of a lifetime in Focus Features' Kill the Messenger, a powerful dramatic thriller based on a remarkable true story, coming to Blu-Ray Combo Pack including Blu-Ray, DVD & Digital HD with UltraViolet as well as DVD on February 10, 2015, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

The Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD feature exclusive bonus content including deleted scenes, cast profiles, filmmaker commentary and more. Two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy) leads an all-star cast with Emmy Award winner Michael Cuesta (Homeland) directing.

Kill the Messenger is based on the true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb (portrayed by Jeremy Renner). In the 1990s, this dedicated reporter's quest for the truth took him from the prisons of California to the villages of Nicaragua to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. and his investigative reporting drew the kind of attention that threatened not just his career, but his family and his life. Webb himself becomes the story and a target, as jealous rival reporters who missed the story move to discredit his work and reputation in an increasingly vicious smear campaign. His wife Sue (Rosemarie DeWitt) tries to stand by him even as, despite warnings from drug kingpins and menacing surveillance intended to deter his investigation, Webb keeps digging to prove a direct link between cocaine smugglers and the CIA, a conspiracy with explosive implications.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Announce "Cheek to Cheek LIVE!" DVD and Blu-Ray Release

This summer with great anticipation, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga took to the stage for their first full live concert appearance in New York City and performed a special evening of songs, many of which from their Grammy nominated, #1 album, Cheek To Cheek. 

The DVD and Blu-Ray of "Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga:  Cheek To Cheek LIVE!" will be released on January 20, 2015 and will feature 72 minutes of music and 19 songs; showcasing both vocal duets and solo performances by these two legendary artists.

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE! was taped at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on July 28, 2014 and premiered on PBS's award winning series, THIRTEEN's Great Performances this fall.  The concert featured classic selections from the Great American Songbook, each handpicked by the artists, including "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "Sophisticated Lady," "Lush Life," "Anything Goes," and "Cheek To Cheek."  The DVD and Blu-Ray editions include additional songs not originally aired on television including, "They All Laughed,"  "Lady's In Love With You," "Goody Goody," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "Don't Wait Too Long," and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye."

Throughout the concert, Bennett and Gaga demonstrate a strong camaraderie and affection belying the six-decade age differential, inspiring widespread critical praise upon its initial airing.

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE! was filmed in stunning 4K Ultra High Definition (HD) before a live audience of fans and invited guests, with set and lighting design by Robert Wilson, the stars are joined by a 39-piece orchestra conducted by Jorge Calandrelli, soloists Chris Botti on trumpet and David Mann on tenor sax, and jazz musicians associated with both artists including members of Bennett's quartet, Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones and Marshall Wood, and Lady Gaga's quintet, including Brian Newman, Paul Francis, Steven Kortyka, Michael Scott Ritchie, and Alex Smith.

 

The album, Cheek To Cheek, debuted in September at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and also hit #1 on the Jazz Album and Traditional Jazz Album charts. Cheek To Cheek was recently nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal" category. With the release of "Cheek To Cheek," Bennett broke his own record, set in 2011 when "Duets II" debuted at #1 at the age of 85.  Now at 88, Mr Bennett remains the oldest artist in music industry history to have an album at the #1 spot on the Billboard charts. "Cheek To Cheek" marks Lady Gaga's third consecutive #1 album release in just over three years, making her the only female artist this decade to achieve this feat; this is the second time in Bennett's career that he has had an album debut at #1 in both Billboard's Pop and Jazz Album charts.

 

 

"Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE!"  DVD and Blu-Ray editions feature the following musical performances:

1. Anything Goes
2. Cheek To Cheek
3. They All Laughed
4. Lady's In Love With You (Tony Bennett Solo)
5. Nature Boy
6. Goody Goody
7. How Do You Keep The Music Playing? (Tony Bennett Solo)
8. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (Lady Gaga Solo)
9. Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered (Lady Gaga Solo)
10. Firefly
11. I Won't Dance
12. Don't Wait Too Long (Tony Bennett Solo)
13. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
14. Lush Life (Tony Solo)
15. Sophisticated Lady (Tony Bennett Solo)
16. Let's Face The Music And Dance
17. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (Lady Gaga Solo)
18. But Beautiful
19. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

AFI Revels "AFI Awards 2014" Winners

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the official selections of AFI AWARDS 2014 – eleven outstanding films and ten outstanding television programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year's most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. This is the first time in AFI AWARDS history that the voting procedure, including tiebreakers, has resulted in the inclusion of eleven motion picture honorees.

An almanac documenting works of excellence that mark a moment in time, AFI AWARDS is also the only national honor for the community's creative teams as a whole, acknowledging the collaborative nature of the art form. With no winners or losers, honorees are selected based on works which best advance the art of the moving image, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America's art form, inspire audiences and artists alike, and/or make a mark on American society. 

"We celebrate these films and television programs as more than just milestones in a year of excellence," said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. "They are a part of our American cultural heritage – collectively, a new chapter in the story of the art form and of our nation."

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR	AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR
AMERICAN SNIPER	THE AMERICANS
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)	FARGO
BOYHOOD	GAME OF THRONES
FOXCATCHER	HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER
THE IMITATION GAME	JANE THE VIRGIN
INTERSTELLAR	THE KNICK
INTO THE WOODS	MAD MEN
NIGHTCRAWLER	ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
SELMA	SILICON VALLEY
UNBROKEN	TRANSPARENT
WHIPLASH

 

Marking the 15th chapter in the American Film Institute's ongoing chronicle of the moving image in the 21st century, the 2014 entries join a notable pantheon of previous AFI honorees – works of significance that not only contribute to the rich cultural legacy, but also define the state of the art form.

 

AFI AWARDS selections are made through a jury process in which AFI Trustees, scholars, film and television artists and critics determine the most outstanding achievements of the year, as well as provide a contextual rationale for each selection.