
courtesy of Shout! Factory
It's no secret that the way we watch movies and TV is changing radically, and rapidly. Even as how we watch is shifting, what we watch — the sheer volume of what we can choose from — seems to be expanding exponentially. For example, just this week, two specialty distributors released DVD/Blu-ray sets from the vaults that suggest the ridiculously wide spectrum of home video offerings at any given time.
From the scholarly archivists at the Criterion Collection, the nine-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah has been reissued in a three-disc Blu-ray edition. Also included in the package: new bonus materials, a 60-page booklet of critical essays, and three additional films from director Claude Lanzmann — A Visitor from the Living, The Karski Report and Sobibor, October 14, 1943, 4 p.m.
On the other end of the spectrum, the pop culture recyclers at Shout! Factory have assembled the 15-disc DVD set, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: The Complete Series. That's 110 episodes, if you're counting along at home, with an accompanying documentary and commentary tracks from Dr. Cosby himself.
And if those two aren't enough to keep you busy, consider some of these other titles that are ...
… Also New This Week:
A stylish but familiar British crime thriller, Pusher chronicles seven days in the life of a small-time London drug dealer, each day much worst than the last. Veteran UK actor Richard Coyle plays Frank, spiraling into desperation after a coke deal goes bad. Director Luis Petro cranks up the tension, and the throbbing techno score, but there's nothing new here — just Slavic mobsters, junkie strippers and Brit grime cliches. Yes, drug dealing is a lousy occupation. We've heard.
The Chilean film No, concerning the campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in the 1988 referendum, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards.
The 2012 documentary A Place at the Table examines the disturbing particulars of hunger in America.
Halle Berry headlines the 911 thriller The Call.
The chilly, psychosexual thriller Stoker stars Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska as mother and daughter. They have issues.
Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey play rival Vegas stage magicians in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. This can't miss, right?
For the kids, Jack the Giant Slayer stars Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) as the titular hero, with supporting turns from Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci and Ian McShane.
The Last Exorcism Part Two continues the story from the pretty-good first film, concerning the demonically possessed and impressively flexible teenager Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell).
Lisa Kudrow's very funny Showtime series returns with Web Therapy: The Complete Second Season.
From the writers of The Hangover, the one-crazy-night comedy 21 & Over is 90-some minutes of witless sex and gross-out jokes, if you're into that sort of thing.
Plus: As Luck Would Have It, The Brass Teapot, Crawlspace, Hansel & Gretel Get Baked, The Rambler and Supporting Characters
TV on DVD: CSI: NY — The Ninth Season and, for you Anglophiles, the British TV series Inspector Lewis, Season Six; New Tricks, Season Nine; Jack Taylor, Set One; and Honest.