Shout! Factory in August

It was this time last month when I said to myself, "You know, I could save myself a little pain if I started the Shout! Factory post early this month." Did I follow my own advice? No, other Barry, I did not. With a whopping 12 releases in August, there's a lot to go through. So let's begin, shall we?

August 4

Let's kick off with the newest volume of the "When the Heart Calls" series. June saw the release of the first and second episodes from Season 7; "Family Matters & In Perfect Unity" brings home episodes three through six which originally aired in spring 2020 on the Hallmark Channel. I'll personally be holding out for the steelbook collected Season 7 on Blu-ray, due to release in December at a Hallmark store exclusive (with bonus Erin Krakow Christmas ornament!).

I've been super stoked to check out "Swallow", the debut from writer/director Carlo Mirabella-Davis, since I saw a trailer earlier this year, and I'm thrilled to see it get the IFC/Shout! Factory treatment. This story of a housewife developing pica to process the stresses of marriage and familial expectations should be relatable to...well, any of us. If the reviews I've read are any indication, this is one whose reputation is bound to grow as more folks get hip to it. Sadly, like most of the IFC releases via Shout! Factory, the extras are completely bare bones. We get an audio descriptive track and trailer, and that's that.

There have been more and more cinema from South Africa that I've been enjoying, whether it's been arthouse or grindhouse. Harold Hölscher's theatrical debut, 2019's "The Soul Collector", looks to have more in common with the latter, although the trailer shows enough touches of the former to make this a really interesting pickup. The themes of loss and family bely a deeper meaning behind the scary "demon baby" A-story. No word on any extras with this one, but as a Shout Studios release, I hope we'll get trailers, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentary, and the like.

I've really been trying not to limit my war movie viewing to Anglo-American directors. So when I read the synopsis of "The Resistance Fighter" (Kurier), from Polish writer/director Wladyslaw Pasikowski, I got interested. "The Resistance Fighter" is a biopic about Polish patriot Jan Nowak-Jeziorański who helped report on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and later fought in the Powstanie Warszawskie in the summer of 1944. Pasikowski directed a movie in 2012 called "Aftermath" about the consequence of Polish participation in a pogrom in World War II that really stuck with me, and I'll watch any story that serves as a "fuck you" to Nazis. This one's available as either a Blu-ray or DVD, so choose your pleasure.

Director Masaaki Yuasa has worked on some great anime over the years. His direction of the "Devilman Crybaby" OVA led to what is regarded as Netflix's best anime pickup, and all the work coming from his studio Science Saru has been top notch since being founded in 2013. "Ride Your Wave" (きみと、波にのれたら) came out in 2019, and while it seems to missing some of the whimsy and weirdness of Yuasa's other films, it's been really well reviewed. This supernatural romance revolves around a relationship formed by rescue and water, and serves as Yuasa's swan song as president at Science Saru. This combo pack comes with a detailed booklet, trailers, featurettes, and a brand new cover.

I had originally planned to grab the steelbook release of "Promare" when it released in May. But when I learned that GKids had planned a Collector's Edition release, I decided to hold off. I'm glad I did. In addition to a Blu-ray of what's already being called the best release of the year, the Collector's Edition comes with the soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano ("Attack on Titan", "Kill la Kill"), an English translation of the script, a bonus behind-the-scenes booklet, a decal, and a mini poster. It's all housed inside a handsome looking slipcover. Yeah, it's pricier than the steelbook...but the content! The content!!!

August 11

If you have to pick one Shout! release from the second week of August to buy, make it the Collector's Edition of "The Phantom of the Opera"! I saw this on TV when I was a kid, and it scared the shit out of me. Herbert Lom plays a creepy-ass Phantom in this 1962 Hammer Horror release. Honestly, this looks like one I want simply for the extras. There's an Anthony Hinds featurette, highlighting the "Quartermass Xperiment" screenwriter and Hammer scion. Academy Award-winner Brian Johnson stops by to discuss his special effects work on "Phantom". There are also interviews with authors David Huckvale and C. Courtney Joyner, as well as the now-customary presentations of this Hammer classic in both theatrical (1.85:1) and television (1.66:1) aspect ratios. I never cease to be impressed in the work Scream Factory does on these under-seen Hammer films, introducing them to a new generation of fans. It also looks like you can still get an 18"x24" poster of the new cover with a preorder at Shout! Factory.

August 18

If you have to pick one Shout! release from the third week of August to buy, make it this Blu-ray reissue of 1974's "Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell"! Even though this has been available for a while as a Region B/2 combo pack, it's the first time it's been available domestically uncensored. It's the last film in Hammer's "Frankenstein" series, as well as one of the final films of the Hammer Horror era. It has a pretty great performance from Peter Cushing, who returned to the Baron Victor Frankenstein role he originated back in 1957. David Prowse also returns as Frankenstein's monster. Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr provide an all-new commentary track for this Scream Factory release. There's also a second archival commentary track featuring Prowse , actress Madeline Smith, and author Jonathan Sothcott. Like the previous week's "Phantom" release, SF provides another "The Men Who Made Hammer" featurette, this time examining producer Roy Skeggs. I'm not super familiar with the late-period Hammer titles, so I'm stoked to give this one a whirl.

August 25

Shout! continues to revisit the Universal horror catalog with this Blu-ray release, "Universal Horror Collection: Vol. 6". As with previous volumes, there's always at least one movie in each release that I definitely want to see. This time, it's 1955's "Cult of the Cobra", featuring David Janssen in an early role. It covers a lot of the same thematic ground as the Tourneur/Lewton classic "Cat People", one of my all-time favorites. Also included are 1952's "The Black Castle", 1958's "The Thing That Wouldn't Die", and a pretty cool Hammer rarity in 1961's "The Shadow of the Cat". All four films receive a 2K restoration and fresh, new commentaries. Add in some pretty cool sounding featurettes, and this is a surprisingly-robust archival release in this series.

It's time for a new set of Studio Ghibli steelbooks. Shout!s second wave of Miyazaki reissues includes "Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind" and "Kiki's Delivery Service". If you already own the 2017 reissue of "Nausicaä", or the old Disney version, you're all set; the only new thing you'll get is the steelbook. HOWEVER, Shout! has never reissued "Kiki" on Blu-ray, so if you don't own the 2014 Disney release, here's a chance to grab a copy. I've never really noticed much difference between the Disney releases and the Shout! reissues (they're missing the digital downloads), but each of these is chock full of archival material for a body of work that stands amongst the finest not just in animation, but in filmmaking as a whole.

Last, but certainly not least this month, is the Scream Factory Collector's Edition of 1990's "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie". This movie has it all: gargoyles, Christian Slater, cat assassins, witches, George Romero, mummies, Julianne Moore, laughs, screams, and JAMES REMAR! I was a bit too young to see this in the theatre, but this, along with its predecessors "Creepshow" and "Creepshow 2", were go-to VHS pickups for movie nights and sleepovers throughout high school. There are some solid extras on this release: trailers, commentary, the EPK from the theatrical release. But the big get has gotta be the addition of the new documentary "Tales Behind the Darkside: The Making of Four Ghoulish Fables". A ton of the film's principles appear and comment, among them director John Harrison, the SFX team of Nicotero, Kurtzman, and Berger, DP Robert Draper, and man-in-suit Michael Deak. In spite of cruddy reviews at the time of release, this anthology has a bunch of fans who now run the industry. It's great to revisit this 30 years after its debut.

I've already grabbed a preorder on "Promare" and "Kiki's Delivery Service", and I'll probably grab the rest of these over the next couple of months. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I've really been drawn to the Hammer catalog throughout quarantine, so if there's a sale coming up, I'll grab "Phantom", "Frankenstein", and July's "Kiss of the Vampire". September has some great releases coming, including reissue sof the long out-of-print Vincent Price Collection and "Bob Newhart Show" sets, first-time home video releases of "Weathering With You" and "True History of the Kelly Gang", and a 20th anniversary release of the "Thomas and the Magic Railroad". Be there in 30. Aloha.