2 films debuting on DVD and Blu-ray this week that you should know about… one I recommend; the other, not-so much.
The rockumentary A Band Called Death is now on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, iTunes as well as digital download, so you have several options available to you, if you missed it in theaters earlier this year, courtesy of Drafthouse Films.
Directed by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino, the film made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, screening in competition, and continued to travel the film festival circuit through this year.
Its synopsis reads:
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early ’70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family chronicle, the story of Death is one of brotherly love and fierce, divinely inspired expression.
Of course, the film features David Hackney, Bobby Hackney, Sr., Dannis Hackney.
It’s recommended viewing – especially for those unfamiliar with the band (as I was before I first learned about the film a couple of yeas ago).
5 clips from the film are embedded for you to watch below:
A Band Called Death [Clip] “NY Times Celebrities” from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
A Band Called Death [Clip] “Introduction” – Now In Theaters & On VOD/iTunes from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
A BAND CALLED DEATH [Clip] “White Boy Music” from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
A BAND CALLED DEATH [Clip] “Rough Francis from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
A BAND CALLED DEATH [Clip] “Neighbors & Family” from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
As for the film I cannot strongly recommend…
Antoine Fuqua’s White House thriller Olympus Has Fallen, which stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett.
If it seems like the film was just in theaters, it’s because it was. It opened in late March, and was in theaters for 16 weeks, closing just last month. The gap between theatrical runs and home video releases continues to narrow, in case you haven’t already noticed.
In the film, Butler stars as an unlikely Secret Service agent trying to stop North Korean terrorists who have taken over the White House with plans to detonate a nuclear bomb.
Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Rick Yune round out the cast.
It’s the second White-House-under-attack thriller released this year; the other being Roland Emmerich’s thriller White House Down, which stars Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum. Although Fuqua’s film fared better at the box office than (and was about half the cost of) Emmerich’s.
If you skipped it while it was in theaters, now you can rent it or buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Here’s the trailer for Olympus Has Fallen:
