‘Deep Blues,’ Roy Rogers Double Feature, Thanksgiving Comedy Classic, More on Home Entertainment … Plus a Giveaway!

THE ADDAMS FAMILY 30TH ANNIVERSARY. (DVD Artwork). ©Paramount Pictures.

By ANGELA DAWSON

Front Row Features

Movies

The Addams Family (Comedy)

It’s time to pay a visit to everyone’s favorite kooky, spooky and all-together ooky family as “The Addams Family” celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The live-action comedy will be released for the first time on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, as well as on a remastered Blu-ray, Tuesday Nov. 23, from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Originally released on November 22, 1991, the film stars Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci.

When long-lost Uncle Fester (Lloyd) reappears after 25 years in the Bermuda Triangle, Gomez (Julia) and Morticia (Huston) plan a celebration to wake the dead. But Wednesday (Ricci) barely has time to warm up her electric chair before Thing points out Fester’s uncommonly “normal” behavior. Could this Fester be a fake and part of an evil scheme to raid the Addams fortune?

Newly remastered and restored under the supervision of director Barry Sonnenfeld, “The Addams Family” will be presented in both the original theatrical version and a never-before-seen “More Mamushka!” version, which expands the memorable dance number. The Digital 4K Ultra HD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Blu-ray releases also include a brand-new featurette looking back at the making of the film that includes behind-the-scenes footage and a new interview with Sonnenfeld, as well as an introduction to the restored cut by him and an archival featurette. The discs also include access to a Digital copy of the film.

“The Addams Family” also is available now on Digital 4K Ultra.

Deep Blues (Documentary)

Journey down the back country roads and Mississippi juke joints with award-winning musician Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and music writer Robert Palmer in filmmaker Robert Mugge’s landmarks blues documentary “Deep Blues,” which arrives on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday Nov. 23, from Film Movement Classics.

In 1990, commissioned by Stewart, Mugge and Palmer ventured deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and the Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts currently working. Starting on Beale Street in Memphis, they headed south to the juke joints, lounges, front porches and parlors of Holly Springs, Greenville and other small towns. Along the way, they visited celebrated landmarks and documented talented artists cut off from the mainstream of the recording industry. The resulting film expresses reverence for the rich musical history of the region, spotlighting local performers, soon-to-be world renowned thanks, in part, to the film and demonstrating how the blues continues to thrive in new generations of gifted musicians.

The Blu-ray and DVD include new commentary by Mugge and rarely seen behind-the-scenes footage. The Blu-ray edition will be available for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $39.95 and the DVD will be available for $29.95 (SRP).

Never Back Down: Revolt (Action)

“Never Back Down: Revolt,” the newest entry in the MMA franchise, is available now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

An amateur fighter (Olivia Popica) is lured by a trafficking syndicate specializing in elite underground fighting where her brutal captor (Michael Bisping) forces her to fight or face certain death. The film also stars Brooke Johnston and James Faulkner. The film is directed by Kellie Madison from a screenplay by Audrey Arkins.

Our Ladies (Dramedy)

“Our Ladies” is available now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

In 1990s Scotland, a group of Catholic schoolgirls get the opportunity to go to Edinburgh for a choir competition, but they’re more interested in drinking, partying and hooking up than winning the top prize. The drama stars Eve Austin, Tallulah Greive, Abigail Lawrie, Sally Messham, Rona Morison, Marli Siu, Stuart Martin, Jack Greenlees and Kate Dickie. Michael Caton-Jones directs from a screenplay he wrote with Alan Sharp.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Comedy)

Written and directed by the incomparable John Hughes, the celebrated holiday comedy “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” makes an on-time arrival in a Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook Tuesday Nov. 23, from Paramount Home Entertainment.

The box set boasts over an hour of legacy bonus content, including an in-depth retrospective on Hughes’ career that includes interviews with those who worked with him and explores his indelible impact as a writer and filmmaker. Additional previously released features include “Getting There is Half the Fun: The Story of ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles,’” “John Hughes For Adults,” a tribute to John Candy and a deleted scene.

Starring alongside Candy is comedy great Steve Martin, who plays a businessman struggling to get home for Thanksgiving, but burdened by one travel mishap after another, as well as the company of an annoying traveling salesman (Candy). Filled with outrageously funny situations and a generous helping of warmth, the film also features appearances by Michael McKean, Edie McClurg and Kevin Bacon.

Raging Fire (Action)

“Raging Fire” will arrive on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Tuesday Nov. 23 with a new English dub from Well Go USA Entertainment.

Bong (Donnie Yen, “Ip Man” franchise) is a highly respected hardline cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases. However, his past unexpectedly comes back to haunt him when a sting operation is attacked by a mysterious group of criminals led by Ngo (Nicholas Tse, “New Police Story”), his former protégé, a talented former officer who had once respected and admired Bong. However, a terrible mistake years prior landed him in prison, quickly turning the once rising star into a furious man with a grudge, and the will to destroy everyone who had wronged him—including his former mentor.

The last film from acclaimed action auteur Benny Chan (“Shaolin,” “New Police Story”), the martial arts film co-stars Patrick Tam (“Master Z,” “Ip Man 3”), Kenny Wong (“New Police Story”), Deep Ng (“Stool Pigeon”), Jeana Ho (“The Grandmaster,” “Special Female Force”), Angus Yeung, Bruce Tong, Henry Mak (“Operation Red Sea”), Yu Kang (“Ip Man 3”), German Cheung (“The White Storm 2: Drug Lords”) and Tony Wu Tsz Tung (“Men on the Dragon”); with special appearances by Lui Leung Wai (“Flash Point”), Simon Yam (“Little Q,” “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”), Ben Yuen, Ben Lam (“Flash Point,” “Police Story”), Ken Low (“Rush Hour”) and Carlos Chan.

There is a making-of featurette and trailers, and an English dub is available.

“Raging Fire” on Blu-ray is available for $29.98 (SRP) and on DVD for $24.98 (SRP). It debuted last month on the martial arts and Asian action movies streaming service Hi-YAH!, which is available through app stores for devices including iOS, Android, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.

Roy Rogers Double Feature: Mackintosh and T.J. and Under Western Stars (Western)

Verdugo Entertainment is launching a collectors Blu-ray box set featuring “King of the Cowboys” Roy Rogers in his first and final starring film roles. The Blu-ray box set contains 1938’s “Under the Western Stars” and the 1975 film, “Mackintosh and T.J.” It will be available through Amazon.com (North America) and Walmart.com beginning Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The box set is loaded with bonus features. The “Under the Western Stars” disc, includes “Exploring the Alabama Hills,” a Lone Pine location documentary, a new trailer cut for the film, “Macintosh and T.J. original 1976 theatrical trailer, while the “Macintosh and T.J” disc includes a Lone Pine cast reunion with co-stars Clay O’Brien, Andrew Robinson and Larry Mahan, an interview with cast member Billy Green Bush, audio commentary with O’Brien and Robinson, moderated by C. Courtney Joyner and the original on-set footage.

Selected for the National Film Registry in 2009, “Under Western Stars” is newly remastered from a 4K scan and “Mackintosh and T.J.” has a new 4K restoration.

The Show (Fantasy Mystery)

“The Show,” a new fantasy mystery feature from the extraordinary mind of legendary graphic novel writer Alan Moore and directed by Mitch Jenkins (“Show Pieces,” “Prisoners of Paradise”), will be available on Blu-ray Tuesday Nov. 23, from Shout! Studios.

This darkly playful and uncompromisingly original film stars Tom Burke (“Mank,” “War & Peace”), Siobhan Hewlett (“Sherlock,” “Canterbury Tales”), Ellie Bamber (“Nocturnal Animals,” “Tony and Susan”), Sheila Atim (“Girl from the North Country,” “The Underground Railroad”), Christopher Fairbank (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Fifth Element”) and Moore himself.

Fletcher Dennis (Burke), a man of many talents, passports and identities, arrives in Northampton—a strange and haunted town in the heart of England as dangerous as he is. On a mission to locate a stolen artifact for his menacing client, Fletcher finds himself entangled in a twilight world populated with vampires, sleeping beauties, Voodoo gangsters, noir private eyes, and masked avengers. He quickly sinks into a bizarre and delirious black hole, that is hidden just beneath the surface of this seemingly quiet town. Soon enough Fletcher discovers that dreams and reality have been blurred and there might no longer be a real world to go back to.

The Blu-ray edition of the film comes with new bonus features, including a “Welcome to The Show” featurette which includes interviews with Moore and Jenkins, as well as “Show Pieces,” the original short films on which “The Show” is based.

Two from Sergei Eisenstein: October and Alexander Nevsky (Historic Dramas)

Corinth Films presents a two-film set of Sergei Eisenstein’s films: “October” and “Alexander Nevsky,” available Tuesday Nov. 23.

Regarded as one of the iconic giants of early cinema, Eisenstein brought Russian history to life and to the masses through a blend of avant-garde filmmaking and Communist propaganda. A director and film theorist, he was perhaps best known for being the father of the film montage and despite his relatively small output, he’s regarded as one of cinema’s chief architects whose influenced transcended national and political boundaries.

His 1928 film, “October,” Eisenstein uses explosive montage to depict the events leading up to the Russian Revolution, with the events in St. Petersburg during the months leading up to the Bolshevik revolt. Given complete access to the city, including the Czar’s Winter Palace, Eisenstein utilized non-actors to recount history from a political perspective. There is no main character in the film. The hero, as Eisenstein saw it, is the proletariat. The film also has been known as “Ten Days that Shook the World, when it was released in the U.S.

A decade later, Eisenstein changed his cinematic approach for “Alexander Nevsky,” a landmark tale of Russia thwarting a German invasion in the 13th century. The last free city in Russia, Novgorod, calls on Prince Aleksandr (Russian spelling) Nevsky, who has defeated the Swedish in a previous battle, to defend the city. Featuring beautiful imagery and a majestic music score from Prokofiev, the story builds to a climactic battle on a frozen lake. It became wildly popular, given the prevailing Nazi geopolitical advancement and destruction at the time. Both films on DVD/Digital are in Russian with English subtitles, and will be available for $29.95 (SRP).

Front Row Features wants to make sure your holiday season is action packed in all the right ways. That’s why we’re giving away a copy of the explosive, Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes action thriller “Raging Fire” on Blu-ray to three lucky readers. To enter the contest, simply email socalmovieeditor@aol.com by Nov. 30 for your chance to win. Good luck!