EVEREST. (DVD Artwork). ©Universal Home Video.
By ANGELA DAWSON
Front Row Features
In 1996, a small group of mountaineers attempted to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain. Each had personal reasons for aspiring to achieve this difficult feat. Some of them paid for this risky adventure with their lives.
“Everest,” directed and produced by Baltasar Kormakur (“2 Guns,” “Contraband”), is available Tuesday Jan. 19 on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand. The action drama documents the journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond the limits by one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by climbers. The all-star cast includes Oscar nominees Josh Brolin (“Milk”) and Jake Gyllenhaal (“Brokeback Mountain”). The screenplay, co-written by William Nicholson and Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy, was partially inspired by “Into Thin Air,” a book written by Jon Krakauer, a journalist who was on one of the expeditions during that fateful May. The white-knuckle adventure also is available on Digital HD.
Exclusive extras bring viewers behind-the-scenes for a look at the making of the film, as well as deliver insights into the real-life summit attempt that inspired it. Bonus features exclusive to the Blu-ray include “Learning to Club: The Actor’s Journey,” which shows cast members and two film consultants who helped them prepare for the shoot discuss getting ready for the arduous production, “A Mountain of Work: Recreating Everest,” which brings the team involved in the visual effects together to talk about how they made the seemingly impossible possible. Additionally, on the Blu-ray and DVD, are the featurettes “Race to the Summit: The Making of Everest,” in which the trials and tribulations of the cast and crew as they journey to the foothills of Everest and beyond are documented, “Aspiring to Authenticity: The Real Story,” in which survivors of the actual climb recollect their harrowing experiences and a feature commentary with director Kormakur.
“The Intern” arrives in a Blu-ray Combo Pack Tuesday, Jan. 19. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Nancy Meyers (“It’s Complicated”), the comedy stars Academy Award winners Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull”) and Anne Hathaway (“The Devil Wears Prada”). The film’s multi-generational cast also features Rene Russo (“Thor”), Anders Holm (“Workaholics”) and Nat Wolff (“The Fault in Our Stars”).
De Niro plays a widower who has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be so he seizes an opportunity to get back in the workforce by becoming a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Hathaway). “The Intern” also is available on DVD and Digital HD.
Speaking of Anne Hathaway, the 10th anniversary edition of “The Devil Wears Prada,” is available Tuesday, Jan. 19. Hathaway co-stars with Meryl Streep, who plays her difficult boss, fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly. This anniversary edition includes several special features including an audio commentary with director David Frankel, producer Wendy Finerman, costume designer Patricia Field, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, editor Mark Livolsi and director of photography Florian Ballhaus. It also includes deleted scenes with director and editor commentary, a gag reel and more.
Enchanting and inspiring, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” makes its debut for the first time ever on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) Tuesday, Jan. 19. The 1939 animated classic embodies The Walt Disney Signature Collection’s legacy of animation. In this epic story of love and friendship, the kind and beautiful princess Snow White wins the hearts of the Seven Dwarfs and triumphs over the evil plans of a wicked Queen. It also will be released in a Blu-ray Combo Pack Tuesday, Feb. 2. This special edition features in-depth brand new bonus materials including “In Walt’s World: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Iconography,” “DisneyAnimation: Designing Disney’s First Princess,” “The Fairest Facts of the All: 7 Facts You May Not Know About Snow White,” “Snow White in Seventy Seconds,” “Alternate Sequence: The Prince Meets Snow White” and more.
