By ANGELA DAWSON

Front Row Features

Movies

Fatima

Experience the astonishing story of three children whose shared spiritual visions heralded a miracle and has inspired millions in Picturehouse’s “Fatima,” the uplifting and historical drama based on the captivating story of one of the Catholic Church’s most fabled places of pilgrimage. Filled with timely themes of faith, hope and resilience, the film is available to own on DVD Tuesday Oct. 27, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The inspiring drama also is available now on Digital.

In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World War I. Word of the sighting spreads across the country, inspiring religious pilgrims to flock to the site in hopes of witnessing a miracle. Inspired by real-life events and starring Goran Višnjić (“Beginners”), Joaquim de Almeida (“Queen of the South”), Stephanie Gil (“Terminator: Dark Fate”), Lúcia Moniz (“Love, Actually”), with Golden Globe nominee Sônia Braga (“Aquarius”) and Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel (“The Piano”), “Fatima” is an uplifting story about the power of faith.

Directed by Marco Pontecorvo (“Game of Thrones”) with a script from Pontecorvo, Valerio D’Annunzio (“Il Restauratore”) and Barbara Nicolosi (“In Memory”), “Fatima” also features two songs from the world-renowned Italian operatic tenor and Grammy nominee Andrea Bocelli. The songs, “Gloria” and lead single “Gratia Plena,” which is a brand-new original song composed for the movie by Paolo Buonvino, are also featured on the film’s soundtrack album, which is now available for purchase.

Depicting the events leading up to the astonishing phenomenon in Portugal, “The Miracle of the Sun,” “Fatima’s” release on Digital coincides with the 103rd anniversary of that incredible event. Packed with bonus features, the Digital and DVD versions of the film showcase extras, including a special look into the recording of original song, “Gratia Plena,” from Bocelli and written by Buonvino, the film’s composer, along with never-before-seen content, including featurettes and interviews with the cast and crew that take audiences behind the scenes of the compelling story about faith and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Friendsgiving

Grab your girlfriends for a comedy feast when “Friendsgiving” arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD Tuesday Oct. 27, from Lionsgate.

Abby (Kat Dennings) is looking forward to a laid-back Thanksgiving with her best friend, Molly (Malin Akerman). But the friends’ plans for a quiet turkey dinner go up in smoke when they’re joined by Molly’s new boyfriend and her flamboyant mother (Jane Seymour). Throw in some party crashers including Molly’s old flame, a wannabe shaman, and a trio of Fairy Gay Mothers (Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, and Fortune Feimster), and it’s a recipe for a comically chaotic holiday no one will ever forget — even if they wanted to!

The comedy is currently available On Demand. Produced by Primetime Emmy winner Ben Stiller (Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, “The Ben Stiller Show”), “Friendsgiving” on Blu-ray and DVD includes several special features including an audio commentary with writer/director Nicol Paone and producer/actor Akerman; a making of featurette and a gag reel.

“Friendsgiving” will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

Mr. Topaze

Film Movement unveils Peter Sellers’ long lost 1961 directorial debut “Mr. Topaze,” on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Tuesday Oct. 27. The newly restored 2K from the lone surviving 35mm print should delight fans of Sellers, who also stars in the film.

Albert Topaze (Sellers), a poor but proud French schoolmaster, loses his job after he refuses to alter the failing grades of one of his students. Seizing the opportunity to exploit his honesty, actress Suzy Courtois (Nadia Gray) convinces her lover, the corrupt city council member Castel Benac (Herbert Lom), to hire Topaze as a managing director for one of his shady businesses.

Sellers’ lone directorial effort, “Mr. Topaze” displays the British comic genius at the peak of his powers alongside his future “Pink Panther” nemesis Herbert Lom and a stellar supporting cast that includes Leo McKern, Billie Whitelaw and Michael Gough.

Long considered a “lost” classic, “Mr. Topaze” was digitally restored in 2K from the last surviving 35mm prints held in the BFI National Archive.

The home entertainment edition is loaded with several bonus features including the short film “Let’s Go Crazy,” starring Sellers and his Goon Show co-star Spike Milligan, an interview with McKern’s daughter as well as a 24-page booklet with notes on the film’s rediscovery by BFI curator Vic Prat and a new essay by Roger Lewis, author of “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.”

The Blu-ray will be available for $29.95 (SRP) and the DVD for $19.95 (SRP).

Paulistas

History and traditions fight modernity and migration in the cinema verite documentary “Paulistas,” hitting DVD and Digital Tuesday Oct. 27, from Indiepix Films.

Somewhere in the Central Brazilian savannah, Paulistas, a rural region in the state of Goiás, is struggling to survive. Its young people have left in a rural exodus; since 2014, no young people live in the region. And monoculture farming and the exploitation of water resources have left the countryside cracked and fallow.

Director Daniel Nolasco makes his feature-length documentary debut with this intense look at his birthplace that had its world premiere at the prestigious Dok Leipzig Festival.

Attempting to capture a culture and way of life before it completely disappears in the face of modern transformations, “Paulistas” follows Nolasco’s cousins —Samuel, Vincinius and Rafael—after their move to the urban region of Catalão.

Until the 1970s, the rural region was formed by a group of small farms, all with a few acres of land plying subsistence agriculture, and the region’s residents were all from the same family. This scenario began to change in the late ’80s, with the arrival of soybean monoculture in the state and the purchase of the farms by landowners, and the exodus of the rural population began. Yet, each July, the departed young return for vacation, arriving from their new burgeoning, modern cities to visit their parents and a way of life on the farm that’s nearly extinct.

A delicate portrait of a place and people in decline, “Paulistas” merges images of the daily lives of the people of the Paulistas and the hydroelectric plant built in 2013, with images and sounds of the dead forest and meadows by the river or the soy plantation that nearly overtakes the few ramshackle houses that still stand, capturing a time when the future and the past are on full display.

Nolasco’s documentary feature along with his short film “Green Sea” are included on the DVD/Digital, which will be available for $24.95 (SRP).

Scam Republique

Two Cameroon college kids become entangled in the ruthless world of digital deception and internet theft in the gritty West African thriller “Scam Republique,” available on DVD/Digital Tuesday Oct. 27, from Indiepix Films.

Emails from Nigerian princes are just the beginning as two college students in Camaroon, Kwisi and Niko, become entangled in the ruthless world of digital deception and internet theft. Niko needs money for Dengue fever treatments to save his mother’s life. Under the wing of a local crime boss, the young men are thrust into West Africa’s dark web and its soul-scathing temptations. The drama, featuring a killer soundtrack sure to delight fans of Afrobeat music, introduces Western audiences to a world of beauty, culture and brutal realities of the region.

“Scam Republique” will be available on DVD/Digital for $24.95 (SRP).

Tom & Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale Special Edition

Tom and Jerry are transported into the magical world of “The Nutcracker” in “Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale Special Edition,” the heartwarming animated holiday film, which will be released in a new special edition Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday Oct. 27, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Produced by Spike Brandt (“Duck Dodgers”) and Tony Cervone (“Space Jam”), “Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale Special Edition” tells the story of Jerry Mouse, a devoted fan of “The Nutcracker,” who is magically transported into his own version of the classical ballet on Christmas Eve. The animated fantasy is inspired by classic Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts that were originally created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It is a heartwarming, and hilarious take on the world-famous holiday ballet about a little girl who goes to the Land of Sweets on Christmas Eve with her favorite gift, a toy nutcracker, which ultimately transforms into a handsome prince.

After watching the season’s final performance of “The Nutcracker” ballet on Christmas Eve, Jerry dreams of dancing with the beautiful prima ballerina, who captivates him with her graceful performance. After the theater patrons leave, Jerry climbs onto the stage and begins to dance on his own, as Tuffy Mouse cheers him on. Through the magic of Christmas Eve, Jerry is suddenly transformed into one of the dancers. Costumed to look like regal prince, he takes center stage, which turns into a winter wonderland, as all the toy props around him come to life, and music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” begins to play. A petite music box ballerina springs to life and joins Jerry as the two of them dance their way into the Nutcracker’s magical realm. It seems as though Jerry’s “The Nutcracker” fantasy has finally become a reality. That’s until Tom and his band of alley cats enter through the theater’s stage door, capture all the toys and lock the beautiful ballerina in a cage.

Join everyone’s favorite cat-and-mouse duo as they find themselves in a dazzling winter wonderland which has been brought to life through holiday magic and Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music. It’s a hilarious, action-packed adventure the whole family can enjoy together.

“Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale Special Edition,” which include two bonus episodes, will be available for $19.98 (SRP) ($24.98 in Canada) for the Blu-ray which includes a Digital Code (US and Canada) and $14.97 (SRP) ($18.94 Canada) for the DVD.

The President

Following a coup d’etat, a dictator is forced into hiding in director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s “The President,” arriving on DVD and Digital Tuesday Oct. 27, from Corinth Films.

Taking place in an unnamed country (but filmed largely in the Republic of Georgia), the president and his family rule with a draconian fist, enjoying a privileged and luxurious existence at the expense of his miserable and oppressed subjects.

After a coup d’état uproots his position of power, the President’s wife and daughters are flown out of the country as he stays behind with his grandson, who is too young to grasp the unfolding events. After his personal escort and bodyguards turn on him, he is forced to disguise himself and flee into the countryside to avoid capture. He soon learns that he is now the country’s most wanted fugitive and begins a perilous journey with his grandson, his only ally.

Posing as street musicians, the pair attempt to blend in with a band of haggard political prisoners just released from jail. The renegade president is forced to rely on long-dormant survival skills to keep his grandson safe as a bloodthirsty mob follows their every step. A modern fable about power, reconciliation, and the hope for peace in the face of a never-ending circle of violence, “The President” was inspired by the Arab Spring from the acclaimed, exiled Iranian director.

Bonus programming on the release includes “The Making of ‘The President,’” behind-the-scenes footage and more.

“The President” on DVD/Digital will be available for $24.95 (SRP).

Three Comrades

A night out in St. Petersburg for three Russian twentysomethings turns into an unexpected—and sometimes violent—adventure in Vladimir Kozlov’s drama “Three Comrades,” from Indiepix Films.

Gleb, Vlad and Gosha are three mid-level sales managers, who get together after hours one Friday night. After a day of fighting with their aggressive boss and unscrupulous customers, the workers decide to have a few drinks and unwind. But what was supposed to be an uneventful night out soon turns into the unexpected and, sometimes, violent adventure.

Moscow-based filmmaker Kozlov shot “three Comrades” guerilla-style on a dozen locations in St. Petersburg over five days in 2019. His cinematic influences-some of which can be seen in this film—include Jean-Luc Godard’s early work and the films of Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch and Alexei Balabanov.

The DVD/Digital is available for $24.95 (SRP).

TV Shows

The Flintstones: The Complete Series

“The Flintstones: The Complete Series,” America’s favorite modern stone-age family, is coming to Blu-ray Tuesday Oct. 27, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

All six seasons of the classic animated series from Hanna-Barbera will be included in the set. Enjoy prehistoric fun in high-definition with 166 episodes featuring the lovable caveman Fred Flintstone and his wife Wilma, and their neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble as they embark on entertaining adventures in their home town of Bedrock.

The collection also features two bonus movies, including “The Man Called Flintstone” and “The Flintstones and WWE: Stone Age Smackdown.”

“The Flintstones: The Complete Series” will retail for $84.99 SRP ($99.99 Canada). It also is now available to own on Digital HD for $74.99 (SRP, U.S. and Canada).

Hidden: Series 2

Season 2 of the dark and gritty Welsh police procedural “Hidden” arrives on DVD Tuesday Oct. 27, from Acorn TV.

Detectives Cadi John (Sian Reese-Williams, “Line of Duty”) and Owen Vaughan (Sion Alun Davies, “Requiem”) investigate the brutal murder of a former schoolteacher, but a group of local teenagers knows more about what happened than they are letting on. All six episodes of “Hidden: Season 2” is available for $49.99 (SRP).