While this column focuses on physical media with an appetizer of Netflix options, it\u2019s worth noting that one of the essential films of 2025 is exclusively available on PVOD through the rest of the year. Go spend money to see \u201cOne Battle After Another<\/a>\u201d if you haven\u2019t done so yet, exclusively On Demand until January 2026.<\/p>\n Also, stay tuned for a special edition of this column in December with limited editions and box sets for the holiday season, including new versions of \u201cScarface,\u201d \u201cPride & Prejudice,\u201d and several John Woo masterpieces.<\/p>\n 10 NEW TO NETFLIX<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBack to the Future<\/a>\u201c 11 NEW TO BLU-RAY<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBurden of Dreams<\/a>\u201d (Criterion)<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the craziest productions in the history of moviemaking was Werner Herzog\u2019s feverish shoot of his masterful \u201cFitzcarraldo<\/a>\u201d in Peru in the early \u201980s. Just watching Herzog\u2019s story of a maniacal robber baron (the unforgettable Klaus Kinski), one can sense the chaos that must have been unfolding behind the scenes, but it takes Les Blank\u2019s stunning documentary to really comprehend the insanity. Basically, Herzog decided to make a movie about someone who tried to do something crazy, and so did something crazy himself, trying to move a 320-ton steamship over a Peruvian mountain. A lost star (Jason Robards), multiple on-set injuries, and arguments of exploitation followed, and all of it makes for riveting viewing in Les Blank\u2019s essential documentary, now remastered by Criterion. It also includes a great short film called \u201cWerner Herzog Eats His Shoe,\u201d which is pretty self-explanatory.<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n \u201cCaught Stealing<\/a>\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n Darren Aronofsky tries to do the Guy Ritchie thing to mostly positive results in this dark comedy that moves as well as it does largely due to the blinding star power of Austin Butler<\/a> (Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Bad Bunny, and Regina King don\u2019t hurt). Butler plays an average guy who gets caught up in a violent plot involving a key hidden in a kitty litter box. Some of it feels like it should be a bit more chaotic than Aronofsky allows, but there\u2019s an energy to the piece that keeps it moving from one twist to another. It\u2019s an especially easy watch at home. Consider it the anti-holiday movie this season.<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n \u201cEl\u201d (Criterion)<\/strong><\/p>\n Every Luis Bu\u00f1uel film that joins the Criterion Collection is an occasion for celebration. The latest is the 4K restoration of his 1953 surreal nightmare adaptation of Pensamientos by Mercedes Pinto. Arturo de Cordova, Delia Garces, and Luis Beristain star in a film about an overprotective husband that\u2019s arguably minor for Bu\u00f1uel, but one would never know that from this excellent release that includes not just a new video essay about the film but an appreciation from none other than Guillermo del Toro. Another cool piece of supplemental material is an interview with the director himself from 1981 but none other than Jean-Claude Carri\u00e8re.<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n \u201cEyes Wide Shut<\/a>\u201d (Criterion)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Criterion release of the year is the 4K restoration of Stanley Kubrick\u2019s final masterpiece, now available in a color grading that looks better than ever before, one overseen by D.P. Larry Smith. It\u2019s hard to convey how PERFECT \u201cEyes Wide Shut\u201d looks on this release, one of my favorite transfers, maybe ever. It\u2019s not overdone, allowing the shadowy underworld of this film to offset the bright colors that make it feel like a nightmare. The movie itself also feels like it would be a masterpiece if it came out today, over a quarter-century later. A study of masculine insecurity and the systems that control society, it\u2019s an incredible drama, one of the best of its era. The Criterion release also includes tons of great special features, my favorite being \u201cLost Kubrick,\u201d a short documentary about two abandoned Stanley projects: \u201cNapoleon\u201d and \u201cThe Aryan Papers.\u201d<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n \u201cFamiliar Touch<\/a>\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone should see this one before making any proclamations on the films of 2025. It\u2019s haunted me since I first saw it around the time of its Venice premiere in September 2024, and we were proud to program it for the 2025 Chicago Critics Film Festival. Now, Sarah Friedland\u2019s delicate drama about the subtlety of dementia is available to rent on VOD and on physical media from Music Box Films. Kathleen Chalfant gives one of the best performances of the year as a woman forced to move from being on her own into assisted living. It\u2019s a great study in how tactile memories can often linger longer than traditional ones. It\u2019s smart, empathetic, and beautiful.<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n \u201cHell\u2019s Angels\u201d (Criterion)<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s funny to think that an entire generation of movie lovers probably know this flick better from how its production was essential to the story of Martin Scorsese\u2019s \u201cThe Aviator.\u201d Remember all the crazy flight scenes in that movie? They were capturing the production of Howard Hughes shooting \u201cHell\u2019s Angels,\u201d now restored in 4K by the Criterion Collection. A film that changed aerial filmmaking and launched the career of Jean Harlow, it\u2019s an essential part of movie history, and an unexpected choice for Criterion. The release includes an interview with one of my favorite film historians, the brilliant Farran Smith Nehme, and outtakes from the film with commentary by a Harlow biographer. There\u2019s even a direct connection to \u201cThe Aviator\u201d as Criterion interviews the VFX supervisor for Scorsese\u2019s film about the production of this one. It all comes full circle.<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n \u201cIn the Mouth of Madness<\/a>\u201d (Arrow)<\/strong><\/p>\n While fans bow at the altar of \u201970s and \u201980s John Carpenter, they\u2019re often quick to dismiss his later work. Listen, I\u2019m not here to defend \u201cMemoirs of an Invisible Man\u201d or \u201cVillage of the Damned,\u201d but I will go to bat for the one in between, this 1994 surreal nightmare that\u2019s arguably the filmmaker\u2019s last true vision. Closing out what he called his \u201cApocalypse Trilogy,\u201d it stars Sam Neill as a man investigating the disappearance of a famous horror novelist when he discovers a Lovecraftian nightmare. The incredible Arrow edition is oe of their best of the year, including two archival commentaries with Carpenter himself and tons of new material. The exclusive stuff includes a new interview Jurgen Prochnow, a new featurette, a new appreciation, fantastic cover art, and a great collector\u2019s book. It may not be Halloween, but it\u2019s never too late to snag this one.<\/p>\n Special Features<\/p>\n
\u201cBaby Driver<\/a>\u201c
\u201cCollateral<\/a>\u201c
\u201cDoctor Sleep<\/a>\u201c
\u201cGhost<\/a>\u201c
\u201cStar Trek<\/a>\u201c
\u201cTenet<\/a>\u201c
\u201cThis is the End<\/a>\u201c
\u201cWhiplash<\/a>\u201c
\u201cZodiac<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n\n
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