New on video: Charming ‘Long Way North,’ gritty ‘My Father Die’
New on Blu-ray:
“Long Way North†(Shout! Factory DVD, $16.97; Blu-ray, $22.97)
Thanks in part to Hollywood pouring so much of its animation resources into CGI, we have seen in recent years a boom in foreign and independent hand-drawn features in a variety of non-Disney styles. The charming historical adventure “Long Way North†is a fine case-in-point. Its simplified illustrations and muted colors bring a picture-book quality to the story of a teenage Russian aristocrat named Sacha who sails to the arctic to find her missing grandfather. In the original French and in the terrific English-language dub, the voices and dialogue keep the focus on one strong-willed young woman and the extreme measures she goes to to restore her family honor. But animation fans will be more delighted by director Rémi Chayé’s clean, spare designs, which look especially impressive when the heroine approaches the North Pole, looking like a small dot of warmth in a vast expanse of chilly white.
Special features: Behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews
VOD
“My Father Die†(available Jan. 20)
Fans of Southern Gothic melodramas and grimy revenge thrillers will find a lot to appreciate in “My Father Die,†the feature debut of writer-director Sean Brosnan (son of Pierce, who produced the film). Joe Anderson plays Asher, a deaf-mute who’s spent most of his life plotting to murder his thug father, Ivan (Gary Stretch), for killing his beloved older brother. Brosnan does better with violent, pulpy action scenes than he does with arty, philosophical ruminating on cruel family legacies — the latter of which border on the pretentious. But on the whole, “My Father Die†shows a lot of promise in the way it mixes cheap thrills with intensely personal visions.
TV set of the week
“The IT Crowd: The Internet Is Coming†(MPI DVD, $19.98)
The British sitcom “The IT Crowd†aired the hour-long finale episode “The Internet Is Coming†in 2013, three years after its last full season ended and long after its breakout stars Chris O’Dowd and Richard Ayoade had crossed over to American TV and film. Nevertheless, this one-off reunion recaptures a lot of the old chemistry between O’Dowd’s surly slacker geek Roy and Ayoade’s socially awkward genius Moss, while bringing the stories of their close colleague Jen (Katherine Parkinson) and clueless boss Douglas (Matt Berry) to an absurdist comedy’s idea of a conclusion. The result is a fitting send-off to one of the defining British shows of the ’00s.
Special features: Commentary track
From the archives
“Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy†(Arrow, $39.95; Blu-ray, $49.95)
Director Takashi Miike got his start in the Japanese film industry with “V-cinema,†making edgy straight-to-video movies intended to appeal to rebellious young folks. He crashed into mainstream in the late ’90s with his loose “Black Society Trilogy,†a trio of gangster pictures that put his predilection for eccentric characters and bizarre imagery into more traditional crime stories. With “Shinjuku Triad Society†in 1995 (about a corrupt cop bent on taking down an insane mobster), “Rainy Dog†in 1997 (about a low-level crook connecting with the son he never knew he had) and “Ley Lines†in 1999 (about cash-strapped kids who find all kinds of illegal ways to make money), Miike works scenes of extreme behavior, splattery violence and avant-garde comedy into genre films that foreshadowed his subsequently eclectic, exciting career.
Special features: Interviews and scholarly commentary tracks
Three more to see
“The Girl on the Train†(Universal DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98; 4K, $44.98; also available on VOD); “Ixcanul†(Kino Lorber DVD, $29.95; Blu-ray, $34.95); “Ouija: Origin of Evil†(Universal DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98; also available on VOD)
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