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DVD / Blu-ray News: August 6, 2013: MUD, OBLIVION, THE SAPPHIRES

Morgan Freeman Zoe Bell Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Oblivion

Today, Universal Studios debuts its ambitions sci-fi Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman vehicle Oblivion (2013) on home video. The film’s director, Joseph Kosinski‘s first film, Tron: Legacy, was a creative and visually-stunning hit; Oblivion delivers just hard with a lush feast for the eyes that compensates for plot holes and convoluted writing. Oblivion is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and retains its original 2.39:1 aspect. The distributor offers it in two sets: a 2-disc set (BD+DVD+UV+DC) for $34.98 and a 1-disc set for $29.98. Oblivion screened in IMAX format in some theaters; it is unfortunate the studios didn’t at least think to make a 3D Blu-ray format available for home release.

Matthew McConaughey continues the amazing arc of his career revival with another impressive performance in Mud (2012). McConaughey plays a mysterious drifter who befriends a pair of young boys (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) in a film that is part coming-of-age and part self-redemption. The Lionsgate has released the film in two different 1-disc sets: Blu-ray (BD+UV+iTunes DC) for $24.99 and DVD (DVD+UV) for $19.98. Each set comes in a slipcover in original pressing and has both English and Spanish audio with English and Spanish subtitles.

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Director Derek Cianfrance follows up his Academy Award-winning drama Blue Valentine (2010) with the crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) from Universal Studios. Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling bring a bit of gravitas to this cops-and-robbers drama. It is offered as either a 2-disc Blu-ray set (BD+DVD+UV+iTunes DC; SRP $34.98) or a 1-disc DVD set with an SRP of $29.98.

Anchor Bay releases the feel good musical comedy The Sapphires (2012) today. This inspirational story chronicles the rise to stardom of a group of talented young Aboriginal women who quickly go from obscurity to Australia’s answer to the Supremes. The Sapphires is available as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack for $30.99 and a 1-disc DVD for $26.98.

Martial arts fans will enjoy the latest offering from Well Go USA. The King of the Streets (2012) showcases martial arts star Yue Song battling against almost a dozen of the world’s top martial artists across several disciplines. The King of the Streets is available as a DVD or Blu-ray for $24.98 and $29.98, respectively.

Foreign film fans also have another offering streeting today. The Garden of Words (Koto no Ha no Niwa) from Sentai Filmworks is an animated wonderland set in a rainy garden. Teenaged Takao skips school to sketch in a beautiful garden. There he meets the older Yukino; the two become fast friends whose relationship blossoms amongst the trees and flowers. The Garden of Words is available as a single disc on Blu-ray or DVD for $34.98 or $24.98.

Jack Kerouac‘s iconic novel On the Road (2012) has received another screen treatment by Brazilian director Walter Salles. On the Road stars Sam Riley as Sal Paradise, an intellectual infected with wanderlust who embarks on a road trip with his friend. Along the way they enjoy the pleasures of good music and poetry and the vices of sex and drugs in their male bonding adventure. On the Road comes as a single disc DVD ($24.98) or Blu-ray ($29.98), available today.

Javier Bardem and Ben Affleck star in To the Wonder (2012), a film about the difficulties in sustaining a real relationship once the shine of romance wears off and the real world intrudes. A young man romances a single woman in France and quickly marries her and moves her young daughter to Oklahoma to establish a life together. His new bride falls has difficulty adjusting to her new life and, in her loneliness, turns to a priest struggling with his commitment to the church. At the same time, he seeks the company of an old flame. To the Wonder hits the shelves today as either a single Blu-ray disc (SRP $29.98) or a single DVD (SRP $26.98).

Other notable releases today include:

The Borgias: The Complete Third Season

Strike Back: Season Two

Battlestar Galactica

Passenger 57

Lucas

Antiviral

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The Pagemaster

Ishtar

Wing Commander

Swamp Thing

Storm Surfers 3D

Robin Hood (40th Anniversary Edition)

The Sword in the Stone (50th Anniversary Edition)

Oliver & Company (25th Anniversary Edition)

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Tom and Jerry’s Giant Adventure

West of Memphis

Freaked (Blu-ray)

Tomboy (Blu-ray)

October Baby (Blu-ray)

Quicksilver (Blu-ray)

Tower of Evil (Blu-ray)

The Pick Up Artist (Blu-ray)

Smiley’s People (Blu-ray)

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Romney J. Baldwin

Romney Baldwin, Former FilmBook Writer, and Roaming, Pouncing writer-for-hire.
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