This Week in Blu-ray / DVD Releases: WKRP in Cincinnati, Begin Again

By John Law

October 27th 2014, 11:39pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This week: You will believe turkeys can fly! 'WKRP in Cincinnati' comes to DVD, Criterion revisits 'The Vanishing,' and Eric Bana tells demons to begone in 'Deliver Us From Evil.'

► This is the month of boxed sets we thought we’d never see. We finally got ‘The Wonder Years’ three weeks ago, and now Shout! Factory serves up WKRP IN CINCINNATI: THE COMPLETE SERIES. After 20th Century Fox released an awful Season One boxed set seven years ago with none of the show’s original music, this set restores virtually everything for all four seasons. It’s not perfect – no Pink Floyd, no Eagles – but with most all of the songs secured, these are the original broadcast episodes and not the dismal syndicated versions. This whole project took years to pull off and was extremely expensive (hence the price), but fans won’t care: They can finally toss their bootlegs.

► BEGIN AGAIN is just director Jon Carney’s second film since his classic ‘Once.’ Keira Knightley plays a British songwriter who has just been dumped in Manhattan by her rock star boyfriend (Adam Levine). She’s discovered by a slumping producer (Mark Ruffalo), and he proposes they record an album of live music recorded at various New York locations. Oscar nominations for Carney and Ruffalo wouldn’t be out of the question.

► Saying your horror movie is ‘inspired’ by true accounts is a whole new level of appalling bullshit – every friggin’ movie is ‘inspired’ by something. So even though DELIVER US FROM EVIL uses the supposedly non-fiction book about paranormal investigations by retired NYPD officer Ralph Sarchie, it’s actually complete fiction. Eric Bana plays the cop, hooking up with a priest to deal with a rise in demonic possession throughout the city. Edgar Ramirez, Joel McHale and Olivia Munn form the decent cast.

► Zach Braff reunites with his ‘Garden State’ director…uh, Zach Braff, for another whimsical comedy written by Zach Braff, WISH I WAS HERE. He stars as a struggling dad who opts to home school his kids when the private school funds run out, and along the way – you know what’s coming here, don’t you? – discovers new things about himself. Kate Hudson co-stars. Co-produced by Zach Braff.

► Unheralded in its time, an absolute classic now, George Sluizer’s incredible THE VANISHING might be the blu-ray of the week. Sharing virtually nothing with its shitty 1993 remake (which Sluizer also directed…I don’t get it, either), this Dutch nightmare of a movie hits a raw nerve – the disappearance of a loved one – and hammers at it with almost painful tension. We know who did it, and why, but the film then pushes past those obvious plot points into something way darker and unsettling. The Criterion edition includes new interviews with Sluizer and star Johanna ter Steege.

► Based on Elmore Leonard’s 1978 book ‘The Switch,’ LIFE OF CRIME finds two inept ex-cons kidnapping a socialite (Jennifer Aniston) to get rich quick. Problem is, her wealthy husband (Tim Robbins) wanted rid of her anyway to get busy with his mistress (Isla Fisher).

► It’s bad enough Bruce Willis makes movies I’ve never heard of now, does he have to take John Cusack with him? He shows up, eventually, as a bad guy in THE PRINCE who kidnaps the daughter of a former hitman played by Jason Patric. Cusack is the friend helping get her back. And I’m willing to bet this is all as tired and clichéd as it sounds.

► A mid ‘70s gross-out gem, Jeff Lieberman’s cult-ish SQUIRM sends a bunch of pissed off worms after the townsfolk following a huge storm which sent power lines into the ground. Offers some early make-up work by Rick Baker. Unlike the version seen on ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000,’ this is the complete edit with commentary by Lieberman, new interviews with the cast, and a tour of the locations.

Also out this week: