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DVD RELEASES 2009/9/8

For those of you who don’t live near a biggish city and don’t play the all-region DVD game, this week’s most notable release is a movie that you’ve almost certainly been hearing about for a few years now. Even on the small screen, it will wow you. Yet that’s not the only new release worth checking out. As usual, Criterion continues to pop out newly packaged classics like a fertile chicken does eggs, and there is more goodness to be had on Blu-ray. Yes, ma’am, it’s another yummy week, indeed.

NEW RELEASES:

Silent Light (Vivendi Entertainment) — For those who saw Carlos Reygadas’ confrontational Battle in Heaven, his spiritually-minded follow-up, Silent Light, will come as a double shock to the system. Reygadas taps into his inner Carl Dreyer for this stunningly photographed tale of adultery set in a Mennonite community in Mexico. Read David Lowery’s review, then buy it on DVD.

Sleep Dealer (Maya Entertainment) — Alex Rivera’s impressively low-budget science-fiction drama casts a convincingly futuristic spell. Read my full review, then buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.

Valentino: The Last Emperor (Phase 4 Films) — For those viewers with a major aversion to any- and everything relating to the fashion industry (i.e., yours truly), Matt Tyrnauer’s Valentino: The Last Emperor will be quite a pleasant surprise. That’s because it isn’t merely a a flashy expose. It turns out to be one of the more interesting screen romances of recent memory. Read my full review, then buy the DVD or Blu-ray.

NEW TO DVD FROM CRITERION:

The Human Condition, Homicide, That Hamilton Woman

NEW TO BLU-RAY PICKS:

The New World: The Extended Cut, Requiem for a Dream, Menace II Society

— Michael Tully

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Michael Tully was born and raised in Maryland and now lives on Tennis Court in Brooklyn. His most recent narrative feature, Septien, world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by Sundance Selects. In addition to directing Cocaine Angel (2006) and Silver Jew (2007), he is also a proud alumni of Filmmaker Magazine's annual "25 New Faces of Independent Film" club (2006). Visit his indieWIRE blog Boredom at its Boredest—http://blogs.indiewire.com/tully—for more sporadic personal updates.

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