(Dir. Raphael Sbarge, 2023)
Available on DVD and digitally on Kino Now July 11, 2023
There has been a Laemmle in the movie business since there’s been a movie business. This is the story of a beloved Arthouse Cinema chain in Los Angeles with an astounding legacy. Over four generations, Laemmle’s have dedicated themselves to supporting, innovating, and elevating the art of filmmaking. Popularizing independent films, documentary films, and their filmmakers, the Laemmle Theatres’ impact on Hollywood and world cinema cannot be overstated. Filmed over 2+ years, Only in Theaters chronicles the Laemmle family, their business, and their determination to survive. But in a changing world, this is also a story about the future of cinema.
Bonus Features:
- Additional Interviews with Ava DuVernay, Cameron Crowe, Leonard Maltin, and more!
- Audio commentary by director Raphael Sbarge
- Alternate opening sequence
- Only in Theaters Proof of Concept Video
- Outtakes
- Theatrical Trailer
(Dir. Manuela Martelli, 2023)
Available on DVD and all major digital platforms July 11, 2023
Set during the early days of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, Chile ‘76 builds from quiet character study to gripping suspense thriller as it explores one woman’s precarious flirtation with political engagement. Carmen (Aline Kuppenheim, A Fantastic Woman) leads a sheltered upper middle class existence. She heads to her summer house in the off-season to supervise its renovation, while also performing local charitable works through her church. Her husband, children, and grandchildren come back and forth during the winter vacation, bringing reminders of the world beyond. When the family priest asks her to take care of an injured young man he has been sheltering in secret, Carmen is inadvertently drawn into the world of the Chilean political opposition and must face real-world threats she is unprepared to handle, with potentially disastrous consequences for her and her entire family.
Bonus Features:
- Interview with star Aline Kuppenheim
- Chile ’76 at the Cannes Film Festival
- Theatrical Trailer
(Dir. Suzanne Raes, 2023)
Available on DVD July 11, 2023
Available digitally to buy and rent early on Kino Now July 11, 2023
Available on all major digital platforms July 25, 2023
Go behind the scenes of the largest Vermeer exhibition ever mounted, now on view at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Capturing the imagination of the art world, with glowing reviews, global press, and tickets sold out through the entirety of its run, the Rijksmuseum’s Vermeer retrospective is nothing short of an historic event. This fascinating documentary is a unique opportunity to discover what goes on behind the scenes at exhibitions of this scale, from the latest techniques for determining what makes a Vermeer truly a Vermeer, to new discoveries while searching for the master’s paintings around the world.
Bonus Features:
- Theatrical Trailer
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future
(Dir. Francisca Alegria, 2023)
Available on DVD July 18, 2023
Available digitally to buy and rent early on Kino Now July 5, 2023
Available on all major digital platforms July 18, 2023
A choir of creatures introduces a world delicately constructed by fantasy, mystery, and magical realism in Francisca Alegría’s poignant and stunning debut feature. It begins in a river in the south of Chile where fish are dying due to pollution from a nearby factory. Amid their floating bodies, long-deceased Magdalena (Mia Maestro) bubbles up to the surface gasping for air, bringing with her old wounds and a wave of family secrets. This shocking return sends her widowed husband into turmoil and prompts their daughter Cecilia (Leonor Varela) to return home to the family’s dairy farm with her own children. Magdalena’s presence reverberates among her family, instigating fits of laughter and despair in equal measure with all but Cecilia’s eldest child, who finds much-needed comfort in their grandmother’s love and unconditional understanding during a time of transition. A lyrical rumination on family, nature, renewal, and resurrection, The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future is an ambitious proposal for acceptance and healing, suggesting that the dead return when they are most needed.
Bonus Features:
- Theatrical Trailer
(Dir. Sophie Fiennes, 2023)
Available on DVD and all major digital platforms July 25, 2023
Ralph Fiennes’s exquisite performance of T. S. Eliot’s poetic masterpiece is dynamically translated from stage to screen by director Sophie Fiennes (Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology). During the early days of COVID, the Oscar® nominee set himself the challenge of committing Four Quartets to memory, and in 2021 he brought it to the London stage followed by a tour of theaters across the UK. Written by Nobel Prize winner Eliot in the shadow of the Second World War, the poem is a searching examination of who – and what – we are. This celebrated meditation on human experience, time, and the divine offers up questions, imagery, and emotions that bear a powerful relevance to our present day.
Bonus Features:
- Audio commentary by director Sophie Fiennes moderated by writer Hari Kunzru
- Theatrical Trailer
Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece - Tintin and the Blue Oranges
(Dirs. Jean-Jacques Vierne, Philippe Condroyer, 1961/1964)
Available on Blu-ray and DVD and digitally on Kino Now and Amazon July 11, 2023
Welcome to the charming and colorful world of Tintin! Hergé’s classic comic book characters leap to the silver screen in two spirited adventures starring the intrepid boy-reporter and his faithful dog Snowy. In Tintin’s first-ever live-action adaptation, Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece, Captain Haddock sets sail to Istanbul, accompanied by our cow-licked hero and his cohorts. There they collect a strange bounty from the late Captain Paparanic: a rusty old ship called the Golden Fleece. But the real treasure lies in a chest under the sea, as they discover a map with an “X” on it—marking the spot of Paparanic’s gold. For his next escapade, Tintin and the Blue Oranges, Tintin tries to crack the riddle of an oddly hued citrus that can be grown in the desert—and possibly solve world hunger.
(Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1924)
Available on Blu-ray, DVD and digitally on Kino Now and Amazon July 18, 2023
Danish film master Carl Theodor Dreyer's Michael is a mature and visually elegant period romance that remains one of the earliest and most compassionate overtly gay-themed films in movie history. Based upon Herman Bang's 1902 novel, Dreyer's Michael refashions the classical Greek myth of Jupiter and Ganymede into a love triangle between an aging artist, Zoret (director Benjamin Christensen), his protagonist Michael (Walter Slezak, Lifeboat) and Princess Zamikoff (Nora Gregor, Rules of the Game), an aristocratic femme fatale as entranced by Michael’s youthful beauty as Zoret is. Co-written by Fritz Lang’s wife and collaborator Thea von Harbou (M, Metropolis), this intimate and compelling film possesses a bold level of emotional detail and depicts the twilight of a male-male romance with unusual daring and subtlety.
Bonus Features:
- Audio commentary by Amanda Doxtater and Maxine Savage, scholars of Scandinavian cinema
End of the World (La fin du monde)
(Dir. Abel Gance, 1931)
Available on Blu-ray July 18, 2023
End of the World (La Fin du Monde, 1931) is legendary director Abel Gance’s (Napoleon) first sound film, and France’s first all-talking feature. It is a multi-million-dollar super-production depicting an approaching apocalypse, presented in a 2K restoration from Gaumont. Following the discovery of a comet heading straight for the Earth, a scientist, helped by his brother, manages to unify all the nations of the world and have a Universal Republic proclaimed.
Bonus Features:
- On the Trail of a Dream: Interviews About the Film with Laurent Véray, Serge Bromberg, Christophe Gauthier and Léon Rousseau
- Trailer
Soundies: The Ultimate Collection
(Dirs. Josef Berne, William Forest Crouch, Arthur Leonard, Dudley Murphy, Robert Snody, Fred Waller, 1940-1946)
Available on Blu-ray and digitally on Kino Now July 25, 2023
Soundies have been called the music videos of the 1940s, but that doesn’t begin to describe their cultural importance. It’s true that they feature a remarkable range of talent, from big-band luminaries like Ellington and Count Basie to then-emerging stars like Doris Day and Ricardo Montalban, and lesser-known artists of the American nightclub circuit. But Soundies are also a rich, largely overlooked chronicle of American popular culture during and just after World War II. Produced for coin-operated jukeboxes in neighborhood bars and taverns, Soundies have an uncanny way of revealing what Americans were thinking about topics that weren’t discussed openly, from sexuality to ethnicity and race. Curated by Susan Delson, author of Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time, this four-disc collection presents a diverse sampling of 200 shorts—jazz, country-western, folk, and the boogie woogie roots of rock ’n’ roll—newly restored from 35mm and 16mm materials preserved by the Library of Congress and other archives. Never have so many Soundies been celebrated in one collection, or presented with such care: thematically organized, accompanied by on-screen introductions and a booklet of essays, photos, and credits.
Bonus Features:
- Illustrated 44-page booklet with essays by Susan Delson,Ellen C. Scott, and Mark Cantor
- Filmed introductions by series curator Susan Delson,with Ina Archer, Media Conservationist, National Museum of African American History and Culture
- “Inside the Panoram,” a filmed interview with Mark Cantor, author of The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s
- “From the Vaults,” a filmed interview with Matt Barton (Curator of Recording Sound at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress) and Mike Mashon (Head of the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress)
(Dirs. Søren Balle, Louise Friedberg, Martin de Thurah, 2019)
Available on Blu-ray July 18, 2023
In the dark psychological thriller Deliver Us, we meet a group of people in a local community who have been struck by a crime without punishment. Evil has taken root, and fear has led to powerlessness setting in. That evil is Mike, is a young man with no morals or boundaries. He is hyperintelligent and has the ability to threaten his victims, not only physically but by hitting their psychological weak spots. He is restless, energetic and has a complete lack of empathy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Peter, the local town doctor and father of Aksel, a young boy whom Mike killed in a hit-and-run 18 months ago – and got off scot-free. Retreating ever further into himself, Peter has been subsumed by anger towards a system of justice that failed him, and a burning desire for revenge against Mike. Quietly rallying a small group of like-minded townspeople, each with their own grudge against Mike, Peter decides the only way to rid the community of the evil that plagues it is to plot the seemingly perfect revenge murder. But playing God has devilish consequences for all. Deliver Us is a series about what happens when people let their innermost primitive instincts take over – vengeance, hatred and wrath. At the same time, it’s a story about love: about how far we are willing to go to protect those we love.
(Dirs. Ole Endresen, Jadranko Mehic, Jan Christian Frugård, Hanne Larsen, Stephan Apelgren, Gunnar Vikene, Carsten Myllerup, Kjersti Steinsbø, 2016-2018)
Available on DVD July 25, 2023
In this critically acclaimed Norwegian legal drama, Erik, (Odd-Magnus Williamson, Kon-Tiki) and Elea, (Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Borderliner and Acquitted), are two of Norway’s shrewdest and most persistent defense lawyers. He’s a sharp, sexy, successful, and high-flying lawyer whom everyone knows. She has a sensible exterior that belies her inner strength and she’s also the love of Erik’s life - until she kicks him out. After their divorce and failed attempts at reconciliation, the company they built together is deadlocked. Its unorthodox team of attorneys must juggle the morals and ethics of politics and law in the middle of a maelstrom between two souls who think they have stopped loving each other. Erik and Elea learn that they can’t live with each other yet can’t live without each other either in this engaging three season character driven drama.
(Dir. Bernard-Henri Lévy, 2023)
Available on DVD and digitally on Kino Now July 4, 2023
One year after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy (The Will to See) takes us to the heart of the conflict through a war diary made during the second half of 2022. From Kharkiv, in the Donbass, to Kherson, in the aftermath of the city’s liberation, this documentary bears witness to the ravages of war through the testimonies of soldiers, chronicles of the front and portraits of civilians, and shares with us the struggle of the Ukrainian people."
Bonus Features:
- Trailers
(Dir. Vadim Perelman, 2023)
Available on Blu-ray and digitally on Kino Now July 18, 2023
Occupied France, 1942. Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch (Lars Eidinger), who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of “Farsi” every day and teaching them to Koch. The particular relationship between the two men sparks the jealousy of other prisoners and SS guards towards Gilles. And while the suspicions of Koch grow every day, Gilles understands that he will not be able to keep his secret very long...
Bonus Features:
- Trailers
A Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature: Robin Hood and The Black Pirate
(Dirs. Allan Dwan, Albert Parker, 1922/1926)
Available on Blu-ray and digitally on Kino Now July 25, 2023
A big-screen spectacle that ranks as one of the monumental accomplishments of the silent era, ROIN HOOD is a timeless story of romance and intrigue, staged on a herculean scale. Its sets were erected by an army of 500 carpenters and towered 90 feet in the air, covering acres of land – historically accurate to the smallest detail. For this restoration, a full frame 35MM fine grain positive was scanned at 4K, with 175 hours of digital clean-up at 2K completed.
Shot in two-strip Technicolor, Fairbanks had conceived of THE BLACK PIRATE years before it was finally made. According to Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance, it was “the most carefully prepared and controlled of Fairbanks’s entire career,” certainly in no small part due to the expense and limitations of the early color process. The resulting film earned high praise from The New York Times, which praised its “unrivalled beauty…mindful of the paintings of the old masters.” A 35MM color negative was mastered in HD for this presentation.
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary for THE BLACK PIRATE by film historian Rudy Behlmer- 18 minutes of THE BLACK PIRATE outtakes with commentary BY RUDY BEHLMER
- 29 minutes of additional BLACK PIRATE outtakes.
(Dir. James Lapine, 2023)
Available on DVD July 4, 2023
Available digitally on Kino Now June 30, 2023
Tony-winning playwright and director James Lapine (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George) befriends Rose Styron, the widow of the great American novelist William Styron (Sophie’s Choice). Rose shares the fascinating story of her complex life as a poet, journalist, human rights activist, life partner to William, and friend of the Kennedys and Clintons.
Bonus Features:
- Trailers
(Dir. Daniel Andres Werner, 2021)
Available on DVD and digitally on Kino Now July 18, 2023
This erotic thriller follows an illicit love affair gone violently wrong. Joan (Renato Quattordio) is a naïve 16-year-old who has fallen madly in love with his older but sultry art teacher Luciana (Romina Ricci). She is also smitten, and together they decide to run away for a love nest weekend in a country house. But what begins as a schoolboy’s dream turns sinister when he finds himself kidnapped by a mysterious older man who seeks ransom money from his rich parents. And is his teacher/lover involved in the crime? Violence soon erupts as the boy fights for his life. First love was never so complicated or dangerous.
Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Story
(Dir. Aaron Bear, 2023)
Available on DVD July 11, 2023
Yes I Am - The Ric Weiland Story chronicles LGBTQ pioneer & unknown founder of Microsoft. With his newfound wealth, he turned to philanthropy. During his life, he donated more than $200m to fund more than 60 non-profit organizations. His efforts still have a massive impact today. However, as his wealth grew, Ric seemed to slip further into self-doubt, depression, and a kind of impostor syndrome.
Bonus Features:
- Trailers
Star Pilot (2+5 Missione Hydra)
(Dir. Pietro Francisci, 1966)
Available on Blu-ray July 4, 2023
A kitschy sci-fi extravaganza recently restored in 4K, Star Pilot (2+5 Missione Hydra, 1966) is a wildly colorful adventure through the vastness of space. Aliens from the constellation Hydra crash-land on the island of Sardinia. A prominent scientist, his daughter, several young technicians, and a pair of spies are taken hostage by the beings so they can use them to repair their spaceship’s broken engine. With that done, they take off towards their home planet, taking the Earthlings with them. However, the humans attempt to mutiny against their captors, inadvertently sending their tiny spaceship hurtling into the infinite beyond.
Bonus Features:
- Alternate English-language cut of the feature (86 minutes)
- Audio commentary by author and film historian David Del Valle