The Corner Penthouse

Looking for a last minute holiday gift for your video-loving family or friends? Well, let me run down a few items that have come out in the past few months that would be perfect for the person who loves comedy and character-based movies.

All of the items below have already been released and are available for purchase from Amazon at the links provided. The Corner Penthouse will earn a very tiny commission from your purchase using these links.



• BUY IT: 4K UHD, 4K UHD Steelbook, Blu-ray, DVD.

• SYNOPSIS: After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), Lydia's (Winona Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it's only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice's name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

• SPECIAL FEATURES: All of the content below can be found on the 4K disc.

• Audio Commentary - with director Tim Burton.
• The Juice is Loose: The Making of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (27:37) - This behind-the-scenes featurette features interviews with Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, and co-writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
• The Ghost with the Most: Beetlejuice Returns (8:34) - The cast and crew give their thoughts on the character.
• Meet the Deetz (6:52) - Three generations of Deetz women come together, with comments from key cast and crew members.
• Shrinkers, Shrinkers Everywhere! (6:26) - The original film's "shrunken head" character and the expansion into a full crew for this sequel.
• An Animated Afterlife: The Stop-Motion Art of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (9:14) - A look at the stop-motion work, including the airplane and sandworm sequences.
• The Handbook for the Recently Deceased (12:07) - Crew members talk about the afterlife's visual design, sets, practical effects, and more.
• 'Til Death Do We Park: Beetlejuice and Lydia's First Dance (7:54) - The filming of the surreal climactic scene, set to "MacArthur Park" as performed by Richard Harris.

• RATING: PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use.

• NOTES: The film is enjoyable, but a bit of a mess with too much going on. Monica Bellucci is wasted in a role that could have been eliminated without effecting much of anything. As for the releases, the Blu-ray uses the poster art, reminiscent of original's poster art, which should have been used on all releases. The 4K, in my option, has the worst of the three cover arts.

The original film is available on 4K UHD (my review), 4K UHD Giftset, Blu-ray, DVD. The animated series is available on DVD from Shout Factory (Box Set) and Warner Brothers (Single Plastic Case).

• CREDIT: This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.



• BUY IT: 4K UHD, 4K UHD Steelbook, Blu-ray, 30th Anniv. DVD.

• SYNOPSIS: Ribald, tasteless and hilarious ... this classic spoof of the Western genre by director Mel Brooks pokes fun at everyone and everything. A corrupt governor grants a reprieve to an African American convict if the condemned man agrees to serve as sheriff of a small Western town, believing that new sheriff will only live long enough to serve the needs of the governor and his nefarious railroad-baron backer.

• SPECIAL FEATURES: All of the content below can be found on the 4K disc.

• Audio Commentary - with director Mel Brooks. Recorded in 1997, it's an interview that runs for the first 55 minutes of the film.
• Inappropriate Inspiration: The Blazing Saddles Effect (21:09) - A new 2024 featurette, it seems.
• Blaze of Glory: Mel Brooks' Wild, Wild West (29:39) - A 2014 featurette.
• Back in the Saddle (28:23) - A 2001 featurette.
• Additional Scenes (9:41) - I believe that all of these were clipped from the TV version of the movie, as they seem to be the "outtakes" seen in the "Back in the Saddle" featurette.

• RATING: R.

• NOTES: Sadly, I have to report that several extras from the previous Blu-ray and DVD releases are missing here: "Black Bart" 1975 TV pilot (24:31), Theatrical Trailer (2:18), and "Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn" documentary clip (3:41). The original Blu-ray (not the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray) contains all of these items. Also, Blazing Saddles was later remade as the family-friendly Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022), which I reviewed here.

• CREDIT: This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.



• BUY IT: Recorded Blu-ray, Recorded DVD.

• SYNOPSIS: Two estranged best friends (Seth Green and Breckin Meyer) embark on a life-changing adventure in Thailand, which reminds them that there's no problem that friendship and a few rounds in a Muay Thai boxing ring can't fix.

• SPECIAL FEATURES: All of the content below can be found on the Blu-ray disc. Yes, the titles are really this long, even though the videos are quite short :-)

• Trailer (2:32)
• Behind the Scenes Footage of Shooting in Thailand (1:30)
• A Blooper Featuring Seth Green (0:57)
• An Exploration Into What Changeland is About (1:05)
• Working with Writer/Director/Star Seth Green (1:25)
• The Cats (2:13)

• RATING: Not Rated.

• NOTES: Directed by and starring Seth Green, the film also features his wife Clare Grant, and their friends Breckin Meyer, Macaulay Culkin and his wife Brenda Song, and wrestler Randy Orton. Given that this is a low-budget release, I do not think that there is a factory-pressed disc in either format. (As an FYI: The release I'm reviewing is a Manufacture On Demand Recorded Blu-ray, not a factory-pressed disc. If online artwork and the case spine says "Blu-ray Disc" in plain text, it's a BD-R recorded disc. If it has a Blu-ray logo, it's a factory-pressed disc. If you have the disc in hand, a purple bottom is a recorded disc, and a silver bottom is a pressed disc.)

• CREDIT: This item has been provided by Gravitas Ventures for review on this site.



• BUY IT: 4K UHD, 4K UHD Steelbook, Blu-ray, DVD.

• SYNOPSIS: When top hit man Joe Flood (Dave Bautista) is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands - by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hit men he hired also target his ex-girlfriend (Sofia Boutella), he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it's too late.

• SPECIAL FEATURES: All of the content below can be found on both the 4K and Blu-ray discs.

• Meet Joe Flood (5:32) - Introduces the character with a number of brief interviews with J.J. Penny and Dave Bautista, among others.
• The Conductor (5:16) - Profiles J.J. Penny.
• World of Assassins (6:28) - Offers the glut of bizarre potential hitmen and/or hitwomen.
• Killed It! (6:48) - Looks at some of the action sequences and stunt work.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:32)

• RATING: R for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual material, brief drug use and nudity

• NOTES: Wrestling fans take note that not only does the film star Dave Bautista, but WWE's Drew McIntyre/Galloway appears as one of two gonzo Scottish brothers whose brogue is so thick it can't be understood. A digital copy is included and the first print run features an embossed slipcover. Lionsgate provided a bonus clip: Dave Bautista as Joe Flood.

• CREDIT: This item has been provided by Lionsgate for review on this site.



• BUY IT: Blu-ray, DVD.

• SYNOPSIS: Based on Garrison Keillor's wildly popular radio program of the same name, Robert Altman invites audiences to the fictional "closing night" of the fabled show. As the rain pours down on a blustery Minnesota evening, the cast tapes their final performance, while waiting for the Texas businessman who has bought the theater to arrive and shut them down. Backstage the colorful ensemble says their goodbyes and confront old conflicts, while onstage a sold-out audience enjoys the wit and musical whimsy for which the show is famous. But when a mysterious woman appears offstage introducing herself as the angel Asphodel, it becomes apparent that this will be no ordinary closing night.

• SPECIAL FEATURES: All of the content below can be found on the Blu-ray disc. A "Song Selection" feature is also included, but it is just a chapter list pointing to different points in the movie. As such, I do no consider it a special feature.

• Audio Commentary - with actor Kevin Kline and co-producer/director Robert Altman; recorded in 2007.
• Onstage at the Fitzgerald (35:15) - Raw footage of rehearsals and unedited clips of the finished musical performances, as well as full versions of the faux commercials performed by Garrison Keillor. Includes "Independence Rag", "Blues at the Fitz", "Strappin' the Strings", "Mudslide", "Old Plank Road", "The Day Is Short", "A Bunch of Guys", "Summit Avenue Rag", "Dr. Wang", "So Near and Dear to Me", "Jens Jensen's Herring", "Monback Bros. Trash Hauling", "New Munich Beer", "Prince of Pizza", "A Message from the Rhubarb Producers of Minnesota", and "Good Ol' St. Paul".
• Come Play with Us: A Feature Companion (49:16) - A 2007 behind-the-scenes dpcumentary featuring candid interviews with Garrison Keillor, Robert Altman, and several performers and actors.
• Soundtrack Preview (36:10) - This mis-named item is just film clips of all of the song performences edited together in standard definition. I have no idea why this was included since the entire film in high definition is already on the disc. Originally on DVD, this was apparently preceeded by three still images, likely providing soundtrack information. Those still images are not included here, so this marathon of film clips has no connection anymore to the soundtrack album.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:18) - Can also be viewed online here.

• RATING: PG-13 for risque humor.

• CREDIT: This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.



• BUY IT: 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD.

• SYNOPSIS: Blazing across the screen in a spray of bullets, the gangster-film sensation Scarface helped set the standard for the genre for decades to come. Swaggering, scary, and unexpectedly charming, Paul Muni gives an iconic portrayal of criminal sociopathy as Tony Camonte, the ruthless, machine-gun-toting mobster who rises through the ranks of a bootlegging empire atop an ever-increasing body count, but whose possessive relationship with his wild-child sister (Ann Dvorak) threatens to be his undoing. With rat-a-tat command of editing and dialogue, and his trademark panache, director Howard Hawks creates an unstoppable sense of dynamism while pushing on-screen violence to new heights of brutality.

• SPECIAL FEATURES: All of the content below can be found on the Blu-ray disc. There are no extras on the 4K disc.

• Megan Abbott and Bill Hader (37:47) - Critic Megan Abbott and actor Bill Hader discuss the film.
• Lea Jacobs (17:18) - Film scholar Lea Jacobs examines Howard Hawks' techniques for editing the sound and dialogue.
• Alternate Ending (13:06) - This alternate ending from the Theatrical Cut was mandated by the Hays Office censors. Unwilling to revise his film, Howard Hawks delegated the shooting of these scenes to Richard Rosson, who consequently earned a co-director credit.

• RATING: Not Rated.

• NOTES: There is also an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith in a fold-out liner booklet that sits inside the thick clear two-disc case. For a report on the difference between the Director's Cut and the Theatrical Cut, visit the Movie Censorship site. Not only is the Theatrical Cut missing (Criterion could have used seamless branching to make both available as only end endings are different), this new 4K release is missing the Robert Osborne Introduction (2:22) from Universal's Blu-ray.

The 1983 film starring Al Pacino is available in a multitude of formats with and without physical goodies: 4K Gold Edition, 4K Gold Ed. + Statue, Blu-ray Gold Edition, Blu-ray Limited Edition, Blu-ray Limited Ed. + Humidor, and DVD.

• CREDIT: This item has been provided by the Criterion Collection for review on this site.

If you're looking for more gift ideas, check out all of the other items I've reviewed recently. I review a variety of items, so I'm sure you'll find something quite suitable for your friends and family, or maybe even yourself. Yeah, why not treat yourself this holiday season.