There’s really no way not to feel pioneering when Chuck Tingle‘s collection makes us feel like cheering. We hope DSE will not try now to state that this was a market they could– penetrate. Perhaps they have learned to keep their case shut. You limit fair use… you’ll get slammed in the butt.
BURBANK, CA (May 22, 2018) – Get ready for nonstop action from start to finish when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Arrow: The Complete Seventh Season on Blu-ray and DVD August 20, 2019. Both sets contain all 22 action-packed episodes from the seventh season, plus the show’s 2018 Comic-Con Panel, a crossover featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and more! All three DC Crossover: Elseworlds episodes will be available only for fans who purchase the Blu-ray set. The Complete Seventh Season is priced to own at $39.99 SRP for the DVD ($51.99 in Canada) and $44.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($52.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Arrow: The Complete Seventh Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.
Following Oliver Queen’s shocking decision to turn himself over the FBI and reveal his identity as the Green Arrow to the public, Oliver has spent the past five months in prison while his team was left behind to protect Star City. In the wake of Ricardo Diaz’s escape, Oliver has yet again turned into someone else inside Slabside Maximum Security Prison. Determined to keep a low profile to shorten his sentence for the sake of his family, Oliver’s limits will be tested when he and Team Arrow are pitted against the most ruthless villains they have yet to face.
“Arrow has struck a chord with audiences over the years through its incredible action and impressive special effects,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHEG Senior Vice President, TV Marketing. “As Arrow enters its eighth and final season on The CW, fans will be eager to add the most recent season to their collection and enjoy the two hours of bonus content included on Blu-ray and DVD.”
With Blu-ray’s unsurpassed picture and sound, Arrow: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray release will include 1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1. In addition to featuring all 22 episodes from the seventh season in high-definition, as well as a digital copy of the season (available in the U.S. only), the 4-disc Blu-ray will also include all three crossover episodes, a tremendous value and collectors’ opportunity.
Arrow stars Stephen Amell (Private Practice, Heartland), Katie Cassidy (A Nightmare on Elm Street), David Ramsey (Dexter), Emily Bett Rickards (Brooklyn), Echo Kellum (Sean Saves The World), Rick Gonzalez (Reaper), Juliana Harkavy (Dolphin Tale, The Walking Dead), Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf, The Gates), Kirk Acevedo (Fringe, 12 Monkeys) and Sea Shimooka (Happy New Years). Based on the characters from DC, Arrow is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (The Flash, Supergirl, Riverdale, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Beth Schwartz (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) and Sarah Schechter (The Flash, Supergirl, Blindspot, Black Lightning).
BLU-RAY & DVD FEATURES
The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panel San Diego 2018
Inside the Crossover: Elseworlds
Villains: Modes of Persuasion
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes
DVD: 22 ONE-HOUR EPISODES
Inmate 4587
Longbow Hunters
Crossing Lines
Level Two
The Demon
Due Process
The Slabside Redemption
Unmasked
Elseworlds: Hour Two
My Name is Emiko Queen
Past Sins
Emerald Archer
Star City Slayer
Brothers & Sisters
Training Day
Star City 2040
Inheritance
Lost Canary
Spartan
Confessions
Living Proof
You Have Saved This City
BLU-RAY: 22 ONE-HOUR EPISODES + 2 FULL CROSSOVER EPISODES
Inmate 4587
Longbow Hunters
Crossing Lines
Level Two
The Demon
Due Process
The Slabside Redemption
Unmasked
Elseworlds: Hour One
Elseworlds: Hour Two
Elseworlds: Hour Three
My Name is Emiko Queen
Past Sins
Emerald Archer
Star City Slayer
Brothers & Sisters
Training Day
Star City 2040
Inheritance
Lost Canary
Spartan
Confessions
Living Proof
You Have Saved This City
DIGITAL
The seventh season of Arrow is also currently available to own on Digital. Digital allows consumers to instantly stream and download all episodes to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital is available from various retailers including iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, PlayStation, Xbox and others. A Digital Copy is also included in the U.S. with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs for redemption and cloud storage.
BURBANK, CA (May 22, 2019) – Just in time for the sixth season premiere of the highest-rated series on The CW, you will be bolting into stores to pick up The Flash: The Complete Fifth Season as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases the Blu-ray and DVD on August 27, 2019. Fans will be able to speed-watch all 22 electrifying episodes from the fifth season, plus the show’s 2018 Comic-Con Panel, three featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel and more! All three DC Crossover: Elseworlds episodes will be available only for fans who purchase the Blu-ray set. The Flash: The Complete Fifth Season is priced to own at $39.99 SRP for the DVD ($51.99 in Canada) and $44.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($52.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (available in the U.S.). The Flash: The Complete Fifth Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.
Shortly after defeating The Thinker, Barry Allen/The Flash and his wife, Iris, were stunned by the arrival of their already grown, speedster daughter from the future, Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy). However, acclimating to their lives as parents won’t be the only challenge they face, as Season Five pits Team Flash against Central City’s latest scourge – the DC Super-Villain Cicada (Chris Klein).
“The Flash is currently The CW’s highest-rated series, and after five strong seasons, The Flash remains a fan favorite,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, Television Marketing. “In addition to the 22 Season 5 episodes, fans can enjoy over 2.5 hours of special features plus 2 bonus Crossover episodes from Arrow and Supergirl on the Blu-ray release.”
With Blu-ray’s unsurpassed picture and sound, The Flash: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray release will include 1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1. In addition to featuring all 22 episodes from the fifth season in high-definition, as well as a digital copy of the season (available in the U.S.), the 4-disc Blu-ray will also include all three crossover episodes, a tremendous value and collectors’ opportunity.
The Flash stars Grant Gustin (Arrow, Glee), Candice Patton (The Game), Danielle Panabaker (Sky High, Friday the 13th), Carlos Valdes (Arrow, Once), Hartley Sawyer (Caper, Glory Daze), Danielle Nicolet (Central Intelligence), Jessica Parker Kennedy (The Secret Circle, Black Sails), and Chris Klein (American Pie movies), with Tom Cavanagh (Ed, The Following) and Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order). Based on the characters from DC, The Flash is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Riverdale), Todd Helbing (Spartacus, Black Sails), Eric Wallace (Teen Wolf, Z Nation) and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, Riverdale, Black Lightning, Supergirl).
BLU-RAY & DVD FEATURES
The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panel San Diego 2018
The Evolution of Killer Frost
Inside the Crossover: Elseworlds
Villains: Modes of Persuasion
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes
DVD: 22 ONE-HOUR EPISODES
Nora
Blocked
The Death of Vibe
News Flash
All Doll’d Up
The Icicle Cometh
O Come, All Ye Thankful
What’s Past Is Prologue
Elseworlds: Hour One
The Flash & The Furious
Seeing Red
Memorabilia
Goldfaced
Cause and XS
King Shark VS Gorilla Grodd
Failure Is an Orphan
Time Bomb
Godspeed
Snow Pack
Gone Rogue
The Girl with the Red Lightning
Legacy
BLU-RAY: 22 ONE-HOUR EPISODES + 2 FULL CROSSOVER EPISODES
Nora
Blocked
The Death of Vibe
News Flash
All Doll’d Up
The Icicle Cometh
O Come, All Ye Thankful
What’s Past Is Prologue
Elseworlds: Hour One
Elseworlds: Hour Two
Elseworlds: Hour Three
The Flash & The Furious
Seeing Red
Memorabilia
Goldfaced
Cause and XS
King Shark VS Gorilla Grodd
Failure Is an Orphan
Time Bomb
Godspeed
Snow Pack
Gone Rogue
The Girl with the Red Lightning
Legacy
DIGITAL
The fifth season of The Flash is also currently available to own on Digital. Digital allows consumers to instantly stream and download all episodes to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital is available from various retailers including iTunes, Amazon Video, PlayStation, Vudu, Xbox and others. A Digital Copy is also included with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs (available in the U.S.) for redemption and cloud storage.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Called “the stuff of nightmares” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) and “flat out terrifying” (Erik Davis, Fandango), the chilling new adaptation PET SEMATARY comes home on Digital June 25, 2019, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Video-On-Demand July 9 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
The Digital*, 4K Ultra HD, and Blu-ray releases are packed with over 90 minutes of special features, including hair-raising deleted and extended scenes, a chilling alternate ending, a look at the main characters, behind-the-scenes footage, cast interviews and more. A must-own for every Stephen King fan, PET SEMATARY is a “twisted and bone-chilling” (Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting) thrill ride.
The film also boasts a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead**. In addition, both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Combo Packs include access to a Digital copy of the film.
Synopsis
After the Creed family relocates from Boston to rural Maine, they soon discover an ancient burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home. When tragedy strikes, the grief-stricken father is driven by the cemetery’s sinister power, setting off a perilous chain of events that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences. Some secrets are best left buried in this twisted thriller.
BONUS FEATURES ON 4K ULTRA HD COMBO, BLU-RAY COMBO & DIGITAL*
Alternate Ending
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Night Terrors – Family Haunting Visions
Louis
Rachel
Ellie
The Tale of Timmy Baterman
Beyond the Deadfall
Chapter One: Resurrection – Directors, screenwriters and cast discuss bringing this classic back to life
Chapter Two: The Final Resting Place—A deeper look into finding the right location for the terror to unfold
Chapter Three: The Road to Sorrow— Inside the film’s tragic themes and creating the iconic cat “Church”
Chapter Four: Death Comes home—Unearth the creepy elements behind the climax and final scenes of the film
The PET SEMATARY DVD includes the feature film in standard definition.
PET SEMATARY
Street Date: June 25, 2019 (Digital)
July 9, 2019 (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, Video on Demand)
U.S. Rating: R for horror violence, bloody images, and some language
Canadian Rating: 14A – Gory Scenes, Disturbing Content
Real heroes never retire in Supervized, arriving on Digital and On Demand July 19 from Lionsgate. The film will also be in select theaters from Freestyle on July 19. Academy Award® nominee Tom Berenger (1986, Best Supporting Actor, Platoon) and Golden Globe® winner Beau Bridges (1994, Best Supporting Actor, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom) lead this charming comedy about a group of senior superheroes who gather for one last mission at their nursing home. Also starring Oscar® winner Louis Gossett, Jr. (1982, Best Supporting Actor, An Officer and a Gentleman) and Primetime Emmy® winner Fionnula Flanagan (1976, Best Supporting Actress, Rich Man, Poor Man), the film was directed and produced by Primetime Emmy® nominee Steve Barron (1998, Best Directing, Merlin). Supervized will be available on Digital in both HD and SD for the suggested retail price of $12.99.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Real superheroes get better with age. Tom Berenger and Beau Bridges lead this delightful comedy centered around a group of senior superheroes spending their twilight years in a nursing home in Ireland. When Ray (Berenger) suspects foul play at the nursing home, he reassembles his old team for one last mission, proving that saving the world never gets old.
CAST
Tom Berenger Platoon, Inception, Major League
Beau Bridges Max Payne, The Descendants, Masters of Sex and Bloodline
Louis Gossett, Jr. An Officer and a Gentleman, Jaws 3-D, Roots
and Fionnula Flanagan The Others, Four Brothers, Rich Man, Poor Man
From Academy Award winners James Cameron & Jon Landau, and visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this discarded cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. When deadly and corrupt forces come after Alita, she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
The action-packed film, also starring Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Keenan Johnson has scored $405 million at the global box-office.
Now with hours of extensive special features the home entertainment release takes you behind-the-scenes with James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez to see the journey from Manga to Screen and what it took to bring Alita to life. Plus, go deeper into the universe of ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, where you’ll learn about the past, the characters of the present, and the thrilling sport of Motorball.
Alita: Battle Angel Blu-ray™ Special Features
Alita’s World – get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
The Fall – a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
Iron City – Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
What it Means to be a Cyborg – hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
Rules of the Game – A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
Evolution of Alita – how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital.
Motorball – go inside Iron City’s favorite pastime, from the origins and evolution of the sport, to rules on how the game is played.
James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A moderated by Jon Landau.
Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate – a cooking lesson on how to make delicious chocolate like that seen in the movie.
2005 Art Compilation (2019) – James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music.
Scene Deconstruction – view three different stages of the production – the original live action performance capture, the animation stage, and the final Weta VFX from four different scenes
I Don’t Even Know My Own Name
Just an Insignificant Girl
I’m a Warrior Aren’t I?
Kansas Bar
Alita: Battle Angel DVD Special Features
Alita’s World – get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
The Fall – a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
Iron City – Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
What it Means to be a Cyborg – hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
Rules of the Game – A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
Alita: Battle Angel DVD Special Features – continued
From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
Alita: Battle Angel Digital Special Features
Alita’s World – get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these dynamic motion comics.
The Fall – a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita’s return 300 years later.
Iron City – Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
What it Means to be a Cyborg – hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing about what it means to be a cyborg.
Rules of the Game – A high-octane “crash course” in Motorball, introducing the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of weapons.
From Manga to Screen – a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s beloved manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen.
Evolution of Alita – how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital.
Motorball – go inside Iron City’s favorite pastime, from the origins and evolution of the sport, to rules on how the game is played.
Musical Themes – Composer Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL) offers an in-depth examination of the key musical themes of his Alita: Battle Angel score.
Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate – a cooking lesson on how to make delicious chocolate like that seen in the movie.
Streets of Iron City – Director Robert Rodriguez gives a set tour of Iron City, with cast and crew insights, and a behind-the-scenes look at the city’s creation.
Iron City
Scrapyard
Ido’s Clinic
Cathedral
Ambush Alley
Vector’s Office and the Factory
Kansas Bar
Allies and Adversaries – meet the allies and adversaries that Alita encounters in Iron City.
Zapan
Dr. Dyson Ido
Grewishka
Nyssiana
Romo
McTeague
Vector
Chiren
Hugo
James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A, moderated by producer Jon Landau.
Production Materials – explore the initial vision for the movie with art reels from 2005 and 2016.
2005 Art Compilation (2019) – James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music.
2016 Art Reel – Lightstorm Entertainment and Robert Rodriguez’s 2016 compilation of concept art reflecting the design of the final film.
Scene Deconstruction – view three different stages of the production – the original live action performance capture, the animation stage, and the final Weta VFX cut from four different scenes
I Don’t Even Know My Own Name
Just an Insignificant Girl
I’m a Warrior Aren’t I?
Kansas Bar
Theatrical Trailers
Alita – Official Trailer
Alita – Battle Ready Trailer
Alita: Battle Angel 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray™ 3D Specifications Street Date: July 16, 2019 Screen Format: 16:9 (2.39:1) HDR Formats for 4K UHD: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 Audio for 4K UHD: English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD MA 2.0, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1 Subtitles for 4K UHD: English SDH, Spanish, French Audio for Blu-ray 3D: English DTS-HD-MA 7.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1 Subtitles for Blu-ray 3D: English SDH, Spanish, French Total Run Time: Approximately 122 minutes U.S. Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language
Alita: Battle Angel Blu-ray™ Specifications Street Date: July 16, 2019 Screen Format: 16:9 (2.39:1) Audio: English DTS-HD-MA 7.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French Total Run Time: Approximately 122 minutes U.S. Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language
Alita: Battle Angel DVD Specifications Street Date: July 16, 2019 Screen Format: 16:9 (2.39:1) Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French Total Run Time: Approximately 122 minutes U.S. Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language
Central City district attorney Cecile Horton is really bad at her job. But, to be fair, when it comes to job performance, Cecile’s husband, detective Joe West of the Central City Police Department, is about as sharp as a bag of Nerf Balls.
BURBANK, CA, May 15, 2019 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s terrifying 1980 horror masterpiece, will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Digital on October 1. The 4K remastering is of Kubrick’s original 146 minute version of the film which premiered in the United States on May 23rd, 1980.
Now widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films ever made, The Shining was directed and produced by Kubrick, who wrote the screenplay with Diane Johnson. The film was based on the novel “The Shining” by Stephen King, and stars Jack Nicholson in an iconic role as Jack Torrance, Shelley Duval as Wendy Torrance, Scatman Crothers as Dick Halloran, and Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance.
The 4K remastering was done using a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick’s former personal assistant Leon Vitali worked closely with the team at Warner Bros. during the mastering process.
On May 17th, the restored 4K version of the film was screened at The Cannes Film Festival.
In 2018, The Shining was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The film ranked 29th on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills list, and Jack Torrance was named the 25th greatest villain on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains list. Additionally, the quote “Here’s Johnny” from the film was ranked 68th on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes list.
Ultra HD* showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.
The Shining Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the feature film in 4K with HDR, a Blu-ray disc with the film in high definition and the special features in high definition, and a Digital version of the movie. Fans can also own The Shining in 4K Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on October 1. The Ultra HD Blu-ray of The Shining will include more than three hours of previously released special features.
SYNOPSIS
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes the winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer’s block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack’s writing goes nowhere and Danny’s visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel’s dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.
Ultra HD Blu-ray Elements
The Shining Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:
Audio commentary by Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown and Stanley Kubrick biographer John Baxter
Video from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining
Enter the terrifying world of the Overlook Hotel as only Stanley Kubrick could envision it
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
A detailed look at one of cinema’s greatest visual storytellers and his unique ability to move audiences through the magic of unforgettable images
The Making of The Shining
This cinema verite documentary offers a rare glimpse into the directing style of Stanley Kubrick as he interacts with stars Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall and others
Wendy Carlos, Composer
Composer Wendy Carlos reflects on working with complex auteur Stanley Kubrick and developing music scores for The Shining and A Clockwork Orange
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS
On October 1 The Shining 4K UHD will be available to own for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on favorite devices from select digital retailers including GooglePlay, Vudu, Xbox and others, and will be made available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.
BASICS
Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack $41.99*
Standard Street Date: October 1, 2019
Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, German,
Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, Arabic, Complex Chinese, Castilian Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German SDH, Hungarian, Italian SDH, Italian Forced, Japanese, Japanese, Forced, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai
Blu-ray Languages: English 5.1, Dolby Digital: English 5.1, Français 5.1, Español 5.1
Blu-ray Subtitles: English, Français, & Español
Running Time: 144 minutes
Rating: Rated R
Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, Arabic, Complex Chinese, Castilian Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German SDH, Hungarian, Italian SDH, Italian Forced, Japanese, Japanese, Forced, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai
* For the complete 4K Ultra HD experience with HDR, a 4K Ultra HD TV with HDR, an Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a high-speed HDMI (category 2) cable are required.
Michael E. Uslan is, among many other things, an executive producer of the Batman films. This post is reprinted with his permission.
–ComicMix Staff
I’ve always believed that the star of a Batman movie is… Batman. For me, it is not about hiring a big box office draw like making Tom Cruise The Batman for a generation. It is all rather about making Bruce Wayne come to life. Because of that conceptually, the most important aspect of casting is not necessarily the actor, but rather the filmmaker. Does the filmmaker have a love for and understanding of the character? Does he or she have a passion for the character? Does the filmmaker have a vision for the character and do you believe he or she can execute that vision? Ultimately, more than track record, it comes down to trust.
Warning: There be dragons! But ye shall be burned even more by the SPOILERS that abound!
So she finally went and did it.
Daenerys Targaryen, who over the course of eight seasons, went from an apparently innocent waif, traded like a piece of chattel, to an assertive and determined navigator of the Westeros chess board who freed entire cities of slaves, acquired two armies in a quest to reclaim her family’s throne from usurpers and tyrants, has snapped, and borne out her family’s penchant for insanity. Not content at conquering King’s Landing, and defeating Cersei, she threw morality and human decency to the winds, and torched entire sections of King’s Landing, turning scores of innocent men, woman and children into French fries for no justifiable reason.
In so doing, she adds The Mad Queen to her list of titles, becoming her father’s daughter, and the true heir to King Aerys II.
And it’s not like this wasn’t pre-ordained, right? Both novelist George R.R. Martin and the producers who adapted his Song of Ice and Fire for the screen, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, made it clear early on, by establishing the Targaryen family’s propensity for insanity, and through the prophetic visions experienced by Bran and Daenerys herself, that she would eventually make it to King’s Landing, but that it would not necessarily be a happy ending, which have always been few and far between on a show that’s always been more about employing subversion to illustrate the horror of war and the dangers of absolute rule by narcissists who see themselves as the center of all things.
In this sense, setting us up to think that Varys deserved to be executed, and to feel joy at seeing the gates of King’s Landing disintegrated as Drogon flies through them on a giant torrent of flame, only to later be horrified when Dany refused to stop, and realize that Varys was “right” all along, is right in line with this modus operandi. Irrespective of her words and even her actions regarding tyrants, Dany has never indicated that hers is a war for egalitarianism or democracy, even if she freed some cities’ worth of slaves along the way. Her actions have always centered upon what she wanted for herself, and her kindness and generosity always stopped at those who came between her and her goals.
So no, her rampage at King’s Landing wasn’t without setup. That isn’t the problem.
The problem is the same one that’s pervaded the entire season.
Lousy execution.
It’s the writing, stupid!
The last five episodes, especially the last three, have been marred by major established premises that have been ignored or dropped; a conclusion to the Night King storyline that while satisfying on an action level, did not tie into the status quo of Jon or Bran, the Cersei storyline, or even affect Dany’s ability to wage war on King’s Landing; unceremonious exits of important characters like Sam, Gilly, Tormund and Ghost; and plot holes bigger than that one Viserion blew through the Wall.
In “The Long Night”, we saw the Dothraki snuffed out by the horde of the dead, with only one or two horseriders coming back from that idiotic charge-with-no-dragonglass. In the next episode, “The Last of the Starks”, Grey Worm tells Daenerys that half their forces are gone, and takes some pieces off the map. The lone unnamed Dothraki in the room does the same. Yet in this episode, a large group of Dothraki charge King’s Landing in force. In “Starks,” Dany is flying toward Dragonstone, and all of a sudden neither she, nor Drogon nor Rhaegal can see eleven ships below them, allowing Euron’s ships to land not one, not two, but three arrows at Rhaegal in rapid succession, while missing Drogon entirely. According to Benioff, this his because Dany “kind of forgot” about Euron’s fleet. I’m not making that up. Read it yourself.
But now in “The Bells,” she has regained the sense to properly take advantage of her altitude in the very way she should have, and can destroy a fleet that now numbers at least 137 ships? (Yes, I counted.)
But what’s far worse than changed or ignored premises or plot holes is how this season has handled the show’s signature quality: Characterization.
The series has always been one of the best works in modern popular fiction when it comes to depicting the motivations that drive a large cast of characters’ actions, and how those motivations interact with the plot, theme and allegory. But this season, the character work has seemed so phoned-in that AT&T should’ve gotten an onscreen story credit. (Hey, it beats a Starbucks cup.)
Take Varys’ turn as traitor. In “The Last of the Starks”, Dany says she wants to rip Cersei out of King’s Landing “root and stem,” and Tyrion reminds her that the plan is to do that without destroying the entire city. Dany gives no indication that she disagrees with this. Quite the contrary, she adds that under her rule, all of the people of Westeros would live under her rightful rule “without fear or cruelty.” But then Varys starts talking to Tyrion about finding someone else to rule Westeros. This comes about not because Dany’s reaction to Missandei’s execution, because while they sail to Dragonstone before that happens, simply because Tyrion has just informed him of Jon’s true parentage. This appears to have been done to provoke our animus toward Varys for his disloyalty, so that when Dany does go postal, Benioff and Weiss can again go, “Gotcha!” with our expectations. But Varys wasn’t right, since his disloyalty was about being picky about prospective ruler pedigrees, and because Dany ever gave any inclination toward tyranny. In this way, Varys seems to have acted they way he did because he read the script. And I’ve come to expect better from this show.
Then take the Stark women’s soapy motivations. In “Starks,” Arya and Sansa say that even though they harbor respect and gratitude for Dany helping them fight the Night King, that they’ll never trust her because “She’s not one of us.” Really? Were the Wildlings “one of us”? How about that giant, Wun-Wun, who died fighting for the Starks in the Battle of the Bastards? For that matter, Robert Baratheon himself wasn’t from the North. Did the Stark women fail to observe loyalty among their people to King Robert, despite what an incompetent, cruel boor he was? By contrast, Dany loves Jon, and lost one of her dragons just saving Jon’s life (risking her own in the process) and lost half of her soldiers and one of her dearest friends fighting for Winterfell. Just what does she have to do to earn Arya and Sansa’s loyalty? Arya certainly feels loyalty to the Hound. Should Dany kill Arya’s best friend, kidnap her and then ride with her up and down Westeros while occasionally slapping her around?
Of course, this isn’t what lit up the Web following the episode’s premiere.
Daenerys: Portrait of a Tyrant
The real dragon in the living room is Daenerys’s decision to burn large sections of King’s Landing, along with civilians running for their lives. While this may be a fulfillment of the visions that Dany and Bran experienced earlier in the series, and illustrative of how even good people in positions of power can let power go to their heads, it doesn’t ring true on a character level, since characters’ behavior has to make sense in the context of their overall arcs. It’s not enough to point out that people “snap” in real life, or that Dany’s father was nuts. Hell, even he didn’t suddenly “snap”, but was a naturally erratic man who gradually declined due to a combination of age, political tension, and jealousy of his Hand, Tywin Lannister.1 Characterization isn’t about just using real life as a precedent. It’s something that has to be constructed as part of the writers’ craft, just as any other art form, and thus having a character turn arbitrarily to simply match an established prophecy breaks our suspension of disbelief.
Was Dany’s rampage really out of anger over Rhaegal and Missandei? That look of barely restrained rage on her face after Missandei was executed was certainly one we hadn’t seen before. But if that’s the case, her anger should’ve been directed at Cersei and Euron, and Benioff confirmed that this was the case. Instead, she torches peasants who had nothing to do with it. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, episode director Miguel Sapochnik said that Dany felt “empty” when the bells went off, and producer D.B. Weiss explained that at that moment, she decided to make it “personal”. The problem with this is that killing people who probably hated Cersei as much as Dany did, isn’t personal, because it’s been made clear by now Cersei didn’t care about those people.
Benioff also pointed out that before her execution at the end of “Starks,” Missandei’s last word, “Dracarys,” which was her way of telling Dany to burn them all. So what? Dany has spent eight seasons fighting against slavery, tyranny and cruelty towards the innocent, and now she’s grown so myopic over the death of her best friend that she decides to honor a condemned woman’s dying wish to murder innocent people—even though she repated her anti-tyranny platform to Tyrion after Missandei’s death? Sorry, but this is a poor rationalization any way you look it.
Some reviewers have attempted to argue the Dany has always been a mad queen, pointing to her past brutalities to people like Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, Kraznys mo Nakloz, and the Tullys, but this ignores the fact that those people had actually transgressed against her. Like it or not, “The Bells” represents the first time she has committed acts of unambiguous murder upon innocent people who had done nothing to her.
I noticed that the episode seems to try to provide other excuses for Dany, but none are particularly convincing. Consider her statement to Tyrion in Dragonstone’s throne room that she would not allow Cersei to use her mercy as a weakness. This cannot explain her killing spree, since she embarked upon it after the Lannister army surrendered. And if her actions at King’s Landing was Dany’s way of merely making a point to Cersei about Cersei attempt to use people as a defensive tactic, then this means that Dany committed mass murder out of spite.
There’s also the scene where she tries snogging with Jon in front of the fireplace, and after he fails to return her affections in earnest, she resolves, “Alright, then. Let it be fear.” Seriously? She burned countless civilians to a crisp because Jon wouldn’t give her some sugar? In HBO’s “Inside the Episode” featurette, D.B. Weiss states that this was the moment when Dany resigned herself to the belief that she would need to resort to committing an atrocity in order to “get things done,” but this ignores the fact that she had already gotten it done without it.
I want to make clear: I don’t have a problem with the idea of sympathetic characters taking tragic descents into darkness, provided that it naturally follows what’s been established up to that point. I do not, for example, have a problem with Grey Worm’s actions, since they were not inconsistent with his character. Ditto for the Dothraki and Northmen committing atrocities, since even if Dany decreed to the former that their raping and pillaging days were over (much as she had done with Yara and Theon), they may have taken her lighting up the city as a sign that it had gone out the window.
Dany burning large numbers of citizens would be more believable if it was prompted in a way that made things at least a bit more fuzzy: Imagine this: Cersei ties random citizens up against the walls of the city, and the Red Keep, using them as personal human shields. Dany then makes the decision to burn them because those innocents’ deaths are unavoidable, and then during the smoke and ash, it becomes more difficult for her to clearly see the Lannisters surrender, and to discern who is a civilian and who is a soldier, a tragic iteration of what happens in the during the “fog of war”. But this didn’t happen, as there was no “fog.”
Just ash.
There is, however, one nagging detail I noticed in the episode that gives me cause to hold off on final judgment of her turn, one that leads me to hope that what we saw in “The Bells” is not all that there was to see, and will pay off in the finale, once again prompting us to reevaluate what we previously thought was true: After that shot of Dany after the bells tolled, we never got a close-up shot of her during her destruction of the city. Why is this? Wouldn’t showing her face twisted into a grimace of pure rage during her rampage be crucial to that scene? It makes no sense not to show her face during this. I got to thinking that maybe they plan on showing us her rampage again in the finale, only from Dany’s POV, revealing something similar to what I just described. Perhaps she was trying to destroy fortifications that looked like armories or barracks or assets that Cersei could use to hide or escape, and Drogon’s limited precision with fire killed some civilians near those buildings, and when Grey Worm saw this, he misunderstood this, and took it as justification for embarking on a vendetta on those who murdered his love, and everything just snowballed from there. Perhaps when Dany then saw the fighting resume, she then took this as a sign that Lannister soldiers were ignoring the bells, and justified doing so herself, a sequence of causality that neither Jon nor any other single player would understand at the time. All of this could render her actions in a more morally ambiguous light. It would also fit squarely in the wheelhouse of both Martin and the showrunners, who have relied heavily on contrasting POVs in this way throughout the series. Is that what they’re going to do here, in order to make Dany’s actions and her reasons for them more morally ambiguous, with their seemingly threadbare explanations in the behind-the-scenes material a cover for it?
In perusing the Web, it seems that I’m not alone in noticing the lack of a close-up, with another reviewer speculating that the reason for this is that Bran had warged into Drogon to burn the city. If Dany spent the rampage trying helplessly trying to regain control over her dragon, this would explain why they couldn’t show her in close-up.
Not with a bang, but a whimper. And falling bricks.
Even if this is borne out, the rest of the major characters’ arcs fair little better, and unlike Dany, theirs are finished.
To understand what’s wrong with what happens to the characters in this episode and others, you have to look at how their stories have been developed to date, and you’ll see why they’re called arcs. For example, Tyrion sees his father writing a letter in the third season premiere, “Valar Dohaeris,” that includes the phrase “ripe for the trap.” In that season’s finale, “Mhysa,” which is the episode that takes place after the Red Wedding, Bran tells a story of the Rat Cook, who cooks his guests into the food served as a feast, an act whose heinousness stems from the Westerosian view that killing a guest under one’s own roof is an unforgivable sin. This establishes a cultural viewpoint explaining how the Red Wedding is regarded by the people of Westeros, warring families or not. So when Arya bakes Walder Frey’s sons into the pie she serves to him in the sixth season finale, and then poses as him to oversee her murder of his soldiers in the seventh season premiere, these cease to be mere events in individual episodes, but pieces of a cohesive whole. A single tapestry, in which climaxes feel more satisfying because they come as the payoff that follows a long setup. That’s what separates an abrupt shocking plot twist from a carefully crafted one.
This is what’s missing from this season, and this episode.
I just assumed, for example, that when Arya set out from Winterfell for King’s Landing to kill Cersei, that it was as much a mission handed to her by Dany as it was a personal vendetta. But nothing here indicates that Dany thought to take advantage of the skills she knew Arya had. I also assumed that this arc would tied into Cleganebowl, and with Cersei’s ultimate fate. Maybe Arya made her play for the Queen, killing a bunch of her guards in the process, and just when she was about to strike the killing blow upon Cersei, it’s blocked by the Mountain, who suddenly appears and beats Arya nearly to death. And just when he’s about to deliver a fatal blow to her per Cersei’s order, that’s blocked in turn by the Hound, who then has the fight of his life with his brother for Arya. This might’ve been an even sweeter turn of events if Arya and the Hound hadn’t been shown leaving Winterfell together. If they had the Hound leaving to go find some quiet hillside to retire, failing to convince Arya to stay at Winterfell, his sudden appearance there would be a more satisfying and poignant surprise. Maybe during this brawl, Cersei could have ended up falling from a tower into the spot where Ned Stark was executed, making her end all the more poetic. Or something like that. Anything.
Instead what we got was two tall brothers who decided it was time to fight when they could’ve done when the confronted one another in the seventh season finale, a number of gratuitously implausible stab wounds inflicted upon Jamie, and a bunch of bricks falling on Cersei. Instead of layering these denouements in a way that tied them together along with the Night King arc and the Azor Ahai prophecy, in a way that echoed with the series’ overall mythology, what we got was thematically flat. A series of endings that were journalistic rather than resonant. We got the who, what, where, when and how, but not the heart. The Night King was done away with mid-season, and Cersei is killed not in the series finale, but its penultimate installment.
Are there some good moments? Sure. That moment when Arya addresses The Hound by his given name for the first time ever was a nice touch. And the FX were excellent. That one over-the-shoulder shot of a Lannister soldier as a split suddenly appears in his torso upon the swing of a Northman’s sword was extremely impressive. But the sum of these individual moments does not add up to a story that transcends them.
Speculation for the finale
So going into the finale, what are we left with?
We saw Arya mount a white horse, much like Death, one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse described in the Book of Revelation. Where she’s galloping off to is fairly obvious, as is the conflict that will drive the violence in the finale. The only question will be whether she will kill Dany, or be foiled be Grey Worm, leading to a duel between them, which I admit, would redeem the Cleganebowl somewhat.
Perhaps as they fight, Jon finds a still-intact scorpion, perhaps half-covered in debris, that Dany and Drogon missed and then use it on the Drogon? I noticed that contrary to what Qyburn said, we didn’t see Drogon destroy all of them, and one shot of Drogon showed him passing over a number of them on his way to destroying a corner tower at the city gates. And if this leads the Unsullied to attack Jon and the Northmen, seemingly to the point of near-defeat, and they are saved by the arrival of Tormund on the Wildlings, with Ghost biting off Grey Worm’s head, it would redeem their inelegant departure in “Starks.” If only.
And then there’s that little girl, the last of Varys’ little birds, allowing one last manipulation of his to survive his death and manifest itself in the series finale.
Benioff and Weiss have not played their last hand, and I haven’t lost my last ounce of faith. The season is what it is. But the show can still go out on a high note. When Sansa told Tyrion about Jon’s secret parentage in “Starks,” one reviewer took issue with what he perceived as irresponsibility on her part, not realizing that this move was deliberately written as a “master stroke” of manipulation, as Dany herself tells Jon a few scenes into this episode, so it’s not like they’ve completely lost the ability to write good character work, and even disguise it.
In spite of everything I’ve written here, the lower quality of this season’s writing has not soured me on the sprawling epic created by my fellow native of Hudson County.
In fact, I’ve just started reading the first novel in the series. I intend to read them all, perhaps putting my run through Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series on hold in order to keep the continuity of the story fresh in my mind from novel to novel, and who knows, maybe by the time I’m done, my fellow native of Hudson County, New Jersey will have finished writing the final two novels, or at least decided upon a firm release date.
Hope springs eternal.
Footnotes
1. Martin, George R.R. (2014). The World of Ice and Fire. Bantam. pp. 113 – 129.