Saturday Night Fever,
directed by John Badham
(R, 2 hours, 2 minutes)
Celebrating its 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray release, this aggressive and highly physical 1977 drama captures the culture and music of the 1970s. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a kinda cute Brooklyn dead-end kid working in a neighborhood paint store whose life is focused on the much bigger picture of being the fabulous star of the disco floor every week.
A highlight of the film is the unforgettable soundtrack (which sold more than 50 million copies), composed and performed primarily by the Bee Gees, with huge hits including “Stayin’ Alive,” “Night Fever,” “How Deep Is Your Love,” “More Than a Woman” and “If I Can’t Have You.”
The Blu-ray includes a high-definition director’s cut and theatrical version of the film, commentary by director John Badham, a five-part featurette titled “Catching the Fever,” deleted scenes, a ’70s Discopedia, and more. With Barry Miller, Karen Lynn Gorney, Joseph Cali, Donna Pescow.
The Salesman (PG-13, 2 hours, 5 minutes) A precise cliff-hanger of a suspense thriller in which a young Iranian couple, required to abandon their nearly collapsing Tehran apartment, move to the city center, where a troublesome former tenant in their new apartment brings on a life-altering situation. With Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi; directed by Asghar Farhadi (A Separation). Subtitled.
The Red Turtle (La Tortue Rouge, PG-13, 1 hour, 20 minutes) From groundbreaking Studio Ghibli (which releases Hayao Miyazaki’s productions) comes this dialogue-free hand-drawn animated dream of a tale on alienation from nature. Directed by Michael Dudok de Wit.
The Comedian (R, 2 hours) Too many side plots that don’t amount to anything, combined with far too many cliched characters and total lack of humor, spell doom for this tepid drama. Here Robert De Niro makes an effort to show a different side of his acting chops by playing a sour once-famous comedian with a falling-down career whose forced participation in community service allows him to see his life from a new perspective. With Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito, Edie Falco, Harvey Keitel, Charles Grodin, Patti LuPone, Cloris Leachman; directed by Taylor Hackford.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (R, 1 hour, 26 minutes) A shivery, scary and unpredictable horror tale in which father-andson coroners working together in a morgue see endless possibilities based on the evidence in front of them as they try to determine the cause of death from a mysterious woman’s corpse, with disturbing results. With Emile Hirsch, Brian Cox, Ophelia Lovibond; directed by Andre Ovredal (who directed the 2010 Norwegian cult fave Trollhunter).
A Dog’s Purpose (PG, 1 hour, 40 minutes) An episodic, clumsy, and overly melodramatic comedy, tempered with loss, in which a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) undergoes multiple reincarnations during which he struggles to comprehend the meaning of his existence through his relationships with humans. With Britt Robertson, Peggy Lipton, John Ortiz, Dennis Quaid; directed by Lasse Hallstrom.