{"id":8591,"date":"2010-06-07T03:05:55","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T02:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=8591"},"modified":"2010-06-08T13:05:17","modified_gmt":"2010-06-08T12:05:17","slug":"uk-dvd-blu-ray-releases-monday-7th-june-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2010\/06\/07\/uk-dvd-blu-ray-releases-monday-7th-june-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"UK DVD & Blu-ray Releases: Monday 7th June 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Prophet<\/a><\/strong> (Optimum Home Entertainment): One of the standout films of last year was this scintillating prison drama about a lowly Arab criminal named Malik (Tahar Rahim<\/a>) who is drawn into the inner circle of a Corsican mafia group, led by the ruthless C\u00e9sar Luciani (Niels Arestrup<\/a>). After a tough initiation, Malik learns how to read and write, and starts to learn how power works inside and outside the prison.<\/p>\n

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Directed by Jacques Audiard<\/a>, it features two outstanding lead performances from Rahim and Arestrup, and quickly established itself as an instant classic, scooping the Grand Prix at Cannes<\/a> and topping many critic’s end of year polls<\/a>. Audiard doesn’t shy away from the dark brutalities of prison life, but manages to construct a compelling portrait of how criminal empires are born. An absolute must see. [Blu-ray<\/a> \/ DVD<\/a>]<\/p>\n

A Single Man<\/a><\/strong> (Icon Home Entertainment): Adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel<\/a>, it explores a day in the life of a grieving English college professor (Colin Firth) during the early 1960s. A highly impressive\u00a0directorial debut for fashion designer Tom Ford<\/a>, it co-stars Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0stand out\u00a0element here is a wonderfully nuanced performance from Firth, who was desrvedly nominated for an Oscar, along with some excellent production and costume design.\u00a0Regrettably,\u00a0Ford and co-screenwriter David Scearce tinker too much with the source novel (making one major\u00a0alteration) but there is still much to admire here, not least the fact that Ford largely funded the project himself, which is highly unusual even for the richest filmmakers in Hollywood. [Blu-ray<\/a> \/ DVD<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Ponyo<\/a><\/strong> (Optimum Home Entertainment): The latest animated film from renowned director Hayao Miyazaki<\/a> is a story of friendship between a five-year-old boy and a goldfish princess who wants to be human.<\/p>\n

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Featuring the voices of Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett and Tina Fey it loosely adapts Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid<\/a> into a contemporary Japanese setting. Although not quite up to the standards of his finest work, this is still a delight. Stylistically, it is something of a departure with more sparse compositions but the positive vibes, reflected in the bright pastel colors and energy of the film make it a highly pleasurable introduction to Miyazaki’s work for newcomers. [Blu-ray + DVD<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Extras include:<\/p>\n