This Week on Blu-ray and DVD - April 17, 2012

I may as well tell you now, since it’s too late for you to do anything about it.  I infiltrated Movie Met (formerly DVD Town) and posed as a pro-bono reviewer for the past eight years just so I could establish a cover that’s as airtight as Tupperware.  Now who would believe I’m capable of the most diabolical evil? Well, aside from my kids, who say as much every time I tell them to clean their rooms. Who could possibly guess that my posts this week carry subliminal messages that will make me the most powerful man on Earth, because hidden between the lines are hypnotic vibes that will compel every reader to send me a dollar in the mail . . . . AHHHH-ha-ha-ha!! Wait. If we have 350,000 unique visitors per month and the same amount of regular readers, that comes to . . . and after taxes . . . well, forget it. Pretend I never said anything.

It really is a spy-guy sort of week, though. The big title is “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” which John and Will called “a first-class, slam-bang action adventure in absolute state-of-the-art picture and sound” and others have said is the creme de la Kremlin of the whole MIB series. In “Ghost Protocol,” IMF is closed after it’s implicated in a Kremlin bombing, and Tom Cruise & Co. go undercover to clear the organization’s name. “Ghost Protocol” comes out on Blu-ray combo pack and DVD this week (trailer).

Out of all the documentaries new to home video this week, the best is “Secret War,” a riveting TV series about clandestine operations during WWII. The new documentary drew raves from military history enthusiasts. Episodes focus on an agent or mission, with the usual blend of archival footage and dramatizations. But be prepared to dig deep. There's no Blu-ray, but even the DVD is a little pricey.

The longest title this week (and maybe this year) is also another spy story. “The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby,” which comes out on Blu-ray and DVD this week. The documentary by son Carl Colby offers a look at a more modern spy-guy.

His mission was more overt than covert, but Tom Selleck fans will be happy to see “High Road to China” coming to Blu-ray and DVD this week. The 1983 adventure comedy tried to take advantage of the star’s “Magnum, P.I.” popularity, but Selleck never really clicked on the big screen. Or maybe there was still too much Magnum in him. “High Road” is one of a handful of under-the-radar catalog titles that come out this week—“High Road” on both Blu-ray and DVD, and oldies starring Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, James Cagney, and Nelson Eddy.

Ooo! Ooo! And I spy Abbott & Costello in “Buck Privates,” their 1941 army comedy, which Universal is releasing this week in a Blu-ray book + DVD combo pack.

Finally, this undercover operation is literal: Michael Fassbender portrays a sex addict in “Shame,” which also stars Carey Mulligan (trailer). The psychosexual drama comes out on Blu-ray combo pack this week, and as I say in my review, there’s a lot above the covers as well.

Here are select new releases for the week of April 17, 2012:

BLU-RAY

• Alambrista! (Criterion) (1977 drama)
• America Revealed (PBS)
• Asphyx, The (Remastered Ed.) (1973 sci-fi horror)
• Baseball’s Greatest Games: 2011 World Series, Game 6
• Born to Be Wild (IMAX) (+ DVD + UV Digital Copy)
• Born to Be Wild (IMAX) (+ UV Digital Copy)
• Buck Privates (Blu-ray Book + DVD) (1941 Abbott and Costello)
• Civil War, The: Beyond the Battlefields
• Divide, The (+ DVD) (2011 horror/sci-fi)
• Frozen Planet: Complete Series (David Attenborough-narrated version)
• High Road to China (1983 Tom Selleck adventure)
• In Too Deep (1999 crime drama)
• Late Spring (Criterion) (1949 Ozo drama)
• Legend of the Legendary Heroes, The: Pt. 1 (Ltd. Edition + DVD) (anime)
• Legend of the Legendary Heroes, The: Pt. 2 (Ltd. Edition + DVD) (anime)
• Man Nobody Knew, The: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby
• Mayday! Seasons 3-4
• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (+ DVD + Digital Copy) (2011 action-thriller)
• Murdoch Mysteries: Season 1
• Route 66: Marathon Tour, Chicago to L.A.
• Secret Life of Birds, The
• 7 Below (2012 thriller-horror)
• Shame (+ DVD + Digital Copy) (2011 psychosexual drama)
• Tsubasa: OVA Collection (Tokyo Revelations / Spring Thunder) (anime)
• Treme: Season 2
• Up from Slavery (2011 documentary)
• WWII: The Atlantic Campaign
• WWII: The Pacific Campaign

3D

• Born to Be Wild (IMAX) (+ DVD + UV Digital Copy)

RECENT RELEASES

• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011 action-thriller)
• NHL Road to Victory: The New York Rangers Story

CATALOG TITLES

• Born to Be Wild (IMAX) (+ UV Copy)
• Chocolate Soldier, The (1941 Nelson Eddy musical comedy)
• Doorway to Hell, The (1930 James Cagney crime drama)
• High Road to China (1983 Tom Selleck adventure)
• Listen, Darling (1938 Judy Garland dramedy)
• Roger Corman’s Cult Classics: The Nurses Collection (Candy Stripe Nurses / Private Duty Nurses / Night Call Nurses / Young Nurses)
• Sky’s the Limit, The (1943 Fred Astaire musical-comedy)
• Survivor, The (1981 horror/sci-fi)

FAMILY/CHILDREN

• Busy World of Richard Scarry, The: Complete 65-Episode Series
• Pocoyo: Fun & Games
• Shaun the Sheep: Shear Madness
• Yo Gabba Gabba: Super Spies

TV-ON-DVD

• America Revealed (PBS)
• American Dad: Vol. 7
• Bob’s Burgers: Season 1
• Conan the Adventurer: Season 2, Pt. 2
• Eight Is Enough: Season 1
• Ernie Kovacs: The ABC Specials
• I Just Want My Pants Back: Season 1
• Ice Road Truckers: Season 5
• Inside Nature’s Giants: Sperm Whale (PBS)
• Meet the Browns: Season 5
• Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy: Vol. 2
• Planet Egypt (History)
• Secret Life of Birds (BBC)
• Secret War (WWII secret mission TV series)
• Secrets of the Manor House (PBS)
• Super Hero Squad Show, The: The Infinity Gauntlet, Vol. 3
• Treme: Season 2
• Young Justice: Season 1, Vols. 1-3

INDIE/ART-HOUSE/FOREIGN

• Alambrista! (Criterion) (1977 drama)
• American Translation (2011 French drama)
• Divide, The (2011 horror/sci-fi)
• Farmageddon (2011 agriculture documentary)
• Flaw, The (2010 financial documentary)
• Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai (Bollywood)
• Last Rites of Joe May, The (2011 drama)
• Man Nobody Knew, The: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby
• 7 Below (2012 thriller-horror)

ANIME/MANGA

• Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Ultimate Ending