Captain Fantastic, including the prestigious Cannes Un Certain Regard Directing Prize. The film, which is a modern take on Swiss Family Robinson, stars Viggo Moretensen as the father of six who is raising his children in the rugged Northwest wilderness to be self-sufficient. Home-schooled, the oldest (George MacKay) is smart enough to receive acceptance letters from the top six colleges in the country. The girls, as well as the boys, are quite rugged.

The family re-enters civilization when the mother dies in a mental hospital after slitting her wrists and Mortensen must battle his in-laws (Frank Langella, Ann Dowd) for custody of his children. The film is at its best when depicting the family’s interactions with greater society. The controversial ending can be viewed either as something that is happening as we watch or as a fantasy in Mortensen’s mind. I personally think it’s the latter.

Captain Fantastic is available on both Blu-ray and standard DVD.

One of the most beloved films of all time, John Ford’s 1952 classic The Quiet Man, is now an Olive Signature release that adds numerous special features to the 60th Anniversary Blu-ray release including commentary by Ford biographer Joseph McBride, a tribute to Maureen O’Hara from former co-stars Hayley and Juliet Mills and Ally Sheedy, as well as numerous other extras including Leonard Maltin’s making-of documentary with members of John Wayne’s family included on previous Blu-ray and DVD releases.

Kino Lorber has provided a 4K transfer of Jean Negulesco’s 1957 film Boy on a Dolphin on both Blu-ray and DVD that is simply stunning. Alan Ladd and Clifton Webb get top billing in the film, but it was third-billed Sophia Loren in her American film debut that caused a sensation at the time and, along with the gorgeous Greek location filming, is still the best reason for seeking out this romantic adventure film which earned an Oscar nomination for Hugh Friedhofer’s score.

Two of the best productions made from Stephen King novels were the TV mini-series, Salem’s Lot from 1979 and It from 1990.

Salem’s Lot, which had a screenplay by Paul Monash (Carrie) and direction by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist), was released theatrically in Europe in 1980. It was later made into a TV series in 2004. Warner Bros.’ excellent new Blu-ray doesn’t state whether it’s the original TV or theatrical version, but it is in fact the TV miniseries even though the only extra is the European theatrical release trailer.

David Soul and Lance Kerwin are the young author and teenage horror fan who band together to take on vampire helper James Mason and his long in appearing master. The excellent supporting cast includes Lew Ayres, Bonnie Beledia, Ed Flanders, Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook Jr.

The more recent It is currently being made for a 2017 theatrical release. The original starred Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O’Toole, Tim Reid, John Ritter and Richard Thomas is the tale of seven outcast kids in 1960 who fight an evil demon that poses as a child-killing clown, then get together again thirty years later when the demon returns. It, too, has been released on Blu-ray by Warner Bros.

Universal has released a new batch of the classic films from its large catalogue of Paramount and Universal films. Among them are 1933’s The Kiss Before the Mirror, 1934’s Great Expectations, 1948’s Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, 1949’s The Accused, and 1957’s My Man Godfrey.

James Whale, who is best remembered for his classic horror films, directed The Kiss Before the Mirror between 1932’s The Old Dark House and 1933’s The Invisible Man. Frank Morgan gives one of his best star performances as the lawyer who suspects his wife (Nancy Carroll) may be deceiving him with a lover (Donald Cook) in the same manner as his client (Paul Lukas) who is on trial for killing his wife (Gloria Stuart) for deceiving him with a lover of her own (Walter Pidgeon). This pre-Code gem has both a storyline and an ending that would not have been allowed once the Hollywood Production Code went into effect.

Stuart Walker’s version of Great Expectations pales in comparison to David Lean’s 1946 version, but Henry Hull as Magwitch, Phillips Holmes as the grown Pip, Jane Wyatt as the grown Estella, Florence Reed as Miss Havisham, and Alan Hale as Joe Gargery all give good accounts of themselves.

The acting styles of Burt Lancaster and Joan Fontaine prove once again that opposites attract as the fugitive on the run and the genteel nurse who loves him in the post-World War II London set film-noir classic, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands. Robert Newton co-stars in the film directed by Norman Foster.

In the same year that she later parlayed her portrayal of a charming nun in Come to the Stable, Loretta Young shocked her fans as the college professor who kills her would-be rapist (Douglas Dick) and after dumping his body in the water and then spends the rest of The Accused keeping two steps ahead of the police. Robert Cummings as an attorney who is the would-be rapist’s guardian and Young’s new lover, Wendell Corey as the police lieutenant investigating the case, Sam Jaffe as a colleague of Young’s, and Sara Allgood as her housekeeper co-star.

Henry Koster’s version of My Man Godfrey updates Gregory La Cava’s Depression Era classic with a more realistic ending but is otherwise less impressive all around than the original with its classic performances by William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, and Mischa Auer now interpreted by David Niven, June Allyson, Jessie Royce Landis, Martha Hyer, Robert Keith, and Jay Robinson. It’s a bit like attending a Broadway play after the opening night cast has been replaced.

This week’s new releases include Star Trek Beyond and Outlander – Season 2.