The Oscars are coming, the Oscars are coming.
Next Sunday marks the Academy Awards, but home entertainment buffs can catch a piece of the action before the ceremonies by watching newly released nominated titles.
“The Theory of Everything” (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) has everything going for it: lead roles and a robust script. The movie about astrophysicist professor Stephen Hawking and his courageous wife, who live extraordinary lives against all odds, is up for five awards, including best picture, best actor (Eddie Redmayne), best actress (Felicity Jones) and best adapted screenplay (screenwriter Anthony McCarten).
The movie touches upon Hawking’s once-healthy life before his forever-altering diagnosis came in at 21 years of age. Bonus features include a “Becoming the Hawkings” featurette, deleted scenes and feature commentary with director James Marsh.
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” (Universal), nominated for best animated feature, arrives on a three-disc set that includes the movie on Blu-ray and DVD, plus a separate DVD with a feature-length documentary on the making of the film. The movie contains the best of Japanese folklore and artful animation, and the cast includes James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Lucy Liu, Chloe Grace and Darren Criss.
The film that should have been nominated for best documentary, but wasn’t, is also out on Blu-ray and DVD. “Life Itself” (Magnolia Home Entertainment) spotlights late film critic Roger Ebert in a most personal way. Based on Ebert’s best-selling memoir, the rich, profound movie runs the gamut of funny, painful and transcendent. The disc is accentuated by a behind-the-scenes bonus feature.
Former Oscar winners Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep all star in “The Homesman” (Lionsgate), which involves a trek across the vast and treacherous Nebraska Territories in 1854. The harsh frontier is marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and danger at every turn. Extras include featurettes focusing on transforming the story to script, shooting the film and 19th-century life.
Other titles
“Dumb and Dumber To” (Universal) offers some twists not seen in theaters, such as an alternate opening, deleted and extended scenes, and a multi-part feature that takes viewers behind the scenes of the comedy starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.
“The Chair” (Anchor Bay Entertainment) packs a punch as the five-DVD set includes the main program, which is an unscripted series that follows two first-time filmmakers through the travails of bringing a full-length feature to the screen. The two young directors are provided with an identical screenplay, which they must interpret on their own. What makes the DVD compelling is not only the series, but the fact that the final movies made for the competition are included.
“Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season” (HBO Home Entertainment) is a can’t-miss title in light of not only the quality of the outstanding season, but also the quantity of bonus features. These include a 30-minute documentary on the episode “Battle for the Wall” with never-seen material, an interview with cast members who met their demise during the season, deleted scenes, commentaries and more.