On the Shelf: ‘Wild Style,’ ‘The House with Laughing Windows,’ ‘Paul,’ ‘The Ninja Trilogy’ and New Criterions Land on Physical Media for Week of December 1
It’s the holiday season and the last one of the 2025 year, which featured some of the best physical media releases in quite some time. It is not too late to start adding titles to your personal wish list from Criterion, as their 50% off sale at Barnes and Noble ends today, and you can pick up their brand new titles for this month, including a collection of short films and one of the greatest comedies of all time. First up is Return to Reason: Four Films by Man Ray, a sampling of four short, audacious films from one of the most important surrealist filmmakers of all time. Seemingly plucked from an unconscious realm, these four shorts—Le retour à la raison, Emak bakia, L’étoile de mer, and Les mystères du château du dé—find the visionary artist experimenting with the limitless possibilities, expanding the mind of audiences around the world with his visual wonder. Set here to an ethereal score by the Jim Jarmusch–Carter Logan collaboration SQÜRL, these cine-poems are optical carnival rides, and are a must-own for any cinephile. Alongside this release is the 4K upgrade of High Girl Friday, Howard Hawks’ masterpiece about a reporter and her ex-husband (Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant) who track down a scoop of an impending execution, all the while falling for each other once again. It’s one of the fastest, finniest, most quotable films ever made, and signaled to the world not just the voice of two movie stars, but of Hawkes, who came up with the idea of turning Russell’s Hildy Johnson into a fully fleshed out, inspirational character of the era, making her and the film a firm statement of women’s necessary place in the world. An upgrade to this 4K is essential.
Over at Arrow video, Wild Style, the 1982 American hip hop, dance film is the first of two selections to arrive this week. The film follows the exploits of maverick tagger Zoro (Lee Quiñones), whose work attracts the attention of an East Village art fancier who commissions him to paint the stage for a giant Rapper’s Convention. A historical document of the time period within the hip hop music movement, Wild Style features seminal figures such as seminal figures such as Adam Horowitz, Fab Five Freddy, Lady Pink, The Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Rammellzee with Shockdell, Queen Lisa Lee of Zulu Nation, Grandmaster Flash, and more. It’s a stylish, energetic exploration of culture, music, and artistic freedom, with the 4K Blu-ray including new conversations with the films cast members, two panel discussions about the Wild Style 40 exhibition, and a limited edition exclusive CD with a new Wild Style Megamix by Jorun Bombay, as well as rare audio alternate and outtakes. While you are picking that up, you can also grab The House with Laughing Windows, the 1976 Italian giallo horror thriller about a young restorer who is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village, and in doing so, leads to haunting, violent ends. Often counted among the greatest gialli ever made, The House with Laughing Windows offers a uniquely eerie twist on the genre, culminating in an unforgettable ending that will stick with you for some time. Featuring several new audio commentaries, a new documentary about this film and its filmmaker Pupo Avati, as well as a new visual essay by two film critics, it’s a twisted stocking stuffer for the film lover in your life.
And from our finds over at Kino Lorber, comes the 4K restorations of a classic 1980s action trilogy and an underrated comedy from the early 2010s. The Ninja Trilogy, which features the films Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination, follow the story of tells the story of Cole (Franco Nero), a steely-eyed westerner who has been inducted into the secret fighting rituals of the Ninja. Fast-paced, relentless with its action, the trilogy ranks as a gem within the martial arts fan base and one that is a must own for any collector. Each film comes with an audio commentary from director Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator Steven Lambert, and is a fascinating insight into the creative mind to how they created the magnificent action sequences we see in this trilogy. At the same time this is being released, Kino is also delivering Paul, the action, sci-fi comedy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost who play nerds tracking the American UFO myths and legends they’ve come to love. But when they meet a smart-ass alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), the embark on an adventure to get him back to his mothership. From Superbad director Greg Mottola, and with a stellar supporting cast including Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Sigourney Weaver, Paul is a whacked-out, out-of-this-world comedy-adventure that features an audio commentary with Mottola, Pegg, Frost, Bill Hader and Producer Nira Park, as well as a few featurettes, and the unrated version of the film.
Other Notable Releases for the Week of December 1, 2025 include:
The Killer (1989, 4K Blu-ray, Shout Factory)
Shaw Brothers Classics: Vol. Eight (1981-1984, Blu-ray, Shout Factory)
Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way (2020-2023, 4K Blu-ray, Warner Bros)
Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958, Blu-ray, Warner Bros)
- AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 319 – Oscars Retrospective of the 93rd Academy Awards - December 15, 2025
- On the Shelf: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’ trilogy, ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,’ ‘David Byrne’s American Utopia,’ ‘Walking Tall’ and the ‘Babe’ Films Arrive on 4K Blu-ray Releases for Week of December 15 - December 15, 2025
- Rian Johnson on How Faith and Humanity Make Peace Within His Latest Mystery ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ [AUDIO INTERVIEW] - December 11, 2025
Southern Eastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) Awards: ‘Sinners,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ Top Most Wins 
Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) Awards: ‘One Battle After Another’ Rules with 8 Wins 
Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC): ‘Grand Tour,’ ‘The Mastermind’ and ‘Misericordia’ Highlight Unique Set of Nominations 
New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) Winners: Ethan Hawke, Jacob Elordi, Jessie Buckley, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and More