One family’s tale of love and heartbreak through rifts and illness tops the new DVD releases for April 7.
• “Little Women”: The March sisters have gone their separate ways: Jo (Saoirse Ronan) to college in New York, Amy (Florence Pugh) to Europe with Aunt March (Meryl Streep), Meg (Emma Watson) to domestic life with a husband and children, and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) home with Marmee (Laura Dern). But when Beth falls ill again, we visit the former lives of the family all together, as writer-director Greta Gerwig dazzles with a nonlinear adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel.
From start to radical finish, Gerwig provides an astonishingly refreshing take on a well-worn story both via script and direction, and each cast member’s performance teems with life. Ronan’s Jo is not only the feminist writer trailblazer we know and love, but a full expresser of the loneliness to which the path often leads; Pugh’s Amy brilliantly takes on a feminism of her own via economic power.
Also new on DVD
• “Cats”: A clowder of Jellicle cats decide which one will venture to the Heaviside Layer and return to start a new life in this CGI musical directed by Tom Hooper and based on the stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Look for it on DVD and Blu-ray April 7.
• “Dolittle”: A quirky doctor who talks with animals (Robert Downey Jr.) races to help save Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) from a serious illness. Look for it on DVD and Blu-ray April 7.
• “Escape from Pretoria”: In apartheid South Africa, two political prisoners (Daniel Radcliffe and Daniel Webber) attempt to break out of the infamous prison.
• “Madam Secretary: The Final Season”: The hit CBS show starring Tea Leoni as Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord comes to an end.
• “Slings & Arrows: The Complete Collection”: This 2003-06 Canadian dramedy follows the lives of a flawed theater troupe.
• “Strike”: In this stop-motion animated British film, a mole’s goal to become a soccer player coincides with a mission to save his community.
• “Swift”: Young swift Manou embarks on a journey to find himself after learning he was adopted in this computer-animated film.
• “The Cold Blue”: The HBO documentary explores World War II’s Eighth Air Force’s perilous missions.
• “The Night Clerk”: A hotel clerk (Tye Sheridan) witnesses a murder and ends up as a suspect.
Digital HD
• “The Last Full Measure”: Airman William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine) is awarded the country’s highest military honor posthumously. Look for it on DVD and Blu-ray April 21.
• “Like a Boss”: Two best friends who own a beauty company (Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish) consider a buyout offer from an enigmatic industry leader (Salma Hayek). Out on DVD and Blu-ray April 21.
