Escape at Dannemora is Ben Stiller truly coming into his own as a director. He’d been pretty much doing comedy over the decades (Cable Guy) so it was hard to imagine how he’d tackle a true life tale of a prison escape in upstate New York. He delivered perhaps one of the finest prison films ever made. He gets deep into his main characters and the life behind bars. Although it’s busted up into a seven part mini-series, it’s plays like a film. Now the mini-series is coming to DVD with Escape At Dannemora arriving on April 16. Here’s the press release from CBS Home Entertainment:
STARRING PATRICIA ARQUETTE IN HER GOLDEN GLOBE®*
AND SAG AWARD WINNING PERFORMANCE
ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA
Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano Also Star In the Acclaimed
SHOWTIME ® Series From Director Ben Stiller Arriving On DVD April 16
“★★★★ out of four. One of the best TV experiences of the year.”
– USA Today
“Brilliant. Thoroughly gripping.”
– Washington Post
Based on 2015’s stranger-than-fiction prison break, the critically acclaimed, award-winning ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA arrives on DVD April 16 from SHOWTIME Networks, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution. Garnering both Golden Globe Award, Critics Choice Award** and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award wins for her spellbinding performance, Patricia Arquette (Boyhood, ”Medium”) joins Academy Award® and Golden Globe winner Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) and Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) in the “riveting and superbly acted” (TV Guide) limited series directed by Ben Stiller (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). The three-disc collection features all seven episodes alongside special features that dive into the incredible true story behind the series, which also earned a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Television Limited Series.”
“One of the best series of the year” (Newsday) and also starring Eric Lange (“Narcos”), David Morse (“John Adams,” “House M.D.”) and Bonnie Hunt (“Life With Bonnie”), ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA follows the true story of two convicted murderers, Richard Matt (Del Toro) and David Sweat (Dano), who escaped Clinton Correctional Facility with the help of Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell (Arquette), a female prison employee. Tilly, a working class wife and mother who supervises the prison tailor shop and becomes sexually involved with the two prisoners, ultimately assisting them in their escape.
Produced by SHOWTIME®, ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA is directed and executive produced by Emmy® winner Ben Stiller. The series is written and executive produced by Brett Johnson (“Mad Men”) and Oscar® nominee Michael Tolkin (The Player), who met while working as writers on “Ray Donovan.” In addition to Stiller, Johnson and Tolkin, three-time Academy Award nominee Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Fifty Shades of Grey) via Michael De Luca Productions, Bryan Zuriff (Steve Jobs, “Ray Donovan”), Nicky Weinstock for Red Hour Productions and Bill Carraro (Blade Runner 2049, Terminator Genisys) serve as executive producers.
The ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA DVD is presented in full frame format with English 5.1 Surround.
Special Features
“Part 1” Commentary by: Ben Stiller, Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin
“Part 2” Commentary by: Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette
“Part 3” Commentary by: Ben Stiller and Mark Ricker
“Part 4” Commentary by: Ben Stiller and Malcolm Jamieson
“Part 5” Commentary by: Ben Stiller and Geoff Richman
“Part 6” Commentary by: Ben Stiller, Brett Johnson and Jessica Lee Gagné
“Part 7” Commentary by: Ben Stiller, Geoff Richman, Malcolm Jamieson, Jessica Lee Gagné and Chuck Guess
Primary Sources: A featurette that looks at the real life circumstances of the 2015 prison break from which Escape From Dannemora was based.
Making of “Sweat’s Run”: Episode five of Escape at Dannemora opens with a visceral 9-minute scene nicknamed by the crew, “Sweat’s Run.” What appears to be a single camera shot is, in reality, 17 different scenes across four different locations edited together. Director Ben Stiller, Production Designer Mark Ricker, Director of Photography Jessica Lee Gangé, and the Phosphene Visual Effects team speak to how they seamlessly stitched together those 17 shots to emulate David Sweat’s real rehearsal escape through the bowels of the prison.
ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA DVD
Street Date: April 16, 2019
Catalog #: 032429316677
Run Time: 7 hours, 23 minutes
U.S. Rating: Not Rated
CAN Rating: 14A – Mature Theme, Violence
Link to Purchase: http://cbshe.com/Dann
