‘Southpaw’ packs a visual and emotional punch

Southpaw

Starz/Anchor Bay, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

Available on VOD Oct. 27

This boxing picture is brutish but effective, and how viewers react to it will have a lot to do with how much they mind shameless emotional manipulation. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an impressively raw performance as an exhausted light heavyweight champion named Billy Hope who comes to realize that his lavish lifestyle and happy family life could disappear overnight if he doesn’t allow himself to keep getting pummeled senseless in the ring. Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter Kurt Sutter put Billy — and the audience — through the wringer, hitting their hero with one setback after another in order to set up a tear-jerking comeback arc. “Southpaw” is hardly sophisticated drama, but it is good pulp — visually striking, with a visceral impact. The DVD and Blu-ray add deleted scenes and featurettes.

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The Gift

Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98

Available on VOD Oct. 27

Actor Joel Edgerton makes his directorial debut with a psychological thriller that he also wrote, produced and costars in as Gordo, the creepy, unwelcome “friend” of stressed-out married couple Simon and Robyn Callum (played by Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall). As Gordo keeps weaseling his way into the Callums’ lives, he exposes weaknesses in their relationship and secrets from their past, changing their perceptions of each other. “The Gift” is a queasy descent into the dark sides of seemingly normal people, but Edgerton has the filmmaking chops to keep it suspenseful and entertaining. He also provides a commentary track for the DVD and Blu-ray, alongside deleted scenes (including an alternate ending) and featurettes.

Tu Dors Nicole

Kino Lorber, $29.95; Blu-ray, $34.95

A sort of French Canadian spin on the restless-post-grad indie drama, writer-director Stéphane Lafleur’s enchanting film stars Julianne Côté as a woman living with her parents in the summer after college. While working a minimum-wage job and lazing around with her old friends, Nicole wishes she could fast-forward to the part of her life where she’ll have the money and independence to travel the world. From the lovely black-and-white cinematography to the low-key scenes of bored young folks just hanging out, “Tu Dors Nicole” captures the particular angst of having the body and the responsibilities of an adult but little of the maturity or resources. The DVD and Blu-ray include deleted scenes.

Mulholland Dr.

Criterion, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.95

Alternately one of David Lynch’s most accessible and confounding films, the 2001 Hollywood noir stars Naomi Watts as an aspiring actress who tries to help an amnesiac (played by Laura Harring) and ends up descending into a surreal Los Angeles demimonde. The first half of the movie is fairly straightforward, in part because it was originally shot as a TV pilot. Then halfway through everything fractures and reshuffles, deliberately defying interpretation. Lynch hooks the audience on the mystery, and then messes with our heads as only he can. Criterion’s new DVD and Blu-ray editions of “Mulholland Dr.” contain deleted scenes and interviews with the key cast and crew but no explanations because that would defeat the purpose of this beguiling, beautiful work of art.

And …

Army of Darkness: Collector’s Edition

Scream! Factory Blu-ray, $34.99

Forbidden Zone: Ultimate Edition

MVD/VSC, $19.95; Blu-ray, $39.95

Max

Warner Bros., $28.98; Blu-ray, $44.95

Available on VOD Oct. 27

Phase IV

Olive, $14.95; Blu-ray, $29.95

Pixels

Sony, $30.99; Blu-ray, $45.99

Available on VOD Oct. 27