Welcome to Episode 28 of our weekly look at what's new in Home Video entertainment.
This month being the last month of what many of us would call a difficult and trying year. On a plus note though, the studios are still cranking out physical media at a rather steady pace.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
This week you might feel your wallets burn if you're looking to get 4K discs.
Filtering out the eleven "PS5 4K Movie Essentials" reissue releases, the slate is still rather large. It's good to see Sony come to their senses and embrace the fact its gamers want 4K drives in their systems, gamers generally enjoy movies too.
Let's start ou tthe week first with a 4K import offered by Arrow Video, with a Monday street date, David Cronenberg's Crash. Before this year, this movie was not even available on Blu-ray. You might have to visit Zavvi if Amazon doesn't open up ordering for this one.
For domestic 4K discs this week, let's start out with Wesley Snipes' vampire killer epic Blade, available as a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. The sequels have not been announced to 4K, hard to predict if they ever will be, I would guess NO, but if there's enough interest in this one, it's possible. Up next, the HBO mini-series, Chernobyl, and this one is also available as a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. The cover art on the SteelBook is a little too Pop Artsy to me. Keeping the trend, Eddie Murphy's comedy Coming to America, also offered as a standard edition and a SteelBook Edition, this time though the SteelBook is not a Best Buy Exclusive.
Continuing with Eddie Murphy, in a move that made sense, Bevery Hills Cop gets a 4K release. Just like Blade, sequel(s) getting a 4K release probably depends on interest in this one.
Random oddities, two 4K reissues, this time as SteelBooks, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Léon: The Professional. Previously delayed to December 8, but somehow at the last minute now available December 1st, Top Gun is now available in a SteelBook package too. All three Jumanji movies in a Jumanji 3-Film Collection, and lastly in this category, The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 in a 2-Film Collection.
This week's biggest releases have got Peter Jackson's name attached. I'm referring to his Middle Earth double trilogies. Chronologically (by production date) let's start out with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Much like two paragraphs ago, the common theme is that it will be available as a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook collection. This one was originally slated to get a Limited Edition Giftset, Amazon seems to no longer have it availabe, but Best Buy still does. The other Peter Jackson trilogy, The Hobbit is also available as a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook edition. The trend lately with a lot of Warner Bros. catalog 4K releases is that they do not include the Blu-rays, but at least in the case of these two, you have both the theatrical releases and the extended editions. How many of us bought these movies multiple times over the years, first as a theatrical, then as an extended release?
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
Fortunately for our wallets, this week's Blu-ray selection is below average.
In the anime category, FUNimation has some 'essentials' releases and Sentai Filmworks has more non-English dubbed releases. What's new from FUNimation though? Dr. Stone: Season One - Part Two, being offered as a standard edition release and as a limited edition release. As a primer for next week, you can get Violet Evergarden I - Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll feature film, in advance of the complete series.
Warner Bros./HBO brings us the reboot of Perry Mason, Perry Mason, The Complete First Season. The Warner Archive Collection releases the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection this week, offering 60 Bugs Bunny cartoons, plus 10 more Looney Tunes feature cartoons as an added bonus. I don't think we will ever see War Time Bugs in HD, but I will never say never. Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2 comes out this week according to the studio, but according to Amazon, December 15th. Either way, order from our link and it will show up eventually, <g>.
Criterion Collection this week, they missed the 4K boat on this one, Crash is offered as a Criterion Edition Blu-ray, if it suits you, by all means buy it.
I pity the fool that doesn't remember D.C. Cab, starring Mr. T, offered this week from Kino. I guess you're excused if you're a millennial or later, but it is a memorable film. Kino is offering other titles this week too, check out the listings.
Paramount and CBS TV is releasing Mission Impossible - The Original TV Series this week, the magnitude of this series is huge. Read our review, order the collection.
Also don't forget Popeye, and as I recall this one made it to HD DVD but not to Blu-ray all those years in between.
The Paramount Presents label is offering The Golden Child and Trading Places this week.
Notable announcements from last week:
Paramount has added a few catalog titles to Feb 2. I am pretty stoked to see Mouse Hunt and Small Soldiers on the list. Also added are Lassie, Yours, Mine & Ours and Ladybugs.
Warner Bros. has added season 15, the final season of Supernatural, release date is pending.
Arrow Video announced their February titles late in the week. For the U.S. & UK expect to see The El Duce Tapes and Shogun’s Joy of Torture. For UK only they also are offering Demons 1 & 2 4K, Demons 1 & 2 Limited Edition (fat pack) and Beyond Re-animator. I have no idea if they're negotiating U.S. rights to any of the latter films or if it is a lost cause, sit back and see, if even just until February. Here's a peek at the Demons 4K fat-pack:
Closing out the week's new title announcements, Vinegar Syndrome accounes their January titles. I am not sure if this means January at their own store front and February everywhere else, stay tuned for updates. Currently they're listed for January 19th.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? First of all, I want to throw out there a "You're welcome!," I'm taking one for the team by importing Crash 4k. Although Criterion seems to have missed the 4K boat by releasing a regular HD Blu-ray this week, my action of importing the 4K means you can probably expext an Arrow Video 4K announcement in a matter of weeks! I also ordered Beverly Hills Cop 4K, Coming to America 4K, Best Buy editions of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Mission Impossible TV series is also en route. High on the wishlist, The Golden Child, DC Cab and Violet Evergarden. Blade 4K is also on the wishlist.
Welcome to Episode 27, or weekly look at the highlights of what's coming to the home video market.
Happy Thanksgiving! At least, to our readers in the USA. This week's release calendar has a fair amount of titles on it, but with possible Black Friday deals, followed up by Cyber Monday, many of us will be pretty selective this week, at least on new releases. Anyone secure their new Xbox or Playstation system last week? Shopped any Criterion or Arrow Video sale titles this month?
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
First on the agenda, if you want what appears to be the most extensive release for Total Recall (1990) in 4K, you will have to import it, it has a Monday release date. You might have to find it on Zavvi if Amazon doesn't have it available. Also available, as a SteelBook but without all the extras, but keep in mind that a domestic release SteelBook is in a couple of weeks that appears identical.
Domestic 4K titles releasing on Tuesday comprises of Deadly Games (Dial Code Santa Claus,) Kino's release of Mad Max and Peninsula. The general release of The Beastmaster was pused back a month as this week's release appears to be a Black Friday Vinegar Syndrome shop release.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
The digital release of Fatman is available this week. I love the premise, it sounds pretty original. Check out Matthew's review. I hope this comes to disc by Christmas, Paramount does have a pre-order for the disc available here.
Where to begin with this week's Blu-ray releases? I guess alphabetically til we see a highlight.
Looks like Anime has the first highlight, with the letter "A". From Sentai Filmworks, Assassins Pride: Complete Collection. Ef: A Tale of Memories - Complete Collection gets a SteelBook release this week. Another letter A, FUNimation releases Azur Lane: The Complete Series on disc this week. Discotek's contributions this week all appear to be in their native Japanese language, no English dubs, except for the Lupin the 3rd movie.
LionsGate brings another Action themed movie titled Ava, this doesn't sound like a unique plot but still could be 96 minutes of decent entertainment. Delayed from last week, a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Iron Mask. Good to see Ahnold is still making films, I actually thought of him after watching Clint Eastwood's The Mule the other night, what are some of the older film icons doing today?
The wait for Season Five of Better Call Saul is over this week, presented by Sony Home Entertainment.
I have total respect for the independent studios that license and bring us movies and TV we may never see without their efforts. Kino Lorber is one such company, and if I omit them week to week, it's not from disrespect, it's that the releases of the week might have more limited appeal. This week though, Kino is bringing you Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection as well as a single disc release of the movie titled Awakening, which launched the TV series. Babylon Berlin: Season 3 releases this week as well. If you're not equipped for 4K, Kino has a new Blu-ray release for Mad Max to appease you instead.
Criterion Collection fans look for Essential Fellini, and right now Amazon is trying to be competitive on the price of these releases. In what would have probably been a good 4K release, The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. I am grateful to see this release nevertheless, why the originating studio didn't release it is beyond me.
Now, for something completely different, Arrow's releasing He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection. Again, very competitive price for this right now, go for it!
If you had never imported the Monty Python's Flying Circus mega-set from Network TV, Universal offers a domestic release instead to consider.
Notable announcements from last week:
Cinema Paradiso 4K & Blu-ray versions have been delayed yet again, the new date is December 8th. Greatness takes patience, hope it is worth the wait.
Speaking of Arrow Video, they have completed a deal with Blue Underground to release Django and Texas Adios movies. The Blu-rays were listed previously but pulled. The bigger news is that they will be offering Django on 4K disc, slated for April 27th. No word on Texas Adios in 4K.
Final details and dates have been set for the Warner Archive December 2020 slate.
Sony Pictures has announced 2020 comedy/drama The Last Shift for December 29th. Order link coming very soon.
Order Links from last week's Criterion title announcement are live.
FUNimation has announced their February 2021 titles. Somewhat tepid list, some titles might interest you so check em out any way.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? For sure am getting the Mad Max 4K release and Criterion Release of The Irishman. If Iron Mask appears at my local Walmart for around $15 (very probable) I will likely get it. I am interested in the Buck Rogers Complete Collection, but with all the box sets I have gotten recently though, it will go somewhere near the top of my wish list. Anime interests this week, Assassins Pride, Azur Lane and the Ef releases.
Although next week is Thanksgiving (USA), retailers across the world have dubbed the day after as Black Friday. This year seems different though, so many retailers are offering deals all month long, some of them are even dubbing it as Black November. Either way, it's a win for consumers, have you bought into any deals this month? Welcome to Episode 26 of our weekly look at the highlights of what's coming out in the home video market.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
Delayed from a couple weeks ago, but on track for a release this week, as an import with a Monday street date, Dawn of the Dead (1978). Another noteable import, King of New York (1990) also releases Monday. At this time it is impossible to predict if U.S. releases will ever happen on either title.
Domestic releases this week are a bit busy, The Croods, It's a Wonderful Life in a SteelBook package, The New Mutants, as a standard edition and as a SteelBook release, Resident Evil Collection, Weathering With You (Collector's Edition) and lastly, Westworld: Season 3. If you want Westworld in a SteelBook, you need to wait until December 8th.
For a Friday release, this one falls in the Arts/Opera category, Verdi: IlTrovatore. Perhaps any of the Arts releases going to 4K is a huge positive, the Blu-ray releases are always in 1080i instead of 1080p, slightly annoying.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
For Blu-ray discs this week, above average volume.
Sony brings us the 2020 Comedy/Romance The Broken Hearts Gallery this week.
Just in time to save you $80, Arrow Video brings us Beyond the Door. Previous release is listed around the $100 range.
Previously delayed but coming this week, the Shout Select version of Twins. Classic Schwarzenegger/DeVito comedy right there.
LionsGate's appearance in the weekly releases, this week they bring Death of Me. Need some star power? How about Russell Crowe in Unhinged? Lastly, if you visit The Broken Hearts Gallery product page, Amazon will likely suggest this week's Words on Bathroom Walls as an add on purchase.
Warner Archive has an Alfred Hitchcock Collection this week, these 4 movies were previously available individually, to get them as a set meant importing them. If you need Westworld: Season Three on Blu-ray, it's available this week as well.
From The Criterion Collection this week, look for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai as well as Moonstruck. The latter is getting favorable reviews, click the link, check out our review, buy the disc.
If you like the 1950 movie Rio Grande, you will be please to see it get an Olive Signature treatment this week.
The weekly dose of Anime includes a few gems. Apart from the abovementioned Weathering With You 4K, FUNimation has The Ancient Magus' Bride as a complete series instead of a split set. From Viz Video, what is touted as the 22nd Pokémon movie, which is really a CG remake of the first Pokémon movie from 21 years ago, this one is titled Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution.
They might actually arrive this week!!! I am referring to Mill Creek's Hammer Films - Ultimate Collection and the Inner Sanctum Mysteries. I think these were delayed half a dozen times. I would guess disc replication delays were the culprit.
The New Mutants also arrives this week as a Blu-ray + Digital combo in case the 4K set is not for you.
If you've bought a fair share of TV Series complete collections the past few weeks, save room for Mission Impossible: The Original TV Series from Paramount. This one is huge and amounts to around $2 per disc, WOW!
For Friday releases this week, there's quite an assortment of music and arts titles.
Notable announcements from last week:
Ummmm, Disney gave us zero notice about Mulan (2020) and Mulan (1998) coming to 4K disc, and leaked retailer links were quickly removed, only to find out that both these titles were coming on November 10th. Read the news story HERE. Disney's appearance of purposely trying to sabotage physical media is more than annoying. Sorry, but this guy is not buying into streaming for his only source of entertainment, it's still too unreliable and is not as good in quality as a disc. While on the subject, when was the last time you heard about a catalog title announcement from Disney / Fox, 4K or even Blu-ray? [Edit] Guess whose internet was down for 2.5 days after writing the draft of this story? I love telling the provider the problem is in their NOC, for them to schedule a service call any way, to find out the outage affects the entire area the next day.
Delayed to next week, Schwarzenegger's Iron Mask.
Jack Lemmon fan? Sony's got five titles coming and Warner Archive has one. Good Neighbor Sam, The Notorious Landlady, Operation Mad Ball, Phffft and Under the Yum-Yum Tree arrive from Sony on Dec. 8, Mister Roberts arrives from Warner Archive Collection on Dec. 29.
Christopher Nolan's Tenet will be coming on December 15th to 4K disc. A Blu-ray is also announced. Hooray for another 4K disc, Booooooo for Nolan not embracing, or even allowing directional audio, so expect DTS-HD MA 5.1 on that one. Much like Lucas not leaving his films alone (tinkering) or Cameron releasing 25 iterations of Terminator 2, but zero HD or 4K versions of The Abyss or True Lies.
Criterion Collection's February 2021 titles will include Chop Shop, Man Push Cart, Mandabi, The Parallax View and Smooth Talk. I am not familiar with this batch of titles and looks like this month is not the month to announce Criterion's 4K adoption.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? Pretty much all the 4K releases I want this week, minus the imports. For New Mutants, I prefer the standard edition cover art. I will probably get Moonstruck and Monstrum. Mission Impossible TV series was already ordered weeks ago. I think I will also give the Pokemon movie an order as well, when I had seen The First Movie, I thought it was well done, I hope the story itself wasn't changed much with the new one.
It's time to hunker in your bunker this holiday season and do your best to spread some holiday cheer - while you try not to spread anything else. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic obviously has put a damper on the traditional holiday get-together where everyone travels from miles around to gorge themselves on an impressive spread.
While delivering a full turkey dinner complete with trimmings isn't feasible for everyone; if you're looking to send someone something special - or treat-yo-self for getting through an incredibly tough year, there are options. With most movie theaters across the country closed or only showing a scant few films, the big studios dug deep into their catalogs and pull out a lot of hits for new 4K UHD Blu-rays or give fan favorites their first outing on Blu-ray. And with that, let's dig into our list
While 2020 may have been a bit of a challenge for movie theaters to get hot new titles, 4K UHD Blu-ray fans were treated to a number of in-demand fan-favorite franchises all conveniently packaged in deluxe box sets. If you have someone on your list needing the latest and greatest release of their favorite movies, here's a list of the essential 4K UHD box sets that came out in 2020:
Pre-Order The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pre-Order The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Pre-Order The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy 4KUHD Blu-ray Gift Set
Pre-Order The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pre-Order The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy the Back to the Future: Ultimate Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Back to the Future: Ultimate Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy the Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Game Of Thrones: The Complete Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy the Columbia Classics 4K UHD Blu-ray Collection: Volume 1
Buy the Resident Evil Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Rambo The Complete SteelBook Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Stanley Kubrick 3-Film 4K Collection
Pre-Order the Ip Man 4-Film Collection 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Star Wars The Skywalker Saga 4K UHD Blu-ray
With a lot of extra time spent in the home theater, 4K UHD Blu-ray fans have had a great year for catalog releases. While the franchise box sets were terrific, there were some amazing individual releases that 4K UHD adopters gobbled up and would make great gifts.
Buy Jaws 45th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Jaws 45th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy 1917 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the 1917 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy the Parasite 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Knives Out 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Knives Out 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy the Spartacus 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Ford V. Ferrari 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Beetlejuice 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Beetlejuice 4K UHD Blu-ray Gift Set
Buy the Beetlejuice 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy Top Gun 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pre-Order Top Gun 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy The Deer Hunter 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy It's A Wonder Life 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy Ghost in the Shell 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Ghost in the Shell 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy Sonic The Hedgehog 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Flash Gordon Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy Home Alone 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the Home Alone 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Tenet - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Blade - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Coming to America - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Akira - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Tremors - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Cinema Paradiso - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Possessor - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Vigilante - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Total Recall - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Collateral - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Beverly Hills Cop - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Chernobyl - 4K UHD Blu-ray
Léon The Professional - 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Buy Mission: Impossible The Original TV Series
Buy the Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection Deluxe Edition
Buy Watchmen: An HBO Limited Series
Buy The Barbara Stanwyck Collection
Buy the Sergio Leone Westerns - Five Film Collection
Buy the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Complete Collection
Buy the One Missed Call Trilogy
Buy The Good Place: The Complete Series
Buy The Outsider: The HBO Series
Buy the Warner Archive Film Noir 4-Film Collection
Buy the Warner Archive Horror Thrillers 4-Film Collection
Buy the Warner Archive Alfred Hitchcock 4-Film Collection
Buy Fail Safe - Criterion Collection
Buy The War of the Worlds (1953) - Criterion Collection
Buy Moonstruck - Criterion Collection
Buy Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits - Criterion Collection
Buy The Great Escape - Criterion Collection
Buy The Elephant Man - Criterion Collection
Buy The Grand Budapest Hotel - Criterion Collection
Buy Leave Her to Heaven - Criterion Collection
Buy Come and See - Criterion Collection
Buy Show Boat (1936) - Criterion Collection
Buy The Invisible Man 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy the V for Vendetta 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy The New York Ripper 4K UHD Blu-ray
Buy The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Maniac 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pitch Black 4K UHD Blu-ray
Doctor Sleep 4K UHD Blu-ray
House by the Cemetary 4K UHD Blu-ray
The Nightingale
Graveyard Shift
Mystery of the Wax Museum
Shivers
Split Second
Horrors of Spider Island
Tales From The Darkside: The Movie
Buy Play Misty For Me - Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Buy The Wizard Collector's Edition
Buy Pretty In Pink - Paramount Presents
Buy Airplane! 40th Anniversary SteelBook
Buy Kill Them All, And Come Back Alone
Ghost - Paramount Presents
Reflections in a Golden Eye
Sixteen Candles
The Hellbenders
Fatal Attraction - Paramount Presents
The Ten Commandments
Superman: Red Son
King Creole - Paramount Presents
SteelBooks make collecting Blu-rays and 4K UHD Blu-rays a lot of fun as they usually offer much more interesting custom artwork - but you have to take care of them! You don't want other titles rubbing alongside them or dinging into them. G2-size protective cases should fit just about every SteelBook - even ones with an extra plastic slipcover. Tell that collector you care about them and their collection.
Slipcovers not only look great, keep your movie's safe, but they can also increase in value if it's a rare title. Protective cases are essential for any collector.
If you have a movie fan in your home, chances are pretty good they know all about Mondo. On top of amazing limited edition custom posters, Mondo has been churning out high-end collectibles and action figures. The Creature is a recent addition to their shop. Also available in a full-color version. Other figures include Iron Giant, Kratos from God of War, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Rick and Morty to name a few.
So this isn't on Blu-ray, sadly, but it's such a great show and with Netflix's overall video quality being so hit and miss lately - this Complete Series is a great set and a great gift for anyone with a spotty internet connection.
While an Amazon gift card isn't the world's greatest gift, but if you're stuck and you don't know what that movie collector on your list has or needs - this at least lets them get something they know they need on the collection shelf - or help them pre-order a new upcoming release scheduled for after the holidays.
Holidays are normally a great time to get together with family to celebrate, have a great time, and exchange some gifts while eating massive amounts of food and tasty treats. 2020 hasn't been a normal year - not by a long shot. Hopefully, everyone out there is able to have a safe and fun Holiday season - even if you have to celebrate with family virtually or within your closely-knit little pod.
The team here at High-Def Digest wants to wish you all the best and hope you're still able to enjoy yourselves. Thanks for reading and being an awesome group of folks to interact with and enjoy the love of movies and collecting. We hope this list helps make your holiday shopping a little easier - whether you're buying for someone on your list or snagging something fun for yourself.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
- High-Def Digest Team
Looks like we survived last week in more ways than one, did you get your copy of Game of Thrones 4K? Let's now look at this week's highlights in home video releases and how to part some more of your hard earned cash. Welcome to what I dub Episode 25.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
Very slow week for 4K disc releases. There are no domestic titles on the list, and the import that is currently on it could change dates in a flash like Dawn of the Dead did. The import, The Ladykillers (1955) has a Monday release date. Hopefully by the time this article is live, Amazon will offer it to ship to the U.S. I enjoyed the trailer that StudioCanal put together for this, I could certainly consider buying it someday.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
Pretty average volume week for Blu-rays though.
Kino Lorber's got its weekly assortment of titles. The one I want on Day One is Amazon Women on the Moon. It's a non-stop load of laughs and has a huge all star cast. This week's fill of Clint Eastwood from Kino offers The Eiger Sanction and Play Misty For Me.
Warner Bros is releasing Bill & Ted Face the Music on Blu-ray, but not on 4K disc. There is a 4K pre-announcement in the UK, but I doubt there will be in the U.S..
Hopefully after you heard that The Office: The Complete Series was coming out on Blu-ray you binge watched it a little bit for nostalgia purposes, and to remember it is a pretty good show. Universal releases the mega-set this week.
LionsGate's presence this week brings us Guest House, it stars Pauly Shore and Steve-O, might be fun. Also this week, Mortal, a film that somewhat skipped the cinema due to the pandemic that I am still trying to grasp the plot, in a way, sounds like a Shyamalan plot.
Arrow Video is offering a new edition of American Horror Project Vol. 1, no more paying $130+ for a copy. In the exact same situation, The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast. The previous offering is nearly $400, that's some crazy money.
Criterion Collector? This week, look for Girlfriends. Criterion appears to be more selective these days in their titles so there are fewer releases each month. I still say if they hit the 4K disc market that their options would open immensely.
Shout Factory's Scream Factory label is releasing The Brides of Dracula. Read the review, buy the disc.
Our weekly dose of Anime includes a few highlights. FUNimation brings us a longly named title, but the short one as I call it is Cautious Hero, available as a standard edition and as a limited edition. Also look for My Hero Academia: Season 3 Complete Collection as well. InuYasha Set 3 comes out this week from Viz Video. One-Punch Man: Season 2 comes to you as a standard edition and as a Limited Edition.
For other than Tuesday releases, don't forget the box set for I Spit on Your Grave is coming from Ronin Flix's store web site. This one looks like it could be quite the collectable item.
Notable announcements from last week:
As mentioned, the UK import for Dawn of the Dead 4K was delayed to November 16th, but at least Amazon UK now shows it available to ship to the U.S.. Likely Covid related, but any guess is good I suppose. Event Horizon has been pushed out again, this time to March 23rd, Shout Factory must be having some major issues with this title, no doubt the final product will be great.
Warner Archive has announced 9 titles (so far) for December. Ones with some familiarity are Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2, The Curse of Frankenstein, Mister Roberts and Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season. Order links and (likely) corrected dates will come shortly.
My mom will be excited to see The Other Side of the Mountain (Double Feature) coming to Blu-ray finally, from Kino. Also from Kino, Jetsons: The Movie.
Discotek has announced their January titles, and honestly, I don't think I really know any of them except maybe the Symphogear title, and even then it's Japanese language only. Check January 26th for the list.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? I have a pretty short list this week. Amazon Women on the Moon was preordered way back when. Anime wants, the InuYasha release as well as the Cautious Hero title. I want to get The Office but last week's GOT purchase might make me wait a week or three. It never gets easy to save money for a rainy day with all the great releases coming out.
Without much word or fanfare - or even much of a proper press release for that matter - Disney is releasing both the animated original and the live-action remake of Mulan to 4K UHD Blu-ray with the new Mulan also getting a standard Blu-ray release with an estimated release date of 11/10/2020... or 11/22/2020 there seems to be some confusion on that point. Best Buy briefly had 11/22/2020 listed for their releases before setting the date to "Not Announced" while Target is holding to 11/10/202 for their releases, so until we see different we're going with the very sudden 11/10 date. As of this writing, Amazon doesn't appear to have either disc releases listed. If/when that changes we'll amend our listings accordingly. But for now, you can pre-order these at Best Buy.
Both 4K UHD Blu-ray releases will be getting the standard HDR10 treatment with Dolby Atmos audio mixes, while the standard 1080p Blu-ray of the 2020 Mulan will only be getting a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track.
If you didn't spend the extra $30 to get early access on Disney+ for the remake or if you didn't already own the original, you have a few different purchase options:
Mulan (1998) 4K UHD Blu-ray - Standard Edition
Mulan (1998) 4K UHD Blu-ray - Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook
Mulan (2020) - 4K UHD Blu-ray - Standard Edition
Mulan (2020) - 4K UHD Blu-ray - Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook
and if you're not on the 4K train yet...
Mulan 2020 - Blu-ray
As soon as we acquire copies of these titles we'll cook up some reviews and roll out our thoughts. Hopefully, the Atmos tracks hold up and don't follow down Disney's usual track for being overly soft sounding. We'll just have to wait and see.
What do you think folks? Are these on your shopping list or are you just going to stick with your Disney+ subscription for now?
Many of us have been looking forward to this week, for one reason or another. I'd proud to say I voted last week and look forward to the UPS truck on Tuesday as I am getting a much awaited delivery for one of this week's big releases! Welcome to Episode 24 of our weekly look at the highlights fn the week's home video releases.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
Winter is Coming, and no, I'm not trying to remind the Northern Hemisphere that December is coming, I am referring to this week's biggest 4K release, Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection. I'm just glad I wasn't assigned to do a review of this set, I have a full time job and do not exactly have 3 years of free time to work through it! Being offered as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook set and as a handsome looking traditional set, which one do you like the best? I hope that Warner Bros and Best Buy have learned from previous issues with mega-SteelBook sets and how easy they become damaged. For that matter, the standard set's weight might offer some challenges to any retailer that ships them.
Warner's other title this week is V for Vendetta. Like previous catalog title recent releases, this is being offered in a standard edition, as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook and as an Amazon Exclusive Giftset.
Lionsgate releases the suspenseful-thriller Antebellum this week.
For reissues this week, but this time in SteelBook packages, the comic book obsession superhero movie, Kick-Ass, a trip back to high school for Grease, the bio-epic Forrest Gump and the Transformers spinoff, Bumblebee.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
A lighter than average week for Blu-ray releases.
Mentioned above, Antebellum also gets a Blu-ray release this week. Former soap opera star, Bruce Willis still remains busy these days, this week expect to see Hard Kill debuting on Blu-ray.
From Sony, the Complete Third Season of The Crown. Also debuting to Blu-ray, the late Robin Williams' Man of the Year.
Warner Archive is releasing Josie and the Pussycats: The Complete Series this week. For live action, a James Stewart classic title The Mortal Storm.
From Arrow Video, Lake Michigan Monster. I particularly mention this as I follow most films that are any bit related to H.P. Lovecraft.
Kino Lorber continues to release some well known classics every week, but the one that catches my eye this week is not a classic at all, I am referring to 2016's The Veil.
Anime highlights of the week... If you wanted a more expensive (but classier) way to get all the seasons of Dragon Ball Z, this week FUNimation releases Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3 as SteelBook editions. It looks like these are here to stay as they've already announced through Season 7. The description of Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit gives me a Law & Order TV show sort of vibe, I doubt they use the 'doink doink' sound between scenes though. Viz is releasing Naruto: Set 1. I had never realized with so many Naturo releases that the actual series had never been released on Blu-ray in this market.
For 'other than Tuesday' releases this week, there are a few, a Chuck Berry title and three arts releases
Notable announcements from last week:
Sony has chosen wisely when they changed the release date to the Resident Evil 4K movie set from November 3rd to November 17th. That week is still a bit tight for releases, but it's more managable.
Arrow Video is making the headlines again with Gamera. I personally pre-ordered the mega-set but never got it from Amazon, did they overbook? What's announced now are three SteelBook sets. Gamera: The Heisei Era, Gamera: The Heisei Trilogy and Gamera: The Showa Era. The cover arts are decent, they sort of remind me of the styles used by Criterion for the Godzilla Collection recently released.
The below screen grab *might* be what the individual disc cases look like inside the Game of Thrones 4K Standard Edition set. The screenshot comes from Film Arena. I had both editions on pre-order, but am taking to the standard release more and more, especially if the internal covers resemble the ones below.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? I am definitely getting Game of Thrones and I like to looks of both sets, so would I be crazy if I bought both versions? V for Vendetta is also a decent movie, if I see it at my local Walmart I might pounce on it this week, otherwise I might wait for a deal alert to pop up and order it online. I did opt for the DBZ releases, wish I had ordered the full set when it was offered by FUNimation. The wishlist contains Naruto Set 1, Special 7, They Reach and The Veil.
Unfortunately this time around, reports of Connery’s demise don’t appear to be greatly exaggerated. The BBC is reporting this morning that the iconic James Bond actor passed away today at 90 years of age leaving behind a legacy of incredible performances beyond his time donning tailored suits, a Walther PPK, and the keys to an Aston Martin with flamethrower, machine gun, and ejector seat.
I grew up in a James Bond house. My dad was a huge fan and bought all the tapes through Columbia House as they came available. I remember pulling You Only Live Twice out of a box of new VHS tapes and my dad putting that one on. It blew me away – the helicopter fight sequence remains my all-time favorite James Bond moment. While he remains most identifiable as 007, Connery had a long-ranging career.
One of my favorite theater-going moments of my childhood was seeing him play Dr. Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Watching Connery and Ford on screen was a terrific pairing as two action superstars got to team up and stop the Nazis. The shot of a Nazi fighter plane on fire passing Indy and Dr. Jones in a car as they race through a tunnel still makes me laugh every time I see it.
While he finally earned his Oscar with a Best Supporting Actor win for The Untouchables, my absolute favorite Connery performance is his Daniel Dravot from Jon Huston’s 1975 classic The Man Who Would Be King. I loved the understated transition from being a con-man out to scam the natives of their wealth with his friend Michael Caine to becoming someone understanding the unfortunate weight of consequence. His final moment where he looks back at his friend one last time is a heartbreaker.
But trying to figure out what movie constitutes a favorite is a laborious process because you inevitably fall into the rabbit hole of constantly asking “What about that one? Oh yeah, that movie too!” To that end, here’s a quick list of my favorite Connery films ranging his entire career:
The Man Who Would Be King
Highlander
Woman of Straw
The Name of the Rose
Goldfinger
Hunt for Red October
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
You Only Live Twice
Outland
The Untouchables
The Rock
Zardoz
From Russia With Love
The Longest Day
The Wind and the Lion
Finding Forrester
While normally I would be filling today with scary movies, I was actually watching House of Wax when heard this sad news, I’m compelled to find a great Connery show. What is your favorite Connery film – or films since it’s so difficult to pick just one?
The last week of October 2020 is upon us, Halloween is this Saturday. As far as home video releases are concerned, I call it an 'in between' week. There are a handful of titles that might interest you, but there are no major releases this week. Welcome to episode 23 of our weekly look at what's coming out this week in the home video market.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
The 4K disc front originally was going to start out with a UK import for Dawn of the Dead (1978). Unfortunately, that got pushed back into November because of production delays - but this gives you more time to pre-order! Remember that 4K discs are region-free and this is currently the only way to own all three versions of the film on 4K disc, and Second Sight has loaded this edition with extras!
Next, from Blue Underground, screen icon Delphine Seyrig's Daughters of Darkness debuts to 4K disc this week. And finally, in case you didn't buy the individual releases already, Rambo: The Complete SteelBook Collection. Am not a fan of the art style of the latest Rambo SteelBooks.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
In a last minute annoucement, the digital release of Toys of Terror comes out this week from Warner Bros.
Abbott and Costello fans should be looking at Africa Screams this week. Read the review, buy the disc.
The gap in your Amityville collection will be filled this week, Vinegar Syndrome is releasing Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes, Amityville 5: It's About Time, Amityville 6: A New Generation and Amityville 7: Dollhouse.
Under the various Warner labels this week, Warner Archive is offering DC's Black Lightning, Season Two and Season Three. Also, The Flintstones: The Complete Series is coming this week. Warner's anime release this week is K: Seven Stories.
Criterion Collection's release of Parasite (2019) streets this week, but note that it is NOT a 4K release. It's still an extensive set so if you're a fan of the movie, check it out.
Kino Lorber has an assortment of titles this week. Highlights include Babylon Berlin, Seasons 1 & 2. Season 3 comes out in Novemeber. The trailers for this one are interesting. Clint Eastwood fan? This week is for you. High Plains Drifter has received the Kino treatment and it is deemed 'Highly Recommended' in our review, check it out. Also reviewed, Two Mules for Sister Sara. A lesser-appreciated Eastwood film, Joe Kidd also comes out this week.
Lionsgate's title of the week -- a comedy/drama titled Friendsgiving.
Previously delayed but now coming out this week, Arrow Video's release of The Last Starfighter. Am surprised they didn't make a 4K of this, but I would guess the available elements are not in good enough condition or it was determined there wouldn't be enough interest.
This week is a slightly above average for quantity of anime release, here's the highlights. Sentai brings us Akame ga Kill! Complete Series in a SteelBook package. Also, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon II in a Premium Ediiton. Get this one NOW if you intend to, volume I is listed upwards of $1,000 online from 3rd party sellers.
FUNimation is offering Black Clover: Season 3 Part 1, Ensemble Stars! Part Two, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth. Discotek is also releasing their October titles this week, including Isuca TV series, Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure, Osamu Tezuka's Cleapoarta and Symphogear Season One,
Notable announcements from last week:
A week doesn't pass without at least a couple of announcements, which is a good thing. This past week has been pretty busy, but as far as major announcements, not so much.
Sony has revealed plans to release Roland Emmerich's disaster flick 2012 on 4K disc in January. Expect a purchase link very soon.
On the Blu-ray front, a bunch of announcements, FUNimation's next wave, Discotek's next wave, Mill Creek's next wave, and Criterion has announced its January releases. For Criterion releases, and no, this is not the month they start releasing 4K titles, the titles are The Ascent, Three Films by Luis Buñuel, Minding the Gap and Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese. The FUNimation title I am probably waiting for is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Part Two.
Warner's got the second season of Doom Patrol up, Snowpiercer apparently got a spinoff TV show and Season One is up for order, and Toys of Terror on disc is coming January 19.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? Nothing screams out to me this week but the wishlist is still extensive. Daughters of Darkness 4K, but not at the $53 price. Flintstones is a strong candidate too. The Amityville movies, Zombie 5, Babylon Berlin as well. The Clint Eastwood movies if I get an impulse or shop a Kino sale. Handful of the anime releases too, I like the look of the Is It Wrong To Try... set, the Akame ga Kill SteelBook, K Seven Stories, Stand My Heroes and Lupin 3 are on the radar. The Tom & Jerry special is a maybe as well, haven't seen any modern T & J releases.
With movie theaters struggling to reopen around the country and offer film fans a reason to venture out - the studios are giving people more reasons to stay in with an aggressive slate of 4K UHD Blu-ray releases. As we saw with October, there's plenty of room for a saturated releases slate and November is proving to be no different. From Mad Max to Cinema Paradiso to Dawn of the Dead - there's literally something for everyone this month!
Game of Thrones Complete Collection
We knew that HBO would be eventually releasing the entire series onto 4K UHD at some point, but we figured they'd stagger the releases season by season. It's honestly refreshing to see them go for broke and put the whole show out in one big box set. The problem is a number of people who already bought the first season on 4K would ultimately be buying a second copy. So far there's no word that individual seasons will be available anytime soon. That said, you can choose from the standard option or Best Buy's exclusive SteelBook collection. It all depends on how much shelf space you have to offer.
Pre-order the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray set
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook set
The latest entry in the growing genre of social commentary horror, Antebellum lost out on an expansive theatrical release and went for the theater at home market with middling notices from critics and split audiences. Some folks loved this one, some folks were left nonplussed by it. If you're a fan Lionsgate is giving the film a proper 4K UHD Blu-ray release.
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray
A particularly loose and action-focused adaptation of Alan Moore's iconic graphic novel, the film is a visual feast and has developed a legion of fans ready to wear a white mask and hat at every screening. Fans of this one will have a variety of options, the standard 4K, an Amazon exclusive gift set, as well as a Best Buy exclusive SteelBook.
Pre-order the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pre-order the Amazon Exclusive 4K UH Blu-ray Gift Set
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Not new to 4KUHD Blu-ray, Lionsgate is now issuing a new Best Buy exclusive SteelBook set for Kick-Ass. There's nothing new in this set, it's the same set of discs with digital slip - the artwork is just, well, kick-ass! Read our review
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Again - not a new release necessarily - just new SteelBook packaging that actually mirrors the original release's packaging. Same discs, you get a digital slip, so if you've been waiting to spring for this Travolta classic musical, now might be a good time to jump.
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Okay, this is getting silly… Best Buy is also rereleasing this out of print SteelBook from paramount. This isn't like the recent Saving Private Ryan SteelBook rerelease where they actually included the 1080p Blu-ray disc, this is once again the same set and packaging available again.
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
After season two's shocking finale, HBO's science fiction series takes a dramatic left turn with familiar characters changing in radical ways - which some fans loved, and others not so much. Even as the series has had its ups and downs, Westworld has remained an impressive visual and auditory feast for the senses. Fans of the series get two options to continue their collection - the standard release or a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook that will arrive later on December 8th, 2020.
Pre-order the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
The end of the 20th Century Fox era of X-Men movies whimpers to a close with this one. Having sat on the shelf for years, the film was dropped into theaters mid-pandemic and met with tepid audiences and a lackluster critical reception. Still, for fans or franchise completionists, there are options. There's the standard release with atrocious cover artwork - or you can opt for the classy SteelBook from Best Buy.
Pre-order the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray
Pre-order the Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Resident Evil: The Complete Collection
Love one or two of the films - or none at all - the Resident Evil film franchise is a strange collection of films that deviate wildly from the games while pulling in a host of familiar characters with varying results. The first film is still solid stuff and holds up well, there have already been a couple of individual releases, so it's a tad frustrating that we're not getting single film releases right out of the gate.
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray set
Honestly, when this first came out it felt ling a longshot prospect that this film would enjoy any longevity but it's grown into a family favorite over the years and is now making its way to 4K UHD Blu-ray from Universal Studios with HDR10 and DTS:X audio.
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray
It's A Wonderful Life SteelBook
You know you're getting close to the holidays when this film gets another release. This film already got a terrific 4K UHD release, but SteelBook collectors have something to upgrade for - or if you haven't picked this set up yet, it's absolutely a must-own release.
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
The sequel to the runaway zombie movie success Train To Busan gets a wild and crazy sequel released stateside from Well Go USA on 4K UHD Blu-ray. The film wasn't the critical darling of the first entry, but it still made its mark overseas and should be a terrific entry on 4K.
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray
After a long absence from the format after Hannibal - Kino Lorber Studio Classics is roaring back to 4K UHD Blu-ray with the first of the iconic Mad Max franchise. This apocalyptic road movie introduced the world to Mel Gibson's star power offering action fans a barrage of high-octane crazy-blood fueled vehicular mayhem - and it should look amazing on 4K with Dolby Vision HDR
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray
A tribute to the power and love of the movies, Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful cinematic drama comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray from Arrow offering both cuts of the film with Dolby Vision HDR. A Genuine classic, this is a splendid piece of moviemaking that fits right at home on the format and should be a stunner.
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray
Deadly Games: Dial Code Santa Claus
Originally released October 27th exclusive to Vinegar Syndrome with Slipcover
Independent boutique studio Vinegar Syndrome continues to offer fans of the wild and weird of world cinema with this 1989 French holiday action flick. Think of it as a horror movie version of Home Alone where a small child has to defend his home and feeble grandfather from a psycho dressed as Santa on Christmas Eve! It's a perfect title for Vinegar Syndrome and should be a hell of a 4K UHD release
Pre-order the 4K UHD Blu-ray
We do our best to cover imports as best as we can, but obtaining them can be a bit tricky. More tricky now thanks to COVID as Amazon and other overseas retailers aren't shipping across the pond to the U.S. - but we have every intention of reviewing some of these as soon as we get our grubby little fingers on the copies we ordered.
Long in development from Second Sight, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead is getting the full restoration it's dearly deserved with a massive 4K UHD Blu-ray release. All three versions of the film will be available with the U.S. Theatrical Cut and Director's Cut getting new 4K restorations with HDR10+ with the Argento Cut recycling the same master previously available without HDR. This massive set is coming packed with booklet and tons of new and archival bonus features. While not directly available in the U.S., DiabolikDVD, Amazon, and Zavvi are making it easy for fans to import.
Import the 4K UHD Blu-ray
Arrow Video is delivering Abel Ferara's iconic 1990 thriller starring Christopher Walken, David Caruso, and Laurence Fishburne to 4K UHD offering up Dolby Vision HDR to sweeten the deal. Sadly not directly available in the U.S., outfits like Zavvi and DiabolikDVD make it easy for fans to import if Amazon UK won't ship.
Import the 4K UHD Blu-ray
Already available on 4K in German - with less than subtle cover artwork - David Cronenberg's bizarre thriller that marries sex and car crashes is one that needs to be seen to be believed as it speeds past any ability to cleanly describe what the heck this movie is about.
Import the 4K UHD Blu-ray
That's what we have in store for us this November. As more titles get announced or if there's a street date change we'll update everything. There are also a few more EU imports for films like Serpico, and Three Days of the Condor among a few others that are arriving in November, but because of COVID restrictions we can't guarantee we'll be able to import them. Rest assured as soon as we can we'll give full coverage to these titles.
Anything on your shopping list this month? Let us know in the Disqus Comments below!
Disaster movie fans rejoice! Roland Emmerich's 2012 is going to pummel 4K UHD Blu-ray in 2021! The Mayans foretold this film would be upgraded to 4K UHD Blu-ray - Woody Harrelson said so during that monologue, not sure if you caught that part...
This one isn't up for pre-order yet, January 19th is still a ways off, but it should be hitting online retailers soon. We also don't know if there will be any kind of retailer exclusives yet, but with Sony's recent output I'd put good money down on a Best Buy SteelBook as a possibility. We do know for sure that this film is getting a new Atmos audio mix - so while the movie itself is a bit iffy while proving to be wildly entertaining, it'll probably sound amazing! Plan your 4K budget accordingly.
Here's the full press release from Sony:
SYNOPSIS
Hope you didn't overspend on Prime Day, which we have seen evolve over the years. Originally an Amazon event, but this year we see Best Buy, Target and Walmart also hopping on for online deals, as well as a handful of random deals on other e-tailers. Welcome to Episode 22 of our weekly look at the highlights of what's coming out this week on home video.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
There are no 4K digital releases slated for this week.
The next six weeks are going to be costly for us movie buffs. This week it's all about Back to the Future. I have bought this movie since it debuted on VHS and every media iteration since. This week the trilogy debuts in glorious 4K, options are a Standard Edition, Amazon Exclusive Giftset and a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
There are no digital HD titles slated for this week.
On the Blu-ray front, not a huge week, but there is a good mix.
Shout Factory has a handful of releases under their various labels. The Shout Factory label brings another Star Trek related title, The Captains Collection, four Star Trek Documentaries directed by William Shatner. Under their Shout Select Line, comes 2002's Nic Cage/Meryl Streep Comedy/Drama Adaptation.. The GKIDS label, they've got some reissues this week, more Studio Ghibli titltes in a SteelBook package. My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke. Lastly under the Scream Factory label, Pumpkinhead gets a SteelBook this week.
LionsGate continues to regularly produce movies in 2020 despite theater closings, and the movie Alone comes out this week.
For Criterion Collection Offerings this week, Gregory Peck's The Gunfighter. Also this week, The Hit.
The Paramount Presents Label is releasing The Haunting this week.
Just what we've been waiting for, another direct to video Tremors movie right? Tremors: Shrieker Island debuts this week.
The weekly anime (excluding GKIDS) includes Negima! + Negima? - Complete Collection and a SteelBook of Your Name..
Notable announcements from last week:
Inner Sanctum Mysteries got delayed yet again, now the new date is November 17th.
Pretty active week for new titles being added, here's a couple of the highlights.
Shout Factory is releasing the next John Carpenter 4K flick previously released in Europe by StudioCanal, this time look for Prince of Darkness on January 19th. Just like Shout's release of They Live, this one is also getting a Dolby Atmos track, which by the way has been pushed back to January 19th as well.
Paramount has announced pre-orders (with street date pending) for Love and Monsters, available as a Blu-ray and as a 4K set. With as expensive as the next couple of months are going to be, maybe a January release date would be wise. Debuting on Blu-ray on November 10th also from Paramount are The Stooge and The Odd Couple II.
Friday releases this week are dominated by the arts.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? If you couldn't tell from the opening, I will be getting Back to the Future 4K, I prefer the look of the SteelBook. On the wishlist, Adaptation., Alone, Captains Collection, the Negima set and the Tremors release.
Happy Friday the 16th!
As we work to pull together full coverage for this full set - we're breaking out coverage into three distinct eras of the franchise for convenience - Shout! Factory has issued a statement regarding some of the disc errors fans have noticed - and they will be replacing them ASAP. From their statement, they hope to have replacements out by November 2020 - so pretty fast turn around.
Discs affected are:
Friday the 13th Part 3 3-D: (When viewing in 3D) First instance of 3D opening credits does not come out of the screen correctly.
Jason Goes to Hell: (Unrated Cut) Missing “snapped wrist” gore in an uncut scene.
Jason X: Missing audio during a scene in the film in which Jason kills camp counselors in a sleeping bag.
CLICK HERE for details and how to request your replacement.
We hope to have our first round of coverage for this set very shorty, but with 12 films and 16 discs on top of HOURS of bonus features - this has been a big effort. As we get our replacement discs we'll keep you posted on those changes as well.
Have a great weekend!
Welcome to Episode 21 of our weekly look at what's coming this week in the home video market. Not much is going on that is newsworthy, so let's get right down to business.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
There are no digital 4K releases this week. On the disc front though, there are two movies to mention. First, District 9, which I thought was a pretty peculiar movie, but feel that this would be worthy of an upgrade on my video wall. Available in a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. Again, generally not a fan of cover art that is primarily RED in color, but this one is entirely appropriate to this movie (cover art shown is the standard edition). And the second title is Requiem for a Dream, which we have already reviewed, check out the review, buy the disc.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
There are no digital HD releases slated for this week.
On the disc front however, it looks like an average week.
Criterion Collection releases Claudine this week. Personally never saw this film, but no doubt it will be 4+ stars across the board when we review it.
LionsGate's new release of The Doorman comes out this week.
Kino Lorber offers a multitude of titles, but the one I remember the most is DeepStar Six. This one came out about the time that The Abyss was released so it's easy to confuse the two. The latter we still await James Cameron to act upon with a Blu-ray or 4K release.
Sony Pictures has an average week, but the title I think they are pushing the most this week is El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. I might be in that 10 percentile of people that hasn't seen an episode of the series. If it means anything, I did bookmark it on Netflix.
RLJ Entertainment releases The American West: Season 1 this week. This show has potential, and according to IMDB the ratings are decent.
Shout Factory, under the Scream Factory label is finally releasing their Friday the 13th Collection Deluxe Edition. Although it is inevitable that perhaps the first movie will get a 4K release, this complete collection is a definitive way to own the complete set.
Previously delayed, but appears to be coming out finally, Arrow Video's release of Mallrats.
Warner Bros. releases the animated title Batman: Death in the Family. For some reason the 4K was never officially announced so we have moved it to the 'Postponed' column, and honestly, I was just getting into these animated DC 4K releases.
RWBY Volume 7 is being released by Warner Bros this week as well. Also on the Warner release front, Cats & Dogs 3 gets a general release this week, looks like it snuck out as a Walmart exclusive a month ago, which is becoming more commonplace with their non-major releases. Still Going strong, Vikings Season 6 Volume 1 streets this week. From the Warner Archive Collection, Space Ghost & Dino Boy: The Complete Series will be available. I remember watching this show years ago, something about it made me come back for more.
Elsewhere within the animated category, our weekly anime highlights are always present. Viz Video release Boruto: Naruto Next Generation Vol 7. FUNimation has two versions of ID: Invaded, a standard release edition and a Limited Edition. If you didn't buy the individual releases of Kakuriyo Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, it is now available as a Complete Series Set. Season Two of Kono Oto Tamare! Sounds of Life also debuts this week on Blu-ray.
There are two Friday releases this week, an arts release and a music/concert release.
Notable announcements from last week:
As far as new release announcements are, the week has proven to be very dry.
But, I did mention last week to expect a 4K Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogy announcement. Do read our news story here which indicates a December 1st street date and get your orders in today. In both trilogies I think I prefer the SteelBooks, but they are on the pricier side.
Disney has also announced a street date for The New Mutants, November 17th. Available as a Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray and 4K SteelBook. This does not count as a true commitment on Disney's part of the 4K format -- as previously mentioned and covered, it is rumored that they have abandoned catalog titles with regards to the 4K disc format, James Cameron titles excluded, and this of course is a 2020 film.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? For me, the Friday the 13th set has been on preorder as has Space Ghost. I will decide on which version of District 9 4K I want soon, and most likely will order DeepStar Six too. Wishlist items include American West Season 1, the Mill Creek 3-pack Diabolique/Incognito/In Crowd, Imaginary Crimes/Silent Fall, Kakuriyo B&B, The Pledge & RWBY Vol 7.
Scream Factory's Friday the 13th Collection Deluxe Edition has been shipped out - those with pre-orders should be getting them any day now if you haven't gotten them already. Obviously from all of the coverage we've done and announcements the fine folks at Scream have put out - this is a massive set. Our man with a plan M. Enois Duarte will be handling the review of this beast, but it's going to take us some time to dig through everything.
\Some of the films got new transfers, Friday the 13th: Part 3 3-D actually has a genuine stereoscopic 3-D presentation, I briefly looked at it at 2:00am this morning and it looks so much better than the old anaglyph 3-D presentation. To that point - since it's going to take us a while to start posting in-depth coverage, we wanted to give you fine folks a look at this set with a quick unboxing. I ordered my set direct from Shout Factory to get the Limited Edition poster and lithograph - those extras being the only differences if you ordered this set from a different retailer.
As soon as we start breaking out the coverage we'll get those reviews posted and shared, but for now - have an awesome weekend, enjoy some fright flicks, or if you already have this amazing set in hand, enjoy digging through all of these movies in one epic binge!
After a flurry of posts and updates, pre-orders going live and then coming back down, incomplete info, and finally getting actual confirmation all of this was legit -- and a much needed night of sleep -- we have some firm details and pre-order information about The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy and The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases coming this December
FIRST - As how it's been reported, Peter Jackson and his team went back to the original elements to create new 4K masters for these releases - the original 35mm elements for LOTR and the digital elements for Hobbit. Both sets will include the Theatrical Cuts and the Extended Cuts. Both sets will feature HDR10 standard and Dolby Vision. Both sets will also get a Dolby Atmos audio upgrade - which should be a delight to fans all across Middle Earth. I haven't found a final slate of bonus features anywhere - there may not be many as a MUCH larger "Ultimate" set of all six films including remastered Blu-rays of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, all archival bonus features as well as new bonus features will be coming out mid-to-late 2021 to celebrate the franchise's 20th Anniversary. As for the current slate of sets arriving 12/1/2020 - you have some options...
Both trilogies are getting standard releases, 9-discs for LOTR with The Hobbit getting 6-discs. Both trilogies are getting fancy SteelBook sets from Best Buy while Amazon is issuing a special Limited Edition Giftset of LOTR with special book packaging and a prop replica of The One Ring - which reportedly will not turn you invisible. Now all you have to decide is which set to make you precious...
That's pretty much everything for now - as we learn more we'll update the listings. Hope this release makes your Holiday season a little extra awesome this year!
Both the standard releases of The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray and The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray sets are now available to pre-order on Amazon for $89.99 each. No word on specs, but from the look of the images these don't appear to include the 1080p Blu-rays - LOTR is a 9-disc set while Hobbit appears to only be a 6-disc set.
Again this is a developing story and as soon as we get official word from Warner Bros. we'll dish that info out. For now - here's what these standard sets look like.
Interestingly the Best Buy listings for the 4K UHD SteelBooks for both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit appear to have been taken down. We'll keep an eye on that as well. Stay tuned...
This is a developing story as Warner Bros. has yet to confirm or issue an official press release about The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray trilogies. However, Best Buy now has both The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook and The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook up with a street date of 12/1/2020. So far only LOTR is actually up for pre-order but both sets have a list price of $119.99.
Again - we don't have any technical details, don't know the final audio mix or the HDR grade. Judging from the only picture we have of the LOTR set - it looks to be a 9-disc set, each movie getting 3 discs + digital.
As soon as Warner Bros. issues a propper press release we'll update this article with links to standard editions as well as any other possible retailer exclusives that may be coming along.
And the time keeps changing and the calendar keeps flipping. October 2020 is upon us, pumpkin spice everything is invading our senses, the title releases (thankfully) keep coming. Welcome to Episode 20 of our weekly highlights on what to expect in the home video market. To those that bought a handful of Miramax titles a couple of weeks ago, by now you have a couple in your hand and Amazon notices of shipping dates as late as December 15th. If there was an Epic Fail, this one qualifies. Even though they're supposed to have new printed sleeves to reflect Paramount as the distributor, some simply have UPC stickers pasted over the old ones.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
There are no 4K digital releases slated for this week.
On the 4K disc front though, let's get right to it. First, Frank Miller's epic 300, available as a standard edition and a Best Buy SteelBook edition. As this movie has CGI, we can expect the largest gain to be from the HDR.
Shutter Island sees a standard edition (non-SteelBook) release this week. Also in the same think 'lower cost' category, Jaws is getting reissued as well, without the swag and fancy cover.
Next in the 4K disc category, a new(er) title, The Tax Collector. When I heard this title, I immediately thought crime family, not IRS. The 4K of this title can currently only be bought from Best Buy. And on the Best Buy front, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar gets an exclusive 4K SteelBook this week as well. Nolan is a great director, but I am a bit annoyed by his lack of allowing/adopting direcional audio (Atmos or DTS:X.) Also, looks like Saving Private Ryan is getting another SteelBook release too, not sure what is different about this one.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
There are no digital HD releases slated for this week.
Universal's 2020 releases coming to Blu-ray this week is titled The 2nd, Save Yourselves!, The Secret Garden, direct to video Tales From the Hood 3, Season Four of The Last Kingdom also streets this week. I feel as though I should have caught that series, there is still time to do so.
From Warner Bros, debuting on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive, Drop Dead Gorgeous. From Warner's regular label, the 2020 reboot of Valley Girl is expected to street this week.
From CBS/Paramount, the long awaited Star Trek: Picard Season One comes out this week, available as a standard edition and as a SteelBook Edition.
Mill Creek's delayed September titles are out this week, Battlefield Earth, Big Bully/Wrongfully Accused, The King and I (animated) & Snow White: A Tale of Terror,
Michael J Fox fans should be delighted to know Kino is releasing two of his films this week, The Hard Way & The Secret of My Success. And as usual, they have a bunch of older classics to ponder as well.
The above mentioned film, The Tax Collector also gets a non-retailer-exclusive Blu-ray release.
Anime this week, FUNimation has got After School Dice Club, Fairy Tail Part 24 & One Piece: Stampede (SteelBook). Sentai Filmworks has one, in the no English dub category, Beautiful Bones Sakurako's Investigation. Shout Factory releases B: The Beginning Season One as a standard edition and as an 'Ultimate Edition.' I like the latter, but it would be a large investment for a blind buy. Shout also releases Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna this week, and a reissue of The Wonderland. From Viz, the Naruto Triple Feature, available in a standard collector's edition and as a SteelBook collector's edition.
There are three music/concert titles scheduled for a Friday release.
Notable announcements from last week:
Newcomer to the Blu-ray market, Wild East Productions seems to have their expected titles this week on delay. Updates will happen as we get them. Also delayed, the touted 2016 movie The Veil, from Kino Lorber got pushed back a month to November 3.
For new announcements though, this past week was pretty slow. We can confirm that Blade will be coming to 4K disc, as a standard edition and as a Best Buy SteelBook. Your guess is as good as mine on a trilogy in 4K or the Amazon Exclusive Gift Sets that Warner Bros seems to be doing a lot of.
Blue Underground has announced Fire & Ice on 4K disc, expect it to come probably around Dec/Jan.
Collateral 4K disc (2004) also has been announced with a Dec 8 street date.
In the works with an announcement any time soon, Warner is preparing 4K discs of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy. Expected are the theatrical and extended versions. Serpico is coming soon as well in 4K, but maybe only as an import, it is currently listed on Amazon Germany's site, and Three Days of the Condor is on Amazon France's site.
Next Week, October 13 & 14 Amazon Prime Day is on!
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? I am pretty sure I will buy Picard - Season One, The Secret Garden, The King & I, and Pale Door. I have a mild interest in 300 4K and Tax Collector 4K. Wishlist, B: Ultimate Edition, Big Bully/Wrongfully Accused, Naruto SteelBook, One Piece SteelBook & Snow White Tale of Terror.
Our own Bryan Kluger took a deep dive into his collection to find us the 10 Best Horror Movies in the Criterion Collection. It's always hard to narrow down a definitive list like this but you can't go wrong with any of these. Take a look:
Order Eyes Without A Face on Blu-ray
Order The Devil's Backbone on Blu-ray
Order Rosemary's Baby on Blu-ray
Order Night of the Living Dead on Blu-ray
Are you tired of your old Blu-ray of 300? Are you eager to see Zack Snyder’s burly opus in HDR with the new Dolby Atmos Audio mix? High-Def Digest and Warner Bros. have teamed up to give away ONE copy of 300 on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray! Contest starts today 9/29/2020 and ends Friday 10/4/2020 at 12:00 noon – from there I will select the winner of the contest using the scientific methods of dice rolls and coin tosses. The winner will then be notified and if all goes to well the disc will be in the mail that afternoon. If the winner has not responded within 24 hours of notification I will select the runner-up.
Here’s what you have to do to enter:
1: Share our 300 4K UHD Blu-ray review on your Facebook by copying and pasting this:
I’m entering @highdefdigest contest to win #300 on 4K UHD Blu-ray
https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/86883/3004kultrahdbluray.html
2: In the comments of our Facebook post about this contest - https://www.facebook.com/highdefdigest/posts/10157787540517099 - give us your best SPARTAN! This can be a picture of you flexing, grimacing, wrapped up in a red sheet with a stick – you decked out in Michigan State University gear, whatever says “300” in your mind – post it in the comments… keep it all-ages appropriate please, that’s the only requirement!
This contest is open to all U.S. residents. We can’t send to a P.O. box but homes, offices, apartments – no problem.
Have you got any free cash or available credit after last week? This week is also an above average week for home video releases too. Although it's primarily a catalog title/reissue kind of week, there still are a handful of titles that might merit a purchase. Welcome to Episode 19 of our weekly look at the highlights of the home video releases for the week. Just a tidbit about the Miramax releases --- apparently there is a delay for most of them, and I am speculating it is likely related to COVID, be it people to ship the product, or if they're pressing new discs for some of them, the facility that manufactures is behind. And another supply issue, anyone that had ordered the Gamera collection from Arrow Video, feel lucky if you've received your copy. Either they simply did a small run or demand was very high, in either case, this is out of stock just about everywhere and 3rd party listings have crazy insane prices.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Digital Releases-
There are no 4K digital releases slated for this week.
The 4K disc front is owned by Best Buy and its SteelBooks. Offered this week are Evil Dead Double Feature, Halloween (1978) and Mad Max Fury Road.
HD Blu-ray/Digital releases-
There is one digital HD release slated for this week, on October 2 titled Death of Me.
Criterion Collection's HD/Blu-ray release for The Elephant Man streets this week. You've heard my rants, you know I imported the 4K, but if this release covers your needs, you can bet it's the usual excellent Criterion quality. Also look for Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 3 this week.
A different version of Agatha Christies's Death on the Nile comes this week from Acorn media. It appears to be a segment from the series Poirot.
Universal is flooding us with 10-Movie pack editions. If you don't own half of them, these releases could be a way to save a few bucks. The collections are Blumhouse of Horrors, Dreamworks Collection, Focus Features Spotlights, Illumination Collection, Universal Action Collection & Universal Sci-Fi Collection. There appear to be a few others but are DVD only, despite those movies being released on Blu-ray. Also a Jaws 3-movie collection, which includes Jaws 2, 3 & 4. Not a Universal release, but a title dubbed Jaws 5, Cruel Jaws comes to us from Severin Films.
Slow week for Warner Bros, but they are releasing Stargirl: The Complete First Season this week.
Ghost Ship from Shout Factory finally comes out this week after a delay or two, finally I can replace my DVD of this film.
In the weekly dose of anime, Bleach: Set 8 arrives from Viz Media. Discotek is releasing their September titles this week, they include Case Closed: Zero the Enforcer, Galaxy Express 999 TV Series Vol. 3, Wicked City & Space Adventure Cobra - Complete Series.
FUNimation highlights include Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Part One, Fire Force Season One Part Two as a standard edition and a limited edition, Kemono Michi: Rise Up - Complete Series and My Hero Academia Season Four Part One. Sentai Filmworks releases Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit this week.
Notable announcements from last week:
The Arrow Video release of Mallrats has been pushed to October 13.
On the Arrow Video topic, they just announced Tremors on 4K disc for December 15th. As with so many of their releases, it's loaded with extras, and some swag as well. I sort of expect to see a single disc with no swag listed shortly as well, but I'm going for the loaded one. A 2 disc Blu-ray edition is available as well.
Kino Lorber has announced they are releasing Spaceballs on 4K disc. I am a fan of this movie and have bought it each time it has come to a new format, I look forward to this edition as well. I laugh every time I see Michael Winslow's "jammed radar" scene.
Sentai Filmworks has revealed their December 2020 titles. Most of them do not have an English dub, but they still might interest you. Check em out, the titles are 7 Seeds - Part 1, About Ahiru no Sora - Collection One, Ajin: Demi-Human - The OADS Collection, Chidori RSC - Complete Collection, The Garden of Words (reissue), Outburst Dreamer Boys & When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace - Complete Collection.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price? For myself, there are a couple of anime titles on order. The Kemoni Michi Rise Up synopsis sounds amusing. I'm reluctant to buy Demon Slayer Part One because FUNimation listed it as "Standard Edition" which implies there will be a limited edition soon, maybe not. Sentai usually does the split releases, not FUNimation, so I will likely buy it. Like I mentioned above, replacing my DVD of Ghost Ship would be nice, but the wallet fatigue of last week might put me on hold, but not for that long. The Penny Dreadful release interests me, but not enough for a blind buy.
