Posted Sun Jan 9, 2022 at 12:00 PM PST by D. LaFontaine
In looking at upcoming releases, this is probably the slowest I have seen it in a very long time. Pre-orders on Amazon currently occupy 13 pages, not too long ago there were 30 pages worth. But hey, it's 1st quarter, so at the moment, no reason for alarm. Your best course of action is to continue to buy discs that you want to keep the medium alive. Just like any business, if you still got the demand, you make the product.
Welcome to Volume 2 Episode 34 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc this week, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases-
Considering it is January, this week is uncharacteristically (I think I made up a word) huge for 4K disc releases. New releases first:
The 2021 Sci-Fi epic Dune arrives as both a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. Hope my SteelBook arrives intact because preorders are sold out as procuring a replacement could get expensive. A sequel has been green-lit so expect more greatness in the future.
What's touted as part of the 'new trilogy,' Halloween Kills also gets a double release, a standard edition and a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. This release also includes an alternate ending.
On to back catalog titles, first from Paramount, 1992 action/drama Juice, available as a standard edition and as a wide-release SteelBook edition.
Finally, from Kino, The Great Escape gets a 4K disc release. Previously, Criterion had released a 4K scan blu-ray edition.
Blu-ray releases-
Just like every week, let's get the blu-ray counterparts done first.
Dune gets a standard release, a Walmart Exclusive release and a 3-D release. It would be nice if the Walmart Exclusive were a 4K combo, that's a handsome package in its own way. I feel that that is Walmart's decision, not Warner Bros.
Halloween Kills also gets a standard blu-ray release via Universal Pictures.
Anime highlights include A3! Season Autumn & Winter, El-Hazard: The Alternative World Collection, Heaven's Lost Property The Movie: Eternally My Master and Strike Witches: Road to Berlin Season 3.
Criterion Collectors look for The Celebration this week.
Kino Lorber brings us war film The 7th Dawn starring William Holden. Burt Reynolds 'safe cracker' film Breakin In gets a nod as well. Not done with Reynolds yet, Impasse also gets a disc release. I've never seen Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine in the same film, but Kino shows us they were in Gambit. Partner label Scorpion Releasing delivers Dario Argento's The Card Player.
Friday releases? All Arts/Opera.
Notable announcements from last week:
We did expect it to be a dead week last week, but we do in fact have some buzz.
Warner Bros. has slated a domestic release for The Green Mile on February 22nd. See our news story here for the details. Looks like if you don't need the digital streaming code then the Zavvi Exclusive version is the ultimate experience.
Kino also added details for their 4K release of The Apartment, March 8th specifically. It will be 4K SDR, but you can still bet it is going to look stunning. There will also be a blu-ray release as well.
Paramount Pictures has a handful of catalog titles recently added for February - April, more will probably be added this week as well. In no particular order look for Hey Arnold! The Movie, In Dreams, Nick of Time, Intersection, Orange County, Soapdish, The Rugrats Trilogy Movie Collection, EuroTrip (Unrated Editrion) and Let It Ride. The next Paramount Presents release will be Ordinary People on March 29th.
From Peter Jackson and via the Disney label, The Beatles: Get Back gets a 3-disc blu-ray collector's edition on February 8th.
We have also got order links up for all the various skus for Disney's Encanto. With a release date of February 8th, a standard blu-ray release will be overshadowed by a multitude of 4K skus that include a standard edition, Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook, Target Exclusive Lithograph Art Edition as well as a Walmart Exclusive that includes a pin.
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?
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.