Posted Sun Oct 29, 2023 at 09:00 AM PDT by D. LaFontaine
A blue beetle, half of an impossible mission, a witness and more Hitchcock, oh my! The Halloween holiday is on Tuesday and we've got a few choices to ponder. It's hard to ignore all the great titles coming out this week, your wallet will self destruct in 30 seconds!
Welcome to Volume 4 Episode 22 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc the week of October 29th - November 4th, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
Before we get to all that stuff mentioned above, import Monday has the M3GAN SteelBook set that the US should have had, just not as a very limited edition that sold out in a couple of days.
It is a bit tough deciding which domestic new release to lead off with, a DC universe with a ton of characters or an umpteenth sequel in a successful series. Both titles scored in the 90s for audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
So, let's begin with Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount, which comes as a standard edition and as a SteelBook edition (NOT a Best Buy Exclusive). This one rated high among audiences and critics.
Blue Beetle from Warner Bros is next. On the 4K front we get a standard edition and a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. Audiences loved it, critics were all over the place.
Staying with Warner Bros and DC, DC Animated Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two also streets this Tuesday.
Catalog titles next, a Capelight Pictures release in the US, Limbo (2021). Distributed by MVD with both German and English soundtracks, as well as the original Cantonese version.
Sorry to confuse you, it's not intentional. Arrow Video's Witness, which stars Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis streets this week. Amazon says it is due next week, but the source (Arrow Video) says this week.
A pretty full week for Universal Pictures Releases, first let's look for The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Vol. 3. Not like the previous two volumes, this time we also get the individual releases the same week, which are Frenzy, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope, Topaz and Torn Curtain.
Animal House gets a Universal Essentials Collection this week.
Schindler's List also gets an Essentials Collection release too. And on this one, you can also get it (minus the swag) as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook.
And the final title this week from Universal, Jurassic World: The Ultimate Collection. This is a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook Collection and, quite frankly, the individual covers for each film are actually well done. SOLD!
Next week, a film that got George Lucas on the map (no, not Star Wars, no, not THX1138), Gran Turismo (no, not the video game), Scrooged, Violent Night and more.
Blu-ray counterparts to the above titles include Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount, Blue Beetle from Warner Bros, which includes the standard edition, a Target Exclusive Edition and a Walmart Exclusive SteelBook which I truly wish was 4K due to its better cover art, Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two which is also from Warner Bros., and Witness from Arrow Video. Amazon concurs on the release date for Witness on blu-ray.
There are quite a few releases in the blu-ray category, let's sort though some of the highlights...
As far as actual NEW stuff, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 comes to us via Universal. As of press time Amazon still doesn't realize that it comes out on Tuesday, thanks to the typical zero-day notice from Universal. And naturally, there is a three-film collection to go with this. Also, catalog title Stealing Christmas gets a blu-ray debut as well.
Lionsgate this week has a couple of films in DVD cases that also include blu-rays and digital codes. Action/crime film Retribution (2023) and action/thriller King of Killers. Are they finally dumping 25+ year old technology (DVD) and just clearing out the cases?
Criterion Collection this week has the horror/thriller Nanny (2022).
The Warner Archive Collection this week is offering Dance, Fools, Dance which features a well-known cast, Double Trouble with Elvis Presley and Mad City, a crime drama with Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta.
Anime highlights include Cybersix: The Complete Series, Goku Midnight Eye: The Complete OVA Series, Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1, Part 2, which comes as a standard edition and as a limited edition, Phantom of the Idol Complete Collection and The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots.
Special Interest: Over the years we have bought multiple editions of these Christmas collections and each time they give us just a little bit more, here we go again with The Complete Rankin/Bass Christmas Collection. Off the bat I can see The Year Without a Santa Claus is something that was previously unavailable and hard to find, even on DVD. Could this be the most complete, (minus a 4K aspect) to hold in your hands at one time? Probably.
Imprint Films' October batch is also available via Amazon US on Friday, titles include:
LionsGate has officially announced the 4K release of The Twilight Saga [15th Anniversary] as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook for November 14th. We have had it listed for some time now.
Arrow Video has revealed their January slate of releases. For North America we will be seeing Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer and The Conan Chronicles (which includes both Conan movies), available on blu-ray and 4K fat-packs. The single UK title is Carrie, available as a 4K fat-pack. No doubt we are asking if the Carrie release offers anything different (other than the swag) over the US release from Scream Factory.
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.
