Posted Sun Mar 12, 2023 at 12:00 PM PDT by D. LaFontaine
Whether you're looking for a classic Dreamworks animated release, a sci-fi disaster movie, one of Walter Hill's best works, or more Rocky steel, this week has a bit for everyone, and just like last week, it's at a moderate pace. Two weeks to prepare ourselves for another case of walletmageddon.
Welcome to Volume 3 Episode 41 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc the week of March 12th - March 18th, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
So there are no new release 4K titles this week, but there are a few catalog titles to snag up.
First, from Dreamworks animation, The Prince of Egypt gets a 4K release. Little by little we are seeing their catalog from that era come out. What's next, Shrek 3 or Road to El Dorado?
The sci-fi disaster mentioned above is in the form of The Core, brought to us by Paramount. What a perfect time, the earth's core has been in the news very recently, which in reality will not result in what we are seeing in this film.
One of Walter Hill's best known works, Streets of Fire gets a Shout Select release this week with a 3-disc combo pack.
Rocky III is the next SteelBook to be released in Best Buy's spaced out Rocky releases, this means that Rocky IV will be next week.
Phenomena gets a special edition release this week, just in case you missed out on the limited edition.
Next week is almost exclusively owned by Paramount, the last of the initial batch of Rocky SteelBooks, that other movie (Babylon) that I keep confusing with The Fabelmans, Wes Craven's Red Eye gets the 'Paramount Presents' treatment and the long awaited Dragonslayer with two hard to decide choices (get em both!)
There are no blu-ray counterparts of the above releases. There are twice as many titles in this category compared to last week to pick from though, here are the highlights.
If there are two single titles in the blu-ray category that get title of the week (or at least, the most attention), it's got to be A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks, brought to us by Sony Pictures,
and The Whale from LionsGate. With neither getting a 4K disc release, it has me scratching my head a bit.
Drama/thriller this week from LionsGate titled Alice, Darling.
TV on disc includes All Creatures Great and Small - Season 3, Highway to Heaven: The Complete Series, The Lost Symbol: The Complete Series and The Walking Dead: The Complete Eleventh Season.
John Woo directed Last Hurrah for Chivalry is available from Criterion Collection.
Anime highlights include Blue Thermal, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and Sing a Bit of Harmony - Movie and WATAMOTE: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!.
Busy week for the Warner Archive Collection, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Flamingo Road, Neptune's Daughter and The Prince and the Showgirl.
Honorable Mention: Ronin Flix is now offering the general release of Jet Li Double Feature: The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2. This was previously available direct from their own store front.
Friday import releases include Hammer Horror Vol. 1 and Pumping Iron.
No major activity this past week, but we didn't say no activity at all. Creed III already has preorder links for the 4K and blu-ray releases, and I have spotted artwork for an import SteelBook, which is done in the same style as the Rocky steels at Best Buy. So it is probable to see the same one offered at Best Buy shortly.
Kino Lorber will be offering Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) to 4K this year, guessing late May.
James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water has a streaming date of March 28th. This is a sign that a physical announcement is coming soon. Disney and Universal have both announced titles literally two weeks before street date. Sometimes retailers are receiving product with street dates on the box and the announcement has yet to be made. Will it be 4K, will it have Dolby Vision, will it be on a BD100 disc? How much closer are we to those other two movies we have seen hinted at over the past 10 years?
Sony Pictures' next Dolby Vision/SteelBook upgrade will be Cliffhanger, with a street date of May 30th.
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.