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Prepare To Beam Up More Star Trek 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays - September 6th, 2022Boldly finishing what they've already started - Paramount Pictures brings Star Trek: The Motion Picture The Directors Edition, Star Trek V and Star Trek VI, and a 15-disc 6-Film Collection to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray There's a lot of material to dig through so let's not waste any time! Star Trek The Motion Picture: The Director's Edition After the success of their 4-Film collection, Paramount Home Entertainment completes the cinematic journey of the Original Crew on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. Kicking things off is the fully restored Star Trek: The Motion Picture The Director's Edition - currently on Paramount+ and it's gorgeous! Then to finish off the series, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country make their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debuts. But wait there's more! Paramount is also pushing out an extra special Star Trek: The Motion Picture The Director's Edition The Complete Adventure offering both versions of the film with tons of extras and swag and then there's going to be a 15-disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray & Blu-ray collection of all six films as well as single-title editions of all six films for those not interested in box sets and swag. Star Trek The Motion Picture The Director's Edition The Complete Adventure4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture 6-Movie Collection - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Here's the full press release with all the details and a breakdown of new bonus features: Fully Restored Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture Arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ and in Six-Movie Collection Own the Definitive Vision of Director Robert Wise September 6, 2022with Extensive New Bonus Content HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Set a course for the final frontier as the newly restored Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition arrives September 6, 2022 on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™ with a bonus Blu-ray Disc™ filled with new and legacy special features from Paramount Home Entertainment. The film will also be released in a Limited-Edition Collector’s Set entitled “The Complete Adventure,” which includes the new Director’s Edition, the theatrical cut, and a special longer cut all on 4K Ultra HD along with special features on Blu-ray. In addition, Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection will arrive on September 6 with all six big-screen adventures featuring the original series crew on 4K Ultra HD. Originally released in 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture became the fourth highest grossing movie of the year and earned three Academy Award® nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Music, Original Score. The film successfully launched the Star Trek franchise beyond the original television series, despite having been rushed to theaters with incomplete special effects and forced editing choices. In 2001, director Robert Wise revisited the film to refine the edit and enhance the visual effects. His updated vision was released on DVD in standard definition and embraced by fans but has never been available in higher definition until now. Meticulously assembled and restored by producer David C. Fein with post-production supervisor Mike Matessino, both of whom originally collaborated with Wise, the film has been prepared for presentation in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision™ high dynamic range (HDR) and a new powerful and immersive Dolby Atmos® soundtrack.* Fein and Matessino assembled a team of visual effects experts, led by returning visual effects supervisor Daren R. Dochterman, and utilized the extensive resources in the Paramount Archives to recreate the effects not just in HD, but in Ultra HD. After more than six months of painstaking work, the updated movie looks and sounds better than ever while staying true to Wise’s original intention. “The Director’s Edition on 4k Ultra HD delivers an experience that is far more intimate, engaging, and powerful thanks to the hard work of everyone involved,” said Fein. “In building The Complete Adventure, we appreciated that many people who were first introduced to the film through the full frame release of the ‘Special Longer Version’ have missed it. I’m excited that it will now be available for the first time in widescreen 4k Ultra HD. After so many years, it’s deeply rewarding to finally deliver Robert Wise’s definitive Director’s Edition for fans to enjoy at home.” Following is an overview of the new product offerings: Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition 4K Ultra HD The newly restored, definitive version of the first big-screen adventure is presented in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision™ and HDR-10, as well as Dolby Atmos®. Also includes access to a Digital copy of the film and the following new and legacy bonus content: Ultra HD Disc bonus features Audio Commentary with David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman—NEW! Audio Commentary by Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda Blu-ray Disc™ bonus features The Human Adventure—An all-new 8-part documentary detailing how the Director’s Edition came to life—NEW! Preparing the Future – How the remastering began A Wise Choice – The storied history of Robert Wise Refitting the Enterprise – How the Enterprise design shaped future federation starships Sounding Off – Exploring new dimensions of sound in Dolby Atmos V’ger - The conception and restoration of an iconic alien antagonist Return to Tomorrow – Reaching an already high bar with new CGI effects A Grand Theme – Behind the iconic, influential music score that shaped the franchise’s future The Grand Vision – The legacy and evolving reputation of this classic movie Deleted Scenes—NEW! Effects Tests—NEW! Costume Tests—NEW! Computer Display Graphics—NEW! Additional legacy bonus content Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition—The Complete Adventure 4K Ultra HD This Limited-Edition Collector’s Set includes all of the above, plus an additional 4K Ultra HD disc containing: The Theatrical Cut The first-ever widescreen presentation of the Special Longer Version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, originally created for broadcast television in 1983 The set is presented in deluxe packaging along with exclusive collectibles, including reproductions of original promotional material, a booklet with behind-the-scenes images, stickers, and more. Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection This comprehensive 15-disc collection includes the first six big-screen adventures featuring the original series crew in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition also includes Dolby Atmos). Both Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country are making their 4K Ultra HD debuts. The set also includes access to Digital copies of each of the six films, as well as hours of new and legacy bonus content. Below is a breakdown of disc contents: Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Additional Blu-ray with bonus content Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Theatrical Cut) – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Includes Director’s Cut Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Star Trek V: The Final Frontier – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – Ultra HD & Blu-ray Includes Director’s Cut All six of the feature films listed above will also be available individually on 4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray. In addition, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan will return to select theaters on September 4th, 5th and 8th. Tickets for this special engagement presented by Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies, and Paramount Pictures can be purchased at www.fathomevents.com or at participating theater box offices. Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition Synopsis The U.S.S. Enterprise boldly debuted on the big screen with the cast of the original Star Trek series, including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and James Doohan. Meticulously restored and remastered, with enhanced visual effects and state-of-the-art sound, this definitive vision of director Robert Wise has been optimized for a new generation of fans. When an unidentified alien intruder destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Admiral James T. Kirk (Shatner) returns to the helm of a newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command and confront an alien spacecraft of enormous power heading toward Earth.Posted Wed Jul 6, 2022 at 08:25 AM PDT by: -
It's Not The Summer Heat Burning Up Your Wallet - High-Def Digest's July 2022 4K Ultra HD Shopping GuideJust when you thought it was safe to stop pre-ordering... Just because it's summer doesn't mean the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases are going to cool down any. If anything, the releases are ramping up. Past years we'd see major studios and boutiques more or less take a little bit of a break during the summer months because of the competition from theaters. Now with movie houses still working to get back on their feet after the pandemic, the number of new and exciting 4K releases just keeps building! July 2022 sees everything from the Multiverse of Madness to the latest adventure at Downton to some heavy hitters on Criterion. To say the least, this is an exciting slate of new and classic titles coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. High-Def Digest's July 2022 4K Ultra HD Shopping Guide July 5th, 2022 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases Edge of Tomorrow - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Edge of Tomorrow - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook Everything Everywher All At Once - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Okja - The Criterion Collection - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Downton Abbey: A New Era - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray The Virgin Suicides - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray July 12th, 2022 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases Raging Bull - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook Angel Heart - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook July 19th, 2022 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases Devil In A Blue Dress - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Men In Black: 25th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook Lion of the Desert - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray God Told Me To - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray The Message - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Gamer - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray The Bob’s Burgers Movie - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook The Kid - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray July 26th, 2022 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray The Killing - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray The Lost City - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Out of the Blue - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Tenebrae - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Green Lantern: Beware My Power - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Green Lantern: Beware My Power - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook Species: Collector’s Edition - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Primal - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Target Exclusive Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Walmart Exclusive Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook Notable Import 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases - Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Zavvi Exclusive - That pretty much does it. July 26th is clearly stacked to the gills leading into what's building into a pretty busy August. Normally this time of year is a little slow but in recent years summer is becoming just as loaded as the holiday season - which makes us wonder what the studios and boutiques are holding on that hasn't been announced yet! If there are any scheduling changes we'll update our listings and this article. Thanks again for all of your pre-orders. Following our links to Amazon, Best Buy, and Zavvi goes a long way towards keeping our little show up and running. Until August, happy collecting!Posted Tue Jul 5, 2022 at 10:08 AM PDT by: -
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray & Blu-ray Release Guide - July 3, 2022 - July 9, 2022Happy Independence Day to those in the U S of A! Doing any parades, fireworks or other holiday related events? Why does it already feel as though Summer is half over, especially when the Summer Solstice was just two weeks ago? Part of the reason could be that when you go to the stores now, many of them already have Summer stuff on clearance! Heads Up, the Criterion Barnes & Noble 50% off sale is going on now, and that usually includes Arrow Video among others too. If you prefer Amazon, they're matching most of the prices, preorders you usually have to wait til the title goes live to see the new lower price. Welcome to Volume 3 Episode 7 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- Two new releases in the 4K disc category this week. First from Lionsgate, as if the Nic Cage title two weeks ago wasn't hard enough to remember, this one is titled Everything Everywhere All at Once and comes as a standard edition and as a Walmart Exclusive. I think the latter just adds an alternate slip cover art to the mix. And from Universal Pictures, Downton Abbey: A New Era debuts on 4K disc as well. Would be nice if the Limited Edition (below) had a 4K option. Am I missing out by not having seen any of the TV series episodes? Moving on to catalog titles, first from Warner Bros., Edge of Tomorrow, available as a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. Remember when this movie's cover art had LIVE. DIE. REPEAT. in such large print, we all thought that was the name of the movie? In some markets it actually was the title. The example on the left shows the same words, but in the background. Last but not least, a pair of Criterion titles this week. First a bit of a foreign film, a fairy tale horror film titled Okja, directed by Bong Joon Ho. And a domestic drama romance titled The Virgin Suicides, featuring a stellar cast. Next week we get a bit of a break on our wallets, a formerly X-rated thriller on 4K (a SteelBook no less), a double dip SteelBook with a better cover art and a smash-hit Criterion release. Blu-ray releases- There's a slight reprieve this week in the blu-ray category. The rest of the month, not so much. First, getting the blu-ray counterparts of the above 4K titles listed, look for Everything Everywhere All at Once from LionsGate, Downton Abbey: A New Era from Universal Pictures (also available in a Limited Edition Gift Set) and lastly, Okja from the Criterion Collection. Universal Pictures also releases the 2022 action/thriller Memory starring Liam Neeson. From LionsGate, a 2022 thriller titled Zero Contact with Anthony Hopkins. Anime highlights include just Amnesia: Complete Collection, One Piece: Season Eleven - Voyage Nine and Taisho Otome Fairy Tale - The Complete Season. Kino Lorber has got three bug TV disaster movies from the 70s, they include Ants, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo and Terror Out of the Sky. Roger Corman, they are not, but they still look like a lot of cheesy fun. Honorable Mention: 88 Films is giving us another martial arts feature, this week it's Hero (1997). Friday releases include June's batch of Imprint Films Titles: >A Night to Remember - Imprint Films Limited Edition >Barabbas - Imprint Films Limited Edition >Damn The Defiant - Imprint Films Limited Edition >Julius Caesar (1970) - Imprint Films Limited Edition >The Long Ships - Imprint Films Limited Edition >The Nelson Affair - Imprint Films Limited Edition Notable announcements from last week: Sony Pictures has announced I Know What You Did Last Summer to 4K disc with a September 27 release date. Also from Sony, Bram Stoker's Dracula will be getting a 4K SteelBook release on October 4th. What's special about this release is that it has been remastered to include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. More leaks have been happening with Star Trek: The Original Movie collections releases. The Motion Picture Director's Cut 4K seems to be on schedule for September while the six-film collection 4K collection sometime in the third quarter. The Bob's Burgers Movie is getting a release on July 19th from 20th Century Studios. A blu-ray will be a general release while a 4K disc will only be available as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook. 4K Release Calendar 2K/BD Release Calendar 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?Posted Sun Jul 3, 2022 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
I Know What You Did Last Summer Will Hit and Run 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 27The 1997 horror flick starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr., is getting a 4K upgrade with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for the film's 25th anniversary. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar star with Freddie Prinze, Jr., Ryan Phillippe, and Johnny Galecki in this terrifying tale of murder and revenge. After an accident on a winding road, four teens make the fatal mistake of dumping their victim’s body into the sea. Exactly one year later, the four friends’ deadly secret resurfaces as they’re stalked by a hook-handed figure looking for more than just an apology… Besides having Dolby Vision/HDR with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, this release will include some new content including 6 Deleted Scenes + Alternate Ending, My Own Summer: An Interview with Director Jim Gillespie, He Knows What You Did: An Interview with Muse Watson, plus all of the previously released supplements from the Blu-ray. I Know What You Did Last Summer - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Pre-Orders for this 4K title aren't available yet, however, it's worth noting that the film along with its sequels: I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and I’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER will be available in 4K HDR on participating digital platforms on the same date. The full press release is included below. DEBUTING ON 4K ULTRA HD™ SEPTEMBER 27TH IN CELEBRATION OF ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY SYNOPSIS Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar star with Freddie Prinze, Jr., Ryan Phillippe and Johnny Galecki in this terrifying tale of teenage suspense. After an accident on a winding road, four teens make the fatal mistake of dumping their victim’s body into the sea. Exactly one year later, the four friends’ deadly secret resurfaces as they’re stalked by a hook-handed figure looking for more than just an apology… DISC DETAILS & BONUS MATERIALS 4K ULTRA HD DISC Feature scanned from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision All-new Dolby Atmos audio + original 5.1 Special Features: NEW: 6 Deleted Scenes + Alternate Ending My Own Summer: An Interview with Director Jim Gillespie He Knows What You Did: An Interview with Muse Watson BLU-RAY DISC™ Feature presented in High Definition Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio Special Features: Filmmakers’ Commentary Director’s Short Film: “Joyride” with Optional Commentary “Now I Know What You Did Last Summer” Featurette Music Video: “Hush” Performed by Kula Shaker Theatrical Trailer Participating digital platforms will have I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER available in 4K HDR on this date, along with 4K HDR debuts of I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and I’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. CAST AND CREW Directed By: Jim Gillespie Screenplay By: Kevin Williamson Based on the Novel By: Lois Duncan Produced by: Neal H. Moritz, Erik Feig and Stokely Chaffin Executive Producer: William S. Beasley Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr., Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson SPECS Run Time: Approx. 101 minutes Rating: R for strong horror violence and language 4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.39:1 4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA FOR MORE INFORMATION Twitter: @SonyPicsHomeEnt Instagram: @SonyPicturesHomeEntertainment Facebook: facebook.com/SonyPicturesHomeEntertainment YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SonyPicturesHomeEntPosted Thu Jun 30, 2022 at 12:50 PM PDT by: -
Bram Stoker's Dracula Travels Oceans Of Time For A New 4K UHD SteelBook with Dolby Vision HDR, Oct. 4thCelebrating its 30th Anniversary, Sony brings a new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook of Francis Ford Coppola's infamous adaptation of Stoker's iconic vampire on October 4th, 2022. Bram Stoker's Dracula - 30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook As has been the case with so many other recent Sony reissues, they are reauthoring the disc to now include Dolby Vision HDR. Previously you had to have the digital streaming copy on iTunes or Vudu to watch the film with Dolby Vision. To round out the A/V presentation, the film also comes with English Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD MA 5.1, and DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio tracks. If that wasn't enough Sony is also including a pair of new bonus features - the Annie Lenox "Love Song for a Vampire" music video and a new featurette "Blood Lines - Dracula, the Man, the Myth, the Movies" This one isn't yet up for pre-order but as soon as it is, we'll update our listings. Here's the full PR for all the gory details: SYNOPSIS From Academy Award®-winning director Francis Ford Coppola (1974 Best Director, The Godfather: Part II) comes the classic and chilling tale about the devastatingly seductive Transylvanian prince (Gary Oldman) who travels from Eastern Europe to 19th-century London in search of human love. When the charismatic Dracula meets Mina (Winona Ryder), a young woman who appears as the reincarnation of his lost love, the two embark on a journey of romantic passion and horror. DISC DETAILS & BONUS MATERIALS 4K ULTRA HD DISC Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, including the original theatrical English subtitle font for texted instances Dolby Atmos audio + 5.1 + Dolby Stereo Special Features: NEWLY ADDED: “Love Song For A Vampire” Music Video by Annie Lennox NEWLY ADDED: Blood Lines – Dracula: The Man, The Myth, The Movies Featurette BLU-RAY DISC™ Feature presented in High Definition, sourced from the 4K master Dolby Atmos audio Special Features: Audio Commentary featuring Director Francis Ford Coppola Audio Commentary featuring Director Francis Ford Coppola, Visual Effects Director Roman Coppola and Makeup Supervisor Greg Cannom Introduction by Francis Ford Coppola Reflections in Blood: Francis Ford Coppola and Bram Stoker's Dracula Practical Magicians: A Collaboration Between Father and Son The Blood Is the Life: The Making of Bram Stoker's Dracula The Costumes Are the Sets: The Design of Eiko Ishioka In-Camera: Naïve Visual Effects Method and Madness: Visualizing Dracula Deleted & Extended Scenes Theatrical Teaser & Trailer CAST AND CREW Directed By: Francis Ford CoppolaScreenplay By: James V. HartProduced by: Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Fuchs and Charles MulvehillExecutive Producers: Michael Apted and Robert O’ConnorCast: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves SPECS Run Time: Approx. 127 minutesRating: R for sexuality and horror violence4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 1.85:1 4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA | English Stereo Surround DTS-HD MAPosted Mon Jun 27, 2022 at 08:09 AM PDT by: -
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray & Blu-ray Release Guide - June 26, 2022 - July 2, 2022Ever had one of those days where it feels like absolutely nothing went right and you had to seek a course correction, pronto? Yeah, that was me earlier last week. If you decide to watch a movie to get out of that 'zone,' I would suggest one you had already seen, otherwise what's happening on the screen might drive that feeling even deeper as the antagonist gets on your nerves. I'm lucky my day wasn't 100% sour because it it was, my TV or disc player would have exploded. Reminds me of the opening act in Amazon Women on the Moon actually, hee hee. Welcome to Volume 3 Episode 6 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- It's a Dumbledorey kind of day with three releases of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. This makes the third film of the series (with five planned total). Absent from this release is a 4K release from Target, but we do see a standard release, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook and an over-the-top gift set from Walmart. The latter is in similar style as The Batman gift set from last month. From Arrow Video, after it looked like the only option was an import, True Romance hits U.S. stores. This being a limited edition, it comes available as a Standard limited, a Limited SteelBook and a Deluxe Limited SteelBook. Expect, no doubt, a standard edition in six months for fans that just want the movie with nothing fancy. And last but not least, two priced-to-move titles from Kino Lorber. First, a comdy/crime film titled Out of Sight starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez and directed by Steven Soderbergh. And second, an early work of director Stanley Kubrick titled Killer's Kiss. Don't expect 2001 or The Shining, but do expect an insight of what Kubrick was like early on. Read David's review for the details. Next week, two new releases, a pair of Criterion releases and Tom Cruise. Blu-ray releases- If you thought there was going to be a little bit of a break in this category, your thoughts were a bit faulty. Actually, this week is the busiest week of the month of June. What we do every week first is mention the blu-ray counterparts of the above releases. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore gets a standard release, a Target Exclusive 'art' edition and a Walmart Exclusive Gift Set, very similar to the 4K set above. If you somehow missed out on the franchise, a 3-Film Collection is also available. True Romance gets a Limited Edition blu-ray release as well. Not to be left out, Out of Sight gets the Kino blu-ray treatment too. More TV on disc, The A-Team: The Complete Series from NBC Universal and Charmed: The Complete Series from CBS/Paramount both honor us with their presence. From Universal, Firestarter (2022) comes to home video. Is it just me or does Blumhouse have something against 4K disc? Or was this just not a good movie? New to blu-ray catalog titles from Paramount include Boomerang, The First Wives Club (Paramount Presents label) and Harlem Nights. Sony Pictures releases the 2021 drama/romance Mothering Sunday. Criterion Collection presents 1972's Pink Flamingos. Matthew describes it as the 'most controversial and grotesque films to be inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry,' check out his review. Criterion also has a foreign comedy/romance titled The Worst Person in the World this week as well. Anime highlights are just a few, Kekkaishi - The Complete Series, Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan - The Complete Season, Sgt. Frog: The Complete Second Season and Urusei Yatsura The Movie 4: Lum The Forever. Notable announcements from last week: Individual discs for the original six Star Trek Movies are in the works as well as a 6-film collection. One would guess this fall sounds about right for a release time frame, no doubt to coincide with the updated extended release for The Motion Picture. It was mentioned on The Bits that Star Trek: First Contact was streaming in 4K, so no doubt those films will be coming to 4K disc towards the end of the year. Kino Lorber will be releasing Indecent Proposal to 4K disc on September 27. The 4400: The Complete Series will be getting a blu-ray release by CBS/Paramount on July 26th. Summer is getting pretty crowded if you're in to 4K discs and TV series, best of luck keeping up! 4K Release Calendar 2K/BD Release Calendar 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?Posted Sun Jun 26, 2022 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
Judy, Judy, Judy! The Best of Garland on Blu-rayThat voice. Instantly recognizable, it brims with power and emotion, expressing heartbreak, longing, and boundless joy with equal fervor. It can raise the rafters and plumb the depths of your soul - sometimes simultaneously - all while sending chills of excitement down your spine. Almost as soon as she learned to talk, Judy Garland began to sing, and her inimitable, indefatigable instrument coupled with her peerless ability to connect with audiences eventually led her to be dubbed the World’s Greatest Entertainer. That might sound like hyperbole, but time and again Garland lived up to the moniker. She may have stood only four-feet-eleven-inches tall, but she was a giant in the entertainment industry, a triple-threat dynamo who conquered every medium - movies, television, radio, recordings, the concert stage - and remains one of the most admired, beloved, and enduring performers in show business history. Garland would have turned 100 years old this month, and although she died much too soon at age 47 from an accidental prescription drug overdose, she’s still very much alive on TV, movie, and computer screens and music streaming services. As long as there’s a video monitor, speaker system, or pair of AirPods, Garland will continue to beguile, thrill, and delight. "The rest of us will be forgotten. Never Judy." Like many children of a bygone era, I first discovered Garland through the annual network television broadcasts of The Wizard of Oz. The fateful year for me was 1967. I was 4. Yet even at that tender age, Garland’s warmth and sincerity touched me, so when my dad opened his daily New York Times a couple of years later and announced the woman who played Dorothy had tragically died, I felt genuine sadness. Five years after that, in 1974, my parents dragged 11-year-old me to a screening of That’s Entertainment!, MGM’s lavish salute to its legendary Golden Age musicals. “A documentary?!” I whined. I couldn’t imagine anything more boring. Two-plus hours later, my life had forever changed. Not only did That’s Entertainment! expose me to the full breadth of Garland’s massive talent and turn me into a lifelong, passionate fan, it also sparked a love affair with classic movies that continues to this day. Garland, though, was the instigator, the hook, the portal that transported me into a wondrous cinematic world. I read everything I could about her, watched her films on late-night TV (there wasn’t even VHS back then), bought her records, and soaked up the magic of her performances. Decades have passed and her work continues to amaze and inspire me. I can’t think of any artist who is more genuine, who can communicate so directly and so viscerally, and who can dazzle the senses so consistently and so completely. Judy Garland is one of a kind. We’ll never see anyone like her ever again. I could celebrate her every day, but her 100th birthday seems like the perfect time to spotlight in chronological order what I feel are the 10 best examples of Garland’s best film work. All of the movies are available on Blu-ray - and one is even in 4K UHD and 3D! Click your heels to guess which one. You can certainly take my word for how good the following films are, but if you watch the accompanying video clips (and I strongly encourage you to do so!), you’ll witness the breathtaking talent that made Garland an entertainment icon and keeps her relevant, relatable, accessible, and - most importantly - timeless. Frank Sinatra once said, “The rest of us will be forgotten. Never Judy.” He was right. Happy 100th, Judy. Here's looking at - and listening to - you, kid... THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) The cyclone may whisk Dorothy from Kansas to Oz, but the impact of The Wizard of Oz on Garland was far more consequential, transforming her from an adolescent MGM contract player into a major movie star. We've all seen this intoxicating fantasy dozens of times, but the reason we keep coming back to it is Garland. As I wrote in my review of the 70th anniversary edition of the film in 2009, “Though so many elements contribute to the success of a film, it's impossible to imagine any one piece of the Oz puzzle having a greater impact on the film's viability and durability than Garland's performance. Sure, her simple yet stirring rendition of 'Over the Rainbow' ranks high on the list of milestone movie moments, yet this gifted 16-year-old actress brings so much more to the table than her mellifluous voice. Honesty and sincerity ooze from her pores; every word she utters is totally believable, and her pluck, vulnerability, innocence, and empathy instantly seduce the audience. From the opening frames to the 'no place like home' coda, Garland keeps us transfixed, maintaining an intimacy that's rare in such an extravagant production. Her performance, more than any other, keeps The Wizard of Oz contemporary, and allows the picture to connect with past, present, and future generations.” This all-time classic is available in Blu-ray, 3-D, and 4K UHD editions, and in standard, steelbook, and collectible box set packaging. FOR ME AND MY GAL (1942) This rousing, surprisingly dramatic salute to vaudeville during World War I not only showcases Garland’s enviable singing, acting, and dancing abilities, it also marks the film debut of Gene Kelly. As I wrote earlier this month upon the movie’s long-awaited Blu-ray debut, “For Me and My Gal showcases [Garland’s] talent in all three disciplines to a greater degree than perhaps any other film. As the sole star, Garland must do it all, and she handles the heavy responsibility of 'carrying' a major motion picture with ease. The movie also offered Garland her first truly mature role, as well as the chance to step out from behind Mickey Rooney's shadow. She makes the most of both opportunities, and her unqualified success hastened her breezy transition to adult stardom.” Below, she performs one of the all-time great torch songs, “After You’ve Gone,” which would later become a staple in her concert repertoire. MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) One of the most beloved and acclaimed musicals of all time, Meet Me in St. Louis chronicles a year in the life of a typical American family as they anticipate the 1904 World’s Fair. Director Vincente Minnelli’s sumptuous film brims with humor, charm, warmth, and romance, and completes Garland’s seamless transition to adult roles. It also contains an array of future Garland standards, including “The Boy Next Door,” “The Trolley Song” (see clip below), and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Along with The Wizard of Oz and A Star Is Born, Meet Me in St. Louis stands as one of Garland’s greatest and most enduring films and features one of her most natural and endearing performances. The Blu-ray is available in both standard and digibook editions. THE CLOCK (1945) Garland and Minnelli followed up Meet Me in St. Louis with The Clock, a beautiful and affecting romantic drama about a GI (Robert Walker) and office secretary (Garland) who fall in love during his 48-hour leave in New York City. Garland doesn’t sing a note in The Clock (one of only two non-musicals she would make during her career), but her understated, intuitive portrayal is so good, we don’t miss her vocals at all. As I recently wrote in my Blu-ray review, “Though the lyrical script…gives her only one brief emotional scene, Garland’s enviable ability to bring meaning and authenticity to the mundane makes her quiet work here rival her raw, powerful, Oscar-nominated portrayals in A Star Is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg.” At last available on Blu-ray after an interminable wait, The Clock is one of Garland’s most unheralded and underrated movies, and her revelatory work continues to resonate more than 75 years after the picture's premiere. THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946) Did waitresses tame the Wild West? According to The Harvey Girls, they did. A musical homage to the adventurous women who ventured west in the late 1800s to work for the Harvey House restaurant franchise, The Harvey Girls gives Garland a chance to show off her flair for comedy (see clip below) and participate in a no-holds-barred catfight that rivals the barroom brawl in Destry Rides Again. As I wrote in my 2020 Blu-ray review of this blockbuster hit, “Garland…carries this infectious film that wonderfully showcases her comic timing, spunky personality, transcendent warmth, and - of course - legendary voice. Her powerhouse pipes belt out the picture's signature song, the Oscar-winning 'On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe,' as well as a few other spritely tunes by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren. Though the top-notch ensemble cast includes such big names as John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Ray Bolger, Virginia O'Brien, Preston Foster, Marjorie Main, and - in her first speaking part - a young Cyd Charisse, it's Garland who looms the largest, wins our hearts, and reminds us why she later would be dubbed the World's Greatest Entertainer.” EASTER PARADE (1948) The dream pairing of Garland and Fred Astaire only happened once, but the resulting film, Easter Parade, is another all-time classic that deserves a spin every spring. Two-dozen Irving Berlin tunes pepper this romantic romp about a jilted ballroom dancer (Astaire) who vows to transform a chorus girl (Garland) into a vision of terpsichorean sophistication. In my 2013 Blu-ray review, I laud Garland for once again combining “heartbreaking vulnerability with impeccable comic timing (just watch how she proves to Astaire she's a sexy dish) to create a totally unaffected portrayal…Garland is always completely genuine, and that all-too-rare quality - as much as her peerless voice - puts the audience in the palm of her hand. [Although] many cite ‘A Couple of Swells’ (a classic number in which Judy and Fred cavort as lovable tramps) as the picture's musical highlight, in my book, a medley of Berlin standards capped by an exhilarating rendition of ‘When That Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam'’ displays Garland to even better advantage. Sure, Judy's no Ginger, but she more than holds her own with Astaire, and their dances together possess an infectious enthusiasm that more than compensates for the simplistic steps.” SUMMER STOCK (1950) This is my go-to Garland movie. If ever I need a jolt of Judy to lift my spirits, I pop in Summer Stock, the last of three movies she made with Gene Kelly, her final film at MGM, and the one that contains perhaps her most stylish and infectious number, "Get Happy" (see clip below). The backstage story calls to mind the plots of the Rooney-Garland let's-put-on-a-show musicals, but the snappy script, swift pacing, crackling chemistry between Garland and Kelly, and exhilarating songs and dances put Summer Stock in a class by itself. Garland's feisty portrayal and full-throated vocals reveal a newfound maturity, and anyone who doubts her terpsichorean talent need only take a gander at the dynamite "Portland Fancy" competition dance with Kelly to see how nimble, precise, and energetic she could be. Summer Stock isn't a great film, but it's immensely entertaining and showcases everything we love about both Garland and Kelly. "Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy," indeed! A STAR IS BORN (1954) The second of the four versions of A Star Is Born is without question the best, and that's all because of Garland's bravura performance. Upon the film's release in 1954, Time magazine called it "just about the greatest one-woman show in modern movie history," and to date it hasn't been topped. The oft-told Hollywood heartbreak story still resonates, and the striking parallels between Garland and the film's tragic hero, Norman Maine (James Mason), add extra potency, poignancy, and irony to the film. (The memorable, emotional scene at the Oscars that climaxes with a shocking slap used to seem a bit far-fetched until Will Smith made it oh-so-real at this year's Academy Awards ceremony.) Garland's rich, soaring vocals burst with soulful passion and continually take our breath away (her rendition of another future signature song, "The Man That Got Away," is arguably her most thrilling and magnetic movie musical performance), but her disarmingly raw dramatic portrayal infuses this A Star Is Born with a power and authenticity the other versions lack. Watch the dressing room scene below and be blown away. It's not only Garland's greatest dramatic screen moment, it's one of the most affecting and memorable turns by an actress in motion picture history. When Garland lost the Best Actress Oscar to Grace Kelly, Groucho Marx famously called it "the biggest robbery since Brink's," and few disagreed. A Star Is Born captures Garland's brilliance more completely than any other movie and remains the pinnacle of her film career. The Blu-ray is available in both standard and digibook editions. We can only hope a 4K UHD release is in the works. JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961) Garland's role in director Stanley Kramer's searing, three-hour depiction of one of the post-World War II Nazi war crimes trials lasts less than 10 minutes, but her wrenching portrayal of a dowdy German hausfrau who's attacked on the witness stand by an overzealous German defense attorney (Maximillian Schell) makes a huge impression and earned Garland a well-deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. (She lost to Rita Moreno in West Side Story.) Once again, Garland proves she can scale tremendous dramatic heights, and singing is not required to cast a riveting spell. Here is her devastating climactic scene: I COULD GO ON SINGING (1963) Garland's final film, released just six years before her death, casts her as Jenny Bowman, a celebrated singer who inside and out bears an uncanny resemblance to Judy Garland. Jenny comes to London for a concert engagement and hopes to rekindle her relationships with a British doctor (Dirk Bogarde) and the son she gave up a dozen years earlier so she could pursue her career. As I wrote in my 2016 Blu-ray review, "Like Judy, Jenny is an über-talented, temperamental, demanding, vulnerable, and deeply beloved entertainer who gives her all on stage, but is needy, insecure, manipulative, and emotionally fragile in her private life. The two women are so similar, it's often difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. Add to the mix a handful of riveting concert sequences that showcase Garland's brilliance as a live performer, and you have a film that comes closer to capturing the essence of the real Judy Garland than any movie she ever made." Garland called the dated, melodramatic plot "rubbish," but the prophetically titled I Could Go On Singing contains one of her finest dramatic scenes, a seven-minute tour de force that encapsulates the struggles and stresses she felt in her turbulent life. Her four songs are master classes in the art of performance, but it's the final 90 seconds of "Hello, Bluebird," culminating in a euphoric explosion of Judy Garland joy, that bowl me over every time. I can't think of a better way to end this tribute to Garland the Great than by watching this rafter-raising clip. Of course, a few other Garland films available on Blu-ray merit mention - and a viewing, too. Girl Crazy, the best of the four let's-put-on-a-show musicals she made with Mickey Rooney, is especially notable for its spectacular "I Got Rhythm" finale directed by Busby Berkeley. Garland also sings such standards as "Embraceable You," "But Not for Me," and "Bidin' My Time" in this delightful adaptation of the hit George & Ira Gershwin Broadway show. There's also The Pirate, which was a flop when first released but now enjoys a rabid cult following. Far too sophisticated for 1948 audiences, this lavish, broadly comic musical re-teams Garland with Kelly, whose acrobatic dancing steals the show, and features an underrated Cole Porter score. Another favorite is In the Good Old Summertime, a charming musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner that pairs Garland with Van Johnson and contains several lilting period tunes. The only Garland film available in 4K UHD is The Wizard of Oz, but hopefully, Warner Home Video will release Meet Me in St. Louis and A Star Is Born in the format as well - and soon. Not only are they considered Garland's greatest films (along with Oz), but they are also without question two of the greatest musicals of all time, and their Technicolor photography and sumptuous production values make them a natural for 4K UHD. Hopefully, by Garland's 101st birthday, those two classics will be in our collection, too.Posted Tue Jun 21, 2022 at 02:29 PM PDT by: -
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray & Blu-ray Release Guide - June 19, 2022 - June 25, 2022Happy Summer Solstice! What are you doing to celebrate the arrival of the Summer months? Dinner and a movie? A cookout and a home video? The Summer movie season is upon us, are you looking forward to anything in particular? Welcome to Volume 3 Episode 5 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- There are TWO new releases this week, with a total of FOUR SKUS. First, from Dreamworks Animation, via Universal Pictures, an animated adventure comedy titled The Bad Guys. And next, from LionsGate, an action comedy titled The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent starring Nicolas Cage. This one is available as a standard edition, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook and a Walmart Exclusive edition. Moving on to catalog titles, first a Western from Warner Bros titled Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean. Criterion Collection has an appearance in this category this week with Shaft (1971). Featuring an all new 4K restoration with Dolby Vision, this one is sure to please. Blue Underground releases Uncle Sam this week. When I first saw this movie I was very pleasantly surprised, to get it in 4K will be satisfying. The final listing in this category this week is a double-dip of sorts, LionsGate gives us Universal Soldier in one of their Best Buy Exclusive Slipcover SteelBooks. Blu-ray releases- Getting to the blu-ray counterparts of the 4K titles above, The Bad Guys gets a blu-ray/dvd combo edition. And, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent gets a standard edition and a Target Exclusive Edition. I've mentioned it a lot lately, Target appears to have abandoned 4K in their exclusive editions, I am a bit disturbed by this. What next, DVD exclusive editions? Criterion Collection also releases a blu-ray special edition for Shaft (1971). LionsGate has a busy week with a drama/sci-fi titled After Yang, a thriller titled Escape the Field and a drama/thriller titled Private Property. TV on disc, The Umbrella Academy: Season Two comes via Universal Pictures. Sony Pictures is releasing the Amazon Prime Video movie Cinderella (2021) to blu-ray this week. Edge of Sanity is available as a single release this time from Arrow Video. Previously it was part of a double-feature from Scream Factory. Also from Arrow, a 1978 horror titled The Initiation of Sarah. Criterion Collection has also got a foreign drama available this week titled Rouge. Anime highlights include Getter Robo Arc - Complete Collection, Hunter x Hunter: The Complete Series [Amazon Exclusive], IRODUKU : The World in Colors Complete Collection and Panda! Go Panda!. Honorable mentions: I had mentioned that several out of print titles were picked up by an outfit named Sandpiper Pictures. This week they are rereleasing Richard III and The Russia House. Also, a Time Life feature set Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame: In Concert (2010 - 2019) is available this week. Looks like quite a bill of performances, do check it out! Notable announcements from last week: Sony has announced they will be releasing the 80s comedy Real Genius to 4K disc on September 13th. Target now has listed a 4K Exclusive Edition of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I think this might be a fluke, Target's latest track record is blu-ray exclusives. Multiple SKUs have been added to retailer sites of Jurassic World: Dominion and of the six-film collection. Not listed yet (but to be expected) is a SteelBook collection of all six films. If the new SteelBook artwork for Dominion 4K is the style of artwork expected in the full set, I might find it hard to resist buying the set (and the previous 5 movies) again, damn it! There is also a full set (not SteelBook) that comes with a limited edition (and numbered) Velociraptor sculpture. As we get closer to an actual release date we will see what other retailers will be offering. Season Two of Star Trek: Picard will be coming on October 4th. Just like last time, available as a standard release and as a SteelBook. 4K Release Calendar 2K/BD Release Calendar 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?Posted Sun Jun 19, 2022 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
Criterion Announces September 2022 Titles Including Blow Out & Sound of Metal on 4K Ultra HD Blu-rayThe Criterion Collection's September release slate also features a Blu-ray box set of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4. First with the 4K UHD news, we have Darius Marder's Sound of Metal which also will be getting a Blu-ray release on September 27. In Sound of Metal, a tale of sound, fury, and self-discovery, Riz Ahmed delivers an intensely committed performance as the volatile Ruben, who has found new purpose as a drummer in a noise-metal duo, playing blistering live shows with his singer girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke). When Ruben suddenly loses much of his hearing, he is launched on a profound odyssey—through denial, anger, grief, and, gradually, acceptance—as he comes to understand what it means to live as a deaf person and to discover deafness as not a disability but a rich culture and community. Through stunningly immersive, Academy Award–winning sound design, director Darius Marder invites us to experience the world as Ruben does, capturing a sonic spectrum in which silence comes in a thousand shades. 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • 4K digital master, supervised by director Darius Marder and cinematographer Daniël Bouquet, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions • For the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features • New conversation between Marder and filmmaker Derek Cianfrance, who share a story credit on the film • New program about the film’s sound, featuring Marder and sound designer Nicolas Becker • Music video for Abraham Marder’s song “Green,” featuring outtakes from the film • Featurettes • Trailer • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by critic Roxana Hadadi 2019 • 120 minutes • Color • 5.1 surround • 2.39:1 aspect ratio Brian De Palma's Blow Out starring John Travolta and Olivia Cooke will also be getting the 4K treatment on September 13. Th In the enthralling Blow Out, brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances, as a film sound-effects man who believes he has accidentally recorded a political assassination. To uncover the truth, he enlists the help of a possible eyewitness to the crime (Nancy Allen), who may be in danger herself. With its jolting stylistic flourishes, intricate plot, profoundly felt characterizations, and gritty evocation of early-1980s Philadelphia, Blow Out is an American paranoia thriller unlike any other, as well as a devilish reflection on moviemaking. DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features • Interview with director Brian De Palma, conducted by filmmaker Noah Baumbach • Interview with actor Nancy Allen • Murder à la Mod, a 1967 feature by De Palma • Interview with cameraman Garrett Brown on the Steadicam shots featured in the film within Blow Out • On-set photographs by Louis Goldman • Trailer • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by critic Michael Sragow and Pauline Kael’s original New Yorker review of the film 1981 • 108 minutes • Color • 2.0 surround • 2.40:1 aspect ratio Available on September 13th comes Take Out from Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou on Blu-ray. The American dream has rarely seemed so far away as in the raw, vérité Take Out, by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou, an immersion in the life of an undocumented Chinese immigrant struggling to get by on the margins of post-9/11 New York City. Facing violent retaliation from a loan shark, restaurant deliveryman Ming Ding (Charles Jang) has until nightfall to pay back the money he owes, and he encounters both crushing setbacks and moments of unexpected humanity as he races against time to earn enough in tips over the course of a frantic day. From this simple setup, Baker and Tsou fashion a kind of neorealist survival thriller of the everyday, shedding compassionate light on the too often overlooked lives and labor that keep New York running. DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by directors Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack • Audio commentary featuring Baker, Tsou, and actor Charles Jang • New interviews with Baker, Tsou, Jang, and actors Wang-Thye Lee and Jeng-Hua Yu • Program about the making of the film • Deleted scenes • Screen test • Trailer • New English subtitle translation • PLUS: An essay by filmmaker and author J. J. Murphy 2004 • 88 minutes • Color • Stereo • In Mandarin and English with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio On the 20th, Henri-Georges Clouzot's controversial Le Corbeau will be available in stores. A mysterious writer of poison-pen letters, known only as Le Corbeau (the Raven), plagues a provincial French town, exposing the collective suspicion and rancor seething beneath the community’s calm surface. Made during the Nazi occupation of France, this film by Henri-Georges Clouzot was attacked by the right-wing Vichy regime, the left-wing Resistance press, and the Catholic Church, and was banned after the country’s liberation. But some—including Jean Cocteau and Jean-Paul Sartre—recognized the powerful subtext to Clouzot’s anti-informant, anti-Gestapo fable and worked to rehabilitate his directorial reputation after the war. Le Corbeau brilliantly captures the spirit of paranoid pettiness and self-loathing that turns an occupied French town into a twentieth-century Salem. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Interview with filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier • Excerpts from The Story of French Cinema by Those Who Made It: Grand Illusions 1939–1942, a 1975 documentary featuring director Henri-Georges Clouzot • Trailer • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Alan Williams 1943 • 91 minutes • Black & White • monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio Also on the 20th expect to see Atom Egoyan’s Exotica hitting Blu-ray shelves. One of the defining independent films of the 1990s, Atom Egoyan’s mesmerizing international breakthrough Exotica takes the conventions of the psychological thriller into bold new territory—unsettling, dreamlike, and empathetic. At the neon-drenched Toronto strip club of the film’s title, a coterie of lost and damaged souls—including a man haunted by grief (Bruce Greenwood), a young woman with whom he shares an enigmatic bond (Mia Kirshner), an obsessive emcee (Elias Koteas), and a smuggler of rare bird eggs (Don McKellar)—search for redemption as they work through the traumas of their mysteriously interconnected histories in an obsessive cycle of sex, pain, jealousy, and catharsis. Masterfully weaving together past and present, Egoyan constructs a spellbinding narrative puzzle, the full emotional impact of which doesn’t hit until the last piece is in place.. BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Atom Egoyan and director of photography Paul Sarossy, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray • Audio commentary featuring Egoyan and composer Mychael Danna • New conversation between Egoyan and filmmaker and actor Sarah Polley • Calendar, a 1993 feature film by Egoyan, with a new introduction • Peep Show, a 1981 short film by Egoyan • En passant, a 1991 short film by Egoyan featuring Maury Chaykin and Arsinée Khanjian Artaud Double Bill, a 2007 short film by Egoyan, commissioned for the sixtieth anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival • Audio from the film’s 1994 Cannes Film Festival press conference, featuring Egoyan, Khanjian, actor Bruce Greenwood, and producer Camelia Frieberg • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by author and filmmaker Jason Wood 1994 • 103 minutes • Color • 2.0 surround • 1.85:1 aspect ratio And finally available on the 27th is Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4 featuring several films in a Blu-ray boxed set. Established by Martin Scorsese in 2007, The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has maintained a fierce commitment to preserving and presenting masterpieces from around the globe, with a growing roster of dozens of restorations that have introduced moviegoers to often overlooked areas of cinema history. This collector’s set gathers six important works, from Angola (Sambizanga), Argentina (Prisioneros de la tierra), Iran (Chess of the Wind), Cameroon (Muna moto), Hungary (Two Girls on the Street), and India (Kalpana). Each title is an essential contribution to the art form and a window onto a filmmaking tradition that international audiences previously had limited opportunities to experience. DUAL-FORMAT BLU-RAY AND DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restorations of Sambizanga, Prisioneros de la tierra, Chess of the Wind, and Muna moto, and 2K digital restorations of Two Girls on the Street and Kalpana, all overseen by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays • New introductions to the films by World Cinema Project founder Martin Scorsese • New and archival interviews featuring Indian film historian Suresh Chabria and filmmaker Kumar Shahani (on Kalpana); Argentine film historians Paula Félix-Didier and Andrés Levinson (on Prisioneros de la tierra); Two Girls on the Street director André de Toth; and Sambizanga director Sarah Maldoror and Annouchka de Andrade, Maldoror’s daughter • New program by filmmaker Mohamed Challouf featuring interviews with Muna moto director Dikongué-Pipa and African film historian Férid Boughedir • The Majnoun and the Wind (2022), a documentary by Gita Aslani Shahrestani, daughter of Chess of the Wind director Mohammad Reza Aslani, featuring Aslani, members of the film’s cast and crew, and others • New and updated English subtitle translations • PLUS: A foreword and essays on the films by critics and scholars Yasmina Price, Matthew Karush, Ehsan Khoshbakht, Aboubakar Sanogo, Chris Fujiwara, and Shai Heredia SAMBIZANGA A bombshell by the first woman to direct a film in Africa, Sarah Maldoror’s chronicle of the awakening of Angola’s independence movement is a stirring hymn to those who risk everything in the fight for freedom. Based on a true story, Sambizanga follows a young woman (Elisa Andrade) as she makes her way from the outskirts of Luanda toward the city’s center looking for her husband (Domingos Oliveira) after his arrest by the Portuguese authorities—an incident that ultimately helps to ignite an uprising. Scored by the language of revolution and the spiritual songs of the colonized Angolan people, and featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors—many of whom were themselves involved in anticolonial resistance—this landmark work of political cinema honors the essential roles of women, as well as the hardships they endure, in the global struggle for liberation. 1972 • 97 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Portuguese, Kimbundu, and Lingala with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio PRISIONEROS DE LA TIERRA The most acclaimed film by one of classic Argentine cinema’s foremost directors, Mario Soffici’s gut-punching work of social realism, shot on location in the dense, sweltering jungle of the Misiones region, simmers with rage against the oppression of workers. A group of desperate men are conscripted into indentured labor on a treacherous, disease-ridden yerba maté plantation under the control of the brutal foreman Köhner (Francisco Petrone)—a situation that boils over in an explosive act of rebellion led by the defiant Podeley (Ángel Magaña), and made all the more tense by the fact that Köhner and Podeley love the same woman: Andrea (Elisa Galvé), the sweet-spirited daughter of the camp’s doctor. The expressionistic, shadow-sculpted cinematography of Pablo Tabernero evokes the feverish dread of a place where suffocating heat, economic exploitation, and unremitting cruelty lead inexorably to madness and violence. 1939 • 86 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Spanish and GuaranÍ with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio CHESS OF THE WIND Lost for decades after screening at the 1976 Tehran International Film Festival, this rediscovered jewel of Iranian cinema reemerges to take its place as one of the most singular and astonishing works of the country’s prerevolutionary New Wave. A hypnotically stylized murder mystery awash in shivery period atmosphere, Chess of the Wind unfolds inside an ornate, candlelit mansion where a web of greed, violence, and betrayal ensnares the potential heirs to a family fortune as they vie for control of their recently deceased matriarch’s estate. Melding the influences of European modernism, gothic horror, and classical Persian art, director Mohammad Reza Aslani crafts an exquisitely restrained mood piece that erupts into a subversive final act in which class conventions, gender roles, and even time itself are upended with shocking ferocity. 1976 • 99 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Farsi with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio MUNA MOTO Director Dikongué-Pipa forged a new African cinematic language with Muna moto, a delicate love story with profound emotional resonance. In a close-knit village in Cameroon, the rigid customs governing courtship and marriage mean that a deeply in love betrothed couple (David Endéné and Arlette Din Belle) can be torn apart by the lack of a dowry and by another man’s claiming of the young woman as his own wife—a rupture that sets the stage for a clash between a patriarchal society and a modern generation’s determination to chart its own course. Luminous black-and-white cinematography and stylistic flourishes yield images of haunting power in this potent depiction, told via flashback, of the challenges of postcolonialism and the devastating consequences of a community’s refusal to deviate from tradition. 1975 • 89 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio TWO GIRLS ON THE STREET The maverick Hollywood stylist André de Toth sharpened his craft in his native Hungary, where he directed five films, including this chic, dynamically paced melodrama studded with deco decor and jazzy musical interludes. Mária Tasnádi Fekete and Bella Bordy sparkle as upwardly mobile working women—one a musician in an all-girl band, the other a bricklayer—who join forces as they both try to make it in Budapest, supporting each other through changing economic fortunes, the advances of lecherous men, and the highs and heartbreaks of love. Kinetic camera work, brisk editing, and avant-garde imagery abound in Two Girls on the Street, an often strikingly modern ode to the power of working-class female solidarity. 1939 • 79 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Hungarian with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio KALPANA A riot of ecstatic imagery, performance, and set design, the only film by the visionary dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar is a revolutionary celebration of Indian dance in its myriad varieties and a utopian vision of cultural renewal. Unfolding as an epic film within a film, Kalpana tells the story of an ambitious dancer (Shankar) determined to open a cultural center devoted to breathing new life into India’s traditional artistic forms; meanwhile, the obvious adoration between him and his lead dancer (Shankar’s wife and collaborator, Amala Uday Shankar) arouses the jealousy of his enterprising companion (Lakshmi Kanta). Swirling surrealist dance spectacles—featuring dance masters and young performers, many of whom would become stars in their own right—are interwoven with anticolonial, anticapitalist commentary for a radical, proto-Bollywood milestone that is one of the most influential works in Indian cinema. 1948 • 152 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Hindi with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio That's all the information that we have at the moment and hopefully, preorders will be available shortly.Posted Wed Jun 15, 2022 at 02:01 PM PDT by: -
1980s Cult Fan Favorite Real Genius Dated and Detailed for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray September 13"Aren't you guys a little young to be technicians?" "Lasers are a young science. OK, there, fine, you made me say it, now we're both in trouble" Sony Pictures helps us relive the 80s comedy Real Genius, starring Val Kilmer (Heat, Top Gun), Gabe Jarrett, William Atherton, Patti D’Arbanville. Previously available on MOD blu-ray under the Choice Collection label, Sony takes it up a couple notches with a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital combo pack. This release also includes an all new Dolby Atmos track and a 5.1 track approved by director Martha Coolidge, aw well as the original 2.0 Stereo mix. HDR grading will be Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10 compatible. The order link is not available at press time, checking our release calendar for updates. Official Press Release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THE CULT 1980s FAN FAVORITE GETS AN UPGRADE, WITH RARE SPECIAL FEATURES AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON 4K ULTRA HD™ SEPTEMBER 13TH SYNOPSIS When a group of crazy college geniuses put their heads together, almost anything can happen. Hold on for a freewheeling, uproarious look at just how much mischief a bunch of high-IQers can concoct. Chris (Val Kilmer) is the top brain who just wants to party, Mitch (Gabe Jarret) is the 16-year-old whiz kid, and Lazlo (Jonathan Gries), America's number one brain, literally lives in a world of his own ... Chris' closet. Supposedly hard at work on a lab project, they still find time to turn the dorm into an ice-skating rink, and throw a beach party in the auditorium complete with a lagoon and bikini-clad beauties. When the geniuses discover that their unscrupulous mentor Professor Hathaway (William Atherton) has had them working on a secret weapon for the military, they plot an elaborate revenge. Their plan culminates in an incredible scheme that outsmarts the military and convinces the professor that it doesn't pay to fool with a REAL GENIUS! DISC DETAILS & BONUS MATERIALS 4K ULTRA HD DISC Feature scanned from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, reviewed and approved by director Martha Coolidge All-new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 audio, reviewed and approved by director Martha Coolidge + Original Dolby Stereo BLU-RAY DISC™ Feature presented in High Definition, sourced from the 4K master 5.1 + Dolby Stereo audio Special Features: NEW: “Balloon Chair” Deleted Scene + Raw Takes Montage NEW: TV Version of the film Feature Commentary with Director Martha Coolidge CAST AND CREW Directed By: Martha Coolidge Story By: Neal Israel & Pat Proft Screenplay By: Neal Israel & Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei Produced by: Brian Grazer Executive Producer: Robert Daley Cast: Val Kilmer, Gabe Jarrett, William Atherton, Patti D’Arbanville SPECS Run Time: Approx. 105 minutes Rating: PG 4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.39:1 4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA | English Stereo Surround DTS-HD MA FOR MORE INFORMATION Twitter: @SonyPicsHomeEnt Instagram: @SonyPicturesHomeEntertainment Facebook: facebook.com/sonypictureshomeentertainment YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sonypictureshomeentPosted Mon Jun 13, 2022 at 04:49 PM PDT by:
