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Criterion's October Wave Gets into the Halloween Spirit with Four New Titles on 4K UHD and Blu-rayThe Criterion Collection has revealed their October 2024 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray slate. This wave includes: I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton, Masahiro Shinoda's Demon Pond, and Harmony Korine’s Gummo - all three on both 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray, plus G. W. Pabst's Pandora's Box only on Blu-ray. On October 8, Criterion will be serving a pair of horrors: I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray. I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread. As head of RKO’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease. Suffused with ritual, mysticism, and the occult, the poetically hypnotic I Walked with a Zombie and the shockingly subversive The Seventh Victim are still-tantalizing dreams of death that dare to embrace the darkness. I Walked with a Zombie Producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur elevated the horror film to new heights of poetic abstraction with this entrancing journey into the realm between life and death. When she takes a job caring for a comatose woman on a Caribbean island, a young nurse (Frances Dee) finds herself plunged into a mysterious world where the ghosts of slavery haunt the present and witch doctors have the power to summon the living dead. Sugarcane swaying in a moonlit field, the hypnotic beat of voodoo drums, the relentless pull toward death—the otherworldly atmosphere of this bold reimagining of Jane Eyre is as close as studio-era Hollywood ever came to pure dream-state surrealism. The Seventh Victim “Death is good” is how producer Val Lewton summarized the message of his films, a credo that received its most explicit expression in this strikingly nihilistic shocker, the first film directed by regular Lewton editor Mark Robson. Kim Hunter makes her film debut as a young boarding-school student who, in search of her missing sister (proto-goth icon Jean Brooks), travels to New York’s bohemian Greenwich Village, where she uncovers a sinister shadow world of devil worshippers and murder. And what about that mysterious room furnished with nothing but a chair and a hangman’s noose? With its daring treatment of depression and queerness, The Seventh Victim has haunted the margins of cinema for decades, its radical bleakness undiminished by time. SPECIAL FEATURES New 4K digital restorations of both films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the films and one Blu-ray with the films and special features Audio commentary on I Walked with a Zombie featuring authors Kim Newman and Stephen Jones Audio commentary on The Seventh Victim featuring film historian Steve Haberman Interview with film critic and historian Imogen Sara Smith Audio essays from Adam Roche’s podcast The Secret History of Hollywood Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy (2005), a documentary featuring Newman; Val E. Lewton, son of producer Val Lewton; filmmakers William Friedkin, Guillermo del Toro, George A. Romero, John Landis, and Robert Wise; author Neil Gaiman; actor Sara Karloff; and others Trailers English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: Essays by critics Chris Fujiwara and Lucy SanteNew illustration by Katherine Lam Masahiro Shinoda's 1979 film Demon Pond will arrive on 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on October 15. Demon Pond - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda transforms a classic Kabuki tale with his own extravagant visual style in this dimension-shattering folk-horror fantasia. When a lone traveler (Tsutomu Yamazaki) stumbles upon a remote, drought-stricken village, he finds himself engulfed in a whirlpool of myth, mystery, and magic: in a nearby pond reside spirits who hold the fate of the town’s inhabitants—including lovers Akira (Go Kato) and Yuri (Kabuki legend Tamasaburo Bando, who also plays the ethereal princess reigning over the water)—in their hands. Set to the swirling strains of electronic-music pioneer Isao Tomita’s synth score, Demon Pond blends theatrical artifice with cinematic surrealism for an aquatic-apocalyptic fable of human love and folly caught in the current of nature’s wrath. 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Masahiro Shinoda and actor Tamasaburo Bando, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack New interview with film scholar Dudley Andrew Program on the film’s special effects PLUS: An essay by film critic Michael AtkinsonNew illustration by Yuko Shimizu On the same date, German filmmaker G. W. Pabst's Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks will be available only on Blu-ray. Pandora's Box - The Criterion Collection One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst seemed to have an innate talent for discovering actresses. And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst’s lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora’s Box. Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone around her. Daring and stylish, Pandora’s Box is one of silent cinema’s great masterworks and a testament to Brooks’s dazzling individuality. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 2K digital restoration Four musical scores, by Gillian Anderson, Dimitar Pentchev, Peer Raben, and Stéphan Oliva Audio commentary by film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Mary Ann Doane Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998), a documentary by Hugh Munro Neeley Lulu in Berlin (1971), a rare interview with actor Louise Brooks, by Richard Leacock and Susan Steinberg Woll Interviews with Leacock and Michael Pabst, director G. W. Pabst’s son PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman, notes on the scores, Kenneth Tynan’s 1979 “The Girl in the Black Helmet,” and an article by Brooks on her relationship with PabstNew cover by Eric Skillman And last but certainly not least, Harmony Korine’s feature film debut Gummo (1997) is headed for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on October 22. Gummo - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Harmony Korine’s debut feature is an audacious, lyrical evocation of America’s rural underbelly, and an elegy in the southern-gothic tradition of William Faulkner and William Eggleston. Shot in Korine’s native Nashville—standing in for the tornado-ravaged Xenia, Ohio—the rough-hewn film follows two young friends, Tummler and Solomon, as they ride around town, huffing glue and hunting stray cats, their every local encounter charged with vaudevillian anarchy as well as deep pathos. At once transgressive and empathetic, disturbing and undeniably beautiful, Gummo is a one-of-a-kind portrait of angelic and devilish souls caught in a cultural void, circumscribed by poverty and the depleted, alienated spiritual life of late-twentieth-century America. DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Harmony Korine, 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 New interview with Korine Conversation from 1997 between Korine and filmmaker Werner Herzog Projections episode from 2000 featuring Korine in conversation with Split Screen host John Pierson Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: An appreciation by filmmaker Hype WilliamsNew illustration by Joao Rosa The Criterion Collection's October 2024 titles should be up for pre-order in the next week or so. Which ones will you be picking up?Posted Mon Jul 15, 2024 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
Yo, Adrian, We did it... We did it. - HDD's 4K UHD & Blu-ray Shopping Guide, July 15 2024As we approach mid-July, we continue to chug along with a constant flow of 4K releases. If blu-ray is your thing, you get a little bit of a break though. Don't forget, Amazon Prime Day is Tuesday the 16th and Wednesday the 17th. Welcome to Volume 5 Episode 7 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc the week of July 14th - July 20th, as well as a look at announcements from last week. 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases- Import Monday begins with another great looking swag-filled StudioCanal release with Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974). It sure looks pretty, but it also looks like 80 bucks when you factor in shipping. Thus far though, any of these I have bought look wonderful! Keeping with StudioCanal, they like their (Western) SteelBooks to be orange in color, this one being Soldier Blue. It actually works in this case and matches the color pallette of so many such films. The other one that comes to mind is Red Sun, which comes in September. The U.S. already got theirs, now it's time for the UK to do so, talking about The Last Starfighter from Arrow Video. Domestic Releases Tuesday is next.... Kino Lorber offers two titles this week, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Brokeback Mountain. The two Kino Cult titles are bumped to next week. Criterion Collection this week has the Japanese drama Perfect Days. Shout Factory has just one offering this week, the horror sci-fi/thriller Phantoms. Sony Pictures continues to woo us with SteelBooks, this time it's Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks. Saw a meme one day that made me chuckle -- if you ever board a vessel and Tom Hanks is the guy manning it, leave now, run like hell. Single title from Paramount this week, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie - 20th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook. Two more SteelBooks and a mega-collection. Warner Bros delivers Rocky V, Rocky Balboa and Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Collection. The latter includes corrected audio for Rocky I - IV. You are not left in the dark though if you bought the original discs, replacement discs can be requested by emailing [email protected]. Generally, if I bought it from Amazon, I state the reason for request, my info, and my Amazon order number. For a Thursday release, Amazon U.S. has Scarface (1983) - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray UK Limited Edition Vault Series SteelBook, which was released in the UK on July 8th. I tried really hard to collect this series of movies, but they were too limited in quantity and hard to get. Many of the early ones had a bunch of swag to go with them. The U.S. got the Essentials Collection releases which are nice by themselves, but not as fancy. With a Friday release date, A24 Shop has The Zone of Interest. Blu-ray releases- Blu-ray counterparts of the above 4K releases? For imports, and do keep in mind some may be region B locked, The Last Starfighter and Soldier Blue. For domestic releases, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Brokeback Mountain and Perfect Days. Friday would include A24's The Zone of Interest. The rest of the category is a little bit light this week. Anime highlights include Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out, Soul Eater - The Complete Series and Tomo-chan Is a Girl! - The Complete Season, which also comes as a Limited Edition. Criterion Collection goes Portuguese crime drama with Black God, White Devil. Kino Lorber has more TV on disc with Columbo: The Return (1989-2003) and Monk: Season Eight. With Monk, that closes out the series. The movie event recently seen on Peacock TV is also slated to be coming to blu-ray soon. An interesting release from a label called Not Quite Reality, The Flock. Also available in a Collector's Edition. See... a small unknown label with several different cool looking options! That's how it is done people. With a Wednesday release date, Umbrealla Entertainment a couple of skus that might interest you: Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2: Collector's Edition (Australian Import) Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 (Australian Import) Notable announcements from last week: Last week we saw a lot of boutique onesie twosie announcements and reveals. British label Second Sight is releasing Robert Harmon's 1986 film The Hitcher to 4K and 4K Limited Edition on September 30th. Stardust is coming to 4K SteelBook on September 24th. 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 Mon Jul 15, 2024 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
Building a Collection Can Be Such a Monster - HDD's 4K UHD & Blu-ray Shopping Guide, July 8 2024Another week, another manageable selection of discs to choose from. Unlike the past couple of months, we get it nice and steady for much of the month! Welcome to Volume 5 Episode 6 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc the week of July 7th - July 13th, as well as a look at announcements from last week. 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases- Import Monday this week, the UK gets Monkey Man as a 4K release. The US got theirs 2 weeks ago, so, we move on to Domestic Tuesday titles. There are TWO new release titles this week, with TWO skus each. From GKIDS and Hayao Miyazaki, animated feature The Boy and the Heron. This one also gets a Limited Edition SteelBook. From LionsGate, the action/thriller Civil War. The second sku available is an Amazon Exclusive edition, which we cannot determine what is exclusive about it. I suspect it has a difference cover, but Amazon has thoroughly confused me here by posting both covers for the standard edition. Also from LionsGate in the new(ish) category, 2023 action/crime/thriller Boy Kills World. Warner Bros brings us the 1996 action/thriller Twister with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. This one is also available as a SteelBook. As tornado films go, I have always found this one to be the most entertaining. Shout! Factory brings us the Dolph Lundgren horror Dark Angel. Unsure about having a 4K option in the beginning, but now most certain and delivered, MVD Laservision Collection has Ghoulies II this week. Criterion Collection has French thriller Le Samourai this week. Closing it out, previously delayed and now on track for a Tuesday release, Kino Lorber sends us the thriller Turbulence with Ray Liotta. Delayed again (and probably for another 88 days), the 88 Films release The Project A Collection now has an October 15 street date. Blu-ray releases- Blu-ray counterparts of the above 4K releases include The Boy and the Heron, Civil War, Boy Kills World and Turbulence. The new horror Tarot is available from Sony Pictures. Anime highlights include BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt So I'll Max Out My Defense - Season 2, which is also available as a Limited Edition, One Piece: Season Thirteen - Voyage Eight, School-Live!: Complete Collection and Summoned to Another World for a Second Time - The Complete Season. Universal gives us short notice for the drama/romance Challengers to be released this wek. Sounding like an echo here, another zero notice release that probably should get a 4K, horror/thriller Abigail (2024). Currently the US blu-ray gets (an overused term) a 'Collector's Edition', while the UK gets a Blood Bath Edition. I doubt there's a difference. Mill Creek has comedy/horror Deer Camp '86 this week. Slowly but surely, we can fill the gaps in our Doctor Who collection, this week BBC offers us Doctor Who: Tom Baker - Complete Season Four. More TV on disc with True Detective: Night Country (Season 4). Barring any last second 88 (day) delay, both The Inspector Wears Skirts III and The Inspector Wears Skirts IV should be available this week from 88 Films. Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, that would be The Country Girl from Kino Lorber. Honorable mention this week goes to Titanic: The Musical. I'm sure we know how this one ends. Notable announcements from last week: Shout! Factory has revealed and announced their September slate. Titles (in no particular order) include The Stepfather 4K, The Strangers 4K, Doomsday 4K, The Boy 4K, The Amityville Horror (2005) 4K, Village Of The Damned (1995) 4K, as well as general releases of Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey [SteelBook], Creepshow 4K SteelBook, and a reissue of Dances with Wolves: Collector's Edition SteelBook. The blu-ray was hard to find and sold out quickly, now Dark Star will be releasing The Farmer (1977) to 4K later this year. More TV on disc later this year, Mill Creek will be releasing Bewitched: The Complete Series. 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 Mon Jul 8, 2024 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
'Reacher: Season Two' Busting Heads on Blu-ray & MOD 4K UHD September 17thAfter an amazing first season, Amazon didn't hesitate to bring Reacher back for Season Two. To whet our appetites for the third season of a really big guy punching people in the face, Paramount is bringing the second season of Reacher to Blu-ray on September 17. The 4K UHD Blu-ray will be another MOD. Season two stars Alan Ritchson, Maria Sten, Serinda Swan, Shaun Sipos, Ferdinand Kingsley, Domenick Lombardozzi and Robert Patrick. REACHER IS BACK – and this time it’s personal. In the heart-pounding second season of REACHER, when members of Reacher’s (Alan Ritchson) old military unit start turning up dead, he’ll risk everything to get revenge. Pulled from his drifter lifestyle, Reacher reunites with three of his former teammates turned chosen family to investigate, including Frances Neagley (Maria Sten); Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), a forensic accountant for whom Reacher has long had a soft spot; and fast-talking, switchblade-wielding family man David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos). Together, they begin to connect the dots in a mystery where the stakes get higher at every turn, and brings about questions of who has betrayed them—and who will die next. Using his inimitable blend of smarts and size, Reacher will stop at nothing to uncover the truth and protect the members of his unit. If there’s one thing Reacher and his team know for certain, it’s that you do not mess with the Special Investigators. This season, get ready for Reacher and the 110th to hit back hard. Season 2 of REACHER also stars Ferdinand Kingsley, Domenick Lombardozzi and Robert Patrick.. Reacher: Season Two Bu-ray 4K UHD Blu-ray will be MOD we don't yet have picture art or pre-order listings yet, but we should soon. Blu-ray preorders are up now, the 4K MOD edition should be up soon. SEASON TWO ARRIVES SEPT 17 ON DVD, BLU-RAY & 4K UHD Street Date: September 17, 2024 Description: The 98% Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh series returns when REACHER SEASON TWO arrives on DVD and Blu-ray September 17 from Paramount Home Entertainment. REACHER SEASON TWO will also be available on 4K UHD, manufactured on demand. REACHER IS BACK – and this time it’s personal. In the heart-pounding second season of REACHER, when members of Reacher’s (Alan Ritchson) old military unit start turning up dead, he’ll risk everything to get revenge. Pulled from his drifter lifestyle, Reacher reunites with three of his former teammates turned chosen family to investigate, including Frances Neagley (Maria Sten); Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan), a forensic accountant for whom Reacher has long had a soft spot; and fast-talking, switchblade-wielding family man David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos). Together, they begin to connect the dots in a mystery where the stakes get higher at every turn, and brings about questions of who has betrayed them—and who will die next. Using his inimitable blend of smarts and size, Reacher will stop at nothing to uncover the truth and protect the members of his unit. If there’s one thing Reacher and his team know for certain, it’s that you do not mess with the Special Investigators. This season, get ready for Reacher and the 110th to hit back hard. Season 2 of REACHER also stars Ferdinand Kingsley, Domenick Lombardozzi and Robert Patrick. Specifications: Blu-ray™ Specifications: Blu-ray: 2 Discs Video: 1080p High Definition Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Audio Description; French 5.1 Dolby Digital Subtitles: English, English SDH, French DVD Specifications: DVD: 2 Discs Video: Standard Definition Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Audio Description Subtitles: English, English SDH 4K UHD Specifications: 4K UHD: 2 Discs Video: 4K Ultra HD Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Audio Description Subtitles: English, English SDH U.S. Rating: Not Rated Canadian Rating: 14A -Brutal Violence, Nudity Total Episodic Run Time: 6:14:00Posted Mon Jul 1, 2024 at 09:54 AM PDT by: -
Let's Stay Classy! HDD's 4K UHD & Blu-ray Shopping Guide, July 1 2024What a week last week was for disc buyers, agreed? This week ain't no slouch though. I can thank a large major retailer for keeping my impulse buying in check last week, they did not reset their new movies section in weeks, so I only ordered a couple online from a competitor. THANK YOU! Welcome to Volume 5 Episode 5 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc the week of June 30th - July 6th, as well as a look at announcements from last week. 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases- This week we begin Import Monday with Back to Black, the story of Amy Winehouse. Also available as a SteelBook. Universal Pictures in the US seems to be in a holding pattern on an actual street date --- will it even get a 4K here? And on to Domestic Tuesday, nothing in the new release category, if you exclude the special reissues, it's a rather slowish week. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary and available from Paramount Home Entertainment, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The UK is (of course) getting a deluxe release of this in August. Kino Lorber has a pair of releases this week that were street dated for early June, the ever great film Blown Away starring Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones, and Gene Hackman crime/thriller Narrow Margin. I got my shipping notice on these two, so they will be out for sure Tuesday. List as "now available" last week from Unearthed Film, but listed as July 2nd everywhere else, The Guyver gets a 4K release that a lot of us are happy to see! From the Criterion Collection this week, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Anime in 4K, an Aniplex of America release and as a CrunchyRoll Store exclusive at that, look for Gurren Lagann The Movie - Childhood's End/The Lights in the Sky Are Stars. Shout! Factory has a new 4K of Weird Al's UHF. Also, general release of a handful of SteelBooks that were formerly retailer exclusives. Natural Born Killers, Point Break and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story can now be had at many retailers that carry Shout! Factory releases. Speaking of Exclusive SteelBooks, this week Walmart has Angel Has Fallen and The Meg as new edition releases. My double-dip for Angel Has Fallen was to import the Fallen trilogy from Germany. That probably means a domestic release is coming very soon. Turbine Media this week offers us Pearl in several different mediabook variations: Pearl - Turbine Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Mediabook Cover D Pearl - Turbine Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Mediabook Cover B Pearl - Turbine Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Mediabook Cover C Pearl - Turbine Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Mediabook Cover A Blu-ray releases- Blu-ray counterparts of the above 4K releases include (probably region B locked) Back to Black (UK Import), and domestic releases of Blown Away, The Guyver and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. For the rest of the blu-ray category, we really do see a light week and a chance to catch up from last week. Anime highlights include Bungo Stray Dogs - Season Four, Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time [SteelBook], In Another World With My Smartphone - Season 2 and Vinland Saga - Season 2 Part 1. Walmart SteelBook exclusives this week are Diary of the Dead and Escape Plan Triple Feature. Mill Creek has a romance double feature of Evening/Once Around. These two titles had not been released to domestic blu-ray previously. Shout Select this week has the Madonna film Who's That Girl. Thanks, now I cannot get that song out of my head. Friday means lots of Aussie imports via Amazon US: Zu Warriors (2001) – Imprint Asia #6 (AU Limited Edition) The Wandering Earth II (2023) – Imprint Asia #4 (AU Limited Edition) Hero (2002) – Imprint Asia #5 (AU Limited Edition) Rambling Rose (1991) – Imprint Films Limited Edition (Australian Import) The United States Of Leland (2003) – Imprint Films Limited Edition (Australian Import) Secretary (2002) – Imprint Films Limited Edition (Australian Import) Martin Scorsese: Films Of Faith (1988 – 2016) – Imprint Collection #326 – 328 (Australian Import Limited Edition) After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema Collection Three (1991 – 2002) – Imprint Collection #320 – 325 (Australian Import Limited Edition) Fresh (1994) - Imprint Films Limited Edition (Australian Import) Notable announcements from last week: LionsGate and Bloody Disgusting has partnered with Walmart for a handful of Exclusive SteelBooks on August 20th. Do check it out! Also from LionsGate, they have revealed that The Strangers: Chapter 1 will be available on blu-ray, 4K and DVD on July 23rd. Arrow Video has revealed their September 2024 releases. Do check out our article. The Warner Archive has also posted five titles for August. Read more about it here. You may have seen recently a UK announcement for Tinto Brass' release of Caligula. Small label Unobstructed View has revealed they are releasing it to blu-ray and 4K in the US, with a tentative date of September 17th. 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 Mon Jul 1, 2024 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
Need a Hug? Five More Titles Get the Warner Archive Blu-ray Treatment this AugustThe Warner Archive Collection has announced and detailed their next wave of Blu-rays shipping at the end of August. The titles in this batch include: Words and Music (1948), Three Little Words (1950), Black Belt Jones (1974), Boulevard Nights (1979), and the complete animated series of Top Cat (1960-61). Words and Music (1948) - Warner Archive Collection Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake, Betty Garrett, Janet Leigh, and a host of top musical performers headline M-G-M producer Arthur Freed’s extravagant biographical tribute to the prolific songwriting duo of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. In the early 1920s, the diminutive Hart (Rooney) teams up with Rodgers (Drake) to launch a successful 24-year music career, penning nearly 500 songs with him until Hart's death in 1943 at the age of 47. Rodgers marries his dream girl (Leigh) while Hart pines after Peggy (Garrett), eventually spiraling into depression and death after her rejection. June Allyson, Perry Como, Ann Sothern, Mel Tormé, Cyd Charisse, Judy Garland, and Lena Horne are just some of the singing sensations featured. This is the last movie in which Garland and Rooney appeared together. It also boasts the first full-length modern ballet piece in a Hollywood movie: Choreographed and danced by Gene Kelly, with Vera-Ellen as his partner, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" provides the show-stopping seven-minute finale to the film. Among the hit songs performed are " "Blue Moon," "Thou Swell” "Manhattan," "Johnny One Note," "I Wish I Were in Love Again," "Where or When," and "The Lady Is a Tramp." The Blu-ray will feature a new 2024 1080p hd master from 4k scans of original nitrate technicolor negatives and supplements will include: Commentary by Film Historian Richard Barrios, Featurette :A Life in Words and Music, Unused musical sequences: You’re Nearer (Perry Como), Lover (Perry Como & M-G-M Orchestra and Chorus). Audio-only musical outtakes. Classic MGM cartoon: THE CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE, Classic MGM Short: GOING TO BLAZES! Three Little Words (1950) - Warner Archive Collection Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) always wanted to be a magician, but all it takes is a disastrous opening night to make his dreams go poof! So, Kalmar moves on and finds songwriting magic with collaborator Harry Ruby. The stage-and-screen songsmiths whose many tunes include Groucho Marx’s signature Hooray for Captain Spaulding receive a Hollywood hooray in this audience-favorite screen biopic featuring a hit parade and Kalmar and Ruby standards (including “(Nevertheless) I’m in Love with You”, “Who’s Sorry Now”, and the title tune). Astaire puts on his dancing shoes for dazzling duets with Vera-Ellen, and a tap solo. The film was a box-office smash and a wonderful showcase for the terpsichorean talents of Astaire and Vera-Ellen, and one of Red Skelton’s best screen performances, which gave him the opportunity for a more substantial acting role that did just rely on his trademark comic genius. The film also is highlighted by a star-turn by Debbie Reynolds who portrays boop-oop-a-doop sensation Helen Kane, performing “I Wanna Be Loved By You” to vocals provided by Miss Kane herself. The Blu-ray will have a new 2024 1080p hd master from 4k scans of original nitrate technicolor negatives and bonus features include: THREE LITTLE WORDS: TWO SWELL GUYS, Classic M-G-M cartoon VENTRILOQUIST CAT, Classic M-G-M Fitzpatrick Traveltalks short ROAMING THROUGH MICHIGAN, Audio-only bonus PAULA STONE’S HOLLYWOOD USA RADIO PROMO, Original Theatrical Trailer. Black Belt Jones (1974) - Warner Archive Collection A former International Karate Champion, Jim Kelly made a blazing screen debut with Bruce Lee in the martial-arts landmark ENTER THE DRAGON. Now as Black Belt Jones, Kelly’s fiery fighting expertise rips the screen apart in his first solo star turn, featuring Scatman Crothers (The Shining) and sultry Glory Hendry (Live and Let Die). Pop Boyd (Crothers) owns a thriving karate school near downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it sits on a piece of land upon which a local mob wants to build its own “civic center”. When the gangsters’ muscling of Pop leads to tragedy, Black Belt Jones steps forward to exact his individual brand of lightning-charged revenge. Filmmaker Robert Clouse, who showcased Lee in Enter the Dragon and Jackie Chan in The Big Brawl serves up masterful action sequences of which Kelly said “every move was choreographed like a ballet”. That unique blend of ballistic combat and colorful comic characters make Black Belt Jones light on its feet – and heavy on entertainment! The release includes a new 2024 1080p HD master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative as well as the original theatrical trailer. Boulevard Nights (1979) - Warner Archive Collection You haven’t seen the true “colors” of vicious gang life in Los Angeles unless you’ve also seen Boulevard Nights. From Executive Producer Tony Bill (The Sting, Taxi Driver) comes this gritty drama that remains timely and powerful as when it first appeared in 1979. Said Bill: “Everything in this film is authentic. We’ve broken important new ground”. Today, the continuing problem of gang activity re-emphasizes the importance of this trailblazing film. It’s itsight into gang life remains vital. Boulevard Nights’ gang members are cholos from the city’s Mexican-American barrios, with the film taking a point of view of the gang kids themselves. Two of those kids are the Avila brothers. Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez) is an ex-gang member trying to build a better life. Kid brother Chuco (Danny De La Paz) is a sullen low-rider, wasting his days with his angel-dusted gang. In spite of their differences, the brothers are bound by strong family ties. But those ties are violently tested when rivals challenge Chuco’s gang….and ignite a full-blown neighborhood war. In 2017 the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” The Blu-ray will have a new 2024 1080p master from 4K Scan of the original camera negative and the original theatrical trailer. Top Cat - The Complete Series (1960-61) - Warner Archive Collection In the tradition of great screen conmen-one of the few with a visible tail- TOP CAT holds a top spot in the hearts of classic animation fans. The second of Hanna-Barbera’s prime-time network animated sitcoms, TOP CAT debuted on ABC television on Wednesday September 27, 1961. The series only ran for one season in prime-time, but continued to be popular through a mix of continued Saturday morning network reruns and syndication for more than three decades thereafter. Arnold Stang provided the voice of the smooth-talking New York City cat, known as T.C. to his gang of cohorts Benny the Ball, Choo Choo, Spook, The Brain and Fancy Fancy. These cats were always on the make toward a big score or swindle. And the bothersome – and ever exasperated- Office Dibble (voiced by legendary character actor Allen Jenkins) is relentlessly on Top Cat’s case (although always one step behind). This 4-disc Blu-ray set contains all 30 original episodes, newly remastered in 1080p HD from 4K scans off the original camera negatives, with the series offering top-shelf entertainment for fans. More than 60 years after it debuted, TOP CAT continues to be a comic delight of animated fun for audiences of all ages. This release includes a new 2024 1080p HD masters from 4K scans of original camera negatives and the following supplements: Documentary: Back to Hoagy’s Alley: The Making of TOP CAT, Commentaries on episodes HAWAII, HERE WE COME, THE LATE T.C. and THE MISSING HEIR, STORYBOARD/FINISHED CARTOON SEQUENCE for THE MISSING HEIR; COOL CATS IN INTERVIEW ALLEY with archival interviews with members of the voice-cast including Arnold Stang, Marvin Kaplan, Leo de Lyon and Barry Blitzer, TOP CAT SING-ALONG, VINTAGE COMMERCIALS…and more! The Warner Archive Collection Blu-rays listed above will be shipping on August 27. The pre-orders should be available soon.Posted Fri Jun 28, 2024 at 08:05 PM PDT by: -
Imprint Asia Reveals 'Brother', 'Cliff Walkers' & 'Ride On' Coming to Limited Edition Blu-ray on September 25Australian distributor Via Vision will be adding three more titles to their Imprint Asia line-up. They are: Takeshi Kitano’s 'Brother', Zhang Yimou's 'Cliff Walkers' & Jackie Chan's 'Ride On' - and will be limited to 1500 copies each. They are available for pre-order here. Brother (2000) – Imprint Asia Limited Edition Brother (2000) – Imprint Asia #7 Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) stars in, wrote, directed, and edited this bloodthirsty drama, set on the crime-fuelled streets of Los Angeles. Abandoned by the brotherhood of his yakuza clan, tough guy Yamamoto is forced to leave Tokyo. He goes to Los Angeles in search of Ken, his younger half-brother. Alone and with a new identity, Yamamoto finds himself frustrated by foreign surroundings, especially since he doesn’t speak the language. Also starring acclaimed American actor Omar Epps (House), with a score by Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away). 1500 copies only. Special Features & Technical Specs: 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray NEW Special Features TBC Scenes By The Sea: The Life and Cinema of ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano – documentary Cast and Crew interviews Making of – archival featurette Behind the scenes – archival featurette Theatrical Trailer Audio Japanese / English DTS-HD 5.1 Surround + LPCM 2.0 Stereo Optional English HOH Subtitles Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Limited Edition Slipcase with unique artwork Cliff Walkers (2021) - Imprint Asia Limited Edition Cliff Walkers (2021) – Imprint Asia #8 Acclaimed director Zhang Yimou (Raise The Red Lantern) won the Golden Rooster Award for this historical thriller starring Zhang Yi (Dearest). Set in the Imperial Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, the film follows four Communist party special agents who return to China after receiving training in the Soviet Union. Together, they embark on a secret mission code-named “Utrennya”. After being sold out by a traitor, the team finds themselves surrounded by threats on all sides from the moment they parachute into the mission. 1500 copies only. Special Features & Technical Specs: 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray Theatrical Trailers Audio Mandarin DTS-HD 5.1 Surround + LPCM 2.0 Stereo Optional English Subtitles Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Limited Edition Slipcase with unique artwork Ride On (2023) - Imprint Asia Limited Edition Ride On (2023) – Imprint Asia #9 The great Jackie Chan stars in the hit new action comedy, written and directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Larry Yang. A washed-up stuntman and his stunt horse become an overnight social media sensation when their real-life fight with debt collectors goes viral. Hilarious, epic, and surprisingly moving, this slick film is filled with references to Jackie Chan’s filmography, and is a must-see for fans of his work. 1500 copies only. Special Features & Technical Specs: 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray Gag Reel The ‘Ride On’ Spirit – featurette Oh My Horse – featurette “Youth Story” – music video TV Spot Chinese Trailer Ride On – Horse Guardian Trailer Ride On – Red Hare Trailer Ride On – Stuntmen’s Spirit Trailer Audio Mandarin DTS-HD 5.1 Surround + LPCM 2.0 Stereo Optional English Subtitles Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Limited Edition Slipcase with unique artwork All three Blu-ray releases will be available for purchase on September 25, although pre-orders are now up.. .Posted Fri Jun 28, 2024 at 12:17 PM PDT by: -
HBO's 'Succession: The Complete Series' Dated and Detailed for Blu-ray August 13thWarner Brothers has just announced that a boxed set containing all 39 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series Succession will be available on Blu-ray on August 13. Pre-Orders are now up. The series stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, J. Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, and Fisher Stevens, and was created by Jesse Armstrong. During the show's four-season run, it was nominated for 75 Emmys and winning 19 - including Outstanding Drama Series three times (2020, 2022, 2023) and was honored at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Power, politics, money...it’s all in the family in this provocative, satirical series about a highly dysfunctional dynasty. When the aging patriarch of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates considers retirement, his family members position themselves for a takeover. But tensions rise as corporate battles threaten to turn into a family civil war in this sharp, scathing, binge-worthy series.. Succession: The Complete Series - Blu-ray Bonus features include Inside the Episode featurettes, Character Recaps, Cast and Crew Interviews and more! You can pre-order Succession: The Complete Series on Blu-ray now and included below is the press announcement: Succession: The Complete Series All 39 Episodes From The Emmy® Award Winning Series Will Be Available To Purchase On Blu-ray August 13, 2024 #Succession BURBANK, CA (June 27, 2023) – Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment will be newly releasing Succession: The Complete Series on Blu-ray. Get ready to binge on all 39 episodes from HBO’s Emmy® award-winning original series, along with all the previously released special features. The brilliant high-stakes drama following the Roy Family and their quest for power will be available to purchase online on August 13. Pre-order your copy today. Succession stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, J. Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, and Fisher Stevens. The series was created by Jesse Armstrong; executive produced by Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Jane Tranter, Mark Mylod, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Lucy Prebble, Will Tracy, and Will Ferrell. Jesse Armstrong served as showrunner. Succession earned an impressive 75 Emmy® nominations and 19 wins over its four-season run. The series achieved a remarkable streak, being nominated for Outstanding Drama Series throughout all four seasons and securing the Emmy® win three times (2020, 2022, 2023). In its fourth and final season, Succession dominated the Emmy® field with 27 nominations and secured six wins, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor, and Outstanding Lead Actress. The season also set a new record for Golden Globe TV award nominations with nine total and winning four, including Best Television Series (Drama) — its third win in that category. Further adding to its accolades, Succession was honored at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. SYNOPSIS: Power, politics, money...it’s all in the family in this provocative, satirical series about a highly dysfunctional dynasty. When the aging patriarch of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates considers retirement, his family members position themselves for a takeover. But tensions rise as corporate battles threaten to turn into a family civil war in this sharp, scathing, binge-worthy series. Pricing and series information: Succession: The Complete Series Includes all 39 episodes from all four seasons, plus over 20 bonus features including Inside the Episode featurettes, Character Recaps, Cast and Crew Interviews and more! PRODUCT Blu-ray Audio: English SDH Subtitles: English Running Time: 2,340 minutes Rated: TV-MA About Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment (WBDHE) distributes the award-winning movies, television, animation, and digital content produced by Warner Bros. Discovery to the homes and screens of millions through physical Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD retail sales and digital transactions on major streaming, video-on-demand cable, satellite, digital, and mobile channels. WBDHE is part of Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales, one of the world’s largest distributors of entertainment programming.Posted Thu Jun 27, 2024 at 02:12 PM PDT by: -
Lionsgate and Bloody Disgusting Terrorize Us With NEW Walmart Exclusive Blu-ray SteelBooks 8/20The best part of summer ending is we get closer to the Halloween season and the glut of amazing Horror movie releases coming to disc. Not to miss a beat, Lionsgate is teaming up with Bloody Disgusting to unleash a series of new Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray SteelBooks including first-time domestic disc releases of Wolf Creek and Hannibal Rising! Bloody Disgusting is pumping the blood into summer at a Walmart near you with their exclusive SteelBooks®, arriving on Blu-ray™ + Digital on August 20 from Lionsgate. Each frightful SteelBook® brings these iconic horror titles back with a new look and artwork created by the artist Bond. The featured titles include Wolf Creek, Leatherface, Sinister, Texas Chainsaw, You’re Next, I Spit on Your Grave, and Hannibal Rising, all for the suggested retail price of $24.99 individually. Terror has never looked more frightening with The Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray™ SteelBook® collection. Available individually exclusively at Walmart, these eye-catching, specially commissioned collectible SteelBooks® contain the following fan-favorite horror films: Wolf Creek, Leatherface, Sinister, Texas Chainsaw, You’re Next, I Spit on Your Grave, and Hannibal Rising. The Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray™ SteelBooks are available to preorder now on Blu-ray™ + Digital. Wolf Creek - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook Leatherface - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook Sinister - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook Texas Chainsaw - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook You're Next - Blood Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook I Spit On Your Grave (2010) - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook Hannibal Rising - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBookPosted Tue Jun 25, 2024 at 09:10 AM PDT by: -
Paramount Cracks 'Knuckles' For A Blu-ray, LE Blu-ray SteelBook, & 4K UHD "MOD" Release on 09/10Paramount+ and SEGA of America's six-episode live-action event series Knuckles is coming to Blu-ray and limited edition Blu-ray SteelBook on September 10. Knuckles will also be available on 4K UHD "manufactured on demand". Knuckles expands the “Cinematic World of Sonic the Hedgehog,” executive produced by Idris Elba, Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Jeff Fowler, John Whittington, Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi and Toru Nakahara. KNUCKLES takes place between the films SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 and follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protege and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. Featuring appearances by Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Tika Sumpter (Maddie), the ensemble cast also includes Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones), Cary Elwes (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and Paul Scheer (Black Monday). This collection includes every episode along with an exclusive gag reel, and more! . Knuckles - Blu-ray Knuckles - Blu-ray SteelBook SPECIAL FEATURES Gag Reel “Meet the Cast” Featurette “Working with Knuckles” Featurette “This or That?” Featurette “Cast Impressions” Featurette The releases will also include Dolby Atmos soundtracks and can pre-order Knuckles now and included below is the press announcement: FROM THE CINEMATIC WORLD OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG KNUCKLES ARRIVES SEPTEMBER 10 ON DVD, BLU-RAY™ AND LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY™ STEELBOOK® Go Behind The Scenes With Special Features, Including An Exclusive Gag Reel and More! LOS ANGELES – June 24, 2024 – “Ridiculously funny with a ton of heart” (Ryan Leston, IGN), the six-episode live-action event series KNUCKLES arrives on DVD, Blu-ray™ and a Limited Edition Blu-ray™ Steelbook® on September 10, 2024 from Paramount Home Entertainment. The KNUCKLES DVD and Blu-ray™ feature a never-before-seen gag reel and four featurettes, including “Meet the Cast,” “Working with Knuckles,” “This or That?” and “Cast Impressions.” KNUCKLES will also be available on 4K Ultra HD™, manufactured on demand. SYNOPSIS KNUCKLES takes place between the films SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 and follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protege and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. Featuring appearances by Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Tika Sumpter (Maddie), the ensemble cast also includes Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones), Cary Elwes (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and Paul Scheer (Black Monday). This collection includes every episode along with an exclusive gag reel, and more! SPECIAL FEATURES Gag Reel “Meet the Cast” Featurette “Working with Knuckles” Featurette “This or That?” Featurette “Cast Impressions” Featurette A Paramount+ Original, from Paramount Pictures and SEGA of America, KNUCKLES is the first TV series in the expanding “Cinematic World of Sonic the Hedgehog,” executive produced by Idris Elba, Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Jeff Fowler, John Whittington, Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi and Toru Nakahara. Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. The PHE division oversees PPC’s home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television Studios, Paramount Players, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and applicable licensing and servicing of certain DreamWorks Animation titles. PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies. Specifications: Blu-ray™ Specifications: Blu-ray: 1 Disc Video: 1080p High Definition Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Audio: English Dolby Atmos; English, French & German 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital AC3 Subtitles: English SDH, French & German DVD Specifications: DVD: 2 Discs Video: Standard Definition Aspect Ratio: Widescreen Audio: English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital AC3 Subtitles: English SDH 4K UHD Specifications: 4K UHD: 1 Disc Audio: English Dolby Atmos; English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital AC3 Subtitles: English SDH U.S. Rating: Not Rated Canadian Rating: G Run Time: 3:00:00 Created for Television by JOHN WHITTINGTON and TOBY ASCHER Written by JOHN WHITTINGTON (episodes 101, 102, 106) Written by BRIAN SCHACTER (episodes 103, 105) Written by JAMES MADEJSKI (episode 104) Directed by JEFF FOWLER (episode 101) Directed by GED WRIGHT (episode 102) Directed by BRANDON TROST (episode 103) Directed by JORMA TACCONE (episode 104) Directed by CAROL BANKER (episodes 105 & 106)Posted Mon Jun 24, 2024 at 05:09 PM PDT by:
