Home Video (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, 4k)

We previously posted about a 4k restoration of Mean Streets coming from Criterion, well this was co-funded with Second Sight and they'll be releasing it too.

Hat tip: Blu-ray.com

It seems the exclusivity of streaming has waned and now Disney is looking for other revenue methods?

They are:

• Anaconda Collection - UK
• Ark of the Sun God 4k - UK
• Battle Creek Brawl (Deluxe Edition) - UK
• The Blue Jean Monster - UK, US
• Hell of the Living Dead - UK
• Hell of the Living Dead 4k - UK
• The Inspector Wears Skirts - UK, US
• Iron Warrior - UK
• Knock Off - UK?
• Magic Crystal - UK
• The Medallion - UK

This includes re-releases, represses and replacements.

Tech specs at Blu-ray.com

Blue Jean Monster release also posted about in the Category III community.

edit: oops, I posted this is the wrong community.

From Severin:

From Hammer Films to STAR WARS, he remains one of genre films’ best-loved actors. Now celebrate six of the most unexpected, rarely seen and decidedly curious performances from the legendary career of PETER CUSHING: Cushing delivers a rare villain turn in the 1960 aviation thriller CONE OF SILENCE. That same year, Cushing brought gentle dignity to The Boulting Brothers’ cold-war drama SUSPECT. In 1962’s THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED, Cushing co-stars opposite Stanley Baker as a former Nazi hiding a grave post-war secret. Cushing returns to his iconic role of SHERLOCK HOLMES in these six surviving episodes of the 1968 BBC-TV series. The oft-maligned 1971 shocker BLOODSUCKERS can now be reassessed for the first time in its Restored Extended Version. And Cushing portrays a vampire for the first and only time in 1974’s off-the-wall erotic comedy TENDER DRACULA, premiering here in its Director’s Cut. Each disc has been mastered from original vault elements with over 16 total hours of trailers, commentaries, vintage interviews, location features and more, plus the all-new 200-page book PETER CUSHING: A PORTRAIT IN SIX SKETCHES by award-winning horror film historian Jonathan Rigby.

The films are:

• Cone of Silence (1960)
• Suspect (1960)
• The Man Who Finally Died (1962)
• Sherlock Holmes TV series (1968)
• Bloodsuckers (1971)
• Tender Dracula (1974)

Tech specs from Blu-ray.com

Now the home delivery expert ParcelHero says what’s going on Down Under may be just the start. Is physical media in the UK on the verge of being phased out?

ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘Digital media such as streaming services look set to make DVDs and Blu-rays defunct. It’s easy to see why. In a bid to free up space, many of us have already got rid of our collections in favour of watching favourite films and shows on streaming services such as Netflix, Prime, Apple TV and Disney Plus.

‘It’s also preferable for many media companies, who will no longer need to pay the middleman for retail sales of Blu-rays and DVDs. Companies are desperate to drive up subscriptions to their streaming channels. Disney is even about to launch a budget channel with adverts here in the UK.

‘Of course, just because Disney has stopped physical media sales in Australia (which has displeased Aussies in rural areas where internet speeds are too slow for streaming), that doesn’t mean it will axe their sales in the UK or US. The supply chain costs involved in distributing physical media to Australia are notably higher.

‘However, we believe it is the start of the slippery slope. How long before other media companies tied-in with streaming channels decide to follow suit in Australia? That could start the ball rolling across the world. For media companies, streaming sales are so much cheaper to fulfil than physical media sales.

FOR THE FIRST TIME ON 4K UHD, BLU-RAY AND DVD, ADD THE 6-TIME EMMY NOMINATED PREY TO YOUR MOVIE COLLECTION The Newest Entry in the Popular Predator Franchise, Prey Arrives on October 3 With Over 2 Hours of Bonus Content

BURBANK, CA (August 14, 2023) – The chilling prequel to the critically-acclaimed Predator films, 20th Century Studios’ Prey, arrives on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on October 3. As part of a special artist line, a collector’s edition 4K SteelBook, designed by popular digital artist Attila Szarka, will also be available exclusively at Best Buy.

Nominated for six Emmys, including Outstanding Television Movie, the science-fiction film welcomes new viewers into the Predator story while entertaining long-time fans of the celebrated franchise. All formats include a full-length Comanche audio track and never-before-seen bonus content.

Film Synopsis

The epic Predator legacy continues with this action-thriller set in 1719 on the Great Plains with a band of Comanches. When Naru, a fierce and highly skilled young warrior, sets out to protect her people, the prey she stalks turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator—leading to a vicious and terrifying showdown.

Bonus Features*

Making of Prey: Step behind the scenes of Prey as the cast and crew explore the genesis of the project, how they gave authenticity to the story, the intense physical training the cast endured, and the effects work that brought the iconic Predator back to the screen.

Prey FYC Panel With Cast & Crew: Go deeper into Prey with a lively panel discussion featuring director Dan Trachtenberg, actor Amber Midthunder, producer Jhane Myers, director of photography Jeff Cutter, film editor Angela M. Catanzaro and creature effects designer Alec Gillis.

Alternative Opening Scene: Check out a scene that didn’t make the cut with commentary by Dan Trachtenberg.

Deleted Scene: Big Warrior, Little Warrior: Check out a scene that didn’t make the cut with commentary by Dan Trachtenberg.

Deleted Scene: Treetop Chase (pre-vis): Check out a scene that didn’t make the cut with commentary by Dan Trachtenberg.

Audio Commentary: Play Movie with Audio Commentary by Dan Trachtenberg, Amber Midthunder, Jeff Cutter & Angela M. Catanzaro.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/3237241

https://twitter.com/Criterion/status/1691486939872997384

• Jackie Chan boxset
• Mean Streets (4K)
• La Ceremonie
• Days of Heaven (4K)
• Last Picture Show (4K)

The film will also include a 5 part making of documentary.

Chapter 1 - Prologue – Harrison Ford leaps back into action as Indiana Jones! Journey to 1944 as this featurette reveals the filmmakers, characters, stunts, locations, and incredible visual effects that make up the thrilling opening of Dial of Destiny!

Chapter 2 - New York – Blast off to adventure as James Mangold showcases the re-creation of 1969 Manhattan for the Moon Parade chase. This featurette spotlights Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) as John Williams conducts his beautiful new theme for this compelling character.

Chapter 3 – Morocco – The man in the hat is back! Explore Morocco as this featurette breaks down the white-knuckle stunts of the medina tuk-tuk chase and hotel brawl. Meet Teddy (Ethann Isidore), Indy’s precocious new ally in the hunt for the dial!

Chapter 4 – Sicily – Meet Renaldo (Antonio Banderas) as he guides our heroes on a perilous underwater treasure hunt! Catch up with Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge on location in Sicily and explore the caverns, traps, and bugs surrounding Archimedes’ tomb!

Chapter 5 – Finale – This featurette breaks down the thrilling climax to the Indiana Jones series. Cast and filmmakers James Mangold, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, John Williams, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford bid farewell to one of the greatest heroes of all time.

I know this isn't strictly physical home media but I'm guessing that copy will be around 4-6 weeks later.

Well, it's twelve days late and I only write these because I want to show off my latest haul! 😁

I decided to visit a town over and came away quite well-stocked today.

I recently picked up The Making of Gladiator book from a charity shop so I thought I'd better refresh my memory. Containing both the theatrical cut and the extended versions, this bluray was just £1.50 from CEX. It's the 15th anniversary edition and that's eight years ago!

The British Heart Foundation, who seem to price their Blu-rays a lot higher than DVDs, had A Quiet Place (£2.50), a film I love and was still sealed.

The Expendables 3 (£1.50), a film I was really disappointed with after loving the first two, was purchased as (a) I'm giving it a second chance and I love watching the bonus extras and (b) I already have the first two films so I have to complete the set. Yes, I know a fourth film is incoming.

Looper was the biggest bargain, 50p from the RSPCA. Another film I thought was alright but I can't resist a cheap film and I'll give it another chance. Lots of extras too.

Finally, I recently traded in all my duplicate Blu-rays from my favourite films that I have upgraded to 4K. I was surprised to get £19 in credit, so for an extra £3, I picked up Arrow Video's Dune (4K).

It comes with a little book, replica lobby cards, poster and it still has the J card on the packaging. Luckily those awful CEX stickers came off without leaving a trace.

Finally, don't go to the Blu-ray.com forums and check out their charity shop finds. People are finding sealed Criterion Blu-rays! Bloody hell!

An astoundingly ambitious and riveting example of pure outsider cinema, Lycan Colony's reputation is well earned as every bizzare creative decision unfolds and you are dropped into its metaphysical alternate reality. Lycan Colony now enjoys its first time ever on Blu-ray and is packed with bonus features, including the full Rifftrax version.

Tech specs: blu-ray.com

As well as booklets included in limited and deluxe editions, Arrow Films also release books usually written by the authors of the booklets.

This month in books, we have all eight of the titles that our good friends at Arrow Video have released. For the uninitiated, Arrow Video have been releasing the ultimate home video editions of some of our favorite films for many years now. More recently, they decided to put their extraordinary talents to use creating beautiful and incredibly informative books about films and filmmakers that have been largely ignored by mainstream film studies.

They are:

• Unchained Melody: The Films of Meiko Kaji by Tom Mes
• Ghost in the Shell by Andrew Osmond
• The Hitcher by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• The Blair Witch Project by Russ Gomm
• All the Colours of Sergio Martino by Kat Ellinger
• The Man Who Fell To Earth: Novel to Film by Samuel J. Umland
• Philip K. Dick On Film by Gregg Rickman
• Father, Son, Sword: The Lone Wolf and Cub Saga by Tom Mes

I'll do a more general Books on Films post at some point.

If you missed out on the previously available Ghostbusters 4K Ultra HD SteelBook, containing the classic 1984 comedy and its slime-filled sequel, pre-orders have just been listed through Amazon for what is advertised as a “limited edition reprint.”

Initially made available back in 2019, corresponding alongside the franchise’s 35th-anniversary, the 5-disc collection was noteworthy upon release, as not only were both films presented in beautiful 4K HDR10, but a treasure trove of then-newly added special features were included, among them deleted scenes, outtakes, audio commentaries, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray’s ShoWest Exhibitor Reel, the cast of Ghostbusters II on The Oprah Winfrey Show, original EPKs, and much more.

As the Amazon listing page suggests, the reprint is an exact release of the 2019 4K UHD SteelBook, showcasing the same line-up of features and specs. For those who already picked up a copy during the 35th-anniversary celebration, there appears to be absolutely no reason to double-dip, especially for anyone lucky enough to have grabbed last year’s now-discontinued Ghostbusters: Ultimate Collection boxset, which included even more special features, paired alongside 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Wes Anderson's new movie, Asteroid City, will be released digitally and on Blu-ray/DVD with bonus features including a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.

The bonus feature includes Wes Anderson giving a tour of the Asteroid City sets and revealing details about the film's production and the cast's preparation and rehearsals.

at some point in the late 1990s, this all changed. Cuts to the BBC budget resulted in arts programmes, rarely ratings-grabbers, being denuded, while the onslaught of Sky meant that you had to pay a hefty subscription in order to see a lot of classic films. Late Review limped on in a much less rigorous fashion, a sign (I feel) of a growing anti-intellectualism in Britain.

And that’s where the DVD came to the rescue, filling in the gaps, allowing you to buy – often very cheaply – things that you’d heard about, but that had been unavailable. It may be unfashionable to praise Kenneth Clark’s unashamedly patrician 1969 series Civilisation, but the DVD box-set became a favourite of mine.

DVD companies were quick to tap into the nostalgia market. The market leader was Network DVD, a no-frills UK company that brought many widely loved TV shows of the 1970s and 1980s back into our living rooms. Among many other things, they released Arthur Hopcraft’s masterly 1977 adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Hard Times, which hadn’t been repeated in decades, and which I had long wanted to see.

Only this May, the company went into liquidation, and part of my sadness about their demise is that their catalogue almost certainly won’t end up somewhere such as Britbox. Like several streaming companies, Britbox seems to only purchase, or air, the shows that are algorithm-friendly: that people have actually heard of, or are searching for. The result is that streamers often promote an untruthful archive, one unrepresentative of the treasures of our past.

There are other reasons why DVDs are important: they’re superior as a product, often real things of beauty, with carefully-thought-out sleeve-notes and superb extra features. Some say that such add-ons are for nerds only, but I believe that an erudite director’s commentary or a tangential supplementary documentary can really enhance your enjoyment of a film or TV show. Firing up the latest series of The Crown on Netflix on the other hand, waiting for the data to stop buffering on your laptop, feels bleak in comparison.

...

One DVD among a carefully curated shelf is a tangible thing that you can revisit, leaving a little part of it etched into your brain; an endlessly-scrollable morass of streamable films just won’t have the same effect – and that is bad for all of us who constantly try to promote the importance of film and TV.

Archive of source

With the film recently passing the $400m mark, it's only a few weeks before the film arrives on digital (but not for free on Disney+ yet obviously) with physical media following six weeks later.

HMV has unveiled its own exclusive design for their Limited Edition 4K steelbook, which includes both a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray disc in the set.

They are:

• The Desperate Hours 6k? (US and CA)
• Hellraiser Quartet of Doom 4k (UK)
• Hellraiser Quartet of Doom (UK)
• The House by the Cemetery 4k (UK)
• The House by the Cemetery (UK)
• The Iron Fisted Monk (US and CA)
• Witness 4k (US and CA)
• Witness (US and CA)

Tech specs: Blu-ray.com (although they seem to have copied and pasted some details from the 4k to the 2k without adjusting)

They are:

• The Blob 4k
• Night of the Demons 4k
• Night of the Demons 2
• Night of the Demons 3
• Pumpkinhead 4k
• Shaw Brothers Classics

Tech specs: pending

So, I thought to myself, "Why not scope out a new 4K Blu-ray player?" My browsing quickly led me to the damning reality – no one makes them any more.

Well, no one might be a bit dramatic. Panasonic seems to be working overtime to keep the market afloat, and Sony seems to be offering some backup in the form of a couple of models, but that's about it for the mainstream brands.

There are enthusiast brands, such as Magnetar, with its awesome reference 4K players that also happen to cost between £1700 and £3100 – so they will remain a pipe dream for now. Most of the manufacturers known for producing 4K Blu-ray players, such as Oppo, Pioneer, Samsung and LG, have all packed up production and stopped selling 4K players. Another sign of the streaming times?

Well, it doesn't seem entirely so. 4K Blu-ray discs have seen record sales figures as of late. This jump, reported by Media Play News, was mostly due to the success of Top Gun: Maverick, which created a surge of interest in 4K Blu-ray back in November 2022.

But whether it's new releases or 4K re-releases of classic movies, there's an abundance of new films coming to 4K Blu-ray, so where are the players that we need to, you know, play the discs?

Any prizes on offer anywhere?

Flag up if there are any regional restrictions.

the company plans to release a new Blu-ray/DVD title every month to their collection. What will their first entry be? None other than 1959’s The Giant Gila Monster, the film will come on a two-disc bundle with 1959’s The Killer Shrews. The two films were both produced by Ken Curtis and directed by Ray Kellogg, produced back-to-back and released as a double-feature.

...

Following the initial release, Film Masters plans on releasing 1959’s Beast from Haunted Cove on October 24th, and 1934’s The Scarlett Letter on November 21st. Each release will feature a restored 4K 35mm scan with original film elements and aspect ratios. The discs will also be region-free with DTS-HD and Dolby AC3s sound. The releases will also feature original bonus content. Film Masters also has a Youtube channel with content ranging from clips to full feature films that are free to stream!

Tech specs at blu-ray.com

These are:

• Beach of the War Gods
• From Beijing With Love
• Pandora's Box

Tech specs from Blu-ray.com