In case you have missed any of our recent announcements, we've provided an abridged version here for your convenience.  It also includes some of the titles that we think you might find interesting that have recently been added to the release calendar.

Speeding its way to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on August 8 is Universal's Fast X starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Jason Momoa, and many more. The 10th film in The Fast and the Furious franchise is directed by Louis Leterrier and will also have a Walmart exclusive as well as a SteelBook only at Best Buy.

On September 12, Lionsgate and Walmart will be wrapping up some horror flicks in Blu-ray SteelBooks just in time for Halloween. Choose from The Leprechaun Collection, Rob Zombie's Firefly Trilogy, Rob Zombie's Halloween 1 & 2, Blair Witch & The Blair Witch Project, and Saw 1-8.

We've also added to our release calendar 4K Blu-ray SteelBooks for William Friedkin's horror classic The Exorcist from Warner Brothers, and for those afraid of heights - Netflix and Lionsgate's thriller Fall.. Both arrive on September 19 only at Best Buy.

Lionsgate doesn't stop there, on August 7 they will be reissuing the 2013 novel-inspired science fiction action-adventure Ender's Game starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in a Best Buy exclusive SteelBook.

Warner Brothers has revealed that they are prepping a 30th anniversary edition of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The 4K UHD Blu-ray + Digital package will include a fully remastered HDR/SDR transfer and audio as well with a September 12 release date.

RLJ Entertainment has a slew of SteelBooks coming exclusively to Walmart this fall: Werewolves Within, Vesper, PG: Psycho Goreman, and Bone Tomahawk on Blu-ray, as well as Arizona, Color Out of Space, and The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot on 4K UHD Blu-ray. The SteelBooks will hit stores on November 14.

Two more erotic horrors from sleaze-maestro Jean Rollin have been announced by Powerhouse Films for limited edition home video releases. Fascination will be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray and Lips of Blood will also be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray. They will be available on October 24.

Imprint has six more Blu-rays for their library. They are: The Orphanage (2007), Wind Chill (2007), Bug (2006), The Skeleton Key (2005), The Mad Room (1969), and Night of the Eagle (1962). All six limited edition Blu-rays will be available in early November.

And finally, The Criterion Collection and Janus Films' new Janus Contemporaries line is coming this fall beginning with Jerzy Skolimowski's EO, Jafar Panahi's No Bears, and Louis Garrel' The Innocent on Blu-ray. The three releases will hit stores October 17.

That's all we have for now so until next time...Have a great weekend!

Your collection of guilty pleasure exploitation and sexploitation titles is about to get a whole lot... bigger! 

Do you remember going to your local video rental shop back in the day and there was that mysterious adjacent room just past the Horror section full of "Adult Only" titles? Back then the only thing that separated you from those alluring flicks was a soft velvety curtain. For fans of classic exploitation and sexploitation cinema, you may just want to recreate that fabled room in your home complete with curtain and red twinkle lights now that Vinegar Syndrome and Distribpix are joining forces to bring some of the biggest, best, and kinkiest titles to home video! 

Full details of which titles haven't been fully hashed out but we're talking about hundreds of titles potentially coming to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray - let alone picking up their very first disc releases ever! With a new distribution partner comes some exciting new labels populating the already broad swath of genres and labels under the Vinegar Syndrome umbrella. 

Take a look at the press release for all the details:

A Home Video Merger of Epic Proportion  

Bridgeport, Connecticut - Vinegar Syndrome is excited to announce an exclusive distribution partnership with legendary NYC-based exploitation and sexploitation producer and distributor, Distribpix Inc. 

This partnership will bring Distribpix’s extensive catalog of close to 300 feature films to Home Video, including countless never-on-disc titles as well as classic exploitation films from genre masters such as Michael and Roberta Findlay, the  Amero Brothers, Joe Sarno, Chuck Vincent, Radley Metzger, Ron Sullivan, and  Shaun Costello, among dozens more. Additionally, Distribpix’s unprecedented archive of key 1960s and early 70s exploitation rarities, many of which have been completely unavailable since the VHS and early DVD era, will, at last, be making their return to disc, all newly restored and presented in the type of deluxe, collector-centric editions that both Distribpix and Vinegar Syndrome are known for creating. 

Vinegar Syndrome co-founder Joe Rubin, in describing the collaboration said, “Vinegar Syndrome and Distribpix have worked together before Vinegar  Syndrome existed. This venture has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be more excited to be working on preserving, restoring and releasing this collection.  So many of the best and most significant sexploitation and early hardcore features were produced by Distribpix and it is an honor to finally be able to  consider them part of the Vinegar Syndrome family.” 

Head of Distribpix Inc, Steven Morowitz responded “The gang at Vinegar  Syndrome is wonderful; they opened their doors and welcomed me into their family. I am honored and grateful for this opportunity and together we are going to produce some absolutely amazing packages. Vinegar Syndrome is the best at what they do, from the highest quality restorations, to top-notch physical releases, so this really is a perfect match and the best spot for Distribpix. Our  companies not only thrive on excellent restorations and releasing, but there is a  major emphasis on film preservation and archiving, which was equally attractive  to me.” 

While schedule specifics are still being worked out, Radley Metzger and Gerard  Kikoine’s, The Tale of Tiffany Lust (1981), starring Veronica Hart, Vanessa Del  Rio, Desiree Cousteau, Samantha Fox, George Payne, and Dominique St Clair,  will be making its world 4K UHD and Blu-Ray debut late this summer, while  Michael Findlay’s notorious Flesh Trilogy is being prepared for a Blu-Ray release this fall, in partnership with Something Weird Video. Additionally, the Command  Cinema line which has been distributed by Distribpix for the last several years will also be joining the Distribpix/Vinegar Syndrome family and will see both Blu-ray and 4K debuts of producer/director, Cecil Howard’s acclaimed erotica.  

This monumental merger coincides with the launch of Mélusine, a new online  marketplace for premium home video editions of sexploitation and hardcore  cinema primarily produced during both genres’ golden ages: the early 1960s through the late 1980s. In addition to serving as the new retail home for Command Cinema, several other brandings will be launched:  

Mélusine, which will serve as the flagship brand, will offer deluxe 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack editions of some of the landmark works in hardcore theatrical features, with an emphasis on works by the genre’s most acclaimed filmmakers.  

Quality X, the name of which pays homage to what was one of the most esteemed early home video distributors of erotic entertainment, will offer single film Blu-ray editions of standout and hidden gem theatrical hardcore features from around the globe.  

Distribpix itself will become home to all things sexploitation, pulling from both  Vinegar Syndrome and Distribpix’s vast libraries and ranging from the earliest nudie cuties all the way through the tail end of theatrical softcore. Releases will be single, double and triple feature Blu-rays.   

Finally, Vinegar Syndrome’s acclaimed hardcore feature branding, Peekarama, will continue to offer double feature Blu-rays of hardcore films in all genres. In keeping with Vinegar Syndrome and Distribpix’s focus on film preservation,  releases under all branding will meet the highest standards in presentation quality and the most comprehensive available extras. 

The union between the two companies will produce the widest and most diverse catalog of exploitation, sexploitation, and classic hardcore features, available on disc anywhere in the world.

NEW OCN Distribution Partner Labels Ensure Physical Media Will Have A Long Shelf Life

Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution adds two exciting new labels to their growing consortium of companies dedicated to preserving popular, weird, wild, and obscure films on physical media. That means more Blu-rays, more 4K UHD, and yes - even more Blu-ray 3D discs coming our way! 

News broke earlier this week ahead of the 4th of July holiday that exploitation label Culture Shock would be leaving the OCN Distribution partner catalog to go their own way as they expand their collection of titles. While exploitation fans may miss seeing new Culture Shock titles in the new monthly OCN releases, there's good news on the horizon. In a press release OCN Distribution details they've added two new exciting partner labels to their catalog ensuring that not only will their monthly assortment of exciting titles continue to grow, but see films earn their first-time releases on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and even new Blu-ray 3D releases! 

The first big highlight of the press releases is the news that the new imprint Art Label run by Warren Xian, formally of Culture Shock releasing, will be joining the OCN Distribution collective. As the name implies, Art Label aims to expand beyond horror and exploitation titles to encompass rare, obscure, and well-known art house titles.

The next big piece of news in this press release is that independent cinema caretakers IFC Films will be joining OCN Distribution! On top of their expansive back catalog, IFC continues to give new films a shot on home video rather than letting them get lost (or deleted) in the streaming weeds. This means back catalog titles that were only issued on DVD may see their Blu-ray debuts and even some 4K UHD upgrades as new titles continue to reach physical media!

Collectors should see the first releases from both Art Label and IFC Films arrive in December!

While it may be sad to see Culture Shock leave this exciting network, it's awesome to hear they're not going away either. When we have more news about where they land and when their next releases arrive we'll let you all know. HDD has had a great time checking out their discs so we're happy and excited to see what's next in store for them. At the same time, it's impossible to hold back enthusiasm for what's coming from OCN with two new labels and current partners expanding their collections. That just means more awesome new movies, more slick exclusive slipcovers, and more money happily vanishing from our wallets every month!

For all the gory details, check out the full OCN press release below:

OCN DISTRIBUTION ADDS TWO NEW PARTNER LABELS FOR FALL 2023

[Bridgeport, CT July 6th, 2023] – OCN Distribution, sister company of popular boutique genre home video label Vinegar Syndrome, is expanding its roster of Partner Labels in 2023 (and beyond) with at least two more new labels introduced in this calendar year. 

Following up the addition of labels like the Australian based Umbrella and the US based XYZ Films and Film Desk in 2023 thus far, OCN Distribution is adding two more exciting labels to its consistently expanding lineup this fall, while the current lineup will continue regular releases including the first 4K UHD from Canadian International Pictures and the first 3D BD release from any of the OCN partner labels, via Dekanalog. 

The first addition to the OCN roster has been years in the making and we are very excited to announce that IFC Films will be joining OCN, with extras packed upgrades of select titles, including some previously only released on DVD, alongside future UHD upgrades and new to home video releases. It’s a relationship that will build on IFC’s exquisite curation at the forefront of independent cinema both domestic and abroad, which has been cultivated for decades.

The first IFC Films release will land in December’s Partner’s Only month and its director, Alex Ross Perry, had the following to say about working with OCN on the release: "The work being done by OCN is invaluable when it comes to creating essential physical media home video releases of films that might otherwise not be given the luxury treatment. IFC's catalog is nearly unparalleled when it comes to crucial and significant independent cinema over the past few decades. The possibilities of this partnership are endless, and I am flattered that my previous work with OCN on the definitive Her Smell blu-ray - and their desire to release more of my films - has played a small role in building this relationship”. 

Also launching in December’s Partner’s Only month will be brand new imprint Art Label, run by Warren Xian, formerly of Culture Shock Releasing which will operate without Xian going forward. As many OCN fans are aware, Culture Shock Releasing will be parting ways with OCN this summer and will seek alternative means of distribution. Xian had the following to say about staying with OCN and forming his own label: “With Art Label, I am excited to broaden the horizons of what I was doing with Culture Shock Releasing. We will be expanding beyond horror and exploitation into past and present art house cinema, from the deep fringe to the well known. Working with OCN has been very liberating, allowing me to focus my energy on acquiring more titles and gathering more bonus material for each release, and I am delighted to be continuing that relationship.”  

OCN is very excited about these two new partner labels, and more labels to come in 2024! This fall will be a banner season for OCN Distribution, with an average of 15 releases per month from September through December and that will only increase going into the following year, which will contain even more surprises, including never before on disc titles, unexpected UHD upgrades, comprehensive filmmaker box sets and more! 

The film that made giant cryptids everyone's family friend, Harry and the Hendersons - or Big Foot Und Die Hendersons is getting SIX new Limited Edtion Mediabook releases from Germany's Turbine Medien.

Seriously though, where would The History Channel or The Learning Channel even be today without Harry and the Hendersons? Already the subject of numerous horror films including the infamous Charles B. Pierce flicks The Legend of Boggie Creek and Boggie Creek II... and the Legend Continues, Harry and the Hendersons took a page out of Spielberg's playbook and made the shoewear-challenged beast everyone's favorite family friend. This movie delighted me as a kid and amazingly it still holds up well today. There was also a half-way decent sitcom that ran for three seasons. Now Turbine gives fans of this family favoite six new limited edition Mediabooks for the collection.

Harry and the Hendersons - Mediabook A
555 Units

Harry and the Hendersons - Mediabook B
333 Units

Harry and the Hendersons - Mediabook C
222 Units

Harry and the Hendersons - Mediabook D
333 Units

Harry and the Hendersons - Mediabook E
222 Units

Harry and the Hendersons - Mediabook F
333 Units

And here's everything you're going to get in this Mediabook release of "Big Foot Und Die Hendersons"

On a trip to the woods, the Hendersons run into the legendary Bigfoot in front of their car. Believing they killed the shaggy giant, George, Nancy and children Sarah and Ernie secretly take him home. However, when Bigfoot wakes up there again, he turns the house completely upside down. There is panic at first before the Hendersons realize the good-natured nature of their furry new roommate, Harry. But when not only the neighbors but also the press and a Bigfoot hunter find out about them, a race against time begins to bring the supposed monster to safety again...

With BIGFOOT AND THE HENDERSONS, Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin created a wild adventure comedy for the whole family. Rick Baker designed Harry's costume and won the 1988 Oscar(R) for it, having previously done so with An American Werewolf in London.

Technical specifications:
Language / sound: German DTS-HD MA 5.1, German DTS 2.0, English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS 2.0, German DD 5.1, German DD 2.0, English DD 5.1, English DD 2.0
Bildformat: 1,85:1 (1080p24 Full HD), 1,85:1 (16:9 anamorph, PAL)
Subtitles: German, German for the hearing impaired, English, English for the hearing impaired
Running time: 111 minutes

Bonus Material:

• Audio commentary by director William Dear*
• Anniversary discussion with William Dear & Rick Baker*
• Removed Scenes*
• In the footsteps of Bigfoot*
• Making of*
• Promo-Featurette*
• Trailer USA / D

* with optional German/English subtitles

Sony's Big George Foreman on Blu-ray 06/27, Warner Archive's latest Blu-ray announcements for 07/25, Warner's Batman: Mask of the Phantasm 4K, Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol 1 4K, and Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens in 4K from kino Lorber.

The first bit of news that we have is George Tillman Jr.'s boxing biopic Big George Foreman starring Khris Davis and Forest Whitaker will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on June 27. Digital arrives on June 13.

The miraculous story of the once and future heavyweight champion of the world. Fueled by an impoverished childhood, Foreman channels his anger into becoming the World Heavyweight Champion, followed by a near-death experience that takes him from the ring to the pulpit. But when he sees his community struggle, he reclaims his title, becoming the oldest and most improbable heavyweight champion ever.

Big George Foreman

The Blu-ray comes with English & Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks, Movies Anywhere digital code, and the following supplements:

BONUS MATERIALS

BLU-RAY™, DIGITAL, AND DVD

• Big George Foreman: A Look at the Making of the Film
• Toe to Toe: Foreman & Ali
• Gag Reel
• Deleted Scenes

Warner Brothers has also announced their July Warner Archive Blu-ray slate: Helen of Troy (1956), The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), The Broadway Melody (1929), The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) and Cimarron (1931). All six titles release on Blu-ray on July 25.

Helen of Troy

In an epic tale of passion, heroism, love, betrayal and war that has that has been passed from generation to generation since the dawn of civilization, one woman possesses a beauty that launches a thousand ships and sparks a war that destroys the greatest city of its age--Helen of Troy.

1100 BCE. King Priam (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) of Troy, sends his son, Paris (Jack Sernas), to Sparta to negotiate a treaty to ensure peace between the two Greek city-states. But Paris falls in love with Spartan King Menelaus' (Niall MacGinnis) wife, Helen (Rossana Podesta). Paris kidnaps the willing Helen and her servant (Brigitte Bardot), starting a war that will kill thousands of brave warriors and spell the end of the city of Troy. Homer's Iliad provides the basis for this epic from the '50s heyday of big-screen blockbusters. Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Sound Of Music) directs this lavish epic capturing more than 30,000 people on screen at a then-huge production cost of $6 million.

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• Three "Behind the Cameras" sequences from the Warner Bros. Presents TV series on the making of the film
• Classic short:

• Napoleon Bunny-Part
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

The Last Time I Saw Paris

Academy Award winners Elizabeth Taylor and Donna Reed star with Van Johnson in this sweeping romance loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited", a story of love and dreams found and lost in The City of Lights--The Last Time I Saw Paris.

When reporter Charles Wills (Johnson) travels to Paris to cover the Allies' victory in World War II, he falls in love with and marries the stunningly beautiful Helen Ellswirth (Taylor). The young newlyweds choose to stay in Paris, where Charles tries to make his way as a writer. But years of struggle, rejection and poverty take their toll on the Wills' marriage, and the two drift into affairs with others as their love and dreams fade. Now, after years of disillusion and tragedy, Charles returns to Paris. But can he rediscover the passion and dreams that once came so easily?

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL TECHNICOLOR CAMERA NEGATIVES
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Classic Tom & Jerry short:

• Touche Pussycat
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

Du Barry Was a Lady

Hapless nightclub hatcheck boy Red Skelton loves glamorous chanteuse Lucille Ball. Handsome hoofer Gene Kelly loves her too. And Lucy? Lucy loves money. Then Red mistakenly gulps down a Mickey Finn and dreams he's in 18th-century France. Before you can powder your wig, a throng of suitors -- Red, Gene, King Louis XV, a dashing rebel, a sinister duke and just about everybody -- loves Lucy!

This glittery, tune-filled bonbon features a supporting cast of wags and wits (including the inimitable Zero Mostel) and three Cole Porter songs from the original Broadway smash: "Friendship," "Katie Went to Haiti" and "Do I Love You?" Cherchez la Lucy for comedy, music and star power from Hollywood's golden era.

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL TECHNICOLOR CAMERA NEGATIVES
• MGM short: Seeing Hands
• Barney Bear cartoon: Bah, Wilderness
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

The Broadway Melody: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made every effort to impress with its first talking motion picture, setting a new standard for big-budget films and establishing an archetype for decades of movie musicals to follow in The Broadway Melody.

The Great White Way truly becomes the Street of Broken Dreams when sisters Queenie and Hank Mahoney (Anita Page and Bessie Love) follow Hank's boyfriend, Eddie Kearns (Charles King), to Manhattan with visions of stardom. In New York, Eddie and Queenie are attracted to each other, but unwilling to betray her sister, Queenie dates a feckless cad. Now, Hank must sort out the tangle of aspirations and emotions that form this tragic love triangle. Filled with a memorable score of unforgettable songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, this was the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (1929-30).

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE BEST PRESERVATION ELEMENTS
• Metro Movietone Review Shorts, No. 1,2,3,4 & 7
• Van and Schenck Metro Movietone Act, The Dogway Melody
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

The Fastest Gun Alive

Glenn Ford stars in this action-packed Western featuring a star-powered cast. Ford stars as a gunman gone good named George Temple, who with his wife Dora (Jeanne Crain) are trying to live a peaceful life. But George's gunslinging ways are legendary - and attract the attention of other gunmen who feel up for a challenge. The couple moves to a new town in the hopes of finally finding a normal life. When George gets drunk and spills the beans, can he and Dora trust the townfolk to keep their secret? A Western with a message that the whole family can enjoy.

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Classic Tom & Jerry shorts:

• Blue Cat Blues
• Down Beat Bear
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

Cimarron

This Academy Award -winning adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel traces the lives of two people who are in love with each other--but in love with life even more--as they struggle to bring civilization to the Western frontier in Cimarron!

1898. The Oklahoma Land Rush. As thousands of would-be settlers race across a barren desert to be the first to stake their claim to a plot of land, Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his property by Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Without the farm they had hoped to start, Yancey and his wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), take over the local newspaper after the editor is assassinated. But as the newspaper helps bring order to a lawless land, Yancey feels the wanderlust to find new frontiers and new adventures, and Sabra stays to build a publishing empire. Always in love, frequently apart and destined for greatness, Yancey and Sabra lead lives as tempestuous as the land they have chosen for their home in this epic Western classic.

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE BEST PRESERVATION ELEMENTS
• Classic WB cartoons:

• Lady, Play Your Mandolin (1931)
• Red-Headed Baby (1931)
• MGM short: The Devil's Cabaret (1931)
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

According to Bill Hunt over at The Digital Bits, Warner Brothers seems to be prepping Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for a release likely this fall.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm: When the city's most feared gangsters are systematically eliminated, the Caped Crusader is blamed. But prowling the Gotham night is a shadowy new villain, the Phantasm, a sinister figure with some link to Batman's past. Can the Dark Knight elude the police, capture the Phantasm and clear his own name?

Unmasking the Phantasm is just one of the twists in this dazzling animated feature. Discover revelations about Batman's past, his archrival the Joker and Batman's most grueling battle ever — the choice between his love for a beautiful woman and his vow to be the defender of right. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is "a mystery that is genuinely absorbing, suspenseful and moving" (Cincinnati Enquirer).

Quentin Tarantino fans will also be pleased to know that The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Lionsgate will be re-releasing Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Vo 1, and Kill Bill: Vol 2 in the near future with a newly remastered 4K Ultra HD of Kill Bill: Vol 1 leading the way to coincide with the film's 25th anniversary. It's probably safe to assume the others won't be far behind. We hope to be able to update those with official release news ASAP.

Lastly, there is no release date yet, however, Kino Lorber Studio Classics is working on John Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray sometime in 2023 or early 2024.  

Cowboys & Aliens: Bearing a mysterious metal shackle on his wrist, an amnesiac gunslinger (Daniel Craig) wanders into a frontier town called Absolution. He quickly finds that strangers are unwelcome, and no one does anything without the approval of tyrannical Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). But when Absolution faces a threat from beyond Earth, the stranger finds that he is its only hope of salvation. He unites townspeople, outlaws and Apache warriors against the alien forces in an epic battle for survival.

James Cameron's sci-fi fantasy adventures Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water are finally coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs on June 20th. After following the advanced Streeming-only release structure similar to last year's mega-hit Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water will finally come to disc with new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, AND Blu-ray 3D - with retailer exclusives to boot! There's a lot to dig into for each of these releases, but at the start - it's nice to see some effort from Disney in this regard.

Read Bryan's Theatrical Review - Read Matthew's 4K Streaming Review

Avatar - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Avatar: The Way of Water - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Avatar: The Way of Water - Blu-ray

Avatar: The Way of Water - Blu-ray 3D

Avatar: The Way of Water - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Best Buy SteelBook

Avatar: The Way of Water - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Walmart Exclusive Lenticular

Avatar: The Way of Water - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Target Exclusive - Decal 

Now that is A LOT of Avatar to digest! So on top of the remastered original Avatar getting its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut, the sequel charges onto disc with multiple editions and retailer exclusives. Of the retailer exclusives, I'd be into that Best Buy SteelBook if it was actually accurate to the movie with Jake sporting his machine gun and NOT a stupid spear, so I'm giving Walmart the edge on the exclusives. Target once again shows their cards for not really caring about Physical Media with what is basically the standard 4K package... with a decal you can stick on your phone, tablet, or water bottle apparently! Whoohooo! (sarcasm)

Now for the best and most important details - the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray will finally see Disney/20th Century Studios release a BD-100 disc. Our press assets didn't list HDR grade, but I'm assuming they'd simply opt for HDR10 only. Atmos will be included along with an extra Blu-ray disc set for Bonus Features. The standard Blu-ray will only offer DTS-HD MA 5.1 but wildly enough the Blu-ray 3D disc will include DTS-HD 7.1 audio - it's not Atmos, but hey, it's better than the standard Blu-ray! Sadly there doesn't appear to be a 4K UHD + 3D Blu-ray combo pack available, at least here in the states. Other territories like Japan might offer that, they've been the one carrying the Disney 3D torch the last few years with their combo releases, so we'll keep our eyes out for that.

These aren't yet up for pre-order yet - but we expect them to start popping soon and when they wdo we'll update our listings so you can secure those orders ASAP.

Here's the full press release and spec sheet:

4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAY™ 3D, BLU-RAY, DVD & DIGITAL

PRODUCT AND SPECS FACT SHEET

Product Specifications

Street Date

Digital: March 28

Physical: June 20

Product SKUs

Digital: 4K UHD, HD, SD

Physical: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + Digital Code), & DVD

Feature Run Time

Approx. 192 minutes

Rating

U.S. Rated PG-13

**For sequences of strong violence and intense action, partial nudity, and some strong language

Aspect Ratio

Digital: 1.85

Physical: 1.85:1

Disc Size

4K UHD: 100GB

Blu-ray 3D: 50GB

Blu-ray: 50GB

DVD: 8.5GB

Bit Rate Actuals

4K UHD: 45 ABR

Blu-ray 3D: 29.5 ABR

Blu-ray: 23.3 ABR

DVD: 4 ABR

U.S. Audio

Digital: English 5.1/2.0, English Atmos (for some platforms), English 7.1 (for some platforms), English AD, French (for some platforms), Spanish (for some platforms)

Physical:

4K UHD: English 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital

3D Blu-ray: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA , English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Blu-ray: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA , English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

DVD: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

U.S. Subtitles

Digital: English SDH, French (for some platforms), Spanish (some platforms)

Physical: English SDH, French, Spanish

Bonus Features* 

Inside Pandora's Box (A series of featurettes on the challenges facing cast and crew as filmmakers devise new technologies to push the limits of cinema)

• Building the World of Pandora – James Cameron and a team of talented artists combine years of research with their design skills to build the world of Pandora with new characters, creatures, indigenous clans, underwater environments and the take-no-prisoners hard-tech world of the RDA.

• Capturing Pandora – James Cameron’s approach to performance capture has the cast performing in a volume rigged with infrared cameras to capture their movement, and head rig cameras to capture emotion on their faces with only the boundaries of imagination to limit them.

• The Undersea World of Pandora – Co-production designer Dylan Cole and his team conceive of the marine creatures required for Avatar: The Way of Water while James Cameron and his stunt team devise extraordinary means to bring those creatures to life in a performance capture tank.

• The Challenges of Pandora's Waters – James Cameron tackles the “non-trivial challenge” of performance capture above and below the water’s surface, utilizing a wave machine and current generator to reproduce ocean conditions, and underwater vehicles to replicate creature movement.

• Pandora’s Returning Characters – James Cameron reunites with his returning cast – Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. Together they discuss the amazing evolution of their characters in Avatar: The Way of Water. 

• Pandora’s Next Generation – Meet the talented young newcomers who have been cast as the next generation of Na’vi and follow them through the adventure of making Avatar: The Way of Water. 

• Spider's Web – James Cameron introduced the human character of Spider into the fabric of Pandora – thus creating a host of technological challenges on set…and an incredible journey for the young actor, Jack Champion.

• Becoming Na’vi – The Avatar cast is immersed in the culture of the indigenous Na’vi, living off the land in the Hawaiian rainforest and training in a multitude of disciplines in preparation for their roles.

• The Reef People of Pandora – In true James Cameron-style, the Metkayina reef clan has been developed with great attention to detail, bearing unique evolutionary traits and a culture – with new dwellings, new clothes and different way of life – all a result of living off the ocean. 

• Bringing Pandora to Life – Once James Cameron completes his virtual production process, every sequence is turned over to Wētā FX to bring Pandora to life – with unprecedented advancements in facial performance, environments and making CG water look real.

• The RDA Returns to Pandora – Co-production designer Ben Procter and his team present an armada of new vehicles and human technologies that the RDA brings to Pandora – in concept design and with practical builds.

• The New Characters of Pandora – Meet the important new characters of the Avatar saga played by Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell and Jemaine Clement.

• The Sounds of Pandora – Hear how James Cameron worked with composer Simon Franglen to create the distinctive music of The Way of Water while building on James Horner’s brilliant score for Avatar, and learn how Chris Boyes created the immersive sounds of Pandora.

• New Zealand – Pandora’s Home – The production of the Avatar sequels is so thoroughly ensconced in New Zealand that James Cameron considers The Way of Water a “New Zealand film.” Hear reflections from the cast and crew, including the remarkable New Zealand crew, on making the film.

More from Pandora's Box (Additional featurettes that highlight special teams within the production)

• Casting – Discover the screen tests that won the talented young cast their roles in Avatar: The Way of Water.

• Stunts – The Avatar stunt team isn’t just creating breathtaking action, they’re driving the story. From racing underwater on ilus, flying the skies on ikrans, to maneuvering RDA speed boats, the stunt team leaves you breathless and wanting more.

• The Lab – Explore the Lightstorm Lab, the backbone of virtual production for the Avatar films. Comprised of specialized teams, the Lab builds & supports every aspect of the production – environments, motion edit, Kabuki, sequence, post-viz and software development.

• The Troupe – Avatar’s Troupe is the Swiss Army Knife of acting, while playing dozens of roles on set, in the performance capture volume and on live-action sets, they bring life to Na’vi clans and RDA Recoms. They also play Na’vi-scale puppets on the live-action sets.

Marketing Materials & Music Video (Marketing materials used to build audience awareness of the film)

• Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength) Music Video – Multi-Grammy-winning, music superstar, The Weeknd, performs his emotionally packed end title song in the official music video for the smash hit “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength).”

• Theatrical Trailers 1 & 2 – Avatar: The Way of Water used two theatrical trailers to engage the audience. The first was a teaser trailer released 7 months before the film. The second was a standard trailer that premiered 5 weeks before the film’s release. 

English Family Audio Track – 5.1 Dolby Digital

*Bonus features vary by product and retailer

August's Criterion Collection titles include Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray), as well as Blu-ray editions of Wayne Wang's Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, Bo Widerberg's New Swedish Cinema - a boxed set of four poetic and political films, and finally Cauleen Smith's Drylongso.

Starting off the month on August 8 is a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams.

Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams -
The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Unfolding in a series of eight mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa was inspired by the beloved director’s own nighttime visions, along with stories from Japanese folklore. In a visually sumptuous journey through the master’s imagination, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic apparitions: a young boy stumbles on a fox wedding in a forest; a soldier confronts the ghosts of the war dead; a power-plant meltdown smothers a seaside landscape in radioactive fumes. Interspersed with reflections on the redemptive power of creation, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh (who is played by Martin Scorsese), Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams is both a showcase for its maker’s artistry at its most unbridled and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance.

1990 • 120 minutes • Color • 2.0 surround • In Japanese with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio 

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Shoji Ueda, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

• Audio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen Prince

• Feature-length documentary from 1990 shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi

• Interviews with production manager Teruyo Nogami and assistant director Takashi Koizumi

• Documentary from 2011 by director Akira Kurosawa’s longtime translator Catherine Cadou, featuring interviews with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Martin Scorsese, Hayao Miyazaki, and others

• Trailer

• PLUS: An essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami

Up next on August 15 is Wayne Wang's Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart.

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart -
The Criterion Collection

Wayne Wang’s follow-up to his watershed indie Chan Is Missing is a family portrait that gracefully combines the director’s signature gentle humanism and eye for poignant detail. Offering another fresh perspective on San Francisco’s Chinese American community, Wang takes a bittersweet look at the generational pas de deux between an aging immigrant widow and her devoted daughter, torn between filial duty and her own desires. Soulfully performed by an ensemble including real-life mother and daughter Kim and Laureen Chew and Victor Wong, the Yasujiro Ozu–inspired Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is as lovingly made as the home-cooked cuisine it celebrates.

1985 • 84 minutes • Color • Monaural • In English and Cantonese with English subtitles • 1.78:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• High-definition digital master of a new director’s cut, supervised by director Wayne Wang, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• New conversation between Wang and filmmaker and film scholar Arthur Dong

• Interview from 2004 with actor Laureen Chew 

• English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: An essay by scholar Brian Hu

Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema - a collection of four films from the Swedish auteur arrives on August 22.

Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema -
The Criterion Collection

Driven by a desire to forge a socially conscious Swedish cinema—one that broke with the inward-looking psychodrama of Ingmar Bergman to give dynamic expression to the everyday experiences of working-class Swedes—writer Bo Widerberg turned to filmmaking in the early 1960s, realizing his ambition in politically committed yet poetic works that merge social-realist themes with a refined, often breathtakingly beautiful visual sensibility. Dramatizing the struggles of ordinary people fighting to chart their own destiny, these four acclaimed, popular, and pivotal films from Widerberg’s most prolific period live and breathe with a rare vitality—and helped launch a new Swedish cinema.

FOUR-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks 

• New introduction to director Bo Widerberg by filmmaker Ruben Östlund

• New interviews with actor Tommy Berggren and cinematographer Jörgen Persson

• The Boy and the Kite (1962), a short film by Widerberg and Jan Troell, with an introduction by Troell 

• Swedish television interviews with Widerberg from the 1960s

• Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Elvira Madigan

• PLUS: An essay by film historian Peter Cowie and excerpts by Widerberg from his 1962 book Vision in Swedish Film

And finally on August 29 is the Blu-ray debut of Cauleen Smith's Drylongso.

Drylongso -
The Criterion Collection

A rediscovered treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/romance. Alarmed by the rate at which the young Black men around her are dying, brash Oakland art student Pica (Toby Smith) attempts to preserve their existence in Polaroid snapshots, along the way forging a friendship with a woman in an abusive relationship (April Barnett) and experiencing love, heartbreak, and the everyday threat of violence. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men.

1998 • 81 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Cauleen Smith, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• New conversation between Smith and film scholar Michael B. Gillespie

• Short films by Smith, including Chronicles of a Lying Spirit by Kelly Gabron, Songs for Earth & Folk, Lessons in Semaphore, Egungun (Ancestor Can’t Find Me), Remote Viewing, and Suffolk, with a new introduction by Smith 

• Trailer

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Yasmina Price

Pre-Orders should be available soon!

Guy Ritchie's action-thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim will be released in a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Combo Pack on June 20.

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean lengths to save Kinley’s life. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised, he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban hunts them down.

There doesn't appear to be a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release, and specs and supplements have not been revealed.

The Covenant - Bluray

Order your copy today and here is the full press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Guy Ritchie delivers a gripping, memorable tale about the hell of modern war and the universal nature of sacrifice and heroism.”
Chicago Sun-Times / Richard Roeper

"Intense and urgent!"
FOX-TV / Shawn Edwards

GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT

ARRIVES ON BLU-RAY AND DVD

ON JUNE 20

Burbank, CA, May 9 – Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant from Metro-Goldwyn Mayer will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 20. 

Directed by prolific filmmaker Guy Ritchie (Wrath of Man, Aladdin) from a screenplay by Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, the film is produced by Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, John Friedberg and Josh Berger.

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Ambulance, Spider-Man: Far from Home), Dar Salim (Game of Thrones), Antony Starr (The Boys), Alexander Ludwig (Bad Boys for Life, Vikings), Bobby Schofield (Cherry), Emily Beecham (Cruella) and Jonny Lee Miller (T2 Trainspotting).

ABOUT THE FILM

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean lengths to save Kinley’s life. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised, he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban hunts them down. 

Directed by: Guy Ritchie

Screenplay by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies

Produced by: Guy Ritchie p.g.a., Ivan Atkinson p.g.a., John Friedberg and Josh Berger

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig, Bobby Schofield, Emily Beecham and Jonny Lee Miller

BASICS

PRODUCT                                                                            SRP

Blu-ray                                                                                   $34.98

DVD                                                                                       $29.98

DVD Languages: English

Blu-ray Languages: English

DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish

Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Latin Spanish

Running Time: 123 minutes

Rating: R for violence, language throughout and brief drug content

THE CREDITS

About Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content across all platforms. The company owns one of the world's deepest libraries of premium film and television content as well as the premium pay television network EPIX, which is available throughout the U.S. via cable, satellite, telco and digital distributors.  In addition, MGM has investments in numerous other television channels, digital platforms and interactive ventures and is producing premium short-form content for distribution. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

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.

The fourth chapter in star Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski's John Wick franchise will be gunning down 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on June 13 from Lionsgate. The 4K UHD Blu-ray will also have several retailer exclusives available and Digital arrives May 23.

Read our review of John Wick: Chapter 4 HERE.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe, and forces that turn old friends into foes.

The 4K Ultra HD the Blu-ray will include Dolby Vision and both the 4K and Blu-ray releases will have Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES 

• Chad and Keanu: Through Wick and Thin: Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have a partnership that stretches all the way back to the first Matrix film. In this retrospective piece, we trace their remarkable friendship and decades-long collaboration.
• Train Like a Killer: Weapons Master Robert “Rock” Galotti and Keanu Reeves reveal the rigorous training that Keanu had to endure to make John Wick: Chapter 4 a reality – from gunplay, to jiu jitsu, to some hard-hitting stunt work.
• Making A Killing: In John Wick, sets are not merely the backdrop for each scene – they are integral parts of the action, with Wick often using whatever is on hand to take the fight to his enemies. Here we explore the craft at play in designing the sets of John Wick: Chapter 4 and the ways set design and action choreography go hand in hand in this legendary series.
• The Psychology of a Killer: Chad Stahelski explores the psychology of John Wick, a character who, despite four films, is still a mystery in many ways. We unpack the complicated code of ethics that Wick lives by, and the ironic bonds he shares with the men trying to kill him.
• The Blind Leading the Fight: John Wick: Chapter 4 witnesses the arrival of Caine, a blind killer played by legendary actor and martial artist Donnie Yen. With a style not seen since The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Caine shows that a killer’s greatest instincts come not from his eyes, but from his mind. Here we uncover Yen’s journey on this film, exploring his prep for the role, his insight into the character, and his intense training regimen to portray this unlikely killer.
• Suit Up / Shoot Up: Costume Designer Paco Delgado uncovers the cooler-than-cool suits worn by the assassins of John Wick that feature bulletproof lining – just what every killer needs for a night out on the town. We also explore the more refined looks of the Marquis and the Old West-inspired garb of the Tracker.
• Packing a Punch: Pulling off a kill takes a village. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the way Team Wick incorporates special effects into the practical stunts and locations of the film.
• One Killer Shot: John Wick: Chapter 4 features one of the boldest single-take shots ever attempted in action filmmaking. Fight Choreographers Jeremy Marinas and Laurent Demianoff team up with Stunt Coordinator Scott Rogers to dive into the creative challenges that went into planning this one-shot sequence that sees John Wick take on Paris’s deadliest killers.
• Killing at the Speed of Traffic: Take a look at a nonstop action sequence featuring John Wick’s car-fu at the Arc de Triomphe! The driving force of this piece will be a look at the effects achieved at the iconic location, and sets the stakes of every assassin in Paris descending on Wick.
• A Shot in the Dark: The John Wick series takes audiences into a world that is both thematically and visually dark. For film crews, that meant enduring hundreds of night shoots, with crews switching to a virtually nocturnal mode of life for long stretches of production. Here we explore the tenacious work of cast and crew members who tough it out night after night in pursuit of Wick’s dark, iconic aesthetic. Along the way, we explore some of the most iconic night scenes in the film, culminating with Wick’s brutal staircase fight.
• In Honor of the Dead: In creating John Wick: Chapter 4, Chad Stahelski drew on references from some of the greatest films ever made. Uncover the cinematic homages depicted in the film, from David Lean to John Woo, to the samurai epics of post-war Japan.
• Theatrical Trailer 1
• Theatrical Trailer 2   

John Wick: Chapter 4 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

John Wick: Chapter 4 - Blu-ray

John Wick: Chapter 4 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
(Wal-Mart Exclusive)

John Wick: Chapter 4 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
(Amazon Exclusive)

John Wick: Chapter 4 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
(Best Buy SteelBook)

John Wick: Chapter 4 - Blu-ray
(Target Exclusive)

All are up for pre-order - here's the full press release from Lionsgate:

 
SANTA MONICA, CA (May 2, 2023) – Old friends and new foes come together when John Wick: Chapter 4 arrives On Demand May 23 and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), and DVD June 13 from Lionsgate. The high action-thriller, which has grossed a franchise-best $400 million+ at the global box office, directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, stars Keanu Reeves (The Matrix franchise) as he returns in the titular role, joined by franchise regulars Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix franchise), Lance Reddick (TV’s “Lost”), and lan McShane (“Deadwood”) while welcoming Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Bill Skarsgård (It franchise), Hiroyuki Sanada (Avengers: Endgame), Shamier Anderson (Race), Rina Sawayama (TV’s “Turn Up Charlie”), and Scott Adkins (Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday).
 
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe, and forces that turn old friends into foes.
 
John Wick: Chapter 4 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $42.99, $39.99, and $29.96, respectively. 
 
4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES 

• Chad and Keanu: Through Wick and Thin: Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have a partnership that stretches all the way back to the first Matrix film. In this retrospective piece, we trace their remarkable friendship and decades-long collaboration.
• Train Like a Killer: Weapons Master Robert “Rock” Galotti and Keanu Reeves reveal the rigorous training that Keanu had to endure to make John Wick: Chapter 4 a reality – from gunplay, to jiu jitsu, to some hard-hitting stunt work.
• Making A Killing: In John Wick, sets are not merely the backdrop for each scene – they are integral parts of the action, with Wick often using whatever is on hand to take the fight to his enemies. Here we explore the craft at play in designing the sets of John Wick: Chapter 4 and the ways set design and action choreography go hand in hand in this legendary series.
• The Psychology of a Killer: Chad Stahelski explores the psychology of John Wick, a character who, despite four films, is still a mystery in many ways. We unpack the complicated code of ethics that Wick lives by, and the ironic bonds he shares with the men trying to kill him.
• The Blind Leading the Fight: John Wick: Chapter 4 witnesses the arrival of Caine, a blind killer played by legendary actor and martial artist Donnie Yen. With a style not seen since The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Caine shows that a killer’s greatest instincts come not from his eyes, but from his mind. Here we uncover Yen’s journey on this film, exploring his prep for the role, his insight into the character, and his intense training regimen to portray this unlikely killer.
• Suit Up / Shoot Up: Costume Designer Paco Delgado uncovers the cooler-than-cool suits worn by the assassins of John Wick that feature bulletproof lining – just what every killer needs for a night out on the town. We also explore the more refined looks of the Marquis and the Old West-inspired garb of the Tracker.
• Packing a Punch: Pulling off a kill takes a village. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the way Team Wick incorporates special effects into the practical stunts and locations of the film.
• One Killer Shot: John Wick: Chapter 4 features one of the boldest single-take shots ever attempted in action filmmaking. Fight Choreographers Jeremy Marinas and Laurent Demianoff team up with Stunt Coordinator Scott Rogers to dive into the creative challenges that went into planning this one-shot sequence that sees John Wick take on Paris’s deadliest killers.
• Killing at the Speed of Traffic: Take a look at a nonstop action sequence featuring John Wick’s car-fu at the Arc de Triomphe! The driving force of this piece will be a look at the effects achieved at the iconic location, and sets the stakes of every assassin in Paris descending on Wick.
• A Shot in the Dark: The John Wick series takes audiences into a world that is both thematically and visually dark. For film crews, that meant enduring hundreds of night shoots, with crews switching to a virtually nocturnal mode of life for long stretches of production. Here we explore the tenacious work of cast and crew members who tough it out night after night in pursuit of Wick’s dark, iconic aesthetic. Along the way, we explore some of the most iconic night scenes in the film, culminating with Wick’s brutal staircase fight.
• In Honor of the Dead: In creating John Wick: Chapter 4, Chad Stahelski drew on references from some of the greatest films ever made. Uncover the cinematic homages depicted in the film, from David Lean to John Woo, to the samurai epics of post-war Japan.
• Theatrical Trailer 1
• Theatrical Trailer 2   

CAST:
Keanu Reeves                The Matrix franchise
Donnie Yen                     Rogue One, IP Man franchise
Bill Skarsgård                  It franchise, Barbarian
Laurence Fishburne        The Matrix Franchise
Hiroyuki Sanada              Bullet Train, Avengers: Endgame
Lance Reddick                 TV’s “Lost”
Rina Sawayama               TV’s “Turn Up Charlie”
Scott Adkins                      Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday
and lan McShane              TV’s “Deadwood,” “American Gods”
 

 
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2023
Title Copyright: John Wick: Chapter 4 © 2023 Summit Entertainment, LLC. Artwork & Supplementary Materials ^®, ™ & © 2023 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Type: New Release
Rating: R for pervasive strong violence and some language
Genre: Action
Feature Run Time: 169 Minutes
Closed-Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, English SDH
4K Ultra HD™ Format: 2160p Ultra High Definition 16x9 (2.39:1) Presentation, Dolby Vision 
Blu-ray™ Format: 1080p High Definition 16x9 (2.39:1) Presentation 
DVD Format: 16x9 (2.39:1) Presentation 
4K Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio
Blu-ray Audio:  English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Audio
DVD Audio:  English 5.1 Dolby Audio, English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Audio

The critically-acclaimed action-comedy based on the classic RPG and starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Regé-Jean Page will be available on 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on May 30. SteelBook fans can also get their 4K UHD Blu-ray in a spiffy suit of armor.

Digital arrives tomorrow (May 2).

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people in this hilarious and action-packed adventure.

Specs have yet to be revealed, but the press release seems to indicate the supplements are digital only.

• From Dice to Dragons: Honoring the Lore— Go behind-the-scenes with Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and the cast and crew to witness the thrilling journey of bringing the classic board game to life in the ultimate D&D experience.
• Rogues’ Gallery: The Heroes of Dungeons & Dragons— Get an in-depth look at the heroes of the film as the cast delves into their characters and reveals the secrets behind bringing them to life on screen.
• Fantastic Foes— Explore the dark side of D&D with a look at the film's complex and fascinating villains.
• The Bestiary— Check out the cutting-edge visual effects, prosthetics, and intricate costumes that went into the creation of the movie's magical beings and fantastical beasts.
• Forging the Forgotten Realms— Discover the secrets behind the exciting sets and breathtaking locations in far away lands!
• Broadswords, Battle-axes & Badass Brawls— Dive into epic fight sequences with a behind-the-scenes look at the mind-blowing stunts and powerful weaponry that went into this heart-pumping action adventure.
• Gag Reel— Don't miss the hilarious gag reel with bloopers and outtakes.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes— Uncover even more of the action with deleted & extended scenes not seen in theaters!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Blu-ray

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves -
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (SteelBook)

Order your copy today!

After all editions of their Mediabook release sold out virtually overnight, Turbine is reissuing 2007's survival horror thriller P2 with a standard softpack 2-Disc release. While you miss out on some of the cool art options and the booklet, you can now enjoy this slick thriller with the excellent transfer and either Atmos or Auro-3D audio!

For some inexplicable reason, P2 has never been released on Blu-ray in the U.S. of A. There have been other Blu-ray releases in various import markets, but they used the old problematic VC-1 encode and just never really came to life. Turbine gives this fun gnarly little horror flick a new (and much improved) encode and then supes up the package with two excellent audio options. The film itself may not be the best feature of all time, but it works and offers up one of the gnarliest kills:

Since there's no difference in the disc content, you can read our review of the Mediabook release and have an idea what you're in for. P2 - Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray Review

P2 - Standard Edition Blu-ray

In addition to offering the same two discs, one disc with Atmos and the other with Auro-3D, there is reversible insert artwork along with the same set of bonus features:

Technical specifications:
Language / Sound: German & English: Dolby Atmos, Auro & DTS 2.0
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (1080p Full HD)
Subtitles: German, English, English (SDH)

Running time: 97 minutes

Bonus Material:
+ A new fear level - Making of* (approx. 12 min.)
+ Terror design - location and stunts* (approx. 5 min.)
+ A New Kind of Suspense - Director Franck Khalfoun* (ca. 3 min.)
+ Behind the scenes* (approx. 4 min.)
+ Audio commentary* with Alexander Aja, Franck Khalfoun and Gregory Levasseur
+ Cinema trailers, teasers and TV spots
*The bonus material has optional German subtitles.

Number of discs: 2
Genre: Horror

Now up for Pre-order - and thankfully not a limited run so you don't have to worry about missing out!

Rick Rosenthal's (Halloween II, Halloween: Resurrection) Bad Boys (1983) celebrates its 40th Anniversary with four slick new three-disc Mediabooks offering multiple cuts of the film with Bill Conti's soundtrack on CD.

No this is not the Will Smith / Martin Laurence / Michael Bay actioner, but it's still one of the best 80s prison thrillers featuring an up-and-coming Sean Penn delivering one of his best performances with an awesome cast including Clancy Brown, Esai Morales, Jim Moody, Alan Ruck, and Reni Santoni. This Chicago-set thriller gets to celebrate its 40th Anniversary with four new three-disc Mediabook releases from German label Turbine Medien. While it'd be great to just have the film on disc with slick packaging, Turbine is throwing in four cuts of the film! 

For the first time on Blu-ray - the edition includes:
Uncut-US-Kinofassung (HD ca. 124 Min.)
Extended German theatrical version (HD approx. 112 min.)
German theatrical version/US video version (HD approx. 109 min.)
Retroversion (Open Matte 4:3) (SD-NTSC ca. 109 Min.)

Features: US trailer, director's audio commentary (optional German + English subtitles), soundtrack CD by Bill Conti (ROCKY, KARATE KID), 12-page book section on the history of the film by Tobias Hohmann

Each Mediabook is limited to a certain number of units so if you're looking to pick this up, you'll have to act fast.

Bad Boys (1983) 40th Anniversary Mediabook
Italian Art (222 Units)

Bad Boys (1983) 40th Anniversary Mediabook
German Art 1 (500 Units)

Bad Boys (1983) 40th Anniversary Mediabook
German Art 2 (500 Units)

Bad Boys (1983) 40th Anniversary Mediabook
French Art (222 Units)

These Mediabooks are up for pre-order right now - they're due to ship out on March 31st.

The 2005 infamous Ozploitation terror flick Wolf Creek scores a two-disc Blu-ray release from Via Vision Entertainment with a lenticular cover and is limited to a shockingly slim 1000 units! 

Based on true crimes within the Australian Outback (not the steakhouse chain), the film rode the wave of body horror "torture porn" terror flicks like Hostel, High Tension, and the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Only this one was pretty good and genuinely terrifying without completely diving deep into the depictions of mutilation and pain. Directed by Greg McLean and starring Kestie Morassi, Cassandra Magrath, and Snakes On A Plane's Nathan Phillips with John Jarratt turning in a particularly scary performance as Mick Taylor.

Wolf Creek - Limited Edition Blu-ray (1000 Units)

Absent a proper Blu-ray release in the United States after HD-DVD went defunct, Wolf Creek has been around the block in other markets and territories on the format for several years now. While we await a domestic release, ViaVision is delivering an exciting 2-Disc 2-Version Limited Edition with a lenticular cover and six art cards. $40+ shipping (U.S) may be a bit steep for some but it'd be great to finally have both cuts of the film in the same package. I'm tired of waiting for someone to deliver the first and best of the series while Wolf Creek 2 has been available here stateside for years, so I think I'm going to take the plunge and jump for this edition.

Again, this set is limited to only 1000 units so get those pre-orders in fast! You can only purchase this direct from ViaVision

A collection of 10 more classic Disney animated shorts is on the way to DVD and Blu-ray on June 27. Digital will be available on April 4.

Celebrate 100 magical years of Disney with this collectible compilation of animated shorts! Join Mickey and his friends in these 10 hilarious, madcap adventures which have entertained generations of children and adults alike. Highlights include The Band Concert, where Maestro Mickey and his friends face wild challenges while performing outdoors. Then see what happens when Goofy is in the driver’s seat pulling Mickey’s Trailer. In Pluto’s Sweater, Pluto gets hot under the collar when Minnie knits him a warm turtleneck, and in Pluto and the Gopher, Pluto stops to smell the flowers, but finds himself outwitted by a mischievous rodent. And there’s no stopping Donald’s nephews from coming between their uncle and the lovely Daisy Duck when Mr. Duck Steps Out. Five more charming, funny stories complete this legacy collection that’s sure to delight.

Mickey & Friends: 10 Classic Shorts - Volume 2

The Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack will include stereo audio and 10 classic animated shorts:

• The Band Concert
• Pluto’s Sweater
• Mickey’s Trailer
• Pluto and the Gopher
• Mr. Duck Steps Out
• Lonesome Ghosts
• Boat Builders
• Tugboat Mickey
• Winter Storage
• Pluto’s Party

Order the Blu-ray now and here is the full press release:

CELEBRATE 100 MAGICAL YEARS WITH MICKEY & FRIENDS!

Collect Another Piece Of Animation History When 

Mickey & Friends 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 2

Arrives On Digital on April 4 and Blu-ray™ & DVD on June 27

BURBANK, CA (March 14, 2023) – Walt Disney Animation Studios announces the release of a second highly-collectible volume of ten classic animated short films, in a new collection, Mickey & Friends 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 2.  Available together for the first time for audiences to enjoy at home, the exciting new collection combines hilarious animated classics, including favorites ‘The Band Concert,’ ‘Pluto’s Sweater’ and ‘Mickey’s Trailer.’  They are combined with a fun all-new animated interstitials introduction featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald, Goofy and Pluto, as the beloved Disney characters gather together to watch a slideshow on some of their hilarious past adventures. 

Mickey & Friends 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 2 debuts as part of the expansive celebration of Disney's 100th anniversary.

It will be available to purchase on Digital on April 4 and on Blu-ray and DVD on June 27. 

Shorts Included:

• The Band Concert
• Pluto’s Sweater
• Mickey’s Trailer
• Pluto and the Gopher
• Mr. Duck Steps Out
• Lonesome Ghosts
• Boat Builders
• Tugboat Mickey
• Winter Storage
• Pluto’s Party

Synopsis

Celebrate 100 magical years of Disney with this collectible compilation of animated shorts! Join Mickey and his friends in these 10 hilarious, madcap adventures which have entertained generations of children and adults alike. Highlights include The Band Concert, where Maestro Mickey and his friends face wild challenges while performing outdoors. Then see what happens when Goofy is in the driver’s seat pulling Mickey’s Trailer. In Pluto’s Sweater, Pluto gets hot under the collar when Minnie knits him a warm turtleneck, and in Pluto and the Gopher, Pluto stops to smell the flowers, but finds himself outwitted by a mischievous rodent. And there’s no stopping Donald’s nephews from coming between their uncle and the lovely Daisy Duck when Mr. Duck Steps Out.  Five more charming, funny stories complete this legacy collection that’s sure to delight.

Product Specifications

Street Date

Digital: April 4, 2023

Physical: June 27, 2023

Product SKUs

Physical: Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD & Digital Code)

Run Time - Approx. 82 Minutes

Rating - Not rated

Aspect Ratios:

Digital: 1.78:1

Physical: 1.78:1

U.S. Audio:

Digital: English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Dolby Digital

Blu-ray: English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Dolby Digital

DVD: English 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Dolby Digital

U.S. Subtitles

Digital: English SDH, Spanish, French (some platforms)

Blu-ray: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD: English SDH, Spanish, French

One of the rare excellent video game adaptations, HBO's The Last of Us is coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray July 18th, 2023 - Digital on April 11th. 

Remember when video game adaptations were universally bad? Well, that bad luck has been changing after two successful Sonic the Hedgehog films and now HBO's smash hit The Last of Us. Maybe we can get a genuinely good Resident Evil movie or television series one day? In the meantime, we'll just have to wait for The Last of Us to return to television screens. The series stayed true to the video game's roots focusing on the human conflict of surviving the zombie apocalypse, but rather than retread the same ground of The Walking Dead, Neil Druckmann and showrunner Craig Mazin wisely found a way to push the fungal-infected horrors to the sidelines, focus on the humans, and still craft a compelling and often terrifying show. Now we all get to wait four long months to own the show on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray

The Last of Us - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

The Last of Us - Blu-ray

Now we've seen images of a 4K SteelBook offering due to hit the U.K. markets, and it's a safe assumption that it'll come here. But until we see that it's coming to our shores for sure, I'm going to hold off adding it to our listings. Mind you, full specs and A/V details aren't available yet, the press release included a list of bonus features that will be available with the digital purchase.

SPECIAL FEATURES ON DIGITAL INCLUDE:

• The Last of Us: Stranger Than Fiction (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) - Series cast and filmmakers are joined by experts in survival, microbiology, and parasitology for a chilling discussion on the realities of the invasive fungus and subsequent apocalypse in The Last of Us. 
• Controllers Down: Adapting The Last of Us (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) - Follow the journey of The Last of Us from console to screen as cast and filmmakers take us inside the process of expanding the world and breathing new life into the game’s beloved characters. 
• From Levels to Live Action (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) - Discover how The Last of Us incorporated and expanded fan-favorite game moments in the series.
• Getting to Know Me (4 Featurettes)
• The Last Debrief with Troy Baker (2 Featurettes)
• Inside the Episode (9 Featurettes)
• Is This A The Last of Us Line? (2 Featurettes)

The 4k UHD and Blu-ray releases aren't up for pre-order yet, but when they are we'll update our listings ASAP.

Here's the full press release for you to take a gander at:

THE HBO^® ORIGINAL HIT SERIES

THE LAST OF US:

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

AVAILABLE PURCHASE DIGITALLY ON APRIL 11, 2023

AND ON 4K ULTRA HD^TM, BLU-RAY^TM AND DVD JULY 18, 2023

#TheLastOfUS

BURBANK, CA (March, 14, 2023) – Millions of viewers know now why loyal gamers have been clamoring for a worthy adaptation of The Last of Us. Based on the famed video game of the same name, the HBO original drama series marked HBO’s second largest debut, behind only “House of the Dragon,” and has shown consistent growth throughout its first season culminating in a 75% increase in Sunday night’s finale audience. Recently renewed for a second season, fans can own all nine episodes of the critically-acclaimed first season along with nearly 3 hours of special features including 3 all-new featurettes, when The Last of Us: The Complete First Season comes to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on July 18, 2023 and will be available to purchase Digitally* on April 11, 2023.

The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Season one stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.

With a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Last of Us has been declared “HBO’s next big hit” by Rolling Stone, with Variety noting, “one sees the near future in which the show winds up among television’s best.” IndieWire declared the new series “better than every video game adaptation that comes to mind,” with IGN hailing it as “a brilliant retelling of one of video games’ most beloved stories” and adding that it “delivers an enriching show for fans of the PlayStation hit, while also managing to stay welcomingly thrilling to newcomers.” CNN called the storytelling “absolutely fearless and unflinching, creating horrifying scenarios and moments that can be alternately touching and utterly tragic.”

The Last of Us, based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation® platforms, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin (Emmy^® Award-winning creator of HBO’s “Chernobyl”) and Neil Druckmann (creator and writer of the award-winning “The Last of Us” franchise and Naughty Dog Co-President). The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam. Production companies: PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.

The soundtrack to The Last of Us  is available everywhere now, and features an original score by 2-time Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming. Having scored both the original video game and its 2020 sequel, Gustavo Santaolalla builds on his previous work, expanding the intimate, guitar-driven soundscape to deliver a score as emotionally laden as the story itself. In addition to the score, the album also includes Nick Offerman's cover of Linda Ronstadt's "Long Long Time" and Jessica Mazin's cover of Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again." 

The Last of Us: The Complete First Season will be available to purchase Digitally* on April 11, 2023 from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more. 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD will be available July 18, 2023 to purchase online and in-store at major retailers.

*Digital Purchase is available now in Canada.

SPECIAL FEATURES ON DIGITAL INCLUDE:

• The Last of Us: Stranger Than Fiction (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) - Series cast and filmmakers are joined by experts in survival, microbiology, and parasitology for a chilling discussion on the realities of the invasive fungus and subsequent apocalypse in The Last of Us. 
• Controllers Down: Adapting The Last of Us (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) - Follow the journey of The Last of Us from console to screen as cast and filmmakers take us inside the process of expanding the world and breathing new life into the game’s beloved characters. 
• From Levels to Live Action (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) - Discover how The Last of Us incorporated and expanded fan-favorite game moments in the series.
• Getting to Know Me (4 Featurettes)
• The Last Debrief with Troy Baker (2 Featurettes)
• Inside the Episode (9 Featurettes)
• Is This A The Last of Us Line? (2 Featurettes)

Pricing and series information:

The Last of Us: The Complete First Season

Includes 9 one-hour episodes:

1. When You’re Lost in the Darkness
2. Infected
3. Long, Long Time
4. Please Hold to My Hand
5. Endure and Survive
6. Kin
7. Left Behind
8. When We Are in Need
9. Look for the Light

PRODUCT                              SRP

Digital Purchase                      $19.99 SD / $24.99 HD US

$24.99 SD / $29.99 HD Canada

4K Ultra HD                             $49.99 US/ $54.97 Canada

Blu-ray                                     $44.98 US/ $49.99 Canada

DVD                                        $39.99 US/ $44.98 Canada

Languages: English, French, and Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish

Episode Run Time: approx. 474 minutes

Sylvester Stallone's 1993 high altitude "Die Hard on a Mountain" action-adventure epic Cliffhanger picks up a new Dolby Vision HDR grade and deluxe SteelBook packaging to celebrate its 30th Anniversary.

This has been a busy year for Stallone fans and their growing 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray collections and it's going to get even busier this May. It's wild to realize Cliffhanger turns 30 years old this year!I spent days of my valuable childhood time watching this movie and desperately trying to master the impossible snowboarding sequences on the Sega CD game. Now after an already solid 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release, Sony is doing what Sony does and reissuing the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for a new Anniversary release complete with Dolby Vision HDR upgrade and deluxe StreelBook packaging. To sweeten the pot, it looks like they're also tossing in a bunch of new never-before-seen deleted scenes into the mix! I heard this one was heavily edited for the numerous bloody kills so I'm curious to see if those make an appearance this go around.

Cliffhanger: 30th Anniversary
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook

Not yet up for pre-order, the set should hit store shelves and online retailers May 30th, 2023. Here are all the details:

CREDITS

Directed By: Renny Harlin
Produced By: Alan Marshall and Renny Harlin
Based on a Premise By: John Long
Screen Story By: Michael France
Screenplay By: Michael France and Sylvester Stallone
Executive Producer: Mario Kassar
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Leon, Paul Winfield and Ralph Waite
 

SPECS

Run Time: Approx. 112 minutes
Rating: R for violence and language
4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.40:1
4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

Nine films from controversial Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini will be available in a Blu-ray boxed set from the Criterion Collection on June 27.

One of the most original and controversial thinkers of the twentieth century, Italian polymath Pier Paolo Pasolini embodied a multitude of often seemingly contradictory ideologies and identities—and he expressed them all in his provocative, lyrical, and indelible films. Relentlessly concerned with society’s downtrodden and marginalized, he elevated pimps, hustlers, sex workers, and vagabonds to the realm of saints, while depicting actual saints with a radical earthiness. Traversing the sacred and the profane, the ancient and the modern, the mythic and the personal, the nine uncompromising, often scandal-inciting features he made in the 1960s still stand—on this, the 101st anniversary of his birth—as a monument to his daring vision of cinema as a form of resistance.

Pasolini 101 - Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Featuring

Accatone, 1961

Mamma Roma, 1962

Love Meetings, 1964

The Gospel According to Matthew, 1964

The Hawks and the Sparrows, 1966

Oedipus Rex, 1967

Teorema, 1968*

Porcile, 1969

Madea, 1969

*All discs are new to Blu-Ray with the exception of this title

NINE-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET FEATURES

• New 4K digital restorations of seven films and 2K digital restorations of Teorema and Medea, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks 
• Two shorts made by director Pier Paolo Pasolini for anthology films: La ricotta (1963) and The Sequence of the Paper Flower (1969) 
• Two documentaries made by Pasolini during his travels
• New program on Pasolini’s visual style as told through his personal writing, narrated by actor Tilda Swinton and writer Rachel Kushner
• Audio commentaries on Accattone and Teorema
• Documentaries on Pasolini’s life and career featuring archival interviews with the director and his close collaborators
• Episode from 1966 of the French television program Cinéastes de notre temps
• Interviews with filmmakers and scholars
• Trailers
• New English subtitle translations
• PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including a 100-page book featuring an essay and notes on the films by critic James Quandt, and writings and drawings by Pasolini

ACCATTONE

Poet and painter turned filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini courted controversy with his very first feature by using Catholic iconography and liturgical music to render a plaintive, brutally beautiful portrait of a shiftless Roman pimp and thief (then-nonprofessional Franco Citti, in a revelatory performance) whose life of petty crime turns increasingly desperate when the woman who supports him is imprisoned. Melding a hardscrabble neorealist milieu with classical influences, Pasolini offers a vision of underclass struggle as a kind of modern sainthood.

1961 • 117 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

MAMMA ROMA

Anna Magnani is Mamma Roma, a middle-aged prostitute who attempts to extricate herself from her sordid past for the sake of her son. Highlighting director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s lifelong fascination with the marginalized and dispossessed, Mamma Roma offers an unflinching, neorealistic look at the struggle for survival in postwar Italy. Though initially banned in the country for obscenity, today the film remains a classic, featuring a powerhouse performance by one of cinema’s greatest actors and offering a glimpse at Pasolini in the process of finding his style.

1962 • 106 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

LOVE MEETINGS

Let’s talk about sex. In this radically engaged and engaging documentary, Pier Paolo Pasolini takes to the streets, town squares, beaches, factories, and universities of 1960s Italy to solicit everyday citizens’ thoughts on a host of hot-button subjects, including sex work, gender equality, homosexuality, and divorce (then illegal in Italy). What emerges is both a kaleidoscopic cross section of faces and places—from the industrialized cities of the North to the rural villages of the South—and an incisive portrait of a society where, despite the rapid modernization brought on by the postwar “economic miracle,” hypocrisy, repression, and conformism still hold sway.

1964 • 92 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

A biblical epic that only the Marxist dissident Pier Paolo Pasolini could make, this intensely faithful adaptation of Saint Matthew’s Gospel depicts the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (Enrique Irazoqui, a Spanish economics student and Communist activist), whose unwavering compassion for the poor and defiant condemnation of moral hypocrisy make him a perhaps unexpected embodiment of the director’s own worldview. Stunningly shot amid the timeless landscapes of southern Italy and set to a soundtrack that encompasses everything from Bach to Black spirituals, The Gospel According to Matthew cuts past dogma and straight to the core of Jesus’s radical humanism.

1964 • 137 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

THE HAWKS AND THE SPARROWS

While wandering the countryside, a pair of father-and-son vagabonds (played respectively by Italian cinema legend Totò, in his final major film role, and Ninetto Davoli) happen upon a talking crow who spouts philosophy and launches them on a freewheeling picaresque through time, space, and the margins of a rapidly modernizing Italy. A comic Marxist fable that balances heady ideas about religion, poverty, and class struggle with irreverent slapstick sight gags, The Hawks and the Sparrows finds Pasolini at his lightest yet as stingingly subversive as ever.

1966 • 89 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio 

OEDIPUS REX

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s powerfully iconoclastic take on Sophocles’s tragedy blends eras and cultures to create a searing exploration of fate, free will, and the things we fear most in ourselves. Shot amid the stark, elemental landscapes of the Moroccan desert, and set in an indefinable ancient past, this bold reimagining casts the filmmaker’s frequent collaborator Franco Citti as the eponymous foundling, whose willful blindness to his own nature unleashes a cataclysmic reckoning. With a prologue and epilogue set in twentieth-century Italy, Pasolini connects the story to his own upbringing, daring to bare his soul on-screen.

1967 • 104 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio 

TEOREMA

With Teorema, a coolly cryptic exploration of bourgeois spiritual emptiness, Pier Paolo Pasolini moved beyond the poetic, proletarian earthiness that first won him renown. Terence Stamp stars as the mysterious stranger—perhaps an angel, perhaps a devil—who, one by one, seduces the members of a wealthy Milanese family (including European cinema icons Silvana Mangano, Massimo Girotti, Laura Betti, and Anne Wiazemsky), precipitating an existential crisis in each of their lives. Unfolding nearly wordlessly, this tantalizing metaphysical riddle—blocked from exhibition by the Catholic Church for degeneracy—is at once a blistering Marxist treatise on sex, religion, and art and a primal scream into the void.

1968 • 98 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio 

PORCILE

“I killed my father. I ate human flesh. I quiver with joy.” Provocateur Pier Paolo Pasolini is at his most incendiary in this double-edged allegory on fascism, consumerism, and resistance. In one story, a defiant man (Pierre Clémenti) perpetrates increasingly barbaric acts while wandering a mythic, volcanic landscape. In the other, the scion (Jean-Pierre Léaud) of a wealthy, ex-Nazi industrial family conceals a shocking proclivity. Taken together, these stories of transgression form a scathing commentary on postwar European moral rot and the meaning of rebellion in the face of a corrupt world.

1969 • 98 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio 

MEDEA

In this hypnotic adaptation of Euripides’s immortal tragedy, Pier Paolo Pasolini casts opera diva Maria Callas (utterly arresting in her only film role) as the sorceress of Greek legend, whose separation from her homeland of Colchis and betrayal by her lover, Jason, lead her down a path of shocking vengeance. Melding Western myth with aesthetic and musical influences from numerous world cultures, Pasolini fashions a mesmerizing cinematic pageant that gathers in force until it explodes in rage and a stunningly nihilistic condemnation of injustice.

1969 • 110 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Italian with English subtitles • 1:85:1 aspect ratio

SRP for this Special Edition Collector's Set is $249.95.

Preorders should be available in the coming days

Marc Forster's comedy based on the novel “En Man Som Heter Ove” by Fredrik Backman and the film “En Man Som Heter Ove” by Hannes Holm arrives on Blu-ray March 14. Digital will be available on February 28.

Based on the # 1 New York Times bestseller “A Man Called Ove,” A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. Otto is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door, and he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol. She challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around. A heartwarming and funny story about love, loss, and life, A Man Called Otto shows that family can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places.

A Man Called Otto - Blu-ray

The Blu-ray will include a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack plus a digital copy and the following supplements:

• Breaking The Rules: Making A Man Called Otto: Go behind the scenes with the incredible cast and crew for an exploration of the filmmaking process that brought A Man Called Otto to the screen!
• ‘Til You’re Home Music Video
• In The Studio With Rita Wilson & Sebastián Yatra: Go inside the recording studio with Rita Wilson and Sebastián Yatra as they discuss how the collaboration for the film’s hauntingly beautiful end credit song “‘Til You’re Home” came to life.
• Deleted Scene: When Marisol needs a ride, Otto must make quick adjustments to his car

SPECS

Run Time: 126 minutes
Rating: This film is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for the following reasons: mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, and language.
Blu-ray™: Feature: 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1 | Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA | Audio Description Tracks Stereo
DVD: Feature: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen | Audio Description Tracks Stereo

Atomic Monster and Blumhouse' surprise hit horror/comedy M3GAN attacks Blu-ray from Universal on March 21st with both Theatrical & Untrated Cuts...
No 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray to be found.

The Blumhouse and Atomic Monster machines keep cranking along with the surprise killer doll hit M3GAN. Reportedly cut down to secure a more audience-friendly PG-13 didn't hurt its box office as the film soaked in an impressive $168million global box office haul on the back of a meager $12million production budget. Now with it's Blu-ray release hitting at the end of March (digital streaming sales and rentals hit February 24th), fans can check out the longer, gorier, and more profane Unrated Cut as well as enjoying the version they saw in theaters.

M3GAN - Blu-ray

Here's what you're getting in the box:

Universal City, California, February 17, 2023 – She’s more than a toy. She’s family. And now she’s Unrated. Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 95%, the year’s most unnerving film M3GAN arrives in an all-new unrated version with revealing extras when you buy on Digital February 24, 2023 and on Blu-ray^TM and DVD March 21, 2023 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.  The “existentially scary” (Collider) film, presented from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse and produced by Atomic Monster in association with Divide/Conquer, has crossed $167 million at the global box office. M3GAN is produced by masters of horror—Atomic Monster’s James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, Anabelle) and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum (Halloween franchise, The Invisible Man, The Black Phone) and directed by Gerald Johnstone (Housebound). The M3GAN UNRAT3D VERSION delivers more distressing violence and profanity and features never-before-seen bonus content including a breakdown of the creation of M3GAN and behind-the-scenes featurettes showcasing the film’s complex stunts and gory deaths.
 
M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams, Get Out), M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to. As Gemma faces pressure at work from her boss (Ronny Chieng, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) to deliver a finished version of M3GAN, she suddenly becomes the unprepared caretaker of her newly orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House). Gemma decides to pair the M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems—a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES ON BLU-RAY^TM, DVD & DIGITAL: 

• A New Vision of Horror - Filmmakers and cast break down how the world of M3GAN was created, including the initial idea, through production under the leadership of director Gerard Johnstone
• Bringing Life to M3GAN - See how animatronics, puppets, and actor Amie Donald helped make M3GAN as real as possible
• Getting Hacked - A behind-the-scenes look at how cast and crew accomplished some of the film's complex stunts and gory deaths

Number of Discs: 2

Now up for pre-order! Thank you for all of your pre-orders. They really do go a long way toward keeping our little operation up and running.

Warner Brothers sets The Maltese Falcon and Cool Hand Luke on 4K UHD on April 4th with Rebel Without a Cause following on April 18th.

Best Buy Exclusive Steelbooks for at least Cool Hand Look and Rebel Without A Cause are up for pre-order!

The Maltese Falcon - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Academy Award® winner Humphrey Bogart stars in this classic film noir as tough San Francisco private detective Sam Spade in the classic, convoluted story of Spade's involvement with a deadly band of international thieves who will lie, double cross and murder to obtain a small, jewel-encrusted statue known as The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade's (Bogart) partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), accepts a job protecting a young woman (Mary Astor). Neither Spade nor Archer believe the woman or the story she tells them, but they do believe her money. Then, when Archer is murdered, Spade's search for the killer drags him in the web of lies and death spun by the desperate people seeking The Maltese Falcon.

The 1941 film is directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. The screenplay is by Huston and is based on the 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, and Sydney Greenstreet.  

The Maltese Falcon was nominated for three Academy Awards® for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet) and Best Adapted Screenplay (John Huston). Considered one of the greatest films of all time, it was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." 

The Maltese Falcon Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary by Eric Lax
• “Warner Night at the Movies”
• “Sergeant York” Trailer
• “New Highlights of the Roosevelt Churchill Parley” (newsreel)
• “The Gay Parisian” (1941 WB short)
• “Meet John Doughboy” (1941 WB cartoon)
• The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Brid
• Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart
• Breakdowns of 1941 (WB short)
• Make-up Tests
• 2/8/43 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
• 9/20/43 Screen Guild Theater Broadcast
• 7/3/46 Academy Award Theater Broadcast
• Trailers
• 1936 “Satan Met a Lady”
• 1941 “The Maltese Falcon”

In the UK a SteelBook option is available, we just haven't seen it pop up stateside at Best Buy yet, when/if they add it we'll update our listings.

Cool Hand Luke - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Academy Award® winner Paul Newman stars with George Kennedy in this story of a man who will not surrender to authority--even at the cost of his life. When Luke Jackson (Newman) is sentenced to a Southern prison for a minor infraction, his intelligence, calm under pressure and inability to accept defeat soon gain him the respect of his fellow inmates on the chain gang--and the nickname Cool Hand Luke. But they also earn Luke the enmity of the warden, who cannot allow any inmate to challenge his authority. When Luke's mother dies, he decides to escape ... and he will not allow anyone to stop him.

The 1967 film is directed by Stuart Rosenberg.  The screenplay is by Donn Pearse and Frank R. Pierson and is based on the Pearce’s 1965 novel of the same name. The film is produced by Gordon Carroll and stars Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Canon, Robert Drivas, Lou Antonio, Strother Martin, and Jo Van Fleet.

Cool Hand Luke was nominated for four Academy Awards® for Best Actor (Paul Newman), Best Supporting Actor (George Kennedy) and Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium (Don Pearce and Frank Pierson) and Best Original Music Score (Lalo Schifrin) and won for Best Support Supporting Actor.

Cool Hand Luke Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary by Eric Lax
• “A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke” (featurette)
• Trailer

 Cool Hand Luke - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook)

Rebel Without a Cause - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

The 1955 film is directed by Nicholas Ray from a story by Ray, a screenplay by Stewart Stern, and an adaptation by Irving Shulman. It is produced by David Weisbart and James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, and William Hopper.

In 1990, Rebel Without a Cause was added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant." 

Rebel Without a Cause Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary Douglas L. Rathgeb
• “James Dean Remembered” (1974 TV special)
• “Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents” (featurette)
• “Dennis Hopper: Memories from the Warner Lot” (featurette)
• Screen Tests
• Wardrobe Tests
• Deleted Scenes

Rebel Without a Cause - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook)

All of these are ready to pre-order! Thank you in advance for your pre-orders, they really do go a long way toward keeping our little operation up and running.