My Two Cents
All right, sorry for the lack of an update yesterday. We’re dealing with a plumbing leak here at the house so real life occasionally finds a way to intrude on regular work. Nothing major though and well on the way to being repaired. Just an inconvenience.
We have some announcement news today and a bit of industry news as well.
First up, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has made Paul Greengrass’ News of the World official for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 3/23, with the Digital release expected on 3/4. Looks like the 4K disc will include HDR10 high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. Extras on will include deleted scenes, feature commentary with Greengrass, and 4 featurettes (Partners: Tom Hanks & Helena Zengel, Western Action, Paul Greengrass Makes News of the World, and The Kiowa). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.
Meanwhile, Screen Media has set Skyfire for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/6.
Screen Media is also expected to release The Outpost in Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 5/18. [Read on here...]
We’ve got several interesting things to report today here at The Bits, but first some more new disc reviews...
As promised, I posted my review of Hayao Miyazaki’s Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro on 4K Ultra HD from Discotek on Friday night.
Tim has also posted his thoughts on Sam Peckinpah’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), Rudy De Luca’s Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), and Rene Cardona Jr’s Tintorera (1977) all on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics (and, in the last case, with Scorpion Releasing).
And Dennis has checked in with his comments on Sidney J. Furie’s Lady Sings the Blues (1972) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics as well. [Read on here...]
All right this is just a quick post to round out the week...
We’ve posted a couple new disc reviews today. First up, Tim and I have given John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness a look in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory and found it to be pretty damn solid, with another great 4K film scan and remaster and all the extras you’ve come to expect from Scream (the new Blu-ray in the package features the same 4K scan too). You’ll find that here.
Also, I’ve taken a look at Anthony Spinelli’s Sex World (1977), as newly released on 4K Ultra HD by our friends at Vinegar Syndrome. Yes, it’s an adult title, but we’re not reviewing the film itself—just the disc quality. As this is one of the first such titles to appear in 4K UHD here in the States, the curiosity value makes it worth a look from our perspective. It’s actually a decent film remaster and the review is worth a laugh or two (there’s also nothing offense therein). So do give it a look.
And with a little bit of luck, I hope to have a review of Discotek’s new Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro – 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD up by the end of the day as well. (The review is up now; you can find it here.) [Read on here...]
We’re starting things off today with this just in from Paramount Home Entertainment: George Cukor’s My Fair Lady (1964) and J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 (2011) are now official for release on the 4K Ultra HD format on 5/25.
My Fair Lady is presented in 4K, mastered from the 2015 8K film scan and restoration of the original camera negative and surviving 65 mm elements.
Both HDR10 and Dolby Vision will be included (this is now confirmed). Audio will be available in the same English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD mix found on the 2015 Blu-ray edition.
There are no extras on the 4K disc itself, but the package will include that same Blu-ray (along with a Digital code). [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today, so let’s get right into it...
Zack Snyder’s newly-remastered Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com in 4K. Street date is 3/23 and the SRP is just $19.99. You can see that here. The cover art is a little wonky though, and the listing says the title is coming from Warner Archive rather than Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. This being an actual MOD title would be a little odd, and we think a first for 4K.
Complicating matters here is the fact that almost everyone from the Warner Archive has recently been pink-slipped by AT&T and Warner Media. So we’ll have to see what happens when the studio makes their official announcement one way or another. In the meantime, you can see the new art and pre-order the title below.
It’s worth noting that the title is not currently listed on WB Shop, nor has Warner Archive mentioned it in their social media. Warner Archive has however announced their March slate, which so far includes Damn Yankees (1958), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), What’s Up, Doc? (1972), The Great Caruso (1951), Isle of the Dead (1945), and Crossfire (1948) on Blu-ray, Wonder Woman 1984 on Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D, and Animal Kingdom: The Complete Fourth Season on DVD. Stay tuned for more on this. [Read on here...]