Tell you what, I am over Winter. I do not care what the Groundhog says, seeing Robins tells me that Spring is just around the corner. Looking ahead, March could be pricey for disc buyers, there are five Tuesdays in the month.
Welcome to Volume 2 Episode 40 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc this week, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
WHOA! This week has got a lot of titles to ponder. Where to begin? Let's touch new releases first.
From LionsGate, a sports drama titled American Underdog.
The next movie in the Kingsman franchise, this one is titled The King's Man, and is a prequel/origins story of the agency we have seen in two previous movies thus far. This one is available as a standard edition, a Target Exclusive edition, a Walmart Exclusive edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook trilogy.
New to 4K disc catalog titles next;
Paramount brings us John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. Hopefully, Shout Factory or the current rights holder of Escape From New York follows up and releases that to 4K disc. I could take one for the team and import it, thus triggering a U.S. announcement. Also be alert to the disc replacement program already in place for this release due to an audio issue - read the linked review for more details.
Warner Bros bring us the highly anticipated release for The Green Mile, available in a standard edition and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook release. If you don't care about the digital copy, the UK Zavvi Exclusive SteelBook is a much nicer set, but you'll got to wait two more weeks for it.
From Scream Factory, 80s horror thriller Alligator.
Kino Lorber brings us Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Vinegar Syndrome releases Dead Heat and Madman this week. The latter is currently a VS shop exclusive, with no doubt a standard release in a month or two.
And finally, another value priced Best Buy Exclusive slipcover edition SteelBook this week, this time The Hurt Locker. Previously this one was only available in 4K as a digital option.
As you've come to expect every week, the blu-ray counterparts first. American Underdog, The King's Man and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy each get respective blu-ray releases.
To go with your Alligator 4K buy, Scream Factory is also releasing Alligator II: The Mutation this week, to blu-ray disc.
Deadly Games (1982) from Arrow video is on track to be released on Tuesday. A French film collection titled Lies and Deceit – Five Films by Claude Chabrol also appears on track for this week too.
Lionsgate's other appearance on the calendar this week is 2022 thriller Shattered.
From Criterion Collection, foreign drama Boat People.
From Universal Pictures, 2021 crime/drama House of Gucci. This one is getting a 4K in a couple of countries, including a SteelBook 4K in Italy. Last minute addition from Universal also is a film titled The 355.
Animation/Anime highlights this week include Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series, Angel Cop (remastered)[SteelBook], Attack on Titan - Final Season - Part 1, available as a standard release and as a Limited Edition, NANA - Complete Collection [SteelBook] and Onyx Equinox - Complete Collection.
The next chapter (month) for Indicator Series releases include An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Bartleby, The Devil's Men, The Triple Echo and Voices.
Honorable Mentions: For Douglas Sirk fans, the wait is over, The Douglas Sirk Collection II debuts on Tuesday. Also from Kino, their release to Jim Carrey's Man on the Moon.
Kino Lorber announced that 12 Angry Men (1957) will be making it to 4K disc soon.
Tom Clancy's Infinite from Amazon Video via Paramount will be coming to 4K disc at some point.
Criterion Collection's May 2022 releases include Chan is Missing, Double Indemnity, available as blu-ray and 4K discs, Mr. Klein, The Funeral and Mississippi Masala.
FUNimation's May anime releases have been added to the calendar.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price?
Peter H. Hunt's 1776 starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, and Ken Howard will be getting a 50th Anniversary 4K Edition on May 31st.
The film is based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and this 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release will include both the 165-minute Director's Cut and the 167-minute Extended Cut presented in Dolby Vision/HDR with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The edition will also include the 1972 theatrical cut in HD as well as the 1992 Laserdisc cut in SD on Blu-ray.
1776 is a musical celebration of the founding of the United States of America based on the award-winning Broadway production! The story centers around the tough and unyielding John Adams (William Daniels), the charming and pragmatic Benjamin Franklin (Howard Da Silva), the brilliant young Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard), and the rest of the Continental Congress. All events lead up to that most significant historical date: July 4, 1776.
1776: 50th Anniversary Director's Cut - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
4K UHD Release Info:
DISC 1: 4K BLU-RAY
DISC 2: BLU-RAY
DISC 3: BLU-RAY
Pre-Order your copy here.
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The Criterion Collection has revealed their May home video release slate that includes Billy Wilder's film-noir classic on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
Of course, the headliner is Double Indemnity which will be getting the 4K/Blu-ray combo treatment on May 31st.
Has dialogue ever been more perfectly hard-boiled? Has a femme fatale ever been as deliciously evil as Barbara Stanwyck? And has 1940s Los Angeles ever looked so seductively sordid? Working with cowriter Raymond Chandler, director Billy Wilder launched himself onto the Hollywood A-list with this paragon of film-noir fatalism from James M. Cain’s pulp novel. When slick salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) walks into the swank home of dissatisfied housewife Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck), he intends to sell her insurance, but he winds up becoming entangled with her in a far more sinister way. Featuring scene-stealing supporting work from Edward G. Robinson and the chiaroscuro of cinematographer John F. Seitz, Double Indemnity is one of the most wickedly perverse stories ever told and the cynical standard by which all noir must be measured.
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
• Audio commentary featuring film critic Richard Schickel
• New interview with film scholar Noah Isenberg, editor of Billy Wilder on Assignment
• New conversation between film historians Eddie Muller and Imogen Sara Smith
• Billy, How Did You Do It?, a 1992 film by Volker Schlöndorff and Gisela Grischow featuring interviews with director Billy Wilder
• Shadows of Suspense, a 2006 documentary on the making of Double Indemnity
• Audio excerpts from 1971 and 1972 interviews with cinematographer John F. Seitz
• Radio adaptations from 1945 and 1950
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
1944 • 108 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • 1.37:1 aspect ratio
Also with a street date on the 31st is Wayne Wang's murder mystery Chan is Missing.
A mystery man, a murder, and a wad of missing cash—in his wryly offbeat breakthrough, Wayne Wang updates the ingredients of classic film noir for the streets of contemporary San Francisco’s Chinatown. When their business partner disappears with the money they had planned to use for a cab license, driver Jo (Wood Moy) and his nephew Steve (Marc Hayashi) scour the city’s back alleys, waterfronts, and Chinese restaurants to track him down. But what begins as a search for a missing man gradually turns into a far deeper and more elusive investigation into the complexities and contradictions of Chinese American identity. The first feature by an Asian American filmmaker to play widely and get mainstream critical appreciation, Chan Is Missing is a continuously fresh and surprising landmark of indie invention that playfully flips decades of cinematic stereotypes on their heads.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• High-definition digital master, approved by director Wayne Wang, with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Is Chan Still Missing?, a making-of documentary directed by Debbie Lum
• New conversations between Wang and critic Hua Hsu and Wang and filmmaker Ang Lee
• Conversation between Wang and film programmer Dennis Lim
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic Oliver Wang
1982 • 75 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In English, Cantonese, and Mandarin with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio
Earlier in the month on the 10th comes the 1976 French thriller Mr. Klein from Alain Delon.
One of the crowning achievements of blacklisted Hollywood director Joseph Losey’s European exile, the spellbinding modernist mystery Mr. Klein puts a chilling twist on the wrong-man thriller. Alain Delon delivers a standout performance as Robert Klein, a decadent art dealer in Paris during World War II who makes a tidy profit buying up paintings from his desperate Jewish clients. As Klein searches for a Jewish man with the same name for whom he has been mistaken, he finds himself plunged into a Kafkaesque nightmare in which his identity seems to dissolve and the forces of history to close in on him. Met with considerable controversy on its release for its portrayal of the real-life wrongdoings of the Vichy government, this haunting, disturbingly beautiful film shivers with existential dread as it traces a society’s descent into fascistic fear and inhumanity.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Interviews with critic Michel Ciment and editor Henri Lanoë
• Interviews from 1976 with director Joseph Losey and actor Alain Delon
• Story of a Day, a 1986 documentary on the real-life Vél d’Hiv Roundup, a central historical element of Mr. Klein
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau
1976 • 123 minutes • Color • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.66:1 aspect ratio
On the 17th comes writer-director Juzo Itami's The Funeral on Blu-ray.
It’s death, Japanese style, in the rollicking and wistful first feature from maverick writer-director Juzo Itami. In the wake of her father’s sudden passing, a successful actor (Itami’s wife and frequent collaborator, Nobuko Miyamoto) and her lascivious husband (Tsutomu Yamazaki) leave Tokyo and return to her family home to oversee a traditional funeral. Over the course of three days of mourning that bring illicit escapades in the woods, a surprisingly materialistic priest (Chishu Ryu), and cinema’s most epic sandwich handoff, the tensions between public propriety and private hypocrisy are laid bare. Deftly weaving dark comedy with poignant family drama, The Funeral is a fearless satire of the clash between old and new in Japanese society in which nothing, not even the finality of death, is off-limits.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• High-definition restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with actors Nobuko Miyamoto and Manpei Ikeuchi
• Creative Marriages: Juzo Itami & Nobuko Miyamoto, a short program produced by the Criterion Channel
• Commercials for Ichiroku Tart by director Juzo Itami
• Trailers
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by author Pico Iyer and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from Itami’s 1985 book Diary of “The Funeral” and from a 2007 remembrance of Itami by actor Tsutomu Yamazaki
1984 • 124 minutes • Color • Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio
Finally on the 24th, Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala starring Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington will arrive on Blu-ray format.
The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South come together in Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala, a luminous look at the complexities of love in the modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda by the dictatorship of Idi Amin, twentysomething Mina (Sarita Choudhury) spends her days cleaning rooms in an Indian-run motel in Mississippi. When she falls for the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius (Denzel Washington), their passionate romance challenges the prejudices of both of their families and exposes the rifts between the region’s Indian and African American communities. Tackling thorny issues of racism, colorism, culture clash, and displacement with bighearted humor and keen insight, Nair serves up a sweet, sexy, and deeply satisfying celebration of love’s power.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Mira Nair and director of photography Ed Lachman, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New audio commentary featuring Nair
• New conversation between actor Sarita Choudhury and film critic Devika Girish
• New interviews with Lachman, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, and production designer and photographer Mitch Epstein
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic Bilal Qureshi and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from Nair’s production journal
1991 • 117 minutes • Color • 2.0 surround • In English and Swahili with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio
All of these titles should be up for pre-order soon and will be updated on the site here as soon as that information becomes available.
No doubt when this article goes live, many of you are doing something Super Bowl related. According to an old episode of The Simpsons, The Bengals will win it. There are a bunch of exciting announcements happening in the home video disc market. Keep watching our main page every day for updates, as well as the final section of these weekly articles.
Welcome to Volume 2 Episode 39 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc this week, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
Slight reprieve from last week, just a few titles to ponder.
In the new releases category, Marvel's The Eternals, and just like last week, a slew of choices. Available in a Standard Edition, Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook, Target Exclusive Art Edition and a Walmart Exclusive edition.
Moving on to catalog releases, first from Sony Pictures, action/sci-fi film Looper. You can thank me for this release, I held out as long as I could on the UK release and then very recently bought it, sure enough, this gets announced literally after my purchase was shipped. Sony is claiming this one has a better transfer with more accurate color, meaning I might have to double dip.
Aaaand, on to another one that I took a hit for the team, The Howling gets a Scream Factory release. I had (of course) recently bought the StudioCanal release from the UK and just like Looper, no sooner did my copy ship did Scream Factory announce this release. Any other titles I need to buy so that a U.S. release gets announced? I did get the Turbine Media 4K release for An American Werewolf in Paris, and finally broke down and got True Lies (Spain release), will that be next?
Compared to last week, this category has fewer releases too. Just like we do every week, getting the blu-ray counterpart of the way first, Marvel's The Eternals gets a blu-ray + digital sku.
Paramount has a few more catalog titles on the docket, 200 Cigarettes, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (previously only available in the Crocodile Dundee box set), Eurotrip (this one was initially listed as the unrated edition, and it still might be, Amazon has relisted it as the same theatrical release previously available, wait and see I guess), Hey Arnold! The Movie, In Dreams, Intersection, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Nick of Time and Spontaneous.
This week's Criterion Collection appearance is a 1939 drama/romance titled Love Affair.
Warner Archive Collection has one title this week, The Three Musketeers (1948). Outside of animated, this is probably the best known version when it comes to the film.
Anime highlights include By the Grace of the Gods - Season 1, available as a standard edition and as a limited edition, Dr. Stone: Season 1 [SteelBook], My Hero Academia - Season 4 Complete Collection, Samurai Girls / Samurai Bride - Complete Series and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon - Season 1, Part 1, which is available as a standard edition and as a limited edition.
Mentioned in the recent Disney Movie Club article, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers - The Complete Series can be bought from Amazon, as well as other favorite merchants this week.
Honorable Mention: Want some more Charles Bronson action? Kino Lorber presents Murphy's Law and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins to blu-ray disc.
Scream (2022) now has an official street date, April 5th. The slew of choices, 4K standard, 4K SteelBook, blu-ray, two-film collection 4K and two-film collection blu-ray.
Discotek's April releases consist of KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!: The Complete First Season + OVA [SteelBook], Cat's Eye - The Complete First Season, Lupin the 3rd: Episode 0 - First Contact, City Hunter '91 - The Complete 1991 Series and Mrs. Pepperpot - Complete Series.
Universal Televisision will be releasing Young Rock: Season One on blu-ray on March 29.
Kino Lorber has revealed that they are working on a 4K disc release of The Usual Suspects. Expect it sometime during 2022, most likely this Summer. Also revealed is that A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More will be getting 4K discs with a tentative date of May 31st. It is likely they will have 4K SDR, but no doubt it will be the best these films have ever looked!
West Side Story (2021) appears to be on track for a March 15th release. There should be a 4K, blu-ray and a DVD release, as well as a Best Buy Exclusive 4K SteelBook edition with a rather blah cover art.
Sony Pictures has announced the animated release of Heavy Metal for 4K SteelBook release, which also comes with a bonus blu-ray of Heavy Metal 2000. See our article here for details.
Warner Bros. appears on track to be releasing Singin’ in the Rain to a 4K Collector's edition with a tentative date of April 26th, no official announcement as of yet.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price?
The 1981 animated classic Heavy Metal will be getting the 4K UHD treatment on April 22 and will feature Dolby Vision, a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and collector's SteelBook packaging. Also included is a Blu-ray disc of Heavy Metal and the Blu-ray debut of Heavy Metal 2000.
The release has been given a new soundscape supervised by Ivan Reitman and will include an all-new bonus feature: Heavy Metal: A Look Back – an all-new retrospective featuring re¬flections from producer Ivan Reitman, famous fans Kevin Smith, Norman Reedus, and more!
Heavy Metal - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
It would have been nice to have seen the sequel get the 4K upgrade as well, but oh well. Here's the full press release:
AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON 4K ULTRA HD™ APRIL 19TH
FEATURING AN ALL-NEW SOUNDSCAPE, SUPERVISED BY PRODUCER IVAN REITMAN
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HEAVY METAL CREDITS
Directed By: Gerald Potterton
Produced by: Ivan Reitman
Screenplay by: Dan Goldberg & Len Blum
Based on Original Art and Stories by: Richard Corben, Angus McKie, Dan O’Bannon, Thomas Warkentin and Bernie Wrightson
Executive Producers: Leonard Mogel
HEAVY METAL SPECS
Run Time: Approx. 90 minutes
Rating: R
4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 1.85:1
4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA | English Stereo Surround DTS-HD MA
Guillermo del Toro and Searchlight Pictures's Best Picture Oscar-nominee Nightmare Alley materializes on Digital on March 8 and on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on March 22nd.
The psychological thriller oozing with suspense and noir-ish style has been nominated for for several awards including four Academy Awards and 8 Critics’ Choice Awards to name a few. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins, and Cate Blanchett. Nightmare Alley is a remake of the 1947 classic and is based on the book by William Lindsay Gresham.
Nightmare Alley - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Nightmare Alley will also be available on Blu-ray and Best Buy will also have a 4K SteelBook.
Nightmare Alley - 4K SteelBook
Here's the full press release:
“NIGHTMARE ALLEY IS ALL AROUND BRILLIANCE”
– Jazz Tangcay, Variety
Academy Award® Best Picture Nominee Nightmare Alley Appears on Digital March 8 and 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD on March 22
LOS ANGELES, CA (February 10, 2022) – From the imaginative filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Searchlight Pictures arrives an electrifying film noir, Nightmare Alley. Available on Digital March 8 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 22.
The suspenseful psychological thriller is nominated for 4 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, 8 Critics’ Choice Awards, a Screen Actors’ Guild Award for Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett, and BAFTA, SDSA, MPSE, ADG, CDG, VES, and WGA Awards.
Film Synopsis
When charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) endears himself to clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival, he crafts a golden ticket to success, using this newly acquired knowledge to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. With the virtuous Molly (Rooney Mara) loyally by his side, Stanton plots to con a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formidable opponent yet.
Del Toro co-wrote the enthralling film with Kim Morgan, based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel.
Bonus Features*
*bonus features vary by product and retailer
Cast
Bradley Cooper as Stanton Carlisle
Cate Blanchett as Doctor Lilith Ritter
Toni Collette as Zeena Krumbein
Willem Dafoe as Clem Hoatley
Richard Jenkins as Ezra Grindle
Rooney Mara as Molly Cahill
Ron Perlman as Bruno
Mary Steenburgen as Felicia Kimball
David Strathairn as Pete Krumbein
Directed by
Guillermo del Toro
Produced by
Guillermo del Toro, p.g.a.
J. Miles Dale, p.g.a.
Bradley Cooper, p.g.a.
Screenplay by
Guillermo del Toro
& Kim Morgan
Music by
Nathan Johnson
Based on the book by
William Lindsay Gresham
Product Specifications
U.S. Street Date
Digital: March 8
Physical: March 22
Product SKUs
Digital: 4K UHD, HD, SD
Physical: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + Digital Code) & DVD
Feature Run Time
Approx. 150 minutes
Rating
U.S. Rated R
* Rated R for sequences of strong/bloody violence, language, and some sexual material.
Aspect Ratio
Digital: 1.85:1
Physical: 1.85:1
U.S. Audio
4K Ultra HD: English Dolby Atmos, English AD 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Blu-ray: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, English AD 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD: English 5.1 Dolby, English AD 2.0 Dolby, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Digital: English ATMOS (UHD only, some platforms), 2.0 AD Dolby (some platforms), French & Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
U.S. Subtitles
4K Ultra HD: English SDH, Spanish, French
Blu-ray: English SDH, Spanish, French
DVD: English SDH, Spanish, French
Digital: English SDH, Spanish, French (some platforms)
If streaming on Disney+ isn't your thing, you can find many of your old favorites on Blu-ray exclusively at the Disney Movie Club
I have always liked the concept of "instant gratification," and it's a concept that works for just about any sort of retail therapy. Be it clothes, shoes, toys and collectibles, movies discs, nothing compares to browsing and picking up objects, finding a treasure, and leaving with it that very day. With dwindling support for physical media at brick and mortar stores, many are shifting shopping habits to online venues.
In the past six months, my local Best Buy cut their movie selection by 90%, Target by 50%, and Walmart by 33% or more, it certainly sends a signal loud and clear, it might be time to shop elsewhere for titles that are not new releases. Customer feedback to these stores' corporate offices will likely go unanswered, their decisions have already been made and it is doubtful anything will change that. You still have smaller boutique shops that may suit your needs, but many of us are not lucky enough to live close to one.
With all the online shopping choices available, why join the Disney Movie Club (DMC) in this day and age? What sets it apart from other merchants? For starters, the club is a membership, so it does require a purchase commitment, but it is relatively easy to complete. The initial out-of-the-box introductory offer is that you purchase 4 movies for $1, be it 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD, with free shipping. The standard offer requires the purchase of an additional five movies at the regular price (starting usually at around $19.95 per title) over two years.
As a bonus, you can opt to purchase your first commitment title at a reduced price with that first introductory order. After the initial order, shipping is $3.95 for the first title and $1.49 for each additional. About every 4 weeks you get a physical mailer in your mailbox or an email with the current featured title with a response by date. If you do not respond, it will automatically be sent and billed to your account. If you don't want that title, you can mail it back for a refund.
Let's touch on price first because to some, that is the single most important factor. New releases almost always have the same price (within a couple of bucks) as other online or physical shops. What's different here is when you buy a regular title, not only does it count as one unit towards your membership commitment, there is almost always an option to buy additional titles at reduced prices. Sometimes you even get new releases a week or two earlier than the normal street date. There is no limit to the number of additional titles you can buy at the reduced price, they just do not count towards the final membership commitment.
If you factor in the initial order of five titles (four for $1, plus the first commitment title at a reduced price) and the bare minimum prices of the four titles to fulfill your membership obligation, you still come out ahead financially. Once you've completed the membership commitment you gain VIP Member status. VIP members get offers throughout the year and some don't require a regularly priced purchase. In the past, one such offer was 50% off all TV Series, no additional purchase required. This is how I completed my Once Upon a Time collection. As an extra bonus, featured titles usually include a lithograph or charm trinket of some sort, and the additional title discount can go as high as 60% off the list price.
Disney Movie Club exclusives are the biggest reason I have maintained my membership over the years. DMC offers movies with exclusive slipcovers on them, and there are also titles that are only available from DMC's store. Similar to what Warner Archive Collection releases, these are smaller, less popular movies and shows made in smaller batches of discs. These titles also usually have minimal extras, what we consider barebones releases, but the only other way to see these shows in HD is on Disney+ and sadly usually at a lower quality.
Disney is best known for its animated titles. Here are some exclusive highlights of the Disney Movie Club you might not know are on Blu-ray.
Disney is best known for its animated output, but how about a live-action family comedy to brighten the day?
Do you remember as a kid sitting down to the Wonderful World of Disney broadcast on ABC TV or going to the theater in the eighties? Here are some true classics that you can't find in stores on Blu-ray.
Do you love exclusive packaging? Or do you have the need to own every release of a favorite title? Here's a sample of a couple of the exclusive slipcovers available from DMC.
New releases often arrive with exclusive DMC slipcovers so check them out before you run off to Best Buy or check out Amazon.
Club exclusives initially were not very different from your normal store releases, just editions of movies that included a digital code while the same movie bought from Best Buy or Amazon did not have it, then they evolved to a random classic Disney movie. Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure: The Complete Series on Blu-ray marks the first "modern" TV series release from DMC. Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers - The Complete Series was initially announced as DMC's second animated series blu-ray release, but that one has now been updated to be a standard release available everywhere.
Just don't expect to see Song of the South any time this century as a DMC exclusive. I would lean towards never, but there is still a vast trove of movies and TV shows within the Disney vault that could potentially make it to Blu-ray. I still remember an obscure series titled The Wuzzles from the eighties that will probably never see the light of day, but I do have them on SVHS somewhere as well as the stuffed animals themselves. There are so many others that are begging the be put on Blu-ray. From Duck Tales to Darkwing Duck to the Aladdin TV Series, Talespin, Gargoyles, Timon & Pumbaa, Disney Junior titles like Lion Guard, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Elena of Avalor - there's some great stuff that would make awesome additions to the collection.
Bottom line, whether you're looking for the lowest prices or club exclusives, DMC is sure to satisfy both desires. Be aware though, if you look around you might find a promo code that entitles you to an even better deal for your initial order. If you are a member and refer a friend, there's a deal for that too. A few months ago the 20th Century Fox library was also added to DMC's catalog drastically increasing their selection of titles. Disney might be trying to prop up their Disney+ service, but as long as there is a market for discs, there's little doubt they will continue to produce them and DMC may just be the best - or only - place to buy them.
Click the $4 movies for $1 banner to be directed to DMC.
With a continuation of last week's Super Bowl/Superb Owl comments, looks like the actual game is between the Bengals and the Rams. Kind of nice to have some different teams in there in my opinion. Cinedigm has already planned a blu-ray for this game, like they have for past games, tentative street date is March 29th.
Welcome to Volume 2 Episode 38 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc this week, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases-
It kind of looks like a busy week for 4K releases, and it really is. But when counting actual individual titles, the total does not look as overwhelming and wallet-busting.
First from Disney/Buena Vista, Encanto makes it to 4K with a standard release and three retailer exclusives. Retailer exclusives include a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook, a Target Lithograph Edition and a Walmart Exclusive that includes a collectible pin. The standard release is actually available for preorder from Amazon this time, and it looks like Walmart is starting to make exclusives of their 4K releases, which seems like almost yesterday they were still stuck in the DVD world. I have heard good things about the soundtrack on this movie, hopefully the Atmos track has a bit of fidelity and range.
Relatively last minute street date update, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City gets a standard release, and a SteelBook with a little bit o'swag to go with it.
From DC Animation and Warner Bros comes Catwoman: Hunted, available as a standard release and as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook.
Also from Warner Bros, the biography King Richard starring Will Smith gets a release.
From Kino Lorber, Some Like It Hot starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. This title gets a fresh Dolby Vision HDR remaster.
The last two releases are reissues, La La Land gets a slipcover edition Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook, and Star Trek: Original 4-Movie Collection. Not sure what the latter brings, perhaps the first release sold out and this is just another pressing.
Blu-ray releases-
Looking like another huge week for quantity of titles coming to blu-ray disc. Without further adieu, the blu-ray counterparts first, Encanto, Catwoman: Hunted and King Richard and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City are available for your consideration.
Warner Archive Collection releases Gold Diggers of 1933 to blu-ray. The standard Warner Bros label is releasing Stargirl: The Complete Second Season.
From Sony, 2021 drama Show Me the Father.
Criterion Collection's release this week is a Coen Brothers Gangster film titled Miller's Crossing.
Paramount's next catalog batch includes Foul Play and Murder on the Orient Express (1974).
Anime highlights include Gintama: The Very Final, High School of the Dead: Complete Collection and Princess Tutu: Complete Collection as SteelBook releases, Higurashi: When They Cry GOU - Season 1 Part 2 and Josee, the Tiger and the Fish.
Again Kino Lorber is delivering a lot of releases every week. The 1997 version of 12 Angry Men featuring a lot of big names streets this Tuesday.
Honorable mention: Somewhere in my laserdisc stash is a movie titled Dragonworld (1994), it can now be retired for a blu-ray release by Full Moon Features. As I remember from my childhood, the ending is pretty sad but it's still a decent movie. Poor old Yowler.
Friday releases? There are a few including a fantastic John Williams feature:
Notable announcements from last week:
Disney's release of The Beatles: Get Back has been delayed due to an audio issue. New date to be announced. Some stores were shipped the product before a decision was made to delay this release, so if a recall doesn't happen, a disc replacement will most certainly be in order.
Shout/Scream Factory has announced a couple of titles for April, with no doubt more coming. Thus far we can expect Night Creatures, Cursed (Wes Craven), The Ice Demon, Happy Death Day 4K and Happy Death Day 2U 4K. The GKIDS partner label will be releasing SteelBook editions of Only Yesterday and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.
Vinegar Syndrome and its parter labels have announced their February slate, all with a February 22 street date. The biggest surprise release to me is Drop Dead Fred. It was going to be a Severin release last year. As always, these releases are available direct from the VS store and our links currently bring you there. Standard releases usually follow, often times the same release but without the slip cover.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price?
Scream Factory is preparing the Blumhouse hit Happy Death Day and its sequel Happy Death Day 2U from director Director Christopher Landon and starring Jessica Rothe to the 4K UHD format on April 26.
Happy Death Day (2017): “Blumhouse Productions brings you this original and inventive thriller in which a blissfully self-centered co-ed (Jessica Rothe, Utopia) is doomed to relive the day of her murder … unless she can identify her masked assailant and hopefully stop the madness. If she can’t, she will be stuck in an insane loop, reliving the ghoulish nightmare that has become her death day.”
Happy Death Day - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Happy Death Day 2U (2019): “It’s déjà vu all over again for Tree Gelbman, the snarky sorority sister who solved her own murder by repeatedly reliving it. But now the masked campus killer has mysteriously rematerialized to terrorize new targets, and Tree must cycle through another time loop of terrifying chills, clever twists, and pulse-pounding suspense in this inventive follow-up to Blumhouse’s hit.”
Happy Death Day 2U - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
ShoutFactory.com also has an exclusive offer with the following items:
Happy Death Day 4K Shout Factory Exclusive - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
This set is only available from Shout Factory and can be ordered here for $115.99:
It's a couple more weeks until Super Bowl Sunday... since I really don't care about Football, I will likely be following Superb Owl Sunday instead, hoot hoot! But the (sporting) event certainly generates millions of dollars of revenue for many entities and people.
Welcome to Volume 2 Episode 37 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc this week, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases-
Last week the A24 shop released the 2021 horror film Lamb to 4K disc and to blu-ray disc. We had not known the release date prior to this, they had teasers on social media, but that's it. Follow our links for more info and to purchase from their shop directly.
If there's one 4K title that is going to be ranked number one this week, it would be Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Critics and audiences alike enjoyed it, now, it's time to bring it home to physical media. Alternately, GB1, GB2 and Afterlife come in a fancy triple feature giftset. It sold out early, but it could open back up. Also a Zavvi Exclusive SteelBook would also be available on Monday, who knows if Best Buy might get the North American version later.
The other new release this week is titled The Spine of Night, and it comes in a SteelBook edition. I do sort of dig the cover art of both this version and of the standard blu-ray.
Now on to reissues, first from Paramount, Almost Famous now gets a standard package release.
And next, Warner Bros reissues both Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Mad Max Anthology, do these releases correct the audio issue? If Warner Bros says end of February for fixed discs for those that bought the original set, I have to wonder.
Blu-ray releases-
Alright then, just like we do every week, let's link you to the blu-ray counterparts of the featured 4K releases above. Ghostbusters: Afterlife gets a standard release, and the triple feature gets a standard package release as well (no fancy gift set like above for the triple feature).
The Spine of Night also gets a standard blu-ray release.
Overall title volume this week is a bit light for blu-ray disc, here's the highlights on everything else.
Paramount is bringing the live action film Clifford the Big Red Dog to disc this week. Wayne's World gets a SteelBook repackage, not a 4K, and a double feature release too.
Shout Factory brings a remake release, Slumber Party Massacre (2021).
Anime highlights include Adachi and Shimamura - The Complete Season, Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle - The Complete Season.
Criterion Collection's title release this week is Written on the Wind starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack.
Honorable mentions: Kino Lorber is bringing us the F/X double feature, F/X & F/X2. If you opted not get the 4K release last November, this week you can get the blu-ray release of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Notable announcements from last week:
There are a few big upcoming announcements coming, official and unofficial.
Unofficially, Singing in the Rain gets a 4K release on April 26th. Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro) looks to be getting a March 22nd release date on blu-ray and 4K discs. Candyman (1992) is being prepped for 4K disc for sometime in April. Panic Room is getting a 4K disc in Canada in late March, a likely U.S. release to follow.
Official Releases: Warner Archive has a couple of titles coming in March, Captains of the Clouds, A Star Is Born (1937) and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm so far. The latter has some interesting features including the option of viewing it in the 2.85:1 Smilebox format.
Matrix Resurrections 4K, blu-ray, 4-movie collection 4K and blu-ray have all been officialy slated for March 8th, bonus features have been listed as well.
In the Heat of the Night 4K special features have been finalized and it is coming via Kino Lorber on April 19th. This project was underway before the passing of Sidney Poitier.
The King's Man blu-ray/4K gets a February 22nd street date. Expect a SteelBook collection from Best Buy as well.
Arrow Video's April slate of titles for North America include The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, Twisting the Knife: Four Films by Claude Chabrol (Limited Edition), Rogue Cops and Racketeers: Two Crime Thrillers from Enzo G. Castellari and 12 Monkeys - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. If you're OK with importing, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray is also available in April.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price?
