Holdovers & Killers of the Flower Moon in 4K (but not in the US), Arrow & Umbrella’s April slates, Jack Ryan 4K, Super Mario remastering & more!

Thursday, 01 February 2024 19:26

Holdovers & Killers of the Flower Moon in 4K (but not in the US), Arrow & Umbrella’s April slates, Jack Ryan 4K, Super Mario remastering & more!

by Bill Hunt

We’ve got two new disc reviews for you to enjoy this afternoon, both of them Blu-ray titles…

First, Stephen has taken a look at John Dahl’s Red Rock West (1993) on Blu-ray, which is one of the first titles in Vinegar Syndrome’s new Cinématographe line, curated by our friend (and producer) Justin LaLiberty.

And I’ve reviewed Umbrella Entertainment’s recent Frank Herbert’s Dune Complete Collection Blu-ray box set, which includes John Harrison’s Dune (2000) miniseries along with Greg Yaitanes’ Children of Dune (2003) miniseries, as well as a ton of great special features and swag, all in super-deluxe packaging.

More reviews are forthcoming, including—in the next day or two—my take on Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) from Lionsgate and Ronald F. Maxwell’s Little Darlings (1980), both of them in 4K Ultra HD. Little Darlings, I should note, is the other debut title in Vinegar Syndrome’s new Cinématographe line. So watch for those very soon.

We’ve also updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits, along with our Release Dates & Artwork section, both of which now include all the latest announced titles, with Amazon pre-order links.

And over on The Digital Bits’ Patreon, we’ve shared a new piece by Stephen on the ethics of altering films for release in other forms (for example B&W), and the challenges in trying to determine how films should look sometimes years later on home video, as well as some fun content from our friends over at The Bigger Pictures Film Restoration (more on that in a minute). As always, we really appreciate your support of The Digital Bits, which helps us to continue our work here at the site in support of physical media. And becoming a Patreon member is a great way to do that. We’re working to build a pretty terrific little community over there where Bits readers can hang out and share their thoughts and experiences. So you’re all welcome to join us there! [Read on here...]

In terms of announcement news today, fans of Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers (2023) may be pleased to learn that Dazzler Media in the UK has set the film for 4K Ultra HD release there on 4/11. Keep in mind, there’s still no sign of a US 4K release from Universal. The UK UHD release is a 2-disc set that will also include the film on Blu-ray, but note that the Blu-ray disc is likely to be region locked. In any case, you’ll find the UK cover art below, with the Amazon UK pre-order link.

On Monday, we mentioned all the new Kino Lorber Studio Classics 4K titles that finally have street dates, but you’ll be pleased to learn that the company has just revealed that Roger Donaldson’s No Way Out (1987) is also “coming soon” to 4K Ultra HD. Street date is TBA. Also newly-revealed for regular Blu-ray release are the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVII box set—William Witney’s City of Shadows (1955), Lewis R. Foster’s Crashout (1955), and Harold D. Schuster’s Fingerman (1955)—on 3/26, along with Monk: The Complete Fifth Season that same day. And John Farrow’s Submarine Command (1951) is also “coming soon” to Blu-ray.

Arrow Video has announced their April Blu-ray and 4K slate, which will include Phil Karlson’s The Scarface Mob (1959) on Blu-ray in the US and Canada, Anthony Mann’s The Tin Star (1957) on Blu-ray in the US and Canada, Robert Altman’s The Cold Day in the Park (1969) and Walerian Borowczyk’s Behind Covenant Walls (1978) each on Blu-ray in the UK only, and Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case (1982) on Blu-ray in the UK only as well as in two different 4K Ultra HD SKUs, one in the US, UK, and Canada and the other in the US and UK only. It appears that the US street date for The Scarface Mob is 4/23, while The Tin Star and Basket Case 4K are due on 4/30. You can see some of the cover artwork below.

Umbrella Entertainment has just announced their April Blu-ray slate as well, which is set to include Rachel Talalay’s Tank Girl (1995), Gary Goddard’s Masters of the Universe (1987), Sam Odlum’s Time Addicts (2023), Jack Hill’s Coffy (1973), and Caspar Wrede’s Ransom (1974 – aka The Terrorists). The Australian street date for all of these titles is 4/17.

We’ve confirmed that both Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: The Final Season and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: The Complete Series—which Paramount has officially announced for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/16—will each also be available in manufactured-on-demand 4K Ultra HD SKUs that same day. Neither is as yet available for pre-order on Amazon, but we expect them to be soon.

Eureka Entertainment has announced a new edition to their Masters of Cinema Series for Blu-ray release on 4/23, which is Paul Leni’s The Cat and the Canary (1927). The film is presented in 1080p HD mastered from a new 4K digital restoration of the negatives supplied by The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and Adult Swim have set Rick and Morty: The Complete Seventh Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 3/12.

Bleeker Street has announced Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s sci-fi action thriller I.S.S. (2023) for Blu-ray release on 3/12.

And it looks like the Warner Archive Collection’s recently-announced Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 3 Blu-ray is finally available for pre-order on Amazon with a street date of 3/12. You can find the cover artwork (with the link) below.

And here’s something interesting: It seems that Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) has been released on physical 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Disc in Italy by Eagle Pictures, but be aware that both the 4K disc and the Blu-ray are Region B locked. This fact has been confirmed by multiple Bits readers. [Editor’s Note: Apparently, there are forced Italian subtitles as well.] Here in the States, the title is exclusive to streaming on Apple TV+. Note that this same company, Eagle Pictures, also released another AppleTV+ title, Sian Heder’s Coda (2021), in 4K UHD and Blu-ray back in 2022. For that release, the 4K disc is unlocked but the Blu-ray is Region B.

Finally today, here’s something I alluded to earlier: Our friend J.S. Wingfield of The Bigger Pictures Film Restoration just sent us a YouTube link to a new 14-minute documentary he’s produced on the process involved in restoring the VHS workprint version of Super Mario Bros. (1993)—not to mention the 4K trailers and deleted scenes reel—for inclusion on Umbrella Entertainment’s new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release. The doc is itself available in 4K with HDR on YouTube, and I think fans of the film will find it interesting. So here you go…

Now then, we’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for some of the titles mentioned above, each with their respective Amazon pre-order links. Just click on the images below…

Back tomorrow with more. Stay tuned…

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

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Holdovers & Killers of the Flower Moon in 4K (but not in the US), Arrow & Umbrella’s April slates, Jack Ryan 4K, Super Mario remastering & more!

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