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Monday, 27 April 2026 19:12

Hoppers, Michael, Hang ‘Em High, Rio Lobo, 28 Days Later, Scary Movie & more in 4K!

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Welcoming to a new week, Bits readers!

So the good news is that the site appears to be stable, our email is working, and all of our functionality appears to be restored. If you’re having any trouble, please let us know.

In the meantime, we have some new reviews for you to enjoy today…

Stephen has taken a look at Guy Hamilton’s Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker (1990) in 4K Ultra HD from Synapse Films.

Tim has offered his thoughts on Hanna-Barbera’s The New Fred and Barney Show: The Complete Series (1979) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. He’s also assisted Dennis with 4K Ultra HD reviews of Terry Jones’ Monty Pythons’ Life of Brian (1979) from the Criterion Collection and Alvin Rakoff’s Death Ship (1980) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has turned in a solo review of Mike Figgis’ Mr. Jones (1993) on Blu-ray from Imprint films.

More reviews are on the way all this week, so be sure to watch for them!

Now then, in release and announcement news today, Disney officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Pixar’s CG-animated Hoppers (2026) on 6/2, with the Digital release expected tomorrow on 4/28. The 4K disc will come in Steelbook packaging and interestingly, it will be released on a 100 GB disc with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include 5 featurettes (The Critter Dairies, Hopping In: The Making of Hoppers, Meet King George: Scene Breakdown, Beaverton Revealed, and Damn Good Bloopers) plus 6 deleted scenes. You can see the cover art at left. [Read on here...]

Lionsgate Limited has begun taking pre-orders for their exclusive 4K Ultra HD edition of Antoine Fuqua’s Michael (2026), which will also be available in Walmart and Amazon-exclusive 4K Steelbooks and regular Amaray/Elite packaging 4K versions as well, in addition to DVD and Blu-ray. The street date is still TBA.

Our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have set Ted Post’s Hang ‘Em High (1968) is coming to 4K Ultra HD on 6/23, a great Clint Eastwood Western licensed from Amazon MGM Studio’s UA library. Also coming to Blu-ray on 6/23 is King Vidor’s The Texas Rangers (1936). And KLSC has revealed a big one: Howard Hawks’ Rio Lobo (1970) is coming soon to 4K Ultra HD, another fine John Wayne Western licensed from Paramount.

Chuck Russell’s Eraser (1996), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, is now available for pre-order in 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook from Warner Bros. on 6/16.

Warner has also set Kirill Sokolov’s They Will Kill You (2026) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 6/30.

Meanwhile, HBO and Warner are releasing a new Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection box set in 4K Steelbook Library Case packaging on 11/3.

And here’s a nice surprise: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set a new 4K Steelbook edition of Danny Boyle’s original 28 Days Later (2002) for release on 9/1. This is almost certainly AI-upsampled, but it’s also likely to have been supervised by Boyle, and the film is meant to have a rough, low-fi look so AI can do little damage and may actually enhance it a bit—we’ll have to wait and see, but we’re certainly curious to see it.

BTW, Sony has also set Richard Sale’s Abandon Ship (1957) for 4K Ultra HD release on 6/30.

Alliance and Paramount are releasing more repackaged 4K titles on 6/30, including JJ Abrams’ Super 8 (2011) and John McTiernan’s The Hunt for Red October (1990).

It also appears that Alliance and Paramount are releasing Keenen Ivory Wayans’ Scary Movie (2000) in 4K Ultra HD soon, though the street date is still TBA. That would actually be a new title on the format, I believe.

Universal is releasing new 4K Steelbook reissues of Duncan Jones’ Warcraft (2016) and Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) on 6/16. And they’ve also set Roger Michell’s Notting Hill (1999) and Ron Howard’s Parenthood (1989) for 4K release on 6/9.

Here’s something cool: Gerry Anderson.com has announced that Captain Scarlet: The Complete Series and Thunderbirds: The Complete Series are being released in new Collector’s Edition Blu-ray sets this summer! You can pre-order them on the website. Also coming soon are a new Blu-ray restoration of The Secret Service: The Complete Series, as well as two new episodes of Thunderbirds restored in 4K: Attack of the Alligators and Atlantic Inferno. Also being restored in 4K: The Space: 1999 second season premiere, The Metamorph. These will be released in theaters in the UK later this year, and possibly on 4K disc down the line.

And finally today, Turbine Media in Germany has announced the 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release of David Bruckner’s Hellraiser (2022) in three more different Mediabook cover variants on May 6. You can find those here.

That’s all for now! Stay tuned…

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter/X, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)