Paramount sets Gladiator II for Digital on 12/24 & physical in March, plus new KLSC 4Ks include Daylight & Prophecy, Arrow’s March slate & more!

Monday, 23 December 2024 14:22

Paramount sets Gladiator II for Digital on 12/24 & physical in March, plus new KLSC 4Ks include Daylight & Prophecy, Arrow’s March slate & more!

by Bill Hunt

Afternoon, everyone! We’re starting the short Christmas week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews as always. Today, we’ve got...

Tim’s review of Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Studios and Marvel, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Stephen’s review of Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (1976) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount via Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis’ take on Vincent Sherman’s The Return of Doctor X (1939) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

We also have a few more new disc reviews for you from late last week, in case you missed them, including...

Tim’s review of Monk: Season Six (2007-2008) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s review of Richard Thorpe’s Three Little Words (1950) on Blu-ray from Warner Archive.

Dennis’ look at Umberto Lenzi’s Battle of the Commandos (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stephen’s review of William Friedkin’s The Hunted (2003) on 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s look at Claude Autant-Lara’s Enough Rope (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, my review of Robert Meyer Burnett and Max Allan Collins’ True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak 10-part audio drama from Imagination Connoisseurs Unlimited.

Also, just so you know, we’re not done yet: Look for at least one more new disc review tomorrow before the Christmas holiday, and lots more after we get back from the break next week. [Read on here...]

In announcement news today, Paramount has officially set Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II (2024) for Digital release on 12/24, and they’ve given the physical Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook release a street date as well: 3/4/25. Look for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio on the 4K SKUs, with extras on all set to include 6 documentary featurettes (A Dream That Was Rome: Origins, What We Do in Life Echoes in Eternity: The Cast, In the Arena: Filmmakers, To Those About to Die, We Salute You: Combat, Building an Empire: Post-Production, and The Making of Gladiator II) as well as Deleted Scenes. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

Our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have revealed that John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy (1979) is coming soon to 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision HDR. They’ve also set a Peril & Distress 4K double feature of Sidney Gilliat’s Endless Night (1972) and Bert I. Gordon’s Picture Mommy Dead (1966) for release on 3/4, followed by Rob Cohen’s Daylight (1998) for 4K UHD on 3/11, and Simon West’s The General’s Daughter (1999) in 4K UHD on 3/18. On Blu-ray, look for Stanley Donen’s Arabesque (1966) and the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXIV box set—including Rudolph Maté’s Union Station (1950), Joel Newton’s Jennifer (1953), and Joseph Kane’s The Crooked Circle (1957)—on 3/4, followed by Willard Huyck’s Best Defense (1984) on 3/11. And KLSC also has Hugh Wilson’s Rustlers’ Rhapsody (1985) coming soon to Blu-ray.

And Arrow Video has announced their March Blu-ray and 4K UHD release slate, which is set to include Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980) (UK only) on 4K on 3/3, Yasuzo Masumura’s Play It Cool (1970) (UK, US, Canada) on Blu-ray on 3/4, Mike Hodges’ The Terminal Man (1974) (UK only) on Blu-ray on 3/10, Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea (1999) (UK, US, Canada) on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on 3/18, and Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) (UK, US, Canada) on Blu-ray on 3/25. Of the 4K titles, Dressed to Kill with include Dolby Vision HDR, while Deep Blue Sea will include Dolby Atmos audio.

On the pre-order front, Universal has listed Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: Part One (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD, with the street date still TBA for Q1 2025. But there will be a wide release 4K, a Steelbook exclusive, and a Limited Edition 4K Gift Set. Here’s a look at the packaging for the Gift Set (with the Amazon pre-order link)...

And we’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for Gladiator II, the retailer temp art for the wide release version of Wicked: Part One, and more big and long-awaited upcoming 4K titles (including a peek at Amadeus), all with Amazon links if available...