My Two Cents
All right, I trust you all saw our new History, Legacy, and Showmanship column from last night featuring Michael Coate’s retrospective on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which celebrated its 20th anniversary on Sunday. You’ll find that here and if you’re a Star Wars fan, I think it’s well worth your time.
Meanwhile, we have some major new Blu-ray and 4K announcements for you today, so read on...
First, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just officially set Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D) on 7/23. The Digital version will be available on 7/9. The 4K will include not only Dolby Atmos audio, but HDR in Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+. Aspect ratio is 2.39:1, per the press release.
And there will be HOURS of special features, as follows... [Read on here...]
We’re going to have a new Michael Coate retrospective today in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, looking back at Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in honor of yesterday’s 20th anniversary for the film. That will be up later this afternoon, so be sure to watch for it.
In the meantime, we have a bit of 4K and standard Blu-ray news to report...
First up, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me for release on 4K Ultra HD on 8/27. Scanned from the original camera negative, the film will be presented with a new Dolby Atmos mix, along with the original theatrical mono audio and the previous 5.1 remix. Extras on the 4K disc will include never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes. The package will also include the previous Blu-ray with picture-in-picture video commentary with Reiner and the cast, the Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand by Me documentary, and audio commentary with Reiner. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]
Okay, this is just a very quick late Friday update to let you all know that director Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel will officially arrive on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 7/23, with the Digital release expected on 7/9.
And the great news is that the 4K Ultra HD package will include a Blu-ray 3D version of the film too. (It appears that the 4K package will be the only way to get the film in 3D in the States, unless there’s a retail exclusive SKU we don’t know about yet.)
This is official from the Fox Movies website, and we would expect the home video press release to go out at any time now.
You can see the 4K cover artwork at left, and we have artwork for all three versions below. [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve got a news roundup and a couple of updates for you today...
First, Tim has posted a new review of Book of Monsters on Blu-ray from Dread and Epic Pictures. Also, Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (1997) on Blu-ray from Criterion. Enjoy!
The big news today is that Warner Archive has just officially announced the Blu-ray release of Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series (1964). We hear the set is expected next month (street date TBA). The 3-disc set will include all 26 original episodes newly-remastered in full HD from the original film elements. Audio will be 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. Extras will include the Jonny Quest: Adventures in Animation featurette, a special version of the Double Danger episode with Quest Files facts and trivia, the Jonny Quest Video Handbook, and a Vintage P.F. Flyers Sneaker Commercial. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]
All right, just some quick odds and ends in today’s post while I’m off to work on reviews...
Tim has posted his thoughts on Alexander Singer’s Psyche 59 (1964) from Powerhouse Films and Indicator as well as David Blyth’s Death Warmed Up (1984) from Severin Films. Both are available on Blu-ray, so do give them a look if you’re interested.
In announcement news today, Warner Bros. has just officially set DC Universe animated film Batman: Hush for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 8/13, with the Digital release expected on 7/20. Extras will include the DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock animated short, the Batman: Love in Time of War featurette, audio commentary (with executive producer James Tucker, director Justin Copeland, and screenwriter Ernie Altbacker), a sneak peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, and two From the DC Vault episodes of The Batman/Superman Hour (including The Underworld Underground Caper and Partners in Peril). You can see the over artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]