In other announcement news today, Arrow Video has announced a new Blu-ray title: Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection. Due on 5/24, the set will include Monster a Go-Go!, Invasion from Inner Earth, The Alpha Incident, The Demons of Ludlow, The Game (aka The Cold), and Twister’s Revenge. Each film will also include a whole series of extras, which you can see here at the Arrow website. Bill Rebane is great regional indie filmmaker who makes his films way up north in Hurley, Wisconsin. If I recall, he even created the Wisconsin Film Office. When I was a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, stories of his exploits were well known locally. So it’s very cool to see him finally get the attention he’s due on home video. Tip of the hat to Arrow for doing so.
Also today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has sort-of “soft” announced the 4K Ultra HD release of Zack Snyder’s newly-remastered Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition on 3/23 on their social media. The digital and HBO Max release are due on 3/18. What we know is this: The film will feature a new color grade supervised by Snyder, and it will feature a new aspect ratio presentation that will shift from 2.35 to 1.43 for the film’s IMAX sequences. The package will not include a Blu-ray copy (so it’s unlikely there will be much in the way of extras), but you will get a Digital code. If it’s anything like the earlier 4K release of the film (which we’ve reviewed here on The Bits), expect HDR10 high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. You can see the final cover artwork for that below too.
Warner Bros. has also announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of John Lee Hancock’s The Little Things on 5/4, with the Digital release due on 4/20 (and the PVOD release due on 3/19). Extras will include 2 featurettes (Four Shades of Blue and A Contrast in Styles). The film stars Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto.
Meanwhile, Mill Creek Entertainment has revealed its May slate, which will include MacGruber (including the unrated and theatrical editions), Hellfighters, a Scars of War: Vietnam 4-Movie Collection (Casualties of War, Birdy, Alamo Bay, and Summertree), and a double-feature of Toy Soldiers and December all on Blu-ray on 5/4, followed by Last Call to Normandy and D-Day: Veterans Return to Normandy on DVD only on 5/18. Also, note that Ultraman LEO (Blu-ray and Steelbook Blu-ray) has moved to 5/25.
RLJ Entertainment has announced their April slate, which will include Finding Joy: Series 2 (Blu-ray) and The Reckoning (Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/6, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist (Blu-ray) on 4/13, The Mortuary Collection (Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/20, and Cold Call (DVD) and Wisting: Season 1 (Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/27.
Also, for you Back to the Future superfans, Zavvi is now taking pre-orders on an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Plutonium Case Collector’s Edition Box Set, which includes the existing 4K release, a Flux Capacitor Schematic Diagram, a Blast from the Past plastic receipt, and a Time Machine location map, each housed in clear ‘fuel cell’ tubes inside an imitation plutonium cardboard packaging box. Street date is April 26 and you can order it here at Zavvi US and here at Zavvi UK. Here’s a picture...
Don’t forget that Craig Brewer’s Coming 2 America, the sequel to John Landis’ original Coming to America (1988), is now available for free viewing on Amazon Prime. It’s been getting decent reviews, so it should be worth checking out. Also, the season finale of WandaVision is now available on Disney+. And of course, Paramount+ is now live for those who may be interested.
And finally today, the 46th Annual Saturn Awards nominees were officially announced yesterday by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, featuring a great selection of Home Entertainment nominees, as follows...
Best Classic Film DVD Release – 4D Man (Kino), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (Kino), Dr. Cyclops (Kino), Hercules in the Haunted World (Kino), The Magic Sword (Kino), Robocop: Director’s Cut (Arrow), and The War of the Worlds (1953 – Criterion)
Best Television Series DVD/BD Release – Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Complete Collection (Kino), Creepshow: Season One (Image), The Librarians: The Complete Series (Electric Entertainment), Mission: Impossible – The Original TV Series (Paramount), The Outsider: The First Season (HBO), Shazam: The Complete Live Action Series (Warner Archive), and The Simpsons: The Nineteenth Season (20th Century Fox)
Best Film Collection DVD/BD Release – Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection (Shout), The Fly Collection (Shout/Scream), Gamera: The Complete Collection (Arrow), Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975 (Criterion), Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection (Kino), Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations (MVD), and Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman (Criterion)
Best 4K Film Release – The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection (Universal), Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut (Lionsgate), Flash Gordon: Limited Edition (Arrow), Jaws 45th Anniversary (Universal), Knives Out (Lionsgate), Mad Max (Kino), The Shining (Warner), and War of the Worlds (2005 – Paramount)
Of course, you must be a member to participate in the voting and you can find out how to do that here.
And that’s all for today. We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for some of the titles mentioned above and more, with Amazon links if available (just click on the cover art)...
Have a great weekend! Stay tuned...
(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)