My Two Cents
Friday, 12 March 2021 13:48

Universal makes Shrek 4K official, new Network & KL Studio Classics titles, 3 more Amazon films from Criterion & Warner Archive’s “final” 4 for $44 sale

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We’re starting our final news update for this week with more new Blu-ray Disc reviews...

Dennis has taken a look at Albert Brooks’ Defending Your Life (1991), as newly released on Blu-ray Disc by the Criterion Collection.

And Tim has offered up his thoughts on a pair of Clint Eastwood films, including Don Siegel’s Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) and Eastwood’s own The Eiger Sanction (1975), both recently released by Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In terms of announcements today, the big news is that Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just made their animated Shrek available for release on 4K Ultra HD on 5/11, in honor of the film’s 20th anniversary. High dynamic range will be HDR10, with DTS:X audio. Extras on the 4K and Blu-ray Disc in the package will include audio commentary with directors Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and producer Aron Warner. deleted scenes, music videos, Shrek’s Interactive Journey, Spotlight on Donkey, and Secrets of Shrek. [Read on here...]

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You’ll also get a Blu-ray bonus disc in the package that adds 10 short films (Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Party, Far Far Away Idol, Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos, The Ghost of Lord Farquaad, Scared Shrekless, Thriller Night, The Pig Who Cried Werewolf, Shrek the Halls, Donkey’s Caroling Christmas-tacular, and Shrek’s Yule Log), along with 5 episodes of The Adventures of Puss in Boots TV series. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

In other news, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed more upcoming catalog titles for June, including Basil Dearden’s The Blue Lamp (1950), and the Ealing Studios comedies The Green Man (1956) and Who Done It? (1956) on 6/1, followed by Philippe de Broca’s Cartouche (1962) and Le Magnifique (1973) on 6/8.

And in July, look for Georges Lautner’s The Road to Salina (1970) on 7/6 and the British Noir Collection III on 7/13. The collection will include The Frightened Lady (1940), The Brass Monkey (1948), Third Time Lucky (1949), Tall Headlines (1952), and Breakaway (1956).

The company has also announced that Robert Aldrich’s Vera Cruz (1954) and Joe Don Baker’s Golden Needles (1974) are coming soon.

Meanwhile, Network has set Journey of a Lifetime: The Complete Series and The Dove for release on Blu-ray in the UK on April 4, followed by Dial 999: The Complete Series and The Pot Carriers on April 26.

And in other news, Indiewire is reporting that Amazon Studios has made a deal with the Criterion Collection to release a trio of their original feature films on Blu-ray and DVD (as part of the Collection) in 2021. They’ll include Regina King’s One Night in Miami (2020), Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal (2019), and the Garrett Bradley documentary Time (2020). You can read more on that here.

Finally today, both Kino Lorber Studio Classics and the Warner Archive Collection are having big sales on their in-stock catalog of Blu-ray and DVD titles. Kino’s is a March Madness sale on over 520 Blu-ray titles, with free shipping on orders of $50 or more. More ominously, Warner is advertising “the Final Warner Archive 4 for $44 on the WB Shop!” sale... which has naturally got a lot of home entertainment enthusiasts talking about the “final” wording there, given what we know about much of the staff of the Warner Archive recently having been pink-slipped by Warner Media. We don’t know if this is just a coincidence, a poor choice of wording, or it has more significant meaning. But there it is. Over 3,000 titles are included in this sale, with reduced shipping, and it runs until 3/25. So act fast if you’re interested. [Editor’s Note: A few readers have pointed out that the “final four” wording could be meant to tie into NCAA March Madness, like Kino’s sale branding. However, the email Warner Archive sent out to promote the sale used this wording: “2021 is here, and with it comes change. So we and our friends at the Araca Group that manage WBShop wanted to say thank you for your support with a final 4 for 44 sale!” Which clearly suggests that a change is coming, either to the shop or Warner Archive itself.]

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for Shrek, along with a couple other upcoming 4K Ultra HD titles, each with Amazon links...

Shrek (4K Ultra HD) The Fast and the Furious: 20th Anniversary Edition (4K Ultra HD) Godzilla (4K Ultra HD)

Have a great weekend. Stay tuned...

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