That timing probably also lines up with the planned release of Warner’s Kong: Skull Island on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K, but it hasn’t been officially announced yet… and it appears that Amazon.com is having another of its infamous studio arm-twisting matches with Warner at the moment, because many of the biggest Warner title pre-orders have been shut down (save for the Amazon Digital pre-orders). Ugh. There’s probably a lesson in monopoly economics in there somewhere, but it’s too damn irritating to think about now.
Anyway, Universal has also set Big Miracle (2012), Balto (1995), and An American Tail: Fivel Goes West (1991) for release as Blu-ray singles on 7/11 (SRP $14.98 each).
Meanwhile, Scream Factory has just announced that they’re releasing new Collector’s Editions of Teen Wolf and Teen Wolf Too on Blu-ray Disc on 8/8. New bonus features are being commissioned and new transfers are being completed too. Additional details will be announced in June.
More TV BD news… Amazon.com is taking pre-orders on the TBA Blu-ray and DVD release of Fox’s recent 24: Legacy. SRP is $49.98 and $39.98 respectively. Amazon is also taking pre-orders on the TBA Blu-ray and DVD release of Fox’s Homeland: The Complete Sixth Season and the TBA Blu-ray and DVD release of Starz and Anchor Bay’s The Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season as well. Click the links in this sentence to pre-order.
Also today, Kino Lorber has announced that they’re creating a new DVD and Blu-ray special edition of Rawhead Rex (1986) for release just in time for Halloween.
Cinedigm will release Drone, starring Sean Bean, on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/4.
PBS Distribution will release Masterpiece Mystery!: Endeavour – Season 4 on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/5. I may have mentioned this before, but PBS has also set Fortitude: Season 2 for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/1. I’ve recently started watching this series on Amazon Prime and it’s pretty great. Think of it as Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Insomnia (1997) with just a dash of The X-Files tossed in for good measure. The cast includes the likes of Stanley Tucci, Michael Gambon, and Dennis Quaid.
A couple more to mention… Oscilloscope Laboratories has set Asaph Polonsky’s One Week and a Day (2016) for release on Blu-ray on 9/5. They also have the Ross Brothers’ Contemporary Color set for Blu-ray release on 7/11, starring David Byrne and Nelly Furtado.
And for anime fans, A.D. Vision is releasing a King of Beasts: Complete Collection on Blu-ray on 8/8.
Finally, this is very interesting: Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is officially pushing hard for Disney to start releasing Marvel films on the 4K Ultra HD format, starting with his own Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 later this year. This comes from a London red carpet premiere interview with the director by BBC News entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba. Gunn confirms that the film was finished to a 4K Digital Intermediate, with parts of it in native 4K and parts upconverted 2K, and that a Dolby Vision HDR pass has been completed as well. You can see the exchange on video here and by clicking on the image below. You go, James! We’re behind you 100%. Tip of the hat to Lizo too, for asking a damn fine question. #Respect
And that’s all for this week. We’ll be back on Monday with more news and definitely more reviews. See you then!
- Bill Hunt