Criterion’s December includes Until the End of the World, plus 007 4K art, Lion King (2019) & new BD/4K

Monday, 16 September 2019 14:59

Criterion’s December includes Until the End of the World, plus 007 4K art, Lion King (2019) & new BD/4K

by Bill Hunt

Until the End of the World (Criterion Blu-ray Disc)

All right, the big news today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just announced their December Blu-ray and DVD release slate. And it includes a film that I’ve been waiting for a long time on Blu-ray... the extended director’s cut of Wim Wenders’ melancholy sci-fi road movie Until the End of the World.

I have so much love for the film and managed to record a TCM showing of it a couple years ago on my DVR. I’m glad I’ll finally be able to free up the drive space! Here’s the full slate...

Look for Stephen Roberts’ The Story of Temple Drake (Spine #1006 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Ronald Neame’s Tunes of Glory (Spine #225 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 12/3, followed by Wim Wenders’ Until the End of the World (Spine #1007 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy (Spine #1008 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 12/10. We’ve updated the relevant pages of our Criterion Spines Project here at The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]

Until the End of the World will be presented in its newly-restored 287-minute director’s version approved by Wenders. There’s a new interview with Wenders about the film’s soundtrack, a new conversation between Wenders and musician David Byrne, a behind-the-scenes program on the film’s high-def sequences, a 2001 interview with Wenders, Up Down Under Roma (1993), The Song (a short film on the recording of (I’ll Love You) Till the End of the World by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, deleted scenes, the trailer, and essays by critics Bilge Ebiri and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky on the film and its soundtrack. You can see the artwork above left and also below. And you can read more on all these releases here at the Criterion website.

Now then, some other release news...

Disney has just set their live-action remake of The Lion King for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K on 10/22, with the Digital release expected on 10/11. You’ll get HDR10 on the 4K, with Dolby Atmos audio. The Blu-ray will include 7.1 DTS-HD MA. Extras will include audio commentary by director Jon Favreau, a filmmaker introduction, the 3-part Journey to The Lion King featurette (includes The Music, The Magic, and The Timeless Tale), 3 More to Be Scene segments (Circle of Life, I Just Can’t Wait to Be King, and Hakuna Matata), 2 music videos (Never Too Late by Elton John and Spirit by Beyoncé), the Protect the Pride PSA, and song selection. You can see the cover artwork below.

Scream Factory has released details on their forthcoming The Blob: Collector’s Edition (due on 10/29), which will include audio commentary (with director Chuck Russell, special effects artist Tony Gardner and cinematographer Mark Irwin, moderated by filmmaker Joe Lynch), new audio commentary (with actress Shawnee Smith), 11 new interview featurettes (It Fell From the Sky! with director Chuck Russell, We Have Work to Do with actor Jeffrey DeMunn, Minding the Dinner with actress Candy Clark, They Call Me Mellow Purple with actor Donovan Leitch Jr., Try to Scream! with actor Bill Moseley, Shot Him! with cinematographer Mark Irwin, The Incredible Melting Man with special effects artist Tony Gardner, Monster Math with special effects supervisor Christopher Gilman, Haddonfield to Arborville with production designer Craig Stearns, The Secret of the Ooze with mechanical designer Mark Setrakian, and I Want that Organism Alive! with Blob mechanic Peter Abrahamson), and the new Gardner’s Grue Crew featurette (behind-the-scenes footage of Tony Gardner and his team). You’ll also get the original audio commentary (with Chuck Russell, moderated by film producer Ryan Turek), trailers, a TV spot, and a still gallery.

Meanwhile, Shout! and GKids are releasing the animated Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/15.

Screen Media is releasing The Toys That Made Us: Special Edition on Blu-ray on 10/1, with tons of extras including featurettes, additional interviews, and deleted scenes. SRP is $39.98.

Paramount Home Entertainment will release Alexandre Aja’s Crawl on Blu-ray on 10/15, with the Digital release due on 9/24. Extras will include an alternate opening with intro, deleted and extended scenes, and 3 featurettes (Beneath Crawl, Category 5 Gators: The VFX of Crawl, and Alligator Attacks).

Paramount has also set George Clooney’s Hulu limited series Catch-22 for DVD only release on 11/19.

Well Go USA will release Legend of the Demon Cat on Blu-ray on 10/22.

And on the 4K Ultra HD front, Lionsgate has officially set Red Heat for release on the format on 10/29 with Dolby Vision HDR and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. We’ve updated the 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits accordingly.

Also, speaking of 4K, this title is still not officially announced yet (though we expect it to be any time now), but we’ve now got official US cover artwork for MGM’s 007: The Daniel Craig Collection in 4K (due 10/22 – SRP $69.99). The 8-disc set will include the unrated extended edition of Casino Royale, along with Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and SPECTRE in 4K, along with Blu-rays, and Digital Copy. We don’t know any more (and won’t until it’s officially announced) but you can see the cover artwork below and you can pre-order the title here on Amazon now.

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for the new Criterions, The Lion King, and more (with Amazon pre-order links if available)...