In announcement news today, Scream Factory has officially set The Dark Half and Monkey Shines for Blu-ray release on 11/18, both films by director George Romero. The Dark Half will include a new audio commentary with Romero, the all-new The Sparrows Are Flying Again!: The Making of The Dark Half documentary (36 minutes), deleted scenes, animated storyboards for the original ending, behind-the-scenes footage (including Special Effects and On the Set), the vintage Making of The Dark Half featurette (plus additional interview clips), the trailer, a TV spot, and a photo gallery. Monkey Shines will include a new audio commentary with Romero, the all-new An Experiment in Fear documentary (49 minutes), an alternate ending, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, the vintage Making of Monkey Shines featurette (plus additional interview clips), trailers, a TV spot, and a photo gallery.
Henstooth Video has set The Ninth Configuration for Blu-ray release on 11/4.
Warner Home Video has set the New Line title The Art of War for Blu-ray release on 1/13/15. They also have Looney Tunes: Back in Action coming on Blu-ray on 12/2.
On the TV front, Warner has set Shameless: The Complete Fourth Season for Blu-ray and DVD on 12/30.
Paramount and CBS will release Under the Dome: Season 2 on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/9, followed by Extant: The First Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/16.
And Olive Films has announced the November DVD-only release of a number of new TV series titles licensed from Fox, including Napoleon Dynamite: The Complete Animated Series (due 11/4), Touch: The Complete Second Season (11/4), Dads: The Complete Series (11/11), King of the Hill: The Complete Seventh Season (11/18), King of the Hill: The Complete Eighth Season (11/18), and Better Off Ted: The Complete Second Season (11/25). It’s nice to see someone completing the DVD release of these shows if Fox isn’t interested.
Also, the regular Blu-ray-only edition of Cowboy Bebop: The Complete Series is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com for release on 12/16 (SRP $59.98 but Amazon has it for $41.99). This is in addition to the Amazon-exclusive Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo version which is already available for pre-order here (for $89.98). There’s still no cover artwork available yet.
Finally today, for you LA-area readers, Scream Factory and Anchor Bay are going to be holding a special Halloween Films Reunion and Blu-ray signing event at the ever-excellent Dark Delicacies book store next Tuesday, 9/23, starting at 7:30 PM. On hand to sign copies of the new Halloween: The Complete Collection Blu-ray box set will be: actors PJ Soles, Raymond O’Connor, Tom Morga, Erik Preston, Kathleen Kinmont, Matthew Walker, Frankie Como, Daniel Farrands, JC Brandy, Jeffrey Landman, Daisy McCrackin, Adam Hann-Byrd, Chris Durand, Gary Glayton, and Caroline Williams, special FX make-up artist (for Halloween 6 and Halloween H20) Brad Hardin, stunt double (for Halloween H20) Donna Keegan Avery, composer (for 5 of the films) Alan Howarth, and documentary director Sean Clark. IMPORTANT NOTE: This signing was original limited to people who pre-ordered the Blu-ray set in advance, however there will be a small number of Blu-ray sets available for walk-in customers on the day of the event. These copies are EXTREMELY LIMITED and will be available at the store on a first-come, first-served basis only starting at 4 PM. Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank, CA (818-556-6660). Visit their website here for more information. So there you go. Have a good time and tell ‘em The Bits sent you!
Here’s a look at a bit more of the cover artwork for titles mentioned above...
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt