The big announcement today is that Disney has just set a Pinocchio: Walt Disney Signature Collection Blu-ray for release on 1/31 (a Digital HD release is anticipated for 1/10). New bonus material will include Walt’s Story Meetings: Pleasure Island (from the press release: “The Pleasure Island scene in Pinocchio had much more development than what is seen in the film. Join Pixar’s Pete Docter and Disney historian and author J.B. Kaufman as they explore artwork recently discovered in Disney’s animation research library revealing some of the attractions, gags and games, which Disney animators created for this iconic location of the film, that never made it on screen.”), In Walt’s Words: Pinocchio (“Hear Walt himself discuss the making of Pinocchio through archival recordings and interviews ”), The Pinocchio Project: When You Wish Upon a Star (“Music influencers Alex G, Tanner Patrick and JR Aquino from Disney’s Maker Studios, a global leader in short-form videos, gather in a creative workspace to create their rendition of the film’s signature song, When You Wish Upon a Star, and produce a fresh new music video.”), and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Poor Papa (“This recently restored and scored 1927 short features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who gets multiple visits from the stork and is forced to attempt various methods to help stop the onslaught of baby deliveries.”), plus most of the Classic Bonus Features from previous Blu-ray and DVD releases of the film. You can see the cover artwork above. We’ll post pre-order links when they become available.
Meanwhile, Twilight Time has released the details of their December slate of Blu-ray titles (3,000 units each, due to street on 12/13), including The Barefoot Contessa, The Bullet Train (aka Shinkansen Diabakuha), The Keys to the Kingdom, Nicholas Nickelby (2002), Stardust Memories, and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver. Pre-orders open on Wednesday, November 30th at 1 PM Pacific on Screen Archives Entertainment and the Twilight Time website. Extras are as follows:
The Barefoot Contessa (isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo and David Del Valle, stills gallery from the David Del Valle archive, and the original theatrical trailer), The Bullet Train (aka Shinkansen Diabakuha – isolated music and effects track, and the Big Movie, Big Panic: Junya Sato on The Bullet Train featurette), The Keys to the Kingdom (isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians Kenneth Geist and Chris Mankiewicz, and the original theatrical trailer), Nicholas Nickelby (2002 – isolated score track, audio commentary with director Douglas McGrath, 3 featurettes (Creating a Classic: The Making of Nicholas Nickleby, The Cast on the Cast!, and View on the Set Multi-Angle Feature), and the original theatrical trailer), Stardust Memories (isolated score track and the original theatrical trailer), and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (isolated score track, audio commentary by film historians Randall Cook, C. Courtney Joyner, and Steven C. Smith, 3 featurettes (The Making of The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, The Harryhausen Chronicles, and This Is Dynamation!), and the original theatrical trailer).
Also today, Lionsgate has officially announced The Man Who Fell to Earth: Limited Collector’s Edition for Blu-ray Combo and Digital HD release on 1/24 (SRP $34.99 for Blu-ray). New extras will include interviews with costume designer May Routh, stills photographer David James, fan Sam Taylor-Johnson, and producer Michael Deeley, as well as The Lost Soundtracks featurette. You’ll also get a 1977 French TV interview with David Bowie, and legacy interviews with Candy Clark, writer Paul Mayersberg, cinematographer Tony Richmond, and director Nicolas Roeg. The package will also include a 72-page bound book, a press booklet, 4 art cards, and a mini poster. You can see the packaging below.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Little Women (1994), Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights, and Center Stage for release on Blu-ray for the first time on 12/13 as part of their Choice Collection.
And Maltauro Entertainment and Baumant Entertainment have announced the 12/6 Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD release of Never Open the Door.
Now then... let’s get to some of those Amazon Black Friday Week Deals. Today you can find...
- LOTS of great deals on 4K Ultra HDTVs (too numerous to mention, though do a bit of research and make sure to pay attention to the specs on each to make sure you’re getting the features you want, like HDR, and “smart” functionality.)
All right, we’ll leave you with a look at a bit of new Blu-ray cover artwork (with Amazon.com preorder links if available)...
We’ll be back tomorrow with more new Blu-ray and 4K reviews. Stay tuned...!
- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)