Okay… we’re closing out the week with some good catalog Blu-ray announcement news...
First up, Disney has set the Atlantis: 2-Movie Collection, Lilo & Stitch and The Emperor’s New Groove for Blu-ray release on 6/11.
Here’s some great news too: Universal has just set Earthquake, Midway and The Shadow for release on Blu-ray Disc on 6/4.
Anchor Bay Entertainment will release Pawn on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/23.
Warner Home Video and Cartoon Network have set Robot Chicken: DC Special for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/9.
Millennium Entertainment has set Crush for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/9.
And Magnolia Home Entertainment has set At the Gate of the Ghost for release on both formats on 4/16.
In news around the Net today, the website The Wrap has more information on the forthcoming re-release of William Friedkin’s Sorcerer straight from the director himself. The remastered film will debut at the Venice Film Festival in August and will finally find its way to Blu-ray and DVD as well. Official announcements are expected in the next week or two, so be sure to stay tuned.
Speaking of stuff from around the Net, have you seen the new international theatrical trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness? Whew! This may not be Trek in the mold of “seeking out new life and new civilizations,” but I’m confident that Trek will return again one day soon, probably on TV. Meanwhile, this sure looks like it’s going to be a helluva fun ride. I still say that casting Benedict Cumberbatch as… well, I’m not going to say who he plays here for those who wish to remain unspoiled… but casting him in the part is brilliant. So here’s the trailer and make damn sure you watch in HD…
Finally today, I had the great pleasure last night (along with many old friends from around the industry) of attending the L.A. premiere of Charles de Lauzirika’s first feature film, CRAVE, at the Fox lot. Now, as some of you may know, I’ve known Charlie since before he started producing DVD special editions – going all the way back to 1998, before the original Alien: 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD release. And I’ve known for years that he was destined to end up directing his own feature films one day, and that no less an expert on the topic than Ridley Scott was urging him to follow that path. When he finally did, I had the pleasure of seeing an early rough cut of CRAVE. The film was good even then, as I said here at The Bits at the time. But the version I saw last night – complete with final edit, sound design, score and gorgeous credit sequences – was lean, mean and terrific. It was like seeing it again for the first time. My first thought after the credit roll was, “Nobody has any business making a first film this polished and entertaining... but in this case I’m not surprised.” If you’ve been enjoying Charlie’s DVD and Blu-ray special edition work for as long as I have – and literally nobody’s been following it longer than I have – you know that he’s been making great films for a very long time already. So I truly look forward to the day, hopefully soon, when I can report on the theatrical and Blu-ray release of CRAVE here at The Bits, so all the rest of you will have the chance to see it too. Charlie, I’m damn proud of you. And I can’t wait to see your next film. (Not sure if I can say what it is yet here, but it’s very cool and I am officially excited.) Here’s the trailer for CRAVE in the meantime...
All right, we’ll leave you with a look at Universal’s advertising art (close to the final cover art but not exact) for Earthquake, Midway and The Shadow…
Back on Monday with that Star Trek: Enterprise – Season One Blu-ray review. Have a great weekend!
- Bill Hunt