Before we get to today’s release news, we’ve got a few new disc reviews for you to enjoy here at The Bits...
Tim has reviewed the Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Volume 2 Blu-ray set from the Warner Archive Collection.
Dennis has reviewed R.O. Blechman and Christian Blackwood’s The Soldier’s Tale (1984) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics, along with Jerry London’s Rent-a-Cop (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Stuart has offered his thoughts on Édouard Molinaro’s The Road to Shame (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics, as well as Guy Green’s Diamond Head (1962) on Blu-ray from our friends at Imprint Films.
More reviews are on the way, as always, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them!
Now then... the big news today is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K UHD + Blu-ray Steelbook on 5/14, just as we expected. The Digital release is due on 4/16, which is just a week away.
Look for the 4K disc to include Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. Unfortunately, we’ve confirmed with the studio that the aspect ratio for all of these SKUs will be 2.39:1 only, matching the previous release of Dune: Part One (2021) on disc. These discs will not replicate the variable IMAX aspect ratio in 1.78:1, like the studio’s past 4K releases of Christopher Nolan’s films do (including TENET, Dunkirk, The Dark Knight, etc).
This is something that a LOT of Dune and 4K fans very much want. Since the discs went up for pre-order a few weeks ago, I’ve gotten many hundreds of questions about it. And since I shared the 2.39 confirmation on Twitter yesterday, the post has been seen by more than 1 million people! So there is clearly very keen interest in a disc release that does have the IMAX ratio. Hopefully, Warner is planning an IMAX 4K and BD disc re-release in the future. [Read on here...]
In any case, both the 4K and Blu-ray of Dune: Part Two will include 8 behind-the-scenes featurettes (among them Chakobsa Training, Creating the Fremen World, Finding the Worlds of Dune, Buzz Around the New Thopter, Worm-Riding, Becoming Feyd, A New Set of Threads, and Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune).
The Digital release will include those extras, along with 8 more featurettes that are Digital exclusives (including Inside Dune: The Spice Harvester Attack, Inside Dune: Gurney Hallaeck’s Revenge, Inside Dune: The Fight for the Imperial Throne, Filmbooks: House Corrino, Filmbooks: The Reverend Mother, Filmbooks: Water, Filmbooks: Lisan-al-Gaib, and An Ensemble for the Ages).
It’s also worth noting that a Dune 2-Film Collection will be available the same day in Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD versions. You can see the cover artwork for the wide-release 4K above left, and all of these SKUs below.
Now then... the other thing we want to share with you today is this: Our friends at Lionsgate Home Entertainment are developing a new line of 4K Ultra HD catalog Steelbooks, and they’d like your opinion! So we’ve just launched an interactive poll on The Digital Bits’ Patreon page (linked here). The poll is public and will be open for ONE WEEK (until Wednesday 4/17), so please feel free to weigh in and invite all of your friends who love 4K Ultra HD, physical media, and Steelbook titles to vote as well!
All right, here’s a look at the cover artwork for some of the various Dune: Part Two Blu-rays and 4Ks, as well as David Lynch's Dune (1984) on Blu-ray from Via Vision for good measure, all with Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it!
Stay tuned!
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