My Two Cents
Monday, 23 May 2022 15:46

Secrets of Dumbledore, Edge of Tomorrow & Sonic 2 are all official, plus Tropic Thunder 4K, Imprint’s August slate, and RIP Vangelis & Colin Cantwell

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We’ve got some ground to cover this afternoon to start the week off right, including some major release news. First though, as always, some new disc reviews…

Stephen has given Ena Sendijarevic’s Take Me Somewhere Nice (2019) a look on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on George Seaton’s The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

Now then, the big news today is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore for release on 6/28 (SRP $39.98, $34.98, and $49.98 respectively), with the Digital release and HBO Max streaming debut expected on 5/30. [Read on here...]

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The Blu-ray and 4K SKUs will include deleted scenes and 13 behind-the-scenes featurettes (among them The Dumbledore Family Tree, Dumbledore Through the Ages, Magical or Muggle, The Magic of Hogwarts, Even More Fantastic Beasts, Newt in the Wild, The German Ministry of Magic, A Dumbledore Duel, The Candidates’ Dinner, Erkstag Jailbreak, Battle in Bhutan, and The Secrets of Cursed Child). Expect Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio on the 4K. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

While we’re talking Warner, the studio has also set Doug Limon’s Edge of Tomorrow (aka Live Die Repeat) for release on 4K Ultra HD and Digital on 7/5, as we’ve been expecting for a few months now. SRP is $24.99. Look for a new (on disc) Dolby Atmos sound mix, along with deleted scenes and 5 legacy featurettes (Operation Downfall: Adrenaline Cut, Storming the Beach, Weapons of the Future, Creatures Not of This World, and On the Edge with Doug Liman). Once again, you can see the cover art below.

In other new release news, Paramount Home Entertainment has just set Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for release on Blu-ray DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 8/9, with the Digital release due on 5/24. Extras will include an hour of special features, among them an all-new animated short called Sonic Drone Home. Again, we expect Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos.

Here’s a nice surprise: Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed that they’re working on a new 4K UHD of Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder (2008) for release in the months ahead. The title is officially listed as “coming soon” and will include Dolby Vision HDR.

And here’s a round-up of additional 4K title news from our retail sources: Look for the BBC’s The Green Planet to hit UHD on 8/9 (it came out in the UK in March). And Universal has set The Bad Guys for 6/21, followed by Downton Abbey: A New Era on 7/5, Doom (2005) on 8/9, and Jurassic World: Dominion on 8/16 (consider that last one tentative until the title is officially announced).

Moving on to catalog Blu-ray, Via Vision’s Imprint Films has just set their August slate to include On the Beach (1959), Scarlet Hour (1956), I Am the Law (1938), Secret of the Incas (1954), Storm Center (1955), Golden Boy (1939), The World of Suzi Wong (1960), and the Essential Film Noir: Collection 3 box set, which includes The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), No Man of Her Own (1950), The Turning Point (1952), and The Desperate Hours (1955). Street date for all is expected to be 8/31 and you can pre-order them here.

On the TV front, Universal will release The Umbrella Academy: Season Two on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/21.

Mill Creek has their King Ralph: Retro VHS Blu-ray coming on 6/21.

Time Life will release Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: In Concert 2010-2019 on Blu-ray on 6/21.

Trinity/CineAsia has just released the Chinese WWII action film The Battle of Lake Changjin on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK. Street date was 5/16.

Lionsgate will release Firebird on Digital on 6/3.

Kino Lorber Repertory is releasing a new 4K restoration of Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer's documentary The Wobblies (1979) on Digital on 5/31.

The Cohen Media Group has set Last Passenger (2012) for Blu-ray release on 6/14, followed by Breathe In (2013) on 6/21.

IndiePix Films will release the competitive eating documentary Scarf Face on DVD and Digital on 6/14.

And the Film Detective will release a new restoration of the B-movie sci-fi classic The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/21 (SRP $29.95 and $19.95), featuring new special features that include audio commentary by star Joyce Meadows, 2 all-new documentaries (The Man Before the Brain: Director Nathan Juran and The Man Behind the Brain: The World of Nathan Juran), and both 1.85 and 1.33 versions of the film.

Finally, we have some sad news to report: We must take a moment this afternoon to acknowledge the deaths of the legendary Greek film composer and musician Vangelis, and also a concept artist well known to genre fans by the name of Colin Cantwell. Vangelis is of course the man behind the scores for such films as Chariots of Fire (for which he won an Academy Award), Blade Runner, Missing, The Bounty, and 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and you may also recognize his music from the 1980s science series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. Meanwhile, Cantwell designed the iconic X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Star Destroyer, and Death Star from Star Wars, and also worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and WarGames. Both men will be missed. Vangelis was 79—you can read more about him today via The New York Times and Variety. Cantwell was 90 and you can read more about him here at The Hollywood Reporter and here at Star Wars.com.

We’ll leave you today with a look at the cover artwork for a few of the titles mentioned above, with Amazon.com pre-order links if available…

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (4K Ultra HD) Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Blu-ray Disc) Edge of Tomorrow (4K Ultra HD)

The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 (Blu-ray Disc) The Brain from Planet Arous (Blu-ray Disc) The Green Planet (4K Ultra HD)

That’s all for now. Stay tuned…

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

 

 

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