Now then, we’ve been hearing for a little while now that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment was working on a new 4K Ultra HD release of the animated classic Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. And sure enough, retail sources have begun to confirm that it is indeed coming this year, with a likely street date of 9/12.

Also coming in September from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) in 4K Ultra HD, as we first reported here on The Bits last year. Street date for that is tentatively set for 9/19. This will include both the Theatrical Cut and Director’s Extended Versions.

Keep in mind, this news comes in the wake of last week’s Amazon pre-order listings for both WBHE’s 4K releases of Elia Kazan’s East of Eden (1955) and Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959) on 7/18.

We expect Warner to make these titles official with actual press announcements in the next few weeks.

Not to be outdone, our friends at Arrow Video have announced their August Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate, which is set to include Four Film Noir Classics: Volume 3 (Blu-ray – UK only)—which includes Calcutta (1946), Ride the Pink Horse (1947), Outside the Law (1956), and The Female Animal (1958) on 8/7 (that’s US date format)—John Hughes’ Weird Science (1985) (4K – UK, US, and Canada) on 8/22, Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (1981) (4K – UK only – a US release is coming from Criterion on 6/13) on 8/28, and the Jackie Chan title New Fist of Fury (1976) (Blu-ray – US, and Canada) and Dennis Iliadis’ The Last House on the Left (2009) (4K & Blu-ray – UK, US, and Canada) on 8/29.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has also announced a few more catalog Blu-ray titles, including Hampton Fancher’s The Minus Man (1999) and the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XVI box set—which includes The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942), Chicago Deadline (1949), and Iron Man (1951). Those are listed as coming soon. And here’s a nice surprise: KLSC is going to be releasing a TV title—Monk: Season One (2002)—on Blu-ray on 8/8, restored from new 4K scans of the original negatives!

Retail sources have also informed us that Universal is working on 4K UHD editions of Shrek the Third (2007) and Kick-Ass 2 (2013) for release in September (likely on 9/12).

Finally, here’s a great surprise: Lionsgate has just struck a deal to distribute three more Quentin Tarantino films on home video, beginning with a new remastered 4K Ultra HD edition of Kill Bill: Volume I (2003) later this year, in celebration of the film’s 20th anniversary. The two other new titles are Kill Bill: Volume II (2004) and Jackie Brown (1997). Lionsgate has already released Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) on 4K Ultra HD, and they also have distribution rights to Inglourious Basterds (2009 – released on 4K by Universal), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Death Proof (2007). So it’s safe to assume that all of these titles will eventually be remastered and released on 4K UHD in the not-too-distant future, either directly from Lionsgate or via partnerships with other studios (like Mirmax via Paramount). No word yet on what this means for a possible US release of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. You can read more on all this here at The Hollywood Reporter.

As you might imagine, we’ve added all of these new 4K titles to our 4K Ultra HD List here at The Bits accordingly.

All right, that’s all for today. Back tomorrow with more. Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Stay tuned...

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