My Two Cents
Monday, 01 August 2022 13:28

Shout!’s October slate includes Bill & Ted, more Halloween films & Return of the Living Dead in 4K, plus RIP Nichelle Nichols

by
  • Print
  • Email

All right, we’ve got some great catalog 4K Ultra HD news to report today, but first we have one more new review...

I spent some time this weekend looking at Stanley Kubrick’s landmark war film Paths of Glory (1957) thanks to a fine new 4K Ultra HD release from our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics. For the first time, the image has been scanned from the original camera negative in native 4K—Criterion’s 2010 Blu-ray release was only a 2K scan of a fine-grain master positive—so this is unquestionably the best the film has ever looked at home. It’s a beautiful presentation and not to be missed by Kubrick fans and cinephiles.

All right, now for that catalog news... VCI Entertainment has set Bob Clark’s Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things (1972) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/11 as a new 50th Anniversary Edition. The release will include a new video introduction and Q&A with actor Alan Ormsby, along with a new 90-minute documentary on Clark’s horror films called Dreaming of Death. You’ll get lots of legacy special features as well. And you can see the cover artwork below the break. [Read on here...]

CLICK HERE to BACK THE BITS in our fight to preserve Physical Media CLICK HERE to shop through our Amazon.com links and SUPPORT THE BITS CLICK HERE to visit The Bits on Facebook CLICK HERE to visit The Bits on Twitter

But that’s not all: Shout! and Scream Factory have just unveiled the rest of their October release slate, and it includes no less than FIVE great 4K UHD titles, along with lots of great standard Blu-ray releases.

Starting on 10/4, you’ll get the Army of Darkness: Collector’s Edition (4K UHD/Blu-ray – in a variety of different SKUs including Amaray and Steelbook packaging, and website-exclusive swag bundles), The Halloween 4K Collection (1995-2002) (4K UHD – includes three films, details below), and Bad Santa 2 (Blu-ray). Following on 10/11 is Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (4K UHD), as well as the Studio Ghibli titles Ocean Waves and When Marnie Was Here (Blu-ray/DVD – the latter in Steelbook packaging as well). On 10/18, look for The Return of the Living Dead (4K UHD – a web-exclusive swag bundle will also be available) as well as Three Wishes for Cinderella, A Silent Voice: The Movie, Farmageddon, The Possessed, Kingslayer, and The Deer King (all on Blu-ray/DVD or separate BD and DVD SKUs). Finally, on 10/25 look for the When Calls the Heart: Year Nine – 6 Movie Collection (DVD) and The Last Detail (4K UHD).

Note that the Halloween box will include both cuts of The Curse of Michael Myers in 4K, along with H20 and Resurrection. Per the studio licensing agreement, these three films will not be available separately. You can only get them in this box set, so make your plans accordingly.

The Halloween 4K Collection (1994-2002) (4K Ultra HD)

You can see the cover artwork for all the 4K titles below. And we’ll post an update on the video and audio specs when Shout! makes them official.

Keep in mind, that the Coen Brothers’ Fargo is also coming to 4K UHD from Shout! Factory as a Shout! Select title, per retail sources on 10/25 (though it’s not yet officially announced and it could slip into November). We’ve also confirmed with Shout! that John Badham’s WarGames (1983) is coming to 4K UHD, likely in December (the tentative street date per retail sources is 12/6).

We’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits with all of these titles accordingly.

Meanwhile, we’ve learned that Imprint’s new Blu-ray release of The Beast will include a new feature-length documentary from our friend Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. It’s called Nanawatai!: Inside The Beast. The title is now available.

Two other items for you today...

First, Lucasfilm and Disney have just dropped the final trailer for their upcoming Star Wars: Andor Disney+ streaming series, which debuts with a 3-episode premiere on 9/21. A lot of fans have been sleeping on this show, but we’ve heard from Lucasfilm insiders that this is the one to watch—it’s gonna surprise a lot of folks. The show is planned to have two 12-episode seasons, and it’s created by Tony Gilroy, who co-wrote Rogue One as well as the Bourne films. Here’s a look at the new trailer...

Finally today, we need to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Nichelle Nichols, who will forever be remembered as Lieutenant Uhura on the classic Star Trek TV series and its subsequent feature film sequels. Many a scientist, astronaut, and engineer was inspired by this woman to Boldly Go—particularly women and people of color—but few of them were bolder or more fearless in doing so. The fact that NASA has honored her legacy this weekend speaks volumes about her passion and influence. Rest in Peace, Nichelle. And thank you. You can read more here at Variety, The New York Times, and the official Star Trek website.

Nichelle Nichols (1932-1922)

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for some of the 4K Ultra HD titles mentioned above (click on each cover to vist the Amazon.com pre-order pages which are now live)...

The Return of the Living Dead (4K Ultra HD) Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (4K Ultra HD) The Halloween 4K Collection (1994-2002) (4K Ultra HD)

Starship Troopers: 25th Anniversary Steelbook (4K Ultra HD) The Last Detail (4K Ultra HD) Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (4K Ultra HD)

Stay tuned...

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

 

 

Contact Bill Hunt

Please type your full name.
Invalid email address.
Please send us a message.
Invalid Input