My Two Cents
Monday, 14 September 2020 16:44

Spaceballs is coming 4K, plus Mad Max 4K extras, Universal’s Psycho 4K audio fix, Arrow’s Gamera BD set reviewed & more

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Good afternoon, friends. Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

We’ve got a couple things for you today, starting with a new Blu-ray review. Our own Tim Salmons has done yeoman’s work sinking his teeth into/reviewing Arrow Video’s mammoth and outstanding Gamera: The Complete Collection box set on the format.

The good news: If you’re a fan of kaiju films—and this specific giant turtle in particular—it’s an amazing box set. The bad news: It sold fast and now seems to be out virtually everywhere online. There are a few retailers getting limited stock in now and again, but they go quickly. So unfortunately, unless Arrow is able to reprint it (which I’m told is unlikely at least for now), you might be out of luck. But we couldn’t let their good work go unacknowledged.

And though the set came out on 8/18, it’s literally taken Tim this long to go through it all. Here’s his epic review and we hope you enjoy it.

Also, I posted my thoughts on Lionsgate’s new Ghost in the Shell (1995) 4K release on Friday (click here in the event you missed it). And Dennis has reviewed George Marshall’s The Ghost Breakers (1940), starring Bob Hope, on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. [Read on here...]

FYI, I’ve also gotten my hands on Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket on 4K from Warner and will have a review of that up in the next few days.

Now then... we have another bit of great announcement news...

Our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have announced that they’re going to be releasing Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs (1987) on 4K Ultra HD soon. And we know that it will include Dolby Vision HDR.

The company has also revealed the extras that you’ll get on their forthcoming Mad Max (1979) 4K Ultra HD release, due on 11/24. It too will include Dolby Vision HDR, along with audio commentary (by art director Jon Dowding, cinematographer David Eggby, and special effects artist Chris Murray, moderated by filmmaker Tim Ridge), the Australian 5.1 surround mix and 2.0 lossless mono, U.S. English dubbed 2.0 lossless mono, and optional English subtitles. That’s all on the 4K disc itself (and KL Studio Classics is still apparently hoping to include a new interview with director George Miller).

Meanwhile, the Blu-ray in the package will include interviews with stars Mel Gibson & Joanne Samuel and cinematographer David Eggby, the same audio commentary, Mel Gibson: Birth of a Superstar, Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon, 2 theatrical trailers, 3 TV spots, 3 radio spots, and Trailers From Hell with Josh Olson. It too will be mastered from the new 4K scan and it will have the same audio options as the 4K disc. It will also be available separately.

Also today, a couple of you last week informed me that there was an error in the mono audio on the new 4K disc from Universal’s The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection in Ultra HD (we’ll be reviewing that soon here at The Bits as well). I contacted the studio on Friday about it, was informed then that they would look into it. And this morning I heard back from them thusly:

“Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) has identified an issue with the home entertainment releases of Psycho - 60th Anniversary Edition and The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection, that specifically impacts copies of Psycho’s Blu-ray and 4K UHD versions made available on September 8, 2020. The initial run of the film’s Blu-ray and 4K UHD discs produced inadvertently omitted Psycho’s original 1960 mono track. UPHE’s goal is to always deliver the best possible product to its consumers. To that end, a replacement program is being established in the U.S. and Canada to ensure that those who have purchased this recent release of Psycho on Blu-ray or 4K UHD receive a corrected disc. To receive an updated Psycho disc, please visit the UPHE Support website (https://www.uphe.com/en/contact-support) or directly email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thanks to our friends at Universal for taking this seriously and addressing it promptly. I know that fans of 4K Ultra HD certainly appreciate it.

Speaking of 4K, our friends a Zavvi now have an exclusive new Steelbook Ultra HD version of Disney’s Home Alone available. You can see that below (click here or on the image for Zavvi US pre-orders and here for Zavvi UK)...

Home Alone (4K Ultra HD Zavvi Steelbook exclusive)

Blue Underground has set William Lustig’s Vigilante for release on 4K Ultra HD on 12/15, complete with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Also, Well Go USA has set Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 12/8.

Also today, Kino Lorber and Greenwich Entertainment have announced that they’re releasing their Creem: America’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll Magazine documentary on DVD on 8/24, which is Record Store Day. You can see the trailer here:

And finally today, Coverage Ink and Quiver Distribution have announced the 12/6 Blu-ray release of Jason Axinn’s To Your Last Death, which stars Morena Baccarin, Ray Wise, Dani Lennon, Bill Moseley, and William Shatner.

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

Mad Max (4K Ultra HD) Train to Busan presents Peninsula (4K Ultra HD) Bustin' Loose (Blu-ray Disc)

That’s all for now. Stay tuned...

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

 

 

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