A quick follow-up note this afternoon: We’ve gotten an overwhelming (and overwhelmingly positive) response to our comments on Friday about Star Trek Beyond – many hundreds of messages, comments, and e-mails over the weekend. Every single one of you seems to agree that it’s upsetting that Paramount and Bad Robot are once again scattering exclusive extras to retailers. Nevertheless, we’re officially done talking about it. Let these studios know what you think via social media if you wish, but we’ve done our part to try and stop this practice. It seems as if these companies simply don’t care enough that it irritates fans and consumers to actually stop doing it, so we’re washing our hands of the matter. It’s simply not worth the aggravation. Better to focus our attention instead on praising the companies and releases that actually do right by their consumers. (See: Shout! Factory above.)
In other news, Amazon is currently selling Universal’s new Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection and The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection on Blu-ray for just $19.99 each, which is a terrific price all things considering and a great deal (50%) off the regular SRP of $39.98 each (click on the title links to read our reviews of each). If you’re a fan of these films – and who isn’t, especially in October with Halloween on the way – act quickly to take advantage. Here’s the cover art again (with clickable Amazon links)...
In announcement news today, Lionsgate has officially set Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville, for Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD release on 10/25.
Kino Lorber has revealed that they’re working on a Blu-ray and DVD release of Zaza (1923) – street date is TBA. They have also set David and Bathsheba (1951), created from a new 4K restoration, for BD only release on 1/10/17.
And PBS has announced a new Downton Abbey: The Complete Limited Edition Collector’s Set for DVD release on 10/8 (SRP $199.99), as well as Downton Abbey: The Complete Series on both Blu-ray and DVD (SRP $149.99 and $129.99). The Limited Edition Collector’s Set includes a pull-bell, a set of 6 cork coasters, The Costumes of Downton Abbey photo booklet, and collectible hardcover book packaging. All 3 versions appear to include 5 hours worth of new extras, as well as all the existing extras.
In other news, word from one of our readers is that StarzEncore HD (and apparently also HDNet) is currently running both James Cameron’s The Abyss and also True Lies in remastered HD. So there’s hope that (in addition to the recently announced plan to release The Abyss on Blu-ray in 2017) we may finally see True Lies on disc in HD next year as well. Thanks to Bits reader Jason B. for the heads-up!
Also, it appears that Mill Creek’s Miami Vice: The Complete Series and Knight Rider: The Complete Series on Blu-ray have been delayed a week. You should now expect them to street on 10/11. Thanks to Bits reader Bill M. for that.
And that’s it for today. I’m off to L.A. to attend tonight’s premiere of Shin Godzilla with FUNimation. I’ve really been looking forward to this one. I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on it tomorrow.
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)