My Two Cents
Thursday, 17 December 2015 16:24

Blu-ray News – Star Wars Day at last, plus Fargo: S2, Mighty Wind, Goosebumps, From Dusk Till Dawn, new Kino & more

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All right, today is Star Wars Day here at The Bits! I spent last night watching a marathon of Harmy’s Despecialized version of the Original Trilogy (click here and here for more on that), which I hadn’t done in years so that was a treat. And tonight, my wife and I are joining a group of friends both old and new for a screening of The Force Awakens in Hollywood – the first show at the glorious Cinerama Dome.

So let’s just give you a quick rundown of the release news today…  [Read on here…]

First up, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just set the outstanding Fargo: Year Two for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/23. I absolutely loved this season, with its retro 1970s feel. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Lou on Lou: A Conversation with Patrick Wilson, Keith Carradine and Noah Hawley, Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls, The Films of Ronald Reagan: Extended Fargo Cut, and The True History of Crime in the Midwest) and the Skip Sprang TV Commercial. You can see the cover art below.

Here’s awesome catalog news: Warner Archive has set Christopher Guest’s A Mighty Wind for BD release on 2/9.

Anchor Bay Entertainment has set Burnt for Blu-ray and DVD on 1/26. The film stars Bradley Cooper.

Lionsgate will release Don Verdean on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/1.

Lionsgate and the Discovery Channel will release the climate change documentary Racing Extinction on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/23.

BBC Home Entertainment has set Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/23, along with Peaky Blinders: Season Two on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/16.

Music Box Films will release the documentary We Are Twisted F***ing Sister! on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/23.

Entertainment One will release the western Diablo on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/23. They also have From Dusk Till Dawn: The Complete First and Second Seasons  and From Dusk Till Dawn: Season Two coming on BD on 2/2.

On the deep catalog front, Kino Lorber has set The Black Sleep (1956), Donovan’s Brain (1953), and The War Between Men and Women (1972) for Blu-ray release on 3/22, with Monster Dog (1984) due on 3/15, The Vikings (1958) and When Eight Bells Toll (1971) due on 3/8, and Gog (3-D) (1954), Transformations (1988), Cop (1988), and The Rosary Murders (1987) due on 3/1.

Finally, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Goosebumps on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/26.

Now then… I’ll be back in the morning with a couple of general comments about The Force Awakens – but ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS, so never fear. Either way, this should be a day long remembered.

Just FYI, because I know some of you have been eagerly waiting for it: I’ve been trying to get my X-Files Blu-ray box set review up this week, but there’s a ton of content to get through and also there are a few reports of issues with some of the episodes on disc, so I’m trying to track all that done and confirm one way or another. In any case, it’s probably smart to say Monday for that. Still, some general comments: The video quality seems good overall – a little digital looking but still better than I expected. I would say there’s maybe 10-15% of footage that’s not in HD, including upconverted effects shots, stock footage (mostly of Washington DC that was used back in the day for which no HD version exists), and the occasional piece of film that couldn’t be located. Still, it’s not bad. Audio seems good, and it does appear that all of the extras that were on the DVD sets – both the individual seasons, the Threads of Mythology DVDs, and even the X-Files: Revealed promotional DVD that came out prior to the second film – are included. So that’s good news too. And while the set does contain space for the upcoming new season Blu-rays, it also has a cardboard spacer glued into the packaging that can be removed (carefully) and that will allow you to include the feature film BDs (in a single 2-disc BD case). So that’s my nickel review for now.

Here’s a bit of new Blu-ray cover artwork for some of the titles mentioned above (with Amazon pre-order links if available)…

Fargo: Season Two (Blu-ray Disc)    Gog (Blu-ray 3D)    A Mighty Wind (Blu-ray Disc)

Goosebumps (Blu-ray Disc)    We Are Twisted F**king Sister (Blu-ray Disc)    The Vikings (Blu-ray Disc)

That’s it for today. See you back here tomorrow morning, and we sincerely hope you all enjoy the film tonight, tomorrow, or whenever you may be seeing it. Cheers! 

Bill Hunt

 

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