Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy getting a deluxe Arrow release (but only Desperado will be 4K)

Robert Rodriguez's classic El Mariachi triogy will be coming out in a new set from Arrow Video (with one small catch).

By Chris Bumbray

June 1st 2024, 4:08pm

Like many of you reading this, I have a soft spot for Robert Rodriguez's Mexico trilogy. The three films centred around a guitar-playing mariachi (first played by Carlos Gallardo, then by Antonio Banderas) who becomes a killer after a case of mistaken identity. The three films put Rodriguez on the map as one of the most exciting directors of his generation, and the story of how he turned a $7000 action movie made for Mexican home video into a worldwide smash is legendary (as he documented himself in the classic book "Rebel Without a Crew").

Now, Rodriguez's loose trilogy, which consists of El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, are coming to Arrow Video in a special features-laden box set which includes commentaries, new interviews, deleted scenes and more. However, the catch is that of the three films, only Desperado is getting a 4K disc.

Why?

Well, here's the thing -- the elements don't really exist to put the other films on 4K disc. El Mariachi was shot on 16mm film for $7K, so a 1080p HD transfer is about as good as it gets for that movie. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, despite having the biggest budget, was an early movie shot on HD digital, meaning the maximum resolution is 1080p. It would have to undergo a major restoration (or revisionist transfer) to look good in this format (this is the dilemma likely facing Sony and Danny Boyle with 28 Days Later). Desperado was the only one shot on 35mm film, so it has the best elements and will likely look amazing in 4K. 

Whatever the case, the set is loaded with extras, as revealed by our friends over at Arrow Video. Check em' out:

DISC 1 -- EL MARIACHI (BLU-RAY)

• Original uncompressed Latin-American Spanish stereo audio, plus an English dub in lossless stereo
• Optional English subtitles, plus English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
• Big Vision Low Budget, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
• The Original Mariachi, a newly filmed interview with producer/star Carlos Gallardo
• The Music of 'El Mariachi', a newly produced featurette on the music in the film, featuring interviews with composers Eric Guthrie, Chris Knudson, Alvaro Rodriguez and Marc Trujillo
• Ten Minute Film School, an archive featurette produced and narrated by Rodriguez
• Bedhead, a 1991 short film by Rodriguez
• Theatrical trailer and TV spot

DISCS 2 & 3 -- DESPERADO (BLU-RAY / 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)

• New 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Sony Pictures
• Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
• Lean and Mean, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
• Shoot Like Crazy, a newly filmed interview with producer Bill Borden
• Kill Count, a newly filmed interview with stunt coordinator Steve Davison
• Lock and Load, a newly filmed interview with special effects coordinator Bob Shelley
• Game Changer, a newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption)
• Ten More Minutes: Anatomy of a Shootout, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
• Textless opening ("Morena de mi Corazón")
• Theatrical trailers

DISC 4 -- ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (BLU-RAY)

• Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
• The Revolution Will Be Digitized, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
• Troublemaking, a newly filmed interview with visual effects editor Ethan Maniquis
• Eight deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Rodriguez
• Ten Minute Flick School, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
• Inside Troublemaker Studios, an archive featurette on Rodriguez's studio in Austin
• Ten Minute Cooking School, an archive featurette in which Rodriguez shows you how to cook Puerco Pibil
• Film is Dead: An Evening with Robert Rodriguez, a presentation by the director given in 2003
• The Anti-Hero's Journey, an archive featurette on the arc of the Mariachi
• The Good, the Bad and the Bloody: Inside KNB FX, an archive featurette on the film's special effects
• Theatrical trailers

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. Dune: Part Two
2. Dune: Part One
3. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
4. Imaginary
5. Once Upon a Time in the West
6. Dune 2-Film Collection
7. The Beekeeper
8. The Crow
9. Madame Web
10. American Sniper
11. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
12. Dream Scenario
13. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
14. The Thing
15. Ordinary Angels
16. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
17. The Iron Claw
18. Blade Runner 2049
19. Barbie
20. Oppenheimer

Source: Circana VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. Dune: Part Two
2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
3. Once Upon a Time in the West
4. Dune: Part One
5. Dune 2-Film Collection
6. The Crow
7. American Sniper
8. The Thing
9. Blade Runner 2049
10. Mad Max: Fury Road 11 .Barbie
11. Inglorious Basterds
12. The Shining
13. Edge of Tomorrow
14. Dunkirk
15. Jaws
16. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
17. Jurassic Park
18. Scarface
19. The Big Lebowski

Source: Circana VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/research/top-20-selling-blu-ray-and-4k-discs-for-week-ended-5-18-24/

EDIT: Updated with official press release information:

This ultimate collector's set for any FRIENDS fan includes over 110 hours of content – including all 236 original broadcast episodes released for the first time in 4K Blu-ray, plus over 20 hours of extra features INCLUDING ALL-NEW BONUS CONTENT. Pre-order your copy now.

From Warner Bros. Television, FRIENDS follows the lives and loves of a close-knit group of friends living in New York City: siblings Ross (David Schwimmer) and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), along with friends Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston).

FRIENDS was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. Throughout its run, the show was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards®, winning six awards including Best Comedy Series in 2002.

FRIENDS maintains its influence among viewers. Since its launch, the series has been watched over 71 billion times in the United States alone, across all linear & SVOD platforms. On an international level, viewers spent a total of more than 1.4 billion hours with FRIENDS in 2023 across linear and SVOD internationally.

As FRIENDS marks its 30th anniversary this year, the beloved TV series continues to hold an enduring place in popular culture and hearts worldwide. With its witty humor, relatable characters, and memorable catchphrases, FRIENDS transcends generations with its universal appeal, making it a classic that continues to bring joy and laughter to fans around the world.

Technical specs:

• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, German 2.0 S DD, French 2.0 S DD, Japanese 2.0 S DD, Castilian-Spanish 2.0 S DD
• Subtitles: English SDH, German SDH, French, Japanese, Castilian Spanish, Latin Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, Complex Chinese
• Running time: 236 (30 min) episodes. Over 20 hours of special features including all-new bonus content.

Pre-order: Amazon · GRUV

DISC ONE - 4K BLU-RAY

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, as approved by director Nicolas Winding Refn
• English Dolby Atmos + English 5.1
• ALL-NEW: Back in the Driver's Seat Featurette – featuring interviews with Writer Hossein Amini, Editor Mat Newman, Composer Cliff Martinez, and Actors Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman
• Theatrical Trailer

DISC TWO - BLU-RAY

• Feature presented in high-definition
• English 5.1
• Drive Without a Driver: Interview with Nicolas Winding Refn Documentary
• 4 Featurettes:
  • I Drive: The Driver
  • Driver and Irene: The Relationship
  • Under the Hood: Story
  • Cut to the Chase: Stunts

No pre-order links yet.

Jaws 3 & Jaws: The Revenge to be released on 4K Ultra HD this summer, but we're still waiting on Jaws 19

Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge will be released on 4K Ultra HD this summer, completing the giant shark franchise.

By Kevin Fraser

May 28th 2024, 8:31pm

If you've been looking to bring your Jaws collection into the realm of 4K Ultra HD, we've got good news! The original Steven Spielberg movie (star Richard Dreyfuss recently found himself in hot water) was released on 4K in June 2020, followed by Jaws 2 in July 2023, and now Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge will join them on July 23rd.

Below, you can check out some cover art for the 4K Ultra HD releases of Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge, as well as a three-movie collection that will include all three sequels bundled together.

Jaws 3, also known as Jaws 3-D, stars Dennis Quaid as Mike Brody, the son of Martin Brody, who is now the chief engineer at SeaWorld Orlando. When a giant thirty-five-foot Great White Shark infiltrates the park and begins killing the employees, it's up to Mike to save the day, all in glorious 3D. The film is also famous for representing the height of Quaid's cocaine habit in the '80s, with the actor later saying that he was high in "every frame" in which he appears.

Jaws: The Revenge brought back Lorraine Gary as Ellen Brody, who is now widowed and convinced that another shark has been seeking revenge on her family. Upon release, the film was absolutely trashed by critics, even more so than Jaws 3, but honestly, it's kind of fun. You've got to laugh at a movie with the tagline, "This time, it's personal." The film also stars Michael Caine, who took the role purely for the money after they offered him $1 million for less than two weeks of work. "It was only a 10-minute role. It was only 10 days' work," Caine said. "In Nassau. In the Bahamas. And they were going to pay me a million bucks for 10 days, and I said, 'Hey, I'll do that.'" In a story he's told a handful of times, Caine insists that he hasn't watched Jaws: The Revenge, but he has "seen the house it bought, and it's marvelous."

With Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge joining the first two films on 4K Ultra HD, the franchise will be complete... with the notable exception of Jaws 19.

In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who've developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
• Audio commentary with director Gil Kenan
• Deleted and extended scenes
• Easter Eggs Unleashed
• Manifesting Garraka
• New York, New Gear
• Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center
• Knowing the Score
• Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
• Buster: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire
• Optional English, English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature

Pre-order: Amazon · Target · Walmart

After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and mad martial arts skills, Po, the Dragon Warrior (Golden Globe nominee Jack Black), is called upon by destiny to … give it a rest already. More specifically, he's tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.

That poses a couple of obvious problems. First, Po knows as much about spiritual leadership as he does about the paleo diet, and second, he needs to quickly find and train a new Dragon Warrior before he can assume his new lofty position.

Even worse, there's been a recent sighting of a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), a tiny lizard who can shapeshift into any creature, large or small. And Chameleon has her greedy, beady little eyes on Po's Staff of Wisdom, which would give her the power to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.

So, Po's going to need some help. He finds it (kinda?) in the form of crafty, quick-witted thief Zhen (Golden Globe winner Awkwafina), a corsac fox who really gets under Po's fur but whose skills will prove invaluable. In their quest to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon's reptilian claws, this comedic odd-couple duo will have to work together. In the process, Po will discover that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places.

The film features the voice talent of returning stars Academy Award® winner Dustin Hoffman as Kung Fu master, Shifu; James Hong (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as Po's adoptive father, Mr. Ping; Academy Award® nominee Bryan Cranston as Po's birth father, Li, and Emmy Award nominee Ian McShane as Tai Lung, Shifu's former student and arch-nemesis. Oscar® winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) joins the ensemble as a new character, Han, the leader of the Den of Thieves.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is directed by Mike Mitchell (DreamWorks Animation's Trolls, Shrek Forever After) and produced by Rebecca Huntley (DreamWorks Animation's The Bad Guys). The film's co-director is Stephanie Ma Stine (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power). In 2008, the Academy Award®-nominated 2008 inaugural chapter, Kung Fu Panda, became DreamWorks Animation's highest-grossing original animated film and launched a franchise that has earned more than $1.8 billion at the global box-office.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
• Dueling Dumplings – In this original short introduced by Jack Black and Awkwafina, Po and Zhen battle over whose dumplings reign supreme.
• Mastering the Dumpling – Jack Black learns how to make dumplings with influencers Phil and Helen of WongFu Productions.
• Bad Bunny Review – The Bad Bunnies give their unedited opinion on some scenes from the film. Set up as a "Screening Room" style piece, the Bad Bunnies add their own commentary.
• Deleted Scenes
  • Dads on the Trail
  • Mahjong
• Kung Fu Talking – Voicing an animated movie takes time, time spent in a small booth being spoken to through headphones as you try to inhibit a character that might not actually exist beyond a few simple sketches and under that pressure, crazy things often happen! And we've captured them, put them to music and serves them up for your pleasure in this hilarious montage of off mic moments!
• Meet the Cast – From the Dragon Warrior himself to newcomer, Zhen, and a full cast of amazing characters in between, we get to know the voices behind some of our favorite roles in this series of short featurettes. Discover what attracted them to the role, what their motivation was and what parts of the character they took away with them after recording had finished.
  • Po
  • Zhen
  • The Chameleon
  • The Dads
• Kung Fu Panda 4 All!! – Join us as we go behind the scenes to see how the fourth installment in the franchise was brought to life, what makes it different from the previous films and where we find Po and the gang in this new escapade. Featuring interviews with the filmmakers and cast as well as a plethora of concept art, storyboards, animation tests and ADR footage.
• How to Draw – Enter our virtual dojo and join one of DreamWorks Animation's talented artists as they show fans of the film "How to Draw" some of the characters in the film, and then watch in amazement as they come to life before your very eyes in a Shadow Puppet Theater.
  • Po
  • Zhen
  • The Chameleon
  • The Bad Bunnies
• Shadow Puppet Theater – Using the amazing illustrations from the "How to Draw," we will teach fans of the film how to create their very own Shadow Puppet Theater so they can bring Po and the gang to life and continue their many adventures.
• Feature Commentary with Director Mike Mitchell, Co-Director Stephanie Ma Stine, Production Designer Paul Duncan, Head of Story Calvin Tsang, and Head of Character Animation Sean Sexton
• Subtitles: English SDH, French Canadian, and Latin American Spanish

Pre-order: Amazon · GRUV

Dev Patel's action-packed revenge movie Monkey Man is getting a Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray release

Steve Seigh

3--4 minutes

Get your home theaters ready for a brutal display of power because Dev Patel's Monkey Man is getting a Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray release! The physical version of Patel's directorial debut hails from Universal Pictures UK, and it comes packed with extras to take you behind the action of one of this year's best films. The Collector's Edition enters the ring on June 8.

Monkey Man is an action thriller about one man's quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to victimize the poor and powerless systemically.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city's sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

With thrilling fight and chase scenes, Dev Patel directed Monkey Man from his original story and screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).

You'll find the specs and Special Features for the Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray of Monkey Man below:

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
• Alternate Opening
• Alternate Ending
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• A Labour of Love
• MONKEY MAN of Action
• Fateful Encounters
• Roots Exposed
• Optional English SDH, Dutch, German, Italian, and French subtitles for the main feature

Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-Team), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven, The Night Manager), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm, Go Goa Gone), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai, Like Stars on Earth), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya, 24) and Makarand Deshpande (RRR) also star.

Monkey Man is produced by Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Oscar winner Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, and Anjay Nagpal. Jonathan Fuhrman, Natalya Pavchinskya, Aaron L. Gilbert, Andria Spring, Alison-Jane Roney, and Steven Thibault executive produce.

Welp, I'm arranging a pre-order today! Monkey Man is one of my favorite films of the year. Patel's story is surprisingly layered, and the action is hard-hitting and visceral. That's a movie worth owning physically, in my book.

Will you pick up the Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray of Monkey Man on June 8?

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski shot The Crow on 35mm film using Arriflex 35 BL4 cameras with spherical lenses, framed at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release. Proyas and Wolski would have preferred to shoot the main sequences in black-and-white with only the flashbacks in full color, but that option was never even on the table with the studio, so they opted to desaturate the image instead. The low budget for the film precluded the use of anything like the ENR bleach bypass process, so Wolski devised a bargain basement alternative by shooting the main sequences with a sepia filter on the camera, and then timing out the browns during the printing stages. That ended up desaturating the image and strengthening the contrast, although since blues would have been exaggerated at the same time, they had to be careful to avoid the color in any of the art direction and costume design. To achieve the reverse effect for the flashbacks, Wolski shot them on slow stock and then pushed the exposure two steps in order to increase the saturation. The look of The Crow has been much imitated but rarely equaled, and part of that comes down to the unique way that Proyas and Wolski created it.

All of that makes it a challenging film to reproduce accurately on home video, and while the original 2011 Blu-ray release from Lionsgate was fine, it still offered plenty of room for improvement. Paramount hasn’t provided any information about the work that was done to create this 4K master, describing it simply as a “New 4K restoration of the film,” one that’s been graded in High Dynamic Range for both Dolby Vision and HDR10. That leaves plenty of room for speculation, and we’ll get to that in a moment. In any event, it does seem to have been based on a 4K scan of the original camera negative, carefully color corrected to replicate Proyas and Wolski’s intended look. The contrast range has been enhanced, both in terms of the colors and the brightness. The bright reds and oranges of the explosions now really stand out against the black backgrounds, the reds and golden hues of the flashbacks are more vivid, and the strobe effects like the one during the shootout in Top Dollar’s conference room have been pushed so far that Brandon Lee’s face tends to blow out during the brightest moments—but that effect seems entirely appropriate in this instance. The blacks do tend to look a little flat during some of the darkest sequences where there was little inherent contrast in the first place, but that’s likely unavoidable due to the way that they were shot.

In terms of fine detail, the dupe footage for the optical and digital composite work throughout The Crow still looks as rough as it always has, and all the grain and grit from the original camera negative has been preserved. Or has it? Aye, there’s the rub. The textures are sometimes astonishingly sharp in this new version—Jon Polito’s ribbed sweater, Ernie Hudson’s white T-shirt, Tony Todd and Marco Rodríguez’s craggy skin, etc.—almost impossibly sharp at times. That means it’s possible that some AI sharpening has been applied here, and if so, it was done with a great deal of skill. The image would have likely been degrained first, sharpened, and then a had layer of artificial grain re-applied at the end. The clarity of the facial textures in particular is somewhat reminiscent of how they look on Paramount’s 4K release of Titanic, but it’s much improved in this case. If AI sharpening was used, it was only where the image stood to benefit the most. The rough-looking composite footage was left untouched, as were most of the medium or long shots. It’s just the closeups that might have been processed that way, and the results integrate with the surrounding footage just as well as they always have.

...

Primary audio is offered in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. As an early digital 5.1 production, The Crow was originally released in both DTS and optical Dolby Stereo, but the latter hasn’t been included on any home video versions outside of the original VHS and LaserDisc releases, and it’s safe to consider 5.1 as the intended format for the film. Early DTS mixes tended to fall into two broad categories: either extremely aggressive ones like Jurassic Park or Hard Target, or else mild updates of the 4-channel Dolby Stereo matrix, and The Crow falls into the latter category. It’s still immersive, but the immersion is more in the form of general ambience than it is in terms of directionality. Environmental sounds like the constant rain, thunder, and dripping water form the bulk of the surround activity, with action sounds like the gunfire remaining anchored to the front of the soundstage. The ADR varies in quality, so the dialogue sometimes sounds inconsistent, but it’s still clear enough to be understood. Of course, it’s the music that matters the most in creating the world of The Crow, and both the score and the songs are well-supported in the mix. It’s the music that really rains all the time in The Crow.

...

Paramount’s 30th Anniversary Edition 4K Ultra HD release of The Crow is UHD only, with no Blu-ray copy included, although there is a Digital code on a paper insert tucked inside the case, as well as a slipcover. There are also multiple Limited Edition Steelbook versions available, including one from Amazon and a different exclusive version from Walmart, although the disc-based content is identical.

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. The Crow
2. Madame Web
3. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
4. The Beekeeper
5. Star Wars: Andor - The Complete First Season
6. Ordinary Angels
7. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
8. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season
9. Moon Knight: The Complete First Season
10. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
11. Dune: Part One
12. Oppenheimer
13. High Noon
14. The Iron Claw
15. Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Two
16. Wonka
17. Ocean's Trilogy
18. Killer Klowns From Outer Space
19. Mean Girls (2024)
20. The Marvels

Source: Circana VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. The Crow
2. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
3. Star Wars: Andor - The Complete First Season
4. High Noon
5. Madame Web
6. Ocean's Trilogy
7. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season
8. Dune: Part One
9. Moon Knight: The Complete First Season
10. Oppenheimer
11. Ocean's Eleven
12. Starship Troopers
13. The Abyss
14. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
15. Mad Max: Fury Road
16. One From the Heart: Reprise
17. Ocean's Twelve
18. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
19. True Lies
20. Planet Earth III

Source: Circana VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/research/top-20-selling-blu-ray-and-4k-discs-for-week-ended-5-11-24/

From theatrical to streaming and physical media, chairman Richard  Lorber is one of the industry’s foremost champions of art-house cinema – just ask Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino.

Kino Lorber releases a lot of films on DVD. Why are you still betting on physical media?

The physical media business is still an important part of our business, even if it’s in a transitional phase right now. When we entered, it was a $7 billion to $10 billion business; now it’s struggling to be a $1 billion business, but it’s still a $1 billion business. And we see opportunity there, particularly in a world where there’s a rapid deterioration of the availability of titles online. When Netflix had a rental-by-mail business, I did some of their first deals, back in the early [2000s]. Back then, there were about 100,000 titles available from Netflix for rental by mail. As of the latest report, there are probably 3,000 titles film titles available to stream on Netflix and probably, in total, no more than 7,000 or 8,000 to stream across all of the services.

For collectors who love cinema, and I’m not just talking about the extreme cinephiles, I’m talking about film lovers who recognize the fact that physical media is a way for them to have the films that they love in the best possible versions — we release in 4K UHD — and have them forever. Those little plastic discs will probably outlive all of us. So we’ve cultivated those customers and they sustain our business, even as we recognize the deterioration of that business on a macro level. It’s a curated approach, a targeted approach, but there are many, many really good titles out there, even with the strictest curation standards. Films that really deserve to be made available again.

I’ve heard you say that DVD is the new vinyl, that physical media is set for a revival. Where do you see evidence of that?

You’re using DVD generically, of course, but what we’re really talking about is the newest standard, which is 4K UHD. You won’t see anything in as good a quality as you can see on a 4K UHD copy now. And it allows for including a range of material beyond what you could put on a DVD or even a Blu-ray. It is going to become the collectible of record. People who really care about preserving their own cultural collections are going to be embracing 4K. We heard that at the Oscars. I had a great chat with Christopher Nolan, who has been a big champion of physical media. He loves our stuff and maybe we’ll do some things with him from his library, but he’s embraced the physical media business. [Quentin] Tarantino was certainly one of them who raves about the importance of preserving cinema culture in physical media. Whether the comparison with vinyl is exactly on target or not, it’s close enough.

Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension is a TV movie that was broadcast on Disney Channel on August 5, 2011. It was only released on DVD in the United States, then later released on Disney+ in 1080p. Unrelated, but in Spain, the movie actually got a theatrical release!

Anyway, Across the 2nd Dimension was released in Japan on Blu-ray, the only country to get a Blu-ray release. The Blu-ray was never released outside of Japan for some reason. While the DVD and digital versions of the movie both have lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, thankfully, the Blu-ray has lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 in both Japanese and English. I was expecting to pay a high price to import it to the US, but it was ~$30, the same price as a brand new Blu-ray release today.

I haven't watched Across the 2nd Dimension in a long time, and I haven't actually watched the Blu-ray yet, but according to this user review, it looks and sounds amazing.

It's time to kick it up a notch!

No special features, either. They'll probably wait until 2025 to unveil a limited edition 4K SteelBook or something.

Pre-order: Amazon · GRUV

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. Madame Web
2. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
3. Star Wars: Andor - The Complete First Season
4. Moon Knight: The Complete First Season
5. The Beekeeper
6. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season
7. Ordigary Angels
8. Mean Girls
9. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
10. Mean Girls (2024)
11. Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Two
12. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
13. Oppenheimer
14. The Iron Claw
15. The Abyss
16. Dune: Part One
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
18. Wonka
19. The Marvels
20. Migration

Source: NPD VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. Star Wars: Andor - The Complete First Season
2. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
3. Madame Web
4. Moon Knight: The Complete First Season
5. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete First Season
6. Mean Girls
7. The Abyss
8. Oppenheimer
9. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy
11. Ocean's Trilogy
12. Mean Girls (2024)
13. Planet Earth III
14. Dune: Part One
15. True Lies
16. Ocean's Thirteen
17. Ocean's Eleven
18. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
19. The Departed
20. Spider-Verse 2-Movie Collection

Source: NPD VideoScan First Alert (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/research/top-20-selling-blu-ray-and-4k-discs-for-week-ended-5-4-24/

“Death of the what? DVD is not dead, at all,” Kevin Costner said. “That’s what they’d have you believe. Maybe it’s not making the same amount of money, but just try to go ask for that from the studio. They won’t give that up. A lot of people that like my movies, they can’t get to a theater, and they’re waiting for that moment. You can’t make your film for the opening weekend. You have to make it for its life.“

There doesn't appear to be any new special features. It has Dolby Vision, but no Atmos.

Pre-order: Amazon · Barnes & Noble · Deep Discount · Walmart

The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee features interviews with friends, family members and famous directors.

Jon Spira, from Headington, Oxford, had access to Lee's scrapbooks and 100 interviews from the British Film Institute's library.

The filmmaker tells the BBC the actor's life was an "incredible story" waiting to be told.

Lee starred in more than 250 films across eight decades, including the Hammer Horror, James Bond, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars franchises.

But as Spira's film explains, he had a military career during World War Two still shrouded in mystery, and helped track down Nazi war criminals.

"Because he could speak fluently a range of different languages he got pulled into the secret service doing missions of which the facts have never fully come out," Spira explains.

"His cousin was Ian Fleming and a lot of people think the character of James Bond was based on him.

"He certainly didn't do anything to disavow people of that.

"You could almost do this as two films. That's why we called it The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee, because his life is one story and his career is another."

...

The documentary also takes some flights of fantasy.

It is narrated by a string puppet of Christopher Lee made by the team behind Wes Anderson's animated movies, and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz.

A stop-motion sequence is directed by Sandman illustrator Dave McKean.

Spira is crowdfunding for its Blu-ray release because he believes less effort has been made with physical media of late.

He said: "There's a whole market of people who are being forgotten that really love film, want to own it, and maybe don't trust that these things will always be streaming."

He has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise £40,000 "to do something really special" for collectors.

Kickstarter

The Guyver is a 1991 flick loosely based on a Japanese Manga, which was initially put out (in a heavily truncated version) by New Line Cinema on home video. It did well enough to get a sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero, but it’s a movie that hasn’t been super easy to see over the years – until now that is.

Unearthed Films, the same that rescued Martin Campbell’s awesome No Escape, is putting out The Guyver in fresh 4K edition packed with extras. Here’s the details:

...

The 4K UHD + Blu-ray + CD Soundtrack Limited Collector’s Edition includes new commentary with co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, a new interview with producer Brian Yuzna and co-director Screaming Mad George, outtakes with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, a new gag reel, a new production and artwork gallery, an alternate title sequence, trailers, and The Guyver soundtrack, composed by Matthew Morse.

The Guyver hits 4K disc on June 25th.

NOTE: The picture above is of the Walmart-exclusive SteelBook. The regular 4K release will not look like this.

Special Features

Extras include commentary by director Adam Wingard and multiple featurettes that delve into the histories and origins of these Titans. Journey deep into the heart of our world to discover the spectacular Hollow Earth and meet the new characters, get an inside look at the film's epic battles, and go behind the scenes with Wingard and the cast and crew.

And yes, the disc will have Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, but there will be no IMAX aspect ratio.

Pre-order: Amazon (US) · Amazon (UK) · GRUV · Walmart

My The Abyss upgrade arrived and i’m very happy with it!