Friday, March 29, 2024

New Physical Media Releases: 5/18/2021

By Casey Lee Clark 

​It is a truly stacked week in terms of new releases coming to Blu-ray, from Oscar winners to box office hits (as much as they could be in the pandemic) to indie favorites. Plus, there are several exciting 4K upgrades and astounding films from boutique Blu-ray labels.

Click below to see this week’s newest releases.



​***ALL IMAGES SERVE AS DIRECT LINKS TO PURCHASE THE MOVIES THROUGH AMAZON***

The biggest hit coming out this week is the 2021 Disney animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” featuring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, and Benedict Wong. This film is available on 4K UHD, standard Blu-ray, a Best Buy Exclusive Steelbook, and a Target Exclusive Digipack. Included on the disc are the short film “Us Again,” outtakes, and deleted scenes.

There are a couple of 2020 Oscar winners coming to Blu-ray this week. First, we have Best Supporting Actress winner (for Youn Yuh-jung) “Minari.” Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the film stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Patton. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Original Score, and Actor for Steven Yeun. The Blu-ray includes an audio commentary track with Chung and Youn, deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette.

The other major 2020 Oscar winner arriving on Blu-ray this week is the winner for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins, and that is “The Father.” Directed by Florian Zeller, the film stars Hopkins alongside Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams, Imogen Poots, and Rufus Sewell. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Film Editing, Production Design, and Supporting Actress for Olivia Colman. The Blu-ray includes deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.

Another major recent release receiving a Blu-ray this week is “Tom & Jerry,” directed by Tim Story and starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong. This includes deleted scenes and a gag reel. 

Shout Factory is putting out a Blu-ray of the 2020 drama “The Nest,” directed by Sean Durkin and starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon. Among other extras, this includes a “scene anatomy” featurette diving into one of the film’s key scenes. One of many under the radar movies from the past year, this is one you surely don’t want to miss if you’re a fan of relationship dramas.

​Rounding out the recent releases coming to Blu-ray this week, I wanted to highlight a couple of indies getting the physical media treatment this week. One is the 2020 coming-of-age comedy “Shithouse,” written and directed by Cooper Raiff. The film stars Raiff alongside Dylan Gelula, Amy Landecker, and Logan Miller. Those who appreciates Richard Linklater’s “Before Trilogy,” will find a lot to like here.

The other movie I really wanted to highlight is the under-seen 2020 drama “Supernova,” directed by Harry MacQueen and starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. Both actors are delivering simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming performances that are worth checking out.



​There are a couple of 70s classics receiving 4K upgrades this week. The first is the 1973 Best Picture Oscar Winner “The Sting,” directed by George Roy Hill and starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, and Eileen Brennan. It includes both a 4K and a standard Blu-ray disc with the extras carrying over from the previous Blu-ray releases. There is also a Steelbook edition available.

The other big 4K upgrade is the 1978 comedy classic “Animal House,” directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, John Hulce, and more. Like “The Sting,” this features the extras from the previous Blu-ray release, and a Steelbook edition is available. 


​Severin Films is putting out a 4K release of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1989 film “Santa Sangre.” This release is a four-disc digipak set containing a 4K, two Blu-ray discs, and a CD of the film’s soundtrack. They are also releasing a two-disc standard Blu-ray edition. Both releases feature a new 4K restoration supervised by Jodorowsky. Included on the 4K release are over eight hours of new and archival special features, with many on the Blu-ray release as well.

Coming from Shout Factory’s Shout Select label, we have the 1986 film “Wildcats,” directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Goldie Hawn, Swoosie Kurtz, Robyn Lively, James Keach, Jan Hooks, Bruce McGill, and more. This features a new 2K restoration. It includes a recent interview with screenwriter Ezra Sacks and the training montage music video featured in the film. 

The Criterion Collection is releasing the 1998 Taiwanese film “Flowers of Shanghai,” directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien and starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Michiko Hada. This is a new 4K digital restoration. It features a new introduction by critic Tony Rayns, a new documentary on the making of the film, and excerpts from a 2015 interview with Hou.

Finally, the most significant release from the Warner Archive Collection this week is the 1994 Jackie Chan film “Drunken Master II,” directed by Chia-Liang Liu. This features a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative and three audio options along with the original English subtitles.


CASEY’S WEEKLY BLU-RAY RECOMMENDATION

This week, I’m recommending a film I love by a filmmaker I love that feels right for this Spring/almost-Summer season, and that is Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides” from the Criterion Collection. Premiering at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and released in the United States in 2000, this film stars Kirsten Dunst, James Woods, Kathleen Turner, and Josh Harnett, among many others. This was Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut, and it is a beautiful and ultimately haunting look at the trials and tribulations of being a teenage girl through the eyes of the young boys who adore them from afar, all set in the 1970s. I absolutely adore this film and would highly recommend it if you are a fan of Coppola’s later works (specifically “Marie Antoinette”) or just a fan of female coming-of-age films. Plus, it has a killer 70s soundtrack that helps convey its hyper-specific tone.

The Blu-ray from Criterion is, naturally, superb. It features a new 4K digital restoration supervised by cinematographer Ed Lachman and approved by Coppola. As far as supplemental features, it includes new interviews with the cast, crew, and famous writers, a making-of documentary on the film directed by Eleanor Coppola, Sofia’s 1998 short film “Lick the Star,” a music video for the film’s original soundtrack song directed by Sofia and her brother Roman Coppola, and an essay by novelist Megan Abbott. It’s a terrific release for a movie I love that I would highly recommend to just about anyone.

Are there any releases you will be picking up this week? Surely, with such a stacked week there must be, right? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.

You can follow Casey and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @CaseyLeeClark

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