This week, we have some exciting new releases coming to the world of Blu-ray, plus some new releases and 90s films arriving on 4K and hidden gems from a couple of favorite boutique labels!
Let’s take a dive and see what’s coming out this week!
***ALL IMAGES SERVE AS DIRECT LINKS TO PURCHASE THE MOVIES THROUGH AMAZON***
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This week’s most significant new release is the 2021 monster mash-up “Godzilla vs. Kong,” directed by Adam Wingard and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Shun Oguri. This film will be available on 4K UHD, standard Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D, plus a Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD Steelbook. Included with all of these formats is an audio commentary track with Wingard and featurettes on King Kong, Godzilla, and the making of the film. |
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As I said before, a few 90s movies are coming to 4K this week. The first is the 1993 thriller “In the Line of Fire,” directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, and Gary Cole. This is newly remastered in 4K from the original camera negative and features new Dolby Atmos sound. It also includes an audio commentary track with Petersen, deleted scenes, and some featurettes on the making of the film and its themes. |
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Another 4K release this week is the 1993 action film “Last Action Hero,” directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance, Frank McRae, and Tom Noonan. This is sourced from a new 4K scan of the film. It includes a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted and alternate scenes, the tie-in AC/DC music video for the song “Big Gun,” and an audio commentary track with McTiernan. The Steelbook edition for this release came out a few weeks ago. |
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The other big 4K 90s release this week is the 1997 sci-fi thriller “Gattaca.” Directed by Andrew Niccol, this stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Alan Arkin, and Xander Berkeley. I previously wrote about the Steelbook edition of this release that came out in March, which features the same transfer and supplemental features. |
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Back to the new releases, we have the early 2021 awards contender “French Exit.” Directed by Azazel Jacobs, this film stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges. This includes deleted and extended scenes. |
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Another new release coming to Blu-ray and 4K is the 2021 sci-fi drama “Voyagers.” Directed by Neil Burger, this stars Tye Sheridan, Colin Farrell, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead, and Chanté Adams. In addition, this release includes various featurettes on the making of the film and its themes. |
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We also have the 2021 Shudder Original horror film “Anything for Jackson.” Directed by Justin G. Dyck, this film stars Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings, and Konstantina Mantelos. |
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From the Paramount Presents label comes the 1959 western “Last Train from Gun Hill,” directed by John Sturges and starring Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn. This features a new 6K restoration of the film from the original VistaVision negative. It includes a filmmaker focus talkback with Leonard Maltin.
The Criterion Collection is releasing a double release for the films “Streetwise” and “Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell,” the 1984 documentary and its 2016 follow-up from director Martin Bell, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall. “Streetwise” depicts the lives of homeless and runaway teens in 1980s Seattle, with “Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell” following one of the subjects from the original film up to the present day. For “Streetwise,” there is a new audio commentary track with Bell. Also included are interviews with Bell and “Streetwise” editor Nancy Baker, along with four of Bell’s short films.
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Finally, we have two releases from the Warner Archive Collection. The first is the 1968 film “Guns for San Sebastian,” directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Anthony Quinn, Anjanette Comer, and Charles Bronson. It includes a vintage featurette. The other release is the 1945 technicolor musical “Ziegfeld Follies,” which consists of an all-star cast and several prominent directors paying homage to the iconic Broadway producer. The film features Fred Astaire, Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and many more.
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CASEY’S WEEKLY BLU-RAY RECOMMENDATION
This week, I’ve been on a major Beatles kick, going through and listening to all of their albums in order (they’re my favorite band, I do this semi-annually, yes, I’m very basic) and have been looking into Beatles films. An underrated one that doesn’t directly portray the Fab Four in a biopic sense but is nonetheless so much about their impact is the 1978 film “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” which has a terrific release from the Criterion Collection. This was the directing debut of Robert Zemeckis and co-written by him, and Bob Gale; their partnership is most known for creating the “Back to the Future” trilogy, and this film is much more similar to those than Zemeckis’ recent works. The film was also executive-produced by none other than Steven Spielberg. It stars Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco, Marc McClure, Susan Kendall Newman, Theresa Saldana, Wendie Jo Sperber, and Eddie Deezen. It depicts a group of teenagers trying to see The Beatles’ famous performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964 and perfectly depicts varying degrees of Beatlemania craziness. The biggest selling point about this film is that, because of when it was made, there are SEVENTEEN Beatles songs featured throughout the film. It’s commonly known today that getting the rights to use Beatles songs in movies or television is crazy expensive, so most use covers. So, to have a film with so many feels otherworldly, and you cannot imagine the movie without it. It’s also probably why the film is unavailable on streaming, making home video really the only way of viewing it.
The Blu-ray looks incredible, featuring a new 4K digital restoration approved by Zemeckis and Gale. It also includes an interview conversation with Zemeckis, Gale, and Spielberg, interviews with Allen and McClure, an audio commentary track from 2004 with Zemeckis and Gale, and two of Zemeckis’ early short films. I would highly recommend this film to Beatles fans, fans of Zemeckis’ earlier films, or fans of teen films like this in general; it reminded me of many movies like “American Graffiti” and “Dazed and Confused.” I would also highly recommend picking it up in the upcoming Criterion Barnes & Noble sale in July.
Are there any releases you will be picking up this week? 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
