Wicked arrives on 2/4, plus Dune: Prophecy in 4K, Lower Decks, Hard Eight (1996) & Delicatessen (1991) in 4K, Talking Heads: 77 discount, Genesis on BD-A & more!

Friday, 03 January 2025 15:10

Wicked arrives on 2/4, plus Dune: Prophecy in 4K, Lower Decks, Hard Eight (1996) & Delicatessen (1991) in 4K, Talking Heads: 77 discount, Genesis on BD-A & more!

by Bill Hunt

We have a lot of ground to cover today to close out the first partial week of 2025, starting with more new disc reviews...

First up, Tim has taken a look at Russ Meyer’s Vixen! (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from the good folks at Severn Films, and he’s also reviewed Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man (1993) in 4K from Arrow Video.

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Alan Crosland’s The Beloved Rogue (1927) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Stuart has checked in with his take on Ted Hooker, Jack Cardiff, and Freddie Francis’ Cruel Britannia (1971-1974) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, as well as Kinji Fukasaku’s The Threat (1966) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, and Jules Dassin’s Topkapi (1964) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Stephen has offered his reviews of Corey Yuwn’s Yes, Madam! (aka In the Line of Duty II) (1985) and Arthur Wong and Brandy Yuen’s In the Line of Duty III (1988) each on Blu-ray from 88 Films, as well as Michael Schaack’s animated but rarely-seen classic Felidae (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Deaf Crocodile Films.

As always, more reviews are on the way next week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.

Now then, we have a bunch of release news and official title announcements to share with you today, so let’s dive right in...

First, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has officially set Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: Part One (2024) for Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook release on 2/4. The 4K disc will feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, and all the SKUs will include over an hour of bonus features, including deleted and extended scenes, audio commentary with the director, a second audio commentary with stars Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande, the Making Wicked documentary, and a sing-along viewing option for the film. You can see the final cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

While we’re in the Warner Bros. family, HBO has officially set Dune: Prophecy – The Complete First Season for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 4/15. You can see the cover artwork below.

Warner and DC Studios have set Superman & Lois: The Complete Fourth Season and Superman & Lois: The Complete Series for Blu-ray release on 4/1. And Warner, DC, and HBO have confirmed the 3/19 Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release of The Penguin: Season One.

Meanwhile, Paramount is now taking pre-orders on the future Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (street date TBA). They’re also taking pre-orders on the Blu-ray release of Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Complete Final Season and Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Complete Series. You can see this cover artwork below as well.

Our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have just revealed more great Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD catalog titles that are coming soon, including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Hard Eight (1996), Spike Lee’s Inside Man (2006), and Sean S. Cunningham’s DeepStar Six (1989) all on 4K UHD, as well as Arthur Hiller’s Promise Her Anything (1966) and Kirk Douglas’ Posse (1975) both on Blu-ray. The label has also set Jack Arnold’s The Glass Web (1953) for release on Blu-ray 3D on 3/25, complete with a new restoration by the 3-D Film Archive.

Sony has placed J.C. Chandor’s Kraven the Hunter (2024) for pre-order on Amazon on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K UHD, and 4K Steelbook (street date TBA).

Amazon Studios, MGM, and Warner are also taking pre-orders on Jake Kasdan’s holiday-themed Red One (2024) on all the usual formats (street date also TBA).

Universal has set The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) for 4K Steelbook release on 3/4.

And here’s a very nice surprise: The good folks at Severin Films have just announced Jean-Piere Jeunet’s Delicatessen (1991) for 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release on 3/25! Also coming to 4K and Blu-ray that day is Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral (2012). And look for a Fear in the Philippines: The Complete Blood Island Films Blu-ray box set from Severin on 3/25.

Finally today, we have a couple of great items for you music fans...

First, we’ve confirmed that Rhino Records is going to be releasing Vinyl LP and 3 CD + Blu-ray Audio Super Deluxe Editions of the complete Talking Heads studio album catalog, at a rate of at least one per year (and possibly) more. As some of you know, the Talking Heads: 77 Super Deluxe Edition just streeted on 9/17 with a new Dolby Atmos mix and it’s fantastic. (And if you’re an Amazon Prime member and you act fast by clicking here, you can currently get an additional 30% off the already 30% discounted Amazon price of $71.39—making it just $48.)

And Atlantic has just announced that they’re releasing a 4 CD + Blu-ray Audio Deluxe Edition of Genesis’ legendary prog-rock classic The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) on 3/28, featuring a new Dolby Atmos mix and lots of extras. You’ll find both of those below.

All right, here’s a look at the cover artwork for a whole bunch of the titles mentioned above, all of them complete with Amazon pre-order links (and as The Bits is an Amazon Affiliate, anytime you order literally anything from them after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we appreciate it!)...