Warner Bros. is going to be re-issuing Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) on Blu-ray in new packaging on 4/9 (this may be a Best Buy exclusive), obviously designed to promote the forthcoming theatrical release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. There’s no word yet whether the film will arrive on 4K Ultra HD at some point, but it would make sense given the fact that Kong: Skull Island is on 4K and King of the Monsters certainly will be.
Speaking of Warner Bros., the studio is also bringing William Wyler’s original Ben-Hur (1959) back into theaters on 4/14 and 4/17 in honor of its 60th Anniversary. We don’t yet know of the film will be released in 4K Ultra HD later this year, but we certainly hope so. As you know, the film was a recent Retro Release Day title here at The Bits.
And while we’re talking 4K... here could be a surprise: The online anime retailer Right Stuff has posted a listing for a 4K Ultra HD version of Yimou Zhang’s Shadow, expected to be released by Well Go USA on 8/13. We’ve asked the studio for confirmation, but have been told not expect it for a while yet (as the film hasn’t even hit theaters). But I’ve been assured that I will be kept in the loop, so there’s that. More Yimou Zhang in 4K would be a BIG deal, so fingers crossed.
On the regular Blu-ray front, Eureka! has announced the release of German filmmaker Arnold Fanck’s The Holy Mountain on the format as part of their Masters of Cinema collection. Look for it to street on 17 June 2019.
Also on the international Blu-ray front, here’s a surprise: A French distributor called Elephant Films has released a classic Universal TV series known as Les Têtes brûlées on Blu-ray. You may know it better by its original American name: Baa Baa Black Sheep or The Black Sheep Squadron (its syndication name). Elephant released it as a complete series set late last year, with all 36 episodes scanned from film in full HD. Now, as some of you know, I’m a huge fan of this series. I’ve requested a BD review copy of the set and I’ll definitely review it here if they send it. It may be region locked, but we’ll see. Here’s a look at the cover art...
One last note today: Our friends over at Bloody Disgusting are reporting that Well Go USA Entertainment (speaking of) is releasing a Phantasm Sphere Collection box set on Blu-ray, featuring Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm, a new 4K restoration of Phantasm II, and Phantasm: Ravager, with the previous extras and new ones as well (including an Atmos mix on the original film). It will come with a replica of the iconic killer sphere prop. This is obviously part of the original film’s 40th anniversary celebration. The new set will be available in time for Halloween later this year. You can read more here.
Here’s that cover artwork we mentioned above (with Amazon.com pre-order links)...
And that’s all for now. Stay tuned...!
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