First up, our friends at the Criterion Collection have just revealed their July slate of Blu-ray and DVD titles, and there are some real gems as well as a couple nice surprises. It all starts with Arthur Hiller’s The In-Laws (Cat #823 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 7/5, followed by Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (Cat #63 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 7/12, Alain Resnais’s Muriel, or The Time of Return (Cat #824 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Night and Fog (Cat #197 – Blu-ray and DVD), and King Hu’s A Touch of Zen (Cat #825 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 7/19, and finally Terrence Malick’s The New World (Cat #826 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 7/26. All will feature new 4K digital restorations (save for The In-Laws which is a new 2K digital restoration), and a host of great new and legacy extras. Click here for additional details and you can see the cover artwork for each below.
Also this afternoon, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has set The Other Side of the Door for Blu-ray and DVD release on 6/7.
Magnolia has confirmed the 5/10 Blu-ray and DVD release of the indie science fiction film Synchronicity.
Lionsgate will release the Nicholas Sparks novel-adapted romance The Choice on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/3, along with Atom Egoyan’s thriller Remember on both formats the same day. The latter film stars Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau. Lionsgate will also release Touched with Fire on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/7.
And PBS Distribution will release Mr. Selfridge: The Final Season on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/17.
Also today, we have some more big 4K Ultra HD news: Universal has just officially thrown their hat into the 4K ring, by committing to “a progressive rollout of its growing roster of movie titles around the world beginning this summer, showcasing a mix of new releases, including some of this year’s most-anticipated blockbusters The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Warcraft and Jason Bourne as well as recent hits, such as Everest, Lucy and Lone Survivor, among others. Other 4K Ultra HD offerings in the pipeline will include a selection of IMAX spectacular cinematic films.” The studio expects to make its titles available on “both 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD digital formats. All of the designated offerings will feature a combination of 4K resolution and the color brilliance of High Dynamic Range, with many additionally including multi-dimensional sound for the ultimate immersive audio experience.” Essentially, this news leaves only Disney and The Weinstein Company as yet uncommitted to 4K UHD Blu-ray releases. Back to Uni, let me just say this right now: Flash Gordon (1980), properly restored in 4K with HDR, would thrill me right down to the ground. All in favor, say “Flash! AAaahhhhhhhhhh...!”
Finally, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of actors Gareth Thomas and Doris Roberts. Thomas was best known as Roj Blake in the BBC sci-fi series Blake’s 7. He was 71. Roberts was a regular on TV’s Remington Steele and, of course, is best known to audiences as Marie Barone (Ray’s mother) on Everybody Loves Raymond. She was 90. You can read more here and here.
All right, here’s that new Criterion BD cover artwork (most of these titles are now available for pre-order on Amazon by clicking on the cover art – we’ll add the final pre-order link for Carnival of Souls when it goes live)...
Rest assured, we’re busy working on that other 4K Ultra HD coverage we mentioned last week, so stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)