My Two Cents
Friday, 27 March 2026 15:36

A Digital Bits Friday Mega-Mondo Catch-All 4K News Update-o-Rama (featuring Arrow, Speed Racer & more)!

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Greetings, Bits readers—I hope this finds you all well!

You may have noticed that there have been very few updates here on the site this week, and also that we’ve had a lot of downtime in which the site wasn’t working or was slow to load.

There’s a reason for that, which is that we’ve been the target of relentless scaping by AI companies trying to train their LLMs. We’ve taken steps to prevent it in the past, but they don’t seem to care that when they scrape us, it causes significant disruptions for both us and you as readers. So it looks like we’re going to have to take further steps to prevent this going forward.

In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, as I haven’t been able to post a news update since Monday due to these disruptions.

We’ll start with disc reviews! We’ve had a bunch for you this week, including…

My looks at Jeannot Szwarc’s Somewhere in Time (1980) in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, David Lynch’s The Straight Story (1999) in 4K from StudioCanal (a joint review with former Bits staffer Dan Kelly), Michael Crichton’s Westworld (1973) in 4K from Arrow Video, and Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way (2020-23) in 4K from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Tim’s review of Lam Nai-Choi’s The Cat (1991) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

Dennis’ take on Claude Leloch’s A Man and a Woman (1966) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

Stuart’s thoughts on Jerzy Skolimowski’s The Lightship (1985) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Jeffrey Dell and Roy Boulting’s Man in a Cocked Hat (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Stephen’s look at Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera (1998) and Emmett Alston’s Demonwarp (1988) in 4K from Vinegar Syndrome, and Ti West’s The Innkeepers (2011) on Blu-ray from Umbrella and in 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight. Whew!

Now, let’s get to the news that’s broken since our announcement of James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash on Blu-ray and 4K on Monday… [Read on here...]

First up, Arrow has just revealed their June 2026 Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD slate, which includes Paul Bogart’s Marlowe (1969) on Blu-ray on 6/7 (UK, US, Canada), Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999) in 4K on 6/15 (UK, US, Canada), John Woo’s Bullet in the Head (1999) on Blu-ray and 4K on 6/21 (UK only), and Ted Kotcheff’s Wake in Fright (1971) on Blu-ray and 4K (UK, US, Canada), the Mortal Kombat Kollection box set on Blu-ray and 4K—including Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)—(UK, US, Canada), and finally the Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits 4K box set—including Drunken Master II (1994), Rumble in the Bronx (1995), Thunderbolt (1995), Police Story 4: First Strike (1996), Mr. Nice Guy (1997), and Who Am I? (1998) with several in multiple cuts—in two different packaging options (UK, US, Canada) all on 6/29. Again… whew! Here’s what they look like (click here for Arrow US and here for Arrow UK)…

Arrow Video's June 2026 release slate

Keep in mind, all of this is in addition to their Stranger Things: The Complete Series Blu-ray and 4K packages on 7/27.

Warner Bros. still hasn’t officially announced the Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008) 4K, but it’s now up on every retail site for release on 5/19 in wide 4K, Steelbook 4K, and UK-exclusive Steelbook 4K Limited Edition. And here’s the cool thing—not only does it for sure include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, plus all of the legacy Blu-ray special features (including retail exclusive and international bonus content), the disc will include something new as well: Fast, Future, Family: Speed Racer Revisited! The packaging calls this “an exclusive interview with the Wachowskis, who revisit the film’s joyful genesis, its dazzling craft, and it’s second life as a cult classic.” I could not possibly be more happy about this, nor more excited for this release. Here’s a look at the final packaging for all three SKUs (with Amazon links)…

Speed Racer (4K Ultra HD)  Speed Racer (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)

Speed Racer (UK 4K Steelbook Limited Edition)

Warner Bros. and HBO have set It: Welcome to Derry – The Complete First Season for Blu-ray and 4K Steelbook on 5/5.

Also coming from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on 5/5 is Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights (2026) on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. And the company has a repackaged Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts: 11-Film Collection 4K box set dropping on 5/19 (SRP $239.99).

Our friends at Imprint and Via Vision have announced some great new titles for release in May, including Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975) on Blu-ray, Raging Bull (1980) on 4K + Blu-ray, and Lost in the Stars (2022) on Blu-ray (Imprint Asia Standard Edition) all on 5/6; five new Imprint Asia Limited Edition titles including a double feature of Prison on Fire (1987) and Prison on Fire II (1991) in 4K + Blu-ray, Bullet in the Head (1990) in 4K + Blu-ray, Once a Thief (1991) in 4K + Blu-ray, a double feature of An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty (1984) and The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus (1989) on Blu-ray, and The Missing Gun (2002) on Blu-ray all on 5/17; and four more Blu-ray box sets also on 5/27, including Youth Gone Wild: 1950s Juvenile Delinquency—including Live Fast, Die Young (1958), Juvenile Jungle (1958), Young and Wild (1958), Teenage Crime Wave (1955)—Tales of Adventure: Collection 11 (1954–1965)—including The Black Knight (1954), 55 Days at Peking (1963), Taras Bulba (1962), Genghis Khan (1965)—Film Focus: Rachel Weisz—including Swept from the Sea (1997), I Want You (1998), and The Deep Blue Sea (2011)—and Film Focus: Philip Seymour Hoffman—including Flawless (1999), Owning Mahowny (2003), and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007).

Not to be outdone, Vinegar Syndrome has a bunch of great new titles now available including Lamberto Bava’s Macabre (1980), Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer (1997), and Andrea Bianchi’s Massacre (1989) in 4K, and Dorna X. van Rouveroy’s Intensive Care (1991), Anders Palm’s Unmasked: Part 25 (1988), Forgotten Gialli: Volume Nine, Howard W. Koch’s Badge 373 (1973), Reviver 2 (???), and Kansas Bowling’s Cuddly Toys (2022) on Blu-ray.

Second Sight in the UK has announced new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD editions of Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Insomnia (1997), Sean Byrne’s The Devil’s Candy (2015), and Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister (2025). The first two are expected to street on 5/25, and the latter is now available.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set J. Lee Thompson’s 10 to Midnight (1983) and René Clément’s Rider on the Rain (1970) for 4K on 5/12, followed by Hobart Henley’s Night World (1932) for Blu-ray release on 5/19, and Tomas Alfredson’s The Snowman (2017) on Blu-ray and 4K, Howard Deutch’s The Great Outdoors (1988) in 4K UHD, William Dear’s Harry and the Hendersons (1987), and Roger Spottiswoode’s Terror Train (1980) in 4K UHD all on 5/26. They’ve also revealed that Deadly Blessing (1981) is coming soon to 4K, and that the Brit Noir: Collection II—including Home at Seven (1952), The Intruder (1953), and The Long Arm (1956)—is coming to Blu-ray in June.

Still not done yet: Amazon MGM has set Fallout: Season Two for Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook on 5/19.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set the animated GOAT (2025) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 5/5. They also have Frank Coraci’s Click (2006) and Peter Segal’s 50 First Dates (2004) coming to 4K on 6/23, each an Adam Sandler title.

A pair of Paramount catalog 4K titles are being upgraded to 4K Ultra HD Steelbook on 6/1, including Dan Trachtenberg’s 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A. (1996).

Paramount has also launched pre-orders for the Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook release of Kevin Williamson’s Scream 7 (2026), though the street date is TBA.

And Lionsgate will release Sam Raimi’s Send Help (2026) on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on 4/21.

Finally today, Arnold Leibovit’s newly remastered The Puppetoon Movie (1987) Blu-ray is now available to order on the official Puppetoon website here (SRP $39.95).

Now then… that’s a lot for one post! And there are, no doubt, titles we’ve forgotten about or otherwise overlooked. So we’ll check back in on Monday to fill you in on them all.

In the meantime, don’t forget that Apple TV’s For All Mankind has just kicked off its fifth season—the first episode is now live for streaming (and I’ll have more to say about the show here at The Bits next week)!

Until then… have a great weekend, everyone!

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter/X, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)

 

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