My Two Cents
Monday, 31 March 2025 13:59

Shout’s June includes Lord of Illusions, Bring It On & Dead Zone in 4K, plus Clueless, Road Trip & a few words on tariffs and physical media prices

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We’re starting this week with a trio of new disc reviews, including...

Stuart’s looks at Bob Kellett’s Are You Being Served? (1977) and Zoltán Korda’s Cry, the Beloved Country (1951) both on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen’s take on Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932) in 4K Ultra HD from the Criterion Collection.

Rest assured, more new disc reviews are on the way this week, so be sure to check back for them.

I also wanted to let you all know that I just posted an hour-long My Two Cents: A Video Blog update on our Digital Bits Patreon page on Saturday, in which I talked at length about the release of Tombstone and Barry Lyndon in 4K, as well as a lot of other exciting forthcoming 4K catalog titles, not to mention the State of the Home Entertainment Industry in 2025 as compared to the so-called Golden Age of Discs in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

I think you’ll really enjoy it, and supporting The Digital Bits via Patreon is a great way to help ensure that we can keep bringing you all great industry coverage here on the site. Do keep in mind that since we’ve been covering this industry since the very beginning of the DVD format back in 1997, nobody has better connections, sources, and knowledge of this industry that we do here on The Bits. So thank you all very much for reading and for your support! [Read on here...]

Support The Digital Bits on Patreon! CLICK HERE to shop through our Amazon.com links and SUPPORT THE BITS CLICK HERE to visit The Bits on Facebook CLICK HERE to visit The Bits on Twitter

In terms of new release news today, we’re still waiting for the official studio announcements of Lethal Weapon and the James Bond 007 Sean Connery 6-Film Collection both in 4K from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. We all know they’re coming, because Studio Distribution Services has listed them widely on retail sites, but the studio still hasn’t issued their press releases, cover art, and other details.

But we do have a few good things to report today...

Starting with WBDHE, the studio is going to be re-issuing their Mad Max 5-Film Collection in 4K UHD on 5/13, which includes Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, as well as the Fury Road and Furiosa “Black and Chrome” versions on Blu-ray.

Our friends at Shout! Factory have revealed their June Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD slate, which is set to include George A. Romero’s Monkey Shines (1988) (4K + Blu-ray), Sam Peckinpah’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) (4K + Blu-ray), and a MST3K: Volume XVII repackage (DVD) on 6/3, David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone (1983) (4K + Blu-ray Steelbook), Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead (1985) (4K + Blu-ray Steelbook), Clive Barker’s Lord of Illusions (1995) (4K), and GKids’ Dan da Dan: Season One (2024) (Blu-ray and Blu-ray Collector’s Edition) on 6/10, and Peyton Reed’s Bring It On (2000) (4K + Blu-ray) and Oliver Stone’s JFK: Director’s Cut (1991) (4K + Blu-ray Standard Edition) on 6/24.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Dougal Wilson’s Paddington in Peru (2024) for Digital release on 4/1, with the Blu-ray and DVD release set to follow on 4/29. It appears there’s no 4K UHD version planned for release in the States, but one is already available in the UK from StudioCanal.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Road Trip (2000) and Dead Again (1991) are coming soon to 4K Ultra HD, and that they’re also working on a Blu-ray edition of Last Known Address (1970).

And Paramount is going to release Amy Heckerling’s Clueless (1995) in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook format on 6/3.

In other news today, we’ve been getting a lot of questions from Bits readers over the last few weeks about the possible impact of the new import tariffs (that have been much talked about in the news of late) on physical media prices. Please understand that this is not a political post; it’s simply a matter of many of you guys have asked us about this topic, so we’ve been reaching out to the industry to get that perspective for you.

I’ve spent the last several weeks discussing this subject with our industry sources—at the major studios, at boutique labels, at distributors, and even retailers—and the consensus seems to be that there is likely to be some kind of impact on physical media, specifically disc prices, if the tariffs continue for any significant length of time.

The reason for this is relatively straightforward: About 80-90% of the discs manufactured for release here in the US are replicated in Guadalajara, Mexico, while much of the remainder are replicated in Germany and Poland. (There is a small amount of disc replication still here in the States—and there should certainly be a lot more—but it’s currently nowhere near as much as there was twenty years ago.) What’s more, you may have noticed that more and more 4K titles are being shipped in Steelbook packaging. Well, SteelBooks are produced by a company called Scanavo in Denmark. If each of these faces a 25% import tariff, it’s almost certain that the studios, distributors, and retailers are going to pass at least some of that cost increase on to consumers. But again, it really depends on how long the tariffs last—they could end suddenly tomorrow, or they could last for months or longer. The reality is we just don’t know, and nobody in the industry really knows at the moment. And keep in mind, this is on top of prices that could already be fairly called gouging from some studios.

One other quick point: Nearly all Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD players are manufactured in Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, etc). Once existing stocks of these players currently on store shelves and sitting in warehouses here in the States sell out, any new units imported from the manufacturers will also be subject to the new tariffs. The point being: If you’re currently in the market for—or downright need—a new Blu-ray or 4K player, now is the time to buy before the prices increase.

All right, we’ll continue to monitor this situation and report back here with any updates as they happen.

In the meantime, I want to remind all of you that today is the last day for you to vote in Media Play News’ annual Home Entertainment Awards. You can do so here at this link on their website until tonight. So act fast if you want to weigh in!

Media Play News - Media Play Awards

Finally, don’t forget that our friends at The Screening Room AV in Colorado Springs, Colorado are holding their 2025 Great Projector Shootout THIS COMING WEEKEND, on April 5th and 6th (from 1-6 PM each day)! The event will be held at the Drury Inn & Suites (address: 1170 InterQuest Parkway in Colorado Springs, CO 80921). Kris Deering (from Deep Dive A/V) and Sammie Prescott Jr. (from Projector Central) will be on hand to calibrate all of the projectors to be tested, which will include:

  • Sony Bravia9 XW8100ES – MSRP $31,999
  • JVC DLA-RS4200 (aka the DLA-NZ900) – MSRP $25,999
  • JVC DLA-RS1200 (aka the DLA-NZ500) – MSRP $5999
  • Epson QB1000 – MSRP $7999
  • Epson QL3000 – MSRP $14,999
  • Epson QL7000 – MSRP $29,999
  • Valerion VisionMaster Pro2 – $2999

Manufacturer reps and/or engineers from Sony, JVC, Epson, MadVR, and Valerion will all be in attendance to answer your questions!

There will also be a reception and home theater party on Friday night, April 4th. The event promises to be a ton of fun, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to see some of the latest and most cutting edge home theater projectors tested in head-to-head competition. Space at all of these events is limited but still available. You’ll find all the details here on The Screening Room AV website and you should email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. fast if you’re interested in attending!

tsrshootout 2025

That’s all for now! Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

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

 

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