Audio will be included in both a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack mixed from original magnetic stereo sources, as well as the original 1956 Theatrical mono optical soundtrack! Extras will include a pair of featurettes (Cole Porter in Hollywood: True Love and 1956 Premiere Newsreel), the MGM CinemaScope cartoon Millionaire Droopy (1956), audio-only promo spots featuring Crosby with Kelly and Sinatra, and original theatrical trailers.
Also coming to Blu-ray in May from the Warner Archive are Irving Rapper’s Rhapsody in Blue (1945) in an Extended Pre-Release Version of 161 minutes (featuring an Overture and newly-discovered footage), John G. Avlidsen’s Lean on Me (1989), John Sturges’ Mystery Street (1950), Frank Borzage’s Three Comrades (1938), and Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en Rose (2007) also in an Extended Version of 140 minutes. The street date for all of these is 5/27. Here’s a look at the cover artwork for all of them (Amazon pre-order links will be added when available)...
Also today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just announced that Jim Gillespie’s I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) is returning to 4K Ultra HD on 6/24 in Limited Edition Steelbook packaging with both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. The title was previously released in 4K back in September of 2022. It appears that the same extras from the previous edition will carry over.
And our friends at Turbine in Germany have revealed another new Region Free Blu-ray 3D catalog title for release on April 16: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) from Universal. The title will also include Dolby Atmos audio. You can pre-order it here on Turbine Shop.
In other news, Bits reader Mark S. from the Netherlands (thanks Mark!) emailed us to share that he’s received his 4K Ultra HD replacement disc for Arrow’s recent UHD release of Tarsem Singh’s The Cell (2000). As some of you may know already, the Director’s Cut version of the film had some missing frames and a repeated shot between 15:15 and 15:50 minutes into the film. In any case, replacement discs are clearly now available and they’re starting to be shipped out. You can request yours here. Here’s what Mark’s fixed disc looks like...
Finally today, we must acknowledge a piece of sad news that just broke last night: The great actor and writer Val Kilmer has died.
For my money, if Kilmer had played no other role than Doc Holiday in Tombstone (1993), he’d still be a legend. But of course, his filmography is extensive, including Top Secret!, Real Genius, Top Gun, Willow, The Doors, Thunderheart, True Romance, Batman Forever, Heat, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Ghost and the Darkness, The Prince of Egypt, Alexander, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and still more I’ve left out. He also wrote and starred in a one man stage show entitled Citizen Twain. Kilmer had a throat cancer scare in 2015 that he managed to survive, and was the subject of a documentary on his life and work, Val (2021)—it’s well worth your time. His last big screen appearance was in Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick (2022), which is as fitting a final scene as any I could imagine.
There’s a quote by Doc Holiday in Tombstone that really hits home today: “There’s no normal life, Wyatt. There’s just life. Now get on with it.” Rest in peace, Val. Thanks for Ice, Doc, Perry, and so many more. We’ll miss you.
We’ll leave you with a look at the cover art for Warner Archive’s April Blu-ray slate, which is finally starting to become available for pre-order on Amazon.com (just click on the cover links)...
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)