Also here at The Bits today, Tim Salmons has a new Blu-ray review for you, taking a look at Scream Factory’s new Dog Soldiers: Collector’s Edition. The release has been a bit controversial among enthusiasts online because of the quality of its HD presentation. But Tim breaks it all down and explains exactly what’s going on and why. His review is well worth your time.
In announcement news today, the big news is that Universal has set Furious 7 for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/15, featuring a never-before-seen Extended Edition of the film. You get deleted scenes, 9 featurettes (The Cars of Furious, Flying Cars, Tower Jumps, Inside the Fight, Talking Fast, Back to the Starting Line, Race Wars, Snatch and Grab, and Making of Fast & Furious Supercharged Ride), and Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s See You Again music video.
CBS has revealed that I Love Lucy: The Ultimate Season Two will finally be released on Blu-ray on 8/4 (SRP $130). The set will feature 31 episodes and tons of extras, including famous Job Switching episode in its original B&W broadcast version with optional commentary, in a colorized version, and in a rare French-Canadian version with unique opening and closing graphics. You also get I Love Lucy: The Movie in HD, scenes from the 1952 CBS special Stars in the Eye, an I Love Lucy sketch from a 1953 episode of The Red Skelton Show, episode galleries, guest cast profiles, production notes, radio broadcasts and much more.
Scream Factory has set Toolbox Murders 2 for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/4 (SRP $19.97 and $14.93). It will include the theatrical trailer.
Twilight Time has announced the technical specs for their July Blu-ray releases (street date 7/14, pre-orders open on 7/1), which are set to include The Best of Everything (1959 – isolated score track, audio commentary with author Rona Jaffe and film historian Sylvia Stoddard, Fox Movietone Newsreel, and the original theatrical trailer), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989 – isolated music & effects track, audio commentary with writer-director Steve Kloves and film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, audio commentary with director of photography Michael Ballhaus, deleted scenes, and the original theatrical trailer), A Month in the Country (1987 – isolated music & effects track, audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, and the original theatrical trailer), Places in the Heart (1984 – isolated score track, audio commentary with actress Sally Field and film historian Nick Redman, and the original theatrical trailer), and The World of Henry Orient (1964 – isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians Jeff Bond, Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, and the original theatrical trailer).
Cinedigm has set The Jokesters and 72% for DVD release on 7/21.
The History Channel and Lionsgate will release Texas Rising on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/1 (SRP $29.99 and $26.98), including 3 featurettes (Capturing the Revolution: Filming Texas Rising, Sam Houston: A Man of the Revolution, and General Santa Anna: Leading Mexico).
Lionsgate has also set The Royals: The Complete First Season for DVD release on 8/18.
Film Movement has set Yves Robert’s The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe for Blu-ray and DVD release on 7/7.
Our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just released the following great deep catalog titles on MOD/DVD-R: Five Came Back (1939), Banjo (1947), Gypsy Colt (1954), Lad: A Dog (1962), Hugo the Hippo (1975), Come Fly with Me (1963), A Global Affair (1964), and Honeymoon Hotel (1964).
And Warner Home Video has set Jane the Virgin: The Complete First Season for DVD only release on 9/29, including all 22 episodes.
In other news, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has revealed that not only is it likely going to be the first major Hollywood studio to back Ultra HD Blu-ray titles with High Dynamic Range (HDR), those first titles are set to be Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Maze Runner, Life of Pi, and Exodus: Gods and Kings. Additional details – and news of more titles – will follow in the weeks ahead. I suspect we’ll hear more at Comic-Con in San Diego in a couple weeks. The release date for the first players and discs is currently set to be Q4 of this year, but that’s tentative and not yet official. You can read more here and here at The Hollywood Reporter.
And finally, we have some tragic news to report: As most of you will have heard by now, it appears that veteran film composer James Horner was killed in the crash of his small plane yesterday. He was just 61. His loss just makes me incredibly sad, especially when I think how many great films he composed the music for, including some of my all time favorites: Apollo 13, Braveheart, Aliens, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, A Beautiful Mind, Field of Dreams, Legends of the Fall, The Rocketeer, Titanic, Glory, and on and on. You can read more here via The Hollywood Reporter.
Also today, actor Dick Van Patten has passed away today at the age of 86. You Gen-Xers will remember him best as Tom Bradford on TV’s Eight Is Enough. More here at CNN.
We’ll leave you today with a look at a little more Blu-ray Disc cover artwork…
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt