My Two Cents
Thursday, 05 August 2021 17:14

The Guns of Navarone is coming to 4K from Sony, plus new Paramount 4K catalog, a Dementia 13: DC & remembering Jonathan Rinzler

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We’ve got more great new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, as well as more release news too...

First up, Tim has posted his thoughts on Richard Alan Greenberg’s Little Monsters (1989), coming on 9/15 to Blu-ray from Lionsgate via their Vestron Video Collector’s Series.

Tim has also given William Witney’s Master of the World (1961) a look on Blu-ray, a hybrid adaptation of a pair of classic Jules Vern novels (Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World). That arrives on Blu-ray on 8/31 from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Tim has taken Roger Corman’s The Raven (1963) out for a spin on Blu-ray, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff. That’s also coming from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on 8/31.

In terms of announcement news today, the big one is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially revealed a title we’ve had on our 4K List here at The Bits for a while now: J. Lee Thompson’s The Guns of Navarone. Look for it to arrive on 4K Ultra HD on 10/12 in honor of the film’s 60th anniversary. [Read on here...]

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The 4K disc will include HDR10 high dynamic range and a new Dolby Atmos mix along with the original theatrical 4-track stereo mix. Extras on the 4K disc will include a new Main Title Progression Reel, along with the theatrical trailer. The package will also include a newly-authored Blu-ray (mastered from the new 4K restoration), that carries over all of the legacy Blu-ray and DVD extras. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

Meanwhile, Paramount Movies is getting ready to release Scream on 4K Ultra HD on 10/19. That’s a Miramax title they’ve licensed, and it would be first such title they’ve decided to release on physical 4K UHD. It was up briefly on Amazon (we’ve shared the artwork on Twitter here), but has since disappeared, so it’s clear that Paramount is getting ready to officially announce the title shortly.

Also coming to 4K Ultra HD from Paramount is The Addams Family on 11/9, apparently with a deleted song number reinstated. This too was up briefly on Amazon before being pulled, so again it’s likely to be officially announced shortly.

And Vinegar Syndrome has announced the 4K UHD release of Stephanie Rothman’s action-thriller Terminal Island (1973 – aka Knuckle Men) on 8/31.

In standard Blu-ray news, Lionsgate has set a new Dementia 13: Director’s Cut for release on 9/21 as part of their Vestron Video Collector’s Series. The film will also be available on 4K Digital that day. The first film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, look for it to include an introduction by Coppola, audio commentary by Coppola, and Prologue (a Dementia 13 test). The SRP is $17.99. You can see the cover artwork below.

Also today, ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers has revealed in a recent interview with Super Deluxe Editions that the 1982 documentary The Police Around the World is coming to Blu-ray next March, restored from the original 16 mm film. The band is also apparently releasing new “expanded” editions of their studio albums over the next several years, starting with Regatta de Blanc next year. You can read more here. (Thanks to Bits reader Jerry K. for the heads-up!)

Finally today, a bit of sad news: We’re very sorry to have to report that former Lucasfilm film historian and author Jonathan Rinzler has died. As some of you will know, Jonathan was suffering from pancreatic cancer and recently began making end of life preparations. Jon was a friend of ours here at The Bits, though we certainly didn’t know him as well as many others. But I spoke with him occasionally and he was just a wonderfully creative and curious human being. Fans of Star Wars will know that Jon was responsible for a series of great books on the making of the films, including The Making of Star Wars, The Making of the Empire Strikes Back, and The Making of Return of the Jedi, along with Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy and Star Wars Storyboards: The Prequel Trilogy. He later followed those with The Complete Making of Indiana Jones, The Making of Planet of the Apes, The Making of Alien, and The Making of Aliens. His final book, Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life will be published next month. Jon even wrote a spaceflight novel called All Up. Words of gratitude simply aren’t enough for him, as pop culture fans owe him a great debt. Thanks for your work, your passion, and your friendship Jon. You will be missed. Be sure to read our own Michael Coate’s 2013 interview with Jon on the making of Return of the Jedi here at The Bits. You can also read more here at Star Wars.com and here at Berkeleyside.

Jonathan Rinzler (1962-2021)

All right, we’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for a few new titles that are available for pre-order on Amazon.com (click on the covers to visit the pre-order pages)...

The Guns of Navarone (4K Ultra HD) The Sheik: Paramount Presents (Blu-ray Disc) Dementia 13: Director's Cut - Vestron Video Collector's Series (Blu-ray Disc)

The Little Rascals: Classic Flix Restorations Vol 3 (Blu-ray Disc) Kolchak: The Night Stalker - The Complete Series (Blu-ray Disc) F9: The Fast Saga (4K Ultra HD)

That’s all for today. Stay tuned...

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

 

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