My Two Cents
Monday, 16 August 2021 13:40

Criterion details its November slate with THREE 4K titles, plus Cruella, Addams Family, and a great chat with George Feltenstein (ex-Warner Archive)!

by
  • Print
  • Email

All right, the big news today is that Criterion has just officially announced their November slate of Blu-ray—and yes, 4K Ultra HD—titles!

They begin with an upgrade of Federico Fellini’s La strada (Spine #219 – Blu-ray) on 11/2, followed by an upgrade of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. (Spine #799 – Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Combo) and Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films (Spine #1103 – Blu-ray – includes Once Upon a Time in China I-V) on 11/16, and Albert and Allen Hughes’ Menace II Society (Spine #1105 – Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Combo) and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (Spine #1104 – Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Combo) on 11/23. Let’s talk 4Ks...

Mulholland Dr. will include a new 4K digital restoration, supervised by director David Lynch and director of photography Peter Deming, with a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR.

Menace II Society will include a new 4K digital restoration of the directors’ cut of the film, supervised by cinematographer Lisa Rinzler and codirector Albert Hughes, with 7.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR.

Citizen Kane will include a new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Again, the 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR. [Read on here...]

CLICK HERE to BACK THE BITS in our fight to preserve Physical Media 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

You can visit the Criterion website here for additional details as to the extras. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below. We’ve also updated both our 4K Ultra HD Release List and our Criterion Spines Project pages here at The Bits accordingly.

In other news today, Disney has made their live-action Cruella official for Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release on 9/21. Three retail exclusive Limited Edition versions of the 4K will be available in addition to the regular wide release SKU. Best Buy will have exclusive Steelbook packaging. Target’s will include 2 gold-foiled lithographs, and Walmart’s will include an exclusive eBook. Each will also include “Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes, Cast Interviews, Fun Facts and more.” Audio on the 4K disc is Dolby Atmos with HDR10 high dynamic range.

And Paramount has just announced their new 4K Ultra HD release of Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family, which is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a street date of 11/9. Click here for that or on the cover artwork below. The disc will include both the original theatrical version and a new More Mamushka! version which expands the film’s dance number. Each was remastered under the supervision of Sonnenfeld. Extras will include an introduction to the More Mamushka! version by Sonnenfeld, a new Filmmaker Focus with the director, and an archival featurette. The film will also be available digitally on 10/19.

Paramount also has a new 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition Steelbook version of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments due that same day (click here for that).

Also, just a quick reminder: Disney’s anticipated 4K Ultra HD releases of Michael Mann’s Heat and Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which had been tentatively planned for release this month, have been delayed by the studio. Apparently, they’re still work that needs to be done to get them both right for release. I’m told there’s a 50/50 chance that the delay could slip into early 2022. But I’ll try to get an update and keep you posted here.

Finally today, our old friend Robert Meyer Burnett has just posted the latest installment of his Let’s Get Physical Media program with Dieter Bastian on his Burnettwork YouTube channel. And in this latest edition, Rob and Dieter talk 4K Ultra HD with another old friend of ours, the great George Feltenstein, ex-Warner Bros. and the longtime curator of The Warner Archive Collection! I’ve known George for so long, I can’t even remember the first time I encountered him. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met in this industry and trust me when I say that he’s probably forgotten more about classic film than many others will ever know. It’s a great chat, so I strongly urge all Bits readers to give it a listen here...

All right, we’ll leave you with a look at that new Criterion November cover art, plus The Addams Family 4K. ALL are now available for pre-order on Amazon...

The Addams Family (4K Ultra HD) Citizen Kane (Criterion 4K Ultra HD) Mulholland Dr. (Criterion 4K Ultra HD)

Menace II Society (Criterion 4K Ultra HD) La strada (Criterion Blu-ray Disc) Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films (Criterion Blu-ray Disc)

That’s all for now. Stay tuned!

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

 

Contact Bill Hunt

Please type your full name.
Invalid email address.
Please send us a message.
Invalid Input