Also today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially set Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects (1996) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/25, complete with a new 16-bit 4K scan of the original camera negative and a new Dolby Vision HDR grade supervised by the film’s director of photography, Newton Thomas Sigel. You can see that cover artwork below as well.
It also appears that Universal is preparing a new wide-release Steelbook 4K of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary. We don’t have an official street date yet—the actual anniversary was on 6/11—but retail sources are indicating that it should arrive on 10/18. Meanwhile, you can see the packaging here...
Speaking of Steelbook 4K titles, we finally have a look at the artwork for Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick 4K Steelbook, which streets on 11/1. Note that this appears to be the ONLY SKU that includes both Blu-ray and 4K in the same package. You can pre-order it by clicking on the image below...
Keep in mind that we confirmed with the studio yesterday that Top Gun: Maverick will feature a multi-aspect ratio presentation with the IMAX sequences in either 1.78 or 1.90 (the rest of the film is the usual 2.39 scope).
And there’s one more piece of 4K UHD news this afternoon: Severin Films will release Peter Medak’s The Changeling (1980) on 10/25. You can pre-order that on Amazon now by clicking here.
In other release news, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just set the HBO-exclusive The Time Traveler’s Wife: The Complete Series for DVD only release on 10/18.
The studio has also set the recent Gaz Alazraki remake of Father of the Bride, starring Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan, for Digital only release on 8/23.
And Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has set B.J. Novak’s Vengeance for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/31.
A quick note: We’re going to be posting a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits from our very own Michael Coate, who has spent the last few months working on a great retrospective of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. So watch for that in the next few days.
Finally today, we need to take a moment to acknowledge the passing the great German film and television director Wolfgang Petersen, whose work includes the WWII submarine masterpiece Das Boot, as well as The NeverEnding Story, Enemy Mine, In the Line of Fire, Outbreak, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, Troy, and Poseidon. A couple of those films—but especially Das Boot—really deserve a new 4K UHD release with Dolby Atmos sound. Peterson died of pancreatic cancer last week (on 8/12) at his home in Los Angeles. He was 81. You can read more about his life and work here at The New York Times and here at Variety.
All right, we’ll leave you today with a look at the cover artwork for several of the titles mentioned above and more. The Amazon.com pre-order links will be added as they go live... [UPDATE: All the links are now live and the cover art is starting to appear on Amazon. The usual sale prices should kick in within a few days.]
Stay tuned…
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