First Man official, plus Halloween (2018), Perfect Blue, Arrow’s Django delay, Revenge of the Creature 3D update & more

Monday, 10 December 2018 15:27

First Man official, plus Halloween (2018), Perfect Blue, Arrow’s Django delay, Revenge of the Creature 3D update & more

by Bill Hunt

We start today with a pair of new Blu-ray reviews, including Tim’s take on John Waters’ Female Trouble from the Criterion Collection, and also Dennis’ look at The Nun from Warner. More reviews are on the way this week and next, including (next week) several new 4K reviews from myself. Among them will be M:I – Fallout and The Lion King. My wife and I have family visiting here at the moment though, so it’s been tough to break away to do the reviews with the justice they deserve.

The BIG announcement news today is that Universal has officially set Damien Chazelle’s First Man for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 1/22, with the Digital release expected on 1/5. Here’s the great news... while the film is presented in its original 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio, the final scenes will be presented in full 1.78:1 to preserve the IMAX aspect as seen in theaters. Audio is English Dolby Atmos and the 4K image will include both HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

Extras on the Blu-ray versions will include feature commentary (with director Damien Chazelle, screenwriter Josh Singer, and editor Tom Cross), deleted scenes, and 8 featurettes (including Shooting for the Moon, Preparing to Launch, Giant Leap in One Small Step, Mission Gone Wrong, Putting You in the Seat, Recreating the Moon Landing, Shooting at NASA, and Astronaut Training). This is certainly the 4K Ultra HD I’m most looking forward to right now here at The Bits. It should be terrific. [Read on here...]

Universal has also officially set the new Halloween (2018) film for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 1/15. Audio will be DTS:X on the Blu-rays.

For fans of DreamWorks Animation, Universal is releasing The Road to El Dorado, Joseph: King of Dreams, and Chicken Run on Blu-ray on 1/22, the same day as How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2 come to 4K Ultra HD from the studio.

Sony Pictures Classics has set The Wife for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/29, starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce.

Shout! Factory has just set Satoshi Kon’s classic anime/psychological thriller Perfect Blue for release on Blu-ray/DVD combo on 3/26. The set will include 2 new featurettes, including Lectures by Satoshi Kon and Into the Blue, plus legacy extras.

Also coming that day to the Shout Select line is Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs on Blu-ray. The film was directed by Gene Saks. The Shout Select title Used Cars is also available for pre-order on Amazon to street on 2/26.

Shout! and Scream Factory’s The Street Fighter Collection is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a street date of 3/26 and a sale price of $33.04. The set includes The Street Fighter, Return of the Street Fighter, and The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge.

An update on Disney’s Doctor Strange... it appears the SKU due on 1/15 is NOT the 4K Ultra HD but rather a standard Blu-ray reissue, however our sources still tell us that the film is coming to 4K later next year (probably along with the Captain America films when Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are released on home video).

Kino Lorber is releasing Studio 54: The Documentary on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/29.

Another update: Arrow Video’s new Blu-ray release of Django has been pulled from the release schedule for unspecified reasons. It had been set to street tomorrow (12/11). We’ll update you when we have new information.

Speaking of Arrow, look for Takashi Miike’s Audition and Horror Express on Blu-ray from the company on 2/12. They also have The Fifth Cord and The Possessed coming on Blu-ray on 2/5.

Deep Discount is having a sale on Olive Films titles, so if you’re looking to get a great deal on their new Invasion of the Body Snatchers Blu-ray, it’s just $14 over there right now.

For those of you waiting on your Revenge of the Creature/The Creature Walks Among Us replacement Blu-ray 3D disc from Universal (from the Creature from the Black Lagoon: Legacy Collection and Universal Classic Monsters Legacy Collection box sets), it’s definitely now shipping out. Mine came today shipped in a padded envelope via FedEx. Revenge of the Creature is now in the proper 3D, but it appears that the 2D version is only SD. I haven’t had the chance to look at it yet but I will update my reviews when I do. In any case, you can see the disc below...

Revenge of the Creature Blu-ray 3D replacement disc

By the way, many of you have asked when the fixed Creature from the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray set will be back in stores. The answer is as fast as they can get the fixed discs in the sets, but that means probably not until early next year.

Filmrise has set The Vault for release on Blu-ray on 3/26.

And Mill Creek Entertainment is releasing David Hogan’s Barb Wire and Peter Berg’s The Rundown on Blu-ray on 2/19.

Watch also for new History, Legacy & Showmanship columns from Michael Coate starting next week.

We’ll leave you with a look at some new and recent Blu-ray and 4K cover artwork, featuring Amazon.com pre-order links if available (just click on the covers and remember – every time you purchase that way you’re helping to support The Bits)...

Stay tuned…!

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First Man official, plus Halloween (2018), Perfect Blue, Arrow’s Django delay, Revenge of the Creature 3D update & more

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