For the week of December 12th, Paramount Home Media Distribution will release Parker Finn’s Smile (2022), starring Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Jessie T. Usher and Robin Weigert.
Studio description: After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Paramount’s releases of Smile contain Dolby Atmos audio, while the 4K UHD disc additionally includes Dolby Vision HDR. Extras for both formats include audio commentary with Parker Finn, the short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by Finn, and two featurettes. Note that the 4K UHD edition is a single-disc release, with no Blu-ray included.
Also from Paramount is a 4K UHD and Blu-ray release for Reacher: Season One (2022), starring Alan Ritchson, Malcolm Goodwin, Willa Fitzgerald, Harvey Guillen and Kristin Kreuk.
Studio description: When retired Military Police Officer Jack Reacher is arrested for a murder he did not commit, he finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy full of dirty cops, shady businessmen and scheming politicians. With nothing but his wits, he must figure out what is happening in Margrave, Georgia. The first season of Reacher is based on the international bestseller by Lee Child.
According to the press release, Paramount’s releases of Reacher: Season One contain more than 30 minutes of extras.
Finally from Paramount this week is a Blu-ray for Hogan’s Heroes: The Complete Series (1965-1971), starring Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Robert Clary, Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis.
Description: Join Colonel Hogan and his crew in this classic comedy! All six seasons of the award-winning sitcom are now available in this one-of-a-kind collection. Hogan’s Heroes follows the hilarious adventures of a ragtag team of POWs who turn a German prison camp into the secret headquarters for their outrageous espionage missions. Starring Bob Crane as the iconic Robert E. Hogan and Werner Klemperer in his Emmy award-winning role as the hapless Colonel Klink. This classic collection contains 168 unforgettable episodes!
New this week from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, starring Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Sheila Atim.
Description: Inspired by true events, this is the remarkable, action-packed story about the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey with skills and a fierceness, unlike anything the world has ever seen. Follow the epic and intense journey of General Nanisca (Oscar® winner VIOLA DAVIS; 2016, Best Supporting Actress, Fences) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.
Sony’s 4K UHD release of The Woman King contains the film’s Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR. Extras include filmmaker audio commentary, A Caterpillar’s Destruction: Viola Davis On Set, auditions from actress Thuso Mbedu and three featurettes.
Also new on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Sony is Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, starring Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Shawn Mendes, Winslow Fegley and Scoot McNairy.
Studio description: When the Primm family (Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley) moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle – a singing crocodile (Mendes) who loves baths, caviar and great music-living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), the Primms must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti (Bardem), to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality.
Sony’s 4K UHD release of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile contains the film’s Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR. Extras include a deleted scene, bloopers, Storytime featuring Shawn Mendes and Javier Bardem, four sing-along songs, two music videos and two featurettes: Croc and Roll – Lyle on Set and Take a Look at Us – The Cast.
Also from Sony this week is a 4K UHD upgrade for P.J. Hogan’s My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), starring Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett and Philip Bosco. Presented with a new 4K master taken from a scan of the original camera negative, Sony presents My Best Friend’s Wedding with Dolby Vision HDR and a choice of a new Dolby Atmos remix or the original 5.1 audio track. New extras include an alternate ending and nearly 20 minutes of deleted scenes, as well as the legacy extras ported from the Blu-ray release and the film’s theatrical trailer.
Finally from Sony, two catalog titles debut on Blu-ray: Finn Taylor’s Dream with the Fishes (1997), starring David Arquette, Brad Hunt, Cathy Moriarty, Kathryn Erbe and J.E. Freeman and David Cronenberg’s Spider (2002), starring Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave and John Neville.
New this week from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Ol Parker’s Ticket to Paradise (2022), starring Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Billie Lourd and Kaitlyn Dever.
Description: Academy Award winners George Clooney and Julia Roberts team up as exes who find themselves on a shared mission: to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they once made. Ticket to Paradise is a romantic comedy about the sweet surprise of second chances.
Universal’s Blu-ray of Ticket to Paradise contains the featurettes Return of the Dynamic Duo, Destination Wedding, Production in Paradise and Keep a Straight Face as extras.
New from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Michael Mailer’s The Minute You Wake Up Dead, starring Jaimie Alexander, Cole Hauser, Morgan Freeman, Andrew Stevens, Darren Mann and Tony DeMil.
Studio description: Starring Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Jaimie Alexander (Thor), and Cole Hauser (“Yellowstone”), this sexy, riveting noir thriller will keep you guessing. After a shady small-town stockbroker begins dating a shy waitress, a shocking murder takes place and one of them may be responsible. As word spreads that there’s money behind the killing, every criminal in town wants their share of the cash. One shocking plot twist follows another, and a bloody showdown leads to a mind-blowing finale.
Lionsgate’s Blu-ray of The Minute You Wake Up Dead contains a trailer. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman’s Blu-ray review.
Then from Lionsgate is a 4K UHD upgrade for Russell Mulcahy’s Highlander (1986), starring Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown and James Cosmo. Presented from a 4K master and now with Dolby Vision HDR, Lionsgate presents Highlander with DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 audio tracks. New extras include the documentary The Immortal Attraction of Highlander, a new featurette on the soundtrack, new interviews with Clancy Brown and photographer David James, and a new audio commentary with author Jon Melville. Legacy extras include two audio commentaries, interviews with Russell Mulcahy and Christopher Lambert, the feature-length documentary The Making of Highlander and more. In addition to standard packaging, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook will also be available.
Also from Lionsgate is another in the Vestron Video Collector’s Series of Blu-rays, Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection (1989-1991), a three-disc set which contains Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991). All three films contain audio commentaries, interviews, trailers,still galleries and more. Full disc breakdowns can be accessed via the film titles above or via Jeffrey Kauffman’s overall Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection Blu-ray review.
New this week from Well Go USA is a Blu-ray for Pierre Morel’s The Ambush, starring Marwan Abdulla Saleh, Khalifa Al Jassem, Mohammed Ahmed, Abdullah Saeed Bin Haider, Saeed Alharsh and Hassan Yousuf Alblooshi.
Description: Three United Arab Emirates soldiers become trapped in a remote canyon as they try to withstand heavy enemy gunfire. Their only hope of survival is a daring rescue mission led by their courageous commander.
Well Go USA’s Blu-ray of The Ambush contains a trailer. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman’s Blu-ray review.
Finally for new releases this week, Music Box Films has a Blu-ray for Anita Rocha da Silveira’s Medusa (2021), starring Mari Oliveira, Lara Tremouroux, Joana Medeiros, Felipe Frazão, Thiago Fragoso and Bruna G..
Description: Mari and her friends broadcast their spiritual devotion through pastel pinks and catchy evangelical songs about purity and perfection, but underneath it all they harbor a deep rage. By day they hide behind their manicured facade, and by night they form a masked, vigilante girl gang, prowling the streets in search of sinners who have deviated from the rightful path. After an attack goes wrong, leaving Mari scarred and unemployed, her view of community, religion, and her peers begin to shift. Nightmares of repressed desires and haunting visions of alluring temptation become undeniable and the urge to scream and release her paralyzing inner demons is more powerful than ever before. A neon-tinged genre-bender that gives provocative form to the overwhelming feminine fury coursing through modern life, MEDUSA dares us not to look away.
Music Box’s Blu-ray of Medusa contains deleted scenes, an interview with Alicia Rocha da Silveira, a director Q & A, the visual essay The Laugh of Medusa by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and the film’s theatrical trailer. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman’s Blu-ray review.
Turning to catalog titles, Arrow Video has a 4K UHD upgrade for Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running (1972), starring Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint, Mark Persons and Steven Brown. Sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, Arrow presents Silent Running with Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD MA Mono audio. New extras include an interview with film music historian Jeff Bond, a visual essay by writer and filmmaker Jon Spira, audio commentary by critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw and more, along with several legacy extras from previous editions. In addition to standard packaging, a Zavvi Exclusive Dual Format SteelBook will also be available. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman’s 4K UHD review.
Finally this week, Shout Factory has a number of titles coming. First up is a 4K UHD upgrade for Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976), starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta and Nancy Allen. Presented on 4K UHD and newly remastered Blu-ray from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Shout Factory presents Carrie with DTS-HD MA Mono and 5.1 audio tracks, as well as Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras, which are mostly on a bonus third Blu-ray disc, replicate Shout’s 2016 Collector’s Edition, and include hours of then-new and archival cast and crew interviews, a Horror’s Hallowed Grounds featurette, a featurette on the film’s musical adaptation, trailers, TV and radio spots, and more. In addition to standard packaging, a Limited Edition SteelBook will also be available.
Then from Shout, in association with Laika is a 4K UHD upgrade for Henry Selick’s Coraline (2009), starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Keith David. Newly remastered in 4K by Laika, Shout’s 4K UHD disc features Dolby Vision HDR and a new Dolby Atmos audio track. An included Blu-ray replicates Shout’s 2021 edition, which featured two then-new Inside LAIKA featurettes and art galleries, as well as archival extras from previous Blu-ray releases, and a booklet. In addition to standard packaging, a Limited Edition SteelBook will also be available.
Also coming from Shout and Laika this week is a 4K UHD upgrade for Sam Fell and Chris Butler’s ParaNorman (2012), starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, John Goodman and Casey Affleck. Once again newly remastered in 4K by Laika, Shout’s 4K UHD disc features Dolby Vision HDR and a new Dolby Atmos audio track. An included Blu-ray replicates Shout’s 2021 edition, which featured two then-new Inside LAIKA featurettes, art galleries and feature-length storyboards, as well as archival extras from previous Blu-ray releases, and a booklet. In addition to standard packaging, a Limited Edition SteelBook will also be available.
