For the week of November 21st, the Criterion Collection have a 4K UHD and remastered Blu-ray release for Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992), starring Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., Delroy Lindo and Spike Lee. Sourced from a new 4K master which was supervised by cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, Criterion presents Malcolm X with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. A second bonus Blu-ray contains all of the extras from the earlier Warner Bros. Blu-ray releases, including Arnold Perl’s 92-minute documentary Malcolm X (1972), as well as new interviews with Spike Lee, Delroy Lindo and composer Terence Blanchard. Reviewer Randy Miller is highly impressed with Criterion’s releases, awarding each one very high marks in every category and calling the 4K UHD disc “an absolutely luminous presentation that handles most of the film’s visually varied source material perfectly well”. For full disc breakdowns, read Randy’s 4K UHD review and Blu-ray review.
Also coming from Criterion this week is a new 4K UHD edition of Andrew Stanton’s WALLE (2008), featuring the voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, Macintalk and John Ratzenberger. Already released on both formats by Disney, Criterion presents WALLE with Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD MA audio tracks and Dolby Vision and HDR10+ on the 4K UHD disc. Most of the supplements from the Disney releases have been ported over, while Criterion adds several new extras over two Blu-rays, such as interviews with Stanton and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Once again, reviewer Randy Miller is impressed with Criterion’s efforts, awarding them perfect 5/5 scores in every category, saying the 4K UHD is “an outstanding effort that pushes WALL-E’s 2K origins to their limit…the key difference here is the new addition of HDR10+/Dolby Vision enhancement for the main feature…[which] leads to a number of tangible improvements”. For full a disc breakdown, read Randy’s 4K UHD review.
New this week from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Peacemaker: The Complete First Season (2022), starring John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee. The two-disc set features all eight episodes,along with Making the World Safe for Violence: Peacemaker’s Team, Bad Daddy Issues: Peacemaker’s Search for Inner Peace and several more brief featurettes, along with a gag reel. Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman is very pleased with Warner’s presentation,awarding the release 5/5 scores for picture and sound quality. For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey’s Blu-ray review.
New this week from IFC Films is a Blu-ray for Hanna Bergholm’s Hatching, starring Jani Volanen, Saija Lentonen, Sophia Heikkilä, Reino Nordin and Siiri Solalinna.
Label description: 12-year-old Tinja is desperate to please her mother, a woman obsessed with presenting the image of a perfect family. One night, Tinja finds a strange egg. She hides it, keeps it warm. When it hatches, what emerges is beyond belief.
New on Blu-ray this week from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is Nicholas Stoller’s Bros, starring Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Dot-Marie Jones, Jim Rash and Eve Lindley.
From the ferocious comic mind of Billy Eichner and the comedic brilliance of filmmakers Nick Stroller (Neighbors franchise, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Judd Apatow (The King of Staten Island, Trainwreck), BROS is a smart, swoony, and heartfelt comedy about two gay men and how hard it is to find another tolerable human being to go through life with.
Universal’s Blu-ray of Bros contains deleted scenes, a gag reel and several featurettes.
Then from Universal this week is a 4K UHD upgrade for Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon’s Shrek 2 (2004), featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas and John Cleese. Presented in 4K HDR, Shrek 2 also includes a new DTS: X (with DTS-HD MA 7.1 core) audio mix on the 4K UHD disc.
Also from Universal is a 4K UHD upgrade for Chris Miller’s Puss in Boots (2011), featuring the voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Sedaris and Billy Bob Thornton. Presented in 4K HDR, Puss in Boots also includes a new DTS: X (with DTS-HD MA 7.1 core) audio mix on the 4K UHD disc.
New this week from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky’s The Good House, starring Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, and David Rasche.
Studio description: Sigourney Weaver delivers a stellar performance as Hildy Good, a realtor in an idyllic New England town, whose wickedly funny tongue and seeming success mask her life’s one dark truth: She enjoys her wine a bit too much. But Hildy’s good at keeping it together until, that is, a rekindled romance with high school flame Frank Getchell (Kevin Kline) sets in motion a chain of events that forces a decades-in-the-making confrontation with Hildy’s buried past. Based on the best-selling novel, The Good House is a multifaceted portrait of a proud, resilient woman who wouldn’t think of asking for help and whose life won’t change until she does.
Lionsgate’s Blu-ray of The Good House features audio commentary with Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky, a photo gallery and the film’s theatrical trailer.
Turning to catalog titles, Kino Lorber has a Blu-ray for Night Gallery: Season 3 (1972-1973). The two-disc set contains all 13 episodes of the third and final season of Rod Serling’s anthology series, presented from new 2K masters, along with many new or updated audio commentaries on the episodes.
Then Kino Lorber has a 4K UHD upgrade for Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter (1973), starring Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Mitchell Ryan and Jack Ging. Sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents High Plains Drifter with lossless 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks as well as Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, as well as a legacy audio commentary with filmmaker Alex Cox, interviews with actors Marianna Hill, Mitchell Ryan and William O’Connell and more.
Finally from Kino is a 4K UHD upgrade for Kinka Usher’s Mystery Men (1999), starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, and Kel Mitchell. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Mystery Men with lossless 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks as well as Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include audio commentary with director Kinka Usher, an extended making of with Usher, interviews with costume designer Marilyn Vance and VFX supervisor Todd Tucker, an extended featurette with film music historian Daniel Schweiger, as well as additional legacy extras.
Shout Factory also has 4K UHD upgrades on offer this week. First is Norman Jewison’s Rollerball (1975), starring James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck and Moses Gunn. Souced from an existing 4K scan of the original camera negative prepared by MGM, Shout’s single-disc 4K UHD edition features a brand new remaster and color grade, with DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks and Dolby Vision HDR. Legacy extras include audio commentaries with Jewison and writer William Harrison, an interview with James Caan, a vintage featurette and more.
Also coming to 4K UHD from Shout is Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves (1984), starring Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Stephen Rea and Kathryn Pogson. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Shout presents The Company of Wolves with DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include new audio commentary with producer Chris Brown and actors Micha Bergese and Kathryn Pogson, along with a new audio interview with composer George Fenton and a new interview with actress Georgia Slowe. Legacy audio commentary with Neil Jordan, along with a theatrical trailer, TV spot and still gallery round out the extras.
Finally this week, arriving just in time for Thanksgiving is a 4K UHD upgrade from Paramount Home Media Distribution for John Hughes’ Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), starring Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean and Kevin Bacon. Presented from a new 4K master and given Dolby Vision HDR, Paramount’s 4K UHD disc also contains legacy extras from the original Blu-ray, while an included special features Blu-ray contains over 75 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, as well as an audition from actor Dylan Baker. For full a disc breakdown, read Martin Liebman’s 4K UHD review.
