Monthly Archives: March 2020

RUMOR: “The Blues Brothers” on 4K in May

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RUMOR time again at HDDN, and it seems that the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers“ is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray here in the United States on May 19th, via Universal, according to a retailer listings. Yes, plural. The film, directed by John Landis, starred John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Frank Oz, Kathleen Freeman, Cab Calloway, Henry Gibson, James Brown, Carrie Fisher, Ray Charles, Matt Murphy, and Aretha Franklin.

UPDATE: The artwork for the front and back is now available via a retailer listing (I’ll discuss below) and I now have more info on this release. It will include both the Theatrical (R-Rated) and Extended Cut (UNRATED) of the film. The tech specs include 4K video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 form of High Dynamic Range and DTS:X sound, on a BD-100 (100-gigabyte disc). It will come as a “combo pack” with the previous Blu-ray and its existing extras, as well as a digital code (copy) of the film. UPDATE: Now, as of today (3/11) you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray of the film listed for preorder over at Amazon. You can also find the 4K UHD Blu-ray listed for preorder over at retailer Target, and it’s showing that release date listed above. This would all make sense considering it was announced back last month that France would be getting a 4K release in May, as well (as seen on Amazon.fr). UPDATE: The bonus materials listed to be included on the release are as follows:

  • Stories Behind the Making of The Blues Brothers
  • Transposing the Music
  • Remembering John

UPDATE: Retailer Best Buy will officially be getting an exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook release of the film the very same date as mentioned. Its artwork (pictured below) is very similar, if not identical to the art that the French SteelBook release previously discussed and linked to. You can now find a preorder link for it over at Best Buy.

2020 film “The Lodge” comes to Blu-ray in May

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The 2020 horror film “The Lodge“ is coming to Blu-ray Disc on May 5th, via Universal, according to retailers. The film, directed by Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz, stars Riley Keough, Richard Armitage, Alicia Silverstone, Jaeden Martell, and Lia McHugh. This movie has been pretty well-received by the critics so far, since its January release, and at the time of writing this, it is currently “Certified Fresh” over at Rotten Tomatoes. The tech specs for the Blu-ray include 1080p HD video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. The release will include a digital code (copy) of the film. You can find the Blu-ray is now listed for preorder over at Amazon. There’s also a placeholder listing (set as “coming soon”, with the release date) over at retailer Best Buy. It appears that no bonus materials set to be included on this release, according the back of the package art (as seen over at Amazon).

HBO mini-series “Watchmen” on Blu-ray in June

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The 2019 TV mini-series (limited series) adaptation of “Watchmen“ appears to be coming to Blu-ray Disc on June 2nd, via HBO, according to retailers. The show, based on the graphic novel of the same title, was adapted by Damon Lindelof and ran for a total of 9 episodes. The cast for the series included Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison, Sara Vickers, Jeremy Irons, Andrew Howard, Louis Gossett Jr., Jean Smart, and Tim Blake Nelson. Tech specs for the release have not yet been detailed, but stay tuned hopefully very soon for an update. The Blu-ray is now listed for preorder over ar Amazon and Best Buy. The release will include a digital code (copy) of the series. You can find a list of bonus materials set to be included listed below.

  • Hooded Justice – Origins of a Masked Vigilante
  • Watchmen: Masked and Dangerous
  • Character Trailers – Blond Man, Looking Glass and Sister Night
  • Becoming Sister Night
  • Notes from the Watchmen graphic novel artist Dave Gibbons
  • Rorschach Featurette
  • Watchmen: Alternate History
  • It’s Raining Squids
  • Squid Shelter with Tim Blake Nelson
  • Andrij Parekh on Directing
  • Blond Man The Colossal King (The Adrian Veidt Story)
  • Sadiqua Bynum runs, jumps and falls for Sister Night o Anatomy of a Fight Scene
  • Watching The Watchmen Plus:
  • Watchmen: Unmasked (New)
  • 2019 New York Comic Con (New)

UPDATE: There will also be an exclusive Blu-ray Steelbook available for this which is now available for preorder over at retailer Best Buy (pictured below).

watchmen_an_hbo_limited_series_bluray_steelbook

“Laurel & Hardy” Restorations on Blu-ray June

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Some of their shorts and feature-length films have been restored as “Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations“ on Blu-ray Disc which coming on June 16th, via Kit Parker Films (distributed by MVD Entertainment Group). The comedy duo featured the late legends Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy and this set chronicles their careers with 17 short films, 2 feature-length films, and eight hours worth of bonus materials – for a 511 minutes total runtime. All of these have been restored in 2K and 4K from the original 35mm film nitrate. The tech specs for the 4-disc set have not yet been fully detailed but stay tuned for an update. You can find the Blu-ray Disc set is listed for preorder over at Amazon. Details regarding the set and their restorations, a list of the films featured in the set, as well as a list of bonus materials, are listed below.

The comedy films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy have been beloved around the world since they were first released between 1927 and 1940. So beloved that many of the available copies are blurred dupes printed from worn-out negatives. Now, the best of their short comedies and two of their finest features have been fully restored. They look and sound as spectacular as when they were first released…

  • NEW! 2K and 4K transfers from the finest original 35mm materials in the world. 
  • WORLD PREMIERES! Laurel and Hardy’s legendary 1927 silent “pie fight” film THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY makes its video debut after being “lost” for 90 years! The only reel of L&H bloopers and out-takes, THAT’S THAT!
  • Classic short comedies BERTH MARKS, BRATS, HOG WILD, COME CLEAN, ONE GOOD TURN, HELPMATES, THE MUSIC BOX (the legendary Academy Award-winning “piano moving” short), THE CHIMP, COUNTY HOSPITAL, SCRAM!, THEIR FIRST MISTAKE, TOWED IN A HOLE, TWICE TWO, ME AND MY PAL, THE MIDNIGHT PATROL, and BUSY BODIES in addition to the feature films SONS OF THE DESERT and WAY OUT WEST (which includes the team’s famous soft shoe dance routine).
  • EIGHT HOURS of EXCLUSIVE extras – 2,500 rare photos and studio documents, audio and film interviews with L&H co-workers, original music tracks and trailers plus a full restoration of their one surviving color film, THE TREE IN A TEST TUBE.
  • Commentaries by L&H historians Randy Skretvedt and Richard W. Bann
  • Restorations provided by Jeff Joseph/SabuCat in conjunction with UCLA Film & Television Archive and Library of Congress.

Further below, after the break, you can find some YouTube video clips of these restorations with side-by-side comparisons, as well as an even further list of the details about the release.

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1979 Lucio Fulci film “Zombie” on 4K in May

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The 1979 Italian horror film “Zombie“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 26th, via distributor Blue Underground. The film, directed by Lucio Fulci, starred Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver, and Auretta Gay. Back in 2018, the movie received a 4K restoration presented via a Limited Edition Blu-ray release and now that restoration is coming physically to the 4K UHD Blu-ray format. Tech specs for the release include video in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of High Dynamic Range as well as English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio in 5.1 and 1.0 Mono configurations. In addition to that, in terms of audio, this will also come with Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and 1.0 Mono mixes. The release will come with a Blu-ray Disc that contains further special features, but not the film. There’s currently no preorder listing for this available over at Amazon yet, but stay tuned for an update. However, the 4K UHD Blu-ray is now listed for preorder over at the online retailer Diabolik DVD. The list of details about the release and bonus materials set to be included run very lengthy, so you can find those listed further below after the break.
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1980 film “Maniac” comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray May

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The 1980 film “Maniac“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 26th, via distributor Blue Underground. The film, directed by William Lustig, starred Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton, Kelly Piper, Rita Montone, James L. Brewster, and Tom Savini. Back in 2018, the movie received a 4K restoration presented via a Limited Edition Blu-ray release and now that restoration is coming physically to the 4K UHD Blu-ray format. Tech specs for the release include video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of High Dynamic Range as well as Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio in 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo configurations. The release will come with a Blu-ray Disc that contains further special features, but not the film. There’s currently no preorder listing for this available over at Amazon yet, but stay tuned for an update. However, the 4K UHD Blu-ray is now listed for preorder over at the online retailer Diabolik DVD. The list of details about the release and bonus materials set to be included run a bit lengthy, so you can find those listed further below after the break.
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