Tag Archives: Charlton Heston

1958 Orson Welles film Touch of Evil on 4K in February

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The 1958 film noir “Touch of Evil“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on February 15th, 2022 via KL Studio Classics, according to a social media post. The film, co-written & directed by, plus co-starring Orson Welles, starred Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, and Joanna Moore.

This has received a new 4K restoration of the original Theatrical Cut, the “Reconstructed Cut,” and the “Preview Cut.” The tech specs for the release include a Black & White 2160p video presentation in Dolby Vision and HDR10 forms of high dynamic range. Each version of the film should theoretically be receiving a lossless Mono sound mix — although they have not been detailed. Also, the aspect ratio has not been specified if it will be in the 1.37:1 negative or the 1.85:1 intended ratios. Stay tuned for an update on all of that hopefully soon? The release will span across a 3-disc set with one BD-100 (triple-layer 100 gigabytes) disc for each version of the film.

UPDATE: You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. Also, you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray and the Special Edition Blu-ray available for preorder directly over at Kino Lorber’s site. The bonus materials set to be included on the 4K release are listed below, for each of the three discs.

DISC 1
  • Brand New Dolby Vision HDR Master of the Theatrical Cut
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas
  • Audio Commentary with Writer/Filmmaker F.X. Feeney
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Triple-Layer UHD100 Disc
DISC 2
  • Brand New Dolby Vision HDR Master of the Reconstructed Cut
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith
  • Audio Commentary by Stars Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh with Reconstruction Producer Rick Schmidlin
  • EVIL LOST AND FOUND: Featurette
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Triple-Layer UHD100 Disc
DISC 3
  • Brand New Dolby Vision HDR Master of the Preview Cut
  • Audio Commentary with Orson Welles Historians Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore
  • BRINGING EVIL TO LIFE: Featurette
  • Optional English Subtitles
  • Triple-Layer UHD100 Disc

1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth gets Blu-ray in March

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The 1952 film “The Greatest Show on Earth” is coming to Blu-ray Disc, as spine #16, in the Paramount Presents line on March 30th — according to an early retail source. The Academy Award-winning film (for ‘Best Picture’), directed by Cecil B. DeMille, featured a cast of Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Betty Hutton, Gloria Grahame, Dorothy Lamour, and Cornel Wilde. The movie has received a new 4K scan and restoration, according to the back package art. The tech specs for the release include a 1080p HD presentation in (likely the original) 1.37:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD Master Audio Mono sound. The Blu-ray debut of this film will include a digital copy of the film. You can find the upcoming Blu-ray already listed for preorder over at Amazon. It’s worth noting that the studio (Paramount) has not yet officially made an announcement regarding this release and I’m going on what a retailer is rather elaborately indicating here. So, stay tuned for an official confirmation with further details. The only bonus material set to be included on the release (as seen on the back package art) is listed below.

  • Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on The Greatest Show on Earth

Further below, you can find the artwork for the entire packaging for this Paramount Presents Blu-ray release.

1956 film The Ten Commandments is coming to 4K in March

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The 1956 version of the film adaptation of “The Ten Commandments” is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 30th via Paramount. The film, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starred Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson, John Carradine, and Vincent Price.

The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release include a 6K scan and restoration of the original VistaVision 35mm film presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of HDR (high dynamic range) and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround sound. You can find a bit of information regarding this restoration and the 4K tech specs below, taken from the press release.

“As part of the restoration done in 2010, the film was scanned in 6K and those files were the basis for this brand-new Dolby Vision version, which shows off the full beauty of the original VistaVision negative. The VistaVision format used special cameras to feed 35mm film into the camera horizontally in order to capture a wider image spread over two 35mm film frames, giving VistaVision twice the resolution of regular 35mm film.  In addition, Paramount spent well over 150 hours doing new color work and clean-up on the scan.  The move to Dolby Vision created the opportunity to further improve the look of the film:  blacks are enhanced and improvements were made to smooth out special effects mattes to create the most vibrant and pristine image possible.”

The 4K release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include the Blu-ray Disc counterpart and a digital code (copy) of the film. UPDATE: you can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray listed for preorder over at Amazon as well as at retailer Target. The bonus materials set to be included on the 4K release are detailed below.

4K Ultra HD Disc

  • 1956 feature film in 4K Ultra HD
  • Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments”

Blu-ray Disc™ #1

  • 1956 feature film in high definition (Part 1)
  • Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments”

Blu-ray Disc™ #2

  • 1956 feature film in high definition (Part 2)
  • Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments”
  • Newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere
  • Theatrical trailers, including at 10-minute “making of” trailer

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding the upcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray release of this classic film.

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The Ten Commandments Blu-ray set March

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A Special Edition DigiBook set of both the 1923 silent and 1956 films is officially coming to Blu-ray Disc on March 10th via Paramount. Both of these films were directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille and are here presented together for the first time in a 3-disc set. The classic 1956 film starred Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, and Vincent Price. Tech specs have not yet been detailed for the release. So, stay tuned for some updates regarding this release. UPDATE: This Blu-ray set is now available for preorder over at Amazon. Bonus materials, physical and on the disc(s), set to be included are listed below.

  • A 16-page booklet featuring rare photos and historical facts about both productions.
  • An in-depth, 73-minute documentary entitled “The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles”
  • Audio commentary on the 1956 film by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic, The Ten Commandments”
  • Newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere
  • Theatrical trailers
  • Hand-tinted footage of the Exodus and Parting of the Red Sea sequence from the 1923 version
  • A two-color Technicolor segment
  • Photo galleries

Further below, after the break, you can find even more details regarding this upcoming special release of the films on Blu-ray.

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