Tag Archives: Director Approved

Pixar film WALL·E gets a Criterion 4K in November

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The 2008 Disney / Pixar film “WALL·E” is officially getting a 4K UHD Blu-ray release on November 22nd via The Criterion Collection.  This is the first collaboration between Disney/Pixar and Criterion and is not to be confused with the previously [Disney] released 2020 4K UHD Blu-ray.  This release features a different and new 4K presentation as well as sound mixes, which were all approved by the film’s director.

The film, directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, won an Academy Award for “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” in 2009.  It also featured the visual talent of Fred Ward and the voice talent of Jeff Garlin.

As mentioned, this comes from a new 4K scan of the film which was approved by Andrew Stanton.  Tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray include a 2160p video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ forms of high dynamic range as well as Dolby Atmos and lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and 2.0 Stereo sound mixes.

The 3-disc set will come in the form of a “combo pack” with the Blu-ray Disc counterpart [featuring the new transfer of the film] as well as a second Blu-ray for extras.  No digital copy of the film will be included, like with the previous Disney release.  You can now find the Criterion 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon and directly via the Criterion website.  The bonus materials in terms of physical and regular extras included with this release are fully detailed below.

    • Two audio commentaries: one featuring Stanton and the other, character supervisor Bill Wise, coproducer Lindsey Collins, story artist Derek Thompson, and lead animator Angus MacLane
    • NEW programs on Stanton’s cinematic influences and production designer Ralph Eggleston’s color scripts
    • Tour of the Pixar Living Archive with Stanton
    • Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, including segments from early animation reels
    • The Pixar Story (2007), a documentary by Leslie Iwerks
    • More than a dozen documentaries exploring the film’s production and robots
    • Anatomy of a Scene: The Plant, a masterclass with Stanton
    • “WALL•E”: A to Z, a new program featuring Stanton and coscreenwriter Jim Reardon
    • Deleted scenes featuring commentary by Stanton
    • A Story (1987), a student film by Stanton
    • BURN•E (2008), a short film by MacLane
    • Trailers
    • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
    • English descriptive audio
    • PLUS: An essay by author Sam Wasson; selections from Stanton’s sketchbooks, script notes, and drawings; and artwork from the WALL•E team
    • New cover by Jason Raish

1995 Terry Gilliam film 12 Monkeys arrives on 4K April

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The 1995 film “12 Monkeys” is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray for the very first time on April 26th via Arrow Video here in the United States.  The film, directed by Terry Gilliam, starred Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, David Morse, Christopher Plummer, and Brad Pitt.

The tech specs for the release include a 2160p video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and 2.0 Stereo lossless sound mixes.  This is said to be using a “brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Terry Gilliam.”  

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon here in the US.  Also, the United Kingdom will be getting their 4K UHD Blu-ray release a day early, and on that note, here’s the Amazon UK preorder for that version.  The bonus materials set to be included with the release are listed below.

  • Audio commentary by Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven
  • The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys, feature-length making-of documentary by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (Lost in La Mancha)
  • The Film Exchange with Terry Gilliam, a 1996 interview with Gilliam and critic Jonathan Romney, recorded at the London Film Festival
  • Appreciation by Ian Christie, author of Gilliam on Gilliam
  • The Twelve Monkeys Archives
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Nathan Rabin and Ian Christie

Rian Johnson film Looper is coming to 4K in February

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The 2012 film “Looper“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on February 15th, 2022 via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film, written & directed by Rian Johnson, starred Bruce Willis, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Garret Dillahunt, and Jeff Daniels. It’s also most definitely worth noting that this film, still to this day, is “Certified Fresh” over at Rotten Tomatoes.

The film has received a new 4K scan that was “reviewed and approved by the filmmakers” — according to the press release. The tech specs for the release include a 2160p video presentation in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision and HDR10 forms of high dynamic range and a new director-approved Dolby Atmos sound mix, along with the original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround sound. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include its Blu-ray Disc counterpart as well as a digital code (copy) of the film.

UPDATE #1: You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon.

The bonus materials set to be included on the release include nothing but the previous Blu-ray extras, listed below.

  • Feature Commentary with Director Rian Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt
  • Looper: The Future From the Beginning — Making-of Featurette
  • 22 Deleted Scenes with Commentary
  • Scoring Looper
  • The Science of Time Travel Featurette
  • Looper Animated Trailer

And, yes, I know this has been previously released on the 4K format in the United Kingdom but this will mark the first time it has been available in North America. UPDATE #2: It should definitely be noted that this upcoming US 4K isn’t even using the same video transfer or the same sound mix found on that UK 4K physical release. In fact, the director [Rian Johnson] just recently went as far as to actually discuss his approval of this upcoming 4K release in a tweet (seen below).

Further below, after the break, you can find the trailer for the film and the full announcement regarding the 4K physical release here in the United States of the film.

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1981 Warren Beatty film Reds on Blu-ray November

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The 1981 film “Reds“ will officially be getting a “40th Anniversary Edition“ Blu-ray Disc release on November 30th via Paramount Home Entertainment. The film, directed by, co-written by, and starring Warren Beatty, co-starred Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Edward Herrmann, Gene Hackman, Paul Sorvino, and Maureen Stapleton. The movie, in 1982, was nominated for twelve Academy Awards (including “Best Picture”), and it won a total of 3 Oscars (including “Best Director”).

This has received a new 4K restoration, from the original negative, supervised by director Warren Beatty which was also approved by the cinematographer, as detailed below.

” … REDS, newly restored under Beatty’s supervision.  The film was restored and remastered from the original negative in 4K with High Dynamic Range using a vintage print from the Paramount archives as a reference, which was approved by Academy Award®-winning* cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. “

As you’ll notice, there’s some mention of 4K and HDR (high dynamic range) there, which means that you can someday expect a 4K UHD Blu-ray — given they [Paramount] have gone to this much effort in the restoration process. The tech specs for the release have not yet been fully detailed, but you can expect a 1080p HD video presentation and a lossless sound mix. Stay tuned for an update on that. You can now find the Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. The release will come with a digital code (copy) of the film. I’d speculate ahead of time that the digital version included might even be in 4K with HDR — as mentioned is available. Bonus materials set to be included with the release are listed below.

The new Blu-ray set boasts over an hour of legacy bonus content.  Bonus content is detailed below:

    • Witness to Reds
      • The Rising
      • Comrades
      • Testimonials
      • The March
      • Revolution – Part 1
      • Revolution – Part 2
      • Propaganda
    • Reds Trailer

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding this upcoming 2-disc “40th Anniversary Edition” Blu-ray release of the film.

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