Tag Archives: Ian McKellen

Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition 4K November

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As promised, a “Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition“ box set, now with a new release date, is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on November 16th, via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The 31-disc box set includes all six of the Peter Jackson-directed film adaptations of the J.R.R. Tolkein stories “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” via trilogies for each. The theatrical and extended versions of each of the six films will be included in this box set, and those films consist (chronologically) of the following:

  • “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
  • “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002)
  • “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)
  • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012)
  • “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013)
  • “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014)

MAJOR UPDATE: the original release date of late October (10/26 specifically) for this has now been pushed back to a new release date of November 16th.

The tech specs for the releases include 2160p video presentations for each film in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos sound. The theatrical versions of the film are on one BD-100 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc, while the Extended Cuts are presented on two BD-100 4K discs (as part 1 and part 2). This set will also come in the form of a “combo pack,” meaning that it will include the Blu-ray Disc counterparts (remastered in 1080p HD) for both trilogies and for both theatrical and extended cut for each. Then, there’s a bonus disc that I’ll discuss a bit further below, which makes this a 31-disc set. Also, you’ll get a digital code (copy) of each of the six films and of each version — compatible with Movies Anywhere.

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray of the “Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition“ available for preorder over at Amazon. The bonus materials set to be included with the release will feature all of the extras found on the previous Blu-ray (and DVD) releases as well as include an exclusive Bonus Disc. The contents of that disc are listed below.

  • Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus Disc includes:
    • Alamo Drafthouse: The Lord of the Rings Cast Reunions (hosted by Stephen Colbert)
      • “The Fellowship of the Ring” – RT: 39:38​ (with Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Astin and Elijah Wood)
      • “The Two Towers” – RT: 32:24​ (with Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortenson)​
      • “The Return of the King” – RT: 29:48 (with Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis, and Peter Jackson)​
    • Festival De Cannes Presentation Reel

Also, as you’d expect, the audio commentary tracks will be included for each film, and (as mentioned) the extras will be physically included this time around as well. This set will contain a lot of physical extras and some rather impressive packaging that features the ability to change the slipcase into different configurations (as pictured below).

The physical extras included are detailed briefly below and further below I’ve included some further glimpses at the artwork and contents for this 4K set.

  • Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus Disc
  • 64-Page Booklet of Costume Sketches, Photography and Production Notes
  • 7 Travel Postcards

Lastly, I’ll remind you that this 4K set technically has yet to be officially announced by the studio [Warner], however, it’s obviously coming according to Amazon, but stay tuned for an update with confirmation and for further details.

UPDATE: This has been officially announced today [9/9] and you can find the full info regarding the release listed below.

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1993 film Last Action Hero is getting a standard 4K in June

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The 1993 action film “Last Action Hero” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger will be getting a standard 4K UHD Blu-ray release on June 15th, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, in addition to the 4K SteelBook — also being released a month earlier in May (as previously discussed HERE).

The film, directed by John McTiernan, co-starred Austin O’Brien, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance, Tom Noonan, Robert Prosky, Anthony Quinn, and Ian McKellen. The tech specs for the 4K release include a newly remastered 2160p video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 form of high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos as well as the original 2.0 theatrical mix and a 5.1 surround sound mix. Both of those latter mixes will be in DTS-HD Master Audio format. Below you can find some quoted specific details about this presentation, taken from the press release.

“Newly remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, with HDR10

All-new Dolby Atmos audio + the original theatrical SDDS mix presented as 5.1 + original theatrical stereo audio”

You can now find the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray (coming 6/15) and also the 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook (coming 5/18) both listed as available for preorder over at Amazon. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include its Blu-ray Disc counterpart and a digital code (copy) of the film. The bonus materials set to be included with this release are listed below.

  • Audio Commentary with Director John McTiernan
  • Deleted & Alternate Scenes (presented in 4K with HDR10)
  • Alternate Ending (presented in 4K with HDR10)
  • “Big Gun” Music Video by AC/DC
  • Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
  • Theatrical Teaser

Last Action Hero with Schwarzenegger comes to 4K in May

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The 1993 film “Last Action Hero” is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 18th, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The 4K release will come in the form of a limited edition SteelBook. The film, directed by John McTiernan, starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austin O’Brien, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance, Tom Noonan, Robert Prosky, Anthony Quinn, and Ian McKellen. The tech specs for the 4K release include a newly remastered 2160p video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 form of high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos as well as the original 2.0 theatrical mix and a 5.1 surround sound mix. Both of those latter mixes will be in DTS-HD Master Audio format. Below you can find some quoted specific details about this presentation, taken from the press release.

“Newly remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, with HDR10

All-new Dolby Atmos audio + the original theatrical SDDS mix presented as 5.1 + original theatrical stereo audio”

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook listed as available for preorder over at Amazon. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include its Blu-ray Disc counterpart and a digital code (copy) of the film. The bonus materials set to be included with this release are listed below.

  • Audio Commentary with Director John McTiernan
  • Deleted & Alternate Scenes (presented in 4K with HDR10)
  • Alternate Ending (presented in 4K with HDR10)
  • “Big Gun” Music Video by AC/DC
  • Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
  • Theatrical Teaser

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement about the 4K physical release of this film.

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The Hobbit: Motion Picture Trilogy on 4K December

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Well, it’s official, if you haven’t already heard by now that Peter Jackson‘s “The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy“ on 4K UHD Blu-ray is coming on December 1st. The three films here include “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012), “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013), and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014). The motion pictures featured a cast of Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman, James Nesbitt, and John Callen.

Just like “The Lord of the Rings“ films, these films have all received new 4K remasters that were “overseen by [the director] Peter Jackson” himself. Again, as with The Lord of the Rings films, you will get both the Theatrical and Extended versions of the films included here, each on their own discs here for these films. That means you’ll see it be a 6-disc set that features a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc for each version of the film. That means no Blu-ray counterparts included, and in turn no bonus materials that I’ve been told of. Warner provided me the PRESS RELEASE to the announcement of these films officially coming out earlier today, and it has zero mention of extras coming (this year) for the release. First though, here’s a glimpse at the contents of this set below.So, I’ll get to the point here. There is actually a release planned for 2021 called the 6-Film “Middle-Earth” (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) on 4K UHD Blu-ray. That release will feature both trilogies in 4K, with both versions of each film, and the Blu-ray counterparts (remastered) and containing the previously released bonus materials — as well as some new exclusive extras. But, don’t get confused here. That’s for a future 2021 release on 4K of the two trilogies bundled together. Let me take some quotes regarding that from the press release to hopefully clarify that fully.

“In addition, it was also announced that a 4K UHD “Middle-earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition featuring the theatrical and extended versions of all six films, along with new bonus content, previously released Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy, and remastered Blu-ray discs of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will be released in the summer of 2021. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy featuring remastered Blu-ray discs of the theatrical and extended versions of the 3 films will also be released in the fourth quarter 2021, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

So, again, as I said before, take a deep breath. Here’s even more on that, via the announcement headline.

“Six-film “Middle-earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition with new Bonus Content to be released in 4K UHD in Summer 2021 

 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Remastered Blu-ray™ to be released in 4K UHD in fourth Quarter 2021 to celebrate 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”

So, that’s a thing. There’s an upcoming bundle with extras if you want that, but if you already own the previous Blu-ray versions of these films with extras (bonus materials) then the only thing you’ll be missing out on will be the new extras and perhaps the digital copy? Speaking of which, this release will come with a digital code (copy) of each film in the trilogy and I will assume also both versions of each film.

For this upcoming 2020 release, the tech specs include a 2160p presentation in HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos sound. You can find a bit of info regarding (confirming) this and details about Peter Jackson’s involvement with these upcoming releases below, taken from the press release.

“The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will also feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.”

Now, you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon [commissions earned] and at retailer Best Buy. It’s totally worth noting that there will also be an exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook release available of the trilogy only over at retailer Best Buy (pictured below), which is now up for preorder.

Finally, further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding this trilogy and The Lord of the Rings trilogy both coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray.

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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy comes to 4K in December

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“The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on December 1st via Warner. Specifically, the trilogy is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray in the form of a standard release on the format, a 4K UHD Blu-ray Giftset (pictured below), plus as a 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook exclusive to retailer Best Buy (also pictured, further below). The box set will include the films “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings” (2001), “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) — all directed by Peter Jackson. The three films starred Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Sala Baker, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, John Bach, Brad Dourif, Marton Csokas, and Bernard Hill.

UPDATE #7: Alright. I have now received the official announcement directly from my contact at the studio (Warner) and I have the PRESS RELEASE which you will find at the very, very bottom of this already lengthy post. I’ll try to be condensing this and putting as much based on the final word of this announcement in the coming hours. So, without further ado! Alright, the tech specs for both trilogies (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit) will both include 4K presentations in the HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range, along with Dolby Atmos sound. In fact, here’s a short bit (from the press release) regarding that.

“The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will also feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.”

Next! The films as I can tell, from the hi-res images that Warner has provided me, will be like this in terms of the 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs included. And, yes, ONLY 4K discs will be included in these sets with no Blu-ray counterparts. The Lord of the Rings films will get 3 discs for each film in its trilogy, consisting of the first disc for each being the Theatrical version and the second & third discs being used for the Extended Cut split into two parts. Then, for The Hobbit films, it will be 2 discs for each film in that trilogy. It will consist of the first disc (for each) being used for that film’s Theatrical version and the second disc (for each) will be used for the Extended version (of that film). I know that’s a bit much to all take in at once. But, prepare for more.

Okay, so, it’s become apparent that there will not be any bonus materials included on these releases, likely because they didn’t have the Blu-ray counterparts for a purpose. That’s because they [Warner] actually plan to do a 2021 release of these films bundled together in what is being called the Six-film “Middle-Earth (Ultimate Collector’s Edition)” 4K UHD Blu-ray set. It will contain some specially created new extras and the original Blu-ray bonus materials on newly pressed remastered versions of the film included. The info regarding this can be found quoted below (from the press release).

“In addition, it was also announced that a 4K UHD “Middle-earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition featuring the theatrical and extended versions of all six films, along with new bonus content, previously released Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy, and remastered Blu-ray discs of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will be released in the summer of 2021. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy featuring remastered Blu-ray discs of the theatrical and extended versions of the 3 films will also be released in the fourth quarter 2021, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

Deep breath. Now more on that, via the press release headline.

“Six-film “Middle-earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition with new Bonus Content to be released in 4K UHD in Summer 2021 

 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Remastered Blu-ray™ to be released in 4K UHD in fourth Quarter 2021 to celebrate 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”

I know. I know. Okay, so moving on with what all I just learned from this official announcement. Some stuff I had previously reported, well all of it really, but namely this can still be used and I’ll leave it as-is.

According to the actor Sean Aston (in an announcement video seen below), it is known that “Peter Jackson oversaw the remastering” of all six of these films for the 4K releases, and they have all reportedly received a 4K DI (digital intermediate) new master for each. Meaning, it’s true 4K and was mastered in it for all of the films.

Now, finally, regarding the official info. It appears that no bonus materials will be included with these 2020 releases of the films. I’m trying to get a complete confirmation on that directly from Warner, but it sure seems that to be the case. Sorry to any fans this may upset, but this has been a hard year — I’m sure — to get physical media produced and projects finished like new extras, and so forth.

You can now find the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray version of the trilogy available for preorder over at Amazon. There will also be the aforementioned 4K UHD Blu-ray Giftset version of the trilogy, which is NOT exclusive to any retailer. It’s not only listed on Amazon but now is even listed over at retailer Best Buy!! And, there will be the 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook which is exclusive to Best Buy. That’s now back available for preorder and showing as in stock again. Below you can find the full glimpses at both the Giftset and the SteelBook versions of the 4K sets. Reminder, only one of these is an exclusive — despite all the confusion from earlier yesterday!!

4K UHD Blu-ray Giftset (above)
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Best Buy exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook (above)

And now, finally, as hinted at above, just sit back and enjoy Sean Astin announcing this all officially:

PLUS! As Sean mentions, “The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy“ is also set for a December 1st release on 4K UHD Blu-ray. What he doesn’t mention is that it will also come as a SteelBook exclusive and standard release. Its artwork can be found pictured below and the release is now available for preorder over at Amazon along with the SteelBook over at Best Buy (respectively in that order).

Finally, after the break, you can find the full PRESS RELEASE officially announcing these upcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray releases of the films.

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2019 film adaptation of “Cats” on Blu-ray April

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The 2019 adaptation “Cats“ is coming to Blu-ray Disc on April 7th, via Universal, according to retailer listings. The film, an adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of the same title & directed by Tom Hooper, starred Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Francesca Hayward, and Ian McKellen. The tech specs for the Blu-ray include 1080p HD video in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and Dolby Atmos sound on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered) Blu-ray Disc. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with the DVD counterpart and a digital code (copy) of the film included. You can now find the Blu-ray is available for preorder over at Amazon. The “40+ minutes of bonus materials” include:

  • 9 Lives: The Cast of Cats
  • Singing Live
  • Making Macavity
  • A Director’s Journey
  • Making Music
  • The Art of Dance
  • Scaling Up
  • A Little Magic
  • The Dancers
  • Cat School
  • Feature Commentary with Director Tom Hooper

2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast on 4K March

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The 2017 live-action Disney film adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast“ is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 10th, via Disney, according to retailers. The film, directed by Bill Condon, featured a cast of Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson. Tech specs for the release have not yet been detailed but you can likely expect it to include HDR10 form of High Dynamic Range and Dolby Atmos sound. Also, there’s no info regarding the bonus materials set to be included on the release, but stay tuned for updates on that. The 4K will come in the form of a “combo pack” with the Blu-ray counterpart and a digital code (copy of the film). You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray listed for preorder over at Amazon. It is certainly worth noting that Best Buy will be getting an exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook release (pictured below) which is available for preorder.

Animated film “Flushed Away” on Blu-ray in June

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The 2006 DreamWorks & Aardman animated film “Flushed Away“ comes to Blu-ray Disc for the first time on June 4th via Universal, according to early alerts to retailers. The movie, directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, featured the voice talents of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Bill Nighy, and Andy Serkis. Tech specs for the Blu-ray include 1080p HD video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound. The Blu-ray is available to pre-order now over at Amazon. The release will come with a digital copy compatible with Movies Anywhere. Bonus materials set to be included on the release are listed below.

  • Slug Songs
  • The Music of Flushed Away
  • Meet the Cast
  • Filmmaker Commentary

Fox is bringing an “X-Men 3-Film Collection” to 4K UHD Blu-ray in September

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The first three films in the “X-Men” film franchise will be getting released in the form of the “X-Men 3-Film Collection“ on the 4K UHD Blu-ray format on September 25th via Fox, according to retailer listings. The title has not yet officially been announced by the studio, so we don’t have any specific tech specs to go on here. It’s worth noting that this joins the three latter “X-Men” films already available on the format, also released bundled together, but also separately. No word yet on if these will receive individual releases, like the latter films, anytime soon or not.

The release will be a 6-disc “combo pack” with the Blu-ray Discs of the three films also included, along with a Digital Copy of each film. The three films included in this set are “X-Men” (2000), “X2: X-Men United” (2003) – both directed by Bryan Singer – and “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) directed by Brett Ratner. The 4K set is now available for PRE-ORDER over at Amazon. UPDATE: This title is now available for PRE-ORDER also over at Best Buy, again with the cover art I originally featured.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The artwork (pictured above) comes from UK retailer HMV, and is of the UK version. However, it could be what we see here stateside. [CONFIRMED]