Tag Archives: Joe Dante

1981 Joe Dante film The Howling on 4K in February

Posted on by
Amazon Commissions Earned

The 1981 horror film “The Howling“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on February 15th, 2022 via Scream Factory (Shout! Factory) in a “Collector’s Edition” form. The film, directed by Joe Dante, starred Dee Wallace, Dennis Dugan, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, and Slim Pickens.

The tech specs have not yet been fully detailed but you can expect a 2160p video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 (and possibly Dolby Vision) form(s) of high dynamic range from a 2021 4K restoration by StudioCanal — approved by director Joe Dante. The bonus materials for the release are listed below.

  • DISC ONE (4K UHD)
    • NEW 2021 4K Restoration By StudioCanal, Approved By Director Joe Dante
    • Audio Commentary With Director Joe Dante And Actors Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, And Robert Picardo
    • Audio Commentary By Author Gary Bradner
  • DISC TWO (BLU-RAY)
    • NEW 2021 4K Restoration By StudioCanal, Approved By Director Joe Dante
    • Audio Commentary With Joe Dante, Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone And Robert Picardo
    • Audio Commentary By Gary Bradner
    • “Fun. Fur. Film.” – An Interview With Dee Wallace
    • “Howling’s Eternal” – An Interview With Executive Producer Steven A. Lane
    • “Cut To Shreds” – An Interview With Editor Mark Goldblatt
    • Interview With Co-Writer Terence H. Winkless
    • Interview With Stop Motion Animator David Allen
    • “Unleashing The Beast: The Making Of The Howling” – Vintage Featurette
    • “Making A Monster Movie: Inside The Howling” – Vintage Featurette
    • Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary
    • Outtakes
    • Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Original Locations
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Trailers From Hell – Writer Josh Olson On The Howling
    • Still Gallery

As you can tell, the release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with the 4K getting its Blu-ray Disc counterpart. You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. You also can preorder the 4K UHD Blu-ray directly via ShoutFactory.com where you’ll receive a poster (while supplies last). Stay tuned for any further updates on the release later on.

The Monster Collection box set comes to Blu-ray in July

Posted on by

Amazon Commissions Earned

“The Monster Collection” (Collector’s Edition) will officially be coming to Blu-ray Disc on July 13th via Doppelgänger Releasing, a genre label of Music Box Films. This 3-Disc box set includes two documentaries: “The Frankenstein Complex” (2015) and “Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters” (2019). Both documentaries were directed by Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet. If you’re a fan of horror, fantasy, and science fiction films you’ll definitely be interested in these documentaries that take a look at the design of famous creatures and characters from motion pictures. These documentaries feature some excellent interviews with famous special effects artists and directors such as Rick Baker, Guillermo del Toro, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, John Landis, Greg Nicotero, Kevin Smith, Chris Wallas, Phil Tippett, Dennis Muren, Tom Woodruff Jr., Matt Winston, and Paul Verhoeven. Tech specs for the release have not yet been detailed.

UPDATE: You can now find this Blu-ray set available for preorder over at Amazon.

There will be over 12 hours total of bonus materials included with this 3-Disc box set, which are listed entirely below.

  • Feature Commentary with Phil Tippett and directors Alexandre Poncet and Gilles Penso
  • “Meeting the Monsters” Making Of Documentary
  • Prehistoric Beast (1985) a short film by Phil Tippett with audio commentary
  • Mutant Land (2010) a short film by Phil Tippett with audio commentary
  • Phil Tippett Museum: A Virtual Gallery of Tippett Creations
  • Joy of Working with Phil: Interview with Paul Verhoeven
  • Phil Will Fix This!: Interview with Joe Johnston
  • Animating with Phil: Interview with Tom St. Amand
  • Phil’s Vision: Interview with Chris Wallas
  • Friendship, Robots, and Dinosaurs: Interview with Dennis Muren
  •  From Stop-Motion to Computer: Interview with Craig Hayes
  •  Memories and Archives with Phil Tippett
  • Dinosaur Supervisor (Jurassic Park) with Phil Tippett
  • Starship Troopers 2 with Phil Tippet and Jon Davison
  • “Dinosaur!” with Paul Verhoevenand Jon Davison
  • Mutant Fish (Piranha) with Joe Dante (1978)
  • Modern Craftsmanship with Alec Gillis-Robot Design with Craig Hayes
  • The Birth of a Poster with Paul Wee
  • Musical Storytelling with Alexandre Poncet
  • Mad Dreams and Monsters Isolated Musical Score
  • “The Frankenstein Odyssey” Making Of Documentary
  • “Digital Craftmanship” Post-Production featurette
  • The Frankenstein Complex Musical Score
  • Master Class with Guillermo Del Toro
  • An Extended Conversation with John Landis and Joe Dante
  • An Extended Conversation with Mick Garris
  • An Extended Conversation with Steve Johnson and John Vulich
  • Q&A with Joe Dante, Alexandre Poncet and Gilles Penso
  • Inside the Lair of Rick Baker
  • Inside the Lair of Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis
  • Paper Monsters: The Art of Charles Chiodo
  • Living With Monsters: The Art of Kevin Yagh
  • Sympathy for the Devil: Interview with Bernard Rose
  • The Gremlins Pool: Interview with Sacha Feiner interview
  • From Latex to Pixels: The Art of Gino Acevedo
  • The Beauty and the Beasts: The Art of Ve Neill
  • Deleted and Alternate Scenes
  • Photo Galleries
  • Theatrical Trailers

Below, after the break, you can find the trailers for the two documentaries as well as the full information regarding the release itself.

Read more

1998 Joe Dante film Small Soldiers on Blu-ray in February

Posted on by
– Commissions Earned –

The 1998 film “Small Soldiers” directed by Joe Dante is coming to Blu-ray Disc, for the very first time in North America, on February 2nd, 2021, via Paramount. The movie was an action, adventure, comedy that used a combination of both live-action video and CG animation. It featured a (live-action) cast of Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, Jacob Smith, Phil Hartman, Wendy Schaal, David Cross, Denis Leary, and Dick Miller. The movie also featured a legendary voice cast that included Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, Bruce Dern, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Clint Walker, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Christina Ricci.

UPDATE: The tech specs for the Blu-ray include a 1080p presentation in the OAR (original aspect ratio) of 2.39:1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. You can now find the Blu-ray listed to preorder over at Amazon. The bonus materials set to come with this Blu-ray are listed below.

  • Behind-The-Scenes Look at the Making of Small Soldiers
  • From the Cutting Room Floor: Bloopers

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School Anniversary Blu-ray

Posted on by

rock_n_roll_high_school_40th_anniversary_edition_bluray_steelbook_tilted

The 1979 film “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School“ is getting a “40th Anniversary Edition” Steelbook release to Blu-ray Disc on November 19th via Shout! Factory. The film, executive produced by Roger Corman, featured a cast of P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, Don Steele, Dick Miller, and punk band the Ramones. Tech specs for this release include 1080p video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. UPDATE: I’ve just confirmed that audio on this release includes DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Stereo sound. The 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Steelbook is now available to pre-order over at Amazon and directly via the Shout! Factory store. Details about the video transfer and bonus materials set to be included are listed below.

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (40th Anniversary Edition Steelbook) Bonus Features
  • NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative
  • NEW “Class Of ’79: 40 Years Of Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” – Featuring Interviews With Director/Story Writer Allan Arkush, Co-Director/Story Writer Joe Dante, Actress P.J. Soles, Screenwriter Richard Whitley, Screenwriter Russ Dvonch, Cinematographer Dean Cundey, Editor Larry Bock, And More!
  • Audio Commentary With Allan Arkush, Mike Finnell And Richard Whitley
  • Audio Commentary With Allan Arkush And Actors P.J. Soles And Clint Howard
  • Audio Commentary With Richard Whitley And Russ Dvonch
  • Audio Commentary With Executive Producer Roger Corman And Actress Dey Young
  • “Back To School: A Retrospective” With Interviews From Allan Arkush, Executive Producer Roger Corman And More
  • “Staying After Class”: An Interview With Actors P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten And Dey Young
  • Interview With Roger Corman Conducted By Leonard Maltin
  • Interview With Allan Arkush Including A Look At Rare, Behind-The-Scenes Stills
  • Audio Outtakes From The Roxy
  • Original Radio Ads And TV Spot
  • Theatrical Trailer

Below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding this upcoming 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of the film.

Read more

Joe Dante film Gremlins comes to 4K in October

Posted on by

gremlins_4k

The 1984 Joe Dante directed film “Gremlins“ is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on October 1st, via Warner, according to an early alert to retailers. The film, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, starred Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Corey Feldman, and Dick Miller. Tech specs and bonus materials for the release have not yet been detailed but stay tuned for an update. It is known that the release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with a Blu-ray and a digital copy of the film included. You can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray now available for pre-order (with release date listed) over at Best Buy. Speaking of Best Buy, the retailer will be getting an exclusive Steelbook for the 4K release (pictured below) which is also already available for pre-order. Stay tuned for further info regarding this upcoming release. I must say, that Steelbook cover art is pretty simplistic.

gremlins_4k_steelbook

UPDATE: Well, that didn’t take too long. The standard 4K UHD Blu-ray release is now listed as available for pre-order over at Amazon. Expect the price to drop significantly and they do have their “Pre-order price guarantee” if it drops. So, let the pre-orders begin! The press release has now been issued with details about the release, which you can find listed below, after the break.

Read more