Tag Archives: John Lennon

The Beatles: Get Back comes to Blu-ray in February

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The 2021 TV mini-series / documentary “The Beatles: Get Back“ is officially coming to Blu-ray Disc in a “Collector’s Set” on February 8th via Disney in collaboration with Apple Corps. Limited.  The documentary, directed by Peter Jackson [as well as originally Michael Lindsay-Hogg], aired just last month exclusively on the Disney Plus streaming service.  The film stars John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr candidly during the making of their album “Let it Be”, and it is considered a TV mini-series but has a documentary feel, being split up into three parts, with a runtime of approximately 458 minutes total.

EDITORIAL NOTE:  Despite being aired in 4K on the streaming service, there will not be a physical 4K release of the film nor a digital code (copy) included.  No sign of a 4K release physically coming for this, sadly, folks.  That’s Disney circa 2022 for you.  They didn’t even notify me about this news, as I had to find it myself.  How cool is that??

The tech specs for the Blu-ray Disc “Collector’s Set” include a 1080p HD video presentation in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Atmos as well as uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 Stereo and even Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound options.  The 3-disc Collector’s Set on Blu-ray, housed in a rigid slipcase and 3-disc “softpack,” will include some physical extras (pictured below) which consist of “4 Collector Cards.”

You can now find the Blu-ray Collector’s Set available for preorder over at retailers Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.  It does not seem that you’ll be able to purchase this Blu-ray set from Amazon but stay tuned for a possible update on that, although I’m doubting it.  No bonus materials appear to be included with the release.

Further below, after the break, you can find the details about the release taken from the TheBeatles.com website’s store listing.

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A Hard Day’s Night with The Beatles on 4K in January

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The 1964 film “A Hard Day’s Night“ starring rock group The Beatles is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on January 18th, 2021 via The Criterion Collection. The film, directed by Richard Lester, starred John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Wilfrid Brambell. It’s most certainly worth noting that this was the first feature-length major motion picture that the band made during their legendary career.

The movie has received a new 4K restoration, which has been approved by the director Richard Lester. The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray include a 2160p video presentation, in Black & White, in the 1.75:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and 3 audio mixes [supervised by sound producer Giles Martin] with 1.0 Mono, and 2.0 Stereo mixes both uncompressed in linear PCM, and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound mix. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will include its Blu-ray Disc counterpart.

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon and directly via Criterion’s website. The bonus materials set to be included with the release are detailed below along with the full technical specifications and info regarding the restoration and audio mixes.

  • New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Richard Lester, with three audio options—a monaural soundtrack as well as stereo and 5.1 surround mixes supervised by sound producer Giles Martin at Abbey Road Studios—presented in uncompressed monaural, uncompressed stereo, and DTS-HD Master Audio on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray
  • In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Audio commentary featuring cast and crew (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • In Their Own Voices, a program featuring 1964 interviews with the Beatles with behind-the-scenes footage and photos
  • “You Can’t Do That”: The Making of “A Hard Day’s Night,” a 1994 documentary by producer Walter Shenson including an outtake performance by the Beatles
  • Things They Said Today, a 2002 documentary about the film featuring Lester, music producer George Martin, screenwriter Alun Owen, and cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • Picturewise, a program about Lester’s early work, featuring a 2014 audio interview with the director (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1960), Lester’s Oscar-nominated short (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • Anatomy of a Style, a 2014 program on Lester’s methods (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • Interview from 2014 with Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Howard Hampton and excerpts from a 1970 interview with Lester (dual-format and 4K UHD only)
  • New cover by Rodrigo Corral

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Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll on Blu-ray

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The 1987 concert film/documentary “Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll“ is coming to Blu-ray Disc in a “Collector’s Edition” on November 19th via Shout Select (Shout! Factory). The film, directed by Taylor Hackford, was recorded in 1986 during a 60th birthday concert celebration for Rock music legend Chuck Berry, put together by his friend Keith Richards (of The Rolling Stones). The incredible line-up of musicians that took part in this concert included Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, and Julian Lennon – as well as his father John Lennon via archival footage. UPDATE: Tech specs for the release include 1080p video in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound. The title on Blu-ray is now available for preorder over at Amazon. Bonus materials set to be included on this “Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray are listed below.

  • Introduction by director Taylor Hackford
  • 54 minutes of rehearsal footage
  • The Reluctant Movie Star making-of documentary
  • Trailer
  • Witnesses to History documentary Parts 1 & 2
  • “Chuckisms” – a collection of classic Chuck Berry remarks
  • “The Burnt Scrapbook” – Chuck Berry reminisces over his musical memories with The Band’s Robbie Robertson

Further below, after the break, you can find the official announcement regarding this upcoming Blu-ray release of the film.

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1994 film “Backbeat” based on The Beatles comes to Blu-ray in February

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The 1994 Iain Softley directed film “Backbeat“ (about the early days of the legendary rock band The Beatles) is coming to Blu-ray Disc on February 19th, 2019 via Shout! Factory (on the Shout Select label). The biographical drama starred Sheryl Lee (as Astrid Kirchherr), Stephen Dorff (as Stuart Sutcliffe), Ian Hart (as John Lennon), Gary Bakewell (as Paul McCartney), Chris O’Neill (as George Harrison), Scot Williams (as Pete Best), Kai Wiesinger (as Klaus Voormann), Jennifer Ehle (as Cynthia Powell), Paul Duckworth (as Ringo Starr), and James Doherty (as Tony Sheridan).

Tech specs and bonus materials for this release have not yet been detailed, but stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, the title is now available for pre-order directly from Shout! Factory.

UPDATE: This Blu-ray is now available for pre-order over at Amazon.