Tag Archives: Ray Walston

1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment on 4K in March

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The 1960 Academy Award-winning film “The Apartment“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 8th via KL Studio Classics.  The movie won 5 “Oscars” (Academy Awards) including “Best Picture” out of the 10 awards it was nominated for.  Directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, the film starred Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, and Edie Adams.

The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release include a 2160p Black & White video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and lossless 5.1 surround and the original 2.0 Mono sound mixes on a BD-100 disc.  NOTE:  This release appears that it will be presented in SDR (standard dynamic range) and lack HDR (high dynamic range).  The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with its Blu-ray Disc counterpart featuring the same aspect ratio and audio mixes.

UPDATE:  You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon.  You also can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder directly via Kino Lorber’s website.

It’s most certainly worth noting that there will also be a Blu-ray “Special Edition” released (by KL Studio Classics) on March 8th as well, which is included in this set.

The full set of bonus materials that will be included with the two discs of the 4K UHD Blu-ray release are listed below.

4K UHD Disc 1:

  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, Author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
  • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Bruce Block

BLU-RAY Disc 2:

  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, Author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
  • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Bruce Block
  • Inside The Apartment: Documentary (29:36)
  • Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon (12:47)
  • Theatrical Trailer

1973 film The Sting with Newman and Redford on 4K in May

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The 1973 film “The Sting” will be officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 18th via Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film, directed by George Roy Hill, starred Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, and Harold Gould. The tech specs for the 4K release include a 2160p presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 form of High Dynamic Range and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound on a BD-100 disc. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it’ll include its Blu-ray Disc counterpart and a digital code (copy) of the film. You can now find the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray release available for preorder over at Amazon.

It’s most certainly worth noting that, it appears, an exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook release of the film will be available over at retailer Best Buy (pictured below) on the same date. Speaking of which, you can now find that 4K SteelBook of the film listed as coming soon over at Best Buy but not yet as a functional preorder. I would expect that should be changing very soon, so stay tuned to its listing, if you’re looking to preorder the SteelBook.

The bonus materials set to be included with both versions of this film on 4K UHD Blu-ray will be using the archival extras from the previous Blu-ray release, on both the 4K and Blu-ray Discs. Those extras include.

  • The Art of The Sting
  • 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
  • 100 Years of Universal: The 70’s
  • 100 Years of Universal: The Lot
  • Theatrical Trailer

1980 film Popeye with Robin Williams on Blu-ray December

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The 1980 film adaption of “Popeye“ starring the late Robin Williams is making its debut to Blu-ray Disc on December 1st, via Paramount, to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The film, directed by Robert Altman and based on the characters created by E.C. Segar, co-starred Shelley Duvall (as “Olive Oyl”), Paul L. Smith (as “Bluto”),  Ray Walston, Paul Dooley, Richard Libertini, Donald Moffat, and Wesley Ivan Hurt. Tech specs for the release have not yet been detailed, but stay tuned for an update on that. UPDATE: The Blu-ray is now available for preorder over at Amazon.

The release will come with a digital code (copy) of the film, as well as the bonus material detailed below.

“The new Blu-ray includes access to a Digital copy of the film, along with nearly 30 minutes of all-new bonus content featuring excerpts from one of Robin Williams’ final interviews, an interview with director Robert Altman from 2014, as well as a newly conducted interview with Stephen Altman.  The full list of bonus features is below:”

  • Return to Sweethaven: A Look Back with Robin and the Altmans
  • The Popeye Company Players
  • Popeye’s Premiere
  • The Sailor Man Medleys
  • Theatrical Trailer

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding the Blu-ray debut of this film.

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Stephen King’s The Stand Blu-ray September

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The 1994 TV mini-series adaptation of “Stephen King’s The Stand“ is officially coming to Blu-ray Disc on September 24th via CBS Home Entertainment. The mini-series, directed by Mick Garris, starred Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Rob Lowe, Bill Fagerbakke, Miguel Ferrer, Ray Walston, and Stephen King.

UPDATES: This Blu-ray is now available for pre-order over at Amazon. CBS Home Entertainment has just released an e-mail with the following info that officially confirms the release. I’ll try to get further info about it. I’ve also just now updated this story with the official Blu-ray artwork (above). From that artwork, we can tell that it will come as a 2-disc set and that the mini-series has been “brilliantly restored.” This is great news, considering how Mick Garris expressed some concerns when I spoke to him in regards to this as the story was developing. More on that below but first the info sent out.

Title: Stephen King’s The Stand
Street Date: September 24, 2019
Format: Blu-Ray
Description: The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It expands upon the scenario of his earlier short story “Night Surf” and presents a detailed vision of the total breakdown of society after the accidental release of a strain of influenza that had been modified for biological warfare causes an apocalyptic pandemic, killing off over 99% of the world’s population

The Blu-ray is listed now over at retailer Best Buy but the pre-order is not yet functional – so it seems. Lastly, after the break, you can find some of a conversation that I had (along with some readers) with the director of the mini-series Mick Garris about this upcoming Blu-ray release on Twitter.

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