Tag Archives: Richard Attenborough
1963 film The Great Escape comes to 4K in January
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The 1963 film “The Great Escape“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on January 11th, 2022, via KL Studio Classics. The film, directed by John Sturges, starred Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, and James Coburn.
The tech specs for the release include a 2160p video presentation in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio with lossless 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 Mono sound mixes on a BD-100 (100-gigabyte disc). NOTE: This will be presented in SDR (standard dynamic range) and lacks HDR (high dynamic range). A bit of further detail about this presentation can be found in a quote below, taken from the original announcement tweet (by KL Studio Classics) from back in October.
“Fully Restored UHD SDR Master by MGM – Color Corrected in 2020”
You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. This 2-disc set will include a Blu-ray with special features. The bonus materials set to be included on the 2 discs are detailed below.
4K UHD DISC 1:
- NEW Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell and Combat Films: American Realism Author Steven Jay Rubin
- Audio Commentary with Director John Sturges, Actors James Garner, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum, Jud Taylor and Many other Crew Members – Moderated by Steven Jay Rubin
BLU-RAY DISC 2:
- Return to THE GREAT ESCAPE: Making of the Classic with the Cast and Crew (24:09)
- THE GREAT ESCAPE: Bringing Fact to Fiction – Narrated by Burt Reynolds (12:21)
- THE GREAT ESCAPE: Preparations for Freedom – Narrated by Burt Reynolds (19:50)
- THE GREAT ESCAPE: The Flight to Freedom – Narrated by Burt Reynolds (9:22)
- THE GREAT ESCAPE: A Standing Ovation – Narrated by Burt Reynolds (5:58)
- The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones – Narrated by James Coburn (25:01)
- THE GREAT ESCAPE: The Untold Story – Documentary by Steven Clarke (50:47)
- THE GREAT ESCAPE: The Untold Story – Additional Interviews (9:35)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:42)
“Columbia Classics” Volume 1 set on 4K in June
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BREAKING: Six well-known films have all been restored in 4K and will be getting an exclusive release on the 4K UHD Blu-ray format via what is being called the “Columbia Classics: 4K Ultra HD Collection – Volume 1“ box set, which is set for a June 16th release, via Sony. The set, a limited-edition collection, will be literally limited with only what is said to be fewer than 8 thousand units produced — as quoted below from the press release:
The six films in the COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K ULTRA HD COLLECTION are only available on 4K Ultra HD disc within this special collector’s set with a limited-edition run of fewer than 8,000 units in the U.S
This 4K box set includes the following films:
- “A League of Their Own” (1992)
- directed by Penny Marshall
- “Dr. Stranglelove: Or How…” (1964)
- directed by Stanley Kubrick
- “Gandhi” (1982)
- directed by Richard Attenborough
- “Jerry Maguire” (1996)
- directed by Cameron Crowe
- “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) [Restored]
- directed by David Lean
- “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939)
- directed by Frank Capra
UPDATE: I have now talked with the folks at Sony and have the full details on this release for you, via an extremely lengthy press release that you’ll be able to read in its entirety, further below after the break. The tech specs for the films include 4K video with HDR10 form of High Dynamic Range and a variety of Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio sound mixes on the six different films. Lastly, regarding tech specs, it is worth noting that the film Gandhi will actually receive Dolby Vision and HDR10, in terms of video. You can find this 4K UHD Blu-ray box set already listed for preorder over at Amazon. Below (as mentioned) are the full details about this upcoming very limited box set.
“The Great Escape” gets Criterion Blu-ray in May
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The 1963 film “The Great Escape“ is officially getting a new Blu-ray Disc release from The Criterion Collection on May 12th. The film, directed by John Sturges, starred Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, and James Coburn. This film is considered a classic, in fact, it’s currently (at the time of writing) rated #135 on the IMDb Top 250 movies. The upcoming Criterion Blu-ray will include a brand new 4K digital restoration in the original aspect ratio (OAR) of 2.35:1 with audio choices of the original uncompressed Mono and an Alternate DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. You can find The Criterion Collection Blu-ray now listed for preorder over at Amazon as well as directly via Criterion. Details about the release and a list of the bonus materials set to be included on the release are listed below.
- 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
- Two audio commentaries, one from 1991, featuring director John Sturges and composer Elmer Bernstein; the other, from 2004, featuring actors James Coburn, James Garner, and Donald Pleasence
- New interview with critic Michael Sragow
- “The Great Escape”: Heroes Underground, a four-part 2001 documentary about the real-life escape from the Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, including interviews with POWs held there
- The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones, a 2001 program on the United States Army Air Forces pilot David Jones, the inspiration for Steve McQueen’s character in the film
- Return to “The Great Escape,” a 1993 program featuring interviews with Coburn, Garner, actors David McCallum and Jud Taylor, stuntman Bud Ekins, and McQueen’s son, Chad McQueen
- Trailer
- PLUS: An essay by critic Sheila O’Malley
- New cover by Sean Phillips
