Tag Archives: Spike Lee

Spike Lee film Malcolm X on Criterion 4K and Blu-ray

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The 1992 biopic “Malcolm X” is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray via The Criterion Collection on November 22nd.  The film, directed, produced, and co-written by Spike Lee, starred Denzel Washington (in the lead role) as well as Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Al Freeman Jr., Albert Hall, Theresa Randle, Kate Vernon, and the film’s director himself Spike Lee.  It’s most certainly worth noting that this film was nominated for two Academy Awards, including “Best Actor in a Leading Role” for Denzel Washington.

The movie has received a new 4K digital restoration supervised by cinematographer Ernest Dickerson.  The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release include a 2160p video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range as well as a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround sound mix.  Tech specs for the Blu-ray include a 1080p HD video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound.  The 4K release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with it including both the film Blu-ray counterpart as well as a Blu-ray bonus disc, in a 3-disc set.  Whereas the Blu-ray release will be a 2-disc set with an extra disc for the bonus materials.

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases of the film available for preorder over at Amazon or directly via Criterion‘s website.  The bonus materials and details about physical extras set to be included are listed below.

  • Audio commentary from 2005 featuring director Spike Lee, Dickerson, editor Barry Alexander Brown, and costume designer Ruth E. Carter
  • New conversation between Lee and journalist and screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper
  • New interviews with actor Delroy Lindo and composer Terence Blanchard
  • Program about the making of the film, featuring Lee, Dickerson, Brown, Blanchard, Carter, filmmaker Martin Scorsese, actor Ossie Davis, Reverend Al Sharpton, former Warner Bros. executive Lucy Fisher, producers Preston Holmes and Jon Kilik, production designer Wynn Thomas, casting director Robi Reed, and Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz
  • Malcolm X (1972), a feature-length documentary produced by Marvin Worth and Arnold Perl and directed by Perl, narrated by actor James Earl Jones
  • Deleted scenes with introductions by Lee
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by Cooper, excerpts from Lee’s 1992 book By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of the Making of “Malcolm X” . . ., and Davis’s eulogy for Malcolm X
  • New cover by Eric Skillman

1989 film Do the Right Thing on 4K UHD Blu-ray in February

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The 1989 Spike Lee joint “Do the Right Thing” is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on February 2nd, 2021, via Universal — according to retailers. The film, written & directed by Spike Lee, featured a cast of Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison, Samuel L. Jackson, and Martin Lawrence. Tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release of the film include a video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in HDR10 with DTS:X sound on a BD-100 disc. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it’ll receive its Blu-ray Disc counterpart as well as a digital code (copy) of the film included. You can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray is now listed to preorder over at Amazon and retailer Walmart. Bonus materials set to be included with the 4K release are listed below.

  • Spike Lee Introduction
  • Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
  • Deleted and Extended Scenes
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Making Do the Right Thing
  • The Riot Sequence
  • 20th Anniversary Edition Feature Audio Commentary with director Spike Lee
  • Feature Commentary with Director Spike Lee, Director of Photography Ernest Dickerson, Production Designer Wynn Thomas, and Actor Joie Lee
  • Cannes, 1989
  • Trailers

The Original Kings of Comedy on Blu-ray in November

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The 2000 stand-up comedy concert film “The Original Kings of Comedy“ will be making its debut to the Blu-ray Disc format on November 10th via Paramount. The film, directed by Spike Lee, featured stand-up routines from Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, and the late great Bernie Mac. It also featured glimpses into their lives backstage, in a documentary-type style.

This release will come in the form of a MOD (manufactured-on-demand) BD-ROM Blu-ray Disc if you order it via Amazon. However, if you find this on store shelves elsewhere or online elsewhere, it will be a pressed Blu-ray Disc. I was given this heads-up regarding the release as well as a very short bit of info as to what all went into the remastering of the film for this release. You can find a quote regarding that below.

“[This film was] recently remastered in HD, and was supervised by the film’s producer. It’s a BD-ROM now on Amazon MOD and pressed everywhere else. More Paramount catalog titles will be done this way and are coming very soon to Blu-ray.”

UPDATE: The tech specs for the release will include a 1080p HD video presentation in the original 1.78:1 aspect ratio with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound mix.

You can now find this film’s debut to Blu-ray available for preorder now over at Amazon. At the time of writing, no other retailers are listing the Blu-ray just yet but stay tuned for an update. Lastly, regarding bonus materials, here’s what Amazon lists regarding the product, which makes a nice mention of the film being on the format for the very first-time as well as gives us a hint of what to expect in terms of extras.

“FOR THE FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY! FEATURING BONUS SCENES AND MUSIC VIDEO. Director Spike Lee, captures with a live audience, the massive hit “Kings of Comedy” tour over two rousing nights in Charlotte, North Carolina. Featuring the individual talents of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, and Bernie Mac, THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY—shot with style, heart, humor, and candid behind-the-scenes activities—is a front-row seat to the sold-out cultural phenomenon.”

Spike Lee’s “School Daze” 30th Anniversary comes to Blu-ray November

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The 1988 Spike Lee written and directed film “School Daze“ is coming to Blu-ray Disc in a “30th Anniversary Edition” on November 13th via Sony. The film’s cast featured Laurence Fishburne, Tisha Campbell, Giancarlo Esposito, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Ossie Davis, and Spike Lee. Tech specs for the release have not yet been detailed but you can expect 1080p video and 5.1 lossless surround (likely in DTS-HD Master Audio). The title is available for PRE-ORDER now over at Amazon. Bonus materials set to included on the release are listed below.

  • ALL-NEW: 2018 Q&A with Spike Lee and select cast and crew members, with some special guests
  • Commentary with Spike Lee
  • Cast Commentary with Tisha Campbell-Martin, Rusty Cundieff, Bill Nunn, Darryl Bell and Kadeem Hardison
  • Three Featurettes:
    • “Birth of a Nation”
    • “College Daze”
    • “Making a Mark”
  • Music Videos:
    • “Be Alone Tonight” from the Rays
    • “Be One” from Phyllis Hyman
    • “Da Butt” by EU

Further below, after the break, you can find the official announcement for this release.

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Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray in November

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The 2018 Spike Lee joint (directed film) “BlacKkKlansman” is coming to both 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray Disc on November 6th via Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film, produced by Jordan Peele and Jason Blum, stars John David Washington and Adam Driver. At time of writing, this motion picture is currently “Certified Fresh” over at Rotten Tomatoes, where it is carrying an impressive 95% rating from critics.

Tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray release include 2160p video in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range as well as Dolby Atmos sound. The Blu-ray’s tech specs include full 1080p video in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio and Dolby Atmos sound as well. The 4K version will come in the form of “combo pack” including a Blu-ray and a digital copy of the film, while the Blu-ray version will only include a digital copy of the film. The 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray are both available now for PRE-ORDER over at Amazon. Bonus materials set to be included on both releases are listed below.

  • “A Spike Lee Joint” – Ron Stallworth, Jordan Peele, and the cast discuss working with the iconic director
  • Extended Trailer Featuring Prince’s “Mary Don’t You Weep”

Further below, after the break, you can find the Blu-ray cover art.

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Spike Lee joint “BlacKkKlansman” on 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray in November

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The latest Spike Lee joint (directed film) “BlacKkKlansman” is coming to both 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray Disc on November 6th via Universal. The film, based on a true story and book written by Ron Stallworth, was produced by both Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) and Jason Blum (Blumhouse). The cast for the film includes John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, and Alec Baldwin. The film has received critical acclaim, just hitting theaters earlier this month. Over at Rotten Tomatoes the film is “Certified Fresh” (at time of writing) carrying a very impressive 96% (out of 100%) rating from the film critics. Tech specs and bonus materials have not yet been detailed for this release.

This news about the release date comes according to an an early alert to retailers, specifically Best Buy who lists both versions with a 11/06/18 release date. Even some home video release estimation sites seem to have predicted this November release. The title will come in a “combo pack” on 4K, with a Blu-ray Disc of the film also included. Both versions are set to include a Digital Copy of the film. The film is already available for PRE-ORDER on 4K UHD Blu-ray and on Blu-ray Disc over at Amazon. Best Buy currently only has placeholders for both releases. Stay tuned for a further update with tech specs and a full list of bonus materials.

Spike Lee produced sequel “Tales from the Hood 2” comes to Blu-ray in October

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The 2018 direct-to-video Spike Lee executive produced sequel “Tales from the Hood 2“ is coming to Blu-ray Disc on October 2nd via Universal. The film was co-directed by Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott, writers of the original 1995 film. It’s worth noting, that co-writer / co-director Rusty Cundieff is not only known for directing the first film, but also for directing a bulk of the TV series “Chappelle’s Show” (2003-2006). The sequel “Tales from the Hood 2” stars Keith David, Bryan Batt, Lou Beatty Jr., Alexandria DeBerry, Bill Martin Williams, Martin Bradford, and Kendrick Cross.

Tech specs include full 1080p HD video in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with a DVD and a Digital Copy of the film included. The title is available for PRE-ORDER now over at Amazon. No bonus materials will be included. Lastly, you can find the trailer and official announcement for the release after the break below.

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“Tales from the Hood 2” featuring Keith David comes to Blu-ray Disc this October

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The 2018 sequel “Tales from the Hood 2” is coming direct-to-video on Blu-ray Disc on October 2nd via Universal 1440 (a division of Universal Studios). The sequel to the original 1995 film was co-written and co-directed by Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott. Most of you will remember Rusty as the director the original film, and some may recall that Darin co-wrote the original screenplay. Back again serving as executive producer on the film we have the legend that is Spike Lee. The cast will include another legend: Keith David.

Tech specs and bonus materials for the release have not yet been detailed, but stay tuned for an update on that. The release will come in the form of a “combo pack” with a DVD and Digital Copy of the film included. The title is available for PRE-ORDER now over at Amazon. It’s worth giving credit that this news comes via Dread Central.

Below, after the break, you can find the trailer for the film promoting the home video release.

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