Tag Archives: Tony Curtis

Some Like It Hot gets a Criterion 4K in April

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The 1959 film “Some Like It Hot” will be released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on April 8th via The Criterion Collection. The film was directed and co-written by Billy Wilder. It starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Joe E. Brown, Nehemiah Persoff, and Joan Shawlee.

The movie has received a 4K digital restoration. The tech specs for include a Black & White 2160p video presentation in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision (or HDR10) and uncompressed PCM Mono and an alternate DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround sound. The 2-disc set will be a “combo pack” with the Blu-ray Disc HD counterpart included. You cannot yet find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder at Amazon or Walmart, but stay tuned for an update. You can directly preorder this 4K UHD Blu-ray from the Criterion website. The following bonus materials will be included on this release.

  • Audio commentary from 1989 featuring film scholar Howard Suber
  • Program on Orry-Kelly’s costumes for the film, featuring costume designer and historian Deborah Nadoolman Landis and costume historian and archivist Larry McQueen
  • Three behind-the-scenes documentaries
  • Appearances by director Billy Wilder on The Dick Cavett Show from 1982
  • Conversation from 2001 between actor Tony Curtis and film critic Leonard Maltin
  • French television interview from 1988 with actor Jack Lemmon
  • Radio interview from 1955 with actor Marilyn Monroe
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by author Sam Wasson
  • Cover by F. Ron Miller

NOTE: This film was previously released on the 4K UHD Blu-ray format by Kino Lorber (KL Studio Classics) back in 2022. That previous release also featured Dolby Vision (or HDR10) and also contained the options of lossless Mono 2.0 or 5.1 surround sound. This upcoming 2025 Criterion 4K UHD Blu-ray release comes from a 4K digital restoration that Criterion likely oversaw.

1959 film Some Like It Hot comes to 4K February

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The 1959 classic film “Some Like It Hot“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on February 8th, 2022 via KL Studio Classics. The film, directed, produced, and co-written by Billy Wilder, starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, and Joe E. Brown. KL Studio Classics had already hinted that this film was coming [next year] in a tweet from earlier this year.

The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray include a Black & White 2160p video presentation in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision form of high dynamic range with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and 2.0 Mono lossless mixes — on a BD-100 disc. The release will come as a “combo pack” with the Blu-ray Disc counterpart included. You can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon, directly via KLStudioClassics.com, or over at online retailer Deep Discount. The bonus materials set to be included on each disc of the release are detailed below.

4K UHD DISC 1:

  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, Author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
  • Audio Commentary by Paul Diamond (Son of I.A.L. Diamond) and Screenwriters Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel: Featuring Interviews with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon

BLU-RAY DISC 2:

  • The Making of SOME LIKE IT HOT (25:45)
  • The Legacy of SOME LIKE IT HOT (20:22)
  • Nostalgic Look Back: Documentary (31:13)
  • Memories from the Sweet Sues: Featurette (12:03)
  • Virtual Hall of Memories (21:04)
  • Billy Wilder and Volker Schlöndorff Discuss SOME LIKE IT HOT (14:27)
  • More with Billy Wilder and Volker Schlöndorff (6:02)
  • Tribute to I.A.L. Diamond (2:01)
  • Theatrical Trailer (2:20)

RUMOR: 1960 film “Spartacus” on 4K in July

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Rumor time and it’s for a legendary film too. It seems the 1960 Stanley Kubrick directed film “Spartacus“ starring Kirk Douglas is finally coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on July 21st, via Universal, according to now multiple retailer sources. *UPDATED* The film, celebrating its 60th anniversary, co-starred Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, and Tony Curtis. The tech specs and bonus materials for the release have not yet been detailed, but stay tuned for further details once this title gets officially announced by the studio.

As of today, you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at retailer Target. I’ll be adding links to the preorder via other retailers as they are listed.

MAJOR UPDATED #2: You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook which will be exclusive to retailer Best Buy now available for preorder with the same 7/21 release date listed (pictured below).

spartacus_4k_steelbook

MAJOR UPDATE #1: You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at online retailer Amazon. From the back of the package art (over there) we’ve learned that the tech specs for the release include 4K video in the 2.20:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of High Dynamic Range and DTS:X sound. This is the “Extended” / “Restored Version” with 12 additional minutes and a 197-minute runtime. The release will come to 4K on a BD-66 disc. This will come in the form of a “combo pack” meaning that it will come with its Blu-ray Disc counterpart as well as a digital code (copy) of the film included. The bonus materials set to be included on the release (according to the back package art) are listed below.

  • “I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas”
  • “Restoring Spartacus”
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Archival Interviews
  • Behind-the-Senes Footage
  • Vintage Newsreels
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Image Gallery

Lastly, it’s worth noting that a Swedish 4K UHD Blu-ray of this film has already been announced, which ironically is listed to be coming out just a day before it does here in the United States. That would mean this release date, 7/21, which does indeed fall on a traditional Tuesday, stateside should be correct.