This Week on Blu-ray: November 9-15

For the week of November 9th, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Bill & Ted Face the Music to Blu-ray. The third entry in the Bill & Ted series sees Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprise their roles as the titular duo after last being seen on screen in 1991, now as middle-aged men with daughters (played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine) and still yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny. In spite of multiple release date changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film still managed to be released theatrically in late August, albeit on a smaller scale and in tandem with a VOD release. In his review of the disc, Randy Miller says that "detail is great in close-ups and wide shots alike with plenty of room for depth...a rock-solid image with strong black levels, no obvious compression artifacts or other defects, and one that runs at a consistently high bit rate from start to finish". He continues about the film's DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that "[d]ialogue is very well-placed with excellent clarity and no sync issues, while more cavernous exteriors -- Hell, of course, not to mention other distant environments -- open things up considerably with good use of surrounds. Other events like phone booth arrivals and departures offer strong channel placement...as do the stray music cues including, of course, a climactic concert by the whole gang. It's fine work that plays great from start to finish". Bill & Ted Face the Music also contains several extras, the highlight of which is a lengthy virtual roundtable: "The Official Bill & Ted Face The Music Panel at Comic-Con@Home" hosted by Kevin Smith and featuring Reeves, Winter and several other key members of the cast and crew.


Next up this week is a trio of classic horror films from Shout Factory's Scream Factory imprint. First, we have a new Collector's Edition of Hammer's 1960 film The Brides of Dracula. Featuring a new 2K remaster of the film in both 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 aspect ratios, reviewer Brian Orndorf says that "The Brides of Dracula is a film that uses color brilliantly, with the production striving to provide a lush viewing experience for the gothic chiller. Hues are excellent all around, with costuming leading the charge, offering deep purples and reds, while male formalwear handles with creamy whites and grays. Interiors retain their stone and woodsy appearances, and exteriors deliver accurate greenery. Blood reds and blue eyes are equally striking. Detail emerges with some softness, but textures are secured throughout, with period decoration appreciable, along with coarse and silky elements of fashion". New extras are also onboard, including a new audio commentary with film historians Constantine Nasr and Steve Haberman, and over 90 minutes of new featurettes, in addition to older bonus content.

Rounding things out for Shout Factory, we have two American International Pictures productions from 1958, Herbert L. Strock's How to Make a Monster and Bert I. Gordon's War of the Colossal Beast. Each film features a new 2K remaster and new extra features and/or audio commentaries. For detailed examinations of both discs along with screenshots, please see our reviews from Brian Orndorf for How to Make a Monster and War of the Colossal Beast.

Not to be outdone, however, Kino has some new remasters of its own this week, No less than three special editions of Clint Eastwood films, 1971's The Beguiled and Play Misty for Me and 1975's The Eiger Sanction. All three films feature new 2K masters, with new and archival extras and limited edition slipcases. Additionally, The Beguiled features a new audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger, Play Misty for Me features a new audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas and a video essay by film historian Howard S. Berger, and The Eiger Sanction features a new audio commentary by critic Nick Pinkerton and a new interview with actor Reiner Schöne.

Next, Universal Studios brings The Office: The Complete Series to Blu-ray. The 34-disc set contains all nine seasons of the comedy show, with the first four seasons on Blu-ray for the first time. The set also features a large amount of extras, including bonus commentaries, webisodes, blooper reels and over 15 hours of deleted scenes.

Finally, Lionsgate brings us Sam Macaroni's comedy Guest House, starring Pauly Shore, Mike Castle, Aimee Teegarden, Billy Zane and Steve-O. The film stars Shore as Randy, as a wild party animal living in the guest house of an engaged couple Sarah and Blake's dream home. When Randy throws an outrageous pool party, Blake gets arrested, and Sarah must deal with consequences. Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman had some praise for the film's DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, writing that it "is about as boisterous as you might imagine, especially with regard to a glut of source cues (the last tune under the closing credits is evidently a well known tune that liberally drops the f bomb repeatedly). The thumping source cues as well as some of the out of control party antics that ensue offer good if only occasional engagement of the surround channels, as well as some nice, rumbly LFE at times. Dialogue (such as it is) is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout". Extras include a selection of interviews and deleted scenes.