This Week on Blu-ray: November 23-29

For the week of November 23rd, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman makes its long-awaited home video debut courtesy of the Criterion Collection. The film was not only a return to the gangster epic for the director of such films as GoodFellas and Casino, but also saw Scorsese reunite with Robert De Niro and the much-missed Joe Pesci (not seen on the big screen in almost ten years) while also directing Al Pacino for the first time ever. With a budget somewhere between $150-250 million and a running time just shy of three-and-a-half hours, The Irishman would end up in a very limited theatrical release in November 2019 due to tensions between major cinema chains and its distributor, Netflix, who would go on to release the film exclusively on their streaming service. Although it never received a wide theatrical release, the film still garnered 10 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and 10 BAFTA nominations (including Best Film) from the UK, and has received widespread critical acclaim. Finally, over a year after opening in theaters, The Irishman comes to Blu-ray in a director-approved two-disc Blu-ray edition, complete with several extras and the film's Dolby Atmos audio track. In his review of the set, Svet Atanasov writes that The Irishman "looks quite incredible in high-definition, though this is hardly surprising considering the fact that it was shot with multiple state-of-the art cameras. Delineation, clarity, sharpness, and depth are quite simply superb. The fluidity of the visuals is also as good as you would see on a 1080p presentation. Colors range from rich and remarkably balanced to soft and gently subdued, providing different period episodes with unique identities...I thought that the sharpness and fullness of the Atmos track were simply superb. Whenever the music became prominent the entries were quite wonderful as well".

However, Criterion aren't done by a long shot, because this week also sees the release of their massive Essential Fellini box set, celebrating the career of legendary Italian director Federico Fellini. The 15-disc set brings together 14 of the director's films, 11 presented from new 4K masters, and with uncompressed original mono audio tracks. In addition to the feature films, hours of extras include the feature documentaries Fellini: I'm a Born Liar and Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember, the latter in its 193-minute version, and a two-hour, four-part 1960 interview with director Federico Fellini by filmmaker André Delvaux for Belgian television, amongst many other extras. It's all housed with two illustrated books in deluxe packaging resembling a laserdisc box set release. More information can be found in our original announcement here.

Next, it's a big week for Kino, starting with George Miller's Mad Max coming to Blu-ray and, for the first time anywhere in the world, UHD Blu-ray. The release features a Dolby Vision HDR encode on the UHD disc, lossless 5.1 and 2.0 audio for the original Australian English audio, and even a lossless 2.0 track for the US dubbed audio, too. Extras include an exclusive new interview with director George Miller, an audio commentary with various crew members and interviews with stars Mel Gibson and Joanne Samuel and cinematographer David Eggby, amongst others.

Kino will also release Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend on Blu-ray. Winner of four Oscars including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture, the film noir classic starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman makes its US debut, taken from a brand new 4K master and features a radio adaption, an audio commentary by Joseph McBride, and the film's theatrical trailer among its extras.

Finally, Kino will release Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray. The 9-disc set contains all 32 episodes of the series, plus for the first time in HD the feature film version, and new extras, including a commentary on the theatrical version by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, new interviews with actors Erin Gray and Thom Christopher and more.

Next is another title making its US Blu-ray debut as well as being released on UHD Blu-ray for the first time worldwide: Vinegar Syndrome's release of The Beastmaster, starring Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn, John Amos, and Rod Loomis. Taken from a 4K scan of a 35mm interpositive and with HDR grading, Don Coscarelli's fantasy action adventure also includes a feature-length making of documentary and select archival extras, all packaged in a limited edition magnet clasp hard case containing a slipcover and a 40-page bound book.

New label Fun City Editions will be making their debut release with I Start Counting, starring Jenny Agutter, Bryan Marshall, Simon Ward, and Clare Sutcliffe. Distributed for Fun City by Vinegar Syndrome, David Greene's thriller about a psychotic killer of teen schoolgirls has long been unavailable, and is presented here in a new 2K master, reviewer Brian Ondorf writes that the video "presentation is cause for celebration, with Fun City Editions managing to bring the endeavor back to life after years spent with bootleg DVDs and YouTube links. Detail emerges with freshness, offering a distinct look at characters and locations, with various trips around town showing off distances, and interiors register with decoration, especially home tours and visits to the local record shop. Facial surfaces are textured, and costuming is fibrous, with thick sweaters and wool uniforms. Colors are respectfully refreshed, handling period fashion and wonderful greenery. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like. "

Finally, in the midst of all these catalogue titles comes Well Go USA with their release of the brand new horror sequel Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula on both Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray. The release features a Dolby Atmos audio track in the original Korean language and, on the UHD disc, a Dolby Vision HDR encode, as well as a few extras on the Blu-ray. About the film's Atmos audio, Jeffrey Kauffman says that the track "may not consistently utilize overhead effects, but they're noticeable in many sequences, including some of the relentless car chases (which also provide some of the best panning effects in the mix) and even in scenes of zombies marauding through humans, as in the "fight club" sequences. If there may not always be a maximum amount of verticality, there is certainly immersion to spare, with the side and rear channels regularly engaged throughout the many outdoor scenes, and with ominous LFE helping to create angst during several attack scenes."