This Week on Blu-ray: December 21-27

For the week of December 21st, FUNimation Entertainment will bring Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira to 4K UHD. Produced in 1988, the classic anime film is set in a dystopian future where Tokyo has been destroyed, sparking World War III. Thirty-one years later in the Neo-Tokyo of 2019, bikers and juvenile delinquents Kaneda, Tetsuo and their friends get into a confrontation with a rival gang that turns into a riot. Speeding away, Tetsuo almost crashes into what appears to be an old baby, when his bike suddenly explodes and he is taken prisoner. Now in the hands of the Akira project, Tetsuo is subjected to medical tests to unlock his latent psycho-kinetic abilities, but in doing so, Tetsuo becomes stronger than anyone could have imagined. Now presented in a brand new 4K remaster, this Limited Edition of Akira also includes both the feature film on Blu-ray and a bonus Blu-ray with over 90 minutes of extras, all packaged in a slipbox with a booklet.

Next up, the Warner Archive Collection has two more classic films to release on Blu-ray. First is Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner. This 1940 romance stars Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in what would be their third appearance together, here as bickering gift-shop workers Alfred and Klara, who do not know that they are in love with one another as anonymous pen pals. The film is an adaptation of a 1936 play by Nikolaus Laszlo called "Perfumerie", which has been filmed multiple times, including as You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, which was released on Blu-ray in 2011, with The Shop Around the Corner bundled on a DVD disc. Now, though, the film has received a brand new remaster for its debut Blu-ray release, about which reviewer Randy Miller says: "Overall, this is a very clean and stable image that easily surpasses the old "snapper case" DVD; one that features a rich amount of grain, much stronger fine detail, and more refined contrast levels... Not surprisingly, the most obvious improvements are fine detail and texture, from the shop's trinkets to clothing material and, of course, even in soft-focus close-ups....this handsome Blu-ray presentation felt, in some ways, like I was seeing The Shop Around the Corner for the first time". Several extras have been included, including vintage 1940 documentary short The Miracle of Sound and two radio adaptations, including one with Stewart and Sullavan reprising their roles.

The second release from the Warner Archive Collection is It Happened on 5th Avenue, starring Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore and Gale Storm. The first release from Allied Artists Productions, this holiday favorite tells the story of Aloysius T. McKeever, a hobo who moves into a mansion on 5th Avenue in New York City when the family who lives there moves out for the winter. That is, until the daughter returns home unexpectedly. Now presented in a new 4K remaster and with a Lux Radio Theater broadcast as an extra feature.

Next, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Zoe Lister-Jones' The Craft: Legacy (2020), starring Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna, and Michelle Monaghan. Produced by Blumhouse and Red Wagon, this sequel to the 1996 film follows an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers. The Blu-ray includes 4 alternate scenes with an introduction from the director and the featurettes "Franchise Legacy" and "Powerful Story, Magical Director".

Finally Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will release Tim Hill's family comedy The War with Grandpa, starring Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Oakes Fegley, Cheech Marin, Jane Seymour and Christopher Walken. Based on the award-winning book by Robert Kimmel Smith, The War with Grandpa finds six-grader Peter forced to relinquish his bedroom to his recently widowed grandfather, Ed, who's just moved in with the family. Scheming to reclaim his room, Peter concocts a series of pranks to push Ed out, but Ed won't go quietly...in fact, he's ready for war.