For the week of April 26th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment will release Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand and David Strathairn, on Blu-ray. Chloe Zhao's drama has thus far won 100 awards, including Best Film at the BAFTAs, Best Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. It has also been nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Zhao.
Otherwise the week is dominated by catalog titles. In particular, Kino Lorber has a newly remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD release of Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach. The classic spaghetti western has seen numerous Blu-ray releases, including some with controversial color timing, and generally only of the extended cut of the film that was assembled in 2003. Kino, who previously released the film on Blu-ray in 2017, now include the original US theatrical version in 4K SDR on the UHD disc, as well as a new Blu-ray disc, with their 2021 master and substantial archival extras, including deleted scenes from the extended cut (also available on the 4K UHD disc), several featurettes, audio commentary, and promotional materials such as trailers and radio spots.
This week also sees two releases from the Warner Archive Collection. First is W.S. Van Dyke's Another Thin Man, starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey. The third film in the Thin Man series sees Nick and Nora Charles as new parents who must investigate when a family friend is murdered. Sourced from a new 4K scan, Randy Miller says the picture quality is "very bit as good looking as the previous two Thin Man films... and in some cases even better, as its understated but capably strong cinematography makes this quite a visually pleasing experience...Overall, this transfer displays a full range of silvery grays and crisp gradients, which as always are bolstered by natural film grain and zero compression artifacts, making Another Thin Man just another five-star entry into their growing collection of pitch-perfect catalog releases". Also included on the disc are the 1939 musical short Love on Tap and the 1938 MGM cartoon The Bookworm.
Also from Warner Archive Collection this week is Howard Franklin and Bill Murray's Quick Change, starring Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid and Jason Robards. Taken from a brand new master, the disc also includes the film's theatrical trailer. A review from Randy Miller can be found here.
Next this week, two Blu-rays from the Criterion Collection. First is Jean-Luc Godard's Masculin Féminin, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marlène Jobert, Birger Malmsten and Chantal Goya. Criterion's Blu-ray is sourced from a new 4K master, approved by cinematographer Willy Kurant. Extras include multiple interviews, including two with actor Chantal Goya, amongst others.
Also from Criterion this week is Olivier Assayas' Irma Vep, starring Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Nathalie Richard and Bulle Ogier. Presented from a new 2K scan of the original camera negative, which was approved by director Olivier Assayas, reviewer Svet Atanasov is impressed, < saying in part: "the Blu-ray offers solid upgrades in all key areas...Clarity, depth, and especially fluidity are much stronger, so if you are moving from DVD to Blu-ray, you will see a huge upgrade in quality. The color scheme is convincing. What you will see on the Blu-ray is essentially stronger, better saturated and better balanced primaries and nuances, with both retaining the basic color values that are present on the DVD". Criterion includes a plethora of extras for this title, spread across two Blu-ray Discs. Included in the release is a brand new 2021 interview with Assayas, arcival cast and crew interviews, Hypnotic Eyes, an episode from Louis Feuillade's Les Vampires, with the character of Irma Vep, and much more.