For the week of August 30th, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release Jon M. Chu's In the Heights, starring starring Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, and Olga Merediz. Based on the stage musical of the same name, In the Heights had been in development as a film since 2008, with renewed interest coming as the result of creator Lin-Manuel Miranda's success with another musical, Hamilton. Shot in 2019 and originally planned for a 2020 release, the film was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic and only released in June 2021. Warner's 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases will have Dolby Atmos audio, with the 4K UHD disc additionally having Dolby Vision and HDR10+ picture enhancements. Extras include a substantial making of documentary, which clocks in at over 40 minutes.
Reviewer Randy Miller was highly impressed with the 4K UHD edition, saying of the picture quality: "Its HDR enhancement, which arrives in form of either HDR10+ or Dolby Vision depending on your setup, pulls double-duty to perfectly port its rich colors, from the vivid interiors of Usnavi's bodega to bright store exteriors, warmly-lit interiors, enticing food, and of course the often candy-colored dance numbers with their colorful clothes, tempered lighting, and occasional visual flourishes". And of the film's Atmos track, Randy continues: "Huge presence is the name of the game here, with most of the film's musical numbers and more boisterous exchanges occupying most or all of the front soundstage, often extending into the rears where the situation or location demands it...Overall, it's a fine effort that often flirts with breaking genre boundaries, pushing for a larger-than-life experience rather than just 'singing to the crowd'". Read Randy's full review here.
Also coming this week from Warner is Ethan Spaulding's Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, starring the voices of Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter, Jordan Rodrigues, Patrick Seitz, Artt Butler and Robin Atkin Downes. Studio description: Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms picks up shortly after the explosive finale of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, the 2020 blockbuster hit that initiated these animated films – which are based on one of the most popular videogame franchises in history. In Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, our team of heroes are besieged by the enemy forces of Shao Kahn – forcing Raiden and his group of warriors into a deal to compete in a final Mortal Kombat that will determine the fate of the realms. Now our heroes must travel to Outworld in order to defend Earthrealm and, simultaneously, Scorpion must find the ancient Kamidogu before it's used to resurrect the One Being – which would mean certain destruction of all things in the universe. Time is short and the stakes are high in this action-packed continuation of the Mortal Kombat journey.
Note that, in addition to the 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions of Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, a Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD SteelBook edition will also be available. Extras include an audio commentary, featurettes and a gag reel.
Next, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, comes Elaine Bogan and Ennio Torresan Jr's. Spirit Untamed, starring the voices of Isabela Merced, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marsai Martin, Mckenna Grace, Julianne Moore, Walton Goggins, and Eiza González. The film is based on the animated series Spirit Riding Free, which itself was spun-off from the 2002 animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The film, which follows a young girl who bonds with a wild mustang, was completed remotely during the coronavirus pandemic and released to theaters in June 2021, where it has made over $42 million worldwide thus far. Universal's Blu-ray contains a DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio track, along with several extras, including deleted and extended scenes and an audio commentary with the filmmakers. Reviewer Martin Liebman gave positive marks to the disc's technical quality, saying of the picture that "the Blu-ray presentation appears to bring the best out of the source material. The picture thrives at every turn, revealing crisply defined elements that showcase every last bit of the somewhat limited animation intricacies on offer...The picture's tack-sharp content holds steady throughout, whether in cheerful daylight or under cover of darkness. Color output is a strength. For a "Western" the palette is impressively diverse with natural greens, various blue waters and skies, punchy clothes, bursts of color in a field full of flowers, and other colorful accents revealing exceptional depth and spark". Read Martin's full review here.
Also new this week, from Lionsgate Home Entertainment, is a four-disc set for Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season. Extras on the release include episode audio commentaries. Reviewer Martin Liebman was also pleased with the audio and video on this release, read Martin's full review here.
Also this week, Music Box Films will release François Ozon's Summer of 85, starring Benjamin Voisin, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, Isabelle Nanty, and Félix Lefebvre. Synopsis: When Alexis (Félix Lefebvre) capsizes off the coast of Normandy, David (Benjamin Voisin) comes to the rescue and soon opens the younger boy's eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art, and sexual bliss. David's worldly demeanor and Jewish heritage deliver an ardent jolt to Alexis's traditional, working-class upbringing. After Alexis begins working at the seaside shop owned by David's mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), the two lovers steal every possible moment for a fugitive kiss, a motorcycle ride, or a trip to the cinema. Their relationship is soon rocked by a host of challenges, including an unexpected sexual rival (Philippine Velge) and a romantic oath that transcends life itself.
Finally for new releases this week, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment comes Ty Roberts' 12 Mighty Orphans, starring Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Jacob Lofland, Levi Dylan, Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen. Description: 12 Mighty Orphans tells the true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes—or even a football—to playing for the Texas state championships. Over the course of their winning season these underdogs and their resilient spirit became an inspiration to their city, state, and an entire nation in need of a rebound, even catching the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The architect of their success was Rusty Russell, a legendary high school coach who shocked his colleagues by giving up a privileged position so he could teach and coach at an orphanage. Few knew Rusty's secret: that he himself was an orphan. Recognizing that his scrawny players couldn't beat the other teams with brawn, Rusty developed innovative strategies that would come to define modern football.
Sony's Blu-ray for 12 Mighty Orphans contains deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer as extras.
In catalog news this week, Arrow Video will bring David Lynch's Dune, starring Kyle MacLachlan, José Ferrer, Sting, Jürgen Prochnow, Francesca Annis and Leonardo Cimino, to remastered Blu-ray and, for the first time, 4K UHD. Presented in four limited editions: A 4K UHD (with bonus features Blu-ray), a Blu-ray (with bonus features Blu-ray), and three-disc Limited 4K UHD SteelBook and Limited Deluxe 4K UHD SteelBook editions (both with the film on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, as well as a bonus features Blu-ray). All Arrow editions of Dune feature a new 4K master taken from a scan of the original camera negative, with original stereo audio and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio option, as well as Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Additionally, a plethora of new and archival extras are on board, including audio commentaries, documentaries and featurettes, cast and crew interviews and much more. All of this is housed in limited edition packaging, with a 60-page book.
Finally this week, Vinegar Syndrome have a number of releases to share, including a 4K UHD upgrade for Stephanie Rothman's 1973 film Terminal Island, but let's focus on one of their Blu-ray releases, specifically, Norman Mailer's Tough Guys Don't Dance, starring Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Debra Stipe, Wings Hauser, and John Bedford Lloyd. Notorious in "bad movie" circles, Mailer's film, which he adapted from his own novel of the same name, was torn apart by critics on its theatrical release in 1987, but has since gained a sizable cult following. Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray is from a new 2k scan of the film's interpositive and contains several extras, including new interviews with Hauser, cinematographer John Bailey and Norman Mailer's archivist and biographer J. Michael Lennon, as well as the archival featurette Norman Mailer in Provincetown and the film's theatrical trailer.