Posted September 19, 2021 10:50 PM by Sean Greenwood
For the week of September 20th, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will release Justin Lin's F9: The Fast Saga AKA Fast and Furious 9, starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Chris Bridges. The ninth main film in the franchise was originally planned for a 2019 release, but was delayed several times, first by the release of a spin-off film, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and then by the coronavirus pandemic. to where the film did not get a release until May 2021 internationally and June 2021 domestically. In spite of mixed reviews, the film broke pandemic box office records and has pulled in $173 million domestically and an astounding $543 million internationally, with its $716 million worldwide total making it the second highest-grossing film of 2021, behind only China's Hi, Mom. Universal's releases will contain Dolby Atmos audio, while the 4K UHD disc contains Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, as well as 4K resolution extras, including theatrical and director's cuts of the film. Additionally, a Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD SteelBook edition will also be available.
Reviewing the 4K UHD disc, Martin Liebman says in part: "The Dolby Vision grading offers superior color management to bold tones in evidence throughout the film, like black cars, natural greens, fireballs, or even a red tractor seen at Toretto's farm in the film's early minutes. Even washed-out skies look more precise and lifelike...Textural gains are agreeable, too. overall image clarity is noticeably improved, and while the increase from the Blu-ray is not dramatic, the resolution bump allows superior definition to faces, clothes, and various environments, whether natural or manmade". For a full breakdown of the disc contents, read Martin's full review here.
Also from Universal this week is Resident Alien: Season One. The two-disc set will contain all ten episodes. Studio description: Based on the Dark Horse comic, Syfy's Resident Alien is a murder mystery sci-fi dramedy that follows Harry, an alien played by Alan Tudyk (Rogue One, Firefly) that crash lands on Earth and passes himself off as a small-town human doctor. Arriving with a secret mission to kill all humans, Harry starts off living a simple life... but things get a bit rocky when he's roped into solving a local murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new world. As he does so, he begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his mission and asking the big life questions like: "Are human beings worth saving?" and "Why do they fold their pizza before eating it?" Sara Tomko (Once Upon A Time), Corey Reynolds (The Closer), Alice Wetterlund (Silicon Valley) and Levi Fiehler (Mars) also star as the residents of Patience, Colorado.
Also new this week, from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is Craig Gillespie's Cruella, starring Emma Stone, Paul Walter Hauser, Joel Fry, Emma Thompson, and Mark Strong. One of several recent live-action films inspired by Disney's past animated classics, Cruella was one of the first films to receive a red carpet premiere since the start of the pandemic, when it finally opened on May 28, 2021. That weekend, it came in second place behind A Quiet Place Part II, eventually finishing its theatrical run with over $86 million domestically and over $233 million worldwide. This week, Disney will release the film on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, with the 4K UHD disc having Dolby Atmos audio and HDR, additionally, 4K UHD retailer exclusives such as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook edition, a Target Exclusive Art edition and a Walmart Exclusive Alternate Cover edition will also be available.
Also from Disney this week is a 4K UHD upgrade for M. Night Shyamalan's thriller Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright, Spencer Treat Clark, and Charlayne Woodard. A Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD SteelBook edition will also be available.
New this week from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Batwoman: The Complete Second Season. Studio description: At the end of the first season, Crows Commander Kane (Dougray Scott) has declared war on Batwoman, forcing everyone around them to choose sides. Season two kicks off with a major game-changer that alters Gotham City and The Bat Team forever. A new hero emerges from the shadows. Relatable, messy, loyal, and a little goofy, Ryan Wilder (Leslie) couldn't be more different than the woman who wore the Batsuit before her, billionaire Kate Kane. Living in her van, Ryan has been made to feel trapped and powerless by the system her whole life and believes the Batsuit is the key to breaking out of it. But what she'll come to discover is that it's not the suit that makes Ryan Wilder powerful, it's the woman inside of it who finds her destiny in changing Gotham City for good.
Turning to catalog titles, Warner Bros. continues upgrading their Stanley Kubrick titles with A Clockwork Orange, starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, and John Clive. Reviewing the new 4K UHD disc, Randy Miller says that "It's a fine upgrade that offers moderate to strong improvements in all key areas, the most obvious of which are color, density, and film grain...The HDR enhancement, while not overpowering, brings a nice boost to the era-specific architecture and interior decoration, which are as gaudy as ever...The 4K's image is so much more even and well-balanced in its overall black and white levels that garish elements, like the regular harshness of interior light (usually from unfiltered bulbs), are handled substantially better this time around. Fine detail is much improved as well, with close-ups and wide shots alike now taking on a more film-like appearance without the waxy sheen of heavy noise reduction". For a full breakdown, including screenshots taken from the 4K UHD disc, read Randy's full review here.
Also from Warner this week are three more additions to the Warner Archive Collection. First is Ted Tetzlaff's The Window (1949). Synopsis: When young Tommy (Bobby Driscoll) sneaks out of his bedroom and onto the fire escape of his tenement building, he sees two neighbors, Joe (Paul Stewart) and Jean Kellerson (Ruth Roman), murder a sailor (Richard Benedict). Tommy, who has been reprimanded before by his parents for telling phony stories, informs his mother (Barbara Hale) of the crime, but she does not believe him. After his mother leaves to attend to a sick relative, Tommy worries that the Kellersons will try to kill him, too.
Then from Warner Archive is Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur (1953). Synopsis: Howard Kemp (James Stewart) has been tracking killer Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan) for a long time. In the Colorado Rockies, he teams up with prospector Jesse Tate (Millard Mitchell) and former Union soldier Roy Anderson (Ralph Meeker). Thinking Kemp is a sheriff, they agree to help for a small fee. When they catch Vandergroat, he tells them Kemp is pursuing a $5,000 bounty. After demanding equal shares, the uneasy alliance heads for Kansas as Vandergroat tries to turn them against each other.
Lastly from Warner Archive is Ulu Grosbard's Straight Time (1978). Synopsis: A career criminal, Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is determined to go straight after his latest stint in prison. He takes a mindless job in a cannery, patiently endures the abuse of his pompous parole officer, Earl (M. Emmet Walsh), and begins a romance with a sympathetic girl from the employment office, Jenny (Theresa Russell). But when Earl erroneously busts Jack for drug abuse, the ex-con cracks, assaulting Earl and setting off on a reckless crime spree.
Finally this week, a number of catalog titles are coming from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Titles include Necessary Roughness (1991), Blue Chips (1994), The Crocodile Dundee Trilogy (1986-2001) (containing the Blu-ray premiere of Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)) and The Longest Yard (2005).
Finally this week, Paramount will add to its Paramount Presents lineup Jonathan Mostow's Breakdown, starring Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey, and Jack Noseworthy. Synopsis: Jeff Taylor (Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are headed toward a new life in California when their car's engine dies on a remote highway. Amy accepts a ride from a helpful trucker (J.T. Walsh) while Jeff waits with the car. But when Jeff shows up at the agreed rendezvous, he finds his wife's not there. The locals aren't talking; the police aren't much help. With no one to turn to, Jeff battles his worst fears and begins a desperate, danger-ridden search to find Amy - before it's too late!
Extras for Paramount's release of Breakdown, which is taken from a new 4K master approved by Jonathan Mostow, include new interviews with Kathleen Quinlan and producer Martha De Laurentiis, a new alternate opening with optional commentary by Mostow and an isolated score. Additionally the release will have a Filmmaker Focus featurette with Mostow and deluxe slipcover packaging, in line with other Paramount Presents titles.