This Week on Blu-ray: November 22-28

For the week of November 22nd, catalog titles reign supreme over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Criterion Collection, hot off their first 4K UHD release last week, brings three more films to UHD: First up is Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, starring Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, and Ray Collins. Welles' tale of newspaperman Charles Foster Kane (who has many similarities with real media moguls of the time, particularly William Randolph Hearst, who famous banned the film from being advertised through his newspapers) was not a financial success on its original release, though it was well-received critically, and its reputation only grew in the coming decades. In 1984, Citizen Kane became the first release of a new home video label, the Criterion Collection, on the Laserdisc format. The release spanned three discs and five sides in the CAV format, contained an essay and the film's theatrical trailer, and cost a mere $89.95 (roughly $240 in 2021). Criterion re-released the film several times on LD, but lastly as a 50th Anniversary Edition in 1992, a release which contained several extras and an even heftier price tag. Now, for the first time in almost thirty years, Citizen Kane returns to the Criterion fold, presented in a new 4K master, with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc and extras so copious that two additional Blu-rays were required specifically for them. Three audio commentaries are included, including the previously available commentary from film critic Roger Ebert and a new 2021 commentary with Orson Welles scholars James Naremore and Jonathan Rosenbaum Criterion also include vintage content such as The Complete "Citizen Kane,", a 95-minute BBC documentary from 1991, and interviews from 1990 with various cast and crew. The four-disc UHD/Blu-ray (or three-disc Blu-ray) set comes housed in deluxe packaging, with a book that contains an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri.

Note: Presented below is both an original theatrical trailer for Citizen Kane and a trailer for a 2016 re-release which uses remastered footage.

The second 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Criterion this week is Albert and Allen Hughes' Menace II Society, starring Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett Smith, Larenz Tate, Arnold Johnson, MC Eiht and Marilyn Coleman. Another of Criterion's LaserDisc titles, Menace II Society was originally issued by Criterion in 1994 in its unrated director's cut, with many extras. Newly remastered in 4K, both the Blu-ray and UHD discs contain both DTS-HD MA 7.1 and original DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio tracks, while the UHD disc also offers Dolby Vision HDR. Extras on the Blu-ray include much of the legacy content, including a video interview and separate audio commentaries from the Hughes brothers, but new content is also onboard, including new scene-specific commentary by director of photography Lisa Rinzler, and new conversations with the Hughes brothers and Elvis Mitchell.

Finally from Criterion is a hotly anticipated 4K UHD upgrade for Josh an Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, and Idina Menzel. Presented from a native 4K master, with Dolby Atmos audio and on the UHD disc, Dolby Vision HDR, Uncut Gems receives a director-approved special edition. Extras on the Blu-ray include an audio commentary with the Safdies and crew, interviews with various crew members, including cinematographer Darius Khondji, two short films from the Safdies starring Adam Sandler, deleted and extended scenes, and more.

But Criterion isn't the only label with 4K UHD upgrades on offer this week. Coming from Kino Lorber is a 4K UHD for Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, and Leonard Nimoy. Kino's new 4K UHD disc and remastered Blu-ray are taken from a new 4K scan and the UHD disc also offers Dolby Vision HDR. Extras on the Blu-ray include several archival cast and crew interviews, tv and radio spots, as well as the film's theatrical trailer.

Also from Kino this week is a Blu-ray for Night Gallery: Season One. The two-disc set also contains the feature-length pilot, which, like the episodes, is taken from a new 2K scan of an interpositive. Kino have also recorded eight new audio commentaries by critics and historians and also produced a new hour-long featurette The Syndication Conundrum: A Look at the Show's Troubled Second Life in Reruns. An insert booklet with an episode guide is also included,

Also this week, Arrow Video have a 4K UHD upgrade for Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Produced from a new 4K remaster, Arrow's UHD contains HDR and presents the film with a choice of DTS-HD MA Mono, Stereo or 7.1 audio mixes. Extras replicate Arrow's 2016 Blu-ray, with three commentaries, documentaries, interviews and more, but this limited edition UHD version comes in deluxe packaging, with a chipboard box, a fold-out poster, six lobby cards and a 40-page booklet. Jeffrey Kauffman is impressed by the new remaster, saying: "the good news is that while, yes, rough, gritty and extremely thick at times, grain actually resolves surprisingly well in this increased resolution. There are also clear upticks in detail, especially in the more brightly lit outdoor moments...I actually preferred the look of the palette in this release to Arrow's 1080 version, which had an almost unnaturally "perky" appearance at times, undercutting some of the film's more troubling subtext (and/or text). The color timing here also looked better to my eyes, without the beet red flesh tones and other overly hot aspects that were part of the 1080 presentation...this is a surprisingly strong looking transfer, at least for those coming to it with appropriate contextual expectations". Read Jeffrey's full review here.

Also from Arrow this week is a Blu-ray for Shinji Somai's Sailor Suit and Machine Gun. Presented from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, Arrow's disc presents both the original theatrical version and the 1982 Complete Version (kanpeki-ban) re-issue, with a choice of original uncompressed mono or 5.1 audio tracks. Extras include an exclusive new 50-minute documentary, Girls, Guns and Gangsters: Shinji Somai & Sailor Suit & Machine Gun, which includes cast and crew interviews. Trailers, TV spots and an image gallery are also included. For a full breakdown of the release, read Jeffrey Kauffman's full review here.

Finally from Arrow this week is a Limited Edition Blu-ray for Richard Friedman's Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge. The two-disc set contains three cuts of the film, with a TV cut and an integral cut placed on a second Blu-ray exclusive to this edition. Extras include two new audio commentaries, a new making of featurette and new interviews, Deluxe packaging includes a 60-page book large fold-out post and six lobby cards. For a full breakdown of the release, read Jeffrey Kauffman's full review here.

Finally this week, Paramount Home Media Distribution release a much-anticipated 4K UHD upgrade for Barry Sonnenfeld's The Addams Family (1991), starring Raul Juliá, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, and Dan Hedaya. Based on the popular comic of the same name, which had also been adapted into a TV series in the 1960s, Sonnenfeld's film, which marked his debut as a director, endured a troubled production, and its rising production budget caused Orion Pictures to sell the film to Paramount Pictures before it was completed. However, when the film was finished and released, it became a significant success and grossed over $191 million globally on a $30 million budget. For this 4K UHD release, Paramount and Sonnenfeld worked from the original camera negative and during that work, they found that they were able to add back in footage from the famous "Mamushka" dance sequence, which had been trimmed following negative test audience reaction. To that end, the 4K UHD now presents two cuts of the film, the original theatrical version, and seamlessly branched the new version, advertised as "with More Mamushka!". Additionally, Paramount has included an introduction and Filmmaker Focus featurette from Sonnenfeld, as well as an archival featurette. Martin Liebman gushes with praise for the new disc, saying: "This is an absolute gem of a transfer. It's incredibly rich and wonderfully detailed. The picture could not look more cinematic and pristine than it does here". For a full breakdown of the release, read Martin's full review here.

Note that the 4K UHD release of The Addams Family only includes the 4K disc and a newly remastered Blu-ray with both cuts and these extras is available separately here and has been reviewed here.

Finally this week, two more Blu-rays are added to the Warner Archive Collection: Richard Thorpe's The Thin Man Goes Home (1945), the fifth of six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, and David Butler's Lullaby of Broadway (1951), starring Doris Day and Gene Nelson.