This Week on Blu-ray: February 21-27

For the week of February 14th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment and 20th Century Studios will release a Blu-ray and 4K UHD for Matthew Vaughn's The King's Man, starring Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, and Tom Hollander. The third film in the Kingsman series is a prequel set during World War I, and was shot in 2019 for a planned release later that year. but was pushed back several times into 2020, before it was pushed further to several dates in 2021 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Finally arriving in December 2021, the film opened to mixed reviews and made over $37 million domestically. Internationally, things were a bit better, with the film taking in over $87 million there (over $10 million in the UK alone) on its way to a global total of over $124 million. This week, Disney's 4K UHD disc features Dolby Atmos audio and HDR picture, while the Blu-ray contains over two hours of extras, including the six-part feature-length documentary The King's Man: The Great Game Begins . As with last week's release of Eternals, Disney also has retailer exclusives planned, such as a Best Buy Exclusive Kingsman 3-Movie Collection 4K SteelBook Set, a Target Exclusive Gallery Book and a Walmart Exclusive Alternate Artwork edition.

Also new this week on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is Ridley Scott's House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino, and Jeremy Irons. One of two dramas helmed by Scott to open last fall (the other being Disney and 20th Century Studios' The Last Duel), House of Gucci opened in November 2021 to mixed reviews, but praise for some of its acting, particularly Lady Gaga's Patrizia Reggiani, a role which has seen her nominated for several awards, including a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. Although the film came in third place when it opened over the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, it had the biggest opening for a drama film since 2019 and has steadily continued to make money, with a worldwide total of over $152 million so far. Universal's Blu-ray (no 4K UHD edition has been announced) contains a DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio track and three featurettes as extras.

Also on Blu-ray this week from Universal is Simon Kinberg's The 355, starring Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Bingbing Fan, Diane Kruger, and Lupita Nyong'o.

Description: When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild-card CIA agent Mason "Mace" Brown (Jessica Chastain) joins forces with rival German agent Marie (Diane Kruger), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Lupita Nyong'o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Penélope Cruz) on a lethal mission to retrieve it. The unlikely team must also stay one step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan), who is tracking their every move as the action rockets across the globe.

Universal's Blu-ray for The 355 contains deleted scenes, VFX breakdowns and four featurettes as extras.

Finally for new releases this week, Lionsgate Home Entertainment has a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Andrew and Jon Erwin's American Underdog, starring Starring Zachary Levi, Anna Paquin, and Dennis Quaid. The release will be available for purchase on February 22.

Studio description: The film tells the inspirational true story of Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi), who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback. The film centers on Warner's unique story and years of challenges and setbacks that could have derailed his aspirations to become an NFL player – but just when his dreams seemed all but out of reach, it is only with the support of his wife, Brenda (Anna Paquin) and the encouragement of his family, coaches, and teammates that Warner perseveres and finds the strength to show the world the champion that he already is. American Underdog is an uplifting story that demonstrates that anything is possible when you have faith, family and determination.

Turning to catalog titles, Shout Factory has a 4K UHD upgrade for Lewis Teague's Alligator (1980), starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo, Dean Jagger, and Sydney Lassick. Shout's 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs of the feature are presented from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with an audio commentary by Teague and Forster, as well as several new extras on the Blu-ray, including a new interview with Teague, actress Robin Riker, screenwriter John Sayles and special makeup effects artist Robert Short. Also included is an interview with "Production Assistant, Now Famous Actor/Director/Producer" Bryan Cranston, along with trailers, teasers and TV spots newly scanned in 2K, and more. A second Blu-ray also contains the extended TV cut of the film, taken from the 4K scan with additional footage sourced from an interpositive.

Also from Shout is a Blu-ray for Jon Hess' Alligator II: The Mutation (1991), starring Joseph Bologna, Dee Wallace, Richard Lynch, Steve Railsback, Brock Peters. Shout's Blu-ray is taken from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, and contains new interviews with Hess, actor Kane Hodder, editor Marshall Harvey and more.

Coming this week from Paramount Home Media Distribution is a 4K UHD release for John Carpenter's Escape From L.A., starring Kurt Russell, A.J. Langer, Steve Buscemi, Georges Corraface, and Stacy Keach.

Reviewer Martin Liebman raves about the picture quality of Paramount's 4K UHD of Escape From L.A., saying that the "Dolby Vision UHD release...blows its previous 2010 effort out of the water. It's a textbook definition of a night-and-day comparison that will leave fans yearning for a vastly superior release of this film more than satisfied with the end result...The picture now...probably looks even better now than it did in theaters about a quarter of a century ago. This one teeters on perfection; fans are going to be delighted and even non-fans will want to watch just to see UHD done right". For a full disc breakdown, read Martin's 4K UHD review

Not to be outdone, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment also has a 4K UHD upgrade this week, for Frank Darabont's The Green Mile, starring Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, and James Cromwell.

Reviewer Randy Miller is just as enthused about the new 4K UHD disc of The Green Mile, saying in part: "Warner Bros.' new 2160p transfer keeps it real with an extremely smooth, crisp and, yes, natural overall appearance that is several notches above its aging Blu-ray counterpart...Fine detail is much better resolved, from tight close-ups to early wide shots...Black levels are substantially deeper and shadow detail is much improved as well, which is very easy to spot since many of the interiors are no longer boosted...carefully-handled HDR color enhancement also goes a long way...better color and the higher level of fine detail really do make this 4K presentation a notably better viewing experience overall". As for the disc's new Dolby Atmos audio track, Miller continues: "...this is such a well-made remix that it'd honestly hard to go backwards...dialogue remains crystal clear and the memorable original score by Thomas Newman sounds especially full, dynamic and lively, often directly contributing to many of The Green Mile's most effective moments...this is another catalog Atmos remix genuinely worth getting excited about". For a full disc breakdown, read Randy's 4K UHD review

Note: Below is both a newly remastered 4K trailer and a 10-minute preview of the new 4K master for The Green Mile, both of which were uploaded by Warner Bros. to their official YouTube channel earlier this month.