For the week on March 14th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment will release Steven Spielberg's West Side Story (2021), starring Ansel Elgort, Rita Moreno, Corey Stoll, Maddie Ziegler, and Brian d'Arcy James. In development since 2014, Spielberg's adaptation of the 1957 stage musical, which was previously adapted into a film in 1961, opened in November 2021 to disappointing box office returns. However, like its predecessor, the musical has received both critical praise and numerous accolades, and is a major contender at the upcoming Academy Awards, where it has received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. This week, Disney's 4K UHD disc features Dolby Atmos audio and HDR picture, while the Blu-ray contains over ninety minutes of extras, including the multi-part featurette The Stories of West Side Story . And once again, Disney also has retailer exclusives planned, such as a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook, a Target Exclusive Art Edition and a Walmart Exclusive with Limited Edition Fabric Poster.
Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman is delighted with Disney's 4K UHD disc of West Side Story (2021), saying of the picture: "this is a really spectacular looking presentation from both detail and palette standpoints, with the 4K presentation enjoying at times rather substantial upticks in fine detail and with some added luster to an already impressive palette...Fine detail on patterns on both the costumes and other practical items like the bricks on surfaces...is also precise looking, and the 4K version offers some better shadow definition on these and other elements in some notable nighttime or dimly lit sequences...Grain resolves beautifully throughout the presentation, and unlike some other 4K UHD presentations of shot on film offerings, I noticed none of the "swarm" like tendencies that can sometimes accrue". For a full disc breakdown, including thoughts on the disc's Dolby Atmos audio track, read Jeffrey's 4K UHD review.
New this week on Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Sean Baker's Red Rocket, starring Simon Rex, Bree Elrod and Suzanna Son.
Official synopsis: Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) is back home in small-town Texas after burning bridges and flaming out all over Los Angeles. A hustler, operator, and charismatic con man, Mikey quickly learns that no one wants him back. When he meets a teenager working at the local donut shop, he sees his ticket back to the big-time in this darkly funny, live-wire film from acclaimed director Sean Baker (THE FLORIDA PROJECT, TANGERINE).
Lionsgate's extras for Red Rocket include a making of, and two audio commentaries. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
Also from Lionsgate this week is another in the Vestron Video Collector's Series of Blu-rays, Marc Rocco's Dream a Little Dream, starring Jason Robards, Corey Feldman, Piper Laurie, Meredith Salenger, and Harry Dean Stanton. Extras on the disc include new interviews with Feldman and executive producer Lawrence Kasanoff, as well as trailers, TV spots and a stills gallery.
Finally for new releases this week, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and MGM will release Vikings: Season 6, Volume 2 (2020) on Blu-ray. The three-disc set is the final installment of the series, and includes an exclusive audio commentary on the finale with creator Michael Hirst and series star Georgia Hirst, as well as an exclusive featurette: The Epic Worlds of Vikings. On the same day, Warner and MGM will release Vikings: The Complete Series (2013-2020), a 24-disc set which contains all six seasons.
Turning to catalog titles, we have several getting 4K UHD upgrades this week. First, from Kino Lorber, we have Billy Wilder's The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, and Jack Kruschen. Previously remastered in 4K, Kino's release adds a new audio commentary by film historian Joseph McBride, author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge, as well as the audio commentary and extras found on the 2012 Blu-ray.
Then from the Criterion Collection, it's a 4K UHD upgrade for Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge. Previously remastered in 4K by STUDIOCANAL, Criterion's dual-format release presents the film on 4K UHD with Dolby Vision HDR and uncompressed mono audio. The bundled Blu-ray is also sourced from the new 4K master and includes several archival extras. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.
Then, Arrow Films has a 4K UHD release for John Landis' An American Werewolf in London. Arrow's 4K UHD disc is presented from a new 4K master from the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and both uncompressed original mono and 5.1 audio options. As with Arrow's 2019 Blu-ray edition, a bevy of extras are included on this 4K UHD disc, which also comes in limited edition packaging. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's 4K UHD review.
And then Shout Factory also has a 4K UHD release for a film making its Blu-ray debut, Albert Pyun's The Sword and the Sorcerer, starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, and Richard Lynch.
Description: Meet Talon, a daring mercenary who conquers castles and dungeons alike with his lethal three-bladed sword. But when Talon learns that he is the prince of a kingdom controlled by an evil sorcerer, he is thrust into the wildest fight of his life. Can Talon rescue the beautiful princess and slay the warlock, or will he fall prey to the black magic of medieval mayhem? Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale and Richard Moll star in this action-packed adventure saga, filled with brutal battles, luscious maidens, savage monsters and more!
The Sword and the Sorcerer was given a new 4K master from its original camera negative and is presented in Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio and a new audio commentary with Pyun. Extras on the Blu-ray include new interviews with Pyun, Beller and various crew members.as well as a new featurette remembering stuntman Jack Tyree.
Also coming from Shout this week is a Collector's Edition Blu-ray for Freddie Francis' Nightmare, starring David Knight, Moira Redmond, Jennie Linden, Brenda Bruce, and George A. Cooper. Shout's new Blu-ray features a new 2K remaster from the film's interpositive, and new extras include an audio commentary with film historian Bruce Hallenbeck, interviews with authors/film historians Kim Newman and Jonathan Rigby and more.
Our last 4K UHD upgrade this week is from Paramount Home Media Distribution, which will release Antoine Fuqua's Shooter in SteelBook packaging to celebrate the film's 15th anniversary. Audio on the 4K UHD disc is lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 and all supplements from the previous Blu-ray (except for the audio commentary) have been included in this single-disc release. For a full disc breakdown, read Martin Liebman's 4K UHD review.
Finally this week, Paramount has a Blu-ray release for Jonathan Kaplan's The Accused (1988), starring Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Ann Hearn, and Carmen Argenziano. The Blu-ray release contains the film's theatrical trailer (seen below) as an extra, although it is not mentioned on the packaging.