For the week of August 8th, Walt Disney Home Entertainment and 20th Century Studios will release Michael Mann's Heat (1995), starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, and Tom Sizemore. The hotly anticipated 4K UHD release of Mann's crime epic, which famously marked the first time screen icons Pacino and De Niro shared scenes in the same film, has finally arrived after being rumored for many months. Disney's 4K UHD disc uses the Director's Definitive Edition 4K master of the film, which was previously issued on Blu-ray in 2017, but now includes HDR, along with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio. The three-disc set also includes the two Blu-rays from the 2017 edition. In addition to standard packaging, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook will also be available. For full a disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's 4K UHD review.
New this week from Paramount Home Media Distribution is a 4K UHD and Blu-ray for Jeff Fowler's Sonic the Hedgehog 2, starring James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba and Natasha Rothwell. The sequel to the surprise 2020 hit film was shot in 2021 and opened in April 2022 to generally positive reviews. The film topped the box office in its opening weekend with over $72 million and ended up grossing over $190 million domestically and over $401 million worldwide so far, already more than its predecessor made in total. Paramount's discs contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, while the 4K UHD additionally includes Dolby Vision HDR. Extras include audio commentary with Fowler and Schwartz, deleted and extended scenes, bloopers, an animated short, featurettes and a music video. In addition to separate 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions in standard packaging, a Best Buy Exclusive Dual Format SteelBook will contain both discs, while a Walmart Exclusive Blu-ray with Comic Book will also be available.
Also coming from Paramount this week is another Blu-ray in their Paramount Presents lineup, Lyndall Hobbs's Back to the Beach (1987), starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Lori Loughlin, Demian Slade, and Connie Stevens. Presented from a new 4K master, the disc also includes a new Filmmaker Focus featurette with Hobbs, as well as the usual collectible packaging with a slipcover that opens to reveal original poster artwork.
Finally from Paramount is a 4K UHD upgrade for Paul W.S. Anderson's Event Horizon (1997), starring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, and Richard T. Jones. Presented from a 4K master, Paramount's 4K UHD disc contains Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio. An included Blu-ray copy contains the extras from the previous Paramount Blu-rays. For full a disc breakdown, read Martin Liebman's 4K UHD review. Note that this release is currently only available in SteelBook packaging.
New on Blu-ray from Decal Releasing is David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future, starring Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman, and Yorgos Pirpassopoulos.
Synopsis: As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.
Decal's Blu-ray of Crimes of the Future contains a short making of featurette and trailers for the film. For full a disc breakdown, read Brian Orndorf's Blu-ray review.
New from Lionsgate Home Entertainment and A24 is a Blu-ray for Alex Garland's Men, starring Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin and Sonoya Mizuno.
Description: In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. However, someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread soon becomes a fully formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.
Lionsgate's Blu-ray of Men contains a 24-minute making of featurette. For full a disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
Also coming from Lionsgate is a Blu-ray for James Cullen Bressack's Hot Seat, starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Dillon, Michael Welch, Shannen Doherty, and Lydia Hull.
Description: A reformed hacker turned cyber security technician finds himself in the HOT SEAT when he realizes that he's just armed a bomb under his chair and he's forced to help a maniacal anonymous caller pull off an impossible cyber robbery.
Lionsgate's Blu-ray of Hot Seat contains the film's trailer. For full a disc breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
New this week from BBC is a 4K UHD / Blu-ray combo pack for their latest natural history documentary The Green Planet.
Official description: Plants live secret, unseen lives. Using specialist cameras, this spectacular series allows us to travel beyond the power of the human eye, to look closer at their interconnected world, showcasing over two decades of new discoveries.
From deserts, tropical jungles and underwater worlds to seasonal lands and our own urban and agricultural landscapes, each episode introduces a set of plants, reveals the battles they face, and the ingenious ways they've found to survive. New stories and never-seen-before animal behaviors. This is Planet Earth from the perspective of plants. Narrated by David Attenborough.
Description: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson join filmmaker Chris Columbus and other esteemed cast members across all eight Harry Potter films as they travel back to Hogwarts for the first time to celebrate the anniversary of the franchise's first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which premiered 20 years ago. The retrospective special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts will tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.
Alumni of the film franchise will join the memorable tribute, including Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Tom Felton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, and Ian Hart, among others. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts will honor the magic behind the making of the films and the beautiful family created at Warner Bros. Studios London two decades ago. It will also celebrate the unparalleled legacy of the Harry Potter film franchise and its indelible impact on the hearts, minds, and imaginations of families and fans around the world.
Warner's Blu-ray of Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts also contains a featurette as an extra.
New this week on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is Kirk DeMicco and Brandon Jeffords' Vivo, featuring the voices of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Juan de Marcos González, Gloria Estefan, Zoe Saldana, and Michael Rooker.
Description: From the studio that brought you Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the critically acclaimed The Mitchells vs. The Machines — comes Vivo, an animated musical adventure featuring all-new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Vivo, a one-of-a kind kinkajou, spends his days playing music with his beloved owner Andrés. But when tragedy strikes, it's up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could: A love letter to his old partner, the famous Marta Sandoval, in the form of a song. Yet in order to get to Marta, who lives a world apart, Vivo will need the help of Gabi – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum – to fulfill his owner's wishes.
Sony's Blu-ray of Vivo contains a sing-along mode, a lyric video, and a featurette.
Also new from Sony is a Blu-ray for Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern's Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story, starring Jimmy Buffett, Gary Clark Jr., Al Green, Herbie Hancock, and Tom Jones.
Official studio description: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka "Jazz Fest," is the signature annual music and cultural event of the city and has been called America's greatest festival. Celebrating the music, food, and arts and crafts of all of Louisiana since 1970, Jazz Fest is an essential showcase of the rich heritage of the region, and hundreds of thousands attend the event each year. Local music heroes are joined on 14 stages by some of the most important figures in entertainment, highlighting the connections between Louisiana culture and the world.
JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY weaves together live performances and interviews from the 50th anniversary of the iconic festival, featuring some of the biggest names in the music industry, along with a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century. This film not only captures the Festival in all of its beauty and glory, but also delves deep into the rich culture of The Big Easy.
New from IFC Films is a Blu-ray of Justin Kurzel's Nitram, starring Caleb Landry Jones, Essie Davis, Anthony LaPaglia, Judy Davis, and Sean Keenan.
Description: Based on a true story, Nitram is an isolated young man living with his parents in Australia until he meets an eccentric heiress. What follows is a gripping portrait of nihilism and violence.
Finally this week,Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has a 4K UHD upgrade for Andrzej Bartkowiak's action film Doom (2005), starring Karl Urban, Dwayne Johnson, Rosamund Pike, Deobia Oparei, and Ben Daniels. Universal's 4K UHD disc contains the unrated and extended version of the film, now with HDR and a DTS:X audio track. Extras include six archival featurettes.