For the week of October 3rd,Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release Jared Stern's DC League of Super-Pets, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, and Vanessa Bayer.
Studio description: In "DC League of Super-Pets," Krypto the Super-Dog (Dwayne Johnson) and Superman (John Krasinski) are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack—Ace the hound (Kevin Hart), PB the potbellied pig (Vanessa Bayer), Merton the turtle (Natasha Lyonne) and Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna)—to master their own newfound powers and help him rescue the superheroes.
Warner's disc releases of DC League of Super-Pets contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, while the 4K UHD disc additionally includes HDR. Extras on the Blu-ray include deleted scenes and four featurettes. Reviewer Randy Miller is impressed with both discs, but says that the 4K UHD "easily surpasses its Blu-ray counterpart". For full disc breakdowns, read Randy's 4K UHD review and Blu-ray review.
Also coming from Warner this week is a Blu-ray for Winning Time - The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: The Complete First Season (2022). The three-disc set contains all 10 episodes from the first season, along with several featurettes. Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman gives high marks to the set in every area, remarking that the video presentation is "an astoundingly varied presentation that receives a solid if psychedelic transfer" and that the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio is "nicely immersive". For a full set breakdown, read Jeffrey's Blu-ray review.
New this week from Paramount Home Media Distribution is a Blu-ray for Star Trek: Picard - Season Two (2022). The three-disc set contains all 10 episodes from season two and over an hour of extras, including featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel. In addition to standard packaging, a Limited Edition SteelBook will also be available.
Also coming from Paramount is the hotly anticipated 4K UHD upgrade for Wes Craven's Scream 2 (1997), starring David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Jamie Kennedy. Newly remastered on 4K UHD disc only and presented with Dolby Vision HDR, the release also includes the existing Blu-ray, which contains the audio commentary and legacy extras. In addition to standard packaging, a SteelBook will also be available. Reviewer Martin Liebman lavishes praise on Paramount's 4K UHD disc, calling the picture "stellar, offering a practically perfect filmic appearance that boasts a very fine grain structure" and going on to say that: "The Dolby Vision color grading brings new life to the image with a natural and eye-catching color grading which is far more exact, nuanced, and bold compared to the overengineered Blu-ray". For full disc breakdowns, read Martin's 4K UHD review and 4K UHD SteelBook review.
Finally for new releases this week, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment have two television releases on offer: Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series (2021-2022), starring Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, Vella Lovell, Kyla Kenedy and Bobby Moynihan.
Official description: Neil Bremer (Ted Danson) serves Los Angeles in Mr. Mayor, a complete series set from executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Bremer has his work cut out for him as he tries to do right by the city and be a good father to his daughter (Kyla Kenedy). His dedicated team of civil servants keep him on track, including Dep. Mayor Arpi Meskimen (Holly Hunter), CoS Mikaela Shaw (Vella Lovell), Chief Strategist Tommy Tomás (Mike Cabellon) and Communications Dir. Jayden Kwapis (Bobby Moynihan).
Then from Universal comes Bel-Air: Season One (2022), starring Jabari Banks, Cassandra Freeman, Jimmy Akingbola, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones and Akira Akbar.
Official description: Set in modern-day America, "Bel-Air" imagines the beloved sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" through a new, dramatic take on Will's complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. As these two worlds collide, Will reckons with the power of second chances while navigating the conflicts, emotions, and biases of a world far different from the only one he's ever known. Executive produced by Will Smith and inspired by Morgan Cooper's viral trailer that reimagined the iconic, culture-defining '90s sitcom, "Bel-Air" takes a fresh and raw approach to this world of swagger, style, and aspiration, while exploring Will's complex journey through a current lens. The series features an ensemble cast that introduces Jabari Banks as Will and a creative team that includes Cooper, who serves as director, co-writer, and executive producer, and co-showrunners and executive producers T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson.
Turning to catalog titles, this week has several other horror titles getting 4K UHD upgrades. Let's start with the Criterion Collection upgrading George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne and Judith Ridley. Presented in native 4K, with two commentaries ported over to the 4K UHD disc, Criterion's release also contains the two Blu-ray discs from their 2018 Blu-ray edition, which was sourced from the same 4K master. Reviewer Svet Atanasov is highly impressed, awarding each aspect of the discs a perfect five stars. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet's 4K UHD review.
Then from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment comes two 4K UHD titles in SteelBook editions. First up is the 4K UHD premiere of Tom Holland's Fright Night (1985), starring Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, and Stephen Geoffreys. Newly remastered from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, Sony presents Fright Night with Dolby Vision HDR and a choice of Dolby Atmos audio (4K UHD only), DTS-HD MA 5.1 or DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo audio. The included Blu-ray is also newly remastered and contains new extras, including deleted scene storyboards and a never-before-seen alternate original trailer with an introduction by Holland. A third disc is a bonus Blu-ray with new and legacy extras, including a 35th anniversary scrip read, interview with Amanda Bearse and featurettes on the SFX and novelization of the film, and much more.
Then from Sony is a new 4K UHD edition for Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant and Cary Elwes. Previously released on 4K UHD in 2017, this new disc--presently available only in SteelBook packaging--uses the same 4K master, but adds Dolby Vision and also returns "the original theatrical English subtitle font for texted instances". In terms of audio, the 4K UHD disc provides a choice of Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD MA 5.1 or DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo options. New extras on the 4K UHD disc include the music video for "Love Song for a Vampire" by Annie Lennox, and the vintage featurette Blood Lines – Dracula: The Man, The Myth, The Movies. An included Blu-ray disc contains the film and legacy extras. For a full disc breakdown, read Martin Liebman's 4K UHD review.
Coming this week from Shout Factory are two 4K UHD upgrades. First up is Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness (1992), starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, and Richard Grove. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the camera negative (approved by Raimi, director of photography Bill Pope, and editor Bob Murawski), Shout presents the theatrical cut of Army of Darkness with Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2,0 tracks. a second disc contains the newly remastered theatrical cut on Blu-ray, while a third and fourth disc contain the director's cut and the international cut on Blu-ray, respectively. Extras replicate Shout's 2015 Collector's Edition Blu-ray and include a feature-length making of documentary, audio commentary on the director's cut, the television version with additional footage and various featurettes and interviews. In addition to standard packaging, a Limited Edition SteelBook will also be available.
Finally this week, Shout has a 4K UHD upgrade for The Halloween 4K Blu-ray Collection (1995-2002) an eight-disc box set that contains the 4K UHD premieres of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Halloween: H20 (1998) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002), thus making all of the first eight films in the Halloween franchise available on 4K UHD. All three films in the box set--which are not available separately at this time--have had new 4K scans of their original camera negatives and feature Dolby Vision HDR on the four 4K UHD discs (including both the theatrical and Producer's cuts of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), as well as four remastered Blu-ray discs, which also have the video extras. New extras include a new audio commentary with screenwriter Daniel Farrands and actress Marianne Hagan for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and six new cast and crew interviews for Halloween: Resurrection, while all three films also feature their legacy extras.