For the week of August 28th, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release Andy Muschietti's The Flash (2023), starring Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston and Maribel Verdú.
Description: Worlds collide in "The Flash" when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he's looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry's only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?
Wanrer's releases of The Flash contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include "The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus" podcast: A six-part original scripted audio series featuring Max Greenfield as The Flash (along with its own behind-the-scenes featurette), deleted scenes and several featurettes for the main feature. In addition to standard packaging, a Best Buy Exclusive 4K UHD SteelBook, Target Exclusive Blu-ray with Art Cards and Walmart Exclusive 4K UHD Icon Edition DigiPack will also be available.
New on Blu-ray from Warner is The Flash: The Ninth and Final Season (2023). The three-disc set contains all 13 episodes of the last season of the TV series, with a featurette, deleted scenes and a gag reel as extras. On the same day, Warner will also release a Blu-ray box set: The Flash: The Complete Series (2014-2023), which contains all nine seasons.
Also new on Blu-ray from Warner is Smiling Friends: The Complete First Season (2020), starring Michael Cusack, David Dore, Tom Fulp, Zach Hadel, Marc M. and Mike Stoklasa.
Description: Who are the Smiling Friends? They're Pim, Charlie, Allan, and Glep and they're here to make you SMILE!! And they guarantee to put a smile on YOUR face, if you buy this disc (*Smiles not actually guaranteed*). Watch 8 wonderful adventures into this fantastic, odd, beautiful, sometimes scary, but always amazing world. Plus, they go to Brazil in a special bonus episode. Get yours and start smiling today!
Warner's Blu-ray of Smiling Friends: The Complete First Season contains episodic commentary.
Finally from Warner are another six Blu-rays from their Warner Archive Collection. They are:
George Cukor's Little Women (1933), starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas, Frances Dee, Edna May Oliver and Jean Parker. Warner Archive presents Little Women from a new 4K scan of the best nitrate preservation elements, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the WB shorts In the Dough (with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle) and Salt Water Daffy (with Jack Haley) along with the Merrie Melodies cartoons I Like Mountain Music and The Organ Grinder (all 1933) a scoring stage suite of recordings and the film's original theatrical trailer.
William Dieterle's The Life of Emile Zola (1937), starring Paul Muni, Gloria Holden, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Donald Crisp and John Litel. Warner Archive presents The Life of Emile Zola from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include a 1939 Lux Radio Theater broadcast (with Paul Muni), the WB shorts Alibi Mark and Mal Hallett and His Orchestra (both 1937) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Vincente Minnelli's Father's Little Dividend (1951), starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Billie Burke and Moroni Olsen. Warner Archive presents Father's Little Dividend from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Tom and Jerry cartoons Jerry and the Goldfish (1951) and Just Ducky (1953) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Jacques Tourneur's Wichita (1955), starring Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Wallace Ford, Edgar Buchanan and Peter Graves. Warner Archive presents Wichita from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Tex Avery cartoons Deputy Droopy and The First Bad Man (both 1955).
Robert Wise's Gay Purr-ee (1962), starring Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Paul Frees, Thurl Ravenscroft and Hermione Gingold. Warner Archive presents Gay Purr-ee from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies cartoons For Scent-imental Reasons(1949), French Rarebit (1951) and Louvre Come Back to Me! (1962) as well as the film's original theatrical trailer.
Norman Taurog's Spinout (1966), starring Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Diane McBain, Deborah Walley, Dodie Marshall and Jack Mullaney. Warner Archive presents Spinout from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Tom and Jerry cartoons Catty Cornered (1953) and Filet Meow (1966) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
New on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is Gene Stupnitsky's No Hard Feelings (2023), starring Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur.
Description: Maddie (Lawrence) thinks she's found the answer to her financial troubles when she discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents looking for someone to "date" their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy, and bring him out of his shell before he leaves for college. But awkward Percy proves to be more of a challenge than she expected, and time is running out. She has one summer to make him a man or lose it all.
Sony's Blu-ray of No Hard Feelings contains outtakes and bloopers, and the featurettes A Motley Crew: Meet the Characters and A Little Wrong: Making No Hard Feelings.
Turning to catalog titles. Milestone Films has a Blu-ray for Herbert Brenon's The Spanish Dancer (1923), starring Pola Negri, Antonio Moreno, Wallace Beery, Kathlyn Williams, Adolphe Menjou and Gareth Hughes.
Label description: Pola Negri was already an international star. Antonio Moreno was her equal in terms of talent and sex appeal. The director Herbert Brenon was one of the greatest directors of his day and he was assisted by his cinematographer, James Wong Howe. Together, they created one of the great romance epics of the silent era. Restored by Eye Filmmuseum, The Spanish Dancer (1923) is a joy to behold. The film is action-packed, witty, and romantic with huge sets and a cast of thousands. Brenon keeps the adventure going full steam ahead while Negri and Moreno show why they were huge stars of their day. Includes a new orchestral score by Bill Ware!
Milestone's Blu-ray of The Spanish Dancer includes audio commentary by film historian Scott Eyman, an interview with composer Bill Ware and a restoration demonstration.
Coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Powerhouse Films is Renato Polselli's Black Magic Rites (Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel trecento) (1973), starring Mickey Hargitay, Rita Calderoni, Raul Lovecchio, Christa Barrymore, Consolata Moschera and William Darni. Powerhouse presents Black Magic Rites from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with original Italian: LPCM Mono audio (with optional English subtitles) and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include an audio commentary with critics and authors David Flint and Kim Newman,The Seventh Art According to Ralf Brown: A new documentary on the first half of Renato Polselli's career, new interviews with composer Gianfranco Reverberi, Lovely Jon and film historian Stephen Thrower, an alternative The Reincarnation of Isabel title sequence, theatrical trailer and an image gallery. Also included is a limited-edition-exclusive 80-page book with new and archival essays, as well as full film credits.
Coming to 4K UHD and remastered Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Sydney Pollack's 3 Days of the Condor (1975), starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman and Addison Powell. Newly remastered for 2023 from the original camera negative, Kino presents 3 Days of the Condor with 5.1 and 2.0 lossless audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include new audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, the documentary Something About Sydney Pollack (2004), the 2003 featurette More About the Condor and a theatrical trailer.
Also coming to 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Sylvester Stallone's Staying Alive (1983), starring John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso and Charles Ward. Sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Staying Alive with 5.1 and 2.0 lossless audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include new audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle and Ed King of the Irish Film Institute, a new interview with actress Finola Hughes, four TV spots, a teaser (featuring director Sylvester Stallone) and a theatrical trailer.
Finally from Kino is a new Blu-ray edition of Harley Cokeliss' Malone (1987), starring Burt Reynolds, Cliff Robertson, Kenneth McMillan, Cynthia Gibb, Scott Wilson and Lauren Hutton. This edition contains new audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson and a newly remastered theatrical trailer.
Coming to Blu-ray from Arrow Video is Wei Lo's New Fist of Fury (新精武門) (1976), starring Jackie Chan, Nora Miao, Sing Chen, Kam Cheung, Lung Chin and Kuo Chung Ching. Remastered in 2K by Fortune Star, Arrow presents New Fist of Fury in both its 120-minute original theatrical version and its 82-minute 1980 re-release cut. The theatrical version has lossless original Mandarin or English audio, as well as newly uncovered alternate Mandarin and Cantonese mono audio tracks, while the re-release cut has original Cantonese and English lossless mono audio tracks. English subtitles are newly translated, while both cuts also have audio commentaries: Martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and Michael Worth (on the theatrical version) and action cinema expert Brandon Bentley (on the re-release cut). Video extras include New Fist, Part Two Fist: A new video essay by Brandon Bentley, as well as trailers and an image gallery. Also included is a double-sided fold-out poster, reversible artwork and an illustrated collector's booklet.
Coming to 4K UHD from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is Richard A. Colla's Battlestar Galactica (1978), starring Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Herbert Jefferson Jr., Maren Jensen and Tony Swartz. Universal presents Battlestar Galactica with DTS-HD MA 2.1 Sensurround audio and HDR. A Blu-ray copy is also included and in addition to standard packaging, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook will also be available.
Coming to 4K UHD this week from Shout Factory are the four remaining sequels in the Child's Play film series:
Bride of Chucky (1998), Seed of Chucky (2004), Curse of Chucky (2013) and Cult of Chucky (2017). All four films are newly remastered (with Bride and Seed sourced from their original camera negatives), with DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio options and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD discs. Both theatrical and unrated versions are included where applicable, and each film contains legacy audio commentaries (on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray) as well as new interviews or previously unavailable legacy extras. Reviewer Martin Liebman has already completed the Bride of Chucky 4K UHD review, Seed of Chucky 4K UHD review and Curse of Chucky 4K UHD review. Note that the three previous films, Child's Play (1988), Child's Play 2 and Child's Play 3, were released on 4K UHD by Shout in 2022.
Finally this week, Paramount Home Media Distribution has a 4K UHD upgrade for Craig Brewer's Hustle and Flow (2005), starring Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker and D.J. Qualls. Newly remastered in 4K, Paramount brings Hustle and Flow to 4K UHD as part of its Paramount Presents series, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new Filmmaker Focus featurette with Craig Bewer, while additional legacy extras include filmmaker commentary, three featurettes, extended scenes, promotional spots and more.