Posted February 4, 2024 09:10 PM by Sean Greenwood
For the week of February 5th, the Criterion Collection will release a 4K UHD upgrade for Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane, John Schuck and Corey Fischer. Sourced from a 4K master, Criterion presents McCabe & Mrs. Miller with LPCM Mono audio and in 4K SDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include an archival audio commentary with Robert Altman and producer David Foster, while an included Blu-ray also features the making of documentary Way Out on a Limb, a conversation between film historians Cari Beauchamp and Rick Jewell, a vintage behind-the-scenes featurette from 1970, a Q&A from 1999 with production designer Leon Ericksen, a photo gallery from photographer Steve Schapiro, two archival interviews with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, two segments from The Dick Cavett Show with Altman and film critic Pauline Kael and a trailer for the film. Also included is a leaflet with an essay by novelist and critic Nathaniel Rich. For a full disc breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.
New on Blu-ray from Crunchyroll is the anime series Handyman Saitou in Another World: The Complete Season (便利屋斎藤さん、異世界に行く) (2023), starring Ryohei Kimura, Fairouz Ai, Nao Tôyama, Chô, Koichi Soma and Ruriko Aoki.
Description: When an underappreciated handyman enters a fantasy world, he joins up with a warrior, a forgetful wizard, and a fairy cleric. After saving everyone during a raid, it becomes clear that having a handyman in your party isn't just handy, it's essential!
Crunchyroll's Blu-ray of Handyman Saitou in Another World: The Complete Season contains all 12 episodes with Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles) or dubbed English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio tracks. Extras include promo videos and textless Opening and closing songs.
Also from Crunchyroll is a Blu-ray for the anime series Revenger: The Complete Season (REVENGER) (2023), starring Jun Kasama, Yūichirō Umehara, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Hisako Kanemoto, Shôta Hayama and Akio Ôtsuka.
Description: Kurima Raizo swears vengeance after he's misled into killing his prospective father-in-law. To reclaim his honor, Raizo joins the Revengers - a band of righteous assassins. Can these vigilantes aid in his redemption? Or is there merely more death to come?
Crunchyroll's Blu-ray of Revenger: The Complete Season contains all 12 episodes with Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles) or dubbed English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio tracks. Extras include Gen Urobuchi - Master Class, character promo videos, promo videos and textless Opening and closing songs.
New this week from Decal Releasing is a Blu-ray* for Waitress: The Musical, starring Sara Bareilles, Dakin Matthews, Christopher Fitzgerald, Eric Anderson, Molly Jobe and Joe Tippett.
Synopsis: The Tony-nominated Broadway phenomenon comes to the big screen. Composer-lyricist Sara Bareilles is Jenna Hunterson, a waitress and expert pie maker stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking contest offers her a chance at escape, Jenna fights to reclaim part of herself. Waitress celebrates the power of friendship, dreams, the family we choose and the beauty of a well-baked pie.
*From the manufacturer: NOTE: This product is manufactured on demand in the BD-R format. It will play in nearly all leading Blu-ray players that have the latest firmware updates, but Microsoft Xbox One does not currently support BD-R playback.
Coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Édouard Molinaro's The Road to Shame (Des femmes disparaissent) (1959), starring Robert Hossein, Magali Noël, Estella Blain, Philippe Clay, Jane Marken and Robert Lombard. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray contains audio commentary by film historian Adrian Martin.
Also coming from Kino are a number of Blu-ray reissues. They are:
Billy Wilder's Witness for the Prosecution (1957), starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams and Henry Daniell. Previously released by Kino in 2014, extras include a featurette with Billy Wilder and Volker Schlöndorff discussing the film and a theatrical trailer.
William Wyler's The Big Country (1958), starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives and Charles Bickford. Previously released by Kino in 2018, extras include audio commentary by Sir Christopher Frayling, the documentary Directed by William Wyler archival interviews, featurettes, a theatrical trailer and more.
Norman Jewison's The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke, Jack Weston, Gordon Pinsent and Biff McGuire. Previously released by Kino in 2017, extras include two audio commentaries: One by Norman Jewison and another by film historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman, interviews with Norman Jewison and title designer Pablo Ferro, a vintage 1967 featurette and a theatrical trailer.
Dan Curtis' Burnt Offerings (1976), starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart, Lee Montgomery and Dub Taylor. Previously released by Kino in 2015, extras include two audio commentaries: One by Dan Curtis, Karen Black, and co-screenwriter William F. Nolan and another by film historian Richard Harland Smith, interviews with actor Anthony James, William F. Nolan and actor Lee Montgomery a Trailers from Hell featurette with Steve Senski, an image gallery and a theatrical trailer.
Also this week, Shout Factory have two Blu-rays on offer. First is Mike Hodges' The Terminal Man (1974), starring George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, Jill Clayburgh and Norman Burton. Extras include a theatrical trailer.
Next from Shout is a Blu-ray for William Fruet's Funeral Home (1980), starring Lesleh Donaldson, Barry Morse, Kay Hawtrey, Dean Garbett, Stephen E. Miller and Alf Humphreys. New extras include three audio commentaries: One by film historians Jason Pichonsky and Paul Corupe, another with music historian Douglass Fake (also an isolated score track) and a third track featuring interviews with actor Lesleh Donaldson, first assistant director Ray Sager, and production assistant Shelley Allen. New video extras include interviews with art director Susan Longmire and set assistant Elinor Galbraith, Brian Allen (President of Premier Drive-In Theatres) and cinematographer Mark Irwin, as well as footage of filming locations. The disc is rounded out by an image gallery, radio and TV spots and trailers. For a full disc breakdown, ead Brian Orndorf's Blu-ray review.
Finally this week, Radiance Films have a Blu-ray release for Kohei Oguri's The Sting of Death (死の棘) (1990), starring Keiko Matsuzaka, Ittoku Kishibe, Midori Kiuchi, Takenori Matsumura, Yuri Chikamori and Akira Yamanouchi. Sourced from an HD master, Radiance presents The Sting of Death with LPCM Mono audio and newly-translated optional English subtitles. Extras include a 2011 documentary on the Japanese film renaissance of the 1990s featuring interviews with Kohei Oguri, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kaneto Shindo and others, a 2023 interview with film scholar Hideki Maeda and a trailer. The cover art is reversible and limited edition content includes a booklet featuring a newly translated interview with director Kohei Oguri and a removable OBI strip.