For the week of June 24th, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Gil Kenan's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt.
Description: In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who've developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
New from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is a 4K UHD and Blu-ray for Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, starring Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun and Cary Elwes.
Description: Directed and co-written by Guy Ritchie, this action-comedy tells the incredible true story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. The top secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks led by Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill), goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly "ungentlemanly" fighting techniques. Ultimately, the task force's audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern black ops warfare.
Lionsgate's Blu-ray releases of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, with HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include The Ministry of Filmmaking and a theatrical trailer. In addition to standard packaging, a Amazon Exclusive SteelBook will also be available.
New from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Dev Patel's Monkey Man, starring Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma and Adithi Kalkunte.
Description: From Oscar winning Producer Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, Nope) comes Oscar® nominee Dev Patel's (Slumdog Millionaire, Lion) astonishing tour-de-force directorial debut, inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage. Patel stars as a man with no name, scarred by a brutal childhood, who ekes out a meager living in underground fighting rings. But when he finds a way to rise up and infiltrate his city's corrupt elite, he kicks off an explosive campaign for retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him as a boy. Channeling the rage of the poor and powerless, an unexpected hero emerges in this fight-filled action epic.
Universal's Blu-ray releases of Monkey Man contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, with HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include filmmaker commentary, an alternate opening and ending, deleted scenes and four featurettes. For full release breakdowns, read Justin Dekker's Blu-ray review and 4K UHD review.
In Restless Dreams is the definitive musical biography of Paul Simon, one of the greatest songwriters and performers in the history of rock 'n' roll. Granted unprecedented access to the making of his latest album, Seven Psalms, the filmmakers also reveal never-before-seen footage of Simon's extraordinary career, from the formation and breakup of Simon & Garfunkel to the phenomenal global success of Simon's solo album Graceland.
New on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection is Barry Jenkins' miniseries The Underground Railroad (2021), starring Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Pierre, Ben Walker and Sheila Atim.
Description: A monumental reimagining of American history, Barry Jenkins's adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize–winning 2016 novel is a harrowing and rhapsodic journey through a still-echoing past. Weaving together historical fiction with moments of magical realism, The Underground Railroad is a full sensory immersion into the world of Cora (Thuso Mbedu), who, fleeing slavery, embarks on a treacherous quest for freedom—and is menaced by violence, supported by a clandestine community fighting for liberation, and haunted by the people she loses along the way. With images of searing power and stirring poetry, Jenkins delivers an epic saga of survival and resilience that pushes the limited-series format to new heights of cinematic transcendence.
Criterion's four-disc Blu-ray of The Underground Railroad is sourced from a 4K master (approved by Barry Jenkins) and contains both Dolby Atmos and alternate stereo audio tracks, as well as descriptive audio. Extras include filmmaker commentary, a new graphic-novel adaptation of "Genesis," an unfilmed chapter of the miniseries, Jenkins' companion film Gaze, deleted scenes with a statement by Jenkins, seven teasers with an introduction by Jenkins, the short program Building "The Underground Railroad" and an essay by critic Angelica Jade Bastién.
Description: "Come, come! I'm sick to death of this particular self. I want another." Taking Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando: A Biography as his starting point, academic virtuoso turned filmmaker Paul B. Preciado fashioned the documentary Orlando, My Political Biography—a personal essay, historical analysis, and social manifesto. For almost a century, Woolf's eponymous hero(ine) has inspired readers with their gender fluidity as well as their physical and spiritual metamorphoses across a three-hundred-year span. In making his film, Preciado invited a diverse group of more than twenty trans and nonbinary people to play the role of Orlando and to participate in this shared biography. Together, they perform interpretations of the novel, weaving into Woolf's narrative their own stories of transition and identity formation. Not content to simply update a groundbreaking work, Preciado interrogates the relevance of Orlando in the ongoing struggle to secure dignity for trans people worldwide.
Criterion's Blu-ray of Orlando, My Political Biography contains a Meet the Filmmakers interview with Paul B. Preciado and a trailer.
Finally from Criterion this week comes a 4K UHD upgrade for David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986), starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Hope Lange and Dean Stockwell. Sourced from a 4K master approved by David Lynch, Criterion presents Blue Velvet with Dolby Vision HDR and both original DTS-HD MA 2.0 Surround and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio tracks. Extras replicate Criterion's 2019 Blu-ray and include The Lost Footage, the feature-length "Blue Velvet" Revisited and Mysteries of Love and much more. For a full release breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.
New on Blu-ray from Shout Factory and GKIDS is Takehiko Inoue's anime film The First Slam Dunk (ザ・ファーストスラムダンク), starring Shugo Nakamura, Jun Kasama, Shinichiro Kamio, Subaru Kimura, Kenta Miyake and Maaya Sakamoto.
Description: Shohoku's "speedster" and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure.
Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball.
In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship.
Shout's Blu-ray of The First Slam Dunk contains original Japanese or dubbed English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio tracks, as well as English subtitles. Extras include teasers and trailers, a director interview, the English dub featurette Behind the Starting Line-up and color commentary by the English dub cast.
Also from Shout is a 4K UHD upgrade for Joe Dante's Matinee (1993), starring John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Kellie Martin and Lisa Jakub. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative (supervised and approved by Joe Dante), Shout presents Matinee with DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio options and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. New extras include audio commentary with film critics Drew McWeeny and Eric Vespe, and interviews with actors Kellie Martin and David Clennon. Additional extras include interviews with Joe Dante, Cathy Moriarty, Lisa Jakub, production designer Steven Legler, editor Marshall Harvey and director of photography John Hora, as well as MANTastic: The Making of a Mant, a vintage featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, deleted and extended scenes and a still gallery.
New from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and MGM is a Blu-ray for George Clooney's The Boys in the Boat, starring Courtney Henggeler, Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, James Wolk, Jack Mulhern and Sam Strike.
Description: The Boys in the Boat is a sports drama based on the#1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction book written by Daniel James Brown. The film, directed by George Clooney, is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world.
Warner's Blu-ray of The Boys in the Boat contains the film's Dolby Atmos audio. For a full disc breakdown, read Randy Miller's Blu-ray review.
Coming this week from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are four more Blu-rays--and a TV series--from the Warner Archive Collection. They are:
Frank Borzage's The Shining Hour (1938), starring Joan Crawford, Margaret Sullavan, Robert Young, Melvyn Douglas, Fay Bainter and Allyn Joslyn. Sourced from a 4K scan of best preservation elements, Warner Archive presents The Shining Hour with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the MGM radio program Good News of 1939 the Merrie Melodies shorts Love and Curses and The Sneezing Weasel (both 1938) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941), starring Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale and Lucile Watson. Sourced from a 4K scan of best nitrate preservation elements, Warner Archive presents Mr. & Mrs. Smith with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the featurette Mr. Hitchcock Meets the Smiths (2004) the Looney Tunes shorts The Cat's Tale and Sport Chumpions (both 1941), two radio broadcasts and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Raoul Walsh's The Man I Love (1947), starring Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King, Martha Vickers, Bruce Bennett and Alan Hale. Sourced from a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative, Warner Archive presents The Man I Love with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Looney Tunes short Roughly Squeaking (1946) and the Merrie Melodies short Slick Hare (1947), as well as the film's original theatrical trailer.
Fred Zinnemann's Act of Violence (1938), starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor, Phyllis Thaxter and Berry Kroeger. Sourced from a 4K scan of best preservation elements, Warner Archive presents Act of Violence with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Dr. Drew Casper, the featurette Act of Violence: Dealing with the Devil (2007) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Finally from Warner Archive this week comes a Blu-ray box set: The Flash: The Original Series (1990-1991), starring John Wesley Shipp, Amanda Pays, Alex Désert, Vito D'Ambrosio, Biff Manard and Mike Genovese. The six-disc set contains all 22 episodes, sourced from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives.
Also coming from Warner is a Blu-ray for The New Adventures of Batman: The Complete Collection (1977), starring the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, Melendy Britt, Lou Scheimer and Lennie Weinrib. The release contains all 16 episodes of the animated series with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the featurette The Dark Knight Revisited.
Finally from Warner is a 4K UHD upgrade for Albert Magnoli's Purple Rain (1984), starring Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III and Jerome Benton. Sourced from "an 8K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative", Warner presents Purple Rain with HDR and a choice of DTS-HD MA 5.1 or 2.0 audio tracks, with the audio "restored from the original Dolby Stereo (LCRS) archived 35mm magnetic film source elements containing the separate dialogue, music, and effects (DME) tracks. These restored elements along with the 20th anniversary's 5.1 multi-channel print master were used to complete a newly remastered 5.1 presentation for the film". Extras include filmmaker commentary, the featurette First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty and eight music videos. For a full disc breakdown, read Randy Miller's 4K UHD review.
Staying with catalog titles, Radiance Films have two Blu-rays to offer. First is Vittorio De Seta's Bandits of Orgosolo (Banditi a Orgosolo) (1961), starring Michele Cossu, Peppeddu Cuccu and Vittorina Pisano. Sourced from a new 4K master, Radiance presents Bandits of Orgosolo with lossless mono audio and optional English subtitles. Extras include new interviews with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and curator and filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht, as well as a limited edition booklet "featuring new writing by Roberto Curti" Packaging includes a reversible cover.
Also from Radiance is a Blu-ray for Kinji Fukasaku's Sympathy for the Underdog (博徒外人部隊) (1971), starring Koji Tsuruta, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Tsunehiko Watase, Harumi Sone, Asao Uchida and Hideo Murota. Sourced from a new 4K master, Radiance presents Sympathy for the Underdog with lossless mono audio and optional, new and improved English subtitles. Extras include new audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart, a new interview with Fukasaku biographer Olivier Hadouchi, a new visual essay by film historian and author Aaron Gerow, and a trailer as well as a limited edition booklet "featuring new writing by Bastian Meiresonne and an archival review of the film" Packaging includes a reversible cover.
Coming to 4K UHD combo pack from new label Celluloid Dreams is Giuliano Carnimeo's The Case of the Bloody Iris (Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?) (1972), starring Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Annabella Incontrera, Paola Quattrini, Giampiero Albertini and Franco Agostini. Sourced from a new 4K master, Celluloid Dreams presents The Case of the Bloody Iris with a choice of English or Italian: DTS-HD MA Mono audio tracks, along with English or English SDH subtitles and HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi and Giuliano Carnimeo, a new audio commentary by Guido Henkel, interviews with George Hilton and Paola Quattrini, an outtake reel, image gallery and English and Italian trailers. For a full release breakdown, read Justin Dekker's 4K UHD review.
Description: Hours after Bruce Lee's death, Bruceploitation was born. And for the next 10 years, talented martial artists were enlisted to mimic iconic aspects of Lee's life, style and mannerisms. Fueled by equal parts deception and demand, these films instead created one of the most wildly entertaining sub-genres in movie history. THE GAME OF CLONES: BRUCEPLOITATION COLLECTION VOLUME 1 now presents 14 of the very best – and frequently very bizarre – films starring Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee, Bruce Liang and more, all restored for the first time ever from original elements. Then in the "fascinating gem of a documentary" (Culture Mix) ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, director David Gregory tracks down the surviving Bruces – along with martial arts legends, producers, directors, distributors, historians and more – to reveal the entire shocking and bittersweet saga behind a celluloid phenomenon that still refuses to die.
Severin's The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1 contains several films and a documentary across seven Blu-ray discs. Extras include Severin's Kung Fu Theater With actor / director / Bruceploitation expert Michael Worth, various audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes and more. An eighth bonus Blu-ray is exclusive to Severin's online store. For a full breakdown of the Severin-exclusive edition, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
Finally this week, Paramount Home Media Distribution has two 4K UHD upgrades to offer. First is Trey Parker's South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), starring the voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes, Jesse Howell and Anthony Cross-Thomas. Sourced from a new 4K master, Paramount presents South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio and Dolby Vision HDR. A Blu-ray copy features a sing-a-long version of the film, as well as filmmaker commentary, a music video, teaser and two theatrical trailers.
Also coming to 4K UHD from Paramount is Trey Parker's Team America: World Police (2004), starring the voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller, Daran Norris, Phil Hendrie and Masasa Moyo. Sourced from a new 4K master, Paramount presents South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and Dolby Vision HDR. A Blu-ray copy features the unrated version of the film, as well as an introduction, several featurettes, deleted / extended scenes and outtakes and animated storyboards.