For the week of April 14th, Paramount Home Media Distribution will release Jeff Fowler's Sonic the Hedgehog 3, starring Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Krysten Ritter, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore and James Marsden.
Description: Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails are back for their most epic adventure yet. The team reunites to face a new formidable foe, Shadow, a mysterious hedgehog with powers unlike anything they've ever seen. Team Sonic must secure an unexpected alliance if they hope to stop Shadow and save the planet. Keanu Reeves joins the all-star cast as Shadow the Hedgehog.
Paramount's Blu-ray releases of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include audio commentary by Jeff Fowler and Ben Schwartz, the featurettes Sonic Family Fun, Enter Shadow, Robotnik Family Reunion: Ivo and Gerald, For the Love of Sonic: Directing a Trilogy, The Fox, the Echidna, and the Hedgehog, Live-Action Lunacy: Acting Opposite Puppets, From the Cryo-Tank to London: The World of Sonic, Team Sonic vs. Shadow and A Very Sonic Christmas, as well as a gag reel and deleted scenes. In addition to standard packaging, both Sonic and Shadow (Amazon Exclusive) SteelBooks will also be available.
New on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is Josh Ruben's Heart Eyes, starring Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster.
Description: For the past several years, the "Heart Eyes Killer" has wreaked havoc on Valentine's Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine's Day, no couple is safe….
Sony's Blu-ray of Heart Eyes contains filmmaker commentary, a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes and Murders & Meet Cutes: The Making of Heart Eyes.
New on Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Junpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi's anime film Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (ニンジャバットマン対ヤクザリーグ), starring the voices of Kôichi Yamadera, Daisuke Ono, Akira Ishida, Kengo Kawanishi, Yûki Kaji and Hôchû Ôtsuka.
The Batman Family has returned to present-day Gotham City after traveling back to the warring states period and saving history from being altered in the previous film, Batman Ninja. The next day, they witness a startling event – the Japanese island has disappeared, and a giant island called "Hinomoto" appears in the sky over Gotham City. Soon, countless Yakuza descend from the sky and attack the people of Gotham City. And, the Justice League has disappeared. Detecting a strange energy reaction in the sky, Batman heads for Hinomoto to find its underlying cause. There, the Dark Knight finds a world where the Yakuza war with each other, and brutality reigns without honor or humanity. At the top of the world is the Yakuza League, a group of superpowered individuals, who look suspiciously like the Justice League. The Yakuza League is invading Gotham and, to save the city, Batman and his allies are in for the fight of their lives!
The all-new feature film, featuring characters from DC and reimagined by Japan's finest artists, finds Batman and his friends battling familiar faces transformed into villains in an alternate universe in a desperate attempt to save Gotham.
Warner's 4K UHD release of Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League features a choice of Japanese (with English subtitles) or English audio tracks, with additional language options on the Blu-ray edition. Extras include the featurettes Bringing Justice to Japan and Anime Action: Choreographing the Fights. On the same day, Warner will release a 4K UHD upgrade for the previous film, Batman Ninja (2018).
Also coming from Warner is the Blu-ray and 4K UHD premiere of Steven Soderbergh's The Good German (2006), starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges, Tony Curran and Leland Orser. Extras include a theatrical trailer. On the same day, Warner will issue a 4K UHD upgrade for Soderbergh's The Informant! (2009), starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Rick Overton and Tom Papa. Extras include commentary by Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.
Turning to catalog titles. Kino Lorber have a remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Allan Dwan's Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), starring John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker, Wally Cassell, James Brown. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Sands of Iwo Jima with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include new audio commentary by filmmaker / historian Steve Mitchell and author Steven Jay Rubin (Combat Films: American Realism), while the Blu-ray additionally includes The Making of Sands of Iwo Jima and a theatrical trailer.
Then from Kino comes the Blu-ray and 4K UHD premiere of John Ford's Donovan's Reef (1963), starring John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen, Jack Warden, Cesar Romero and Dick Foran. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Donovan's Reef with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include two new audio commentaries: one by film historian Joseph McBride (author of Searching for John Ford) and the other by film historian Dwayne Epstein (author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank), while the Blu-ray additionally includes John Ford's short film The Growler Story (1957) and a theatrical trailer.
Finally from Kino is a Blu-ray for John Boulting and Roy Boulting's Heavens Above! (1963), starring Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Ian Carmichael, Isabel Jeans, Bernard Miles and Brock Peters. Kino's Blu-ray includes audio commentary by authors and comedy historians Gemma and Robert Ross.
Coming to remastered Blu-ray from Fun City Editions is John Sayles' Baby, It's You (1983), starring Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin, Jack Davidson, Leora Dana and Bill Raymond. Previously released in 2015, Fun City Editions' Blu-ray of Baby, It's You is sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. Extras include a new audio commentary with Bill Ackerman, new interviews with John Sayles, Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano and Matthew Modine and an image gallery. Limited edition content includes a booklet with new essays by Gavin Smith and Caroline Madden.
Coming to 4K UHD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Abel Ferrara's King of New York (1990), starring Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes and Giancarlo Esposito. Sourced from Arrow Films' 2020 4K master, Lionsgate presents King of New York with a choice of the original theatrical stereo audio or a DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. New extras include The Sacred and Profane in King of New York, Flashback on King of New York: Christopher Walken and Flashback on King of New York: Paul Calderon. Also included are two audio commentaries: one with Abel Ferrara and another with composer Joe Delia, producer Mary Kane, casting director Randy Sabusawa, and editor Anthony Redman, the documentary A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara, the featurette The Adventures of Schoolly D: Snowboarder, interviews with Abel Ferrara and producer Augusto Caminito, a music video an original theatrical trailer and TV spots.
Also coming from Lionsgate is a remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct (1992), starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt and Leilani Sarelle. Sourced from StudioCanal's 2019-2020 4K master, Lionsgate presents Basic Instinct with a choice of the original LPCM 2.0 audio or a DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. New extras include the 2021 documentary Basic Instinct: Sex, Death & Stone, the 2021 featurette An Unending Story: Scoring Basic Instinct and a 2021 4K trailer. Legacy extras include content not seen since the 1993 Laserdisc edition and start with three audio commentary tracks: one with Paul Verhoeven and cinematographer Jan de Bont, another with journalist Camille Paglia and a third from 1993 with Paul Verhoeven. Video extras include introductions by Sharon Stone and Paul Verhoeven, the EPK featurette The Making of Basic Instinct, the VHS featurette Inside Basic Instinct, the Laserdisc featurette Secrets of Basic Instinct, the documentary Blonde Poison: The Making of Basic Instinct, the featurettes A Conversation with Sharon Stone and Cleaning Up Basic Instinct a video scrapbook, storyboard comparisons, original screen tests, a theatrical trailer, director's cut trailer and a TV spot.
Note: As of this writing, both King of New York and Basic Instinct are only available as Lionsgate Limited Exclusive SteelBooks.
Coming to standalone Blu-ray and 4K UHD from the Criterion Collection is Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express (重慶森林) (1994), starring Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow and Chen Jinquan. Sourced from a 4K master with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio (both supervised and approved by Wong Kar-wai), Criterion presents Chungking Express in 4K SDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include an interview from 2002 with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, an episode of Moving Pictures from 1996 featuring interviews with Wong and Doyle, deleted scenes and a trailer. Also included is an essay by critic Amy Taubin.
Finally this week, Radiance Films has a Blu-ray for Shôhei Imamura's The Eel (うなぎ) (1997), starring Koji Yakusho, Mitsuko Baishô, Akira Emoto, Fujio Tokita, Shô Aikawa and Misa Shimizu. Radiance presents both the 117-minute theatrical and 134-minute director's cuts of The Eel with LPCM Mono audio and optional, newly improved English subtitles. Extras include new interviews with critic Tony Rayns and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan, a new visual essay by Tom Mes and a trailer. Also included is a limited edition booklet with "a newly translated archival interview with Imamura". For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.