For the week of March 23rd, the Criterion Collection has a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal and John Lithgow.
Description: An epic elegy of greed, betrayal, and murder, Martin Scorsese's masterly adaptation of David Grann's true-crime best seller unfolds in 1920s Oklahoma, where the discovery of oil brings extraordinary wealth to the Osage people. Into their world comes ne'er-do-well army veteran Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), who joins his duplicitous uncle (Robert De Niro) in a horrifying scheme to rob the Osage of their money and land. Lily Gladstone charges the film with her transcendent performance as Burkhart's Osage wife, Mollie Kyle, gradually awakening to the evil that surrounds her. With Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese brings a dark chapter of American history to the screen with gripping narrative power and a profound feeling for the weight of systemic injustice.
Criterion's Blu-ray releases of Killers of the Flower Moon are sourced from a 4K master approved by Martin Scorsese and contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio (as well as an audio description track), with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras are placed on a dedicated second Blu-ray disc and include a new documentary with Scorsese, DiCaprio, Gladstone, author David Grann, Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Osage cultural consultant John Williams, editor Thelma Schoonmaker and others, a second new documentary "WahZhaZhe": A Song for the Osage, about the final shot of the film and including Scorsese, Chief Standing Bear and six members of the Osage Nation, an archival interview with director of photography Rodrigo Prieto, excerpts from the 2023 Cannes Film Festival press conference, a short program on the cover art by Noah Kemohah and trailers. Also included is a booklet with "essays by critic Vinson Cunningham and film programmer Adam Piron".
New on Blu-ray from IFC Films is Matt Johnson's BlackBerry, starring Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Rich Sommer, Saul Rubinek, Michael Ironside and Cary Elwes.
Description: The true story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone, BlackBerry is a whirlwind ride through a ruthlessly competitive Silicon Valley at breakneck speeds.
IFC's Blu-ray of BlackBerry is a two-Blu-ray set with both the 120-minute theatrical version and the extended 136-minute BlackBerry: The Limited Series version. Extras include three audio commentary tracks: one with director / co-writer Matt Johnson and editor Curt Lobb, a second with Johnson, producer / co-writer Matt Miller, executive producer / composer Jay McCarrol, associate producer / cinematographer Jared Raab and production designer Adam Belanger and a third with former RIM engineer Matthias Wand. Also included are the featurettes The Crew of BlackBerry, Scoring BlackBerry, Editing BlackBerry, Cinematography of Blackberry, Directing BlackBerry, Locations of BlackBerry and Animatics of BlackBerry, a blooper reel and a theatrical trailer. Also included is a booklet with new writing by filmmaker BenDavid Grabinski.
New on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is Abel Góngora and Tomohisa Shimoyama's anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: The Complete Limited Series (スコット・ピルグリム テイクス・オフ), with the English audio featuring the voices of Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Satya Bhabha, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans and Anna Kendrick.
Description: Based on the cult classic live-action film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Scott Pilgrim returns in an 8-part animated series. The original film cast (including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin and Anna Kendrick) reprise their roles in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: The Complete Limited Series. Scott meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, but learns he must defeat her seven evil exes in order to date her. Then things get even more complicated. Based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, this is Scott Pilgrim like you've never seen before!
Universal's Blu-ray of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: The Complete Limited Series contains all eight episodes, with English: DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio (a Japanese: DTS 5.1 audio track is also included) and English SDH subtitles. Extras include episode commentaries with creators and executive producers Bryan Lee O'Malley and BenDavid Grabinski.
New on Blu-ray from Magnolia Home Entertainment is Radu Jude's Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc), starring Katia Pascariu, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Mălai, Nicodim Ungureanu, Alexandru Potocean and Andi Vasluianu.
Description: A teacher finds her career and reputation under threat after her sex tape is leaked. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, she refuses to surrender to their pressure. Presented in Radu Jude's controversial director's cut.
Magnolia's Blu-ray of Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn contains a new Interview with Radu Jude and a booklet with an essay by critic John Semley.
New on Blu-ray from Watermelon Pictures is Usman Riaz's animated film The Glassworker (شیشہ گر), with the English voice cast featuring Art Malik, Sacha Dhawan, Anjli Mohindra, Tony Jayawardena, Teresa Gallagher and Mina Anwar.
Description: From Mano Animation Studios and director Usman Riaz comes The Glassworker, an original hand-drawn animated feature film.
A young Vincent and his father Tomas run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an impending war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young, talented violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son.
The love that develops between Vincent and Alliz is challenged constantly by the differing views of their fathers. It is a time when patriotism and social standing are considered more important than free thought and artistic pursuits. It is a time when love is just not relevant.
Watermelon Pictures' Blu-ray of The Glassworker contains English: DTS-HD MA 5.1 or 2.0 audio tracks. Extras include a making of documentary and a storyboard gallery.
New on Blu-ray from MUBI is Oliver Hermanus's The History of Sound, starring Paul Mescal, Josh O'Connor, Chris Cooper, Raphael Sbarge, Molly Price and Peter Mark Kendall.
Description: Starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor, The History of Sound is a sweeping, moving and tender romance that spans decades and continents. In 1917, Lionel (Mescal, Aftersun) – a young, talented music student – meets David (O'Connor, Challengers) at the Boston Conservatory, where a connection over a deep love of music leads to a fleeting love affair. They reconnect years later, leading to an impromptu journey through the backwoods of Maine to collect traditional folk songs. This unexpected reunion and the music they preserve will shape the course of Lionel's life for decades to come. From director Oliver Hermanus (Living), this is a beautiful and compelling cinematic experience that invites audiences to reflect on the power of music and love.
Turning to catalog titles, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive Collection has a Blu-ray set for the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault: Volume 2 (1935-1963), a two-Blu-ray set with 51 shorts, 26 of which have never been released on DVD or Blu-ray and a further 25 of which are newly remastered. Extras include five audio commentary tracks by animation experts. For a full release breakdown and a complete list of included shorts, read Randy Miller's Blu-ray review.
Coming to Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment is Tadashi Imai's Cruel Tale of Bushido (武士道残酷物語) (1963), starring Kinnosuke Nakamura, Eijirō Tōno, Kyôko Kishida, Masayuki Mori, Takeshi Katô and Ineko Arima. Sourced from a 4K master by Toei, Eureka presents Cruel Tale of Bushido with a choice of lossless mono or DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and optional, newly-revised English subtitles. Extras include new interviews with film critic Tony Rayns, a new video essay by author Jonathan Clements (A Brief History of Japan) and a trailer. Limited edition content includes a "collector's booklet featuring new writing by Japanese cinema expert Hayley Scanlon" and a slipcover.
Coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Kino Lorber is Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977), starring James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Elliott Gould and Edward Fox. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents A Bridge Too Far with a choice of DTS-HD MA 2.0 or 5.1 audio tracks and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new audio commentary with filmmaker Steve Mitchell and author Steven Jay Rubin (Combat Films: American Realism). Also included is a legacy audio commentary with screenwriter William Goldman and the film's main crew, as well as a remastered theatrical trailer. For full release breakdowns, read Svet Atanasov's Blu-ray review and 4K UHD review.
Coming to 4K UHD combo pack from Kino Lorber is Ted Kotcheff's Uncommon Valor (1983), starring Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall 'Tex' Cobb and Patrick Swayze. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents A Bridge Too Far with a choice of DTS-HD MA 2.0 or 5.1 audio tracks and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include two new audio commentaries: one with film historian Steve Mitchell writer / producer Cyrus Voris and another with author and critic Douglas E. Winter, as well as new interviews with actors Reb Brown and Harold Sylvester. Also included is a theatrical trailer.
Finally from Kino is a remastered Blu-ray for Brian Levant's Beethoven (1992), starring Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile and Sarah Rose Karr. Sourced from a new 2K scan of the 35mm interpositive, Kino presents Beethoven with two new audio commentary tracks: one with Brian Levant (moderated by filmmaker Douglas Hosdale) and another with film historian Joe Ramoni, as well as a theatrical trailer.
Coming to Blu-ray from Radiance Films is Grzegorz Królikiewicz's The Dancing Hawk (Tańczący jastrząb) (1977), starring Franciszek Trzeciak, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Beata Tumkiewicz, Czesław Przybyła, Tadeusz Łomnicki and Józef Fryźlewicz. Sourced from a 4K master by Filmoteka Narodowa, Radiance presents The Dancing Hawk with Polish: LPCM Mono audio and optional, newly improved English subtitles. Extras include a new interview with critic Carmen Gray and two short films by cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczyński: Soup (1974) and Oh! I Can't Stop! (1975). Limited edition content includes a booklet with new writing by scholar Piotr Kletowski. For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
Coming to 4K UHD combo pack from Radiance is Ivan Passer's Cutter's Way (1981), starring Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry, Stephen Elliott and Patricia Donahue. Sourced from a new 4K master, Radiance presents Cutter's Way with DTS-HD MA Mono audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include three archival audio commentary tracks: one with novelist Matthew Specktor, another with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman and a third with assistant director Larry Franco and unit production manager Barrie Osborne, an isolated score track (in DTS-HD MA 2.0), the option to play the film with the original Cutter and Bone title sequence, archival interviews with Ivan Passer, Lisa Eichhorn, UA Classics executive Ira Deutchman and producer Paul Gurian, an archival featurette on composer Jack Nitzsche, archival introductions by Jeff Bridges and filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, an image gallery and a theatrical trailer. Limited edition content includes an "80-page bound book featuring new writing from Christina Newland, Nick Pinkerton, and Travis Woods, plus an archival interview with Ivan Passer". For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's 4K UHD review.
Finally from Radiance this week is a Blu-ray for Takashi Miike's Agitator (荒ぶる魂たち) (2001), starring Yoshiyuki Daichi, Tenma Shibuya, Mickey Curtis, Kôji Tsukamoto, Harumi Sone and Taisaku Akino. Sourced from an HD master by Kadokawa, Radiance presents the 150-minute theatrical version of Agitator with DTS-HD MA Mono audio and optional, newly improved English subtitles. Extras include a new audio commentary with Tom Mes, a new interview with Takashi Miike, the 200-minute extended version (presented from an SD transfer and in its original two-part form for the first time outside of Japan) and a trailer. Limited edition content includes a booklet with new writing by Tom Mes. For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
Coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Indicator / Powerhouse Films is Michael Laughlin's Dead Kids (AKA Strange Behavior) (1981), starring Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis, Marc McClure and Dey Young. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the film's original camera negative, Indicator presents Dead Kids in both its 102-minute original Australian theatrical version and the 100-minute US version (Strange Behavior), with lossless mono audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include two audio commentaries: one from 2014 with director / co-writer Michael Laughlin and filmmaker David Gregory and another from 2008 co-writer Bill Condon and Dan Shor and Dey Young, new interviews with Michael Murphy, Fiona Lewis and Dey Young, an interview from 2014 with special make-up effects artist Craig Reardon, an interview from 2016 and audio excerpts from a 2024 podcast with Dan Shor, interview from Mark Hartley's Ozploitation documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008) with producer Antony I Ginnane, a new presentation of an interview with Ginnane from 2004, a new appreciation by the academic and Australian cinema specialist Stephen Morgan, an isolated score track, image galleries and original theatrical trailers, along with a short trailer commentary by Patton Oswalt. Limited edition content includes an "exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Paul Duane, an exclusive extract from producer Antony I Ginnane's unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with director Michael Laughlin, actor Michael Murphy, and composers Tangerine Dream, and full film credits".
Also coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Indicator / Powerhouse Films is David Hemmings' The Survivor (1981), starring Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, Joseph Cotten, Angela Punch McGregor, Peter Sumner and Lorna Lesley. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the film's original camera negative, Indicator presents Dead Kids in three versions: a previously unseen 100-minute director's cut, the 99-minute original Australian theatrical version and the shorter 81-minute US version, with lossless mono audio and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include two audio commentaries on the Australian version: one from 2018 with with producer Antony I Ginnane and film critic and archivist Jaimie Leonarder and another from 2012 with Ginnane and horror hostess Katarina Leigh Waters, outtakes from Mark Hartley's Ozploitation documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008) with Ginnane and cinematographer John Seale, an introduction by Ginnane from 2004, a 2016 featurette on author James Herbert, excerpts from the Australian TV program Clapperboard (1980) episode "The Survivor", featuring behind-the-scenes footage, a TV interview with Peter Sumner from 1980, Super 8mm footage from 1980 filmed and narrated by stuntman Dean Bennett, a new appreciation by the academic and Australian cinema specialist Stephen Morgan, image galleries a TV spot and an original theatrical trailer, along with a short trailer commentary by Brian Trenchard-Smith. Limited edition content includes an "exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Sergio Angelini, an exclusive extract from producer Antony I Ginnane's unpublished memoirs, an archival production report, archival interviews with director David Hemmings, and actors Jenny Agutter and Joseph Cotten, and full film credits".
Coming to 4K UHD combo pack from Cult Epics is Tinto Brass' The Key (La chiave) (1983), starring Stefania Sandrelli, Frank Finlay, Franco Branciaroli, Barbara Cupisti, Tinto Brass and Armando Marra. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the oriinal camera negative, Cult Epics presents The Key with English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio (with some portions of Italian with optional English subtitles) and HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new audio commentary with film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger and 4K trailers for Tinto Brass films, while the included Blu-ray additionally includes a new interview with Franco Branciaroli, a new program on the film's Venetian locations, a new featurette on Ennio Morricone's score, a 33-minute presentation of the score, a =n interview with Tinto Brass from 2001, outtakes and image galleries. A 20-page booklet includes an essay by Eugenio Ercolani. For a full release breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's 4K UHD review.
Coming to 4K UHD from Arrow Video is Richard Fleischer's Red Sonja (1985), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brigitte Nielsen, Sandahl Bergman, Paul L. Smith, Ernie Reyes, Jr. and Paul Lacey. Sourced from a 4K master, Arrow presents Red Sonja with a new Dolby Vision HDR grading and a choice of original lossless mono or DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio options. Extras include two new audio commentaries: one with critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth and another with comic book expert Dave Baxter, new interviews with Ernie Reyes Jr., action unit supervisor Vic Armstrong, Schwarzenegger's stunt double Pietro Torrisi, stuntman Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, assistant production manager Stefano Spadoni, FX artist Domingo Lizcano (discussing the work of Emilio Ruiz del Río) and make-up FX assistant Adriano Carboni. Also included is an archival unreleased interview with poster artist Renato Casaro, the featurettes The Man Who Raised Hollywood and Red Sonja vs. Kalidor: The Making of a Misunderstanding, an image gallery and a theatrical trailer. Limited edition content includes a "perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the film by John Walsh, Nanni Cobretti and Barry Forshaw", a double-sided, fold-out poster with original and new artwork and six art cards. For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's 4K UHD review.
Finally this week, Shout Factory has a 4K UHD upgrade for Joel Cohen and Ethan Coen's Hail, Caesar! (2016), starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill and Ralph Fiennes. Sourced from a 4K master, Shout presents Hail, Caesar! with a choice of DTS-HD MA 5.1 or 2.0 audio options and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include four featurettes.