For the week of April 27th, Lionsgate Home Entertainment has a Blu-ray and 4K UHD release for Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, Rebecca Henderson and Sigourney Weaver.
Description: Ten-year-old Aurora has an intriguing neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) who kills real-life monsters — a hit man for hire. When Aurora needs help killing the monster she believes ate her family, she procures his services. Suspecting that her parents may have fallen victim to hit men gunning for him, Aurora's neighbor guiltily takes the job. To protect Aurora, he'll need to contend with an onslaught of assassins, a mysterious associate with killer heels (Sigourney Weaver), and accept that some monsters are real in this fantastical and wickedly inventive feature directorial debut from visionary creator Bryan Fuller.
Lionsgate's 4K UHD release of Dust Bunny contains HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Extras include a making of and several short featurettes. For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's 4K UHD review.
New on Blu-ray or 4K UHD from A24 is Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky, Dean Winters and Michael Potts.
Description: When a titan music mogul is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. A reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.
A24's Blu-ray releases of Highest 2 Lowest contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include a making of featurette, a discussion with Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, a music video for Alyana-Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" (directed by Spike Lee) and six collectible postcards.
New on Blu-ray from Shudder is Sasha Rainbow's Grafted, starring Jess Hong, Jared Turner, Mark Mitchinson, Benjamin Hudson, Sam Wang and Alison Quigan.
Description: When a brilliant but disfigured student is shunned by her fellow classmates at a prestigious university, she achieves the popularity she needs by putting her studies to a terrifying new use.
Shudder's Blu-ray of Grafted contains a making of featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, an EPK and three image galleries. For a full release breakdown, read Brian Orndorf's Blu-ray review.
New on Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Samuel Goldwyn Films is Jonny Campbell's Cold Storage, starring Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Sosie Bacon, Vanessa Redgrave, Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson.
Description: When a highly contagious, mutating fungus escapes a sealed facility, two young employees, joined by a grizzled bioterror operative, must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction, as the microorganism spreads and destroys everything in its path.
New on Blu-ray from Film Movement is Kei Chikaura's Great Absence (大いなる不在), starring Mirai Moriyama, Yoko Maki. Hideko Hara and Tatsuya Fuji.
Description: When working actor Takashi receives a jarring call from the police, he is forced to reconnect with his estranged father of 20 years, Yohji — an esteemed academic slipping rapidly into dementia. As Takashi attempts to piece together the mystery of Yohji's missing wife and the fractured life his father now inhabits, their reunion uncovers long-buried tensions and unspoken grief, forcing Takashi to trace the past of his father that he has long refused to accept.
Unfolding as a meditation on loss — of time, identity, and familial closeness never fully grasped — Great Absence is a "delicately devastating" (Variety) award-winning drama from rising star director Kei Chikaura that navigates the fragile terrain of memory, estrangement, and the quiet devastations of aging.
Film Movement's Blu-ray of Great Absence contains an interview with Kei Chikaura, behind-the-scenes footage and a 16-page booklet with an essay by film critic Brian Tallerico.
Also coming to Blu-ray from Film Movement is Zhang Yimou's Ju Dou (菊豆) (1990), starring Gong Li, Baotian Li, Wei Li, Zhang Yi and Ji-an Zheng. Sourced from a new 4K scan by Hiventy, Film Movement presents Ju Dou with a Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono audio track and optional English subtitles. Extras include audio commentary with Asian film experts Pierce Conran and James Marsh, a visual essay by Dr. Raymond Tsang, a featurette with Chinese filmmakers and critics discussing the film and a trailer. Also included is a 16-page booklet with an essay by cinema studies scholar Rui Xie. For a full release breakdown, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
New on Blu-ray from KimStim is Chie Hayakawa's Plan 75 (PLAN 75), starring Chieko Baishō, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Akashi, Taka Takao, Yumi Kawai and Hisako Ôkata.
Description: In a near dystopian future, Japan's government launches PLAN 75, a program encouraging the elderly to terminate their own lives to relieve its rapidly aging population's social and economic burdens. In Chie Hayakawa's remarkable and sensitive feature film debut, the lives of three ordinary citizens intersect in this new reality as they confront the crushing callousness of a world ready to dispose of those no longer deemed valuable. Legendary Japanese actress Chieko Baishō stars as a 78-year-old Michi who considers signing up for the program after losing her meager but fulfilling hotel job and the means to live independently. A young Plan 75 salesman Himoru (Hayato Isomura), initially believes in the program's benefits and serves as the human face of the program. And Maria (Stephanie Arianne), a Filipino care worker living overseas, reluctantly accepts a position with PLAN 75 to send money home to her ailing daughter. On the surface, the plan and its hawkers exude a kindness that serves as the film's chilling vision of bureaucratic indifference and our increasing loss of interconnectedness. However, Hayakawa's view is far from grim, as these characters soon learn to fully reckon with their own lives and what it truly means to live.
KimStim's Blu-ray of Plan 75 contains Chie Hayakawa's short film Niagara (2013), an interview with Hayakawa and a booklet with an essay by critic Hayley Scanlon.
Turning to catalog titles, Warner Archive Collection has a number of them coming to Blu-ray. They are:
John Ford's Arrowsmith (1931), starring Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, Alec B. Francis, Myrna Loy and Claude King. Sourced from a 2023 restoration by the Library of Congress and the Film Foundation, Warner Archive presents Arrowsmith with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include a 1937 Lux Radio Theater adaptation with Spencer Tracy and Fay Wray.
Michael Curtiz's 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), starring Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Arthur Byron, Lyle Talbot, Warren Hymer and Louis Calhern. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative, Warner Archive presents 20,000 Years in Sing Sing with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Vitaphone short films 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang and That Goes Double (both 1933), the Merrie Melodies shorts Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee and The Queen Was in the Parlor (both 1932), as well as the original theatrical trailer. For a full release breakdown, read Randy Miller's Blu-ray review.
Victor Fleming's Captains Courageous (1937), starring Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Charley Grapewin and Mickey Rooney. Sourced from a new 4K scan of best preservation elements, Warner Archive presents Captains Courageous with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Happy Harmonies short The Wayward Pups, the Robert Benchley short How to Start the Day, a radio promo for the film (all 1937) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
The double-feature Monogram Matinee Volume Two (1944-1947), featuring Phil Karlson's Louisiana (1944), starring Jimmie Davis, Margaret Lindsay, John Gallaudet, Freddie Stewart, Ralph Reed and Russell Hicks, along with Wallace Fox's Song of the Range (1947), starring Jimmy Wakely, Dennis Moore, Lee 'Lasses' White, Cay Forester, Sam Flint and Hugh Prosser. Sourced from new 4K scans of nitrate fine grains, Warner Archive presents Monogram Matinee Volume Two with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio.
Irving Reis' Crack-Up (1946), starring Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, Ray Collins, Wallace Ford and Dean Harens. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative, Warner Archive presents Crack-Up with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the MGM Crime Does Not Pay short Purity Squad (1945) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
David Butler's King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), starring Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders, Laurence Harvey, Michael Pate and Robert Douglas. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Warner Archive presents King Richard and the Crusaders with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo audio. Extras include the Looney Tunes short Satan's Waitin', the Merrie Melodies short Baby Buggy Bunny, the Joe McDoakes short So You Want to Be a Banker (all 1954) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Howard Zieff's Private Benjamin (1980), starring Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Armand Assante, Robert Webber, Sam Wanamaker and Barbara Barrie. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Warner Archive presents Private Benjamin with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include two episodes of the Private Benjamin TV series and the film's original theatrical trailer.
Coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Edward Ludwig's The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934), starring Claude Rains, Joan Bennett, Lionel Atwill, Juanita Quigley, Henry O'Neill and Henry Armetta. Sourced from a new 2K scan of a 35mm finegrain, Kino presents The Man Who Reclaimed His Head with two new audio commentaries: one with film historian David Del Valle and another with film historian Troy Howarth.
Coming to 4K UHD from Kino is Arthur Lubin's Hold That Ghost (1941), starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Mischa Auer and Evelyn Ankers. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Hold That Ghost with Dolby Vision HDR and two new audio commentaries: one with author / film historian Alan K. Rode and another with film historian Samm Deighan. Also included is a theatrical trailer.
Coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Kino is Danny DeVito's Throw Momma from the Train (1987), starring Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Kim Greist, Anne Ramsey, Kate Mulgrew and Branford Marsalis. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Kino presents Throw Momma from the Train with a choice of lossless 5.1 or 2.0 audio tracks and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include a new audio commentary with Joe Ramoni (Hats Off Entertainment), a new interview with cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, three legacy featurettes, four deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.
Finally from Kino is a Blu-ray for Daniel Taplitz's Nightlife (1989), starring Ben Cross, Maryam d'Abo, Keith Szarabajka, Camille Saviola, Jesse Corti and Glenn Shadix. Sourced from a new 2K scan of a 35mm interpositive, Kino presents Nightlife with two new audio commentaries: one with film historian / author Amanda Reyes and another with film historians David Del Valle and Peter Sawyer.
Coming to Blu-ray from Cinématographe is Howard W. Koch's Badge 373 (1973), starring Robert Duvall, Verna Bloom, Henry Darrow, Eddie Egan, Luis Avalos and Tracey Walter. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Cinématographe presents Badge 373 with DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio. Extras include a new audio commentary with film historian Steve Mitchell, a new video interview with retired NYPD detective Randy Jurgensen, a Turner Classic Movies introduction and outro, a new conversation between film historians Justin LaLiberty and Jason Bailey, a new video essay by Daniel Kremer, four radio spots, a TV spot and a theatrical trailer. Limited edition "Mediabook" packaging includes "new text essays by Mark Asch, author of New York Movies; film critics Paul Corupe and A.S. Hamrah; and Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty". For a full release breakdown, read Brian Orndorf's Blu-ray review.
Coming to Blu-ray from Raro Video is Silvio Amadio's So Young, So Lovely, So Vicious (Peccati di gioventù) (1975), starring Gloria Guida, Dagmar Lassander, Silvano Tranquilli, Fred Robsahm, Felicita Ghia and Rita Orlando. Raro presents So Young, So Lovely, So Vicious with Italian (and optional English subtitles) or English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio tracks. Extras include a new audio commentary with film historians / hosts of the Wild, Wild Podcast Adrian Smith and Rod Barnett. For a full release breakdown, read Svet Atanasov's Blu-ray review.
Coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Powerhouse Films / Indicator is Jean Rollin's The Grapes of Death (Les Raisins de la mort) (1978), starring Brigitte Lahaie, Marie-Georges Pascal, Félix Marten, Serge Marquand, Paul Bisciglia and Olivier Rollin. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Indicator presents The Grapes of Death with original mono audio, new and improved English subtitles and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include a new audio commentary with author Jeremy Richey (Sylvia Kristel: From 'Emmanuelle' to Chabrol), a new making of documentary ("featuring a new interview with co-writer Jean-Pierre Bouyxou, and contributions from writer/director Jean Rollin, actor Brigitte Lahaie, and key collaborator Natalie Perrey") a new presentation of an interview with Rollin and Lahaie from 2002, a new appreciation by author and film historian Stephen Thrower, an introduction by Rollin from 1998, an interview with Rollin from 2007, the German documentary Bloody Lips and Iron Roses (2001), image galleries and original French and German trailers. Limited edition content includes an "exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Elizabeth Purchell, an archival introduction by Jean Rollin, an archival interview with Brigitte Lahaie, an archival essay by Paul Hegarty, an extract from the film's pressbook, and full film credits".
Also coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Powerhouse Films / Indicator is Jean Rollin's The Living Dead Girl (La Morte vivante) (1982), starring Marina Pierro, Françoise Blanchard, Mike Marshall, Fanny Magier, Sam Selsky and Jean Rollin. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Indicator presents The Living Dead Girl with original mono audio, new and improved English subtitles and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include a new audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, audio commentary from 2003 with Jean Rollin, select-scene audio commentary from 2005 with Françoise Blanchard, new edits of interviews from 2005 with Rollin and Blanchard, and of 2012 interviews with actor Jean-Pierre Bouyxou and composer Philippe D'Aram, an introduction by Rollin from 1998, an interview with Rollin from 2007, the documentary Jean Rollin at Fantasia (2007), the newly-edited 2012 documentary Benoît Lestang, 17 ans the newly-updated documentary Dead or Alive (about the now-lost English-language American cut of the film), alternative scenes, image galleries and the original theatrical trailer. Limited edition content includes an "exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Will Sloan, archival writing by Jean Rollin on the making of the film, an archival interview with the director by Peter Blumenstock, an extract from the film's pressbook, and full film credits".
Coming to remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Arrow Video is Joe Dante's Innerspace (1987), starring Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis and Vernon Wells. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Arrow presents Innerspace with a choice of a new Dolby Atmos remix, original 70mm 6-track DTS-HD MA 4.1 or original DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo audio tracks and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include a new audio commentary with film critic Drew McWeeny, a nedw hour-long documentary Shrinkage: The Making of Innerspace (featuring new interviews with Joe Dante, producer Michael Finnell, visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren, visual effects artists Harley Jessup and Bill George and actor Robert Picardo), previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage from Joe Dante and Dennis Muren, archive audio commentary with Joe Dante, producer Michael Finnell, visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren and actors Kevin McCarthy and Robert Picardo, original storyboards, continuity and behnd-the-scenes Polaroids, production stills and posters galleries and a theatrical trailer. Limited edition content includes a double-sided fold-out poster with original artowrk and a "collectors' perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing by film critics Charlie Brigden, Michael Doyle, Josh Nelson, Jessica Scott and Andrea Subissati, a short guide to Joe Dante's stock company by Scott Saslow, plus the original exhibitors pamphlet". For full release breakdowns, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review and 4K UHD review.
Coming to 4K UHD from Arrow is Paul W.S. Anderson's Soldier (1998), starring Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen, Michael Chiklis, Jason Isaacs and Sean Pertwee. Sourced from a new 4K master (approved by Paul W.S. Anderson), Arrow presents Soldier with Dolby Vision HDR and a choice of DTS-HD MA 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 audio options. Extras include new interviews with actor James Black, assistant director Dennis Maguire, associate producer Fred Fontana, production designer David L. Snyder and author Danny Stewart (Soldier: From Script to Screen), a new behind-the-scenes look at the film's special effects with visual effects supervisor Craig Barron, a new new retrospective on the film with film historian Heath Holland, audio commentary with Paul W.S. Anderson, co-producer Jeremy Bolt and actor Jason Isaacs, interviews with visual effects supervisors Craig Barron and Van Ling and miniature supervisor Michael Joyce, an EPK, on-set cast and crew interviews and trailers. Limited edition content includes a "collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the film by film critic Priscilla Page".
Finally this week, the Criterion Collection has a three-disc Blu-ray or four-disc 4K UHD box set for John Singleton's Hood Trilogy (1991-2001), featuring a new Blu-ray or 4K UHD edition of Boyz n the Hood (1991), starring Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nia Long, Morris Chestnut and Tyra Ferrell, a remastered Blu-ray or 4K UHD edition of Poetic Justice (1993), starring Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry, Roger Guenveur Smith and Maya Angelou and the Blu-ray or 4K UHD premiere of Baby Boy (2001), starring Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Omar Gooding, Tamara LaSeon Bass, Candy Ann Brown and A.J. Johnson. All three films are sourced from 4K masters: Boyz n the Hood was supervised and approved by John Singleton and previously released by Sony in 2020 with a choice of original DTS-HD MA 2.0 Surround, 5.1 or a Dolby Atmos remix and HDR10. Criterion's edition adds Dolby Vision grading. Both Poetic Justice and Baby Boy have new 4K masters with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Surround (Poetic Justice) / DTS-HD MA 5.1 (Baby Boy) and Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include audio commentaries on all three films with Singleton, while video extras (which are placed on a dedicated Blu-ray disc in the 4K UHD edition) include a new conversation between filmmakers Ryan Coogler and Regina King, a new documentary on Singleton's filmmaking process, new audio interviews with actors Taraji P. Henson and Tyrese Gibson, archival interviews with cast and crew, a press conference from 1991, deleted scenes, audition footage, music videos, trailers and an essay by critic Julian Kimble.