Arrow’s Toy Robot Video has announced their October slate, which includes Trick or Treat (1986) in 4K UHD and High Road to China (1983), Manhunt (1976), and Watchers (1988) on Blu-ray. And they’re due to announce their November slate on Friday morning.
Arrow Video itself has a nice October slate of Blu-ray and 4K titles, which include A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy (1987-91), Monster Squad (1987), and Cujo (1983) all in 4K in the UK only, as well as The Frighteners (1996), Futureworld (1976), and The Last Boy Scout (1991) on 4K and Blu-ray and the US, UK, and Canada. They also have the Enter the Video Store: Video Vengeance box set coming in October too, which includes Ministry of Vengeance (1989), The Final Alliance (1990), R.O.T.O.R. (1987), Hangfire (1991), and Joshua Tree (1993) all on Blu-ray. And they should be announcing their November slate too, which may include Logan’s Run (1976) and Clash of the Titans (1981) in 4K UHD (both are known to be coming, so they could be announced any time).
Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Elmer Gantry (1960), In the Name of the Father (2000), The Hurricane (1999), and Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) are all “coming soon” on 4K Ultra HD. The long-awaited The Pink Panther: Masterpiece Collection (1963-1978) is finally coming as a unified 4K box set on 9/8, featuring the 5 Peter Sellers films plus a Blu-ray of bonus features. And Bulletproof (1996) is coming to 4K UHD on 9/22, followed by Rollercoaster (1977) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) in 4K UHD on 9/29.
Our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have unveiled a nice slate of titles for release in September and October, including David Lean’s Ryan’s Daughter (1970) on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, and Maverick: The Complete Series (1957-62), Hanna Barbera’s The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959-69), Norman Taurog’s Boys Town (1938) and Bundle of Joy (1956), Charles Walters’ Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960), Julien Duvivier’s The Great Waltz (1938), Lloyd Bacon’s Marked Woman (1937), Delbert Mann’s Dear Heart (1964), Edgar Selwyn’s Skyscraper Souls (1932), and John Ford’s The Lost Patrol (1934).
Lionsgate has finally announced the 4K Ultra HD release of Jon Favreau’s Made (2001) and Stewart Hendler’s Sorority Row (2009) on their Lionsgate Limited website, along with Albert Pyun’s Kickboxer 2 (1991) on Blu-ray (a Vestron title) and a deluxe Blu-ray of Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick’s The Blair Witch Project (1999). Look for those in September and October.
Universal has set The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection for 4K Ultra HD release on 9/29, including all 7 films in the series—The Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Werewolf of London (1935), and She-Wolf of London (1946)! It’s nice to see Universal starting to release all the deep catalog classic monsters titles in 4K!
Meanwhile, MPI has released Dark Shadows: Volume 1 (1967) on Blu-ray, featuring 40 episodes (#210-250, featuring the introduction of Barnabas) digitally remastered and upscaled from the original 2-inch analog SD video masters (and surviving filmed kinescope copies). English subtitles will be included, unlike the previous DVD editions. And if this release is a success, MPI plans to release the entire Dark Shadows archive on the format.
On the music front, I’ve recently gotten my hands on Rhino and Atlantic’s new Blu-ray Audio releases of Yes’ classic The Yes Album (1971), Fragile (1971), and Close to the Edge (1972), which each feature lossless 2.0 stereo and 5.1 mixes, along with new Dolby Atmos mixes by Steve Wilson. And holy s-it are they fantastic! Each retails for about $25, and if you’re a classic rock or music fan generally, they’re a revelation and not to be missed. Trust me: “Roundabout” has never sounded more in the round!
Finally today, I wanted to say a word about Disney 4K catalog titles. There have been a lot, and I mean a LOT, of rumors about forthcoming 4K catalog titles, some reportedly from retail sites and others leaking various places online. I do know for a fact that more 4K catalog titles are coming from the studio in the months ahead, but I would strongly caution you to take all of these rumors with a massive dose of salt. Some of the posts you may be seeing are well-meaning speculation, but there are also a lot rumors just being spread by folks looking for clicks, many of the titles mentioned smack of wish fulfillment, and the studio’s actual title plans have been in flux a lot lately. So I would just say this: Don’t believe anything you see until titles are actually announced by the studio or start to appear for pre-order on online disc retail sites you trust. And don’t assume that just because you’ve seen a specific title mentioned a lot online that it’s been announced. Hopefully, enough said.
That’s all for now! Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter/X, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)