My Two Cents
Tuesday, 15 September 2026 12:43

Criterion’s December slate includes Best Picture-winning The English Patient in 4K, plus Grizzly Man, Nashville & more!

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All right, we’ve got just a quick update for you here at The Bits today, but it’s a good one.

Our friends at the Criterion Collection have just unveiled their final titles of 2026, and the December slate is a dandy!

On December 1, look for Robert Altman’s Nashville (1975) (Spine #683 – 4K + BD and BD) and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style (1961) (Spine #286 – 4K + BD and BD).

Following on December 8 are Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man (2005) (Spine #1339 – BD) and Anthony Minghella’s Best Picture-winning The English Patient (1996) (Spine #1338 – 4K and BD)!

And on December 15, look for Eclipse Series 50: Sara Gómez’s Revolutionary Cuba on Blu-ray—which includes 15 films (One Way or Another, I’ll Go to Santiago, Excursion to Vueltabajo, Guanabacoa: Chronicle of My Family, And… We’ve Got Sabor, On the Other Island, An Island for Miguel, Treasure Island, Local Power, Popular Power, A Documentary About Transit, On Sugar Workers’ Quarters, My Contribution, Year One, Prenatal Care, and About Extra Hours and Volunteer Work)—as well as Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner (1940) (Spine #1340 – 4K + BD and BD).

Not half bad!

It seems to me that The English Patient is one of the few modern Best Picture-winners not yet available on 4K disc, so it’s great to see it finally (licensed from Miramax via Paramount). It’s also a personal favorite of mine. [Read on here...]

And I’m pleased to see that it features a new 4K scan and restoration with Dolby Vision, supervised by cinematographer John Seale—its one of his best works. Keep in mind, Seale was the DP on George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, so that’s saying something.

Here’s a look at the cover art for the whole December slate

Criterion's December 2026 slate

BTW, some of you may have seen that Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale (2006) is returning to theaters next month in honor of its 20th anniversary. This was Daniel Craig’s first and arguably best outing as James Bond. Apparently, there’s a new 4K restoration of the film and a remixed soundtrack. This is being driven by Amazon MGM Studios. No word yet on whether there will be a new 4K Ultra HD release too, but it’s certainly possible.

Also today, Warner Bros and HBO are releasing Hacks: The Complete Series on Blu-ray on 12/1.

Here’s a nice surprise: Apple TV’s Chief of War is coming to Blu-ray on 11/17.

Also coming to Blu-ray that day from Fifth Season is BBC One/Amazon Prime’s The Night Manager: Season Two.

And AMC’s The Walking Dead: Dead City – Season Three is coming to Blu-ray on 11/17 as well.

Finally, Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity (2009) is coming to 4K Ultra HD on 10/27 from Kino Lorber. The film stars Clive Owen and Julia Roberts.

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)

 

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