The folks at Vinegar Syndrome have set standard-edition versions of Radley Metzger’s The Image (1975), Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby’s Deranged (1974), and Brett Leonard’s Virtuosity (1995) for 4K release on 2/25.

Meanwhile, Vinegar’s Cinématographe label will release standard-edition versions of Jonathan Demme’s Last Embrace (1979) in 4K on 1/28, followed by Robert Altman’s Thieves Like Us (1974) on 2/25.

Our friends at Shout! Factory have just set Ken Russell’s classic rock opera Tommy (1975)—featuring the music of The Who—for 4K release on 3/18, along with Allan Holzman’s Forbidden World (1982) produced by Roger Corman. Following on 3/25 is Fred Dekker’s Night of the Creeps (1986). Also coming on 3/25 from Shout! is the Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume 6 Blu-ray box set, which includes Swordswomen Three (1970), The Twelve Gold Medallions (1970), The Black Enforcer (1972), Duel for Gold (1971), Finger of Doom (1972), Na Cha and the Seven Devils (1973), Shadow Girl (1970), Swordsman at Large (1971), The Black Tavern (1972), The Young Avenger (1972), and Crazy Nuts of Kung Fu (1974).

Radiance has set Shōhei Imamura’s The Eel (1997) for Blu-ray release on 3/25, along with Hardboiled: Three Pu Thrillers by Alain Corneau that same day, which includes Police Python 357 (1976), Série noire (1979), and Choice of Arms (1981). On 2/25, look for Kinji Fukasaku’s Hokuriku Proxy War (1977) on Blu-ray, along with Dominik Graf’s The Cat (1988). And on 1/18, look for Peter Fleischmann’s Weak Spot (1975).

And Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set Robert Enrico’s Ho! (1968), Christian-Jaque’s The Black Tulip (1964), and Patrice Leconte’s Half a Chance (1998) for Blu-ray release on 3/18, followed by Luis Buñuel’s Diary of a Chambermaid (1964) on 3/25.

Now then, in terms of catalog titles our sources are telling us may be coming soon to physical 4K Ultra HD, we’ve recently reported here that Anthony Mingella’s The English Patient (1996) has been licensed by Paramount (which controls the Miramax catalog) to Criterion for 4K release this year. Well, we’ve also confirmed that they’ve licensed Cold Mountain (2003) to Criterion as well.

Here’s something interesting: A title we’ve reported previously was being remastered in 4K—Simon West’s Con Air (1997)—is now available in 4K Digital on iTunes and other digital services. That’s a Touchstone film, by the way, which is controlled by Disney. (But Sony is the distributor via their deal with Disney.)

Also now available in 4K Digital is Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997) and The Terminal (2004). And we know that a 4K remaster of Spielberg’s Minority Report (2002) has been completed as well, but is not yet widely available. It’s possible the physical release of the latter is being held until closer to the theatrical release of Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in May. But you can reasonably assume that all three Spielberg titles will be released on physical 4K at some point in the not too distant future. These releases require the filmmaker’s sign off and approval though, and such things take time.

In terms of titles others have reported are coming in 4K, a few online sources have claimed that Paramount’s recently-announced Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Final Season and Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Complete Series are coming in 4K Ultra HD as well as Blu-ray and DVD on 3/25. That is 100% incorrect. We’ve confirmed directly with multiple studio sources that these will be Blu-ray and DVD only. So adjust your expectations accordingly.

In other news today, director David Fincher has given a few interviews lately (including here at EW and here at Collider) in which he’s talked about the process of remastering his film Se7en (1996) in 4K—see our review here at the site posted just today. Interestingly, he’s specifically discussed his light-handed use of AI tools to make a few minor adjustments. The result of his remastering is fantastic, but of course any mention of AI being employed in this process has set the more reactive corners of the film/disc enthusiast Interwebs afire with panic and dread. “AI” has become the dreaded new “DNR” boogieman for some of these folks it seems, which was itself the new “edge enhancement.” This goes to prove that such alarmism in home video remastering goes all the way back to DVD, and mostly it’s gotten silly. But of course, there have indeed been a few cases when the heavy-handed use of new digital remastering technologies has gone so far as to ruin a 4K release, most recently the UHD discs of James Cameron’s True Lies and George Lucas’ American Graffiti (and before that, StudioCanal’s Terminator 2 4K and Fox’s Predator Blu-ray). Remember, AI, DNR, edge-enhancement—all of these things are merely tools. The simple use of them is not bad in and of itself; it’s how they’re used that matters. And as remastering teams gain more experience, these problems do tend to solve themselves. Just a few words of perspective on the subject.

And finally today, are any of you Star Wars fans? As some of you may be aware, the legendary concept artist Colin Cantwell passed away back in 2022. Last year, a friend of mine on Facebook—who was mutual friends with Colin—contacted me asking for help. It seems that Colin’s longtime partner, Sierra, has been sorting through an enormous amount of the late artist’s prints, drawings, and other belongings, and she wanted to create a website to share his legacy with the world. Colin, as you may know, was the original designer of many of the iconic spacecraft from the original Star Wars (1977), including the X-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie Fighter, and Star Destroyer. You may also recall that a “Cantwell-class” Star Destroyer appeared in the first season of Andor in his honor. So my friend has been working with Sierra to make this website happen, and now it’s live at ColinCantwell.com. To help support this effort—as well as the TSJ Foundation that Colin and Sierra have long been involved with in support of STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) for kids, and the eventual production of a documentary about his work—the site is now selling some of Colin’s signed prints for prices ranging from $20 to $60. Plus there are T-shirts, mugs, etc. You can find lots of them here. And here’s the cool thing: They’ve offered readers of The Digital Bits an exclusive 15% discount for a limited time. Just use the code “BITS” when checking out. Act fast if you’re interested, as the signed prints are in limited supply. But it’s a great cause, not to mention a chance to buy a very cool piece of Star Wars history, and to support the preservation of a good man’s legacy!

That’s all for today, folks. Back tomorrow with more. Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)