Paramount has just listed John Guillermin’s King Kong (1976) for 4K UHD Steelbook release on 4/9 on Amazon. As some of you may know, this title has been available in 4K from StudioCanal in the UK since late 2022.
Speaking of 4K titles available from StudioCanal in the UK, the company has just officially set director Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart: Reprise (1981) for release in 4K UHD on 3/4. You can see the cover artwork below, and this link will take you to the Amazon.uk pre-order page. The title is all-region.
What’s more, StudioCanal is releasing Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960) in 4K on 1/19 as one of their Vintage Classic titles.
And while we’re talking UK releases, this would be a good time to mention that the British Film Institute (BFI) will be releasing Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Wages of Fear (1953) on physical 4K on 2/19. You’ll find the cover art and an Amazon UK link below as well.
Back on this side of the Atlantic, DreamWorks and Universal have set John Stevenson and Mark Osborne’s original CG-animated Kung Fu Panda (2008) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 3/12, complete with a new Dolby Atmos mix.
Severin Films will release Andrea Bianchi’s Burial Ground (1981) in 4K on 3/26.
And our friends over at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have announced more new titles for release in the months ahead, including Blu-ray reissues of Death Rides a Horse (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), A Fistful of Dynamite (1971), and The Long Riders (1980) on 3/5, James L. Conway’s The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977) on Blu-ray on 3/12, and Arthur Penn’s Target (1985) and Jerry London’s Rent-a-Cop (1987) on Blu-ray on 3/19. Also newly-revealed as coming soon are Marc Shaiman’s In & Out (1997) on 4K Ultra HD and Fritz Lang’s Secret Beyond the Door (1947) on Blu-ray. Street dates for those are TBA.
On a related note, KLSC has also revealed that their planned 4K UHD release of A Fistful of Dynamite (1971)—a fan-favorite Sergio Leone title—has unfortunately been cancelled. No reason was given, but if I had to speculate it’s probably related to the condition or availability of the negative and other film elements. Simply licensing the rights from the studio to release a title is only part of the equation; sometimes the negative just isn’t in great condition or you simply can’t get access to it. So while it’s a bummer, I have no doubt that KLSC would be all over this title if they were able to be. It happens.
One last release note: Umbrella Entertainment has delayed their 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release of Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton’s Super Mario Bros. (1993) by a month or so due to a production error they caught in QC. The title is now set to street on or about 2/21 (it had originally been set for release on 1/31). Adjust your plans accordingly. Note that we will be reviewing the Trust the Fungus 4K set as soon as it becomes available.
And finally today, IGN has posted a pretty good video clip on YouTube of director Christopher Nolan talking about the importance of physical media to Hollywood and the film industry in general. The studio bosses would do well to listen to him. Thanks to Bits reader Lachlan K. for the heads-up! Here’s the clip...
We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for a number of the titles mentioned above and more with Amazon US and UK pre-order links if available...
Stay tuned...
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