My Two Cents
Monday, 01 April 2024 19:20

Chinatown (1974) finally comes to 4K from Paramount, along with Matinee, RoboCop 2, RoboCop (2014) & Species II from Shout & more!

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Welcome to a new week, Bits-ers! Hope you all had a good one, including all those of you who attended WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend.

Today is obviously April Fool’s Day, but rest assured we aren’t going to waste time with such tomfoolery here at the site this afternoon because we’ve got more new disc reviews for you, as well as some really great actual news too.

Let’s get to those reviews first. Today we have...

Stephen’s review of Ted Kotcheff’s North Dallas Forty (1979) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as his take on György Kovásznai’s Bubble Bath (1980) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stuart’s look at William Grefé’s Impulse (1974) on Blu-ray from Grindhouse Releasing, as well as Emmanuel Carrère’s Between Two Worlds (2021) on Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group.

Late last week, we also posted Tim’s reviews of Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell (2009) in both regular and limited edition Blu-ray, as well as his reviews of Quentin Tarantino (etc)’s Grindhouse (2007) in both regular and limited edition Blu-ray, all from Via Vision’s Imprint Films.

And not to be outdone, Dennis has also reviewed Peter Yates’ The Dresser (1983) on Blu-ray from Imprint as well. [Read on here...]

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In terms of announcement news this afternoon, Paramount has just officially set a gem for 4K Ultra HD release! Look for Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974) to arrive on the format on 6/18, in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary. A Paramount Presents release, the package will include the film in 4K restored from the original camera negative, as well as a bonus Blu-ray that includes the 1990 sequel The Two Jakes. New special features will include a trio of featurettes (A State of Mind: Author Sam Wasson on Chinatown, Chinatown Memories, and The Trilogy That Never Was), as well as legacy extras that include audio commentary with Robert Towne and David Fincher, the 3-part Water and Power documentary, 4 featurettes (An Appreciation, The Beginning and the End, Filming, and Legacy), and the film’s theatrical trailer. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below (click here or on the image below to pre-order it on Amazon.com)...

Chinatown: Paramount Presents (4K Ultra HD)

FYI, Paramount is also releasing Adam Carter Rehmeier’s Snack Shack (2024) on Digital only on 4/2.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has listed an Amazon pre-order for an eventual Blu-ray SKU of Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), which just opened in theaters this past weekend. We’re confident that DVD and 4K SKUs will be available as well. Street date is TBA.

And Shout! Factory has just announced their June slate of Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD titles, which is set to include John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven (1960) in 4K Steelbook on 6/4, along with Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) in 4K Steelbook, and the Shiloh: The Complete 3-Film Collection on DVD. Following on 6/11 are Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning on Blu-ray, Peter Medak’s Species II (1998) in 4K Ultra HD, and Return to Lonesome Dove and The Jeffersons: The Complete Series both on DVD only. On 6/18, look for Irvin Kershner’s RoboCop 2 (1990) and José Padilha’s RoboCop (2014) both in 4K Ultra HD. Finally, on 6/25 look for Joe Dante’s Matinee (1993) in 4K Ultra HD as a Shout Select title, along with Takehiko Inoue’s The First Slam Dunk (2022) on Blu-ray for GKids, and Chonda Pierce: Roll with It on DVD only. You can see some of the cover artwork for these below.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially announced Frank Tuttle’s The Hour Before the Dawn (1944) for release on Blu-ray on 5/28, along with Leslie Fenton’s Saigon (1947) and Monk: The Complete Seventh Season (2008-2009) also on Blu-ray that same day. Coming soon to Blu-ray are Emma Seligman’s Bottoms (2023) and Lindsay Shonteff’s No. 1 of the Secret Service (1977), the latter as a Kino Cult title. And KLSC has also revealed that Fred Walton’s April Fool’s Day (1986) is coming soon to 4K Ultra HD (street date TBA).

Also, our friends at The Criterion Collection are releasing Paul B. Preciado’s Orlando, My Political Biography (2023) on Blu-ray and DVD as part of their Janus Contemporaries line. Look for that to street on 6/25.

Mike Cheslik’s indie film festival hit comedy Hundreds of Beavers (2022) is coming to digital on 4/15 via Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Fandor.

And Lionsgate will release Danny Boyle’s 6-episode Sex Pistols documentary Pistol (2023) on Digital only on 5/13.

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for some of those new Shout and Scream Factory 4K titles and more, with Amazon.com pre-order links if available...

Chinatown: Paramount Presents (4K Ultra HD) The Prisoner: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Disc) Species II (4K Ultra HD)

RoboCop (2014) (4K Ultra HD) RoboCop 2 (4K Ultra HD) Matinee (4K Ultra HD)

Stay tuned!

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

 

 

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