My Two Cents
Monday, 13 July 2020 16:37

Scream bows a Friday the 13th box set, plus Uni’s Alfred Hitchcock 4K Collection is official, and a bit of hopeful Star Trek TMP 4K news!

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All right, we’re kicking off the new week with more Blu-ray reviews and some GREAT release news too...

First, Tim has offered his thoughts on a pair of new Blu-ray releases, including Bert I. Gordon’s The Spider (1958 – aka Earth vs. the Spider) as well as Freddie Francis’ 1964 Hammer Films classic The Evil of Frankenstein, both available from our friends at Scream Factory.

Speaking of Scream Factory, they’re starting us off with the release news today as well...

Scream has just officially announced that they’re going to be releasing a definitive 16-disc Blu-ray collection of the Friday the 13th series. The Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition box set will arrive on October 13 and will include all 12 original films from Paramount and New Line Cinema. [Read on here...]

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From the official press release, the set will include “NEW and existing extras, a NEW collectible rigid slipcover with newly-commissioned art, a NEW 40-pg collectible essay booklet with archival still photography, and NEW 4K film transfers for Parts 1-4, with Part 3 in its original 3D presentation. Additionally, each film comes with a dedicated Blu-ray case featuring original theatrical artwork. A list of bonus features is below, with additional new extras to be announced at a later date.

“The 12 films included in this must-own set are Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), Jason X (2001), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), and Friday the 13th (Remake) (2009).

“Customers purchasing the Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition on Shoutfactory.com will receive an exclusive, limited edition 36” x 24” lithograph featuring new artwork from artist Devon Whitehead, and an exclusive, limited edition 24” x 36” Friday the 13th 40th Anniversary poster featuring new artwork from artist Joel Robinson, while supplies last.

The Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition is limited to 13,000 pieces and is available for pre-order now.”

Here’s what the packaging looks like. We’ll add the Amazon.com pre-order link when available...

The Friday the 13th Collection (Blu-ray Disc)

Meanwhile, Shout! Factory and Eleven Arts will release Keiichi Hara’s “fantastical anime adventure” The Wonderland on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/6.

In other news today, Universal has just officially set the Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection for release on 4K Ultra HD on 9/8. The set will include Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds, along with: “hours of bonus features as well as the original uncut version of Psycho for the first time ever [we don’t know yet if this is in 4K or BD or both]. This collection with collectible Discbook packaging [also] includes hours of bonus features such as documentaries, expert commentaries, interviews, screen tests and much more!” Audio is DTS-HD and high dynamic range is HDR10.

Speaking of Universal, Scream Factory has confirmed that their Universal Horror Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray set will street on 8/26 and will include the films The Black Castle (1952), Cult of the Cobra (1955), The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958), and The Shadow of the Cat (1961).

Also, Lionsgate has just made David Cronenberg’s Shivers (1975) and Richard Greenberg’s Little Monsters (1989) official as the next pair of titles in their Vestron Video Series. Look for them on Blu-ray and Digital on 9/15 (SRP $17.99 each).

Extras on Shivers will include a new audio commentary with Cronenberg and co-producer Don Carmody, 4 new interview featurettes (Mind Over Matter with David Cronenberg, Good Night Nurse with Actress Lynn Lowry, Outside and Within with Special Make-Up Effects Creator Joe Blasco, and Celebrating Cinépix with Greg Dunning), an Archival 1998 David Cronenberg Interview, a Still Gallery (with optional archival audio interview with Executive Producer John Dunning), theatrical trailers, a TV spot, and radio spots.

Extras on Little Monsters will include a new audio commentary with Jarret Gahan of CultofMonster.com, isolated score selections and audio interview with Composer David Newman, 4 new interview featurettes (Call Him Maurice with Actor Howie Mandel, Beneath the Bed with Producer Andrew Licht, Monsters Big & Small with Special Makeup Effects Creator Robert Short, and Vintage Interviews with Actors Fred Savage, Ben Savage, Special Makeup Effects Creator Robert Short, and Director Richard Alan Greenberg), Behind-the-Scenes Footage, Making Maurice (vintage footage of Howie Mandel’s makeup transformation), vintage EPK and VHS promos, the theatrical trailer, and a still gallery.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just announced the 4K restoration (and Blu-ray and DVD release) of a pair of early John Ford/Universal westerns: Straight Shooting (1917) and Hell Bent (1918). The former will arrive on 7/14 while the latter follows on 8/25. SRP for both is $29.95 for the Blu-ray and $19.95 for the DVD.

And on the 4K front again, Sony has officially set 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street for release on 4K Ultra HD on 9/15. Each will feature HDR10 high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. It looks like all of the Blu-ray extras will carry over.

Two other film related notes...

First, if any of you are fans of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Amazon currently has Michael Klastorin’s terrific hardcover book Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Ultimate Visual History on sale for just $20 (59% off). I own a copy myself and it’s excellent.

Also, there’s new hope today for Star Trek fans eagerly awaiting news of Paramount’s much-anticipated remastered version of Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Director’s Edition in Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD: The film’s original score mixer, Bruce Botnick, has just revealed he’s about to start work on a new Dolby Atmos mix! The source is this interview on YouTube (and the relevant comments start at about 2:40 in). GREAT news!

Finally today, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to acknowledge the tragic passing of actor Kelly Preston, who appeared in such films as Mischief, Jerry Maguire, Space Camp, Twins and many others. Her longtime husband, John Travolta, confirmed that Preston lost her battle with breast cancer over the weekend. She was just 57. You can read more here at The New York Times.

All right, we’ll leave you today with a look at a few of the Blu-ray and 4K titles mentioned above, with Amazon pre-order links if available. [Note that HBO’s Game of Thrones 4K set is now available for pre-order for just $209.99 on Amazon]...

21 Jump Street (4K Ultra HD) 22 Jump Street (4K Ultra HD) The Alfred Hitchcock Collection (4K Ultra HD)

Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection (4K Ultra HD) Psycho: 60th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Disc) Universal Horror Collection: Volume 6 (Blu-ray Disc)

Stay tuned...

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

 

 

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