My Two Cents
Monday, 20 May 2019 16:48

Stand by Me, The Doors & Thor in 4K, plus Apocalypse Now pre-orders & more Blu-ray announcements

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We’re going to have a new Michael Coate retrospective today in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, looking back at Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in honor of yesterday’s 20th anniversary for the film. That will be up later this afternoon, so be sure to watch for it.

In the meantime, we have a bit of 4K and standard Blu-ray news to report...

First up, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me for release on 4K Ultra HD on 8/27. Scanned from the original camera negative, the film will be presented with a new Dolby Atmos mix, along with the original theatrical mono audio and the previous 5.1 remix. Extras on the 4K disc will include never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes. The package will also include the previous Blu-ray with picture-in-picture video commentary with Reiner and the cast, the Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand by Me documentary, and audio commentary with Reiner. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

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The Doors (4K Ultra HD - UK release)Also today, and as we reported here on The Bits a few weeks ago, StudioCanal is going to release a new 4K restoration of Oliver Stone’s The Doors on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on 7/22. That’s in Europe; Lionsgate will release the title on 4K Ultra HD in July as well – retailer sources tell us it will arrive on Tuesday, 7/23 – though the studio hasn’t officially announced this yet. Audio will be Dolby Atmos.

In terms of extras, the StudioCanal release will be a 4-disc set. The 4K disc will include the original theatrical cut and The Final Cut, with Stone’s commentary and new interviews with Stone and the audio mixer. The second disc will be a Blu-ray with the same content in 1080p HD. The third will be a Blu-ray with extras including deleted scenes and 3 documentaries (Jim Morrison: A Poet in Paris, The Road to Excess, and The Doors in L.A.). Finally, the fourth disc will be a Blu-ray with the feature-length When You’re Strange documentary. You can see the UK cover artwork at right.

Also, we’ve learned that in addition to the three Iron Man films in 4K in August – timed to the release of Avengers: Endgame on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K – Disney and Marvel will be releasing Thor and Thor: The Dark World on 4K Ultra HD in August or September as well. We’ve got a look at the cover artwork for you here, though note that none of these Marvel titles are available for pre-order yet from US retailers.

Iron Man (4K Ultra HD) Iron Man 2 (4K Ultra HD) Iron Man 3 (4K Ultra HD)

Thor (4K Ultra HD) Thor: The Dark World (4K Ultra HD) Apocalypse Now: Final Cut (4K Ultra HD)

You will, however, take note that Apocalypse Now: Final Cut 4K IS available for pre-order on Amazon now (click here or on the cover art above) and it’s just $22!

On the standard Blu-ray front, Lionsgate has announced The Professor for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on 7/16. The film stars Johnny Depp. Extras will include the Death and How to Live It: Making The Professor featurette.

Shout! Factory and the Eleven Arts anime studio have set the animated Penguin Highway for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on 8/6. It’s directed by Hiroyasu Ishida and based on the book by Tomihiko Morimi. Extras include interviews with each, plus promo videos.

Twilight Time has revealed their June and July slates, due to include Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943), Hussy (1980), Mother Wore Tights (1947), and Pin Up Girl (1944) on 6/18, followed by Behold a Pale Horse (1964), The Chairman (1969), The President’s Lady (1953) and Ten North Frederick (1958) on 7/16.

And PBS, NOVA, and BBC Studios are releasing NOVA: The Planets on Blu-ray on 8/27. The 2-disc set will include all five parts of the series (which debuts on PBS on 7/24) including Inner Worlds, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Ice Worlds.

Here’s a few more pieces of new Blu-ray cover artwork and all these titles ARE available for pre-order on Amazon.com (doing so helps support our work here at The Bits and we appreciate it)...

Horror of Frankenstein (Blu-ray Disc) Isle of the Dead (Blu-ray Disc) The Loveless (Blu-ray Disc)

The Believers (Blu-ray Disc) Le Doulos (Blu-ray Disc) Leon Morin, Priest (Blu-ray Disc)

Stay tuned...

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