It would be ironic if the film Groundhog Day came out on disc this week, this is the third month in a row where at the end of the month the floodgates have opened, the dam has burst, a large dump truck drove up and dumped us with a load of discs. Yeah, it’s pretty heavy!
Welcome to Volume 5 Episode 4 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what’s coming to disc the week of June 23rd – June 29th, as well as a look at announcements from last week.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Releases-
Import Monday begins with a trio of titles…
From Curzon, Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (Limited Edition).
From Arrow Video, ’87 comedy/drama Withnail and I. For some reason there appears to be no Amazon UK link, but that’s OK, Arrow UK should be able to fill your need here.
And lastly from Warner Bros., Purple Rain. Surprisingly, there is no ultra-deluxe edition at the same time like so many other catalog Warner titles get in the UK market. The SteelBook has been pushed back to the end of July.
Next, there are several new releases to get Domestic Tuesday going.
First from Sony Pictures, long-awaited (by some) sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Also available as a Limited SteelBook. If you missed out on this new franchise, there’s a slo the 2-Movie Collection offering as well. If you were anxious for a Walmart Exclusive, theirs is in the blu-ray category, not 4K.
Next up and from LionsGate, action/war film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. There is also an Amazon Exclusive SteelBook Edition of this one too.
In the short notice release (if you guessed Universal Pictures, you would be correct), action/thriller Monkey Man.
Closing out New Releases for the week in this category, delayed from a couple of weeks ago, Godzilla/Kong Monsterverse 5-Film Collector’s Edition.
On to catalog titles and starting with David Lynch’s crime/mystery Blue Velvet.
Small label Celluloid Dreams offers The Case of the Bloody Iris to 4K for the first time. I did see the ‘product in hand’ social media post for this one, so it will be available!
The Vinegar Syndrome label always has something fresh. This week standard editions (via Amazon) of China O’Brien 1 & 2, Little Darlings and Navy Seals, and limited editions only via their web site, The Sadness (Slipcover Edition SOLD OUT) and Supermarkt.
The House of Seven Corpses is available via the DarkStar store, with a wider release in the future.
Shout Factory this week offers us some classic John Goodman comedy with Matinee.
The U.S. counterpart for Purple Rain is available just one day ofter the UK edition. There is no SteelBook slated for the U.S. market.
Pair of releases from Paramount this week, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut – 25th Anniversary Limited Edition and Team America: World Police – 20th Anniversary Limited Edition. Holy %@#%, has it been that long for both of these?!?
Closing out 4K for the week, Sony Pictures breaks away Taxi Driver from the Columbia Classics Volume Two set and offers it as a Limited Edition SteelBook. The previous release within the set had Dolby Vision, so there’s that factor.
Blu-ray releases-
Phew! You thought we had a lot of 4K titles to list, the blu-ray category is close to 100 titles. Blu-ray counterparts of the above 4K releases include Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, also available as a Walmart Exclusive SteelBook, and of course the 2 Movie Collection as well, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and Monkey Man.
New drama from Universal Pictures with The Boys in the Boat. In the zero notice category, a decumentary about Paul Simon titled In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
It’s Warner Archive Collection Week, titles becoming available this week include Act of Violence, The Flash: The Original Series, The Man I Love (1947), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) and The Shining Hour.
Have some Sonny Chiba action with Beast Fighter (Karate Bullfighter / Karate Bearfighter) (Limited Edition) from Eureka Classics.
From Janus Contemporaries, the documentary Orlando, My Political Biography.
For the Criterion label, a drama titled The Underground Railroad.
If you did not buy the 4K release from Paramount for War of the Worlds, they have now separated the blu-ray of When Worlds Collide as a single release.
Anime highlights include (be prepared for long titles) The Aristocrat’s Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far – The Complete Season, Demon Slayer – Swordsmith Village Arc (Crunchyroll Exclusive), The First Slam Dunk, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too – The Complete Season and Oshi no Ko: Season 1 Collection.
Honorable Mention: Delayed from a few weeks back, Kino Cult Label, spine number 7, Bettie Page Double Feature is available this week.
Notable announcements from last week:
The Criterion Collection has announced their September 2024 slate of titles. Do have a look see!
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be coming to 4K and blu-ray August 27. I may be mistaken, but I believe this is where Sony takes over the disc business itself.
Also on August 27, Warner Bros will be bringing The Watchers to 4K and blu-ray the same date.
Which titles are you buying this week? Which ones are on your wishlist, be it to buy as an impulse buy or to wait for the right price?
