The '80s were a special time for cinema, as moviemakers could easily get away with producing fantastical stories that were also nightmare fuel for kids. Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, did exactly that with The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. If you're interested in revisiting these weird but enchanting masterpieces, Walmart has opened preorders for exclusive limited-edition 4K Blu-ray versions for both films. The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth release November 19 and cost $29 each.

This isn't the first time that these films have been available as 4K Blu-ray editions, but Walmart is offering them with very cool steelbook covers. The Dark Crystal's steelbook cover features a gorgeous illustration of one of the key locations in the movie.

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2. IF
3. Civil War
4. The Bikeriders
5. The Fall Guy
6. The Boy and the Heron
7. Beetlejuice
8. Coraline
9. Evil Dead (2013)
10. Twister
11. When Titans Ruled the Earth: Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans
12. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
13. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
14. The Last Unicorn
15. Dune: Part Two
16. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
17. Joker
18. John Wick: Chapter 4
19. Can't Hardly Wait
20. Oppenheimer

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2. Evil Dead (2013)
3. When Titans Ruled the Earth: Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans
4. The Last Unicorn
5. Coraline
6. Beetlejuice
7. The Fall Guy
8. Can't Hardly Wait
9. Civil War
10. Joker
11. Twister
12. Planet Earth III
13. The Boy and the Heron
14. Red Eye
15. The Bikeriders
16. Dune: Part Two
17. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
18. Chinatown/The Two Jakes
19. Starship Troopers
20. Oppenheimer

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 10 HD Formats Disc Share Per Title

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (56%)
2. IF (42%)
3. The Bikeriders (47%)
4. The Fall Guy (2024) (51%)
5. Beetlejuice (48%)
6. Twister (41%)
7. Civil War (100%)
8. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (43%)
9. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (44%)
10. Mad Max 5-Film Collection (N/A)

Further Reading:

• Top 20 Selling Blu-ray and 4K Discs for Week Ended 2024-08-24
• Top 20 Disc Sellers for Week Ended 2024-08-24
• Blu-ray Sales: August 18-24: Furiosa Still Number One in Second Week

Hollywood Bruceploitation in 4K Ultra HD? Shout! announces 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story' arriving in November

Posted on September 5, 2024 by JJ Bona

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story | 4K Ultra HD (Shout!)

On November 26th, 2023, Shout! Factory is releasing the 4K Ultra HD for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, a 1993 Bruce Lee biopic directed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious), which is loosely based on Linda Lee's 1975 book, Bruce Lee The Man Only I Knew.

The film stars Jason Scott Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2), Lauren Holly (Dumb and Dumber), Robert Wagner (Heart to Heart), Michael Learned (The Waltons), Nancy wan (The Wrecking Crew), Ric Young (The Corruptor) and Ong Soo Han (The King of the Kickboxers).

Based on true events, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is the incredible journey of the life, love and unconquerable spirit of the martial arts legend. From a childhood of rigorous martial arts training, Bruce Lee (Jason Scott Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2) realizes his dream of opening his own kung-fu school in America. Before long, he is discovered by a Hollywood producer (Robert Wagner) and begins a meteoric rise to fame and an all too short reign as one of the most charismatic action heroes in motion picture history.

Features:

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

• NEW! 4K Transfer From The 35mm Original Camera Negative
• NEW! Presented In Dolby Vision
  Audio Commentary With Director Rob Cohen

DISC TWO (Blu-ray):

• NEW! 4K Transfer From The 35mm Original Camera Negative
• Audio Commentary With Director Rob Cohen
• Archival Introduction from Linda Lee Cadwell
• The Making of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage
• Jason Scott Lee Screen Test
• Bruce Lee Interview
• Storyboards
• Production Photo Gallery
• Bruce Lee Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

The Radiance Films Blu-ray imprint has just released the second volume in its World Noir series, which collects global noirs from Japan, France and Germany. “Noir is a thread that runs through cinema history in complex ways, and allows us to explore all sorts of topics,” says managing director Francesco Simeoni, “which is very exciting from a curatorial perspective.” For example, Volume 2 includes the Yakuza heist drama Cruel Gun Story (Takumi Furukawa, 1964), which transfers the plot twists of 1950s American gangster movies into the 1960s Tokyo underworld.

This week’s rerelease of The Third Man (1949) suggests a detour closer to home: a British film noir with American stars, set in postwar Vienna, which is divided into zones controlled by different international powers, and home to travellers from across Europe and the US. Here the accent of the all-important voiceover is American, courtesy of Joseph Cotten, as is the charismatic Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles, but the story and direction are by Brits (Graham Greene and Carol Reed respectively) and its visual style, with those deep shadows and even deeper tilted angles (the cinematographer Robert Krasker was Australian), draws on Hollywood’s translation of German silent cinema. For Phullar, the significance of The Third Man is in the way that “you see and hear and feel those long journeys of film noir, perhaps more than other films of that era”. In this light, Harry Lime’s famous speech, elaborated by Welles, about how great art is produced only by countries riven by violence and turmoil, seems especially on the nose.

Welcome to September, physical media fans. Each month we do our part to keep you up to date on the best of what’s coming out on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, so you’ll always know where to find your favorite movies and shows without relying on the mercy of the streaming services. This September brings another batch of releases for every taste. Our picks include classic cult films, new horror gems, and recent award winners—not to mention the newly minted highest-grossing animated film of all time.

They are:

• Repo Man 4K UHD + Blu-ray Special Edition (Criterion)
• All Of Us Strangers 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Criterion)
• Late Night With The Devil Blu-ray Steelbook (Umbrella Entertainment)
• Longlegs 4K + Blu-ray (Neon)
• Inside Out 2 4K Steelbook and Blu-ray Combo Pack
• Bringing Out The Dead Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray (Paramount Presents)
• Chronicles Of Riddick Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
• The Long Good Friday 4K + Blu-ray (Criterion)
• Caligula: The Ultimate Cut 4-Disc Collection (Unobstructed View)
• Village Of The Damned Collector's Edition (Shout Factory)

Not many good options if you don't want the Book of Face.

TikTok:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Arrow Video has just announced their November 4K UHD and Blu-ray line-up. This wave includes A Simple Plan (4K & Blu-ray), The Invasion (4K & Blu-ray), Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (4K), and Tomie, At Close Range (UK only) and Shawscope: Volume Three on Blu-ray.

Hi everyone, i have a problem, my ASUS BW-16D1HT (Firmware 3.11) do not detect any UHD disc, standard blu ray, dvd, cd discs works fine. I'm using Linux Mint btw

Australian label Imprint Films has informed us that it will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Wolfgang Petersen's The NeverEnding Story (1984) with a five-disc 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, which is scheduled to arrive on the market on November 27th.

Description: Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of one of the most beloved films of all time in this Limited Edition definitive set, a 5-disc journey into the depths of the wonderland world of Fantasia, based on the book by Michael Ende.

Our strictly Limited Edition Replica Storybook packaging is crafted with high-quality leatherette, adorned with the iconic Auryn emblem, die-cast metallic ornamentation, red and white ribbons, gold-foiled stamping and embossed detailing exactly as seen in the film. It is magnetically sealed to ensure it stays closed.

This is a heavy, bespoke collector's item, measuring 29.5 x 37cm, weighing in at 2.4kg, and comes replete with comprehensive physical extras:

• an A4 reproduction of the original 1984 Press Kit
• a full-color matte laminated 27" x 40" folded print of the original poster
• reprints of the original eight lobby cards on 11" x 14" card stock, housed in a glossy display folder
• a 3D Lenticular Hardcase housing all five discs.

Rediscover the Original US Theatrical Cut and its timeless soundtrack, fully restored and making its worldwide debut on 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision, and on Blu-ray.

This epic package also includes the German Extended Cut on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray, a must-see experience for NeverEnding enthusiasts.

Dive inside the pages with Lisa Downs' extraordinary 2024 feature-length documentary 'Life After NeverEnding Story', as well as brand NEW featurettes and Audio Commentary, and hours of extensive archival features.

Now then, the big news today is that Franklin J. Schaffner’s Planet of the Apes (1968) has just been upgraded to 4K on all your favorite Digital services, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Movies Anywhere, Kaleidescape and more! It actually has Dolby Vision HDR on Apple TV (and it may elsewhere as well). Naturally, we’ve asked about the possibility of a physical 4K release of this film. I suspect there are no current plans, but I also suspect that if the title does well on Digital, that could change.

Anybody else on here on the 3D train?

Having recently finished setting up the projector (bin rescue), screen (£20, gumtree), and working out the glasses required (£20, eBay), I finally got my first taste of home shutterglass 3D.

We watched Pirates!, as I happened to have the disc in 3D already.
3D lends itself well to Aardman's models and physical sets.
I like 3D best when it's like looking through a window, or onto a stage.

It also turned out that my steelbook of The Hobbit contained the 3D copy too.
We're only 30 mins through it, but there are some nice shots (I particularly liked the one of Bilbo watching Gandalf through the window)

I checked with CEX, and 3D discs are now mostly quite reasonably priced. So we went and bought about 70% of the local branch's stock, for the princely sum of £20.*

While yes, it is a novelty, and a bit of a gimmick at times...It's fun.
And gives me a bonus inexpensive collectable hobby!

*(Pro-tip: If you're going to do similar, go when it's not busy, and apologise to them in advance. The 3D discs are all mixed in with the standard ones, and the poor guys spent about 20 minutes hunting)

(Adrian Edmondson, 1999) Release date: 26 August 2024 Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)

After a decade of honing their signature characters, Richie and Eddie, across TV and stage-show appearances, British comedy legends Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson (The Comic Strip Presents..., The Young Ones) finally gave the pair the big-screen outing which they truly deserved in the riotous, vomit-soaked entertainment that is Guest House Paradiso.

When Mr Nice (Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead) and his family check in to 'the cheapest hotel in Britain' -- run with maximum inefficiency and malfeasance by Richie and Eddie -- it sets off an outrageous chain of events involving rubber underwear, a beautiful Italian film star (Hélène Mahieu), her abusive fiancé (Vincent Cassel, Irreversible), and a consignment of radioactive fish.

Featuring a spectacular supporting cast, which also includes Fenella Fielding (Carry On Screaming!, Hammer's The Old Dark House) and Bill Nighy (Love Actually), this slapstick tour-de-force is a latter-day classic of disreputable British comedy, which has to be seen to be believed.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration from the original interpositive

• Original 5.1 surround sound and stereo audio tracks

• The Making of 'Guest House Paradiso' (1999, 38 mins): archival documentary featuring interviews with actor, co-writer and director Adrian Edmondson, actor and co-writer Rik Mayall, producer Phil McIntyre, and actors Fenella Fielding, Hélène Mahieu and Simon Pegg

• Paradiso Pegg (2023, 12 mins): interview with celebrated actor, writer and comedian Simon Pegg in which he looks back at his time making the film

• All the Right Noises (2024, 16 mins): prolific film and television composer Colin Towns talks about his score

• Finely Tuned Madness (2024, 8 mins): veteran editor Sean Barton discusses his working methods and the art of cutting comedy

• Squalid Precision (2024, 19 mins): production designer Tom Brown explores the guest house

• Outtakes (1999, 9 mins): mishaps and bloopers

• Original theatrical trailers

• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material

• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Limited edition exclusive 40-page booklet with a new essay by Jon Robertson, an archival on-set report, an archival interview with Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits

• UK premiere on Blu-ray

• Limited edition of 6,000 copies for the UK**(Adrian Edmondson, 1999)**

Release date: 26 August 2024

Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)

As a huge fan of the UK show Bottom, I was, and still am, a huge fan of this Bottom movie. I bought a copy as soon as it was released on DVD, and it felt like it would never get a higher quality release.

It did appear on UK Netflix for a few days but unbelievably, they were streaming the film in 400P!! That's worse than standard definition!

In August 2023, Vinegar Syndrome released an exclusive copy of the film in the US. If I found a copy cheap online, I would've snapped one up. I was searching eBay today and discovered a new copy of the film showing up in my search. Turns out a UK exclusive copy was released yesterday (Aug 26th) and it has even more bonus features. Ordered!!

Sorry for the overexcitement. I do however feel this film probably has a rather niche audience.

Pheeeeb!

One of last year’s most celebrated movies is finally making its hotly anticipated debut on home video! Anime Limited and Toho Co. Ltd. are excited to announce that the kaiju-sized global phenomenon GODZILLA MINUS ONE will be released in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France as a 4K Collector’s Edition, 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD in time for the holiday season, with PLAION PICTURES releasing the film in Italy.

Following incredible demand from audiences and cinemas alike, Anime Limited and Toho Co. Ltd. are also delighted to confirm that GODZILLA MINUS ONE is returning to cinemas in the UK & Ireland later this year alongside the highly requested GODZILLA MINUS ONE/MINUS COLOR, allowing fans to experience this black-and-white alternate version of the film in cinemas for the very first time. Details about both the home video and theatrical releases will be announced at a later date.

Shot on color 35mm film, the 1.37:1 2K restorations look outstanding, the 17 episodes generously spread across six Region_Free Blu-ray discs. Partly this is to accommodate all the extra features accompanying specific episodes, but in any case, each episode is extraordinarily clean with excellent color and contrast. Audio is offered in LPCM 2.0 mono and DTS-HD 5.1 remixes (the latter on episodes of The Prisoner only, not the Danger Man shows). While the 5.1 remixes aren’t original to the initial broadcasts they do add enormous oomph and are well-mixed. Also included are original music & effects tracks. In English only, optional English subtitles are provided. It all comes in sturdy hardbox packaging limited to 1,500 copies.

...

The extra features, much of it new, is practically endless. The fat booklet is loaded with great behind-the-scenes photos, an exhaustively researched making-of article by Andrew Pixley, material prepared by ITC to sell the show abroad, and an excellent episode guide with detailed credits.

Two feature-length documentaries are included: Don’t Knock Yourself Out, a 95-minute piece from 2007 about the making of the series, and In My Mind (2017), an 82-minute documentary about filmmaker Chris Rodley’s experiences trying to wrangle and interview with Patrick McGoohan. Patrick McGoohan 1983 is 30 minutes of outtakes of Rodley’s McGoohan interview. Catherine McGoohan 2017 features the actor’s daughter.

Seven episodes—Arrival, The Chimes of Big Ben, The Schizoid Man, The General, Dance of the Dead, A Change of Mind, and Fall Out—feature audio commentaries by various writers, directors, production managers and others that worked on the show. All 17 episodes offer text commentaries. These are, like everything else, very informative and exhaustively researched, though a little difficult to focus on in conjunction with the running of each episode.

...

If you’re a fan of The Prisoner, British ‘60s television, or innovative television generally, you are going to want to have this. The shows look great and the extras are extremely worthwhile though it will take you weeks and weeks to go through everything. One of the year’s best TV releases.

Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2. IF
3. The Bikeriders
4. Civil War
5. The Fall Guy
6. The Boy and the Heron
7. Twister
8. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
9. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
10. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
11. Dune: Part Two
12. Chucky: Season Three
13. Coraline
14. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
15. Beetlejuice
16. Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Three
17. John Wick: Chapter 4
18. The Strangers: Chapter 1
19. The First Omen
20. Abigail

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 20 Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2. The Bikeriders
3. The Fall Guy
4. IF
5. Twister
6. Civil War
7. The Boy and the Heron
8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
9. Coraline
10. Dune: Part Two
11. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
12. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
13. Lawrence of Arabia
14. The Last Emperor
15. The Delta Force
16. Game Night
17. Starship Troopers
18. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
19. Boy Kills World
20. Oppenhiemer

Source: Circana VideoScan (based on unit sales from reporting retailers)

Top 10 Home Media Sellers (% of Blu-ray’s Market Share Noted)

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (72%)
2. IF (48%)
3. The Bikeriders (54%)
4. The Fall Guy (53%)
5. Twister (50%)
6. Civil War (100%)
7. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (43%)
8. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (45%)
9. Beetlejuice (34%)
10. Mad Max 5-Film Collection (N/A)

Further Reading:

• Top 20 Selling Blu-ray and 4K Discs for Week Ended 2024-08-17
• Top 20 Disc Sellers for Week Ended 2024-08-17

British label Second Sight is preparing a Limited Edition Blu-ray of Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez's The Blair Witch Project (1999). The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on November 11.

A standard edition will be available for purchase on the same date as well.

Three film students head into the woodlands of Maryland in search of the Blair Witch, a local legend that has haunted the town of Burkittsville for centuries, as part of a documentary project. They were never seen again. This footage is all that remains of that fateful excursion.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• A NEW SECOND SIGHT RESTORATION from the Hi8 videotapes and 16mm film elements, supervised and approved by the Producers and Directors
• 2-disc edition includes restored and remastered Original Theatrical Cut and Festival Cut plus original-release version
• The Blair Witch Documentary: a new feature-length Second Sight Films production
• New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
• Directors' and Producers' audio commentary
• Deleted scenes including previously unseen video and 16mm footage
• The Blair Witch Project: Analogue Horror in a Digital World by Mike Muncer
• Curse of the Blair Witch
• Alternate Endings
• Cannes 1999: archive Directors interview
• Trailers

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Timothy Pittides
• 184-page hardback book with archive production materials and new essays by Stacey Abbott, Becky Darke, Adam Hart, Craig Ian Mann, Mary Beth McAndrews, Dr. Cecilia Sayad, Pete Turner and Heather Wixson
• Heather's Journal
• 3 collectors' art cards

Blake’s 7 is one of British sci-fi’s greatest, most subversive cult classics. From the mind of Doctor Who scribe Terry Nation—after he’d sent the nation into Dalekmania in the ’60s—the 1978 show was wildly ahead of its time, with ideas as bold as its budget was threadbare. Imagine if classic Doctor Who had less money and more balls, and you get a rough approximation of what Blake’s could be at its very best. Now, at long last, the series is getting a familiarly loving home release treatment.

Today the BBC lifted the lid on a brand-new Blu-ray remaster, Blake’s 7: The Collection. Styled in the vein of the corporation’s lavish Blu-ray remasters of classic seasons of Doctor Who, the first of Blake’s four series will release later this year. Including a brand-new remastering of the series—available for the first time on Blu-ray after an infamously rough home release history on VHS and DVD decades prior—complete with all new practical model work for the show’s VFX sequences, the first volume of Blake’s 7: The Collection will include all 13 episodes from series one, as well as new interviews with surviving cast and crew, and a previously unreleased documentary planned for the show’s DVD release, The Making of Blake’s 7.

...

Blake’s 7: The Collection series one releases in the UK November 11.

Director Wes Ball's new installment in the franchise, which takes place 300 years after 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, comes out on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on Aug. 27, and that is the only way fans can see a side-by-side cut of the movie using the raw performance-capture footage next to the final version — the first time an entire film has been released this way.

"Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut" is a full-length split-screen version of the movie included as a special feature on the 4K Blu-ray, featuring unfinished VFX and showing how the actors use motion capture to deliver their performances as apes with optional audio commentary by the director, editor Dan Zimmerman, and VFX supervisor Erik Winquist.

...

"During the year or so spent in post-production, working on more than 1,500 VFX shots, we would frequently compare our VFX works-in-progress with the original footage, ensuring we were getting the details right," Ball tells EW. "I often found myself completely mesmerized by the magic of WetaFX's work and how seamlessly it translated from the raw dailies. Around the latter half of post, it struck me how fantastic it would be to share this experience with fans like myself — those who relish peeking behind the curtain of movie making."

Ball was pleasantly surprised at the response he got to his idea. "When I brought the idea to the studio, there was unsurprisingly no resistance," he says. "They, too, are film nerds and thought it was a cool idea. The only challenge we faced was logistical — navigating the technicalities of 'data budgets' and figuring out how to include an entirely separate version of the film on the discs without sacrificing visual quality."

...

Ball was inspired to release this raw cut because he grew up "in the era of DVDs and their rich behind-the-scenes features."

"I often found myself watching those documentaries more than the movies themselves," he says. "Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of that stuff today. So this release is my way of giving back, offering something that would have inspired me as a young filmmaker. Perhaps more importantly, I see this as a unique way to celebrate the extraordinary work of our VFX team at WetaFX, as well as the unseen talent of our amazing actors. Without their dedication, these films simply wouldn’t exist."

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16275742

The Criterion Collection, a beloved film distribution company, was questioned by cinephiles this week because of their new deluxe box set.

Last week, Criterion announced a new collection, called CC40, which includes a box set of forty films. The films were chosen based on popular picks in their Criterion Closet series, in which actors and filmmakers choose five films from their film library to take home with them. The box set, which also includes “hundreds of hours of supplemental footage,” retails for $640, and arrives in November.

Reactions from Criterion fans varied. On the positive side, some suggested this could be a great resource for those looking to get into film, the box set serving as a film syllabus of sorts. Others noted this could be a good product for those who don’t know which films to watch or buy, as the choice has already been made for them. Some were simply excited by the news of a new Criterion release.

Many others were less than thrilled. The most common question asked by Criterion-heads was: “who is the audience for this box set?” Cinephiles noted that dedicated Criterion fans are likely to already own many of the films in the box set, while newcomers might not be inclined to drop $600 on movies if they’re just getting into film. “This is an incredible set for someone who has never bought a Criterion disc but now wants to spend several hundred dollars on them at once,” one user joked on X.

Others questioned the content of the box set. Many were shocked to see that none of David Lynch’s films were included in the collection, and legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was another omission bemoaned by fans. Some suggested that the curation of the collection seems “random,” noting that there appears to be little connection between the films.

Much of this criticism comes down to the question of audience, and how this collection might shift Criterion’s intended market. There is a sense of gatekeeping here in terms of who can—or should—get to own Criterions. “Feel like this set is for people who never heard of the Criterion Collection until their favorite celebrity did a closet video,” one X user noted, delineating a distinction between cinephile and celebrity stan. On Instagram, one user suggested the box set is intended for holiday shoppers, perhaps answering the marketing question.

The announcement

Cinematographer Alex Thompson shot Fear Is the Key on 35mm film using Panavision cameras with anamorphic lenses, framed at 2.35:1 for its theatrical release. This version from Arrow Video uses a high-definition master provided by Paramount, with no other details available regarding the source elements that were used or any work that was done to them. It looks like an older master, with some minor damage like light scratches still visible. The opening titles and any other optical work really look like optical dupe elements, especially in any shots featuring traveling mattes in the windows of the submarine. The night shots also look a little rough, with flat contrast and boosted levels that adds some noise to the prominent grain. With all of that out of the way, it’s still a generally decent transfer, with colors that look quite good if sometimes a bit uneven—the 2B Bright Red paint on the Gran Torino looks a little orange in a few shots, but to be fair, it always has (and it’s a color that doesn’t necessarily photograph consistently anyway). It’s not a perfect transfer of Fear Is the Key, but it’s a more than adequate one.

Audio is offered in English 2.0 mono LPCM, with optional English SDH subtitles. There’s not much in the way of dynamics and the bass is somewhat limited, but it’s clean and free of noise or obvious distortion. Some of the dialogue sounds a little muffled, but that may be partly due to bad ADR—Suzy Kendall sounds like her dialogue was frequently looped. Roy Budd’s memorably jazzy score sounds fine, however.

Arrow Video’s Limited Edition Blu-ray release of Fear Is the Key comes with a reversible insert featuring new artwork by Nathanael Marsh on one side and the theatrical poster artwork on the other, as well as a fold-out poster offering both artworks. There’s also a slipcover with the new artwork and a 20-page booklet featuring an essay by Sean Hogan. The following extras are included:

• Audio Commentary by Howard S. Berger
• A Different Kind of Spy Game (HD – 23:33)
• Fear in the Key of Budd (HD – 16:34)
• Producing the Action (HD – 29:55)
• Bayou to Bray (HD – 39:30)
• Theatrical Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:16)