Archive for the 'Blu-ray Reviews' Category
June 19th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
It seems like just yesterday that I was writing up the 45th anniversary edition of Jaws. Brandishing a beautiful new transfer and stacked with bonus features and Dolby Atmos, the release was a highlight of lockdown in 2020. Now, Jaws is 50. Read it again. Fifty. 5. 0. And we still love the film so much. Steven Spielberg captured lightning in a bottle and made magic. People are still trying to make a movie this infectious and likable. We’ve had some, yes, but nothing beats this, arguably the first summer blockbuster. Now at 50, Universal has re-released Jaws in 4K and added a new documentary, Jaws @50, here on its own separate Blu-ray! Read on about Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition!
Continue reading ‘Jaws (50th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 19th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
When I Know What You Did Last Summer hit theaters in October 1997, it arrived with a sharpened hook and a lot of baggage. Riding the coattails of Scream‘s slasher revival just a year earlier—and sharing the same screenwriter, Kevin Williamson—the film was poised to be a hit. And it was, commercially. But critically? Not so much. Now, nearly three decades later, it’s worth asking: Was the film unfairly dismissed at the time, or does it remain a glossy relic of the teen horror boom with more style than substance?
Continue reading ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer (4K UHD Steelbook Review)’
June 18th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
If Monster Squad had been filtered through a Central European fever dream, you might land somewhere near Freckled Max and the Spooks — a long-lost Gothic oddity from Slovak auteur Juraj Jakubisko. Restored in all its haunted fairytale glory, this 1987 horror-comedy finally arrives on Blu-ray thanks to Deaf Crocodile Films and Comeback Company. Set in the shadow of Frankenstein’s castle, it’s a melancholic monster mash filled with slapstick, sorrow, and strange charm. And now, for the first time in the U.S., you can finally step into Max’s weird, whimsical world — fully subtitled and lovingly remastered. Continue reading ‘Freckled Max and the Spooks (Blu-ray Review)’
June 17th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Welcome to a dream made of static and sculpture, where logic is left at the door and emotion drives every frame. The Cathedral of New Emotions arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Deaf Crocodile Films, who continue to champion the visually bold and narratively unconventional. Directed by Helmut Herbst and originally released in 2006, this experimental animated feature embraces the chaos and collage of the Dada art movement. It plays more like a manifesto than a narrative — part digital tapestry, part audiovisual riddle. Viewers are thrust into a world where architecture speaks, abstraction reigns, and coherence is optional. Whether that experience resonates or overwhelms will depend on your taste for cinematic anarchy, but one thing is certain: it’s unlike anything else on your shelf. Continue reading ‘The Cathedral of New Emotions (Blu-ray Review)’
June 17th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Sometimes there’s nothing more satisfying than a quick and pulpy thriller. Something that you can watch and wrap up in less than 100 minutes is preferable. If it goes beyond that it’s still moving at a pace that’s fast and loose. You are on the edge of your seat and hoping for the best for your protagonist. These are the films I crave a lot of the time as a movie fan. Drop joins the rank of “villain-on-the-phone” thrillers such as Cellular and Phonebooth this time using an app to create the tension. So does Drop drop the ball or make its way into the ranks of great modern thrillers?
Continue reading ‘Drop (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 13th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
It seems that 4K physical collectors have been salivating for classic James Bond films since the format’s infancy. Since 2016, there have been blogs, rumors and requests for 007 to make the big leap to 4K. We did receive the newest Bond films in the format in a box set and individually some years back, but nothing until the release of the Sean Connery 007 James Bond Collection, now available from Warner Bros. and Amazon/MGM Studios. Given a new 4K restoration makeover and some new audio mixes, this new set is sure to please die-hard fans of the iconic franchise and maybe even entice some newcomers to check out the origins of the incredible Bond, James Bond.
Continue reading ‘The Sean Connery 007 James Bond Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 13th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to marry someone who accidentally unlocks godlike cartoon powers, I Married a Strange Person! has you covered. This 1997 animated cult classic by Bill Plympton is finally on Blu-ray, and it’s just as weird, wild, and wonderfully warped as you remember. But how does it look and sound in HD? And what’s packed into the disc? Let’s dig into this off-the-wall release from Deaf Crocodile. Continue reading ‘I Married A Strange Person! (Blu-ray Review)’
June 5th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Deaf Crocodile’s Felidae 4K UHD Blu-ray brings new life to a film long banned in some countries, hard to find in others, and barely whispered about outside cult animation circles. A murder mystery soaked in blood, brains, and philosophical dread, this is adult animation that doesn’t pull punches. It’s stylish, savage, and smart enough to make you forget you’re watching cats. And with Deaf Crocodile’s new 4K restoration, it finally gets the claws-out revival it deserves.
Continue reading ‘Felidae (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 5th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
You’ve never seen post-apocalyptic animation quite like this. Originally released in 1985, Gwen and the Book of Sand is a surrealist fever dream — part Dune, part daydream — blending the stark desolation of a desert world with hand-painted beauty and philosophical weight. Beautifully restored in 4K with the director’s participation for La Traverse Films in France, this new HDR edition from Deaf Crocodile feels less like a reissue and more like an archaeological triumph. For fans of Moebius, René Laloux, or the tactile strangeness of La Planète Sauvage, this one’s a must-see. But even if you’ve never heard of Gwen before, this UHD Blu-ray might just leave you hypnotized. But even if you’ve never heard of Gwen before, this Gwen and the Book of Sand 4K UHD Blu-ray might just leave you hypnotized. Continue reading ‘Gwen and the Book of Sand (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 1st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Woman in the Yard is a restrained psychological thriller that unfolds with deliberate pacing and a focus on atmosphere. Set mostly within a single location, it centers on quiet tension and subtle character dynamics rather than overt twists or spectacle. This The Woman in the Yard Blu-ray review explores how the film’s quiet mood plays out over its runtime. Much of the impact depends on mood and interpretation, with long silences and measured performances shaping the overall experience. It’s the kind of story that lingers more in tone than in plot.
Continue reading ‘The Woman in the Yard (Blu-ray Review)’
May 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Buckle up for brain-melting disco, hallucinogenic mist, and some of the wildest production design ever to blast off from behind the Iron Curtain. In the Dust of the Stars finally arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of The DEFA Film Library in Germany, restoring this 1976 East German cult oddity to its full space-glam glory. Directed by Gottfried Kolditz (Signals: A Space Adventure), this one ditches the buttoned-up seriousness of Signals: A Space Adventure and goes all-in on psychedelic weirdness, synth-heavy grooves, and jaw-dropping costuming that feels equal parts Zardoz, Barbarella, and Space: 1999. It’s outrageous, it’s ridiculous, and somehow — it works. Even when the ship sets wobble and the budget strains, the sheer visual ambition keeps you locked in. And that mouth-spray disco scene? Instant sci-fi canon. Continue reading ‘In the Dust of the Stars (Blu-ray Review)’
May 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Dust off your space helmet and dial up the synths — Signals: A Space Adventure finally lands on Blu-ray, thanks to the restoration wizards at the DEFA Film Library in Germany. This 1970 East German sci-fi oddity blends Cold War tension with trippy futurism, serving up alien contact through the lens of socialist realism. Long out of reach for Western viewers, this new disc beams it back into orbit with style, substance, and more retro analog tech than a control room in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Continue reading ‘Signals: A Space Adventure (Blu-ray Review)’
May 27th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
When Kingdom of Heaven was released in 2005, some critics and audiences walked out of the theater feeling underwhelmed. Sure, the visuals were impressive, and the premise had potential, but the film as a whole felt rushed and emotionally flat. At the time, I personally chalked it up as an ambitious misfire from Ridley Scott—grand in scale, but hollow at its core. That assessment changed completely when I finally watched the director’s cut, now newly presented in a stunning 4K restoration. I wasn’t just watching a longer version of the same film—I was watching the film as it was meant to be seen. It’s hard to overstate the difference. This is no mere extended edition; it’s a resurrection. And what emerges is nothing short of a modern epic.
Continue reading ‘Kingdom of Heaven (4K Blu-ray Steelbook Review)’
May 26th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Some films whisper. The Themroc Blu-ray snarls. This 1973 oddity from French director Claude Faraldo trades dialogue for guttural grunts and middle fingers, ditching logic for raw provocation. It’s the kind of movie that will either hypnotize or repel — and sometimes both at once. Radiance Films has given it the kind of treatment usually reserved for revered classics. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just curious about its cult status, this Blu-ray edition demands attention.
Continue reading ‘Themroc (Blu-ray Review)’
May 25th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The French underworld doesn’t get much colder than this. In Choice of Arms (1981), director Alain Corneau trades in the sweaty breakdowns of Serie Noire and the twisting tension of Police Python 357 for something more simmering — almost stately. Starring a trio of legends — Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, and Catherine Deneuve — this is a gangster film that’s more about regret than revenge, more psychological standoff than shootout. Presented in HD as the final entry in Radiance Films’ Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau Blu-ray box set, Choice of Arms arrives looking crisp, cool, and confidently restrained. It’s a slow burn that may not hit as hard as its companions, but it leaves a bruise all the same. Continue reading ‘Hardboiled: Choice of Arms (Blu-ray Review)’
May 25th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Step into a squalid Parisian suburb where desperation sweats through cheap polyester, and every neon flicker spells doom. Serie Noire (1979) isn’t just noir — it’s scorched earth cinema. Patrick Dewaere practically disintegrates on screen as Frank Poupart, a door-to-door hustler unraveling in a world with no escape hatch. Directed by Alain Corneau and adapted from Jim Thompson’s A Hell of a Woman, this film is a fever dream of exploitation, existential dread, and twisted romance. With Radiance Films bringing Serie Noire to Blu-ray as part of their Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau box set, the question is: how does this murky descent look and sound in HD? Let’s dig into why this Serie Noire Blu-ray release might be one of the grimiest treasures on your shelf. Continue reading ‘Hardboiled: Serie Noire (Blu-ray Review)’
May 25th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Step into the smoky, paranoia-drenched alleys of late-1970s France — Police Python 357 grabs you by the collar and drags you deep into a tangled web of obsession and betrayal. The new Police Python 357 Blu-ray from Radiance Films isn’t just a fresh coat of paint on a cult classic; it’s a presentation that makes every shadow crawl and every whisper count. This isn’t a mere relic — it’s a pulse-pounding trip into the noir heart of French cinema. Police Python 357 is featured in the Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau box set, sitting alongside two more razor-sharp crime gems.
Continue reading ‘Hardboiled: Police Python 357 (Blu-ray Review)’
May 21st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
John Carpenter’s Starman has always stood out — a sci-fi romance with a big heart and a quietly brilliant performance from Jeff Bridges. Now, the film makes its debut in stunning native 4K as part of an exclusive SteelBook release that promises to win over longtime fans and curious newcomers alike. With a Dolby Vision presentation, an impressive Atmos upgrade, and a solid suite of extras, the Starman 4K UHD Blu-ray is more than just a pretty package. But does this Steelbook edition truly do justice to one of Carpenter’s most unexpectedly emotional films? Let’s take a look. Continue reading ‘Starman (4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Review)’
