Witness the Amazing Story of Harriet On Blu-ray and DVD 1/28/2020!
December 20th, 2019 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Universal City, California, December 20, 2019 – Follow the inspirational journey of one of the bravest people and heroes in history, Harriet Tubman, as she risks her life to save others from the horrors of slavery in HARRIET, arriving on Digital January 14, 2020 and Blu-ray™️, DVD and On Demand on January 28, 2020 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
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Dare to go back when director Mike Flanagan continues the story of Danny Torrance, 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining” with “Doctor Sleep,” a screenplay based on the novel by Stephen King. Witness “A masterwork of suspense and fear.” (Kylie Mar, Made in Hollywood) on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD February 4th, 2020 and on Digital January 21st!
With the clock ticking down, an NYPD detective is plunged into the midst of a large-scale conspiracy, while trying to bring forth justice in 21 BRIDGES, arriving on Digital February 4, 2020 and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on February 18, 2020 from STXfilms and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Another calendar year has come and gone in the “death of physical media” era we’ve been living in for years upon years now. While I think in the eyes of those of us collectors who prefer ownership, things are still thriving and benefiting us immensely (You SPOIL us, Reverend Entertainment!), 2019 has seen the desire of the big studios’ future plans come more to fruition. At Why So Blu alone, there have seen severe disappointments with announcements of digital only 4K Ultra-HD releases (The Limey, in particular) and new beloved movies only getting a standard Blu-ray release with bare minimum bonus features (Midsommar). On the brighter side, stingy big studios allergic to sub-licensing their catalogs have begun to soften their stance and the unthinkable of Warner Bros, Paramount and Sony (Moreso in terms of allowing new bonus features, something they used to not do) started unloading onto us in 2019. Your move, Lionsgate (The most head scratching and frustrating studio with catalog releases). As I’ve been saying for years, I don’t see a death for physical media ever happening, it’ll just be changing and a smaller output that has standards already have been practiced for almost 10 years now. It’ll evolve to look more like the current state of vinyl records in its future, and that’s okay. The people who are still passionate about putting these out know how to blast excitement into it (I mean, who doesn’t get antsy about the Vinegar Syndrome Black Friday sale every year?). But, enough about the future, let us get to the now, my Top 4K Ultra-HD and Top Blu-ray titles released in the 2019 calendar year. 
Shout Select will release retro classic The Wizard
Next March, John M. Stahl’s singular Hollywood masterpiece Leave Her to Heaven– a stunning Technicolor melodrama infused with the darkness of film noir and graced with a chilling performance by Gene Tierney- will join the Criterion Collection, making its Blu-ray debut in a new 2K restoration. Spike Lee’s provocative satire Bamboozled, a scathing indictment of racism in American pop culture, will also appear on Blu-ray for the first time. Irene Dunne and Paul Robeson star in James Whale’s beloved screen version of Show Boat, Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern’s classic American musical, featuring Robeson’s soul-shaking rendition of “Ol’ Man River.” Director-producer-star Barbra Streisand’s The Prince of Tides, an emotionally wrenching adaptation of Pat Conroy’s best-selling novel, will appear in a new 4K restoration. And that’s not all: the Maysles brothers’ Direct Cinema classic Salesman and Mikhail Kalatozov’s visually exhilarating Soviet-cinema landmark The Cranes Are Flying will arrive on Blu-ray, newly restored.
What started out as merely a Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff collection has pivoted into a pretty swell, and less limited, release line for Scream Factory. That original release became the Universal Horror Collection which has now spawned 4 volumes (The fourth coming in 2020), featuring various films that aren’t captured under the “Classic Monster” banner. Films, actors, directors and effects artists that all deserve their due on Blu. Volume 3 sees a more all-star lineup (In terms of casting) that feels a bit of a rebound after Volume 2’s Lionel Atwill heavy set. This third in the collection features Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., Basil Rathbone and Lionel Atwill (Again!). Any classic horror hound would love to probably have this as a gift, so make sure you lock one in using our paid link for next week’s release (December 17th) and swoop in with the ultimate surprise gift this holiday season.
This January, Scream Factory brings the cult classic thrillers Body Parts and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death to Blu-ray for the first time! Available January 28, 2020, both releases come loaded with bonus features, including new director audio commentaries, new interviews with cast and crew members, and new featurettes. Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com.
Stephen King properties are hot again to adapt to films, but nothing will probably ever compete with 1980s output for both theaters and television. There were many upon many of his works being adapted. Some good, some bad, but all in all an exciting time to be a horror fan or fan of the author’s work. One of my personal favorites from this era, is the often overlooked Silver Bullet from 1985. So overlooked that its 2019 and it is finally being released on Blu-ray in the United States. It just finally made its debut on the format a year ago in Australia. And good news, the new features for that release have been ported over here. Here to this Scream Factory Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. So far, the Paramount horror vault opening has been wonderful. And you’ll be able to own this wonderful Blu-ray Collector’s Edition from Scream Factory when it arrives on December 17th, just in time before that holiday full moon of your choosing to celebrate. Gary Busey wants you to know that the Amazon link at the end of this review is a paid link, and always appreciated when you use it.
Two years ago, the 2017 adaptation of the legendary Stephen King novel It became a complete phenomenon. Setting the film world on fire from the launch of its trailer, It (2017) opened to an absurd amount of money for an R-rated horror film and surged its way, with strong legs to become a complete box office champion. It wouldn’t last too long, however, as another famous clown knocked off Pennywise from that pedestal this year. This same year that brought the follow up promised at the end credits of the first film, It: Chapter Two. The second film didn’t fare as well the second time around and merely became just another “hit movie”. The adult focused adventure seemed to come and go from the conversation before September was even over. Andy Muschietti’s film does arrive on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray just in time be be a part of your Holiday conversation though, arriving on December 10th. You can add IT to your Stephen King collection by using the paid Amazon linkage below.
There have been sets made of The Fly films in the past. However, those were limited to just the eras. The old The Fly films stuck together and the two from the 1980s teamed up for double feature discs. But, never has the whole encompassing world of The Fly been available in one big collection…UNTIL NOW. Scream Factory has put together an impressive set for this holiday season with all five movies about transportation and screwing it up for yourself and the lives of others. This impressive collection features a load of all new bonus material interviews as well as the Blu-ray debut of the third film, The Curse of The Fly. And in true Scream Factory fashion, it comes in impressive packaging for all of us movie shelf display showoffs everywhere. Pre-order to receive when it arrives on December 10th!
One of Shout! Factory’s more impressive releases this holiday season is definitely the Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection. This truly is an all-timer set, collecting 28 of the legendary comedy duos’ films. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello did 36 feature films altogether, so you’re getting pretty much everything here. Yes, that does mean if you’re a Classic Monsters fan, you’re getting Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein for the bazillionth time (As well as the other monster films for the ga-jillionth time). Given the enormity of this box set and the fact that we do things right over here at Why So Blu, it took a little while to plow through these 28 films and accompanying bonus material spread out over 15 discs. This review began by taking a disc-by-disc approach (2 Films each disc, Disc 15 is all bonus material). This final or “general” version of the review is here to collect links to all of the reviews for the 15 discs to have them in one place for easier navigation. If you enjoyed these reviews and are interested in picking up this set, please think about using our paid Amazon link below. Any time you do, it is very much appreciated. 
