Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Rolling on through their catalog and still putting out 4K physical media, I’m grateful Disney is still doing it and has also landed on 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Robert Zemeckis film not only was a hybrid of animation and live action, but also the perfect mesh of youth and adult enjoyment. The film comes to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray with an upgrade in the picture department and a new Atmos track to hear it by. Unfortunately there are no new extras to add this time around, but the former Blu-ray is included for those. This arrives on the format on December 7th. At some point, the Amazon ordering link will reappear, and then I’ll post the paid Amazon Associates link if you so choose to order from this site. But until then, there are other places you can secure yourself a pre-order.
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October was quite a crowded month in terms of big new theatrical releases. When that happens, of course some thing or things get left by the wayside and aren’t the prime choice of movie goers. One of the biggies that happened to was Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. There’s been a lot of huffing and puffing about Ridley Scott’s hypothesizing as to why it didn’t pan out, but that’s beside the point. The film is excellent and you should certainly check it out whenever you have the time, wherever you can find it to watch (Hopefully not on your phone though, but if that’s your thing, so be it). Next to theatrical, its coming the best way for home possible, as a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release with an Atmos track. There is one featurette with it, but its over 30 minutes long, so that’s at least a nice conceit. The Last Duel arrives on the format online and in stores on December 14th. You can pre-order yourself a copy of it by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review below.
One of cinema’s greatest and most true blue, time honored cult classics is turning 50 years young this year, which is right smack dab in the middle of the age gap between our two leads. That fil is Hal Ashby’s dark romantic comedy Harold and Maude. Paramount is commemorating the milestone by adding it to the Paramount Presents line. The film is receiving a new 4K make-over from the original negative as well as a new 5.1 mix from newly discovered materials. Yusuf / Cat Stevens has sat down for a brand new interview and you get a commentary with Cameron Crowe and the writer of Ed Wood as bonus features. This new disc will arrive on December 7th, and you can order yourself a copy now by using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
Its rather nice and refreshing to have Rick and Morty back in regular rotation on Adult Swim. It feels almost too good to be true. The fifth season of the show just concluded its terrific run and we’ll be heading into a sixth season in the next year. Warner Bros and Adult Swim are putting it out onto Blu-ray, which will also come with a collectible steelbook packaging. The release comes with a nice array of short featurettes and a digital code for every episode of the season. You’ll be able to pick up the complete season on Blu-ray when it arrives in stores, both online and physical on December 7th. If you’d like to order one, you can use the paid Amazon Associates link that follows this review.
James Wan is one of our best mainstream working directors today. No matter what he’s working on, the minute it comes out you really need to see it. His craft and joy of movie making is infectious through every one of his projects. Personally, for me, I love the fact that he and frequent collaborator tend to make low budget movies made for ten bucks look like they were made for 100 million. Wan’s latest effort is a “one for me” film in that of Malignant, squeezing between Aquaman features. The film sadly didn’t fare so well at the box office and had a simultaneous release on HBO Max. Unfortunately, at this time, we aren’t getting a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release and simply a standard Blu-ray with a sole 15 minute featurette. If the film continues to find a following, perhaps we can get a deluxe release by someone somewhere down the line. For now, you can pick it up on physical media on standard Blu-ray and you can do so by using the paid Amazon Associates link following this review.
The Warner Archive Collection continued journey through the Michael Curtiz catalog ends the year on the longtime heralded Angels With Dirty Faces. This is a notable film in the canon of James Cagney. Of this release, Warner Archive Collection states “It’s back and looking better than ever! The acclaimed Warner Bros. gangster classic which paired off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O’Brien for the sixth time in this timeless and unforgettable film. Cagney’s Rocky Sullivan is a charismatic ghetto tough whose underworld rise makes him a hero to a gang of slum punks. O’Brien is Father Connolly, the boyhood chum-turned-priest who vows to end Rocky’s influence. Other top talents join them including Humphrey Bogart as a scheming lawyer, Ann Sheridan (in her first major leading-lady role) as Rocky’s hard-edged girlfriend and the Dead End Kids as worshipful street urchins, all ably directed by the great Michael Curtiz (Casablanca). The 1938 New York Film Critics Best Actor Award came Cagney’s way, as well as one of the film’s three Oscar® nominations. Watch the film’s shocking finale and you’ll know why.” You can order this loaded release by using the paid Amazon Associate link at the bottom of the page.
One of the bread and butter best things Warner Archive Collection does is turn out beautiful restorations of old Technicolor produced films of Hollywood yesteryear. On December 14th, they’ll be stunning us with a brand new 4K restoration of the 1952 box office smash Ivanhoe, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Fontaine. Of Ivanhoe, “M-G-M spared no expense and brought their top box-office talent to film this opulent Technicolor® epic to England to film this box-office smash which starred not one, but two Taylors. Related only as studio royalty, long-time leading man Robert Taylor played opposite the incomparable Elizabeth Taylor in this action-packed adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s legendary novel.” The film comes with an Oscar winning Tom and Jerry cartoon as a bonus feature in addition to the trailer (All of which is in HD). You can order yourself a copy of Ivanhoe by utilizing the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom of the page.
Paramount continues to lovingly and impressively dig into their back catalog, improving upon previous releases and finally getting around to some titles missing from the Blu-ray format. On November 30th, they are doing both ends of the spectrum with a pair of Warren Beatty films; 1978’s Heaven Can Wait and 1981’s epic Reds. Both of them having brand new 4K transfers. Reds was Beatty’s big sweeping epic from 1981. Its the one that landed him is Academy Award for Best Director. While nominated for a pretty outstanding 12 Academy Awards, it managed to go home with three. It comes with the bonus features from the 25th anniversary edition as well as the new transfer approved by Vittorio Storraro. You can order yourself a copy for a heck of deal by using the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the page following the review.
Paramount continues to lovingly and impressively dig into their back catalog, improving upon previous releases and finally getting around to some titles missing from the Blu-ray format. On November 30th, they are doing both ends of the spectrum with a pair of Warren Beatty films; 1978’s Heaven Can Wait and 1981’s epic Reds. Both of them having brand new 4K transfers. Heaven Can Wait was Beatty’s directorial debut (Sharing credit with Buck Henry) and a remake of a 1941 screwball comedy classic. The film garnered 9 Oscar nominations, yielding 1 win, during the year Deer Hunter was the favorite. Paramount isn’t really doing much else as aside from the transfer and lossless mono track, only a digital code is provided. However, the price point is pretty fair, especially for a day 1 release. You can order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link below.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was the wonderful surprise and jolt to the Marvel Cinematic Universe we didn’t see coming. Coming in at the tail end of the summer and kicking all sorts of butt, the film provided a brand new flex for the MCU. Now its coming to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray after already dropping on Disney+ a few weeks back to promote their IMAX aspect ratio option. This release comes with an Atmos track, some deleted scenes and a couple of featurettes. That awesome making of that’s on Disney+? Nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, this is how we physical media lovers will have to best enjoy the film. It arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ay on November 30th. The paid Amazon Associates pre-order link is currently non-existent, but we’ll do our best to have it up and added back to this review when it returns.
Wow, its been 30 years since The Addams Family found new life in cinematic form. A comic strip turned beloved television show, their legacy still carries strong today with new animated movies as well as a Netflix series around the corner. Paramount is celebrating the Barry Sonnenfeld film turning 30 with a new 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. This disc will include a new interview with Sonnenfeld as well as a new cut of the film featuring a deleted dance sequence fully restored and inserted back in. One can only hope the superior sequel, Addams Family Values, will get some of this love in the near future. The 1991 film will be released on November 23rd and you can land yourself a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link below.
My Blu-ray Wishlist article is right around the corner, and its fitting that I’m writing on one of my most wanted titles over the years; 1973’s The Last of Sheila. The Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim scripted murder mystery at sea is an often overlooked and forgotten little gem in the Agatha Christie vein that I think many would rather enjoy. If you liked something like Rian Johnson’s Knives Out in recent years, surely give this a shot. Warner Archive Collection is bringing this beautifully restored transfer to Blu-ray for the first time (Was releases on November 9th) with the trailer and a commentary done by three of the cast members as a bonus feature. Is this a mystery you were able to solve on first watch? Does it hold together? Revisit the film or check it out for the very first time by ordering yourself a copy from the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Cameron Crowe’s American adaptation of Abre Los Ojos, Vanilla Sky, took a while to finally debut on the Blu-ray format. Now, six years later for its 20th anniversary, it’s returning again. The Paramount Presents line is one I’ve continually sung praises of, and its releasing better versions of films that have been out before is one of the many reasons why. While there’s not too much in the way of new bonus material (There was already a lot), they’ve improved in the most important area. It features a brand new 4K transfer that was supervised by Cameron Crowe, himself. This also being the 3rd film of Cameron Crowe introduced into the “Presents” line, following Almost Famous and Elizabethtown before it. Vanilla Sky arrives on November 16th. You can order a copy for yourself using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
Sony has followed up their well regarded and popular 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray Columbia Classics Collection with a second volume. Released on October 12th, the box set features the debuts of Anatomy of a Murder, Oliver!, Taxi Driver, Stripes, Sense and Sensibility and The Social Network. You can find reviews for each of these titles here on Why So Blu. This is a sort of set overview review, where I have included links to those reviews in one place. This also contains a look at the unboxing of the packaging as well as the contents of the bonus disc. You can place an order for the set (While they last, these are LIMITED) by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review. As always, your helping the site is greatly appreciated.
Warner Archive Collection released a sweet lot of horror titles back in October. While late to the game on reviewing them, the review copies weren’t sent out til later on. In the current climate of home video physical media distributing, there have been many a fulfilment center delay on titles each and every month. So that’s not too surprising at the end of the day. Ron Howard’s Night Shift is probably the highest profile film in the month’s lot. While it doesn’t come with anything but a trailer, the Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton and Shelley Long starring film comes with a pretty impressive new HD master that needs to be seen. This is its first time on Blu-ray with a new 2021 1080p master, lossless audio and a trailer. The disc was released back on October 5th, but its available to order now from the paid Amazon Associates link below.
Francis Ford Coppola has been busy during quarantine recutting various films of his. Last year saw the new edition of The Godfather, Part III and just a couple months ago we were treated to a new cut of Dementia 13. We even had another version of Apocalypse Now recently. The Outsiders is having its turn in the sun now with Coppola’s The Complete Novel hitting theaters and coming to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. This new release features both cuts of the film on 4K (with digital copies) as well as new bonus materials and carrying over the old ones as well. Warner Bros released it on the format on November 9th. You can order yourself a copy of this intriguing new version of the much beloved film by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
