Le Samouraï – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
It was an absolute pleasure to review The Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release of this film back in 2017, and now here we are again with the 4K UHD release. Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï is one of a couple of films from this timeframe that brought a modern sense of cool to practically all the movies about contract killers, hitmen, and assassins that proceeded it (I would also look to Point Blank and Tokyo Drifter). Thanks to a blend of elegance, straightforward storytelling, well-handled tension, and pitch-perfect lead performance, Le Samouraï is a true masterpiece that skillfully blends 40s gangster/noir sensibilities and the evolving nature of 60s new wave cinema. Now on a 4K Blu-ray and presented in HDR, the film can be experienced and enjoyed on an even grander level.
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Chances are that if you’re at whysoblu.com, you know we are likely similar. I bet you have some sort of home theater setup and no doubt, you, like me, have been waiting for a 4K UHD Blu-ray release of Twister. That day has come and rejoice, because it’s a doozy. A real F5 if you will. Join Jo, Bill, Melissa and the gang for this still wild ride which finally gets the treatment it deserves! Be sure to order yourself a copy by clicking the cover art at the end of the review! Gale force winds can’t stop you!
Taxi Driver is a benchmark of 1970s cinema. The film is dark, gritty, grimy and shocking. Travis Bickle is the man we witness descending into the bowels of his mental health. Desperate for some clean normalcy, but dragging himself into other more torrid directions, we travel the darkness of 1970s New York with him and we begin to feel his paranoia. And now, nearly 50 years later, we are given this film in a 4K UHD Blu-ray package that was once only available in Columbia Classics Vol. 2’s set of 6 films. Are there any improvements to the transfer included there? Anything new? Read on below and if you don’t have it already, be sure to click the cover art at the end to get yourself the new Steelbook!
Over the years, Alex Gardner has pushed the visual boundaries of whatever genre he is playing in. If we were fearing AI in Ex-Machina, or extraterrestrials in Annihilation or zombies in 28 Days Later, Garland was delivering. The next real threat? The government is now authoritarian, and regions of the US are now grouping together to rebel. In, Civil War, we are seeing something almost too real. I also could not look away. Find out more about Civil War below. Does it live up to the hype or does it fizzle under the over-expectation of good reviews? Be sure to click the cover art at the end if you feel so inclined to order a copy for yourself!
Bring home the film that is “100 percent joy from start to finish” (Fresh Fiction), 
In telling the extraordinary story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all times, Focus Features delivers the influential film about pop culture icon Amy Winehouse in BACK TO BLACK, available on Digital July 5, 2024 and on Blu-rayTM and DVD on July 23, 2024 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. In all-new exclusive bonus material, go behind-the-scenes with the cast and crew as they show the substantial and important work in telling Amy’s story for old and new fans. Directed by BAFTA Award nominee Sam Taylor-Johnson, BACK TO BLACK stars a talented cast featuring Marisa Abela (“Industry”), BAFTA Award winner Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), BAFTA Award nominee Eddie Marsan (The Gentleman), and Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Phantom Thread, “The Crown”).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment will be newly releasing Succession: The Complete Series on Blu-ray. Get ready to binge on all 39 episodes from HBO’s Emmy® award-winning original series, along with all the previously released special features. The brilliant high-stakes drama following the Roy Family and their quest for power will be available to purchase online on August 13. Pre-order your copy today.
From Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer Jeb Stuart (The Fugitive, Die Hard), Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment brings you the next chapter in the Vikings franchise, with the release of Vikings: Valhalla: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on August 27, 2024. One hundred years have passed, and a new generation of legendary heroes have arrived to create their own destiny — and make history! On August 27, all 8 gripping episodes from the first season will be available for purchase online and in-store at major retailers. Pre-order your copy today.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy celebrates it’s 20th anniversary this year. It’s quite hard to believe considering how fresh and ever-referenced it is now. We even have a sequel that somehow managed to continue the good times almost ten years after the original. Now, realistically, today, this movie could not be made the same. For that, I’m grateful it came out in 2004. We live in a time where comedies like this just don’t exist anymore, and now, we have these 2000s classics to revel in, just before the film industry seemingly lost its sense of humor. Read on about Anchorman below, including a link to my colleague Brian White’s 2013 review, and my retrospective thoughts, along with the usual tech review! As always, you can get your copy of Anchorman by clicking the cover art at the end of the review!
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire marks the 6th installment in the Ghostbusters franchise. The first film also celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Not to be outdone, this newest entry in the series sees some callbacks to the original and may satisfy fans of the old and the newcomers too! But what do I think? Discover the ghostly details below and see if this newest film about bustin’ made me feel good… OK, even that was too cheesy for me… but, I digress. Read on in depth and as always, feel free to click the cover art below to order yourself a copy of Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings – never use someone else’s deck – they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.
Director Martin Scorsese’s gripping and fiery masterpiece BRINGING OUT THE DEAD celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and Paramount Home Entertainment is marking the occasion by releasing the newly remastered film for the first time ever on both 4K Ultra HD™ and Blu-ray™ on September 17, 2024.
Prepare to be on the edge of your seat when Ishana Night Shyamalan’s feature film directorial debut, The Watchers, from New Line Cinema arrives for purchase and rental Digitally at home on June 28. The film will also be available to purchase on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on August 27. From producer M. Night Shyamalan, The Watchers is written for the screen and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, and is based on the 2022 novel by A.M. Shine.
