The original Star Wars trilogy in SteelBooks and a full Superman collection lead May’s best Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases
Plus Quantumania, Creed III, The Last Starfighter, and Wings Of Desire are coming for fans who still love physical media (we know you're out there)
Aux Features Blu-ray
Clockwise from top: Superman (Warner Bros.), Star Wars (Walt Disney Studios), Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (Walt Disney Studios) Image: The A.V. Club
Physical media may be devalued by some in our streaming-dominated world, but you’d be surprised how many great titles are only available on disc. Maybe you’ve forgotten how rewarding some DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD offerings can be, especially when they’re loaded with special packaging and bonus features. With that in mind, here’s a look at all the best films and shows you can spin starting in May, including the physical debuts of Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Creed III, and Knock At The Cabin. Also on tap are the 4K UHD debuts of Wings Of Desire, The Last Starfighter, The Night Of The Hunter, Brotherhood Of The Wolf, and many more.
33 Comments
Ok but if we’re talking original Star Wars trilogy…
I’ll buy new Star Wars OT physical media as soon as they release full-on UHD remasters of the theatrical versions. Until then I’ll roll with 4K77/D+80/4K83.
I wish I could get excited about the Superman collection, but it’s such a downgrade from the DVD collection they release back in 2006(?), which not only came with Superman Returns as well as all the others, but you got mail away offer for free, yes FREE full size theatrical posters for all the films. That’s like an extra $200-$400 of swag in today’s market. Plus for whatever reason, I got sent duplicates of several of them mailed to me, so I made out like a bandit.
How does the director’s cut of Brotherhood of the Wolf compare to the theatrical version? It’s a such a crazy movie it’s a little hard to imagine a lot of artistic compromise. Also, as time goes on my DVDs of the original Star Wars trilogy feel like a better and better investment. They even match the prequels on my shelf.
There’s about 10 minutes of new stuff in the DC. Mostly character bits. (I bought an import HD DVD of it back in the olden days.)
As the owner of not one but two region-free blu-ray players, the phrase “import HD DVD” brought a tear to my eye.
I know the Donner Cut was an artistic compromise, but holy Christ was it still a huge disappointment. How no one caught that huge logic boondoggle at the end is beyond me.
My understanding is that Donner and his editor on the Donner Cut justify repeating the ending from Superman 1 because that was the “original plan.” Never mind that that plan would have changed before Donner was fired from II. I could let that go considering he was inherently limited by the fact the he never finished production, but the rest of the movie isn’t as well paced as the theatrical version. Lester Cut all the way for me personally.
I don’t have a problem with reusing the time travel bit, but they had almost three decades to realize that said time travel erased the stuff with the guy in the diner. It makes no sense whatsoever for Supes to go back and teach the guy a lesson.
My understanding is that Donner and his editor on the Donner Cut
My understanding is that Donner wasn’t actually involved with putting together ‘The Donner Cut.’ In the commentary track in the original release of it he expresses surprise at some scenes having been put back in.
What was worse was the celebration they had ti celebrate the cut. Would not recommend the Donner Party. The food was awful!
Did they fix Star Wars movies? On TV there’s matt boxes around the spaceships, which really takes you out of the movie. It shows up even more in HD and 4K. They need to digitally remove them. So that no matter the settings on your TV they don’t appear.
When the trailer for Superman 5 Film Collection can’t afford to use the iconic John Williams Superman theme.
“Night of the Hunter” might be the movie that pushes me into 4K. It’s not just an intoxicating fairy tale of a movie but one of the most exquisite pieces of B&W cinematography of all time courtesy the great Stanley Cortez. I imagine they did some kind of interpolation with the CGI on “The Last Starfighter” because it looked pretty chunky at the time or they are just going to play it as it lays which would be fine but HDTVs can easily have an eye-scalding effect and the graphics may just not translate very well.There’s only one “Star Wars” disc I’d ever buy and that’s the original Summer 1977 version (not even the summer 1978 print that had already been doctored). Alas that negative is probably rotting atop the disintegrating “Magnificent Ambersons” film canisters at the bottom of the Pacific.
My reaction to Superman Returns not being included in the 4K box set:
If that movie were any more devoid of fun it’d be a Snyder flick.
Say what you will about Man of Steel, at least Supes had the excuse of being new to the whole thing in that one. Returns was absolute character assassination.
Returns is my nominee for most boring big-budget movie ever made. The thing I remember most about that movie is that when it was over, I went to the bathroom and peed continuously for 45 seconds.
No word on whether the Star Wars releases are the theatrical cuts or the Special Editions? Because unless I’m assured otherwise, I’m assuming Special Editions and passing. Also, if you haven’t seen Brotherhood of the Wolf, do so. It’s nuts in the best possible way.
If the theatrical versions ever get another home video release there will be the internet equivalent of a ticker-tape parade, and you’ll never hear the end of it. The real question is which Special Editions the new discs contain. At this point there are three or four different “Special Editions,” distinguished by things like whether R2D2 is hiding behind a rock, the graininess of CGI Jabba, and whether Greedo shoots first or shouts “Maclunkey” and then shoots first.
It’s got to be the Maclunkey versions. They’re the latest and “greatest,” and the easiest lift since (I think) they’re the only ones with a 4K master.It’s kind of funny that Lucas kept tinkering with the OT yet never bothered to fix the PS2-level CGI in the prequel trilogy.
Because bad early CGI like in the prequels was his true vision all along. He only used practical effects filming the OT because bad early CGI wasn’t available yet! I bet ILM keeps some vintage Silicon Graphics workstations so that turn of the millennium CGI is still available should Lucas want it for future projects.
I cackled when they broached the CGI topic at the top of the Pitch Meeting for “Attack of the Clones.”
Sexy Star Wars, they’re the latest and the “greatest” of them all…
I’m pretty sure for Blu ray he replaced the Yoda puppet in Episode 1 with a CGI Yoda – the man only knows how to double down. Really though, the dated effects in the prequels speak to the whole issue – that’s what cutting edge CGI looked like at the turn of the millennium, and the Original Trilogy was the cutting edge of visual effects in the late 70s and early 80s. Movies age, and Lucas’ dick move wasn’t so much wanting a new version of his old movies but viewing their age as a flaw to correct.
The thing that pisses me off about it (while still recognizing that they’re his creation and at the time he still had full ownership of them) is the way he derided the theatrical releases as an unfinished rough draft, which crapped on the experiences of the millions of people for whom those releases were an important part of their lives, whether they saw them as children or adults.Because of the way he’s continually shit-talked the originals, the implication is “this thing I made that you liked was bad actually and you’re dumb for liking it so much” and it sucks. He could’ve easily talked about how he wishes he had access to the technology available in 1997 twenty years prior without going HAM on it.FWIW I don’t care if he made a hundred different “special editions,” I just don’t like taking the originals out of circulation.
So much this, the OG theatrical versions will NEVER see another video release, ever.
You pretty much nailed it–if there is no word, there is no original theatrical version.
It’s got to be the special edition.
It’s been well established that the original SW theatrical editions will never be released on any type of media. Which sucks.
Not to nitpick (ok, a little) but why does each Star War get its own slide while the Supermen are all together?
I assume because the Superman set is sold as a set, while you can purchase the Star Wars movies individually.
So you mean I can’t just skip III? Guess I’ll do what Artie Lange said to do with the Godfather set: you watch I & II and do coke off the III disc.