Arrow Video's 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Director Peter Yates' Bullitt Starring Steve McQueen Rockets Home On Dec. 8

You can’t really talk about director Peter Yates’ Bullitt without first taking a look at filmmaker Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair.   They are connected at the hip.

In 1966, first time screenwriter Alan Trustman had come up with a gem which he titled “The Crown Caper.”   At about the same time, Jewison was teaming up with Harold Mirisch for a three-picture production deal and it was announced (summer of 1966) that Jewison had cut a deal with a “Boston attorney” (that would be Trustman) for a story that was described as a “love story set against a suspenseful crime back-ground.”   This would become part of the Mirisch deal.

Trustman had envision Sean Connery as Thomas Crown, but in February of 1967 it was announced that Steve McQueen would be starring and production would begin in May.  It was something of a family reunion as Jewison had worked with McQueen on The Cincinnati Kid and Mirisch had produced both The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape.   The May start date was pushed back until June when Faye Dunaway joined the cast for filming in Boston.   

The Thomas Crown Affair didn’t open theatrically until June of the following year.   During that time, Trustman had written Bullitt (an adaptation of Robert L. Pike’s novel titled “Mute Witness”), which was acquired by Steve McQueen’s “Solar Productions” — McQueen liked the way Trustman had reworked “The Crown Caper” for him and was ready for more. 

Production began in San Francisco in February of 1968 and “The Adventures of Thomas Crown and Company” still hadn’t opened yet (in April of 1968 it was finally titled The Thomas Crown Affair) … in the interim, Faye Dunaway had become an overnight sensation in Bonnie and Clyde.

It was the perfect storm!  Everything was coming together for Steve McQueen to become a superstar in 1968 … The Thomas Crown Affair in June, followed by Bullitt in October!

And speaking of “coming together,” the round-about introduction to Arrow Video’s 4K restoration of Bullitt (from the original 35mm camera negative) will do just that, come together, on Dec. 8 with its 4K Ultra HD debut.   Domestic sales and distribution expertise will be provided by MVD Entertainment Group.

Bonus goodies kick off with two separate commentary options.   The first is an archival commentary by director Peter Yates and the second is a newly minted one featuring film critics Jason Bailey (crookedmarquee.com) and Matt Zoller Seitz (editor at large for RogerEbert.com).

Also included is documentary filmmaker Wendy Apple’s 2004 feature-length film festival documentary titled The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (perfect … Frank P. Keller won the Oscar for his editing work on Bullitt).

Arrow is also providing a newly-produced featurette titled “The Sound of Cool,” the vintage featurette, “Bullitt: Steve McQueen’s Commitment to Reality” and an archival video session (circa 1996) with Yates.

Director Joseph Zito's Mission In Action Gets The 4K Ultra HD Treatment On Nov. 24 Courtesy Of MVD Entertainment Group

Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas after viewing director Joseph Zito’s November of 1984 debut of Missing in Action said, “If ever there was a contemporary screen hero to send into Vietnam and rescue American soldiers still there, it’s martial arts star Chuck Norris.”  He continued in his praise for the film, “It’s an action-adventure, with an economical, well-structured script by James Bruner and dynamic direction by Joseph Zito.”

It took awhile to get the film going, Hollywood wanted to forget Vietnam, so it fell to indie Cannon Films to get Missing in Action into production.   It was a huge hit for them and audiences loved it!   Hollywood had guessed wrong.

Word arrived this past week that MVD Entertainment Group has a newly restored 4K Ultra HD edition (from the original camera negative) of Missing in Action on the way this November.   The street date will be Nov. 24 … and, as a bonus, this will be a new addition to the company’s popular “Rewind Collection” library.

Bonus features include a vintage commentary by director Joseph Zito (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Invasion U.S.A., Red Scorpion), who is joined by Red Shirt Pictures producer Michael Felsher.   There is also an extended archived video session with screenwriter James Bruner. 

 

MVD Entertainment Group Tags Nov. 3 For The Physical Media Launch Of Director Jonas Akerlund's Billy Idol Should Be Dead

MVD Entertainment Group has tabbed Nov. 3 as the physical media release date — both DVD and Blu-ray selections — for documentary filmmaker and music video directing icon Jonas Akerlund’s Billy Idol Should be Dead.

Akerlund is no stranger to the rock scene, having directed countless music videos over the years for the likes of Madonna, Roxette, Metallica, Paul McCartney, U2 and many, many more.   Starting in 2005 he had enough material and street-creds to start telling rock-scene stories, beginning with I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (a look at Madonna’s 2004 “Re-Invention” world tour) … Paul McCartney's Live Kisses, Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live and Metallica Saved My Life all followed. 

He’s even ventured into feature-length films, including the rock-horror tale, Lords of Chaos. 

In short, Akerlund knows music and the artists.   In April of last year, when the Tribeca Film Festival announced its preview line-up for the June gathering, the music-scene took notice at the news that rock legend Billy Idol would be doing a live music intro to the festival screening of Akerlund’s playfully-titled film, Billy Idol Should be Dead.

On the eve of the screening, USA Today’s Melissa Ruggieri had a sit-down with Idol to discuss the movie.   He revealed, “I’m lucky to be here” … “If I was doing today what I was doing in the ‘80s I’d be dead.” 

If you are a Billy Idol fan (or just curious) Akerlund’s documentary (entertaining as hell) lays it all out there.   The good and the really ugly.   He blends in animation to make points about the rise and near-destruction of this pretty-boy rock legend who really lived the live of sex, drugs (did we says DRUGS) and rock’n’roll!!

The post-festival reviews were solid and the savvy Laemmle Theatre circuit followed by opening up its doors for a limited theatrical showcase of Akerlund’s documentary in October of 2025.   Just for record, that yields an ARR of 375 days for the Nov. 3 DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Also of note, MVD Entertainment Group’s physical media support for the film is not the first time that the company has embraced Billy Idol’s physical media ventures.  In December of 2023 they released both DVD and Blu-ray editions of Idol’s spectacular live concert (also a theatrical release) titled Billy Idol: State Line - Live at Hoover Dam.   Be sure to check that out if you are a Billy Idol fan (included were “Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” “Dancing with Myself” and more.

Radiance Films Readies A 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Director Mario Bava's Planet Of The Vampires For Release On Oct. 20

Genre fans in particular and movie-goes in general in Boston, San Francisco and at various theatres throughout Ohio were drawn to the double feature launch of director Daniel Haller’s Die, Monster, Die! (starring Boris Karloff no less) and Italian filmmaker Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires beginning on Oct. 27, 1965.   A horror-themed double-feature presented by American International during the Halloween promotional season, how could anyone pass that up!

What genre fans got as a bonus were leather-clad deep space hotties, ‘er “explorers,” in the form of Norma Bengell and Evi Marandi.   Indeed, hearts were pounding, not from the terror generated by what was lurking in the mist of that strange planet called Aura, but from those soft curves highlighted by Gabriele Mayer’s costume creations … those leather space outfits!! 

News has arrived that Radiance Films, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new 4K film restoration of Planet of the Vampires ready for genre fans to enjoy once again … only this time as a glorious 4K Ultra HD product offering on Oct. 20.   The terror face by Santa (Bengell) and Tiona (Marandi) on Aura can now be savored in 4K … or will it be leering and lusting-after how those “very practical” black leather space outfits were filled out by these brave space explorers (in 4K, or course)? 

Bonus goodies include both the original Italian-language version (an extra two minutes of footage) and the 1965 English-dubbed domestic theatrical presentation.   Plus, Radiance has included with this 4K Ultra HD release an archival commentary from author and film critic Tim Lucas (Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark) and Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger’s new documentary (2024) titled Transmissions from a Haunted World: Mario Bava and the Space Gothic. 

Additional bonus delights are a vintage interview with Lamberto Bava, the Super 8 version of the film and “trailer commentaries” from Joe Dante and Josh Olsen.

MVD Entertainment Group Bestows "Rewind Collection" Status On Director David Nutter's Oct. 17 Blu-ray Release Of Disturbing Behavior

It’s “Rewind” status for director David Nutter’s summer of 1998 sci/horror chiller, Disturbing Behavior, starring a pre-X-Men James Marsden (Cyclops) and Katie Holmes in her second screen appearance and on the cusp of her Dawson’s Creek breakout success … plus the likes of “Charlie Manson”/“Duane Barry” (Steve Railsback in the ’76 Helter Skelter mini-series; X-Files … season two) and no less than “John Connor” (Nick Stahl … Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines).

MVD Entertainment Group will induct Disturbing Behavior into its vaunted “Rewind Collection” as a newly-minted Blu-ray edition on October 17.

Highly under-rated as a horror entry … for two reasons (more, if you like).   First, MGM (the studio producing the film) seemed to have had little understanding of what David Nutter, an X-File alumni, was going for and took control of his film … cutting it to shreds in the process by lopping-out something like a half-hour’s worth of footage.   Next, the studio decided to open the film theatrically on the same date as Saving Private Ryan.  

That’s called “burying it” … in all fairness (who wants to be fair) the studio was in the mists of production changes, so what was in the pipeline was given lesser status in favor of what was being put into production (old guard versus new guard; common in Hollywood).

MVD knows a good thing when it sees it, especially with it comes to new members joining the “Rewind Collection” universe.   Disturbing Behavior on Blu-ray on Oct. 17 (which is also “Video Store Day” and included in this year’s annual promotion) is a perfect new addition to the family … be sure to check it out!

Bonus goodies include commentary from filmmaker David Nutter, plus deleted scenes and the original ending (all with optional commentary by David Nutter).  He gets the final word on what MGM did to his film!!

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Looks To Nov. 3 For The Full-Spread Physical Media Rollout Of Writer/Director David Robert Mithcell's The End Of Oak Street

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will be shipping a full spread of physical media product offerings for writer/director David Robert Mithcell’s time warp summertime sci-fi thriller, The End of Oak Street, on Nov. 3.

The DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD stand-alone SKUs surface in the physical media marketplace with an ARR of 81 days … the domestic box office total currently stands at $52.2 million.

The digital window for The End of Oak Street opens on Sept. 15.

Bonus goodies, which are exclusive to the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD editions, are a trio of featurettes — “Banding Together: The Making of The End of Oak Street,” “Every Creature Tells a Story: The Dinosaurs of Oak Street” and “The Spinosaurus Attack: Driving Fear on Oak Street.”

Arrow Video Sets Oct. 20 For The 4K Ultra HD Debut Of Director Richard T. Heffron's Futureworld

It’s 4K Ultra HD time for director Richard T. Heffron’s summer of 1976 sci-fi entry, Futureworld, the much-travelled follow-up to Westworld.   Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has selected Oct. 20 as the 4K debut date (a Blu-ray purchasing option will also be available on that date).

Writer/director Michael Crichton’s 1973 release of Westworld, despite its budget limitations — the luxury of looking back exposes the film’s flaws and weaknesses which were overcome by solid storytelling and Yul Brynner’s iconic performance — was a huge hit and then MGM studio chief, James T. Aubrey, wanted to green light a sequel.  With his departure in October of 1973, his slate of potential film productions was wiped clean by Frank Rosenfelt, and suddenly Futureworld was without a home.

No problem, Aubrey shoved the project in his briefcase on the way out the door and shopped it around as the producer of the film … eventually landing at American International Pictures.  Richard Benjamin got sidetracked in the shuffle and Peter Fonda entered the arena along with Blythe Danner ... and Yul Brynner was recruited to reprise his role as "The Gunslinger."

Arrow has a brand new film commentary featuring film historian Daniel Kremer (Adventures in Auteurism, Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films, etc.) and the newly-minted featurette titled “Future Present” (featuring Paul N. Lazarus III, Aubrey’s co-producer on Futureworld).   There is also a vintage Johnson Space Center (where the film was shot) featurette titled “NASA: Science Fact and Fiction.”