Warner Home Video Announces Restored Sorcerer To Make Its Blu-ray Bow On Apr. 22

Warner Home Video has tagged Apr. 22 as the street date for the newly restored version of director William Friedkin’s 1977 reworking of The Wages of Fear, which arrived in theatres as simply, Sorcerer.    

The film will be making its Blu-ray debut, plus a new DVD edition will also be available on that date.   The restoration features a 4K scan from the original film negatives, plus the soundtrack for the film has also undergone the restoration process using the original 4-track stereo masters.   

Simply put, on Apr. 22 watching the Sorcerer will be like seeing it for the first time — anything you’ve seen before, including the original theatrical experience, will simply not be as good as this presentation.

Included with the Blu-ray SKU is a newly-prepared 40-page booklet that features excerpts from the filmmaker’s recently published book, “The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir,” plus there selected scenes from the film featured in this booklet as well.

Also added to the release calendar this week are DVD and Blu-ray editions of director Ron Maxwell’s latest Civil War film, Copperhead.   The street date is Apr. 15, which yields a leisurely ARR of 291 days and the box office tally was just $171,740.

After Gettysburg (1993 film adaptation of Michael Shaara’s novel) and Gods and Generals (2003 film adaptation of Jeff Shaara’s novel — son of Michael Shaara), Copperhead is, for filmmaker Ron Maxwell, a very different look at the Civil War.

Adapted from Harold Frederic’s 1893 book, “The Copperhead,” gone are the epic battles that marked his first two films.   Instead, we get a personal look at the war that raged between once-friendly neighbors in upstate New York during 1862 as both pacifists and southern sympathizers drew the wrath of Union supporters … which grew more intense with the posting of each new battlefield death.

Finally, three new Blu-ray product offerings have been selected from the studio’s vast film library for delivery on May 6.   These are: Big Red One, Bridges of Madison County and Memphis Belle.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report