Arrow Video Readies A 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack Edition Of Tremors 2: Aftershocks For Delivery On Nov. 28

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has something fun on Nov. 28.  

It is a bit of a surprise as how often does a direct-to-video sequel get a 4K film restoration from its original camera negative?   Don’t worry if such a thing doesn’t immediately spring to mind.  That is exactly what is happening with writer/director S. S. Wilson’s Tremors 2: Aftershocks. 

 

In 1990, the first Tremors was launched theatrically in the dead of winter — it’s a summer film; a fun film — and only did so-so at the box office.   The sequel got a green light, but when Kevin Bacon was busy with other productions at the time, Universal shelved the project.

No Tremors 2?   The original budget was revisited and with the tremendous success of Tremors on home video, a down-scale production for the direct-to-video marketplace was given a go … the results were beyond expectations.  

 

Tremors 2: Aftershocks was not only a worthy sequel, but a hit in the final year (1996) of the VHS-only world.  The DVD format would be launched the following year and both Tremors and Tremors 2: Aftershocks would make their respective DVD debuts in 1998.

 

Here we have a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack presentation from Arrow Video, and it comes loaded with extras.   Note, Tremors 2: Aftershocks will also be available on Nov. 28 as a stand-alone Blu-ray edition.

 

Bonus goodies include two newly-prepared commentaries.  The first features director/writer S.S. Wilson, who is joined by co-producer Nancy Roberts, while the second commentary option is with author Jonathan Melville (“Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors”).

 

There are also outtakes, an extensive image gallery and a trio of featurettes — “Graboid Go Boom,” “Critical Need-to-Know Information” and “The Making of Tremors 2.”

 

 

 

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Will Be Releasing A 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition SteelBook Of Director Roland Emmerich's 1998 Godzilla Reboot On Oct. 24

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be issuing a Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack of director Roland Emmerich’s 1998 reboot of the Godzilla film series, which first came to life in the atomic age of post-war Japan in the 1950s.

This SteelBook edition of Godzilla will be available for fans and collectors to own on Oct. 24.

 

The companion Blu-ray disc contains the bonus features, which include visual effects commentary, two featurettes — “Behind the Scenes of Godzilla” and “All Time Best of Godzilla” — and The Wallflowers music video titled “Heroes.”

Mill Creek Entertainment Selects Nov. 14 For The DVD Debut Of Director Josh Menning's Feel-Good Family Film An Angelic Christmas

Mill Creek Entertainment is getting an early start on home entertainment product offerings that tie into the Christmas season.   Indeed, news arrived this past week that Nov. 14 will be the DVD debut for the feel-good Pure Flix production of director Josh Menning’s An Angelic Christmas.

 

This Dove Family Approved film (all ages) stars Karen Abercrombie (who also produced … as an actor, films include: Discarded Things, Hope Lives, War Room, God’s Compass, etc.) as Celest, an angel out to earn her Guardian Angel wings.   Her assignment brings her to McCattysville (filmed on location in Columbiana, Ohio), a place known for residents with unfriendly dispositions, which is not exactly where sisters Delainey (Elizabeth Howlett — as Eva Meeks in the Home-Schooled mini-series) and Loren (Tori Gideon — her film debut) wish to be, especially at Christmas.

 

Their widowed mother, Samantha (Alicia Fusting — Angels Unaware, Heaven Sent), has recently moved her family to “ChillsVille,” the nickname for the small town, for very personal reasons.   It seems that her deceased husband, a military veteran who did not return home, took a fancy to the quaintness of the place and vowed to return there some day … perhaps, she reasons, living there might give her closure.

 

Back then, Samantha’s husband obviously didn’t meet Mrs. McCatty (Tammy Tsai — Angels Unaware, Heaven Sent), a woman who could easily give both Scrooge and The Grinch a run for their money in the mean-spirited department.

 

With the help of Celest, the girls hit upon a plan to bring smiles to the faces of the town’s residents.   Cookies and hidden painted rocks seem to be doing the trick, but Mrs. McCatty is the downer to it all!! 

 

Celest loses it with the hag and her mission seems a failure … no happiness in “ChillsVille,” no closure for Samantha and certainly no Guardian Angel wings for Celest.   

 

Oh come on, you know that An Angelic Christmas is going to have a happy ending (a mixture to be sure of both smiles and tears) and that’s the fun of it.   This is family-friendly entertainment with both a heart and a message.   And some of the ideas that girls come up with might be worth copying during the season closer to home.   

 

An Angelic Christmas on DVD this coming Nov. 14 from Mill Creek Entertainment, be sure to check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment Has A Five-Film 4K Ultra HD Collection Titled Paramount Scares, Volume 1 Heading Home To The Delight Of Genre Fans On Oct. 24

Paramount Home Entertainment is getting into the spirit of the Halloween season in a “monster” way with the five-film Paramount Scares, Vol. 1 4K Ultra HD collectible box set on Oct. 24.

This is a very cool collection for genre fans.   Not only do you get the newly-minted 4K Ultra HD edition of director Roman Polanski’s 1968 horror classic, Rosemary’s Baby (due out on Oct. 10 as a stand-alone), but 4K Ultra HD selections of Pet Sematary (original 1989 version), writer/director Parker Finn’s creep-out Smile and filmmaker Alexandre Aja’s “jaws in a basement” thriller, Crawl.   

 

But wait!   There is more!!  Paramount is including a fifth selection, which is a “mystery.”  What is the mystery film?   The only hint that is being given is … “rated R for graphic bloody violence” (sounds delightful).

As mentioned, Rosemary’s Baby will be available as a 55th anniversary 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition on Oct. 10.  So, the choice is: buy Rosemary’s Baby on Oct. 10, or delay for two weeks and upgrade your genre library with five films … either way this is a winner.

Bonus goodies included with Rosemary’s Baby are included on the companion Blu-ray disc … and these are: ”Rosemary's Baby - A Retrospective” and the featurette titled “Mia and Roman.”    

                                     

Included in the box set — in addition to the films and all of the bonuses associated with each title — are a Paramount Scares enamel pin, unique stickers and access to a Digital Copy of each title.         

 

Warner Bros. Discovery Says That Writer/Director Greta Gerwig's Barbie Goes Digital-Only On Sept. 12 • No Word On Physical Media Window

We just report.  And what we are reporting is that the highest grossing film in Warner Bros. history (unadjusted for inflation) is going direct-to-digital on Sept. 12.

 

This would be writer/director Greta Gerwig’s summer box office sensation, Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.   

 

Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales (aka: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment) just announced a digital-only release of Barbie on Sept. 12 with no mention, at this time, of DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD editions.

 

Consumers (along with “helpers”/”void-fillers”) — in a classic “red tie vs blue tie” buying scenario — can own a digital download copy for $29.99, or rent a digital copy for 48 hours for $24.99 (hint: consumers who want Barbie now will opt for the “red tie” and pay the additional five dollars to own a copy … because it is only five dollars more).

 

This appears to be the new normal going forward.   Disney did the same thing with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with an Aug. 29 digital-only release and has yet to follow-up with physical media release news.

 

While selling the equivalent of the “paperback” edition before the “hard cover” might inject immediate cash-flow into Warner’s coffers, the policy also provides a pristine master of the film for “helpers” to fill the physical media void with Blu-ray and/or DVD editions of the film to consumers who do not discriminate between legitimate copies and copies of the film from “other” sources.

 

One must assume that this is a conscious business decision on the part of the studio to provide masters of the film to “helper” sources and write off any piracy that follows as just a cost of doing business (a flea biting at an elephant’s ankle … of little or no concern).

 

For the record, bonus features included with the “Premium Digital Ownership” digital purchasing option include a half-dozen featurettes — “Welcome to Barbie Land,” “Becoming Barbie,” “Playing Dress-Up,” “Musical Make Believe,” “All-Star Barbie Party” and “It’s a Weird World.”

 

Did Christianbook.com Just Get An Exclusive Nov. 03 DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Window For Director Alejandro Monteverde’s Sound Of Freedom?

Did Angel Studios just give Peabody, Mass.-based Christianbook, LLC an exclusive on the home entertainment launch of Sound of Freedom?

It would not come as a surprise!!

 

Nothing has been “normal” in the distribution pattern for director Alejandro Monteverde’s box office smash, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel. 

 

The film, based on the war-on-sex-trafficking work of Tim Ballard, was completed in 2018 and ended up at 20th Century-Fox, but the moment Disney acquired Fox the film was shelved.

 

Producer Eduardo Verástegui, director Alejandro Monteverde, Caviezel and others re-acquired the film and teamed up with Angel Studios to release it.  Angel Studios, in turn, used the somewhat unorthodox way of crowdfunding to launch the film theatrically and in the process generated a huge following through social media.

 

 To date, the film has pulled in over $180 million in domestic box office receipts, making it one of the biggest hits of the year ... and certainly the most profitable.

 

 On Sept. 1, Christianbook.com dropped its “Top New Releases” announcement on social media and those following the link suddenly came across the news that pre-orders are now being taking for both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions of Sound of Freedom with a Friday, Nov. 03 delivery date.

 

A quick check of other sites, including amazon.com, deepdiscount.com, etc. showed no activity on the film.   In an odd way, it makes sense that Angel Studios would pick Christianbook to be the sole source for distribution of home entertainment packaged media products … it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

 

The ARR* works out to 126 days.   There are no details as to bonus materials included with the physical media copies at this time.

 

 

 

* ARR is Asset Rollover Rate, which describes the number of dates between a film’s theatrical debut and its subsequent release on DVD, Blu-ray and/or 4K Ultra HD.