Universal Catalog Titles on Blu

[criterion10]

Hmm, haven't seen Slapshot in a while. Maybe I'll pick that one up.

[knives]

It's one of Hill's absolute bests. Very exciting.

[hearthesilence]

Not a masterpiece or anything but despite some dated content, I like it. One of Newman's most enjoyable performances.

[rockysds]

A couple of Michael Apteds: Coal Miner's Daughter & Gorillas in the Mist in January.

[captveg]

Also announced for 2014 (so far):

1/7/14

The Hurricane (1999)

3/4/14

An American Tail (1986)
Big Fat Liar (2002)
Far and Away (1992)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Somewhere in Time (1980)

[domino harvey]

Far and Away (1992)

Nice, haven't seen this since every history class I ever had from grades five through ten. What can I say, Oklahoma loves itself!

[captveg]

Far and Away (1992)

Nice, haven't seen this since every history class I ever had from grades five through ten. What can I say, Oklahoma loves itself!

I just watched it on Netflix streaming a month ago for the first time in forever. Still inconsistent with some decent scenes here and there, and a super hot Kidman. That opening and ending dying/coming back routine are still blech, but the 70mm photography should be impressive if the Blu-ray is done right.

[The Narrator Returns]

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

I just watched Intolerable Cruelty last week, and I found it to be delightful, if obviously lighter than the Coens' other work. Hopefully it will eventually get its time in the sun, much like how Big Lebowski managed to escape being that waste of time they made after Fargo.

[captveg]

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

I just watched Intolerable Cruelty last week, and I found it to be delightful, if obviously lighter than the Coens' other work. Hopefully it will eventually get its time in the sun, much like how Big Lebowski managed to escape being that waste of time they made after Fargo.

I like it quite a bit as well for the "Coens doing 30s screwball comedy" light fluff that it is.

Also, this leaves just Barton Fink (Fox), The Man Who Wasn't There (Universal), and The Ladykillers (Disney) of the Coen catalog films needing Blu-ray release.

[domino harvey]

Fried Green Tomatoes, A Simple Wish, Big Fat Liar, and Harry and the Hendersons are also coming on March 4th

[knives]

Of all the Ritchie films why that one?

[captveg]

Of all the Ritchie films why that one?

Universal only has rights to Fletch, Fletch Lives, A Simple Wish and The Island. So, I guess with Fletch and The Island already out they went with A Simple Wish over Fletch Lives.

[John Doe]

April:

Double Indemnity
Touch of Evil
Joe Kidd
King Kong Escapes
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Rooster Cogburn
Two Mules For Sister Sara
The War Wagon

[FrauBlucher]

I'm curious to see how Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil stack up against the Masters of Cinema releases.

[Minkin]

The most serious question:

Have they sacked the team who did those previous "Grain managed" titles? I'm excited for some of these (not the MoC overlaps), but nobody should buy any of these without first hearing a review or two lest they want to get burned later.

[captveg]

From what I understand they no longer use those teams/methods. However that doesn't mean some of these masters were not prepped by them from a few years ago (thoughts know Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil are new restorations like Dracula, All Quiet, Jaws, etc.)

[chatterjees]

April:

Double Indemnity
Touch of Evil
Joe Kidd
King Kong Escapes
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Rooster Cogburn
Two Mules For Sister Sara
The War Wagon

It's not a April Fools joke, right? If that's not the case, then its a dream month. I already have the MoC releases. No one can top those two releases. I will get the rest for sure. They are my guilty pleasures. \:D/
After The War Wagon, I can now start dreaming about a BD of In Harm's Way (1965). Its a paramount title. So, either them or you know who has to start working on it.

[Ashirg]

Double Indemnity

Includes Lobby Cards & Poster Reproductions Plus A Rare Alternate Ending Still

1 Hour 48 Minutes
VIDEO RATING: Not Rated
DISC TYPE: BD-50 (Single Sided)
LAYERS: Single

AUDIO: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Spanish DTS Digital Surround 2.0 Mono
SUBTITLES: English SDH
French
Spanish
BLACK & WHITE


BONUS MATERIALS :

Digital Copy
• Includes UltraViolet
• Introduction by Robert Osborne
• Shadows of Suspense
• Double Indemnity (1973) TV Movie
• Theatrical Trailer
• Commentary with Film Historian Richard Schickel
• Commentary with Film Historian/Screenwriter Lem Dobbs and Film Historian Nick Redman

Touch of Evil

Includes Orson Welles’ Legendary 58-Page Memo

RUN TIME: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
VIDEO RATING: PG-13
DISC TYPE: BD-50 (Single Sided)
LAYERS: Single

AUDIO: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
SUBTITLES: English SDH
French
Spanish
BLACK & WHITE
BONUS MATERIALS : • Digital Copy of Touch of Evil
• Includes UltraViolet
• Bringing Evil to Life
• Evil Lost and Found
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reconstructed Version Commentary with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Reconstruction Producer Rick Schmidlin
• Reconstructed Version Commentary with Reconstruction Producer Rick Schmidlin


Disc 1 (Side A) (Feature 2)

RUN TIME: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
VIDEO RATING: Not Rated

AUDIO: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Spanish
French
BLACK & WHITE
BONUS MATERIALS : • Theatrical Version Commentary with Writer/Filmmaker F.X. Feeney


Disc 1 (Side A) (Feature 3)

RUN TIME: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
VIDEO RATING: Not Rated

AUDIO: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Spanish
French
BLACK & WHITE
BONUS MATERIALS : • Preview Version Commentary with Orson Welles Historians Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore

[Drucker]

Safe to assume they will only include the film in the 1.85 aspect ratio, I suppose. I'm interested to see how the restoration turns out, but am assuming the MOC disc will remain essential.

[captveg]

Eh, the open matte version doesn't interest me. By 1958 very few theaters would have shown it that way in the US.

[swo17]

I'm not sure if it's consensus or just me, but watching it in multiple ratios on the MoC release convinced me that it was intended to be seen in 1.85:1 (though there are certain scenes that, perhaps coincidentally, look better in Academy). That being said, I love having the option to see it both ways.

[jindianajonz]

What's with the specification "Disc 1 (Side A)"? Is it implying that these will be flipper discs, or is that standard for Universal when talking about their blu-rays?

[Drucker]

I don't mean to poo-poo the Universal release of these films. It'll be nice gifts for a few family members and they certainly deserve a domestic US release. But seeing it in Academy (which I prefer) and the excellent booklet probably means I won't be double-dipping.

[John Doe]

April:

Double Indemnity
Touch of Evil
Joe Kidd
King Kong Escapes
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Rooster Cogburn
Two Mules For Sister Sara
The War Wagon

It's not a April Fools joke, right?

Nope All titles are now up for pre-order over at Amazon.

[captveg]

We at least know the trades considered Touch of Evil 1.85:1 (per Bob Furmanek's research):