Sony Blu-rays & 4Ks

[captveg]

2/25/25

Character (1997)
Respiro (2002)

3/18/25

Bon voyage (2003) (as mentioned by Domino above)
Imaginary Heroes (2004)
Monsieur Ibrahim (2003)

[jheez]

Sony is releasing Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s entertaining Bon voyage on Blu. I already have the French Blu but I can def recommend— kind of a left field choice though!

I forgot it existed, but I remember seeing it in the theaters when it came out and thoroughly enjoyed it! Can’t wait to revisit!

[beamish14]

Character is a nice surprise. Happy to see Dutch cinema come out on Blu. Despite being an Oscar winner, it’s become somewhat forgotten in North America

[eerik]

I do not quite understand Sony Pictures Classics' physical media strategy.

They released a big 4K UHD boxset for SPC 30th anniversary, including come titles that were never released on regular BD, which nobody expected. Great.

Then they did a 4K UHD disc of American Movie, which, again, nobody expected. Great.

Now they are releasing a handful of lesser-known early 2000s world cinema catalog titles on Blu-ray. Great

But, at the same time, they are releasing brand new English-language films with well-known American actors (e.g. Daddio, The Room Next Door) on DVD only. I could understand if they completely skipped the physical media on these, but DVD-only releases? Can anybody more knowledgeable explain this? Why release something like Secret Ballot (2001) or Bossa Nova (2000) on Blu-ray, but not the latest from Almodóvar?

[captveg]

They've been releasing random BDs for several years now.

[jheez]

Agree it doesn’t make financial sense. Maybe it’s different people overseeing the catalog titles and new release titles?

[jheez]

Sony MOD is releasing I'm Still Here (2024) on DVD 4/15/2025

[domino harvey]

Jesus Christ. Maybe Criterion’s licensed the Blu rights?

[Never Cursed]

Is there a reason why Criterion would have put the movie out beyond Sony having the rights to it? I never heard of Janus or Criterion having any association with the film in question, but I could have missed something

[ryannichols7]

Is there a reason why Criterion would have put the movie out beyond Sony having the rights to it? I never heard of Janus or Criterion having any association with the film in question, but I could have missed something

MOD DVD for an Oscar winner with a wide fanbase (read: every Brazilian that enjoys movies) is pretty pitiful. given that Criterion was apparently interested in Nickel Boys, they seem to be okay grabbing a lot of big name current movies. they haven't worked with Walter Salles yet but I'm sure they'd love to (surprised they haven't done Motorcycle Diaries honestly, they work with Universal easily). so I think just a decent educated guess

[eerik]

This is, unfortunately, perfectly in line with their behaviour I complained about weeks ago. All new SPC titles I'm interested in picking up on Blu-ray get a DVD-only release. Thankfully there is an English-subbed BD scheduled to be released in the UK. I'll just get that one along with Warner's disc of The Room Next Door.

[domino harvey]

Is there a reason why Criterion would have put the movie out beyond Sony having the rights to it? I never heard of Janus or Criterion having any association with the film in question, but I could have missed something

MOD DVD for an Oscar winner with a wide fanbase (read: every Brazilian that enjoys movies) is pretty pitiful. given that Criterion was apparently interested in Nickel Boys, they seem to be okay grabbing a lot of big name current movies. they haven't worked with Walter Salles yet but I'm sure they'd love to (surprised they haven't done Motorcycle Diaries honestly, they work with Universal easily). so I think just a decent educated guess

Yes, this was my reasoning. However, even with Criterion’s push to release more films directed by women, we never did get a pressed Blu of Toni Erdmann from CC, so maybe it’s not a foregone conclusion

[domino harvey]

Not counting streaming originals, what’s the last Best Picture nominee to only have a US DVD release? Gotta be a while

[Never Cursed]

Not counting streaming originals, what’s the last Best Picture nominee to only have a US DVD release? Gotta be a while

I think it might be In The Bedroom, which is only on blu-ray in Australia thru Imprint (though the release is region-free). I would have guessed one of the not-real-sounding ones from 2020, but I think those are all covered, actually.

[CSM126]

The Hours would be one year more recent than that.

[Aunt Peg]

Sony releasing Bruno Barreto's Bossa Nova (2000) April 15

[Lowry_Sam]

Nine Queens being released on blu next month by SPC

Curzon is releasing the 4k restoration after a summer cinema run, but unfortunately looks to also be blu-ray only. Would be nice to see them grab some other Sony titles if Sony isn't up to the task themselves...Almodovar box would be a big hit.

[eerik]

Nine Queens being released on blu next month by SPC

Curzon is releasing the 4k restoration after a summer cinema run, but unfortunately looks to also be blu-ray only. Would be nice to see them grab some other Sony titles if Sony isn't up to the task themselves...Almodovar box would be a big hit.

That is a nice surprise, will pick it up just to support more Spanish/LatAm cinema getting released on disc. Looks like it also includes some very basic archival special featurettes as extras.

[domino harvey]

Sony finally put I’m Still Here out on Blu this week after initially only releasing it on DVD

[domino harvey]

Something’s Gotta Give coming to Blu in April. And yes, apparently that’s correct, it somehow wasn’t already on Blu-ray

[cdnchris]

I saw that and was kind of blown away. Then I was doubly blown away when I saw that I do own it on DVD, with no recollection of buying it.

[Maltic]

The Butterfly needle drop is an all timer, although it is true that a P Diddy or Jay Z song might have been more in character.

[Monterey Jack]

Something’s Gotta Give coming to Blu in April. And yes, apparently that’s correct, it somehow wasn’t already on Blu-ray

It's astounding how many 2000s-era films never made the leap to Blu. I went through most of Danny Boyle's movies last summer spurred by the release of 28 Years Later, and it pisses me off that his wonderful Millions is still stuck on standard-def DVD (there wasn't even a Blu release overseas). And with Disney owning Fox...

[Finch]

28 Days Later 4K is happening after all. Been ages since I've seen it but the actual film footage was very short, no? Anyway, specs:

Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM* approved by Director Danny Boyle
NEW DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK, plus English 5.1
Audio Commentary by Director Danny Boyle and Screenwriter Alex Garland
Deleted Scenes and Alternate Endings with Optional Commentary
Pure Rage: The Making of 28 Days Later Featurette
Jacknife Lee Music Video
Animated Storyboards
Still Photo Galleries
Theatrical Teaser and Trailer
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
ABOUT THE NEW PRESENTATION OF THE FILM

To fully capture and correctly present the unique visuals of this movie for its 4K High Dynamic Range debut, the assembled original source video was used along with the section from original camera negative as used in the original theatrical release. These elements were then color corrected to take full advantage of the wider available color gamut. The picture and Atmos mix were approved by Danny Boyle.

[tenia]

I spontaneously thought "ah yes, the wider color gamut of MiniDV", but does anyone know what actually would be this kind of specs for MiniDV ?