Haven’t you heard? Home video is having a moment.
Recently reinstated Disney CEO Bob Iger talked about the importance of the physical home video market and companies like Universal have been loading their recent releases with special features in ways that we haven’t really seen since the early-2000s DVD boom. In keeping with this resurgence, we’ve decided to run down the best physical releases of the month, ones that aren’t cluttered by crummy compression or annoying playback anomalies. For many collectors and fans, Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray are the only true way to watch movies at home. We tend to agree with them.
Here are 16 new DVD, Blu-ray and 4K releases worth checking out in April 2023.
The Maltese Falcon 4K (out now)
As part of the celebration of its 100-year anniversary, Warner Bros. will be rolling out some beautiful, deluxe editions of classic films from its library. John Huston’s “The Maltese Falcon,” based on the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name (and a remake of an adaptation from 10 years earlier), remains one of the greatest film noirs of all time for a reason. Humphrey Bogart stars as private investigator Sam Spade, a San Francisco gumshoe trying to discover the titular, jewel-encrusted statue (and outwit a bunch of competing lowlifes). If you’ve never seen it, the movie is an absolute gem and this is the greatest presentation it’s ever had – 4K makes the black-and-white movie look even richer and more velvety and there’s an accompanying Blu-ray disc full of special features (the 4K disc features a commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax). This disc is worth hunting for. [TRAILER]
Cool Hand Luke 4K (out now)
Another iconic Warner Bros. classic gets the deluxe 4K reissue treatment this month. “Cool Hand Luke” is a late 1960’s prison drama, smartly scripted (by Don Pearce, who wrote the novel the movie was based on, and “Dog Day Afternoon” writer Frank Pierson) and elegantly directed by Stuart Rosenberg, who would collaborate with star Paul Newman several more times. In “Cool Hand Luke,” Newman plays a man who drunkenly damages public property and is sentenced to a chain gang lorded over by power-hungry freaks (including Strother Martin as The Captain).
Part of the period’s great anti-authority, counterculture movement, it is undeniably quotable (even if you’ve never seen the movie you probably know The Captain’s patronizing “What we have here is a failure to communicate”) and re-watchable, no matter how bleak the subject matter. The new 4K disc beautifully highlights Conrad Hall’s gorgeous cinematography (and Lalo Schifrin’s music has never sounded better), while a bonus Blu-ray disc houses a collection of vintage extras. [TRAILER]
Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection 4K (out now)
The original “Star Trek” movies, starring William Shatner at Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk, were recently reissued as pristine 4K discs. Now it’s time for the Patrick Stewart/Picard movies to get the same treatment. This box set collects four movies – “Star Trek Generations,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Star Trek: Insurrection” and “Star Trek: Nemesis.” And while the quality of these movies vary, they’re all a quite a bit of fun (some of us are secret “Star Trek: Nemesis” superfans – and not just because it’s a blast to watch a young Tom Hardy as Picard’s evil clone Shinzon) and the audio/video presentation on these discs makes them look and sound better than they ever have before. Each movie also features an accompanying Blu-ray disc, which is packed to the gills with special features, with newer special features presented alongside vintage material. If you love these movies, this set is a no-brainer. As the Borg once said: resistance is futile. [TRAILER]
The Big Easy (out now)
“The Big Easy” should have been a big hit. It was writer Donald Petrie, Jr’s follow-up to the blockbuster “Beverly Hills Cop” and the next film for director Jim McBride, who had just brilliantly reinvented “Breathless” for the 1980s. (Seriously, his version of “Breathless” is divine.) Still, when the movie was released it received some critical raves (Roger Ebert was particularly effusive) but remained a compelling curio, one ripe for rediscovery. And here is your perfect opportunity!
Dennis Quaid plays a New Orleans detective who suspects that a murder has far wider implications in the city’s delicately balanced criminal underworld. Ellen Barkin is the assistant district attorney he falls in love with and Ned Beatty is a shady police detective. Filled with great character actors in supporting roles (including John Goodman and Grace Zabriskie) and a cameo appearance by Jim Garrison, the New Orleans D.A. who made waves when he reopened the investigation into the John F. Kennedy assassination and the crime’s connection to New Orleans’ mob community, “The Big Easy” feels authentic and sleazy in all the right ways. The new disc form Kino Lorber features a new transfer and a new commentary featuring McBride (!) and filmmaker Douglas Hosdale. Ready to uncover this buried treasure?
Aftersun (out now)
One of last year’s very best movies finally comes to disc via the official A24 shop (although, regrettably, without a 4K option). The film follows a young father (Paul Mescal) who takes his daughter (Frankie Corio) on holiday in Turkey. Part of the joy – and heartbreak – of “Aftersun” is watching the way that writer/director Charlotte Wells tells the story, with time overlapping and contracting in fascinating ways. And A24’s Blu-ray disc is gorgeously produced (that title treatment!), with stunning artwork and a package that includes six collectible postcards, plus an exclusive commentary track from Wells. Truly, an essential bonus feature. [TRAILER]
The Fisher King 4K (out now)
One of Terry Gilliam’s very best movies and one of his most underrated makes its 4K debut from the Criterion Collection (who had already released a deluxe version years earlier). If you’re wondering if it is worth the upgrade, the answer is a definitive yes. The movie looks beautifully, undoubtedly the best since its initial theatrical release in 1991. And if you’ve never seen “The Fisher King,” it’s an absolute delight. Of course there are fantastical elements and an Arthurian quest, but the juxtaposition between the familiar and the fantastical makes it a unique and uniquely beguiling movie in the director’s oeuvre. The set comes with a Blu-ray disc that is stuffed with bonus features, from both the 1991 Criterion laserdisc release (like an impeccable commentary track) but also newly created materials. This is the kind of movie a big studio would release, would receive critical adoration (including 5 Academy Awards and a win for Mercedes Ruehl’s supporting performance) and decent box office. We didn’t know how well we had it. [TRAILER]
Flashdance 4K (out now)
What a feeling. “Flashdance” is, incredibly, 40 years old and it is making its 4K debut. (There was a similar Blu-ray released in 2020.) Pretty amazing for a movie that, at the time of its release, was made by an unknown filmmaker named Adrian Lyne (his only other feature at that point was the terrific but hardly seen “Foxes”) and an equally unknown actress named Jennifer Beals (supposedly she was chosen after studio boss Michael Eisner asked a bunch of teamsters at the studio which of several actresses they’d most want to, um, bang).
While the movie was a smash, it was largely trashed by critics (Roger Ebert particularly hated it and Variety compared it to an MTV music video). Watching the movie now, given how anonymous and style-free filmmaking has become, “Flashdance” practically feels like an art film – it’s so gorgeously photographed and so big-hearted and emotional. And Beals, as a steelworker who dreams of dancing, is so charismatic and likable. While the disc ports over the special features from the movie’s earlier release, the main attraction here is the new 4K transfer, which is absolutely dazzling, and the improved audio quality of the soundtrack (famously scored by Giorgio Moroder and populated with songs that would become radio-friendly juggernauts). It’s such an awe-inspiring presentation even the biggest hater might have their mind changed. [TRAILER]
Rebel Without a Cause 4K (out April 18)
Another one of Warner Bros.’ 100th celebration discs, “Rebel Without a Cause” gets a new transfer and, even more crucially, new Dolby Atmos mix. Nicholas Ray’s coming-of-age masterwork (one of the director’s slyly subversive American originals from that period, when he was usually making two movies a year and they were all terrific), which helped turn James Dean into an icon – and helped him stay that way after his tragic death in a car accident the same year that “Rebel Without a Cause” was released. Tragedy is part of the “Rebel Without a Cause” story, really – besides Dean, Sal Mineo, who is so good in the movie (he was nominated for an Oscar at age 17) also died tragically before he turned 40 after he was stabbed in a bizarre incident outside his homes; plus there’s the enduring mystery of Natalie Wood’s drowning. All that sadness has a way of permeating “Rebel Without a Cause,” which still packs a punch. And thanks to the lovely array of special features, mostly on the Blu-ray disc, including a feature-length documentary about Dean, you can delve even further into the mystique of the movie. [TRAILER]
The Haunting of Julia 4K (out April 18)
Also known as “Full Circle” (what a drab title!), “The Haunting of Julia” is a supernatural horror film starring Keir Dullea and Mia Farrow and based on Peter Straub’s 1975 novel “Julia.” Farrow finds herself firmly in “Rosemary’s Baby” territory, although this time she plays an American mother living in London who accidentally kills her child during an attempted tracheotomy. After the event, she becomes estranged from her husband and moves out on her own, when she starts getting ghostly visitations from an entity she assumes is her deceased daughter. Creepy!
The movie has largely been out-of-print; the last American release was on VHS in 1988. But thanks to the good folks at Shout Factory, this cult favorite is getting a deluxe re-release, in 4K no less, and with a host of extras including a new audio commentary featuring the director himself, new video essays, interviews and some vintage material like the original theatrical trailer. Ready to get haunted? Or come full circle? [TRAILER]
Magic Mike’s Last Dance (out April 18)
Originally intended for an HBO Max debut, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” got a theatrical release that wasn’t backed by much marketing and was met with odd indifference by the critical community. Why odd? Because “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is actually incredible. Steven Soderbergh returned to direct the third film in the trilogy (he only shot, edited and produced “Magic Mike XXL”), which sees Channing Tatum’s Mike traveling to London after being wooed by a monied divorcee (Salma Hayek). It’s there that he puts on a new stage show (inspired by the actual “Magic Mike” stage show in Las Vegas and London) and becomes comfortable with the concept of domestic life. Not that “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is any less sexy than the earlier movies; it very much is so. But this installment has a romanticism to go along with the eroticism. And Soderbergh, as always, stages and shoots everything with inventiveness and clarity. Hopefully more will discover what a joy the film is on home video. This one was instantly underrated. [TRAILER]
Serpico 4K (out April 18)
“Serpico” in 4K. What a time to be alive. The gritty 1973 thriller, based on the life of actual Frank Serpico (played in the film by Al Pacino in a role that would earn him an Academy Award nomination), is one of those classics that you’ve probably watched on cable or some shabby DVD a million times. But to see the movie in all of its glory will undoubtedly be revelatory. Serpico was a cop who was trying to ferret out corruption in the NYPD; the whole movie is a flashback after Serpico enters the hospital with a bullet wound – not from a criminal but from a fellow cop.
It’s a classic ‘70s cop movie for a reason, thanks largely to Sidney Lumet’s direction and Pacino’s conviction. And this edition, besides the upgraded presentation, features a new commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, plus a ton of older bonus features, including a documentary on Lumet and another on Pacino (both are 30 minutes each) and a photo gallery that features commentary by Lumet.
Cocaine Bear (out April 18)
The cocaine bear is on a rampage! If so some reason you missed the based-on-a-true-story real-life monster movie that was “Cocaine Bear,” smartly directed by Elizabeth Banks and featuring a very game band of potential lunch meat (including Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr and Ray Liotta), now is your chance. And with this “Maximum Rampage Edition” (yes, this is what Universal is calling it), you can go behind-the-scenes of “Cocaine Bear” thanks to a commentary track from Banks and producer Max Handelman, deleted scenes, an alternate ending and a gag reel, plus making-of documentaries including a look at how the kills were accomplished. None of this stuff is on the digital release of the movie, making the physical copy even more of a priority. If you’re not ready to make the leap to buy, “Cocaine Bear” is currently streaming on Peacock.
Police Story 3: Supercop 4K (out April 25)
Before Michelle Yeoh won an Oscar she was jumping motorcycles onto speeding trains. This is just one of the amazing stunts she accomplishes in “Supercop” aka “Police Story 3: Supercop,” from Jackie Chan and director Stanley Tong. Arguably one of Chan’s very best movies, it serves as a sequel of sorts to his earlier, equally excellent “Police Story” and “Police Story 2” (which were packaged together by Criterion a few years ago). Everything about “Supercop” is bigger and more death-defying and we cannot wait to see the 4K transfer on this new disc from 88 Films, which has been delayed several times and was announced way back in August 2022. Will it finally come out at the end of the month? We sure hope so! It promises to be the definitive presentation of this very special film. [TRAILER]
Triangle of Sadness 4K (out April 25)
The unlikeliest Palme d’Or winner and Best Picture Oscar nominee washes ashore in a deluxe 4K package from the Criterion Collection. The barbed satire starring Woody Harrelson and Harris Dickinson, about a luxury yacht that crashes, with the survivors taking on new roles in the social hierarchy, looks absolutely gorgeous on the 4K disc, with Fredrik Wenzel’s cinematographer looking even crisper than it did in the theater. And the music really thumps (crank it up for that great Fred Again song at the end). The bonus disc will make you appreciate the production of the movie even more, with a conversation between “Triangle of Sadness” writer/director/editor Ruben Östlund and filmmaker Johan Jonason about the making of the movie, alongside documentaries about the visual effects employed by the production and a mini-doc about the barf scene with producer Erik Hemmendorff. There are also some deleted scenes and promotional materials. Truly an embarrassment of riches. [TRAILER]
The Jackie Chan Collection Volume 2 (out April 25)
If the aforementioned 4K release of “Supercop” isn’t enough Jackie Chan for you, how about the second volume of Chan classics from Shout Factory? This collection features much better movies than the first volume (which was still great) and includes “Winners & Sinners,” “Wheels on Meals,” “The Protector” (an early crossover attempt co-starring Danny Aiello), “Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars,” “Armor of God,” “Armor of God II: Operation Condor,” “Crime Story” and “City Hunter.” Some of these movies, like Sammo Hung collaboration “Wheels on Meals” and “Armor of God II: Operation Condor” (which opens with an unforgettable sequence where Jackie is housed inside a giant inflatable bubble and careens down a mountainside) are genuine classics, others (like “The Protector”) are guilty pleasures enhanced by their ‘80s cheese. But all are certainly worth a watch, with new special features and alternate cuts of some of the films. Nobody combined athleticism and fearlessness with slapstick humor in the way Chan did. He’s got the broken bones to prove it. [TRAILER]
Small Axe Box Set (out April 25)
If there is a “must own” release this month, then it is undoubtedly this gem from the Criterion Collection. While it’s being sold as a box set devoted to “Small Axe,” British filmmaker Steve McQueen’s miraculous series of films that ran on the BBC and Amazon Prime Video, it’s actually a collection of two separate miniseries – “Small Axe” and “Uprising,” a documentary series McQueen co-directed with James Rogan that focuses on three events in England in 1981 that typified the frayed race relations in the region at the time.
If you’ve never seen “Small Axe,” which we don’t blame you for since Amazon did an absolutely rubbish job of marketing and promoting it, it is an absolutely stunning piece of work – five films, with runtimes that vary from just over an hour to more than two hours, that interrogate how West Indian immigrants acclimate to England in stories set between the 1960’s and 1980’s. If there is one standout, it’s probably “Lovers Rock,” which is set at a house part in 1980 where two young people (Micheal Ward and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) meet and fall in love. It’s joyous and colorful and full of life; it also might be one of the best things McQueen has ever done. There are new conversations with McQueen and professor Paul Gilroy (there’s another one where he talks to Beastie Boys member Mike D) but the features (both the movies that comprise “Small Axe” and “Uprising”) are the real draw here. The fullest, most immaculate, most essential release this month. [TRAILER]
