And another friendly hi-def hello to our fellow blu-ray geeks. Welcome to the weekly look at our most wanted titles coming to blu-ray and/or 4K Ultra HD for the week of August 6, 2019
Let's get this week started off with a couple of classic titles getting the hi-def treatment from The fine folks over at Kino Lorber. The Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau classic comedy The Front Page is coming with a new audio commentary and a couple of new interviews, while the 1948 Marlene Dietrich/Billy Wilder team-up A Foreign Affair comes to blu-ray with an audio commentary by film historian Joseph McBride.
Several new releases are featured on the list this week as well. Warner's Pokémon: Detective Pikachu gets a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD release that comes with a ton of extra features as does the company's horror/thriller The Curse of La Llorona.
20th Century Fox is releasing its 2019 biographical drama Tolkein in a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD edition that gets some deleted scenes, a commentary by director Dome Karukoski and a couple of other features.
And lastly, worthy of mention this week is Warner's direct-to-video animated superhero film called Batman: Hush which gets a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD edition as well as a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD and a pretty sweet looking Target Exclusive SteelBook.
Here is what is coming out on blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD This week
The Curse of La Llorona (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)
Warner Bros.
Street Date: August 6, 2019
Set in 1973 Los Angeles, the film tells the story of Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini), a social worker and widowed single mom struggling to balance the two roles while still coping with the loss of her husband.
As a skeptic serving a city of believers, Anna has navigated a multitude of phantoms and superstitions in her job, usually finding personal demons lurking beneath. So when she's called to the home of Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez) and finds her two young sons locked in a closet, she interprets their terrified mother's desperate efforts to keep them locked away as a dangerous sign of abuse.
Though Anna is determined to get Patricia the help she needs, her first concern is the safety of the children. But, because she is unaware of the very real danger they face, Anna has no idea what she's about to unleash – or the devastation it will cause – when she places a psychiatric hold on their mother and takes the kids into protective custody.
- The Myth of La Llorona
- Behind the Curse
- The Making of a Movie Monster
- Deleted Scenes
- Storyboards
Alice Sweet Alice (Blu-ray)
Arrow
Street Date: August 6, 2019
A young Brooke Shields meets an untimely end in this religious-themed proto slasher par excellence from director Alfred Sole.
On the day of her first communion, young Karen (Brooke Shields) is savagely murdered by an unknown assailant in a yellow rain mac and creepy translucent mask. But the nightmare is far from over – as the knife-wielding maniac strikes again and again, Karen's bereaved parents are forced to confront the possibility that Karen's wayward sister Alice might be the one behind the mask.
- Brand new 2K restoration of the theatrical version from the original camera negative
- Original uncompressed mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with Richard Harland Smith
- Archival audio commentary with co-writer/director Alfred Sole and editor Edward Salier
- First Communion: Alfred Sole Remembers Alice, Sweet Alice – director Alfred Sole looks back on his 1976 classic
- In the Name of the Father – brand new interview with actor Niles McMaster
- Sweet Memories: Dante Tomaselli on Alice, Sweet Alice – filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, cousin of Alfred Sole, discusses his longtime connection to the film
- Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice – a tour of the original Alice Sweet Alice shooting locations hosted by author Michael Gingold
- Alternate Holy Terror Television Cut
- Deleted scene
- Alternate Opening Titles
- Trailer and TV Spot
- Original screenplay
- Image gallery
Gods and Monsters (Blu-ray)
Lionsgate
Street Date: August 6, 2019
A compassionate speculation about the final days of James Whale, the director of Frankenstein and 20 other films of the 1930s and '40s, who was openly gay at a time when homosexuality in Hollywood was discreetly concealed. Retired and semi-reclusive, Whale lives his days accompanied only by images from his past. When his dour housekeeper hires a handsome young gardener, Clayton Boone, the flamboyant director and simple yard man develop an unlikely friendship.
The Front Page (The Final Cut / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy)
Kino Lorber
Street Date: August 6, 2019
Successful Chicago newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson (Jack Lemmon) is hanging up his journalist's hat to marry Peggy Grant (Susan Sarandon). When his editor, the arrogant, self-important Walter Burns (Walter Matthau), learns of Hildy's plans, he goes to great lengths to keep his star writer. They learn that the notorious (but possibly wrongfully accused) criminal, Earl Williams (Austin Pendleton), has escaped on the eve of his execution, and Hildy can't resist this one last sensational story.
- New Audio Commentary by Film Historians Michael Schlesinger and Mark Evanier
- New Interviews with First Assistant Director Howard G. Kazanjian and Assistant to Billy Wilder, Rex McGee
- New Interview with Actor Austin Pendleton
- Theatrical Trailer
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A Foreign Affair (Blu-ray)
Kino Lorber
Street Date: August 6, 2019
Classic comedy that mixes romance with hard-boiled wit in a story about stiff-necked Iowa congresswoman Phoebe Frost (Jean Arthur, Easy Living) mired in jaded postwar Berlin. As she investigates the morale of American troops, she is cynically wooed by fellow Iowan Captain John Pringle (John Lund, The Mating Season), who is trying to cover up his affair with Nazi-tainted chanteuse Erika von Schlütow (Marlene Dietrich, Witness for the Prosecution). In this often amusing and forever endearing film, Wilder peppers the love story with tart dialogue and satiric jabs at Midwestern naïveté.
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride
- Theatrical Trailer
Tolkein (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
20th Century Fox
Street Date: August 6, 2019
From legendary halls of Oxford to the grim and bloody trenches of World War I, this enthralling biopic explores the early years of J.R.R Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) and the relationships that defined the legendary author he would become. Chronicling his romance with Edith Brant (Lily Collins), as well as the various members of the Tea Club, Barrovian Society, Tolkien slowly grows from a shy and bookish young man into one of history's most beloved writers – seasoned by life, and everything that comes with it.
- Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Director, Dome Karukoski
- First Look
- Gallery
- Audio Commentary by Director, Dome Karukoski
Batman: Hush (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD)
Warner Bros.
Street Date: August 6, 2019
An adaptation of the seminal DC classic tale, Batman: Hush centers on a shadowy new villain known only as Hush, who uses Gotham's Rogues Gallery to destroy Batman's crime-fighting career, as well as Bruce Wayne's personal life – which has already been complicated by a relationship with Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman.
- DC Showcase: Sgt. Rock (Animated Short) – From executive producer and director Bruce Timm comes the first new DC Showcase animated short since 2011's Catwoman, bringing DC Comics' gritty World War II hero to animated life in an all-new adventure.
- Batman: Love in Time of War (Featurette)– Dangerous. Seductive. Villain. Hero. This is the story of Selina Kyle and the relationship she has forged with the world's greatest detective.
- Audio Commentary – Executive Producer James Tucker, Director Justin Copeland and screenwriter Ernie Altbacker share their thoughts and insights on Batman: Hush.
- A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines – An advanced look at the next animated film in the popular DC Universe Movies collection.
- From the DC Vault –The Batman/Superman Hour: "The Underworld Underground Caper""
- From the DC Vault – The Batman/Superman Hour: "Partners in Peril"
Poms (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Universal Studios
Street Date: August 6, 2019
From the studio that brought you Bad Moms and the producer of Book Club comes an uplifting comedy about a woman who starts a cheerleading squad at a retirement community. Starring Academy Award® winner Diane Keaton, Academy Award® nominee Jacki Weaver, Pam Grier, Celia Weston, and Rhea Perlman, Poms is a "heartfelt and hilarious" (Hollywood News Source) story that proves it's never too late to follow your dreams.
- Language & Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 / English DVS Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
- Subtitles: Blu-ray: English SDH / Latin Spanish
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (Blu-ray)
Kino Lorber
Street Date: August 6, 2019
No one ever paid any attention to shy librarian Betty Lou Perkins, until someone found The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag! And when Betty Lou confesses to a crime she didn't commit, her world turns upside down! The bogus confession launches a series of uproariously funny events as a new, sexy Betty Lou captures headlines, rocks out in nightclubs, outwits the mob and wins cheers from the townspeople! Starring a truly exceptional cast including Penelope Ann Miller and Cathy Moriarty - get ready for a fun-filled adventure that's loaded with laughs from beginning to end!
- Theatrical Trailer
And now for our MOST WANTED ON BLU-RAY AND 4K for the week of August 6, 2019
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD)
Warner Bros.
Street Date: August 6, 2019
The first-ever live-action Pokémon adventure, "POKÉMON Detective Pikachu" stars Ryan Reynolds (the "Deadpool" films, "Buried," "Life") as Detective Pikachu and is based on the beloved Pokémon brand—one of the world's most popular, multi-generation entertainment properties and most successful media franchises of all time. With Detective Mode on Blu-ray, watch "POKÉMON Detective Pikachu" like you've never seen it before and discover a world of hidden clues, behind-the-scenes footage, pop-up trivia, Pokémon facts, fun featurettes, Easter eggs and more!
- Alternate Opening
- My Pokémon Adventure
- Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Welcome to Ryme City
- Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Uncovering the Magic
- Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Action
- Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Colorful Characters
- Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Bringing Pokémon to Life
- Mr. Mime's Audio Commentary
- Ryan Reynolds – Outside the Actor's Studio
- "Carry On" by Rita Ora and Kygo (Music Video)