Our Most Wanted on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD This Week

Details: By Frank Wilkins; 04 March 2019

Creed II

And another 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 March 5, 2019.

This week in blu-ray and 4K features no fewer than seven new films getting home video debut releases. Wow! And one of those won an Academy Award at the Oscars this year. Sadly, only one film on our most wanted list this week is getting the 4K UHD treatment. Let's run through our list of Most Wanted on blu-ray and 4K.

Warner Bros. leads the pack this week with its 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy release of Creed II. The release comes with several featurettes and deleted scenes and the 4K blu-ray features a Dolby Vision/HDR presentation of the film. Warner also has a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy version hitting shelves in addition to a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy version that looks all kinds of cool. This release is simply fantastic and one every fan of the Rocky films needs to pick up. You won't be disappointed {googleads}

The historical period black comedy drama The Favourite is getting a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD release from 20th Century Fox that will feature just two extras in the form of some deleted scenes and a costume featurette.

The drama Ben is Back starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges, gets a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy release from Lionsgate with an audio commentary and a photo gallery while Universal gives the hi-def love to its musical drama Vox Lux with a Blu-ray + Digital HD release that includes a music video and that's it.

Another film making its home video debut this week is the Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne-starred comedy Instant Family that gets a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD release that comes with a bunch of bonus materials including audio commentary, blooper reel, deleted scenes, several featurettes, and more. This film raked in more that $114 million at the worldwide box office. We recommend!

Shout Factory is in the game this week with the release of three catalog titles, two of which are getting Collector's Edition treatments. The 1957 creature feature film The Deadly Mantis is coming to blu-ray with a brand new 2K remaster of the film as well as a new audio commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter. This is a definite pick up for us! Next, the company is giving the 1993 road thriller film Kalifornia a Collector's Edition release that comes with a new interview and the theatrical cut of the film that can be seen for the first time on blu-ray. And finally, the company is releasing a Collector's Edition of the supernatural horror film The Craft which stars Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney. The collector's edition release comes with four new interviews in addition the the handful of features ported over from the previous release. The Deadly Mantis

Next up is another new film making its home video debut. RLJ Entertainment is putting out a blu-ray release of the Henry Dunham thriller The Standoff at Sparrow Creek which stars James Dale Badge. The release comes with a making-of featurette and a photo gallery.

Arrow is getting in on the action this week with a couple of releases on blu-ray. The 1944 film noir classic gets a blu-ray release while four female-led karate pictures come together in a four-film blu-ray set called The Sister Street Fighter Collection.

Well Go USA is releasing on blu-ray for the first time the South Korean psychological drama mystery film Burning which comes with a featurette and trailers.

Here is what is coming out on blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD This week

The Favourite (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)

20th Century Fox

Street Date: March 5, 2019

In early 18th-century England, a frail Queen Anne (Golden Globe® Winner Oliva Colman) occupies the throne, and her closest Friend, Lady Sarah (Academy Award® Winner Rachel Weisz), governs the country while tending to Anne's ill health and volatile temper. When new servant Abigail (Academy Award® Winner Emma Stone) arrives, Sarah takes Abigail under her wing as she cunningly schemes to return to her aristocratic roots, setting off an outrageous rivalry to become the Queen's favourite.

Blu-ray Details:

Deleted Scenes
The Favourite: Unstitching the Costume Drama

Instant Family (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)

Paramount Pictures

Street Date: March 5, 2019

When Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) decide to start a family, they stumble into the world of foster care adoption. They hope to take in one small child but when they meet three siblings, including a rebellious 15 year old girl (Isabela Moner), they find themselves speeding from zero to three kids overnight. Now, Pete and Ellie must hilariously try to learn the ropes of instant parenthood in the hopes of becoming a family. INSTANT FAMILY is inspired by the real events from the life of writer/director Sean Anders and also stars Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro and Margo Martindale.

Blu-ray Details:

Audio Commentary by director/writer Sean Anders and writer John Morris
Introduction by Sean Anders and John Morris
Gag Reel
Deleted & Extended Scenes
Mr. and Mrs. Fix-It—Behind the scenes with Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne
Kid Power—Meet the talented young cast
I Need Some Support—Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro guide a group of parents through the laughter and tears of foster care
Order in the Court—Inside one of the film's most heartfelt moments
The Families Behind the Fair—Hear from real foster families
Crew Inspiration—Crew members share their own foster care stories
The Anders Family—The real-life inspiration for the film
Isabela Moner "I'll Stay" – Promotional Music Video
On Set Proposal—A surprising wedding proposal from one crew member to another

Ben is Back (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy)

Lionsgate

Street Date: March 5, 2019

A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Peter Hedges
Ben is Back Photo Gallery

Vox Lux (Blu-ray + Digital HD)

Universal Studios

Street Date: March 5, 2019

Vox Lux begins in 1999 when teenage sisters Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) and Eleanor (Stacy Martin) survive a seismic, violent tragedy. The sisters compose and perform a song about their experience, making something lovely and cathartic out of catastrophe — while also catapulting Celeste to stardom. By 2017, the now 31-year-old Celeste (Natalie Portman) is mother to a teenage daughter of her own and struggling to navigate a career fraught with scandals when another act of terrifying violence demands her attention.

Special Features:

Wrapped Up Music Video
Original Trailer

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The Deadly Mantis (Blu-ray)

Shout Factory

Street Date: March 5, 2019

Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell, Escape from New York) has what it takes to be top salesman on Luke Fuchs' (Jack Warden) car lot — he's the most charming man who'll ever lie to you. Caught up in a feud between Luke and his brother/rival Roy L. Fuchs (also played by Warden), Rudy gears up for an all-out war. Employing his gifts of gab and grift — along with increasingly outlandish sales tactics — Rudy shifts the battle for sales supremacy into overdrive, turning the lot into a high-octane free-for-all!

Special Features:

Brand New 2K Remaster of the the film
NEW Audio Commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episode "The Deadly Mantis" (02/22/97)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (Blu-ray)

RLJ Entertainment

Street Date: March 5, 2019

After a mass shooting at a police funeral, reclusive ex-cop Gannon realizes that the killer belongs to the same militia he joined after quitting the force. Knowing the police will be closing in on them, Gannon quarantines his fellow militiamen in a remote lumber mill. There, he sets about a series of grueling interrogations, intent on ferreting out the killer and turning him over to the authorities to prevent further bloodshed.

Special Features:

The Making of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek - Featurette
Photo Gallery

The Craft (Collector's Edition)

Shout Factory

Street Date: March 5, 2019

The Craft also stars Neve Campbell (Scream, Wild Things), Fairuza Balk (The Island Of Dr. Moreau, American History X), Rachel True (Half Baked, Embrace Of The Vampire) and Skeet Ulrich (Scream, Riverdale).

Special Features:

New Directing The Craft – an interview with co-writer and director Andrew Fleming
New Producing The Craft – an interview with producer Douglas Wick
New Writing The Craft – an interview with co-writer Peter Filardi
New Effecting The Craft – an interview with makeup effects supervisor
Audio Commentary with director Andrew Fleming
Vintage Featurette – Conjuring THE CRAFT
Vintage Featurette – The Making of THE CRAFT
Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary
Theatrical Trailer

Phantom Lady (Blu-ray)

Arrow

Street Date: March 5, 2019

From one of the masters of the film noir, Robert Siodmak (The Killers, The Dark Mirror), comes the consummate crime classic, Phantom Lady. After a fight with his wife, Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis, High Sierra) heads to a bar to drown his sorrows. There he strikes up a conversation with a mysterious, despondent lady who agrees to accompany him to a show uptown but withholds her name. Arriving home, Scott is met by grimly countenanced cops - his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties and he is the prime suspect. He has a solid alibi but his theatre companion is nowhere to be found and no one remembers seeing them together. When Scott is charged with murdering his wife, it falls to his devoted secretary 'Kansas' (Ella Raines, Brute Force) to find the phantom lady and save Scott from the electric chair...

Special features:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements
Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Dark and Deadly: 50 Years of Film Noir, an insightful archival documentary featuring contributions from Robert Wise, Edward Dmytryk, Dennis Hopper and more
Rare, hour-long 1944 radio dramatization of Phantom Lady by the Lux Radio Theatre, starring Alan Curtis and Ella Raines
Gallery of original stills and promotional materials
Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
First pressing only: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Alan K. Rode

Kalifornia (Blu-ray)

Shout Factory

Street Date: March 5, 2019

Synopsis:

When urban intellectuals Brian (Duchovny) and Carrie (Forbes) set out on a cross-country trip to research a book about serial killers, they share the ride with a couple they barely know — Early Grayce (Pitt) and his girlfriend Adele (Lewis). Locked in a car hurtling westward, the four travelers struggle to find some common ground. But when they finally do connect, Early's violent nature abruptly emerges and the terrified Brian and Carrie realize that they don't need to go very far to learn about ruthless killers...because they are already face-to-face with one!

Special Features:

NEW An interview with director Dominic Sena
NEW Also includes The Theatrical Cut – available for the first time on Blu-ray
Original Featurette
Cast Interviews
Trailers and TV Spots

Burning (Blu-ray - 3,000 copies)

Well Go USA

Street Date: March 5, 2019

Burning is the searing examination of an alienated young man, Jongsu (Ah-in Yoo), a frustrated introvert whose already difficult life is complicated by the appearance of two people into his orbit: first, Haemi (newcomer Jong-seo Jun), a spirited woman who offers romantic possibilities, and Ben (Steven Yeun, "The Walking Dead," Sorry To Bother You), a wealthy and sophisticated young man who returns with her from a recent trip. When Jongsu learns of Ben's mysterious hobby and Haemi suddenly disappears, his confusion and obsessions begin to mount, culminating in a stunning finale.

Special Features:

About the Characters - Featurette
Trailers

Sister Street Fighter Collection (Blu-ray)

Arrow

Street Date: March 5, 2019

After the massive success of The Street Fighter, the Toei Company decided to build a new karate series around a female lead, and cast a young actress who had appeared in a cameo role alongside her mentor Sonny Chiba. Still a teenager at the time, Etsuko Shihomi exploded onscreen in her first leading role and created a new character type: a tough fighter who was fierce, fearless, good-hearted, and decidedly non-sexualised, a departure from Toei's typical formula.

In 1974's Sister Street Fighter, Shihomi is the half-Chinese, half-Japanese Li Koryu, who travels to Yokohama to investigate the disappearance of her brother, an undercover cop. Li discovers a smuggling ring run by a drug lord with his own personal army of deadly fighters, and must penetrate his evil lair with the help of a fellow karate master (played by Chiba). Shihomi and director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Wolf Guy) made two additional films based on the same character over the next year, Sister Street Fighter: Hanging By A Thread and Return Of The Sister Street Fighter, with a final unrelated follow-up (Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist) helmed by original Street Fighter director Shigehiro Ozawa appearing in 1976.

Special Features:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all four films
Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
Original English dubbed audio for Sister Street Fighter
New optional English subtitle translation for all four films
English SDH subtitles for the English dub for Sister Street Fighter
New video interviews with actor Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba, director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, and screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda
Original Japanese theatrical trailers for all four films
Original U.S. theatrical trailer for Sister Street Fighter, plus original English opening titles to the film
Original German theatrical trailer for Sister Street Fighter, plus original German opening titles to the film
Stills and poster gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Kungfubob O'Brien
First pressing only: Illustrated booklet featuring writing on the series by Patrick Macias and a new essay on the U.S. release of Toei's karate films by Chris Poggiali

And now for our MOST WANTED ON BLU-RAY AND 4K for the week of March 5, 2019

Creed II (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy)

Warner Bros.

Street Date: March 5, 2019

Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family's past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what's worth fighting for, and discover that nothing's more important than family. "Creed II" is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can't escape your history.

Special Features: