Netflix in conjuction with capelight pictures has announced the release “All Quiet on the Western Front” on home video. This attractive 2-disc Limited Collector’s Edition Mediabook contains both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray versions of the movie along with a 24-page booklet. The film is a stunningly made epic-scaled polemic from director Edward Berger who delivers some of the grittiest and most visceral battle sequences ever put to film. Yet, much like the classic 1929 novel that inspired it, the human cost always remains the movie’s focus. Read my full review of the film HERE.

This handsome new 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Collector’s Mediabook Edition of “All Quiet on the Western Front” hits shelves on March 28th, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 2022

Rating: R

Runtime: 147 Minutes

Directed by: Edward Berger

Cast: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Moritz Klaus, Edin Hasanovic, Adrian Grünewald, Thibault De Montalembert, Devid Striesow, Daniel Brühl

Producers: Malte Grunert, Daniel Dreifuss, Edward Berger

Executive Producers: Daniel Brühl, Thorsten Schumacher, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell

Written by: Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell

Based on the Novel by Erich Maria Remarque

Spring 1917. 17-year-old Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) and his friends are extremely eager to go to war, to beat the French soundly and march to Paris victorious. This is how the boys imagine it. This is the war they are promised by their principal in a rousing speech. With jubilation, fanfare and song, the “youth of iron” marches off – for Emperor, God and Fatherland.

The enthusiasm, however, does not last long. When they arrive at the Western Front after days of marching. It’s pouring rain. The trenches are filling up and fast becoming a swamp. But the French do not wait to attack. Flares rise up, brightening no-man’s land with a surreal beauty. Until all hell breaks loose again and the French bombard the trenches.

What follows portrays Paul and his comrades’ first-hand experience of how the initial euphoria of war turns into horror, suffering and fear as they desperately fight for their lives in the trenches.

Winner of 4 Oscars including “Best International Film”, “Best Cinematography”, “Best Original Score, and “Production Design”.

Winner of 7 BAFTAs including “Best Film”, “Best Director”, “Best Film Not in the English Language” and “Best Adapted Screenplay”.

Special Features:

• 24-page booklet
• Making-of Featurette
• Theatrical trailer
• Teaser

The 4K UHD features the original German audio (with English subtitles) in Dolby Atmos audio of the original and 4K Dolby Vision image for the perfect picture and sound quality. The mediabook packaging comes with a 24 page booklet that includes “SHARING THE GERMAN PERSPECTIVE“ – a conversation with director Edward Berger and “A MACHINE OF DEATH UNLIKE ANY EXPERIENCED BEFORE” – an interview with historian and professor Daniel Schönpflug on the historical background of All Quiet On The Western Front.

Language & Audio Options:

UHD: Dolby Atmos German, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Hungarian and Spanish (Latin America); Audio descriptions Dolby Digital 2.0: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Spanish (Latin America)

Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos German, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Hungarian and Spanish (Latin America); Audio descriptions Dolby Digital 2.0: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Spanish (Latin America)

Subtitles:

English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Turkish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech and Hungarian; SDH: English, German and Spanish (Latin America)

Aspect Ratio:

UHD: 2.39:1 (4K, Dolby Vision, HDR10) BD: 2.39:1 (1080p)

It’s a sad day. Reps have confirmed that Lance Reddick, the charismatic star of countless movies, television shows, and video games, passed away this morning in his Studio City, Los Angeles home. It’s believed to be from natural causes. He was 60.

I’ve long loved Lance Reddick, and he had the innate ability to make anything he was in better. The Baltimore born Yale graduate appeared in such hit television shows as “Oz”, “Fringe”, “Bosch”, and “The Wire”. He’s been a signature voice in the popular video game franchise “Destiny” since 2014. But he’s probably best known for his reoccurring role in each of the “John Wick” films. He played Charon, the scene-stealing concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York City. Just recently he had been doing press tours for the upcoming fourth installment due in theaters next week.

Lance Reddick is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick and his children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.

Easily one of my most anticipated movies of 2023 is “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”. For my money Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” franchise has evolved into the quintessential action blockbuster. They’re fun, thrilling, and Cruise and company are continually raising the bar. Now we’ve reached “Dead Reckoning Part One”, the penultimate installment to the entertaining and lucrative film series. Today Paramount Pictures has dropped the official poster for their summer movie and of course it features Tom Cruise doing something crazy. I can’t wait for July.

DIRECTOR – Christopher McQuarrie

WRITER – Christopher McQuarrie

STARRING – Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Frederick Schmidt

RELEASE – July 14, 2023

The 2023 awards season finally comes to an end with the 95th Academy Awards. This year’s batch of nominees was both interesting and frustrating which also describes the long road to Oscar night. It was a journey that saw many of the eventual winners all but secured, leaving very little drama in many of the big categories. It saw sentimental choices gain traction with each new tear-jerking acceptance speech while many of the more deserving nominees faded. Fittingly, this year’s Oscars ceremony was as frustrating as the road to it. Here are a few Random Thoughts.

• The Oscars seem to be evolving into more of a fan-driven event. It seems like it has become all about building a fan base, not as much through the merits of your movie but in the personalities and stories of your nominees. It seems going ‘viral’ carries a lot more weight. It really stood out with this year’s ceremony, and it’ll be interesting to see where the Oscars go from here.
• To the surprise of no one, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” had a big night, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture. I won’t rehash my many issues with the movie, but it worked hard to gain a vocal following. The early feel-good awards season moments yanked enough heartstrings to cement its Oscar night destiny.
• While “EEAAO” was this year’s cool choice, it’s a shame that the powerful and sobering “All Quiet on the Western Front” didn’t get Best Picture. Some were quick to categorize it as “another war movie”. Of course it’s so much more than that. Well, at least there’s BAFTA.
• Speaking of yanking heartstrings, Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for “The Whale”. His performance was fine (what you could see of it), but much like “EEAAO”, he built a big following especially on the awards circuit. You have to like Fraser. But this feels like a sentimental win determined more by his personal comeback story than the performance itself.
• Sadly, with Fraser’s win that means nothing for a deserved Colin Farrell who was remarkable in “The Banshees of Inisherin” (and “After Yang”…and “The Batman”… and “Thirteen Lives”). This should have been Farrell’s to win. Alas…
• Staying with the ‘winning people over’ thought, Ke Hey Quan wins Best Supporting Actor for “EEAAO”, easily one of the biggest sure-things of the evening. I was mixed on the performance, but not on Quan. He’s such a glowing bundle of joy.
• Seeing Ke Huy Quan and Harrison Ford give each other such a heartfelt embrace was a truly a wonderful moment.

• I gotta say, Barry Keoghan was still my choice for Supporting Actor. Talk about an incredible performance. Unfortunately he had the performance but not the enthusiasm behind him (outside of BAFTA). In this current system he never had a chance.
• Best Actress goes to Michelle Yeoh for “EEAAO”. Predestined and pretty much a sure thing. Some tried to make Cate Blanchett a contender for “Tár” (she should have been). But like so much of the show, this one was never in doubt.
• Hey remember Danielle Deadwyler? The Academy sure didn’t. But I did appreciate Kimmel’s tip of the hat to her performance in “Till”.
• I will say I do like Michelle Yeoh. She’s had such a fine career, and she became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.
• Best Supporting Actress was a category I had hopes for. Instead Jamie Lee Curtis won for “EEAAO”. It feels like a lifetime achievement Oscar masquerading as a Best Supporting Actress. I love JLC and seeing her win was fun. But ahead of Angela Bassett and Kerry Condon? It was an early sign of things to come.
• “EEAAO” won for Best Director which is hard to wrap my mind around. Then again, the Academy didn’t even nominate arguably the most deserved winner. “EEAAO” also won Best Original Screenplay, somehow beating “The Banshees of Inisherin”.
• Like or dislike “EEAAO”, you have to give credit to A24. They did a great job pushing the film, making over $100 million at the box office. That’s quite an accomplishment, especially at a time when getting people to the theaters has been so hit-or-miss. A24 worked hard it it payed off.
• With EEAAO” sucking up much of the evening’s oxygen, that meant some big movies went home empty-handed. “Banshees”, “Tár”, “The Fabelmans”, and “Elvis” were blanked despite their many nominations.
• Jimmy Kimmel did a solid job hosting. He landed several really good jokes, and carried the show along pretty well. He tried too hard a time or two, but overall he was quite funny.

• I loved Kimmel’s closing bit about the Oscar Telecasts Without Incident. One of several shots taken at the Will Smith incident.
• None other than Jenny the donkey (from “Banshees”) made an appearance on stage and as you would expect she stole the show. That was such a fun moment. Cheers Jenny.
• “All Quiet on the Western Front”, my pick for the best film of 2022, won Best International Feature Film. It was a high point of the night, and I particularly love director Edward Berger singling out the film’s star, Felix Kammerer for his exceptional performance in what was his first film role. An exceptional win for an exceptional movie.
• Speaking of “All Quiet”, it also won for Best Original Score. It was absolutely the right choice. Volker Bertelmann’s brilliant music fit so well with the film’s haunting tone. A terrific win.
• In another of the night’s sure-things, “Avatar: The Way of Water” won for Best Visual Effects. I mean it was the obvious choice. All James Cameron did was (once again) raise the bar for VFX in a way that has never been done before.
• “Naatu Naatu” wrapped up its storybook run by winning the Best Original Song Oscar. I love that the song and its movie, “RRR” gained such traction as Indian cinema is too often overlooked here in the States. The performance of the song was lights out.
• Hey did you see Hugh Grant’s red carpet interview? Granted, he came off as a bit of a pompous grump. But it was funny seeing someone actually answer those stock red carpet questions honestly.
• The evening certainty started off on the right note with “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” winning for Best Animated Feature. It was the clear frontrunner, but it was great to hear its name called.

• Back to “All Quiet on the Western Front”, it received another well-deserved win for Best Cinematography. James Friend was an essential piece to the film’s visceral effect and was the clear choice.
• Speaking of a clear choice, “All Quiet” also won for Best Production Design. This surprised a lot of people as “Babylon” seemed to be a shaky frontrunner. But the Academy got it right.
• “Women Talking” fended off “All Quiet” to win Best Adapted Screenplay. For me it was between it and “All Quiet” so I was happy to see Sarah Polley get a win. “Women Talking” is one of several films that deserved more attention, but that was sucked up in the “EEAAO” vacuum.
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling went to “The Whale” (sigh) while Best Costume Design went to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (no arguments there).
• Again, I got a kick out of Kimmel’s jokes and I laughed quite a bit. But any time an Oscar host goes out into the crowd you’re guaranteed mixed results. Such was the case last night. Supposedly he was buying time while they changed up the stage. The bit didn’t quite get the intended response.
• Best Sound went to “Top Gun: Maverick”, a good win for a movie that deserved much more. It would’ve been a shame if the movie that actually jump-started and (as Steven Spielberg said) “saved” the theater-going experience had won nothing from the Academy!
• Cheers to the Academy for smartly airing ALL of the winners this year. I’m not sure who thought cutting some out was a good idea. This was much better,

And so those are a few random thoughts from this year‘s Oscars. What did you think of the show? What are your thoughts on the winners?

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is celebrating the 25th anniversary of “The Mask of Zorro” with a new 4K Ultra HD limited edition steelbook. Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones lead this Steven Spielberg produced action-adventure which follows the original Zorro (Hopkins) as he searches for his kidnapped daughter (Zeta-Jones). He’s aided by his eventual successor (Banderas) who is driven by his own thirst for revenge. It makes for a rousing, old-fashioned swashbuckler that you can revisit in 4K thanks to this terrific new steelbook.

This new 4K Ultra HD Combo-Pack of “The Mask of Zorro” hit shelves on March 7th, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 1998

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 137 Minutes

Celebrating its 25^th anniversary. When a power-crazed despot schemes to buy California from Mexico, it takes two Zorros–the legendary Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) and his chosen successor Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas), a dashing bandit-turned-hero– to battle the tyrant’s unscrupulous plans. Can even their combined skills, bravado and derring-do be enough to achieve de la Vega’s ultimate goal: revenge against the man who killed his wife, kidnapped his daughter and held him prisoner for twenty years?

THE MASK OF ZORRO CREDITS

Directed By: Martin Campbell
Screenplay By: John Eskow and Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
Story By: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Randall Jahnson
Produced By: Doug Claybourne and David Foster
Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stuart Wilson, Matt Letscher

BONUS MATERIAL:

THE MASK OF ZORRO 4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Features:
  • 10 Deleted Scenes
  • Theatrical Trailers

4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.40:1
4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

THE MASK OF ZORRO BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in high definition
• 5.1 audio
• Special Features:
  • Commentary with Director Martin Campbell
  • “Unmasking Zorro” Documentary
  • 2 Additional Deleted Scenes
  • Music Video by Marc Anthony and Tina Arena

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released 1997’s thrilling action thriller “Air Force One” on 4K Ultra HD in a new limited edition steelbook. A terrific Harrison Ford plays United States President James Marshall who takes on a ruthless terrorist (played with ample menace by Gary Oldman) and his loyalists who hijack Air Force One. This beautiful 4K remaster and attractive steelbook edition is a must-get for fans of the film.

This new 4K Ultra HD Combo-Pack of “Air Force One” hit shelves March 7th, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 1997

Rating: R

Runtime: 124 minutes

Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman star in Wolfgang Petersen’s (Das Boot, In the Line of Fire) gripping thriller about a steadfast U.S. President who has just told the world he will not negotiate with terrorists. Now, Russian neo-nationalists have hijacked Air Force One, and the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision – give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country’s dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

AIR FORCE ONE CREDITS

Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen
Produced By: Armyan Bernstein, Wolfgang Petersen, Gail Katz and John Shestack
Written By: Andrew W. Marlowe
Executive Producers: Thomas A. Bliss, Marc Abraham, David Lester
Cast: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Liesel Matthews, Dean Stockwell

BONUS MATERIAL:

AIR FORCE ONE 4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos + 5.1 audio
• Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer

4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.40:1
4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

AIR FORCE ONE BLU-RAY DISC

• Feature presented in high definition
• 5.1 Audio
• Special Feature: Commentary with Director Wolfgang Petersen