Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing two all-time classic war movies in stunning limited edition 4K Ultra HD steelbooks. Ridley Scott’s intense and gripping “Black Hawk Down” and J. Lee Thompson’s Best Picture nominated “The Guns of Navarone” will be individually available in their own must-have editions. Each are loaded with commentaries, featurettes, and much more and will make handsome additions to any collection.

These limited edition 4K Ultra HD steelbooks which includes both Blu-ray and Digital copies of “Black Hawk Down” and “The Guns of Navarone” release Today, November 7th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

“Black Hawk Down”

Year: 2001

Runtime: 144 minutes / 152 minutes

Director: Ridley Scott

Screenwriter: Ken Nolan

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard, Jason Isaacs, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, Gabriel Casseus, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jeremy Piven, Glenn Morshower, Ty Burrell, Kim Coates, Ron Eldard

Rating: R for Intense, Realistic, Graphic War Violence, and for Language

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (The Martian) and renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) comes the gripping true story about bravery, camaraderie and the complex reality of war. 
“Black Hawk Down” stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Eric Bana. In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has led to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes quickly and terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.

Special Features:

“Black Hawk Down” 4K Ultra HD Disc

• Both Theatrical and Extended Versions of the film presented in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, both with Dolby Vision
• Dolby Atmos and 5.1 audio on both versions

“Black Hawk Down” Feature & Special Feature Blu-ray Discs

• Theatrical Version of the film presented in high definition
• Audio Commentary by Director / Producer Ridley Scott & Producer Jerry Bruckheimer
• Audio Commentary by Author Mark Bowden & Screenwriter Ken Nolan
• Audio Commentary by Task Force Ranger Veterans
• “The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down” Documentary
• The History Channel® Presents: “The True Story of Black Hawk Down”
• PBS Presents: “Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu”
• 8 Deleted & Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary
• “Designing Mogadishu” Featurette
• Production Design Archive
• Storyboards with Optional Commentary
• Ridleygrams with Optional Commentary
• Target Building Insertion: Multi-Angle Sequence with Optional Commentary
• Q&A Forums: BAFTA. Motion Picture Editor’s Guild & American Cinematheque
• Jerry Bruckheimer’s BHD Photo Album
• Title Design Explorations with Optional Commentary
• “Gortoz A Ran – J’Attends” Music Video performed by Denez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard
• Photo Galleries
• Theatrical Poster Concepts
• Trailer & TV Spots
• 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 Guns of Navarone”

Year: 1961

Runtime: 156 Minutes

Director: J. Lee Thompson

Screenwriter: Carl Foreman

Cast: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quale, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren, James Robinson Justice, Richard Harris, Albert Lieven, Bryan Forbes

Academy Award-winners Gregory Peck (1962, Best Actor, To Kill A Mockingbird), David Niven (1958, Best Actor, Separate Tables), and Anthony Quinn (1952, Best Supporting Actor, Viva Zapata!; 1956, Lust For Life) star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2,000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued. Faced with an unforgiving sea voyage, hazardous terrain, and the possibility of a traitor among them, the team must overcome the impossible without losing their own lives. Adapted by screenwriter Carl Foreman from Alistair MacLean’s best-selling novel, “The Guns of Navarone” was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, and won for Best Special Effects (1961).

Special Features:

“The Guns of Navarone” 4K Ultra HD Disc

• Presented in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision
  • Playback available with and without Original Roadshow Intermission Card
• Dolby Atmos audio + 5.1 audio + 4.0 audio
• Main Title Progression Reel
• Theatrical Trailer

“The Guns of Navarone” Blu-ray Disc

• Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
• Audio Commentary by Director J. Lee Thompson
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Stephen J. Rubin
• The Resistance Dossier of Navarone: Interactive Feature
• Forging The Guns of Navarone: Notes from the Set
• An Ironic Epic of Heroism
• Memories of Navarone
• Epic Restoration
• A Heroic Score
• Great Guns
• No Visitors
• Honeymoon on Rhodes
• Two Girls on the Town
• Narration-Free Prologue
• Message from Carl Foreman
• 4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.35:1
• 4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA | English 4.0 DTS-HD MA

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is bringing “Gran Turismo” to home video in this feature-filled Blu-ray edition that also includes a digital copy of the film. Based on a popular PlayStation Studios video game and inspired by an incredible true story, “Gran Turismo” is the latest film from director Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”, “Elysium”). Fans of biographical sports dramas and feel-good crowdpleasers will want to add this one to their collections.

This Blu-ray plus Digital Copy edition of “Gran Turismo” releases November 7th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

About the Film:

Year: 2023

Runtime: 134 Minutes

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Screenwriter: Jason Hall and Zach Baylin

Story By: Jason Hall and Alex Tse

Based on: The PlayStation Studios Video Game

Cast: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, Djimon Hounsou

Rating: PG-13 for Intense Action and Some Strong Language

Synopsis:

Gran Turismo is based on the unbelievable true story of a team of unlikely underdogs – a struggling working-class gamer (Archie Madekwe), a failed former racecar driver (David Harbour), and an idealistic motorsport executive (Orlando Bloom). Together, they risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world. Gran Turismo is an inspiring, thrilling, and action-packed story that proves that nothing is impossible when you’re fueled from within.

Special Features:

4K UHD, BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL EXTRAS

• Special Features:
  • Deleted & Extended Scenes
  • The Engine: Driving the Visuals
  • The Pit Crew: Action and Stunts
  • The Garage: The Amazing Automobiles
  • The Plan: The True Story of Jann Mardenborough
  • The Wheels: The Fast-Acting Cast

Blu-ray: 1080p High Definition / 1.90:1 • Audio: English & French (Doublé au Québec) 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish, English & French (Doublé au Québec) – Audio Description Tracks 5.1 Dolby Digital • Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish • Mastered in High Definition • Color

Universal Pictures has dropped the poster and first trailer for their 2024 action comedy “The Fall Guy” (see both below). Loosely based on the 1980’s television series starring Lee Majors and Heather Thomas, this remake (of sorts) is helmed by stuntman turned director David Leitch. The film was definitely on my radar due to its fun 80s connection and its stellar cast. But the first trailer may make me temper my expectations just a bit.

Ryan Gosling plays a past-his-prime stuntman named Colt Seavers while Emily Blunt plays his ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno. She’s all set to direct her first film. But when her hunky star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) disappears, she tasks her old flame Colt with finding him (or something like that). The trailer shows us an unapologetically goofy film full of over-the-top set pieces. It shows Gosling continuing his move away from somber to silly and Blunt doing what she can with what looks like a pretty flimsy role. The cheap and incessant use on Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” doesn’t exactly help. We’ll see.

“The Fall Guy” hits theaters March 1, 2024. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

20th Century Studios and Disney have released new details for their upcoming action-adventure film “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”. Today we got our first in-depth look at the feature via a new trailer, new poster, and several new images from this long-awaited next chapter in the epic “Planet of the Apes” saga. The film is set to premiere exclusively in theaters on May 24, 2024. Here’s all the information from today’s announcement.

From the Studio:

Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is directed by Wes Ball (the “Maze Runner” trilogy) and stars Owen Teague (“IT”), Freya Allan (“The Witcher”), Kevin Durand (“Locke & Key”), Peter Macon (“Shameless”), and William H. Macy (“Fargo”). The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) and Patrick Aison (“Prey”), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and the producers are Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Jr. (“The Maze Runner”), Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Jason Reed (“Mulan”), with Peter Chernin (the “Planet of the Apes” trilogy) and Jenno Topping (“Ford v. Ferrari”) serving as executive producers.

Martin Scorsese’s Western crime drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” has been out for over two weeks and the reactions have been fascinating. The three-and-a-half-hour, $200 million epic has received widespread critical acclaim while making a modest but expected $90 million at the box office so far. But it has also received criticisms, the most prevalent involving Scorsese’s choice to tell so much of his story from the perspective of the white villains rather than the Native American victims.

To be clear, there’s certainly nothing “unfair” about wanting to see this story told from the Native American perspective. I would watch that movie in a heartbeat. But it is a bit unfair to criticize Scorsese for not being the one to tell that story. There are a number of reasons. Here are just a few…

1. This is Scorsese’s Story.

The most basic defense is also one of the more reasonable ones. Simply put, Martin Scorsese is the storyteller here. He’s the creator, the author, and the artist. We have to be careful when we begin making such demands on art. Part of what makes art of any kind special is the freedom of individual expression. Obviously in cinema it takes more than one person to create. But most of the time it’s driven by a filmmaker’s vision. And as critics, we should judge their execution of their vision rather than the story we would rather hear/see.

2. Is He the Right Person to Speak From Their Perspective?

As mentioned, there is nothing wrong with longing for a film that shows these events from the Native American perspective. Whether a documentary or a narrative feature, it’s a movie I’d love to see funded and distributed. But is Martin Scorsese the person people want representing such a meaningful and intensely personal perspective? It’s not hard to predict the criticisms (many of them legitimate) that would immediately arise if he were to try. And who knows, maybe Scorsese didn’t feel he could do the indigenous perspective justice. That’s a reasonable and admirable position.

3. There’s Nothing Wrong with the Perspective He Chose.

Scorsese is a smart filmmaker and storyteller therefore his use of perspective isn’t done without consideration or purpose. In the case of “Killers of the Flower Moon”, it’s a decision made with a very distinct goal in mind. His aim wasn’t just to show the faces of evil. He intended to show us how evil operates, often in plain site. He shows the machinations of unbridled power and the poisoning effects of unconstrained greed. And he vividly does so through the eyes of the purveyors of such evil. I found it to be extremely effective.

There is the broader question of whether or not a Native American filmmaker would be given the same resources to tell this story from their perspective. I have a hard time believing that studios would invest as much as they would for an established big name director. That’s a meaningful conversation to have. But that’s certainly not Scorsese’s fault. He has earned his reputation and his legacy speaks for itself.

Scorsese’s approach to “Killers of the Flower Moon” combines a gritty realism with an earnest sensitivity. Those are essential ingredients to the story he’s telling – one that fits his vision, passion, and convictions. And those things are what make the film uniquely his. That gets to the heart of artistry. And once we start judging art on what we want it to be rather than what the artist intends, it slowly begins to lose its power. And that’s something we should never let happen.

It’s Halloween and what better time to revisit my Phenomenal 5: The Horror Classics edition. The horror genre goes way back to the silent movie era and it has kept audiences fascinated ever since. While you won’t find any films that old on my list, these are still true horror classics that everyone should see (especially on Halloween night). Of course considering how broad of a subject, I wouldn’t call this the definitive list. But you can’t deny that these 5 horror movie classics are nothing short of phenomenal.

#5 – “Psycho”

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece “Psycho” sports what is arguably the most well-known scene in horror movie history. But there’s so much greatness beyond that memorable murder in the shower at the hands…err, knife of Norman Bates. Anthony Perkins is unforgettably creepy and you know something is off with Bates from the first moment you see him until that final unnerving grin. And of course there is his macabre relationship with his dear, dear mother. “Psycho” still holds up brilliantly and it’s the perfect mix of mystery and horror presented with the sharp style of a master filmmaker.

#4 – “Halloween”

Oh there are so many things I love about “Halloween”. The great John Carpenter gives us a host of special ingredients that has made this movie both influential and timeless. “Halloween” gives us the quintessential scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis. It gives us the frightening Michael Myers. It gives us Donald Pleasence’s wonderfully goofy prophecies of doom. And how can you forget the simple yet haunting piano score by Carpenter himself. Working with an incredibly small budget, the movie still broke new ground and invented many of the genre tropes that are still imitated today.

#3 – “The Evil Dead”

In 1981 two young new filmmakers Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell made what would become one of the scariest horror movies of all time. “The Evil Dead” is another example of how to create a great horror film with the tiniest of budgets. It’s a highly influential picture that spawned two uniquely great sequels. It tells the story of five college kids who spend spring break in an isolated cabin in the woods. They accidentally release demonic spirits who begin possessing the friends one by one. “The Evil Dead” is a genuinely creepy experience and everything from its wicked concept to the unsettling makeup effects contribute to it. And of course it introduced us to Campbell’s wonderful character Ash. Nuff said.

#2 – “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”

For years I thought “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was based on a true story. That belief made the movie all the more frightening. Once I learned it was largely fictional I was surprised to find it still had the same effect on me. Tobe Hooper directed, produced, and co-wrote this classic film, making it for under $300,000 and casting a group of unknowns. The story of five friends who encounter a cannibalistic family in rural Texas didn’t rely on buckets of blood and gore for its frights. Instead Hooper creates a disturbing sense of unease with this material alone. Throw in Leatherface and pinches of dark comedy and you have one of the greatest horror movies of all-time.

#1 – “Night of the Living Dead”

George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead” was the first horror movie that really affected me. Culturally speaking, this is the film that put zombies on the map and inspired the insanely popular horror sub-genre. As with some others on this list, Romero uses a small budget and no-name actors yet develops a horror film that truly broke new ground. Expertly crafted and wonderfully unsettling, “Night of the Living Dead” sets its creepy tone and sustains it through smart and crafty filmmaking. I love everything about Romero’s classic. Not only is it my favorite horror movie, it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, period.

So there you have five phenomenal horror movie classics to curl up with tonight. They’re also five films that prove if you’re creative and skilled you don’t need loads of money and a big backing to make a great horror picture. So what did I miss? What would you have included on your list? Please take time to let me know in the comments section below.