Apple Original Films, working in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, dropped an exciting bit of news today. Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” will be receive a worldwide theatrical release on Wednesday, November 22nd. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, Matthew Needham, Youssef Kerkour, and Phil Cornwell. “Napoleon” will stream globally on Apple TV+ following its exclusive theatrical release. Along with the special announcement came a striking new image (see below) from the upcoming film.

Here’s the official press announcement:

Apple Original Films announced today that the epic historical drama “Napoleon” from acclaimed director Ridley Scott will first be released exclusively in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, on Wednesday, November 22, before streaming globally on Apple TV+.

Directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, “Napoleon” stars Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader. The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. The film captures Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary. An Apple Studios production in conjunction with Scott Free Productions, “Napoleon” is produced by Scott, Kevin Walsh, Mark Huffam and Phoenix, with Michael Pruss and Aidan Elliott serving as executive producers.

Momentum around the Apple Original Films slate continues to grow since the debut of Apple TV+ just over three years ago. In addition to Apple making history as the first streaming service to land the Academy Award for Best Picture with “CODA,” Apple Original Film “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” also recently earned the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. “Napoleon” will premiere alongside upcoming Apple Original Films including the broadly praised “Tetris,” which stars Taron Egerton and recently held its world premiere at SXSW; acclaimed documentary “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie”; feature documentary and Sundance selection “Underrated: Stephen Curry”; “Ghosted,” a high-concept romantic action adventure film starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas; “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the upcoming film starring Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, as well as newcomer Lily Gladstone, from Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese; the star-studded spy thriller “Argylle,” with Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose and Samuel L. Jackson, and more.

Sony Pictures’ distinct commitment to exclusive theatrical windows has driven significant box office returns including that of hit films “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Uncharted,” “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “Bullet Train,” “The Woman King,” and “A Man Called Otto.”

Continuing their year-long celebration of their 100th anniversary, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has announced “Rebel Without a Cause” 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR). This beautifully packaged release also includes the film on standard Blu-ray and digital. This landmark coming-of-age drama features James Dean’s most celebrated role and was originally released less than one month after his tragic death. This handsome new edition is a must for long-time fans and collectors.

The 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital edition of “Rebel Without a Cause” hits shelves April 4th, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and features breakdown of this brand new combo-pack.

Year: 1955

Rating: NR

Runtime: 111 Minutes

Director: Nicholas Ray

Starring: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Edward Platt, Marietta Canty, Dennis Hopper, Virginia Brissac.

James Dean stars in a movie that shocked the United States with a performance that still electrifies the screen twenty-five years after his untimely death prior to the film’s release. In this archetypal drama of teenage angst and rebellion, three high school students who should lead idyllic lives in their stable, comfortable suburban families explode with a violence and sexuality that their parents cannot understand. This film–which ripped the façade from the post-war American dream to expose the rage of the country’s youth–resonates with an energy that has made it a modern classic and a powerful coming-of-age story.

The 1955 film is directed by Nicholas Ray from a story by Ray, a screenplay by Stewart Stern and an adaptation by Irving Shulman. It is produced by David Weisbart and James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, and William Hopper.

In 1990, “Rebel Without a Cause” was added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry as being deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant”.

BONUS FEATURES

Rebel Without a Cause Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary Douglas L. Rathgeb
• “James Dean Remembered” (1974 TV special)
• “Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents” (featurette)
• “Dennis Hopper: Memories from the Warner Lot” (featurette)
• Screen Tests
• Wardrobe Tests
• Deleted Scenes

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

Dolby Atmos TrueHD

As part of the year-long celebration of Warner Bros. Studio’s 100th anniversary, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has announced “The Maltese Falcon” for the first time in 4K resolution and High Dynamic Range (HDR). This Humphrey Bogart film noir classic originally released in 1941 and marked the memorable directorial debut for the great John Huston. The film still holds up extremely well, and this beautiful new edition highlights many of the reasons why. Read my full review of the film HERE.

This 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital edition of “The Maltese Falcon” hits shelves April 4th, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and features breakdown of this brand new combo-pack.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

Year: 1941

Rating: NR

Runtime: 101 minutes

Directors: John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter MacLane, Lee Patrick, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowen

Academy Award winner Humphrey Bogart stars in this classic film noir as tough San Francisco private detective Sam Spade in the classic, convoluted story of Spade’s involvement with a deadly band of international thieves who will lie, double cross and murder to obtain a small, jewel-encrusted statue known as The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade’s (Bogart) partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), accepts a job protecting a young woman (Mary Astor). Neither Spade nor Archer believe the woman or the story she tells them, but they do believe her money. Then, when Archer is murdered, Spade’s search for the killer drags him in the web of lies and death spun by the desperate people seeking The Maltese Falcon.

The 1941 film is directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. The screenplay is by Huston and is based on the 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, and Sydney Greenstreet.

The Maltese Falcon was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet) and Best Adapted Screenplay (John Huston). Considered one of the greatest films of all time, it was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

BONUS FEATURES

The Maltese Falcon Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary by Eric Lax
• “Warner Night at the Movies”
  • “Sergeant York” Trailer
  • “New Highlights of the Roosevelt Churchill Parley” (newsreel)
  • “The Gay Parisian” (1941 WB short)
  • “Meet John Doughboy” (1941 WB cartoon)
• The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Brid
• Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart
• Breakdowns of 1941 (WB short)
• Make-up Tests
• 2/8/43 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
• 9/20/43 Screen Guild Theater Broadcast
• 7/3/46 Academy Award Theater Broadcast
• Trailers
  • 1936 “Satan Met a Lady”
  • 1941 “The Maltese Falcon”

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

High on my 2023 anticipated list is “Master Gardner”, the new crime thriller written and directed by Paul Schrader. I’m always onboard for a new Schrader film, and his last two movies behind the camera (“First Reformed” and “The Card Counter”) were among my favorites from their years. The film had its world premiere last September at the Venice International Film Festival. With its official release nearing, a new trailer has dropped and I love what we’re shown.

Joel Edgerton plays a brilliant and devoted horticulturist who works at an extravagant garden estate owned by a dignified dowager played by Sigourney Weaver. When the gardener is forced to take on his employer’s troubled niece niece (Quintessa Swindell), dark secrets from his past slowly start to boil to the surface. From the trailer it’s clear that Schrader is taking his story to some interesting places. And Edgerton looks to be a perfect fit for the role he’s taking on. I can’t wait to see it.

“Master Gardener” hits theaters May 19th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Wes Anderson is….an acquired taste. And it’s a taste that I have fully acquired. His movies have their very own style and his humor resembles no other. His upcoming movie “Asteroid City” looks, feels, and sounds like a Wes Anderson movie. From color palette, to wacky setting, to an A-list cast of Anderson regulars. There’s also some compelling new faces that should be a lot of fun. Yesterday Focus Features dropped the official movie poster. Today they shared the first trailer and it’s pretty incredible. Wes Anderson fans rejoice.

“Asteroid City” takes place in a tiny American desert town during the 1950s as parents and students from across the country gather for a Junior Stargazer convention. It starts as a well-meaning event to promote scholarly competition and to commemorate a particularly funny past event. But it turns to chaos after something resembling an alien encounter ends up with the town being quarantined. A veritable who’s who of talent pop up in the trailer including Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Maya Hawke, and Jason Schwartzman. The film also features Margot Robbie, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Bryan Cranston, Hong Chau, and Adrien Brody among others. I’ll be there on opening day.

“Asteroid City” lands in theaters on June 16th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

A new Wes Anderson movie is always going to be on my must-see list. His latest feature “Asteroid City” is looking to be right up my alley. The film is set in a fictional American desert town circa 1955 where students and their parents from across the country gather for an annual junior Stargazer convention. An eye-catching group of Anderson regulars and some striking new faces fill out the star-studded cast. Meanwhile the setting and concept alone looks to be prime territory for a Wes Anderson comedy. With the first trailer landing today, Anderson and Focus Features have dropped the movie poster. Whatcha think?

DIRECTOR – Wes Anderson

WRITER – Wes Anderson

STARRING – Tilda Swinton, Tom Hanks, Adrien Brody, Margot Robbie, Rupert Friend, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Hope Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Tony Revolori, Matt Dillon, Edward Norton, Steve Park, Willen Dafoe, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Hong Chau, Jake Ryan, Fisher Stevens, Sophia Lillis

RELEASE – June 16, 2023