Making a big splash on 4K UHD this month as part of Shout’s new HONG KONG CINEMA CLASSICS line is A BETTER TOMORROW TRILOGY, one of several major new releases from the specialty imprint that have assembled some of the bona-fide, if sometimes rarely circulated, favorites from the early careers of directors John Woo and Tsui Hark as well as stars like Chow Yun-Fat.

A BETTER TOMORROW is a crisp and quite entertaining picture (95 mins., 1986) which introduces soon-to-be familiar Woo themes of family bonds and relationships between criminals on both sides of the law. Leslie Cheung co-stars with Yun-Fat and Ti Lung in the original, Woo-directed favorite, which was followed by the bigger – and even better – sequel A BETTER TOMORROW II (105 mins., 1987) which shifts the action to New York City with the same stars. Tsui Hark had written the original story for the sequel and then replaced Woo behind the camera for A BETTER TOMORROW III: LOVE & DEATH IN SAIGON (119 mins., 1989), a prequel revolving around Chow Yun-fat’s Mark character in a story set during the Vietnam War.

All three films have been remastered on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray by Shout Factory, each in 4K scans from their respective OCNs (1.85) with either Cantonese mono or an English dub on-hand. Ample extras permeate Shout’s releases, including, for the original, commentary by James Mudge with interviews featuring Woo and Terence Chang, writer Chan Hing-ka, filmmaker Gordon Chan, filmmaker Gareth Evans, and author Grady Hendrix; for II, commentary by Mudge with interviews featuring Woo, Hendrix, and historian Frank Djeng; and for III, commentary by David West and interviews including Hendrix, critic David West, screenwriters Yiu Ming Leung and Foo Ho Tai, filmmaker Gilbert Po, and Vietnam War researcher Dr. Aruelie Basha I Novosejt.

Image galleries are also included on each platter, with a special bonus disc featuring a pair of workprints: a long-lost version of A BETTER TOMORROW II with over 30 minutes of never-before-seen material, and an alternate, Tawianese cut of A BETTER TOMORROW III.

In addition to a similarly deluxe package provided to “Hard Boiled,” Shout! Factory has also remastered one of the greatest HK thrillers of all-time, THE KILLER (111 mins., 1989), a groundbreaking work for John Woo and star Chow Yun-Fat that helped refine the action genre, not only in its native Hong Kong but, eventually, internationally as well.

This celebrated classic features Yun-Fat as an assassin working his own moral code against crooks and cops in what’s supposed to be his last assignment; it’s delectable cinema that, unforgivably, has been out of circulation (as have the other Woo pictures) at times outside its native country. Shout’s new 4K UHD offers, like the “Better Tomorrow” box, brand new Dolby Vision HDR masters (1.85) via 4K scans of the original negative plus Cantonese audio/English dubs in mono, newly translated subtitles, and a wealth of extras.

These include a new commentary between John Woo and journalist Drew Taylor, plus the old Criterion laserdisc track featuring Woo and producer Terence Chang. In addition to the included Blu-Ray, a third disc of extras sports the feature-length doc “The Hero Of Heroic Bloodshed: A John Woo Documentary” from Dutch director Roel Reine; interviews with Terence Chang and editor David Wu; deleted/extended scenes; trailers; an image gallery and a 52-page booklet with booklet notes and artwork.

One of the most acclaimed Hong Kong imports from the mid ‘80s, PEKING OPERA BLUES (105 mins., 1986; Shout) sees director Tsui Hark mixing up his typical blend of action with comedy and satirical components in its portrait of three women (Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chng and Sally Yeh) who head off in search of liberation following China’s first democratic revolution. Hark’s stylish and energetic film offers appealing performances and is a lot of fun, in addition to holding a good amount of cultural relevance – components that immediately branded it an art-house hit across the globe.

Shout’s 4K UHD scan of the OCN (1.85, mono) is also part of Shout’s “Hong Kong Cinema Classics” line featuring Dolby Vision HDR that enhances all the color of Hark’s picture, shot by Poon Hung Seng. Both Cantonese audio and an English dub are offered with extras including a commentary by critic James Mudge; interviews with actor Mark Cheng, cinematographer Ray Wong, author Grady Hendrix, critic David West, and professor Lars Laamann. Trailers, an image gallery, a Blu-Ray copy and archival conversations with Sally Yeh and composer James Wong round out a must-have for HK aficionados.

Finally, A CHINESE GHOST STORY TRILOGY is a three-disc Blu-Ray anthology that collects the hugely popular late ‘80s mix of Hong Kong action, romance and fantasy into a single release, providing all the wild and woolly festivities of these Tsui Hark productions, loaded with popular HK stars of the day (Leslie Cheung, Joey Wang, and Tony Leung among them). Sporting 4K scans from the original negative (1.85) with Cantonese mono audio and English dubs (for the original and its first sequel), the set contains A CHINESE GHOST STORY (96 mins., 1987), A CHINESE GHOST STORY II (103 mins., 1990), and A CHINESE GHOST STORY III (109 mins., 1991), each with ample special features. These include a feature-length documentary on Leslie Cheung; Grady Hendrix featurettes on each picture; commentaries on all three by James Mudge; plus interviews with critic David West on the two sequels.

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More Bountiful Box Sets

AIRPORT: The Complete 4-Film Collection 4K UHD (Kino Lorber): Producer Ross Hunter’s box-office smash ignited a whole genre of “disaster movies” that followed throughout the 1970s, yet there’s something very “50’s” about the original AIRPORT (137 mins., 1970, G), which is part of a brand-new, 4K UHD box-set from Kino Lorber featuring collectible Digibook packaging and an exclusive booklet from Julie Kirgo.

This George Seaton-scripted and directed adaptation of Arthur Hailey’s bestseller is more soap opera than Irwin Allen, at least for its first two-thirds, with “Airport” introducing us to its main leads Burt Lancaster (the workaholic manager of a Chicago airport) and Dean Martin (philandering airplane pilot who just knocked up stewardess Jacqueline Bisset), along with a bevy of supporting players including ace airplane engineer George Kennedy (who appears in all four films) and stowaway Helen Hayes, who only needs a few more one-liners and music by DeVol to turn her scenes into a veritable sitcom.

“Airport” offers big-screen entertainment of the old-fashioned variety – and I do mean old, as it feels very much anchored to a different time and place, accentuating the personal problems of Lancaster, who’s interested in co-worker Jean Seberg despite being married, and Martin, who’s trying to figure out “what to do” with his unborn. The widescreen Todd-AO trappings of cinematographer Ernest Laszlo provide an elegant visual gloss with Alfred Newman’s classy final score adding to the presentation, yet the movie doesn’t really come alive until the disaster element kicks in nearly 2/3 of the way through.

Perhaps that’s a reason why, when it came time to make the classic 1980 spoof “Airplane!”, there was more grist for the satirical mill in AIRPORT 1975 (107 mins., 1974, PG), the first sequel in the franchise and a movie that provides quite a bit of guilty-pleasure fun. Though initially considered as a TV-movie, Universal wisely opted to ride the crest of the disaster genre’s rise at the box-office, pumping more money into this first “Airport” follow-up and releasing the film just weeks ahead of the studio’s “Sensurround” epic “Earthquake.”

Like that bigger-budgeted spectacle, Charlton Heston stars here in full-on “hero mode” as a daring pilot who takes command of a 747 damaged by a small plane in a harrowing accident – but not until its voyage is first salvaged by the heroic efforts of stewardess Karen Black (also Heston’s girlfriend), who improbably takes command after pilot Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is gravely injured (we won’t speak about what happens to his co-pilots, Erik Estrada and especially Roy Thinnes!).

There’s more a “Guest Star” component to ‘75, including a singing nun (Helen Reddy), a teenager (Linda Blair, fresh from “The Exorcist”) hoping for a transplant, a group of drunks (Norman Fell, Jerry Stiller, Conrad Janis), a former Tinseltown bit player (Sid Caesar) and even Gloria Swanson herself! George Kennedy reprises “Petroni” also, while the thrills include exciting aerial photography and a suspenseful climax, the footage of which would be recycled in a memorable episode from “The Incredible Hulk” a few years later.

“Airport 75”’s box-office success lead to another follow-up, AIRPORT ‘77 (114 mins., 1977, PG), which battens down the dramatic hatches for a solid enough outing involving a 747 hijacked and left for dead after a botched cargo heist downs the plane inside the waters of the Bermuda Triangle. Pilot Jack Lemmon, thankfully, saves the day after philanthropist Jimmy Stewart’s flight goes down with a bevy of folks on-board, including Christopher Lee’s business tycoon, his unhappy wife (Lee Grant), Lemmon’s own girlfriend (Brenda Vaccaro) and another mix of Golden Age Hollywood talent (Olivia De Havilland, Joseph Cotten) and up-and-comers like Kathleeen Quinlan.

Director Jerry Jameson helms the movie efficiently and the picture is well-made – it just feels a little bit like a low-bar variation on “The Poseidon Adventure” in its mid-section, leading to a competent if overall unremarkable entry on the whole.

The genre was drying up by the time we hit the late ‘70s, with Irwin Allen himself having struck out with “The Swarm” and “Beyond the Poseidon Adventure,” while producer Dino DeLaurentiis failed to find many takers for his remake of “The Hurricane.” Universal attempted to exploit the “Airport” franchise one last time with THE CONCORDE…AIRPORT ‘79 (113 mins., 1979, PG), but diminishing returns played out with this decidedly less ambitious affair that nearly resembles a TV movie.

Certainly the cast is more “small screen” with “Guest Stars” like Jimmy Walker, Martha Raye and a brief appearance by Charo making you think Captain Stubing was right around the corner. The movie, scripted by future Oscar winner Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”!), finds conniving entrepreneur Robert Wagner trying to smuggle weapons and deciding the only way to stop journalist girlfriend Susan Blakely from finding out about his scheme is by taking out the super-sonic Concorde jet she’s a passenger on. That throws her, her fellow passengers and the stalwart crew – including Alain Delon and a returning George Kennedy (Patroni has magically been promoted here to pilot) – into jeopardy as the Concorde has to evade multiple attacks including drone-controlled missiles.

Complete with a “layover” in Paris so Patroni can bed hooker Sylvia Kristel (then red hot off “Emmanuelle”), director David Lowell Rich’s movie feels notably reduced in scope off the previous “Airport” pictures. That extends to its non-anamorphic lensing, though some decent special effects and Lalo Schifrin’s fine score compensate; overall, I can’t say I didn’t have a good time watching the picture despite its abundant flaws and indifferent execution, with Kennedy’s genial presence carrying the load.

All four “Airport” movies have been newly scanned in 4K (all 2.35 except for “Concorde”’s 1.85) by Kino Lorber – the original from a 4K scan “of the 35mm interpositive reduction element,” and the sequels from their respective 35mm OCNs. This makes sense as the first picture looks good if a tad dark at times with its Dolby Vision HDR grading, with good detail but not a whole lot of “pop” in the HDR category. It’s satisfying, but a full-blown restoration of its original negative would have produced greater results (something not cost-prohibitive, however). The sequels all fare better and look superior with nice HDR highlights and pleasing details throughout.

On the audio side, “Airport” offers both 5.1 DTS MA and 2-channel mixes, while the sequels are all offered in both their original mono or quite serviceable 5.1 remixes, which have properly centered dialogue and a nice expansion for their effects and music. Extras include trailers on each disc and new commentaries from (“Airport”) Julie Kirgo and C. Courtney Joyner, (‘75 and ‘79) Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, and (‘77) Julie Kirgo and Peter Hankoff.

Kino Lorber’s Digibook package is attractive and offers reproductions of original poster artwork on each page with copies of the UHDs and Julie Kirgo’s notes contained within.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO ON 4K UHD (Kino Lorber): It’s a great time to be an enthusiast of Abbott & Costello, as Kino Lorber has remastered four of the beloved A&C “Meet…” horror spoofs in individual 4K UHD releases with similarly remastered Blu-Rays and attractive original poster artwork adorning each title.

At the top of the list, it goes without saying, is ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN 83 mins., 1948), Universal’s legendary, all-time classic comedy which paired Abbott & Costello with a series of movie monsters, including Bela Lugosi essaying Dracula for only the second time on-screen, Lon Chaney, Jr. as Larry Talbot (aka the Wolfman), and Glenn Strange as Frankenstein (there’s also a fun cameo by another Universal monster favorite at the very end).

Widely praised and a box-office hit, “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” also revitalized A&C’s film career for years to come (with the boys meeting everyone from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to “The Killer…Boris Karloff”), and still holds up tremendously well – especially for any fan of the classic Universal monster movies. The comedy in Robert Lees, Frederic Rinaldo and John Grant’s script deftly bridges A&C’s antics with a basically respectful treatment of Dracula, Frankenstein and crew, allowing for the film to recreate the feel of the studio’s Golden Age chillers in a hilarious setting that never ceases to entertain.

While not on the level of “Frankenstein,” the three follow-ups also have their respective charms.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (82 mins., 1951) finds the boys getting involved in trying to clear boxer and convicted killer Arthur Franz from the murder of his manager. Eventually Lou ends up going undercover as a boxer with Franz injecting himself with invisibility serum in this briskly paced affair.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (76 mins., 1953) is pretty much the strongest of the three follow-ups, with A&C opposite Boris Karloff for a second time, the legendary star here essaying Dr. Jekyll and Craig Stevens, future “Peter Gunn,” on-hand as the boyfriend of Jekyll’s niece. Charles Lamont again helmed this crisply played outing fitting right into the boys’ comfort zone.

The duo finished their long tenure at Universal with ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY (79 mins., 1955), generally regarded as one of their weaker pictures but nevertheless a quite entertaining lark from director Charles Lamont and the duo’s long-time writer John Grant. There’s a good amount of musical engagement on-hand in “Mummy,” which completes the series with A&C playing opposite Marie Windsor, Peggy King and Michael Ansara in an amusing send-up of Universal’s long-running “Mummy” franchise (itself about to be revived with Brendan Fraser and friends).

All four films have been mastered in 4K from their 35mm OCNs (1.85, mono) with Dolby Vision HDR and look great, marked by lots of detail filtering through the grain and the image preserving a healthy appearance throughout the quartet. Extra features include trailers and multiple commentaries on each film: Joe Ramoni, Gary Gerani, and an archival track by Gregory Mank on “Frankenstein”; Ramoni, Paul Anthony Nelson and Lee Zachariah on “Invisible Man”; Kim Newman & Stephen Jones, and Tom Weaver & Richard Scrivani, on “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”; and Toby Roan, C. Courtney Joyner & Poef Sutton on “Mummy.”

It should be noted a larger 4K UHD box set, “Abbott & Costello Horror Collection,” is slated to be released by Kino next year, featuring the four pictures reviewed above along with the 4K debuts of “Hold That Ghost” and “Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer…Boris Karloff.”

THE AMERICAS 4K UHD (aprx. 7½ hours, 2025; Universal). WHAT IT IS: Beautifully lensed NBC series captures the vast geography of the Americas and its equally diverse living inhabitants. Tom Hanks provides the narration for another vividly shot 4K “travelogue” series that fits comfortably alongside past BBC series like “Planet Earth” and “Frozen Planet,” but with a distinctively “American” lens applied. It’s lovely eye candy with supportive Hans Zimmer scoring and some nicely articulated story lines to match. WHO’S IT FOR: 4K owners, documentary addicts, fans of past BBC series along similar lines. TECH SPECS: Universal’s two-disc UHD houses spectacular HDR10 transfers (1.78) and 5.1 DTS MA soundtracks. A “Making Of” is also included. AISLE SEAT GIFT GUIDE BOTTOM LINE: If you missed its broadcast earlier this year on NBC or don’t have access to Peacock streaming, Universal’s 4K is a superb package with excellent transfers all around. Highly recommended!

TWO AND A HALF MEN – The Complete Series Blu-Ray (2003-15; Warner). WHAT IT IS: Buoyed for some eight seasons by stars Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and then-young Angus T. Jones, “Two and a Half Men” was one of TV’s biggest comedy hits for many years. Creator Chuck Lorre ended up with a slew of similarly-themed shows on the network as a result, but none generated the stratospheric ratings success of “Men,” and even when Sheen (after Season 8) and Jones (Season 10) departed, it was remarkable how much stamina this CBS sitcom had, going on without two of its main stars for several seasons after the fact. By the time the series ended in Season 12, Ashton Kutcher’s Sheen fill-in, Walden Schmidt, was asking for Alan Harper’s hand in marriage, not for any physical attraction but so that he can adopt his own child. WHO’S IT FOR: Series fans, of course. Warner’s Complete Series Blu-Ray of “Two and a Half Men” offers the entire run of the show in good-looking 1080p (1.78) transfers and DTS MA (2.0 for the first six seasons, 5.1 thereafter) soundtracks. AISLE SEAT GIFT GUIDE BOTTOM LINE: I wasn’t a fan but plenty of other folks tuned in on a weekly basis for this series, and still do in syndication. Warner’s Complete Series box houses the entire run of “Two and a Half Men” in two oversized plastic cases and comes highly recommended for buffs.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS – The Legacy Collection DVD (aprx. 113 hours, 1955-62; Universal). WHAT IT IS: The esteemed director stepped into television with this marvelous, long-running anthology series. The half-hour, self-contained stories of “Presents” ranged from lighthearted to deadly serious, offering turns from a variety of stars, writers and directors, and all framed by humorous introductions by The Master himself. In its best moments, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” is representative of some of the finest of ‘50s television — a remarkable achievement given the wealth of quality on the broadcast spectrum at that time. Universal’s DVD box-set includes the entire run of the series on DVD in a 263-episode collection. WHO’S IT FOR: Lovers of Hitch, classic suspense, and Golden Age TV in equal measure. The set’s packaging is rather plain but Universal has included the “Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock” featurette as well as the 2005 featurette “Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Look Back,” offering comments from Pat Hitchcock, producer Norman Lloyd and assistant director Hilton A. Green. The black-and-white transfers look to be in decent, satisfying condition. It has also been noted that, in many cases, Hitchcock’s introductions and epilogues have been trimmed slightly, to edit out the sponsor names of that particular episode, but it’s not a major problem; transfers otherwise are quite good (4:3) for standard definition. AISLE SEAT GIFT GUIDE BOTTOM LINE: One of the best anthologies produced for television, this sprawling box – housing each season in its own DVD case – offers hours upon hours of marvelous entertainment.

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Universal Limited Editions on 4K UHD & Blu-Ray

SCARFACE Ultimate Collector’s Edition 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (170 mins., 1983, R; Universal): Dated, excessive, overlong, yet intermittently powerful and always watchable, Brian DePalma remake of “Scarface” is back on 4K UHD this month as a collectible gift package sporting an IconArt poster, Steelbook packaging and additional extras.

The Al Pacino-Michelle Pfeiffer crime thriller starts off like a house on fire but peters out in its final hour, and was previously issued during the early days of the DVD format in a single-disc edition that reprised all of the contents from the deluxe “Signature Collection” laserdisc – itself once a prized possession amongst owners of that pre-DVD format. Along with the supplements, though, came a dreary, weak transfer, which wasn’t optimized to take advantage of the superior DVD format (it actually rehashed the laserdisc’s transfer, which actually wasn’t up to the standards of the LD medium, either).

Universal withdrew the disc and issued an Anniversary DVD edition in 2003 and a “Platinum” version in 2006, which improved upon its predecessors. Needless to say the Blu-Ray trumped all prior editions with an even more impressive, VC-1 encoded 1080p transfer – and the 4K UHD, complete with DTS X audio and HDR10 (2.35) enhancements, does that presentation one better. The usual expected upgrades with a heightened sense of contrast and a wider color pallet are both on display, enhancing DePalma and cinematographer John A. Alonzo’s visuals throughout. The sound, meanwhile, was previously remixed for 5.1 DTS MA, giving the various effects and Giorgio Moroder’s score a bass-heavy boost, and is presented here in DTS X audio.

As with the earlier UHD, the most recent extra is a Tribeca Film Festival 35th Anniversary panel featuring DePalma, Pacino, Pfeiffer and Steven Bauer reflecting on the film’s enduring popularity. Other extras have been carried over from previous releases: “The Scarface Phenomenon” is a 38-minute Blu-Ray documentary, presented in HD and featuring interviews with DePalma, producer Louis Stroller, other critics and various celebrity devotees. Laurent Bouzereau’s vintage laserdisc documentary is also included, complimented by deleted scenes and a montage of clips from the movie’s censored TV prints. A Digital HD copy is also on-tap.

Universal’s 4K UHD “Ultimate Collector Series” package includes both the UHD and Blu-Ray in an Steelbook with an “IconArt” metal poster including a magnet wall mount also enclosed in the collectible box. A numbered certificate of authenticity completes the attractive gift set (limited to 6,600 copies)

“Scarface” is one of three Universal 4K/Blu-Ray limited-edition gift-sets all ideal for the holiday season.

Coinciding with the upcoming release of the movie’s sequel is FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S (110 mins., 2023, PG-13; Universal), the low-budget, Blumhouse-produced adaptation of the popular video game franchise. This box-office smash, a thriller set in a sort of Chuck E. Cheese From Hell, finds Jush Hutcherson as a night security guard at what he thinks is an abandoned theme restaurant where its supposedly dormant animatronic animals are actually, in fact, very much alive.

The game series has been a massive success amongst younger viewers and this feature is aimed right at that core audience – resulting in a picture that doesn’t offer much engagement for casual viewers, with director Emma Tammi’s pacing coming off as stodgy and few suspenseful moments on-hand. That said, there’s loads of fan service with game creator Scott Cawthon having written the story and co-authored the script, and the picture manages to contain its horrors in an appropriately PG-13 form for its target demographic.

As with “Scarface,” the Limited Edition UHD/BD box includes an IconArt metal poster with magnet wall mount; the steelbook; numbered certificate of authenticity (again, limited to 6600 copies), and a reprise of Universal’s attractive 4K UHD with HDR10 (2.39) enhancement, Dolby Atmos audio, two featurettes, the Blu-Ray and a Digital HD code.

Offered in its own, 20^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (129 mins., 2005, PG; Universal). Jane Austen’s novel has been captured on film and television numerous times over the years, but perhaps never so eloquently as Joe Wright’s acclaimed and vividly shot 2005 adaptation.

Some Austen purists carped at changes director Wright and screenwriter Deborah Moggach made to its source, but those without a preconception of the material were mainly enchanted by this splendid production. Keira Knightley here stars as Lizzie Bennet, one of five daughters attracted to the rich, “unpleasant” Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) in late 18th century England. Their sparring eventually leads to romance over a period of time that also finds Lizzie’s sister (Rosamund Pike) initially turned down by Darcy’s friend, while an old acquaintance of Darcy’s — Mr. Wickum — turns up and runs away with a younger Bennet sister (Jena Malone), much to the dismay of their parents (played wonderfully by Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn).

One of the wonderful things about “Pride and Prejudice” is that Wright’s film comes alive visually, far more than a typical, static Merchant and Ivory piece: filling the widescreen frame with details, deftly utilizing the superb work of cinematographer Roman Osin and the sublime score by Dario Marianelli, Wright accentuates the thoughts and feelings of Austen’s characters perfectly. Watching the sun rise at the beginning of the movie, and again when Lizzie and Darcy finally merge at the end of the piece, is a joy that only enhances the work of the performances and the strength of the story itself.

In regards to the acting, Knightley and Macfadyen build up some serious chemistry together, as one might anticipate, and supporting performances from Pike, Malone, Sutherland, Blethyn and Tom Hollander (as Mr. Collins, Lizzie’s would-be suitor) are likewise strong across the board.

“Pride and Prejudice” may not have received a Best Picture nomination but this was one of 2005’s finest films, satisfying most Austen devotees and especially newcomers to the material, who widely embraced this adaptation lovingly with open arms.

Universal’s 4K UHD premiere of the film features Dolby Vision HDR (2.35) with Dolby Atmos sound and a more comparatively slender collector’s box than the two releases reviewed above. The oversized Digibook package, here dubbed a “Discbook,” features a foreword written by Joe Wright with archival extras including a commentary track by Wright and several Making Of featurettes. The Blu-Ray and a Digital HD code round out the release. Highly recommended!

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Also New & Noteworthy

THE CONJURING 4: LAST RITES 4K UHD (135 mins., 2025, R; Warner): Surprisingly robust entry in the series is a big improvement over its disposable third installment, which was as nondescript as the franchise’s “Annabelle” and “Nun” offshoots.

Returning to another actual case — the haunting of a Pennsylvania family, the Smurls — that served as the basis for a 1991 Fox TV movie that also inspired producer James Wan, “Last Rites” finds the Warrens (Patrick Wilson, Verga Fermiga) mostly retired and hoping to steer daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) away from the ghoulish visions her mother has suffered. It’s a losing battle, even with Judy engaged to a young ex-cop (Ben Hardy), while the Smurls — an Irish Catholic family outside Philadelphia — simultaneously endure an increasingly discomforting series of supernatural manifestations that range from noises to apparitions and a light fixture that inexplicably crashes, nearly claiming their teen daughter on the day of her Confirmation.

A slew of “Conjuring” series veterans returned for “Last Rites” including director Michael Chaves who had issues following in the footsteps of James Wan with the previous series entry — yet to give credit where it’s due, “Last Rites” works well, and returns to the same formula and high production values seen in the first two “Conjuring” pictures. The film visually is superbly shot by Eli Born — in British locations doubling for Philadelphia — and takes good advantage of light and shadow throughout, be it ghosts lurking in the backdrop or a living room where truck headlights beam in, brightening the dark spaces if only for a moment. Born’s work is notable since the heavily “digital” third movie seems slapdash by comparison with “Last Rites,” while Chaves — at this point — has worked enough in the series to have a better handle on the formula.

As is usually the case with the “Conjuring” pictures, the initial set-up of the haunting is scarier than the louder shocks of its (entirely fictional) final act, as it stages the Smurl haunting — and some of its reportedly truthful elements — quite effectively. Chaves knows when to dial back on the jump scares and let some of its creepier moments linger, some in silence, others with Benjamin Wallfisch’s score. This movie also relies more on those type of scares instead of the more graphic shocks some of the previous entries have contained, and the eventual full manifestation of the ghosts and their unspeakable acts are brief and not dwelt upon.

All of it, of course, is enhanced by two leads viewers have come to care about and a long-form running time that actually develops its characters — not just the Smurls but especially the Warrens’ daughter Judy. Wilson and Fermiga fit comfortably back into the roles and Tomlinson and Hardy, both British actors, are quite likeable. This is a movie that’s as content to let its characters have moments instead of being a scare machine, and outside of one character death that felt a little out of place (more like “The Omen” than “The Exorcist”), the script — again from series veterans Ian Goldberg and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick with Richard Naing — balances the supernatural with human drama as well as any horror film typically can.

“Last Rites” lacks the overall pull of James Wan’s first two “Conjuring” movies and some of the climax gets a bit much, but it’s a fitting return to form after its immediate predecessor, making it an entertaining and satisfying entry where the biggest shock of all will be that there’s anything truly “last” about it.

Warner’s 4K UHD of this surprise box-office blockbuster (which barely missed a $500 mil worldwide gross) includes superior a Dolby Vision HDR (2.39) transfer and Dolby Atmos audio along with a trio of featurettes and a Digital HD code.

SNOWDEN 4K ULTRA HD/Blu-Ray ( 135 mins., 2016, R; Shout! Factory): Hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade since the release of Olvier Stone’s “Snowden,” a portrait of the perennially controversial security agent who spilled surveillance secrets in a move that painted him forever a hero – and traitor – in equal measure. Stone assembled a superb cast with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden, and while the movie didn’t make a whole lot of commercial noise, it’s one of Stone’s better late-career vehicles, presented now on 4K UHD (2.39, 5.1/2.0 DTS MA) from Shout! with a brand-new 4K restoration from “original elements” supervised by Stone himself. New interviews include Stone, producer Moritz Borman and others, while archival extras include Q&A materials, Stone’s commentary and deleted scenes.

SECRET MALL APARTMENT Blu-Ray (92 mins., 2025; Music Box): As a very intermittent patron of the Providence Place Mall, I’ve long been familiar with its legendary story of a secret apartment housed within the mall where a group of artists literally took residence – first as a gag, then as a kind of social experiment, in an unlikely scenario that lasted for years before “ringleader” Michael Townsend’s jig was ultimately exposed.

The mall itself has never been a favorite of mine (my history teacher Mom hated the fact its mere construction eliminated previously easily-observed views of Rhode Island’s glorious State House from interstate 95), so seeing this documentary from director Jeremy Workman coincide with its highly publicized decline in traffic and profitability (the Mall declared bankruptcy a year ago) was nothing short of glorious.

“Secret Mall Apartment” is a superb, easy-going documentary that looks at this most unusual story from the point of view of the participants, who shot some 25 hours of footage during their time in the mall that provides a great deal of amusement here. Workman is clearly on the side of the artists and he and executive producer Jeesse Eisenberg do a great job incorporating a knowing sense of humor to add to this offbeat, one-of-a-kind story.

Music Box’s Blu-Ray (1.78, 5.1 DTS MA) offers interviews with Workman, Eisenberg, and Michael Townsend (whose no-trespass mall order was rescinded right when this doc started playing in the mall’s multiplex), deleted/extended scenes, trailers, promos and more.

THE GILDED AGE Season 3 DVD (466 mins., 2025; HBO): Julian Fellowes’ outstanding HBO series continues to find its stride, with Season 3 heavy on the Russell family intrigue – both in terms of interpersonal relationships (George and Bertha at odds) and corporate maneuverings involving the Russells’ obsession with the railroad. The mix of appealing characters, history and dramatic entanglements is just as compelling here as it was in the series’ first two seasons, with HBO’s DVD (1.78, 5.1) capturing it all with a pair of featurettes on the supplemental side.

NEXT TIME: OCN wrap including KING OF THE GYPSIES in 4K! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!