It’s hard to anoint a movie a “cult classic” before it’s even released, but that rare occurrence happened to the Samuel L. Jackson (self-titled) actioner SNAKES ON A PLANE (106 mins., 2006, R; Arrow), now debuting as part of Arrow’s increasing number of Warner-licensed 4K UHD premieres this January.

The movie initially failed to live up to the hype at the box-office, but time (as I suspected originally) has been kind to this outrageously fun, good-natured tale of snakes that run amok on a flight from Hawaii to L.A. while FBI agent Jackson transports a witness (Nathan Phillips) who watched a mob hit while on vacation. Initially (and obviously) intended as PG-13, teen-friendly fare, “Snakes” was slightly re-filmed to add more blood, guts and gore to the action, plus a hilarious rant by Jackson with a whole bunch of f-bombs. Otherwise, “Snakes” is pretty tame, put-your-brain-on-hold summer movie fare, with engaging performances from the cast. It’s a nice little B-movie that probably would’ve performed better if there hadn’t been any pre-release “buzz,” and looks great in Arrow’s new 4K UHD (2.39) with Dolby Vision HDR.

The transfer looks suitably “filmic” and the original 5.1 DTS MA soundtrack has been included. New extras include a “mini doc” on the history of movie tie-in book novelizations plus a fresh commentary by Max Evry and Bryan Reesman. Other extras are culled from New Line’s original DVD including commentary from director David R. Ellis, Jackson and others, plus deleted scenes, archival featurettes, a blooper reel, and a music video of the hysterical end-title theme song.

UNDER SIEGE 4K UHD (103 mins., 1992, R; Arrow): Steven Seagal’s cinematic high point was reached with this fall ‘92 box-office hit from “Pretty Woman” writer J.F. Lawton and director Andrew Davis, who was about to hit his peak with “The Fugitive” just a few months later.

Working with his future Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones, Davis brings competence to this agreeable action vehicle that’s pretty much “Die Hard on a Boat,” with chef (also a demoted, decorated soldier) Seagal locked up in a meat freezer during a terrorist takeover of the USS Missouri. Bad guys Jones and Gary Busey think they’ve got their plans worked out until Seagal’s Casey Ryback eventually gets free and manages to turn the tables on the bad guys, using Seagal’s blend of fisticuffs and martial arts, along with an assist from a Playboy playmate (Erika Eleniak).

“Under Siege” goes down nice and easy as a product of its era and it’s due to the craftsmanship of Davis and the very competent supporting cast that the picture works so well. Seagal never had it as good as he does here, with the production benefiting from on-location filming aboard the Missouri, captured by veteran dp Frank Tidy.

Arrow’s 4K UHD (1.85) offers the original Dolby Stereo 2.0 track, a crisp new Dolby Atmos mix and a generally strong Dolby Vision HDR transfer that’s a bit of a mixed bag in terms of detail – there are stretches where the image appears glossy and smooth, bearing the hallmarks of digital processing, while other scenes have high detail. The end result looks nice but purists may balk at the unevenness. Extras include a new commentary between Davis and Lawton and recent interviews with Eleniak, co-star Damian Chapa, and VFX supervisor William Mesa.

EVIL DEAD RISE 4K UHD (96 mins., 2023, R; Arrow): A low-budget, murky-looking if reasonably well-executed recycling of familiar “Evil Dead” tropes, shot in New Zealand with a no-name Australian cast that continuously struggles with their American accents.

The plot, meanwhile, is straightforward as a California single Mom and her three kids – plus her wayward younger sister – come in contact with the Book of the Dead and predictable possession shenanigans that ensue in their dilapidated high rise.

Irish director Lee Cronin’s staging of the material mostly works but make no mistake, this is a grizzly, claustrophobic (the building, while affording an atypical-for-the-series urban setting, is still mostly deserted) horror film with ample gore and buckets of blood, treated seriously with one change from its predecessors – a lot of the tension is supposed to be served by kids being the ones who are put into jeopardy here. That part of the film, especially the youngest girl constantly being tossed around, I grew tired of, since it felt like a cheap scare gimmick, and Cronin’s film, while well-made, really isn’t much fun as a whole. Even Fede Alvarez’s 2013 remake possessed (no pun intended) a higher overall “fun factor,” generating an emotional release for its heroine that was earned and packed a satisfying punch. We keep waiting in “Evil Dead Rise” for that kind of moment, and while there is a climax that delivers the goods (and the lead, Lily Sullivan, is fairly fetching), it’s still rather mundane in its design and is promptly undone by an unnecessary bookending sequence that just leaves the door open for more sequels.

Overall I prefer my Deadites served up with more gusto and humor to spare – but if you favor the original 1983 “Evil Dead” to “Dead By Dawn,” this one’s probably going to be for you, and Arrow’s 4K UHD (2.39, Dolby Vision) Special Edition ups the ante with a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack and exclusive interviews with stars Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols, Anna-Maree Thomas, editor Bryan Shaw, sound designer Peter Albrechtsen, and composer Stephen McKeon. There’s also a commentary with director Cronin, Sullivan and Sutherland, a 2023 featurette, Cronin’s 2013 short “Ghost Train,” storyboards, and new writing by Michael Gingold in Arrow’s collector’s booklet.

CHEAP THRILLS Blu-Ray (87 mins., 2013, Not Rated; Arrow): Coming later in January is Arrow’s Limited Edition of E.L. Katz’s 2013 indie black comedy about two old childhood friends who are reunited, just in time to participate in the wacky whims of a wealthy couple (Sara Paxton, David Koechner) who dare them to take up increasingly unhinged tasks. I don’t recall “Cheap Thrills” making much of an impact upon its initial release but Arrow has rolled out a bona-fide Special Edition for their Blu-Ray (1.85, 5.1 DTS MA) including commentaries from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas plus E.L. Katz and Pat Healy; interviews with the director and producer Travis Stevens; conversations with the cast; a talk with writers Trent Haaga and David Chirchirillo; and an interview with SFX artist Hugo Villasenor. There’s also a 2013 Fantastic Film Festival segment, the trailer, production photos, and booklet notes from Heather Wixson and Matt Donato.

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Also New on 4K UHD

HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER’S APOCALYPSE 4K UHD (96 mins., 1991, R; Lionsgate): Classic documentary account of the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” rich with production footage and candid interviews, has landed on 4K UHD in a no-frills but quality presentation from Lionsgate.

Eleanor Coppola shot miles of footage during the turbulent production of her husband Francis’ 1979 epic, which Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper fashioned into an acclaimed 1991 documentary feature. The resulting film earned numerous kudos in the early ‘90s though became difficult to find for a while, at least until “Apocalypse Now” debuted on DVD.

Lionsgate’s standalone 4K UHD of “Hearts of Darkness” sports Dolby Vision HDR (1.37) and 5.1 DTS MA sound, plus a 37-minute Making Of and a Digital HD code. Note the Studio Canal overseas release incorporates ample archival extras not carried over to this rather spartan, if technically sound, presentation.

AWAKENINGS 4K UHD (121 mins., 1990, PG-13; Sony): Well-acted drama – the kind of Hollywood “Oscar bait” studios once produced with big stars – stars Robert DeNiro as a catatonic patient awakened by a neurologist (Robin Williams) who attempts to help him and others with the use of a new drug. Oscar winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian adapted doctor Oliver Sacks’ non-fiction book for this dramatized version awash with artists behind the scenes, from cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek to Anton Furst’s production design and a Randy Newman score. While Penny Marshall’s direction mostly just lets the performances shape the narrative, there’s a sense of restraint here – arguably too much, since the movie feels overly clinical at times – that makes “Awakenings” worth a revisit. Sony’s 4K UHD (1.85, Dolby Atmos) includes one of the studio’s patented, dynamic Dolby Vision HDR presentations with archival interviews and a featurette included plus a Digital HD code.

THUNDERHEART 4K UHD (119 mins., 1992, R; Sony): Slow-moving drama set on a South Dakota Indian reservation, where the FBI sends one of its agents (Val Kilmer) with mixed heritage to investigate the murder of a tribal council member. “Thunderheart” was produced by Robert DeNiro, scripted by John Fusco (the “Young Guns” films) and directed by Michael Apted, who brought along a peerless production team including cinematographer Roger Deakins and James Horner to score the film. Despite all of that – and a great cast with Sam Shepard, Fred Ward and Graham Greene backing up Kilmer – the end result is a plodding, downbeat film that never captivates the viewer, bogged down in socio-political commentary with a mystery that’s just not interesting. “Thunderheart” debuts on 4K UHD (1.85) with Dolby Vision HDR and 5.1 DTS MA audio, plus a digital HD code, commentary by Fusco, the trailer, and archival cast/crew interviews.

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Warner Archive New Releases

MANHATTAN MELODRAMA Blu-Ray (93 mins., 1934): Boyhood buddies end up on opposite sites of the law, with Clark Gable the gangster and William Powell the D.A., both of whom covet leading lady Myrna Loy, in this classy MGM production with a powerhouse cast and as much talent behind the scenes, thanks to the involvement of producer David O. Selznick, director W.S. Van Dyke, and writers Olvier H.P. Garrett and Joseph L. Mankiewicz working off an Oscar-winning original story by Arthur Caesar. Warner Archive’s restoration (1.37 B&W, DTS MA mono) of “Manhattan Melodrama” offers a rich B&W transfer with two MGM shorts, the trailer, and a 1940 Lux Radio Theater broadcast with Powell and Loy from 1940, by which point the duo were firmly entrenched in their “Thin Man” series (along with director Van Dyke).

THE MAD MISS MANTON Blu-Ray (80 mins., 1938): Barbara Stanwyck vehicle finds the star essaying the title role – a free-wheeling heiress whose comic adventures turn more serious after she and her friends stumble onto an actual murder with a killer still on the loose. Henry Fonda is the reporter who helps her out – and then falls for her – in a mix of suspense-thriller, romance and comedy that’s enjoyably played by its stars. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.37, DTS MA mono) sports a good-looking HD master of this RKO release with two classic cartoons and the trailer included for good measure.

ON BORROWED TIME Blu-Ray (99 mins., 1939): Paul Osborn’s hit Broadway play became a successful MGM movie adaptation with Lionel Barrymore playing “Gramps,” who uses magic to trap Death (Cedric Hardwicke) in a tree, thereby allowing him to continue raising his grandson…but at a cost to those about to willingly become the dearly departed. Fantasy, comedy and some pathos mix in this brilliantly cast picture, with Beulah Bondi, Una Merkel, and Henry Travers backing up old pros Barrymore and Hardwicke under Clarence Brown’s direction. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.37 B&W, DTS MA mono) sports a 1946 Screen Guild Theater broadcast with Barrymore plus a 1948 Boris Karloff rendition; a MGM Fitzpatrick Traveltalks short and cartoon; and the trailer.

VALLEY OF DECISION Blu-Ray (119 mins., 1945): Quite entertaining, solid period drama set in 1873 Pittsburgh where the son (Gregory Peck) of a steel mill owner falls for an Irish housemaid (Greer Garson) before a strike threatens both them and the very business that backs the city. A quality MGM production from the Golden Age with Donald Crisp, Lionel Barrymore, Reginald Owen, Dan Duryea and Jessica Tandy among the familiar faces in the supporting cast. Warner Archive’s restoration (1.37 B&W, mono) is fresh and highly detailed with a Lux Radio Theater broadcast (featuring Garson and Peck), an MGM cartoon and short subject, and the trailer rounding out the release.

LOVELY TO LOOK AT Blu-Ray (122 mins., 1952): Second MGM version of the musical “Roberta” reprises the Jerome Kern songs as aspiring Broadway producers Red Skelton, Howard Keel and Gower Champion opt to sell off Red’s interest in a Parisian dress salon presided over by Kathryn Grayson and Marge Champion. Vincente Minnelli helmed the central fashion sequence while Carmen Dragon and Saul Chaplin’s musical direction reprises old hits “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “I Won’t Dance” – it all results in a breezy though not especially memorable MGM musical from the studio’s heyday. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.37, 2.0 DTS MA mono) boasts a Tom & Jerry cartoon, Pete Smith specialty short, and the trailer.

I LOVE MELVIN Blu-Ray (87 mins., 1953): “Singin’ in the Rain” stars Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds are reunited in this terrific MGM musical with O’Connor playing a would-be photographer who convinces budding Broadway performer Reynolds he can position her into a Look magazine spread. Shenanigans ensue with actual Manhattan locales adding to the fun of this short, sweet little confection. Warner Archive’s Blu-Ray (1.37, DTS MA mono) includes a deleted musical sequence, “A Lady Loves,” which offers an alternate version of the finale, plus two MGM cartoons and the trailer.

INTERRUPTED MELODY Blu-Ray (106 mins., 1955): Glossy Cinemascope trappings help sell this workmanlike biopic of Australian opera star Majorie Lawrence, who belts out Wagner with little resistance but finds herself at a much bigger battle backstage, waging a fight against polio. Eleanor Parker is excellent as Lawrence opposite Glenn Ford and Roger Moore in this widescreen drama with Eileen Farrell providing the operatic renditions of Lawrence’s performances. A dynamic 2.55 transfer and 2.0 stereo soundtrack make for a robust Warner Archive Blu-Ray, the disc also including a Cinemascope cartoon and the trailer.

Hanna-Barbera Classics: Warner Archive continues to mine the vaults of prolific animators Hanna-Barbera and their TV output in particular. New to Blu-Ray are two such high-definition restored series: LIPPY THE LION AND HARDY HAR HAR (267 mins., 1962-63) were two of the duo’s odd pairings, with Daws Butler’s good-natured Lippy paired with Mel Blanc’s Hardy, a hyena minus a sense of humor. Their assorted adventures came in a variety of settings, all 52 episodes of which are collected in a double-disc Blu-Ray (1.37, DTS MA mono) now available from Warner Archive.

Arguably better known and hailing from the same season is WALLY GATOR (267 mins., 1962-63), with the title character – a zoo gator (again voiced by Daws Butler) who enjoys breaking out from his confines, much to the chagrin of his zookeeper (voiced by Don Messick), from which he gets into a succession of misadventures. 52 more episodes are included in Warner’s double-disc Blu-Ray (1.37, 2.0 DTS MA mono), which like “Lippy,” offers crisp HD remastered transfers from the best-available film elements.

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On Blu-Ray

Radiance New Releases: Lino Ventura plays an inspector tasked with solving a series of killings of Supreme Court judges in director Francesco Rosi’s ILLUSTRIOUS CORPSES (121 mins., 1976), an Italian political thriller that backs Ventura with an ace supporting cast including Fernando Rey and Max Von Sydow. Radiance’s Blu-Ray (1.85, Italian mono) sports an MGM-licensed 4K remaster produced by the Cineteca Di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata; extras include a commentary by Alex Cox, archival interviews with Rosi and Ventura, and a new talk with Rosi author Gaetana Marrone. Available late this month, Radiance’s Limited Edition also sports writing on the picture from critic Michael Atkinson and archival writing, newly translated, by the director.

Also coming soon from Radiance is Tai Kato’s BLOOD OF REVENGE (90 mins., 1965), a taut Japanese period piece set in 1907 Osaka, where good cop Koji Tsuruta has to take on a Yakuza gang infiltrating turf already occupied in the construction business by one of the group’s rivals. A highly-regarded Yakuza thriller shot in full color scope and presented here in a dynamic looking Radiance Blu-Ray release (2.39, Japanese mono) with supplements including a 1943 short by the director; a new visual essay on the movie by Mark Schilling; and a limited edition booklet with an essay from Earl Jackson included.

Now available from Radiance, SPLENDID OUTING (94 mins., 1978) is a striking work from Korean director Kim Soo-Yong, following a tycoon who heads to the ocean where she’s kidnapped and coerced into living as the runaway wife of a deranged fisherman. A strange, dreamy meditation on success, modern living, and life in (then) contemporary Korea, “Splendid Outing” has made its world Blu-Ray premiere from Radiance (2.35, Korean mono) with a fresh 4K remaster by the Korean Film Archive. Supplements include a new appreciation from director Lee Chang-Dong; a new interview with assistant director Chung Ji-Young; a commentary by Ariel Schudson; a visual essay by Pierce Conran; and writing from Conran and Chionghwa Chung and an archival piece from the director.

Hong Kong Favorites: In ON THE RUN (89 mins., 1988), Hong Kong superstar Yuen Biao plays a cop who uncovers corruption in his job after his wife’s murder; Pat Ha, meanwhile, essays the hit man who forms an unlikely alliance with Baio’s Heung Ming in a successful modern thriller from director Alfred Cheung. 88 Films’ Blu-Ray boasts a new 2K transfer (1.85) with Cantonese mono audio and English subtitles; commentaries from both Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillion, plus Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto; interviews with Cheung and David West; an alternate ending; trailer; and reversible sleeve with new art by Sean Longmore.

Eureka Classics’ KING OF BEGGARS (100 mins., 1992) Limited Edition makes its Blu-Ray premiere on January 27^th. This early work from star Stephen Chow is instrumental in illustrating Hong Kong’s move in martial arts cinema away from the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li and towards Chow, a skilled martial artist also renowned for his comedic skills – something on full display in “King of Beggars,” a 1992 picture that provides Chow the plum role of martial arts folk hero So Chan. Remastered in 2K by Fortune Star, the movie hits Blu-Ray (1.85) with Cantonese stereo audio or a mono English dub; a new commentary by genre authority Frank Djeng; a new interview with director Gordon Chan; and a video essay by Gary Bettinson. Eureka’s slipcover-encased Limited Edition also sports fresh booklet notes on the director – and movie – from critic Andy Willis.

FALLING SKIES: The Complete Series Blu-Ray (2011-15; Warner): Mostly enjoyable variation on “War of the Worlds” from executive producer Steven Spielberg finds a group of survivors struggling to maintain their existence in a post-alien invasion Boston. Noah Wylie stars as one of the de facto leaders of a resistance movement intended to stop the aliens, who mostly leave the deserted suburban areas of Massachusetts alone outside of occasional patrols, but who also abduct younger humans for their own reasons. Wylie often clashes with military veteran Will Patton over balancing the group’s safety with trying to make a dent against the extraterrestrials, all the while taking care of his family, including three young sons.

Wylie, so good for many years as John Carter on “ER” (and once again terrific on celebrated new HBO series “The Pitt”) makes for a perfect everyman – a professor reluctantly thrust into battle, who often finds himself reflecting on the group’s predicament in the context of history – and he’s matched by a fine supporting cast including Patton, Moon Bloodgood  and Sarah Carter. Fine special effects and a satisfying mix of sci-fi action and human drama make “Falling Skies” well worth checking out, though rigor mortis does, eventually, set in during the series’ fourth and fifth seasons. Falling back on standard-issue genre tropes like half-breed alien kids with accelerated aging (shades of “V”), the final two seasons of “Falling Skies” are a big comedown from the series’ first two, terrific seasons, though the cast remains appealing.

Warner’s Complete Series Blu-Ray houses all five seasons (2011-15) of the TNT series in 1080p (1.78) transfers with 5.1 DTS MA sound and all the legacy extras from the show’s individual season releases (check the Aisle Seat archives for reviews of some, if not all, of those!).

SHAMELESS: The Complete Series Blu-Ray (2011-21; Warner): The trials and tribulations of the Gallagher clan were chronicled in the long-running Showtime series starring William H. Macy and an ensemble cast, led by Emmy Rossum, that generated big laughs with a dose of drama to match. Set on Chicago’s south side, Frank (Macy) is a bit of a louse whose kids often fend for themselves, which they do in a raunchy, flavorful show which generated a solid amount of fans throughout its nearly decade-long run. All of its episodes have been collected on Blu-Ray by Warner with 1.78 transfers, 5.1 DTS MA soundtracks, featurettes, commentaries, unaired scenes, a music video, and other extras from its assorted season releases (check out the Archives pages for those individual reviews when I ran them).

Troma New Releases: Two archival releases from Troma hit Blu-Ray on January 20th. LUTHER THE GEEK (80 mins., 1989) is a grizzly affair chronicling a psychotic killer with mental dentures who takes a young mother hostage in an isolated farmhouse. A commentary by director Carlton J. Albright is included plus cast/crew interviews and an intro from Albright and Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman in the label’s upcoming Blu-Ray (1.85, mono). More entertaining is FRIGHTMARE (86 mins., 1983), the story of a horror actor (Ferdy Mayne) who dies and a group of drama students who become aware, very quickly, that stealing his corpse wasn’t a good idea. This early ’80s effort lands on Blu-Ray with an intro from Lloyd Kaufman and Debbie Rechon, multiple commentaries, interviews and more (1.85, mono).

VAMPIRE ZOMBIES …FROM SPACE! Blu-Ray (98 mins., 2026; Cleopatra): Homage to the likes of “Plan Nine From Outer Space” – shot in black-and-white with appropriate affection by director Mike Stasko and crew – finds Dracula focusing on a small town in 1957 U.S.A. where he promptly raises an army of undead zombies…from space! Some stronger gore than you’d see in an Ed Wood opus does crop up but this is an agreeable independent film paying homage to the hokey shenanigans of the past with cameos to spare. Cleopatra’s Blu-Ray includes commentary, deleted scenes, promo clips, a 1080p transfer and 5.1/2.0 sound.

NEXT TIME: Kino Lorber’s new year kicks off in style! 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!