“Celebrate the world’s most endearing slackers when WAYNE’S WORLD arrives in a Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook on February 1, 2022, just in time for the film’s 30th anniversary. Originally released on February 14, 1992, WAYNE’S WORLD marked the feature film debut of Wayne and Garth, the wildly popular characters originated by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. A hilarious send-up of pop culture, the film also features Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere, and Alice Cooper (we’re not worthy!).” — from Paramount
So yes, that’s right. Wayne’s World the movie is 30 years old. If you want to go and have a cry or get a drink, it’s cool. We’ll be here when you get back. Feel better? Great. The most exciting addition to the features available is the SteelBook that the Blu-Ray is available in, complete with scads of quotes from the film in case you needed to be reminded of them. Beyond that, the features are things we’ve seen before. The commentary from director Penelope Spheeris (The Decline of Western Civilization trilogy) is, well, worthy of listening to…or if you need to celebrate the 30th anniversary you could listen to it again (while you’re having your drink, perhaps). There’s also twenty-three minutes of cast and crew interviews, a digital copy of the film, and the trailer. If you don’t already it own it on Blu-Ray–or you’re one of those SteelBook fiends–then feel free to go for it. You can find it at Amazon here.
“Heels is a story about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack Spade (Stephen Amell) and Ace Space (Alexander Ludwig), war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, someone must play the good guy (Ludwig) and someone must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind. Executive produced by Primetime Emmy® nominee Mike O’Malley (2010, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, “Survivor’s Remorse”) and Academy Award® nominee Julie Yorn (2016, Best Picture, Hell or High Water), Heels is a bittersweet drama centered around the struggling family-owned Duffy Wrestling League, as two brothers and wrestling rivals grapple with their lives and the mistakes and decisions they’ve made in small-town Georgia.” — from Lionsgate
The Starz series Heels hits DVD with all eight episodes across two discs. And good news for fans of the show–a second season is coming with production on it starting this year. For those just wanting a copy of the show for their very own, this is the (only) way to snag it as there is no Blu-Ray release. Which is odd, since it was originally shown on Starz in HD…so be prepared for a reduction in quality if you are sensitive to things. And there’s nothing in the way of supplemental material here either. Which is a shame, because the wrestling matches obviously took work…so a behind the scenes regarding just one would be welcomed. Also, I’m sure they have wrestling consultants for the show…an interview with one of them would be pretty cool. Perhaps in the future. For now, you can snag the set on Amazon here.
“Federico Fellini, arguably the most popular Italian filmmaker of all time, had his biggest hit with this incredible international crossover. Both a critique of the culture of stardom and a look at the darkness beneath the seductive lifestyles of Rome’s rich, the film follows a notorious celebrity journalist over one crazy week. With iconic imagery, including the mesmerizing Trevi Fountain sequence, the movie has influenced generations of filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese. This Blu-ray contains the 4K digital restoration undertaken by the Cineteca di Bologna under the supervision of The Film Foundation.” — from Paramount
La Dolce Vita is hitting Blu-Ray from Paramount and the good news is it looks excellent because we’re talking about the 4K restored version (as they mention above). Also, Martin Scorsese was mentioned above and he’s responsible for the only extra: a new introduction from the director. The best audience for this new release are those who don’t want to spend the extra coin on the out of print Criterion edition (with its extra interviews and whatnot), but do want to see the film looking its best. You can find it over at Amazon.
“Snake Plissken is back, in the high-octane West Coast sequel to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK that returns Kurt Russell to the iconic role and filmmakers John Carpenter and Debra Hill for post-apocalyptic action. After a 9.6 quake levels most of Los Angeles, Snake is called to wade through the ruins to retrieve a doomsday device. Now, more explosive than ever on 4K Ultra HD, this outrageous thriller finds Snake surfing Wilshire Blvd., shooting hoops at the Coliseum, dive bombing the Happy Kingdom theme park, and mixing it up with a wild assortment of friends, fiends and foes from a supporting cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Pam Grier, Stacy Keach, Cliff Robertson and Bruce Campbell.” — from Paramount
So Escape from L.A. is hitting 4K Blu-Ray for the first time, and I can only assume that some of these 4K releases are like the Superbit titles of old…they forgo the special features (including those on the recent Collector’s Edition of this title) to draw you in with the super hi-def. Pretty sure they’ll eventually put everything on one release (30th anniversary in 2026 maybe?) but if you can’t wait to see it hi-def, then you are being paged. Grab it from Amazon here.
