Blu-ray Movie Reviews

What’s better than a movie on Blu-ray or 4K? How about a whole bunch of movies on Blu-ray and/or 4K, thoughtfully assembled with impressive A/V quality and copious bonus content? Some of these collections were obviously easier to configure, presenting as they do beloved movie series in their entirety, while others no doubt took a bit more effort to populate across a common theme, and we tip our summer bucket hats to the folks who made ‘em all happen.

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Battles Without Honor and Humanity The Complete Collection Blu-ray (Arrow)
The memoirs of real-life yakuza Kōzō Minō led to a string of magazine articles which in turn were adapted to the five films in this Japanese organized crime franchise, sometimes known outside Japan as The Yakuza Papers.

All were directed by Kinji Fukasaku in a relatively short window, between 1973 and 1974, but that didn’t stop them from being extremely popular with both audiences and critics as well as influential on the larger film genre.

The central character of Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara) was reportedly based on Minō, an ex-soldier who joins a powerful crime family in post-war Hiroshima. Their trials and tribulations take on an epic feel, spanning a number of years of brutal murder and infighting, often with an almost documentary-style objectivity. Arrow’s new box is a slightly pared-down version of their out-of-print 2015 Limited Edition, less the four-hour compilation movie and fancy book, but keeping the five core installments:

• Battles Without Honor and Humanity
• Hiroshima Death Match
• Proxy War
• Police Tactics
• Final Episode

Audio is the original Japanese, as uncompressed PCM mono, with optional English subtitles for all. Battles includes an expert commentary, with a smattering of interviews and featurettes with original creatives and others spread across the five platters, packed inside three cases each with reversible sleeve art.

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The Game of Clones Bruceploitation Collection, Vol. 1 Blu-ray (Severin Films)
The sudden passing of the one-of-a-kind global superstar Bruce Lee in 1973 left a void that gave rise to a vast and very specific sub-genre, dubbed “Bruceploitation.” The Dragon was irreplaceable, but that doesn’t mean that many filmmakers didn’t try to continue growing his canon, with talented lookalikes, laughably mismatched doppelgangers, and a series of films ranging from the satirical to genuinely solid martial arts extravaganzas.

Severin’s inspired set kicks off with David Gregory’s 2023 documentary feature, Enter the Clones of Bruce, which does a marvelous job putting into perspective the demand for more “Bruce” and the eagerness to capitalize on his posthumous popularity, giving rise to stars with names like Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Liang and Dragon Lee.

Not satisfied to port previous video masters onto Blu-ray, the boutique label is releasing these 14 movies in restorations from the best available original elements, paired up as a curated collection of double-feature discs:

• The Clones of Bruce Lee (1980)
• Enter Three Dragons (1978)
• Enter The Game of Death (1978)
• Good Bye, Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death (1975)
• The Dragon Lives Again (1977)
• Bruce and the Iron Finger (1977)
• Challenge of the Tiger (1980)
• Cameroon Connection (1984)
• Super Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1974)
• The Dragon Lives (1976)
• The Dragon, The Hero (1980)
• Rage of the Dragon (1980)
• The Black Dragon Vs. The Yellow Tiger (1974)
• The Big Boss Part II (1976)

That last one, a direct sequel to Bruce’s 1971 The Big Boss, is particularly noteworthy as it has never been available in any home entertainment format anywhere in the world.

The sheer quantity of supplementary material here is staggering, with most titles receiving at least a partial audio commentary, alongside extensive interviews and featurettes, in addition to an outstanding 100-page book inside the rigid slipcase. Were these movies simply giving the people what they wanted? Was there deception afoot? Maybe both? Regardless, the success was undeniable, providing enough material to fill this box… and Severin is only calling this “Volume 1”!

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Ocean's Trilogy 4K (Warner)
The caper movies comprising director Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Trilogy work, first and foremost, because they’re a lot of fun: I remember well the theatrical run of Eleven and the spirit-lifting escapism it brought, so soon after 9/11.

For those not familiar, these are the exploits of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) who, for different reasons each time, puts together a growing crew of crime bros for a series of elaborate, big-dollar heists that no one else would be crazy enough to attempt:

• Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
• Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
• Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)

Twelve sorta dropped the ball in a number of ways, not the least of which was the confusing, unfunny sub-plot about co-star Julia Roberts looking like “Julia Roberts,” who did not return for Thirteen, which reclaimed the crown and enabled the series to end on a high(er) note.

The 4K remasters for this set were personally overseen by Soderbergh while the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1--upgraded from the HD Blu-ray’s Dolby Digital--was similarly supervised by original re-recording sound mixer/sound editor Larry Blake. All three were shot on 35mm film and reveal exquisite detail and color, including of course the filters Mr. S favors to help achieve his signature look, and the restored 5.1 is the best I’ve heard any of these movies sound.

While 100% of the bonus content is derived from past editions, it is certainly plentiful, with some real gems to be (re)discovered. Each has a commentary from Soderberg with at least one co-pilot, while Eleven recruits Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia for a second track. (The three movies are also available individually as 4K steelbooks.)

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Rocky Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K (Warner)
When Warner released their “Knockout Collection” last year, many folks (me among them) wondered why they left out Rocky V and Balboa, the least-loved of the series but still conspicuous in their absence.

That set did however mark the arrival of the new Rocky Vs. Drago recut so we let it slide, but eagle-eyed-and-eared fans soon caught some audio and video glitches, which led to a disc replacement program. Thankfully, the studio has now addressed both the A/V quality and the missing installments with this new “Ultimate” box, which contains the corrected versions of I-IV, that same bonus platter as last time, plus the fifth and sixth Rockys at last:

• Rocky (1976)
• Rocky II (1979)
• Rocky III (1982)
• Rocky IV (1985)
• Rocky Vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut (2023)
• Rocky V (1990)
• Rocky Balboa (2006 theatrical and 2024 director’s cut)

Perhaps emboldened by the warm reaction to Rocky Vs. Drago, Stallone recently embarked upon a re-edit of Rocky Balboa, a film which represented his return to the director’s chair after 21 years… although the studio pressured him to cut it down to a lean 102 minutes for the theatrical release.

Now a more muscular narrative, particularly in terms of character with more than 10 minutes of reinstated/reworked scenes, it’s a more fitting sendoff for classic, pre-Creed Rocky, with most of the bonus content from the 2007 Balboa HD Blu-ray intact.

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The Nico Mastorakis Collection Limited Edition Blu-ray (Arrow)
B-movie maverick Nico Mastorakis might not be as well-known as Roger Corman or Samul Z. Arkoff, but the films he directed have been developing a loyal cult following since the VHS era, at times practically thumbing his nose at the Hollywood dream machine.

The Time Traveller (sic), a.k.a. The Next One, is the most serious of the bunch and the only one with any real names on the marquee, a sci-fi-romance-drama starring Keir Dullea and Adrienne Barbeau. The rest are light comedies; often set in Southern California but occasionally in his native Greece, which makes for some picturesque backdrops; and inspired by his contemporary box office competition (Police Academy) and even the classics (Some Like It Hot). But mostly we’re talkin’ wacky misadventures, the occasional pleasant surprise from a future biggie (a young Hans Zimmer scored Terminal Exposure) and later a glut of goofy cameos.

Here’s the full lineup:

• The Time Traveller (1984)
• Sky High (1985)
• Terminal Exposure (1987)
• Glitch! (1988)
• Ninja Academy (1989)
• The Naked Truth (1992)

Working with high-definition masters provided by Nico himself, Arrow delivers enjoyable video for all, paired with remixed 5.1 for every film—except Terminal Exposure—alongside the original stereo. The slipcased, thick cardboard box is filled with three double-feature discs, each in a case with reversible cover art to showcase whichever of each pair we prefer, and the design of the entire package is quite colorful and fun. A slim booklet is tucked inside, and the on-disc extras consist primarily of new on-camera interviews: detailed reflections on every title by Mr. Mastorakis plus star Dan Hirsch on Sky High and actor/martial artist Gerlad Okamura on Ninja Academy.

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Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Trilogy 4K (Shout! Studios)
I still can’t believe that Neo/John Wick came back to reprise a comedy role he left behind 29 years earlier, but it just goes to show what a mensch the iconic Keanu Reeves truly is.

Shout’s highly recommended set marks the first time all three of the movies are available together in 4K, and the first time ever in 4K for the second and third, boasting a new 4K scan of Bogus Journey’s 35mm negative and a new 4K remaster of the digital intermediate for Face the Music, all with Dolby Vision high dynamic range and DTS-HD Master Audio:

• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
• Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
• Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

It all begins simply enough for William and Theodore (Alex Winter and Keanu), a pair of lovable oafs--oaves?--who meet a time traveler (George Carlin) who informs them of the tremendous impact they will have on the future, if only they can pass history class by writing a killer report right now.

And so they set off in a centuries-hopping phone booth to meet key historical figures for some eye-opening first-hand education. There’s soon more nuttiness from the future as robot doppelgangers kill our heroes (really) and they need to escape the Bogus afterlife and get back their old lives in order to reunite with their fiancés and fulfill their destiny. Music finds their lives falling apart as they have still failed to write the fabled song that will unify the world in utopian bliss, and drastic measures are required to set the universe right once and for all.

A vast assortment of legacy bonus content spans the trilogy (#3 is a little sparse) on both the included 4K and HD Blu-ray discs, notably twin commentaries on each of the first two movies.