On June 10th, the hacker bank heist thriller Swordfish from dynamic director Dominic Sena (Gone in 60 Seconds) makes its explosive debut on 4K UHD. The Limited Edition release features a 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), packed with bonus content.
Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman, Wolverine) is a major hacker on a strict parole that keeps him from going near a computer. He receives an outrageous offer from the elusive Gabriel Shear (John Travolta, Pulp Fiction) to join his covert organization that includes the fearsome Marco (Vinnie Jones, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and tempting Ginger (Halle Berry, X-Men). Swordfish is a massive blockbuster with all the fireworks and destruction you’d expect in a Joel Silver production. The film also stars Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2), Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff) and Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos).
The special features include audio commentary by director Dominic Sena; new interviews with co-composer and DJ Paul Oakenfold and production designer Jeff Mann; HBO First Look: Swordfish, a promotional featurette detailing how the film’s iconic climactic scene was created; Planet Rock Club Reel, a music video by Oakenfold; a featurette with interviews from cast and crew members, including actors Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, and Sam Shepard, director Dominic Sena, and producer Joel Silver; two alternate endings; the theatrical trailer; a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tommy Pocket; and an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Priscilla Page and an article from American Cinematographer about the film’s opening sequence.
Watch the trailer for Swordfish here:
On June 24, the science fiction film noir Dark City from acclaimed director Alex Proyas (The Crow) makes its global premiere on 4K UHD, and will also be available as a Limited Edition Blu-ray. The release features 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentations of both the theatrical release and the director’s cut in a new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negatives approved by director of photography Dariusz Wolski, and hours of special features.
John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell, A Knight’s Tale) wakes up in a hotel bathtub with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Even more disturbing is the sight of a dead body on the floor. The phone rings and the caller (Keifer Sutherland, The Lost Boys) tells him to leave the room immediately, which sends Murdoch on the run. Police inspector Frank Bumstead (William Hurt, Avengers: Endgame) suspects Murdoch is a serial killer, but this is more than a murder mystery. In his confused state of mind, Murdoch notices how the city changes when the clock hits midnight. The only thing constant is the eternal night. The ominous strangers in black outfits are behind the metamorphosis, including Mr. Hand (Richard O’Brien, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), who wants Murdoch to go to sleep like the rest of the city’s residents. Dark City is a visually stunning film that takes the conventions of classic film noir to an imaginative and fascinating alternate reality.
The special features include a 60-page perfect bound collectors book featuring new writing by author Richard Kadrey, and film critics Sabina Stent, Virat Nehru and Martyn Pedler; and a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork. The director’s cut has brand new audio commentaries by director Alex Proyas, Craig Anderson, Bruce Isaacs, and Herschel Isaacs; archival audio commentaries by director Alex Proyas, film critic Roger Ebert, writers Lem Dobbs, and David S. Goyer; an archival introduction by Alex Proyas; a new hour-long documentary with interviews, including director Alex Proyas, producer Andrew Mason, production designers Patrick Tatopoulos and George Liddle, costume designer Liz Keough, and storyboard artist Peter Pound; visual essays by film scholar Alexandra West and Josh Nelson on film noir, and design and storyboards. The theatrical cut includes archival audio commentaries by director Alex Proyas, writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer, director of photography Dariusz Wolski, production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, and Roger Ebert; archival featurettes on the making of the film; the theatrical trailer; and an image gallery
Watch the trailer for Dark City here:
On June 24, the supernatural samurai film The Invisible Swordsman, from director Yoshiyuki Kuroda (Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare, Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven In Hell), is being released for the very first time for the home video market outside of Japan. The Limited Edition release features a 1080p high-definition transfer on Blu-ray with hours of special features.
Inept and bumbling man-child Sanshiro (Osamu Sakai, Zatoichi At Large) is a clumsy swordsman and wants to quit the kendo dojo, but his father is a respected samurai. After his father is murdered, Sanshiro knows he must get revenge, but he’s not exactly a fearsome warrior. When his father is being taken to the afterlife, a spectre gives Sanshiro an exotic recipe to make an invisibility potion. Can he uncover his father’s murderers when no one can see him? The film blends action-packed fantasy with the world of samurai, creating an unforgettable experience.
The special features include an audio commentary from author and Asian culture expert Jonathan Clements; film critic Kim Newman on the history of invisibility in cinema; an interview with film critic and Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp; an image gallery; and an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Zack Davisson.
Watch the trailer for The Invisible Swordsman here:
