STACK #182 Dec 2019

4K UHD HIGHLIGHTS

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4K UHD BEST-SELLERS for NOVEMBER 2019

DISCS OF THE MONTH SCARFACE

Now you’re talking to us, baby – this we like! Yes, we get to bring out our best (OK, worst) Al Pacino impersonations and snarl, “Say hello to my little friend!” once again as Brian De Palma’s legendary 1983 film Scarface hits home on the 4K Ultra HD format. The tale of Cuba’s Tony Montana (Pacino) and his rise in the Miami drug world promises to deliver us a newly-remastered, native 4K image, bolstered by the full HDR treatment. Audio won’t miss out on any of the impact, either, with a new DTS:X Master Audio affair set to make all the right noises. On top of the film promising to look absolutely the best that we’ve ever seen it, the 4K disc will also give us a special Scarface: 35th Anniversary Reunion featurette. Running just shy of 30 minutes, it reunites De Palma with actors Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer and Steven Bauer for all manner of discussion regarding the classic they created together. Out Dec 11 WATCHMEN As the HBO series takes over, it’s time to revisit the Zack Snyder movie take of the classic Alan Moore graphic novel. Set in 1985, many of society’s now outlawed superheroes find themselves in peril after one of their number, Comedian, is murdered. Vigilante Rorschach sets out to investigate, and ends up uncovering something that jeopardises not only superheroes, but the entire planet. Whether you’re already a fan of the movie or new to it, you’ll be wanting to stock up big time on munchies, as this mega 4K Ultra HD release – available exclusively at JB Hi-Fi – delivers the full-length ‘Ultimate Cut’ of the movie. At over three-and- a-half hours in length, it really is absolutely epic, delivering the original director’s cut of the film with the animated Tales of the Black Freighter storyline interwoven into proceedings. With HDR enhancement and Dolby TrueHD 5.1, this is a disc that all Watchmen aficionados really should watch out for. Out Dec 11

1 Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw 2 The Lion King (2019) 3 Spider-Man: Far from Home 4 The Lion King 2019 (JB Exclusive Steelbook) 5 Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw (JB Ex. Steelbook) 6 Alita: Battle Angel 7 Captain Marvel

8 Avengers: Endgame 9 John Wick: Chapter 3 10 Shazam!

January doesn’t usually deliver anything much in the way of back catalogue, and this one’s no exception. However, there are plenty of recent cinema releases arriving to keep our 4K addiction satiated. Towards the end of the month comes a trio of releases, starting with Ang Lee’s action-oozing tale of two Will Smiths, Gemini Man . Then there’s comedy added to the crazy action in Zombieland: Double Tap , the sequel that took ten years to arrive (but was worth the wait). If they’re a bit full-on for you, the fantasy world of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil just may do the trick. Ah, but undoubtedly the biggest new release of the month is Todd Phillips’ take on Batman’s nemesis in Joker . Grab that on 4K Ultra HD from January 8. COMING SOON

DID YOU MISS? THE SHINING It’s a month for classic movie quotes, as who’s ever been given a chance to forget Jack Nicholson’s maniacal “H-e- e-e-e-r-e‘s Johnny!”? Director Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s 1977 novel of the same name is much more than just the home of an eminently quotable quote though, it’s also regarded by many as a milestone in horror movie making – even if King himself doesn’t necessarily agree. Fans are in for a treat with this release, which offers a native 4K transfer featuring both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ visually, while

THE WIZARD OF OZ It’s the classic tale where Judy Garland gets a bump to the bonce and is whisked away to a colourful land full of good witches, bad witches, little folk and beings with missing bits. Whether you see it as a religious, political, feminist or other allegory, or simply as a fun bit of family film viewing, there’s something here for everybody. Celebrating its 80th anniversary, the tale of the wiz was carefully restored a few years back, and now it’s made its way to us in a lavish full 4K presentation, bolstered by both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ encoding.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Frank Capra’s feel-good masterpiece of 1946 came to 4K Ultra HD in the style that it deserves – and just in time for the holiday season! Yes, although it wasn’t made as a Christmas movie it’s come to represent the time for many, with its tale of a man who loses all hope, before some angelic intervention. A massive restoration project was undertaken to present the film in the best possible fashion, and it does not disappoint. A native, original ratio 4K transfer is aided by the careful addition of Dolby Vision, and the 4K disc also boasts just over 40 minutes of extras,

in the audio department a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix gets things done.

Meanwhile, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound is sure to blow you away…

including a look at the restoration process.

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DECEMBER 2019

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