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Headsup: Popeye, Perry, and the Prince

Disclaimer: Warner Brothers Home Entertainment requests that we note it provided a free copy of Perry Mason: The Complete First Season for review purposes. The opinions I share are my own.

Collateral 4k“[In Collateral], Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a cool, calculating contract killer at the top of his game. Max (Jamie Foxx) is a hapless cabbie with big dreams and little to show for it. Now, Max has to transport Vincent on his next job — one night, five stops, five hits and a getaway. And after this fateful night, neither man will ever be the same again.” — Paramount

Collateral is being released on 4K UHD for the first time on December 8. The set includes a digital copy of the film along with a handful of extras — a commentary by director Michael Mann, behind-the-scenes featurettes, video of Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx rehearsing, examinations of the special effects and shooting on location, and a deleted scene with commentary. Fans can pre-order the 4K edition on Amazon, currently priced at $22.99.

Top Gun steelbook“The story of an elite group of pilots competing to earn the title of ‘Top Gun’ captured the imagination of moviegoers upon its release, ultimately earning a worldwide box office of over $350 million. Tom Cruise is superb as the talented pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, a daring young flyer who’s out to become the best of the best. Featuring a sensational soundtrack with unforgettable songs including Berlin’s ‘Take My Breath Away,’ which won the Academy Award® for Best Music, Original Song, and Kenny Loggins’ ‘Danger Zone,’ the film also stars Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan.” — from Paramount

Coming out on December 1st, the cult classic Top Gun is being released in a limited edition steelbook 4K UHD / Blu-ray combo set. Bonus features are spread across the two formats and include audio commentary (with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, co-screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr., and naval experts), a five-part feature about the film’s casting, score, production, anecdotes, and more, multi-angle storyboards with optional commentary by director Tony Scott, making-of featurettes, and music videos. It’s important to note that these are the same bonus features that appear on the Blu-ray release from earlier this year, so if you happen to have already purchased that, be aware that the value in this version lies in its 4K UHD presentation and steelbook packaging. The set is available now on Amazon for pre-ordering at a price point of $24.99.

Coming to America 4K“Join Eddie Murphy on an unforgettable comic quest to the New World. As an African prince, it’s time for him to find a princess… and the mission leads him and his most loyal friend (Arsenio Hall) to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince quickly finds himself a new job, new friends, new digs, new enemies and lots of trouble. Keep an eye out for both Murphy and Hall in some unforgettable cameo roles!” — from Paramount

Newly remastered in 4K with HDR from a supervised restoration by director John Landis, Coming to America is coming out just in time for holiday gifting. Bonus content includes making-of featurettes about the writing, costumes, makeup, music, etc. that went into making the film, a 1989 interview with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, and a photo gallery. This is the same bonus content featured on previous releases, but for mega fans who already have it on the shelf, the new HDR restoration may be worth another purchase. If that’s you, you can grab it on Amazon for the relatively low pre-order price of $19.96.

Beverly Hills Cop 4kBeverly Hills Cop follows the one-and-only Axel Foley, a street-smart cop from Detroit. Tracking down his best friend’s killer in Beverly Hills, Axel smashes through the local barriers in a hilarious, high-speed pursuit of justice.” — from Paramount

A fan favorite that spawned two sequels (and perhaps a third if rumors from Paramount / Netflix are true), Beverly Hills Cop will be available in a newly remastered 4K / Blu-ray combo pack on December 1. Extras include commentary by director Martin Brest, featurettes on the production, casting, and music, interviews from 1984, deleted scenes, an isolated audio track of the original score by Harold Faltermeyer, and a “virtual mixtape” which allows viewers to go directly to the scenes featuring the hit songs “The Heat Is On,” “Neutron Dance,” “New Attitude,” “Stir It Up,” “Do You Really,” and “Nasty Girl.” Like the sets featured above, the extras on this release are all previously released content, so make sure to factor that in when making purchase decisions. Amazon has the set on offer for $19.96 to pre-order.

Golden Child Blu-ray“Eddie Murphy is ‘the Chosen One,’ a social worker on a madcap mission to find ‘the Golden Child,’ a young boy possessing mystical powers. Joined by Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis), they’ll battle the countless henchmen of Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance), the mysterious and evil cult leader holding the boy captive. It’s a dangerous quest, complete with obstacle courses and a mythical amulet, sharply combining Murphy’s wit with eye-popping special effects for an unforgettable adventure.” — from Paramount

Newly remastered from a 4K film transfer under the supervision of director Michael Ritchie, The Golden Child is being released on Blu-ray for the first time. Extras on this one are limited to a (new) making-of featurette, but the limited-edition Blu-ray does feature collectible packaging that includes a foldout image of the film’s theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments. Those looking to pre-order for the December 1 release can do so on Amazon for $22.99.

Trading Places blu-ray“[In Trading Places,] the very rich and extremely greedy Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) wager over whether ‘born-loser’ Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) could become as successful as the priggish Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Akroyd) if circumstances were reversed. Alongside the street-smarts of Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), Winthorpe and Valentine are a trio ready for a riotous revenge that culminates on the commodities trading floor in New York City.”

Trading Places rounds out the Paramount Presents Collection with its December 1 release of a newly-remastered Blu-ray, sourced from a 4K film transfer supervised by director John Landis. New bonus content is limited to a Filmmaker Focus with Landis, though some previously released extras are included as well in the form of featurettes covering costumes and a talk with commodities brokers, behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew, portions of a 1983 press junket in the UK, a deleted scene, and an industry promotional piece. If you don’t have this one on your shelf, it’s a particularly delightful film to watch / gift for the holidays– you can put in a pre-order on Amazon for the new release for $22.99.

Popeye blu-ray“The legendary, beloved anvil-armed sailor of the seven seas comes magically to life in a delightful musical, starring Robin Williams as Popeye, directed by Robert Altman (Nashville). Shelley Duvall is Popeye’s devoted long-limbed sweetie, Olive Oyl, one of many lovable characters who join the ‘sailor man’ in his adventures in the harbor town of Sweethaven.” — from Paramount

Popeye: The 40th Anniversary Edition will be released for the first time ever on Blu-ray on December 1. The film comes with nearly 30 minutes of all-new bonus content featuring excerpts from one of Robin Williams’ final interviews, a 2014 interview with director Robert Altman, a new interview with Stephen Altman, and more. Fans who want to jump on the pre-ordering bandwagon can snag a copy on Amazon for just $9.99.

Perry Mason First Season DVDPerry Mason: The Complete First Season follows the origins of American fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.” — from Warner Brothers

Perry Mason: The Complete First Season is coming to Blu-ray and DVD December 1. The set features all eight episodes of Season One along with a little over fifteen minutes of bonus content, including an interview with Robert Downey Jr. and wife / co-executive producer Susan Downey and another with Downey and series star Matthew Rhys, along with featurettes introducing / examining the show’s characters. You can pre-order both the DVD and the Blu-ray on Amazon, for $19.99 and $24.99 respectively.