Michael Mann’s Heat and Jan De Bont’s Speed are both heading to 4K disc from Disney, it’s been revealed – more details here.
You might recall a story landing last year, that suggested that Disney – with its priorities now fixed on its Disney+ streaming service – was to stop issuing catalogue titles on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format. In fact, the story ran that fresh catalogue discs on Blu-ray and DVD too were likely to be a no-no as well. And given that Disney owns the Fox library, and that Fox had been one of the most ardent supports of 4K discs, this was something of a blow.
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Disney downplayed the reports at the time, and pressed ahead with its already-planned releases of Home Alone and Hocus Pocus last winter. Then: nothing for months.
But now reports from Europe and the US have revealed two major catalogue releases on the horizon.
The films are Speed starring Keanu Reeves, and Heat from Michael Mann, with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The latter has traditionally been a Warner Bros title in the UK, but it looks like the catalogue of production company Regency now sits with Fox, and as such with Disney.
In Germany at least, both titles are set for release at the end of May, and they’re due in America around the same time. It’s expected to be a matter of time before a UK release is confirmed.
This is terrific news not just because of the films themselves getting a 4K upgrade, but also because it opens the door again to a whole host of titles, not least the long in development high definition release of James Cameron’s The Abyss. Who knows, we might even get that this year?
More as we hear it.
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