New Blu-ray and DVD releases: The latest, greatest movies to enjoy on disc

While streaming and digital movies seem to be at the forefront of home entertainment, this is a great time for disc aficionados, especially Blu-ray fans. Companies like the Criterion Collection, Arrow, Kino Lorber, Shout! Factory, and Olive Films are putting out the highest-quality transfers of great titles, often featuring an astounding array of extras.

For your viewing pleasure, here are our recommendations for some of the latest new releases on DVD and Blu-ray. 

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Universal

Unquestionably one of the essential movies of 2018, BlacKkKlansman, by  director Spike Lee, tells the incredible true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington, the son of Denzel), a Colorado Springs Police Detective who manages to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan with the help of fellow officer “Flip” Zimmerman (Adam Driver), and even attracts the attention of Klan leader David Duke (Topher Grace). Lee uses imagery from The Birth of a Nation, Gone with the Wind, ‘70s “Blaxploitation” films, and more to create an almost personal-essay approach to his narrative; it’s filled with ideas and relevant themes, while never forsaking the story or characters.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 6
• Company: Universal
• Audio: Dolby Atmos (English), Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Spanish), Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 (French)
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Running time: 135 minutes
• MPAA rating: R for language throughout, including racial epithets, and for disturbing/violent material and some sexual references
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: Sold separately
• 4K: Sold separately
• Bonus features: Short featurette “A Spike Lee Joint,” Extended Trailer Featuring Prince’s “Mary Don’t You Weep.”
• SRP: $29.98

Blindspotting (2018)

Lionsgate

One of several recent movies filmed in Oakland, California, the funny, poignant, plucky Blindspotting stars, and was co-written by Daveed Diggs (of Broadway’s Hamilton) and Rafael Casal. Collin (Diggs) has only three days left of his parole and wants to stay out of trouble. But on the way home one night, he witnesses a white cop shooting an unarmed black man. At the same time, his unpredictable best friend Miles (Casal) has purchased a gun. While they work days at a moving company, their city’s personality is everywhere, from gentrification to racism and violence. The movie’s humor eventually peters out—it goes from big laughs to no laughs—but otherwise it’s a constantly surprising, thoughtful movie.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 20
• Company: Lionsgate
• Audio: Dolby Atmos (English); Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (English); Dolby Digital 5.1 (Spanish)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Running time: 95 minutes
• MPAA rating: R for language throughout, some brutal violence, sexual references and drug use
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: Yes
• 4K: No
• Bonus features: Commentary track with director Carlos López Estrada; commentary track with actors/writers Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs; making-of featurette “Straight from the Town” (26 mins.); deleted scenes (6 mins.); featurette “Carlos López Estrada: A Director’s Diary” (17 mins.)
• SRP: $14.96

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Warner Home Video

The first Hollywood film in decades to incorporate an all-Asian cast, the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians spoke to audiences in a big way, and became a huge hit. It’s very conventional, but also quite charming, often funny, and lovely to look at, both in the beautiful cast and in the gorgeous, opulent sets and locations. The plot has Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) heading to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) for a wedding; the catch is that she has no idea he’s super-rich and will have to deal with his traditional, inflexible family. Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and Ken Jeong are among the huge cast. Jon M. Chu directed, from a novel by Kevin Kwan.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 20
• Company: Warner Home Video
• Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish, French, English Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Running time: 120 minutes
• MPAA rating: PG-13 for some suggestive content and language
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: Yes
• 4K: Available separately
• Bonus features: Commentary by director Jon M. Chu and novelist Kevin Kwan; behind-the-scenes featurette “Crazy Rich Fun” (7 mins.); deleted scenes (12 mins.); gag reel (2 mins.)
• SRP: $35.99

Gosford Park (2001)

Arrow Films

One of Robert Altman’s best and most successful movies, Gosford Park (2001) looks at first glance to be another one of those movies wherein lots of English actors sit around rooms and talk to each other. Instead, this movie is playful and twisted in the most interesting ways; it’s a murder mystery with a bumbling detective (Stephen Fry) and an American crime writer (Bob Balaban) as characters, as well as an astounding cast of legendary thespians (Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly MacDonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Maggie Smith, Kirsten Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson among them); some play servants, some play the upper crust, and all are assembled for a weekend shooting party at a country estate. This skewering of polite class dramas earned seven Oscar nominations and won for its screenplay.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 27
• Company: Arrow Films
• Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Running time: 138 minutes
• MPAA rating: R for some language and brief sexuality
• Digital copy: No
• DVD: No
• 4K: No
• Bonus features: Brand-new 2K restoration from a 4K scan supervised and approved by director of photography Andrew Dunn; audio commentary by director Robert Altman, production designer Stephen Altman, and producer David Levy; audio commentary by writer-producer Julian Fellowes; brand-new audio commentary by critics Geoff Andrew and David Thompson; introduction by critic Geoff Andrew; brand-new cast and crew interviews recorded exclusively for this release; “The Making of Gosford Park” archive featurette; “Keeping Gosford Park Authentic” archive featurette; Q&A session with Altman and the cast; fifteen deleted scenes with optional Altman commentary; trailer; reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin.
• SRP: $34.95

Incredibles 2 (2018)

Disney

Coming a full 14 years after the original film, Incredibles 2 amazingly picks up at the moment the last one left off. After destroying half the city battling the Underminer, the heroes are again in the doghouse, but a telecommunications man (voiced by Bob Odenkirk) and his inventor sister (voiced by Catherine Keener) have plan to win back the public. It involves Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) going out and fighting crime, while Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) staying home and taking care of the kids. And, surprise! Jack-Jack has manifested powers! Writer and director Brad Bird’s storytelling is smooth and exciting, while remaining relevant to the times; it ranks with the best of the Pixar films.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 6
• Company: Disney
• Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (English), DTS-HD HR 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French & Spanish)
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
• Running time: 118 minutes
• MPAA rating: PG for action sequences and some brief mild language
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: Yes
• 4K: Yes (Available separately)
• Bonus features: Commentary track with director Brad Bird; short films “BOA” and “Auntie Edna”; featurette “Strong Coffee: A Lesson in Animation with Brad Bird”; five-part featurette “Super Stuff,” “Paths to Pixar: Everyday Heroes,” “Superbaby,” “Ralph Eggleston: Production Designer,” and “Making BAO”; Featurette “Heroes & Villains”; deleted scenes; trailers & Promos.
• SRP: $39.99

Juliet, Naked (2018)

Lionsgate

Based on a novel by Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked further explores that territory between music and love, or, more specifically, men who know more about music than they do about love. Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) gets into a fight with his longtime girlfriend Annie (Rose Byrne) when she listens to an ultra-rare early recording of his favorite album—Juliet by Tucker Crowe—before he can. She posts a negative review of it online, it attracts the attention of Crowe (Ethan Hawke) himself, and they begin a touching new friendship. It’s all about music (as heard on vinyl and not streaming), memories, the past, the future, love, and friendship, and the filmmaking team—director Jesse Peretz and screenwriters Evgenia Peretz, Jim Taylor, and Tamara Jenkins—handles it all with maturity and a lightness of touch.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 13
• Company: Lionsgate
• Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Spanish)
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
• Running time: 97 minutes
• MPAA rating: R for language
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: No (available separately)
• 4K: No
• Bonus Features: Featurette: “Making ‘Juliet, Naked’” (10 mins.)
• SRP: $21.99

The Meg (2018)

Warner Home Video

Certainly it could have been much more, but if you sit down to a movie wherein Jason Statham battles a really, really big shark, and your expectations aren’t too high, The Meg delivers precisely what you think it will. A group of scientists excitedly prepare to explore a level of the ocean hidden by a layer of frozen gas, hoping to discover new secrets of life, but instead they uncover a monstrous megalodon, a prehistoric shark thought to be extinct. From there, it’s a series of daring rescues and insane plans to stop the monster before it devours everything in sight. The cool, multi-cultural cast includes Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Cliff Curtis.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 13
• Company: Warner Home Video
• Audio: Dolby Atmos (English); Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (English); DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English); Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish, Portuguese, English Descriptive)
• Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Running time: 113 minutes
• MPAA rating: PG-13 for action/peril, bloody images and some language
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: Yes
• 4K: Available separately
• Bonus features: Making-of featurette “Chomp on This” (12 mins.); behind-the-scenes featurettes “Creating the Beast” (10 mins.), “New Zealand Film Commission” (2 mins.)
• SRP: $35.99

Searching (2018)

Sony Pictures

Inspired by the horror movie Unfriended, which took place entirely on computer screens (using social media, video chats, text messages, streaming music, etc.), Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian’s Searching takes the concept even farther. It tells a gripping, and emotionally involving, story of a distraught father, David Kim (John Cho), trying to find his missing teen daughter Margot (Michelle La). The ingenious setup shows Margot’s growing up documented on older technology, which is upgraded as she ages. Now a teen, David realizes he barely knows her at all. Even as the characters are firmly rooted, the mystery itself is still surprisingly clever and snappy. Debra Messing co-stars as the detective on the case.

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 27
• Company: Sony Pictures
• Audio: TBA
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Running time: 102 minutes
• MPAA rating: PG-13 for thematic content, some drug and sexual references, and for language
• Digital copy: Yes
• DVD: Available separately
• 4K: No
• Bonus features: Audio Commentary with writer/director Aneesh Chaganty & co-screenwriter Sev Ohanian; featurettes “Changing the Language of Cinema,” “Update Username: Cast and Characters,” and “Searching for Easter Eggs.”
• SRP: $34.99

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Criterion Collection

This Billy Wilder classic comedy of cross-dressing and sexual confusion gets the Criterion treatment. Wilder and co-writer I.A.L. Diamond set the story of Some Like It Hot decades earlier, during prohibition and the age of gangsters; that and its black-and-white cinematography softened its subversiveness and made it feel like an old-fashioned screwball romp. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are jobless musicians that witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. To escape, they disguise themselves and join an all-women’s band, in which the voluptuous, irresistible Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) is the singer. In Florida, Lemmon attracts the attention of a smitten millionaire (Joe E. Wright), and Curtis jumps at the chance to himself pose as a millionaire to woo Sugar. These ridiculous twists are handled with a sure touch, and the laughs come easy. George Raft is memorable as the terrifying gangster “Spats.”

• Format: Blu-ray
• Release date: November 20
• Company: The Criterion Collection
• Audio: LPCM Mono (English) (Uncompressed)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Resolution: 1080p
• Region A
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Running time: 121 minutes
• MPAA rating: NR
• Digital copy: No
• DVD: Available separately
• 4K: No
• Bonus features: Audio commentary from 1989 featuring film scholar Howard Suber; new short program on Orry-Kelly’s costumes for the film, featuring costume designer and historian Deborah Nadoolman Landis and costume historian and archivist Larry McQueen; three behind-the-scenes documentaries; appearances by director Billy Wilder on The Dick Cavett Show from 1982; conversation from 2001 between actor Tony Curtis and film critic Leonard Maltin; French television interview from 1988 with actor Jack Lemmon; radio interview from 1955 with actor Marilyn Monroe; trailer; liner notes essay by author Sam Wasson.
• SRP: $39.95