Scream Factory have announced that the original Assault On Precinct 13 will be released on Blu-ray on November 19.
Directed by John Carpenter of Halloween fame, the movie was originally released in 1976, two years before Carpenter made Halloween. It is described in the release thusly: “Isolated and cut off from the city inside a soon-to-be-closed L.A. police station, a group of police officers and convicts must join forces to defend themselves against the gang called Street Thunder, who have taken a blood oath to kill someone trapped inside the precinct.”
Along with the film, the Assault On Precinct 13 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray will come with a collectible and reversable cover that, on one side, features new but retro-style artwork.
It will also feature other extras, but in the release it says, “Bonus extras for this collection are still in development. Final bonus features will be announced as they become available.”
Scream Factory have announced that they’ll release John Carpenter Presents Body Bags, a 1993 horror anthology film in the spirit of Creepshow, in a special edition DVD/Blu-ray combo pack on November 12.
According to the press release, the movie, “features John Carpenter as a creepy-looking coroner introducing a trilogy of blood-curdling tales: “The Gas Station” directed by Carpenter and starring Robert Carradine (Revenge of the Nerds) and Alex Datcher (Passenger 57); “Hair” also directed by Carpenter and starring Stacy Keach (The Bourne Legacy); and “Eye,” directed by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist) and starring Mark Hamill (Star Wars).”
“Young college student Anne ( Datcher) works the late shift at “The Gas Station” while a killer is on the loose. Then, middle-aged business man Richard Coberts (Keach) can’t stand the thought of losing his “Hair” and he’ll do anything to keep it. And finally, Brent Matthews (Hamill), a baseball player submits to an “Eye” transplant after he loses an eye in a car accident. After going through the revolutionary eye surgery, he ends up getting more than just his eye sight back.”
Along with the movie, the John Carpenter Presents Body Bags Collector’s Edition Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack will include the original trailer commentary by Carpenter and Carradine on “The Gas Station,” commentary by Carpenter and Keach on “Hair,” commentary “Eye” by producer Sandy King, and interviews with Carpenter, Keach, Carradine, and King.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment have announced that the first season of the sci-fi, er SyFy show Defiancewill be released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 15.
Along with the 13 episodes, Defiance: Season One will also include deleted scenes, a gag reel, digital copies of the episodes, two self-explanatory featurettes titled “Behind The Scenes With Jesse Rather” and “Making Definace,” and a third featurette, “Defiance: A Transmedia Revolution” about how the TV show and Defiancevideo game came together and work together.
Both the DVD and Blu-ray will also, for a limited time, come with collectible lenticular packaging.
While the announcement did not mention pricing for either edition, Amazon currently has the DVD available for preorder for $41.93 and the Blu-ray for $48.93.
BBC Home Video have announced that two vintage Doctor Who episodes will be released on DVD on September 17.
For fans of the old Doc, specifically the second one, Patrick Troughton, Doctor Who: The Ice Warriors has the spacey shamus landing on Earth to find its in the grips of a second ice age. But when scientists try to stop it, they discover an alien frozen in the ice and, of course, set him free (because, let’s be honest, if they hadn’t, this would’ve been a really short episode).
Criterion have announced that they will release Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman — a massive DVD/Blu-ray boxed set with the 25 Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973 — on November 26.
The collection, which will span 18 DVDs and 9 Blu-rays, marks the first time all 25 of these classic Zatoichi movies have been available in a single collection. It is the longest-running action series in Japanese film history (though this just begs the question, why did we never see Zatoichi Vs. Godzilla? Or Gozilla Vs. Zatoichi? Or Gozilla & Zatoichi Vs. The Smog Monster?).
deadmau5, the famed EDM artist, celebrity DJ, and lifelong Space Invaders fan — hence the large green Space Invaders tattoo on his neck — has announced that he’ll be creating exclusive merchandise based on the classic ’70s arcade game.
While nothing specific was announced, the press release did say that the merch would be “a lifestyle brand crossing a myriad of categories.”
Which probably means t-shirts and other stuff that feature both deadmau5’s look and the Space Invaders characters.
Blizzard have announced the first expansion for Diablo III, which they’re calling Reaper Of Souls (oooh, scary). Along with new places to explore, new people to kill, and new loot to, uh, loot from their dead bodies, the expansion will also add some new gameplay functionality.
The add-on centers around the character Malthael, the fallen Archangel of Wisdom, who disappeared after the events of Diablo II: Lord Of Destruction.
“In Reaper of Souls,” the announcement says, Malthael “returns as the Angel of Death and seizes the Black Soulstone, which contains the essence of the Prime Evil. It now falls to the players to track down Malthael and stop him before he unleashes irreversible havoc on the world. Fortunately, a new hero is ready to join the cause and bring Malthael to justice: The Crusader. Driven by a centuries-long quest to cleanse the corruption blighting their beloved Zakarum faith, Crusaders are warriors of righteousness who have been hardened through relentless, brutal combat with the foul evils plaguing eastern Sanctuary. In addition to wearing immensely heavy armor and wielding a wide range of cruel and punishing weapons, this new playable class in Reaper of Souls uses battle magic to strengthen allies and weaken foes. A natural walking tank, the Crusader adds power and versatility to any party of adventurers.”
In addition, Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls will also let people play as a Crusader, a new class, while the level cap for all classes will be raised to 70, with all classes getting new spells and/or abilities.
It also upgrades the Paragon progression system, adding “even more end-game character advancement and replayability,” as well as two new game modes called “Loot Runs” and “Nephalem Trials.”
Blizzard also release two videos for Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls. The first is a teaser trailer…
…while the second is the opening cinematic.
There was, however, no indication of when this expansion would be released, nor whether it would be included in the console versions of the game, which are due out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 3rd, and the PlayStation 4 sometime next year.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have announced that the Will Smith sci-fi movie After Earth will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 8.
Along with the film, both the DVD and Blu-ray editions will include “A Father’s Legacy,” a featurette on stars Will and Jaden Smith; “1,000 Years In 300 Seconds,” an on-set featurette with the cast; “The Nature Of The Future” featurette, which looks at the environment and creatures in the movie; a digital copy of the film; and the winning video in the “XPRIZE After Earth” challenge, which, according to the release, had “teams from around the world submitted video proposals to address the global challenge of promoting a more sustainable way of living, as well as the steps they would take when using an unmanned rover to assess whether Nova Prime, mankinds potential new home, is inhabitable.”
In addition, the DVD/Blu-ray combo pack will alsoa previously unseen version of the film’s opening, a featurette on how the world was created, a look at how the action scenes were constructed, and a featurette with previously unseen animatics and storyboards.
No price was listed in the announcement, but Amazon currently has the DVD available for preoder for $27.89 and the DVD/BD combo pack for $32.39.
Adult Swim have announced that the second season of China, IL will premiere on September 22 at 11:30PM (ET/PT).
The ’toon centers on The University Of China, IL, the worst college in the U.S. “Adult Swim’s animated series China, IL is a reverse Animal House where the teachers are crazy and the students just want to learn,” the press release explains. “The animated series centers around Steve and Frank Smith, brothers who teach in the History Department, their T.A. Pony Merks, a lovable idiot named Baby Cakes, as well as a host of students and professors.”
Oddly, the first season of this show has not been released, or even announced, for DVD and/or Blu-ray. Funny, that.
