March is one of the most steelbook-heavy months we’ve had in a while.
The latest blockbusters, modern classics, and cult favourites are all getting the special treatment in the next few weeks – and with a wealth of remastered masterpieces (from both the big and small screen) making their way from our warehouse to your shelf, it might be a hard month for your wallet.
As always, release dates are subject to change, and even more titles could arrive during March itself, so stay tuned to our site for the latest listings. At the time of writing, here are all the steelbooks4Ks and limited-edition Blu-rays you can expect each week of the month.
Monday, 3rd March
March starts with a bang, with a whopping SIX steelbooks. Fresh from the cinema, Gladiator II, Lord of the Rings: War Of The Rohirrim and Megalopolis are getting the quality 4K treatment, with the animated Super Mario Bros. Movie the other recent release getting a steelbook.
Then there are the anniversary releases, with The Social Network getting a 4K steelbook for its 15th anniversary, and Keanu Reeves’ cult comic book movie Constantine re-emerging for its 20th anniversary. Not steelbooks, but getting cushy Ultra HD remasters nonetheless, are four eclectic titles, including two classics from director Brian De Palma (Carlito’s Way and Dressed To Kill), vintage Jean-Claude Van Damme action (Hard Target), and a trippy Mick Jagger vehicle newly added to the Criterion Collection (Performance).
Next up, some intriguing boxsets, including a Limited-Edition run of Doctor Who season 7, remastering Jon Pertwee’s tenure in the TARDIS, and Anime LTD have a Collector’s Edition of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 2, with the two-disc set accompanied by a 76-page artwork book. From Arrow Video, there’s a Limited-Edition Blu-ray of erotic 70s Japanese drama Play It Cool, and from Vintage Classics, two class satires starring comedy legend Tony Hancock; art industry parody The Rebel, and seaside shenanigans with The Punch and Judy Man.
Monday, 10th March
You won’t find the 4K steelbook of anime sensation The First Slam Dunk anywhere else online, and this exclusive limited-edition release is a reminder that this is one of the best sports movies in recent memory. Also coming to 4K – but alas, not in a steelbook – this week are Matt Dillon drama Drugstore Cowboy and offbeat Joaquin Phoenix western The Sisters Brothers, from Criterion and Arrow respectively.
Also from Arrow, two underseen recent releases, which would make for a delightfully twisted double bill; horror Dementer, and Hollywood satire The Beta Test, both of which explore the subject of cults in unique, bonkers ways. Finally, the studio has a Limited-Edition Blu-ray set of The Terminal Man, a vintage tech thriller starring George Segal, in which he stars as a man who goes insane after a computer is inserted into his brain as part of an experimental surgery – think of it as an early warning about Neuralink.
Finally, the beloved boutique label Third Window Films are bringing us two very recent gems from director Keishi Kondo, New Religion and Neu Mirrors, eerie companion pieces which tackle a grieving mother’s trauma in a distinctly unsettling way...
Monday, 17th March
A couple more steelbooks to add to the collection this week, with HBO’s gritty The Batman spin-off series The Penguin, and Disney’s blockbuster sequel Moana 2 making their way to collectors. However, there are a LOT more 4Ks, just from Arrow alone; a Collector’s Edition set of 90s creature feature Deep Blue Sea, and stand-alone 4Ks of Ringu and the 2009 remake of The Last House On The Left.
The BFI have remastered two more classics from the legendary Akira Kurosawa, Yojimbo – famously the inspiration for Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name – and Sanjuro, whilst Indicator bring us 4Ks of two Ozploitation efforts, Harlequin and Thirst. Finally, two rediscovered 60s movies; The Barnabas Kos Case, a satire of corruption behind the Iron Curtain, from Second Run, and the groundbreaking single motherhood drama A Touch Of Love, from Vintage Classics.
Monday, 24th March
Panic Room, another banger from director David Fincher, has been given a painstaking 4K remaster overseen by the perfectionist auteur himself – it's the week’s big new steelbook release, alongside the animated recreation of vintage Doctor Who serial The Savages, and the complete series collection of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Now for the week’s 4K releases, with Kaiju thrills from Criterion’s Godzilla Vs Biollante reissue, notorious giallo shocks from Arrow’s limited-edition Don’t Torture a Duckling set, and two from 88 Films; Jackie Chan’s old-school gangster comedy Miracles, and the creepy Italian horror Short Night Of Glass Dolls.
As always, that’s just scratching the surface on what 88 Films have to offer this month. For cinephiles, the most notable will be Center Stage, director Stanley Kwan’s biopic of 1930s screen starlet Ruan Lingyu, brought to life by the exquisite Maggie Cheung, but there are plenty of other discoveries both high-and-lowbrow waiting for you.
These include; classic slashers (Dark Night Of The Scarecrow), a Japanese cyborg sex slave revenge movie (Pinocchio 964) and a Japanese sex-and-murder road trip movie (Assault! Jack The Ripper), two from director Nicolas Roeg (Oliver Reed romance Castaway and sensual drama Full Body Massage) and a feminist martial arts flick (The Lady Is The Boss).
The only label rivalling them in terms of output are Radiance, who have a 4K boxset of pulp thrillers from director Alain Corneau, and a slew of other limited-edition Blu-rays. These are; mind-expanding time travel drama Je T’aime Je T’aime (a major influence on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Palme D’Or winning offbeat character drama The Eel, darkly comedic chamber piece Elegant Beast, and the Shinobi samurai saga.
Finally, Radiance’s Italian-focused offshoot Raro Video offer bloody revenge movie thrills in Rulers Of The City, Vintage World Cinema resurrect groundbreaking queer drama In A Year of 13 Moons, tender Japanese teen drama The Island Closest to Heaven is exported from Third Window, and MGM resurrect Charles Bronson/Jack Palance western Chato’s Land on Blu-ray.
Monday, 31st March
Finally this month, there are 4K steelbooks from legendary directors Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket), Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2, Jackie Brown) and Christopher Nolan (Inception). Fresh from the cinema, Wicked, Mufasa: The Lion King and Kraven the Hunter will all be hitting shelves, as will anime City Hunter Angel Dust.
Limited-edition 4Ks include two David Cronenberg classics from Second Sight (Scanners and The Brood), an early Hammer Horror outing (Four-Sided Triangle), the 1980s sci-fi comedy Trancers, courtesy of 101 Films, and the Oscar-nominatedConclave.
Finally, Curzon are compiling the filmography of Cannes-winning and Oscar-nominated director Ruben Östlund into a boxset – and they’re even releasing a separate card game inspired by his socially awkward comedies, which looks set to ruin more friendships than Cards Against Humanity. Finally, Gerry Anderson’s underrated 90s sci-fi series Space Precinct comes to Blu-ray for its 30th anniversary.
