{"id":31566,"date":"2025-07-01T14:07:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31566"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:07:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:07:28","slug":"4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-july-1st-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31566","title":{"rendered":"4K Ultra HD\/Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for July 1st, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to another look at highlights arriving on 4K Ultra\nHD, Blu-ray and DVD. Last week was incredibly busy, so this edition is a bit\nslimmer. However, there are still a few notable releases worthy of attention.\nSo, if you can\u2019t make it out to the cinema this week, be sure to give one of\nthese titles a try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIG NEW RELEASES!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BEARING WITNESS: NATIVE AMERICAN VOICES IN HOLLYWOOD \u2013 This\ndocumentary deals with the portrayal of Native Americans in Hollywood films.\nWhen early movie production began, they were portrayed as villains and most of\nthese features attempted to hide a history of genocide and push horrible\nmessages of propaganda against their communities. In this feature, five Native\nAmericans (Irene Bedard, Tantoo Cardinal, Darrell Redlead-Fielder, Hanay\nGeiogamah and Frank Javier Garcia Berumen) discuss how Hollywood depicted their\npeople and culture in cinema. They note the change that began in 1970 with Little\nBig Man<\/em>, looking at the gradual positive changes that have occurred and\nwhat still needs to be done. The film has been well-received at film festivals\nwhere it has played, but no full reviews are available just yet. This picture\nis currently a DVD-only release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DEATH OF A UNICORN \u2013 A lawyer brings his teenage daughter after he is asked to assist a pharmaceutical magnate in creating a will. As they drive out to his client\u2019s remote mansion, they strike a unicorn with their car. The father, desperate to get to their destination, plunks the creature in the back of the car and tries to hide it from the wealthy family. But when they arrive, the unicorn jolts to life, very unhappy with how it has been treated. This horror\/comedy split the press, although a few more gave the movie a pass than suggested skipping it. Almost half complained that the script didn\u2019t make the most of its concept, lacking biting wit and delivering a limp, tonally inconsistent satire. But the same number and a few more stated that the film was unique enough to keep them engaged, and that the great cast helped sell a few memorable moments. It stars Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Tea Leoni and Richard E. Grant. Read a full review of the movie here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE GREATEST THING EVER: A GARDEN CARTOON MOVIE \u2013 If you\nappreciate faith-based films, this effort is an animated feature that is aimed\nat kids. It is based on a series that began in 2019 featuring two characters,\nLenny the Lion and Lucy the Lamb, who make discoveries in a large \u201cgarden\u201d of\nsorts. In this feature-length effort, their \u201cBoss\u201d from above asks them to find\nand identify the title article. Their journey takes them on a wild search\ninvolving treasure, as well as a journey into space and a time-travel voyage to\nthe era of dinosaurs. Eventually, the pair come to the realization that what\nthey\u2019re looking for may be more spiritual in nature. This picture is making its\ndebut this week on streaming platforms and as a DVD-only release. There are\ncurrently no notices available for it. The voice cast includes James Arnold\nTaylor, Cristina Milizia, Brian Stivale, Delilah, Katie Leigh and Hillary\nPhillips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LOST COUNTRY \u2013 This Serbian-language, multinational European\neffort is set in 1993 and deals with a 15-year-old living in Belgrade under the\nrule of the authoritarian Milosevic regime. After the leader commits electoral\nfraud and falsely claims that he has won the latest election, the boy and his\nfriends set out to hold a protest. The youngster\u2019s efforts get noticed, causing\npersonal strife when he learns that his mother works for the government and may\nbe complicit in their crimes against the people. This film played at various\nfilm festivals in 2023 and 2024 and is now finding a release in North America.\nThe picture earned slightly more positive write-ups than negative ones. Those\nwho disliked the film commented that while the message was important, the screenplay\nwas clumsily written and came across as shallow and underdeveloped. Slightly\nmore called the movie a low-key, haunting drama that effectively delivered a\ncoming-of-age tale during an oppressive era. It features Jovan Ginic, Jasna\nDjuricic and Miodrag Jovanovic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NINE-RING GOLDEN DAGGER \u2013 Also known as Blocking the\nHouse<\/em>, this period Chinese production involves a great warrior who dies on\nthe battlefield. Following his passing, the nation\u2019s emperor decides that the\ndeceased\u2019s prized possession and the titular weapon should be given to an enemy\nkingdom. Furious, two female relatives of the leader vow to recover the dagger\nand bring it back to their homeland. Along the way, they befriend a\ndisrespected ex-general who tries to help them accomplish their goal. At\npresent, there aren\u2019t a lot of reviews available for this foreign-language\ntitle and the few that have appeared online in this part of the world aren\u2019t\noverly upbeat. They suggest that at 90-minutes, the action is frantic, but the\nstory and characters aren\u2019t properly fleshed out and that, overall, the film\ndoesn\u2019t make a lasting impression. Zhang Xintong, Liu Xinlei, Song Tianshuo and\nWu Yue headline the feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RIDE ABOVE \u2013 A young girl is raised by her parents at a\nstable. She spends all of her time around horses, and as a teen takes up\nriding. After forming a bond with a young horse, a storm scares the animal,\nresulting in a tragic accident. Unable to walk, the youth still sets out to\nfind a way to ride and compete professionally on the animal. This France\/Canada\nforeign-language co-production came out in its home countries and Europe in\nlate 2022\/early 2023, but had difficulty finding US distribution. It is now\narriving exclusively on DVD. Reaction towards the feature has been good. While\nall admit that the story is a weepy melodrama, they note that it works\nsurprisingly well, and is bolstered by great performances, beautiful\nphotography and assured direction. Curiously enough, the film\u2019s director is a\nQuebecois movie-maker who got his start in genre pics like Scanners II: The\nNew Order, Scanners III: The Takeover, Screamers<\/em> and Extreme Ops<\/em>.\nOver the last decade, has become a reliable drama film director in France. The\nmovie stars M\u00e9lanie Laurent, Pio Marma\u00ef, Carmen Kassovitz and Danny Huston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUND OF THE SURF \u2013 This documentary focuses its attention\non surf music. It takes viewers back 50 years, when rock and roll artists noted\nthe rising popularity of the sport and began composing music for it. Many\nbelieved their melodies mirrored the movement of waves and the ocean. Viewers\nwill learn about Dick Dale, The Bel-Airs, The Challengers, Eddie and the\nShowman, and many other artists, as well as modern day bands. This feature also\nshows how Hollywood began popularizing surf culture and sounds for the general\npublic in the Beach Party<\/em> film series and other titles. This picture has\nplayed at and earned award nominations at movie festivals over the past couple\nof years, but is only now arriving on disc. A few online notices call it a fun\npicture that features plenty of rare footage and interviews with notable\nfigures from the movement. This is a DVD-only release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WARFARE \u2013 Co-written and co-directed by an Iraq war veteran,\nthis film is inspired by his own experiences on the battlefield. It is set in\n2006 and involves a team of American Navy SEALs in enemy territory in Iraq on a\nsurveillance mission. The men begin to notice armed forces moving on their\nposition and come under fire. They must endure waves of attacks while waiting\nfor assistance. The other co-writer\/co-director of this picture is Alex Garland\n(Ex Machina, Civil War<\/em>) and the film was highly rated by critics. A\nsmall number felt that while the attempt to keep events focused on US soldiers\ngenerated tension and a fast-pace, the characters weren\u2019t well developed and\nthe Iraqi people were largely ignored. However, the consensus was that this was\nan incredibly authentic and powerful effort that shows the horrors of what\nreally happened to soldiers stationed in an unflinching and realistic manner.\nThis picture can be purchased on either 4K Ultra HD or on Blu-ray. The cast includes\nD’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai,Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Aaron\nMackenzie and Alex Brockdorff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re hoping to catch up with something older, you have\na few options. The first is The Big Heat <\/em>(1953), which is arriving as a\n4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo and as a standalone Blu-ray. This film noir\nclassic from legendary director Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M<\/em>) stars Glenn\nFord and follows a police detective whose wife is murdered by the mob. He is\nfrustrated to learn that other officers are on the take and won\u2019t help him\narrest the organization. But the lead does end up meeting the girlfriend of the\ncrime lord and convinces her to help him take down the outfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picture has been given a 4K restoration in Dolby Vision\nfor this release and extras include a film-noir expert commentary, a video\nessay about the movie\u2019s female characters, audio interview with Lang,\ninterviews with filmmaker fans of the movie Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese,\nas well as a trailer, and an essay in the accompanying booklet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shout Factory is delivering Alexander Revisited: The\nFinal Cut<\/em> (2004) as a 4K Ultra HD only release (extra features are included\non an accompanying Blu-ray). Writer\/director Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall\nStreet, JFK<\/em>) brings his take on historical figure Alexander the Great. In\nthe 4th<\/sup> century this leader took Greece, Persia, Afghanistan and\nIndia, building a massive empire in the process, before his exhausted forces\nrevolted against him. The film tells his life story, until his death, in which\nthe territories broke free of his control. Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins,\nRosario Dawson, Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer star in the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie arrives with a 2025 4K restoration presented in\nDolby Vision, as well as a new film critic commentary, an archival track with\nOliver Stone, interviews with Stone, the editor and the visual effects\nsupervisor. There is also a feature-length documentary on the production,\nfeaturettes on the movie, and the Vangelis score, as well as a\nbehind-the-scenes still gallery and trailers. Early copies ordered through the\nofficial Shout website arrive with an 18×24 poster featuring original art for\nthe movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also arriving from the distributor is a 4K Ultra HD and\nBlu-ray combo of the political drama\/comedy, Primary Colors<\/em> (1998). John\nTravolta and Emma Thompson play the lead roles in this Oscar-nominated effort\nabout a charismatic candidate running for President of the United States. A\nyoung man joins the campaign and learns everything about the politician\u2019s life\nand personal conflicts with his wife. The feature was directed by Mike Nichols\n(The Graduate<\/em>) and co-written by Elaine May (A New Leaf<\/em>) and is\nbelieved to have used the Clintons as inspiration for the story. The cast\nincludes Adrian Lester, Kathy Bates, Larry Hagman, Billy Bob Thornton, Maura\nTierney, Diane Ladd, Rob Reiner, and Allison Janney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original camera negative has been given a 4K restoration\nfor this release and is presented in Dolby Vision. The disc comes with a film\nhistorian and Elaine May biographer commentary, as well as two supporting cast\nmember interviews, and a talk with the author of the book upon which the film\nis based. It also comes with theatrical trailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are some titles that may appeal to kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greatest Thing Ever: A Garden Cartoon Movie<\/em>\n(faith-based animated film) (BMG) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultraman USA<\/em> aka Ultraman: The Adventure Begins<\/em>\n(Mill Creek Entertainment) Blu-ray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON THE TUBE!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here is a list of the week\u2019s TV-themed releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tales from the Void<\/em>: Season 1 (Cinedigm) Blu-ray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultraman USA<\/em> aka Ultraman: The Adventure Begins<\/em>\n(Mill Creek Entertainment) Blu-ray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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