Better than Streaming: Space Jam 4K Blu-ray combo now available!

Are you fond of 1990s Hollywood movies? Do you love Michael Jordan during his reign in the NBA? Have you ever seen the famous Bill Murray act with Jordan and Larry Bird? Have you always been a fan of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang?

Here is the news that could be big to you in relation to the above questions – the 1996 hit live-action/animated comedy movie Space Jam is now available on 4K Blu-ray (with digital copy and Blu-ray disc included) and you can order it now at Amazon!

Space Jam 4K Blu-ray combo.

Here are the details on what comes with Space Jam 4K Blu-ray sourced from Blu-ray.com

Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1


Audio

English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Danish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Swedish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Norwegian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Finnish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles

English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish


Discs
4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD-100, 1 BD-50)

Extra stuffCommentary with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and director Joe Pytka. Jammin’ with Bug Bunny and Michael Jordan featurette. Two music videos and the theatrical trailer.

For those who are not very aware about the legacy of Space Jam, it was a special project of Warner Bros.’ animation group and not only did it star Michael Jordan (who led the Chicago Bulls to its 4th NBA title in mid-1996), it involved big names like Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) as producer, comedy icon Bill Murray in a key supporting role and a whole lot of great voice talents such as Billy West (Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd), Dee Bradley Baker (Daffy Duck), and Frank Welker (best known for Transformers’ Megatron) to name a few.

Adding further zest to the cast lots of NBA personalities such as Hall of Famer Larry Bird, Mugsy Bogues, Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson, plus cameo appearances of Danny Ainge, Horace Grant, Steve Kerr and A.C. Green to name a few.

Personally, I never saw Space Jam in the movie theater but I got to watch it in the airplane going to the United States in April 1997. I was not able to focus fully on its story as watching it on a small screen behind the passenger seat in front of me was never a comfortable experience. Still, the movie caught my attention when I saw Larry Bird (my favorite basketball player of all-time) act with Jordan and with the iconic Bill Murray. Of course, the quality of animation done by Warner Bros.’ creative teams was pretty good for its time. I should state that Elmer Fudd scoring a basket in basketball uniform was fun to watch.

Going back to the above specs and details about Space Jam 4K Blu-ray, it’s really nice to know that the visuals have been confirmed to be native 4K. Personally, I am interested to see how the 1996 mixed live-action/animation film would look like on the screen of our 4K smart TV at home.

In the official Blu-ray.com review for Space Jam 4K Blu-ray, the visuals were partially described as: Advertised as a new HDR-enhanced 4K master, Space Jam arrives on the format with a mostly pleasing 2160p transfer that corrects a few of the 2011 Blu-ray’s visual shortcomings but back-pedals elsewhere. For starters, it’s worth noting that portions of this film have always looked soft and very light on grain, such as Jordan’s arrival and stay in WB world, including the climactic basketball game; this was a necessary style choice to ensure that live-action elements didn’t stick too far out against the more smoothly-rendered animation. Other built-in source “defects” (for lack of a better word) include a bit of aliasing on specific CG backgrounds, such as a few sharp angles and edges on Moron Mountain and the baseline and free-throw paint on animated basketball courts; it’s easily spotted on screenshot , but again hardly distracting in-motion.

Space Jam 4K Blu-ray combo is now available and it should appeal to NBA fans, Looney Tunes fans and just about anyone who feels nostalgic about the 1990s. Take note that when Space Jam was released in cinemas in late 1996, Michael Jordan was on his way to a second three-peat of NBA championships and the movie was clearly part of the legacy of his basketball greatness which defined the NBA in the 1990s (note: Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won the NBA championship titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998). Space Jam was made at a time when Hollywood not yet dominated by the Satanic Left, those whiny socialists, the naked Communists and all those liberals who love to use movies as pieces to spread their poisonous propaganda. In short, Space Jam of 1996 was simply made to entertain without any political garbage.

For more entries of my Better than Streaming series of articles, check out my pieces on The Beastmaster 4K Blu-ray, The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray, Mortal Kombat 2021 4K Blu-ray, and V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray disc of Warner Archive (read my retro review).  

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

Better than Streaming: The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray coming out soon

If you love the Transformers in hand-drawn animation and if you have a 4K Blu-ray collection to build up, then you should be happy with the news that The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray will be available for purchase in a few months’ time.

The said 4K Blu-ray release (which also contains the Blu-ray for 1080p viewing) is from Shout Factory, a company that is well known for releasing Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray discs of movies loaded with lots of extra stuff that make them very ideal for collecting.

The SteelBook edition.

So what exactly will you be getting with The 4K Blu-ray combo of The Transformers: The Movie? To put things in perspective, here first are the technical specs from the Blu-ray.com page

Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)

HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio

English: Dolby Atmos

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)

Subtitles

English SDH, Spanish

Discs

4K Ultra HD

Blu-ray Disc

Two-disc set (1 BD-66, 1 BD-50)

Playback

4K Blu-ray: Region free

2K Blu-ray: Region A (B, C untested)

The Autobots and Dinobots in a scene in the movie.

Now here is an excerpt from another page at Blu-ray.com that shows what you can expect from the new release.

Shout Factory will also issue two additional 35th anniversary editions of THE TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE —a standard 4K Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo pack, and a Blu-ray + DVD combo pack. THE TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE 35th Anniversary Edition 4K Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo pack includes the all-new 4K transfer of the movie in widescreen alongside the HD full frame version and new bonus material. THE TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE 35th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray + DVD combo pack features the movie in HD full frame on Blu-ray as well as a widescreen edition on DVD, alongside new bonus material. These configurations will be available for pre-order later this summer from Shout! Factory. (The SteelBook can already be pre-ordered at Amazon).


Under license from Shout Factory, THE TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE SteelBook and standard 4K Blu-ray will also be released in the UK this September.


Description: In the year 2005, the Autobots and the Decepticons are still locked in battle, but a deadly new force enters the fray–a giant killer planet known as Unicron. The heroic Autobots must fight for their own survival and to save their home planet from destruction. A classic of 1980s animation, based on the popular TV series.


Special Features and Technical Specs:

  • NEW 4K TRANSFER FROM ORIGINAL FILM ELEMENTS
  • New Feature-Length Storyboards, including deleted, alternate and extended sequences
  • New Fathom Events 30th Anniversary Featurette, including Stan Bush’s acoustic performances of “The Touch” and “Dare”
  • ‘Til All Are One – A comprehensive documentary looking back at THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE with members of the cast and crew, including story consultant Flint Dille, cast members Gregg Berger, Neil Ross, Dan Gilvezan, singer/songwriter Stan Bush, composer Vince Dicola and others!
  • Audio Commentary with Director Nelson Shin, story consultant Flint Dille and star Susan Blu
  • Featurettes
  • Animated Storyboards
  • Trailers and TV Spots
  • Optional English and Spanish subtitles for the main feature

As of this writing, Amazon.com has a live page for those who want to order the SteelBook edition of The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray. You can also order it via Shout Factory.

Devastator and the Dinobots!

As a kid, I got to watch many episodes of The Transformers animated series on television. I eventually saw The Transformers: The Movie on home video and its presentation came with a lot of impact related to the deaths of several characters (including the most controversial death), the noticeable rise of on-screen violence and the more futuristic, sci-fi setting and environments.

Even if you are not a fan of The Transformers, this upcoming 4K Blu-ray release is a blessing. Even if you are not interested in the older, hand-drawn presentation of The Transformers, the animated movie itself should interest you as it has solid performances not only from long-time favorites Peter Cullen (Prime) and Frank Welker (Megatron) but also from Hollywood legends Orson Welles, Leonard Nimoy and Robert Stack. Think about that! Welles, Nimoy and Stack…Citizen Kane, Spock and the Unsolved Mysteries icons in this Transformers film!

For more on The Transformers: The Movie, watch this in-depth video retrospective by Oliver Harper. I highly recommend it and I also encourage you all to follow Oliver Harper via his social media channels.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Does the upcoming 4K Blu-ray release of The Transformers: The Movie excite you? If you saw the 1980s animated series of The Transformers, how many episodes were you able to watch? Were you able to watch The Transformers: The Movie in the cinemas back in 1986?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com