Welcome back, fellow geeks, Blu-ray collectors and movie buffs! If you are fond of low budget horror/comedy films or movies that were made to make money because their producers wanted to imitate the success of certain blockbusters back then, then you might be interested to know that Piranha (1978) will be released on 4K Blu-ray format on November 1, 2022. Already, pre-orders are being accepted online.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt and key details from the 4K Blu-ray announcement at Blu-ray.com. Some parts in boldface…
Piranha features a stellar group of talent in front of as well as behind the camera. The top-notch cast of cult stars includes Kevin McCarthy (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), Barbara Steele (Black Sunday), Belinda Balaski (The Howling), Dick Miller (A Bucket Of Blood), Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul), and Richard Deacon (The Dick Van Dyke Show).
Special Features and Technical Specs:
DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY
- NEW 4K RESTORATION OF OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2022)
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Audio Commentary With Executive Producer Roger Corman
- Audio Commentary With Director Joe Dante And Producer Jon Davison
- DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
DISC TWO – BLU-RAY
- NEW 4K RESTORATION OF OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2022)
- NEW Interview with director Joe Dante
- Audio Commentary With Roger Corman
- Audio Commentary With Joe Dante And Jon Davison
- “The Making Of Piranha – Interviews With Roger Corman, Joe Dante And Actors Dick Miller, Belinda Balaski And More …
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage
- Bloopers And Outtakes
- Still Galleries
- Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery Featuring Photos From Creature Designer/Animator Phil Tippett’s Archives
- Additional Scenes From The TV Version
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spot
- Radio Spots
- DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
Posted below are the specs of Piranha (1978) 4K Blu-ray…
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: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Subtitles – English SDH
Discs – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Disc, Two-disc set (1 BD-66, 1 BD-50)
Packaging – Slipcover in original pressing
Playback – 4K Blu-ray: Region free, 2K Blu-ray: Region A (B, C untested)
In my experience, I saw Piranha (1978) a number of times since the 1980s. I never saw it in the cinema as I was too young back then but I first saw it on home video followed by showings on cable TV. Strangely enough, the 1978 movie not only spawned a sequel in 1982, it also had remakes in 1995 and 2010.
More on the 1978 movie itself, it was made just a few years after Steven Spielberg’s Jaws made tremendous impact commercially and socially. To its credit, Piranha (1978) was produced by low-budget movie king Roger Corman and it had Joe Dante as director and Kevin McCarthy as a supporting cast member. For the newcomers reading this, Dante is best known for directing Gremlins while McCarthy is best remembered for Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).
Ultimately, the main feature of Piranha (1978) is its emphasis on water-related fear, particularly the idea that a person in water can be eaten alive by multiple piranhas. It’s like an extension of Jaws’ influence which people afraid of the sea because they could be eaten by a shark.
Already it has been confirmed that Piranha (1978) 4K Blu-ray will come with native 4K visuals. To the best of my memory, the movie was not a very visually appealing movie. Still, the idea of it getting remastered into 4K is interesting.
Watch out for Piranha (1978) 4K Blu-ray on November 1, 2022.
In closing this Better than Streaming piece, posted below is the Piranha (1978) video.
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