In May, Blu-ray and 4K UHD collectors will have lots of choices. Showgirls, Targets, Blackhat, and Night of the Hunter are just a few of our favorites. Here’s where to buy the new releases from labels like Criterion and Vinegar Syndrome.
Prepare to be patient. The calendar contains a treasure chest of physical media gems, they just happen to be buried at the end of the month. Our first pick doesn’t hit stores until May 16, and the bulk of our list drops on May 30th. But dear reader, patience is rewarded with updated Blu-rays and 4K discs for the cult film of the ‘90s, a proto-video game movie, and one of the most underrated masterpieces of the 1950s – referenced by some of our favorite modern filmmakers, from Spike Lee to Martin Scorsese.
Here’s how our monthly Blu-ray and 4K curation works: Each month, in an effort to help you find your next favorite discs, we curate a list of our most anticipated releases. We haven’t had the opportunity to try these discs just yet, but if you want the formal thumbs up, no worries — in the coming months we will begin our rolling list of the best Blu-rays and 4K UHD discs of the year. But each of these releases has potential and comes from a label we’ve enjoyed in the past.Our most anticipated disc of May 2023
Showgirls (4K UHD + Blu-ray) – End of May
This past weekend I went to a new movie in theaters and watched a demon possess a mother and slowly torture her children and younger sister. At one point, I saw a person choke on another human’s recently detached eyeball. In another instance, a cheese grater removed the flesh off a woman’s leg. This film was rated R by the MPAA. I mention this, because Paul Verhoeven’s erotic thriller Showgirls caused a months-long culture shitstorm in 1995 when the MPAA issued a rare NC-17 – making it the first and only film with the “adults only” label to get a major release across North America.
The film had a mediocre run at the box office, but blew up (no surprise) on home video, where adults could watch it in the comfort of their own homes. But when those grown-ups (and enterprising teenagers) hit play on the VHS, they were met with something unexpected. Showgirls isn’t pornography. Nor is it “erotic” or really even a “thriller.” Showgirls is camp in its most genuine form
Call it hyperbolic filmmaking (as Verhoeven did) or maximalist art or the physical manifestation of pre-9/11 decadence … or just call it a killer way to spend a Friday night with friends. The best way to watch Showgirls is in a crowded movie theater, but the second best way may be this promising 4k release from Vinegar Syndrome. The distributor, which cut its teeth on lost X-rated double features and ultra-violent 1980s horror, has branched in a variety of directions in recent years. Showgirls will be the latest release from its Ultra line. This feels like the perfect match of movie and physical media maker.
Most of its extras are still unannounced, but a promised 40-page “perfect bound book” and a 4K HDR disc on their own warrant the spot atop this month’s list.The big Blu-ray and 4K releases for April 2023
Invaders from Mars (4K UHD) – April 7
Sometimes small releases slip through the cracks. Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t heard about this seemingly disposable 1953 sci-fi matinee, nor its astonishing 4k restoration. Thank goodness it found me.
If you genuinely enjoy retro sci-fi, attend midnight movies, or like me, like to see what restorationists can do with modern technology, this is a must-own. From the drop, the film oozes style, with expressionistic shadows and bold, colorful lighting. As with a lot of older genre-fare, your enjoyment will increase the more you know about what went into the film’s creation. Ignite Films have included gobs of extras, including interviews with people who made the film and famous filmmakers, preservationists, and critics who admire it.
The movie itself, told from the perspective of a young boy, hints at directions Spielberg would take the genre decades later. This is why I love to write this column and physical media in general: discovering movies that would have otherwise been lost to time in a streamer’s endless catalog at best, and at worse, celluloid forgotten in some archive or personal collection.
