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Streaming services are the primary way a lot of people consume their media of choice, whether that be music or TV shows or movies. Not everybody is on board, though, and some of those who are have started to tire of it. Regular price increases and limited streaming libraries have some consumers returning to physical media — vinyl, CDs, 4Ks — preferring objects they can hold and own over streaming options that can vanish at any time.
Companies are more than happy to support this wave: Whatever you might be into, each month brings a slew of new releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite physical media releases of June below.
Hoppers 4K Steelbook
There’s a point early in Pixar’s latest classic, Hoppers, where the main character Mabel Tanaka hears about the movie’s central conceit — a device that lets your brain inhabit a robotic animal — and quickly responds, “like Avatar?” It’s a clever, winking nod to a different Disney property, and kind of apt when considering exactly what the film is doing. It also puts to rest any criticism of plagiarism that might occur, acknowledging the similarity and letting the film itself prove its differentiators. Of which, there are many, with the biggest being that the film is cute and endearing as all heck.
As they’ve been doing with the bulk of their new releases, Hoppers reaches home video with a collectible 4K steelbook that instantly became a must-own item for Disney obsessives and cinephile families alike. And the release is loaded with bonus content and features, including bloopers (which should ALWAYS be included on physical media releases), a making-of feature, a feature called The Critter Diaries which shows some of the inspiration behind the animals in the film, six deleted scenes, and more. Though the film did well theatrically, it feels like with home release and streaming that this could wind up being a signature release from Pixar and Disney’s recent animated offerings. It’s a really good time and worth repeated visits.
Get it here.
One Battle After Another 4K Steelbook
Is now the right time to reflect on the incredible run of One Battle After Another? While the release was plagued with boring hand-wringing about budgets and studio profits, the real ones were discussing this film as it should have been: a masterpiece from one of our finest filmmakers, a top-tier performance from one of our last movie stars, star-making performances from both Chase Infiniti in her debut and Teyana Taylor in her biggest role yet, and the return to the conversation of a couple of our best actors in Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn. In the end, the movie finished what it started, giving PTA his much-deserved Oscar coronation, winning the first ever Best Casting Oscar, and becoming a classic as quickly as films can make such a claim.
So with the arrival of the One Battle After Another 4K Steelbook, the film gets its proper home version worthy of its incredible status. Because a film that was distributed into theaters with such care for format and viewing experiences deserves a similar treatment for home ownership. For bonus features, viewers now get to see Chase Infiniti’s screen test in a real “a star is born” moment, a making-of feature, a short about the opening night screening at The Vista (James Murphy voice: “I was therrrrrre”), and a lovely book with photos from the making of the film. Last year produced a handful of films that it was instantly apparent would become part of the film conversation in perpetuity, and One Battle is at the top of that list. This set gives it a different permanent home: on your shelf.
Get it here.
Miles ’56: The Prestige Recordings
Miles Davis is such an iconic artist that this box set can just use his first name and everyone knows exactly who you are talking about. That iconic status also necessitates releases like this, which zooms in on 1956 as the year Davis formed his first consistent group, The Miles Davis Quintet. That all-star lineup, which included John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, is featured here across a limited-edition 4LP box set taken from original analog tapes and restored by Plangent Processes. The box set includes a new essay by GRAMMY-winning music historian Ashley Kahn and track notes by the late Dan Morgenstern, completing this collection that will be a prized possession to any jazz fan.
Get it here.
Audition Limited Edition 4K
If you weren’t deep into film in the late ’90s and early ’00s, Audition could have easily slipped by you. It came from an era where the cool shit still had to be sought out with a little effort, often falling onto a tapped-in friend to recommend it. Honestly, it was a cool time for finding music and movies this way, where you felt like you were a part of something under the surface. Regardless, Audition did find an audience, notably making Quentin Tarantino’s list of the 20 best films since 1992 and proving influential on a genre of torture horror, with franchises like Hostel and Saw ultimately taking the reins, as well as increasing people’s awareness of the great horror movies coming from Asia, a spotlight that only grew brighter in the decades that followed.
The good folks at Arrow have put out a new Collectors Edition 4K that took me right back to that first viewing, proving the film’s power has not faded over the years. The conversion looks great, with director of photography Hideo Yamamoto approving the restoration by Arrow. Director Takashi Miike provides commentary, an interview, and an introduction, while the release includes a lovely booklet with pieces from Anton Bitel, Jennie Kermode, and Jamie Graham along with tons of stills from the film. There’s tons more, but I’d be remiss not to praise the new artwork, which features on the outer sleeve, the case, and the disc, designed by Dark Inker-Sampson. It really adds to the elevated presentation and makes this release feel bespoke to the serious fan. This is a great release of a movie that truly deserves it.
Get it here.
Hamilton 4K Collector’s Edition
I was never “Hamilton pilled” like many other Millennials, but the power of the musical sensation can’t be understated. Coinciding with the end of the Obama presidency, it definitely feels a bit of a relic of another time, but the songs and performances of the original cast also somehow serve as a timeless moment of Broadway greatness. And while a show that gets as big as Hamilton and leaps into the mainstream will embolden critiques from every angle, I think history has proven Lin-Manuel Miranda to be an agent of good in the film and musical world, with projects like Tick, Tick… Boom! and Encanto showing just how much of a talent he is.
After debuting on Disney+ during lockdown for a rare treat of the time, Disney is now releasing the definitive physical release of the musical, as it gets a gorgeous 4K Collector’s Edition. Along with the performance by the iconic cast, which includes tons of breakouts like Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Ariana DeBose, and Anthony Ramos, the set offers up a never-before-seen doc Spark Into A Flame: Hamilton & Hip-Hop, with appearances from rap royalty like Busta Rhymes, Nas, Questlove, and Black Thought. There’s also a sing-along version of the musical included (something fun for the family), a fabric poster, piano sheet music, art cards, and a lovely book of photos from the production.
Get it here.
Greg Mendez – Beauty Land
Who says hard work doesn’t pay off? Philadelphia indie songwriter Greg Mendez has been making music since 2006 and putting out music at a rapid clip since 2016, but only just released his first Dead Oceans full-length, Beauty Land, a few weeks back. But don’t think the bigger label has changed Mendez at all. His music is still immediate and intimate, heavy and light at the same time, sounding like it could have been made in 1996, 2006, 2016, or 2026. There will always be a place for Saturday morning music, the songs you can listen to when cleaning up the remains of the night before. Mendez follows this tradition, and earns his own place among the greats. For the physical release, Dead Oceans put out both a classic black and a clear indigo version of the collection.
Get it here.
Rambo Complete Collection 4K Box Set
I’m positive I’m not the first one to point this out, but Sylvester Stallone’s two main franchises, Rocky and Rambo, have similar trajectories in terms of their first film being a titanic artistic achievement that sometimes gets a bit forgotten in how the overall franchise is perceived. Whereas Rocky would eventually fight Hulk Hogan, Rambo would have his extremely grounded green beret protagonist in First Blood evolve into a commando who can take on entire foreign armies. These kinds of hero journeys are why we love movies.
This new Lionsgate Limited box set collects all the Rambo films, from the iconic First Blood to the recent Rambo: Last Blood in an incredible presentation. I need to devote time to the physical box, which is just incredibly made, sliding open to complete the image on the front cover and then opening to reveal the discs in a quite elegant fashion. It’s the kind of set whose value is inherent, and the fact that it holds immaculate 4K restorations of all the films only adds to that. First Blood in particular, I was really taken by just how good the 4K looked. It didn’t lose the sense of time by making it overly glossy, but instead just gave a rich, deep image that popped, even in the lower light night shots. There’s a ton of special features here, too, including some brand new for this release, like Reflections on First Blood with Ted Kotcheff and features on the art and storyboarding of the film. For a series that became household shorthand for kicking butt, this is the collection that is essential for its fans.
Get it here.
Five Easy Pieces 4K
Oftentimes, we’re highlighting brand new additions to the Criterion library, but this month one of their most exciting offerings is a much-deserved upgrade. We’re talking about Five Easy Pieces, a film that first entered the collection in 2010 as part of the America Lost and Found: The BBS Story box set (along with Easy Rider, The Last Picture Show, and others) and then as a standalone Blu-Ray in 2015. A third release tells you all you need to know about the Bob Rafelson classic, which turned Jack Nicholson into THE movie star that would be a household name for decades to come.
The new 4K restoration upgrades the previous editions beautifully, while the disc offers plenty of extras to dive into, though owners of the original Blu-Ray will already have the bulk of them. There’s a pair of documentaries about the film, commentary from the director with interior designer Toby Rafelson, and an essay from critic Kent Jones. But the new restoration is worth the upgrade on its own, with this crucial moment in the New Hollywood era proving to be an extremely rewatchable and rich text, while Nicholson’s central performance stands up to the rest of his iconic work that was yet to come.
Get it here.
Stax Does The Beatles
What do you get when you combine one of the most legendary soul labels of all time with the most iconic rock band in history? You get Stax Does The Beatles, a compilation album collecting some of the label’s most iconic artists covering Beatles classics. The record returns to print for the first time since its limited Record Store Day 2019 exclusive pressing. You get Otis Redding doing “Day Tripper,” Isaac Hayes performing “Something,” Booker T. & The M.G.’s’ take on “Eleanor Rigby,” and much more. And Craft Recordings has unveiled a number of variants for the reissue, including classic black, Translucent Ruby (Barnes & Noble exclusive), Eggdrop Yellow (indie retail exclusive), and Silver Smoke (Stax Records/Craft Recordings exclusive). These are classic tunes performed impeccably, and great additions to any record collection.
Get it here.
Metallica – ReLoad Remastered Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set
Nearly 30 years ago, Metallica was in the middle of their prime MTV era, where singles lived in heavy rotation next to pop artists and alternative radio started softening their stance on the band and putting some of their best-known songs into rotation. A band that had been synonymous with the metal genre — for obvious reasons — was now reaching audiences much wider than they’d ever anticipated. And musically, their singles especially proved welcoming to their expanded fanbase.
This new box set captures a snapshot of this era of the band, collecting recordings from 1997-1998 into a massive artifact, which includes previously unreleased demos, rough mixes, live performances, radio and TV appearances, and more. At the center of it is the remastered ReLoad album on 180g double vinyl along with “The Memory Remains” 7” and Live At Ministry of Sound ’97, a 140g triple album recorded live. There’s also 15 (!) CDs of the aforementioned bonus content, 4 DVDs of live footage, and tons of collectible goodies like guitar picks, a poster, a sticker, laminate passes, and a massive book of photos and stories. This is a definitive document for the hardcore fan that’s as fascinating as it is rewarding.
Get it here.
Chance The Rapper – Coloring Book
One of the noisiest physical releases of the month was Chance The Rapper’s long-awaited fresh pressing of his beloved mixtape Coloring Book on vinyl for its 10-year anniversary. The release was groundbreaking instantaneously in 2016, becoming the first streaming-only release to chart on the Billboard 200. Its legacy as a streaming property makes this physical release all the more exciting, as it received tons of unofficial vinyl bootlegs over the years and hard-to-find limited official runs. As is tradition with many Chance physical runs, this sold out very fast, though secondary market copies can be found at a reasonable price.
Chance’s album last year, Star Line, brought him back to the conversation as one of the great MCs of his time, and revisiting Coloring Book is a reminder of just what he meant to music at the time, and how well it has aged. Chance has remained a symbol of independence, with Coloring Book at the time showing just how artists can leverage the streaming release platforms for themselves without the help of traditional labels. Ten years later, other examples have emerged, but Chance still remains interchangeable with independence, which is just the kind of legacy that any artist would be proud of.
Get it here.
