TITANIC 25TH ANNIVERSARY. (DVD Artwork). ©Paramount Home Entertainment.

Movies

Beyond Utopia (Documentary, Biography, History)

Winner of the 2023 Sundance U.S. Documentary Audience Award, director Madeleine Gavin’s “Beyond Utopia” is now available on Digital from Lionsgate.

Both a real-life thriller and an eye-opening documentary, “Beyond Utopia” is a visceral look at the lengths people will go for freedom. Compiled with captivating, real escape footage, the film follows a family of five as they embark on a treacherous journey out of North Korea, aided by a pastor who has helped thousands flee one of the most oppressive places on Earth. Meanwhile, a mother desperately attempts to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind. Despite the risk of imprisonment or execution, these individuals fight to be free, and come to see their former North Korean heroes as villains.

The Color Purple (Drama)

As part of the year-long centennial celebration for Warner Bros. Studio, the epic coming-of-age period drama “The Color Purple” will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD and Digital for the first time Tuesday, Dec. 5, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

From 1909 to 1949, Celie (Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg, “Ghost”), a Southern Black woman, gradually gains self-respect as she strives to educate herself and to find love — despite an abusive spouse and a society biased against her race and her sex.

Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (“Schindler’s List”) from a screenplay by Menno Meyjes (“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”), and based on Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, “The Color Purple” also stars Danny Glover (the “Lethal Weapon” franchise), Margaret Avery (“Being Mary Jane”) and Oprah Winfrey (“A Wrinkle in Time”) in her film debut. The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (Goldberg), Best Supporting Actress (Avery and Winfrey), Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Both the 4K Ultra HD and Digital releases contain the previously released special features “Conversations with the Ancestors: ‘The Color Purple’ from Book to Screen,” “A Collaboration of Spirits: Casting and Acting ‘The Color Purple,’” “Cultivating a Classic: The Making of ‘The Color Purple,’” “‘The Color Purple’: The Musical,” two teasers and the film’s trailer. The Digital release adds to the extras an all-new featurette, “‘The Color Purple’: A Bold New Take,” about the 2023 film that releases in theaters on Dec. 25.

The Hunger Games 4-Movie Collection (Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi)

Starring Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”), “The Hunger Games 4 Movie Collection” is now available as a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook from Lionsgate.

Available exclusively at Walmart, “The Hunger Games 4-Movie Collection” includes “The Hunger Games,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” as well as more than 10 hours of bonus features. In addition to audio commentary tracks on all four films, viewers can enjoy deleted scenes from “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1;” an eight-part documentary on the making of “The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay — Part 2” (“Pawns No More”); Lorde’s “Yellow Flicker Beat” music video; “Straight from the Heart: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman” and more.

Stand By Me (Adventure, Comedy, Drama)

The coming-of-age classic “Stand By Me” releases as a limited edition 4K Ultra HD SteelBook on Tuesday, Dec. 5, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

In a small woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends — sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), tough guy Chris (Academy Award nominee River Phoenix, “Running on Empty”), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman, “The Goonies”) and scaredy-cat Vern (Jerry O’Connell, “Sliders”) — are in search of a missing teenager’s body. Wanting to be heroes in each other’s and their hometown’s eyes, they set out on an unforgettable two-day trek that turns into an odyssey of self-discovery. They sneak smokes, tell tall tales, cuss ’cause it’s cool and band together when the going gets tough. When they encounter the town’s knife-wielding hoods who are also after the body, the boys discover a strength they never knew they had.

A rare and special film about friendship and the indelible experiences of growing up, “Stand By Me” is based on the novella “The Body” by Stephen King. The 4K Ultra HD disc included with the SteelBook release features the film in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos + DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Mono audio options, plus deleted and alternate scenes presented in HD. The Blu-ray disc included with the release features the film in high definition with 5.1 audio as well as an audio commentary track by director Rob Reiner (“The Princess Bride”), a picture-in-picture commentary with director Rob Reiner and actors Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman, the “Stand By Me” music video and the featurette “Walking the Tracks: The Summer of ‘Stand By Me.’”

Titanic (Drama, Romance)

Revisit James Cameron’s epic masterpiece “Titanic” when it arrives for the first time ever remastered on 4K Ultra HD Tuesday, Dec. 5, from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Revenant”) and Kate Winslet (“The Reader”) light up the screen in the timeless and unforgettable story of star-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the legendary and ill-fated maiden voyage of the “unsinkable” Titanic. The film became the first movie to earn over $1 billion and to date it has generated more than $2.2 billion at the global box office.

The beloved, worldwide phenomenon won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and continues to attract new fans 25 years after it was originally released. Now, viewers can experience all of the drama and spectacle in stunning 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack for the finest visual and audio presentation at home.

“Titanic” will be available as a two-disc set that includes the film on 4K Ultra HD plus a Blu-ray disc boasting more than 5 hours of new and legacy bonus content, including new interviews with James Cameron (“Avatar”), Kate Winslet and producer Jon Landau (“Avatar”). Never-before-seen extras include the featurette “‘Titanic’: Stories from the Heart,” where Cameron, Landau and Winslet share memories of making the greatest love story in cinema history; a behind-the-scenes presentation hosted by Landau that showcases the making of “Titanic;” a trailer presentation hosted by Jon Landau that shares an inside glimpse into the marketing of the film; and Fan Poster Art. Other previously released extras include deleted scenes with optional commentary by James Cameron; the featurette “‘Titanic’: 25 Years Later with James Cameron,” where Cameron explores the enduring myths and mysteries of the shipwreck and mounts tests to see whether Jack (DiCaprio) could have fit on the raft and survived; the music video for Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On;” still galleries; and more. The 4K Ultra HD disc adds to the extras three previously released commentary tracks: one by the cast and crew, one by James Cameron and a historical commentary track by Don Lynch and Ken Marschall.

“Titanic” will also debut as a limited-edition collector’s box set that’s a must have for fans. The spectacular set includes all of the above along with the following exclusive collectibles in an elegant slipcase: a hardcover coffee table book detailing the making of the film’s most iconic scenes; a detailed schematic inspired by the actual ship blueprint, highlighting locations of key scenes; movie prop reproductions of a boarding pass, launch viewing ticket, ship menus and notes from Jack to Rose (Winslet) and Rose to Cal (Billy Zane, “The Phantom”); and sheet music for “My Heart Will Go On.”

TV Shows

WandaVision: The Complete Series (Action, Comedy, Drama)

Relive all of the magic and mystery of “WandaVision,” as the Emmy-winning Disney+/Marvel Studios original series is now available to own as a 4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray SteelBook just in time for the gift-giving season.

Marvel Studios’ “WandaVision” features a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen, “Love & Death”) and Vision (Paul Bettany, “A Beautiful Mind”) — two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives — begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

In addition to featuring all nine episodes of the phenomenal series on two discs, the “WandaVision” SteelBook release includes the never-before-seen extras “Through the Eras,” where the cast and crew discuss how the series moves through different sitcom eras; “Assembled: The Making of ‘WandaVision,’” where Olsen and Bettany take viewers behind the scenes of the groundbreaking series; a gag reel; and two deleted scenes. The SteelBook release also includes three concept art cards fans can display.