The best 4K and Blu-ray releases coming out in May 2026

New physical media must-haves include a slew of Fleischer cartoons, a sultry neo-noir, and one of the headiest pieces of eye candy to hit screens in years.

By Jacob Oller  |  May 1, 2026 | 1:00pm
Photo: The Criterion Collection
Film Features Blu-ray
The best 4K and Blu-ray releases coming out in May 2026

Each month The A.V. Club does our part to keep you up to date on the best of what’s coming out on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, which is especially important as streaming services become less and less reliable homes for films worth watching. This month offers more interesting bundles than standalone features, which means good things for collectors’ wallets in the middle of a busy year. May 2026’s Blu-ray and 4K releases include a slew of Fleischer cartoons, a sultry neo-noir, and one of the headiest pieces of eye candy to hit screens in years. Read on and find films from the Wachowski sisters, Lawrence Kasdan, and more.

Film Noir Classics Double Feature: Borderline & D.O.A.

Available May 12, 2026

Some of these bundles of older films get trotted out every month, but they don’t always feature new restorations of each, three video essays apiece, and one of the great unsung classics of film noir. Not to damn Borderline (a Fred MacMurray film I’ve truly never heard of) with the comparison, but Rudolph Maté’s D.O.A. is as cool as its opening, in which a man walks into a police station to report his own murder. He’s been fatally poisoned and he’s got about 90 minutes to deal with it—the resulting film is as loopy as the premise. It’s the first time the classic has been on Blu-ray, and despite it coming from a less exciting distributor than some of these other releases (VCI Home Entertainment doesn’t exactly have the reputation of Arrow), it’s a long-overdue moment.

Body Heat 4K

Available May 19, 2026

It’s hard not to get sweaty just thinking about Body Heat, Lawrence Kasdan’s Floridian horndog neo-noir where a ding-dong (William Hurt) gets taken for a ride by a sultry femme fatale (Kathleen Turner). Also, Ted Danson is there, quite literally dancin’. Kasdan and editor Carol Littleton approved this new 4K Criterion disc, which offers new interviews with both and some older special features. But really, all you need is an edition of the film where every bead of moisture is visible on the foreheads of its scheming characters.

Speed Racer 4K SteelBook

Available May 19, 2026

If ever there was a film built for 4K, it is the Wachowskis’ candy cartoon take on Speed Racer. With a nice meaty booklet, art cards, and posters, the SteelBook version offers a few physical extras, though the real treat is the main feature: a combination of big CG swings, Technicolor chaos, and campy race drama (thoroughly sold by the cast, including John Goodman and Susan Sarandon), all juiced up to feel like you’re watching the live-action anime through a kaleidoscope. 

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves 4K

Available May 25, 2026

A goofy-gritty take on Robin Hood, Kevin Reynolds’ Prince Of Thieves fittingly gets its restoration from Arrow (which of course, was shot directly through by another Arrow). But don’t worry, there’re plenty more special features than a live performance of the film’s ubiquitous theme song, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.” Though, yes, there is also that. Two commentary tracks, two full documentaries, tons of interviews, and a fat booklet of essays—this is the least the company could do for a film hiding a great Alan Rickman turn. And, as more and more filmmakers have attempted to make mature Robin Hood films (there’s even one coming later this year), this ultra-’90s take feels almost quaint to revisit.

Fleischer Cartoons: Greatest Hits, Volume 1

Available May 26, 2026

A favorite of animation aficionados, Fleischer Studios made all sorts of weird and wonderful cartoons as it provided a stranger and more expressionistic alternative to Disney during the 1930s. This collection of 20 Fleischer cartoons, all restored in 4K, offers a cross-section of the studio’s offerings during the period, including Popeye’s meeting with Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves, Betty Boop’s trip to Blunderland, and the killer Superman short The Mechanical Monsters. With additional audio commentaries for context, this release is a nice little history lesson, as well as a chance to see something as odd as Swing You Sinners! as crisp as it’s been in almost a century.

 
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