Scream VI, The Last Of Us, and Sisu lead July's best Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases

Plus Beau Is Afraid and the 4K debuts of Jaws 2, After Hours, and East Of Eden—all for fans who still love physical media (we know you're out there)

By Robert DeSalvo  |  June 25, 2023 | 2:00pm
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Scream VI, The Last Of Us, and Sisu lead July's best Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases
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Clockwise from top left: Beau Is Afraid (A24), The Last Of Us (HBO), Sisu (Lionsgate), Scream VI (Paramount) Image: The A.V. Club

Physical media may be devalued by some in our streaming-dominated world, but you’d be surprised how many great titles are only available on disc. Maybe you’ve forgotten how rewarding some DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD offerings can be, especially when they’re loaded with special packaging and bonus features. With that in mind, here’s a look at all the best films and shows you can spin starting in July, including the physical debuts of Scream VI, Beau Is Afraid, and the first season of The Last Of Us. Also on tap are the 4K UHD debuts of Jaws 2, After Hours, The Burning, East Of Eden, World War Z, and many more.

Jaws 2 (1978)
Jaws 2 (1978) - Trailer HD 1080p

Available July 4Just in time for Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week is the 4K UHD debut of , the first and, to date, best sequel to Jaws. Jaws 2 features returning actors Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton as their characters deal with a new great white terrorizing Amity Island. features a previously restored 4K version now with HDR. There is also a limited edition available exclusively at Best Buy. Legacy bonus features include deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, “Jaws 2: A Portrait By Actor Keith Gordon,” “John Williams: The Music Of Jaws 2,” and more.

After Hours (1985)
After Hours (1985) Official Trailer - Griffin Dunne, Martin Scorcese Movie HD

Available July 11Director Martin Scorsese’s is a black-comedy thriller about a Manhattan office worker (Griffin Dunne) who heads downtown and hooks up with a mysterious woman (Rosanna Arquette) for the wildest night of his life. Criterion Collection is putting out a new presented in Dolby Vision HDR. Bonus features include a new interview of Scorsese by writer Fran Lebowitz, a legacy documentary about the making of the movie, a new featurette with costume designer Rita Ryack and production designer Jeffrey Townsend, deleted scenes, and an essay by critic Sheila O’Malley.

Sisu (2022)
SISU Official Trailer (2023)

Available July 11 is an action-thriller set in Finland toward the end of World War II and follows a gold prospector and legendary ex-soldier (Jorma Tommila) who is being hunted by a Nazi death squad. Sisu is what happens when you put Rambo, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Inglourious Basterds in a blender … and that’s a wonderful thing. This hyperviolent revenge fantasy is being released by Lionsgate on both Blu-ray and . Bonus features include “Indestructible: Making Sisu” and “Pushing The Boundaries Of Reality: The Visual Effects Of Sisu.”

Scream VI (2023)
Scream VI | Official Trailer (2023 Movie)

Available July 11 is the first installment in the long-running slasher franchise to not star Neve Campbell as final girl Sidney Prescott, who sat this film out due to a pay dispute. It’s a surprisingly solid entry despite her absence. In the sixth chapter, the survivors of 2022’s Scream—including sisters Sam (Melissa Barrer) and Tara (Jenna Ortega)—move to New York City and are terrorized by a new Ghostface killer. This leaves Courteney Cox as the only actor who has appeared in every Scream movie since 1996. Scream VI has been available on digital and streaming for some time now, but Paramount is stepping things up with a release in addition to the standard 4K UHD and Blu-ray. The discs are loaded with killer bonus features, including the audio commentaries “Death Comes To The City,” “The Faces Of Death” (about the movie’s “core four”), “More Meta Than Meta,” “Bloodbath At A Bodega,” “An Apartment To Die For,” “The Night Train To Terror,” a retrospective on the previous Scream movies, and a gag reel.

Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Beau Is Afraid | Official Trailer HD | A24

Available July 11Hereditary director Ari Aster’s stars Joaquin Phoenix as the titular paranoid man who confronts some of his deepest fears as he journeys home to attend his mother’s funeral. The surrealist horror-comedy also features Nathan Lane, Parker Posey, and Patti LuPone. Lionsgate is releasing the movie on and DVD with at least one bonus feature: an in-depth feature documentary titled “Finally Home: Making Beau Is Afraid.”

The Burning (1981)
The Burning (1981) - Official Trailer

Available July 11Tis the season for slasher movies set at summer camps, which makes it the perfect time for Shout Factory to release a of . This cult film about a horribly burned camp caretaker named Cropsey who seeks revenge for his disfigurement after a prank gone awry features the movie debuts of Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, and Fisher Stevens. The legacy bonus features are ported over from the previous Blu-ray release, including audio commentaries, a look at the film’s makeup effects by Tom Savini, an interview with Cropsey actor Lou David, behind-the-scenes footage, and several more interviews with cast and crew.

Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Battlestar Galactica (1978) trailer

Available July 11Richard A. Colla’s starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict inspired the subsequent 1970s TV series as well as the popular 2004 reboot series. The plot involves a lone battlestar that is humanity’s last hope against the Cylons, who are trying to exterminate all humans in the Twelve Colonies. Universal is releasing the fan-favorite sci-fi flick on regular as well as a exclusive. Aside from a digital code, there don’t seem to be any bonus features, so superfans will want to splurge on the SteelBook to at least get some superior packaging.

Hugo (2011)
Hugo (2011) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

Available July 18, starring Asa Butterfield, was Martin Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D and it’s a love letter to the art of moviemaking. The film about an orphan living in a Paris train station in the 1930s is getting a limited edition debut from Arrow. The combo pack features the movie on 4K UHD, a Blu-ray with both the 2D and 3D versions, and a third bonus disc with extras such as new interviews with filmmakers and film historians, a featurette on Georges Melies and his impact on cinema, a visual essay titled “Melies At The Time Of Hugo,” and five legacy featurettes on the making of Hugo. The limited edition set also comes packaged with a double-sided fold-out poster and a collectible booklet.

East Of Eden (1955)
East of Eden (1995) Official Trailer - James Dean Movie HD

Available July 18Making its debut from Warner Bros. is the classic period drama starring James Dean in one of his only three film roles. Directed by Elia Kazan and based on the novel of the same name by John Steinbeck, East Of Eden was named one of the 400 best films of all time by the American Film Institute. The movie has been restored by Warner Bros. and presented in HDR for its 4K UHD debut. The only extra besides a digital copy is an audio commentary by late film scholar Richard Schickel.

The Last Of Us: The Complete First Season
The Last of Us Season 1 Trailer

Available July 18If you don’t have HBO or Max and somehow missed the phenomenon that is the post-apocalyptic drama , the first season starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey is coming to and Blu-ray. The release is packed with bonus features, including “The Last Of Us: Stranger Than Fiction,” a featurette on adapting the TV series from the video game, “From Levels To Live Action,” several making-of featurettes, and nine “Inside The Episode” featurettes. All the extras will help distract you from the fact that we still have a bit of a wait until season two.

World War Z (2013)
World War Z Official Trailer #1 (2013) - Brad Pitt Movie HD

Available July 25Brad Pitt plays a U.N. investigator trying to find the source of a zombie apocalypse in Marc Forster’s , based upon the novel by Max Brooks. For the film’s 10th anniversary, Shout Factory is releasing a three-disc combo pack, including the debut of the theatrical cut on disc one. Disc two is a Blu-ray with the theatrical cut and all of the bonus features, including a four-part documentary on the making of the film as well as several behind-the-scenes legacy featurettes. Disc three is a Blu-ray of the extended, unrated cut of the movie, which we wish would have been on 4K UHD as well.

 
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