The 9 best Blu-rays and 4K UHD releases of April 2023

There are many great films coming out on Blu-ray, 4K UHD, and Blu-ray in April. A five-film anthology from one of the greatest living directors arrives on physical media for the very first time, a bunch of Star Trek films get the 4K treatment, and Michelle Yeoh’s most dangerous stunt can now be admired knowing full well that she survives, makes a bunch more awesome movies, and wins an Oscar.

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.

This is the most anticipated Blu Ray of April 2023

Photo: Amazon Studios

The Small Axe (Blu-ray) – April 25

I’m convinced Steve McQueen (the living director, not the deceased actor) would be a household name if not for some atrocious studio marketing decisions. McQueen, who won the Turner Prize as well as serving in official capacity for Iraqi war artists, is truly multihyphenate. BeforeHis first feature film. That film, 2008’s Hunger, premiered at Cannes and won McQueen the Caméra d’Or — making him the first British director to do so. He then followed up with Shame Twelve Years as a SlaveThe Academy Award for Best Picture was won by,

McQueen’s work only improved, but his films became paradoxically more commercial and less visible. Widows One of the most thrilling thrillers in the last decade is now co-written with Gone Girl scribe Gillian Flynn, and has an absolutely bonkers ensemble cast of mega-celebrities: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya… The list goes on. It was a disaster with trailers and it appeared that its distributor had abandoned the project after just a small box office.

The Small Axe is McQueen’s most ambitious project yet. The director joined forces with Amazon Studios and BBC to produce a 5-film film anthology that chronicles the experiences of West Indians living in London between the 1960s and the 1980s. It’s romantic and exciting and inspiring and gutting and fun and maddening and an incomparable collision of feelings that are only possible within its epic 405-minute run time. I struggle to describe it. Unfortunately, so did Amazon when it debuted on the company’s streaming service.

Fortunately, now’s your chance to enjoy this underappreciated masterpiece. Amazon’s underappreciated gems deserve physical media. How can we persuade Criterion? Underground Railroad next?

Criterion’s release of The Small Axe Includes new 2K masters and new conversations between McQueen, writer Paul Gilroy and a documentary in three parts about the 1981 New Cross fire at New Cross House.

These are the major Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray releases from April 2023

Image by Paramount

Flashdance (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital) – April 11

Adrian Lyne is most famous for his sexual thrillers. 9½ Weeks, Fatal AttractionPlease see the following: Be unfaithful. However, his first movie in studio is probably the most entertaining and sexiest.

Paramount is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with a special gift FlashdanceThe 4K treatment. If you haven’t seen Flashdance already, you’ve seen at least one of the countless parodies of its most iconic sequence. The 18-year old woman is a weaver in the day, and an exotic dancer at night. Her one goal is to go into a conservatory for dance. Without Jennifer Beals’ unfuckingbelievably cool lead, this melodramatic story might have fallen apart.

A few featurettes are included on the two-disc set that focuses on Lyne. Flashdanceaesthetics and how it inspired cultural moments

Universal Pictures Photo

Midnight Run (4K UHD + Blu-ray) – April 4

Robert De Niro portrays a bounty hunter. His task is to track down an accountant tied by the mob across the United States in just five days. No hit men or the FBI are needed. This is a simple idea. The premise is deceptively simple. Midnight RunIn 1988 the movie premiered. A lot of critics dismissed it as an imitation genre film. It was the misstep in director Martin Brest’s hot streak, sandwiched between ultra-hit Beverly Hills CopOscar-winner A Woman’s Scent.

Midnight RunIt has enjoyed decades of separation from its peers, who it surpasses. Robert De Niro gives 110% to one of his silliest roles and the late Charles Grodin stands as a surprisingly confident counterpoint to his brutish scene partner — despite looking like a dad who lost his luggage en route to a corporate retreat.

UHD upgrades should bring out the best in the film’s action scenes and the truly beautiful framings American landscapes. The 4K Blu-ray from the reliable Shout Select label includes six interviews, including convos with De Niro and Grodin, along with a “vintage making-of featurette.”

Image: Sunrise/Crunchyroll

Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversaries (4K UHD + Blu-ray) – April 4

Limited Edition

Extraordinary Edition

Cowboy BebopThere was an occasional cultural revival of the anime series a few years ago, when Netflix offered a season of live-action streaming TV. The show was met with mixed reviews and it was scrapped. Cowboy BebopThe project was abandoned. The 25th anniversary of Western will hopefully remind those who have been following the show for a long time just how unique this area is. For new viewers, there is great news. The show has held up remarkably well. Contrary to influential media that can be too familiar after decades of copying, this show is not like them. Cowboy BebopThe spirit of innovation and creativity is just as strong as 25 years ago.

Crunchyroll’s releases are available in limited edition and special editions. Each edition includes all 26 episodes and hours of commentary as well as interviews and featurettes. The limited edition includes a metallic box with switchable cover art, and a “never-before-seen 25th anniversary video.”

Image: Severin Films

Wings of Disaster: The Birdemic Trilogy (Blu-ray) – April 4

This Birdemic: Fear and ShockThe good fortune to have survived so many low-budget horror films is a miracle. That writer and director James Nguyen could convert the first film’s cult status into a legitimate trilogy is a miracle. And that said trilogy would warrant a beautiful box set with roughly 13 hours of special features — that defies the power of words.

Alongside last month’s release of Violent streetsThe Wings of Disaster Collection is an exceptional collection of Italian crime film. It establishes Severin among the top labels in media. This label does a thorough job and is devoid of irony. They give TLC works that might otherwise go unnoticed or be thrown on the market without much care.

Image by Paramount

Star Trek: The Next Generation 4K Movie collection – April 4

Many of the classic Star Trek films are already available on 4K, but now is the first time ’90s kids will have the satisfaction of watching their era get the UHD upgrade: Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: InsurrectionPlease see the following: Star Trek: Nemesis.

This collection contains a wealth of bonus features including round tables and featurettes as well as commentaries and mini-docs on Industrial Light and Magic. Personally, I’m most excited to check out text commentary from Michael and Denise Okuda.

Bullet Train (Blu-ray) –April 24,

This one’s a bit tricky. No, it’s not the Brad Pitt movie. And no, it won’t work on a Region-A Blu-ray player. This one is worth considering if your Blu-ray player can play Region-B Blurays or you are able to access a universal Bluray player.

Blu-ray will be available from Eureka, the excellent U.K. record label. It is offering a 2K restoration to this difficult-to-find action movie of 1975. Though you probably haven’t heard of this Bullet Train, you’ve almost certainly watched the film it inspired: Speed. Bad dude sets off a bomb to detonate the train if it drops below 80 km/h. It’s up to a train conductor, played by the legendary Sonny Chiba, to save the day.

This release contains both original Japanese and alternative dubbed versions as well as new audio commentary and interviews. This would have been my favorite month-end pick, if not for Region-B restrictions. As is, it’s a very good reason to figure out how to watch Blu-rays from around the world.

If you’re a hardcore 4K and Blu-ray person, this universal player splits the difference between cheap players and the ultra-expensive (diminishing returns) options.

Police Story #3: Supercop (4K UHD + Blu-ray) – April 25

If you’ve heard only one thing about Supercop, it’s probably the Quentin Tarantino quote. According to the director Supercop has “the greatest stunts filmed in any movie, and that includes Buster Keaton.” And he’s right! But the quote doesn’t capture just how hard this film goes.

Michelle Yeoh, Oscar winner, nearly fell from the truck’s roof onto the convertible’s windshield. The danger wasn’t falling off the car (which Yeoh did) but the two cars that nearly ran her over. The stunt was repeated multiple times by Yeoh, even though Jackie Chan thought she had tried hard enough to move on.

Yeoh has made so many killer action movies that it’s difficult to recommend just one. Supercop This is a great place to start. Yeoh and Chan team up to beat the snot out of a bunch of bad dudes and give everything they have along the way — quite literally.

The Assassination Bureau (Blu-ray) – April 27

It was something that I hadn’t heard before. Assassination BureauI had not heard about it before. Now I can’t wait to see it. Here’s the elevator pitch: a comic caper set against World War I that was shot in Technicolor by Geoffrey Unsworth, who had served as director of photography on2001: A Space Odyssey. You can watch it all.

What is the secret to my ignorance? I guess label Arrow knows this is the question, considering the disc includes a featurette listed as “Right Film, Wrong Time, a 30-minute appreciation by critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet.”