Guillermo del Toro’s 2021 version of Nightmare Alley is the fifth and last of the year’s ten Best Picture Oscar nominees to be released on DVD and Blu-ray prior to the awards being given out next Sunday. It follows the releases of Dune, King Richard, Belfast, and West Side Story. Licorice Pizza is expected to be released soon. An announcement regarding Drive My Car is expected shortly. CODA, Don’t Look Up, and The Power of the Dog are only available via streaming, the first on Apple +, the other two on Netflix.

Edmund Goulding’s 1947 version of Nightmare Alley, released on Blu-ray and DVD last year by Criterion, is a formidable cult classic. Del Toro’s remake of William Lesley Gresham’s dark novel is even better.

Bradley Cooper has the role Tyrone Power made famous in the original, an ambitious carny turned phony mind-reader and clairvoyant who is outsmarted by a predatory female psychologist. She was played to devastating perfection by the relatively unknown Helen Walker in the 1947 version, and by the very famous Cate Blanchett in the remake, who is equally brilliant. Unfortunately, the sizzling performance of Joan Blondell and the sweet one of Coleen Gray in the earlier version are not matched as well by the usually spot-on Toni Collette and Rooney Mara here. David Strathairn, however, does impressive work as Collette’s husband, previously played by Ian Keith. Also memorable are Willem Dafoe and Richard Jenkins in roles not featured in the 1947 version.

The film’s Oscar-nominated production design, costume design, and cinematography really pop on home video, especially in the 4K UHD version.

4K UHD (Ultra High Deficiency) Blu-rays had been pretty much a niche market since their inception in 2016 and remained so until fairly recently. With Criterion and Kino Lorber entering into the distribution, however, 4K UHD production is on the increase.

While release of new films in the format has been around since its inception, catalogue releases have been rare. That is no longer the case. New releases include The Apartment, Touch of Evil, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Eastern Promises from Kino Lorber, The Green Mile from Warner Bros., An American Werewolf in London from Arrow, and The Godfather Trilogy from Paramount.

Kino Lorber’s release of Billy Wilder’s 1960 Oscar-winning The Apartment follows their recent release of Wilder’s 1959 Oscar-nominated Some Like It Hot, providing an even richer viewing experience of an even better film.

Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were in their prime and veteran Fred MacMurray was then a major TV star and box-office draw in a number of Disney films including The Shaggy Dog and The Absent-Minded Professor. His sleazeball head of personnel opposite nice guy Lemmon and sweetheart MacLaine was one of his most memorable screen roles. Extras include new commentary by Joseph McBride, author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge.

Kino Lorber’s Touch of Evil, under-appreciated in its 1958 release, has long since been considered one of the greatest films of its era. Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Akim Tamiroff, Joseph Calleia, and Marlene Dietrich star in what has become director Orson Welles’ second most celebrated film behind Citizen Kane, a recent 4K UHD release from Criterion.

One wouldn’t think that Tomas Alfredson’s eleven-year-old version of John le Carré’s famed thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy would require restoration, but Kino Lorber’s evocative update proves that it did. Gary Oldman in his first Oscar-nominated role after a thirty-year star career, leads a stellar cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Colin Clive, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, and the late John Hurt, all doing some of their best work.

The same lack of necessity might be said of David Cronenberg’s 2007 Russian Mafia thriller Eastern Promises, starring Viggo Mortensen in his first Oscar-nominated role, but work was needed for the soundtrack which has been dramatically improved. Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Sinead Cusack co-star in this intense thriller from the director of Dead Ringers and the 1986 remake of The Fly.

Writer-director Frank Darabont is best known these days for the long-running TV series, The Walking Dead (2010-2022), but in the film world, he is known for two films set in prisons from the works of Stephen King, 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption and 1999’s The Green Mile, both of which were Oscar nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. Warner Bros. successfully released The Shawshank Redemption on 4K UHD last September. It was inevitable that The Green Mile would soon follow.

Tom Hanks heads a cast that includes Bonnie Hunt, Doug Hutchinson, Harry Dean Stanton, David Morse, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, and Oscar nominee Michael Clarke Duncan as the gentle giant around whom the narrative revolves.

Arrow’s release of John Landis’ 1981 film An American Werewolf in London provides renewed brilliance of Rick Baker’s celebrated makeup. Dozens of extras are included, stars David Naughton and Griffin Dunne’s commentary among them.

The crème de la crème of the new 4K UHD releases has to be Paramount’s meticulously restored release of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Trilogy in celebration of the 50th anniversary release of the first film.

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, Talia Shire, and more star in 1972’s Oscar-winning The Godfather.

Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, G.D. Spradlin, and more star in 1974’s Oscar-winning The Godfather: Part II.

Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallch, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola, Raf Vallone, Franc D’Ambrosio, Donal Donnelly, Helmut Berger, John Savage, and more star in 1990’s The Godfather: Part III, three versions of which are included, the original theatrical version, the 1991 cut, and the newly released cut, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.

This week’s new releases include The Flight of the Phoenix and Blue Skies.