Kong: Skull Island is now available in a confusing plethora of different editions with 4K, 3D options as well as retailer exclusives. The most attractive is Target’s lenticular version with bonus content, but it’s only available as a standard Blu-ray. For fans of prestige formats, Best Buy’s Steelbook is the only edition that includes both 4K UHD and 3D discs, along with alternate artwork. (The various versions are all outlined in this week’s edition of The COBRA Connection).
https://cinapse.co/the-cobra-connection-new-blu-ray-releases-for-july-18-2017-50e77db6983a
Because of its format inclusiveness, I found myself visiting two Best Buys in search of the Steelbook (the first was already sold out, an hour after opening). I grabbed one of the two copies left at the second store.
The introduction of 4K has been a challenge for the home video market for a lot of reasons I don’t need to get into here, but the separation of 4K and 3D as disparate products can be very frustrating to folks who enjoy both formats. Since they’re often priced at $25-$30 each, double-dipping just seems foolish, leaving buyers forced to choose. While the formats are different, they’re pointed squarely at the exact same target market: home video fiends and movie lovers who take joy in cinematic eye candy. Sony has smartly packaged 4K and 3D together on titles like Ghostbusters, but Kong is interesting in that it offers the dual option, but only as a retailer exclusive oddity that will almost certainly disappear quickly.
Three discs are included; 4K UHD, 3D, and standard (2D) Blu-ray, along with a digital copy insert. Each disc has its own housing in the case, which should be expected, but is nevertheless worth pointing out since some Steelbooks skimp and include second or third discs in paper sleeves.
The layout above is how the discs were housed, but my OCD kicked in big-time and I had to immediately swap the 4K disc to the left side.
At an introductory price of $35, Best Buy’s Steelbook is not cheap and the artwork, while attractive, leans in the minimalist direction. But the combination of prestige formats is pretty compelling for anyone who is interested in having both.
Best Buy exclusives can be weird — sometimes selling through immediately, and other times replenished and available for months. This one seems to be selling pretty briskly, so I wouldn’t wait. If you can’t find it in stores, it’s still available online at the time of this publication.
https://cinapse.co/the-cobra-connection-new-blu-ray-releases-for-july-18-2017-50e77db6983a
Sadly what all this fails to answer, though, is why we didn’t get a Steelbook with this artwork on it.
A/V Out.
https://cinapse.co/the-cobra-connection-new-blu-ray-releases-for-july-18-2017-50e77db6983a
