Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X, and The Flash lead August's best Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases

Available August 1

Are you ready for the final (?) adventure of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (Vin Diesel), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3? The A.V. Club’s Matthew Jackson wrote that “Gunn’s trilogy ends with a big, brash blaze of glory.” The 32nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be available on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray. Extras include a featurette on the evolution of the Guardians, a featurette on creating Rocket Raccoon, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and an audio commentary by Gunn.

Available August 1

One of John Hughes’ most beloved ‘80s comedies is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, starring Matthew Broderick as the titular teen who goes to extraordinary lengths to make sure he and his friends make the most out of playing hooky. Paramount Home Media Distribution has done a 4K restoration of the film for its 4K UHD debut. Extras include an audio commentary by the late Hughes, a making-of featurette, “Who Is Ferris Bueller?,” “The World According To Ben Stein,” and “Vintage Ferris Bueller: The Lost Tapes.” There is also a limited edition SteelBook for Ferris superfans.

Available August 1

Clive Barker wrote and directed the cult fantasy-horror film Nightbreed, based on his novella Cabal. Craig Sheffer plays a troubled man who finds comfort in a mythical place called Midian where friendly monsters hide from a world that fears them. Scream Factory has done a 4K restoration of the best surviving film elements for the 4K UHD debut of Nightbreed’s theatrical cut. The four-disc Collector’s Edition combo pack also includes a Blu-ray of the theatrical cut, a Blu-ray of the director’s cut that includes a 72-minute documentary on the making of the film, and a bonus-features Blu-ray with deleted scenes, several making-of featurettes, makeup tests, rehearsal tests, galleries, and more.

Available August 8

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s final movie, Enter The Dragon, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has done a 4K restoration of the Robert Clouse-directed film for its 4K UHD debut. The disc contains both the theatrical and special-edition versions of the seminal martial arts movie. Extras include an introduction by Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, as well as an audio commentary by Paul Heller and Michael Allin.

Available August 8

Fast X is the 10th main installment of the Fast And Furious franchise starring Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto. In the sequel, Dom and his family are targeted by the revenge-seeking son of a drug kingpin. The movie starring Jason Momoa, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, John Cena, Charlize Theron, and many more is being released on 4K UHD on August 8. Target has even listed a Collector’s Edition for release on August 8 that comes packaged with 10 character art cards. Bonus features include several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes, including “Belles Of The Brawl,” “This Is Family,” and “Jason Momoa: Conquering Rome.”

Available August 11

Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture is documentary/concert film by D.A. Pennebaker that takes place during the final date of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Tour in London on July 3, 1973. In celebration of the historic concert’s 50th anniversary, Rhino Home Video is releasing the movie on Blu-ray for the first time in attractive gold packaging with stunning photos of the Starman himself. The release appears to be a three-disc set, but it’s unclear as of press time what is included on the other two discs.

Available August 15

In The Machine, stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer plays a man whose past drunken antics catch up to him 20 years later as he and his father (Mark Hamill) are kidnapped by people that Bert wronged during his college semester in Russia. For those of you who feel that Hamill is criminally underused in comedies (people who watch What We Do In The Shadows know exactly what we mean), this action-comedy directed by Peter Atencio will tickle you. The Blu-ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment includes a featurette about the movie’s premiere party, deleted scenes, several making-of featurettes, and outtakes and bloopers.

Available August 22

“What’s this? What’s this?” Why, it’s the 4K UHD debut of Tim Burton’s stop-motion animated holiday classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, just in time for the fan favorite’s 30th anniversary. In the movie, Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, goes way outside his comfort zone after he discovers Christmas Town and tries to take over the December holiday. All of the extras are included on the Blu-ray in the two-disc combo pack, including deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, an audio commentary, Burton’s short film Frankenweenie, and more.

Available August 22

August is a great month to be a John Hughes fan. First we had the 4K debut of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and second we get the 4K UHD debut of Weird Science. The sci-fi comedy-fantasy about two high school nerds (Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith) who use a computer program to create the perfect woman (Kelly LeBrock) features a catchy title song by Oingo Boingo. Arrow Films has done a 4K restoration of the theatrical cut from the original camera negative. You can also choose to watch an included extended cut with two additional scenes, or even the TV cut in standard definition. Extras include separate interviews with the casting director, composer, and editor, as well as an archive documentary. Weird Science comes packaged with a collectible booklet and a double-sided fold-out poster featuring the original and newly commissioned artwork.

Available August 22

In the satirical horror-comedy The Blackening, seven Black friends go away to a cabin for the weekend but end up trapped there with a killer. They can’t ALL die first, can they? This hilarious parody starring Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, and many more slashes at tired horror-movie tropes and should appeal to fans of the Scary Movie franchise. In addition to the standard Blu-ray and 4K UHD available on Amazon, Best Buy has listed a 4K UHD SteelBook of The Blackening. No details are available yet about bonus features included on any version.

Available August 29

Since The Flash starring Ezra Miller bombed at the box office, it’s no surprise that it will arrive on home video in, well, a flash! The highlight of the latest multiverse-traversing superhero flick is undoubtedly the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. Bonus features on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray include a making-of featurette, “The Return Of Michael Keaton As Batman,” “The Flash: Escape The Midnight Circus,” deleted scenes, a featurette on Supergirl, and more.

Available August 29

People still charmed by Jennifer Lawrence will want to check her out in this sex comedy directed by Gene Stupnitsky (The Office). In No Hard Feelings, Lawrence plays a delivery driver in need of quick cash who answers a Craigslist ad posted by a couple seeking a woman to “date” their awkward 19-year-old son (Andrew Barth Feldman). Bonus features on the Blu-ray include “A Motley Crew: Meet The Characters,” a making-of featurette, plus bloopers and outtakes.