On the Shelf: ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ ‘Master and Commander,’ Friendship’ Kick-Off the Physical Media Releases for August 2025
The month starts off with two big 4K Blu-ray releases, one being a Hollywood classic and a modern historical epic, as well as the latest release from A24 and two important pieces of filmmaking from Japan entering the Criterion Collection.
Hard to believe that it has been 75 years since Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard was released, and for the first time ever, it arrives on 4K. Joe Gillis (William Holden), a handsome but bankrupt screenwriter, is hired by washed-up silent screen star Norma Desmond (the incredible Gloria Swanson) to pen her a comeback star vehicle. Gillis has had his latest screenplay rejected by the studios, and, desperate, takes up Desmond’s offer to write for her. She demands that he stay with her while he writes, and soon he becomes a virtual prisoner of the actress and her gloomy house. The noir-darkly comic classic is a devilish clever look on how the Hollywood system chews and spits up all who come in contact with it. Sunset Boulevard is a vital piece of cinema, and Wilder’s best, and is a must-own on physical media from the releases this week.
From the glamour of classic Hollywood to the high seas, Peter Weir’s masterpiece Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World arrives on 4K. Based on author celebrated Patrick O’Brian’s series, the film follows Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his crew aboard the British Navy’s top ship, the H.M.S. Surprise. When the Surprise is suddenly attacked by the enemy, Aubrey and his men must repair their ship quickly to chase down their foe, capture them, and restore the name of their captain and country. In the course of the characters’ epic journey, the movie travels the world — from the coast of Brazil to the storm-tossed waters of Cape Horn, south through ice and snow, to the far side of the world, to the remote shores of The Galapagos Islands. In glorious 4K, this movie should sing on your screens at home, as it’s a crown jewel of epic filmmaking of the early 2000s, and one that gets better with age.
As far as 2025 releases, A24’s Friendship arrives just in time to provide you some laughs at home while The Naked Gun is in theaters providing the same service. In Andrew DeYoung’s directorial debut, suburban dad Craig (Tim Robinson) falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor Austin (Paul Rudd), but his attempts to make an adult male friend soon threatens to ruin both of their lives. Featuring the same style of comedy that’s made Robinson a household name, Friendship is a hilarious trip about “the fickle nature of not just platonic male relationships, but also a greater investigation into how someone with no self-reflection nurtures any of their close relationships whatsoever,” per from our own Trace Sauveur’s review out of SXSW from earlier this year. It throws you for a “crazed loop” and remains “goddamn funny” throughout its 101-minute runtime, making it one of the most unique, humorous comedies of the year.
Over on the Criterion front, director Kon Ichikawa, the Japanese filmmaker, and his films, The Burmese Harp, which is one of the most overwhelming yet breathtaking antiwar films from Japanese cinema, as well as Fires on the Plain, a stirring portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded on a strange land during World War II, make their way into the famed collection. Both films are testaments to not only the spirit and complexity of the Japanese during WWII but also showcases Ichikawa’s brilliance as one of his country’s most versatile directors
Other Notable Releases for the Week of August 4, 2025 include:
Better Off Dead (1985, 4K Blu-ray, Paramount Pictures)
Convoy (1978, 4K Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)
Late Night with the Devil (2024, 4K Blu-ray, IFC Films)
Shaw Brothers Classics: Vol. Seven (1973-1980, Blu-ray, Shout Factory)The Capture (1950, Blu-ray, The Film Detective)
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