Sci-Fi and Fantasy on DVD & Blu-ray
Science fiction and fantasy from the serial era through to 1980s cult cinema — rocket-ship chapter plays, rubber-suit creature features, animated fantasy and midnight-movie staples, most of them restored and many unavailable elsewhere.
Serial-Era Science Fiction
Before science fiction was a prestige genre it was Saturday morning serial fare, and that is where much of this collection begins. Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, with Buster Crabbe in the role he defined, is available as a special edition. Captain Video brings the first American science fiction television hero to disc, and Dick Tracy Returns represents the crime-adventure serials that ran alongside them.
Creature Features and Monster Movies
Gorgo, the British kaiju picture in which a sea monster is captured and put on display in London, is stocked on Blu-ray and as an Ultimate Collector's Edition. The Creepy-Creature Double-Feature pairs The Slime People with The Crawling Hand, both from a new 4K restoration. Also here: Beast of the Yellow Night and Beyond Atlantis from the Philippine genre cycle, Luigi Cozzi's Contamination, and Extra Terrestrial Visitors.
Cult Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Fire and Ice, the animated fantasy from Ralph Bakshi and illustrator Frank Frazetta, is available as a limited edition Blu-ray and on DVD. Donnie Darko and Dune are stocked in standard editions, with Dune also on 4K Ultra HD. The Charles Band strand of 1990s video-store science fiction is represented by Arcade and Bad Channels, and the Ghoulies films sit at the horror-fantasy border on Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
Speculative Documentary
Chariots of the Gods, the documentary adapted from Erich von Däniken's book on ancient astronaut theory, is available in its original release and in a 50th anniversary edition on DVD and Blu-ray. It remains one of the most commercially successful documentaries ever made and a foundational text for a whole subculture.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are the serials complete?
- Serial releases contain the full chapter run unless the product page states otherwise. Chapter counts are listed in the technical details for each title.
- Which titles are available on 4K UHD?
- Dune and Ghoulies are among the science fiction and fantasy titles offered on 4K Ultra HD. Where a 4K edition exists it is listed as a separate product from the standard Blu-ray.
- Are these restored or standard transfers?
- It varies by title. Where a film has been newly scanned, the restoration resolution is stated on the product page.