MASK OF THE PHANTASM Is Finally Getting A Blu-ray Release
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is arguably one of the best depictions of the Caped Crusader. Everything from his tragic ethos to the conflicting nature of his commitment to crime-fighting is articulated, well, somewhat perfectly in this 1993 spin-off to the historic Batman: The Animated Series. It’s also the only Batman theatrical movie you couldn’t own on Blu-ray – until now, that is.
The film is getting a brand new HD Re-master for this release, which appears to be happening as soon as next month. Yeah, that soon! It’ll contain both the theatrical 16x9 version (1.78:1) as well as the open matte 4:3 (1.37:1). So far the release seems to be just for U.S./North America, but since it’ll be available via online retailers, it shouldn’t be impossible to purchase if it doesn’t come out where you are. Plus, Warner Brothers Blu-ray discs tend to be regions A, B and C, so there’s a good chance it’ll play on whatever contraption you’ve got.
Per the Warner Archive, the re-master aims to bring out a bunch of the analog information from the original film print that the SD versions might not display, and lemme tell ya: as someone who’s been lucky enough to see this thing on 35mm, we’re in for one hell of a good-looking movie. The only downside is the audio and subtitles are English-only (pretty weird for something so popular, right?), but keep your fingers crossed for potential non-American releases.
Oh, and the cover is pretty much exactly like the VHS and DVD, because why fix something that isn't broken?
You should be able to order it through Amazon, Best Buy and the likes pretty soon, but in the meantime, you can head on over to the official DC Shop and nab it with an exclusive Mask of the Phantasm t-shirt.
This is really cool, and it means we’re probably one step closer to getting “Heart of Ice” (and perhaps some other classic Animated Series episodes, if not the full thing) in the not-too-distant future. But for now, let's bask in one of the best pieces of Batman media ever made, the way it was meant to be seen.
