Criterion's February 2027 Slate: Kung Fu Hustle and The Irishman Land on 4K

The Criterion Collection will release Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle on 4K Ultra HD in February 2027, headlining a month that also brings Martin Scorsese's The Irishman and Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly to the format.

The Chow release arrives more than two decades after the film introduced many Western viewers to foreign-language cinema. The Film Stage, which first reported the lineup, called the movie "probably as good now as it was to my then-adolescent mind" — a personal verdict from a writer whose first subtitled theatrical experience, aside from films directed by Mel Gibson, was this very film.

Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter ships in the same month on 4K. The Irishman follows a different path: the Scorsese epic received a Criterion Blu-ray only six years ago, but it arrived less than twelve months before the label launched its 4K line, which makes the UHD upgrade, in The Film Stage's assessment, "a proper choice."

What else joins the 4K wave?

Jay Kelly, Baumbach's film for Netflix, comes to 4K with a new master. The Film Stage speculated, with some wit, that the transfer involves "removing the requisite layer of Netflix sheen." The writer also noted that Adam Sandler has now completed a Criterion hat-trick, with Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems already in the collection.

Which titles land on Blu-ray?

February is, by The Film Stage's account, "somehow an even bigger month for Blu-rays" than for 4K. The slate includes:

• Leo McCarey's Ruggles of Red Gap
• Gus Van Sant's Mala Noche, upgraded from a 2007 DVD release
• Carla Simón's Romería, released through the Criterion Premieres line
• Victor Sjostrom's Hollywood Masterworks, a box set featuring He Who Gets Slapped, The Scarlet Letter and The Wind

The Sjostrom set serves as the month's capstone, gathering three Hollywood-era silent films by the Swedish director who would later star in Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries — though that connection belongs to film history rather than this announcement.

What does this change for collectors?

The February 2027 lineup signals Criterion's continued acceleration on 4K, now reaching films released as recently as the streaming era. Jay Kelly marks a notable shift: a Netflix title receiving a physical 4K edition with a remastered picture suggests the label treats digital-native films as candidates for restoration-grade treatment, not merely porting.

For viewers who built their libraries on DVD and Blu-ray, the month rewards patience. Mala Noche fans have waited since 2007 for an upgrade. The Irishman owners face a double-dip barely six years in the making — a familiar rhythm for Criterion collectors, and one the label shows no sign of abandoning. Full artwork and ordering details are available through Criterion's coming-soon page.