Items filtered by date: November 2009

All right, ladies and gentlemen... we’re back! Thanks again for your patience while we took a little bit of time off here at The Digital Bits last week. All of us here at the site have had a lot going on this past month or so, so we definitely needed and appreciated the chance to recharge a bit. But we’re diving right back into the thick of things today, which means catching you up on all the interesting release news of the past several days.

First, though, we have a quick new disc review... Tim has taken a look at Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. This is classic black-and-white courtroom drama starring the great Henry Fonda, along with Lee Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman—it’s a real gem.

Now then, the big breaking news today is that The Criterion Collection has just unveiled their August slate, which is set to include an upgrade of Akira Kurosawa’s legendary Dreams (Spine #842 – 4K Ultra HD) on 8/8, Wayne Wang’s Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (Spine #1188 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 8/15, Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema (Spine #1189 – includes The Baby Carriage, Raven’s End, Elvira Madigan, and Ådalen 31 – Blu-ray) on 8/22, and Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso (Spine #1190 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 8/29. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, everyone!

I just wanted to pop in here quickly to say that news updates over the next few days will likely be limited. All of us here at the site have a lot of things going on personally, which are understandably absorbing most of our attention. And it’s always important to remember when you work online that real life matters come first.

Speaking personally, my father-in-law is here this week for a visit from the East Coast, so we’re enjoying our time with him. My wife and I have also added new some animal family members to the household here in SoCal, and we’re working to get them settled in. I also have a slate of doctors’ appointments scheduled for this week—just routine check-ups and that sort of thing.

And frankly, after the last few months of title announcements, disc releases, industry turmoil and changes, website upgrades and maintenance, and what have you, all of us need a few days to recharge our batteries. [Read on here...]

Today’s update will be quick, because we’re all neck-deep in new disc reviews, myself included. I’ve just completed an in-depth look at Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie, as newly-released in Warner’s Superman: 5-Film Collection in 4K Ultra HD. This a slightly different disc than the version released back in 2018 (and reviewed here) so be sure to check out the new review for all the relevant details.

FYI, I’m going to be working my way through every film in the set. In fact, I was up until 2 AM last night watching Richard Lester’s Superman II and also Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut in 4K Ultra HD back to back. So watch for the next reviews in the series here at The Bits tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Nick Castle’s The Last Starfighter (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, along with Norman Jewison’s original Rollerball (1975) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

Stuart has taken a look at Frank Tuttle’s Lucky Jordan (1942) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen—working jointly with Tim—has offered his take on Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) again, this time has released in regular and Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight Films in the UK. [Read on here...]

We’ve got quite a lot of ground to cover today to being the new week here at The Bits—there’s lots of news and announcements to report!

First though, just the briefest of public service announcements: If any of you are active on Twitter and Facebook and you’re not following our The Digital Bits pages (@thedigitalbits on Twitter and @thedigitalbitscom on Facebook), please consider doing so. It really helps us to get the word out about upcoming titles and other industry happenings. I’d also appreciate it if you’d consider following me personally on Twitter (@BillHuntBits). That’s often the first place I share breaking news and insights from our industry sources, before I have time to write it up in a Bits news post here on the site. Plus, I’m working on a series of science fiction novels that I plan to launch later this year, and I’ll be sharing those details on Twitter eventually too. So thanks in advance for your consideration!

We have three new disc reviews to share with you today...

First, Stuart has taken a look at George Sherman’s Border River (1954) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart has also offered his take on Keith Maitland’s Dear Mr. Brody (2021) on DVD from Greenwich Entertainment via Kino Lorber.

And finally, Stephen has done a deep dive into Arrow Video’s Twisting the Knife: Four Films by Claude Chabrol on Blu-ray, which features The Swindle (1997), The Color of Lies (1999), Nightcap (2000), and The Flower of Evil (2003).

More reviews are on the way, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them. [Read on here...]

We’ve got three new disc reviews for you to enjoy today...

I’ve taken a look at Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact (1998) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Robert Thornby’s The Trap (1922) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics, as well as Billie August’s The House of the Spirits (1993) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

In announcement news today, Arrow Video has just revealed their July Blu-ray and 4K slate, which is set to include Lewis Teague’s Fighting Back (1982) on Blu-ray (US and Canada only) on 7/4, the previously-revealed Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest box set on Blu-ray, 4K, and 4K Limited Edition (UK only) on 7/17, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011) on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD (US and Canada only) on 7/18, and the Blood Money: Four Western Classics – Volume 2 box set on Blu-ray (UK, US, and Canada) on 7/25. [Read on here...]

We have just a quick update for you today here at The Bits with some interesting release news, plus a few odds and ends related to titles we’ve learned from our industry sources are likely forthcoming in the months ahead.

First of all, the big news: Paramount has officially set Peter Weir’s The Truman Show (1998) for 4K Ultra HD release on 7/4 in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary. The disc is mastered from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative approved by the director and it will feature Dolby Vision HDR, as well as a new Dolby Atmos sound mix.

Extras will include the previous legacy features, among them the 2-part How’s It Going to End? The Making of The Truman Show documentary, the Faux Finishing: The Visual Effects of The Truman Show featurette, deleted scenes, a photo gallery, theatrical trailers, and TV spots. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers! Thanks for your patience with the lack of a news update yesterday. Sarah and I took the opportunity this past weekend to drive up the Central Coast of California to visit some friends there. And we packed so much in over a couple days that we needed most of Monday to recoup. But we saw elephant seals, otters, and Hearst Castle, so the trip was worth it.

Now then, we’ve got a pair of new disc reviews for you today...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Matthew Bright’s Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999) on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has offered his take on George Archainbaud’s Thanks for the Memory (1938) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film stars Bob Hope and Shirley Ross.

In announcement news today, Paramount has officially announced Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin’s Scream VI for release on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K UHD Steelbook release on 7/11, with the Digital release available today (4/25). Extras will include audio commentary with the filmmakers and 6 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Death Comes to the City, The Faces of Death, More Meta than Meta, Bloodbath at a Bodega, An Apartment to Die For, The Night Train to Terror, and Theater of Blood). A Gag Reel is also included as a Digital exclusive. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few interesting pieces of announcement news for you today...

First, Paramount has revealed new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook editions of the Mission: Impossible films today. Look for Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible 2 on 6/27, followed by Mission: Impossible 3 and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol on 7/4, and finally Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout on 7/11. You can see the Steelbook artwork for each below the break.

Paramount is also releasing an Amaray/wide-release version of Young Sherlock Holmes on Blu-ray on 6/27 (for those of you who passed on the Blu-ray Steelbook release).

Some of you will recall that we recently mentioned that Mill Creek is releasing The Event: The Complete Series on Blu-ray on 6/6. Well, Universal is also releasing La Brea: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray that same day.

Allied Vaughn has set Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader’s comedy documentary Chop & Steele for Blu-ray and DVD on 7/18.

The BBC is releasing Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee – Complete Season Three on Blu-ray on 7/11. [Read on here...]

We have new reviews for you today, as always...

Stephen has checked in with his thoughts on Sarah Polley’s Oscar-nominated Women Talking (2022) on Blu-ray from Universal.

Dennis has offered his take on Fritz Lang’s You and Me (1938) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Tim has posted his review of John Schlesinger’s Marathon Man (1976) in 4K Ultra HD from KL Studio Classics, as well as Norman Taurog’s Blue Hawaii (1961) on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, and two more films on Blu-ray from Arrow Video’s excellent Shawscope: Volume One box set—Lau Kar-leung’s Challenge of the Masters (1976) and Executioners of Shaolin (1977). Enjoy!

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to keep checking back for them.

In announcement news today, Imprint Films has revealed that they’re announcing their July Blu-ray slate on Friday. Our intel suggests three Blu-ray box sets, two featuring filmmakers Walter Hill and Sidney J. Furie, along with another that looks at several films starring actor Gene Hackman. We’ll let Imprint announce the specific films officially and then bring you the news here when they do. [Read on here...]

Morning, everyone! We start today with no less than three new disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s in-depth look at Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke (1967) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, as well as his thoughts on John Frankenheimer’s Black Sunday (1977) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

We’ve also got my take on Paramount’s new Star Trek: The Next Generation 4-Movie Collection box set in 4K Ultra HD—just an overall summary to go along with my detailed reviews of each of the individual films in 4K.

Now then, we’ve got a bunch of great announcement news today, and some updates on titles we’ve mentioned previously here at The Bits, starting with news from the Warner Archive Collection!

On the latest installment of Tim Millard’s excellent The Extras podcast, our friend George Feltenstein has revealed more of Warner Archive’s May Blu-ray titles, which will include Rouben Mamoulian’s Queen Christina (1933), Joseph Losey’s The Boy with Green Hair (1948), Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton’s King Solomon’s Mines (1950), Vincente Minnelli’s The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), and Joseph Barbera and William Hanna’s Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! (1964). All of these are new negative scans (The Boy with Green Hair and King Solomon’s Mines from the original Technicolor negatives).

Also coming later this year are Howard Hawks’ Land of the Pharaohs (1955) and Robert Wise’s Helen of Troy (1956). [Read on here...]