Displaying items by tag: Kino Lorber Studio Classics

Today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits include the following...

Stephen’s in-depth look at Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959), which is now available in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Lesley Selander’s The Catman of Paris (1946) and John Ford’s The Long Voyage Home (1940), both available on Blu-ray from Via Vision’s Imprint Films label, as well as the documentary double feature Filmmakers for the Prosecution (2021) and Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today (1948) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Now then, we have some great 4K Ultra HD news today... Lionsgate has just set Stephen King’s The Mist for release on the format on 10/3, in both wide-release (SRP $34.99) and Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook ($37.99) versions! Each is a 4-disc set. Both the original and alternate black and white versions will be included in 4K, along with audio commentary by director Frank Darabont and producer Denise Huth. The package will also include Blu-ray versions that add deleted scenes, A Conversation with Stephen King and Frank Darabont, and other legacy extras. You can see the cover art at left and also below. Note that the 4Ks will include both HDR10 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range, as well as Dolby Atmos audio (with Dolby TrueHD found on the Blu-ray). [Read on here...]

We’re starting this week out with another pair of new disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s take on Eugène Lourié’s Gorgo (1961) on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome, along with his thoughts on Shinji Higuchi’s Shin Ultraman (2022) on Blu-ray from Cleopatra Entertainment.

In announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Gene Stupnitsky’s No Hard Feelings for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/29, with the Digital release coming next week on 8/15. Extras will include Outtakes & Bloopers, A Motley Crew: Meet the Characters, and A Little Wrong: Making No Hard Feelings. The films stars Jennifer Lawrence.

Paramount has announced that the Paramount+ original series Rabbit Hole: Season One, featuring Kiefer Sutherland, will arrive on DVD only on 10/17.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is releasing Blue Collar TV: The Complete Series, Step by Step: The Complete Series, and Pinky and The Brain: The Complete Series, all on DVD only on 9/26. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a quick rundown of release news for you to close out the week today, and some new reviews as well. I suspect some of you are interested in a follow-up to the State of 4K and Physical Media editorial we posted on Wednesday. Rest assured, there will be a follow-up, and I hope to get that posted here sometime next week. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, we have several new disc reviews for you to enjoy this afternoon...

Tim has posted his thoughts on John Hughes’ Weird Science (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Arrow Video.

Stephen has shared his take on Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 4 in 4K UHD from Lionsgate, Brian De Palma’s Blow Out (1981) in 4K UHD from Criterion, and also John Henry Johnson’s Curse of the Blue Lights (1990) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Dennis has delivered a look at Charles Walters’ Dangerous When Wet (1953) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart has weighed in with a look at René Clément’s Joy House (1964) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Now then, the big news today is that Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has set Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/15, with the Digital release due next week on 8/11. Extras will include the 4-part The Making of Asteroid City documentary (which includes Desert Town, Doomsday Carnival, Montana and Ranch Hands, and The Players), as well as 2 additional Digital-exclusive features (The Alien and The Roadrunner). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

Today’s editorial is going to be brief, because frankly some of us here at The Digital Bits have grown a bit frustrated at this point. Disheartened by the state of things, as it were. So too—we suspect—have many of you, our dear readers and fans of physical media. But lately, after nearly twenty-six years of passionate advocacy for film, TV, and special edition content on disc, it’s come to our attention that a couple of the major Hollywood studios don’t seem to have quite that same passion for the subject anymore.

One of these—let’s call ‘em Garner Brothers—just announced a long awaited 4K Ultra HD catalog release with almost no special features. Certainly no newly-created special features, because this studio doesn’t seem to do many of those anymore, and almost no special features on the actual discs, which is where disc fans tend to prefer them. Instead, most of this title’s special features are included as Digital extras only.

Nor does this title include the most obvious extra that fans have been wanting for years, which is the uncut 81-minute “Festival Version” of a certain making-of documentary about this film. Why? Honestly, we’re not sure there’s many people left at this studio who even know that it exists or why fans might care about it. (And if there is, that person should definitely be given a bigger role in making these decisions.)

Now, all of this is particularly frustrating, because if you pre-order this same title on 4K UHD in the United Kingdom, you do get those extras on disc. What’s more, you get a couple of different deluxe packaging options with swag in the UK, both of them terrific, whereas here in the States, the packaging’s artwork simply makes fans of this film weep, created—as it seems to have been—by an intern and novice Photoshop user for reasons unknown (rather than using the film’s already existing poster or production art, which… again… is the kind of thing this studio’s best customers would actually prefer.) [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week off here at The Digital Bits this afternoon with a great new disc review, this one featuring Tim and Stephen’s tag-team take on Arrow Video’s fantastic Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams Blu-ray box set, which includes The Dungeonmaster (1984), Dolls (1986), Cellar Dweller (1987), Arena (1989), and Robot Jox (1990). It’s a boxed release that’s well worth checking out if you can get your hands on a copy—the title is sold out and basically only available on the secondary market. One hopes that the films will be released individually on Blu-ray from Arrow in the future.

In announcement news today, Paramount has revealed a new School of Rock: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Steelbook for release on 9/26. The disc will include audio commentary with Jack Black and director Richard Linklater and nearly an hour of legacy special features.

Paramount will also release a new Halloween H20: 20 Years Later 4K Ultra HD Steelbook Edition on 9/26, celebrating the film’s 25th anniversary. You can see the packaging below the break.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially set Lewis Teague’s Cujo (1983) for 4K Ultra HD release on 10/24, complete with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Dolby Vision HDR, and a great new special feature, Cujo Revisited, which is a never-before-seen 2014 roundtable discussion with Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and the director.

The company has also revealed that Harold Becker’s Sea of Love (1989) is coming to 4K Ultra HD in the months ahead.

And coming to regular Blu-ray from KLSC are Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (1963) on 10/24 and Jules Dassin’s Topkapi (1964), the street date for which is still TBA. [Read on here...]

We have two new disc reviews of you to enjoy today...

Stephen has taken a look at Dusty Nelson’s Effects (1979) in 4K Ultra HD, a film that originated from the minds of several Pittsburgh-area collaborators of George A. Romero. It’s now available from Image Works via the American Genre Film Archive and our friends at Vinegar Syndrome.

If you’re interested in this film, you might also enjoy reading a 2005 archived interview we did on the original Bits website about the project with our old friend John Harrison (Takes from the Darkside, Frank Herbert’s Dune). You’ll find that here (and pardon the messy HTML).

Also today, Dennis has taken a look at Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman (1996) on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

We don’t have a lot in the way of new announcement news today, but a number of long-awaited 4K Ultra HD catalog titles are finally available for pre-order on Amazon. [Read on here...]

All right... as one might expect, we’ve got a lot to talk about again today here at The Bits.

First of all, we don’t have any new information on Manta Lab’s “disc-less” WandaVision packaging, except to reiterate that while this is a licensed Disney Consumer Products item, it’s most definitely not an official Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment physical media product. And while some you deluxe packaging collectors might think that’s splitting hairs, for the vast majority of disc consumers around the world it’s a very important distinction. Disney is not suddenly getting in the business of releasing Steelbook packaging for titles they have no intention of actually releasing on disc, and making it okay by including a Digital copy code. Just to be clear. In any case, we hope to hear more on this in the next few days.

As to the matter of today’s other Disney hot topic, I’m afraid, the news is not good. Despite the fact that Sanity has now pulled down their original Facebook post announcing it, we at The Digital Bits have confirmed today with multiple industry, distributor, and retailer sources in the region that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is indeed pulling out of the Australian market in terms of physical media. This follows similar moves in Asia (save for Japan) and Latin America, and the reason is apparently down to the gradual collapse of physical disc sales in the region, the growth of Disney+ Starz streaming, and also the rise of global retailers (think Amazon, Zavvi, etc). None of that will be of any comfort to disc fans in Australia, who will now have to pay a hefty shipping premium to import titles from outside the country. But it is true that Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 will be the last new-release Disney title to get a physical release in the region. Previously-released titles may continue to be available for purchase until the end of the year, but that will be up to individual retailers.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, folks, but there it is.

Now then, before we shift to a bit of announcement news, we have several new disc reviews here at The Bits that are worth mentioning today...

Here’s the big one: Stephen has just turned in his in-depth thoughts on William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) in 4K Ultra HD, as newly-released by our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics. It’s a great disc, with the best A/V presentation of the film to date, and it includes nearly all of the previously-created special features. [Read on here...]

Okay, folks... we’ve got a LOT of ground to cover today, and I’m seriously not kidding, so strap in and hold on tight...

First up, it broke last night on the Interwebs that a company called Manta Lab in Hong Kong, which is a legit Disney licensee, was taking pre-orders for a “disc-less” Steelbook Blu-ray package for Marvel’s Disney+ streaming series WandaVision. Now, as you can imagine, that’s caused a great deal of surprise and consternation.

Some context... Manta Lab creates deluxe and custom packaging for lots of legit studio home entertainment releases, which are extremely popular with collectors, especially in the Asian market. However, since Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment officially exited the Asian market (apart from Japan), all of these licensing deals are made with Disney Consumer Products. The problem with this WandaVision release is that this is a title for which no authorized Blu-ray release exists anywhere in the world. So outside of the Steelbook packaging’s value as an objet d’art in and of itself, there’s no practical use for this packaging apart from holding people’s bootleg Blu-rays. And unfortunately, the proliferation of bootleg copies of Disney+ streaming titles has exploded online. (Don’t believe me? Visit Etsy and search for “WandaVision Blu-ray”—or just click here.)

In any case, when this news broke last night, too many otherwise respectable geek and movie news outlets online reported it as “Marvel and Disney have announced...” when nothing of the sort was true. This is a product licensed by Disney Consumer Products, but it is not in any way shape or form a licensed Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment release. I immediately contacted my sources at Disney last night, who assured me that this was the case, and who have this morning provided us with this statement:

“While Manta Lab is a legit licensee of Disney, and does create custom Steelbooks for Disney Blu-ray titles through Disney Consumer Products, the pre-order for a disc-less WandaVision was a surprise to some and we are looking into it as well as speaking to our partners in market.”

I expect to hear more back from Disney in the next day or so, so be sure to check back here on The Bits, and you can also follow us @BillHuntBits and @thedigitalbits on Twitter/X for the latest updates as I get them. Suffice it to say, this has generated an enormous amount of confusion outside of Manta Lab’s usual collector customer base. I’ve gotten literally hundreds of emails and messages in the last 24 hours from readers asking why Disney and Marvel would be releasing Steelbook packaging for a title they don’t appear to have any plans to actually release on physical media. (They aren’t, and stay tuned for further information.) [Read on here...]

We’ve got just a few quick news items to report today to close out the week...

First, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has set the animated Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 10/17.

Also, it looks like Warner is tentatively planning to drop the newly-released Barbie movie on at least Blu-ray and DVD on 10/3, based on the date Target briefly showed on their listing for the Blu-ray this morning.

Meanwhile, Universal has officially set the animated Shrek the Third for 4K UHD release on 9/12.

And for your Trek fans, we’ve now officially confirmed that CBS Studios will release Star Trek: Prodigy: Season 1, Episodes 11-20 on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/26. And we have a look at the final cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

In reviews this morning, Dennis has taken a look at Raphael Sbarge’s 2022 Laemmle Theatres documentary Only in Theaters on DVD from Kino Lorber. The film chronicles the 80+ year history of the family-owned cinema chain, which is based in L.A., and looks at the family’s efforts to see it survive the current challenges facing the industry.

More reviews are coming, so be sure to watch for them.

Now then... the big news today is two-fold: First, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just revealed that Babylon 5: The Complete Series is coming to Blu-ray Disc for the first time ever on 12/5! Of course, the series was originally produced and finished in SD resolution only. But its live-action footage was shot on film, so that’s been scanned in 4K and downsampled to HD, while the CGI and VFX shots have been upsampled to HD from SD. But if you’ve seen the series recently as it appears on the Max streaming app, you’ll be familiar with the quality. (Note that it’s presented in the original 1.33 broadcast aspect ratio, and will include English SDH subtitles.) All 110 episodes of the show will be included, along with the 1993 pilot film, The Gathering. It appears that this title will be available via online retailers only, so don’t expect to find it at your local brick-and mortar shop. SRP is $99.99. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. (Oddly, it doesn’t actually include an image of the Babylon 5 space station itself, which.. ahem... seems like very strange marketing choice.)

And second, here’s some exciting news for fans of 1980s animation: The great Ralph Bakshi has announced on his Facebook page that American Pop (1981) is finally coming to Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 8/22! [Read on here...]