Items filtered by date: November 2025

We are truly heartbroken this evening to learn that our dear friend Bob Burns has died.

Bob and his wife Kathy, who passed in 2021, were two of the kindest and most generous human beings I’ve ever had the honor of knowing in my time in Hollywood.

Together, they safeguarded a deep well of knowledge about the history of genre cinema, and so many of its most sacred artifacts, as the keepers of Hollywood’s attic.

I’ll never forget those joyous occasions when The Digital Bits crew had the opportunity to visit Bob’s Basement.

Kathy always greeted your arrival with a plate of freshly-baked cookies—after you’d shared enormous bear hugs with each of them first, of course.

You truly felt like Indiana Jones while roaming the aisles of their treasure trove of iconic props and costumes. [Read on here...]

Good afternoon, Bits readers!

All right, let’s try to have a more upbeat post today. I know that yesterday’s post was a little strong, but sometimes you just have to say what you’re feeling, you know?

We’re starting today with more new disc reviews, as we often do, including…

Dennis’ review of Howard Hughes and James Whale’s Hell’s Angels (1930) in 4K from Criterion (with an assist by Tim).

Stuart’s look at Shoshannah Stern’s Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (2025) on Blu-ray from Kino Lober.

And Tim’s thoughts on The Darjeeling Limited (2007) in 4K UHD from Criterion’s Wes Anderson Archive box set.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep checking back!

Now then… the big news today is that Criterion has just revealed their March slate, which includes Luis Buñuel’s Viridiana (1961) (Spine #332) in 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray and Blu-ray on 3/10, Lynne Littman’s Testament (1983) (Spine #1303) on Blu-ray and Claude Sautet’s Classe tous risques (1960) (Spine #434) in 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray and Blu-ray on 3/17, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) (Spine #1302) on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on 3/24, and finally Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman (1966) (Spine #1304) on Blu-ray and Tsui Hark’s The Blade (1995) (Spine #1305) on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray and Blu-ray on 3/31. [Read on here...]

Some days, it’s just tough to process the world we live in.

I was sitting in my home theater yesterday afternoon, watching my officially playoff-eliminated Minnesota Vikings finally righting their ship on Sunday Night Football, when my phone started beeping.

Friends in the industry were reaching out to say that something was going on in Brentwood, California.

Something terrible was happening at Rob Reiner’s house.

Two bodies had been found, apparently murdered, and their ages matched those of Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.

That maybe their troubled son was involved.

And… in that moment, your brain kind of goes numb.

I mean, here I am trying to enjoy the final moments of a forgettable football season. I’ve got my cats sitting with me, we’re chilling, just enjoying an afternoon.

And then the seemingly perpetual ugliness of the real world intrudes yet again, as it so often does now here in the 21st century.

This news… news of multiple shootings around the planet. It didn’t used to be like this.

For those of you who are younger, the worst of humanity didn’t used to get shoved into your consciousness 24-7-365 by algorithms that never—even when they pretend to—actually work on behalf of you.

I’m sure that today many of you are—like me—struggling with just how to process this news. And God forbid you go online, because there are plenty of people there trying to tell you how you should process it. And it’s ugly man. [Read on here...]

All right, as you might expect based on the title of this column, I have a few things to say today here at The Digital Bits. But we’ve got a little bit of regular site business to take care of this morning before we get to that.

First, we have a number of new and recent disc reviews for you all to enjoy, including…

Stephen’s take on Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek (2005) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint, Richard Stanley’s Dust Devil (1992) in 4K UHD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) in a limited edition 4K box set from Blumhouse and Universal, and Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday (1940) in 4K UHD from Criterion.

Tim’s look at The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion’s The Wes Anderson Archive.

Dennis’ thoughts on Ruggero Deodato’s The Barbarians (1987) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Mike Nichols’ Carnal Knowledge (1971) in 4K UHD from Criterion, and W.S. Van Dyke’s Manhattan Melodrama (1934) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And finally, Stuart has a few words to about the Warner Archive Collection’s new Joan Crawford Collection on Blu-ray, which includes Grand Hotel (1932), The Women (1939), Possessed (1939), and The Damned Don’t Cry (1950).

Also today, our own Russell Hammond has just shared our newest update of the Release Dates & Cover Art section here at The Bits with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links first (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we greatly appreciate it. [Read on here...]

This is a quick post to let you all know that our Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Digital Bits has just been updated with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Don’t forget that you can select to see just the Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, or even Criterion titles seperately if you like, to help you find exactly the ones you’re looking for. Just click on RELEASE DATES &  ART on the menu bar above to visit the page, and use the search options in the red bar (at the top) to sort by format and date. Once you find a title you like, just click on the cover art and you’ll be taken right to the Amazon.com pre-order page. Thank you for shopping through our links and don’t forget that anytime you order from Amazon through our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it! And thanks to our own Russell Hammond for the update work!

- Bill Hunt

All right, this is going to be a quick post, because there’s a LOT going on in Hollywood this week—as you may have seen, and which we’ll get to in a moment—and I’m spending a lot of time today (and especially over the next few days) talking with studio and industry friends, colleagues, and sources for insight and context on all of it.

First though, we have some great new disc reviews here at The Bits for you to enjoy today, including…

Stephen’s reviews of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999) in 4K Ultra HD from the Criterion Collection, as well as John Woo’s The Killer (1989) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Factory via their HK Cinema line.

Tim’s look at Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films and Via Vision Entertainment.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Kayo Hatta’s Picture Bride (1995) on Blu-ray, also from Imprint (via their Imprint Asia line) and Via Vision Entertainment.

We’ll have more new disc reviews next week, so be sure to check back for them!

Now then, the first big piece of news we want to address here today broke early last night: Netflix appears to have won a three-way bidding war (against Comcast and Paramount Skydance) to purchase Warner Bros., in a “megadeal” that’s reportedly worth nearly $83 billion. [Read on here...]

We’ve got six more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today here at The Bits, including…

Tim’s thoughts on The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion’s Wes Anderson Archive box set, as well as Sam Firstenbeg’s Revenge of the Ninja (1983) and Menahem Golan’s Ninja III: The Domination (1984) both in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s review of Alfred E. Green’s The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Sam Wood’s The Quiet American (2002) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And Dennis’ take on Mervyn LeRoy’s Lovely to Look At (1952) on Blu-ray from MGM via the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then, I’m making an effort to catch up on a bunch of announcement news that’s happened over the last couple of weeks. As many of you know, I’ve had a couple of challenges here at The Bits lately, including recovering from prostate surgery and also my PC died on the Friday before Thanksgiving, which has necessitated buying a replacement, getting it set up, installing all my old software, reorganizing my files, etc., all in an effort to get back up to speed. And I’m getting there—right now, even the simplest tasks are just a little bit different, and taking just a little bit more time and effort than usual to accomplish, as I settle into the new machine. But within a couple weeks, things should be back to normal. So thanks for your patience in the meantime! [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week with a few more new disc reviews here today, including…

Stephen’s look at William Friedkin’s Rampage (1987/92) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Tim’s thoughts on Menahem Golan’s Enter the Ninja (1981) in 4K also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Rushmore (1998) in 4K from Criterion’s The Wes Anderson Archive box set!

Dennis’ takes on William Keighley’s The Master of Ballantrae (1953) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection as well as Jess Franco’s Death Packs a Suitcase (1972) on Blu-ray from KLSC’s Kino Cult line.

And Stuart’s look at Sam Wood’s For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

More reviews are on the way all this week, so be sure to check back for them!

Now then, today is Cyber Monday Week online, so there are still lots of good deals to be had if you’re looking for Blu-ray and 4K titles online. So a quick reminder: Please consider shopping through one of our affiliate links when you shop via Amazon, as it helps to support the work we do here at The Bits. Appreciated! [Read on here...]