Displaying items by tag: Hammer Films

Happy Holidays, Bits readers!

It’s a slow week in the home entertainment industry, what with Christmas fast approaching, Hanukkah having just concluded and other holidays well underway—hey, folks even gathered at Stonehenge in the UK to celebrate yesterday’s Winter Solstice, aka the shortest day of the year. So it’s all sun and games from here on out, and New Year’s is right around the corner!

We’ve got a couple of recent disc reviews to share with you today, though most of The Bits review team is throttling down a bit just to relax and enjoy some well earned holiday time family friends. Nevertheless, today we have...

Stephen’s reviews of Dezső Ákos Hamza’s Sirius (1942) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile Films, as well as Richard Stanley’s Dust Devil (1992) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment.

And Dennis’ take on Paul Auster’s Lulu on the Bridge (1998) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

We may have another review of two this week, but if not we’ll definitely have more for you next week after Christmas.

In the meantime, we do have some good new and recent disc announcements to cover here this afternoon...

First, the good folks at the Warner Archive Collection have the 2-disc Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault: Volume 2 for release on 3/24, including “over fifty classic cartoons each marking their first time as part of a remastered Blu-ray WB cartoon collection, with some unseen in decades.” Select shorts will also include audio commentaries. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the new week here at The Bits with a host of new disc reviews for the team, including...

My thoughts (with longtime Bits contributor Todd Doogan) on Antony Hoffman’s Red Planet (1990) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

Tim’s take on Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Warner Archive’s Hollywood Legends of Horror: 6-Film Collection on Blu-ray, Jag Mundhra’s Hack-O-Lantern (1988) in 4K from Massacre Video, and Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead (1990) in 4K Steelbook from Sony.

Dennis’ thoughts on Dan Curtis’ Dead of Night (1977) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s take on Richard Thorpe’s The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s reviews of John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, and the new Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) and Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance (2009) anime films on Blu-ray from GKids via Shout! Studios.

More reviews are definitely on the way all this week, so be sure to keep checking back.

Now then, we’ve got a bunch of release news to report today... [Read on here...]

We have more announcement news for you today, and more new disc reviews as well…

First, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Jim Isaac’s Jason X (2001) in 4K Ultra HD from New Line via Arrow Video, as well as the Warner Archive Collection’s excellent new Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 1 on Blu-ray!

I’ve posted a new review (with longtime Bits contributor Todd Doogan) of Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from the BFI.

And Stephen has delivered his thoughts on Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Abigail (2024) in 4K Ultra HD once again, but this time as released by Turbine Media in Germany.

Also here at the site today, we’ve posted another update of our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Don’t forget: The Bits is an Amazon affiliate, so anytime you order literally anything from them after clicking to them through one of our links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here and we appreciate it! [Read on here...]

We’ve got three more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today as we close out the week, including...

Stephen’s look at the new I Walked with a Zombie/The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton 4K Ultra HD release from Criterion.

Dennis’ take on John Farrow’s Botany Bay (1953) on Blu-ray from our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart’s thoughts on William Dieterle’s Red Mountain (1951) on Blu-ray also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In announcement news today, Imprint Films has just revealed a new trio of Imprint Asia Blu-ray releases for release in January (street date 1/8/25) that includes Jia Ling’s Yolo (2024), Sun Zhou’s Zhou Yu’s Train (2002), and the Erotic Ghost Story Trilogy (1990–1992) box set, which offers Lam Ngai Kai’s Erotic Ghost Story (1990), Peter Ngor’s Erotic Ghost Story II (1991), and Kai-Ming Lai’s Erotic Ghost Story III (1992). Those first two are available here in their very first appearances on Blu-ray anywhere.

Not to be outdone, Umbrella Entertainment’s February slate will include Jon S. Baird’s Filth (2013), Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game (1992), Kim Ki-duk’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring (2003), and E.L. Katz’s Azrael (2024) on Blu-ray, along with Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here (2017) in 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, all on 2/5. [Read on here...]

As always, we’re starting the week off today with a few new disc reviews for you all to enjoy...

Stephen has taken a look at Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new double feature Blu-ray of Robert Mandel’s F/X (1986) and its sequel, Richard Franklin’s F/X2 (1991).

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Bert Gordon’s Village of the Giants (1965) on Blu-ray, an Embassy Pictures title also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Tim has turned in a review of a Spanish-language oldie, Ramon Peon’s La Llorona (1933), which is now available on Blu-ray via Powerhouse Films and their fine Indicator label.

Rest assured, more reviews are forthcoming all this week. [Read on here...]

Well, the new week is here. And unfortunately, in the wake of our post on Friday about Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s catalog 4K plans (or lack thereof), the news today isn’t good either...

Per Deadline this morning, WarnerMedia has begun a round of layoffs and restructuring meant to help the company survive the pandemic and its resulting economic downturn. Jeffrey R. Schlesinger (President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution), Ron Sanders (President, Worldwide Theatrical Distribution & Home Entertainment and EVP, International Business Operations), and Kim Williams (EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Warner Bros. Entertainment) are all “exiting” the company per this arrangement. Ron Sanders has been with the company for almost thirty years, going all the way back to the early days of DVD. So his departure is a big deal. (Our friends at Media Play News have a good profile on Sanders up today here.)

But here’s the rub from the linked Deadline piece... “about 600 employees across multiple divisions are expected to be let go, starting today. Warner Bros Entertainment is believed to be heavily impacted.” [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got major new announcements from Shout! Factory and Scream for you today...

For March, the companies have added Jack Smight’s British production of Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) to their 3/24 slate. Shout! is also releasing The Transformers: The Complete Original Series DVD box set on 3/31.

In April, in addition to the Escape from L.A.: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray on 4/28, Shout! and Scream will release Swift and Knives and Skin (for IFC) on 4/7, Homeboy and Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter on 4/14, The Spider (1958) and The Curse of the Werewolf: Collector’s Edition (1961) on 4/21, and Underdog: The Complete Series Collector’s Edition (DVD), Shatter (1974), and The Lost Continent (1968) on 4/28. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some more new reviews for you today, and some interesting news as well. So let’s get to it.

First up, the reviews...

I’ve offered my thoughts on Luc Besson’s Anna on 4K Ultra HD from Summit and Lionsgate.

And Tim has turned in looks at Roy Ward Baker’s Scars of Dracula (1970) on Blu-ray, a Hammer title from Scream Factory, as well as Scream’s Humanoids from the Deep Steelbook Blu-ray.

With a little luck, we’ll have at least a couple more reviews tomorrow as well, so be sure to check back.

We’ve also got a street date update for you on a few titles: Look for Warner’s It: Chapter Two on BD, DVD, and 4K on 12/10. Lionsgate will release Red Heat on 4K on 10/8 (coming from Studio Canal in the UK). And Fox is expected to release The Art of Racing in the Rain on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K on 11/5. [Read on here...]

We’re starting today with a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate, featuring a look back at the James Bond film Moonraker, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary (on June 26th). Michael’s put together a great roundtable discussion on the film featuring Mark A. Altman, John Cork, and Lee Pfeiffer. Enjoy!

Also here at the site today, we’ve got some new disc reviews for you, including Tim’s look at Universal’s Us in 4K Ultra HD, Scream Factory’s Night of the Creeps: Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray, and Warner’s The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Blu-ray Collection.

And speaking of Scream Factory... Bits editor Bill Hunt (yours truly) will once again be moderating the Shout!/Scream panel at San Diego Comic-Con later this month! Inside an Indie Studio: Shout! Factory will be held from 8-9 PM on Saturday, July 20th in Room 23ABC. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re back finally. We were sort of back last week, but a combination of server work and various houseguests kept me from really diving back into things here at The Bits, though Tim and the crew have been active in posting reviews. I’ve also been up to something very exciting over the last few months, which I’ll talk more about in a minute.

We have a trio of recent Blu-ray reviews for you to check out today, including Tim’s look at Cutting Class from Vinegar Syndrome, Dennis’ review of Not Without My Daughter from MVD, and David’s look at Topper Takes a Trip from VCI.

And I am about to embark on an in-depth review of Damien Chazelle’s recent Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, which was one of my favorite films of 2018. I’ve gotten my hands on the 4K Ultra HD from Universal and it’s tremendous. So watch for that review later today or first thing in the morning. [Read on here...]