Displaying items by tag: Rian Johnson

All right, let’s start catching up on some of the recent Blu-ray and 4K announcement news of recent days…

Just today, our friends at Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment officially announced the 4K Ultra HD release of P.T. Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997) on 12/16. The 4K package (available in both Amaray and Steelbook packaging) will include the film in 4K only, plus a Digital Code. But you’ll also get both new and legacy extras.

New extras include a pair of American Cinematheque discussion panels, one with the director and actor John C. Reilly, and one with just Anderson separately. You’ll also get the original P.T. Anderson commentary, the actors commentary (with Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, Luis Guzman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Mark Wahlberg, and Melora Walters), some 30-minutes worth of deleted scenes, The John C. Reilly Files (another 30 minutes of outtakes and extended sequences), and Michael Penn’s Try music video.

Speaking of Warner and P.T. Anderson, the studio has also announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD of Anderson’s new film One Battle After Another (2025). Look for it to street on 1/20/26, with the Digital version now available. The press release also indicates that a collectible Steelbook version will also be available sometime in “Spring 2026” featuring a host of special features newly-created by Anderson that are yet to be revealed. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s take on Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter (1955) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis’ look at Fritz Lang’s Clash by Night (1952) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Dennis Hopper’s Backtrack (aka Catchfire) (1990) on Blu-ray also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Be sure to watch for more new reviews from The Bits’ team all this week.

In announcement news today, we have a couple of big items to report. First, Paramount will release Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999) on 4K Ultra HD in both Amaray and Steelbook packaging on 9/5. This is a title we’ve had in our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits as “coming in 2023” for a few months now. Expect them to include both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, I’ve just spent all week reviewing every single one of the new Star Trek 4K Ultra HD releases, save for the new 6-Movie Collection. So you can now read my thoughts on: The 3-disc Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition: The Complete Adventure, the 2-disc wide release of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition, and the 2-disc wide releases of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, all in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

For those who might be wondering, the new 6-Movie Collection includes everything except for the Special Longer Version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture which is exclusive to the Complete Adventure box set. So adjust your purchase plans accordingly. All the details on the other SKUs are in the reviews linked above. I hope you enjoy them all!

Now then... as you can see by the image on the left there, the Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection – Volume 2 box set is now official and (more importantly) available for pre-order! [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting today with a quick new disc review, and then we’ve got some big new release news to report on...

First though, I’ve just reviewed Rian Johnson’s excellent 2012 science-fiction thriller Looper on 4K Ultra HD, as recently released in the UK by Entertainment One. The title is expected on UHD here in the States from Sony later this year or early next, but in the meantime, if you’re willing to import for just the 4K experience, this eOne release is a great option.

Now then, the big breaking news today is that Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has finally officially announced their long-expected Universal Classics Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/5.

The set will include the 90th anniversary editions of Dracula and Frankenstein, along the 80th anniversary edition of The Wolf Man, and also The Invisible Man, all in 4K Ultra HD. There’s no indication of Dolby Vision, so we expect HDR10 high dynamic range along with the existing audio mixes. [Read on here...]

All right... we have just a quick update here at The Bits for you today, because I have family visiting this weekend for the first time since before the pandemic.

The big thing we have for you this afternoon is of course this: I’ve posted our in-depth review of the Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm. The remastered 4K image on the first three films is spectacular, while the fourth film at least benefits some from HDR and some 4K-scanned footage from the camera negative here and there (shots without VFX). Meanwhile, the new Ben Burtt Dolby Atmos mixes are all demo-worthy across the board.

There are no new extras in the set and the packaging is terrible, but the picture and sound upgrade is so significant that most fans will be willing to overlook it. The set is definitely not to be missed, and you’ll find all the in-depth details right here in our review. [Read on here...]

All right, first things first today: I’m pleased to report that we did not have to evacuate from these wildfires here in SoCal after all. But it was a long night while we waited to find that out. Thankfully, when I stepped out this morning, it appeared that the fires had moved farther away from us, not closer. And this afternoon the evacuation orders all around us were lifted. So... whew!

It’s going to take a couple days to get back to normal around here, but I count that as a good problem to have, considering the alternative.

Now then... the big news today is that our industry and retail sources are telling us that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is quietly preparing to release Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium, Rian Johnson’s Looper, and Andrew Niccol’s GATTACA in 4K Ultra HD early in 2021. Elysium and Looper are already available digitally in 4K, and a few European retailers have listed GATTACA for physical 4K release in March. [Read on here...]

This is just a quick update to let you know that Zavvi has just dropped an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

It’s now available for pre-order here.

Zavvi has a number of these 4K Steelbook exclusives (you can see some currently available titles here) and they tend to sell out very quickly.

As in sometimes the same day they go on sale.

So we recommend that you act quickly if you want this one... [Read on here...]

All right, it’s a super slow news day today, but I wanted to take a moment to point out some interesting forthcoming titles that are newly-announced by indie distributors or that might have been overlooked.

But first, we have a pair of great new reviews from our own Dennis Seuling for you to check out, including his thoughts on Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters from Universal and Josef von Baky’s fantasy comedy Munchhausen (1943) from Kino Classics. Do give them a look.

Now then, those titles I mentioned... Kit Parker Films is releasing Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations on Blu-ray on 6/16. The 4-disc set includes 2 feature films (Sons of the Desert and Way Out West) and 17 classic shorts newly scanned from original 35mm nitrate film in 2K and 4K. Among the shorts is the legendary silent film The Battle of the Century, appearing for the first time on home video and nearly complete for the first time in 90 years. The set also includes rare special features, alternate soundtracks, vintage pictures, commentaries and more. You can see the cover artwork at left and below. [Read on here...]

We’re kicking off the new week with a pair of new disc reviews here at The Bits...

It starts with my thoughts on Rian Johnson’s fantastic ‘Whodunnit?’ Knives Out, which streets on 4K Ultra HD tomorrow from Lionsgate. Not only is it a great film, it’s one of the best special editions for a new-release film I’ve seen since The Last Jedi, with a terrific feature-length documentary by our old friend Cliff Stephenson. Don’t even hesitate—just buy the disc right now here and you won’t regret it.

I’ve also reviewed Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new Blu-ray edition of Guy Hamilton’s Force 10 from Navarone, the 1978 sequel to J Lee Thompson’s original The Guns of Navarone some 18 years in the making. The film stars Harrison Ford, Robert Shaw, and Carl Weathers. The disc streets on March 17th.

There’s not a lot in the way of release news today, but we’ve got a couple things to report... [Read on here...]

All right, as most of you know by now, tonight marks the opening of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters. My wife, brother, and I are joining our old friend Robert Meyer Burnett and his family for the first showing at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, where it all began back in 1977. And having just seen a press screening of the film on Tuesday, we’re very much looking forward to seeing it again in IMAX Laser projection. The upshot is that today’s post is going to be a brief one.

However… we DO have a little more detail for you about the recently revealed Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 4K/Blu-ray box set that’s now known to be coming on 3/31/2020.

Not only will it include all 9 of the “Skywalker” films on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Disc, each film will include a bonus disc of extras (for a total of 27 discs). It’s reasonable to assume that virtually everything that’s ever been released previously for each of these films in terms of special features is fair game for inclusion on these bonus discs and it’s possible there may be new features too. But of course we won’t know for sure until this set is officially announced. [Read on here...]