Lots of new disc reviews, new KLSC 4K titles including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, plus Exorcist at 50, The Abyss 4K gets cancelled in the UK

Tuesday, 26 December 2023 18:17

Lots of new disc reviews, new KLSC 4K titles including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, plus Exorcist at 50, The Abyss 4K gets cancelled in the UK

by Bill Hunt

Afternoon, folks! I certainly hope that those of you who celebrate it have had a great Christmas holiday, and that the rest of you are enjoying the holiday season.

I’ve got just a quick update here for you today and I’ll post a little more as the week goes on. This time of year there’s typically very little news-wise worth reporting, but there are some odds and ends to cover.

First though, I want to catch you up on the latest disc reviews we’ve posted here at The Bits since our last news post last week. Now available for your reading pleasure here are...

My reviews of James Cameron’s Avatar: Collector’s Edition (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water – Collector’s Edition (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from Lightstorm and 20th Century Studios.

Tim’s thoughts on Richard Donner’s Scrooged: 35th Anniversary Edition (1988) in 4K from Sony and George Mihalka’s My Bloody Valentine: Collector’s Edition (1981) in 4K from Scream Factory.

Dennis’ takes on David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: The Believer (2023) in both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD from Universal, as well as Oren Rudavsky’s The Treatment (2006) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, and Richard Attenborough’s In Love and War (1996) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen’s reviews of Charles Kaufman’s Mother’s Day (1980) in 4K from Troma via Vinegar Syndrome, Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s in 4K from Universal, and Ti West’s Pearl (2022) in 4K from A24 via Turbine Media.

And finally Stuart’s look at Succession: The Complete Series on DVD from HBO, Alain Resnais’ La Guerre est finie (1966) on Blu-ray from The Film Desk and Vinegar Syndrome, and Paul Lynch’s The Hard Part Begins (1973) on Blu-ray from Canadian International Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome. [Read on here...]

As always, more disc reviews are on the way in the days to come, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

And in the event you missed it when we shared it on Friday, our own Michael Coate has shared a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column in which he and film historian Nat Segaloff look back at the William Friedkin’s original The Exorcist (1973) in honor of its 50th anniversary. Enjoy!

Also, we do have a bit of release news to report today...

Our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have officially set John Sturges’ Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) for 4K Ultra HD release on 2/27, and they’ve set the Film Noir: Volume XVII Blu-ray box set—which includes Arnold Laven’s Vice Squad (1953), Hugo Fregnese’s Black Tuesday (1954), and Maxwell Shane’s Nightmare (1956)—as well as Monk: The Complete Fourth Season (2004-2005) for Blu-ray release on 2/27 as well.

Meanwhile, KLSC has also revealed that William Friedkin’s Rampage (1987) is coming soon to 4K, and that Jack Gold’s Aces High (1976) and Gilles Grangier’s Gas-Oil (1955) are coming soon to Blu-ray. Street dates are still TBA.

Also today, Scream Factory will be releasing a 4K Steelbook exclusive version of George A. Romero’s Creepshow 4K only at Walmart stores on 2/26. Thanks to Bits reader Tom T. for the heads up on that.

Finally, we’ve learned from industry sources that the 4K Ultra HD release of James Cameron’s The Abyss (1989) in the UK has been cancelled, and for exactly the reason you think—the scene in which the rat is made to breath underwater. UK censors asked for the scene to be cut, Disney apparently wanted to comply, but Lightstorm vetoed it. So if you want this title in 4K and you live in the UK, you’ll have to import it from elsewhere.

And that’s all we got for you at the moment. We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for a few KLSC 4K catalog titles that are now available for pre-order on Amazon. Just click on the images below...

Stay tuned...!

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

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Lots of new disc reviews, new KLSC 4K titles including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, plus Exorcist at 50, The Abyss 4K gets cancelled in the UK

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