Displaying items by tag: J Lee Thompson

As promised, we have more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including…

My take on Guy Hamilton’s epic Battle of Britain (1969) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films, as well as Sony’s long-awaited US/Region A Blu-ray edition of Apple TV’s excellent For All Mankind: Season Two (2021).

Stephen’s review of Osgood Perkins’s Keeper (2025) in 4K Ultra HD from Neon and Decal, as well as David Schmoeller’s Tourist Trap (1979) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.

Dennis and Tim’s tag team look at Blake Edwards’ A Shot in the Dark (1964) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Dennis’ look at Rudolph Maté’s For the First Time (1959) on Blu-ray from MGM via the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Gordon Parks’ Leadbelly (1978) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Imprint Films, as well as Géza von Radványi’s Maedchen in Uniform (1958) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Watch more for new disc reviews tomorrow!

Also today, we’ve just posted the latest update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD cover art and Amazon pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from them after clicking through one of our links first, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it!

Now then… there’s not a lot on the way of announcement news today, but we do have a couple of things for you. [Read on here...]

We’ve got three new disc reviews for you today, including…

Stephen’s look at Tonino Ricci’s Night of the Sharks (1988) on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

Stuart’s take on Kinji Fukasaku’s Jakoman and Tetsu (1964) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

And Tim’s review of Chang Cheh’s Magnificent Ruffians (1979) on Blu-ray from Arrow’s excellent Shawscope: Volume Two box set.

Tim has also posted a review of Paul Spurrier’s Dream! (2025) in a rare installment of his Dailies column, so do give it a look!

In announcement news today, MVD Entertainment has revealed that they’re releasing Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks – Volume 3 on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/3. It will feature their a complete 16-track concert from their 2023 Spicy Meatball Tour recorded in London’s O2 Arena, along with the band’s animated film Post Apocalypto and music videos for ...Baby One More Time, Wicked Game, Video Games, Fiber d’Lish, Tenacious D’s The Who Medley, You Never Give Me Your Money/The End, and Time Warp. [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...]

We’ve got more great new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, as well as more release news too...

First up, Tim has posted his thoughts on Richard Alan Greenberg’s Little Monsters (1989), coming on 9/15 to Blu-ray from Lionsgate via their Vestron Video Collector’s Series.

Tim has also given William Witney’s Master of the World (1961) a look on Blu-ray, a hybrid adaptation of a pair of classic Jules Vern novels (Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World). That arrives on Blu-ray on 8/31 from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Tim has taken Roger Corman’s The Raven (1963) out for a spin on Blu-ray, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff. That’s also coming from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on 8/31.

In terms of announcement news today, the big one is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially revealed a title we’ve had on our 4K List here at The Bits for a while now: J. Lee Thompson’s The Guns of Navarone. Look for it to arrive on 4K Ultra HD on 10/12 in honor of the film’s 60th anniversary. [Read on here...]

There’s a bunch more great new release news today, so here goes...

First up, our friends at The Criterion Collection have announced their July slate of releases, and I’m thrilled to say that they include Andrei Tarkovsky’s Russian sci-fi film Stalker (Cat #888 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 7/18! Also coming are Robert Bresson’s L’argent (Cat #886 – Blu-ray, DVD, and Hulu Plus) and Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy (Cat #500 – Blu-ray and DVD – includes Rome Open City, Paisan, and Germany Year Zero) on 7/11, as well as Albert Brooks’ 1985 satire Lost in America (Cat #887 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 7/25. We’ll take all the classic Russian cinema on Blu-ray I can get, science fiction especially, and the more the merrier. You can pre-order them all by clicking on the cover artwork at the bottom of this post (Stalker is pictured at left). [Read on here…]