My Two Cents
Wednesday, 29 June 2016 18:56

Scream bows Carrie, plus MST3K-a-rama, IMAX home theater & how to spot fixed Wrath of Khan: DC Blu-rays

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[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

We’ve got a quick post for you all today, but it’s a goodun. It starts with a twofer from our very own Tim Salmons...

First up, he’s just turned in his review of Shout! Factory’s forthcoming Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXXVI on DVD. The set streets on 7/26, so do give it a look.

Next, Tim had the good fortune yesterday to attend RiffTrax’s live Mystery Science Theater 3000 reunion event, which was streamed out to theaters around the world last night from Minneapolis. And it sounds like it was a real blast. You can read his in-depth thoughts on the evening’s festivities here in his latest Dailies column.  [Read on here…]

Also here at The Bits today, our own Russell Hammond has just updated the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anytime you order literally anything at all from Amazon in the same shopping session after you click over to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we greatly appreciate it!

Now then... in announcement news today, Shout and Scream Factory have revealed the 10/11 Blu-ray release of their long-awaited Carrie: Collector’s Edition, just in time for Halloween this year! The 2-disc set will include the following specs and extras: a new 4K scan of the original negative, new interviews (with writer Laurence D. Cohen, editor Paul Hirsch, actors Piper Laurie, P.J. Soles, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, William Katt, Edie McClurg, casting director Harriet B. Helberg, and director of photography Mario Tosi), the all-new Horror’s Hallowed Grounds featurette, 3 legacy featurettes (Acting Carrie, Visualizing Carrie, and A Look at Carrie: The Musical), the original theatrical trailer, a Carrie Franchise Trailer Gallery, TV and radio spots, a still gallery, the Stephen King and the Evolution of Carrie text gallery, and a reversible packaging wrap that includes original theatrical poster key art. You can see what the cover artwork looks like above left there.

In other news today, here’s something cool: Got a spare $400K laying around? If so, IMAX will be happy to build you a custom home theater. No shit. See this story at Ars Technica.

Finally today, here’s something you Trek fans are really going to appreciate. FedEx dropped off a surprise package here at The Bits a few minutes ago: The fixed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Director’s Cut Blu-ray from Paramount! Now, I obviously haven’t had time to watch the whole thing yet, but I did watch the Kobayashi Maru scene to confirm that the missing shot of Sulu (turning back to talk with Saavik) is indeed restored. I’ve also looked closely at the disc labeling. As far as I can tell, its markings are exactly the same as the original release. But… if you’re out at the store and you want to confirm that you’re about to buy the fixed version, here’s how you tell: The UPC symbol on the fixed version is now YELLOW instead of white. That’s your signal. Here’s what it looks like...

How to spot the fixed Wrath of Khan: Director's Cut Blu-ray in stores

So there you go. I’m going to assume that the fact I now have the fixed Blu-ray in hand means that they’re going to start shipping out to all of you (via the exchange program) immediately, so watch the mail for yours. It could arrive at any time.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)

 

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