All of this is meant to give you both a handy reference to available 4K titles and also make it easier for you to pre-order them through our Amazon affiliate links. We hope you find it useful! (Note that we’ve just posted the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update here at The Bits as well, FYI.)
Now then, I also wanted to let you know that we also have another new section coming to The Bits probably later this week, so be sure to watch for that. More on it soon.
In the meantime, our own Tim Salmons has just turned in a review of Shout! Factory’s new Mr. Mom: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, the latest entry in their Shout Selects line. It’s a great title, so check out the review and enjoy! More new reviews are this week, including my own looks at Sony’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Warner’s Wonder Women both in 4K Ultra HD, so stay tuned for those.
Speaking of Sony’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind 4K Ultra HD Gift Set, we’ve had a number of readers ask about the differences between the regular 4K edition and the Gift Set. So we’ve created an unboxing video – yes, you read that right – so that you can see the Gift Set and its contents, including its “light and sound” feature that plays the infamous “five tones” from the film. You can watch that below; it’s probably good for a laugh (and yes, we know the Digital Copy code is visible in the video, and no, it’s not a problem). If this clip proves popular, we might do more, so feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel...
All right, we’ve saved some great news for last today: Our friends over at the MVD Entertainment Group have just announced the launch of a fine new line of Blu-ray and DVD titles, known as the MVD Rewind Collection! You can visit their page on Facebook here. The line kicks off on 12/8 with a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD special edition of Lech Kowalski’s D.O.A.: A Right of Passage punk rock “rockumentary”. Extras will include uncompressed mono audio, the feature-length Dead on Arrival: The Punk Documentary That Almost Never Was documentary, a 12-page booklet with liner notes by John Holmstrom (founding editor of PUNK Magazine), a gallery of rare Sex Pistols photos, the original theatrical trailer, reversible artwork, and a 2-sided poster. That’s going to be followed on 1/23/18 by a new 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD special edition of John DeBello’s original Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Extras on that will include uncompressed mono audio, audio commentary by DeBello (with writer/co-star Steve Peace and “creator” Costa Dillon), 3 deleted scenes, 7 featurettes (Legacy of a Legend, Crash and Burn, Famous Foul, Killer Tomatomania, Where Are They Now?, We Told You So!, and Slated for Success), the original Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 8mm short film, the original Gone with the Babusuland 8mm short film that actually inspired the film (with optional commentary), the original theatrical trailer, a production design gallery, radio spots, Easter eggs, and a collectible poster. You can see the cover artwork for both titles below.
Finally today, we need to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of the great laconic actor Harry Dean Stanton. As the good Dr. Jahnke said recently, if you’re not a fan of at least one film starring Stanton, there’s something very wrong with your film taste. He appeared in so many greats over the years, among them Kelly’s Heroes, Cool Hand Luke, Straight Time, Alien, Wise Blood, The Rose, Red Dawn, Escape from New York, Christine, Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Pretty in Pink, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, The Green Mile and so very many more. Recently, he appeared in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return on Showtime and also HBO’s Big Love. I had the good fortune to meet him once; he was just as cool a cucumber as you’d expect and a gentleman to boot. He will surely be missed, but he’s left us an amazing legacy. Stanton was 91. You can read more about him here at The New York Times.
All right, we’ll leave you today with a look at some cover artwork for titles mentioned above and more (click to pre-order them on Amazon.com, if available)...
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)