Items filtered by date: November 2013

All right, we’ve got some reviews for you today and also a few more new title announcements...

First up, Joe Marchese has turned in his thoughts on Kino’s Night Tide on Blu-ray Disc.  In addition, Dr. Jahnke chimes in today with reviews of Warner’s The Bad Seed and Universal’s Eastern Promises, from director David Cronenberg.  Enjoy!  [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a bunch of good news for you here at The Bits today.

First though, our own Russell Hammond has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section will all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links.  As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon in the same session after clicking to them through our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it!

Now then... any Hill Street Blues fans out there?  Shout! Factory has just announced the release of Hill Street Blues: The Complete Series on DVD on 4/29 (SRP $199.99)!  The 34-disc box set will include all 144 episodes of the series, along with new interviews with the creators and cast, including Steven Bochco, Dennis Franz, James B. Sikking, Bruce Weitz, Alan Rachins, Gregory Hoblit, Dennis Dugan, Jeffrey Lewis and more.  You’ll also get a commemorative 24-page book with photos, liner notes and an essay by TV critic Tom Shales.  You’ll find cover art below and the title is now available for pre-order on Amazon.  [Read on here...]

Morning, folks!

Criterion has just announced their March Dual Format BD/DVD release slate, and here’s what’s coming: David Gordon Green’s George Washington (Cat #152 – due 3/11), Errol Morris’ A Brief History of Time (Cat #699 – 3/18), Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress (Cat #116 – 3/18), Paul Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty (Cat #702 – 3/25), Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (Cat #701 – 3/25) and Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor’s The Freshman (Cat #703 – 3/25).  [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got one more quick update for you with late breaking release news...

Summit Entertainment has just officially set Ender’s Game for Blu-ray Combo and DVD release on 2/11.  The digital window starts on 1/28.  The Blu-ray and DVD (SRP $39.99 and $29.95) will both include audio commentary with producers Gigi Pritzker and Bob Orci and deleted/extended scenes with commentary by director Gavin Hood.  To this, the Blu-ray will exclusively add the 8-part/45-minute Ender’s World: The Making of Ender’s Game documentary.

Here’s a look at the cover art for both versions, along with the BBC’s Sherlock: Season Three (due 2/11)...

Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

All right, we’ve got a quick early update for you today.

First, in the event you missed it, we posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate yesterday, featuring a look back at the original theatrical release of Superman: The Movie.  Yesterday marked the film’s 35th Anniversary.  The piece features a good interview component too, so do check it out if you haven’t read it yet.

Also today, after noting the passing of the legendary actor Peter O’Toole yesterday, this morning we must acknowledge the death of Tom Laughlin as well, star of the Billy Jack films.  He was 82.  You can read more on this here at the L.A. Times.  Sadly, actress Joan Fontaine also died this past weekend at the age of 96.  Fontaine was known for roles in such films as Jane Eyre, Ivanhoe, The Constant Nymph and Letter from an Unknown Woman, in addition to starring turns in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Suspicion (for which she was best known).  More here at the New York Times.  Both will surely be missed.  [Read on here…]

All right, we’re back as expected today with a great new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our very own Michael Coate.

But first, we wanted to take a moment this afternoon to acknowledge a bit of sad breaking news: The legendary film and stage actor Peter O’Toole has died.  He passed away yesterday at the age of 81.  Cinephiles will of course know him from his performance as T.E. Lawrence in David Lean’s 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, but other favorite film roles include such titles as Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, The Stunt Man, The Last Emperor and My Favorite Year.  Younger readers may best recall him for voicing a character in Pixar’s Ratatouille.  If you’re one of them, I envy you – it means you have so many great O’Toole films yet to discover.  In fact, I think a fresh viewing of Lawrence just might be in order in O’Toole’s memory.  Our hats off to him.  You can read more here at The New York Times.  [Read on here...]

REMEMBERING “SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE” ON ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY

It has been a big year for the Man of Steel. The year 2013 marked the 75th anniversary of Superman’s debut (in Action Comics issue #1), a new movie was made starring Henry Cavill and directed by Zack Snyder, and, of course, it represents the 35th anniversary of the release of the classic cinematic adventure starring Christopher Reeve and directed by Richard Donner.  The Digital Bits celebrates the occasion with a look back at Superman: The Movie’s opening weekend and features a reflective interview with some Superman authorities.  [Read on here...]

So it turns out The Desolation of Smaug is pretty good.  I mustered up the energy to catch a double-feature screening last night with a friend, and it was a fine evening’s entertainment.  If you enjoyed the first Hobbit film, I think you’ll like this one a great deal more.  The pacing is much more engaging.  Fans of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will definitely feel more at home here, as in this film the prequel trilogy really begins to reveal its connections to the previous films more strongly… and not just in the fact that Legolas (Orlando Bloom) features prominently.  As one would hope, Smaug himself is wonderfully realized.

Smaug aside, with any luck you have a good art house theater in your neck of the woods, because there are a number of fine indie films worth seeing this holiday season: American Hustle, the Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis, All Is Lost, Nebraska, Her, 12 Years a Slave and many more.  This is the time of year when all the great dramas get dumped into limited theatrical distribution so they quality for Oscar nominations, so be sure to head out to your local theater over the next 2 or 3 weeks.  [Read on here…]

Well… tonight’s the big night for your Tolkien fans.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens tonight at Midnight at theaters around the world, so I’m guessing there will be at least a few people standing in lines over the coming hours.

In announcement news today, Universal will release Closed Circuit on Blu-ray Combo and DVD on 1/7.

Kino Lorber has set Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/21.

Music Box Films has The Returned: The Complete First Season coming on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/21 as well.  [Read on here…]

Couple more things for you today...

First, our own Tim Salmons has returned with a review of Sony’s Olympus Has Fallen on Blu-ray Disc.  Sounds like a decent rental at least.

Also today, MPI and IFC Midnight have set Argento’s Dracula 3-D, directed by Dario Argento and starring Rutger Hauer, for Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray release on 1/28.

Scream Factory has set The Slumber Party Massacre for Blu-ray release on 3/18.  [Read on here…]