Items filtered by date: November 2019

All right, we’ll have more to report tomorrow on The Bits, but I wanted to jump in here quickly this evening with word from retail sources that Disney will release Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga as a 9-film, 27-disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray box set on 3/31/2020.

Here’s the thing: We know for sure that Best Buy will have an exclusive SKU (here’s a link to a Best Buy Canada listing for the title). What we don’t know yet is if the entire box set is Best Buy exclusive, or if Best Buy will just have exclusive packaging.

But that obviously means Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will street on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/31/2020 as well. [Read on here...]

Morning folks!

This is just a very quick update to let you all know that we’ve got two items of interest for your attention here at The Bits today...

First up, I posted my review of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood in 4K Ultra HD last night. The disc is now available from Sony, and I actually think it’s one of Tarantino’s most interesting films. It’s certainly well worth your time, so do give it a look.

Also, our own Michael Coate has a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column for you today looking back at Steven Spielberg’s classic screwball comedy 1941 in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary. The great film music historian Mike Matessino joins Michael for a fun new interview on the film, its music, and history. We hope you enjoy it!

And that’s all for now. Back with more soon. Stay tuned...

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

“Any legitimate study of Spielberg’s career has to include 1941.” — film music historian Mike Matessino

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of 1941, Steven Spielberg’s zany, whacky, epic World War II comedy featuring a screenplay by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale (Used Cars, Back to the Future) and John Milius (Big Wednesday, Red Dawn), an all-star cast headed by Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters) and John Belushi (Animal House, The Blues Brothers), and Oscar-nominated Cinematography, Sound and Visual Effects.

The large ensemble cast also featured Nancy Allen (Dressed to Kill), Ned Beatty (Deliverance), Eddie Deezen (Grease), Bobby DiCicco (I Wanna Hold Your Hand), Lorraine Gary (Jaws), Murray Hamilton (Jaws), Diane Kay (Eight is Enough TV series), Christopher Lee (The Man with the Golden Gun), Tim Matheson (Animal House), Frank McRae (Used Cars), Toshiro Mifune (The Hidden Fortress), Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch), Slim Pickens (Dr. Strangelove), Wendie Jo Sperber (Back to the Future), Robert Stack (The Untouchables TV series), Lionel Stander (Hart to Hart TV series), and Treat Williams (Prince of the City). [Read more here...]

This is just a quick update to let you all know that we’re working on new 4K reviews here at The Digital Bits today.

And we’re going to be posting the first of them this weekend, including Ad Astra from 20th Century Fox and Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season from HBO.

So stay tuned for those.

Also, we’ve got some great stuff planned for you all next week, including a new film retrospective from our own Michael Coate in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column.

In honor of The Rise of Skywalker, we’ll also have our next Star Wars feature on Tuesday, which is The Empire Strikes Back – A Visual Guide to Changes, Fixes, and Tweaks in the Disney+ 4K Version. Our recent guide to A New Hope was hugely popular, so we’re pressing on with the sequels too! Drew has pulled together a ton of great comparison images for you. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bit of interesting 4K Ultra HD news for you today...

First, on the all digital front, Lionsgate has just set Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker as Digital only 4K release on 2/4.

It’ll feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Of course, we know that most of you are physical disc consumers, so we’ve got a street date update for you guys today as well—covering forthcoming Blu-ray and 4K new releases.

The following information comes from studio and retail sources, but none of these titles have actually been announced yet.

So just be aware that the dates listed below could change a little bit still, as often happens before the studio makes their street dates official. [Read on here...]

All right, sorry there wasn’t a post yesterday—rest assured there was a good reason for it, which I’ll explain in a moment. But first, we have a new Blu-ray review for you to enjoy...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Michael Engler’s Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture, which is now available on Blu-ray from Focus Films and Universal. If you liked the series (as we did), you’ll definitely like the movie too. It delivers everything you’ve enjoyed from the show with a bigger, grander, and more much cinematic aspect that fits the material and the period well. Not every big screen experience needs a superhero, and we look forward to more sequels should they be forthcoming. So enjoy the review!

Now then, we have few pieces of announcement news today...

As most of you will know by now, the Golden Globe nominees were announced yesterday and you can see the full list here via The New York Times. Netflix dominated in the film categories and there were a number of surprises. The Best Picture nominees include 1917, The Irishman, Joker, Marriage Story, and The Two Popes. The Best Musical or Comedy category includes Dolemite Is My Name, Jojo Rabbit, Knives Out, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, and Rocketman. Again, you’ll find the rest here. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re rounding out the week with a couple things here at The Bits.

First up, Tim has posed two new Blu-ray reviews featuring John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, now available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Tim covers both the regular version and the limited edition Steelbook as well, so do give them a look. Whichever version you pick, it’s a great Collector’s Edition.

Also, we posted a new History, Legacy, and Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate late yesterday, featuring a look back at John Hughes’ National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with film historian Thomas A. Christie.

It’s a great piece, with much for fans of the film to enjoy, so you’ll find that here. [Read on here...]

“Christmas Vacation is a perfect blend of festive nostalgia and domestic anarchy.” — Thomas A. Christie, author of A Righteously Awesome Eighties Christmas

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the third entry in the popular Vacation series starring Chevy Chase (Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack, Fletch) as Clark Griswold.

Also starring Beverly D’Angelo (American History X) as Ellen Griswold, Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) as Audrey Griswold, Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) as Rusty Griswold, and Randy Quaid (The Last Detail) as Cousin Eddie, Christmas Vacation opened in theaters across North America 30 years ago this December.

For the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with pop culture historian and Christmas-movie authority Thomas A. Christie, who discuss the film’s virtues and enduring appeal. [Read more here...]

Once again today, we have some big news for you and a major new special feature piece here at The Bits.

But first, our own Tim Salmons has another new Blu-ray review for you, this one of Terence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out (1968) from Scream Factory. Enjoy!

Now then, the new special feature piece we have is nothing less than a complete visual guide to all the changes, fixes, and tweaks to be found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: A New Hope! Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is also the webmaster of Star Wars Revisited and also the curator of the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

Drew has been hard at work in recent weeks, diligently cataloging all of the changes in this new version of the film. He’s created a set of comparison images—nearly 40 in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Bits for you to see. So click here for that. We’re pretty certain you’ll enjoy it. (And special thanks again to Drew for his efforts!) [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—nearly 40 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]