Displaying items by tag: Bluray Disc

All right, today’s a bit of a catch-up day here at The Bits...

First, Tim has reviewed a trio of Blu-ray titles for you, including Kino’s Moving Violations, Grindhouse Releasing’s Gone with the Pope, and Arrow Academy’s Terror in a Texas Town. Do give them a look.

Now then... this will be our last post until Monday, as I’m headed down to Comic-Con in San Diego tomorrow. For the record, I’m scheduled to be on TWO panels at the Con this weekend.

First, I’m moderating the Breaking News from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory panel tomorrow (Friday) at 8-9 PM in Room 4 at the San Diego Convention Center (details here):

“Join Shout! Factory’s Jeremy Whitham (Development Director), Brian Ward (Senior Director of Blu-ray and DVD Production), and Jeff Nelson (Senior Marketing Director) as they make special announcements and unveil exclusive sneak peeks. Moderated by Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits.” [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve a LOT of ground to cover today: Tons of news and announcements, plus some good stuff here at The Bits for you too. Let’s start with the latter...

Tim has turned in new reviews of Meteor (1979) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and also Dave Parker’s It Watches on DVD from Uncork’d Entertainment. Both are worth your time. And if you like It Watches, be sure to check out Dave’s Sweet Tooth from Tales of Halloween, as well The Hills Run Red and The Dead Reborn too.

Also today, in honor of the late George Romero, I wanted to share a special feature we did here at The Bits way back in 2001: Telling Tales with John and George. I had the honor of spending an afternoon with George and filmmaker John Harrison (Frank Herbert’s Dune) while they recorded the audio commentary for Paramount’s Tales from the Darkside: The Movie DVD. It really gives you a good sense, I think, of who George was as a person: Truly one of the kindest, warmest, and most engaging people I’ve had the pleasure to meet in my 30+ years in this industry. I hope you’ll enjoy it. [Read on here…]

All right, there’s a lot going on here today, so today’s update will be relatively quick...

First up, Tim has posted a new Blu-ray review, shared today in honor of the passing of George A. Romero. It’s Knightriders, available on BD via our friends at Shout! Factory. We hope you enjoy, and more on George in a moment.

Also, Michael Coate has posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column in which he celebrates the 30th anniversary of director Paul Verhoeven’s original RoboCop. The piece features another great retrospective look at the film’s original theatrical release and also an interview with author Calum Waddell. Don’t miss it. [Read on here…]

All right, no official update yet from Disney on the HDR on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 4K. There are reports that Dolby is claiming Dolby Vision will only be on the 4K streaming version, but we haven’t been able to confirm that yet. So stay tuned.

Disney has however, officially just announced (at D23) that they’re releasing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 10/3, with the Digital release due on 9/19. We know that it will have HDR (so HDR-10, no word specifically of Dolby Vision) and that it will include Dolby Atmos audio. “Bonus material includes a collection of behind-the-scenes, making-of stories, including a conversation with directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg; a sit-down with the two young newcomers who play Henry and Carina; the secrets behind the menacing new villain, Salazar, and his ferocious ghost sharks; an on-set visit with Jack’s first mate from all five films; a chat with Sir Paul McCartney who appears as Uncle Jack; and a discussion about the franchise’s legacy; along with hilarious bloopers, deleted scenes and memories from producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s photo diary.” No other details are yet available. You can see the cover art at left.

Meanwhile, we have two new Blu-ray reviews for you today: Tim has checked out Vinegar Syndrome’s Psycho Cop Returns and Psychic Killer, both worth your time if you’re a fan of the genre. Do check them out. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple of things for you today, including a little bit of follow-up on this Disney/Guardians Vol 2 4K Dolby Vision thing. More on that in a moment...

First, Michael Coate has a great new History, Legacy & Showmanship column for you today that celebrates Sir Roger Moore and the 40th Anniversary of the classic Bond installment The Spy Who Loved Me. Michael is joined by another fine roundtable of Bond experts to discuss the film and I think you’ll really enjoy reading what they have to say. So you’ll find that here.

Now then... some announcement news: Universal has officially set The Mummy (2017) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 9/12, with the Digital HD release expected on 8/22. [Read on here…]

All right, let’s get this out of the way right off the top: Yesterday, when Disney finally made the official announcement that James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will arrive on 4K Ultra HD (as well as Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD) on 8/22, we made a point to contact the studio to confirm that the 4K Ultra HD disc would include Dolby Vision HDR. And we were assured that it would. So we added that update to our report.

Some context here: Our sources within the studio and around the industry have long told us that one of the reasons Disney has taken their time embracing the 4K format was that they’re bullish about Dolby Vision, and wanted to wait until more hardware manufacturers and consumers had embraced it. They wanted more Dolby Vision-capable displays and players out there in the hands of consumers. [Read on here…]

All right, we knew it was coming but now Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has just made it official: James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is officially coming to Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 8/22, while the Digital HD release will happen on 8/8. Extras on the Blu-ray editions will include the 4-part The Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 documentary, audio commentary with director James Gunn, 4 deleted scenes, the Visionary Intro featurette, a Guardians Inferno music video with David Hasselhoff, and a Gag Reel. There will also be digital exclusive features, including 3 Scene Breakdowns and a Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! Disneyland ride preview. The 4K Ultra HD version will feature English Dolby Atmos. We are working to confirm that it will also feature Dolby Vision HDR. [Editor’s Note: Disney has confirmed to us that the 4K Ultra HD release will feature Dolby Vision HDR.] The Blu-ray versions will include English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. [Read on here…]

Afternoon, folks! All right, a couple things today...

First, today is Prime Day on Amazon. If you’re a Prime member, there are supposed to be some good deals on various things over there, reportedly including 4K Ultra HD displays. Now, I haven’t had time to go over there and check myself, so that may or may not be, but if you do purchase anything, here’s our Amazon link to take you there (we appreciate the support!): Bits Amazon Link.

Now then... Tim has turned in a pair of new Blu-ray reviews, featuring Scream Factory’s terrific new Species: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and also a recent release from Australian distributor Umbrella Entertainment. The title in question is The Punisher (1989), and it’s an all region release for those who may be interested. Enjoy! [Read on here…]

We’ve got just a little bit more good announcement news for you guys to close out the shortened holiday week today...

First, Kino Lorber has announced that it plans to release Gary Marshall’s Young Doctors in Love (1982) on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/10. The company has also revealed that Sidney J. Furie’s The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991) and James Glickenhaus’ The Soldier (1982) are coming soon to both formats.

A reminder: Pre-orders for Twilight Time’s July titles are now live on Twilight Time Movies and Screen Archives Entertainment, including Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), The Crimson Kimono, State Fair, and Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn. They’re expected to ship on 7/18. [Read on here…]

All right, it’s been an exciting few days for Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news, with the latest being director James Gunn’s confirmation that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is soon to be announced for Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD (see our post from early this morning). We expect Disney’s official announcement in the next two weeks.

Before we get started today, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be moderating the official Breaking News from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory panel at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month! Here’s the official write-up from Shout:

“Genre and horror film buffs, collectors and pop culture enthusiasts alike won’t want to miss Breaking News from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory. At 8 pm on Friday, July 21st in Room 4, join Jeremy Whitham (Development Director), Brian Ward (Sr. Director of Blu-ray and DVD Production) and Jeff Nelson (Sr. Marketing Director) as they make special announcements and unveil exclusive sneak peeks of upcoming Blu-ray collector’s editions and new movies coming to theaters this fall. A fan-driven insider’s event filled with lively discussion and a few surprises, this panel discussion and Q&A will be moderated by Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits.”

It should be a lot of fun, so if you’re going to be attending the Con, please be sure to drop in for it. I’ll be a panelist on another panel at the Con as well, which I’ll tell you more about next week. [Read on here…]