Displaying items by tag: film retrospective
Hello, Gorgeous: Remembering “Funny Girl” on its 50th Anniversary
“Funny Girl’s legacy and value is as a recreation of Streisand’s one-for-the-ages turn in the stage version, now preserved as long as we can watch movies.” — Matthew Kennedy, author of Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Funny Girl, the motion picture adaptation of the stage musical featuring Barbra Streisand’s Academy Award-winning performance as comedienne Fanny Brice.
Produced by Ray Stark (Annie, The Way We Were) and directed by William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives, Ben-Hur), the award-winning film also starred Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) and Kay Medford (BUtterfield 8, Ensign Pulver). The Library of Congress in 2016 selected Funny Girl for preservation in the National Film Registry. [Read on here...]
(Attempted) Murder on the Orient Express: Remembering “From Russia with Love” on its 55th Anniversary
“From Russia with Love is, quite simply, one of the greatest spy films ever made. It is relentlessly entertaining, sexy, sophisticated, elegant yet raw, beautifully shot, brilliantly edited, wonderfully cast, with a score that puts 99.999% of all other modern films to shame.” — John Cork, author of James Bond Encyclopedia
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 55th anniversary of the release of From Russia with Love, the second cinematic James Bond adventure.
Our previous celebratory 007 articles include Never Say Never Again, Live and Let Die, Octopussy, Casino Royale (1967), Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day, Dr. No, The Living Daylights, The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Casino Royale, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, GoldenEye, A View to a Kill, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, and 007… Fifty Years Strong.
The Bits continues the series with this retrospective featuring a Q&A with an esteemed group of film historians and James Bond authorities who discuss the virtues, influence and legacy of 1963’s From Russia with Love. [Read on here...]
- Sean Connery
- John Cork, James Bond Encyclopedia
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Michael Coate
- The Digital Bits
- James Bond
- 007
- MI5
- Ian Flemming
- film retrospective
- Cubby Broccoli
- James Chapman, License to Thrill
- Bruce Scivally, James Bond: The Legacy
- From Russia with Love
- 55th Anniversary
- Terence Young
- Pedro Armendáriz
- Lotte Lenya
- Robert Shaw
- Bernard Lee
- Daniela Bianchi
- John Barry
Verisimilitude: Remembering “Superman: The Movie” on its 40th Anniversary
“Superman: The Movie radiated magic in 1978 and continues to captivate the world 40 years later. This December, surely multitudes of fans will be watching Superman—via streaming, DVD, Blu-ray or the new 4K UHD—with the same hope, optimism, and innocence they felt the first time they watched in awe as Christopher Reeve soared out of the Fortress of Solitude and into the world.” — Jim Bowers, CapedWonder.com
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Superman, Richard Donner’s classic superhero adventure starring Christopher Reeve (Somewhere in Time, Monsignor). The year 2018 also marks the 80th anniversary of Superman’s debut in Action Comics.
Often described as the first modern-day superhero movie, Superman (aka Superman: The Movie) was a box-office smash and winner of numerous awards and, of course, inspired a series of sequels and spin-offs as well as, arguably, decades of superhero/comicbook-themed media. [Read on here...]
- John Williams
- Mike Matessino
- Joseph McBride
- film retrospective
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Jim Bowers
- Caped Wonder
- Kevin Burns
- Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman
- Superman soundtrack CD
- Bruce Scivally
- Superman on Film, Television, Radio & Broadway
- Larry Tye
- 40th anniversary
- Superman: The Movie
- Richard Donner
- Christopher Reeve
- Gene Hackman
- Superman: The HighFlying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero
- Marlon Brando
- Margot Kidder
- Glenn Ford
- Ned Beatty
- Jackie Cooper
- Terrance Stamp
- Phyllis Thaxter
- Trevor Howard
- Vallerie Perrine
- Maria Schell
- Susannah York
- Jeff East
- Marc McClure
- Sarah Douglas
- Jack O’Halloran
- Geoffrey Unsworth
- Mario Puzo
- 70mm
Frozen Flagpoles, Sexy Leg Lamps, and the Red Ryder: Remembering “A Christmas Story” on its 35th Anniversary
“A Christmas Story should be remembered as a small film that had a very large impact.” – Caseen Gaines, author of A Christmas Story: Behind the Scenes of a Holiday Classic
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 35th anniversary of the release of A Christmas Story, the humorous and now-classic Christmas-themed film based upon the writings of Jean Shepherd and directed by Bob Clark (Black Christmas, Porky’s).
Featuring Melinda Dillon (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Darren McGavin (Kolchak: The Night Stalker) and Peter Billingsley (The Dirt Bike Kid) as Ralphie, A Christmas Story opened in theaters across North America 35 years ago this month, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with a trio of historians and pop culture authorities who discuss the film’s enduring appeal. [Read on here...]
Batman: TAS review on the way, new BD reviews, Michael Coate’s Night of the Living Dead retrospective & Happy Halloween!
I’m still working on that Batman: The Complete Animated Series Blu-ray review, but let me tell you... it’s terrific! The A/V quality is amazing, with the original film elements for each episode newly scanned and presented in HD and the stereo mixes presented in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio. [Editor’s Note: The review is finished and you can read it here now. Enjoy!]
Nearly all of the extras from the previous DVD box set carry over and there’s a great new 98-minute retrospective documentary, Heart of Batman, included as well. I hope to have the review up later today - there’s just a lot to go through. I’ll add the link here when it goes live.
Meanwhile here at the site today, we have a new History, Legacy and Showmanship column from our very own Michael Coate, who presents a retrospective look back at George A. Romero’s original zombie classic Night of the Living Dead in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary this month. [Read on here...]
- Tim Salmons
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- reviews
- Batman: The Animated Series on BD
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Night of the Living Dead 50th anniversary
- John Scoleri
- The Baby BD review
- Night of the Living Dead (1990) BD review
- Phantasm IV: Oblivion BD review
- film retrospective
The Original Zombie Apocalypse: Remembering “Night of the Living Dead” on its 50th Anniversary
“Night of the Living Dead is a classic that has inspired countless imitators, and spawned a sub-genre that continues to be exploited today in film, television, books and video games.” – John Scoleri, author of Latent Images: Night of the Living Dead
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero’s influential and franchise-spawning horror film about a group of characters trapped in a Pennsylvania farmhouse who are stalked by flesh-eating zombies.
Night of the Living Dead – co-written by John Russo and featuring Judith O’Dea, Duane Jones, Marilyn Eastman, Karl Hardman, Judith Riley, and Keith Wayne – opened fifty years ago this autumn, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with author and film historian John Scoleri.
John Scoleri is the author of Latent Images: Night of the Living Dead (Dreams and Visions Press, 2019), and several books on artist Ralph McQuarrie, including The Art of Ralph McQuarrie: Archives (Dreams and Visions Press, 2015). He was co-editor (with Peter Enfantino and Robert Morrish) of The Scream Factory Magazine (Deadline Press, 1989-1997) as well as the 600+ page greatest-hits collection, The Best of The Scream Factory (Cemetery Dance, 2018). [Read on here...]
Connery’s 007 Swan Song: Remembering “Never Say Never Again” on its 35th Anniversary
“This is a 1983 film with the director of the highest-grossing film of 1980, the cinematographer of the highest-grossing film of 1981, and Sean Connery starring as James Bond. What could go wrong?” – John Cork, author of James Bond Encyclopedia
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 35th anniversary of the release of Never Say Never Again, the remake of 1965’s Thunderball and the final film in the long-running series to feature Sir Sean Connery as Agent 007.
Our previous celebratory 007 articles include Live and Let Die, Octopussy, Casino Royale (1967), Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day, Dr. No, The Living Daylights, The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Casino Royale, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, GoldenEye, A View to a Kill, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, and 007… Fifty Years Strong.
The Bits continues the series with this retrospective featuring a Q&A with an esteemed group of film historians and James Bond authorities who discuss the virtues, shortcomings and legacy of 1983’s Never Say Never Again. [Read on here...]
- Cubby Broccoli
- Lee Pfeiffer, The Essential James Bond
- film retrospective
- Ian Flemming
- MI5
- 007
- James Bond
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- John Cork, James Bond Encyclopedia
- Never Say Never Again
- 35th anniversary
- Sean Connery
- Thomas A Christie, The James Bond Movies of the 1980s
- Edward Fox
- Pamela Salem
- Alec McCowen
- Kevin McClory
- Michel Legrand
- Prunella Gee
- Irvin Kershner
- Lorenzo Semple Jr
- Douglas Slocombe
- Warner Bros
A Blaxploitation Bond: Remembering “Live and Let Die” on its 45th Anniversary
“[Live and Let Die is] an early A-list film that recognized the value and influence of the generally under regarded blaxploitation film genre.” — Josiah Howard, author of Blaxploitation Cinema
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 45th anniversary of the release of Live and Let Die, the eighth (official) cinematic James Bond adventure and notably the first to feature Sir Roger Moore as Agent 007.
Our previous celebratory 007 articles include Octopussy, Casino Royale (1967), Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day, Dr. No, The Living Daylights, The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Casino Royale, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, GoldenEye, A View to a Kill, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, and 007… Fifty Years Strong.
The Bits continues the series with this retrospective featuring a Q&A with an esteemed group of film historians and James Bond authorities who discuss the virtues, shortcomings and legacy of 1973’s Live and Let Die. [Read on here...]
- Roger Moore
- John Cork, James Bond Encyclopedia
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Michael Coate
- The Digital Bits
- James Bond
- 007
- MI5
- Ian Flemming
- Live and Let Die
- 45th anniversary
- film retrospective
- Jon Burlingame, The Music of James Bond
- Josiah Howard, Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Guide
- Lee Pfeiffer, The Essential James Bond
- Bruce Scivally, James Bond: The Legacy
- Matt Sherman, James Bond's Cuisine: 007's Every Last Meal
- Cubby Broccoli
- Harry Saltzman
- Guy Hamilton
- Tom Mankiewicz
- Paul McCartney and Wings
- Gloria Hendry
- Geoffrey Holder
- JW Pepper
- Yaphet Kotto
- Jane Seymour
- Julius Harris
- Lois Maxwell
- Bernard Lee
- David Hedison
Zatoichi (1989) finally coming to Blu-ray, plus X-Files: S11, Olive’s Bound & a Jack Ryan 4K update
We’ve got more interesting announcements today, including a very nice surprise, plus new reviews too.
First up, those reviews… Tim has taken a look at Richard Friedman’s Doom Asylum on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, along with Dread Central’s Director’s Cut on Blu-ray. Both are well worth a look.
Also, as promised, we posted Michael Coate’s latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column last night, which is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. The packed column features a look back at the original theatrical release (the first ever in DTS) along with a great new roundtable discussion with film historians Joseph McBride, Mike Matessino, and Steven Awalt. We think you’ll really enjoy it.
Also today, we’ve just posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it. So thank you! [Read on here...]
- Sisters
- The Naked Prey
- Eight Hours Don't Make a Day
- The Princess Bride
- Shampoo
- Criterion Collection October BD slate
- Arrow Video
- Tim Salmons
- The 4K Ultra HD Release List
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- ComicCon 2018
- Shout! Factory
- Doom Asylum BD review
- Director's Cut BD review
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the Cinema: Remembering Jurassic Park on its 25th Anniversary
- film historian roundtable discussion
- film retrospective
- Release Dates & Artwork update
- Zatoichi 1989: Darkness Is His Ally BD
- The X Files: Season 11
- Bound: Olive Signature Edition
- Jack Ryan 5Film Collection 4K
- Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series Bluray
- Breaking News from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory ComicCon panel
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Cinema: Remembering “Jurassic Park” on its 25th Anniversary
“It takes a filmmaker as deeply imaginative, but also technically savvy as Steven Spielberg to orchestrate and bring [all of the elements] together into a cohesive whole that works with his intricate vision as a storyteller, in both moments and big picture. There are other filmmakers who would have made wonderful adaptations of the Crichton book, no doubt, but the project landed in the right, highly skilled hands, heart and imagination.” — Steven Awalt, author of Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the silver anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg’s popular and franchise-inspiring adaptation of Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough and which showcased groundbreaking and award-winning visual effects and audio. [Read on here...]
- film retrospective
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Jurassic Park
- Jeff Goldblum
- Sam Neill
- Laura Dern
- Steven Spielberg
- 25th Anniversary
- Richard Attenborough
- Michael Crichton
- CG dinosaurs
- Joseph McBride
- Mike Matessino
- Steven Awalt
- Steven Spielberg: A Biography
- Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career
- La La Land Records
- The John Williams Jurassic Park Soundtrack Collection