Displaying items by tag: Heat 4K

I’m about to dive back into disc reviewing here this afternoon, but before I do we have two new reviews for you this morning and a major piece of release news as well. First those reviews...

Stephen has checked in with his thoughts on a fascinating Russian fantasy film from 1956, Aleksandr Ptushko’s Ilya Muromets, which also happens to be the first Russian film in both anamorphic widescreen and color. Russian cinema is fascinating, and this film is no exception, so it’s definitely worth a look on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stephen has also given Cy Endfield, Roger Corman, and Gordon Hessler’s De Sade (1969) a look on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, also a fascinating film from American International Pictures.

Now for that news... Marvel and Disney have just officially set Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 7/26, with the Digital release anticipated for 6/22. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a pair of new disc reviews for you to enjoy this afternon, starting with Stephen’s look at Makoto Shinkai’s The Place Promised n Our Early Days (2004) on Blu-ray from GKids via Shout! Factory

Also, Dennis has delivered his thoughts on Sony’s standard Blu-ray release of Jon Watts’ recent Spider-Man: No Way Home.

More reviews are on the way this week, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

Speaking of which, I wanted to take a moment to address the lack of reviews from yours truly in recent weeks. The reason is two-fold. First, I’ve been very focused on the upgrade to the Bits website, which has been long overdue and much needed. There’s a little more of that to go, but what’s been done already has resulted in a significant improvement in the site’s speed and functionality. [Read on here...]

Let’s have a quick round-up of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news, and then I must dive back into my own review work over the next several days...

First up, it does indeed appear that Disney is preparing a 4K Ultra HD release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I’ve now got multiple retail and industry sources confirming this. However, don’t expect the sequels to be announced anytime soon. It’s possible that the studio is planning to release more films in the series next year if this first one sells well (and possibly promoted by the success of the films in streaming on Disney+) but for now Curse of the Black Pearl seems to be the only film immediately in the offing.

Also, while we’re on the topic of Disney, it seems that the Heat 4K release continues to be in limbo, but is still expected to arrive on the format sometime next year.

Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is definitely shaping up for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD in early January sometime. Info some retailers suggests that the studio is targeting 1/11/22 as the street date. And for those of you who have been waiting, not only does it finally arrive in theaters tomorrow (with sneak peek preview screenings tonight in many US cities), the film premieres IN JUST TWO HOURS in 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos on HBO Max. So get ready to enjoy a helluva good cinematic experience. [Read on here...]

All right, the big news today is that Criterion has just officially announced their November slate of Blu-ray—and yes, 4K Ultra HD—titles!

They begin with an upgrade of Federico Fellini’s La strada (Spine #219 – Blu-ray) on 11/2, followed by an upgrade of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. (Spine #799 – Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Combo) and Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films (Spine #1103 – Blu-ray – includes Once Upon a Time in China I-V) on 11/16, and Albert and Allen Hughes’ Menace II Society (Spine #1105 – Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Combo) and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (Spine #1104 – Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Combo) on 11/23. Let’s talk 4Ks...

Mulholland Dr. will include a new 4K digital restoration, supervised by director David Lynch and director of photography Peter Deming, with a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR.

Menace II Society will include a new 4K digital restoration of the directors’ cut of the film, supervised by cinematographer Lisa Rinzler and codirector Albert Hughes, with 7.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR.

Citizen Kane will include a new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Again, the 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting this afternoon with a few more new disc reviews for you to enjoy...

Stephen has posted his thoughts on Curtis Bernhardt’s 1929 silent drama The Woman One Longs For, featuring only the second starring role for actress Marlene Dietrich. That’s now available on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Also, Dennis has offered a look at John Farrow’s 1949 film noir Alias Nick Beal, available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Do give both of them a look.

In Blu-ray release news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC have just set Batwoman: The Complete Second Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/21 featuring all 18 episodes along with deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 2 featurettes (Villains Analyzed and Never Alone: Heroes and Allies).

WBHE has also set the animated Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog for release on DVD and Digital on 9/14. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a brief update for you this morning here at The Bits, but it’s an important one.

In the wake of Disney’s announcement Wednesday of their plans to release Jan de Bont’s Speed (1994) in 4K Ultra HD on 5/4, which is a 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) catalog title, there have been a number of questions raised.

The official press release seemed to indicate that the Digital version of the film in 4K would include object-based Dolby Atmos audio, but the actual physical 4K Ultra HD disc would not.

There have also been rumors that the title would not include HDR, or that the studio would only include HDR on the Digital release.

As you can imagine, I decided to cut through the confusion to ask the studio about this directly. I’ve now heard back, so here are the official confirmed details on this release… [Read on here...]

Today’s big news is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has finally officially set Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/30. The Digital release is expected on 3/16, with PVOD rental set for this week on 2/12.

The 4K Ultra HD release will include Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+ high dynamic range, with Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include 8 featurettes (The Making of Wonder Woman 1984: Expanding the Wonder, Gal & Kristen: Friends Forever, Small But Mighty, Scene Study: The Open Road, Scene Study: The Mall, Gal & Krissy Having Fun, and Meet the Amazons), the Black Gold Infomercial, a Gag Reel, and a Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix feature.

You can see the 4K cover artwork above left and also below the break, along with the regular Blu-ray artwork. Both versions are now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today. But first more new disc reviews...

Dennis has taken a look at Jacob Chase’s Come Play (2020) on Blu-ray from Universal.

And Tim has given Mario Landi’s Patrick Still Lives (1980) a spin on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

Watch for more reviews in the next few days.

Now then, we’ve got BIG 4K Ultra HD news for you today, some of it official and most of it unofficial but tentatively confirmed by our various industry and retail sources. So let’s get right into it...

First up, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially set Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 3/23. It will feature HDR10 high dynamic range with Dolby Atmos audio. It will also include the previously released special features, among them the 3-part MONARCH Declassified documentary and the 4-part The Legendary Godzilla documentary. You can see the official cover artwork above left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, first up here at The Bits today, our own Russell Hammond has just posted the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon (after clicking to them through any of our links) goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we greatly appreciate it!

Now then... in announcement news today, Paramount has officially announced the Blu-ray Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of Denis Villensuve’s Arrival on 2/14. A Digital HD release will happen on 1/31. It appears that audio on the Blu-ray and 4K will be English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Extras will include 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Xenolinguistics: Understanding Arrival, Acoustic Signatures: The Sound Design, Eternal Recurrence: The Score, Nonlinear Thinking: The Editorial Process, and Principles of Time, Memory & Language). We’re certainly looking forward to watching those.  [Read on here…] 

We’re rounding out the week with a pair of new Blu-ray reviews...

Tim Salmons has checked in with his thoughts on Shout! Factory’s new Transformers: The Movie – 30th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray. Sounds like it’s pretty terrific, though you may still wish to keep your previous editions for the extras that don’t carry over. More in the review.

Also, Jim Hemphill has offered up his thoughts on Twilight’s recent Blu-ray edition of Busby Berkeley’s The Gang’s All Here (1943), which is flat out terrific. Don’t miss it.

By the way, in case you missed the update I posted to my review of the set late on Wednesday, Madman Entertainment’s new Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Series is actually an All Region release, even though it’s listed many places as being Region B. But I have directly and personally confirmed that these discs are, in fact, All Region. Do check out the review here. [Read on here…]