My Two Cents

Displaying items by tag: Kino Lorber

This is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday here in the States, so there’s not a lot of release news happening at the moment. But we do have a few things to report for you today, plus some new disc reviews including...

Stuart’s thoughts on Kino Classics’ Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray set, featuring short films of the 1940s, and E.A. Dupont’s Picadilly (1929) Blu-ray from Milestone Films and Kino Lorber.

Dennis’ take on Miloš Forman’s Valmont (1989) and Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as W.S. Van Dyke’s Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s look at Michael Mann’s Blackhat (2015) on 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Joel M. Reed’s Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) and Michael Armstrong’s Mark of the Devil (1970) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them!

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple (2023) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/12, with the Digital release expected tomorrow on 1/16. Extras will include 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes (including Creating The Color Purple: A Bold New Take on the Beloved Classic, Hell Yes! The Iconic Characters of The Color Purple, In the Flow: Creating The Color Purple’s Biggest Musical Moments, and A Story For Me: The Legacy of The Color Purple). You can see the cover art below. [Read on here...]

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We’re finishing the week here at The Bits first with more new disc reviews, including…

Stuart’s take on Fran Rubel Kuzui’s Tokyo Pop (1988) and Michael Powell’s The Edge of the World (1937) both on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis’ thoughts on Allen Baron’s Blast of Silence (1961) on Blu-ray from Criterion, Josh Greenbaum’s Strays (2023) on Blu-ray from Universal, Bernard Girard’s Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films, and Val Guest’s The Quartermass Xperiment (1955) on Blu-ray from Hammer Films via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen’s review of The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years on Blu-ray from AGFA, Something Weird, and Vinegar Syndrome, Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen – Parts One and Two (2023) on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. and DC, and Jannik Hastrup and Flemming Quist Møller’s animated classic Benny’s Bathtub (1971) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile via Vinegar Syndrome.

As always, more reviews are forthcoming next week, so be sure to watch for them.

Also, we’ve posted a few interesting things on our new Patreon page, including a new film review (not a disc review) from Stephen of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One (2023) as well as a blog post from yours truly about the future 4K Ultra HD plans of a major studio we tend to talk a lot about here at the site. I’ll have more to say about that subject here on The Bits in the weeks and months ahead, but the blog posts I’ve been doing on Patreon felt like the more appropriate place to vent a little bit on the subject. [Read on here...]

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Well, folks... it’s a new year and time to get right back into the thick of things in terms of physical media news. And we have a bunch to catch you up on here at The Bits today.

Before we get started though, I wanted to call your attention to Michael Coate’s latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, which we posted on New Year’s Eve. It features a great retrospective and roundtable interview with film historians celebrating the 50th anniversary of George Lucas’ classic American Graffiti (1973). Its 9 pages and 17 chapters are packed with great reading, so do be sure to check it out.

I’d also like to start the new year by with another quick Patreon pitch: If you believe in the work we do here at The Bits in support of physical media, we’d like to ask you to consider becoming a supporter of the site on Patreon. I’ve been sharing exclusive blog posts there, and it’s becoming a great little community—a fun and welcoming place to share your love of Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD with fellow enthusiasts. You can join for as low as $6 a month (or as much as you’d like to contribute) and it really makes a difference in helping us to grow and continue our work here at the site. So thank you!

Now then, the big news item this afternoon is that Lionsgate has just officially set Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 2/13, with the Digital release due on 1/30. There will also be a Walmart-exclusive 4K Steelbook release on 2/13. The 4K and Blu-ray will include the following special features: audio commentary with Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson, the 8-part Predator or Prey: Making The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes documentary (note that both the commentary and documentary are exclusive to the physical release), Rachel Zegler’s The Hanging Tree music video, the A Letter to the Fans featurette, and the theatrical trailer. You can see the 4K cover art at left and also below.

FYI, Lionsgate is also releasing John Woo’s Silent Night (2023) on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/30. The film stars Joel Kinnaman (of For All Mankind fame). [Read on here...]

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Afternoon, folks! I certainly hope that those of you who celebrate it have had a great Christmas holiday, and that the rest of you are enjoying the holiday season.

I’ve got just a quick update here for you today and I’ll post a little more as the week goes on. This time of year there’s typically very little news-wise worth reporting, but there are some odds and ends to cover.

First though, I want to catch you up on the latest disc reviews we’ve posted here at The Bits since our last news post last week. Now available for your reading pleasure here are...

My reviews of James Cameron’s Avatar: Collector’s Edition (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water – Collector’s Edition (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from Lightstorm and 20th Century Studios.

Tim’s thoughts on Richard Donner’s Scrooged: 35th Anniversary Edition (1988) in 4K from Sony and George Mihalka’s My Bloody Valentine: Collector’s Edition (1981) in 4K from Scream Factory.

Dennis’ takes on David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: The Believer (2023) in both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD from Universal, as well as Oren Rudavsky’s The Treatment (2006) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, and Richard Attenborough’s In Love and War (1996) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen’s reviews of Charles Kaufman’s Mother’s Day (1980) in 4K from Troma via Vinegar Syndrome, Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s in 4K from Universal, and Ti West’s Pearl (2022) in 4K from A24 via Turbine Media.

And finally Stuart’s look at Succession: The Complete Series on DVD from HBO, Alain Resnais’ La Guerre est finie (1966) on Blu-ray from The Film Desk and Vinegar Syndrome, and Paul Lynch’s The Hard Part Begins (1973) on Blu-ray from Canadian International Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome. [Read on here...]

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Boy, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover here at The Bits over the next few days! It’s been very busy here around the office these past several days. For one thing, my wife and I have had family staying with us for the weekend. I’ve also finally replaced my defunct Epson 5040UB home theater projector here at The Bits with a brand new JVC DLA-RS1100/NP5, and have spent time installing and calibrating it. (I’ll definitely have more to say about that later this week, though I’ll just note for now that I’m very pleased with the choice.)

But I would like to take this opportunity to thank my good friends John Schuermann (of The Screening Room AV, the fantastic home theater design and equipment retailer well known for their annual Projector Shootouts) and Kris Deering (the outstanding ISF calibrator, formerly of Sound and Vision magazine as well as his own Deep Dive AV) for their help and advice in selecting the RS1100 and getting it up and running. (Your counsel is very much appreciated, my friends!) If you’re ever in the market for home theater hardware or calibration, there’s no better place to start.

Needless to say, while I’ve been occupied with all that, our dedicated team here at The Bits has posted a number of great new disc reviews. So let’s quickly run them all down...

First of all, Stuart has offered his thoughts on Anthony Mann’s A Dandy in Sapic (1968) and Abraham Polonsky’s Force of Evil (1948) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Suzanna Raes’ documentary Close to Vermeer (2023) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Dennis has shared his thoughts on Peter Hall’s Three Into Two Won’t Go (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Luis Valdez’s La Bamba (1987) on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

Stephen has delivered his reviews of Jean Renoir’s legendary classic The Rules of the Game (1939) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion, along with Jiří Barta’s The Pied Piper (1986) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile (via Vinegar Syndrome), and Ulli Lommel’s The Boogey Man (1980) in 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And finally, our hard-working reviews editor Tim Salmons has posted his own take on David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997) in 4K Ultra HD, also from Criterion.

As always, more new disc reviews are forthcoming all week, so be sure to check back for them.

All right… now let’s move on to the latest release news. And there’s quite a lot of it today. In fact, it’s fair to say that it’s going to be a very expensive Q4 for fans of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD! [Read on here...]

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All right, as mentioned earlier, we’ve got more release news to cover today here at The Bits. But first some new disc reviews...

Stephen has checked out Paul Verhoeven’s cult classic Showgirls (1995) on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome, which features the film in 4K UHD and Blu-ray, along with an additional Blu-ray full of special features. Stephen has also reviewed Peter Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982) on Blu-ray from Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber.

Also today, Dennis has offered his thoughts on George Cukor’s Little Women (1955) and Abe Levitow’s animated Gay Purr-ee (1962), both new on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart has taken a look at the Norwegian legal drama Aber Bergen: Complete Series from MHz Networks and Kino Lorber, as well as Inés Toharia Terán’s Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2021) documentary from Kino Lorber, both of them on DVD, along with the Warner Archive Collection’s Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (1961) and Tintin and the Blue Oranges (1964) double feature Blu-ray.

Now then, speaking of Warner, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and DC Studios have announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of the Netflix original series The Sandman: The Complete First Season on 11/18, with a Digital release expected on 9/18. Note that a second season of the series is already on the way from Netflix. The set will include all 11 episodes, along with a pair of featurettes (The Sandman: Behind the Scenes Sneak Peek and The World of The Endless). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

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Today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits include the following...

Stephen’s in-depth look at Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959), which is now available in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Lesley Selander’s The Catman of Paris (1946) and John Ford’s The Long Voyage Home (1940), both available on Blu-ray from Via Vision’s Imprint Films label, as well as the documentary double feature Filmmakers for the Prosecution (2021) and Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today (1948) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Now then, we have some great 4K Ultra HD news today... Lionsgate has just set Stephen King’s The Mist for release on the format on 10/3, in both wide-release (SRP $34.99) and Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook ($37.99) versions! Each is a 4-disc set. Both the original and alternate black and white versions will be included in 4K, along with audio commentary by director Frank Darabont and producer Denise Huth. The package will also include Blu-ray versions that add deleted scenes, A Conversation with Stephen King and Frank Darabont, and other legacy extras. You can see the cover art at left and also below. Note that the 4Ks will include both HDR10 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range, as well as Dolby Atmos audio (with Dolby TrueHD found on the Blu-ray). [Read on here...]

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In reviews this morning, Dennis has taken a look at Raphael Sbarge’s 2022 Laemmle Theatres documentary Only in Theaters on DVD from Kino Lorber. The film chronicles the 80+ year history of the family-owned cinema chain, which is based in L.A., and looks at the family’s efforts to see it survive the current challenges facing the industry.

More reviews are coming, so be sure to watch for them.

Now then... the big news today is two-fold: First, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just revealed that Babylon 5: The Complete Series is coming to Blu-ray Disc for the first time ever on 12/5! Of course, the series was originally produced and finished in SD resolution only. But its live-action footage was shot on film, so that’s been scanned in 4K and downsampled to HD, while the CGI and VFX shots have been upsampled to HD from SD. But if you’ve seen the series recently as it appears on the Max streaming app, you’ll be familiar with the quality. (Note that it’s presented in the original 1.33 broadcast aspect ratio, and will include English SDH subtitles.) All 110 episodes of the show will be included, along with the 1993 pilot film, The Gathering. It appears that this title will be available via online retailers only, so don’t expect to find it at your local brick-and mortar shop. SRP is $99.99. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. (Oddly, it doesn’t actually include an image of the Babylon 5 space station itself, which.. ahem... seems like very strange marketing choice.)

And second, here’s some exciting news for fans of 1980s animation: The great Ralph Bakshi has announced on his Facebook page that American Pop (1981) is finally coming to Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 8/22! [Read on here...]

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We’ve got a bunch of news, rumors, and official announcements to cover for you today here at The Bits, so let’s get right to it...

First up, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just made Enter the Dragon official for 4K Ultra HD and Digital release on 8/8. Extras will include the previous introduction by Linda Lee Cadwell and the audio commentary by Paul Heller and Michael Allin. This release is happening in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary. The 4K disc will include both the theatrical cut and the 3-minute-longer special editon with HDR10 high dynamic range.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and Adult Swim have just set the all-new animated movie Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar for release on Digital and Blu-ray on 8/22 (SRP $19.99 and $29.98). This will be accompanied by two full-length album release by Dethklok: Dethalbum IV and the soundtrack for Army of the Doomstar on 8/25. These will be released widely via WaterTower Music and you’ll be able to get them on actual vinyl from Mondo.

WBDHE and HBO have also just announced Succession: The Complete Series for DVD only release on 9/12, including all 39 episodes with the previously released special features. Also coming that day on DVD will be Succession: The Complete Fourth & Final Season. [Read on here...]

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Welcome to a new week, Bits readers! And the theme of this week is all about disc reviews. We’ve posted no less than SEVEN of them over the weekend, and we have lots more coming in the next few days, including some MAJOR and long-awaited 4K titles. But more on that in a minute.

To start today, we’ve got new reviews of the following titles...

My take on Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ 65 (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony, along with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s feature-length animated classic Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! (1964) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection), as well as John Frankenheimer’s classic actioner Ronin (1998) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

All three titles are worth a look, and Ronin looks absolutely spectacular—it’s mastered from a recent 4K scan, and both the Blu-ray and the 4K disc in the package are a major improvement over the previous Arrow Blu-ray release, which was certainly good for its day. You definitely don’t want to miss that one.

Also today, we have Stephen’s review of Patrice Leconte’s Man on the Train (2002) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

We have Dennis’ thoughts on Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian on Blu-ray from Undercrank Productions, which includes Paths to Paradise (1925) and You’d Be Surprised (1926).

And we close things out with Tim’s look at James Wan’s Dead Silence (2007) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory, as well as Kevin Reynolds’ Waterworld (1995) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video! [Read on here...]

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