Displaying items by tag: Peter Jackson

All right, it’s been a busy last several days here at The Bits. For one thing, just personally, I had my mother visiting from North Dakota all last week for the first time in over two years given the pandemic. And that was great, but of course it set me back on 4K review work (which I intend to catch up on this week).

I’ve also just spent most of today on the phone with industry sources, gathering information for our big preview of 4K Ultra HD catalog releases that are coming in the second half of 2021. And that’s the crux of today’s post here at The Bits, but more on that in a minute.

First, we have a couple more new disc reviews to share with you...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Andrew V. McLaglen’s 1965 Civil War drama Shenandoah, which stars Jimmy Stewart. The film arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on 7/27.

And Stephen has offered a look at John Sturges’ acclaimed 1959 western Last Train from Gun Hill, a VistaVision classic newly released on Blu-ray as part of the Paramount Presents line-up. [Read on here...]

Well... the day is finally here. Many of you are no doubt picking up or receiving in the mail your copies of Warner’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in 4K Ultra HD. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did!

There have been reports of Amazon and other retailers running out of stock this week, and that’s no doubt because Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is scrambling to manufacture enough copies to meet demand.

Keep in mind that there’s only one physical media replication plant in all of North America now and every studio is trying to get their big Q4 titles produced there at the moment.

But I would imagine that more stock will arrive in the next week or two, so that everyone who wants a copy should be able to get one by Christmas. [Read on here...]

All right Tolkien fans, this is it!

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just provided us with the official confirmation: Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy will officially arrive on 4K Ultra HD on 12/1.

The Hobbit Trilogy will include The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, in both the theatrical and extended versions.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will include The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, again each in both the theatrical and extended versions. [Read on here...]

We’ve a couple good things to report again today here at The Bits...

First, though, I posted my review of Zack Snyder’s 300 in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment last night here at the site. It’s a 2K DI upsample, but let me just say that HDR and especially the new Dolby Atmos mix make a significant difference. If you’re a fan, the disc is well worth a look.

Now then, Paramount has officially announced the 12/8 Blu-ray and Digital release of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. The package will include a new introduction by director Francis Ford Coppola, and a Digital Copy.

You can see the cover artwork above right and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some very interesting ground to cover today...

First, we’ve posted a review of Richard Donner’s Timeline (2003), which has just been released on Blu-ray for the first time ever by Paramount. Our own Dr. Adam Jahnke reviewed the DVD way back in 2004, so I’ve revived his film review and added my own comments on the Blu-ray’s A/V quality. Timeline is cheesy and paper-thin to be sure (I would never call it a great film, or really even a very good one), but I still kind of enjoy it. So it’s nice to finally have it on Blu-ray, especially for just $9.99 SRP.

Also, later today or tomorrow morning I expect to finish my review of Zack Snyder’s 300 in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. So watch for that to be posted very soon.

Now then, in release news today, we’ve got a few things for you. None of this is yet official—as in no press releases have been issued, but we expect them to be shortly—but we’ve got updates today on a few new 4K catalog titles that we know many of you have been eagerly awaiting. [Read on here...]

As you can imagine, things are a little busy here at The Bits this week, and for good reason. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m continuing to dig pretty deep with studio and industry sources on a number of significant home video rumors that have been circulating over the past few days.

I covered the status of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition remaster yesterday, so let’s move on to another title.

Today I have an update for you on another of the rumors you’ve probably read about online: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s plans for The Middle Earth 4K Collection, the long-awaited release of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films on physical 4K Ultra HD.

Here’s the latest from our sources... [Read on here...]

Fox Home Entertainment has just announced the Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Digital HD release of Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children on 12/13 (see the official announcement by Burton here). The 4K SKU will include Dolby Atmos audio. Extras on all the BD versions will include 4 featurettes (The Peculiar Story, The Peculiars, Hollows and Ex-Hollows, and Map of Days), Florence + The Machine’s Wish That You Were Here music video, and a gallery of photos and never-before-seen sketches by Tim Burton. [Read on here…]

All right, we’re starting today with some new disc reviews: I’ve just posted my thoughts on Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence in 4K Ultra HD format, as well as Paul Greengrass’ Jason Bourne in 4K Ultra HD format from Universal. Meanwhile, Tim has posted a review of Arrow Video USA’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977) on Blu-ray Disc. All three of these titles are worth a look.

Also here at The Bits today (in case you missed it when we posted it here at the site yesterday), our dear friend Bud Elder has turned in a new View from the Cheap Seats column called Movie Begats and More. In it, Bud runs down new deep catalog releases from all the usual indie distributors and remembers the late Leon Russell. Don’t miss it!  [Read on here…]

First things first today...

Our own Tim Salmons has just posted another new Pick-Ups/Dailies Blu-ray review, this time featuring a look at Arrow Video’s Microwave Massacre: Special Edition. Do check it out.

Also, the good Russell Hammond has posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and street dates. Remember, anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support The Bits and we really do appreciate it.  [Read on here…]

So um... yeah. Since yesterday morning, when the SRP and final product images first went up on Amazon – and even before we posted our column on the subject yesterday afternoon – we started getting e-mails and private messages from diehard Rings fans asking: “Is Warner’s Middle Earth: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set really $799.99?!”

I understand the feeling behind that question, believe me, because I feel it too. When I first saw that $799 price listed, I thought surely it was an error. Especially when you consider that the theatrical set was listed at $68.99, and when that price info quickly disappeared.

I figured there was absolutely no way Warner would charge $800 for a Blu-ray release of these films that contained no new disc-based content whatsoever. Had to be a mistake. [Read on here…]