All right this is just a quick post to round out the week...

We’ve posted a couple new disc reviews today. First up, Tim and I have given John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness a look in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory and found it to be pretty damn solid, with another great 4K film scan and remaster and all the extras you’ve come to expect from Scream (the new Blu-ray in the package features the same 4K scan too). You’ll find that here.

Also, I’ve taken a look at Anthony Spinelli’s Sex World (1977), as newly released on 4K Ultra HD by our friends at Vinegar Syndrome. Yes, it’s an adult title, but we’re not reviewing the film itself—just the disc quality. As this is one of the first such titles to appear in 4K UHD here in the States, the curiosity value makes it worth a look from our perspective. It’s actually a decent film remaster and the review is worth a laugh or two (there’s also nothing offense therein). So do give it a look.

And with a little bit of luck, I hope to have a review of Discotek’s new Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro – 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD up by the end of the day as well. (The review is up now; you can find it here.) [Read on here...]

This is a quick post to let you all know that Russell Hammond has just posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Digital Bits with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As a NEW feature, the section now lets you search for upcoming Blu-ray titles, DVD titles, AND 4K Ultra HD titles seperately to help you find exactly the ones you’re looking for. Just click on RELEASE DATES & ART on the menu bar above to visit the page, and use the search options in the red bar (at the top) to sort by format and date. Once you find a title you like, just click on the cover art and you’ll be taken right to the Amazon.com pre-order page. Thank you for shopping through our links!

- Bill Hunt

We’re starting things off today with this just in from Paramount Home Entertainment: George Cukor’s My Fair Lady (1964) and J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 (2011) are now official for release on the 4K Ultra HD format on 5/25.

My Fair Lady is presented in 4K, mastered from the 2015 8K film scan and restoration of the original camera negative and surviving 65 mm elements. Both HDR10 and Dolby Vision will be included (this is now confirmed). Audio will be available in the same English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD mix found on the 2015 Blu-ray edition.

There are no extras on the 4K disc itself, but the package will include that same Blu-ray (along with a Digital code). [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today, so let’s get right into it...

Zack Snyder’s newly-remastered Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com in 4K. Street date is 3/23 and the SRP is just $19.99. You can see that here. The cover art is a little wonky though, and the listing says the title is coming from Warner Archive rather than Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. This being an actual MOD title would be a little odd, and we think a first for 4K.

Complicating matters here is the fact that almost everyone from the Warner Archive has recently been pink-slipped by AT&T and Warner Media. So we’ll have to see what happens when the studio makes their official announcement one way or another. In the meantime, you can see the new art and pre-order the title below.

It’s worth noting that the title is not currently listed on WB Shop, nor has Warner Archive mentioned it in their social media. Warner Archive has however announced their March slate, which so far includes Damn Yankees (1958), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), What’s Up, Doc? (1972), The Great Caruso (1951), Isle of the Dead (1945), and Crossfire (1948) on Blu-ray, Wonder Woman 1984 on Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D, and Animal Kingdom: The Complete Fourth Season on DVD. Stay tuned for more on this. [Read on here...]

All right, we have a few things to report today...

But first, we’ve been working this week to balance the amount of advertising that appears when you read our various columns and reviews here at The Bits. We’ve removed the ad unit that went across the top of the site, and we’ve adjusted the left and right side advertising so that it doesn’t appear on small screen sizes. This should make it all less obtrusive. As I’ve said recently, we’re trying to find the right balance that allows us to keep the site going without becoming annoying, so hopefully we’re getting close. Advertising is a necessary evil, so to speak, especially given what’s been happening over the last year during the global pandemic.

As if to illustrate this urgency, we’re very sorry to have to report today that Cinefex, the great film and TV visual effects magazine, has just revealed that their latest issue (#172) will be their last due to the economic toll of the pandemic. [Read on here...]

All right, we hope you all had a great weekend. We’re starting the week off with several new Blu-ray reviews...

Tim has checked out Adrian Hoven’s Castle of the Creeping Flesh (1968) from Severin Films.

And Dennis has turned in a trio of reviews as well, including Frank Perry’s Doc (1971), Sidney Lanfield’s My Favorite Blonde (1942), and Richard Fleischer’s The Don is Dead (1973), all newly released or coming soon on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In actual announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just made Tim Burton’s Big Fish official for release on 4K Ultra HD on 5/4, as expected. [Read on here...]

We have just a couple things for you today here at The Bits to round out the week...

First, The Muppet Show is now officially available for streamed viewing on Disney+. I’ve already watched the John Cleese and Mark Hamill episodes and they’re a hoot. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed this show. And it looks pretty good for SD upsampled to HD and digital remastered. If you’re familiar with Sony’s recent Fraggle Rock Blu-ray remaster, it’s right in the same ballpark. [Editor’s Note: It appears that it’s NOT the entire series, but over 100 of the series’ 120 total episodes. And there are several episodes that still have edits. This is presumably due to remaining unresolved music rights and related issues. Still, this is a lot more of the series than we’ve ever gotten before. And there is reason to hope that the unresolved portions will come online as the issues are cleared eventually. You can find more details here at EW and here in this post on Reddit.]

Also today, the first episode of the second season of For All Mankind is now available on Apple TV. And that is terrific too. So enjoy both of those.

In other news today, we have word that Disney and Pixar’s Soul is expected to street on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD at the end of March (street date 3/23). We would expect an announcement or retail pre-orders to begin fairly soon. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few interesting things to tell you about today here at The Bits...

First though, an update: We’re continuing to work on more Blu-ray and 4K reviews here. But poor Tim, our reviews editor, has been out of commission these last few days—he lives down in Texas in ground zero of all the not having power, water, or heat due to this big winter freeze. The good news is, he’s back online today, a few burst water pipes worse for wear. So he’ll be checking in again with reviews and on social media over the next few days.

Meanwhile, we have some release news to report this afternoon, beginning with this: Shout! Factory is releasing Ping Zhang’s animated feature film The Legend of Hei on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/11. A Digital release is expected on 4/20.

Corinth Films is releasing Little England on DVD and Digital on 3/16.

Capelight Films will release Fukushima 50 on Digital and VOD on 3/5. [Read on here...]