My Two Cents
I wanted to do something a little different here at The Bits today.
This being a Friday afternoon, and with the recent passing of Robert Duvall much on my mind, I wanted to call your attention to a film that I think features one of his finest performances.
But the sad reality is, thanks to studio apathy and/or a dispute between the film’s director and distributors (as reported here back in 2019), some of you may not even be aware of it.
First though, a bit of regular site business: We’ve got three more new disc reviews for you to enjoy here at the site today, including…
Dennis’ look at Don Siegel’s The Verdict (1946) on Blu-ray from our friends at the Warner Archive Collection.
Stuart’s thoughts on Mabel Cheung’s An Autumn’s Tale (1987) on Blu-ray from Imprint Asia and Via Vision.
And finally, Tim’s review of Roy Ward Baker’s Scars of Dracula (1970) in 4K Ultra HD from Hammer Films via the good folks at Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
More reviews are on the way for next week (including one or two from yours truly), so be sure to check back for them.
All right… with that aside, let me tell you about a little gem of a film called Open Range (2003).
Based on the 1990 Western novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine, and featuring a screenplay by Craig Storper, this Kevin Costner-directed project was both a critical and box office success, if a modest one, and it currently holds a respectable 79% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes (with an audience rating of 84%). [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve got some big—and excellent—4K Ultra HD catalog news for you here at The Bits today, but first let’s knock out a few new disc reviews…
Stephen has taken a look at Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva (1981) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Stuart has offered his thoughts on W.S. Van Dyke’s I Love You Again (1940) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, Garry Marshall’s Frankie and Johnny (1991) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision, and Howard Bretherton’s Hopalong Cassidy: The Legacy Collection – Volume 1 (1935) on Blu-ray from Paramount via ClassicFlix.
And Dennis has shared his take on Blake Edwards’ A Shot in the Dark (1964) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Don Weis’ I Love Melvin (1953) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.
More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to check back for them!
Now then, let’s get right to the good stuff… 20th Century Studios has finally announced the 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release of David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999) on 5/12! [Read on here...]
We’ve got several new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including…
Stephen’s thoughts on Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men (1976) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, as well as David Bruckner’s Hellraiser (2022) in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Turbine Medien.
Tim’s review of Roy Ward Baker’s Scars of Dracula (1970) on Blu-ray from Hammer Films via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Dennis’ look at Cecile B. DeMille’s The Godless Girl (1928) and Ian Softley’s K-PAX (2001) each on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
More reviews are definitely on the way this week, so be sure to check back for them!
In announcement news today, Lionsgate has officially set Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland 2: Migration (2025) for 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD release on 3/31, just as we revealed previously. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Rebuilding: Ric Roman Waugh, Pushing Forward: Gerard Butler, Heart and Soul: Morena Baccarin, and What We Leave Behind: Roman Griffin Davis) as well as the theatrical trailer. The 4K will include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Also note that Lionsgate is bringing the original Greenland (2020) to 4K here in the States for the first time that same day. [Read on here...]
Cheers, Bits readers!
We’ve got one last My Two Cents update for you this week with some great new disc reviews, as well as some great new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news. Let’s hit those reviews first…
I’ve just updated our dear late friend Barrie Maxwell’s review of William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) to cover Warner’s stunning new 4K Ultra HD restoration of the film, which streets next week. It’s truly one of the great classic film presentations we’ve seen on this format to date, and certainly not to be missed.
Dennis and Tim have checked in with thoughts on a pair of Agatha Christie film adaptations in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, including John Guillerman’s Death on the Nile (1978) and Guy Hamilton’s The Mirror Crack’d (1980).
Dennis has also reviewed Michael Winner’s The Mechanic (1972) and Antonia Bird’s Priest (1994) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Imprint, respectively.
Tim has posted his own reviews of Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer’s Dead of Night (1945) anthology on Blu-ray from KLSC as well as Chor Yuen’s The Jade Tiger (1977) from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume 3 Blu-ray box.
Stephen has reviewed Emma Seligman’s Bottoms (2023) on Blu-ray from KLSC.
And Stuart has taken a look at Hideo Gosha’s Gate of Flesh (1988) on Blu-ray from Toei via 88 Films.
We have lots more great 4K reviews cooking for next week as well, believe me.
Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted an update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork with Amazon pre-order links. As always, whenever you order anything after clicking to Amazon though one of our links (like this one) you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we appreciate it!
Now then, first things first: Our retail and industry sources have informed us that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment’s much anticipated 4K Ultra HD release of the Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008) should street on or about 5/19. So adjust your plans accordingly. Go Speed Go!
Of course, the big news today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just unveiled their May slate of Blu-ray and 4K titles. And any slate that includes more Kurosawa in 4K UHD is a good one. [Read on here...]
We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews to share with you today here at The Bits, including…
My tag-team review (with Tim Salmons) of John Boorman’s Arthurian epic Excalibur (1981) in a long-awaited 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video.
Stephen’s thoughts on Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob (1988), Rachel Talalay’s Tank Girl (1995), and Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue (1997) each in 4K Ultra HD, from Cinématographe via Vinegar Syndrome, Vinegar Syndrome, and GKIDS via Shout! Studios, respectively.
Dennis’ look at Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther (1963) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And finally it’s back to Tim again for his thoughts on Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s Top Secret! (1984) in 4K UHD from Paramount.
More reviews are coming this week, so definitely be sure to check back for them.
Now then… we’ve got a bunch of great announcement news to cover here today as well!
We’ll start with official word that Lionsgate is distributing Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair widely on Digital next week, on 2/17. In fact, you can find it available for pre-order on Apple TV right now. We’re told the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD physical release is coming later this year from Lionsgate.
A24 has just announced that Josh Safdie’s Best Picture-nominated film Marty Supreme (2025) is coming soon to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]