Election in 4K, Dune: Part Two & Stop Making Sense reviewed, plus SpongeBob, Cannibal Apocalypse, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire & farewell Roger Corman

Monday, 13 May 2024 17:27

Election in 4K, Dune: Part Two & Stop Making Sense reviewed, plus SpongeBob, Cannibal Apocalypse, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire & farewell Roger Corman

by Bill Hunt

We’re starting this week off with a pair of major new disc reviews here at The Bits...

Stephen has taken a deep dive into Jonathan Demme’s legendary concert film, Stop Making Sense (1984), newly-restored in 4K Ultra HD and available exclusively from the A24 online shop. This is arguably the greatest concert film ever produced, featuring the music of Talking Heads and the cinematography of Jordan Cronenweth (he shot this right after completing work on Blade Runner and Buckaroo Banzai).

I’ve also finished my in-depth review of Denis Villeneuve’s magnificent Dune: Part Two (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. It’s an epic pure-cinema masterpiece and, along with Dune: Part One, rightly takes its place alongside Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. And while one could pick a few nits with Warner’s 4K release, the A/V quality is demo-worthy.

Both films are absolutely not to be missed on disc, so be sure to give the reviews a look. And more reviews are on the way this week, so be sure to watch for those.

In release news today, the big item worth mentioning is that Paramount has just set Alexander Payne’s Election (1999) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 7/30 as a new Paramount Presents title. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

While we’re talking Paramount, the studio has also set The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) for 4K Ultra HD release on 7/16.

And look for the studio to re-issue Michael Mann’s Collateral (2004) as a 4K Ultra HD Steelbook on 8/6.

Meanwhile, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set Antonio Margheriti’s Cannibal Apocalypse (1980) for 4K Ultra HD release on 7/16. Also newly-revealed as “coming soon” to 4K is Rick Rosenthal’s Bad Boys (1983).

Coming soon to Blu-ray from KLSC is Henry Levin’s The Lonely Man (1957). And confirmed for Blu-ray release on 7/9 are Daniel Mann’s Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) and The Rose Tattoo (1955), as well as George Seaton’s The Country Girl (1954).

Finally, we now have a street date for Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) in Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. Per retail sources, look for it to street on 6/25.

In other news today, our friends at The Criterion Collection have just launched a 30% off sale that runs through 5/27. So be sure to take advantage if there are titles you’ve been looking at.

And we would be seriously remiss today if we didn’t take a moment to acknowledge the passing of the legendary and highly-influential filmmaker Roger Corman, who died on May 9th in Santa Monica at the age of 98. Widely regarded as the King of the B Movies, Corman produced more than 300 films first for American International Pictures and later for his own New World Pictures. He also helped to launch and mentor the careers of such directors as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, and Jonathan Demme, as well as producer Gale Anne Hurd, not to mention actors Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern, Peter Fonda, and many others. It’s safe to say that cinephiles the world over owe Roger a debt, and here at The Bits we doff our caps in his honor today. You can read more here at Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Guardian, NPR, and The New York Times.

Roger Corman (1926 - 2024)

That’s all for now. Stay tuned...

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Election in 4K, Dune: Part Two & Stop Making Sense reviewed, plus SpongeBob, Cannibal Apocalypse, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire & farewell Roger Corman

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