My Two Cents
Well, it’s been a big couple of weeks at The Bits, as detailed in Monday’s editorial here at the site. The response to that piece has been overwhelming—and overwhelmingly positive, I’m pleased to report. I’ve had a good number of people within the industry tell me they’ve been quietly (and no so quietly) cheering its message, hoping the powers that be at certain studios will listen.
One of the interesting side effects of the last couple of weeks is that it’s really highlighted some of the key challenges we face here at the site. The first is that so much of my time as editor of The Bits is dedicated to communicating with sources, researching stories, responding to everyone who wants to engage with us after we post major news or a big editorial, or simply dealing with behind-the-scenes issues, that it’s become hard for me to do all that effectively and still write Blu-ray and 4K reviews too. I have a stack of titles I keep trying to get to, but when a well-known filmmaker or high-level studio executive contacts me wanting to talk, you definitely can’t—and shouldn’t!—say no in my position.
The other problem was illustrated by what happened when we broke the news of Best Buy’s exit of the physical media business—the website simply couldn’t handle all the traffic we were getting! Off and on, from Thursday night (10/12) to the following Monday (10/16), the site simply wouldn’t load for some people or took a long time to load. That’s not a knock on our infrastructure, our server team, or our hosting company—99% of the time, there’s no problem at all. And they do an incredible job of managing all that in the face of ever more difficult cybersecurity challenges. It’s really rather shocking how difficult that problem has become—not just for The Bits but almost literally every website online. Frankly, it’s a wonder the Internet even still works at all. [Read on here...]
I’ve been thinking a lot, in recent days, about the future of physical media.
Frankly, I can’t recall a time in this industry that’s offered greater cognitive dissonance than this past week, which began with the news that Best Buy is exiting the disc business—and saw a Digital Bits headline on the subject appear in Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show monologue—but ended not only with the release of Barbie and The Exorcist in 4K, but also with the Ultra HD announcement of Titanic, The Color Purple, and Oppenheimer, to say nothing of the revelation (by Kino Lorber Studio Classics) that Stanley Kubrick’s earliest films are coming to the format!
What’s the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities again? “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.” Charlies Dickens was nothing if not a visionary.
This coming December, I’ll mark my twenty-sixth year as editor of The Digital Bits, and my thirty-fifth as a working professional in the business of media more generally. For most of that time, I’ve had a front row seat from which to view the ebbs and flows of the disc business—both its public-facing portion, as well a singularly-unique insider’s perspective. I launched The Bits website in 1997, at the height of LaserDisc and the dawn of DVD, to create a nexus between fans of these formats and the industry professionals who create them.
Soon afterwards, I gave the world its first look at Circuit City’s pay-per-view DIVX format, then led the crusade against it. I co-led a campaign that convinced George Lucas to begin releasing his beloved Star Wars films on DVD. I reported from the trenches on—and correctly predicted the outcome of—the high-definition format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD. And I’ve covered every minute of the Golden Age of Physical Media, the rise and stumbles of Digital and streaming, and the continuing adventures of our favorite little format that could… 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]
All right, believe it or not, even after the insanity that’s been the last couple of days, we still have a bit more new release news to catch you all up on here at The Bits...
First things first… Lionsgate has officially set The Expendables 4, aka Expend4bles, for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 11/21. There will also a trio of retail exclusive versions, including an Amazon 4K with lenticular cover, a Best Buy 4K Steelbook, and a Walmart Steelbook 4-Film 4K Collection. All 4K versions of Expend4bles will offer Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio on a 100GB disc. Extras on the Blu-ray and 4K SKUs will include audio commentary with director Scott Waugh, 2 featurettes (Bigger, Bolder, Badder: The Expendables in Action and More Than a Team: New Blood Meets Old Blood), plus the film’s theatrical trailer. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.
Lionsgate has also set Kevin Greutert’s Saw X for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 11/21. Look for HDR10 and Dolby Atmos on the 4K SKU. Extras will include audio commentary (with director-editor Kevin Greutert, cinematographer Nick Matthews, and production designer Anthony Stabley), the 6-part Reawakening documentary (includes I Want to Play a Game: Bleeding New Life into the Saga, This Time It’s Personal: Characters and Casting, Another Time, Another Place: Locations and Cinematography, There Will Be Blood: Production Design and Make-up, Leave Nothing to Chance: Post-Production, and Live or Die: Release and Legacy), 2 additional featurettes (Drawing Inspiration: Illustrated Scene Breakdowns with Kevin Greutert and Make-Up Department Trap Tests), deleted scenes, and the film’s theatrical trailer. Again, you’ll find the cover art below. [Read on here...]
All right, there’s one more big title announcement we need to cover today here at The Bits.
And this one is a catalog title that we first revealed was coming to 4K Ultra HD nearly a year ago now.
Warner Bros. has just announced Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated drama The Color Purple (1985) for release on 4K Ultra HD... you guessed it, on 12/5!
Look for the disc to include HDR10 high dynamic range and the previous 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.
Here is the full text of the studio’s official press release today featuring all of the relevant details...
THE COLOR PURPLE
COMES TO 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY AND DIGITAL
THE ACCLAIMED FILM WHICH WAS NOMINATED FOR
11 ACADEMY AWARDS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
Purchase the film on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital on December 5th
Burbank, Calif., October 17, 2023 – As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the epic coming-of-age period drama The Color Purple from Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan) will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time this December.
On December 5th The Color Purple will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more. [Read on here...]
All right, Bits readers... this is another title we know that many of you have been waiting for released on, particularly on 4K Ultra HD, but now it too is finally official.
Universal has just announced Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed OPPENHEIMER (2023) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 11/21!
And the good news is that the 4K disc will be a 100GB disc, for maximum video and audio data rates, with HDR10 high dynamic range and DTS-HD Master Audio.
The video is also presented in a variable aspect ratio.
Here are all the details…
OPPENHEIMER
Universal City, California, October 17, 2023 – From celebrated writer and director Christopher Nolan comes the must-see cinematic masterpiece about the man and the moment that changed the world forever. As it continues its dominant global box-office run, OPPENHEIMER will be available to own just in time for the holidays on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, & Digital on November 21, 2023 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. [Read on here...]