Items filtered by date: June 2022

We have two more new disc reviews for you today...

Tim has taken a look at Criterion’s recent Blu-ray release of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Tales of Hoffman (1951).

And Dennis has checked in with a look at Delbert Mann’s Marty (1955) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just revealed that they’re going to be re-releasing Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers as a new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition on 11/1, complete with a new feature: The Starship Troopers 25th Anniversary Reunion, a “virtual” reunion featuring screenwriter Ed Neumeier and actors Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Clancy Brown, Michael Ironside, Jake Busey, Patrick Muldoon, and Seth Gilliam.

The new edition will also include Dolby Vision HDR (the previous release included HDR10 only), along with the previous Dolby Atmos audio mix. And a Blu-ray copy in the package will carry over all of the legacy special features. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

All right, sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, but I had a bunch of personal life stuff to take care of, as happens now and again. We’ve got some more disc reviews for you today, along with a bunch of good catalog 4K Ultra HD news. So let’s get to those reviews first, as always...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Moustapha Akkad’s The Message (1976) on 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Factory.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Robert Z. Leonard’s Ziegfeld Girl (1941) on regular Blu-ray Disc from our friends at the Warner Archive Collection.

And Tim has checked in with a look at Nathan H. Juran’s The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) newly restored on Blu-ray from the good folks at The Film Detective.

All three titles are worth a look and more disc reviews are on the way.

Now then, we’ve got some 4K UHD announcement news for you today... [Read on here...]

We’ve got three more new disc reviews for you today here at The Bits, plus more new theatrical and catalog release news, including a fun catalog 4K title we’re looking forward to. Plus we’ve got word on a new film documentary series that’s now streaming and worth your time.

First those reviews...

Tim has turned in his thoughts on a great new Blu-ray release from our friends at ClassicFlix and the 3-D Film Archive: Jean Yarbrough’s Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The disc streets next week in honor of the film’s 70th anniversary and it includes a ton of great extras in addition to a terrific film restoration.

Stephen has taken a look at Ike Sanders’ Final Flesh (2009) on Blu-ray from AGFA via Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stephen has also offered his thoughts on a nifty little German thriller, Carl Schenkel’s Out of Order (1984), in 4K Ultra HD from Subkulture USA via Vinegar Syndrome.

All three titles are well worth a look. [Read on here...]

As always, we’ve got more new disc reviews for you today…

Tim has taken a look at Jack Cardiff’s The Long Ships (1964), a Viking adventure film on Blu-ray from Imprint Films in Australia.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Mark O’Brien’s The Righteous (2021) on Blu-ray from our friends at Arrow Video.

In announcement news today, Paramount has made their Paramount Presents Blu-ray of Back to the Beach (1987) official for release on Blu-ray on 8/9. Newly-remastered from a new 4K scan of the film, the disc will include a new Filmmaker Focus featurette with director Lyndall Hobbs that includes previously-unseen home movies from the set. [Read on here...]

Boy, we’ve got a LOT of new announcement and catalog release news to report on today, so let’s get right into it…

First up, the big news: Criterion has just announced their October title slate, and as expected it includes a couple of great 4K Ultra HD titles, along with some Blu-ray gems.

It all starts with a title we revealed last week: George A. Romero’s classic zombie film Night of the Living Dead (1968 – Spine #909 – 4K Ultra HD) on 10/4. Following on 10/11 is another title we revealed a couple months ago here at The Bits, David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997 – Spine #1152 – Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD), as well as Frank Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace (1944 – Spine #1153 – Blu-ray and DVD). On 10/18, look for Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona (2019 – Spine #1156 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure (1997 – Spine #1155 – Blu-ray and DVD). And finally, Kasi Lemmon’s Eve’s Bayou (1997 – Spine #1154 – Blu-ray) round the month out. Lost Highway will include Dolby Vision HDR.

You can read more about these titles here at the Criterion website, and we’ve updated our Criterion Spines Project and 4K Ultra HD Release List pages here at The Bits accordingly. You can also see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’ve got no less than five new disc reviews for you all to enjoy today, with still more on the way…

Tim has reviewed Stephen Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998) on 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) on 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on David Lean’s Summertime (1955) on regular Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

And Stephen has taken a look at William Malone’s Scared to Death (1980) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, as well as Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) on import 4K Ultra HD from StudioCanal in the UK.

We’ve also got some significant new 4K Ultra HD catalog news today as well… [Read on here...]

We’ve got three new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, all of them 4K Ultra HD titles…

Tim has offered his thoughts on Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To (1976), new from our friends at Blue Underground.

Stephen has taken a look at Bo Arne Vibenius’ Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973) from the good folks at Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stephen’s also reviewed Shout! Factory’s new 4K UHD of Moustapha Akkad’s Lion of the Desert (1981), which streets next week.

More reviews are on the way in the coming days, so be sure to watch for them!

Now then, we have a little bit of release news from industry and retail sources, as well as an actual 4K UHD catalog announcement. Let’s get to that last one first… [Read on here...]

We’re thrilled to report this afternoon that we’ve got an update on a major Paramount catalog title that we mentioned here at The Bits earlier today as well as in one of our My Two Cents news posts last week.

The studio will indeed release A George Pal Double Feature of War of the Worlds (1953) and When Worlds Collide (1951) on 9/27 as a Paramount Presents title!

Director Byron Haskin’s original alien invasion classic War of the Worlds will be released in the 2-disc set in physical 4K Ultra HD, while Rudolph Maté’s earlier When Worlds Collide will be included in the package as bonus disc via remastered Blu-ray.

You can see the full cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some major catalog release news for you today to start the new week off right…

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set Tom Holland’s Fright Night (1985) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/4. The release will feature a new 4K scan from the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and a new Dolby Atmos mix along with the previous 5.1 mix and the original stereo as well.

The title will come a Blu-ray version of the film mastered from the new 4K scan that will feature all-new Deleted Scene Storyboards and the never-before-seen alternate Holland/Beyda Spec Trailer, along with legacy extras that include audio commentary by Holland, actors Chris Sarandon and Jonathan Stark, and filmmaker Tim Sullivan, a second commentary with Holland, actors William Ragsdale and Stephen Geoffreys, FX artist Randall Cook, journalist Jeremy Smith and Tim Sullivan, and 3 featurettes (You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night, What is Fright Night, and Tom Holland: Writing). [Read on here...]

All right, yesterday was a little crazy here at The Bits, what with Paramount finally dropping their long-awaited Star Trek 4K announcement. That deluxe Complete Adventure 4K package for the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition was unexpected and frankly a fantastic surprise. But it’s worth a quick follow up today just to clarify everything...

The Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition: The Complete Adventure Limited Edition is a 3-disc set here in the States that includes the DE in 4K, a newly-authored 4K of the previously-released Theatrical Cut as well as the Special Longer Version (included via seamless branching), and a Blu-ray full of bonus content that I’m told includes basically everything ever created and released for the film on home video. (I’m awaiting confirmation of the exact contents from the studio.) But it does NOT include a Blu-ray of the DE itself, nor are Blu-rays of the Theatrical and SLV versions included. The DE is available separately on Blu-ray, and obviously the Theatrical Cut Blu-ray was included in the original 4-Movie Collection from last year.

To be 100% clear, the Special Longer Version is ONLY going to be available in The Complete Adventure package, and producer David C. Fein has said that it’s a genuine limited edition. Much like Sony’s recent Ghostbusters: Ultimate Collection, it’s very likely to sell out in pre-orders, and it’s NOT going to be re-released. So if you were planning to wait for Black Friday to pick it up at a discount, or you’re expecting some future “ultimate” 4K box that includes the TNG films as well all The Complete Adventure content, you’re likely to be disappointed. The new 4K disc with both the Theatrical Cut and the Special Longer Version on it is exclusive to this set and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Be sure to plan accordingly.

[Editor’s Note: It appears that the UK version of this set MAY be a 5-disc set, which includes the Blu-rays of The Director’s Edition and the Theatrical Cut. And its discs should be all-region.]  [Read on here...]