Displaying items by tag: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

We’re starting today with more new disc reviews, and then we have a major piece of catalog 4K news for you here at The Bits. First up...

Tim has taken a look at Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express (1974) on Blu-ray from Paramount.

Dennis has reviewed J. Lee Thompson’s Eye of the Devil (1966) and Karl Freund’s Mad Love (1935), both new on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen has delivered his thoughts on a pair of new Umbrella Entertainment Region-Free Blu-ray releases, including Steve Jodrell’s Shame (1988) and Bruce Beresford’s Puberty Blues (1981).

Now then, let’s get to that big release news: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s musical comedy Singin’ in the Rain (1952) for 4K Ultra HD release on 4/26, just as we first revealed here at The Bits way back in November. [Read on here...]

All right, as some of you may know, we had a pretty interesting early post here at The Bits today with news of a great bunch of Shout! and Scream Factory Blu-ray and 4K titles coming in May. Turns out, that was just scratching the surface! Not only has Shout! now fully fleshed out their May release slate, they’ve added an additional Ultra HD title and more Blu-ray titles too. What’s more, Sony has revealed a pair of much-wanted 4K titles in June, and Paramount has announced a significant slate of Blu-ray and 4K titles for May as well!

This is going to take a little while to go through, so let’s get right into it. We’ll start with those new Sony titles first, then circle our way back to Shout...

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just announced a pair of new Steelbook 4K titles for release on 6/7, one a title released previously and the other also released previously but only in one of their Columbia Classics 4K box sets: The Bridge on the River Kwai: 65th Anniversary Limited Edition and a Lawrence of Arabia: 60th Anniversary Limited Edition. These will be essentially the same discs released previously (reviewed here and here on The Bits), except that both now feature Dolby Vision HDR (Kwai had only HDR10 in its initial UHD release). Both also feature Dolby Atmos audio plus legacy mixes. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’ve got three more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, starting with Tim’s look at Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run (1998), as recently released on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment. It’s an Aussie import title, but all-region.

Also today, Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax View (1974), which is newly released on Blu-ray from Imprint Films in Australia, also a region-free disc.

And Stephen has offered his thoughts on Shinsuke Terasawa’s animated Catwoman: Hunted in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the latest installment in their DC Animated Universe.

What’s more, we have another “bonus” film retrospective from our own Michael Coate today in his History, Legacy and Showmanship column, as he takes a look back at Robert Wise’s original West Side Story (1961) in honor of the film’s 60th anniversary. Michael is joined by film and musical experts Matthew Kennedy, Bruce Kimmel, and Mike Matessino for a great roundtable discussion. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

We have a quick President’s Day news update for you here at The Bits with some good title announcement news, both new and catalog. And of course, another new disc review.

Stephen has checked in with his in-depth thoughts on Chloe Zhao’s Eternals in 4K Ultra HD from Disney and Marvel, a somewhat polarizing entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We think you’ll find his take interesting, and you can find it right here.

In new announcement news today, 20th Century Studios has just put Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (2021) up for pre-order on Amazon in Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD with a street date of 3/15.

The 4K disc will include English Dolby Atmos audio, with HDR10 high dynamic range. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some great release news for you all today and of course more new disc reviews as well. As always, we’ll start with the reviews...

I’ve just posted my thoughts on Rian Johnson’s science fiction time-twister Looper (2012), which is finally available in 4K Ultra HD here in the States from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. What’s more—and unlike last year’s UK 4K release from eOne—this edition features fresh remastering by cinematographer Steve Yedlin, with a new Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range grade and a new Dolby Atmos mix too. Not only is it a big improvement on the original Blu-ray, it improves on the eOne 4K release too, so it’s definitely worth a look for fans.

Also today, Tim has posted a look at Bruce Beresford’s The Adventures of Barry McKenzie on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Mervyn LeRoy and Busby Berkeley’s long-awaited Gold Diggers of 1933 new on Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has turned in his takes on Kino Classics’ Princess Tam Tam (1935) and Zou Zou (1934) double-feature and Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, both on Blu-ray. [Read on here...]

We’re all busy working on new disc reviews here at The Bits today, but I wanted to chime in quickly here today to acknowledge a bit of sad news.

The great filmmaker Ivan Reitman has died. He apparently passed away in his sleep on Saturday at the age of 75.

Reitman was of course the director of such comedy classics as Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Draft Day, and more.

Reitman also produced or executive produced many additional films, among them Animal House, Heavy Metal, Private Parts, and the recent Ghostbusters: Afterlife. [Read on here...]

We’ve got one quick new Blu-ray review to share with you today. Stephen has given Tim Mielants’ Patrick (2019) a look on Region B Blu-ray, a disc that’s newly available from Anti-Worlds Releasing in the UK. You’ll find that here.

In terms of announcement news today, Sony has just officially set Heavy Metal for release on 4K Ultra HD on 4/19 in special Steelbook packaging. The release includes the original Heavy Metal remastered in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision HDR and now with a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack, both reviewed and approved by producer Ivan Reitman. You’ll also get the previous 5.1 mix as well as the original 1981 theatrical Dolby Stereo audio.

The 4K disc will also include the new Heavy Metal: A Look Back retrospective featurette. The package also includes Heavy Metal and its sequel Heavy Metal 2000 on Blu-ray Disc, each with its previous special features. And you’ll get a Digital code as well. You can see the cover artwork at right and also below. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some interesting odds and ends to share news-wise here at The Bits today, as well as another big disc review, and some sad news unfortunately. But first, the review...

Tim has just delivered his in-depth look at Sony’s new Ghostbusters Ultimate Collection 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray box set, which includes new 4K editions of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II—now with Dolby Vision HDR—as well as Ghostbusters: Afterlife on disc, and Ghostbusters: Answer the Call on Digital only (though the code redeems for both versions of that film in 4K). Plus the set include no less than two Blu-ray bonus discs with a ton of legacy extras, as well as new material exclusive to this set. And you get a mini replica of Don Shay’s Making Ghostbusters book from 1985.

Unfortunately, the set is a limited edition release from Sony and it’s sold out almost everywhere. (At last check, you could still get it from a few international retailers, but that version may have region issues and will not come with Digital codes.) We have asked the studio whether it might be released in a second printing, or perhaps in a discs-only configuration at some point in the future, and have been told that while it’s possible there’s no news to report at this time. Should that change, we will of course post an update here on The Bits.

In the meantime, we’ve gotten reports from a number of readers that their sets were damaged in shipment, or that the box they received had the wrong discs resulting from a packaging error (for example, they may have gave gotten two copies of Ghostbusters in BD and 4K, but no copies of Ghostbusters II). If that applies to you, Sony has provided us with a customer service email address for you to use to get things sorted. [Read on here...]

Thursday brings two more new disc reviews, and more release news—this time including some pretty great catalog 4K titles for Hitchcock fans.

First, Stephen has taken a look at Ruggero Deodato’s House on the Edge of the Park (1980) on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Michael Anderson’s Shake Hands with the Devil (1959), which stars James Cagney. The film is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

A quick note: We’ve just gotten our hands on Sony’s new Ghostbusters Ultimate Collection 4K set and Tim is neck deep in work on an in-depth review. So watch for that coming soon here at The Bits.

Now then, in 4K Ultra HD catalog news, Spanish retail sources are indicating that Universal is planning another big wave of Alfred Hitchcock titles for release in 4K UHD this year. [Read on here...]

Today’s update is a quick one, with two more new disc reviews, two rather significant pieces of release news, and some additional release news as well. First, the reviews...

Dennis has turned in a look at Ronald Neame’s Gambit (1966) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, which stars Michael Caine and Shriley MacLaine.

And Stephen has reviewed Nadia Tass’ The Big Steal (1990) on Blu-ray from Columbia Pictures via Umbrella Entertainment’s Sunburnt Screens line.

A quick note: I’ve taken a bit of a break from reviewing discs myself as I’ve been focused on planning The Bits site upgrade that we’re going to be doing in the coming months. But I expect to get back to reviewing more in the next couple of weeks, and I’ll definitely catch up on specific titles then. So thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Now then... Disney has informed us today that their 2/8 Blu-ray and DVD release of the Peter Jackson documentary The Beatles: Get Back is being delayed. Apparently, the studio caught an audio glitch in the release at the last minute and needs to correct it. So just be aware of the delay, and we’ll post updates here direct from the studio when they reschedule the title with a new street date. [Read on here...]