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...]

Fully Restored Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture Arrives on 4K Ultra HD and in Six-Movie Collection

Own the Definitive Vision of Director Robert Wise September 6, 2022 with Extensive New Bonus Content

Original Six Big-Screen Adventures Also Arrive on 4K Ultra HD September 6 in Time for Star Trek Day

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Set a course for the final frontier as the newly restored Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition arrives September 6, 2022 on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with a bonus Blu-ray Disc filled with new and legacy special features from Paramount Home Entertainment. The film will also be released in a Limited-Edition Collector’s Set entitled The Complete Adventure, which includes the new Director’s Edition, the theatrical cut, and a special longer cut all on 4K Ultra HD along with special features on Blu-ray. In addition, Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection will arrive on September 6 with all six big-screen adventures featuring the original series crew on 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

We’re wrapping up the week here at The Bits with a few new disc reviews...

I’ve turned in my thoughts on Sony’s recent Heavy Metal: Limited Edition 2-Movie Collection, a 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release that include the original film remastered with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, plus the Heavy Metal 2000 sequel as a Blu-ray bonus.

Tim has taken a look at Umbrella Entertainment’s new Blu-ray release of Heavy Metal, which is available as an all-region import.

Tim has also turned in his thoughts on Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Scream Factory.

And Dennis closes out our review selections today with a look at Boomerang (1992) on Blu-ray from Paramount. [Read on here...]

We have three more new Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy today, starting with Stephen’s take on Daisuke Miyazaki’s Videophobia (2019) from Vinegar Syndrome.

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Ulu Grosbard’s Straight Time (1978) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has also reviewed Patricia Birch’s Grease 2: 40th Anniversary Edition in the form of a new Blu-ray Steelbook from Paramount.

In announcement news today, Paramount has finally made their 8/9 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release of Event Horizon (1997) official. The title will include both Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range, 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio, and the following extras: Commentary by director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt, the 5-part The Making of Event Horizon documentary, The Point of No Return featurette with director commentary, The Unseen Event Horizon featurette, Secrets (deleted and extended scenes with director’s commentary), the theatrical trailer, and a video trailer. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some new reviews for you to start the new week off, and as always we’ve got a bunch of release news as well, some of it official and some of it new intel on forthcoming 4K and Blu-ray catalog titles. So let’s get right into it...

We start with Dennis’ look at Keith Thomas’ recent remake of Firestarter (2022) on Blu-ray from Blumhouse and Universal.

Dennis has also offered a look at Roy Del Ruth’s On Moonlight Bay (1951) which was released earlier this year on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

Next up, Tim has reviewed William Lustig’s final film, Uncle Sam (1996), in 4K Ultra HD from Blue Underground.

Not to be outdone, Stephen has checked in as well today with a look at Jeff Baena’s The Little Hours (2017) on Blu-ray from Gunpowder & Sky via Vinegar Syndrome.

Stephen has also reviewed Lucio Fulci’s Contraband (1980) on Blu-ray from Cauldron Films.

And finally, Stephen has done an in-depth review of Arrow Video’s recent Lies & Deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol Blu-ray box set, which includes Cop au Vin (1985), Inspector Lavardin (1986), Madame Bovary (1991), Betty (1993), and Torment (1994). Enjoy! [Read on here...]

Morning, everyone! We expect Paramount’s official announcement of the next wave of Star Trek Original Series films in 4K Ultra HD to drop at any time now, but there’s been an early leak of cover art that we thought worth sharing with you beforehand.

A couple of retailers have shared this artwork this morning (including our friends at HD Movie Source, who are always on the money), so it looks like this could be the final cover art for the forthcoming Star Trek Original Series films in 4K.

If the leak is correct, it means that Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country will indeed include both the original Theatrical Version and Nicholas Meyer’s much-loved 113-minute Director’s Cut as well. The cut is 3 minutes longer, has a few scene extensions here and there, and some of the scenes are slightly re-edited. Added material includes Admiral Cartwright and Colonel West briefing the Federation President on their rescue plan, as well as Spock and Scott inspecting the torpedo bay. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some late-breaking information regarding the next wave of Star Trek 4K Ultra HD releases from Paramount.

This morning we received updated information from two of our retailer/distributor sources here in the States, which has now been confirmed by a third such source this afternoon. And the Paramount Home Entertainment PR department has gone mum, which is a pretty good indicator of the fact that an official announcement is imminent. (If the details we asked them about were false, they would normally be quick to deny them).

So here’s the latest...

It appears that Paramount is about to announce the 9/6 release of single-film 4K Ultra HD SKUs of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, along with a Star Trek: The Original 6-Movie Collection 4K box set that includes all of them in one package. [Read on here...]