Morning, folks! We’re checking in early here at The Bits today with some new disc reviews.

Over the weekend, I managed to turn out reviews of three new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook releases, including Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) from Paramount, and David Lean’s Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

It should be noted that the 4K Steelbook edition of Bridge on the River Kwai now includes Dolby Vision HDR and the original theatrical mono mix, both of which were missing from the 2017 4K release.

And this marks the first time Lawrence of Arabia has been available in 4K outside of Sony’s expensive (and long out-of-print) Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 1 box set from 2020, so this will likely be the first time many of you get to experience the film in 4K UHD at home (and let me tell you, that experience is terrific). [Read on here...]

Now it’s time to run down some of the major announcement news that’s broken over the past few days, and we have some real gems to report for you. Let’s start with 4K Ultra HD catalog news...

First up, our friends at Shout! and Scream Factory have just unveiled a great batch of new 4K Ultra HD titles for August release, including John Milius’ Red Dawn (1984) as a Shout Select 4K UHD release (a Collector’s Edition box with exclusive pins and a poster will also be available directly from the Shout! website) and new 4K UHD Collector’s Editions of Child’s Play, Child’s Play 2, and Child’s Play 3 on 8/16, followed by Mamoru Hosoda’s BELLE on 4K Ultra HD on 8/30. You can see the cover artwork for these at left and below the break. Note that the release of Scream’s 4Ks of Cat People and The Funhouse have also been pushed back to 8/2 and 8/9 respectively (from 7/19 and 7/26).

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has now teased new 4K UHD releases of George P. Cosmatos’ Leviathan (1989) and Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder (2008). Both are listed as “coming soon.” That last one is particularly interesting, as it’s part of a new content distribution deal the company has signed with Paramount Home Entertainment. The deal apparently includes some 65 titles in all on Blu-ray (8 of which are being released on disc for the first time), including 16 on 4K Ultra HD. Among these are old Republic titles, though reportedly none released previously by Olive Films. Given KLSC’s recent focus on Sergio Leone westerns, we think it’s a good bet that Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) will be among the 4K titles. [Read on here...]

All right, folks... you are now looking at the new and upgraded Digital Bits website! The cosmetic changes are minimal, but they include more uniform and easy to read font weights across all browsers and devices. Previously, some of you who viewed the site on Apple devices would have difficulty reading certain pages (including reviews) because the text was too light or faint. That should now be corrected. What’s more, the site should be much faster to load, which is no small upgrade. We’re also working on some additional search functionality improvements that will our make older content/reviews easier to find.

And you may notice the “25 Years” icon next to The Bits logo. 2022 is indeed The Digital Bits’ 25th anniversary. The site launched in late 1997 after many months as an email newsletter within the home video industry. We’ve obviously grown over the years to cover new formats and topics, and we’ve had a great bunch of writers and staffers contribute to The Bits during that time—we value each and every one of them. And let it not go unsaid: We also value each and every one of you, our readers! Some of you may be new to the website, while others have been reading since the very beginning. Just know that we’re glad to count you all as part of The Digital Bits family, and we appreciate each of you. Thanks for sticking with us!

We’ve got a lot of catching up to do today, now that this first batch of site upgrades is complete, including reporting on lots of new release news and rumors. But first, we have more new disc reviews to share with you—reviews that have been posted here at The Bits in the last few days while I’ve been focused on the site upgrades. So let’s run down those now, and I’ll check back in an hour or two with that news update.

First up, Tim and I have taken an in-depth look at Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. [Read on here...]

We’ll be back on Tuesday (after the long Memorial Day weekend holiday here in the States) with our usual news and reviews updates, but we’ve got a bit of breaking news that is too important to sit on until then.

Retail sources in Europe have begun dropping pre-order listings for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition in 4K Ultra HD. The Director’s Edition we already knew was coming in September as announced by Paramount when it debuted on Paramount+.

The European listings suggest that each title will arrive at retail individually, V on 9/12 (which would be 9/13 here in the States), VI on 9/19 (9/20 in the States), and finally The Director’s Edition on 9/26 (9/27 here). Those dates seem entirely consistent with what we would expect here on this side of the Atlantic. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some ground to cover this afternoon to start the week off right, including some major release news. First though, as always, some new disc reviews…

Stephen has given Ena Sendijarevic’s Take Me Somewhere Nice (2019) a look on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on George Seaton’s The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

Now then, the big news today is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore for release on 6/28 (SRP $39.98, $34.98, and $49.98 respectively), with the Digital release and HBO Max streaming debut expected on 5/30. [Read on here...]

Before we kick off the day’s release news here at the site today, be sure to check out Stephen’s latest Blu-ray review, which features the Miklos Jancso Collection on from Kino Classics. It includes 7 films made by Jancso from 1966 to 1974.

Now then, Paramount has officially set Tarik Saleh’s The Contractor for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 6/7. The Digital version is widely available now. The film stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster. AV specs on the 4K are TBA.

Universal has made Michael Bay’s Ambulance official for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 6/14, with the Digital release expected next week on 5/23. Both the Blu-ray and 4K will feature Dolby Atmos audio. The latter will include Dolby Vision HDR as well. And look for extras to include 6 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Bayhem, Aerial Assault, Chase Capitol of the World, Pedal to the Metal, Finding Ambulance, and A Tribute to First Responders). [Read on here...]

We’ve got a quick update for you this morning with word from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment that the long-delayed Blu-ray release of Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back documentary has finally been rescheduled for 7/12, as we first reported a couple of days ago.

The title had originally been set to street on 2/8, but was pulled at the last minute due to an unspecified problem with the audio mix (after review discs had already been dispatched to members of the press, and after some discs had briefly made it to retail shelves as well).

The error required the discs to be corrected, but the packed replication schedule these days—not to mention the sheer number of discs that needed to be produced—meant a long delay. [Read on here...]

We’re kicking off the new week with some interesting Criterion announcement news, along with an update about that Spider-Man: No Way Home Blu-ray 3D title we mentioned last week, and of course new disc reviews. Let’s cover that last item first...

Tim has posted new reviews of Douglas Heyes’s Kitten with a Whip (1964) from Imprint, as well as Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls (1995) from Umbrella Entertainment. That last one features some new extras, as well as the recent You Don’t Nomi (2019) documentary, so it might be worth a look for fans.

Also Dennis has offered a look at John Badam’s American Flyers (1985), which is new on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. [Read on here...]

We begin today with four more new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you to enjoy, including...

Tim’s take on Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, along with Lucio Fulci’s Demonia (1990) from Severin Films.

Stephen’s thoughts on Simon Wincer’s The Lighthorsemen (1987) from Umbrella Entertainment.

And Dennis’ look at Lewis Milestone’s Edge of Darkness (1943) from The Warner Archive Collection.

Moving on to release news today, Paramount has officially announced their 6/14 4K Steelbook re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark (single-disc, same 4K disc as before with HDR10, Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos, includes a Digital copy code and a mini-poster reproduction but no Blu-ray). That much we already knew. [Read on here...]

We’ve got four more disc reviews for you all to enjoy today, including three new 4K Ultra HD titles...

Tim has turned in his look at Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys in 4K UHD from Arrow Video, a fine upgrade of their previous Blu-ray edition (but one that’s going to require a disc replacement program—the details are in the review).

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Michael Winner’s Death Wish II (1982) as well as Bill Hunzman’s FleshEater (1988), both in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has a look at Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright (1950), as recently released on Blu-ray by our friends at The Warner Archive Collection.

As always, more reviews are on the way so be sure to stay tuned for them. [Read on here...]