Displaying items by tag: Cult Epics

This is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday here in the States, so there’s not a lot of release news happening at the moment. But we do have a few things to report for you today, plus some new disc reviews including...

Stuart’s thoughts on Kino Classics’ Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray set, featuring short films of the 1940s, and E.A. Dupont’s Picadilly (1929) Blu-ray from Milestone Films and Kino Lorber.

Dennis’ take on Miloš Forman’s Valmont (1989) and Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as W.S. Van Dyke’s Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s look at Michael Mann’s Blackhat (2015) on 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Joel M. Reed’s Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) and Michael Armstrong’s Mark of the Devil (1970) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them!

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple (2023) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/12, with the Digital release expected tomorrow on 1/16. Extras will include 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes (including Creating The Color Purple: A Bold New Take on the Beloved Classic, Hell Yes! The Iconic Characters of The Color Purple, In the Flow: Creating The Color Purple’s Biggest Musical Moments, and A Story For Me: The Legacy of The Color Purple). You can see the cover art below. [Read on here...]

Morning, everyone! We start today with no less than three new disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s in-depth look at Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke (1967) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, as well as his thoughts on John Frankenheimer’s Black Sunday (1977) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

We’ve also got my take on Paramount’s new Star Trek: The Next Generation 4-Movie Collection box set in 4K Ultra HD—just an overall summary to go along with my detailed reviews of each of the individual films in 4K.

Now then, we’ve got a bunch of great announcement news today, and some updates on titles we’ve mentioned previously here at The Bits, starting with news from the Warner Archive Collection!

On the latest installment of Tim Millard’s excellent The Extras podcast, our friend George Feltenstein has revealed more of Warner Archive’s May Blu-ray titles, which will include Rouben Mamoulian’s Queen Christina (1933), Joseph Losey’s The Boy with Green Hair (1948), Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton’s King Solomon’s Mines (1950), Vincente Minnelli’s The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), and Joseph Barbera and William Hanna’s Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! (1964). All of these are new negative scans (The Boy with Green Hair and King Solomon’s Mines from the original Technicolor negatives).

Also coming later this year are Howard Hawks’ Land of the Pharaohs (1955) and Robert Wise’s Helen of Troy (1956). [Read on here...]

We’ve got two more new disc reviews for you to enjoy this afternoon...

Tim has turned in his thoughts on Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night (1967) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Tim has also taken a look at Robert Fuest’s The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), which are available in a new Blu-ray double feature also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In announcement news today, Universal has officially set Downton Abbey: A New Era for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 7/5. The 4K will include Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR. Extras will include audio commentary with director Simon Curtis, plus 6 featurettes (Good to Be Back, Return to Downton Abbey: The Making of a New Era, A Legendary Character, Creating the Film Within the Film, Spill the Tea (Time), and Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia). [Read on here...]

Let’s have a quick round-up of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news, and then I must dive back into my own review work over the next several days...

First up, it does indeed appear that Disney is preparing a 4K Ultra HD release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I’ve now got multiple retail and industry sources confirming this. However, don’t expect the sequels to be announced anytime soon. It’s possible that the studio is planning to release more films in the series next year if this first one sells well (and possibly promoted by the success of the films in streaming on Disney+) but for now Curse of the Black Pearl seems to be the only film immediately in the offing.

Also, while we’re on the topic of Disney, it seems that the Heat 4K release continues to be in limbo, but is still expected to arrive on the format sometime next year.

Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is definitely shaping up for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD in early January sometime. Info some retailers suggests that the studio is targeting 1/11/22 as the street date. And for those of you who have been waiting, not only does it finally arrive in theaters tomorrow (with sneak peek preview screenings tonight in many US cities), the film premieres IN JUST TWO HOURS in 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos on HBO Max. So get ready to enjoy a helluva good cinematic experience. [Read on here...]

Since the earliest days of American television, some programs thereon have become phenoms by lancing through public consciousness at the right time and place in popular culture.

You know the list – The Texaco Star Theater, starring Milton Berle, was the first show to become “must see.” The same moniker could also be used for I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners or The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson or even Saturday Night Live.

While these programs and a few shows like them, say All in the Family, breathed rarefied air, none caused a change in the public stratosphere like a comedy sketch show which started airing on NBC Monday nights in 1967, opposite The Lucy Show and Gunsmoke, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.

Now, to celebrate Laugh-In’s 50th Anniversary, Time Life Home Video has released Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In: The Complete Series – including every episode from all six seasons along with exclusive new bonus features and a free DVD. That’s 140 episodes on 38 DVDs. [Read on here...]