Displaying items by tag: Dennis Seuling

We’re starting today with more new Blu-ray reviews, including Dennis’ take on Roy William Neill’s Black Angel (1946) from Arrow Academy.

Tim has also posted his thoughts on Jacques Tourneur’s The Leopard Man (1943) on Blu-ray from Shout! and Scream Factory. Enjoy!

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just set The CW’s Batwoman: The Complete First Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/18. The 5-disc set will include all 20 episodes, plus a “limited edition bonus disc” that features all 5 episodes of the DC Crossover Event Crisis on Infinite Earths and “6 Crossover Bonus Features.” Extras on the main set will include On the Set, The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a few new reviews of for you to enjoy today...

Tim has turned in his thoughts on Takashi Miike, Renpei Tsukamoto, and Manabu Aso’s One Missed Call Trilogy, recently released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video. He’s also got a look at Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers, released late last year on Blu-ray from The Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has got a look at Glenn Danzig’s Verotika on Blu-ray as sell, new from Cleopatra Entertainment.

Meanwhile, I’m finally recovered from my post-Star Wars review blitz, so I’ll have some new Blu-ray and 4K reviews toward the end of this week as well. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a couple things to report today...

First up, NBCUniversal’s Fandango service is going to purchase Vudu from Walmart, according to reports in the trades today (see this link at Variety). This is interesting and it doesn’t surprise me. I expect there will be lots of consolidation in the Digital space in the months and years ahead, and I also expect every major studio to try and grow their own footprint in the digital space or to team up with others who have. And of course the Digital category includes not just streaming/subscription services but transactional purchases too. So it makes a lot of sense.

Also today, I’ve been invited—and have just begun—to check out the high-end digital movie service Kaleidescape. I’ll have more on that experience here at The Digital Bits in a few weeks, after I’ve really given it a thorough test and tryout. [Read on here...]

All right, after months of “we knew it was coming” to last week’s early studio leak that was quickly pulled back, Universal has finally made it official: Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is coming to 4K Ultra HD on 6/2 in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary. The package will include the film on 4K and Blu-ray with a Digital code, lenticular packaging and a 44-page booklet with introductions, rare photos, storyboards and more from the archives.

Both the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray will include The Making of Jaws, The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of Jaws, Jaws: The Restoration, deleted Scenes and outtakes, From the Set, and the film’s theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray will add storyboards, production photos, Marketing Jaws, and The Jaws Phenomenon.

The 4K Ultra HD disc will also include HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision high dynamic range, along with Dolby Atmos audio. Additional audio options will include DTS and Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. And yes, that IS correct: There’s no DTS-X. Also, our sources tell us that the Atmos mix is a 12-channel expansion of the revisionist 7.1 mix done in 2013. The good news is that the original mono options are included. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below. [Read on here...]

It’s kind of a slow news day today, but we do have some more disc reviews for you to check out...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Franklin Gollings’ Connecting Rooms (1970) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film stars Bette Davis and Michael Redgrave.

Also, Tim has taken a look at Ovidio G. Assonitis’ Beyond the Door (1974) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

In announcement news today, Fox has set Chris Sanders’ The Call of the Wild for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 5/12. The 4K will include English Dolby Atmos, while the Blu-ray will feature DTS-HD MA. Extras on both will include 4 featurettes (Origins, The On-Set Experience, State of the Art, and The World of the Wild), along with a Digital-only featurette (A Man and His Dog). [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bit of fun news today, some release news and some other...

First up though, we also have a new disc review. Dennis has just turned in a look at director George Marshall’s classic Destry Rides Again (1939) now on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection. It’s a classic western starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich that’s well worth your time.

And while we’re speaking of Criterion, that brings us to our first bit of release news, which is that Criterion has just announced a Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits Blu-ray box set (Spine# 1036), which is set to include The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), The Way of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973), and Game of Death (1978). [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got one more new Blu-ray review for you today, which is Dennis’ look at JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from Disney. You can find that here. [A warning though: The review contains major spoilers for the film. Proceed with caution.]

Now then, our friends at Kino Lorber have announced a tons of great new Blu-ray catalog titles coming over the next few months. So let’s get right to it...

Starting on 5/5, look for Guy Hamilton’s An Inspector Calls (1954), Fred Coe’s A Thousand Clowns (1965) and Me, Natalie (1969), John Boulting’s Brighton Rock (1948), and Basil Dearden’s Pool of London (1951).

Following on 5/12, look for the Barbara Stanwyck Collection (including Internes Can’t Take Money (1937), The Great Man’s Lady (1942), and The Bride Wore Boots (1946) in a box set), the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema II (including Thunder on the Hill (1951), The Price of Fear (1956), and The Female Animal (1958) in a box set). [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting a new week here at The Bits and it’s going to be an interesting one. And we do have a little bit of release news to report.

Before we get to that though, we have three new Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy today...

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on René Clair’s The Flame of New Orleans (1941) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has also turned in his own thoughts on Sam Mendes’ 1917 on Blu-ray from Universal (I reviewed the 4K Ultra HD disc here at The Bits last week).

And Tim has checked in with a look at John Waters’ Polyester (1981), which was released on Blu-ray by Criterion late last year. So enjoy all three! [Read on here...]

All right, with all of these coronavirus lockdowns happening, it seems as if Hollywood is slowing its roll on home video announcements. Most of our studio contacts are now working from home, like the rest of us. So we don’t have a lot of news to talk about today, but we’re adjusting by working on more new disc reviews for you to enjoy.

And we’re starting today with a BIG one: I’ve just posted my in-depth look at JJ Abrams’ new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on 4K Ultra HD from Disney and Lucasfilm. The disc offers tremendous A/V quality and limited—but really good—extras, including a terrific feature length documentary on the making of the film. The disc streets on 3/31, and the film is actually available now (a week early) on all the usual digital services. Though I should caution you, if you really care about maximum A/V quality, this disc blows the streams away. Of course, your individual needs and requirements will vary. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s a super slow news day today, but I wanted to take a moment to point out some interesting forthcoming titles that are newly-announced by indie distributors or that might have been overlooked.

But first, we have a pair of great new reviews from our own Dennis Seuling for you to check out, including his thoughts on Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters from Universal and Josef von Baky’s fantasy comedy Munchhausen (1943) from Kino Classics. Do give them a look.

Now then, those titles I mentioned... Kit Parker Films is releasing Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations on Blu-ray on 6/16. The 4-disc set includes 2 feature films (Sons of the Desert and Way Out West) and 17 classic shorts newly scanned from original 35mm nitrate film in 2K and 4K. Among the shorts is the legendary silent film The Battle of the Century, appearing for the first time on home video and nearly complete for the first time in 90 years. The set also includes rare special features, alternate soundtracks, vintage pictures, commentaries and more. You can see the cover artwork at left and below. [Read on here...]