Displaying items by tag: Lucasfilm

Okay, we’ve got some serious ground to cover in today’s My Two Cents update, so let’s get right to it...

First, we’ve just posted Michael Coate’s brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, featuring a terrific new retrospective of George Lucas’ THX 1138 in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary (which was last week on 3/11 – the piece was delayed due to a technical issue). The column takes an in-depth look back at the original theatrical release and also features a great roundtable discussion with film historian Chris Barsanti, documentary filmmaker Gary Leva, and original Director of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm Craig Miller. I think you’ll really enjoy it. So you’ll find that here.

Next up, as some of you may have noticed over the weekend, we posted word on Saturday (see here) that video distributors had begun listing a 4-film Indiana Jones Collection for release on 4K Ultra HD on 6/8. This is still not to be considered official until Paramount and Lucasfilm make their actual announcement, however be aware that I’ve now confirmed it with multiple film industry sources in addition to retail and distribution sources. And it’s really not all that surprising given that 6/12 is marks the 40th anniversary of the original film’s theatrical release. We expect the set to include all four existing films in 4K with HDR10 high dynamic range and the previous DTS-HD Master Audio lossless sound mixes (but that’s still subject to change). [Editor’s Note: We’ve just confirmed that the set WILL include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Details to follow shortly.] The 5-disc set will also include a disc of bonus features that are TBA. Of course, we’ll post more information on this as it comes in.

The other big news today is that our friends at The Criterion Collection have just unveiled their June slate of titles. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a rare Saturday news update here at The Digital Bits with some potentially BIG breaking 4K news for you all today...

Keep in mind that this isn’t to be considered official until Paramount Home Entertainment makes their actual announcement with a press release, official cover artwork, and all the usual details.

However, it appears that retail and distribution sources are starting to list an Indiana Jones: 4-Film Collection for release on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount with an anticipated street date of 6/8.

And for those of you who may be wondering, that’s just in time for the 40th anniversary of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark on 6/12.

We’ve known that the films were being remastered in 4K since last year, so this isn’t too surprising.

In fact, we’ve had the title listed in our 4K Ultra HD Release List for many months now. But it looks like things are finally heating up for an actual release this summer. [Read on here...]

This is another quick update to let you know that Zavvi has just revealed an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition of JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

It’s now available for pre-order here.

Zavvi has a number of these 4K Steelbook exclusives (you can see some currently available titles here) and some of them tend to sell out relatively quickly.

So we recommend that you act quickly if you want this one... [Read on here...]

Today, we’ve got just a very quick My Two Cents update for you, however not with release news.

But as promised, we’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews...

First, our own Tim Salmons has checked out Via Vision Entertainment’s new region-free Blu-ray import version of Police Squad! The Complete Series. (Note that the CBS/Paramount Blu-ray version has also been reviewed here.)

Speaking of Paramount, Dennis has turned in his thoughts on their new Alfred Hitchcock/Paramount Presents title, To Catch a Thief (1955). [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the recent Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—39 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—nearly 40 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 6-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

All right, as most of you know by now, tonight marks the opening of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters. My wife, brother, and I are joining our old friend Robert Meyer Burnett and his family for the first showing at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, where it all began back in 1977. And having just seen a press screening of the film on Tuesday, we’re very much looking forward to seeing it again in IMAX Laser projection. The upshot is that today’s post is going to be a brief one.

However… we DO have a little more detail for you about the recently revealed Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 4K/Blu-ray box set that’s now known to be coming on 3/31/2020.

Not only will it include all 9 of the “Skywalker” films on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Disc, each film will include a bonus disc of extras (for a total of 27 discs). It’s reasonable to assume that virtually everything that’s ever been released previously for each of these films in terms of special features is fair game for inclusion on these bonus discs and it’s possible there may be new features too. But of course we won’t know for sure until this set is officially announced. [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—nearly 40 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

All right, we have more news for you today. But first, a review...

I did indeed post my thoughts on Zhang Yimou’s Shadow in 4K last night from Well Go USA, and darned if it isn’t pretty spectacular. It’s a slow burn study in contrasts and well worth your time. You can check it out here.

Now then, Universal has officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultra HD release of Danny Boyle’s Yesterday on 9/24, with the Digital release expected on 9/10. The 4K will include HDR10 and HDR10+ high dynamic range, with Dolby Atmos audio. The Blu-ray will also include Dolby Atmos audio. Extras on both will include audio commentary with director Danny Boyle and writer/producer Richard Curtis, an alternate opening, an alternate ending, 12 deleted scenes, a gag reel, a 3-song Live at Abbey Road Studios session with Himesh Patel (performing Yesterday, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Let it Be), and 6 featurettes (Ed Sheeran: From Stadium to Screen, Agent of Comedy: Kate McKinnon, A Talented Duo, Playing for Real, Soul Mates, and A Conversation with Richard & Ed). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, today’s update is a quickie, but it’s a good one.

All of those re-issued Star Wars Blu-rays from Disney we mentioned yesterday are now up for pre-order on Amazon with a street date of 9/22 (that’s not a Tuesday, so it could be just a “week of” placeholder date until the announcement is made).

The SRP is $34.99, but Amazon’s usual sale price should kick in soon. All of them are up now except Episode IV: A New Hope, which should go live soon. In any case, you can see the cover art – now with pre-order links – below.

In 4K catalog news today, Ridley Scott’s American Gangster is now official for release on 4K Ultra HD by Universal on 10/15. You can see the cover artwork and pre-order it below. It will have DTS:X audio and HDR10 high dynamic range. [Read on here...]