Displaying items by tag: Michael Coate

“I knew we had a good picture, but I had no idea that it would become such a staggering hit.” — producer-director Robert Wise

“Considering the degree to which most people pride themselves being cynical, I’m still surprised that a movie this heartfelt was so thoroughly embraced by so many people and continues to be. Perhaps folks aren’t as hard-edged as they pretend to be.” — film historian and author Barry Monush  [Read more here...]

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We’ve got a few more reviews for you today, as promised.

Before we get to those though, I’ve got a quick note: This is going to be my last post on The Bits for a couple weeks. There are a couple reasons for this. First, I need a break. For the last several months now I’ve been working myself ragged without much of a let up. One of the problems – good to have, but problems no less – of running your own business is that there’s no end to the amount of hours you can work. So, I am sorely in need of a good staycation to recharge the batteries. The other reason, though, is that my wife and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year. Our actual anniversary is in the Fall, but we’re going to be busy then with other things, so we’ve decided to celebrate early this year. Anyway, I hope you all understand and I appreciate your patience. I’ll be back on March 4th to resume business as usual. Meanwhile, back to those reviews… [Read on here…]

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All right, we’ve got a lot of content for you this evening here at The Bits.

First up, our own Michael Coate has just completed an exhaustive roundtable interview of Treksperts – some of whom are old friends of ours here – in honor of the 35th anniversary of Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture and he presents that now in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column for all of you to enjoy. So click the link for that and we hope you find it a great read!  [Read on here…]

“Star Trek: The Motion Picture provided a unique experience, leaving some audience members, myself included, elated at the prospect, “The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.” — Robert Meyer Burnett

“I do feel very lucky to have been a kid while this amazing renaissance of fantasy filmmaking was going on.… Star Wars, then Close Encounters, then Superman, then Alien, then Star Trek: The Motion Picture… at least in terms of going to the movies, those are two-and-a-half years I wish I could experience again. It was a truly magical time.” — Mike Matessino  [Read more here...]

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All right, we have a very quick post for you today, as there’s very little news to report (other than all of this Sony Picture hacking business, which is being reported everywhere today) and we’re working hard on those Blu-ray reviews.

Speaking of which, our own Shane Buettner has checked in with his thoughts on a pair of Robert Altman catalog films newly available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber – Thieves Like Us and The Long Goodbye.  [Read on here…]

“[T]he lasting impact of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is that it showed that a James Bond film could be made without Sean Connery in the lead role. The producers maintained that audiences came to the films to see James Bond, not necessarily the actor playing him.” — Bruce Scivally

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 45th anniversary of the release of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the sixth cinematic James Bond adventure and, most notably, the first not to star Sean Connery as Agent 007.  [Read more here...]

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Our own Tim Salmons kicks things off here at The Bits today by sharing his thoughts on a new classic Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber – Richard Brooks’ Elmer Gantry (1960).

Also today, Michael Coate celebrates the 35th anniversary of Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column with an interview with film historian Preston Neal Jones, author of the new book Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture – An Oral History of the Legendary Production Documented as It Happened. You’ll enjoy both the interview and the book, so be sure to give the column a look.  [Read on here…]

“The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.”

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 35th anniversary of the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the first big-screen adventure of the crew of the USS Enterprise.

The Bits celebrates the occasion with a Q&A with film historian and author Preston Neal Jones, who was given unprecedented access to Star Trek: The Motion Picture during its production, interviewing numerous cast and crew members in the process of creating an oral history of one of the most popular and significant science fiction films ever made.  [Read more here...]

All right, this is probably going to be our last post for the week, giving the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States, though we may come back and let you know of any particularly good Black Friday-related Blu-ray and DVD deals as they pop up. Be sure to check our Facebook page for the latest on that score.

But before we go, we have some good stuff for you here at The Bits today…

First of all, our own Michael Coate has just posted a lengthy new History, Legacy & Showmanship column celebrating the 25th anniversary of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! He’s got release trivia, a list of initial 70mm screenings, and new interviews with film historians and authors Scott Higgins, Eric Lichtenfeld, Joseph McBride and Jonathan Rinzler. Don’t miss it!   [Read on here…]

“There was no way for Spielberg to top himself, and perhaps it is just as well that Last Crusade will indeed be Indy's last film. It would be too sad to see the series grow old and thin, like the James Bond movies.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the silver anniversary of the release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, George Lucas & Steven Spielberg’s third entry in the popular Indiana Jones movie series starring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite archaeologist-adventurer.

The Bits celebrates the occasion with this retrospective featuring a compilation of box-office data that places the movie’s performance in context, quotes from well-known movie critics, production and exhibition information, and a list of the 70-millimeter “showcase” presentations.

The article also features an interview segment with a quartet of film historians (found on Page 2), who discuss the attributes of the movie and whether or not it has endured. [Read on here…]