Displaying items by tag: My Two Cents

We’ve more big release news to report today...

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and MGM have just officially set Steven Cable Jr.’s Creed II for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/5 (SRP $44.95, $35.99, and $28.98 respectively), with the Digital release expected on 2/12. The 4K release will include Dolby Vision HDR. We suspect the audio will be Dolby Atmos as well, but the press release doesn’t specify. Extras on both the Blu-ray and 4K editions will include 4 featurettes (From Father to Son, Blood Runs Hot, Finding the Authentic, The Women of Creed II, and The Rocky Legacy), plus deleted scenes.

Warner has also announced that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/12, with the Digital release due on 2/15. The 4K will include Dolby Vision HDR and both Blu-ray versions will feature Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include 9 featurettes (J.K. Rowling: A World Revealed, Wizards on Screen, Fans in Real Life, Distinctly Dumbledore, Unlocking Scene Secrets: The Return to Hogwarts, Unlocking Scene Secrets: Newt’s Menagerie, Unlocking Scene Secrets: Credence, Nagini and the Circus Arcanus, Unlocking Scene Secrets: Paris and Place Cachée, Unlocking Scene Secrets: Ministere des Affaires Magiques, and Unlocking Scene Secrets: Grindelwald’s Escape and the Ring of Fire), plus deleted scenes. You will also get an Extended Cut of the film with 7 minutes of additional footage as a Digital download only. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a big release news update for you today, but first we have a couple new Blu-ray reviews for you...

First, Tim has taken a look at Scream Factory’s Steelbook re-issue of The Thing: Collector’s Edition. He’s also reviewed Scream’s new Urban Legend: Collector’s Edition. And we also have a Blu-ray review from Dennis of What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Enjoy!

Note that we’ve also posted this week’s update of the Release Dates and Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. And we’ll be updating the 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits in the next day or so as well.

Now then... the big news today is that Criterion has just announced their planned April additions to the Collection, as follows. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re going to have a larger post with a big release news update later this afternoon, but I wanted to chime in quickly with this...

For months now, we’ve been saying that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment was planning to promote the 40th anniversary of director Ridley Scott’s original Alien (1979). This was based on our sources within the industry.

Well... now we have the first word from retailers.

UK disc retailer Zavvi has just listed a 2-disc Alien: 40th Anniversary Edition for release on 4K Ultra HD on 4/1/2019 (or 1, April as you guys would say across the pond).

There are no other details yet available. We expect that the US release date will be somewhat different, but certainly within a week or two. The official announcement is likely due very soon and we’ve already asked the studio about this.

In the meantime, you can see temp UK cover artwork above left. Keep in mind, it’s subject to change – this is just the temporary artwork the studio has given to retailers.

Thanks to an overseas friend and Bits reader for alerting me to this.

Back later with a much larger post and more news. Stay tuned...

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

So… this is going to be an interesting post for you longtime Bits readers. It’s been interesting for me to compose, certainly, writing it as I do from the perspective of someone who’s covered the home video industry now for more than twenty years (and followed it since the 1980s). I hope it will be at least thought-provoking to you all. But I’ll get to the meat of it in a moment.

First, let me take care of a bit of routine business: We’ve posted (in the last 24 hours) no less than seven new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD reviews, beginning with my own in-depth look at Damien Chazelle’s First Man in 4K, a film which I believe is a masterpiece and one that will come to be regarded as such with time.

Also newly posted here are Tim’s thoughts on one of my favorite François Truffaut films, Jules and Jim, as released on Blu-ray from Criterion, along with Tony Williams’ Next of Kin from Umbrella Entertainment. You’ll find too Dennis Seuling’s take on Drew Goddard’s Bad Times at the El Royale on Blu-ray from Fox and the documentary Tea with the Dames on DVD from MPI. Finally, we have David’s take on Anne of the Thousand Days from Twilight Time and Godard Mon Amour from Cohen Media, both on Blu-ray. All of these films are worth a look and we hope you enjoy them. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re back finally. We were sort of back last week, but a combination of server work and various houseguests kept me from really diving back into things here at The Bits, though Tim and the crew have been active in posting reviews. I’ve also been up to something very exciting over the last few months, which I’ll talk more about in a minute.

We have a trio of recent Blu-ray reviews for you to check out today, including Tim’s look at Cutting Class from Vinegar Syndrome, Dennis’ review of Not Without My Daughter from MVD, and David’s look at Topper Takes a Trip from VCI.

And I am about to embark on an in-depth review of Damien Chazelle’s recent Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, which was one of my favorite films of 2018. I’ve gotten my hands on the 4K Ultra HD from Universal and it’s tremendous. So watch for that review later today or first thing in the morning. [Read on here...]

First day back from the holidays for us here at The Bits and I hope you all had a terrific break.

I actually caught up on a few films and plan to get back to reviewing myself, especially 4K Ultra HD. A great number of good ones have come in recently and I pledge to review as many as I can over the coming weeks.

Speaking of reviews, Tim and the crew have turned in a bunch of good ones lately, including the Dragnet: Collector’s Edition from Shout! Factory, The House with the Clock in Its Walls and Operation Finale from Universal, the Maniac: Limited Edition from Blue Underground, the Waterworld: Limited Edition from Arrow Video, The Adventures of Hajji Baba from Twilight Time, and the Mantovani: The King of Strings – Special Edition from Filmrise. Enjoy!

We’ll get back to new release news tomorrow, but last night I had the chance to watch Tony Zierra’s tremendous new documentary Filmworker. It actually came out in 2017, but I only caught it last night on Netflix (you can also see it on DVD from Kino Lorber). It tells the life story of Leon Vitali, a young up and coming actor in the UK in the 1970s, who was cast by Stanley Kubrick in the role of Lord Bullingdon in Barry Lyndon (1975). [Read on here...]

Happy Thursday, Bits readers!

There’s very little in the way of news to report today, given that Hollywood is essentially shut down until next week for the holidays.

But we do have a couple things I wanted to share with you today.

First, Tim has turned in a pair of new Blu-ray reviews, and they’re good titles… a pair of Hammer Films classics starring Christopher Lee: Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966) from Scream Factory and Horror of Dracula (1958) now available from the Warner Archive Collection. Both are well worth your time, so enjoy the reviews.

Also today, our own Michael Coate has turned in a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column looking back at The Odd Couple (1968) in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary. The piece features a good interview with historian Rob Edelman. I think you’ll enjoy that too.

Now then… I’ve been very busy with a number of things these past few weeks, but I plan to return to reviewing Blu-ray and 4K titles in a big way right after New Year’s, likely starting with a look at Universal’s First Man. And I’m going to knock out a whole bunch of new and recent titles on both formats throughout the month of January.

In the meantime, I hope you’re all having a great and safe holiday break with your family and friends.

So enjoy every minute… and stay tuned!

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

All right, we’ve got another very quick update for you today...

First, we expect to have a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate tomorrow, so be sure to watch for that.

Also, we’ve learned from retail sources that Universal’s Mortal Engines is likely due to hit Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/12. The studio’s Mary Queen of Scots is likely set for 3/5, while Green Book appears to be a 2/19 release. And it seems that Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet seems to be slated for 2/26 or thereabouts. And Paramount’s Overlord appears to be due on or about 2/12.

We’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]

We’ve got just a quick update for you today, but we’ve got a bit of release news and some new reviews too.

First up those reviews... Tim has checked out National Lampoon’s Class Reunion on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and David has posted his thoughts on Black Widow (1954) from Twilight and The [Rec] Collection from Scream Factory.

Now then, we’ve confirmed with Sony that there are currently no plans to release The Girl in the Spider’s Web on physical 4K Ultra HD in the States. This could change if the title performs unexpectedly well on Blu-ray, but the film’s failure at the box office seems to have put the kabosh on the studio’s initial release plans. It may also have cramped plans to release David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on 4K and Panic Room on Blu-ray/4K. But we’ll have to wait and see. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the new week with a reminder of something we posted over the weekend. On Saturday, our own Michael Coate delivered a terrific History, Legacy & Showmanship retrospective column looking back at Richard Donner’s original Superman: The Movie. Saturday was the film’s actual 40th anniversary. In honor of this, Michael offers details about that original release along with a great roundtable interview with film historians Jim Bowers, Kevin Burns, Mike Matessino, Bruce Scivally, and Larry Tye. It’s well worth your time, so don’t miss it!

Now then, the big news on Friday was that Criterion announced their March Blu-ray release slate, which is set to include Ted Wilde’s The Kid Brother starring Harold Lloyd (Cat #964 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Ingmar Bergman’s The Magic Flute (Cat #71 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 3/12, Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour (Cat #966 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Barbara Loden’s Wanda (Cat #965 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 3/19, and Robert Zemeckis’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand (with some of his early short films too – Cat #967 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Carlos Reygadas’ Japón (Cat #968 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 3/26. We’ve updated The Criterion Spines Project page here at The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]