Displaying items by tag: Shout! Factory

We’re finishing the week with a few more new disc reviews...

Tim has finished his thoughts on Halloween III: The Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers all in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

Meanwhile, Stephen has checked out M. Night Shyamalan’s Old in 4K Ultra HD from Universal, along with David Bruckner’s The Night House on Blu-ray from Fox Searchlight, and the W.C. Fields classic The Bank Dick (1940) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And given that this is the Friday before Halloween, we’re saving my review of the Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection in 4K Ultra HD for posting on Sunday.

Lots more new and recent disc reviews are on the way for next week as well, so be sure to stay tuned for them. [Read on here...]

We’ve got more new disc reviews for you this week, with still more on the way...

Tim has reviewed Scream Factory’s new 4K Ultra HD releases of Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), along with Arrow Video’s Deep Red 4K UHD, and Synapse Films’ recent Demons I & II: Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD release.

Meanwhile, Stephen has checked out Free Guy in 4K UHD from 20th Century Studios and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, along with Bluebeard (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) on Blu-ray, as newly-released by the Criterion Collection.

We’ll have more reviews over the next few days, including more of the Halloween sequels in 4K,Scream in 4K, Old, the Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection and more, so be sure to stay tuned for them. [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...]

We’ve got some reviews to catch up on here at The Bits this afternoon...

Over the past couple of days, we’ve posted a number of new Blu-ray reviews, including Stephen’s thoughts on Kensuke Sonomura’s Hydra (2019) from Well Go USA, Savage Steve Holland’s One Crazy Summer (1986) from the Warner Archive Collection, and Jacques Deray’s The Outsider (1983) and Harold Becker’s The Black Marble (1980) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Tim has turned in his thoughts on Tom McLoughlin’s One Dark Night (1983) from the MVD Rewind Collection, the Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection from Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, and Umbrella Entertainment’s Drive-In Delirium: The Final Conflict, which feature a whopping 181 classic film trailers. All of these titles are well worth a look, so do give the reviews a try.

In announcement news today, Criterion has revealed that they’re adding a physical 4K Ultra HD release of Uncut Gems to their November release slate. The Blu-ray and DVD release are moving to 11/23, which is the date the 4K will arrive as well. And all three are getting new cover artwork, which you can now here see on the left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bit of breaking news to cover today, so let’s get right to it...

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is close to announcing their long-awaited Middle-Earth 31-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition box set, which will include the Theatrical and Extended versions of all six Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films on both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray (including the remastered Lord of the Rings films on Blu-ray) along with a Blu-ray bonus disc of new content that (per our sources) is expected to include the 26-minute presentation reel shown at Cannes in 2001, and the Alamo Drafthouse cast reunion in 3 parts. In total, we expect this to be about 90 minutes of new content in all. (Note that the existing audio commentaries will also carry over on the actual film discs.) You’ll also get a 64-page book of costume sketches, photography, and production notes, plus 7 “travel poster” artwork cards.

Please be advised that The Appendices will not be included in this new set (that was confirmed when WB first revealed the set last year) so don’t start selling your existing Blu-ray and 4K sets in anticipation of buying the new one assuming that everything will be included in it.

Warner’s official announcement should come at any time, but we’ve got a sneak peek at what the set looks like in the meantime from a new listing on the Wow HD UK webstore, which currently shows a street date of October 26 (click here for that, and you can see the packaging below)... [Read on here...]

All right folks, this is a day a lot of us have been waiting a very long time for. Let’s get right into what is arguably the year’s biggest news...

Our friends at The Criterion Collection have finally announced that their first titles on the physical 4K Ultra HD format will include David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, Jane Campion’s The Piano, Allen and Albert Hughes’s Menace II Society, Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell’s The Red Shoes, and Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night! The first of these is expected to arrive in November (we believe it will be Mulholland Dr.) and will be officially detailed next week when Criterion announces its full November slate. The rest will follow in subsequent months (starting—we believe—with Citizen Kane in December, given that 2021 is the film’s 80th anniversary). Per Criterion, each of their 4K titles will include the film on both 4K and Blu-ray (with most extras on the Blu-ray, allowing the 4K disc to have maximum room for video and audio data). Select films will also feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound.

Any way you slice it, this is outstanding news. We actually knew (thanks to our longtime industry sources) about three of those titles and had a pretty good line on a fourth. But by our reckoning, the fact that the company has announced no less than SIX 4K titles tells us that Criterion is seriously ALL IN on the Ultra HD format at long last. And that is the best news we’ve had all year for physical media.

But that’s not all of the news we have for you today, so let’s keep going! [Read on here...]

Well, it’s been a busy week of new title announcements here at The Bits. So let’s wrap things up with a few more here today. But first, more new disc reviews...

Our own Tim Salmons has just shared his thoughts on Vince Monton’s Windrider (1987), new on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment’s Ozploitation line-up. And he’s also checked out Mark Hartley’s excellent 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, also new on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment’s Ozploitation line.

Meanwhile, Dennis has turned in a review of David Miller’s Back Street (1961) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen rounds things out today with a look at Francine Parker’s F.T.A. (1972) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

So enjoy those and know that lots more disc reviews are on the way for next week, including some new 4K Ultra HD reviews from yours truly. [Read on here...]

We’ve got more new disc reviews for you today and some more new 4K Ultra HD release news as well!

Let’s start with those reviews...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on All the Anime’s UK import 4K Ultra HD release of Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name. The package is exclusive to All the Anime’s online store and also to Zavvi. Sounds like it’s worth a look if you’re a fan, as the HDR makes a notable difference.

Also, Tim has weighed in with his take on Umbrella Entertainment’s region free Blu-ray import of James Gunn’s Slither.

Now then, a quick update on our Star Trek: The Original 4-Film Collection 4K and remastered Blu-ray news from yesterday: We’ve checked in with Paramount and have confirmed that all of the remastered films in BD & 4K will feature 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio mixes. So plan accordingly.

Meanwhile, the 4K Ultra HD set and the remastered Blu-ray singles are all now available for pre-order on Amazon.com and you can see the cover artwork (and find the pre-order links) below. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy last several days here at The Bits. For one thing, just personally, I had my mother visiting from North Dakota all last week for the first time in over two years given the pandemic. And that was great, but of course it set me back on 4K review work (which I intend to catch up on this week).

I’ve also just spent most of today on the phone with industry sources, gathering information for our big preview of 4K Ultra HD catalog releases that are coming in the second half of 2021. And that’s the crux of today’s post here at The Bits, but more on that in a minute.

First, we have a couple more new disc reviews to share with you...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Andrew V. McLaglen’s 1965 Civil War drama Shenandoah, which stars Jimmy Stewart. The film arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics on 7/27.

And Stephen has offered a look at John Sturges’ acclaimed 1959 western Last Train from Gun Hill, a VistaVision classic newly released on Blu-ray as part of the Paramount Presents line-up. [Read on here...]

We’re starting today’s post as always with more new disc reviews...

In anticipation of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (I should have that 4K disc in hand for review sometime in the next few days), I’ve gone back to take a look at the director’s recently-remastered new 4K edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition which was released in March by the Warner Archive Collection. The disc includes a revised HDR grade and a new variable aspect ratio presentation that includes 1.43 IMAX framing for select scenes. There’s a new commentary with the director as well, so it’s definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of the film.

Also today, I’ve given Gunpowder & Sky’s new US 4K release of the indie sci-fi film Prospect a look (an Ultra HD release that’s being distributed by Vinegar Syndrome). It offers a higher video bitrate than the German 4K release I’ve reviewed previously here, along with newly-produced extras and a nifty little in-universe booklet in the packaging. It’s highly recommended for fans of the film.

And because we’ve been getting a lot of questions about it: Yes, I will be reviewing Paramount and Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones: 4-Film Collection in 4K Ultra HD. The disc streets next Tuesday, we should have our review copy in hand sometime over the next several days. Rest assured, as soon as we have it, I’ll get that title reviewed here on The Bits post-haste. [Read on here...]