Displaying items by tag: Tim Salmons

Good afternoon, friends. Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

We’ve got a couple things for you today, starting with a new Blu-ray review. Our own Tim Salmons has done yeoman’s work sinking his teeth into/reviewing Arrow Video’s mammoth and outstanding Gamera: The Complete Collection box set on the format.

The good news: If you’re a fan of kaiju films—and this specific giant turtle in particular—it’s an amazing box set. The bad news: It sold fast and now seems to be out virtually everywhere online. There are a few retailers getting limited stock in now and again, but they go quickly. So unfortunately, unless Arrow is able to reprint it (which I’m told is unlikely at least for now), you might be out of luck. But we couldn’t let their good work go unacknowledged.

And though the set came out on 8/18, it’s literally taken Tim this long to go through it all. Here’s his epic review and we hope you enjoy it.

Also, I posted my thoughts on Lionsgate’s new Ghost in the Shell (1995) 4K release on Friday (click here in the event you missed it). And Dennis has reviewed George Marshall’s The Ghost Breakers (1940), starring Bob Hope, on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Bits so far and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today.

First of all, sorry for the lack of daily updates. The reason is three-fold. First, we’ve been working on reviews here at the website—more on that in a moment. Second, we had 110° heat here in SoCal this past weekend, with which our AC could not keep up. That meant my home theater was close to 90°, which made reviewing unpleasant, plus there was the danger of power outages. The good news is that we’ve made up for it since the heat broke—again, more on that in a moment. (The bad news is that our skies this afternoon are an unnatural shade of apocalyptic yellow-orange due to the California wildfires, but that’s neither here nor there.) The third reason is more complicated.

We’ve been hearing from many of our readers based in the Netherlands that you’re unable to see The Bits website. The cause of this is that—apparently—a very large portion of the Internet’s DDoS attacks and cyber shenanigans either come from, or are routed through—Netherlands IP addresses. So our server team is working on a solution to block the riff-raff while allowing the rest of you actual readers to see the site. Please be patient while we sort it all out. Unfortunately, this kind of thing seems perfectly in keeping with the whole 2020 milieu. [Read on here...]

All right, I’m busy working on a review of Studio Canal’s new 4K Ultra HD release of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which is available now (click here). Note however the disc only has 2.0 audio. It’s a release that superfans of the film will certainly want, but for almost everyone else, the terrific Shout! Factory release is still going to be the preferred version (though sadly it’s essentially out of print). I hope to have the review up soon.

Meanwhile, Tim has posted reviews of another pair of 4K titles from our friends at Blue Underground and director Lucio Fulci, the horror/gaillo titles The House by the Cemetery (1981) and The New York Ripper (1982). Looks like both discs are worth your time, if you’re a fan of the filmmaker (though I will confess that graphic horror and gore isn’t really my thing).

In any case, if you’re wondering why we’ve blacked out the cover artwork (save for the title logos), it’s this: Google advertising routinely flags images that are sexually suggestive or violent. Not that either of these is especially bad, but it’s not a person that makes these decision, it’s an AI that tends to flag things randomly. When it does flag something, it turns off advertising and then it’s a whole stupid process of requesting a review. Given our limited resources, we really can’t waste time dealing with it. So there you go.

Yes, it turns out the Internet is just as stupid as everything else in 2020. [Read on here...]

We have some new release news, announcements, and an interesting rumor to report on today. But first, we’ve got some new disc reviews here at The Bits for you, including...

Tim’s look at Terence Fisher’s 1962 Hammer Studios production of The Phantom of the Opera, available now as a new Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from our friends at Scream Factory. He’s also taken a look at John Harrison’s Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, also available on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Scream.

[Editor’s Note: While you’re listening to the audio commentary with Harrison and George Romero on that disc, know that I was in the booth as it was being recorded back in November of 2001. You can see my coverage of the day here on The Bits, complete with pictures. John’s become a friend over the years, and let me tell you, George was every bit as warm and lovely a human being as you’d hope. It makes me very happy to see this film and commentary get another appearance on disc for fans to rediscover.]

Not done yet with reviews... I’ve just posted my thoughts on David Twohy’s Pitch Black, soon to arrive on 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Arrow Video. The film really does benefit from both the new 4K scan of the original camera negative and the HDR grade, though the audio is the same 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix found on the previous Blu-ray. The disc is also loaded with extras, including nearly all the legacy content and new material too. It’s a worthy upgrade for fans. Note however that the title shipped without a slipcover due to a production problem. So if you happen to be surprised that your copy doesn’t have a slipcover, that’s why. [Read on here...]

Okay, we’ve got some significant release and industry news to report today. But first, new disc reviews...

Tim has just posted a review of Pierre B. Reinhard’s Revenge of the Living Dead Girls (1987) on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Budd Boetticher’s World War II drama The Red Ball Express (1952), now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Also, I’ve just gotten my hands on Arrow Video’s new Pitch Black 4K Ultra HD, so I’m going to have a review of that up by Friday.

But tomorrow is likely to be an interesting news day, as that’s when the industry’s mid-year numbers get released. So I’ll have more on that tomorrow afternoon. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, folks! Today’s update is a quick one, but we’ve got a couple good things for you.

First, Tim and I have completed a review of Arrow’s new Flash Gordon: Limited Edition in 4K Ultra HD. The new 20th anniversary restoration (licensed from Studio Canal) is fantastic. I’ve never seen the film looking better.

Arrow’s release is a 2 disc set with Flash Gordon in 4K on one disc and the Life After Flash documentary on the other. Studio Canal’s UK release is more elaborate and I’ll be working on a review of that over the weekend, so watch for that here at The Bits on Monday.

Meanwhile, Warner has finally made Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket official for release on 4K Ultra HD and Digital on 9/22. As was the case with 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining, the film has been remastered in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative under the supervision of Kubrick’s longtime personal assistant, Leon Vitali. The presentation will include HDR10 high dynamic range along with the existing English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. [Read on here...]

All right, so... I’ve got some interesting follow up on our Disney and Warner news from the past few days.

First though, we’ve got another review for you and more announcement news...

Tim has just turned in his thoughts on Steve Beck’s Thir13en Ghosts (2001), coming soon to Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Check that out here.

In release news, Lionsgate has just officially announced the 4K Ultra HD and Digital 4K release of Mamoru Oshii’s landmark anime Ghost in the Shell (1995) on 9/8, as expected. The 4K presentation will include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio (in both English and Japanese, along with the original Japanese 2.0 LPCM audio), as well as both new and legacy special edition material. [Read on here...]

All right, 300 and the Resident Evil 4K releases are now official with details, so we’ll get to those in a moment...

First, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Dwight H. Little’s Bloodstone (1988), now on Blu-ray from our friends at Arrow Video.

And Dennis has given a Something Weird/Kino Classics title a look on Blu-ray too, a double feature of Sam Newell’s She Should’a Said No! and W. Merle Connell’s The Devil’s Sleep, each released originally back in 1949.

They’re all a hoot, so do give them a look.

Now then, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has issued its press release, making Zack Snyder’s 300 official for 4K Ultra HD on 10/6. [Read on here...]

We’ve got another quick update for you today with some good release news.

But first a new Blu-ray review...

Tim has just turned in his thoughts on Sergio Martino’s early giallo film The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), now available on Blu-ray from Severin Films. Do give it a look.

The big announcement news today is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just officially set The Flintstones: The Complete Series for Blu-ray release on 10/13 (SRP $84.99).

It will also be made available on Digital on 10/6 (SRP $74.99). [Read on here...]

We’ve got a new 4K Ultra HD announcement today, but first some more disc reviews...

Tim has turned in his thoughts on Harley Cokeliss’ Dream Demon: Director’s Cut (1998) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

And Dennis has taken a look at Francois Reichenbach’s documentary America as Seen by a Frenchman on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy.

Now then, the big release news today is that Lionsgate has just officially set Mamoru Oshii’s landmark 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell for release on 4K Ultra HD on 9/8 (SRP $19.29).

The 4K release will feature Dolby Vision HDR and new Dolby Atmos audio mixes in both Japanese and English (along with the previous Japanese 2.0 LPCM mix). The package will also include a Blu-ray version and a Digital copy code. The Blu-ray will carry over archival features including the Production Report and Digital Works featurettes and the theatrical trailer. [Read on here...]