My Two Cents
Afternoon, everyone! We hope you all had a great weekend, and that those of you here in the States enjoyed a great 4th of July weekend as America celebrated its 250th anniversary.
We’ve got a couple of things to share with you today, but first as always we have a few new disc reviews for you…
Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Val Guest’s Toomorrow (1970) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile Films, Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker (1990) on Blu-ray from Refuse Films.
Tim’s look at The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee: Collection 2 Blu-ray box set from Severin Films, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray from Imprint Films, Ringo Lam’s The Adventurers (1995) on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment, and Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler (1995) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.
Stuart’s take on Michael Winner’s You Must Be Joking! (1965) on Blu-ray from Indicator Films.
And finally, Dennis’ reviews of Howard Zieff’s Private Benjamin (1980) and Victor Fleming’s Captains Courageous (1937) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Robert Alan Aurthur’s The Lost Man (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
As always, lots more reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to check back for them!
Now then, the big release news today is that Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves: Extended Edition (1990) is premiering at the Locarno Film Festival in August (in Locarno Switzerland) in a new 4K restoration completed by the Zurich-based Cinegrell! [Read on here...]
We’ve got a big post for you here at The Bits today, and per usual we start with new disc reviews. Today, we offer…
Tim’s look at Charles Lamont’s Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Tinto Brass’ The Key (1983) in 4K Ultra HD from Cult Epics.
Stephen’s thoughts on Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come (1998) and Gordon Douglas’ Them! (1954) both in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Studios.
Todd’s take on Stefan Ruzowitzky’s Icefall (2025) on Blu-ray from Decal, Brewce Longo’s Coven of the Black Cube (2024) on Blu-ray from Blood Sick, and Michel Franco’s Dreams (2025) on Blu-ray from Greenwich and Kino Lorber.
Stuart’s look at Irving Reis’ All My Sons (1948) and John Gilling’s The Man Inside (1958) both on Blu-ray from Indicator.
And finally, Dennis’ take on Leon Prudovsky’s My Neighbor Adolf (2022) on Blu-ray from Cohen Media and Kino Lorber.
More reviews for forthcoming, as always, so be sure to keep checking back.
Now then… let’s have some recent announcement news…
First, Warner Bros. officially announced the 8/11 4K Ultra HD release of Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! (1996) in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary. The 4K disc will include a pair of new features: Looking Back on Mars Attacks! and Ack! Ack! Aesthetic. As is already well known, because pre-orders have been open for a while now, there will be wide release and Steelbook versions [Read on here...]
This is a quick post to let you all know that our Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Digital Bits has just been updated with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Don’t forget that you can select to see just the Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, or even Criterion titles seperately if you like, to help you find exactly the ones you’re looking for. Just click on RELEASE DATES & ART on the menu bar above to visit the page, and use the search options in the red bar (at the top) to sort by format and date. Once you find a title you like, just click on the cover art and you’ll be taken right to the Amazon.com pre-order page. Thank you for shopping through our links and don’t forget that anytime you order from Amazon through our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it! And thanks to our own Russell Hammond for the update work!
- Bill Hunt
We’ve been waiting for this for a while now, but as you may know Criterion last week finally teased their Stanley Kubrick 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray box set with a trailer last Wednesday—we shared it here on the site.
Well today, they officially unveiled The Complete Kubrick, a 30-disc collection that includes all thirteen of Stanley Kubrick’s feature films from Fear and Desire (1952) to Eyes Wide Shut (1999), and his three short films as well—Day of the Fight, Flying Padre, and The Seafarers—in both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray!
The set will include over 25 hours of both newly produced and legacy special features, among them new commentaries with director Lee Unkrich (on The Shining) and author Michael Benson (on 2001: A Space Odyssey). Criterion has also secured “rare films from Graphic Films and computer-animation pioneer John Whitney that inspired the special effects in 2001,” not to mention unseen Lolita screen test footage, and more!
The street date is October 20th, and the SRP is a whopping $599.95. But Criterion is selling it for $479 on their website (click here), and of course there are the usual 30% off and 50% off sales that they do fairly regularly.
At the moment, it doesn’t yet look like Criterion is going to be selling Kubrick’s Lolita (1962)—which is the only one of his films not yet released in 4K—separately, as they did last year with Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch when The Wes Anderson Archive came out. But that’s something that could still happen eventually.
You can see the cover artwork for the set at left, and also below the break. [Read on here...]
We’re closing out the week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews today, including…
Stephen’s in-depth look at George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream and Shout! Factory.
Tim’s review of Chin-Ku Lu and Chang Cheh’s Bastard Swordsman (1983) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video’s Shawscope: Volume Three box set.
And Stuart’s take on Ken Hughes’ Jazz Boat (1960) on Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films and Indicator, as well as Ralph Thomas’ Hot Enough for June (1964) on Blu-ray from Via Vision’s Imprint Films.
More reviews are forthcoming, as always, so be sure to keep checking back!
Now then… Arrow Video’s Toy Robot Video sub-label has just revealed its September slate of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles—it’s first official announcements ever. And it’s pretty great for fans of a certain kind of deep genre titles. [Read on here...]