My Two Cents
Heads up, Digital Bits readers!
We’ve got some great and exclusive breaking news for all of you here at the site for you today, and it comes to you direct from the good people at Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment!
Now… many of you will no doubt have been wondering exactly why it is that Second Sight in the UK had to stop taking pre-orders for this title from customers here in the United States.
Well, with this announcement this afternoon, now we finally know why.
Here are all the official details, straight from the studio…
Coming to 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Disc from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on October 22
Newly remastered in Dolby Vision HDR from a new 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative!
THE HITCHER (1986)
Cast – Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
In this 1986 cult classic, director Robert Harmon thrills the viewer with the story of young Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), who stops on the highway to pick up a hitchhiker, not knowing that by doing so, he opens the door to terrible evil. [Read on here...]
Heads-up, Bits readers—we’ve got an exclusive title announcement for you this morning! Here are all the details…
Refuse Films announces the world Blu-ray premiere of Trey Parker's Cannibal! The Musical! and their latest sub-label, the TromArchive Collection
Cannibal! The Musical is making its debut on Blu-ray from Refuse Films. Shot on 16mm film and edited on video, Cannibal! The Musical is presented in high definition for the first time on Blu-ray.
Written and directed by Trey Parker (co-creator of South Park), this release is limited to only 3,000 units, playable worldwide and includes an exclusive slipcover featuring the original 1997 key art.
Brand new special features include new audio commentary, cast interviews, never-before-seen deleted scenes approved by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, over three hours of raw BTS footage, the UK cut of Alferd Packer: The Musical, plus hours of archival material.
Producer Jason McHugh confirms that the original 16mm footage of Cannibal! The Musical was lost somewhere in Colorado in the late 90s. Refuse Films uncovered the original Betacam master tape from the Troma archives in New York. [Read on here...]
As we close out the week, let’s start today as always with more new disc reviews...
Stephen has turned in his thoughts on John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from the Criterion Collection.
Stuart has offered his take on a trio of new and recent Blu-ray titles, including Daniel Mann’s Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and the 1965 French anthology film Six in Paris (1965) and Larry Kent’s The Bitter Ash (1963) from Vinegar Syndrome.
Tim has taken a look at Tinto Brass’ Frivolous Lola (1998) in 4K Ultra HD from Cult Epics.
And finally, Dennis has delivered a review of Penny Lane’s documentary Nuts! (2016) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has finally made Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing official for Blu-ray on 10/1, in honor of the NBC series’ 25th anniversary. [Read on here...]
All right, here are today’s new disc reviews...
Dennis has taken a look at Joel Schumacher’s 8MM (1999) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.
Stuart has offered his take on Roberto Gavaldón’s Untouched (1954) on Blu-ray on Powerhouse Films’ Indicator label.
Tim has taken a look at Marcus Nispel’s remake of Friday the 13th (2009) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video. He’s also turned in a review of Lucio Fulci’s Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (1971) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.
And last, but certainly not least, Stephen has taken a deep dive into Toho’s Godzilla store-exclusive version of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One (2023) in 4K Ultra HD!
Also here at The Bits today, we have a brand new update of our Release Dates & Artwork section, which is a convenient way to see all of the new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD titles that street each week. You can see the cover art, and sort by date and format. And you can click on each of the titles to pre-order them on Amazon.
On that note, I wanted to take a moment to share a challenge we’ve been having of late, which is that our Amazon Affiliate revenue has been declining. For a long time now—for over a decade—our Affiliate revenue has been a big part of helping us to keep The Digital Bits going—to help us cover our server and operating costs. It’s how we’ve been able to keep The Bits free for everyone to read for over 27 years now. In recent months, however, that revenue has begun to decline. We understand that Amazon may not always be the cheapest option these days. So for those of you who still support The Bits by shopping with them through links (in the daily news column, in our disc reviews, in the 4K Ultra HD Release List, and in the Release Dates & Artwork section), we really appreciate it very much! [Read on here...]
All right, here’s today’s new disc reviews for all of you to enjoy...
Stephen has taken a look at Aleksandr Ptushko’s Ruslan and Ludmila (1972) on Blu-ray from Mosfilm via Deaf Crocodile and Vinegar Syndrome.
Dennis has reviewed William C. Reilly’s Men of Respect (1990) on Blu-ray from Columbia Pictures via Imprint Films.
And Tim has checked in with his thoughts on Nancy Walker’s Can’t Stop the Music (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from EMI via Kino Lorber Studio Classics!
Now then, we have a bunch of great announcement news for you today, so let’s get right into it...
For starters, Criterion has just announced their December release slate, which is set to include Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984) (Spine #501 – 4K + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) on 12/3, Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country for Old Men (2007) (Spine #1243 – 4K + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) and Federico Fellini’s 8½ (1963) (Spine #140 – 4K + Blu-ray) on 12/10, and Sammo Hung’s Eastern Condors (1987) (Spine #1244 on Blu-ray) on 12/17! Paris, Texas and No Country for Old Men will both include Dolby Vision HDR. No Country for Old Men is a Miramax title currently controlled by Paramount, so this is a licensing situation (and a welcome one). More details are available here, and you can see the cover artwork for all of these below the break. [Read on here...]