Displaying items by tag: Amazon MGM

Greetings, Bits readers—I hope this finds you all well!

You may have noticed that there have been very few updates here on the site this week, and also that we’ve had a lot of downtime in which the site wasn’t working or was slow to load.

There’s a reason for that, which is that we’ve been the target of relentless scaping by AI companies trying to train their LLMs. We’ve taken steps to prevent it in the past, but they don’t seem to care that when they scrape us, it causes significant disruptions for both us and you as readers. So it looks like we’re going to have to take further steps to prevent this going forward.

In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, as I haven’t been able to post a news update since Monday due to these disruptions.

We’ll start with disc reviews! We’ve had a bunch for you this week, including…

My looks at Jeannot Szwarc’s Somewhere in Time (1980) in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, David Lynch’s The Straight Story (1999) in 4K from StudioCanal (a joint review with former Bits staffer Dan Kelly), Michael Crichton’s Westworld (1973) in 4K from Arrow Video, and Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way (2020-23) in 4K from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Tim’s review of Lam Nai-Choi’s The Cat (1991) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

Dennis’ take on Claude Leloch’s A Man and a Woman (1966) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

Stuart’s thoughts on Jerzy Skolimowski’s The Lightship (1985) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Jeffrey Dell and Roy Boulting’s Man in a Cocked Hat (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Stephen’s look at Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera (1998) and Emmett Alston’s Demonwarp (1988) in 4K from Vinegar Syndrome, and Ti West’s The Innkeepers (2011) on Blu-ray from Umbrella and in 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight. Whew!

Now, let’s get to the news that’s broken since our announcement of James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash on Blu-ray and 4K on Monday… [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few more great new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release announcements for you here today to close out the week…

First up, we’ve confirmed that Lionsgate will be dropping both Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland (2020) and Greenland 2: Migration (2026) in 4K Ultra HD on 3/31. The Greenland 4K release is a US first, and of course the sequel will also be released on Blu-ray.

Imprint Films has announced three new Limited Edition Blu-ray box sets for release in April, including Essential Film Noir: Collection 6—with Naked Alibi (1954), Ring of Fear (1954), Hell’s Island (1955), and Flame of the Islands (1956)—Tales of Adventure Collection 10—featuring The Magic Carpet (1951), Sudan (1945), Salome (1953), The Sword of Ali Baba (1965), and the bonus film 1001 Arabian Nights (1959)—and Tales of the Wild West Collection 2—with 5 Card Stud (1968), Will Penny (1968), Something Big (1971), The Revengers (1972), and Posse (1975). The street date for all three is 4/29, and they’re limited to 1500 copies each.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set the Abbott and Costello film Hold That Ghost (1941) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 3/28.

Also coming from KLSC in 4K UHD for their Kino Cult label is Paul Harrison’s The House of Seven Corpses (1973). This is in conjunction with Dark Force Entertainment. Look for that on 4/21.

Speaking of which, the other day we mentioned Deaf Crocodile’s 4/21 release of Marcell Jankovics’ Song of the Miraculous Hind (2002) on Blu-ray—it’s actually a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release, which is even better! [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some big news for you today—I’m talking really good stuff. But first as always, we have new disc reviews for you…

I’ve just shared my thoughts on Eleanor Coppola, Fax Bahr, and George Hickenlooper’s legendary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) documentary as newly-remastered in 4K Ultra HD, as well as Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985) in 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD, both from the good people at StudioCanal in the UK.

I've also finally posted my review of Guy Hamilton’s Diamonds are Forever (1971) in 4K Ultra HD from Amazon MGM Studios via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment—the last title in the 007: Sean Connery 6-Film Collection 4K box set that I hadn't yet reviewed before the website went wonky a couple months ago. Work getting the site working again and back up to speed prevented me from posting it, so now I'm finally caught up (and I know that some of you were waiting on Diamonds, so there you go).

Also, just yesterday I reviewed Robert Greenwald’s Xanadu (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stephen has reviewed Kim Ki-duk’s Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stuart has offered his take on Paul Vecchiali’s Rosa la Rose: fille publique (1986) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films, as well as Imprint’s Directed by… David Lean – Volume One Blu-ray box set, which includes In Which We Serve (1942), This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), and Oliver Twist (1948).

Dennis has reviewed Hugh A. Robertson’s Melinda (1972) and John G. Avildsen’s Lean On Me (1989) both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Tim has taken a look at Yoshiyuki Kuroda’s The Invisible Swordsman (1970) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

We’ll have more disc reviews for you next week, so be sure to check back then.

Now then… Arrow Video is getting ready to announce its November slate of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles, and retail leaks reveal that it will include some great 4K catalog titles licensed from New Line and Warner Bros! [Read on here...]

All right, as you may have noticed, we’ve been having some functionality issue here at The Bits website in the last week or two. I’m gonna talk about that a little more in a second, so hold that thought.

But first, I wanted to call your attention to a bunch of new disc reviews we’ve completed here at the site lately…

Over the last three or four days, I’ve completed detailed reviews of four of the films in MGM’s new 007: James Bond – Sean Connery 6-Films Collection in 4K Ultra HD, including Terence Young’s Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Thunderball (1965), as well as Guy Hamilton’s Goldfinger (1964).

Now, I was in the middle of reviewing You Only Live Twice (1967) when I discovered that the copy of the film on 4K disc in my set was defective (I’m having a layer switch issue late in the film—just a bad disc I think, not a widespread issue). So I’m awaiting a replacement copy from WBDHE and I’ll resume my review work on the set as soon as it arrives. in the meantime, I may knock out another 4K review or two, so be sure to stay tuned.

Also today, Tim has posted reviews of Wyott Ordrung’s Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954) on Blu-ray from Film Masters, as well as Gordon Flemying’s Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966) in 4K Ultra HD from the good people at Severin Films.

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Glenn Gordon Caron’s Clean and Sober (1988) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen has offered a genuinely in-depth look at our old friend Vincent Pereira’s A Better Place (1997), which has been newly remastered on Blu-ray from View Askew and the MVD Rewind Collection!

All are well worth your time, so please give them a look. [Read on here...]