Displaying items by tag: Barrie Maxwell

Cheers, Bits readers!

We’ve got one last My Two Cents update for you this week with some great new disc reviews, as well as some great new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news. Let’s hit those reviews first…

I’ve just updated our dear late friend Barrie Maxwell’s review of William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) to cover Warner’s stunning new 4K Ultra HD restoration of the film, which streets next week. It’s truly one of the great classic film presentations we’ve seen on this format to date, and certainly not to be missed.

Dennis and Tim have checked in with thoughts on a pair of Agatha Christie film adaptations in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, including John Guillerman’s Death on the Nile (1978) and Guy Hamilton’s The Mirror Crack’d (1980).

Dennis has also reviewed Michael Winner’s The Mechanic (1972) and Antonia Bird’s Priest (1994) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Imprint, respectively.

Tim has posted his own reviews of Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer’s Dead of Night (1945) anthology on Blu-ray from KLSC as well as Chor Yuen’s The Jade Tiger (1977) from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume 3 Blu-ray box.

Stephen has reviewed Emma Seligman’s Bottoms (2023) on Blu-ray from KLSC.

And Stuart has taken a look at Hideo Gosha’s Gate of Flesh (1988) on Blu-ray from Toei via 88 Films.

We have lots more great 4K reviews cooking for next week as well, believe me.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted an update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork with Amazon pre-order links. As always, whenever you order anything after clicking to Amazon though one of our links (like this one) you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we appreciate it!

Now then, first things first: Our retail and industry sources have informed us that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment’s much anticipated 4K Ultra HD release of the Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008) should street on or about 5/19. So adjust your plans accordingly. Go Speed Go!

Of course, the big news today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just unveiled their May slate of Blu-ray and 4K titles. And any slate that includes more Kurosawa in 4K UHD is a good one. [Read on here...]

We’ve got one new disc review for you to enjoy here at The Bits today...

Tim has updated Barrie Maxwell’s 2011 Criterion Blu-ray review of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le cercle rouge (1970) to reflect the company’s more recent 4K Ultra HD release. As long time Bits readers will know, Barrie was our dear friend and a classic cinema expert who wrote reviews and a Classic Coming Attractions column here at the site for many years. Barrie sadly passed away back in 2012. We can’t think of a better way to honor his memory than to ensure that his writing continues to find new audiences. So enjoy the review!

The big release news today is that our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just announced their May catalog release slate, which includes not only great Blu-ray titles but also WAC’s next 4K Ultra HD release! That 4K title is none other than Charles Walters’ classic High Society (1956), starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong!

The film has been remastered from new 13.5K scans of the original VistaVision negative. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR on a 100GB disc, with disc authoring and compression by Fidelity in Motion. The remastered film will also be included in the package on Blu-ray, a BD-50. [Read on here...]

I hope all of you are having a good and relaxing Saturday afternoon, or are at least enjoying the weekend in your own unique manner.

We’ve got just two quick news items to report for you this afternoon, a quick site update, and another new disc review to share with you. As always, the review comes first...

I’ve just posted our very in-depth review of Michael Curtiz’s classic cinema masterpiece Casablanca (1942) as newly remastered in 4K Ultra HD by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging and released on physical disc by our friends at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

There are precious few films that—no matter how often you see them—you finish watching and just immediately think, “Well, that’s a masterpiece.” Casablanca is one of them. The film never gets old. It’s one of the all-time classics. There’s a real argument to be made that it’s the single best film produced in the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system.

Longtime Bits readers will probably remember that our dear friend and Classic Coming Attractions columnist Barrie Maxwell—who passed away in 2012—wrote a terrific review of this film here at The Bits when it first appeared on HD disc in 2007. Barrie’s enthusiasm for the film shines through in every word, so I’ve taken his thoughts on the film and updated them to include my own commentary on the A/V quality and extras on Warner’s new 4K release.

Whether you’ve seen this film a hundred times or never before, it’s an experience that’s not to be missed, and the new 4K disc is certainly the best way to do so. So I hope you enjoy both the review (linked here) and the disc when you get your hands on it this coming week. [Read on here...]

We’ve got more reviews and some great new announcements today as well. As usual, let’s start with the reviews...

I’ve just taken an in-depth look at Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941) with an assist from the late great Bits reviewer Barrie Maxwell. The film is now available in a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Disc combo edition from The Criterion Collection and it’s worth every penny. The package features a terrific new film restoration and a wealth of new and legacy special features. As you know, there’s an issue with the movie Blu-ray in the package, but Criterion is already fixing it and I wouldn’t let that stop you from picking up what is one of the best releases of 2021.

Also today, Stephen has taken a look at Glenn Jordan’s Mass Appeal (1984) on Blu-ray from Code Red, and William Malone’s Creature (1985) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Tim has checked in with this thoughts on Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter’s The Kindred (1987) on Blu-ray from Synapse Films.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Jerry Schatzberg’s The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. [Read on here...]

We’re starting today with four new disc reviews, including looks at Lionsgate and Summit’s Knowing and Sony’s Across the Universe in 4K Ultra HD by me (with our late great friend and Bits family member Barrie Maxwell), as well as Tim’s take on MVD’s Black Eagle: Special Edition and AGFA and Something Weird’s The Violent Years on Blu-ray. Enjoy!

Also today, we have an update on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Warner Bros. has now officially announced (see this link) that the film is returning to theaters for a limited run in 70mm starting on 5/18 in honor of its 50th anniversary. The 4K Ultra HD pre-order page was recently pulled down from Amazon and now we know why: The street date had been listed as 5/8, but the title is now slated to arrive this fall, after the theatrical run. Both the 70mm return to theaters and the 4K release are being presented by director Christopher Nolan. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bit of good new release news for you today.

First though, we’ve got a BUNCH of new Blu-ray and 4K reviews for you to enjoy this afternoon. I’ve posted my thoughts on Universal’s brand new Dracula: The Complete Legacy Collection and The Mummy: The Complete Legacy Collection sets, plus I’ve updated our old friend Barrie Maxwell’s review of Lionsgate’s 3:10 to Yuma to reflect the new 4K Ultra HD release. Also, Tim Salmons has checked in with this thoughts on Scream Factory’s new Tales from the Hood: Collector’s Edition, The Screaming Skull, and I Bury the Living Blu-rays.

And if you think that’s good, check back on Monday when we’ll have reviews for you of 20th Century Fox’s Logan and Lionsgate’s new Ex Machina and Dredd releases, all in 4K Ultra HD format. [Read on here…]

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Today’s post here on The Bits is all about Blu-ray reviews…

First up, I’ve finally posted my in-depth thoughts on Fox’s The X-Files: The Complete Seasons 1-9 Blu-ray box set. And by in-depth, I mean in-depth – it’s a 3-pager with everything you’d want to know about the set, its quality and extras, and word of a Fox exchange program for one of the individual season sets. Do give it a read. If you love the series and are interested in the BDs, the better course is to buy the seasons individually and you’ll save money – I’ve included purchase links to all of them (plus the movies) within the review text. Enjoy!  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

All right, there’s not a lot of release news today, so I thought we’d catch up on some Blu-ray reviews...

First up today, we have a new review from our own Tim Salmons of Universal and Laika’s excellent The Boxtrolls on Blu-ray. It’s a great little film, and we always love seeing stop-motion animation get its due in this time when CG seems to dominate for such titles.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

Today is review day here at The Bits, and we’ve got a fine batch for you. To kick things off, I’ve updated my review of DreamWorks’ first film ever, The Peacemaker, from 2010. We’ve also updated a pair of great 2011 BD reviews from our dear friend Barrie Maxwell on the old Bits website: Warner’s Citizen Kane: 70th Anniversary UCE and Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary UCE. Finally, we have a pair of new Blu-ray reviews today too from our own Tim Salmons, including Synapse’s fine new Prom Night: Special Edition and a Robert Altman classic that’s now available from our friends at Criterion: Nashville. All these discs are well worth your time and the reviews are pretty fine as well, if we do say so ourselves, so we hope you enjoy reading them!  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

Well folks, this is going to be our last post until Monday as we take the rest of the week off to spend the Christmas holiday with our families. But we do have some cool stuff for you…

First, we’ve got a pair of new Blu-ray reviews. Our own Tim Salmons has checked out Scream Factory’s Lord of Illusions and Criterion’s The Innocents, and both are well worth a look. Also, in the spirit of the holiday season, we present my review of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life on Blu-ray, as well as Dr. Jahnke’s look at A Christmas Story, and Barrie Maxwell’s thoughts on White Christmas.  While we’re at it, here’s Die Hard too. Because nothing quite says Christmas like “Yippee ki-yay!” Enjoy!  [Read on here…]