Displaying items by tag: Tim Salmons

All right, we’ve got some outstanding new catalog title announcements to cover today here at The Bits—the perfect way to close out the week!

First though, we have a few more new disc reviews to share with you this morning as well…

Tim has taken a look at Charles Barton’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Hanna-Barbera’s Loopy De Loop: The Complete Collection (1959-65) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has shared his thoughts on Alvin Rakoff’s Death Ship (1980) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

We’ve got a lot more new disc reviews coming next week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them!

Now then... just as we expected today, some of our friends at the boutique labels have made great new 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray catalog announcements this morning.

We’ll start with Arrow Video, which has just announced their full July 2026 release slate.

That’s officially set to include:

• To Live and Die in LA (1985) (4K – UK only) – July 5
• Sex & Fury (1973) / Female Yakuza Tale (1973) (Blu-ray – UK, US, and Canada) – July 6
• Hush (2016) (4K – UK only) – July 12
• Red Sun (1971) (Blu-ray & 4K – US, and Canada) – July 13
• Falling Down (1993) (Blu-ray & 4K – UK, US, and Canada) – July 20
• Soylent Green (1973) (Blu-ray & 4K – UK, US, and Canada) – July 27
• The Outfit (Blu-ray – UK, US, and Canada) – July 27

So we did indeed get a couple of sneaky Warner Bros. titles in there!

Here’s what the packaging looks like (you’ll find it below the break)... [Read on here...]

Greetings Bits readers!

So you may have noticed some funkiness going on over the last week or so here at The Digital Bits website.

Back on March 27 (see our post here), I told you that we were fighting the scourge of AI companies relentlessly sending bots to crawl our site to scrape for content to train their LLMs. It got so bad that we essentially have had to move the site and use Cloudflare to block them.

That was frustrating enough, but the process of moving hasn’t been smooth. And we’ve had several other disruptions over the last week, including (currently) to our email. So if you’re trying to reach us and your messages are getting bounced back or not delivered properly, rest assure we’re aware of it and are working to get it sorted.

Thanks for your patience!

All part of the frustrations of trying to run a website in the 21st century… especially in a world of AI, which is probably only going to make things on the Internet worse. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today, and it’s going to feel a little bit like whiplash. But first, as always, we have some new disc reviews to share with you…

Tim has taken a look at Michael Felsher’s Hearts of Darkness: The Making of The Final Friday (2025) on Blu-ray from Synapse Films.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Simon Wincer’s The Phantom (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has shared his take on Arthur Penn’s Target (1985) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

Definitely be sure to watch for more new disc reviews over the next few days.

Now then… the positive news we have for you today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just announced their July Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate, which includes some gems as always and some nice surprises too. [Read on here...]

We have a quick update for you today, but it includes some good stuff!

First though, more new disc reviews…

Tim has taken a look at Craig R. Baxley’s Stone Cold (1991) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen has offered his take on Simon Wincer’s The Phantom (1996) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Leni Riefenstahl’s The Blue Light (1932) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Be sure to watch for more review tomorrow and all this week!

And if you’re interested in what’s coming to 4K Ultra HD in terms of catalog titles later this year, you’re definitely going to want to subscribe to our Digital Bits Patreon page, because we’ve been sharing some good stuff there! And Patreon support has become critical to helping us keep The Digital Bits going, so please do consider it (and thank you to everyone who is already a subscriber)!

Now then, our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just revealed their May Blu-ray slate, and it includes some real gems. [Read on here...]

We’ve got more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy today, including…

Stephen’s take on Ema Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal and also Bill Plympton’s Hair High (2004) on Blu-ray from our friends at Deaf Crocodile Films.

Tim’s review of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) in 4K from Criterion.

Dennis’ look at Terry Jones’ Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) on Blu-ray from Criterion, as well as Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek (1983) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And finally, Stuart’s thoughts on Raoul Walsh’s Silver River (1948) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep checking back for them!

Now then… in announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Howard Hawks’ El Dorado (1966) is “coming soon” to 4K Ultra HD. That’s a Paramount Western featuring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan, featuring a screenplay co-written by Leigh Brackett (The Empire Strikes Back) and music by Nelson Riddle (the 1966 Batman). [Read on here...]

All right, we have a few more new disc reviews to share with you this morning, including…

Tim’s thoughts on Guy Magar’s Lookin’ Italian (1994) on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

Dennis’ take on William Richert’s A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Shane Meadows’ TwentyFourSeven (1997) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

Stephen’s look at Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977) in Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Ivan Passer’s Cutter’s Way (1981) in 4K Ultra HD from Radiance Films.

And Stuart’s review of the Warner Archive’s Fred Astaire Collection on Blu-ray, which includes Easter Parade (1948), The Band Wagon (1953), Silk Stockings (1957), and Finian’s Rainbow (1968). Stuart has also reviewed Peter Yates’ Summer Holiday (1963) on Blu-ray from Indicator’s Cliff in Color! box set.

Now then, the big news we want to share with you today is that pre-orders have finally begin for Disney’s Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release of James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash (2026), all of which are set to street on 5/19. [Read on here...]

We’ve got BIG 4K news to cover here at The Bits this afternoon, so let’s get right into it…

First up, reviews! Today we have for you…

Stephen’s look at Delmar Daves’ 3:10 to Yuma (1957) in 4K from Criterion, Hal Ashby’s Being There (1979) on Blu-ray as recently reissued by Warner Bros., and Marcell Jankovics’ Song of the Miraculous Hind (2002) on Blu-ray from our friends at Deaf Crocodile Films. (And we have more Deaf Croc reviews forthcoming!)

Tim’s thoughts on Don Coscarelli’s The Beastmaster (1982) in 4K Ultra HD, both the new release from Imprint Films and also the Scream Factory edition from November of last year.

And Tim has also reviewed the Warner Archive’s new Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 2 (1934-63) on Blu-ray, Guy Magar’s Retribution (1987) in 4K from Severin Films, and he’s tag-teamed with Dennis for a review of Kenneth Branagh’s Dead Again (1991) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classic.

Also here at The Bits today, our own Russell Hammond has just shared the latest update of our Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon pre-order links. Don’t forget, The Bits is an Amazon Affiliate, so literally anything you order after clicking to them from of our links (like this one) goes to help support our work here at the site and we appreciate it!

Now then… the big release news here today is something that those of you who are subscribers to our Patreon site already knew was coming: Disney has just officially announced the classic animated Alice in Wonderland (1951) for 4K Ultra HD release on 5/5! [Read on here...]

Boy, I’ve been waiting for this today for years now—one of my favorite titles is finally official, as in the studio has just issued their press release. And there are a bunch of other great title announcements today as well.

But first as always, a few more new disc reviews…

Stuart and Dennis have turned in their thoughts on Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ Peter Sellers: Early Classics Blu-ray box set, which includes Man in a Cocked Hat (1959), I’m All Right Jack (1959), Two-Way Stretch (1960), Heavens Above! (1963), and The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963).

And Tim has reviewed Chuck Russell’s The Mask (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to check back for them!

Also today, our own Russell Hammond has just posted the latest update of the Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon pre-order links. As The Bits is an Amazon Affiliate, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.

And of course, the best way to support what we do by far is to subscribe to our Digital Bits Patreon where we talk about lots of things—including upcoming 4K titles—before we can post all the details here on the website. Monthly subscriptions start at just $6 and you can get discounts on full-year subscriptions too. So thank you, sincerely, for helping us to keep The Digital Bits going as we advocate for physical media and the issues that matter to you! [Read on here...]

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...]

All right, as you can see by that headline, we’ve got some big release news for you today! But first, a few more new disc reviews…

Stephen has reviewed William Friedkin’s Jade (1995) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films.

Tim has offered his thoughts on Rod Amateau’s The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has shared his perspective on a Jack Benny Comedy Classics double feature of Raoul Walsh’s Artists and Models (1937) and Mark Sandrich’s Man About Town (1939) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

I’ve also got a couple of additional reviews coming tomorrow, so be sure to watch for those.

Now then… you know how lots of people a few weeks ago were saying that if Netflix won the bidding war for Warner Bros. that might mean the end of physical media?

Yeah, maybe not so much.

Not only has Netflix recently let Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and the animated K-Pop Demon Hunters be licensed to Criterion for Blu-ray and 4K release, today we have even bigger news.

Arrow Video just announced on social media that they’re bringing the most popular Netflix Original series of all time—the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things: The Complete Series—to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD in July (street date 7/28)! [Read on here...]