Displaying items by tag: Universal Studios

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...]

We start today with two new disc reviews for you to enjoy, including…

Stephen’s look at Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man (1980) in a great limited edition 4K Ultra HD release from Radiance Films.

And Tim’s thoughts on Arrow Video’s excellent 4K Ultra HD release of New Line’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy (1990-93).

More reviews are on the way, so be sure to keep checking back for them!

Also today, we’ve just uploaded our own Russell Hammond’s latest update of the Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links.

As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our affiliate links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.

Now then… our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just revealed their terrific April slate of Blu-ray catalog titles, and it includes a great new 4K title as well! [Read on here...]

Welcome, disc fans, to a new week and the start of a new month!

We’ve got some good 4K Ultra HD release news to share with you today.

First up, Universal and Focus Films have set Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (2025) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 3/3.

Our friends at Vinegar Syndrome are now taking orders for Emmett Alston’s Demonwarp (1988), Tonino Ricci’s Bakterion (1982, aka Panic), Uli Edel’s Body of Evidence (1993) (starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe), and Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha (1972) in 4K.

These are all in stock and now shipping.

Shout! Studios has set a 4K Steelbook edition of Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1978) for release on 4/7, followed by similar editions of Kerry Conran’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) and Prince of Darkness (1987) for 4/21.

The company also has another HK Cinema Classics title— Lau Kar-leung’s Tiger on the Beat I & II (1988-1990)—coming to 4K UHD + Blu-ray on 4/28.

And I’ve confirmed with industry sources that Shout is also working on 4K Ultra HD releases of George Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985) and Joe Dante’s The ‘Burbs (1989). Street dates are TBA for later this year. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week with more news and several more new disc reviews from the whole Bits team as well.

We’ll start with the latter, which today include…

Tim’s reviews of Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer’s Dead of Night (1945) and Guy Hamilton’s Evil Under the Sun (1982) both in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s review of Stelvio Massi’s The 44. Specialist (1976) on Blu-ray from Raro Video and Kino Lorber.

My review of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale: 25th Anniversary Edition (2000) in 4K Steelbook from Lionsgate Limited.

Dennis’ look at Blake Edwards’ newly-remastered The Pink Panther (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And we’ll round things out with Stephen’s thoughts on Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (2025) in 4K UHD from Universal. Enjoy!

Now then… in news today, the big revelation is that our friends at Arrow Video have announced their complete April Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week with more new disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

Stephen’s take on John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) in 4K UHD from Shout! and Scream Factory.

Stuart’s look at Richard Thorpe’s That Funny Feeling (1965) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Jack Haley Jr.’s That’s Entertainment: 50th Anniversary Remastered Edition Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. And we’ve also fixed his review of Frank Borzage’s The Spanish Main (1945) on Blu-ray—also from Warner Archive—that was displaying oddly here on the site last week.

Now then... the big catalog release news today is that our friend Vincent Pereira has just announced a new remastered Director’s Cut Blu-ray of his excellent A Better Place (1997)! It’s available exclusively from the MVD Shop (click this link), for release on 5/27.

The disc features a new 2K restoration of a 3K scan of the original camera negative and first-generation print elements, and it’s presented in the originally-intended 1.50:1 aspect ratio. Audio will be 5.1 LPCM surround, with optional English subtitles. Extras will include a new introduction by Pereira, the legacy commentary with Pereira and the cast and crew, the 2001 version of the film in SD with stereo audio, vintage introductions by executive producers Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, the vintage “goof” commentary on the 2001 version, deleted scenes with optional commentary, outtakes and bloopers, and a new 2025 trailer. You can see the cover artwork at left and the trailer is available to view below the break. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some big announcement news to report today, as well as some very interesting industry news. But first, more new disc reviews...

Stuart has turned in his thoughts on Franco Zeffirelli’s The Taming of the Shrew (1967) on Blu-ray from Via Vision’s Imprint Films label, as well as Robert Clouse’s Black Belt Jones (1974) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has turned in a look at Todd Solondz’s Happiness (1998) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted major updates of our 4K Ultra HD Release List, as well as our Release Dates & Cover Art section, both of which feature all the latest Amazon pre-order links. So be sure to check those out, and remember that we’re an Amazon Affiliate which means that clicking through one of our links (like this one) before shopping for literally anything from Amazon is a great way to help support our work here at the site. It makes a BIG difference. So thank you!

Now then, speaking of Criterion, let’s get right to today’s big release news: Criterion has just announced their January 2025 release slate, and every single title will include 4K UHD! On 1/7, look for Yojimbo/Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa, which itself has no Spine # but which includes 4K UHD upgrades of Yojimbo (1961) (Spine #52 – 4K+BD) and Sanjuro (1962) (Spine #53 – 4K UHD + BD). Following on 1/14, you’ll get Jean Eustache’s The Mother and the Whore (1973) (Spine #1245 – 4K+BD, BD & DVD) and Richard Pryor’s Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) (Spine #1247 – 4K+BD & BD). On 1/21, look for Stephen Frears’ The Grifters (1990) (Spine #1246 – 4K+BD & BD). And finally, 1/28 will bring Anthony Mann’s Winchester ‘73 (1950) (Spine #1247 – 4K+BD & BD). You can see the cover artwork at left and below the break. [Read on here...]

All right, I’d intended to have a news update yesterday, but we all day working on a major upgrade of the Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Bits. Not only have added tons of new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links, we’ve done some software and server upgrades to the section as well, so it should be working better than ever. Better yet, we’re going to have new updates of the section every Tuesday to keep it fresh with all the latest titles!

As you may know, The Digital Bits is an Amazon Affiliate, so anytime you order literally anything after clicking to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work at The Bits. It makes a big difference and we truly appreciate it. So we hope you’ll find our upgraded Release Dates & Cover Artwork useful and use it often!

Now then, we have some new disc reviews for all of you to enjoy here today...

Stephen has offered his in-depth thoughts on Robert Altman’s Thieves Like Us (1974) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome’s Cinématographe label, along with Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy (2019) in 4K from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, and also Peter Hyams’ Sudden Death (1995) in 4K UHD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart has weighed in with a look at Ken Loach’s The Old Oak (2023) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, as well as Fred Zinnemann’s The Nun’s Story (1959) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has reviewed Phil Karlson’s 99 River Street (1953) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics as well.

In announcement news today, Universal and Illumination have just set the CG-animated Despicable Me 4 for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 9/24, with the Digital version available next week on 9/10. Scores of featurettes and deleted scenes will be included. [Read on here...]

“American Graffiti is one of those films where a filmmaker brings his youth to the screen with such a sense of sweetness and genuine nostalgia, that his or her personal recollections somehow become universal for the audience.” – Gary Leva, director of Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this longform retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of American Graffiti, George Lucas’s popular film that nostalgically asked, “Where were you in ‘62?”

American Graffiti starred Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Ronny Howard (The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days), Paul Le Mat (Aloha, Bobby and Rose, Melvin and Howard), Charles Martin Smith (Never Cry Wolf, The Untouchables), Candy Clark (The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blue Thunder), Mackenzie Phillips (One Day at a Time), Cindy Williams (The Conversation, Laverne & Shirley) and Wolfman Jack (popular radio DJ), plus a small, early-career performance by Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark). The film was nominated for five Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Supporting Actress—Candy Clark, Screenplay, and Film Editing). In 1995 the Library of Congress selected American Graffiti for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Its most recent home media release, on 4K UHD, was in November of this year (but received less than high marks for A/V quality in most reviews).[Read on here...]

Good afternoon (or evening as the case may be), Bits readers! My wife and I had a houseguest here visiting yesterday, so today’s post is a little later than usual. But we’re starting as always with some new disc reviews...

First of all, on Monday I posted my thoughts on Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, and just today I added a couple of additional Editor’s Notes discussing one of the film’s key story points as well as the 4K video quality (which I’ve revised downward just a tad from A to A-, the reason for which is explained in my review).

Also, Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Hideaki Anno’s (et al) Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time (2021) in 4K from GKids and Shout! Factory, and for those of you who aren’t familiar, he also gives you a good little primer on the topic.

Meanwhile, Stuart has weighed in with looks at William Dieterle’s The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Richard Brooks’ The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret’s The Worst Ones (2022) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Dennis has offered his take on Julian Schnabel’s Before Night Falls (2000) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive as well as Mark Pellington’s The Severing (2022) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

And finally, Tim has delivered an in-depth review of Kevin Connor’s Motel Hell (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory. [Read on here...]