Displaying items by tag: Walt Disney

Good afternoon, Bits readers!

We’ve got a little bit of breaking 4K and Blu-ray release news for you today, but first we have a couple more new disc reviews for you as well…

Tim has taken a look at Cheng Kang’s The 14 Amazons (1972) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films via their Imprint Asia line. And he’s also reviewed that same film on Blu-ray via Arrow’s excellent Shawscope: Volume Three box set!

Meanwhile, Dennis has offered his thoughts on Leigh Jason’s The Mad Miss Manton (1938) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then, just a quick site announcement: We’re currently running a Black Friday Week discount on all of our Digital Bits Patreon subscriptions! Using the code DB1CF when you subscribe to us on Patreon will grant to a 10% discount on the first month or first year (if you choose to subscribe annually) of your subscription. [Read on here...]

All right, we have a few great new disc reviews up for your reading enjoyment today, including…

Stephen’s thoughts on John Carpenter’s Dark Star (1974) in 4K Ultra HD from Fabulous Films.

Dennis’ thoughts on Peter Brook’s The Beggar’s Opera (1953) and Anatole Litvak’s Out of the Fog (1941) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Universal’s new Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection box set on DVD.

Stuart’s review of Daniel Taradash’s Storm Center (1956) on Blu-ray from Indicator.

And finally, Tim has begun reviewing the films in Criterion’s new The Wes Anderson Archive 4K Ultra HD box set, starting with Bottle Rocket (1996)!

More reviews are forthcoming this week, so be sure to keep checking back.

All right, in terms of release news, call this tentative at the moment but at least it’s filmmaker confirmed: Director Oliver Stone has announced on his Facebook page that a new 4K remaster of Platoon (1986) is on the way (possibly from Shout! Factory). You can see his post here. Thanks to the many Bits readers who sent that info. [Read on here...]

Good afternoon, Bits readers! We’re kicking things off this week with a number of new disc reviews, including…

My thoughts on Stephen Soderbergh’s Black Bag (2025) in 4K UHD from Focus Films and Universal as well as the recent stand-alone 4K release of Carol Reed’s Oliver! (1968) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Stephen’s reviews of Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) in 4K UHD from Universal and John Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) in 4K from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stuart’s look at William A. Wellman’s Track of the Cat (1954) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

More reviews are definitely on the way this week, including (tomorrow) my take on the BFI’s new 4K release of Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress (1958). So be sure to check back for them!

In announcement news today, we’ve got some great titles to share with you!

First, our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have just revealed that they’re working on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray editions of Blake Edwards’ Pink Panther films—including The Pink Panther (1963), A Shot in the Dark (1964), Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)—all in honor of Peter Sellers’ centennial! The street date are TBA, but consider them all “coming soon.” [Read on here...]

We’re starting things off today with three more new disc reviews, including…

Stephen’s look at Phil Alden Robinson’s Sneakers (1992) in 4K UHD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis’ thoughts on Edward Dmytryk’s The Juggler (1953) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And Stuart’s take on Norman Jewison’s …And Justice for All (1979) on Blu-ray from Indicator and Powerhouse Films.

Watch for more reviews here in the coming days.

Now then, the big news is that Disney, 20th Century Studios, and Sony have just announced the 4K Ultra HD release of Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music (1965) on 9/23, in honor of the film’s 60th anniversary. Once again, the studio has waited until product was well into replication before announcing, in order to help ensure sufficient stock to meet demand when pre-orders begin (which should happen in the next few days). [Read on here...]

We have three new reviews for you to enjoy today…

Stephen’s look at Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) in 4K UHD from Arrow Video in the UK.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Valerio Zurlini’s Girl with a Suitcase (1961) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films, as well as Yasuzô Masumura’s Play It Cool (1970) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

More reviews are forthcoming in the days ahead, so be sure to keep checking back for them.

All right, in announcements today, the big news is something we broke on Saturday: Disney has officially set Steven Lisberger’s TRON (1980) and Joseph Kosinski’s TRON: Legacy (2010) for 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release on 9/16. Both gave been carefully remastered under the filmmakers’ supervision by The Walt Disney Film Restoration team to include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Our sources are telling us that some of the early “de-aging” VFX in the latter film have been redone to modern standards. [Read on here...]

Regarding the Disney/Sony physical media news that we broke this morning on The Digital Bits (link here), we’ve learned the following additional information from our industry sources:

• Once again, we’ve confirmed that Disney is indeed in the process of transitioning to a licensed physical media distribution model via an agreement with Sony Entertainment.

• As part of this deal, Sony will market, sell, and distribute new Disney releases plus catalog titles on physical media (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, etc.) to consumers through retailers and distributors in the U.S. and Canada.

• This shift is consistent with other strategies that Disney is working to implement company-wide, as exemplified by the company’s recent transitions in other markets.

• Per usual, Disney regularly evaluates their approach to the physical media market as the home entertainment business and industry at large continue to rapidly evolve alongside consumer behavior.

This update is continued below the break... [Read on here...]

There are some significant developments happening within the home video industry of late, developments that I’ve been spending a lot of time investigating and really digging into these past few weeks here at The Digital Bits.

And I can now confidently report that one of them is this:

Disney and Sony have just inked a major deal for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to take over all of Disney’s physical media production going forward.

This means that Sony will handle and oversee the actual authoring and compression of discs, that they’ll work with the replicators and packaging vendors, and that they’ll oversee the titles as they go out to the distributors and on to retailers.

I first received word of this deal about two weeks ago, apparently within twenty-four hours of the ink drying, and I’ve now confirmed it with multiple independent sources within the industry—people that I trust and have known and worked with for many years.

This deal makes sense for Disney for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Sony is far more efficient and cost effective at producing their discs, whereas Disney’s physical media operation has been subject to no small amount of internal/organizational turmoil recently. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a couple good items of business for you today, the first of which is a new 4K review…

I’ve just given Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar a look on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount. The disc streets next Tuesday, 12/19. It’s a full native 4K transfer and of course the film was shot in a combination of 35 mm and 65 mm IMAX, so it’s variable aspect ratio and looks tremendous. The disc will also appear in Warner’s Christopher Nolan Collection 4K box set which streets next Tuesday as well. We don’t yet have the whole box, but as soon as we do, rest assured we’ll get the other films reviewed for you guys as soon as possible.

FYI, Tim has also just posted his review of Captain from Castile on Blu-ray from Twilight Time. Enjoy! [Read on here…]

“Fantasia went so far beyond the standards of the day that it was well and truly ‘ahead of its time,’ and ‘one of a kind.’” — Disney Historian Jeff Kurtti

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the diamond anniversary of the release of Fantasia, Walt Disney’s innovative and acclaimed third feature-length animated production (after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio) featuring Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra over the memorable fusion of image and music.  [Read on here...]