We're kicking things off here at The Bits today with a new Blu-ray Disc review. Our own Tim Salmons has checked in with his thoughts on Warner's recent Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2 - 2-Film Ultimate Edition Blu-ray box set. Enjoy!
In release news today, Warner Home Video has begun announcing the DVD release of some of those Samuel Goldwyn they got the rights to last year. On 1/15, look for Wuthering Heights (via HBO), The Best Years of Our Lives, The Bishop's Wife, Guys and Dolls, Hans Christian Andersen and The Pride of the Yankees. There's no word yet of Blu-ray releases, but we're looking into it.
Speaking of HBO (via Warner), look for Veep: The Complete First Season on DVD only on 3/26.
Warner has also begun soliciting many of those catalog titles recently licensed for BD and DVD release from Paramount. Watch for a huge list of them to start arriving in stores on 1/1 on both formats. It doesn't appear to include anything new yet - it look to all be titles that have been previously available.
Image Entertainment has set The Beverly Hillbillies: Collector's Edition (a "Best Of" Set), BMF: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Drug Empire, Bonanza: Collector's Edition (another "Best of") and The Solomon Bunch for release on 2/5, followed by The Complete Adventures of Flash Gordon (4 pack), The Cyclist, Hitler's Forgotten Nazis and Naked City: 20 Star-Filled Episodes on 2/19, and a David E. Talbert Triple Feature (What Goes Around Comes Around, Love in the Nick of Tyme and Mr. Right Now!), Fast Girls and Nobody Gets Out Alive on 2/26. All are DVD only.
On the Disney front, I'm sure many of you heard about their big digital distribution deal with Netflix from the other day - starting in 2016 Netflix will get exclusive digital rights to the entire Disney library of titles, including Pixar, classic animation and live action, and even the Star Wars and Marvel franchises. In the realm of physical discs, it appears that the studio may be finally getting ready to release The Muppet Movie: Nearly 35th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray next year - a trailer for the title appears on their new The Odd Life of Timothy Green Blu-ray. This would be in addition to the Who Framed Roger Rabbit?: 25th Anniversary Edition that's already planned for release in HD in 2013. Thanks to Bits reader Bill M. for the update.
Also, we've hard back from 20th Century Fox about that Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray box set due on 1/29. It will include the theatrical cut of Live Free or Die Hard only. A LOT of your have been hoping for the unrated cut on Blu-ray and rest assured we've let Fox know this.
And finally today, Bits reader Sidney S. sent us this interesting bit of news: It seems that the BBC have officially remastered the first color Doctor Who story from way back in 1963 – Spearhead from Space – and they're releasing it on Blu-ray in July worldwide as part of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary celebration next year (7/13 is the tentative street date).
That's all for now. Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt