My Two Cents
Afternoon, folks. Hope you all had a great Christmas. I know many of you are still on holiday until right after the New Year, so continued fun to you and yours! Nevertheless we’ve got a couple news items for you this afternoon…
The big news today is that Warner Home Video has finally officially announced Ben Affleck’s Argo for release on Blu-ray Combo and DVD on 2/19 (SRP $35.99 and $22.97). Extras will include a feature-length Picture in Picture viewing option called Eye Witness Account, audio commentary with director Ben Affleck (and others TBA) and 4 featurettes (Rescued from Tehran: We Were There, Argo: Absolute Authenticity, Argo: The CIA & Hollywood Connection and Escape from Iran: The Hollywood Option).
Meanwhile, Sony has set Small Apartments for DVD-only release on 2/19. The film stars Billy Crystal, James Caan and Dolph Lundgren. No I’m not kidding. The studio also has Here Comes the Boom coming on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/5, followed by Chicken with Plums on DVD only on 2/26.
20th Century Fox has announced some catalog Blu-ray titles for early 2013, including French Kiss and One Fine Day on 1/8, Wild River, Gentleman’s Agreement and How Green Was My Valley on 1/15, and Laura on 2/5. As far as new releases, look for Late Quartet on 2/5 and Chasing Mavericks on 2/26.
Dark Sky Films will release Stitches on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/2.
Image Entertainment will release Ghoul on DVD only on 1/8.
Magnolia will release Royal Affair on both formats on 3/26.
Also, AIS in the U.K. has set Disney’s Flight of the Navigator for Blu-ray release on 1/29 (SRP $44.98). There’s a very good chance the disc is all-region. [Editor’s Note: This disc was released in the U.K. in November and is simply being imported for the U.S. market by Amazon.]
And in other news today, I’m afraid we have sad news to report: Actors Charles Durning and Jack Klugman have passed away, as well as veteran British TV producer Gerry Anderson.
Klugman was best known for TV’s The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E. and also film roles in 12 Angry Men and Days of Wine and Roses among others. He was 90.
Among Durning’s credits were TV’s Evening Shade and such films as Tootsie, Dog Day Afternoon, To Be or Not to Be, The Sting and (my personal favorite) O Brother, Where Art Thou? He was also a World War II veteran and was among the first wave of troops to hit Omaha Beach on D-Day. He was 89.
And 1960-70s genre TV fans owe a great debt to producer Gerry Anderson for creating such classics as Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Fireball XL5, UFO and Space: 1999 (note that Season Two is expected to finally be released on Blu-ray in late 2013 or early 2014) among others. The halls of Moonbase Alpha will never be the same without him. He was 83.
One last note: Our own Jeff Kleist posted a Blu-ray 3D review of New Line’s A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas yesterday, so do check it out if you’re interested. We’ll also have a couple of new columns from the guys over the next couple days, so do check back for them.
We’ll leave you today with a look at the final Blu-ray cover art for Warner’s Argo, as well as Sony’s Seven Psychopaths (due 1/29) and Fox’s Laura…
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
This is just a quick post to wish you and yours Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas! Cheers and seasons greetings from all of us here at The Bits!
Peace out!
- Bill Hunt
Well, folks… I hope you’re all enjoying yet another lovely Nopocalypse afternoon! It wasn’t the first time the less scientifically literate among our fellow Earthlings thought the world was coming to an end and it surely won’t be the last. I know the planet’s continued existence today is probably a bit of a surprise to those who’ve been watching The Hysterical (read: History) Channel from the fully-stocked panic bunker, but hey… if they were savvy shoppers all that freeze-dried food will still be good when the next big scare comes along! And I’ll bet the Christmas tree looks great down there underground.
By the way, I don’t think even the Mayans thought the world was really going to end today. If I’m not mistaken, their long-form calendar was just supposed to start over again like ours does on January 1st. But nobody ever sold a lot of books telling that story. ‘Cause you know… zombies!
For my part, I slept in a little bit this morning and then enjoyed my coffee while watching John Sturges’ 1957 classic Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. As some of you may know, I’ve got a real soft spot for a good western... especially those about the infamous Tombstone incident. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas really deliver as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and what I especially like about the film is the slow, deliberate pace Sturges uses to establish the friendship between the two men. It’s a great flick that Paramount should release on Blu-ray one of these days. For that matter, I’d love to see Fox release John Ford’s My Darling Clementine on BD too, but then I’m still hoping against hope that they’ll do more Master and Commander movies, so… you know.
Today’s column headline doesn’t just refer to the total lack of Mayan-themed chaos and carnage, by the way. Near as I can tell, there is almost no Blu-ray, DVD, high-definition or home theater related news to report this afternoon. Hollywood’s a ghost town by now – the studio execs have all flown off to Bermuda with their families and only lowly production assistants and interns remain in the office today to board up the soundstage doors and shutter the windows until after the New Year.
So… really… my only purpose here today is to shout out a friendly hello to all our readers – we hope this finds you well! And of course, all of us here at The Digital Bits wish you and yours safe travels this weekend as many of you head out to visit loved ones for the Christmas holiday. We’ll probably check in from time to time over the next week or so and we’ll be back for sure on Wednesday (and maybe Thursday too) with quick news updates. But in the meantime, all of you have a great holiday, eat lots of fine food, watch tons of excellent movies and just enjoy flat-out yourselves. Given all the crazy politics and tragedy and what have you of the past year, I’d say we’ve all earned a break and a much better 2013. So here’s to it!
Merry Christmas and whatnot! And always know that we’re really thankful to have such fine and admirable folks as yourselves as readers. Peace out!
- Bill Hunt
Okay, news is definitely slowing down today in advance of the Christmas holiday. But we do have a couple quick things to report today.
First, Warner Home Video and the BBC have set Being Human: Season 4 for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/15. However, Bits reader Brian B. reports (thanks, Brian!) that it’s already available at Walmart as a retail exclusive. Adjust your plans accordingly.
Warner and Viz Media have also set Inuyasha: The Movie - The Complete Collection for release on Blu-ray on 3/26 (SRP $29.99).
20th Century Fox has announced A Late Quartet for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/5, followed by Atlas Shrugged: Part II on both formats on 2/19.
PBS has set Downton Abbey: Season 3 for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/29 (SRP $54.99 and $49.99). This is the U.K. edition with more than 2 hours of bonus content.
Lionsgate has set Abducted: The Carlina White Story, The Bay, Thomas & Friends: Go Go Thomas and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne: Volume Ten all for DVD release on 3/5.
And Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment and Nasser Entertainment will release The Bouquet on DVD only on 2/5.
Finally, all of those newly-announced Criterion March Blu-rays are now available for pre-order on Amazon, including Terrence Malick’s Badlands, Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux, Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Fritz Lang’s Ministry of Fear and Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr’s cult classic The Blob.
And that's all for now. Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
All right, we have official word from Disney on the extras you’ll find on those new animated Blu-rays set for release on 3/12…
The Who Framed Roger Rabbit?: 25th Anniversary Edition BD will include 3 animated shorts (Tummy Trouble, Roller-Coaster Rabbit and Trail Mix-Up) all digitally remastered along with the Who Made Roger Rabbit? documentary, audio commentary, 5 featurettes (On Set! Benny the Cab, Behind the Ears: The True Story, Before & After Split-Screen, Toon Stand-Ins and The Valiant Files) a deleted scene, a gallery and the theatrical trailer.
The Mulan: 2 Film Collection BD (Mulan and Mulan II) will include audio commentary, 11 deleted scenes, 15 featurettes and 6 music videos.
The Brother Bear: 2 Film Collection BD (Brother Bear and Brother Bear 2) will include Rutt & Tuke’s commentary, a deleted song, deleted scenes, outtakes, Bear Legends, Sing-Along Songs, a music video and 2 featurettes (The Making of Brother Bear and Behind the Music of Brother Bear 2).
And The Hunchback of Notre Dame: 2 Film Collection (The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II) will include audio commentary, a multi-language reel and 3 featurettes (The Making of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Behind the Scenes with Jennifer Love Hewitt and A Gargoyle’s Life).
Also today, Warner Home Video has set The Factory for release on DVD and digital download on 2/19.
Drafthouse Films has set Wake in Fright for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/15.
Magnolia Home Entertainment will release Nature Calls and Nobody Walks on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/22.
Shout! Factory has set MADtv: Season 2 for DVD only release on 3/26.
And finally, Trek Core has posted a few details about the extras you’ll find on CBS’ Star Trek: Enterprise – Season One Blu-ray release which is tentatively expected to hit stores in March. All of the previous DVD content will carry over. New bonus features will include a 3-part making of documentary on the process of launching Enterprise and making the first season, all-new audio commentaries including one with executive producer Brannon Braga and actors Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating on the episode Shuttlepod One, and video of an in-depth discussion between Braga and fellow executive producer Rick Berman. As with The Next Generation Blu-rays, Roger Lay Jr. and Robert Meyer Burnett are crafting the new documentary material. Sounds terrific!
Stay tuned…
- Bill Hunt