Items filtered by date: June 2017

All right, it’s been an exciting few days for Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news, with the latest being director James Gunn’s confirmation that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is soon to be announced for Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD (see our post from early this morning). We expect Disney’s official announcement in the next two weeks.

Before we get started today, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be moderating the official Breaking News from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory panel at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month! Here’s the official write-up from Shout:

“Genre and horror film buffs, collectors and pop culture enthusiasts alike won’t want to miss Breaking News from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory. At 8 pm on Friday, July 21st in Room 4, join Jeremy Whitham (Development Director), Brian Ward (Sr. Director of Blu-ray and DVD Production) and Jeff Nelson (Sr. Marketing Director) as they make special announcements and unveil exclusive sneak peeks of upcoming Blu-ray collector’s editions and new movies coming to theaters this fall. A fan-driven insider’s event filled with lively discussion and a few surprises, this panel discussion and Q&A will be moderated by Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits.”

It should be a lot of fun, so if you’re going to be attending the Con, please be sure to drop in for it. I’ll be a panelist on another panel at the Con as well, which I’ll tell you more about next week. [Read on here…]

We just wanted to chime in here early this morning to report some great news for fans of Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney, and the 4K Ultra HD format. Director James Gunn just posted the following statement tonight on his Facebook page (which continues in full below the break):

“Yes, it’s true, & I am UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED to announce that, after a couple of years of me begging and pleading, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be coming to home video in 4K UltraHD. It will be the FIRST Disney release to be released this way.” [Read on here...]

We’ve got one more quick update for you today...

Lionsgate has just announced the 9/5 4K Ultra HD release of The Cabin in the Woods, Red, and Red 2. All three will carry an SRP of $22.99 each and will include Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR. They should also carry over all of the previous Blu-ray special features.

And here’s a total surprise... what we believe to be the very first TV series title released in 4K: HBO has just announced that Westworld – Season One: The Maze will street on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 11/7 (SRP $49.99, $54.97, and $64.99)! All 10 episodes will be included, along with 3 new featurettes (Inside Look with Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy – Season One, Imagining the Main Title, and The Key to the Chords), 5 previously-seen featurettes (Welcome to Westworld, Crafting the Narrative, An Invitation to the Set, Welcome to Westworld: About the Series, and Reality of A.I.: Westworld), several The Big Moment featurettes, video of the 2017 Comic-Con Panel, and a Gag Reel. The Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD versions will include Dolby Atmos audio. The 4K disc will also come in Steelbook packaging. You can see the Westworld: Season One 4K cover artwork to the left there and larger below (Amazon pre-order links will be added as they become available).

Note that we’ve updated the 2017 4K Ultra HD Release Update from today’s early post with these titles.

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

Good morning, Bits readers. We trust that all those of you here in the States had a fine long holiday weekend with your family and friends. We’ve been busy here at the site over that time in a couple of ways...

First of all, we’ve posted four new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews, all by yours truly, including Universal’s The Great Wall, Warner’s Unforgiven, and Sony’s The Fifth Element: 20th Anniversary Edition and Léon: The Professional (which is a Best Buy exclusive title initially). All four discs are well your time for various reasons, so do give them a look. More 4K reviews are coming soon.

Now then, we’ll get back to 4K in a moment, but first we wanted to let you know that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Frank Capra’s Lost Horizon: 80th Anniversary Edition for release on Blu-ray on 10/3, mastered from a new 4K restoration and in Capra Collection Digibook packaging. Extras will include restoration audio commentary, an alternate ending, a photo documentary, the Restoration: Before and After Comparison featurette, and the film’s theatrical trailer. The book will include an essay by film historian Jeremy Arnold. Click past the jump to see the packaging... [Read on here…]