Items filtered by date: February 2021

All right, this is just a very quick update this evening to bring you some breaking release news nuggets...

First though, our own Tim Salmons has just posted his thoughts on Andrew J. Kuehn’s Terror in the Isles (1984) on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, a Universal clip showcase featuring footage from a host of modern and classic horror films. You’ll find that here.

Now then... in announcement news, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just officially announced Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal: The Complete First Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/1.

This is interesting, because the first half of the season aired on Adult Swim way back in October 2019. Then, the season’s remaining episodes finally aired in October of 2020. Word is the show has been renewed for a second season as well, though no release date for this has yet been announced. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week off with another new Blu-ray review. Tim has taken a look at Richard E. Cunha’s Giant from the Unknown (1958), a Astor Pictures monster flick featuring make-up work by the great Jack Pierce. It’s now available on Blu-ray from the folks at The Film Detective.

Speaking of which, The Film Detective has also announced a new Blu-ray edition of Lesley Selander’s Flight to Mars (1951) on 7/20.

The film has apparently been remastered from a new 4K scan, and will feature new documentary shorts by Ballyhoo Films.

In other announcement news today, Paramount has revealed a pair of new Paramount Presents Blu-ray titles, including Mommie Dearest on 6/1 (newly-restored from a 4K transfer in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary) and Last Train from Gun Hill on 6/15. Mommie Dearest will feature a new audio commentary by American drag queen Hedda Lettuce and a new Filmmaker Focus: Biographer Justin Bozung on director Frank Perry, in addition to legacy extras. [Read on here...]

Let’s close out the week today with another new disc review and more release news...

First, Dennis has just turned in his thoughts on Cecile B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment, the 16th title in their Paramount Presents line. It sounds as if the remaster is a nice one, so do give it a look.

A quick disc update: FUNimation is now shipping out fixed replacement discs for their recent release of Akira in 4K Ultra HD. As some of you know, the original discs lacked the HDR option they were supposed to include. The new fixed discs correct this. My own replacement copy arrived a couple of days ago and I’m really pleased with the HDR grade overall, so I’m going to try to get a review of the fixed version up here at The Bits next week.

On a similar note, Amazon UK has just listed Speed for pre-order in 4K and naturally the cover artwork they’ve posted has caused still more confusion in that it correctly lists DTS-HD MA audio in the features grid on the back, but also (incorrectly) shows a Dolby Atmos logo. What’s more, there’s no mention of any special features. [Read on here...]

We’re picking things up here at The Bits today with more new disc reviews...

I’ve recently posted my thoughts on Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) in 4K from Warner Bros., Pete Docter’s Soul in 4K from Pixar, Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs in Blu-ray and 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and Paul Greengrass’ News of the World in 4K from Universal.

Meanwhile, Tim has just posted a look at Alex de la Iglesia’s The Day of the Beast (1995) in 4K from Severin Films.

And Dennis has turned in his review of George Sidney’s Show Boat (1951) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially set Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/4 (SRP $35.99 and $28.98), with the Digital release expected on 4/27, and PVOD available on 4/2. Extras on the disc-based versions will include 2 featurettes (Fred Hampton for the People and Unexpected Betrayal). [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a brief update for you this morning here at The Bits, but it’s an important one.

In the wake of Disney’s announcement Wednesday of their plans to release Jan de Bont’s Speed (1994) in 4K Ultra HD on 5/4, which is a 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) catalog title, there have been a number of questions raised.

The official press release seemed to indicate that the Digital version of the film in 4K would include object-based Dolby Atmos audio, but the actual physical 4K Ultra HD disc would not.

There have also been rumors that the title would not include HDR, or that the studio would only include HDR on the Digital release.

As you can imagine, I decided to cut through the confusion to ask the studio about this directly. I’ve now heard back, so here are the official confirmed details on this release… [Read on here...]

We have some good breaking release news to cover today here at The Bits. First though, we’ve got more new disc reviews for you...

Tim has given Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me (1971) a look, as recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And I’ve just posted my thoughts on Andrew Niccol’s neo-noir, science fiction classic GATTACA (1997), which is coming next week on 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film looks and sounds every bit as good as you’d hope, so don’t miss it.

Now then, the big news today is that Disney has officially confirmed the much-anticipated 4K Ultra HD release of director Jan de Bont’s Speed (1994) on 5/4. Mastered from a recent 4K scan, the disc will include a new Dolby Atmos sound mix along with high dynamic range in HDR10 format. [Editor’s Note: Disney’s press materials now suggest that only the Digital 4K will have Atmos. We’ve asked the studio for official confirmation and will post an update here when we hear back.]

Perhaps most interestingly, it appears that at least some of the extras from Fox’s 2002 Five Star Collection DVD are being carried over—many of these were omitted from the previous Fox Blu-ray release. [Read on here...]

• 1101      Uncut Gems
• 1102      Devi
• 1103      Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films
• 1104      Citizen Kane (4K)
• 1105      Menace II Society
• 1106      One Night in Miami
• 1107      The Learning Tree
• 1108      The Celebration
• 1109      Time
• 1110      The Piano
• 1111      Dick Johnson Is Dead
• 1112      Miller’s Crossing
• 1113      Boat People
• 1114      Love Affair
• 1115      Adoption
• 1116      The Flight of the Phoenix (4K)
• 1117      Love Jones
• 1118      The Last Waltz
• 1119      Miracle in Milan
• 1120      The Girl Can’t Help It
• 1121      Eyimofe (This Is My Desire)
• 1122      ‘Round Midnight
• 1123      Mr. Klein
• 1124      Chan Is Missing
• 1125      The Funeral
• 1126      Double Indemnity
• 1127      Mississippi Masala
• 1128      Farewell Amor
• 1129      Rouge
• 1130      Shaft
• 1131      Pink Flamingos (BD)
• 1132      The Worst Person in the World
• 1133      Okja
• 1134      Raging Bull
• 1135      Devil in a Blue Dress
• 1136      Drive My Car
• 1137      Frownland
• 1138      Daddy Longlegs (BD)
• 1139      Hôtel du Nord
• 1140      Buck and the Preacher
• 1141      Faya dayi
• 1142      Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4 (Box set)
• 1143      Sambizanga (World Cinema Project No. 4)
• 1144      Prisioneros de la tierra (World Cinema Project No. 4)
• 1145      Chess of the Wind (World Cinema Project No. 4)
• 1146      Muna moto (World Cinema Project No. 4)
• 1147      Two Girls on the Street (World Cinema Project No. 4)
• 1148      Kalpana (World Cinema Project No. 4)
• 1149      Take Out
• 1150      Exotica (BD)
• 1151      Sound of Metal
• 1152      Lost Highway (4K)
• 1153      Arsenic and Old Lace (BD)
• 1154      Eve’s Bayou
• 1155      Cure
• 1156      La Llorona
• 1157      Daisies
• 1158      The Power of the Dog
• 1159      The Infernal Affairs Trilogy (Infernal Affairs I-III)
• 1160      Malcolm X
• 1161      WALL•E (4K)
• 1162      Three Films by Mai Zetterling (Loving Couples, Night Games, The Girls)
• 1163      Michael Haneke: Trilogy (The Seventh Continent, Benny’s Video, 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance)
• 1164      The Velvet Underground (BD)
• 1165      Cooley High
• 1166      The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (4K)
• 1167      Imitation of Life (BD)
• 1168      Lars von Trier’s Europe Trilogy (The Element of Crime, Epidemic, Europa)
• 1169      This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
• 1170      Bergman Island
• 1171      Romeo and Juliet (1968)
• 1172      Two Films by Marguerite Duras
• 1173      Hollywood Shuffle (BD)
• 1174      Last Hurrah for Chivalry
• 1175      Inland Empire
• 1176      Chilly Scenes of Winter
• 1177      Small Axe: Five Films by Steve McQueen
• 1178      Triangle of Sadness
• 1179      Targets
• 1180      Thelma & Louise (BD) (4K)
• 1181      Petite maman
• 1182      The Servant
• 1183      Medicine for Melancholy
• 1184      The Watermelon Woman (BD)
• 1185      After Hours
• 1186      The Ranown Westerns: Five Films Directed by Budd Boetticher
• 1187      One False Move
• 1188      Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart
• 1189      Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
• 1190      Drylongso (BD)
• 1191      The Trial
• 1192      Moonage Daydream
• 1193      La Bamba
• 1194      Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers (Freaks, The Unknown, The Mystic) (BD)
• 1195      The Others
• 1196      Nanny
• 1197      Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar (box set)
• 1198      Mean Streets
• 1199      La cérémonie
• 1200      The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse (Bim the Little Donkey, White Mane, The Red Balloon, Stowaway in the Sky, Circus Angel)

• 1001      The Daytrippers
• 1002      Betty Blue
• 1003      All About Eve
• 1004      Now, Voyager (BD)
• 1005      Cold War
• 1006      The Story of Temple Drake
• 1007      Until the End of the World
• 1008      Old Joy
• 1009      Holiday (BD)
• 1010      Le petit soldat
• 1011      Fail Safe
• 1012      All About My Mother
• 1013      Teorema
• 1014      Roma
• 1015      Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman: Journey to the Beginning of Time
• 1016      Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman: Invention for Destruction
• 1017      Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman: The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
• 1018      Paris is Burning
• 1019      Bamboozled
• 1020      Leave Her to Heaven
• 1021      Show Boat
• 1022      The Prince of Tides
• 1023      The Cremator
• 1024      Destry Rides Again (BD)
• 1025      The Grand Budapest Hotel
• 1026      Me and You and Everyone We Know
• 1027      The Great Escape
• 1028      Dance, Girl, Dance (BD)
• 1029      Husbands
• 1030      Scorsese Shorts
• 1031      Wildlife
• 1032      An Unmarried Woman
• 1033      The Cameraman
• 1034      Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• 1035      Come and See
• 1036      Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits (box set)
• 1037      War of the Worlds (BD)
• 1038      Marriage Story
• 1039      Town Bloody Hall
• 1040      Toni
• 1041      The Comfort of Strangers
• 1042      Beau travail
• 1043      Christ Stopped at Eboli
• 1044      Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 3 (Box set)
• 1045      Lucía (World Cinema Project No. 3)
• 1046      After the Curfew (World Cinema Project No. 3)
• 1047      Pixote (World Cinema Project No. 3)
• 1048      Dos monjes (World Cinema Project No. 3)
• 1049      Soleil Ô (World Cinema Project No. 3)
• 1050      Downpour (World Cinema Project No. 3)
• 1051      The Elephant Man
• 1052      Claudine
• 1053      The Gunfighter
• 1054      Parasite
• 1055      Girlfriends
• 1056      Moonstruck (BD)
• 1057      Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
• 1058      The Irishman
• 1059      Crash
• 1060      Amores perros
• 1061      Minding the Gap
• 1062      Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
• 1063      The Ascent
• 1064      The Parallax View (BD)
• 1065      Mandabi
• 1066      Man Push Cart
• 1067      Chop Shop
• 1068      Smooth Talk
• 1069      Céline and Julie Go Boating
• 1070      Secrets & Lies
• 1071      Defending Your Life (BD)
• 1072      History Is Made at Night
• 1073      Memories of Murder
• 1074      Irma Vep
• 1075      Fast Times at Ridgemont High (BD)
• 1076      Merrily We Go to Hell (BD)
• 1077      Flowers of Shanghai
• 1078      Nightmare Alley
• 1079      Streetwise
• 1080      Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell
• 1081      Visions of Eight
• 1082      The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs
• 1083      Pariah
• 1084      Mirror
• 1085      Bringing Up Baby
• 1086      Deep Cover
• 1087      Working Girls
• 1088      La piscine
• 1089      After Life
• 1090      Original Cast Album: “Company”
• 1091      Beasts of No Nation
• 1092      Throw Down
• 1093      The Story of a Three Day Pass (Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films box)
• 1094      Watermelon Man (Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films box)
• 1095      Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films box)
• 1096      Don’t Play Us Cheap (Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films box)
• 1097      Love & Basketball
• 1098      The Damned
• 1099      High Sierra
• 1100      The Incredible Shrinking Man (BD)

• 901      The Philadelphia Story
• 902      Desert Hearts
• 903      Jabberwocky (BD)
• 904      Election
• 905      The Breakfast Club (BD)
• 906      I, Daniel Blake
• 907      Westfront 1918
• 908      Kameradschaft
• 909      Night of the Living Dead (BD) (4K)
• 910      Tom Jones
• 911      The Hero
• 912      An Actor’s Revenge
• 913      The Age of Innocence
• 914      Baal
• 915      King of Jazz
• 916      Women in Love
• 917      The Awful Truth
• 918      The Color of Pomegranates
• 919      Dead Man
• 920      The Virgin Suicides
• 921      Moonrise
• 922      The Other Side of Hope
• 923      Beyond the Hills
• 924      Graduation
• 925      Midnight Cowboy
• 926      Manila in the Claws of Light
• 927      El Sur
• 928      Bowling for Columbine
• 929      Female Trouble
• 930      Dietrich & Von Sternberg in Hollywood (box set)
• 931      Morocco (Dietrich box)
• 932      Dishonored (Dietrich box)
• 933      Shanghai Express (Dietrich box)
• 934      Blonde Venus (Dietrich box)
• 935      The Devil Is a Woman (Dietrich box)
• 936      Bull Durham
• 937      Dragon Inn
• 938      Sex, Lies, and Videotape
• 940      The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (BD)
• 941      Smithereens
• 942      The Tree of Life (BD)
• 943      Memories of Underdevelopment
• 944      Cold Water
• 945      A Raisin in the Sun (BD)
• 946      Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day
• 947      Shampoo
• 948      The Princess Bride
• 949      A Story from Chikamatsu
• 950      Some Like It Hot
• 951      True Stories
• 952      The Magnificent Ambersons
• 953      A Dry White Season
• 954      Forty Guns
• 955      Panique
• 956      24 Frames
• 957      Mikey and Nicky
• 958      4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
• 959      In the Heat of the Night
• 960      La vérité
• 961      Shame
• 962      Death in Venice
• 963      To Sleep with Anger
• 964      The Kid Brother (BD)
• 965      Wanda
• 966      Detour
• 967      I Wanna Hold Your Hand (BD)
• 968      Japón
• 969      Diamonds of the Night
• 970      A Face in the Crowd
• 971      Police Story
• 972      Police Story 2
• 973      My Brilliant Career
• 974      The Heiress
• 975      Funny Games (BD)
• 976      Let the Sunshine In
• 977      Blue Velvet
• 978      One Sings, the Other Doesn’t
• 979      Swing Time (BD)
• 980      La vie de Jésus
• 981      L’humanité
• 982      Hedwig and the Angry Inch
• 983      War and Peace (BD)
• 984      1984 (BD)
• 985      Europa, Europa
• 986      The Baker’s Wife
• 987      Klute
• 988      The Inland Sea
• 989      The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
• 990      The Koker Trilogy: Where Is the Friend’s House?
• 991      The Koker Trilogy: And Life Goes On
• 992      The Koker Trilogy: Through the Olive Trees
• 993      The Cloud-Capped Star
• 994      Local Hero
• 995      Polyester (BD)
• 996      The Circus
• 997      Cluny Brown
• 998      When We Were Kings
• 999      Matewan
• 1000      Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975

• 801      I Knew Her Well
• 802      Paris Belongs to Us
• 803      The Manchurian Candidate
• 804      A Brighter Summer Day
• 805      Leon Russell: A Poem Is a Naked Person
• 806      Only Angels Have Wings
• 807      Barcelona
• 808      The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates
• 809      Phoenix
• 810      In a Lonely Place
• 811      The Naked Island
• 812      The Player
• 813      Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy
• 814      Alice in the Cities (Wim Wenders box)
• 815      Wrong Move (Wim Wenders box)
• 816      Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders box)
• 817      Le amiche
• 818      La chienne
• 819      Here Comes Mr. Jordan
• 820      Fantastic Planet (BD)
• 821      Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (BD)
• 822      Clouds of Sils Maria
• 823      The In-Laws (BD)
• 824      Muriel, or The Time of Return
• 825      A Touch of Zen
• 826      The New World
• 827      McCabe & Mrs. Miller (BD)
• 828      Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
• 829      A Taste of Honey
• 830      Chimes at Midnight
• 831      The Immortal Story
• 832      The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum
• 833      Cat People (1942) (BD)
• 834      Blood Simple
• 835      Valley of the Dolls
• 836      Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
• 837      Dekalog
• 838      Pan’s Labyrinth
• 839      Boyhood
• 840      The Executioner
• 841      Lone Wolf and Cub
• 842      Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (BD) (4K)
• 843      Punch-Drunk Love
• 844      One-Eyed Jacks (BD)
• 845      The Squid and the Whale
• 846      Heart of a Dog
• 847      The Asphalt Jungle
• 848      Roma
• 849      His Girl Friday
• 850      Something Wild
• 851      Fox and His Friends
• 852      Black Girl
• 853      Cameraperson
• 854      The Tree of Wooden Clogs (originally announced as 841 but delayed)
• 855      Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• 856      The Before Trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight)
• 857      Before Sunrise (The Before Trilogy)
• 858      Before Sunset (The Before Trilogy)
• 859      Before Midnight (The Before Trilogy)
• 860      Mildred Pierce
• 861      45 Years
• 862      Canoa: A Shameful Memory
• 863      Multiple Maniacs (BD)
• 864      Being There
• 865      Blow-Up (BD)
• 866      Buena Vista Social Club
• 867      Woman of the Year
• 868      Tampopo
• 869      Rumble Fish
• 870      Othello
• 871      Dheepan
• 872      Ghost World
• 873      Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2 (box set)
• 874      Insiang (World Cinema Project No. 2)
• 875      Mysterious Object at Noon (World Cinema Project No. 2)
• 876      Revenge (World Cinema Project No. 2)
• 877      Limite (World Cinema Project No. 2)
• 878      Law of the Border (World Cinema Project No. 2)
• 879      Taipei Story (World Cinema Project No. 2)
• 880      They Live By Night
• 881      Marcel Pagnol's Marseille Trilogy
• 882      Marius (Marseille Trilogy)
• 883      Fanny (Marseille Trilogy)
• 884      César (Marseille Trilogy)
• 885      The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (BD)
• 886      L'argent
• 887      Lost in America
• 888      Stalker
• 889      The Breaking Point
• 890      Meantime
• 891      La Poison
• 892      Festival
• 893      Certain Women
• 894      The Piano Teacher
• 895      David Lynch: The Art Life
• 896      The Lure
• 897      Barry Lyndon (BD)
• 898      Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (BD)
• 899      Personal Shopper
• 900      100 Years of Olympic Films