Items filtered by date: October 2014

All right, this is probably going to be our last post for the week, giving the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States, though we may come back and let you know of any particularly good Black Friday-related Blu-ray and DVD deals as they pop up. Be sure to check our Facebook page for the latest on that score.

But before we go, we have some good stuff for you here at The Bits today…

First of all, our own Michael Coate has just posted a lengthy new History, Legacy & Showmanship column celebrating the 25th anniversary of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! He’s got release trivia, a list of initial 70mm screenings, and new interviews with film historians and authors Scott Higgins, Eric Lichtenfeld, Joseph McBride and Jonathan Rinzler. Don’t miss it!   [Read on here…]

“There was no way for Spielberg to top himself, and perhaps it is just as well that Last Crusade will indeed be Indy's last film. It would be too sad to see the series grow old and thin, like the James Bond movies.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the silver anniversary of the release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, George Lucas & Steven Spielberg’s third entry in the popular Indiana Jones movie series starring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite archaeologist-adventurer.

The Bits celebrates the occasion with this retrospective featuring a compilation of box-office data that places the movie’s performance in context, quotes from well-known movie critics, production and exhibition information, and a list of the 70-millimeter “showcase” presentations.

The article also features an interview segment with a quartet of film historians (found on Page 2), who discuss the attributes of the movie and whether or not it has endured. [Read on here…]

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Well… there’s not much happening in the home video industry for the rest of this week it appears. With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, the studios seem to have shut down for the rest of the week.

We do have a couple quick things for you today…

First, Doogan has his weekly Queue for you – Thanksgiving edition. So be sure to check that out.  [Read on here…]

Happy Turkey Week my fellow Americans. For those of you in other parts of the world who have no idea and question my sanity; this Thursday a whole bunch of us will be sitting down with our gathered family members to eat a turkey, mashed potatoes and good ol’ American can-shaped jellied cranberry to celebrate ... something. I try and stay out of the politics of holidays when food is involved. In my world, it’s all about family. And the Dallas Cowboy and Detroit Lions football games. Did I mention we watch football games too. No? We do that as well. I don’t know why.

Anyway, in honor of this occasion, here’s a list of good Thanksgiving movies. In no particular order – thus, alphabetized.  [Read on here…]

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All right, this is just a quick update to let you know that Amazon.com has just listed for pre-order TWO different SKUs of the classic Battlestar Galactica TV series on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, each with a street date of 5/12/15.  [Read on here…]

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All right, we have details for you on the extras you’ll find on Disney’s forthcoming Studio Ghibli titles, due on 2/3/15. Pom Poko will include original Japanese storyboards and trailers. Porco Rosso will include original Japanese storyboards and a trailer, an interview with Toshio Suzuki, and a Behind the Microphone featurette. Finally, Tales from Earthsea will include original Japanese storyboards, trailers, and TV spots, and 2 featurettes (Birth of the Film Soundtrack and Origins of Earthsea). I should note that I’ve also informed Disney of the problem with the subtitles on the recent Princess Mononoke Blu-ray (and that they should check to make sure a similar screw-up doesn’t happen on these three new titles). When and if they get back to me with word on what they plan to do about Mononoke, I’ll let you know.  [Read on here…]

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We’re closing out the week with a few more new announcements.

First though, Amazon is having Gold Box Deal of the Day sales on three HBO box sets on Blu-ray: Entourage: The Complete Series, Deadwood: The Complete Series, and Treme: The Complete Series. Each is at least 50% off today only so be sure to take advantage if you’re interested. We’ll try to alert you to good deals like those over the next week or so as we head into “Black Friday Week”. Might as well get a few bargains if you’re in the market, yes?  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

We’ve got a bunch of announcement news for you today...

First of all, it looks like Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has given David Ayer’s WWII tank film, Fury, a street date – look for it on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/27. We’ll post more details when they’re available.

It seems that Sony has also set the post-rapture/faith-based thriller The Remaining for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/27.

Disney has announced Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for Blu-ray Combo and DVD release on 2/10, followed by Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/3.  [Read on here…]

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All right, we’ve got a trio of Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy today...

The first is Tim’s take on Criterion’s recent Blu-ray release of Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tennenbaums. The other two are upgraded versions of two reviews I wrote for the old Bits website: My take on James Cameron’s Avatar from back in 2010 – both the Theatrical Edition and the Extended Collector’s Edition. Enjoy!  [Read on here…]

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We’ve got a few things for you today here at The Bits, so let’s get to it.

First, Doogan and I have reviewed a pair of new Blu-rays from Disney featuring animated films by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Todd’s taken a look at a favorite of his, Princess Mononoke, which is a classic from 1997. Unfortunately, Disney has made a major error on the disc’s English subtitles that they really need to correct. See the review for details. Meanwhile, I’ve reviewed Miyazaki’s latest effort from 2013, The Wind Rises, which fares better on disc quality-wise. It’s a fascinating film, with much more complex and mature than Miyazaki’s previous works. Plus, it’s beautiful, hand-drawn animation in HD – you should definitely check it out.  [Read on here…]