Items filtered by date: April 2014

[Editor’s Note: The section of text below regarding The Alamo has been updated on 5/31 to reflect important corrected information. Please give it another read to ensure that you have the most accurate/updated info.]

We’re closing out the week here at The Bits today with some big announcement news for you Marvel Universe fans, as well as an update on the situation with The Alamo.

But first, our own Bud Elder has turned in a new View from the Cheap Seats column in which he talks about location scouting in his native Oklahoma and takes a look at a great new book on John Wayne. He also spotlights some of the better recent classic film releases on disc from Olive, Twilight and more. By the way, you can listen to quick movie reviews from Bud on 104.5 KRXO radio in Oklahoma City. So don’t miss the column and be sure to give Bud’s Movie Minute a listen on the radio and online. [Read on here…]

For a long time, I had the honor of serving the people of Oklahoma as their state film commissioner. I took the job only because we hadn’t created yet the position of “Lord High Minister of Culture.” To know the movie business was but a small component of the being the liaison with Hollywood – the job was for the most part about locations, locations, locations and I knew every bright golden haze on every Sooner state meadow and every field of corn as high as an elephant’s eye. [Read on here...]

All right, just a couple things for you today…

First up here at The Bits this afternoon, the good Doctor Jahnke has turned in his weekly An Honor to Be Nominated installment of Jahnke’s Electric Theatre, this time looking back at the release of Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic. Enjoy!

In announcement news today, Scream Factory has just confirmed the Blu-ray Combo release of The Legend of Hell House on 8/26. Extras will include a new interview with director John Hough, a new audio commentary with actress Pamela Franklin, and the theatrical trailer. [Read on here…]

(If it can be difficult to remember who won the Academy Award for Best Picture, it’s downright mindbending trying to remember everything else it was up against. In An Honor To Be Nominated, I’ll be taking a look back at some of the movies the Oscar didn’t go to and trying to determine if they were robbed, if the Academy got it right, or if they should ever have been nominated in the first place.) [Read on here...]

So... you might recall that last week I had dinner with film restoration expert (and former Bits contributor) Robert A. Harris and some other friends. (You can find a complete archive of his work on the original Digital Bits website here.) Robert, as it happens, is in town working on another fine classic film restoration project which will be announced in due course. But during our conversation last week, Robert alerted us to the fact that another beloved classic film is not faring nearly so well. That film, as you might already suspect, is The Alamo (1960), directed by and starring the legendary John Wayne. [Read on here…]

Afternoon, folks! Hope you all enjoyed your long holiday weekend here in the States. Or, for the rest of you, that you had a decent Monday as such things go. Release news is a little slow today, given the long weekend, but we do have a couple things for you today.

First, as we suggested would happen back in March, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set the excellent Jodorowsky’s Dune documentary for Blu-ray Combo release on 7/8. The only extra to expect will be deleted scenes. Regardless, this one is totally worth your time if you’re a fan of 70-80 cinema, science fiction, and or the work of director Alejandro Jodorowsky. Trust us, it’s a little gem. [Read on here…]

I thought this week’s column was going to be short and sweet, thanks to the Memorial Day holiday. That is, until I learned that Universal had reactivated their stealth MOD program and released no less than 20 new titles. Plus, we’ve got new stuff from Warner and 20th Century Fox, so get comfy. And if something catches your eye, don’t forget to click on the banners below, buy nifty discs and help support The Bits, all of which we appreciate very much. So thanks in advance! [Read on here...]

“This picture is not called The Temple of Roses; it is called The Temple of Doom. The warning is clearly marked on the box.” — Steven Spielberg

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the follow-up to the incredibly popular Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The Bits celebrates the occasion with this retrospective column. It features some quotes from movie critics, some trivia on the film, an interview segment (featuring film historians Scott Higgins and Eric Lichtenfeld), a list of the movie’s premium-format (70mm) presentations, and a compilation of box-office data that places the movie’s performance in context. [Read on here…]

This being the start of the long Memorial Day weekend here in the States, today is about as slow (release news-wise) as they get. BUT…

…we do have couple of cool things for you this afternoon!

First, today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom into theaters, so our very own Michael Coate has chosen to mark the occasion with a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column on the subject. Don’t miss it! [Read on here…]

We’ve got some announcement news odds and ends to report for you today, but first our own Tim Salmons has turned in a review of Scream Factory’s new Nosferatu the Vampyre Blu-ray – the 1979 remake by Werner Herzog. The film and disc are definitely worthy of your time, so be sure to check it out. [Read on here...]