Displaying items by tag: David C Fein

Evening, folks!

Next week is going to be another big one here at The Digital Bits, as all three of the new James Cameron catalog titles—Aliens, The Abyss, And True Lies—drop in 4K Digital on Tuesday. And it’s very possible that they could start appearing on Digital services sooner, especially if you already own HD Digital copies (iTunes/AppleTV sometimes upgrades the files to 4K a little early). So I’ll be back on Tuesday to review them from an A/V standpoint, in anticipation of the disc releases arriving in March. And I’ll have more restoration details from Lightstorm as well, so be sure to check back next week.

In the meantime, we have a little big more announcement news today...

Imprint has just unveiled their February 2024 Blu-ray slate. They include Ingmar Bergman’s Face to Face (1976), Peter Yates’ The Dresser (1983), Bob Rafelson’s Mountains of the Moon (1990), Diane Kurys’ A Man in Love (1987), Gabriele Salvatores’ I’m Not Scared (2003), and Majid Majidi’s Children of Heaven (1997). Face to Face, Mountains of the Moon, and I’m Not Scared are all arriving on Blu-ray for the first time. All of these titles are limited to 1500 copies. Street date is 2/28/24 and you can pre-order them here on the Imprint webstore.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set Pat Rocco’s Drifter (1974) for Blu-ray release on 2/20/24 as the next title (#6) in its new Kino Cult label.

It looks very much like Paramount Home Entertainment will be releasing John Landis’ Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and a new Beverly Hills Cop 3-Movie Collection in 4K Ultra HD on 2/20 as well. [Read on here...]

First things first this afternoon: I posted a review here at The Bits yesterday of John Sturges’ 1969 spaceflight drama Marooned on all-region import Blu-ray from the good folks at Imprint Films. It’s definitely worth tracking down for fans.

And I’ll have more new reviews this week as well, including my take on Criterion’s For All Mankind in 4K, which will be posted here on The Bits tomorrow.

Now then, let’s get to the main event for today’s My Two Cents update...

Last night I had the privilege of attending the debut screening of Robert Wise’s 4K-remastered Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition at Paramount, some 21 years after attending the premiere of the 2001 DVD version in the same theater. And I’m thrilled to report that it’s absolutely spectacular. [Read on here...]

All right, folks... it’s finally official! Here’s Paramount’s full press release for the Star Trek title we’ve all been waiting for...

Fully Restored Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture Makes Its Long-Awaited Debut

The Definitive Vision of Director Robert Wise Debuts Exclusively on Paramount+ April 5, 2022, in Celebration of First Contact Day

Film Arrives on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in September with Extensive New Bonus Content

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – March 24, 2022 – Eagerly anticipated by Star Trek fans for over two decades, Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition will make its long-awaited debut exclusively on Paramount+ on April 5, 2022, in celebration of First Contact Day. [Read on here...]

“As soon as Indy stepped out of the shadows in that first scene and revealed himself to us with that badass confidence and intensity, I feel like in that moment, Harrison Ford truly became a movie star of the highest order.” – Charles de Lauzirika, producer/director of Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this multi-page retrospective article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Lucas & Spielberg action classic that introduced moviegoers to the globe-trotting adventures of Indiana Jones and spawned a franchise of sequels, prequels, games, and theme park attractions.

Raiders, featuring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite cinematic archaeologist, was the most successful movie of its year of release and for a period of time the third highest-grossing motion picture of all time. The Oscar-winning movie also starred Karen Allen as heroine Marion Ravenwood, Paul Freeman as archvillain Belloq, Ronald Lacey as villain Toht, John Rhys-Davies as sidekick Sallah, and Denholm Elliott as colleague Marcus Brody.

In 1999 the Library of Congress selected Raiders of the Lost Ark for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” and earlier this year, Raiders and the other movies in the series were released for the first time on 4K UHD (reviewed here). [Read on here...]

Heads-up, folks!

No sooner did I post here on The Bits about that Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection cover artwork leak, I got an email back from Paramount with a link to the official Star Trek website with this news:

“Paramount and Paramount+ are excited to announce that a full restoration of the Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture has been greenlit.”

From the website... [Read on here...]

Heads-up, folks. I’ll have another post later today – I’m back in the office after a day at Comic-Con to appear on the Inglorious Treksperts panel there – and we have some good news for you therefrom.

First up, the panel was great. Mark A. Altman, Daren Dochterman, Ashley Edward Miller, Rob Burnett and I a blast talking about Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a movie near and dear to each of us, which turns 40 this year.

The panel room at the Con was absolutely packed – a good full house – which was awesome to see. We showed rare clips related to the film, told interesting stories, and made a lot of people (including ourselves) laugh.

You will all be able to hear the panel for yourselves in the next few weeks, as it will be released as an official Inglorious Treksperts podcast (listen here or wherever your great podcasts are found). [Read on here...]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

Here at The Bits this afternoon, I’ve just turned in a new regular Blu-ray review of Disney’s The Finest Hours, which streets next Tuesday (5/24). It’s a better film that I expected, even if it’s still pretty standard for Disney live-action dramatic fare, but the disc itself is rather bare extras-wise. Anyway, do give it a look.  [Read on here…]

“Star Trek: The Motion Picture provided a unique experience, leaving some audience members, myself included, elated at the prospect, “The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.” — Robert Meyer Burnett

“I do feel very lucky to have been a kid while this amazing renaissance of fantasy filmmaking was going on.… Star Wars, then Close Encounters, then Superman, then Alien, then Star Trek: The Motion Picture… at least in terms of going to the movies, those are two-and-a-half years I wish I could experience again. It was a truly magical time.” — Mike Matessino  [Read more here...]