Displaying items by tag: Lionsgate

We’ve got a few interesting things to tell you about today here at The Bits...

First though, an update: We’re continuing to work on more Blu-ray and 4K reviews here. But poor Tim, our reviews editor, has been out of commission these last few days—he lives down in Texas in ground zero of all the not having power, water, or heat due to this big winter freeze. The good news is, he’s back online today, a few burst water pipes worse for wear. So he’ll be checking in again with reviews and on social media over the next few days.

Meanwhile, we have some release news to report this afternoon, beginning with this: Shout! Factory is releasing Ping Zhang’s animated feature film The Legend of Hei on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/11. A Digital release is expected on 4/20.

Corinth Films is releasing Little England on DVD and Digital on 3/16.

Capelight Films will release Fukushima 50 on Digital and VOD on 3/5. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a couple new disc reviews to start the proceedings here at The Bits today...

I’ve taken a look at the first season of HBO’s new His Dark Materials series on Blu-ray, which is pretty good. Fans of the Philip Pullman books will be pleased to know that this is a solid adaptation. I just wish HBO would release the series in 4K, because the film was shot natively in 4.5K and 6K and finished in 4K, so it should look tremendous. Anyway, the Blu-ray release is solid enough (and Season Two starts in November).

Also, I’ve reviewed Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element as newly released in 4K by StudioCanal in the UK. And here’s the thing: Though the disc has no extras (and its remastered Blu-ray is Region B locked), StudioCanal’s 4K features a new and better encode than the previous Sony Ultra HD release, with much higher data rates, and Dolby Vision HDR. It’s a notable improvement in image quality. So serious fans of the film may want to consider it. Click here for all the details. [Read on here...]

We’re starting today with another new disc review...

Dennis has taken a look at Elliot Nugent’s The Cat and the Canary (1939), starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film is now available.

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has just officially set Schitt’s Creek: The Complete Collection for release on DVD only on 11/10, hot off the series’ recent Emmy Awards sweep. The set includes all 6 seasons of the series, along with deleted scenes, bloopers, Inside Schitt’s Creek and Behind the Episode segments, additional featurettes, and the A Schitt’s Creek Farewell documentary. I know what you’re all going to ask: No, there is unfortunately no word of a Blu-ray release at this time. In any case, you can see the DVD cover artwork above left. [Read on here...]

We’ve got another quick update for you as we work on new disc reviews today. Speaking of which...

I’ve just posted my in-depth thoughts on GKids and Shout! Factory’s new Blu-ray release of Hayao Miyazaki’s 2013 animated masterpiece The Wind Rises. It streets on 9/22, and like all of these new GKids/Shout! Studio Ghibli Blu-ray reissues, it’s absolutely the definitive release of the film on disc for fans in the US. Don’t miss it.

My review of Bill & Ted 4K is up next, and over the weekend I’ll be looking at Goonies and Beetlejuice 4K as well. Tim and Dennis are hard at work on reviews too. So be sure to watch for those.

Now then... the big 4K announcement news today is that StudioCanal has officially set the 4K Ultra HD release of Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall: 30th Anniversary Edition in the UK for 23 November. The 16-bit 4K scan and remaster was done from the original camera negative, with color grading in HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR. [Read on here...]

All right, today’s post is going to be a quick one and for a good reason: Today, my wife and I celebrate our 30th anniversary. But know that I have a number new of Blu-ray and 4K reviews cooking that I’ll start posting this week.

We also have a review from Dennis today of Guy Hamilton’s 1980 film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. As some of you may know, Guy Hamilton was also the director of the Bond film Goldfinger. You can find Dennis’ thoughts here.

Now then, we have a couple of good pieces of announcement news today...

Lionsgate has set Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass for release on 4K Ultra HD in Steelbook on 11/3. This is the same disc released on the format earlier, just in the new packaging. Extras include 2 featurettes (A New Kind of Superhero: The Making of Kick-Ass and It’s On! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass), audio commentary by director Matthew Vaughn, a Marketing Archive, and (on the Blu-ray only) The Art of Kick-Ass Gallery. Look for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio on the UHD. SRP is just $24.99. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a new 4K Ultra HD announcement today, but first some more disc reviews...

Tim has turned in his thoughts on Harley Cokeliss’ Dream Demon: Director’s Cut (1998) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

And Dennis has taken a look at Francois Reichenbach’s documentary America as Seen by a Frenchman on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy.

Now then, the big release news today is that Lionsgate has just officially set Mamoru Oshii’s landmark 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell for release on 4K Ultra HD on 9/8 (SRP $19.29).

The 4K release will feature Dolby Vision HDR and new Dolby Atmos audio mixes in both Japanese and English (along with the previous Japanese 2.0 LPCM mix). The package will also include a Blu-ray version and a Digital copy code. The Blu-ray will carry over archival features including the Production Report and Digital Works featurettes and the theatrical trailer. [Read on here...]

We have a bit more 4K Ultra HD news for you today...

But first, another new disc review: Tim has given Calvin Floyd’s In Search of Dracula (1975) a review on Blu-ray Disc, from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film stars Christopher Lee.

Now then, that 4K news... Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash for release on 4K Ultra HD on 9/22 (SRP appears to be $30.99). Audio will be Dolby Atmos with HDR10 high dynamic range.

Extras will include audio commentary with writer/director Damien Chazelle and J.K. Simmons, An Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival with Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, and Damien Chazelle, Timekeepers: Famous Drummers Discuss Their Craft and Passion for Drumming, the Whiplash Original Short Film with optional commentary, a deleted scene, and the film’s theatrical trailer. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a quick update for you today, and then I’ll be back tomorrow with a long special feature piece here at The Bits.

First though, we’ve got a couple of disc reviews as follows:

Tim has just posted his thoughts on John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A.: Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

He’s also posted a review of Stephen Hopkins’ Judgment Night (1993) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has taken a look at Michael Curtiz’s Romance on the High Seas on Blu-ray, also from the Warner Archive Collection. [Read on here...]

All right, there’s not a whole lot going on today news-wise, so we’re busy working on new disc reviews.

But we did want to check in briefly with a new interesting odds and ends.

To start with, we have a sneak peek at temp cover artwork from our retail sources (in Europe in this case) for Universal’s Spartacus and Jaws on 4K Ultra HD, which are expected to street widely in June or July (street date TBA). You can see Jaws at left and both of them below. This should be close to final, but know that it’s not actually final until the studio officially announces the titles.

Also coming from Universal on 6/2 (only at Best Buy stores in the US) is a new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook version of Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. You also can see that below. [Read on here...]

We’re kicking off the new week with a pair of new disc reviews here at The Bits...

It starts with my thoughts on Rian Johnson’s fantastic ‘Whodunnit?’ Knives Out, which streets on 4K Ultra HD tomorrow from Lionsgate. Not only is it a great film, it’s one of the best special editions for a new-release film I’ve seen since The Last Jedi, with a terrific feature-length documentary by our old friend Cliff Stephenson. Don’t even hesitate—just buy the disc right now here and you won’t regret it.

I’ve also reviewed Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new Blu-ray edition of Guy Hamilton’s Force 10 from Navarone, the 1978 sequel to J Lee Thompson’s original The Guns of Navarone some 18 years in the making. The film stars Harrison Ford, Robert Shaw, and Carl Weathers. The disc streets on March 17th.

There’s not a lot in the way of release news today, but we’ve got a couple things to report... [Read on here...]