Displaying items by tag: MGM

We start as always today with several new disc reviews, including…

Sam Cohen’s take on Poul Bang and Sidney W. Pink’s Reptilicus (1961) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stuart’s look at Something Weird Video and Kino Classic’s double-feature Blu-ray of The Pace that Kills (1928) and its “talkie” remake The Cocaine Fiends (1935).

Dennis’ reviews of Clarence Brown’s Idiot’s Delight (1939) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and Chad Ferrin’s Night Caller (2021) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stephen’s thoughts on Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

And last but definitely not least, Tim’s review of Arrow Video’s new UK-only release of Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in 4K Ultra HD, which corrects the color space issues that plagued the Kino Lorber Studio Classics 4K disc from 2021.

More reviews are forthcoming tomorrow, so be sure to watch for them!

Now then, the big news today is that Franklin J. Schaffner’s Planet of the Apes (1968) has just been upgraded to 4K on all your favorite Digital services, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Movies Anywhere, Kaleidescape and more! It actually has Dolby Vision HDR on Apple TV (and it may elsewhere as well). Naturally, we’ve asked about the possibility of a physical 4K release of this film. I suspect there are no current plans, but I also suspect that if the title does well on Digital, that could change. [Read on here...]

We’re starting Tuesday off here at The Bits with three new disc reviews for all of you to enjoy, including...

Dennis’ look at Arkasha Stevenson’s The First Omen (2024) on Blu-ray from 20th Century Studios.

Stuart’s thoughts on Teruo Ishii’s Prison Walls: Abashiri Prison I-III (1965) on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment.

And Stephen’s take on Don Seigel’s original sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed a few more great new catalog releases, including Sidney Lumet’s Garbo Talks (1984) and Claude Autant-Lara’s Enough Rope (1963) on Blu-ray on 10/15, followed by William Friedkin’s Rules of Engagement (2000) and Peter Collinson’s Fright (1971) on 4K Ultra HD, as well as Carlo Carlei’s Fluke (1995) and Andre Gower’s Wolfman’s Got Nards (2018) on Blu-ray on 10/22. And coming soon to 4K Ultra HD from the company is Roy Ward Baker’s Scars of Dracula (1970), while coming soon to Blu-ray is the Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXV box set which features John H. Auer’s The Flame (1947), City That Never Sleeps (1953), and Hell’s Half Acre (1954). [Read on here...]

We’ve got a big new disc review for you all today here at The Bits, and it’s a title that a lot of you have been waiting for: My look at Tony Gilroy’s Andor: The Complete First Season (2023) in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lucasfilm and Disney! All the details are in the review, but suffice it to say that the release absolutely does not disappoint. The video quality is stunning.

We’ve also got a bunch of recent reviews that our staffers have shared over the last few days that I need to round up here for you guys, including...

Stephen’s reviews of Sergio Martino’s The Great Alligator (1979) in 4K Ultra HD from Severin Films, Rod Lurie’s The Last Castle (2001) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, John Ford’s 3 Godfathers (1948) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, and Walter Hill’s The Long Riders (1980) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Tim’s reviews of Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case (1982) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, Michael Laughlin’s Strange Invaders (1983) on Blu-ray from Imprint, and Hanna-Barbera’s animated Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And finally, Dennis’ review of Nancy Savoca’s Dogfight (1991) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

Meanwhile, we have a couple or housekeeping items to report here at The Bits today... [Read on here...]

We have a new disc review for all of you to enjoy today here at The Bits...

Our own Tim Salmons has just weighed in on the Warner Archive Collection’s Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice – Volume 1 Blu-ray, which includes 20 classic animated shorts from 1945 to 1959, among them some real rarities. Tim will be reviewing Volume 2 and Volume 3 on Blu-ray soon as well, so watch for those to follow in the coming days.

We’ve also updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits today with some new titles and Amazon.com pre-order links, so you’ll definitely want to check that out here.

And over on our Patreon page today, I’ve shared a feature entitled Steelbooks (And Why Hollywood Loves Them)! that looks back at the origins and history of Steelbook packaging, and why it’s become so popular with both the Hollywood studios and retailers. This post is free and open to everyone for a couple of reasons.

First, we want to give you all a taste of the kinds of content we’re creating exclusively for our paying supporters on Patreon. And second, we’re going to be running a poll on our Patreon page on behalf of a major Hollywood studio that wants your opinion on a Steelbook project they’re considering. That will appear in the next couple days there and it too will be free and available to all. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers and welcome to the new week and, of course, Halloween Eve!

We’ve got a little bit of ground to cover here today, but first I wanted to personally thank all those of you who have signed up to support The Digital Bits via Patreon. Since we first launched our Patreon five days ago, we’re up to 77 backers (and 104 members total), and we really appreciate your support. It means a lot, and it will make a real difference here, let me tell you.

Already, I’ve decided on a couple things: I’m making regular (almost daily) blog posts exclusively for our Patreon supporters that are a little different than the kind of thing I post here and on our social media. For example... my first-take thoughts on things I’m hearing from sources (release news, industry developments, and the like), first impressions on new review discs that I’ve had the chance to look at (before I publish the full in-depth reviews here on the site), and other odds and ends—the kinds of things that offer you a essentially a more personal and candid look behind the scenes here at The Bits. I’m also making the occasional public post for all members there, with information that’s relevant to all our readers—the kind of thing I’m going to share here in a minute today (disc replacement news, a PS5 firmware update of relevance to disc fans, the occasional piece of significant breaking news). And we’ll add more Patreon-exclusive features over time as we get used working there, learning what kinds of perks are possible, and what we can do without dramatically increasing our workload.

Anyway, just know that we really, really appreciate those of you who are willing to support our work with your hard-earned money. Thanks to all 77 paying backers (here’s to reaching 100!) and thanks to all of you who are following us there.

Now then... I’m going to be spending the rest of my day working on a review of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in 4K UHD for posting here hopefully tomorrow. But first, there’s some important breaking news... [Read on here...]

Welcome to the first week of April, everyone!

As you might expect, over the weekend we’ve posted several more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy, including...

My reviews of Jonathan Frakes’ Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Stuart Baird’s Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount. That completes my look at all four of the newly-remastered Star Trek: The Next Generation feature films in 4K.

Stuart’s thoughts on Clarence Brown’s Wife vs. Secretary (1936) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and Milton Moses Ginsberg’s The Werewolf of Washington (1973) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

And last but certainly not least, Stephen’s in-depth review of Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi’s original classic animated Cinderella (1950) in 4K Ultra HD from Disney, currently available from the Disney Movie Club, but coming widely later this year.

Key note about Cinderella—it looks like Disney’s actually done this one right, with a stunning 4K remaster that respects the film’s original photochemical production by leaving its line-work, fine detail, and grain structure fully intact! This really bodes well for future 4K animated titles from the studio, and one certainly hopes that all of these original animated classics will be revisited on the format going forward. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bunch more great announcement news for you this afternoon, along with new disc reviews as always. So let’s start with the latter first...

Stuart has posted his take on Paolo Heusch and Brunello Rondi’s A Violent Life (1962) on Blu-ray from Raro Video.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond (1986) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Tim has gone way down the rabbit hole with Turbine Media’s fantastic new Knight Rider: The Complete Series – 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray box set, a whopping 23-disc release that includes all four seasons of the original Knight Rider with (for the first time ever on home video) all of the original music re-instated. You also get Knight Rider 2000, Knight Rider 2010, and Team Knight Rider: The Complete Series, as well as a bonus disc with legacy extras and new material. This is truly the ultimate collection for fans of the film, and the best part is that it’s an ALL-REGION release. But it’s only available directly from Turbine’s online shop, so act fast if you want it. And don’t miss Tim’s review!

Now then, the big announcement news today is something I’ve personally been lobbying the studio for behind the scenes for well over a decade. And I am absolutely thrilled to see that it’s finally happened: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 for Blu-ray and Digital HD release on 5/16! [Read on here...]

We have some major release news to report today, but first we’ve got more new disc reviews...

Stephen has delivered his thoughts on Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Factory. As fans will no doubt already know, this one is a real cult cinema gem, and it sounds like the 4K release is pretty fantastic, including terrific video and audio quality, as well as a great new feature-length documentary on the making of the film by Daniel Griffith’s Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. Don’t miss it.

Also today, Tim has reviewed another film from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume One Blu-ray boxed set, specifically Chang Cheh’s Shaolin Temple (1976) (aka Death Chamber).

Stuart has taken a look at Anthony Mann’s El Cid (1961) which is now available in a new Japanese-import Blu-ray release from Happinet.

And finally, Dennis has offered his take on Julien Duvivier’s Flesh and Fantasy (1943) on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome.

As always, more reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to keep on the lookout for them.

Now then, the big release news today is big indeed: Disney and 20th Century Studios have just officially announced the 4K Digital release of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water on 3/28. This will include Dolby Atmos audio and over three hours worth of bonus features (more on that in a minute). Studio sources have also reached out to us to confirm that the physical Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release is forthcoming and will be announced at a later date. It simply appears that the studio intends to squeeze every possible dime out of this film at every level of distribution. [Read on here...]

We’re tracking a bunch of things today here at The Bits, so let me just give you a quick rundown.

First of all, Shudder and RLJE Films have set Rebekah McKendry’s Glorious for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/14.

For you UK readers, Eureka is releasing a new Masters of Cinema Blu-ray edition on May 22nd... Andrzej Żuławski: Three Films. Żuławski was a Polish filmmaker with a reputation as maverick. The three titles will include his debut film, The Third Part of the Night (1971), The Devil (1972), which was banned for 16 years in Poland, and the unfinished science fiction On the Silver Globe (1988), which the Polish government actually ordered destroyed, but the negatives survived and the film finally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988. Having all three of these preserved and released on Blu-ray is a minor miracle, so this should be a fantastic box set.

Meanwhile, 88 Films has revealed three more Italian deep catalog 4K Ultra HD titles for release in the months ahead, including Antonio Margheriti’s The Ark of the Sun God (1984) on 3/10, followed by Andrea Bianchi’s Burial Ground (1981) on 5/29, and Marino Girolami’s Zombie Holocaust (1980) on 6/26. [Read on here...]

We’ve got no less than four new disc reviews for you today, starting with...

Stephen’s looks at Valerio Zurlini’s Le Soldatesse (1965) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and Raro Video, Robert Siodmak’s The Devil Strikes at Night (1957) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics, and Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield: 15th Anniversary Limited Edition in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Paramount.

And our old friend Dr. Adam Jahnke and yours truly have taken a look at John Sturges’ classic Western, The Magnificent Seven (1960), coming soon on 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Factory.

Be sure to watch for more new disc reviews over the coming days.

Now then, it seems to be a rather slow day in terms of title announcements and new disc release news, but we do have one interesting item for you... [Read on here...]