Displaying items by tag: Mill Creek Entertainment

Today’s update is a quick one, as my Internet provider is apparently upgrading their equipment here in Orange County, and I have a scheduled outage that could knock me offline at any minute. But we do have some very good release news to report for you all today...

But first, Tim has checked in with a look at Brian Trenchard-Smith’s DeathCheaters (1976) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.

And Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Clyde Bruckman, W. C. Fields, and Sam Hardy’s Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

We’ve also updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits, along with our Cover Artwork section that features new art for all kinds of upcoming Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD titles with Amazon links, organized by street date. Both of those sections can be used to order and pre-order titles from Amazon, all of which goes to support our work here at The Bits (and we appreciate it!).

Now then, the big news today is that Kino Lorber Studio Classics has confirmed that they’re working on a physical 4K Ultra HD release of the outstanding John Frankenheimer action thriller Ronin (1998), starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce. [Read on here...]

We’re starting things off today with Tim’s review of Lewis Teague’s Alligator (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory. It sounds like this is not only the best the film has ever looked and sounded, but it’s also one of Shout! and Scream’s best 4K releases to date. So do give it a look if you might be interested.

We’ve also just updated our Release Dates and Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Remember, any time you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them from one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.

I also wanted to address one other thing here on the site today: Some of you may have noticed that there were “roadblock” ads appearing on The Bits over the last few months. Ads that appeared when you clicked from the home page to other content—ads that you had to click away to continue reading. Rest assured, we’ve killed those and they will not be returning. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a new disc review today from Tim—actually a pair of reviews, but it’s essentially the same title in two different packaging SKUs—featuring his thoughts on John McTiernan’s Last Action Hero (1993) in 4K Ultra HD and 4K UHD Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Sounds like it’s a good release, so do give it a look.

Now then, the big news today is that Criterion has officially announced their September slate, which is set to include Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa (Blu-ray and DVD – Spine #107) on 9/14, Gina-Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball (Blu-ray and DVD – Spine #1097) and Johnnie To’s Throw Down (Blu-ray and DVD – Spine #1092) on 9/21, and Luchino Visconti’s The Damned (Blu-ray and DVD – Spine #1098) and Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films (Blu-ray only, includes The Story of a Three Day Pass – Spine #1093, Watermelon Man – Spine #1094, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song – Spine #1095, and Don’t Play Us Cheap – Spine #1096) on 9/28. You can see the cover artwork for Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films at left and also below the break. Click here for all the A/V and extras details on the Criterion website.

We’ve updated our Criterion Spines Project pages here on The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the new week off today with a bunch of new disc reviews. I’ve gone on a 4K Ultra HD review spree over the last week, and have completed and posted my looks at the following titles:

Jan de Bont’s Speed in 4K from 20th Century Studios and Disney, which streets tomorrow.

Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland in 4K, a German import disc that came out earlier this year from Tobis Film and LEONINE Distribution. (It’s worth importing if you like the film, as Universal and STX seem to have no plans as yet to release it in 4K here in the States).

Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, a must-have disc which came out last week but is out of stock almost everywhere at the moment. (Rest assured, the company says more copies are on the way very soon, so do NOT pay scalper prices).

And Don Taylor’s The Final Countdown in 4K from Blue Underground, which streets on 5/25.

Meanwhile, Dennis has just offered his thoughts on Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah on standard Blu-ray from Warner Bros, a disc which also streets tomorrow. [Read on here...]

All right, we have one last news post for you guys today to close out the week and it’s a good one...

The big news is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has now officially set John McTiernan’s Last Action Hero for release on 4K Ultra HD on 5/18. The film is presented newly remastered in 4K from the original camera negative with HDR10 high dynamic range and a new Dolby Atmos mix. You’ll also get the original theatrical SDDS mix presented in 5.1 and the original theatrical stereo audio.

Extras on the disc will include an all-new audio commentary with McTiernan, deleted and alternate scenes—as well as an alternate ending—all presented in 4K with HDR10, AC/DC’s Big Gun music video, the original behind-the-scenes featurette, and the theatrical trailer. The Steelbook packaging also includes a Blu-ray copy and a Digital code.

You can see the cover artwork above left and also below, and you can pre-order the title now on Amazon as well (by clicking on the cover art below)... [Read on here...]

All right, we have a few interesting news items for you today. But first, another review...

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Robert Siodmak’s 1944 film noir The Suspect, now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Now for the most surprising piece of news... Engadget has confirmed that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has now completed a six-year effort to upgrade the classic 1990s J. Michael Straczynski science fiction TV series Babylon 5 for the digital age. Babylon 5 Remastered is now available for viewing on HBO Max, and it’s also available for download on iTunes and Amazon. The new HD presentation includes all five seasons of the show with live action film elements scanned in 4K from the original camera negative, digitally cleaned and properly color graded, with VFX upsampled from the original SD. The entire series is available in its original 4x3 broadcast format. The 1998 version of the series’ original pilot film, The Gathering, has also been included, though it’s unremastered and so in 16x9 (as the original film elements were lost during the Northridge earthquake in 1994). [Read on here...]

Hey, looks like we do have a little bit of new announcement news for you today...

First up though, we’ve got a quick Amazon Deal of the Day to report: Network’s Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Complete Series Blu-ray is just $75 for today only on Amazon (42% off). It’s the same 7 discs found the Deluxe Edition (reviewed here on The Bits), just without the books and deluxe packaging. So strike fast if you’re interested. Here’s the Amazon link.

Also today, we have word that FUNimation’s Akira 4K Ultra HD release doesn’t have HDR. The version released in Japan does, but apparently the discs released in the US and the UK do not. FUNimation has now established an exchange program to get a proper 4K with HDR disc sometime in February via the mail. You can find those details here and here (below):

“For those of you who would like to request the 4K HDR version of AKIRA, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (US/CA) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (UK/IRE) with “AKIRA 4K” as the subject, and provide your name, mailing address, email address and proof of purchase (receipt or confirmation email and photo of the disc).”

Okay, now for that announcement news: Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just officially set Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for release on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo on 4/27. You can see the cover artwork above left. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got just a quick update for you today with some great 4K Ultra HD announcement news.

First though, I wanted to let you all know that we’re likely going to be posting fewer news updates over the next week or so, given the forthcoming Christmas holiday. Announcements are sort of ramping down, so while we’ll pop in as needed, it’s quite likely that there won’t be a lot of news to report this week.

Nevertheless, we will check in with new disc reviews now and again over the next week. So there should be new content going up over the holiday.

We do have a great piece of 4K Ultra HD announcement news for you today, however... [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week here at The Bits with a couple more reviews...

I’ve posted my in-depth thoughts on Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s new Bugs Bunny: 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set. You’ll be glad to know that it’s pretty great. The remastered shorts look fantastic, and the new hour-long documentary is worth every minute of your time. And for those of you who might be wondering, I’ve compiled a list of the Bugs Bunny shorts that remain unreleased on Blu-ray AFTER this set (also accounting for the shorts included on all the previous Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection BD sets). You’ll find that at the end of the review.

Also today, Tim has posted his thoughts on Alain Jessua’s Shock Treatment (1973) on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

And we’ll be working on more Blu-ray and 4K reviews all weekend here at the site. Next up for me is a look at Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ restored Blu-ray of Mad Max (the 4K review will be added as soon as we receive the disc), as well as HBO’s Chernobyl in 4K Ultra HD. And there are more to follow. [Read on here...]

We have a little bit more interesting release news for you to check out today (by way of closing out the week)...

First of all, our friends at Arrow Video have just announced their January 2021 slate of home video titles, and it’s pretty terrific. It starts with UK only Blu-ray releases of Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza’s [Rec] and Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy. Oldboy will also be released on 4K Ultra HD (in the UK only), but remember that 4K discs are not region locked.

Next up, Arrow is releasing Park Chan-wook’s JSA: Joint Security Area and Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales on Blu-ray Disc in the UK, US, and Canada.

Finally, those of you who missed out of Arrow’s recent (and fast selling) Gamera box set (reviewed here on The Bits) will be pleased to know that its films are being reissued on Blu-ray (again in the UK, US, and Canada) in a more wide-release configuration. Three SKUs will be available: Gamera: The Heisei Era (3 films plus a documentary and the Gamera the Brave film as a bonus) as both a wide-release box set and as a Steelbook, and Gamera: The Showa Era (8 films) as a wide-release box set. Obviously, you won’t get all the swag their original big box included, but at least this gives more of you access to the films in HD. [Read on here...]