Displaying items by tag: MOS DEF

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews, some new announcements, and a long-overdue column as well.

Starting with those reviews, Stephen and Tim have taken a look at Penelope Spheeris’ Wayne’s World: 30th Anniversary Edition that came out recently on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Stephen has also reviewed Dominick Barascia, Jr’s Evil Laugh (1986) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022) on Blu-ray from Universal. A 4K UHD review of that title is forthcoming as well.

Also here at the site today, our old friend (and erstwhile Inglorious Trekspert) Mark A. Altman has checked in with a new MOD DEF column looking back at his personal picks for The Best Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Titles of 2022. I think you’ll find it a good read, so do give it a look. [Read on here...]

While all the talk about digital and the implosion of some of the most high-profile streamers purging content from their services faster than Stalin and his politburo, it’s worth spotlighting the fact that it was still a fairly impressive year for physical media whose death, much like Mark Twain, has been greatly exaggerated.

While there’s still too many A-list titles that are MIA that haven’t migrated to 4K Ultra HD yet and other films in desperate need of upgraded hi-def masters (including, self-promotion alert, Free Enterprise), several labels have stepped up their games in a big way ranging from Shout to Arrow and, most impressively, Kino-Lorber.

And, of course, as always, Warner Bros has brought it with their classic titles (although I still have to wonder where the hell North By Northwest is). So even though it’s almost March 2023, these are some of the stellar titles of 2022 that will undoubtedly stand the test of time.

If there’s only one vexing trend in the home entertainment market today, it’s how rare it is to find many re-issues featuring compelling new bonus material instead consistently relying on re-purposing old VAM. [Read on here...]

Kicking off a new week here at The Bits, we’ve got a couple of things for you today...

First up, Tim has reviewed another new Blu-ray release for you in the form of Franco Propseri’s Wild Beasts (1984 – aka Belve Feroci) from Severin Films.

Also, Mark Altman has a few thoughts, in his latest MOS DEF column today, on good catalog titles that ought to get released in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray this year to help the format get on track.

In announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set A League of Their Own: 25th Anniversary Edition for release on Blu-ray on 4/18. It includes the new Bentonville, Baseball & the Enduring Legacy of A League of Their Own featurette, as well as legacy extras including 15 deleted scenes, a 9-part documentary, audio commentary with the filmmakers, Madonna’s This Used to Be My Playground music video, and the film’s theatrical trailer. [Read on here…]

Recently, like many of you I made the plunge into 4K. As a veteran of the home video wars for the last several decades; I’ve gone from Fotonovels to Viewmasters to Selectavision to Beta to VHS to laserdisc to HD-DVD to Blu-ray and now UHD Blu-ray. There’s no question that UHD is the finest home video format to hit the consumer market yet, but with the ubiquitousness and ease of use that streaming offers, it’s no secret 4K is going to have an uphill climb. Let’s face it, even those of us who care about getting the very best quality out of our home A-V systems will occasionally fall prey to the demonic lure of Netflix, Hulu Plus or iTunes over discs we might have stashed away because of the simple convenience of pressing a button on the remote rather than searching through racks of thousands of Blu-ray’s or rifling through closets for a certain disc. [Read on here…]

Afternoon, folks! We’ve got some great stuff for you here at The Bits today…

First up, Tim has turned in a review of Shout! Factory’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume IV, which includes the episodes Space Mutiny, Overdrawn at the Memory Back, Girl in Gold Boots, and Hamlet. The disc is now available, so do give it a look.

Meanwhile, we have a new MOS DEF column from Mark A. Altman as well today, in which he takes a look back at his favorite Blu-ray releases of 2016. We’ll have more from Mark later this week too. Enjoy!

In announcement news today, the BIG news is that Disney and Lucasfilm have just officially set Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for Blu-ray Combo, DVD, and On Demand release on 4/4, with a Digital HD release set for 3/24. There’s no word yet of a 4K version, but it appears that Target and Best Buy will have retail-exclusive Blu-ray 3D versions on 4/4 (per Star Wars.com). The Target package appears to match the Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition. The Best Buy package comes in a Steelbook. Walmart will also have exclusive packaging. Extras on the Blu-rays will include 11 behind-the-scenes featurettes (A Rogue Idea, Jyn: The Rebel, Cassian: The Spy, K-2SO: The Droid, Baze & Chirrut: Guardians of the Whills, Bodhi & Saw: The Pilot & The Revolutionary, The Empire, Visions of Hope: The Look of Rogue One, The Princess & The Governor, Epilogue: The Story Continues, and Rogue Connections). Note that the lack of deleted scenes – and we know there are many – or audio commentary suggests that a more elaborate Collector’s Edition BD release is coming later this year. You can see the cover artwork at the left and below. [Read on here…]

While physical media may be dying the death of a thousand cuts in some people’s minds (and on studio bean counters spreadsheets) and there aren’t as many truly special editions as there once was with movies getting dropped on disc with a few chintzy self-aggrandizing EPKs, that doesn’t mean there still aren’t a few treats to still be discovered on Blu-ray.

2016 boasted an ever dwindling but no less exceptional myriad of fantastic new releases that I would deem must-owns. Here are some, but by no means all of the releases that will leave you anything but blue. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple of new columns for you today, one of which features a good interview, plus a bit of release news.

First, our own Michael Coate has turned in a new installment of his History, Legacy & Showmanship column looking back at the release of Field of Dreams on its 25th Anniversary. As part of this piece, he’s got a new interview with director Phil Alden Robinson. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

With the week’s welcome release of Universal finally bringing Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil to Blu, two more classic must-own titles are finally making at long last to disc. But even with these essential titles finally coming to Blu-ray, there are still so many other wonderful titles that remain stubbornly M.I.A.

Here’s a few; some classics, some guilty pleasures, but all very most wanted. [Read on here…]

Let’s get right down to business…

Today’s big story is the revelation (due to Dr. Jahnke’s inquisitive Internet wanderings) that Orson Welles’ 1947 film noir, The Lady from Shanghai, is officially coming to Blu-ray in the States as an exclusive Blu-ray/DVD Combo available only from TCM Shop!  [Read on here…]

The Digital Bits’ Mark A. Altman weighs in on the Top 25 best Blu-ray and DVD releases of the last year… because 10 just wasn’t enough

As a longtime discophile (and, I’m not talking about Donna Summer), nothing upsets me more to hear about the so-called end of days for physical media. Cries that the streaming Visigoths are at the gates ready to crush our silver platters into dust in the process make me shudder.  [Read on here…]