Displaying items by tag: Patrick McGilligan

We’ve got a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate for you to enjoy today, and it’s another bonus column originally meant to be posted late last year, but that took longer to complete than expected. In this installment, Michael looks back at Don Seigel’s Dirty Harry (1971) in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary. He’s joined by documentary filmmaker Gary Leva and authors Patrick McGilligan and Lee Pfeiffer, historians all. The piece is well worth your time if you’re a fan of the film.

Also today here at The Bits we have a trio of new Blu-ray reviews from Tim, including his take on the animated The Addams Family (2019) and The Addams Family 2 (2021) from Universal, and also Tom Gries’ Breakheart Pass (1976) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Enjoy!

The big piece of announcement news today is that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has just officially set Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/22, with the Digital release expected on 3/8. The Blu-ray and 4K will include three featurettes (Del Toro’s Neo Noir, Beneath the Tarp, and What Exists in the Fringe). Audio will be Dolby Atmos on the 4K and DTS-HD MA on the Blu-ray SKU. The 4K will also include HDR10 high dynamic range. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below. [Read on here...]

“If you are the rare person who has never seen a Clint Eastwood film and wonder what all the fuss is about, Dirty Harry would be a good place to start.” – Patrick McGilligan, author of Clint: The Life and Legend

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Dirty Harry, the popular action-thriller about San Francisco Police Department Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan and his quest to apprehend a psychopath. Starring Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) in the titular role, the film was inspired by the Zodiac Killer case and spawned a series of Dirty Harry films.

Directed by Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Escape from Alcatraz), the film also starred Andy Robinson (Hellraiser, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Harry Guardino (Pork Chop Hill, Rollercoaster), Reni Santoni (Bad Boys, Cobra), and John Vernon (The Outlaw Josey Wales, Animal House). [Read on here...]

“Citizen Kane towers over most other films. Few are in its league. It has a legacy for filmmakers as the film to beat, and for critics as one of the best of the best.” — Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane author Patrick McGilligan

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the diamond anniversary of the release of Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’s legendary film about newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane and the pursuit of the meaning of “Rosebud.” [Read on here...]