Displaying items by tag: The Criterion Collection

There’s some new release news to report today, and then we’re going to return to the topic of physical media in the wake of the news about Samsung on Friday.

But first, late on Friday afternoon, Criterion announced their May Blu-ray release slate, which is set to include William Wyler’s The Heiress (Cat #974 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 5/7, an updating of David Mamet’s House of Games (Cat #399 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (Cat #975 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 5/14, Claire Denis’ Let the Sunshine In (Cat #976 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 5/21, and Agnès Varda’s One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (Cat #978 – Blu-ray and DVD) and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (Cat #977 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 5/28. We’ve updated our Criterion Spines Project page here at The Bits to include these titles and you can read more about them here.

Speaking of Criterion, we also learned on Friday that the Russian film studio Mosfilm has completed a new 2K restoration of Sergei Bondarchuk’s epic 1966-67 film adaptation of War and Peace. The 7-hour/4-part series is legendary in cinema history as the biggest production ever mounted, besting even David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia by having an essentially unlimited budget, a bottomless supply of props and costumes from the country’s state museums, and a cast of thousands. The film was shot on Russian Sovscope 70mm film stock, but unfortunately it’s suffered from preservation issues over the years. That’s meant the only good options available for viewing in recent years have been DVD versions of modest quality. [Read on here...]

“The Hidden Fortress is an irresistible blend of grand comic adventure with Kurosawa’s emblematic humanism and innovative craftsmanship.” — Stuart Galbraith, author of The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of the release of The Hidden Fortress, Akira Kurosawa’s influential jidai-geki and starring long-time Kurosawa collaborator Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo).

The popular Kurosawa film turns sixty this year, and for the occasion, The Bits features a Q&A with film historian and Japanese cinema authority Stuart Galbraith. [Read on here...]

Before we get started today, we’ve got two more Blu-ray reviews for you...

They include Tim’s look at Ash vs. Evil Dead: The Complete Third Season from Starz and Lionsgate and Dennis’ take on Jon M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Both are pretty good, so do give them a look.

Our own Michael Coate has also posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column featuring a look back at Bob Clark’s beloved classic A Christmas Story in honor of the film’s 35th anniversary. The roundtable discussion includes film historians Thomas A. Christie, Caseen Gaines, and Eugene B. Bergmann. Enjoy!

Also, we’ve posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we appreciate it! [Read on here...]

[What follows is a feature I wrote for The Daily Oklahoman about one of the greatest movie stars and human beings ever… Burt Reynolds]

Maybe it was the mustache. Or the unscripted quips. Or the genteel Southern manner.

Or just maybe it was that laugh, a cackle delivered by one comfortable in his own skin – inviting his audience gut bust with him, as though they were all in a private joke.

That’s our Burt. And he’s, unbelievably, gone.

Fame, according to Jeanine Bissinger, is “often conferred or withheld just as is love, for reasons and on grounds other than merits.” Burt Reynolds earned his fame with raw boned talent and insight into the business of filmed diversion. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got your first look at what might be the cover artwork for Warner’s Superman: The Movie 4K Ultra HD release… by way of the official German retail cover artwork seen at left.

We know that the disc will include the theatrical version of the film in 4K, with Dolby Atmos audio.

There is also the possibility that the longer cuts will be included in the package on Blu-ray only.

The German street date is November 8, but we suspect it will be an October release here in the States.

We should know more soon, when Warner makes the official announcement, so stay tuned. [Read on here...]

Boy, have we got some big news today!

First though, we’ve just posted a trio of new Blu-ray disc reviews...

I’ve turned in my thoughts on Shout! Factory’s outstanding new Gravity Falls: The Complete Series Blu-ray box set which is packed with love and a lot of extras. If you’re a fan, it’s outstanding.

Also, Dennis Seuling has offered his take on the Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty on Blu-ray from Universal and Dante Lam’s Chinese actioner Operation Red Sea on Blu-ray from Well Go USA. Enjoy!

Now then... let’s get to that news: First up, we’ve just learned that BBC Home Entertainment will be releasing Sherlock: Season One on 4K Ultra HD on 11/6 (SRP $29.98)! No kidding, you can pre-order it here already on Amazon.com. [Read on here...]

Sometimes it’s wonderful to find someone who hails from the same planet as you. I go to film festivals and am always pleased to find intelligent, well dressed and conversant people on subjects close to my heart. These folks, somewhat like yours truly, are professionals, go to work every day, raise families and live contemplative and productive lives. And, well, like a fool such as I, love, as Pauline Kael once said, “when the lights go down.”

I’ve been extremely lucky – I’ve had mentors and friends who have done their dead level best to educate me in the ways of the world while also sharing their deep and abiding love for everything silver and screen. [Read on here...]

A little preface – I started writing my little nickel and dime pieces for the holidays not before December 25 but after. And I’ll tell you why. How many of us receive as presents gift cards – they’re easily purchased and delivered. However, many have time limits and they’re incredibly easy to lose. Come on, you’ve lost a few, haven’t you?

So, I write up these fabulous video gifts because you have gift money to spend. And please do so.

When I was in the throes of graduation from Purcell Oklahoma High School about 40 years ago, we Seniors observed a tradition that I’m sure in some form or fashion was copied throughout the country – we had to complete a form that listed our personal “likes.” You know, favorite song, favorite type food, favorite movie, etc. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Digital Bits...

Just in the last 24 hours, we’ve posted three new disc reviews, including Tim’s thoughts on René Laloux’s classic animated film Fantastic Planet on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection, as well as my two cents on Ridley Scott’s Prometheus in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Fox and also Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. All of them are worth a look, so we hope you enjoy the reviews.

Now then, we have some new announcement news to run down for you today...

First up today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind for release on 4K Ultra HD (in both regular and Limited Edition versions) and Blu-ray formats on 9/19, featuring a new 4K restoration of all three versions of the film (included on BOTH the Blu-ray and 4K editions). Both editions will also include a pair of new featurettes: Three Kinds of Close Encounters, featuring Spielberg with directors J.J. Abrams and Denis Villeneuve, and Steven’s Home Movies & Outtakes. Also included will be legacy features, among them The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind documentary, the Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters featurette, deleted scenes, the 1977 featurette Watch the Skies, Storyboard to Scene Comparisons, an extensive photo gallery, “A View From Above”, and theatrical trailers. [Read on here…]

The Criterion Collection has just announced an impressive new box set for release on 12/5, entitled 100 Years of Olympic Film. It’s the company’s biggest boxed release ever, including 53 films on 32 Blu-ray Discs or 43 DVDs (the SRP is $319.96, whichever version you choose).

From their press release: “Spanning fifty-three movies and forty-one editions of the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, this one-of-a-kind collection assembles, for the first time, a century’s worth of Olympic films – the culmination of a monumental, award-winning archival project encompassing dozens of new restorations by the International Olympic Committee. These documentaries cast a cinematic eye on some of the most iconic moments in the history of modern sports, spotlighting athletes who embody the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger”: Jesse Owens shattering sprinting world records on the track in 1936 Berlin, Jean Claude-Killy dominating the slopes of Grenoble in 1968, Joan Benoit breaking away to win the first-ever women’s marathon on the streets of Los Angeles in 1984. In addition to the work of Bud Greenspan, the man behind an impressive ten Olympic features, this stirring collective chronicle of triumph and defeat includes such landmarks of the documentary form as Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia and Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad, along with lesser-known but captivating contributions by major directors like Claude Lelouch, Carlos Saura, and Miloš Forman.” [Read on here…]