Displaying items by tag: Warner Bros Home Entertainment

Today’s update is a quick one, but we’re starting with more new disc reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (1988) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has reviewed Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People (1969) on Blu-ray, also from the Warner Archive Collection.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just made Albert Magnoli’s Purple Rain (1984) official for release in physical 4K Ultra HD and 4K Digital on 6/25 (SRP $33.99 for the disc). As expected, the disc will include audio commentary by Magnoli, Robert Cavallo, and Donald E. Thorin, 3 featurettes (First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty, Purple Rain Backstage Pass: Behind the Scenes, and Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution: The Impact and Influence of Purple Rain), the MTV Premiere Party Original Broadcast, a gallery of Prince movie trailers, and 8 music videos for songs from the film. [Read on here...]

We’re starting this week off with a pair of major new disc reviews here at The Bits...

Stephen has taken a deep dive into Jonathan Demme’s legendary concert film, Stop Making Sense (1984), newly-restored in 4K Ultra HD and available exclusively from the A24 online shop. This is arguably the greatest concert film ever produced, featuring the music of Talking Heads and the cinematography of Jordan Cronenweth (he shot this right after completing work on Blade Runner and Buckaroo Banzai).

I’ve also finished my in-depth review of Denis Villeneuve’s magnificent Dune: Part Two (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. It’s an epic pure-cinema masterpiece and, along with Dune: Part One, rightly takes its place alongside Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. And while one could pick a few nits with Warner’s 4K release, the A/V quality is demo-worthy.

Both films are absolutely not to be missed on disc, so be sure to give the reviews a look. And more reviews are on the way this week, so be sure to watch for those.

In release news today, the big item worth mentioning is that Paramount has just set Alexander Payne’s Election (1999) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 7/30 as a new Paramount Presents title. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

As always, we’re rounding out the week with more new disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

Tim’s take on producer Roy Huggins’s Colt .45: The Complete Series (1957-60) and Hanna-Barbera’s Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (1987), both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Dennis’ look at Dorothy Davenport and Melville Shyer’s The Road to Ruin (1934) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics and Something Weird.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s Allonsanfàn (1974), Pietro Germi’s The Facts of Murder (1959), and Damiano Damiani’s Goodbye & Amen (1977), all on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.

I’ve also just received Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros., so watch for my in-depth review of that here at The Bits tomorrow sometime. [Read on here...]

We have a big new disc review for you here at The Bits: Stephen has just taken an in-depth look at the Japanese-import version of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Toho. I should not there that there are no English subtitles, but the package is pretty spectacular.

We don’t yet know when the film will be released on disc here in the States, but we’re digging into it and hope to learn more soon.

Meanwhile, we also have more new disc reviews up for you today, including...

Stuart’s reviews of Yūzō Kawashima’s Elegant Beast (1962) on Blu-ray from Daiei via Radiance Films, Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach (1952) on Blu-ray via Raro Video, and André Melançon’s The Dog Who Stopped the War (1984) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Dennis’ thoughts on Lou Breslow’s You Never Can Tell (1951) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen’s look at the Disney+ series Moon Knight: The Complete First Season (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel and Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

In terms of announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have officially set Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 6/11, with the Digital release expected on 5/14. Both the Blu-ray and 4K will feature Dolby Atmos. [Read on here...]

Afternoon folks! I just wanted to chime in here quickly this afternoon with a couple of quick updates.

I’m currently working on my 4K Ultra HD reviews of James Cameron’s Titanic and James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, so I’ll be busy for the rest of the day on those.

In the meantime, we have three more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy this afternoon...

Tim has reviewed Roger Vadim’s Barbarella (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from the good people of Arrow Video.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Stelvio Massi’s giallo Five Women for the Killer (1974) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has turned in his take on Larry Yang’s Ride On (2023), a Jackie Chan actioner on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment. [Read on here...]

This is going to be a big week in terms of new disc reviews! Just today we’ve got...

My take on Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal, which in my opinion is the A/V demo disc of the year, not to mention a terrific special edition release. Unfortunately, it’s selling out everywhere, but we strongly suspect that Universal is already replicating more copies (and we’ve asked for official confirmation of that, which we’ll share here as soon as we hear back).

Tim’s reviews of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros and Jeannot Szwarc’s Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) in 4K UHD from StudioCanal in the UK.

Stuart’s look at the Audie Murphy Collection III box set from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, which includes Hell Bent for Leather (1960), Posse from Hell (1961), and Showdown (1963) on Blu-ray.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Brad Watson’s The Siege (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment, as well as Harry Beaumont’s Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

I’m also hard at work on my 4K review of James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) from Paramount and we have several more Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD reviews cooking at the moment. I would expect James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to show up at any time for review in 4K as well. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them. [Read on here...]

I’ve been thinking a lot, in recent days, about the future of physical media.

Frankly, I can’t recall a time in this industry that’s offered greater cognitive dissonance than this past week, which began with the news that Best Buy is exiting the disc business—and saw a Digital Bits headline on the subject appear in Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show monologue—but ended not only with the release of Barbie and The Exorcist in 4K, but also with the Ultra HD announcement of Titanic, The Color Purple, and Oppenheimer, to say nothing of the revelation (by Kino Lorber Studio Classics) that Stanley Kubrick’s earliest films are coming to the format!

What’s the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities again? “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.” Charlies Dickens was nothing if not a visionary.

This coming December, I’ll mark my twenty-sixth year as editor of The Digital Bits, and my thirty-fifth as a working professional in the business of media more generally. For most of that time, I’ve had a front row seat from which to view the ebbs and flows of the disc business—both its public-facing portion, as well a singularly-unique insider’s perspective. I launched The Bits website in 1997, at the height of LaserDisc and the dawn of DVD, to create a nexus between fans of these formats and the industry professionals who create them.

Soon afterwards, I gave the world its first look at Circuit City’s pay-per-view DIVX format, then led the crusade against it. I co-led a campaign that convinced George Lucas to begin releasing his beloved Star Wars films on DVD. I reported from the trenches on—and correctly predicted the outcome of—the high-definition format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD. And I’ve covered every minute of the Golden Age of Physical Media, the rise and stumbles of Digital and streaming, and the continuing adventures of our favorite little format that could… 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

All right, there’s one more big title announcement we need to cover today here at The Bits.

And this one is a catalog title that we first revealed was coming to 4K Ultra HD nearly a year ago now.

Warner Bros. has just announced Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated drama The Color Purple (1985) for release on 4K Ultra HD... you guessed it, on 12/5!

Look for the disc to include HDR10 high dynamic range and the previous 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

Here is the full text of the studio’s official press release today featuring all of the relevant details...

THE COLOR PURPLE

COMES TO 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY AND DIGITAL

THE ACCLAIMED FILM WHICH WAS NOMINATED FOR

11 ACADEMY AWARDS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

Purchase the film on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital on December 5th

Burbank, Calif., October 17, 2023 – As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, the epic coming-of-age period drama The Color Purple from Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan) will be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time this December.

On December 5th The Color Purple will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more. [Read on here...]

We’ve got another big title announcement for you here at The Bits today, as well as more new disc reviews. So let’s get to the latter first...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Kevin Reynolds’ The Beast (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Brian Tenchard-Smith’s Day of the Panther (1988)/Strike of the Panther (1989) double feature from Umbrella Entertainment (via Vinegar Syndrome).

Dennis has shared his take on Jack Conway’s Saratoga (1937) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart has offered his reviews of Russell Rouse’s The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) and Joseph Losey’s The Boy with Green Hair (1948) on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, along with Kino Lorber Studio Classic’s excellent Anna May Wong Collection, a Blu-ray box set that includes the films Dangerous to Know (1938), Island of Lost Men (1939), and King of Chinatown (1939). Enjoy!

Now then, the big piece of announcement news this afternoon is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just officially set Andrew Davis’ The Fugitive (1993) for 4K Ultra HD and Digital release on 11/21. The 4K disc will include HDR10 high dynamic range, as well as a new Dolby Atmos sound mix. [Read on here...]

The big release news today, of course, is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie on 10/17. The Digital version is already available. Now the highest-grossing film in Warner Bros’ 100-year history (per the studio’s own press release), the 4K will include HDR10 high dynamic range, along with English Dolby Atmos audio (the Blu-ray will include Atmos as well). Both discs will also offer six behind-the-scenes featurettes (including Welcome to Barbie Land, Becoming Barbie, Playing Dress-Up, Musical Make-Believe, All-Star Barbie Party, and It’s a Weird World). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.

Warner Bros. has also officially set The Nun II for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 11/14, with the Digital version set to become available for purchase today (10/3). Extras will include two featurettes (Demons in Paradise and Handcrafter Nightmares). Audio on both the Blu-ray SKUs will be Dolby Atmos.

And in international release news, our friends at Turbine Medien GmbH in Germany have just set Chris McKay’s Renfield for release on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook in December. [Read on here...]