Happy Friday, folks!  Hope you’re all ready for the weekend.  Sorry for missing yesterday’s post – lots of things going on behind-the-scenes at The Bits this week.  Good stuff, but stuff that kept us all away from the office yesterday.  Life happens!

Meanwhile here at the site today, our own Tim Salmons has posted another new Blu-ray Disc review for you from Scream Factory: it’s the Prison: Collector’s Edition – an early Renny Harlin film (from 1988) starring a fellow you might recognize… Viggo Mortensen.  Do check it out!

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set The Last Stand for Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/14 (SRP $39.99 and $29.95).  Extras will include 4 featurettes (Not in My Town: Making The Last Stand, Cornfield Chaos, The Dinkum Firearm and Historic Weaponry Museum and Actor-Cam Anarchy: with Johnny Knoxville and Jaimie Alexander) and deleted, extended and alternate scenes.

Lionsgate will also release Texas Chainsaw on Blu-ray 3D Combo and DVD and A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/14 as well.  Extras on A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III will include audio commentary with writer/director Roman Coppola and 2 featurettes (The Making of Charles Swan and A Glimpse Into the Mind of Charles White).

Inception Media Group will release the Brit comedy On Approval on Blu-ray on 3/19.

Meanwhile, Warner Home Video and TNT have set Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/4 (SRP $49.99 and $39.98).  The BD will be a 2-disc set and the DVD a 3-disc set, but each will include all 10 episodes plus extras.  No word yet on extras.  Season Three of the series is set to begin airing this summer, so you can probably expect the 6/4 street date is designed to let people catch up beforehand.

Universal has announced a trio of new catalog films for release on Blu-ray on 5/7, including Babe: Pig in the City, Jesus Christ Superstar and In the Name of the Father.

And Magnolia Home Entertainment has A Royal Affair coming on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/19.

Here’s a look at the cover art for Lionsgate’s The Last Stand, Warner’s Falling Skies: Season Two and Universal’s Promised Land (street date 4/23 – retail temp art)…

Have a great weekend and see you Monday!  Stay tuned…

- Bill Hunt

All right, here at the site this morning, our own Joe Marchese has turned in a new Blu-ray Disc review of Twilight Time’s Experiment in Terror, directed by Blake Edwards.  Enjoy!

Now for some release news…

First up today, Amazon.com is finally taking pre-orders on all three versions of Warner’s The Hobbit (due 3/19).  Just click on the cover artwork to visit the pre-order pages...

Moving on... this is yet to be officially announced by Sony (so consider it unconfirmed for the moment), but Amazon.com has just listed Funny Girl (1968) as coming on Blu-ray on 4/30 (SRP $19.98).  See the cover art below.

20th Century Fox meanwhile has set Hello Dolly for release on Blu-ray on 4/2 (SRP $24.99 – again, cover art below).  Also coming to BD that day from Fox is That Thing You Do.  And the classic Panic in the Streets arrives on BD on 3/26.

Weinstein Company and Anchor Bay have Django Unchained currently set for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/16, at least according to Amazon (SRP $39.99 and $29.98).  They’re also expected to release Silver Linings Playbook on both formats on 4/30 according to retail sources.

Paramount will release Not Fade Away on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/30.

Warner has announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite on 5/21.

Lionsgate has set Felicity: Season Three and Felicity: Season Four for DVD release on 5/7, along with Power Rangers Samurai: The Sixth Ranger – Volume 4 on DVD on 5/14.

Shout! Factory has set American Masters: Mel Brooks – Make a Noise for DVD release on 5/21.  The documentary premieres on PBS the day before.

Anchor Bay Entertainment and RADiUS-TWC have set the Chinese actioner Dragon for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/16.  The film stars Donnie Yen.

Universal will release Frankie Go Boom on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/14.

And in other news, you Battlestar fans will be interested to learn that retail BD copies of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome include an insert with word that the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica feature film is coming to Blu-ray in 2013.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for Warner’s Mad Max Trilogy (due 6/4), Fox’s Hello Dolly and Sony’s Funny Girl…

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

Morning, folks!  Hope you all enjoyed The Bitsy Awards yesterday.  We’ve got some announcement news and a new Blu-ray review for you this morning here at The Bits.

But first, our very own Russell Hammond has once again updated the Release Dates and Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links.  As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we surely do appreciate it.

All right, time for that review.  Tim Salmons has checked in with a look at another fun Scream Factory title in high-definition – The Nest!  Enjoy and be sure to watch for more new BD reviews every day here at The Bits all this week.

Warner Home Video has just announced a new Mad Max Trilogy Blu-ray collection for release on 6/4 (SRP $49.99).  The set come in limited tin packaging and will include Mad Max (1979), The Road Warrior (1982) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985 - new to Blu-ray).  The latter two will be released as BD singles on 6/4 as well.  No word yet on extras.  As some of you may know, George Miller has returned to direct a fourth film in the series, Mad Max: Fury Road, which should hit theaters sometime later this year.

Warner Home Video has also set the animated Superman: Unbound for Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/7, featuring actor John Noble as the voice of Brianiac.

Sony would like to remind you all that the newly-crowned and Oscar-winning Best Documentary Feature, Waiting for Sugar Man, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.  We hear it’s pretty good.

Well Go USA Entertainment has set Takashi Shimizu’s Tormented for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/2.  This will be followed by Deadball on both formats on 4/9.

Cohen Media Group will release The Other Son on both Blu-ray and DVD on 3/19.

And here’s a cool bit of news:  Severin Films is releasing the 1970s classic Zulu Dawn on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/12 (SRP $29.95).  Extras will include “new featurettes with Zulu War expert Ian Knight, the film’s historical advisor Midge Carter, a visit to the actual locations of the battle of Isandlwana hosted by Knight, and a selection of rare out-takes.”  You can see the cover artwork below.

We’ll leave you with a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for Severin’s Zulu Dawn, Warner’s Superman: Unbound and Kino’s Little Fugitive (due 3/26)…

Stay tuned...!

- Bill Hunt

All right, we’ll be back tomorrow with the usual cover artwork update, the latest announcement news and even a new Blu-ray Disc review.  But first… it’s time for The 10th (Semi) Annual Digital Bits Bitsy Awards!  We’ve nominated, we’ve voted and now here are our picks for the Best of the Blu-ray format in 2012.  Enjoy!

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

Well… it’s that time again, folks.  Time for The Digital Bits to honor and acknowledge the best of Blu-ray Disc from the past year’s crop of excellent releases.

For this year’s awards we’ve decided to strip things down and keep it simple.  We’ve boiled down our awards to just TEN categories, with one BONUS category.  And while many titles could obviously qualify in multiple categories, we’ve decided that if a title wins any category that would disqualify it from winning in others – the idea being that this would allow us to recognize as much great work as possible.  The primary qualification is that each winner must have arrived in stores in the calendar year 2012.  Beyond that, virtually every title was eligible for consideration.  Each member of The Bits voting staff was invited to nominate as many titles as they wished per category and then to select their choice for the very best.  What follows is the result – one winner per category and a handful of titles we also felt deserved special recognition in each.  We hope you enjoy it.

All right, first up today we’ve got some new title announcements for you...

Paramount has set Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away for Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD release on 3/12.  The studio will also release Not Fade Away on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/30.

Disney will release a Shanghai Noon: 2-Movie Collection on Blu-ray on 5/7, due to include Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights.

Lionsgate will release Mighty Fine on DVD on 5/7.  They also have Dark Feed coming on DVD on 3/19.

MPI/Dark Sky Films will release Stitches on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/2.  MPI will also release The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies on DVD on 3/12, followed by The Big Picture on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/19.

Shout! Factory has set The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One! for DVD release on 5/21.

Timeless Media Group will release A Haunting: The 2012 Season on DVD on 4/23.

Inception Media Group will release The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp: The Complete Season Two and Pressed on DVD on 3/12, followed by The Hunt for Bin Laden on DVD on 3/19.

Indomina Releasing will release Holy Motors on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/26.

Acorn Media will release Foyle’s War: The Complete Home Front Files – Sets 1-6 on DVD on 3/12.

Well Go USA Entertainment has set Tormented for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/2, followed by Deadball on both formats on 4/9.  The company also has A Simple Life coming on both formats on 2/26.

Comedy Central has set Kristen Schaal: Live at the Fillmore for DVD only release on 4/2.

Eagle Rock Entertainment has set Miles Davis with Quincy Jones and the Gil Evans Orchestra: Live at Montreux 1991 on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/19.

And finally, 20th Century Fox has set Parental Guidance for release on Blu-ray Combo and DVD on 3/26.

Also today, don’t forget that that this year’s Oscars are awarded this weekend in Los Angeles.  The broadcast will be live on ABC on Sunday evening for those who may be interested.  I guess I’m rooting for Argo to win Best Picture, but Lincoln could sneak in there too.  We’ll see.  Meh…

And before we go, we should let you all know that we’re getting in the awards season spirit here at The Digital Bits too.  Yes, it’s almost time for The Bitsy Awards!  On Monday, we’ll offer a rundown of our staff picks for the very best of Blu-ray in 2012, so be sure to check back then.

In the meantime, have a great weekend!  Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

There’s a bit of release news to talk about today, but first some other business…

Here at the site today, our own Jeff Kleist has written a new 3rd Dimension column about the conversion of Tony Scott’s Top Gun into 3D for IMAX 3D and Blu-ray 3D release.  It’s well worth a look, so do check it out.  Don’t forget you can read Jeff’s review of the Blu-ray 3D here.

Also today, as expected Sony held their big PlayStation 4 unveiling last night.  The unit is expected to be released in time for the holidays in the U.S. and Japan.  Strangely, they didn’t show the actual console, but did reveal images of the controllers and many games in the works for the platform.

So what did we learn last night? Here are the official system specs:

Main Processor

• Single-chip custom processor
• CPU : x86-64 AMD “Jaguar”, 8 cores
• GPU : 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD next-generation Radeon based graphics engine

Memory

• GDDR5 8GB

Hard Disk Drive

• Built-in

Optical Drive (read only)

• BD 6xCAV
• DVD 8xCAV

I/O

• Super-Speed USB (USB 3.0),  AUX
• Communication Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth® 2.1 (EDR)

 AV output

• HDMI
• Analog-AV out
• Digital Output (optical)

Just as we expected, the PS4 will include 1080p Blu-ray playback capability and it will also play 4K movie content – presumably via Sony’s own streaming service as we’ve expected (that’s yet to be announced) – but not 4K games (this per Sony’s Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida).   It will, however, be capable of playing games in full 1080p 3D.  It also will apparently NOT block used games, so there’s that.  There are many other details available from last night’s event (viewable in re-streams here and you can read more here at ars technica) that will surely be of interest to gamers, but that covers the PS4’s utility as a movie playback device for now.

Now… in announcement news today, Universal has set Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land (written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski) for Blu-ray Combo and DVD release on 4/23.  Extras will include an extended scene and The Making of Promised Land featurette.

CBS and Paramount are re-issuing all 7 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD individually on 4/16.  These are the original DVDs as previously released – not SD versions of the new HD re-masters.  Just FYI.

20th Century Fox is re-issuing The Sandlot as a new 20th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray Combo on 3/26.

Amazon is taking pre-orders on Disney and ABC’s Once Upon a Time: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray and DVD – no street date is yet announced.

And New Video Group will release the documentary Chasing Ice on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/10.

Finally today, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of acclaimed film historian Donald Richie, who passed away on Tuesday in Tokyo at the age of 88.  Richie was one of America’s foremost experts on Japanese cinema and almost single-handedly (at least in the early days, until his converts began making their own contributions to the effort) introduced English audiences to the masters and classics of Japanese film.  Tuesday’s New York Times describes one of Richie’s earliest visits to a Japanese movie studio:

In his memoir, The Japan Journals, 1947-2004, Mr. Richie recounted how in the late 1940s he paid his first visit to a Japanese studio, where he met a director in a white floppy hat and “someone I guessed was a star” wearing “a loose Hawaii-shirt.”  Thus began Mr. Richie’s enduring acquaintance with two of the giants of Japanese cinema, the director Akira Kurosawa and the actor Toshiro Mifune.

Can you imagine not only meeting but starting a long friendship with both Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune in their filmmaking prime?  That’s Ritchie on the left in the photo below and Kurosawa in the center.

Richie’s 1959 book (co-written with film critic Joseph L. Anderson) The Japanese Film: Art and Industry remains a landmark text on the subject.  And my own battered copy of his comprehensive The Films of Akira Kurosawa has become indispensible to me.  I know I speak for my fellow Japanese cinephile Todd Doogan (and others on the Bits staff) when I say that Donald Richie’s work has enriched our enjoyment and appreciation Japanese film immensely.  Would I have discovered Kurosawa or... say... the Zatoichi films of Shintaro Katsu on my own, without Richie’s having opened the door for us so many years before?  Probably not and – speaking personally – what a great tragedy that would have been.

Donald… we thank you.

Donald Richie (1924-2013)

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned…

- Bill Hunt

Building on the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark’s re-release last fall, Paramount celebrated the reissue of Top Gun in 3D last week with a run in IMAX 3D.  To the 3D aficionado, this presented a unique opportunity – an opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.  One of the tragedies of home video is the lack of scale in the viewing experience that you get in a theater, which makes it difficult to actually compare the theatrical experience to the home with any real accuracy.  Still, with a brand new copy of Top Gun 3D on Blu-ray in one hand and an IMAX 3D ticket in the other, here was an opportunity to compare the 3D viewing experiences, one right after the other.

Top Gun has always been an amazing picture for the big screen, with its epic aerial photography shot ‘real’ as much as humanly possible.  Having never seen the movie theatrically before (being 9 at the time the film was originally released), I hoped my first theatrical viewing was going to be AWESOME.

All right, we’ve got some big news for you today, but first…

We’ve posted a couple of new Blu-ray Disc reviews here at the site for you to check out today.  Tim has given Shout! Factory’s Deadly Blessing: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray a review – part of their Scream Factory brand.  And Jeff Kleist has turned in a look at Paramount’s new Top Gun 3D on Blu-ray 3D.  Both are now in stores and are definitely worth your time.

Now then… let’s get some announcement news out of the way…

The lead this afternoon is that Warner has officially set the Wachowskis’ Cloud Atlas for Blu-ray Combo and DVD release on 5/14 – pretty much exactly around the time we expected it.  SRP is $35.99 and $22.97.  Extras on the Blu-ray will include 7 featurettes (including A Film Like No Other, Everything is Connected, The Impossible Adaptation, The Essence of Acting, Spaceships, Slaves & Sextets, The Bold Science Fiction of Cloud Atlas and Eternal Recurrence: Love, Life, and Longing in Cloud Atlas).  You can see the cover artwork below.

Also today, Warner and the BBC have set Doctor Who: The Visitation – Special Edition for DVD release on 5/14, followed by Call the Midwife: Season Two on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/21.

Warner has also set Pretty Little Liars: The Complete Third Season for DVD only release on 6/4.

In other announcement news, Showtime (distributed by Paramount) has set Dexter: The Complete Seventh Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/14.

Speaking of Paramount, the studio has set An Officer and a Gentleman for release on Blu-ray Disc for the first time on 5/17, distributed by Warner Home Video.

CBS has set Laverne & Shirley: The Complete Sixth Season for DVD release on 5/21.

Lionsgate has set Mighty Fine for DVD only release on 5/7.

And Universal has set the comedy A Haunted House for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/23. The only significant extra will be How to Survive a Paranormal Presence featurette.

Also, the Cohen Media Group has announced that they’re restoring some 700 films (formerly of The Rohauer Library) directed by the likes of Buster Keaton, D.W. Griffith, Alfred Hitchcock and others, many of which the company plans to release on Blu-ray and DVD.  The first release of the Cohen Film Collection is the already announced Thief of Bagdad (which just arrived in stores yesterday) and the new theatrical release Tristiana due on both formats on 3/12.  Future classic catalog titles will include The General, Intolerance, Sudden Fear, Son of the Sheik, The Mark of Zorro and many more.  Visit their website for additional details.

And 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just announced their first batch of MOD DVD-R titles for 2013, which are now available through online retailers.  They include Warlock (1959), Clive of India (1935), Wife, Husband and Friend (1939), Mister 880 (1950), Tender Is the Night (1962), Remember the Day (1941), Apartment for Peggy (1948), Coney Island (1943), Holiday for Lovers (1959), The Marriage-Go-Round (1961), A Message to Garcia (1936), Oh Men! Oh Women! (1957), Something for the Birds (1952), Unfaithfully Yours (1948), Thanks a Million (1935), The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947), Wabash Avenue (1950), 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956), Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939), Lisa (1962), Wilson (1944) and Raiders from Beneath the Sea (1965).

Finally today, Sony is set to officially unveil their new PlayStation 4 videogame system today via a live press conference set for 6 PM Eastern (3 PM Pacific).  You’ll be able to watch a live stream here at the official PlayStation website.  The rumors are that the system will offer some kind of 4K capability (possibly including both gaming and movies) as part of Sony’s support plan for their new 4K displays.  Guess we’ll know for sure soon enough, so do check it out if you’re interested.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for Cloud Atlas, An Officer and a Gentleman and Dexter: The Complete Seventh Season (note that only Dexter is currently available for pre-order on Amazon)…

Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt

Well folks... with the Presidents’ Day holiday here in the States, today is a great day to buy a mattress but a lousy one for Blu-ray and DVD release news.

So to keep you all entertained, our own Tim Salmons has turned in a new Blu-ray review from our friends over at Shout!’s Scream Factory: the TerrorVision/The Video Dead – Double Feature.  It streets tomorrow.  Watch for more reviews all this week!

Lest you think there’s absolutely nothing to report today other than asteroid scares, we’ve got a little more Studio Ghibli news for you:  We’ve learned that in addition to Howl’s Moving Castle, which is set for Blu-ray/DVD Combo release on 5/21 from Disney, the studio will also release Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro on Blu-ray Combo that same day.  SRP is $39.99 each and both are now available for pre-order on Amazon.com – just click on the cover art below.

Over the weekend, Twilight Time set the 1980s horror classics Christine and The Fury for Blu-ray release on 3/12 – limited to just 3000 units a piece.  Sadly, Christine is already sold out though pre-orders for The Fury are open now here.

Funimation will release the anime series East of the East: The Complete Series - Classic on Blu-ray on 4/30.

In addition, Sony will release the 2010 mini-series version of Ben Hur on DVD and digital on 4/30 (SRP $26.99).  It stars Joseph Morgan, Stephen Campbell Moore, Emily VanCamp, Kristin Kreuk, Ray Winstone and Ben Cross.

Sony has also announced a new batch of DVD-R Manufactured on Demand titles for release on 4/2, including The Key, A Night to Remember (1942), Theodora Goes Wild, 20/30/40, The Killer That Stalked New York, Branded (1931), Harem Girl, If You Could Only Cook, Too Many Husbands and The Big C: The Complete Third Season.  So there you go.

Here’s a look at Disney’s Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro, plus Criterion’s Band of Outsiders (due 5/7)…

See you tomorrow. Stay tuned!

- Bill Hunt