Displaying items by tag: 4K Ultra HD

We’ve got some announcement news and a couple of reviews to share with you for our first My Two Cents update of 2023...

Starting as always with those reviews, Tim has posted his thoughts on Reacher: Season One in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

Meanwhile, Dennis has offered his take on Lou Adler’s Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Imprint Films, as well as Nathan H. Juran’s Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1958) on Blu-ray from our friends at the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

And in the event you missed it, some of you longtime readers might enjoy my New Year’s Eve look back at twenty-five years of The Digital Bits. It’s certainly been an adventure and we’re all very glad to have you along with us on the journey!

Now then, Disney appears to be re-issuing many of its Disney Animated, Pixar, and Star Wars slate of 4K Ultra HD titles throughout the coming year, exclusively at Best Buy stores, in new “Disney 100” Steelbook packaging. [Read on here...]

On this final day of 2022, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year and, really, on the past twenty-five years here at The Digital Bits website.

First though, our own Michael Coate has just delivered one final History, Legacy, and Showmanship retrospective for the year, a look back at Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary. The piece features another epic and multi-page roundtable interview with film experts and historians. Note that the piece will also be updated early in the new year with additional images and information, but the interview as it is is thorough and well worth your time, so be sure to check it out.

Now then… it’s an extraordinary thing to look back at twenty-five years of this website, a site I first started back in 1997 to cover the advent of DVD and to introduce the appreciation of cinema to a wider audience. As a film student at the Universal of Wisconsin in Madison, I had the honor of studying the subject under two of the finest film historians and theorists working today, David Boardwell and Kristin Thompson, not to mention the pleasure of discovering not just the Hollywood classics but the wider world of international cinema. And it’s been my goal—both then and now—to share that love and joy of discovery with everyone who might be interested. [Read on here...]

“E.T. is the perfect balance between epic and intimate. It is an incredible example of how cinema can transport us into a world of limitless possibilities through imagination, and it showcases filmmaking at the highest level in its use of technology, skill, and craft.” — Brian Herzlinger, director of My Date with Drew

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg’s classic family film about the friendship between a boy and an alien visitor who is afraid, totally alone, and three million light years from home.

E.T. was the winner of four Academy Awards (visual effects, sound, sound editing, and John Williams’ original score) and starred Dee Wallace (The Howling), Henry Thomas (Cloak & Dagger), Robert MacNaughton (I Am the Cheese), Drew Barrymore (Firestarter), and Peter Coyote (Timerider). [Read on here...]

Welcome back from the holiday, Bits readers! We hope and trust that each of you were able to enjoy a great celebration with your family and friends.

Sarah and I have my mother staying here over the holidays, so we’ve been cooking up a storm, enjoying some great food, and watching lots of movies. I also just finished watching the season finale of HBO’s His Dark Materials—more on that in a moment—and I’ve started in on the new season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime. I still need to check out Avatar: The Way of Water at my local IMAX theater, but I’ll get to that soon enough.

We’ve got a new contribution from each member of the Bits reviewing team for you today, including...

Dennis’ look at Robert Mandel’s School Ties (1992) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision.

Stephen’s take on James Whale’s By Candlelight (1933) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

My thoughts on the new single-film 4K Ultra HD SKU of Wilson Yip’s Ip Man (2008) from Well Go USA.

And last, but certainly not least, Tim’s in-depth take on Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners: Ultimate Edition (1996) on 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Turbine Media in Germany! This is a pretty spectacular box set release, and Tim will tell you all about it in his review, so you definitely don’t want to miss it. [Read on here...]

Before we get to today’s brief bit of release news, we have two more new disc reviews for you...

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Ol Parker’s Ticket to Paradise (2022), which is new on Blu-ray from Universal. The film stars Julia Roberts and George Clooney.

And Stephen has delivered a look at Ted Kotcheff’s North Dallas Forty (1979) on Blu-ray from our friends down under at Imprint and Via Vision.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve just posted a major update of our Upcoming Cover Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links (like this one) you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we appreciate it! [Read on here...]

Today’s post is going to be a quick one here at The Bits, but as always we have a few more new disc reviews, and some more good disc release news as well. First the reviews...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Robert Benton’s Twilight (1998) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen has offered his take on León Klimovsky’s The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman (1971) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Vinegar Syndrome.

Now to the news... Kino Lorber Studio Classics will release Orson Welles’ The Lady from Shanghai (1947) on Blu-ray on 1/31. The company has also set Alexander Hall’s Little Miss Marker (1934) and David Greenwalt’s Secret Admirer (1985) for release on Blu-ray on 3/7. Also announced as “coming soon” to Blu-ray from the company are Rouben Mamoulian’s High, Wide and Handsome (1937) and Dave Thomas’ The Experts (1989).

Cult Epics has set Martin Koolhoven’s AmnesiA (2001) for release on Blu-ray on 4/11/23.

ClassicFlix will release Victor Saville’s The Long Wait (1954) on 4K Ultra HD on 3/21/23. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a couple more new disc reviews, some release news, and more big 4K Ultra HD catalog updates for you all this afternoon to start Christmas week off right. First up, the reviews...

I’ve taken a look at Blue Underground’s new wide-release 4K Ultra HD edition of Don Taylor’s The Final Countdown (1980), with a bit of help from our own Tim Salmons.

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on George Seaton’s The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and also Daniel Mann’s The Rose Tattoo (1955) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision Entertainment.

And Stephen has delivered a look at Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers (2002) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

We’ve got a few more new disc reviews on the way this week before the holiday, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some breaking release news to cover today here at The Bits, so let’s get right to it...

Criterion has just announced their new March 2023 titles, and fans of David Lynch should be very pleased. The slate includes a 4K upgrade of Michael Curtiz’s classic noir Mildred Pierce (Spine #860 – 4K + Blu-ray Combo) on 3/7, John Woo’s Last Hurrah for Chivalry (Spine #1174 – Blu-ray only) on 3/14, David Lynch’s long awaited remaster of Inland Empire (Spine #1175 – Blu-ray only) on 3/21, and Joan Micklin Silver’s Chilly Scenes of Winter (Spine #1176 – Blu-ray only) on 3/28.

We’ve been hoping for an actual 4K UHD release of Lynch’s Inland Empire, but like so many of the other Criterion titles that have been remastered in 4K yet released on Blu-ray first (only to be upgraded later), we suspect that an Ultra HD edition will come in time.

Also coming to 4K Ultra HD from Dark Sky Films on 2/28 is Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre, with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, and a new documentary called The Legacy of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre. [Read on here...]

We start with two more new disc reviews today (and there might be one more from me later this evening, but it should certainly be up by tomorrow morning)...

Tim has reviewed Crane Wilbur’s The Bat (1959), which is available in a fine new Blu-ray edition from our friends at The Film Detective.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Lynne Littman’s Testament (1983), a post-apocalyptic drama from PBS’ American Playhouse and Paramount Pictures that includes William Devane, Jane Alexander, Kevin Costner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Lukas Haas. That’s new on Blu-ray from the good folks at Imprint Films.

Now then, the big announcement news today is that Disney has just officially set Don Hall and Qui Nguyen’s animated Strange World for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/14. Look for the Digital and Disney+ streaming release to happen on 12/23. Audio will be Dolby Atmos on the 4K and DTS-HD MA on Blu-ray, as always. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Anatomy of a Scene: Creating A Strange World, Strange Science, Creature Feature, and The Hidden Secrets of Strange World), outtakes, and 4 deleted scenes (The Ballad of Jaeger Clade, Lightning Lynx, Funerals and Promises, and Ethan and Searcher). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

Today’s My Two Cents update begins as always with more new disc reviews...

Tim and I have taken a look at Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new 4K Ultra HD upgrade of the classic Joseph Sargent heist thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), which stars Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau. Among other things, it’s a great New York City movie and if you’ve ever wondered where director Quentin Tarantino got the idea for his character names in Reservoir Dogs, look no further.

Also today, we’ve gone in-depth on Via Vision’s new Dirty Dancing: Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Ultra HD release, which takes Lionsgate’s already fine remastering work on the title and adds a few more extras via their own exclusive bonus Blu-ray Disc.

And Tim has also reviewed Bob Clark’s Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: 50th Anniversary Edition in 4K Ultra HD from VCI Entertainment, which includes a new 4K scan and remaster but only Standard Dynamic Range, as well as Nico Mastorakis’s Nightmare at Noon (1988) on Blu-ray from our friends at Arrow Video.

More reviews are on the way tomorrow and beyond, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]