Displaying items by tag: Alexander Payne

We’ve got some MAJOR announcement news to share with you all today, we’re starting things off as always with four new disc reviews...

Tim has checked in with his thoughts on Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass’ animated The Last Unicorn (1982) in 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook from Shout! Studios.

And Dennis has weighed in with this take on Norman Z. McLeod’s My Favorite Spy (1951) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Serge Bourguignon’s Two Weeks in September (1967) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Now then, our friends at Shout! Studios and the Warner Archive Collection have announce major slates of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD catalog titles for release in November and December!

The Warner Archive Collection has revealed 6 new classic Blu-ray titles for release on 11/26, including Jean Negulesco’s Humoresque (1946)—mastered from a 4K scan of original nitrate camera negative—Jack Haley Jr. That’s Entertainment! (1974)—re-constructed from original negatives and preservation elements—The Complete Thin Man Collection (1934-47)—a 6-disc set mastered from 4K scans of the best surviving elements, featuring WS Van Dyke’s pre-Code The Thin Man (1934), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), as well as Richard Thorpe’s Song of the Thin Man (1944), and Edward Buzzell’s The Thin Man Goes Home (1947)—Hanna-Barbera’s animated Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972-74) TV series—featuring 48 episodes on 6 discs—Gary David Goldberg’s Must Love Dogs (2005), and finally the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice: Volume 4 (1937-64)—including 27 classic Looney Tunes fully restored and remastered shorts, including Friz Freleng’s Streamlined Greta Green (1937), Double Chaser (1942), Meatless Flyday (1944), Peck Up Your Troubles (1945), Along Came Daffy (1947), A Bone for a Bone (1951), Muzzle Tough (1954), Stork Naked (1955), Hyde and Go Tweet (1960), Lighter Than Hare (1960), D’ Fightin’ Ones (1961), Devil’s Feud Cake (1963), and Road to Andalay (1964), Tex Avery’s The Sneezing Weasel (1938) and Dangerous Dan McFoo (1939), Tex Avery and Bob Clampett’s The Cagey Canary (1941), Chuck Jones’ Fox Pop (1942), Mouse-Warming (1952), Double or Mutton (1955), and Hopalong Casualty (1960), Robert McKimson’s The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946), Henhouse Henery (1949), Leghorn Swoggled (1951), Muscle Tussle (1953), and Quack Shot (1954), Arthur Davis’ Holiday for Drumsticks (1949), and Norm McCabe’s The Impatient Patient (1942). Whew! [Read on here...]

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...]

All right, we’ve got a nice piece of release news for you guys today, as well as a trio of new Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy. Let’s have the reviews first…

The good Dr. Jahnke has checked in with his thoughts on a true classic of French New Wave cinema: Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, newly re-issued in Dual Disc (Blu-ray and DVD in the same package) by our friends at Criterion.

Also today, I’ve offered up my take on what might be my favorite film of 2013: Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, now available on Blu-ray from Paramount. Having grown up in the Plains States, I can say with some authority that I’ve not seen it so perfectly captured on film since the Coen Brothers’ Fargo. The film is poignant, filled with great character performances, and it’s damn funny too. Nebraska made me laugh hard and often. I hope you enjoy it.  [Read on here…]

More good stuff for you today…

First, Dr. Jahnke has posted a BD review of Sony’s The Big Gundown, a great spaghetti western from 1966 directed by Sergio Sollima. Sounds like the disc and its extras are pretty swell too. Don’t miss it.

Also today, our own Michael Coate has posted an update of his History, Legacy & Showmanship column from back on November – It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Retrospective – with a great roundtable interview from some of the folks involved in the film’s restoration and Criterion’s fine new Blu-ray release, including Karen Stetler, the Criterion Blu-ray Disc producer; Robert A. Harris, the restoration/reconstruction producer; Karen Sharpe-Kramer, the widow of producer-director Stanley Kramer; and the team that recorded the audio commentary track: Mark Evanier, Michael Schlesinger, and Paul Scrabo. It’s a great read, so I highly recommend that you give it a look. [Read on here…]