Displaying items by tag: Back the Bits

We’re closing out the week here at The Bits with a trio of new disc reviews, including...

Tim’s review of Alfred Sole’s Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

Stephen’s review of Howard Hawks’ Hatari! (1962) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart’s review of Bruce Weber’s Let’s Get Lost (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Also today, our friends at Vinegar Syndrome have revealed a number of new March Blu-ray and 4K titles, including Richard Loncraine’s Brimstone & Treacle (1982) in 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (with Dolby Vision), a double-feature Blu-ray of Hung-Chuen Lau’s Devil Fetus (1983) and Ngai Choi Lam’s Her Vengeance (1988), Forgotten Gialli: Volume Eight on Blu-ray—which includes Alberto Negrin’s Rings of Fear (1978), Tano Cimarosa’s Reflections in Black (1975), and Demofilo Fidani’s A.A.A. Masseuse, Good-Looking, Offers Her Services (1975)—Miguel Angel Martinez’s 38 Especial (1992) on Blu-ray from Degausser Video, Gene Saks’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) on Blu-ray from Cinématographe, and Peter Greenaway’s The Belly of an Architect (1987) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome Labs. All are set to ship later this month. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a new disc review for you all to enjoy today, as well as a much of good announcement news. First the review...

Stephen has taken a look at William Friedkin’s Cruising (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

And we’ve posted our weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon 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 site and we really appreciate it!

Now then, the big news today is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set the Clint Eastwood films Dirty Harry (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), and Pale Rider (1985) for 4K Ultra HD, 4K Steelbook, and Digital release on 4/29 (a slight change from the 4/15 date listed previously on retail sites). Not as if everyone didn’t already know, but the studio’s press release has just confirmed it. As expected, all three will feature Dolby Atmos audio mixes and HDR10 high dynamic range.

In terms of special features, Dirty Harry (1971) will include two new featurettes (Generations and Dirty Harry and Lensing Justice: The Cinematography of Dirty Harry) as well as the following legacy features: Audio Commentary by Richard Schickel, five featurettes (American Masters Career Retrospective: Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows, Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso, Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Fighting for Justice, Dirty Harry’s Way, and Dirty Harry: The Original), and an Interview Gallery (featuring Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Robert Urich).

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) will include two new featurettes as well (An Outlaw and an Antihero and The Cinematography of an Outlaw: Crafting Josie Wales) plus the following legacy features: Audio Commentary by Richard Schickel and four featurettes (Clint Eastwood’s West, Eastwood in Action, Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josie Wales, and Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing the West).

And finally, Pale Rider (1985) will include two new featurettes (The Diary of Sydney Penny: Lessons from the Set and Painting the Preacher: Bruce Surtees and Pale Rider) plus three legacy ones (Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing Westerns, Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story, and The Eastwood Factor). You can see the cover artwork above left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

Heads up, Bits readers! Our friends at Lionsgate are about to launch two new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook titles on their Lionsgate Limited direct-to-consumer web store: Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1992) and Abel Ferrara’s King of New York (1990)!

Both will be released on 100GB for maximum video quality. Both will feature Dolby Vision HDR. Both will include English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio along with the Original Theatrical Stereo mixes.

In terms of special features, Basic Instinct will include bonus content from the previous Blu-ray edition, as well as extras that haven’t appeared since VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD. Note that Basic Instinct will also feature the same 4K master released by StudioCanal (including the same color grade, because that was director approved).

Among the features are audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and cinematographer Jan de Bont, a second commentary with journalist Camille Paglia, and the 1993 commentary with Verhoeven, an Introduction by Sharon Stone, the 1993 Introduction with Paul Verhoeven—two featurettes new in the US, including Basic Instinct: Sex, Death & Stone and An Unending Story: Scoring Basic Instinct—3 more legacy featurettes (A Conversation with Sharon Stone, Blonde Poison: The Making of Basic Instinct, and Cleaning up Basic Instinct), 3 Storyboard Comparisons, Original Screen Tests for Sharon Stone and Jeanne Tripplehorn, the 2021 4K Trailer, the Theatrical Trailer, the Director’s Cut Trailer, and a TV Spot. You can see the cover artwork below the break. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some great announcement news to report here at The Digital Bits today, at the start of a new week...

First of all, our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have begun announcing new 4K Ultra HD catalog titles licensed from Paramount, which so far include Stephen Surjik’s Wayne’s World 2 (1993) and Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s Kingpin (1996). We also expect Ken Finkleman’s Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) to be revealed soon as well. All are reported to be “coming soon” and we expect more titles to be revealed in the weeks ahead.

While we’re talking KL Studio Classics, we’ve learned that their already announced 4K release of Dante’s Peak (1997) has been delayed from its original 2/11 street date to 5/27. So adjust your plans accordingly.

Meanwhile, Paramount has officially set Star Trek: Section 31 (2025) for Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD Steelbook, and Digital release on 4/29. Extras will include 5 featurettes (Art Squad, Alpha Squad, Stunts Squad, Gear Squad, and Georgiou) as well as a gag reel. (Though based on the reviews, the entire film may as well be a gag reel.) The Blu-ray SKUs will include Dolby Atmos audio.

Neon has set Steven Soderbergh’s Presence (2024) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 5/20. [Read on here...]

We have two more new disc reviews for you today here at The Bits...

Stuart’s look at A Man Called Shenandoah: The Complete Series (1965-66) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis and Tim have taken a look at Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos (1992) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion.

The big news today is that Arrow Video has just unveiled their full Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate for May, which is set to include D.W. Medoff’s I Will Never Leave You Alone (2023) on Blu-ray (in the UK only) on 5/5, Robert Wise’s The Andromeda Strain (1971) in 4K Ultra HD (in the US, UK, and Canada) on 5/13, Jim Isaac’s Jason X (2001) and Adam Marcus’ Jason Goes to Hell (1993) both in 4K Ultra HD (in the US, UK, and Canada) on 5/20, Sergio Leone’s For a Few Dollars More (1965) on Blu-ray and 4K UHD (in the UK only) on 5/26, and Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s Steppenwolf (2024) on Blu-ray (in the US, UK, and Canada) on 5/27. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews up this week for your reading enjoyment here at The Bits, including...

My thoughts on Milos Forman’s Amadeus: Theatrical Cut (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. as well as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

Tim’s reviews of Alfred Sole’s Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) and Robert Rodriguez’s The Mexico Trilogy (1992-2003) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as The Project A Collection (1983-87) in 4K UHD from 88 Films.

Dennis’ looks at Dick Lowry’s Last Stand at Saber River (1997) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and Melville Shavelson’s Houseboat (1958) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s review of Gregory La Cava’s Gabriel Over the White House (1933) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And finally, Sam Cohen’s take on Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. [Editor’s Note: There is apparently an audio issue with this disc that’s described in the review. Sony is aware of the problem and investigating. We’ll report back here once they figure it out and launch a disc replacement program.]

There aren’t a lot of new announcements to report today, but Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set Gary Sherman’s Vice Squad (1982) for 4K Ultra HD release on 5/13. [Read on here...]

We’ve got several new 4K and Blu-ray reviews for you all to enjoy today, including...

Stephen’s exhaustive and in-depth take on David Fincher’s Panic Room (2002) in 4K Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, as well as his thoughts on Peter R. Hunt’s Shout at the Devil (1976) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and also Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video in the UK. And for the record, I think Stephen’s take on Panic Room is right on the money and well worth reading for 4K enthusiasts. (Especially you young whippersnappers who seem to think a 4K disc must be absolutely reference quality to have any value—gather ‘round, Professor Bjork is teaching class.)

My review of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from Italy’s Eagle Pictures via their 4Kult line, a disc that features an encode optimized for a 100GB disc (and which is a notable improvement over the Paramount Presents 4K release).

Dennis thoughts on Carl Reiner’s Summer Rental (1985) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally Tim’s look at the excellent Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection on Blu-ray from our friends at the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are on the way this week, including my thoughts on Gladiator II and Amadeus in 4K, Tim’s look at Arrow’s Mexico Trilogy in 4K, and more. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has now confirmed that non-Steelbook 4K versions of all the recent Clint Eastwood titles are due on 4/15 as well, including Dirty Harry (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), and Pale Rider (1985). It looks like all three films will feature new Dolby Atmos mixes with HDR10 high dynamic range. You can see the Amaray covers below the break. [Read on here...]

Heads up, Digital Bits faithful: The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Studios, and Concord Theatricals and Originals have just officially announced the 4K restoration, theatrical re-release, and physical 4K Ultra HD release of Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music (1965)! The actual anniversary is on 3/2, but the theatrical and physical media release is currently set for “later this year.”

And if you’re a regular reader of The Bits, you’ll know that we first revealed that this title was coming in 4K UHD all the way back on November 5th of last year, so this will come as no surprise to you! (We also revealed a whole bunch of other 4K catalog titles that day, so you might want to go back and review the entire My Two Cents column from that day if you missed it.)

Here’s the full text of Disney’s press release from this morning...

CELEBRATING SIXTY YEARS OF THE SOUND OF MUSIC

BURBANK, CA (February 20, 2025) – This March 2, 2025 will mark 60 years since the tunes of Rodgers & Hammerstein brought theatrical hills alive with the cinematic treasure The Sound of Music. This year, fans of all ages will experience the heart-warming sights and sing-along sounds of the classic film in a beautifully restored and remastered version to be released in 4K image resolution, courtesy of the precise work endeavored by the Walt Disney Film Restoration team. Over the course of 9 months, the restoration team oversaw digital scanning of preserved film footage and expert clean-up efforts to correct any dirt, warping or other issues encountered. “Our team is honored to care for and re-deliver this classic film to audiences around the world so they can enjoy it in all its originally intended visual and audio glory,” says Kevin Schaeffer, Director, Restoration & Library Management. Weaving artistic skills with innovative technology in a process more delicate than the petals of an edelweiss, the 60th anniversary restoration of The Sound of Music sings with both vibrant color and resounding melody, sharing the cinematic legacy anew for generations to come. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers! We have three more new disc reviews for you today, including...

Stephen’s look at Helmut Herbst’s psychedelic animated film The Cathedral of New Emotions (2006) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile Films.

Stuart’s review take on Herbert Ross’s Play it Again, Sam (1972) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Jean Negulesco’s Humoresque (1946) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Here at the site today, we’ve just posted the latest update of our Release Dates & Cover Art section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD titles that have been added for pre-order on Amazon. You’ll find that here.

Now then... the big release news today is that Lionsgate has officially set Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk (2025) for Blu-ray, DVD, 4K UHD, and 4K Steelbook on 4/1. Look for the 4K to include HDR10 high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. Extras on all SKUs will include the Risk Management: Making Flight Risk featurette and the film’s theatrical trailer. You can see the 4K Steelbook cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week with more new disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

Stephen’s take on John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) in 4K UHD from Shout! and Scream Factory.

Stuart’s look at Richard Thorpe’s That Funny Feeling (1965) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Jack Haley Jr.’s That’s Entertainment: 50th Anniversary Remastered Edition Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. And we’ve also fixed his review of Frank Borzage’s The Spanish Main (1945) on Blu-ray—also from Warner Archive—that was displaying oddly here on the site last week.

Now then... the big catalog release news today is that our friend Vincent Pereira has just announced a new remastered Director’s Cut Blu-ray of his excellent A Better Place (1997)! It’s available exclusively from the MVD Shop (click this link), for release on 5/27.

The disc features a new 2K restoration of a 3K scan of the original camera negative and first-generation print elements, and it’s presented in the originally-intended 1.50:1 aspect ratio. Audio will be 5.1 LPCM surround, with optional English subtitles. Extras will include a new introduction by Pereira, the legacy commentary with Pereira and the cast and crew, the 2001 version of the film in SD with stereo audio, vintage introductions by executive producers Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, the vintage “goof” commentary on the 2001 version, deleted scenes with optional commentary, outtakes and bloopers, and a new 2025 trailer. You can see the cover artwork at left and the trailer is available to view below the break. [Read on here...]