Displaying items by tag: Dennis Seuling

We’ve got more interesting release news here today to close out the week, and a few more new disc reviews as well. First the reviews...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Abel Ferrara’s Dangerous Game (1993) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome via their fine new Cinématographe line.

And Dennis has reviewed Bryce McGuire’s Night Swim (2024) on Blu-ray from Blumhouse via Universal, as well as Raoul Walsh’s The Man I Love (1947) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are on the way for next week, including my take on Hayao Miyazaki’s animated The Boy and the Huron (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from GKids. So be sure to stay tuned for them.

Also, my apologies for the lack of news updates this week, but I was struck a bout of vertigo last Saturday, and I’ve been having to take it a bit easy to reset everything back to normal. It’s nothing serious—mine is caused by tension in my shoulders aggravating the nerves in my neck, in this case triggered by sleeping with my neck in an awkward position. So the key is to fix my pillow situation and try to relax a little bit more. I’m sure some of you out there can relate!

Anyway, the big news lately is that Second Sight in the UK has finally set their long-awaited 4K remaster of Robert Harmon’s The Hitcher (1986) for release on both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on 9/30. It’s currently exclusive to their website in a 4K + Blu-ray Limited Edition, as well as separate (and standard) 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions. [Read on here...]

We’ve got two new disc reviews for you today, as well as some great release news. But first those reviews...

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on director Leslie Fenton’s Saigon (1948) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The film stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.

And Tim has taken a look at the new Wes Craven Film Collection on Blu-ray from Via Vision Entertainment down under, a region-free box that includes Deadly Blessing (1981), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), and The People Under the Stairs (1991).

And now for that great piece of release news: We’ve been wondering for a while now who was going to be releasing Toho’s outstanding Godzilla Minus One (2023), directed by Takashi Yamazaki, on physical media here in the States, and now we know... it’s Toho themselves!

Toho has decided to release their excellent 4-disc box set Godzilla Minus One: Blu-ray Deluxe Japan Collector’s Edition to US customers exclusively on Godzilla.com! For $65, you’ll get the exact same box set that was released in Japan (and that our own Stephen Bjork reviewed here at The Bits back in May) in the same packaging, simply re-authored with English menus and the option to select the theatrical release English subtitles for Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color. [Read on here...]

We’re back today with some release news as well as a bunch more new disc reviews, including...

My take on Alex Garland’s Civil War (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from A24 and Lionsgate, a film I didn’t even want to see but that I ended up really impressed with, that also happens to be the most demo-worthy 4K release since Dune: Part Two, Oppenheimer, and Top Gun: Maverick. It also has a terrific documentary from our old friend Charles de Lauzirika, so it’s well worth your time.

Stephen’s thoughts on Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant (1992) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as the Wachowskis’ Bound (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion.

Dennis’ review of Sidney J. Furie’s The Lawyer (1970) and Frank Tuttle’s The Hour Before Dawn (1944) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Tim’s look at J. Lee Thompson’s Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987) and Allan A. Goldstein’s Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994) on Blu-ray also from KL Studio Classics.

We definitely have more reviews cooking at The Bits, but with the 4th of July holiday here in the States falling on a Thursday (tomorrow) this year, we’re giving everyone the next few days off to recharge with their families. So we’ll be back on Monday with more new reviews and—we would imagine—plenty of breaking release news too.

In announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Ralph S. Singleton’s Graveyard Shift (1990) is coming soon to 4K Ultra HD. Also newly-revealed as coming soon to Blu-ray is Willard Juyck’s Best Defense (1984). [Read on here...]

All right, we haven’t had a lot of news updates this week, because frankly there just hasn’t been a lot of news to report. And also because we’ve all been working on a lot of disc reviews for you to enjoy. In fact, today we have no less than TEN to share with you, including...

My thoughts on Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (1990) in 4K UHD from The Criterion Collection, and Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) in 4K UHD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Tim’s review of Ernie Fosselius’ Hardware Wars (1978) on Blu-ray and Albert Band’s Ghoulies II (1987) in 4K UHD from the MVD Rewind Collection, Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi’s Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971) in 4K from Blue Underground (which is definitely not for the faint of heart), and Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) in 4K UHD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Dennis’ take on Ted Geoghegan’s Brooklyn 45 (2023) on Blu-ray from Shudder.

And Stephen’s look at Mark Waters’ Mean Girls (2004) on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, as well as the import version of Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) in 4K UHD from Neon and Sky via Universal in UK.

More reviews are on the way for Monday, including my look at Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikika (1990) in 4K from Sony, and Alex Garland’s Civil War (2024) in 4K from Lionsgate, so be sure to watch for them.

Also, just a heads up: Our very own Russell Hammond has posted the new update of our ever-popular Release Dates and Cover Art section (see Cover Art above), which includes all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, you can sort by date, by format, even isolate the Criterion titles! And as an Amazon Affiliate, literally anything you order from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links (like this one) goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we greatly appreciate it! [Read on here...]

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

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Albert Magnoli’s celebration of all things Prince, Purple Rain (1984), in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discover Home Entertainment. The film celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer, and the city of Minneapolis has been partying all weekend in honor of it (more on that here).

Also, I’ve shared my thoughts on Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment. I’m not sure the title actually needed a 4K upgrade, but what the heck—blame Canada. You can read all the details here.

And Dennis has shared his perspective on The Wachowskis’ Bound (1996), which is new on Blu-ray (and 4K UHD) from our friends at The Criterion Collection.

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

Now then... we’ve got a pretty significant piece of industry news to share with you today. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has completed an “umbrella” distribution deal with Studio Distribution Services (SDS) that covers not only their own Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD product, but also titles from Lionsgate and Disney (along with 20th Century Studios, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, and the other Disney-owned labels), which Sony produces for those studios. We first broke the news of this for our Patreon subscribers over the weekend.

The reason this deal is important is that it guarantees Sony, Disney, 20th Century Studios, and Lionsgate a direct and stable distribution channel for their physical media product into Walmart stores. And as we’ve reported previously, Walmart is the biggest disc retailer in North America with a whopping 45% share of the disc sales market (as of earlier this year—that number may have grown a bit with the recent exit of Best Buy, which had approximately 4% of the business). [Read on here...]

We’ve got several new disc reviews to share with you today, including...

My take on Michael Apted’s Thunderheart (1992) in its first-ever U.S. Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Stephen’s look at Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

Dennis’s thoughts on Adam Egypt Mortimer’s Daniel Isn’t Real (2019) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome and Jeremy Kagan’s Big Man on Campus (1989) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart’s reviews of Ingmar Bergman’s Face to Face (1976) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Noboru Nakamura’s The Shape of Night (1964) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.

We’ll have more new reviews here at The Bits tomorrow as well, so be sure to check back for them early!

In title announcements today, the big news is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K + BD Steelbook on 8/13. The Digital release is expected on 6/25. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a pair of additional disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s thoughts on Yuzuru Tachikawa’s anime Blue Giant (2023) on Blu-ray from GKids via Shout! Studios.

And Dennis’ take on Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s Another Body (2023) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Also today, we’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits with all the latest announced 4K titles as well as those we’ve learned are coming from our industry sources.

Over on our Patreon page, many of you have asked us for an Annual Membership option in order to get the best value while backing us and supporting The Bits there. So we’re very pleased to finally make it available today. Signing up as a Patreon supporter of The Bits via the Annual Membership option (at whatever support level you choose) gives you a 10% discount.

And while we’re talking Patreon, we’re going to be holding a members-only Digital Bits: “Ask Us Anything” Live Chat on Patreon tomorrow (Saturday, June 15th) at 11 AM Pacific (1 PM Central, or 6 PM UTC). I’ll be on hand to participate, along with Tim Salmons and Stephen Bjork. You can ask us about physical media, 4K, Blu-ray, film in general, our work, our interests—pretty much any topic other than politics is fair game. While there may be a few questions (about specific upcoming titles) that we can’t answer, we’ll do our best to tackle all questions as they come in. Our goal is to go live for at least an hour. And if everything goes smoothly, we’ll continue for a second hour (provided there’s enough demand/questions to warrant doing so). We hope to see you there! [Read on here...]

We have four new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including...

Tim’s look at Giuliano Carnimeo’s The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Celluloid Dreams... and we mean friends literally—the company was launched by former DVD Review editor Guido Henkel and his son Lucas. (Congrats to both of them on their first successful title!)

Stuart’s take on George Roy Hill’s The Little Drummer Girl (1984) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen’s thoughts on John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video UK, a region-free British import title.

And Dennis’ look at Chad Ferrin’s H.P. Lovecraft’s The Old Ones (2024) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Also, we’ve just posted a massive update of our Release Dates & Cover Art section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and especially 4K Ultra HD titles that are available for pre-order on Amazon.com. There are tons of new titles, and remember that anytime you order one using our links you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits (and we really do appreciate it)!

We’ve also got some great release news for you today, starting with word that Arrow Video has just announced their forthcoming Shawscope: Volume Three Blu-ray box set, which will street on 11/26. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the new week with more new disc reviews, as always, plus we have some great release news to share with you today as well! Reviews first...

Tim has taken a look a Bob Clark’s Deathdream (1974, aka Dead of Night) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Blue Underground.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Alan J. Pakula’s Starting Over (1979) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart has weighed in with a review of Luigi Comencini’s The Sunday Woman (1975) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films. He’s also revisited his 2012 review of Sony’s The Three Stooges: The Ultimate Collection (1934-1958) on DVD in anticipation of the studio’s forthcoming The Three Stooges Blu-ray Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure keep checking back for them!

The big announcement news today is that Sony has officially set Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire for release on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook on 6/25. There will also be a Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray Steelbook, as well as a Limited Edition 2-Movie 4K Giftset that includes this film plus Ghostbusters: Afterlife. [Read on here...]

We start today with more new disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s look at John Flynn’s Rolling Thunder (1977) and Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie (2013) in 4K Ultra HD, as well as Jonathan Kaplan’s Over the Edge (1979) on Blu-ray, all from Shout! Factory.

Stuart’s take on Ken Loach’s documentary The Spirit of ‘45 (2013) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome and Alain Cavalier’s Le Combat dans l’île (1962) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Kino Classics’ Vitagraph Comedies Blu-ray, featuring 40 classic shorts on three discs.

Now then, in terms of actual announcement news, we’ve got a couple of items for you and they’re pretty great. But there’s even more unofficial news, that’s no less exciting! Let’s get to the actual announcement news first...

It starts today with word that Janus Films will be debuting a brand new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s legendary epic Seven Samurai (1954) next month in New York and Los Angeles! You’ll be able to see it on 7/5 at the Film Forum in NYC and on 7/7 at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. This is only my favorite film of all time. I will absolutely be at that Egyptian Theatre screening, and the fact that this restoration is now complete surely means that a physical 4K Ultra HD is coming later this year from Criterion as well. You can see the poster for this release at left, and the trailer is available for reviewing below the break. [Read on here...]